Wednesday, December 26, 2012

No Class December 27th

There will be no Discovery Hour tomorrow, Thursday, December 27 due to the large amount of snow that will be falling.

Some ideas for snow day activities indoors and out:

  • In Lieu of Preschool
  • Home Made Simple
  • Traditional snow day activities:
    • Bake or cook a special meal.
    • Dress up fancy for a tea party or for dinner.
    • Have a book picnic: Spread comfy blankets and pillows on the floor and devour some of your favorite books.
    • Hot chocolate after playing out in the snow.
    • Make phone calls to family members you don't see often.
    • Dance party.
    • Do 1 minute clean ups. Put on a timer and see how fast you can dust, mop, or pick up toys. My kids like doing this, we get really loud and silly!
    • Spray bottles with colored water to make art in the snow.
    • Winter scavenger hunt in the snow.
    • Pick a tree outside (one that can be easily seen from a window) to decorate for the birds that stick around for the winter. String popcorn or roll pine-cones in peanut butter and bird seed and decorate a tree or spot. Then come inside and make hot chocolate to enjoy while you sit by the window to see if any birds come.

Enjoy the beautiful snow!



Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Feel the Music

On Thursday, December 20 we will:

  • Introduce a new greeting song:
    •  HERE TODAY
    • Tune: "The Farmer In The Dell"
    • Mary's here today, Mary's here today.
    • Let's all clap our hands and say.
    • Hip, hip hurray!
  • Have some rhythm stick fun and sing our ABC's.
  • Use a felt board and sing "Old McDonald had a farm."
  • Sing "In a Cabin In The Woods."
  • TIME TO SAY GOODBYE
    Tune: "Up On The House Top"

    Now is the time to say goodbye.
    My how fast the time did fly.
    Our day is done, so we must say,
    "Goodbye, goodbye for today".
    Ho, Ho, Ho - time to go.



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Fun and Learning with Magnets

On Thursday, December 6 we will:

  • Play with magnets! As we are playing, we'll talk about what is happening: "What is happening? What do you notice? Why do you think that happens? What happens if we do this?" and lots more open ended questions that might lead to some discoveries of scientific principles!
  • Then we will take turns running a large magnet through some sand that has small magnets hidden in it. Then we'll talk about gratefulness. The sand represents our day or life, and the large magnet represents a thankful heart. We'll continue a conversation on how gratitude works like a magnet and draws more good to us. 
    • It is much easier to see all our blessings or things to be grateful for when we remain positive and thankful!
      • Then we find even MORE to be thankful for!!!!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gratitude

On Thursday, November 15 we will:

  • Read All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang and Giving Thanks by Jonathan London.
  • Play Gratitude Grab Bag
    • Make up cards, some that say "THANKSGIVING" and others that have a picture on them (no words) of things children may be thankful for. Each child takes a turn reaching into the bag and pulling out a card. If the card says "THANKSGIVING" the child should express something or someone they are thankful for (parents, teachers, pet, favorite food, etc.) If they pull out a picture they show it to all and then express why we should be thankful for that item (food, clothes, trees, grass, stores, cars, etc.). This game is especially fun for preschoolers and their expressions of gratitude are priceless. Jot them down and give a list to the parents or post for all to read.  From Kaboose
  • Make Thank you cards.

The world is so full of a number of things,
I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Thankfulness

On Thursday, November  8 we will:

  • Talk about being thankful. What does the word thankful mean?
  • Make a list of things we are thankful for, and use our list to make "Thankfulness Turkeys."
  • Sing "Albuquerque Turkey", to the tune of Clementine.
Albuquerque is a turkey,
Oh he's feathered and he's fine.
And he wobbles, and he gobbles,
And I’m awfully glad he’s mine.

He's the best pet you could ever get,
Better than a dog or cat.
Albuquerque, he's my turkey,
And I'm awfully glad of that.

Albuquerque, he's my turkey,
He's so cozy in his bed,
Because for our Thanksgiving dinner,
We had scrambled eggs instead.






Here is nice post about Teaching Children Gratitude.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Beautiful Colors!

On Wednesday, October 25 we will:

  • Read Sky Color by Peter Reynolds.
  • Sign and sing "Can you find the colors" and "Where are the colors?"
  • Paint with nature.

As you dissolve into love, your ego fades.
You’re not thinking about loving;
you’re just being love, radiating like the sun.

