Big Book: The Cow That Went Oink by Bernard Most

When I taught 1st grade I loved using big books for my lessons.  They worked well for that setting because every student could see the pages.  Now that I'm at home with my daughter, I still love big books.  They aren't a necessity, but they are fun to check out at the library every once in awhile.  I think it makes the book more interactive.  We've even had fun putting our animal figures on the pages of the big book and interacting with the book that way.

Go check your local library for more big books that you can check out.  They usually have a pretty good selection.  I also loved this book for our farm animals unit.  It has some great animal sounds and is a fun for your little ones.

Homemade Fingerpaint

I found this great recipe for homemade fingerpaint and you can bet I'll be trying it out soon!  The two best things about this recipe: cheap and washable.

Recipe:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup cold water

Food coloring

Cook the cornstarch, salt, sugar and cold water over low heat in a pot for about 10 minutes.  It will start out thin, but eventually thicken up.  After it thickens, let the mixture cool and then pour into jars or containers and add a few drops of food coloring to each jar.  You're ready to paint!

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.education.com/activity/article/fingerpaint_preschool/

Farm Animals Unit

My daughter loves all animals!  I thought it only fitting to plan a week around farm animals.  I hope you find some of this useful!  Enjoy.

Books:
Cock-A-Doodle-Moo, Bernard Most
"Not Now!" Said the Cow, Joanne Oppenheim
Farm Animals, Elizabeth Kaufamn
Oink! Moo! How Do You Do? A book of animal sounds, Grace Maccarone
Big Red Barn, Margaret Wise Brown
Barnyard Banter, Denise Fleming
Wake Up, Big Barn
The Cow that Went Oink, Bernard Most


Music/Rhymes:

The Farmer in the Dell (song)

Old MacDonald Had a Farm (song)

Five Little Ducks (song)

The Animals in the Barn
(tune: Wheels on the Bus)

The cow in the barn goes moo, moo, moo
The duck in the barn goes quack, quack, quack
The pig in the barn goes oink, oink, oink
The dog in the barn goes ruff, ruff, ruff
The mouse int eh barn goes squeak, squeak, squeak
The sheep in the barn goes baa, baa, baa
The horse in the barn goes neigh, neigh, neigh
--Adapted by Cindy Montgomery


Cluck, Cluck, Red Hen
(tune: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes, sir, three bags full.
One for your sweater and one for your rug,
One for your blanket to keep you warm and snug.

Cluck, cluck, red hen, have you any eggs?
Yes sir, yes sir, as many as your legs.
One for your breakfast and one for your lunch,
Come back tomorrow, I'll have another bunch.

Moo, moo, brown cow, have you any milk for me?
Yes sir, yes sir, as tasty as can be.
Churn it into butter, make it into cheese,
Freeze it into ice cream, or drink it if you please.

Buzz, buzz, busy bee, is your honey sweet?
Yes sir, yes sir, sweet enough to eat.
Honey on your muffin, honey on your cake,
Honey by the spoonful, as much as I can make.

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
--Jackie Reinach


Eight Baby Pigs 
Two mother pigs lived in a pen (thumbs)
Each had four babies and that made ten. (finger of both hands)
All eight babies loved to play (bend and straighten fingers)
And they rolled and they rolled in the mud each day (circle hands around)
At night with their mothers they curled in a heap (hands into fists)
And squealed and squealed til they went to sleep (wiggle fingers, squeal and be quiet)


Making Butter Boogie
Shake it up
Shake it down
Shake it, shake it all around.
Shake it high
Shake it low
Shake it, shake it to and fro.
Shake it over
Shake it under
Pretty soon, you'll have butter!


Activities:

1. Movement/Exercise:  Have your child do the actions of different animals:  gallop like a horse, neigh like a horse, moo like a cow, butt like a goat, waddle like a duck, quack like a duck, crow like a rooster, strut like a rooster, wallow like a pig, etc... Then get out a brown blanket and have fun "rolling in the mud" like some of those animals might do.

