Beg. Reading

I was hoping this would post better than it did. This is what I start with after my kids know sounds, ABC, abc, and of course basic sounding out principles. Once they know those I start on these. If you want a better copy email me and I will give you the word file. I guess I am too dumb to figure out how to post it as a word file in the first place. Anyway the trick with these, is that you don't go on to the next page, until you are perfect at this one. Re-print this everyday if you have to, until they start to get it. I scanned 3, and I have about 30 of these that I will post another day.

One of my favorites!

Dr. Jean is one of my favorites of kids music! You can see her stuff at her website http://www.drjean.org/ She also has activities, ways to purchase individual songs, or whole cd's, utube links, etc!In Dr. Jean Sings Silly Songs, my favorites are: Bubblegum and Katalina Matalina Dr. Jean and Friends has these as my favorites: Tooty Ta, Macarena Months, Days of the Week.

But now I want the Math is fun CD, Nursery Rhyme one, and a few others. Anyway if you are looking for some new music here are some ideas. Also you can get these on I-tunes!

School Book!

When I teach preschool, I always make sure to take lots and lots of pictures. I also think it is important to save their special art work, and writings. (In an older post you have seen how I do writing their name.) I save all school year and then make each child a scrapbook that they can take home and either add with their own scrapbook, or they can keep it like I made it, so they can read it over and over again on their own. I also divide the book into categories, to make it easier to track their progress. This is a small sampling of one I did for my daughter, when she was in preschool years and year ago. Physical:Language:Cognitive:Social:Creative: Affective:

I do this also for my kids. Every Summer I take all the things I have gathered and make them into a school scrapbook. I always add it to their regular scrapbook. When they get old enough, they get to do their own, which also increases their creativity.

Now I know that lots of you now Digital Scrapbook. So my idea for you is that you actually scan your child's papers and art work into the computer, so you can digitally do your thing. Scanning is so fast and I think you will really like the final look.

So you might be wondering how I got little notes on each picture and just in general of her. What I did was I took a notes every day on a clip board and of things each child said through out the day. Then typed them up everyday when the kids left.

For your own kids, you have to come up with some way that works for you in making notes and being the busy Mom. What I do is have a paper on the side of the fridge that has 6 months worth of months. When they do something cute, or say something cute then I just write it under the month we are in and put the child's name.

Before this way, I used index cards in a box and then would actually put the index card in their scrapbook stuff.

My friend Chrissie keeps little note books of each of her children and when they something funny, she stops what she is doing and writes it in their book.

Art Corner #4: Fish !

Well I will start with the crazy one. Do you see what I see? Yes this is a fish that my preschool kids painted (a real one) and then we took prints of the fish. It was really fun, stinky, interesting, and memorable. This one we did after we read The Rainbow Fish book. We used tissue paper, crayons, markers, colored squares, and of course shiny silver paper. My goal with art is that no ones art looks alike. I think with this you can see how they are able to be creative and create a masterpiece.This one is first a stenciled fish that they colored and then I cut it out for them. Then we glued in on a watercolor page that they had done earlier in the week.

Art Corner, Idea #3

Painting with straws can be oh so fun! Put some paint down on their paper, and then let them use their breath to make the paint spread into nice art work. This art project is perfect for learning how colors mixed will change colors..This is the finished product!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Learning to write your name is a very big thing for a kid. I have my boys write their name everyday. When they are little, I give a slip of paper and then I let them color their paper. I tell them they are writing their name. I always keep the first one of every month. Oh and I always have a laminated copy of their name in front of them. As they grow I start to help them do more on their name. When I think they are ready to really start writing their name, I place the laminated version of their name under a tracing paper, and have them trace their name. After awhile I put it back in front of them and have them start writing it for real. After they write their name, I have them answer a question of the day. Are you happy? Did you eat breakfast today? etc. This is my 13 year old's name writings when she was little. I saved them and put them in her scrapbook. I love to save things like this, that show progress.

Not only am I glad I did this with my kids, I am also glad I saved it and scrapbooked it this way.

Art Corner, Idea #2

Crayon Meltings!

