Monthly Archives: April 2012

Outside Fun and Learning

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Michelle

The weather has been so nice in the evenings that I have been making up any excuse to hang out outside. And sometimes my excuse is to do “homework”…I mean, do Kindergartners really have homework?

My son has a game that he really likes that he learned in his class at school. The game is used to practice sight words (commonly used words that should be recognized without sounding out) or what Rusty and Rosy refer to as “Power Words”. In this favorite game, all the sight words they are working on are placed on large laminated paper flies, which are laying on the floor, and two students are each given a fly swatter. The teacher then calls out a sight word and the two students find it and swat it. Now you can see why he loves this game. What child doesn’t love to play with a fly swatter?!? =-)

So, in an effort to make our time fun outside while practicing our sight words we created our own version of the game…the outside safe and breeze tolerant version!

What You Need:

Note cards with a sight word written on each card
Chalk (optional)
One eager learner
Side walk or back porch begging to be drawn on

We use the chalk to create some boundaries for our note cards. It does not matter how many sections we make. Sometimes we do more and sometimes we do less.

We started out with these sight words and if you need more, check out Power Words from Rusty and Rosy.

Power Words

And

Are

Can

For

Have

Here

Play

Red

Said

See

She

The

They

With

Yellow

The fun part for my son is jumping like a frog to snag the word called out. The fun part for me is watching his little sister trying to figure out the words while observing the action and her big brother stopping to help her learn.

Variation: We also used this same activity to practice number recognition, which worked well for Lil’ Sis, our preschooler.

Reading Rivalry

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Julie Meyers Pron

Anyone with a sibling knows all about sibling rivalry, it’s a natural struggle in homes and always has been. Children are so competitive with each other because they, just as adults do, need something and someone to judge themselves against, a sort of mile-marker in life. With a sibling who’s always around, it’s natural to compare.

This makes it excessively difficult for parents who see children learning to read at different paces. When one child so clearly outshines another in any area, we struggle to compensate for the child’s needs. In sports we can recommend different activities or place our children on different teams. In areas like the arts, it’s often easy to just say “that’s okay… clarinet isn’t your thing.” But when it comes to reading, something children do every day and a skill everyone needs in life, the struggles are more difficult.

Our older daughter is getting reading help at school, which she was fine with – until her younger sister started reading at a higher level then her. Now it bothers her. Its so hard – they are really close in age, so the gap isn’t that big even if they were both on grade level. We’ve been encouraging them to read books together – or with us – so we can all read and no one feels left out. I’m almost glad that the younger is struggling in math now – so at least there is something she finds hard so she can relate to her sister.–Melissa Angert, Girlymama

It’s difficult to explain the differences to children when their abilities are so different. While it’s true that everyone will, eventually, learn to read, there’s no set program that will work for every child, and no length of training time it will take for all children to “catch up” with another.

When our 2nd grader passed the 4th grader’s reading abilities we had a lot of conversation around how everyone learns differently. It helped to point out the things that our 4th grader finds easy-like science. We also encouraged her to read more with her sister, and at times had to remind our 2nd grader that pointing out their differences could cause hurt feelings. –Kelly Whalen, The Centsible Life

Suggestions to help families work together when children read differently

Life is a balance

Make other things just as important as reading. Teach your children that we all excel differently at different things. Remind them that the world would be rather boring if everyone was good at only one thing, and so would your family! Teach them to appreciate their strengths.

Compare politely

Encourage your children to compare, nicely. Teach them that while Mallory is great at reading, Simone is excellent at handwriting. Help them recognize other strengths.

Teach each other

Help your children to teach each other. Robby has an excellent tennis serve, and William always finishes his math quickly and timely. While working together, observing and teaching, each child will become better at their own talents and learn from the strengths of their siblings.

Don’t label

Be careful how you refer to your children. Try not to call Joey “The Reader” or “My Reader” as this assumes that Aaron will never be a reader.