~ Ram Dass

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

How Are You Feeling?

We had so much fun with the alphabet last week, let's do it again!
On Thursday, October 18, we will:

  • Hop, Skip, jump or crawl the alphabet.
  • Recite the ABC's with rhythm sticks.
  • Read "How Do You Feel?" by Anthony Browne.
  • Review American Sign Language signs for different emotions.
  • Sing and sign the "Good Morning Song" and tell how you feel today.
  • Maybe read "I Love You Through and Through" by Bernadette Rosetti-Shustak.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Alphabet Fun

At our last Discovery Hour, we talked about teaching young children their letters. So this week we have some alphabet fun!
On Thursday, October 11 we will:

  • Hop/walk/crawl the alphabet.
  • Go on a hunt for letters and match the letters we find.
  • Sing our ABC's with rhythm sticks.
  • Create some name art.
I believe children will learn their letters through our everyday interactions with them, play and games. 
  • Everyday interactions would be:
    •  Pointing out the letter of their name when at the store, reading, and playing.
    • Make/buy a place mat with their names on it. Talk about the letters every time every time you eat at the place mat.
    • Tell them a story about seeing certain letters while driving home. 
    • When pointing out letters, tell what sound or sounds that letter makes.
    • When a child recognizes a letter, ask them what sound it makes.
    • Answer children's questions and encourage them to look at things and ask questions.
    • I keep a deck of alphabet cards in the kitchen to play with before and after meals. Can you find the...L? The ...T? and so on. Can you find the letter that says "ssssss?"
    • Read, read and read some more to your child. Ask younger children to point out things in the story. "Can you find the cat?" Ask older children who, what, where, when and why questions about the story. 
      • Even if your little ones have no interest in reading, read to them while they are playing. (Not all the time, they need uninterrupted playtime too!) Talk about what you see in the pictures, laugh out loud at funny pictures and ask them to come see it. Choose books based on their interests. 
    • Make reading a part of your everyday routine. The whole family will benefit from it!!!
  • Play and games:
    • Have alphabet cards, magnetic letters, and blocks available for play. Play with them and name the letters as they touch them.
    • Create a rich print environment at home. Have family members names posted on the walls. Have an alphabet poster hung on the wall at children's eye level.
    • Make letter posters/signs with pictures and words that start with that letter sound.
    • Hide letter cards around the house and have children find them and then match the letter they found to the letter on their alphabet poster. And then have children say the sound for that letter.
    • Sing your ABC's every day. Sing any songs every day!! Make up songs that spell their names.
    • Learning should be an enjoyable experience for children and parents. If it feels forced or frustrating, then one of you isn't ready for learning letters, and it's best to wait until you or they are ready!
    • Matching games.
      • Over the big Moon has some great Pre-K packs available for down load. I use these a lot at home with my children.
    • I know there are a lot of electronic gadgets available that advertise they help with letter recognition. I am sure they do, but I am concerned about human interaction being replaced with electronics. Children benefit much more from time with you. So I would say use electronics for young children with caution and be sure it isn't replacing time spent interacting with others, playing, and using their imaginations.
Helpful Info:
ultimate truth, and I live it fearlessly."
Dr. Wayne Dyer


Thursday, October 4, 2012

No Class

No Discovery Hour Thursday, October 4th. The kids and I have a cold.

See you next week for some alphabet fun!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Dogs and Puppies

On Thursday, September 27 we will:

  • Read Harry Goes to Dog School by Scott Menchin.
  • Make Paper bag dog houses.
  • Enjoy a delicious "treat:" Egg-free sugar cookies
  • Free play time! I will have a doggie obstacle course set for puppies and doggies to enjoy!

Ideas for home:



  1. "Childhood isn't a time when he is molded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation." 
    Professor Ripaldi


    Happy Playing Everyone!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Yummy Apples!

Fall is on it's way! There is a crispness in the air and I can feel the excitement as we approach a change in the seasons.

On Thursday, September 20 we will:

  • Read A Day at the Apple Orchard by Megan Faulkner and Adam Krawesky.
  • Make "finger print apple trees."
  • Review the letter S and the sound it makes.
  • Enjoy some sweet apples together before free play.

Normally I would include some ideas for home, but I have a 4 year old who is not feeling well. So my ideas for home for the week are: Love, play, have fun, and do it every day!

