Er-u-di-tion

I am so pleased to tell you all about a wonderful game called Er-u-di-tion.  It helps preschoolers-school aged children learn to read.  Children learn the letters of the alphabet and eventually 284 sight words while moving through literacy land.  For every correct identification, they earn a bonus roll.  The first player to reach the library wins.

The game cards comprise up to 90% of beginner level reading material and over 50% of all English text. Er-u-di-tion helps children recognize these high frequency words, recognize phonetically irregular words, your children will learn definitions of the words, and most of all is actually fun!

Learning games have to look fun and appeal visually to children and this fun game does just that.  It reminds me a bit of candy land, which all children love! This game isn’t just for readers, but preschoolers learning the letters of the alphabet as well.  There are different sets of cards for the varying reading levels, meaning the whole family can play together. 

This is the perfect activity to teach little ones to read because it has easy set up, is fun, and does produce results.  I couldn’t be happier with this wonderful game.  I’m not the only one who loves this game as it has won several awards including Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year, Teacher’s Choice Award for the Classroom, National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, and Parent’s Choice Award. 

This is is definite hit at my house. I’m so pleased to hear my daughter begging for “just one more game” of er-u-di-tion, because I know it is helping her learn how to read. 

If you want to get your own game, it is $24.99 at http://www.sightwordsgame.com/

Alphabet Fishing

Last week, in my favorite links of the week post, I wrote about ABC fishing from the IzzieMacandMe blog.  Start by cutting out 26 fish…yes that is right 26.  If you google  “Alphabet Fish Template” you should be able to find fish with the letters already on them. So this will save you time.  Then, you are going to want something metal to attach to the fish.  I was out of paperclips so I just stapled each fish.  Then lay them upside down onto a blue towel. 

Other blogs mention making a rod out of a wooden spoon, yarn, and a magnet.  We, however, already had a magnet fishing pole.  This is her bathtub magnet fishing pole but it worked wonderful for this activity. 

Your little one will fish up a letter and then have to say the letter to keep the fish.  If they get the letter wrong, they have to throw it back. 

We LOVED this activity.

 

 

Letter Dd Theme: Dandelions and Daisies

A few days ago I gave my little one a kind of assessment to see which letters she needs to spend more time on.  One of those letters was Dd.  Therefore, this was the focus of today’s theme.  

• We made a daisy crown using instructions from the DLTK website. Basically start by printing the template of daisies. Next, cut 3 long pieces from construction paper. Staple these together. This is your crown band. Color the daisies. Glue onto the headband.

• We made the letter Dd mini book: http://www.dltk-teach.com/minibooks/d/index.htm
• We decorated our big D with small wooden figures that start with the letter D.

• They aren’t too neatly cut but I did make her D and d sandpaper letters.  I traced a capital and lowercase d onto the back of sandpaper. I cut the letters out and glued them to foam which had been glued to cardboard.

  

• Next, we made playdoh D’s.

 

• We practiced tracing the letter D in moon sand and sugar.  Okay, well at least it was my idea for her to trace the letter.  I’ve tried this a few times and she never does trace the letter.  However, she did spend close to an hour just playing in the sugar.  I’m not sure how to get her to trace the letters, except to just keep introducing it to her periodically.

• Next we made daisies, using our hands.  Paint your child’s fingers with white paint. Make a print on the paper of your child’s fingers. Do this until you have a circle of white finger prints. Paint the palm of your child’s hand yellow along with the white fingers. Place the last print down and you will have a daisy.

• I found a few alphabet computer games for download that I’m going to start using at times: http://kidgen.net/downloads/index.htm, http://www.yourchildlearns.com/dirll.htm,http://www.yourchildlearns.com/letters/letter-sounds.htm
• We made dandelion seed/flower art. 
• Have your child paint glue onto a piece of paper... then have the child blow the seeds from a dandelion onto the paper. Then, find yellow dandelions and allow your child to dip in paint and then make a print on the paper.

• As far as phonics, I made a little song out of this-
• D says /d/ like dinosaur.
  D says /d/ /d/ /d/.
• Finally, I read a poem to Zhana that I have absolutely fell in love with.  I also based the drawing on one that I found online. I’m not an artist, lol, but my little tot still likes it.   Click here to be taken to the Our Little Nest Blog where you will see a much cuter blackboard drawing. Here is the poem-

O DANDELION

O Dandelion, yellow as gold, what do you do all day?
“I just wait here in the tall, green grass, ’till the children come to play.”