I have listed an idea about this before under fall, but this is how it looks with out the fall leaves. You will need Wax Paper, An Iron, Crayon Shavings, A Heavy Towel, and Iron Board.This is how I set it up to let the kids create their picture. Then after they are done creating, I do the heating, but I let them stand on a chair and watch the melting. I like to use an old Iron and towel for this project. I also like to use another old towel to cover my iron board with- just in case. The picture goes on top of the towel on the iron board, and then the other towel goes on top. Then you slowly heat up the picture. It takes lots of heat to go through the towel, so it might be a little slow. This is what it looks like when done.

Art Corner Idea #1:

I have saved most of the creative art that I have done as a preschool teacher, or that my kids have done. I usually throw away anything that looks like a teacher instructed or that it is something that all the kids have exactly the same way. I think it is so important to train their little brains that their art is from their brain and it doesn't have to all be the same. So from an earlier post I talked about how I am scanning all my scrapbooks so that if there was a fire or flood, I would still have them. So I got to the first year I started teaching preschool, and I decided to start sharing the ideas I have used. I hope you enjoy them. I have enjoyed looking at all my projects I did with my kids. I am sure glad I kept them.

Today's idea is to let your children paint with Washable Paint and Feathers! It looks like this when done.

Two of my favorite things!

Well I decided to highlight two of my very favorite things that help me be clean and be a good mom. They both are the Shark Steamers. Very easy to use, no chemicals just water that turns into hot steam, and you can use it on everything! This the pocket steamer. It cleans crayon off the wall in seconds, cleans kitchen chairs that have food stuck on them, the toilet, wipes finger prints off walls in seconds, mirrors, Toys, etc. I think this one is a must if you are doing preschool, daycare, nursery, etc. It sanitizes in seconds, and when those kids start sucking on a toy, you will know that no chemicals are on the toy, and it is clean.

The other favorite thing is the Shark Mop. No Chemicals used, only water, and washable pads. This is a very effective way to clean your floors. I think it is a must for any Mom with little babies. I think we have seen all babies lick the floor, and eat things off the floor, so to have it clean with no chemicals is a plus.

I have used steamers before, but hate the fact that they take 30 minutes to heat up. With these, you put the water in, plug it in, and 30 SECONDS later it is ready. I got mine for my birthday about two years and I love them. They are worth the 70-100 dollars they cost. Anyone that knows me can call me anytime and try it out before they buy one.

LeapFrog!

I love the LeapFrog learning dvd's and I also have people always recommending them to me. I went to their website today to buy one and saw a section for parents that are helps in teaching, divided up by ages. One activity was getting a U.S. Map and teaching states by collecting quarters. How fun is that? It also has lots of printables to go with the activities. Anyway that was an older activity, but there was lots of other activites for different ages.

www.leapfrog.com/en/leapfrog_parents/preschool.html

Karo Syrup Painting

I think painting with Karo Syrup is one of the coolest looking finished product you could ever do. If you are drawing a picture and then painting check out this link and you can see all the steps.

www.eighteen25.blogspot.com/2010/05/summer-craft-ideas-part-five.html



When I did this to get my degree, we did it preschool style. We used thick white paper plates, and we would put drops of Karo syrup all over the plate. Then we added food coloring all over the plate. The kids then would move the plate and make swirls and watch the colors change colors. When dry, we cut off the rim of the plate and we had an awesome painting.



When painting with Karo Syrup I suggest going to the dollar store and buying brushes that you can throw away. Or you can go preschool style and just hold the plate and blend. Remember that Karo syrup if gets warm will stick to everything and will melt and make a mess. I made this mistake of putting the art in my binder and leaving it in the car. It stuck to everything. Hanging on a fridge, would be perfect though.

check out these fun websites!

www.wmcraftgoodies.blogspot.com and I will put it in the mom section.

also www.theidearoom.net and I will also put that in the mom section. This one had such a cute idea about on voting day, give your child a voting ballet for what they want for breakfast. How cute is that?

I am impressed with both of these websites.

Stressful Times

So I wish I could go back a few years and plan life a little better. I wish I could move all my November, December, and January birthdays to the Summer. I always wish I could go back a few months and prepare for Christmas earlier. Throw in family parties, other events, New Year's, Kwanzaa, and some sickness and that is why I don't post so much in the winter. Now it is all over, but we have had three trips to the E.R., the last leaving me recovering for a full week. So I am sorry for those who follow this blog, that I haven't been doing much lately.

