Fun with Sponges!

Here is how we experimented with sponges the other day:


Materials:
-Different color sponges cut into various shapes
-Two Bowels
-Water and Soap

Preparation:
First I brought out two bowels. One was filled with soapy water and the other was empty. Then I showed the kids several fun shaped sponges.

Process:
Sophia and Marcus examined each Sponge and we talked about what shapes and colors each sponge was. (Marcus still does not having his shapes down...but we are working on it!)

Then we did some comparisons. First we felt a dry sponge. I noted that the sponge was hard and small. Then, we dipped the sponge in the water. We noticed that the sponge got bigger and became softer. We talked about how the sponge was full of water.

Next, we learned how to "squeeze a sponge out". I picked up one of the wet sponges and SQUEEZED out the water from it. Then they gave it a try. They laughed and giggled to see all of the bubbles it made when you squeezed a sponge out.

Finally, we used the sponge to transfer water to the empty bowel. We would dip it into the full bowel to get it wet, then take it over the empty bowel and squeeze it out. This is an excellent activity for kids to do because it uses many of the hand's muscles to do a squeezing movement.

Extra Credit:
Life Skills- Marcus used the sponge to practice wiping off our garage floor. Man, it needed a good cleaning! Thanks Marcus!

Who knew you could learn so much from a sponge!?


And in case you are wondering...
As soon as Sophia learned we were going to be doing something with water, she insisted that she wear her sesame street raincoat. It was very funny.

Tot School-Summer Fun

(Marcus is 32 months and Sophia is 15 months)

Wow! Isn't summer time fun? I just love the long days and warm weather. And I have to admit that there is a small part of me that is just a bit sad that summer is almost over. So...in order to celebrate everything great about summer time, we made a special effort to have a summer time Tot School. So, our Tot School this week was full of lots of sunshine, water, and flowers.

Our Container Vegetable Garden:
Earlier this summer, the kids helped me plant a container vegetable and herb garden. Now, one of the kids "jobs" is to help me water our container vegetable garden.

The kids take a special pride in tending to this garden. Whenever I harvest a vegetable, I will make it a big point to remind the kids that thanks in part to their work, we now have this beautiful pepper to eat. And whenever I pick a tomato, Marcus will exclaim, "I GREW that!" Also, the garden has been a wonderful way to get them to try new foods. Before Marcus would turn his nose up to peppers, but now the will pluck one off the plant and take a big bite out of it. :) I also like that growing the vegetables has been teaching the kids where the food actually comes from. I like it that they understand now that we we buy a pepper, it was grown by someone. It didn't just come from a factory, or the backroom of a grocery store. :) In short the garden has been a wonderful blessing to our family.

Pouring Water:
Sometimes while watering the garden, Sophia will make it a point to practice some of her pouring skills.

...And some practice transferring water using scoop...

Here she shows mommy how fun it is to be all wet!

...And sometimes little girls need drinks of water too...Not just plants!


The Ohio State Fair:
Also this week we went to the Ohio State Fair. Marcus and Sophia got to see a cow being milked. We talked about how human mommy's make milk for their babies which comes out of their breasts. Then we discussed that cows make milk for their babies too. And that a cow's milk comes out of something called an udder. And baby cows will drink the milk from their mommies...just like people do. And when the baby cow is away from their mother, people have to milk the cows so they don't get too full. And sometimes people drink cow's milk too. And that sometimes a farmer will milk his cow and sell it to the grocery store so that WE can buy it. (Again, trying to teach him where our food comes from.)

Marcus also found an acorn at the fair...that he was very proud of. He said he was going to keep it and feed it to a squirrel. Here he is holding up his acorn for all to see:

We also visited the chicken and rabbit barn. Marcus really liked the chickens and I told him that if we were ever able to buy some land that we might buy some chickens too. And the chickens would lay eggs for us to eat.

BUT...by far, their favorites were the sheep and goats. Sophia kept pointing to the sheep and saying, "DOGGY!" It was very cute.

Money in the Bank:
To practice our fine motor skills, Sophia put some pennies in their "kitty bank". Marcus was not really interested in doing this. But, Sophia just loved this!

We also read the story, Corduroy by Don Freeman. One of our Before Five in a Row books.