2. Math: Get a few figures of the same type of farm animals (horses and cows, roosters and pigs, etc...).  I'm planning to check out the dollar store for some, but you might have some around your house (alternatively you could print some off of your computer).  Put two of the types in a pile and have your toddler sort them into their right group.  Ex: If you had goats and ducks you would put all the goats and ducks in a pile and then have your toddler put all the goats together and all the ducks together.  You can also work on animal sounds while you do this :)

3. Arts/Crafts: Farm Animal Mobile:  Print (from the computer) or draw pictures of farm animals.  Color them and cut them.  Use a piece of string and tape or glue the animals to the string.  Then attach theme to a hanger or branches to make a mobile.  Display in a prominent place.

4. Creative Play: This is a great idea for some fun playtime with farm animals.  Alternatively, find someone (maybe it's you) who has a little barn, farm animals, etc... and play with it with your child.

5. Check out this website for some more great ideas to choose from for this week.

Spiritual: Tell the story of Noah's Ark (with pictures, felt, etc...).  Teach your child that Heavenly Father loves all animals.

Extras:  This week see if you have a local farm you can visit, make butter with your children at home or make a special snack: pigs in a blanket!  

5 Senses Week 2

We finished up our last week of senses activities with a bang!  One of our favorite activities of the week was the "smelly watercolors."  These are so easy to make: a little bit of Koolaid powder (no sugar) and a little bit of water.  I also used a large brush because it was easier for my 14-month-old.  She loved these watercolors so much that I'm sure we will be repeating this activity in the near future.  She especially loved the "fruity" smells of the Koolaid and you can "scratch and sniff" the pictures when they dry.  Here are a few tips if you want to try this at home:

1. Use lots and lots of newspaper underneath (even then you'll still have a bit of a mess on your hands).

2. Clean up spills shortly after they happen.  Koolaid can stain if left to dry for too long (but be sure to take lots of pictures first :)

3. Be prepared to take a long soak in the tub afterward...

The good news is: it all came off!  I sure love long soaks in bubble baths.

Another favorite senses activity was the seashells.

What kid doesn't love "hearing the ocean roar?"

I thought we had a very successful 2 weeks of senses and we're excited to move on to farm animals this next week.

What were some of your successes from the week?

A few articles

Since starting this blog, I've had people email me or tell me about different articles that I might be interested in.  Thank you, thank you!  I love seeing what other people think about the same or similar topics I'm writing about.  

Here's another article that you might be interested in.  I especially love the way the author gets across the point that you (the parent) are in charge of your child's education.  She also makes it clear that "schooling" and "education" do not mean the same thing.  I also like that she talks about goal setting with (and for) your children.  So go check it out!

Another article that is completely unrelated and I've found helpful is this one.  It shows ten ideas for helping your toddler learn basic math (and we're not talking multiplication and division).  If you're looking for an easy way to add math into your day, check it out.

What are some more great articles you've read?  Any new sites that you find particularly helpful?

Family Culture Night: Hungary

When my husband and I were newly married, we decided that we wanted our kids to really get to know different cultures and countries.  We both love traveling and wanted to help our children be aware of the world around them.  From this formed a monthly "family culture night." We take one evening a month and choose a country to focus on.  I make dinner using recipes from the country we're focusing on and we play some games, sing songs, learn some facts, etc... about that particular country.

This month we focused on the country, Hungary.  To tell you the truth, I picked it because I really wanted to make the recipe for Hungarian Chicken Paprika.  Despite how it looks, it really was quite tasty.  It reminded me so much of Eastern European cusine...yum.

During dinner we learned a little about the country of Hungary (did you know the man who invented the rubik's cube is from there?) After dinner we headed into our family room and learned a few songs that we sang in English and Hungarian (ok, our Hungarian pronunciation was probably not all that authentic, but we tried).  We also colored in a Hungarian flag.

I'm already getting excited for our next culture night.


Any suggestions on countries we should try?

Book Review: 5 Senses by Aliki

This is the perfect book about the senses...for all ages.  I love how the beginning pages are so simple with big pictures detailing the parts of your body that you use for senses.  As you read more, it goes more in depth with specific senses and things you can do with them.  It's a great one for mom's who have kids of varying ages.  Go check this one out at your local library for the senses unit.  It's a good one!

