Show and Tell #36

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Tomorrow is December 1st. Bring on the holiday fun! We have been busy prepping our Christmas countdowns in our home. It sure is fun to see all of the creative ways that families count down the days of December. Last week's show and tell included a few Advent links which are featured here today!

Love and Lollipops put together a magnetic matchbox countdown. Love the cheerful colors and designs on these little boxes.

Förskoleburken has put together a list of advent activities in one post. You will want to use the Google translator to get the full idea.

The momma at Monkeyin' Around makes advent all sorts of fun for her little ones. Check out her list of ideas for making December days pass more quickly.

Little Wonders' Days keeps the daily activities and learning organized with downloadable idea cards.

Now it's your turn to share what you've been up to!

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Please remember these rules:

~Post an "Ah Ha Moment," favorite lesson, experiment, learning game, field trip, whatever you're currently working on, or your child's fridge worthy artwork, handmade gifts or anything holiday related.

~Direct link to your post, not your home page.

~Include a link back to us or our link button in your post.

~If you come back and your link is missing, double check to make sure you've followed the directions!

~Lastly, please try to visit and comment on, at least three links. Spread the comment love and make someone's day!

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Feature Yourself Friday: Meet Megan (Special Wedneday Edition): Meet Megan

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Today our normal Friday feature is appearing mid-week so that we can make sure you get to meet another of our talented community members and so that both Katies can enjoy a nice long Thanksgiving holiday break! We will return next Tuesday on the 30th with the next Show & Tell. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We would also like to take this opportunity to say that we are both very thankful for the support and enthusiasm of our readers. This blog would not exist without your willingness to share your talents with one another. We truly appreciate that you take the time to come visit us and would like to encourage you all to send us your activities so we can showcase them!

Speaking of putting the spotlight on YOU, don't forget we are looking for guest posts for December. If you have a handmade gift kids can make, a holiday recipe small hands can help with, or a really great project we'd like to have you share it! Email us abc123learning@gmail.com with what you'd like to share and a link if you've already posted on your own blog.
Hello! My name is Megan Berry and I've been blogging on Fowl Single File for just over a year now. Why "Fowl Single File?" Well, I love being organized. I enjoy categorizing things and sorting things and I'm a chronic list-maker. I love having all my ducks in a row - but "Ducks in a Row" as a blog title was already taken (great minds think alike, I guess). So, Fowl Single File it is!
My blog is the place where I keep track of all my crafty endeavors. Here in Washington state I'm a mother to one daughter, a wife to one husband and a lap to one cat. I must admit that most of my crafting is inspired by and made with my daughter (and kids in general) in mind - sorry, kitty and husband!

I'm not very advanced in my sewing skills, but I LOVE attempting to make stuff for my daughter to wear - and it usually coordinates with an approaching holiday. Like her St. Patrick's Day skirt (which we now refer to as St. Patchwork's Day), or her Peeps shirt for Easter. The whale shirts were for the Fourth of July (they're supposed to be spouting fireworks!) and the birdie skirt was our tribute to summer.

Now that she's clothed I've gotta make her something to play with, right? Something educational and fun. How about some math bean bags? Actually, these weren't made for her but she did get a chance to play with them a bit before we shipped them off to Craft Hope. She went through a sheep phase a couple of months ago, so I made her some sheep number bean bags. Numeral recognition doesn't get much cuter than that!

When she gets tired of playing Hide and Sheep and learning about even and odd numbers, it's nice to have a kid-friendly craft to do, especially if the weather's crummy (there's almost always an 80% chance of crummy weather here in Washington). Many of our activities end up being seasonally-themed. Like the little egg-shaped critters we made last Easter or the nut critters we made this fall. I think I have a "thing" for cute critters. Luckily, my daughter does, too.

After all that playing and crafting, she's bound to be hungry. So many blogs feature creative snack ideas and I'm pretty sure that all the fun snacks I've made were inspired by other crafty moms who were kind enough to share their ideas. Whether it's octopus crescent rolls and spooky bagels to share with the kids at preschool - or - bee hive cupcakes and watermelon cookies for celebrations...snack time can also be crafty!

Doing random crafts and seasonal crafts throughout the year is fun, but my absolute favorite crafty endeavor is party planning. Once a year I get to celebrate the little (not so little any more) person who is my partner in craft and inspires me each day. It seems that each year I get a little more carried away with the theme, but like I said, it's so much fun to plan a child's birthday party! This year's theme was rainbows and both of us had a rollicking time using all the food coloring we could find to make a rainbow layer cake and other rainbow-themed goodies. Last year we did a sea creature theme because she was mesmerized by anything that lives in the ocean....tentacles galore at that party! When she turned three years old, we threw her a banana/monkey party where we served banana splits instead of the traditional birthday cake.

Well, there you have it! A little taste of Fowl Single File. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have shared some of my "stuff" with you today and I hope you've enjoyed these little tidbits and photos. You are all cordially invited to pop over for a visit. Just a warning, though: I love puns and occasionally subject my readers to posts that are riddled with them.

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Show and Tell #35

Before we begin we'd like to tell you that we've decided to open up December for some holiday themed guest posts! If you have a handmade gift kids can make, a holiday recipe small hands can help with, or a really great project we'd like to have you share it! We'd really like to focus on projects children can make, and are looking forward to seeing your ideas!