We talked about how the little girl in the story saved up money in her Piggy Bank to buy Corduroy. And how they could save up pennies in their bank to buy something too.


Let's Go to the Zoo!

On another day we went to the Columbus Zoo and spent most of our day in the North America exhibit. I usually never go to the exhibit because for some reason I have it in my head that it won't be as exciting as the others. (Compared to the lions, tigers, elephants, etc.) When really, the North American exhibit is one of the best. They have GIANT bears, wolves, bald eagles, pronghorn, etc. etc. Just a great place to go and visit.

A really fun thing to look at is the otters. They are so funny and social. It is almost like they put on a little show for the kids that come and visit them. Here is a picture of the kids watching the otters swim back and forth and do flips.


Nature Study:
At the park we picked wild flowers and met a very nice rabbit. Read about our entire adventure here. We used this adventure to talk about one of our Before Five In a Row books Play with Me by Marie Hall Ets.


Transferring Water with Sponges:
We did some experimenting this week with sponges. This activity is great for strengthening fine motor skills. To read the full details of our experiment, please go here.

Pool:
And...of course, some fun playing in our wading pool!

Thanks for reading and I would love it if you would comment!

Tips for Setting up a Block Center in your Home

Blocks are a timeless toy that can last a child a life time. Recently, I have been doing a lot of reading on the importance of setting up a block center in your home.

My Dream Block Center:

The blog Preschool Playbook has an excellent article on the importance of block centers. In it, she says,

"Here is a center that involves the whole child. There is physical attributes because of the actual process of picking up, carrying, and building of the blocks. There is the intellectual aspect because of the thought process going into the creation of the architecture. Then there is the social aspect of conversing with neighbors, working around and with others, and building what they know. Finally, the emotional aspect of creating something unique and beautiful."

Here are some tips in setting up a block center in your house:

1) Out of the Way: Find a place for the block area that is out of the way of main traffic such as a corner away from a doorway.

2) Give kids some space: As a mother of two young toddlers I know that most fights seem to start when another chid invades someone's personal space. So when planning your block center make sure there is plenty of room for several children to play side by side at the same time.

3) Make sure they can see and reach the blocks: Use shelves no taller than the children to store the various blocks and toys used to play with the blocks. This will encourage them to use and get out the blocks. Make sure and put the heavier items on the lower shelves so that toddlers can get them out without hurting themselves.

4) Label your Blocks: Label each place on the shelf with a picture of what goes there. Put the picture right on the shelf and show the block with the long side to the front. If you do this the children will easily see how to clean up.

5) Provide Toys which Support Block Play: Provide small toys which will help children think of creative things to do with the toys. Some ideas are small people, animals, little trucks, airplanes, small barns, houses and parking garage. Keep the small toys in separate boxes each sorted and labeled with a picture of the toy that goes there.

6) Provide a Visual Border: Put out a flat rug that provides a solid, stable base for block building. The block will also serve as a visual reminder for where the kids can play with the blocks.

7) Provide different kinds of blocks: large cardboard blocks, unit blocks, dublos, small cubes, etc. Each organized in their own spaces. You don't have to bring all of these blocks out at once. As small children can become easily overwhelmed by too many choices. But it can be fun to rotate out different blocks from time to time to inspire new creative play.

8) Encourage children to help you clean up the blocks after play: This will teach them sorting skills as they learn to put the various toys back in their proper places.

The block center in my home could use a lot of work. Above is a picture of my dream block center. Do you have a block center? And if so, how does it rate? Feel free to post a link to a picture of your block center in the comments section of this post. I would love to see them to gain some inspiration.

Stay tuned for pictures of my new block center.

Nature Study: Wascally Wabbits

Right next to our house there is a playground by the creek. And although we live in suburbia, there is quite a bit of wild life and nature to experience there. This just goes to show that it is possible to experience nature wherever you live.

As we were walking, Marcus and Sophia noticed some wild flowers and decided to stop and pick them. We talked about the name of the flower (Queen Anne's Lace).

The kids in their trusty radio flyer wagon holding up their flowers:

Marcus made these observations about nature:

"Flowers are beautiful to look at, and they smell good. But they are yucky to eat."

Words to live by! :) But, I liked it that he was using many of his senses to experience nature.