What are some of your favorite books that teach about senses?

5 Senses Week 1

I was commenting to a friend this week that I can't believe the difference I'm seeing in my daughter...just in 2 weeks of working on our units.  It's really amazing to see how she "sponges" up the information and just enjoys all of the fun things I plan.  Even if they only last 20 minutes (max) until we have to move on to something else, it's sticking with her and she's learning.

We enjoyed reading many books (which we'll read next week too), playing with the rice table (sense of touch), labeling our body parts (overall senses), eating tomatoes from our garden (sense of taste) and probably our favorite activity of the week, our nature walk (overall senses).

The park was a great way to start the walk...seeing lots of other kids and listening to what they were saying.  

Then we made our way to the ducks.  We loved hearing them quack, smelling the grass, trying to touch them, seeing the daddy's "fight" for the bread and tasting the bread (more than sharing with the ducks).

We are excited for next week where we get to go more in depth with some of our five senses.  Already my daughter can "point to her ears, nose, head, eyes and mouth" when asked.  I think that's pretty good progress for week one!


How has your week gone?  Any suggestions for activities with the 5 senses?

Senses so far

Our week so far has been great. We've read lots of books, taken our time and enjoyed learning about the 5 senses. Here's a little preview:

Overall Senses...she loves this thing (even though it really looks nothing like her). We had fun coloring and talking about where different parts of our body are. It's now hung up in a semi-prominent place and she'll go over to it, point and giggle.

Taste, taste, taste. Loving the taste of home-grown cherry tomatoes. Picking vegetables from our garden helps get daddy involved too.

The rice table. Instead of sand, this works well indoors. We spent a good 20 minutes or more just feeling the rice. It was lots of fun, but lots of clean up too. We might be bringing this out again in a few months.

I don't know about you, but I've LOVED having a place to go to just get an idea for something to do that day. It's been great. Thanks for all the comments too. Brainstorming is the best :)

What have you done this week? Any 5 Senses activities?

Home Schooling Helps

My mom called me to tell me about an article she'd just read on Mormon Times.  The article gives some great blogs to check out about homeschooling as well as supplementing your child's education at home.  I know that I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of homeschooling.  Traditional homeschooling is not what this blog is about.  But it is about parents being in charge of and taking responsibility for their/our children's education, whether we choose to outsource part of it to the public schools or not.

So, go check it out.  It has some fun blogs to look through and can help us as parents find things to do with our children at home to supplement their education :)

What are some of your favorite education-type blogs?

5 Senses Unit

Plan for 2 weeks to complete this unit.  I plan to give one day to each sense and one day for "overall senses."

Books:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?, Bill Martin
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?, Bll Martin
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear, Don Wood
Me and My Senses, Joan Sweeney
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Al Perkins
Your Senses, Helen Frost
Seeing, Rebecca Olien
The Story of Ferdinand, Munro Leaf (this one is especially good for older toddlers...)
Any "Touch and Feel" books that you have--my daughter especially loves the animal ones

Music/Rhymes:
1. Five Senses Song: http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/5senses.htm
(Tune: Where is Thumbkin)

Five senses, five senses (hold up 5 fingers)
We have them. We have them. (point to self)
Seeing, hearing, touching, (point to corresponding body parts)
Tasting and smelling.
There are five. There are five. (5 fingers)

2. Sound Song: http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/5senses.htm
(Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie)

Did you ever hear a bell ring,
A bell ring, a bell ring?
Did you ever hear a bell ring?
Ding, dong, ding, dong , ding.

Did you ever hear the wind blow,
The wind blow, the wind blow?
Did you ever hear the wind blow,
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.

3. Brite Music: When I sing La, La, La

4. Brite Music: Eyes were made for seeing (song)

5. Touch Rhyme: Open, Shut Them
http://www.amug.org/~jbpratt/education/theme/fivesenses.html

Open,shut them.
Open, shut them.
Give a little clap.