Inspire a love of reading

Read with your children, all of them. Whether your child is an avid reader, a struggling reader or a non-reader, read to him and encourage him to join in when he’s comfortable. There’s a difference between reading the words on a page and enjoying the words on a page. By helping your family to learn the difference, you’ll help inspire a love of reading.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Alphabet Fun

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Tonya Staab

Although my twins (aged 5 1/2) now know the alphabet back to front and upside down, it was only a year or so ago that they were learning the ABC song in preschool.

Here are 5 creative ways you can teach your children the alphabet.

1. Alphabet Soup

Kids love to play with their food and what is more fun than a little alphabet soup. Can your child find all of the letters of the alphabet in their bowl? Can they eat the alphabet in order?

2. Alphabet Ice and Baking Mold

These fun alphabet molds are fabulous for making learning fun. Freeze a colored beverage such as juice or flavored milk in these and add an ice cube or two to your child’s drink, spell out a word, or their initials, they will love watching them melt. Another fun ice cube game is to add cold water to a tub, tip in the fun alphabet ice cubes and see how many simple two or three letter words your child can spell out before the ice melts. Or, cut up tiny pieces of broken crayon and make new crayons; you can follow my tutorial here.

3. Stamping

Give your child a set of alphabet stamps and a stamp pad or two, making sure to mix up the stamps so they aren’t in order. Now give them some scraps of paper, or even better a blank card that they can give to their teacher, daycare provider, or grandparents. Have them stamp the alphabet in order and then if they are looking for something a little more challenging have them stamp some simple words, or a basic sentence.

4. The ABC Game

Whether it be a short drive or a long one children need to be entertained, and they love to play games. Here’s a fun game of ABC for on the road. Give each child a board containing the letters of the alphabet and a pencil. Have them mark of each letter as they see it. The first person to mark off all letters win. Want to make it a little harder, have them find uppercase and lowercase letters. Letters can be found anywhere – on signs, buildings, and even trucks.

5. Wood Sticks

Get creative with wooden popsicle sticks or tongue depressors. Have your child create all of the letters in the alphabet. You may need to assist younger children with this activity. It will help to give them a poster, or printout of the letters.

Gone Fishin’

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Nadia “Justice Jonesie”

Spring is the perfect time of the year to spend as much time outside enjoying the nice weather. It’s also a great time to go fishing. Five years ago, we introduced the kids to the sport and they have been in love with it ever since. After the first time, fishing can become something easy that any family can do on a nice day without too much advance preparation.

Getting Started:

To get started fishing, you have to make a small initial investment of buying some decent poles and tackle. There are kid friendly poles for toddlers to tweens. For bait, you can use hot dogs, bread, uncooked chicken, and of course, worms or dead shrimp. It all depends on the type of water you are fishing in. For saltwater fish, you are better off using dead shrimp which can be purchased at a local bait and tackle store. You can purchase enough shrimp bait for a good couple of hours of fishing for about $3.00.

Next comes learning how to bait your hook. It’s super easy and with a simple internet search you can find a picture of how it should look. You want to have a small piece of bait based on the size of fish you want to catch. If you are offshore fishing, a small grape sized piece of bait will work. Baiting a hook with slimy worms or shrimp is tons of fun for most little boys.

Catching Your Fish:
Next, throw in your line and wait for the big catch! This is where the fun begins. We usually fish in salt water near a marina by our house. The city set up benches and picnic tables so it’s perfect for us. Sometimes we pack our own lunch and make it an afternoon. There is also a lake near the kids’ school that is stocked with fish. The kids have learned how to throw their own lines in and we catch anything form crabs, jellyfish, to of course, a variety of fish.

My ten year-old loves researching the type of fish that we catch. Our local bait and tackle store sells leaflets with pictures of the most commonly caught fish in the area. When we catch something, he scans through it and tries to match the fish with a picture.

