Over the River: A Turkey's Tale...

There are some books for each season that have become family favorites. We started checking them out at the library and we are developing quite a collection that we want to purchase so we can have them.

For Halloween, we love to read Big Pumpkin
http://www.ericasilverman.com/_b_big_pumpkin__b__71195.htm
This is just a fun book for us. We love the rhymes and the cute story.
                                         AND
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Old-Lady-Afraid-Anything/dp/0064431835
It's a fun book that we have used props for and acted out time and time again. 

For Fall, we love Red Are the Apples.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Oprhx9CN9CsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=red+are+the+apples&source=bl&ots=yNKbxlJNwL&sig=nyQlQ2t6Lf2GAk1GJIPU7lPjdxk&hl=en&ei=RijWTOWhHJKasAOT1qyOCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
It's so poetic in words and pictures. It reminds me of fall harvest and of hours spent canning foods that we will enjoy for several months. It reminds me of spending time with family and enjoying this wonderful fall season.

For Thanksgiving, we love Over the River: A Turkey's Tale
http://www.librarything.com/work/1861665
It's a fun book of pictures put to a familiar song. We read it nightly throughout the month of November, enjoying the story and anticipating going to grandma and grandpa's house for Thanksgiving. 


These books have become family favorites and seasonal traditions. They remind us of good times spent together during our favorite time of year. What are some of your family's favorite books?

Color Science

Again, I used this website as my reference:
http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/topic/physics/color-science

We mixed colors using this handy dandy muffin tin I bought at DI.

We made predictions about what color each set would make. To add sight word practice into the whole thing, I wrote the names of the each color and put it next to the appropriate part of the tin. After we mixed and discussed colors, he got to paint with them.

What's more fun than baking soda and vinegar?

For our science activities this week, we played with baking soda and vinegar. This is the link I used.
http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/topic/chemistry/baking-sodavinegar

Day 1: Experiment with baking soda and vinegar by playing with it and seeing what happens when you mix it together.
Day 2: Blow up a balloon using baking soda and vinegar.

This week we'll be making Irish Soda Bread with baking soda and vinegar!

Favorite October Books

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Old-Lady-Afraid-Anything/dp/0064431835/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286393844&sr=8-1

The Big Pumpkin
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Pumpkin-Erica-Silverman/dp/0689801297/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393874&sr=1-1


Pumpkins
http://www.amazon.com/Pumpkins-Ken-Robbins/dp/0312371411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393923&sr=1-1

Red Are the Apples
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Are-Apples-Marc-Harshman/dp/0152060650/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286393952&sr=1-1

Ten Red Apples
http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Red-Apples-Pat-Hutchins/dp/0688167977/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286393993&sr=1-1

Patterning and block play...

Blocks are great for developing math skills. Place a variety of objects in the block area: standard unit blocks, colored blocks (Ikea), plastic animals, empty spice bottles, empty diaper boxes, cars and trucks, leaves, bark, mesquite beans, etc., old keys. Anything you can think of. Put a couple of objects in and change them out periodically. Given the opportunity, kids will discover and explore in ways you would never dream of. They will learn math, spatial reasoning, act out things they see in the world. It's great for classifying and sorting. You will notice your kids classifying different kinds of cars and trucks, animals and objects. These are foundational concepts that will help them to be successful in math.

It's a great opportunity to notice what they are doing and learning and then to extend that learning with a variety of activities and projects.

The Art Wall...

How do you display your kids' art or other talents?

Sensory Trays...

Not every household has the option of having a nice sensory table like this:
http://www.worthingtondirect.com/school_furniture/early_childhood_furniture/sand_and_water_activity_center_by_mantaray.htm

And, although there are simpler, less expensive tables like this (which you can often find on Craigslist):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PGTNK6/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001QKI6AO&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0W6H56RZDYGMTVDEQVCP

It's nice to have other options for a home. Something the children can access easily when they want some independent play time, that you can be confident, also teaches them.

We've discovered sensory trays. I took an old cookie sheet that I didn't use anymore and I put colored sand in it, along with some tools for playing in it.

Possibilities for the sensory tray:
colored sand
corn meal
rice and beans
dry noodles, with or without food coloring
glitter, mixed with the other things or not

*Of course, you have to be careful of choking hazards with little ones!*

Modify it for a baby:

Letter of the Week...

About each week, we learn a different letter. This week we are on D. I simply post the following in the kitchen and just as we are finishing up our breakfast, we sing the alphabet song and do the activities.

Post:
Letter D print out
http://freeology.com/printable-letters-alphabet/large-printable-letters/
Letter D Rhyme
4 labeled pictures that start with letter d. These are the pictures that I cut out and tape up to the pantry:
http://kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/learning-letters/d.htm

We sing the alphabet song.
We say, "Big D, Little D, what begins with D?" Then talk about the pictures.
We read the rhyme and the little printable book http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/learning-letters/ib-book-d.htm

This week we are making donuts using this recipe to go along with the letter d. It also meets our cooking goal, which is to cook with my kids once a week at least.
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Delicious-Homemade-Donuts

Ways to add math and science into daily play:

Today we did some math and science:

1. During free choice play, Andy got his blocks out and made patterns with them as part of his play. 

2. I put these butterflies up in the kitchen that I found at www.makinglearningfun.com. Andy noticed them during breakfast and it opened up an entire subtraction dialogue as he played with them while he ate, taking them away and putting them back. Vocabulary that came up: How many are left? I took one away and now there are _______. Now there's only one! etc.

 3. Physics: Rolling balls and other objects down a "ramp". Vocabulary: Make a prediction, go stand where you think this one will roll to. Do you think this one will roll farther or closer? Why did that one roll so far (or near). heavy, light, fast, slow.

Block Math

Magnet Math

Physics

Kid-Friendly Recipes

http://makinglearningfun.com/themepages/recipes.htm

This website has done the work for us on some recipes to make them visual for kids!