Open, shut them
Open, shut them.
Put them in your lap.

6. Taste Song: If All the Little Raindrops


Any ideas for a song about smells?

Activities:
1. Overall Senses: Science/Drawing/Writing Get a large sheet of butcher paper. Have your child lie down on the paper and trace them on the paper. Label the parts of your body where the five senses are: eyes, hands, mouth, ears, nose. Then color in the paper, cut it out and hang it in a favorite place.

2. Overall Senses: Physical Activity Take a 5 senses walk together. Bring along a bag and put things in them that you can touch (different textures). Listen for sounds. Point out different things to see (you could even take a picture). Smell different smells. You can even bring a snack to taste different things. This would probably work for all ages, but I think the older toddlers would like it the best.

3. Sense of Touch: Arts/Crafts Provide your toddler with a variety of textured materials. Sandpaper, cotton balls, fake fur, whatever you can find around your house. Glue them together on a piece of paper and make a collage with all of the things you touch.

4. Sense of Sound: Music: Make a musical instrument with your child. Take a cup or paper plate. Fill it with beans/rice/whatever you have on hand and seal it (with a stapler, tape, etc...). Let your child dance to some music with their "maraca." You can also play different kinds of music and have them shake it to the beat of the music.

5. Sense of Taste: Science/Math Prepare a few foods that are salty, sour, bitter and sweet. Some examples: salt, lemon juice, unsweetened baking cocoa, honey (if you child is 1 or older). You can also do this with general foods around the house. Make a chart to see if they like or don't like the foods they taste. You can have them tally or draw a picture of what they like/don't like.

6. Sense of Smell: Arts/Crafts Get a few different packets of Koolaid. Mix some water with a little bit of Koolaid (no sugar) in a cup. Get out some brushes and watercolor with the "smelly" paints. Once they dry you can "scratch and sniff" the paints. Use a few different kinds of Koolaid so they can smell the different smells.

7. Sense of Sight: Game Collect a group of objects and show them to your child. Have your child (or you) hide one of the objects and then go find it. You can also play the game "Huckle buckle beanstalk." Hide an object in the room and the child has to silently walk around and find it. If they see it they run to the "rug" and yell, "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" and then they get to hide the item (this works better for older children--my 1st graders LOVED it).

Spiritual: Choose some of the songs/finger puppets/activities from the Nursery Manual lesson, "I Have a Body like Heavenly Father's."

Extras: Be "extra aware" this week to point out the five senses to your child.

What are some activities you've done with your children to teach them about their senses? Any good book/song/rhyme recommendations?

Apples Review

We had so much fun doing these apple activities/songs/stories this week. I really encourage you to do something like this with your young children. Don't think that you child is too young to start. I started reading to my daughter when she was only weeks old...and I haven't stopped! 

Most elementary schools recommend 20 minutes a day of reading (that's often kindergarten and first grade homework). Make it a goal to read with your child every day and I guarantee...you won't regret it! My daughter loved the books that I chose for this unit.  She also liked playing with the apples.  

I think the biggest thing I was reminded of (thanks to 1st grade) was that my expectations need to come down to reality!  We had lots of fun, but really had to do it on her terms.  When she lost interest, the activity was over for the time being and we had to regroup and do more of it later in the day.  I re-learned how important it is to tailor all of your activities to the needs of your individual children.  

I really like having 3 activities a week.  It's not too many and not too few...just right.  I also loved that we read the books for the entire week.  I consider it a success that my daughter now knows what an "apple" is now.  It's so rewarding to watch your child learn.

And she loved playing with the apples in the bath.  One day we'll be able to talk about "sink and float" but right now, she just enjoyed taking a few big bites :)

At the end of this unit, all of my apples had bite marks in them.  What am going to do with them now?  I'm thinking of dehydrating them to snack on later.


What are some fun apple activities you did with your child?  How have you modified activities to meet their personal needs?

Have A Plan

One of the most important things I learned as an education major was to "Have a Plan."  I think that my plan book was probably one of my most prized possessions and I couldn't have taught without it!  I would plan my weeks out in advance and plan the activities/learning that would occur.  If I ever found myself without a plan ultimately the day was racked up as a bit of a failure.  I had to plan for the learning of my students.  Without a plan, I really couldn't know what they were learning.

