FIAR - Owl Moon

Five in a Row - Owl Moon

June 3 - 7, 2013

O and E: 4.5 years old

This was hands down one of my favorite weeks yet! Between Pinterest, the manual, blogs and Teachers Pay Teachers, there are TONS of owl activities to keep learning fun and interesting. We couldn't even get to everything that I wanted to do, but it was a full week!

In addition to Owl Moon, these were in our book basket this week:

LANGUAGE ARTS:

We did a lot this week with similes. These first few pages are from The Peanut Gallery and were adorable. I made up the I AM page and was so proud of their hard work writing and creating and reading. Their answers totally captured their personalities and interests. We made an OW Sentence book and an Owl Bag book. For that, we made a list of five owl facts and I wrote them on paper. The boys chose which four they wanted to write and then drew a picture to go with each sentence. They decorated the front to look like an Owl and were so proud of their finished products! We took a first look at nouns this week. They categorized them into Who, What, Where and When based on an activity I found online, but I think next time I would cut out the When category since it's not really a noun. I wrote the words on little Owls and they had to read them and put them in the right category. Not bad for their first time. We also did a "I'm wise as an Owl page."

MATH:

I made a quick Owl Patterning page and started the first four patterns for them to finish. Since they are getting so good at this I left the last line blank for them to create their own pattern. Great job boys! We started a Roll and Color Owl page but didn't get around to finishing the game so I didn't take a picture : )

SCIENCE:

We made a graphic organizer for Owls using the Are, Have, Can approach. They came up with a lot more answers than they had room to write ; ) We talked about nocturnal animals, who is nocturnal and what features they have that make them suited for nighttime activity.

ART:
I found so many adorable owl art activities and didn't end up doing any of them! In the end, it was more important to work in spelling, writing and reading than painting, so I had to let go of all my grand plans for handprints and paper plates ; ) We did make owl masks and had a super cute owl lunch though.

We're taking a FIAR break next week to do Pete the Cat - the boys are so excited!

Egg Painting 101

I've never been a fan of dying hard boiled eggs. It's messy, it stinks and they are hard to peel (and it's hard to eat that many eggs!) My solution: I bought a pack of wooden eggs from Joann for them to paint with their washable Crayola paint. My thought is that we'll add to the collection every Easter and have lots of memories to look back on over the years. I'm going to date and initial each child's egg so we can keep them straight.

This year, since the boys are only two and Garrett is just a baby, I wanted to do a paint 'technique' rather than just have them paint free-hand. I love them!!

The first technique is to put some drops of paint on plastic wrap, put the egg in the plastic, try it up and give it to the child to squish around and spread the paint. It made a really cool tie-dye effect...
The second was to put drops of paint in a cut out cereal box and to roll and bounce the egg inside the box to spread the paint. It turned out streaked and the colored mixed really nicely after it dried. Next time I wouldn't use white - it dulls the colors a little too much for my liking, but the pastel effect goes nicely with Easter.And the last technique we used today was to paint Garrett's hand and let him grab the wooden egg to leave his handprint and then added the words "Garrett's First Easter." I love capturing the size of their hands in different ways. Super cute!
Other ideas for little kids:
- Putting a few drops of paint on bubble wrap instead of plastic wrap and rolling the egg
- Painting the whole egg a solid color, let it dry and wrap it tightly in a rubber band (choose your pattern). Paint over the rubber band with a different color and unwrap when dry to have a cool line/stripe effect
- Paint the egg a solid color and let the kids paint polka dots using fingerprints

What do you think? Any other techniques to add to the list?

I'm linking up to ABC&123's Show and Tell!