Anyway here are a few fun new websites I have found that are so good.

This one is a preschool one that I like. I hate art that all looks the same and I love that this lady lets her kids be very creative. Check out all the fun ideas. www.preschoolplaybook.com

Another site I found is www.ittybittybookworms.blogspot.com go to the right side under From One Mother To Another and find really good information on healthy meal planning for your family.

The last one I am featuring is www.everythingpreschool.com It really has tons if you are wanting lesson plans, coloring pages, themes, etc.

Beginning of School!

So most of us have finished with the first day of school. Did you survive it? I noticed a few things that I thought I would share. I am sure you have had the same observations, and if you have different ones, please feel free to add them in the comment section.

1. Mom having to wake up early and make sure they look o.k., are fed, hair is done, is hard. I didn't realize how lazy I have been in the Summer.

2. I really should have done better getting my kids to bed earlier, in prep for school.

3. The kids at home without their siblings are adjusting to not having them around.

4. The kids are extra tired, hungry, anxious- when coming home from school.

5. This one was the most important observation: My daughter who has ADHD and OCD couldn't focus, was extremely naughty and Hyper- about 1 hour after school. I think it took all she had to get through the whole day of school being good. Because of this I had to give her an emergency pill of riddlin to get her through the night. Even with it, it was a very hard night. So today I am doing it different. First a snack will be on the table. Then a manditory play outside for a little while. Then a manditory quiet time in her room. After that we will try and get her to clean her room, play with the family, and do homework.

6. I honored my seventh grader by giving her a piece of cheesecake and a special note when she first got home from school. Then the next day she didn't have to go to school, so I took her out to lunch. I think I will be doing this with all my seventh graders. It was very fun!

7. I was so surprised how different each school year/ teacher really is. We started bad and ended bad last year, and this year we have started with amazing teachers and having a great year. I guess this means I realized you don't have to switch schools or homeschool just because you had a bad year last year. Communicate with the principal and he will help you have a good year!

8. It costs way too much money to send kids to school. I am broke. How about you?

Anyway thats all. I hope you all got through the first couple of days of school.

Teacher Gifts

We just had our teacher appreciation week, so I gave my teachers a gift- that counts for the end of the year as well. Then my cuz called me and wanted some ideas, so I decided to post them.

What I did this year was a banana split of a great year bag! In it had Marchino cherries, carmel topping, bananas, m&m's, and waffel bowls. The tag read thanks for making this year a Banana Split Great year! It cost 8 dollars per teacher, which I didn't think was bad at all. Because I had 5 teachers though, it seemed like a lot at the register.

Last year I played it more simple. I just did a package of Whoppers and said, Thanks for a Whopper Year in Third Grade! The teachers really liked this as well and it was really fast to do.

My cuz needed ideas for bus drivers. I gave her the idea of making a paper bus thank you card and stacking starbursts on top of each other and attach to the card.

Another idea I came up with is to buy a book for the library in your school and donate it in their name. That way it helps everyone!

I like gift cards, but if you have five teachers like me that gets really expensive.

My sister does the unique gift of being a sub one day for each of her kids teachers. Of course to do this, you would need to be certified.

And lastly if you need more ideas than this, go here and they have lots of fun ideas for a teacher gift. www.skiptomylou.org/2009/05/01/teacher-appreciation-gift-ideas/ Skip to my lou also has lots of other fun things to make on their website!

Colored Noodles for Art!

Warning: This is NOT an edible activity and should be made with adults only and then let the kids use them for the project.

So it is VERY easy!

1. First buy noodles at store. You will want different shapes, different sizes, etc.
2. You will also need to buy Rubbing Alcohol and food coloring.
3. put rubbing alcohol in jars about 1/2 way. Add a couple of drops of food coloring. Mix. Do this for each color.
4. Add noodles into jars.
5. Let sit over night.
6. Take out and dry on cookie sheets.
7. When dry put in bag or bucket.