With this experience in mind, how could I think that motherhood would be any different?  If I don't have a plan for my day, what are my children learning?

Right now I only have 1 child, a daughter and she just turned a year old.  I've had a plan with her for most of her life, but it generally included "doing something once a day outside our house" (if possible).  I'm now to the point where I want to plan a bit more to do with her each day.  This is where this blog comes into play.  I'm looking for great ideas and want to share some of the ideas that I've planned and the things we've done in our home to facilitate learning.

The other day I was talking with my husband and I told him, "We're going to be studying Apples this week."  We both kind of laughed about the thought of our 13-month old "studying," but I want find ways to help her learn and as a stay-at-home-mom, that's my job.  I'm hoping this blog will be a good format for me to write down my plan, get great ideas and share some of the things I learned (and am still learning) about teaching children.

Happy blogging!

Apples Unit Outline

Here are some suggestions for filling out your lesson plan. What other ideas do you have of fun things to do with apples?

Books:
I Eat Fruit, Hannah Tofts (this is a great flap book for littler children)
Let's Look at Fruit, Nicola Tuxworth (more in depth, great pictures)
Apples Here!, Will Hubbell (great illustrations, not much text)
Apples, Jacqueline Farmer (lots of text and pictures, informative)
Ten Apples Up on Top!, Theo LeSieg (great illustrations, Dr. Seuss, fun for all kids)

Music/Rhymes:

Apple Tree:Author unknown
Way up high in the apple tree (make tree with fingers)
Two red apples smiled at me (show 2 fingers, smile)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (shake tree)
Down came the apples (fingers coming down)
Mmmm - were they good! (rub tummy)
(can also be sung to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)


Ten Little Apples Copyright © 2000 Barbara Pratt. All rights reserved.
Tune of: "Ten Little Indian Boys"

One little, two little, three little apples.
Four little, five little, six little apples.
Seven little, eight little, nine little apples.
Ten little apples on the tree.

Ten little, nine little, eight little apples.
Seven little, six little, five little apples.
Four little, three little, two little apples.
One little apple on the tree.


Apples
Apples here (point to yourself)
Apples there (point away)
Apples are growing everywhere (hands form a circle...the world)
Some are high (point up)
Some are low (point down)
You will see apples wherever you go (point to eyes)
Apples on the left (extend left arm)
Apples on the right (extend right arm)
You will see (point to eyes again)
Both day and night (Hands together and head down on them)


Apples (sung to tune of "Are you Sleeping?")
Picking apples
picking apples
one by one
one by one
Put them in a basket
Put them in a basket
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!

Activities: (I will only use one of these a day)

Math: Use a 6 muffin, muffin tin and 7 apples (or you could use a 12 muffin tin and 13 apples). Put your apples in a bowl and have your child put the apples into the muffin tin. You can talk about the one that is left over and where it should go. Work with your child to put the apples into the bowl and muffin tin until they loose interest. This builds 1-1 correspondence.

Arts/Crafts: Cut an apple in half. Mix up a package of instant pudding. Dip the apple in the pudding "paint" and stamp it onto butcher paper or any paper you have. Finger paint apples and let your artwork dry. (you might want to do this outside)

Game: Bobbing for apples. Put some apples in water and let your child see how they float. Let them put them in and out of the water and if they are old enough, try to pick them up with their teeth. You could also bring some apples into the bath with them if you wanted.

Spiritual: Look at the nursery manual lesson: Jesus Created the World for Me and choose some of those ideas to share with your child. Sing a song, share pictures, bear your testimony that Jesus created the world, including apples for us to be strong and healthy and because he loves us.

Extras: This might be a great week to make applesauce, apple pie or anything with apples. Eat apples at lunch and dinner or for a snack. Visit an apple orchard and pick your own apples. Have fun with apples this week and your child will too!