Learning Opportunities:
Fishing has given us an opportunity to learn about hi-tide and low-tide, different species of fish, and about the sport. My kids really enjoy it and it’s a great way to get them outside and active. We started when my son was five and as a ten-year old he still enjoys it. If you haven’t tried fishing with your kids yet, I highly recommend it!

Educational Songs – learning with music

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Annie Shultz

My daughter Lizzie loves to sing almost as much as she loves playing with her cousin Mycah. (Lizzie is the one on the right). If there is a subject or fact I want her to learn, putting it to music is an almost guaranteed way for her to grasp the concept and remember it!

When she was 3, I would put almost every thing to the tune of “Here we go round the mulberry bush.” I remember putting away dishes and getting dressed to that tune. Then I enrolled her in preschool and she learned “real” learning songs. I had to Google how they went because if I sang them wrong it threw her into a fit! (Isn’t 3 the best age ever?)

At three years old, Lizzie learned the days of the week, months of the year and the colors of the rainbow to different tunes. Learning was so effortless and easy when it was put to a song!

What were your child’s favorite learning songs?

Here are Lizzie’s three favorite educational songs when she was three!

Days of the Week
(To the tune of “The Adams Family)

Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)

There’s Sunday and there’s Monday,
There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday,
There’s Thursday and there’s Friday,
And then there’s Saturday.

Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)

Months of the Year
(To the tune of “Three Blind Mice”)

January, February, March,
April, May, June,
July, August, September,
October, November, December.
These are the 12 months of the year.
Let’s sing them together so we can all hear.
How many months are there in a year?
12 months in a year!

Today is Song

(To the tune of “Frere Jacques”)

Today is _______.
Today is _______.
All day long, all day long.
Yesterday was ______.
Tomorrow will be _______.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!

Learning While ON Vacation

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Melinda

When one thinks of vacations the images of sunny skies, sandy beaches and leisurely activities should come to mind. Vacations are meant to be breaks from the stresses and demands of everyday life. But it doesn’t have to be that way for kids. Learning can be done wherever you go even on vacation.

Ecotours – Even the most luxurious destinations can offer insight on the local geography and native animals. Snorkeling and boat tours are great ways to see what different locations have to offer. Younger children can stick to on shore activities such as hikes, museum visits, food samplings and off road expeditions. Learning about a new culture is a great way to introduce children to something new without them realizing it’s educational.

Local Interest – We aren’t planning a big vacation this year, instead we are working on a staycation. Our city is home to so much history about our country’s birth and development, there are endless options for learning. One day packed with state parks, museums and walking in the footsteps of our fore fathers is enough history to last the entire year. Talk with your local Visitors Center or Historical Society for tips on best times to visit, upcoming events and even appropriateness for children.

Road and Day Tripping – Taking a 2-day road trip might sound like a horrendous event for a family traveling with children. It doesn’t have to be. Put together an itinerary that enables you to make stops where the kids can learn something. Caves are a unique way to get kids exploring and learning about what goes on underground. Caves can be located all over the United States and incorporated into road trips because they don’t have to be daylong excursions. Local Farmers Markets are a fun way to see what local farmers and artisans have to offer while stocking up on snacks and souvenirs. State parks can offer glimpses into history while also providing rest stops and picnic areas, serving double duty activities.

The learning never has to stop. When school lets out and the kids are focusing on fun, offer them new ways and avenues of having fun. These ways can slow the brain drain that often happens on extended breaks.

Buckets and Spades photo courtesy of Flickr/GarryKnight
Caves photo courtesy of Crystal Caves Pennsylvania

Fun with math

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Michelle

Everyone knows that learning is easier when you can make it a game. This is a fun and easy game to practice addition, subtraction and later multiplication and division. All you need are a few basic supplies and a child who needs a little math practice.

My Kindergartner quickly picked up addition once he understood numbers. It has been fun to watch and I am always trying new ways to challenge him. So, as soon as I saw that he was learning subtraction we pulled out some dice to have a math practice session for his homework. Seeing the dice immediately made it more fun for him and the great thing about using the dice is that the dots are visually there for him to add together or subtract from.