I look forward to our time together and to meeting new friends!

"The best teachers are those who
show you where to look,
but don't tell you what to see."
-Alexandra K. Trenfor

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Discovery Hour Thursdays

Thursdays are the new day for Discovery Hour! We will resume weekly classes on September 20th at 10 AM. 

We will continue to explore different topics through dramatic play, music, movement, literature, and art. I would like to also add some letter recognition and phonics activities (depending on the age of participants :) in the form of play and games. All activities will be followed by free play and maybe a chance for the adults to socialize too!

Hope to see you all soon!!

Monday, July 9, 2012

No Fairy Houses

We will not be making fairy houses this week. We will try again in the fall and take advantage of all the colors nature offers!!

Next meet up will be Tuesday, July 2410 AM at the Mirror Lake Fire Station for a tour with Chief Adam Thompson.  http://www.tuftonboro.org/pages/TuftonboroNH_Fire/index

Enjoy the beautiful weather we have this week!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Time For Bed!!!

Before children, I used to daydream about what it would be like to be a mom. These daydreams included a peaceful version of bedtime that included stories, snuggles and songs. Then the children would drift peacefully off to sleep. Boy, was I mistaken! I never thought that they might not be tired when I was, that they might want drinks, have to pee, need a drink, be scared, refuse to stay in bed, jump on the beds, be cold and refuse to put blankets on, be hot and refuse to take blankets off...

Anyways, let's have a little FUN that focuses on bedtime. I have found that children love to dramatize bedtime. For example:

  •  Children can pretend to put parents to bed, and the parents can be silly by being "difficult" and not going to bed. 
  • Parents can pretend to put children to sleep and kids "pretend" to be difficult. This give kids the opportunity to let out their feelings of powerlessness about bedtime and hopefully help make bedtime a more enjoyable experience!
On Tuesday, June 26 we will:
  • Read Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
  • Using dramatic play, children put their parents to bed and then switch roles.
  • Read Go To Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing.
  • Make our own bedtime monster with squares, ovals, rectangles, circles, and triangles.

I am currently reading Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD. This book explores using dramatic play with children that nurtures close connections between parents and children. I am thoroughly enjoying the thoughts and ideas presented in this book and recommend this read to all parents!           http://www.playfulparenting.com/ 

Monday, June 18, 2012

Get Silly With Poetry

Early Bird
Oh, if you're a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate. 
If you're a bird, be an early bird-
But if you're a worm, sleep late.
-Shel Silverstein

On Tuesday, May 19 we will:
Name
I am (3 describing words)
I like (describe what you like)
I worry (list worry's, concerns or fears)
I hope/dream/wish (list hopes here)
Name

Kourtney LaFavre
I am kind, patient, and creative.
I like reading, playing, cooking, and exploring.
I worry that people are not as kind as they should be.
I wish for people to make the world a better place through kindness, 
starting with themselves and their families.
Kourtney LaFavre 
  • Children will decorate their poems.
  • Free play while Miss Kourtney laminates our wonderful new poetry!

Quick Links for home:
Explore poetry at home with your children. There are many wonderful children's poetry books out there, check out your local library or book store. We treasure our poetry collection at home and have many of our favorites memorized. We spontaneously recite poetry throughout the day in our home! Have fun, let loose, be silly, and have fun with words! 
My mother says it’s childish and
my father says it’s dumb—
whenever they discover that
I’m sucking on my thumb.

It’s such a silly thing to do,
as everybody knows.
So now instead of sucking it
I stick it in my nose.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Number Fun

Let's have some fun as we explore numbers and counting through games and song.
On Tuesday, June 12 we will:

  • Sing "Five Little Speckled Frogs" and introduce American Sign Language for the numbers 1-10.
  • Play "Flip the card" and sign the number to match the card.
  • Sing "Can you find the number..." as children search for numbers around the room.
  • Counting practice: Each caregiver will pretend to give each child a "present" that contains a certain number of objects. Children will close their eyes and then be "surprised" by their gift, open it, and count the objects.
  • Free play and there will be math materials and activities available for parents and children to explore.

