October

The month of October really zoomed.  A large part was probably due to the fact that we were on vacation for half of it!  I've felt that I've slacked a bit in keeping this blog up-to-date, but then I remembered that it's not about "the blog."  It's about doing activities with my child...and we sure have had fun!  The point of this post is not to say, "Look what we did!!" It's to show that vacation can be a time of learning too.  In fact I would venture that even more learning takes place because your child is building their schema and incorporating more of the "unknown" into what they know.  So here's a few ways we did that:

Enjoying gorgeous weather in San Francisco and playing with three dogs for 10 days...talk about heaven for the little one.

 Children's Museum in the Bay Area.

Painting Toes...a favorite of her "fancy auntie's."

Red-Wagon-Riding with her Oma in Michigan.

By the time we returned from our travels, we were already out of weekends before Halloween arrived.  We had to cram pumpkin carving, candy-corn eating, Halloween partying and trick-or-treating all into one week (we usually spread it out a bit more).  Her daddy still had time to create this Elmo pumpkin, though.

And our little lady sure enjoyed trick-or-treating.

How was your month of October?  Did it go by fast for you too?  What are some great vacations to take with little ones?

Pumpkins/Fall/Orange/Halloween: A simplified unit

The past few weeks we've been on vacation...actually, we still are.  We get back late tonight and then it's back to the daily grind.  I have had to change plans on my October themes because it's just too much to do!  So, I've decided to simplify these couple of units.  Here are some of the ideas I compiled for Pumpkins/Fall/Orange/Halloween.  Hopefully they can be of some use during this busy Halloween week!

Activities:

1.  Math: Cut out pumpkins and label paper 1-10 (or 1-3 for younger kids).  Glue the pumpkins on the paper

2. Arts/Crafts: Pumpkin Seed Collage: Carve a pumpkin and scoop out all the seeds.  Make a collage with the seeds and count them (I did this with my 1st graders...they loved it, but it was still tricky for them to count up all the seeds, even when we grouped them in rows of ten).

3. Science: Sink/Float with a pumpkin (other fall items)

4. Arts/Crafts: Making trees: On a sheet of manila paper, trace the child's hands and arms (to about elbow). Extend the fingers upwards to create the tree branches. Have the children paint or color the tree's trunk and branches brown. Have the children dip one fingertip at a time in paint (red, orange, yellow, red) and then press it all over the paper, especially on the ground.

5. Exercise: Go for a walk collecting leaves...bring them home, let them dry and do leaf rubbings, jump in the leaves on your walk too--can also make a fall collage (older kids)

6. Arts/Crafts: Make an orange collage...orange stickers, crayons, markers, yarn, fun foam, tissue paper, etc...

7. Math: sorting fall objects: pinecones, seeds, leaves, etc..

8. Arts/Crafts: Decorate a bag to take trick or treating

9. Arts/Crafts: Fill gloves with popcorn or candy corn and tie them off--make a ghost

10. Sensory: Fill cartons with different things and let your baby squish them (give them halloween names--guts, etc..)

11. Math: sort different halloween treats

Extras:  Visit a pumpkin patch, go on a hayride, carve pumpkins as a family, have a Halloween-themed dinner to gear up for trick or treating and just have fun! 

Hopefully these ideas can be of some use to you this week.  Little children absolutely LOVE this time of year when everything seems so magical.  Enjoy the time with your kids and choose a few of these activities to enhance your Halloween plans :)