What You Need:

pencil
sheet of paper
1 – 2 dice

Directions:

Step 1: On a piece of paper draw a few rows of this:

$Math equations with blanks$

Depending on the child, some may get overwhelmed with too many rows to do at a time. I started with four and then would add more on alternating addition and subtraction as needed.

Step 2: Have your child roll one die and write that number in the first spot. Then have them roll the second die (or the first one again if using one die) and write that number in the second blank on the line. If the row they are working on is subtraction and your child does not understand negative numbers, yet, make sure they put the larger number in the first spot. It is just easier that way. =-)

Step 3: Let your child solve the equation. I know it is hard as a parent to not jump in, but let them figure it out. Remind them that they can use the dots on the dice to help them.

I’ll admit that my son was a bit frustrated with the game the first 4 or 5 rows, but once he got the hang of it he was asking for a “few more lines” and was eagerly trying to teach his 4 year old sister how to play. I also learned that when it came to subtraction, it helped if I said “take away” in stead of “minus” or “subtraction”. (i.e. “What is 4 take away 2?”) We will work our way up to understanding those other terms.

Alternative: Once your child understands the game have them teach you. We have had some fun with him telling me what I should do and helping me figure out each equation.

Question: What is your favorite way to practice math?

Creating board games based on favorite stories

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Julie Meyers Pron

On a recent Tuesday after a doctor appointment, rather than rushing the kids back to school, I gave them the option to stay home. “However,” I explained, “you’ll have a job to do. I expect you to work together to create a game for the family to play. I’d like you to create this game based on a favorite book.” As I pulled into the Target parking lot, asking what supplies they would need we began brainstorming a list, which surprised me for being quite small. As it turned out, they had everything they needed at home, except the poster board. Of course, all moms knows that we can’t leave Target with just poster board, but the boys were focused. They convinced me that they had so many games in mind, they’d need several pieces of poster board and 3×5 cards.

That afternoon I enjoyed true peace and quiet as they worked to create three board games and a card game. I overheard them discuss the need for exciting tasks, for punishment and reward, for good versus evil. In the game they created for the first year of Harry Potter, the players were rewarded for learning new spells by moving forward spaces, but punished for being caught by Mr. Filch after curfew by going back. If they landed on two spots, the players would have to report to an extra loop area to fight a giant. I heard the kids debate strategy, discuss logic and time, and offer suggestions for wording. They worked together to make their game work. When it was time to play, they found LEGO mini-figures to act as their playing pieces. And we played. We played again and again, making changes as necessary to the game.

After a few rounds, one of the boys suggested a break from Harry Potter. It was time, he explained, to create game two: The Adventures of Tin Tin. Another action packed British story this one prompted the kids to recall favorite scenes they could work into a different board. This second game proved an opportunity for the boys to be more creative and challenging in their plans. In fact, once Tin Tin was complete, they explained that this game would be suggested for children ages 6 and up, because the challenges were more difficult. Because we were all “of age,” we played for a bit, again using a die and LEGO mini-figures.

When at breaking time they picked up the 3×5 cards, they explained that it was time to create a game based on yet another story, but this time it would be a word game. Together they listed words found in Diary of a Wimpy Kid on their cards and began playing a game where they would retell the story by putting the words in the proper order. Next, they split the cards up and made up new stories.

Their final game of the day was a drawing game. The boys have really been enjoying Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants stories. Rather than a traditional board game, the boys split the poster board into sections and held drawing contests as they drew different scenes of the story.

Game creation has become a favorite past time at our house. The kids love to share the stories they enjoy through game, and I enjoy learning the stories, checking their comprehension through the summaries they offer as they create the games and the time we spend together creating and playing. This month for Family Game Night we now have enough home-made games to select from that we don’t even plan to open the game closet. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we make a new game just for that night.