Ideas for Home:
The best way for children to learn math skills is through everyday experiences, play, and fun and games.
I feel that it is important for parents to know what is developmentally appropriate for children at each age. When playing and interacting with children, we want to be at their level so that interactions and games are enjoyable and children are learning without knowing it!! Here are some resources:
  • PBS Parents has great info on developmental milestones and appropriate activities for infants through grade 2.
  • Sesame Street website gets a lot of use in our house. There are math games and activities that young children can complete on their own, with adult supervision of course!
  • Just play, have fun, and follow your child's lead. You will bond and they learn along the way. When playing use number, shape, and directional words (up, down, over, under).
  • Count stairs as you are walking up and down. Count scoops of food, trees, rocks, dolls, cars...
  • Explore the world using your senses and talk about what you are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking!
  • Provide toys that have incremental sizes, such as nesting cups and stack able rings.
  • Sand and water play with opportunities to pour, fill, scoop, and dump and use comparison words when playing.
  • American Sign Language Browser





Sunday, June 3, 2012

Puppies Everywhere

On Tuesday, June 5 we will:

  • Enjoy some puppy themed literature.
  • Make paper bag dog houses and alphabet bones.
  • Go on a letter hunt and match the letters of the alphabet.
  • Take turns hopping the alphabet.
  • Play puppies and doggies!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Little Fancy...

My daughter and I have been enjoying "Fancy Nancy" books. Fancy Nancy is a young girl who loves all things posh (which is a fancy word for fancy). People, clothes, food, writing, and colors can be made fancy or stupendous. The vocabulary in the stories is lavish, it opens up so many ideas for language. Nancy's fanciness is a form of self expression that is accepted and supported by her unadorned (plain) family.


On Tuesday, May 22 we will:

  • Read Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor.
  • Discuss how Nancy expressed herself by being fancy, how do you express yourself? What are things that you enjoy? What is something you wish others would understand or do?
  • Have a "Fancy and Stupendous Tea Party."
    • We will enjoy some chamomile or berry tea sweetened with honey, and other fancy treats.
    • Talk about the fancy words from the story. What other fancy words can we come up with?
  • Get as fancy as we can! I will bring our dress up box (which is overflowing) and we will have some fancy free play!
Please feel free to come dressed in your fanciest. Try to include as many colors as you can!

Ideas For Home:
  • Spend a whole day or week being fancy! Start by reading some Fancy Nancy stories and then make a list of all the things you could do. Such as a tea party, meals, decorating, and clothing.
  • Keep a word list going of the fancy words you use. Older children can be introduced to a dictionary and thesaurus.
  • Make your own fancy pens like Nancy, for children to practice writing their names on own stories.
  • Here is a family who enjoyed a week with Fancy Nancy.
  • Have parfaits, fancy for yogurt or ice cream sundaes.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Where the Wild Things Are

Children's literature lost a great writer/illustrator recently. Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was best known for his story "Where the Wild Things Are." He was uniquely brilliant and I am so glad that he shared his imagination through children's books. 


Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 15 we will:

  • Read "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
  • Have a quick discussions about feelings. When Max was feeling sad and upset, he used his imagination.   We will make a list of things we can do when feeling sad or mad.
  • Make a "wild thing" using symmetry art.
  • "Sail" in boats through night and day.

Ideas for home:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."  ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."  ~Attributed to Groucho Marx

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."  ~Paul Sweeney

"TV.  If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six.  Open your child's imagination.  Open a book."  ~Author Unknown


Happy Reading!!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Let's Celebrate

Let's celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
Read about the history of Cinco de Mayo here. I had thought that the holiday was to celebrate an Independence day for Mexico, but it's not! The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.


On Tuesday, May 8, we will:

  • enjoy some music and dance a "hat dance"
  • Play "Jalapeno Hop"
  • Enjoy some vegetarian burritos with Miss Kourtney's home-made tortillas and re-fried beans.
    • Recipe here. I make these beans once a month in our house and the whole family loves them! I love that are simple to make and are made from scratch with a few "real" ingredients.

You can find Cinco de Mayo information, recipes, crafts, and ideas for home here.

Happy playing!
                                                

Sunday, April 29, 2012

A World of Color

Beauty without colour seems somehow to belong to another world.  ~Murasaki Shikibu




On Tuesday, May 1 we will:

  • Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle.
  • Read Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton.
  • Review the signs for colors (American Sign Language)
  • Complete a color sorting/craft activity.
  • Go outside to find colors in nature, and maybe bring some nature back to add to our craft!
  • Sing a song of shapes.

