St. Patrick's Day 2011

 Green pancakes - they were better received by the kiddos than the green eggs from March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday.

 Green Muffin Tin {Thursday} - Graham Cracker Cookies (graham crackers with leftover frosting sandwiched in the middle), Green Beans, Green cottage cheese, green apples, green salad and milk, in a green cup (I contemplated turning the milk green, but decided not to [A has a tendency to spill his milk])

We did a found art collage on contact paper.  This was a great activity for spanning the age and skill difference of my kiddos (2 and almost 4).  I pulled all of my green art supplies (tissue paper, ribbon, foam shapes and abc's, pom-poms, paper, material, buttons, etc) out and they decorated their pieces of contact paper to their hearts content.  When they were finished, I put a piece of black construction paper on the back and folded the contact paper over.  They look really good (sadly, I haven't yet taken a picture).

Other St. Patrick-y things we've done:

• Word search
• Ordinal Numbers
• Number Order
• Make a Leprechaun
• Write (dictate) a story about a leprechaun

Valentine Art

Here's a super-easy art project that my almost 2-year-old succeeded at just as much as my almost 4-year-old.  We dipped heart cookie cutters in paint, then printed them onto construction paper.  Wa-la!  Doesn't it look fancy?

our first stART

We read Corduroy, by Don Freeman.  It's a favorite of N's.  For our ART, I cut out overalls from construction paper (I used blue, not even thinking to make them green until N pointed out that Corduroy's were green).  Then N and A glued on Corduroy's lost button, and lots of other buttons!

To see other great ideas using books and art, click the button [below:)].

Still Schoolin'

Though it's been a while since I've blogged about school, we're still going!  I've been working with N on writing/reading lessons that I used with my first graders.  She's currently on lesson #3, and is loving it!  Each list has 5-7 words.  With N we've been spending a week (or more) on each list.  The first day we read the words, then write them in some way.  We've used the white board and magnetic letters, so far.  One of the activities we do weekly is "See, Spell, Write".  I write the word in the first column, then she makes the word with letters and glue, then she writes it in the word in the last column.  I've introduced her to word searches, which she loves, mostly I think because I let her use highlighters for the words.  Here is the link to Lesson 1's word search.  This week she's going to rainbow color the words, using a different color for each letter.  We've used cards (lessons 1&2, lessons 3&4).  One week we played "Hide and Seek" with them.  Another week N jumped to the word that I called out.  I'm planning on putting them on a ring, so that she can practice reading them in the car, etc, but I haven't bought a ring yet.

We've been playing a lot of games.  Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Number Bingo, puzzles of all kinds (sequence, numbers, etc).

One day each week we go to story time at the library.  Another morning is running errands.  I've been trying to plan an intentional activity for the other mornings that both kiddos can participate in.  We've painted, played with beads, put together a cat.  This week, on Tuesday, it's Winnie the Pooh day, (according to this website) so we'll be watching a Winnie the Pooh movie.

Lesson 1 - a, and, at, am, as
Lesson 2 - it, is, in, me, mom
Lesson 3 - go, got, get, can, cat, be, but

Thanksgiving 2010

I printed out a turkey and cut off the feathers.  Then I cut feathers out of construction paper, one for every day until Thanksgiving.  On the back of the feathers I wrote craft, activity, song, snack or paper.  N gets to choose a feather every day, and we do whatever is on the back.  Here is a compilation:

Crafts:

• Indian vest
• pilgrim collars
• pine cone turkeys
• popcorn corn
• colored popcorn kernels

Activities:

• Turkey strut - masking tape turkey foot prints on the floor.  Turn on music.  When the music stops, children choose a turkey print to stand on.
• Find the turkey - hide paper turkeys around the room.  Children find them.

Snack:

• cornucopia - ice cream cone and fruit snacks
• Peanut butter turkeys
• apple turkeys - apple body, toothpick filled with raisins for feathers, and something for eyes and mouth.

Song:

• My Delicious Ambiguity has a Thanksgiving songbook that has tons of songs!

Paper:

• Thanksgiving themed worksheets that can be found online.  

Muffin Tin Monday - Circus

In our muffin tins we had:

• Homemade corn dog, with ketchup (not homemade!)
• Grapes (seals balance beach balls)
• Cheese people (because people go to the circus)
• Popcorn
• Peanuts

It was fun!  I'm excited to try it again next week.

A Month (or more) in Review

With summer here, baby #3 on the way, and A's changing schedule, things have been a little hit and miss. But we're still going! School time with a jealous little brother is a challenge. Tray time, when both have different activities and abilities, is another challenge. N understands (and mostly obeys) the rule that she's not to do A's tray time. A, however, doesn't get it, and constantly wants to do what his big sister is doing. So, with that introduction...

School:

• We're still working our way through the alphabet, making a book using the alphabet cut and paste sheets. N has started helping me cut out the pictures, and usually does pretty well.
• I've started having N "write" books, thanks to the inspiration of Preschool With Mommy. Sometimes I have N dictate what to write, and sometimes I write what I want. Either way, we read it together (multiple times), then she illustrates each page.
• N is really good at recognizing, or guessing, extended family names. So we've been working on writing them and reading them more often.
• And finally, showing what a slacker I've been, we've been doing worksheets, mostly from TLS Books. On days when we only have a few minutes or when A is being especially difficult, it works. And N still loves school.
• And other life school opportunities. We go to a weekly playgroup. A friend, who happens to run a tractor dealership, learned of N's love of tractors, and invited us to come help move the tractors. N was in HEAVEN!!!
  

Tray Time for N (new for record keeping *=how well she liked the activity):

• Shaving cream - a huge hit for about 15 minutes. Then she was done. **
  
• Jenga blocks***
• Magnets ****
• Contact paper art - from Shannon's Tot School *****
• Wheat - scooping, pouring, measuring *****
• Wikki Stix***

Tray time for A:

• Transferring - ducks, pom-poms **
• The yogurt game - I cut a hole in the lid of an empty yogurt container, saved milk jug lids, then let him put them into hole. He then turns over the container and shakes the lids out. He loves this game and it was super easy to make!*****
  
• Circle stickers - with help, he took them off of the paper, and put them on the blank sheet of paper. Towards the end, he was able to start taking them off himself. ***
• Wooden puzzle ** (but he might have just been too interested in N's activity that day)

Tray times together:

• Water! I filled two tubs with water, and gave them cups, salt and pepper shakers, bowls and funnels (all plastic, of course). They had a great time!*****
• Foam blocks ***
• Silver strips, cut from a fringe curtain. When N first saw it, she said, "What are we going to do with that?" But then she jumped right in. It made a huge mess but they had fun.****