While we were at the playground, Marcus decided to give one of his flowers to a little girl playing there. I thought that this was very cute. Not to mention I was so proud that he offered up one of his possessions (without prompting from me) to another child.

Near the playground there runs a creek. And typically we are able to see a bull frog that visits the creek. But not today. :(

So, instead we decided to look for rocks and sticks to throw into the water. I don't know what it is about this activity, but it could keep them occupied for hours. (It is always the simple things...right?)

So, here we are looking for sticks...

..And looking for sticks some more...

WHEN SUDDENLY.....

DUH-DUH-DUH

Out of the trees comes a wild rabbit!!! (Yes, click on picture to see a larger version and actually spot the rabbit.)

So the kids go running towards the rabbit at full blast. Then all of the sudden, Sophia trips and then Marcus falls over her.

They pick each other up and keep running. The rabbit sees them running and freezes into position. Sophia is saying "RABBIT!!" in a very high pitch, excited voice. And Marcus is saying, "Its ok little rabbit. We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to talk to you."

And surprisingly they get VERY close to the rabbit.

But, just when they get close enough to almost touch the rabbit, it runs off.

The kids were very sad that the rabbit ran away. We spent some time trying to look for the rabbit in the trees, but it was no where to be found.

"Mama," Marcus said, "Why did that rabbit run away."

"Well," I explained, "The rabbit was afraid of you. He thought that maybe you might hurt him."

"But, I wasn't going to hurt him. I just wanted to talk to him."

"Oh," I said, "You wanted to pet the rabbit?"

"No! I don't want to pet him. He might bite me. I just wanted to talk to him." Marcus continued.

It is a hard thing to explain to a young child why wild animals don't want them to pet them. You know?

Later that day we were in the car when all of the sudden a young deer ran out in front of our car. I stop fast. And so does the deer. He stands there frozen in the middle of the road.

"Look Marcus and Sophia!" I say, "A deer."

"Is his name Bambi?" Marcus asks.

"BAMBI!" Sophia cries in excitement pointing.

And then Marcus continues to talk to "Bambi."

"Hi Bambi," he says, "Are you looking for your mother? Its ok Bambi."

And then Bambi runs off.

Well, after all of these close encounters with nature, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce a great children's book called Play with Me, by Marie Hall Ets.

I was first introduced to this book by the Before Five in a Row collection. It is a great book about observing nature. And it talks about how sometimes we must be still and quiet in order to see the most. In the book there is a little girl who wants to play with some wild animals. She does everything she can to talk to the various animals, but they all get scared and run away. So, she just decides to sit by the water. But, as she is sitting quietly without moving, the various wild animals slowly come out of hiding so she can see them. She sees a bull frog, a rabbit, and a deer (amount other animals.) All animals that we happen to have had direct experiences with!

So, I showed Marcus and Sophia the pictures of the animals we had seen. And I showed them the pictures I had taken at the playground earlier of them with the rabbit. Next, we talked about the deer we had seen who ran back into the woods. Then I read them the book.

I think they thought the book was written for them. I had read them this book before, but they never took much interest. This time they thought it was wonderful.

Isn't it neat how God provides these perfect learning opportunities for our children? I couldn't have asked for a better way to expand upon this wonderful story.

Modern Art Mondays

My two little artists were very busy this morning.

The pictures were taken with my cell phone because I was afraid to run and get the camera. (Hey, do you blame me?? Would you leave a 1 year old and a 2 year old alone in a room armed with paint and brushes?!)

Inspiration came to Marcus (2) while he was suppose to be eating breakfast. While eating he jumped out of his chair and said, "Mama, I need my paint."

Who am I to stop an artist or interfere with flash genius like that? So I quickly provided him some paints and he went to work. Soon after Sophia (1) started objecting loudly to the fact that Marcus was out of his chair painting while she was strapped into her high chair. I let her out and it became a joint collaboration.

Here is their final masterpiece. Enjoy!

Pre-Reading Skills: Building Print Awareness

Recently I attended a free program on early literacy skills for 2 year olds put on by the Westerville Public Library. It was part of the American Library Association's "Every Child Ready to Read" program.

The program summarized 6 important pre-reading skills for you child to have. According to research, these are skills that your child must have in order to learn to read.