O Dandelion, yellow as gold, what do you do all night?
“I wait and wait, while the cool dew falls, and my hair grows long and white.”

And what do you do when your hair grows white, and the children come to play?
“They take me in their dimpled hands, and blow my hair away!”

She seems to really understand the letter D and hasn’t confused it with B at all today.  I’m really proud of a little conservation we had this morning.  I was asking her-

“Does DOLL start with D, like duh?”

“Yes, mom-mom” (Have I ever mentioned my dd calls me mom-mom?)

“Does DOG start with D, like duh?”

“Yes, D.”

“Does COW start with D, like duh?”

“No. Cow goes Cuh”. Not D.”

Wow, wow! What a proud mommy moment.  I’ve worked on letter recognition but not so much letter sounds so I’m so happy!

What We’ve Been Up To

Sorry I’ve been gone so long. It’s been so busy around here. Also, my computer was down for a couple of weeks, so I had to share with dh.  We have done a lot of fun learning activities but only a few pictures to document. Still, I thought I’d share…

We’ve spent a lot of time at the park. Zhana is such an outdoors kid and I’m loving it.  We don’t have a swing set at our home but recently we did hang up a single swing on our back porch and she has a little slide. She goes out there every chance she gets. I’m hoping to make her a sandbox soon. What are your favorite out door items that you have for your little ones? I’ve been considering one of those one-person teeter tots.  I feel like it is good for kiddos to be outside a lot when it is warm so I’m very interested to know what is in your backyards. 

Also, I have to admit that one of the greatest benefits of park play is that she gets completely worn out. My daughters “goes” from the second her foot hits to ground in the morning until very late at night when she finally gives in and passes out. She rarely takes naps willingly, so I enjoy a day at the park for this secondary benefit… 

Finally, we got around to marble painting. I’ve been wanting to do this for at least 6 months but didn’t have a marble. Finally we did it!  

You'll need :
paint
paper
container
shoe box 

Place the paint into muffin tins. Drop your marble in the paint. Lay the paper in a shoebox. Roll marble by moving box from side to side.  We both enjoyed it because it was different from our usual painting. 

We’ve been playing dress up, making masks, and so on…

We worked on the letter C. We now have 3 of our wooden blocks completed. A is decorated in apples, B like a bee, and C similar to cow. I highly recommend this activity.  You can get the wooden letters for $1 then simply paint them a theme corresponding to the letter. It makes a cute little room decoration, learning, art, and helps them to remember what they’ve learned.  When people visit, she always shows them because she’s quite proud of them.

We made handprint Leprechauns for St. Patrick’s Day. I got this idea from another blog Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.  We both loved this and made several! 

We did aluminum foil painting that I read about at the Teachingtinytots blog.

We’ve done much more that I just haven’t documented well but here’s a start to well starting again, lol.

Product Review: Whimsical Walney

I posted the review on this company a few days ago but decided to repost it with an update about the giveaway.

When you visit the Whimsical Walney website, there is a little poem on their website that I feel is a very good introduction to their company:

let children play

let naptime become optional

let their cheeks become red delicious from endless hours of play

let them color the cows purple and the sky green

let children play.

This company was established in 2004 and has sense brightened up the world of child products by designing products that let children play. Each piece they design is meant to "foster a child's sense of wonder and adventure."

This company has a really neat line of clothing called Use Your Words. It was created to expand a child's vocabulary. I love the idea of clothing that teaches! Currently, the line features English and Spanish and will soon be adding French words as well.