Many of the ideas came from this site, so be sure to check it out for more apple ideas : http://www.amug.org/~jbpratt/education/theme/food/apples.html

Remember: My plans are geared toward a 13-month-old toddler. You might need to modify your own plans based on the ages of your child/children.

Expectations

Today was my first day trying out my new plan with my daughter.  I was super excited before we began and it actually was a lot of fun.  We are working on our first theme of apples.  She really had fun with the apples and wanted to bite right in them.  The books were a semi-hit as well.  She didn't want to read them all, but she liked looking at them and bringing them to me.  By the time she was "done" we'd only spent about 20-30 minutes on the whole thing.

My first thought was, "All this planning and it didn't even last that long!"

But then I realized that I just need to lower my expectations a little.  One of the neatest things about it was that she now knows the word apple!  I asked her to get me an apple and she went right over to the bucket of apples and pointed to them (we're still working on the "getting me one" part).  Before we began she really probably couldn't have told me what an apple was or pointed to it.  I call this a success!  My daughter learned something new and I learned something new...to lower my expectations.

So, if you try this out or any home activities, keep in mind the age and attention span of your kids.  Sometimes I'm sure that our activities will take much longer and some days they will be shorter.  It should all be geared to the needs of your child and then it will be a success.

Lesson Planning

I have a 13 month old, so my lesson planning might look different than it would for someone who has a 3 or 4 year old, but I still think this is a pretty good month-plan and can be adapted to any age.  I really like how simple it is and easy to just plan out your month.  

To make it manageable in my life I've decided to do our unit only three days a week.  Maybe I will up this when she gets older or if I really want to do more every week, then I will, but for now, I think 3 times a week will be best.  This also leaves room for days that we can do "field trip" type activities and for those "down" days where you really just want to stay home and play...or go to the park and play...

The basic concept is that you have a weekly theme.  Sometimes a theme will take longer than a week.  That's okay!  You are the "engineer" of this, YOU get to decide.  I have a list of weekly themes that I came up with which are basically just things that I want to "study" and talk about with my daughter.  I didn't use any "curriculum" to come up with it because she's a new toddler.  As she shows more interest in certain activities, I will gear them more toward her interests.  

So, our daily routine will always include a book (probably multiple), music/rhyme, activity and a spiritual component to the day.  We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and so it's important for me to include our beliefs into our week.  Here's an outline of how my "plan" looks.  

Books: The books that I choose will mostly be coming from the library (or my home collection of books).  I want a huge variety of books so that we can have lots of pictures and have fun reading them together.  I will probably use these books throughout the week of the theme and I will try to get a selection of fiction and non-fiction books.  I'll be posting on this site the books that we've been using for our themes, but generally you can google good books to use for your own themes.

Music/Rhymes: I think every child has a love of music to some degree and my daughter especially loves music and rhymes of any sort.  I will include songs and rhymes (I plan to post them on this site as well) that relate to our weekly theme.

Activities: I plan to target a different area through every activity.  Some of my ideas for activities so far are in the areas of: math, writing, arts and crafts, games, art appreciation, nature study, puppetry, physical activities, etc...

Spiritual: Most of my ideas for this will initially be coming from my church's nursery manual.  I like a lot of their ideas and will probably use some of them in our weekly lessons/themes and show how they relate to what we're studying.

So, that's the basic plan!  I'm excited to get started and I think it will provide lots of fun and learning for us throughout the week. 

Integration

When I was going to school to become a teacher, one of the key things we learned in our early childhood classes was the importance of "integration."  The idea is to take a theme or a subject and then integrate math, arts, writing, reading, language, etc... into the theme.  For example, if you were to study "family" you would try to integrate a math activity while studying family (that still taught about family).  So on a simple level you might have your toddler count and name all the members of his/her family and that would be integrating math and family.  

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing.  It's actually a pretty basic concept.  I've been formulating a few lesson plans to get us started and I'm really looking to use this concept of "integration" into the themes we'll be working on.  Research has shown that students learn material better if it is integrated.  That makes sense to me :)  Now that I'm writing about this it makes me want to go look up my old notes and books.  We'll see if I still have any left that I didn't sell back!