The skills were:

1.) Print Awareness: Noticing print, knowing how to handle a book and knowing how to follow the words on a page.

2.) Vocabulary: Knowing the name of things.

3.) Letter Knowledge: Knowing letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds and recognizing letters everywhere.

4.) Phonological Awareness: Being able to hear and play with the smaller so

unds in words.

5.) Print Motivation: Being interested in and enjoying books.

6.) Narrative Skills: Being able to describe things and events and tell stories.

I would like to talk about the first of these skills Print Awareness. Print Awareness includes learning that writing in English follows basic rules such as flowing from top-to-bottom and left-to-right, and that the print on the page is what is being read by someone who knows how to read. (In other words, a child knowing that you are reading the words on the page and not just describing the pictures.) Print Awareness also includes knowing how to handle a book. For example, knowing which way to hold a book and knowing how to turn the pages.

There are several obvious methods to building Print Awareness. The first is taking advantage of read-aloud time.

When reading aloud to your child:

• Occasionally use your finger to point to the words that you are reading. (Don't over do this because it can get annoying!),
  
• Ask your child to turn the pages when you finish reading all of the words on the page, and
  
• Ask your child to help you hunt for a specific letter

Here are some other fun ideas on teaching Print Awareness:

Let your child be the teacher: Children love correcting adults when they do something wrong. Amber over at Because Babies Grow Up suggests this lovely idea to help teach Print Awareness:

"Hold the book upside down and begin to read. It's so fun to see little ones flip out because it's not right! Look for them to turn the books right-side up when they are exploring books on their own. "

Make your own books: If your child is the crafty type, they may enjoy making their own books. The Grand County Library District made this suggestion:

"If your story time includes craft time, make books with children about topics of interest to them (such as dinosaurs, trucks, or birds). It may take several weeks, but if your group is fairly consistent, the process of making a book will help children learn the parts of the book and how a book works in English (the story goes from front to back, the writing goes from left to right, and title goes on the front cover)."

Song Boards: Denise at Explorations, came up with an excellent idea of building Print Awareness. She uses song boards with her girls. Be sure to visit her blog for some great ideas!

"I introduce each song and sing it to the children while using a pointer to follow the print. We reread the chart several times over the course of several days or weeks. As we read and reread the songs, the girls gain valuable insights into how print works. They learn that printed words match spoken words, that print is read left to right and top to bottom, and they gain knowledge of letters and sounds. Most importantly, we have fun reading together!"

"No Cooties Allowed!": Joint writing is a great way to promote Print Awareness. Let your child dictate an email to Grandma. Or, help your child to make homemade signs to hang on their door. (Example: No Boys Allowed!) Teach them that print is a very strong way to tell people what you want.

I would love to see your comments. Please share with me your favorite methods of teaching print awareness. Also, if you have any great book recommendations that

help teach Print Awareness please share those too.

How do you introduce letters?

We are gearing up on our tot school this month, and I have been putting a lot of thought into how to introduce the alphabet to the kids. This seems to be quite a controversial subject among childhood educators. There are several different theories on how to introduce the alphabet. And, of course, there are pros and cons to each of these methods.

Alphabetical Order:

As the name implies, the letters are introduced in order of the alphabet. This is the method used by several homeschool preschool curriculums (including very popular ones such as letter of the week). The pros of this method are that the order of the alphabet is learned at the same time that letter recognition is taught. The cons of this method are that a lot of instructional time must pass before students are ready to use their developing letter knowledge for reading and writing. Also, according to the authors the learning cooperative "abc and 123",

"The first five letters of the alphabet are 5 difficult letters to master. a & e are difficult to because they are vowels and make more than one sound. b and d are confusing because of their similar appearance. c is a consonant that makes more than one sound."

Phonics Driving Model:

This is the method utilized by most childhood educators to introduce the alphabet. This method is also called the "CVC" method since usually a consonant is taught, followed by a vowel, followed by another consonant. This method is thought to build early reading confidence since children are immediately able to start reading and spelling common three letter words with their knowledge. (CAT, PEN, HAM, etc.) In thi method, typically several consonant are introduced first, followed by a vowel.

So...tell me, how did you introduce the alphabet to your child? Did you follow one of the methods above, or utilize something different? What worked for your family and why?