Crayon Crafts for Kids

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Tonya Staab

Kids love crayons. I’m not sure how it happens, but the majority of the crayons that enter our house end up broken in half within a matter of days. I regularly recycle our crayons to make brand new ones and the kids are old enough that they are able to help.

This is a great learning experience for them. Not only do they get to learn about recycling, but they get to learn a craft, and gain experience in the kitchen at the same time. The reward at the end being brand new crayons for completing their favorite art projects and school homework.

What you need to recycle your crayons:

Oven
Silicone baking cups
Silicone ice cube tray
Broken crayons

Heat your oven to 225F.

While the oven is heating, have your child remove the wrappers from each broken crayon. This is a great activity for them to sort and match colors. Have them fill each baking cup with different color crayon pieces. They will find that they have different shades of green, blue, and purple, and will love to see what shade they become once they are melted and mixed together.

Once each baking cup is about 3/4 full pop them into the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Depending on your oven this may take a little longer, or may be done quicker. Keep an eye on the melting crayons. It is okay to have some small pieces that have not melted, but the majority should have turned to liquid.

Once you remove your melted crayons from the oven you will have to move quickly, but carefully. The baking cups will be hot, but the crayons will thicken quickly as they cool.

Carefully pour the melted crayon into your ice cube tray. Place it carefully in the freezer until each crayon is set.

Once set slowly release the crayon from the ice cube tray. It’s not going to slip straight out, you will need to work the sides away from the crayon a little, but work slowly and carefully so you don’t break the new crayons.

The end result will be fabulous, and the kids will love having these new larger, thicker crayons that won’t break as easily to complete their beautiful art projects.

If you are feeling daring, try something a little different. Use different shaped ice cube trays, or candy molds and try mixing a few colors of the melted crayon together.

Kids are going to love creating masterpieces with their special homemade crayons.

Gardening Fun With Kids

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Nadia “Justice Jonesie”

Spring is in the air! Perfect time to get outside and enjoy the fresh air and plant some vegetables or flowers with your kids! My children love to garden and it all started with a project we did last spring. It started first with some much needed upgrading to our backyard. The backyard was a square plot of grass with a few trees on one side and nothing else except a view of our neighbor’s adjoining backyard. Our goal was to transform this lopsided and boring square into a tropical garden with a natural wall of trees and bushes on each side.

Since this project would require a lot of digging and dirt, my husband and I decided it would be fun for the kids to get involved. They could play in the dirt, learn about gardening, and help us out as we tackled the big project. With a little bit of help from Google, I was able to research which plants would be easiest to grow and plant in our yard. After our research was done, we took a trip to the nursery and picked out all of the greenery. The kids each picked their own flowers and a vegetable to plant. And when we got home, the fun began. Piles of dirt and weekends later, our new backyard was finished!

And this spring, the fun continues. As soon as the weather was warm enough, we planted more flowers and vegetables. This year, we went with sunflowers, tomatoes, radishes, and green bell peppers. Like last year, the kids have done such a great job taking care of their plants and vegetables. They have been watering them without any reminders from me, and they check on them often to see how they have grown. My five-year old has especially enjoyed watching his sunflower grow. And just last weekend, two of them bloomed.

Gardening has given us a chance to learn a little science along the way. We talked about what plants need in order to grow, we learned about nutrients in soil, and the germination process. As the seeds sprouted, we talked about what would happen next and how long it would take for the plants to bloom.

Gardening has also given the kids a chance to work on something they can call their own. The more their plants grow, the prouder they get. And as our vegetables come in, they are super excited to get them on the dinner table. Imagine that!

Even though the planting phase of our project has been completed, the children continue to have fun with process. It’s been great to see the kids involved in making the backyard so pretty.

Have you tried gardening with your kids yet? If so, what is your favorite plant to grow?

For some helpful tips on gardening with your children, check out some of these great parent resources. Enjoy!

Gardening with Kids: Top Tips for Novice Gardeners
Family Gardening by KidsGardening.org

Ten Tips on Gardening With Kids