I was given the opportunity to review the "Blow Bubbles" shirt by Whimsical Walney. First, let me point out that the shirt is extra-soft interlock cotton and feels so good! This is the most perfect shirt for my daughter-this is one that I'll be keeping for her tee-shirt memory quilt that I'll make someday. So, why is this shirt so special? I have a little girl obsessed with bubbles. I hear the phrase, "Blow Bubbles" at least five times a day (usually more). There has actually been an incident where she awoke at 3 am to ask me if she could blow bubbles! So, I can honestly say that I can imagine no shirt better summing up who she is right now, at the moment! Here are a few pics of her in her new favorite shirt:

Okay, so there were more than just a few but how can I resist when she is playing with her favorite thing and wearing a shirt totally encompassing the moment? The shirts sell for $32.00. They come in sizes 6 months to 10 years. There are several other Use Your Words shirts in categories of Fruits and Vegetables, Professionals and Whimsical. As previously explained, the "Blow Bubbles" shirt is my favorite but a couple of others that I think are darling include:

Strawberry/ La Fresa

let's conga/Soy Rumbero

I'm an Angler

This store offers another clothing line called World Flags. Categories included in this line are Countries, States and Cities, and Whimsical.

The company has a line of fabric books for children. These books are great for kids because of the visual and tactile stimulation they bring. I love that these books can be machine washed and dried. Book themes include: Out of this World, Spring Blooms, Under the Sea, Sea, Land, and Space. They also have black and white patterned books for newborns. I love this idea!

Finally, the company offers the Sol Protector Blanket. This blanket isn't just a regular old blanket but has Solarweave® fabric which provides protection at UPF 40–50. This is a lightweight blanket that is great for sunny days.

I really like this company because of its focus on multiculturalism and language. I think this is a unique concept and is wonderful for parents teaching a second language to their children. However, even if you aren't teaching your children a second language, the products are bright and beautiful and makes a terrific clothing item.

The owner of the company answered a few interview questions I had for her-

Q: If you could give a one line phrase to describe your business what would it be?Let Children Play

Q: What do you think makes your store unique?At Whimsical Walney, we design products that promote a child’s curiosity and creativity. Each product is meant to cater to children’s needs at different stages in their development. Many of these products can also grow with your child. The Use Your Words™ clothing line, for example, starts with a child pointing to the picture and signing or saying the word when they’re toddlers. As they grow, it becomes a conversation about the object and what it is, how it’s used, etc. They may even be telling you what it is in Spanish or French if you’ve purchased one of those designs!

Q: Where do you get ideas for designs?It varies. Sometimes it’s a line in a song (like Soy pescador/I’m an angler which I explain in my blog) or as simple as a child’s everyday favorite things (blow bubbles). For the Use Your Words™ line the word has to be something fun or interesting to say.

Q: What are your top sellers?People seem most enamored of the artichoke, blow bubbles, and let’s conga/soy rumbero from the Use Your Words™ line. The CA state flag is also quite popular.

Q: Do you have a favorite line? It’s hard to pick a “favorite” really. I am still enchanted with the illustrations in the Use Your Words™ line but also know how much I enjoy creating the fabric story a child reads in a Telanovela™. Who doesn’t want to be able to read a book and eat it too?

Q: If you would like to add anything else about your business too, that would be great!If you have a minute, stop by the company blog (The Adventures of Whimsical Walney). We’ll be focusing on some great community organizations across the US, as well as online stories and language resources that benefit children and parents. We also welcome comments and feedback - so drop us a line at any time.

Here is a link to the website: http://www.whimsicalwalney.com/index.htm

Language station

This area has ideas for introducing letter symbols to students in different multi-sensory ways. Introduce letters in different sequences, just insert the letter(s) that is (are) being introduced and change out the letter(s) as needed. Below are examples of how daily tray tasks may be set up in language/literacy centers.

Can you find the letter?
Bowl of foam letters and a work mat that is labeled, “Can you find letter A?”

Sand Letters
Small, shallow container of sand and stencil. Student traces letter in sand. Stencil is removed and student tries to write letter in the sand.

Letter rubbings
Half sheet of paper, crayons ,and commercial letter rubbing plate.

Playdough letters
Playdough and a work mat with capital and lowercase letter on it. Have student use play- dough to construct the letter.

Letter jars
This jar has the letter on the outside and pictures in the jar of items that begin with the letter.

Dot letters
Half sheet of paper and dot markers for student to make the letter.

Letter puzzles
Commercial puzzle that has letter, picture, and spellings of items that begin with the letter

Gel or white board
Gel board or marker board and picture card. Student experiments with writing the letter.

Letter game
Commercial letter game where children match letter to letter.