Ideas for home:
  • Always point out colors when interacting with children, especially younger children who are still learning their colors.
  • Have fun mixing small containers of colored water. Let children experiment with mixing and making new colors.
  • We love sorting bears at our house, we have these ones. I like this set because it has bears in 3 sizes/weights and 6 colors. There are numerous activities that for these bears to practice colors, counting, and sorting skills.
  • I feel that it is important to point out beauty that we see in nature, music, art, architecture, and the kindness of people. A sunset, mountain or ocean view, a flower growing, a song, a painting, a photograph, sharing, giving and kindness are all things that can be beautiful and evoke feelings within us. Children are bombarded with images at such a young age that it can be confusing to understand what "beauty" is. They need to know that it is more than the images that they see in advertisements and other media. They need to know that beauty lies within them and they need to know that we see it too.
    •    From thefreedictionary.com:          beauty [ˈbjuːtɪ n pl -ties
      1. the combination of all the qualities of a person or thing that delight the senses and please the mind
      2. a very attractive and well-formed girl or woman
      3. Informal an outstanding example of its kind the horse is a beauty
      4. Informal an advantageous feature one beauty of the job is the short hours
               5. Informal, old-fashioned a light-hearted and affectionate term of address hello, my old            beauty!
       
  • Pick a color for each day of the week. For that color each day dress in that color, plan a meal around that color, find it in the house or while out and about, find it in nature. Just have fun with it! 
  • Play Candy Land! :)
  • Sing:                
    Find the Color
    (Tune: The Muffin Man)
    Sing the following song and let children point to a (color) item:
    Oh, can you find the color (blue),
    The color blue, the color (blue)?
    Oh, can you find the color (blue),
    Somewhere in this room?
     "Colors" 
    ~Shel Silverstein,



    My skin is kind of sort of brownish
    Pinkish yellowish white.
    My eyes are greyish blueish green,
    But I'm told they look orange in the night.
    My hair is reddish blondish brown,
    But it's silver when it's wet.
    And all the colors I am inside
    Have not been invented yet.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Mother Earth

Earth Day is celebrated annually to increase awareness and appreciation of the earth's natural environment. Events are planned worldwide and it is celebrated in more than 175 countries. You can read more about Earth Day through Wikipedia.
                   
On Tuesday, April 24 we will:



Ideas for Home:
  • Try Recycling crayons! If it's hot outside you can use this method, or this one!
  • Include the whole family in recycling at home.
  • Plant some seeds or trees. Arbor day is April 27, 2012. Arbor Day Foundation
  • More Earth Day ideas here.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Stop to Smell the Flowers

On Tuesday, April 17, we will:
  • Read Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown and Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry.
  • Plant our own seeds in "Recycled newspaper pots." Idea from Cottage Hill.

My daughter and I recently attended a Green Team Kids event at Spider Web Gardens in Tuftonboro. We had tons of fun and went home with "nature bracelets" and "window sill seed starters." There are monthly events planned for Tuftonboro through October. Check out the facebook page for Green Team Kids events happening in other locations as well.


Why tell children about plant life cycles, when you can plant a garden and SHOW them!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Bunnies!!!

On Tuesday, April 3 we will:
  • Read "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems.
  • Play "Knuffle Bunny Freeze Dance."
  • Sing Hop Little Bunnies (from Everything Preschool)
     
    Verse 1:
    Have your children pretend to sleep while you sing.See those little bunnies sleeping, until its nearly noon,
    Let us gently waken them, with our merry tune,
    oh how still, are they ill, wake up soon,

    Verse 2:
    Have your children wake up and jump and clap while singingHop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
    Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
    Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
    Hop little bunnies, and stop.
  • Finger play/song: Little Bunny Foo Foo
  • Make Yarn bunnies and paper bag goons.


Ideas for Home:

  • We love all the Knuffle Bunny stories! Check out Mo Willems website for some fun activities!
  • I found the site PreKinders, which has a lot of great ideas for preschool age children. I really liked the math games, but there is other great ideas too!
  • Easter Crafts from Kaboose (a Disney website)

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." 