Green Eggs & Ham, Hold the Ham

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday this week, we have been reading all sorts of his books - Cat in the Hat, The Foot Book, One Fish Two Fish, Fox in Socks, and our newest addition: Green Eggs & Ham! Just wanted to share this super simple (and delicious!) snack to make that goes great with Green Eggs and Ham. All you need is white chocolate, green M&Ms, wax paper and patience while they're hardening up in the freezer to not eat them all immediately : ) Melt the white chocolate in the microwave until about half of the chips look melted, then stir quickly to melt the rest. That ensures that you don't burn your chocolate. Then simply pour little drops of chocolate on the wax paper and let your kids place the M&Ms in the center. We put ours in the freezer for about 15 minutes to let them harden and then had our snack while reading the book. I love the idea of crafts (edible or otherwise) that go along with books. It makes learning so much more fun!

A Moment of Perfection

There are rare moments in motherhood that seem perfect. It is a very rare occurrence when there are no kids crying or fighting through lunch battles or nursing or throwing something or sneaking out of there cribs when I can actually enjoy the day with my kids. I'm in that moment right now.

Owen and Eli just opened their Christmas presents last night since we travelled for the last 2+ weeks. They are putting together jigsaw puzzles with the skill of a five year old even though they aren't much more than two. They just assembled four twelve piece puzzles on their own, stopping after every matched piece to give me a high five. How cute is that?! They are talking to each other about what they are creating (a bus, a train, a race car and a fire engine) and they are helping each other find the right piece. Garrett is sitting in his bouncy seat watching all the action just smiling away and kicking his legs.

I was actually able to read the whole MOPS magazine and drink a whole cup of tea without reheating it while watching them!

I know that soon it will be lunchtime, they'll get bored with their puzzles, they'll escape like daredevils from their cribs and someone will start crying, but for now, I'm in heaven.

Beanie Bags

Using the leftover felt from a few earlier projects, I whipped up these colorful bean bags for the boys. They are actually filled with dried beans that we had used for a Tot School sensory tub a little while ago and I was looking for a way to repurpose them.

I'm still discovering all the ways that these can be used for playtime, but so far they are having a great time tossing them into buckets and baskets, balancing them on their heads and each other's head and stacking them up. I love that it ended up being a free project for me since everything I used was leftover from something else.

I can't wait to 'unveil' my most impressive felt project yet! I have one more component to complete, but it should be ready within the next day or so. Stay tuned!

The Start of Something New

I have never had the desire to homeschool my kids. And by never, I mean NEVER EVER. Even though I was a teacher, I was a high school teacher of a very specific subject and have not been trained in Elementary Ed or the fundamentals of teaching children the basics of reading, writing, math, phonics or anything else. I know that I'm passionate about education and teaching, I know that I'm creative and I know that I can come up with some great ideas for art projects, games, and hands-on activities, but I never put those facts together with the notion of homeschooling my kids. Yes, I know that my boys are only 18 months old. Yes, I know that they don't talk yet. Yes, I know that 'homeschooling' wouldn't officially begin for another several years. But I also know that when I found out about the concept of 'Tot School', my heart skipped a beat. Tot School is basically 'intentional learning through play.' You develop age appropriate lessons for your child based on the skills or knowledge that you want them to learn and then reinforce those skills throughout the week through various applications during playtime. Wow, that actually sounds really complicated! (But it's not, I promise!) After talking this through with Charlie, desiring to put my skills as a teacher to good use and wanting to give the boys the best educational opportunities that we can, we decided that Tot School was in the very near future for the boys... and by 'very near future,' I mean we start tomorrow! For my own planning and focus purposes, I thought that having a Theme of the Week would be helpful. This upcoming week we'll focus on Circles. The next is Squares and the next is Triangles. I think Colors will be shortly after that. If you'd like to learn more about Tot School, I would recommend the Tot School link and the ABC&123 link along the right of my blog. And if you have any ideas that tie into the upcoming themes (listed along the right hand side of the blog) PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know. It's never too early to start something new. This is going to be an adventure!

Favorite Things Friday - Toddler Gear Edition

Toddlers are clumsy, messy little people! Here are a few items my 'favorites' in the category of Toddler Gear. What have been some of your favorite Toddler Gear items?