Pre-K Curriculum

One great way to find preschool curriculums is to put in google a search for "pre-k curriculum framework". This is a great resource for moms who aren't sure what they should be working on with their children. Here is an example of what to be working on for Pre-K language:

Oral language Development
1. Answer questions posed by an adult
2. Ask questions of an adult or a child
3. Participate in conversational turn-taking with adults
4. Participate in conversational turn-taking with other children
5. Use words from storybooks in oral language
6. Retell a story read aloud
Sample Activities

1. The parent models the difference between a question and a statement, inviting the children to participate. For example, the teacher says, “When do we eat lunch? That’s a question. Who has an answer?” (Children are likely to produce one-word responses, like soon or now.) The teacher extends the children’s responses to model simple statement formation. For example, if the children respond “now” the teacher can extend their response to “Yes. We eat lunch now. That is an answer to my question.”

2. The parent poses questions about the children’s daily life experiences. For example, the parent asks, “Where do you sleep?” or “What do you eat for breakfast?” or “Do you have a pet?” In addition to supporting the children’s responses through extensions, parents will be able to develop word meanings.


3. During and after storybook reading, the teacher poses specific questions related to the illustrations. For example, the teacher might say,
Where is the _____?
Which one is _____?
If children produce nonverbal or one-word responses, the parent extends them to complete sentences.
1. The parent chooses stories read aloud on tape or CD and listens to the stories with the children while displaying the illustrations. The parent guides response to the story after reading. The same story should be used several times during the week.

2. The parent chooses brief stories with clear illustrations, and reads them aloud repeatedly throughout the week, first in uninterrupted format, next with discussion after reading, next with discussion before and after reading, and finally with discussion before, during, and after reading.

3. The parent chooses brief stories with clear illustrations, reads them aloud repeatedly, and introduces the children to the concepts of beginning, middle, and end. The parent first models a retelling using those terms, and then, after a subsequent reading, invites children to participate in a retelling organized in this fashion.


4. During and after storybook reading, the parent poses specific questions related to the content of the story. For example, the parent might say,
What happened after ______?
Why did ______?
Who was _____?
If children produce nonverbal or one-word responses, the parent extends them to complete sentences.


Storybook Reading
1. Attend to storybooks read aloud
2. Recognize and use conventional book handling skills
3. Understand the concept of author and illustrator
4. Draw and label in response to reading
5. Understand that print is organized from left to right and top to bottom
6. Isolate an individual word in a text read aloud

Phonological Awareness
1. Identify rhyming words
2. Produce rhyming words
3. Clap words in sentences
4. Clap syllables in words
5. Isolate initial consonant sounds in words
6. Isolate onsets and rimes in words
1. The parent says two words and asks children to produce a response (e.g., clap, stand up, touch their noses) if the words are the same. For example, the parent might present these word pairs: horse-cow; horse-horse; horse-pig; pig-horse; horse-horse.

2. The parent tells the children that some words are not the same, but they sound the same at the end. These words rhyme. The parent shows children pictures in sets of three, with two words that rhyme and one that does not. The children choose the pictures that rhyme. For example, the parent might present these sets of pictures: dog-frog-cat; house-mouse-pig; chair-bear-shoe.

3. The parent reads aloud repeatedly a brief rhyming book or poem and then invites children to repeat the text. After the children can repeat the text, the parent invites them to identify the rhyming words. If they cannot produce the rhyming words, the parent selects pairs of words from the text and asks whether they rhyme or not.

Work with letters
1. Recognize first name
2. Sing alphabet
3. Say alphabet
4. Identify uppercase letters in first name
5. Recognize last name
6. Write first name
Sample Activities

1. The parent prepares a chart with each child’s picture and name. The children show which names are theirs by identifying their picture.

2. The parent produces a list of the children’s names. First, the parent reads the list of names repeatedly to the children. Then the parent asks the children to respond when she points to their names.

Rhyme A Week

I add a nursery rhyme from Rhyme a Week to my curriculum plan weekly. The link is http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/rimes_and_rhymes.htm#Week1

Montessori Album Source

A WONDERFUL source for Montessori information is Su-Chen Yen's Online Montessori Albums.
For Math: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/math/_link.htm
Language Development: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/lang/_link.htm
Practical Life: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/life/_link.htm
Sensorial-Motor: http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/sensor/_link.htm