~Margaret Atwood



Monday, March 26, 2012

Inspiration From Nature

On Tuesday, March 27 we will:
  • Go on a letter hunt and match the letters we find on the alphabet playmat.
  • Take turns "hopping the alphabet."
  • Go outside (if weather cooperates) and collect items from nature to be used for making a collage: pebbles, dirt, acorns, twigs, leaves, pine needles.
  • Create "nature collages!"
Ideas for home:
  • Kids enjoy collecting things outside. Use the materials they collect for:
    • sorting activities: put out small containers, bowls, plates and have children sort what they have found into groups by color, texture, size, weight, whatever they can think of.
    • Counting activities: We recently came home with a carriage full on tiny pine cones. I plan on using these to practice counting. Use paper or index cards to write numbers on and have children count their items to match the numbers.
    • Make a collage.
    • Write their name with glue and have children stick nature's materials to the glue.
  • Practice letter writing in the mud or sand using sticks. If children are not ready for letters, just practice making lines, circles and X's, which is great preparation for writing.
  • Visit a garden center or nursery and explore the colors and smells. Point out all the different colors, or have children point them out. What smells do you notice? How many petals or leaves are there on a plant? How do the plants get what they need to grow?
  • Use collected rocks or pine cones to create creatures using googly eyes, leaves, twigs, etc. Idea from Disney family Fun.
  • Find more nature inspired crafts here.
  • Check your local library for plant or flower guides and see what you an identify in your own backyard.
Most importantly: Play outside with your children! Just let go of everything (I know it's easier said then done, but try it!) and let your children lead you. It will bring you closer and I bet you will even learn something!!

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." Aristotle


                                               

Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring Has Sprung

On Tuesday, March 20 we will:
  • Read "Mouse's First Spring" by Lauren Thompsen
  • Make clothespin butterflies with Miss Kourtney's homemade watercolors!
  • Have a quick discussion about what "Spring" is. What does Spring look, smell, sound, feel, taste like? What is happening? How do we know it is here?
  • Explore outside looking for signs of spring and make a spring "word wall."
Have fun playing!!!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Move and Learn

On Tuesday, March 6 we will:
  • Warm up our bodies by "hopping the alphabet."
  • Play HalfPint Skillastics. This activity allows children the opportunity to explore a variety of movements, while practicing other skills such as color and shape recognition, counting, turn taking, coordination, and spatial awareness.
Ideas for home:
  • Play "Musical Hugs:" similar to freeze dance, dance to music and when the music stops, everyone hugs!! This is a great way to reconnect when your having "one of those days!!"
  • Play "You Little Rascals!" My daughter invented this game and we play it daily! Children pretend to be crazy dogs and the adult is the dog catcher. The dog catcher puts the dogs in the pound (usually the couch, a corner of the room, tent...) and tell the dogs to stay there. The dogs then "escape" and the dog catcher chases them saying "You little Rascals, get back in the pound!!" Catch them and put them back in the pound. Then do it again. And again. And again. And again. :)
    • I think my daughter loves this game because it allows her to "break the rules" (escaping from the pound) in a fun and playful way.

Take the time to enter your child's world and "find ways for children to tell their stories, paint their own pictures, construct their own worlds, act out their own scenarios, and keep their own dreams alive." Lawrence Cohen, Playful Parenting

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Sink or Float

On Tuesday, February 28, 2012 we will:
  • Discuss what we think the following words mean: sink, float, predict, observe.
  • Make predictions for each object, do we think it will sink or float?
  • Test our predictions by placing objects in a large plastic tub filled with water.
  • Make a chart of our discoveries.
  • Ask why do you think objects sink or float?
You can check out some background information and activities here.

Ideas for home:
  • Most preschoolers love asking questions and experimenting, and children learn by doing! Use your children's questions to prompt your own experiments at home. It can be as simple as a container of water and objects that sink or float, or a more complicated activity of hatching eggs. My tips for experimenting with preschoolers: 
    • Science for preschoolers should be focused on asking questions and finding answers (making predictions, observations, and making conclusions).
    • Resist the urge to just explain it to them, and let them explore and come to their own conclusions. Guide them by asking questions such as "What will happen if we do this?" "Why do you think that happened?" "How should we do this?"
    • It's okay if you don't have the answers! Learn along with your children. Learning with children is an incredible bonding experience and allows children to witness your excitement, eagerness, and openness to learning. Parents are children's first teachers and you set the foundation for your child to become a lifelong learner!
      • In our house, if you don't know... then you figure it out :)
  • Bath time is an easy way to experiment with sink or float. Have children find objects around the house to bring in the tub with them (within reason, of course). Make predictions and test out the theories.
  • Go to your local library and check out some books. I was surprised how many books we found that were dedicated to experimenting with preschoolers. They were simple ideas that used items you have at home anyways.
  • Check out these sites for more ideas:

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science."
Albert Einstein

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/questions.html#ixzz1nWJXKeNb

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sweet Hearts

On Tuesday, February, 14 we will:
  • Sing good morning songs
  • Read "Sweet Hearts" by Jan Carr
  • Make "Love Bug Finger Puppets"
  • Go on a letter hunt and match the letters we find.
  • Enjoy a sweet Valentine treat :)
Home ideas for fun with preschoolers:
  • Printable coloring pages
  • Make Valentine Pancakes with Maple-Raspberry Sauce
    • Cooking with children is always a wonderful bonding experience and loaded with opportunities for children to develop math and reading skills. Here are some great tips.
  • Hand print poem
  • Play "Pin the Heart on Cupid."
  • Play "Find Your Heart Mate." Cut out hearts from construction paper. Cut hearts in half using different angles. Have children find the matches!
  • Heart Flashcards I plan on using these for alphabet hide-n-seek games. Write each letter of the alphabet on a heart, hide it around the house, and children match the letters on their alphabet poster. You could also play hide-n-seek numbers using the same idea, or hide the letters of their name!
  • Sorting Hearts and Same/different I like to use these types of activities right before or after dinner, when it is helpful (to ME) to have the kids engaged in a quiet activity!
  • Valentine's Day Pre-K pack These "Pre-K packs" have great designs and are focused on developmentally appropriate skills (in my opinion) for ages 3-5. Some children enjoy this type of "school work" as my daughter calls it. MY word of caution: I think these types of work pages should be done with a fun and pressure free attitude. Some children might not be ready, or they might not enjoy it. If they are pushed to complete them, then the opportunity for learning is lost.

Have fun using your imaginations and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!!

Check out this article from NPR on the importance of old-fashioned play. Google "importance of play" and you'll find some great articles. Happy reading!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Year of the Dragon

Chinese new year is a holiday that celebrates the beginning of a new year, according to the lunar calendar. The start of the new year changes every year. For 2012, the new year started on January 23. From what I have read, most families who observe Chinese New Year celebrate for 2 weeks. You can find some more info here and here.

On Tuesday, February 7 we will:
  • Read "Dragon Dance" by Joan Holub
  • Make Chinese lanterns and or fans.
  • Enjoy a snack of oranges and noodles.
    • Oranges for luck and wealth; long uncut noodles represent longevity and long life.
  • Look at the Chinese Zodiac to see what animal was assigned the year you were born.

Ideas for Home:
  • Incorporate some homemade Chinese food into your meals at home. We are going to try Dumplings. Find more recipes here and here.
  • CLEAN!! One of the traditions I love about Chinese New Year, is the custom to clean the whole house from top to bottom. This clears the house of last year's bad luck or misfortunes and makes way for good luck in the new year. So give your kids the dusters, brooms, and sponges and have FUN!!! Turn on some music and do "Dance cleaning" or maybe you can come up with some "cleaning characters" and act out how that character cleans.
  • Make Festive Ribbon Dragons. These are really neat, I can't wait to make these!
  • Explore the Chinese Zodiac
Have fun playing and let you little ones be your guide!

"Children are great imitators. So give them
something great to imitate."

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Birds in the Air!

On Tuesday, January 31, 2012 we will:
  • Read "Seven Hungry Babies" by Candace Fleming
  • Read "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell
  • Play "Birds Are Sleeping"
  • Make bird nests and baby owls
  • Review Shel Silverstein poem "Early Bird"
Oh, if you're a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you're a bird, be an early bird-
But if you're a worm, sleep late.


Ideas for Home:
  • Identify birds you have seen in your own yard. Check out http://www.birding.com/wheretobird/newhampshire.asp
    • Each time we see a new bird, we print out its picture and hang it by the window where we view the bird feeder.
  • Bird Seed Collage
    Use bird seeds to create a collage.
  • Feather Painting
    Use different feathers as a paint brush
  • Make a bird matching game from computer printouts.
  • Print out bird pictures and hide them around the house. Have children find the birds and return them to their nest (a box, paper plate, whatever you have). Preschoolers love hide and seek games!
"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night."
           Edgar Allan Poe


Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_imagination3.html#ixzz1ktwTsLBZ

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Ooey, Gooey, Messy Fun

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012 we will make Flubber!!
Idea and recipe from http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/2012/01/flubber-gak-fun.html#comment-form
Once we finish mixing, we will have have fun exploring the flubber's textures and discovering what we can make with it! When children are through exploring they can move on to free play.