Dex Baby Dura-Bibs

When I first saw these bibs, the crazy loud patterns and size weren't #1 on my list. I thought we could get by on the cutesy velcro bibs from Babies R Us, and we could until the boys started pulling them off. The velco bibs were weak and the boys still aren't able to pull these bibs off. They are large enough to cover their whole belly and have a deep pocket to catch anything that they drop. I've only been able to find them in Meijer in Detroit, but I'm sure they are available in other places.

Especially for Baby Spout Cover

When the boys first started standing, all they wanted to do was stand up in the bathtub. The problem was that they spent more time falling than they did standing. They still aren't able to pull it off the spout and it's inflatable, so they don't get hurt if they fall into it. For $3.29 at Babies R Us, it's worth every penny.

Blender Baby Food

I made almost all of the boys' baby food when they were first starting on solids and this book was my bible for recipes. The recipes were super simple to follow and the book was divided into chapters for 6, 7, 8, and 9-12 months old. As the baby grows, the recipes become more diverse and chunky, which allows for an easier transition to table food. If you're at all interested in making your own food, I highly recommend this book. I took it out from the library and wrote down recipes for the month, then took it out again when the boys were ready for different foods.

Munchkin Snack Cups

There are a few things that I really love about these cups: you can attach a paci clip to the handle so the cup doesn't fall on the floor, the lids are almost impossible for kids to pull off, and even if shaken, the snack doesn't fall out. They are diswasher safe and easy for kids to pull their hands out of. The only problem is that the boys aren't quite coordinated enough to pull out one piece at a time, but it at least takes them longer to eat a snack than it would to just put it on their tray. Great for the car or on the go!

Those are a few of my favorite things... how about you?

Favorite Things Friday - Toddler Toy Edition

Time to share some of my favorite things - toddler style! Here are a couple things that have made life easier, more convenient or just more fun. Enjoy!

V-Tech Sit to Stand Walker

This handy little toy took our boys from cruising along furniture to walking solo in about two weeks. The wheels rolled at just the right pace to keep them from falling (usually!) and the activities on the front provided hours of entertainment. Even after they were seasoned walkers, they still enjoyed pushing the walker around.

LeapFrog Fridge Wash n Go Magnetic Vehicle Set

This one is a must have for little boys! It didn't take long at all for them to figure out how to spin the pieces to get them to lock into place, and it is so fun watching them dance to the songs that the toy sings. It's a 'must pack toy' when we're travelling.

Parents Magazine Ready Set Go Cars

These cars are great even for crawlers. When you pull the car backwards, it will zoom forward across the floor making a really fun 'zzzzz' sound that the boys loved. They quickly figured out how to engage the car themselves and would race them across the floor.

Fisher Price Little People DVDs

Maybe we're alone in this one, but the boys LOVE the Little People DVDs. They are so super cheesy that it's almost ridiculous, but I can't tell you how many times just singing the theme song to them calmed them down from a fit. They episodes are super short too, only about 5 minutes, so the whole DVD is only about 25 minutes - hardly something to feel guilty about! We got our first disc for free with the Little People Barn, another current favorite, and have expanded our collection from there.

Playskool Wheel Pals Triple Stack Tower

Instant hit! Not only does this come with little race cars, but any Playskool car fits on the tracks. Don't stop there though, the boys will 'race' anything within reach, including Hot Wheels, Leap Frog pieces and Little People animals and people. There's also a button that they can push to let all the cars go at once that makes a fun 'zooming' sound and 'honking' sound.

I know that these are especially boy focused (sorry, it's all I know right now!)... what are YOUR kids favorites?

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

Are you stuck inside on a cold or rainy day? Do you have sick kids who can't attend playgroups or go to the nursery, keeping you at home and confined? Are your kids tired of their toys and acting out because they are bored? Try this!