Teaching Nursery Rhymes are one of the best things you could do for your child. It has been proven that if a child knows his or her nursery rhymes, he or she reads faster and has an easier time. Nursery Rhymes are also a good way to teach other subjects, like Math. I made this paper for my son and put it in the front of a three ring binder. We are going to be memorizing different nursery rhymes and putting them in our book. Every day we will read the book. Gradually we will have more and more nursery rhymes in our book! He will also be coloring each rhyme to go into his book. Yes I could just read him a nursery rhyme book, but this way we are spending time together, he is practicing coloring, and he will feel more ownership to his special little book. At the end I also put a good website about Nursery Rhymes. Not only do they have loads of ideas, but they also explain more about why Nursery Rhymes are so good. http://www.nurseryrhymesonline.com/

Bird Lessons!

One of my favorite things to do in preschool is learn about birds. Today I woke up and looked out my window and saw this:

I couldn't believe that this bird stole my kids club house. But the preschool teacher in me, thought of all the fun you can have learning about birds. Here is an example of activities you could do for preschool, or just for fun at home.

Science #1: Find a real bird nest (not in use of course), show how it is made. Ours has a Mother in it, but we can still look if we are careful.

Science #2: Go Bird Watching!

Art #1: Make birds nests! Let them gather materials from outside as well as paper and craft stuff from inside the house. Glue or weave the pieces together. Make little eggs to put in the nest.

Art #2: All birds look so different and are all different colors. Let the kids watercolor different birds. At the end show them, that they were all different.

Art #3: Make a bird feeder or bird bath. (The peanut butter pinecone with seeds is always a big hit)

Art #4: Bird Seed Art- use glue and cardstock.

Snack #1: Recently I put the idea of doing bird nests for Easter. But for Snack you could that.

Snack #2: My Favorite idea ever! I do a bird tasting. Serve them things that birds eat: lots of different kinds of Seeds and Nuts, Worms (gummy of course), Bugs (again gummy), French Fries (ever been to lunch outside), Bread, and of course fruits and vegetables. Remember to give them beaks (Chopsticks) so they can see how not having hands would be.

Math #1: From snack 2, do a bird taste graph. Let everyone put their vote on their two favorite bird foods. Then everyone counts together to see the results.

Language/Math #2: Print on your computer bird matching game. Any birds will do, but make sure you know their names, to help with language.

Reading #1: Read the cute book, Are you my mother?

Reading #2: Read Don't let pigeons drive the bus! or really any bird book will do.

Writing: Write a story about a bird, or practice writing the word: bird.

Writing/Question of the Day: What color of bird would you like to be? (have them tell you the color and then practice writing it)

Large Motor #1: Put squares of material in both hands. Turn on music, and fly like birds.

Large Motor #2: Hide Eggs (Easter kind) all around outside. Tell the children that the Mother bird went to look for worms and lost all her babies. When you say go- they all get to gather them back together.

Large Motor #3: Blowing Feathers! Everyone gets a feather and when the music turns on (classical of course) they can start blowing their feather- but no touching unless you have to pick it up.

Show & Tell: Go to place that has birds to look at, or go to someone's house and see their bird.

Rhyme: Five Little Blue Birds

Five little blue birds, hopping by my door
One went to build a nest, and then there were four

Four little blue birds singing lustily
One got out of tune, and then there were three

Three little blue birds, and what should one do,
But go in search of dinner, leaving only two.

Two little blue birds singing for fun
One flew away, and then there was one.

One little blue bird sitting in the sun
He took a little nap, and then there was none.

Egg People!

Also on the website below were these egg people. How fun would that be, to blow out eggs for the whole family and as a family craft sit at the table and make egg people. Keep them for next year and it might be fun to see how you viewed yourself the last year. I think this would be really fun for preschool as well. If I was doing this with little ones, I would probably buy wood eggs at the craft store, or use the plastic ones from the store.

Easter Edible Bird Nests

I am the baby of my family. When I was a child I remember one of my sisters bringing these to Easter dinner, as our name card. She wrote our name onto a little paper, put it in the nest, and put it on our plate. It was so cute and I have always remembered it. I have done this a lot in preschool, when doing a bird unit. It is a really fun activity to do with children!

1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 (12 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips
1 lg. can or package of chow mein noodles
Jelly beans or my favorite mini robin eggs

Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips over slow heat. Pour over chow mein noodles. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Put a large tablespoon of chocolate-covered noodles on waxed paper. Form like a bird nest. Put candy in nest to look like bird eggs. Refrigerate until firm.