Ideas for at home:
  • To make Flubber at home use the link above for the recipe and what to do.
  • Kids love to mix and pour. For this activity you need a cookie sheet, plastic tub or other, to contain the spills. Spills will happen and that's okay! In the cookie sheet put small containers of colored water with spoons, mixing sticks, and droppers (I  have saved droppers from baby Tylenol). I keep a bag of these supplies in our "toy closet." When ever we need a quiet, hands on activity, the mix 'n pour supplies are ready!
  • For more science activities check out: http://scienceforpreschoolers.com/
  • Go out into the snow and look for animal tracks. Check out this blog for animal track ideas: http://the-learning-lab.blogspot.com/2012/01/winter-wonderland.html
Have fun exploring, let your little ones be your guide!

"Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination." John Dewey

Monday, January 16, 2012

Get Some Wiggles Out!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

At Discovery Hour we will:
  • Get our muscles ready for play by doing some gentle stretching
  • Play musical hula hoops
  • Scarf dancing
  • Animal Play
Ideas for home:
  • You need a large sheet of newspaper print to cover a table, and any music. Allow the children to walk around the table with marker or crayon in hand, making movements on the paper to the beat of the music. Vary types of music, or play a stop and go "freeze" game. Combines art, music and movement together. Ask children to draw what the music sounds like!
  • Bean Bag or stuffed animal balance: Have children follow your directions to carry thier bag/animal a certain way (on their heads, back or feet); throw the bag/animal with their feet, elbows, head; jump with the bag/animal balanced on head, shoulders, back.
  • Create an obstacle course using pillows, furniture, toys, stuffed animals and take turns being the leader through the course.
  • Pretend to be different animals and sing the following song to the tune of London Bridges:We are hopping, hopping frogs,
    Hopping frogs, hopping frogs.
    We are hopping, hopping frogs,
    Let children choose what animals to be, maybe galloping horses, jumping kangaroos, flying birds, swimming fish...     

Have fun playing and moving with your children! 

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~Berthold Auerbach                

Thursday, January 5, 2012

After the "Holidaze"

At next weeks Discovery Hour (Tuesday, January 10th) we will:
  • Learn the animal signs for bear, rabbit, bird, mouse and sleep.
  • Read "Bear Snores On" by Karma Wilson, while practicing signs and acting out animals.
  • Play "Bears are Sleeping."
  • Play "Where are the shapes" game.
  • Make paper bears.
 Ideas for Home:
  • Play “Who Stole the Honey From the sleeping Bear?” sung to the tune of “Who Stole the Cookie?”
  • Hide a honey pot or other bear foods (printed from your computer) around the house and go hunting.
  • Use a stuffed bear to practice position words. Have children place their bear on their head, on their shoulder, under their arm, beside their face, behind their back, in their hand and so on.
  • Puffy Paint Bear Pictures: Make homemade puffy paint by adding the desired watercolor paint color to shaving cream and glue. We have not tried this yet, but love the idea!
  • Sing Bears Are Sleeping (to the tune of Brother John)
Bears are sleeping, bears are sleeping,

In their lairs, in their lairs,

Springtime will be here soon, springtime will be here soon,

Wake up bears, wake up bears!
            We like to pretend we are sleeping with blankets and pillows and then jump up at the end of the song!
  • Teddy Bear Hide-n-Seek: hide stuffed bears (or any animal) around the house and have children find them. Children could use binoculars (real or homemade with a paper towel roll) to help them “look for bears.”
  • Have a Teddy Bear Picnic. Use a blanket, stuffed bears, plates, cups and basket with real or fake food.
  • Make a cave with blankets and pillows. Bring a flashlight into the cave and read stories.
  • Counting Bears: Mark paper plates with the numbers 1 thru 10 and have children count out the correct number of bears on each plate. If you don’t have counting bears, you could print out small bear pictures and make bear cards to count.
  • Beginning Sound Game: Use food picture cards (made from grocery fliers or print from computer) Ask child to find a food that begins with the ___ sound…

Enjoy playing and pretending at home, let your little ones be your guide!!