Set up stations around the room with different sets of toys. I used three different puzzles, a shape sorter, stacking cups and pull-back cars. Depending on the ages/stages of your kids, you can make things more challenging by mixing all the puzzle pieces together instead of sorting them by puzzle, spreading out the stations or maybe even using blindfolds.

Treat the game like an obstacle course. Time them and see how fast they can complete all of the activities. They can compete against each other if they are close in age or against their own best time. Take turns with the kids setting up the different activities and rules - they might think of ways to use their toys that you wouldn't have. Here are some other ideas for stations:

• Build a block tower X blocks high (varied based on the age of the child)
• Say all the sounds of the Little People farm animals as you hold each one up
• Do a somersault or jumping jacks
• Say the alphabet or count to 20
• Roll a ball towards anything resembling bowling pins (toilet paper/paper towel cores)
• Make a snake out of play-doh

The possibilities are endless... and you can bet that they won't be bored with their toys for much longer!

Jolly Elves

What you'll need:
One whole chenille stem and a half stem (also known as pipecleaners), small and large beads, wooded face bead, small jingle bell, felt, hot glue gun, scissors, ribbon

How to make it:
HAT Cut a 1.5" diameter semicircle from felt. Wrap the semicircle around from point to point to form a cone, leaving a small opening at the tip; hot glue to secure.

SCARF Cut a 1/2"x4" piece of felt; fringe ends with scissors. Cut a small lengthwise slit about 1 3/4" from end for opposite end of scarf to pass through.

BODY Bend one pipecleaner stem in half and, in the following order, thread materials over the bent point to about halfway down the stem: large bead for body, face bead, felt hat, small jingle bell. Leave about 3/4" above the jingle bell and shape the stem into a loop. Then, starting on opposite ends: Thread 4 small beads onto each leg and bend the ends to form feet. Use the half pipecleaner to make arms by centering and twisting around the elf's nexk area. Thread 4 small beads onto each arm and bend the ends to form hands. Wrap the scarf around the elf's neck, then thread ribbon through the top loop and hang.

Idea orginally from December 2008 edition of Parents magazine

Alphabet Treasure Hunt

My kids love playing peek-a-boo, so I'm already seeing plenty of games of hide and seek in our future. I started thinking that we can (and should) take the things that our kids love to do already and use them to make learning more fun. If your kids are old enough, try this: Get magnetic alphabet letters for the refrigerator and hide them around the house (use one room for little kids, the whole house for older kids). Give them some time to race around to find the letters and bring them back to the refrigerator. Help them identify the letters and put them in ABC order. If any letters are still missing, help them figure out which ones are missing by singing the alphabet song. What are some other ideas for teaching kids their letters (and numbers)? As an added incentive to contribute your ideas, you'll get another entry in my blog giveaway for commenting!! If you haven't entered yet, see the post below for all the contest details!

Sponge Ball Square Arms

I don't know about you, but by middle August I am ready for summer to be over. I am tired of sweating at the park, trips to the pool and reruns on TV. Now that it is September the forecast is, of course, in the 80's all week long and I am staring longingly at my sweatshirts on the top shelf of my closet. So if Indian Summer is threatening your hopes for an early fall... here is a simple craft that will keep you and the kiddies cool.

Supplies:
3 new, plain kitchen sponges
1 long piece of string
Scissors

Use scissors to cut each sponge lengthwise into 5 strips and stack them as shown below.

Loop the piece of string around the center of the stack. Try to get it as close to center as possible as this affects the look of the ball.

Pull the string tightly, double knot and then cut off the excess.

And there you have your sponge ball square arm!

Grab a friend, soak the ball in a bucket of water and have fun throwing it back and forth and getting wet in the process. This also makes a great bath toy as my toddler discovered!

Craft featured in the August 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine.

Trisha is the wife of Luke and mom to Sam (19 months). Sam especially loved this craft and thinking it looks like a "butterfly" has come to call it by that name and takes it everywhere!