Email us abc123learning@gmail.com with what you'd like to share and a link if you've already posted on your own blog.

Now back to Show and Tell! In honor of this Thursday holiday for all our readers in the US, and us too☺, we decided to feature three of our participants from last week's Show & Tell who linked up Food related projects. Only one is actually edible, the other two are a fun twist on the theme.

At Fryman Four, they used had a whole day devoted to buttons and used some to make Indian Corn. This craft can double as a napkin holder for the big turkey dinner!
Mom Endeavors shared several fabulous fall leaves activities in her link up, including this leaf themed lunch. What a quick and easy way to make eating pears fun!
Jill at Meet the Dubien daughter is still obessed with the lollipops she got for Halloween. These cute paper ones are better for the teeth and can be enjoyed for a long time!

Now it's your turn to share what you've been up to!


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Please remember these rules:

~Post an "Ah Ha Moment," favorite lesson, experiment, learning game, field trip, whatever you're currently working on, or your child's fridge worthy artwork, handmade gifts or anything holiday related.

~Direct link to your post, not your home page.

~Include a link back to us or our link button in your post.

~If you come back and your link is missing, double check to make sure you've followed the directions!

~Lastly, please try to visit and comment on, at least three links. Spread the comment love and make someone's day!

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Thanksgiving and Fall Themed Crafts

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Here are a few fall themed crafts you and your children might like to try. I imagine that each of these would make for a cute Thanksgiving table centerpiece!

Naturally Educational submitted this suggestion for Corn Husk Dolls. The post includes a tutorial and some book suggetsions.

I Can Teach My Child put together Spooly Pumpkins.

Ten Kids and a Dog made an Indian Corn craft.

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Feature Yourself Friday: Meet Annette

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Hi! I'm Annette from Live, Learn, Love. It is the place where I share my love of crafting and reading. I also love making easy and yummy foods, so I often share recipes, too. After teaching elementary school for eight years, we had our first child and I became a stay at home mom. My love of teaching has definitely influenced my children as we love to learn together, though we do not intend to homeschool. You might read about my daughter and how she has overcome her speech disorder or our children's health issues, but my hope is that readers know we are greatly blessed by God each day!

Since I'm a stay at home mom, I find myself in the kitchen most afternoons during nap time. I've posted some of my favorite recipes like a delicious and easy chocolate chip cookie pie, grilled pizza, chicken spiedies (a local food to where we grew up...so good!), French dip, cinnamon rolls, and others. I also wrote about how I organized my recipes on color coded laminated paper which was probably my best idea ever.
Super Easy French Dip!
I love to read! Since time is precious, I also enjoy audio books in the kitchen and car. Some of my favorites are Anne of Green Gables, the Betsy-Tacy series, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.I review books regularly, and often have giveaways for them, too! I pretend to be crafty, but really...not so much. Really, I am just better at procrastinating. Once in a while I do complete a project though!
Three Little Pig Finger Puppets

Family Tree

Prayer Cards

Manger and Baby Jesus for Advent Activities
Most often if I am crafting, it is because I am working and playing with my 4 year old daughter or, more recently, my 2 year old son.


Button Snowflake

Christmas Keepsake Ornament

Shape Owl or Valentine
I hope you will come to visit us at Live, Learn, Love! Today (11/19) is the last day for a $100 giveaway from You Can Make This! Hop on over if you are interested, and I hope you will enjoy what you see and maybe even be inspired to create something for your family or with your family!

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Clever Cornucopia Crafts & Horn of Plenty Snacks

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Fryman Four had a day of cornucopia fun with a musical cornucopia game and an adorable {not-so-healthy} cornucopia snack, and a yummy looking {much healthier} cornucopia lunch idea.

Make a mosaic cornucopia like this one from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

This easy cornucopia craft is from Out of The Crayon Box.

The burlap and raffia crafted cornucopia at Someday Crafts is a lovely version and would be possible with lots of mommy/teacher help.

Craft of the Day shares templates for putting together construction paper cornucopias.

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Homemade Math Manipulatives & Ideas for PreK-K Learners

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Today's guest post is from Lynn, who blogs at Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile, where she journals her son's love of reading and their recent foray into pre-school homeschooling.

Math Ideas for Preschool/Kindergarten Age: What to Do With A Set of 20 Numbers

Our math learning box is labeled "Fun with Numbers," and that's how we approach math around here. The nice thing about introducing concepts way early is that there is zero pressure to learn anything on a schedule! It's all in good fun here.

After making our heart-shaped sunbutter cup treats, I was inspired to cut some heart shapes out of Model Magic for an upcoming playdate this week (our theme is "H," so we used a cookie cutter to cut a bunch of heart shapes out of clay, poked holes in them, and the kids can paint/glitter glue them to decorate and then string them to make bracelets). If you haven't used Model Magic before, give it a try! It dries to a nice solid, slightly spongy consistency that can be painted or written on, and the finished product doesn't dry out and crack the way finished play-doh creations do. We love it for Christmas ornaments and homemade handprints. Anyway, I may have just gone a little bit overboard with the leftover clay...

I decided to make a set of 1-20 numbers (as well as +, -, and =) for each of the kids. Later that day, once the Model Magic had dried, the Bibliophile and I had fun playing with his set. Of course, this could be done with numbers on paper, bottlecaps, stickers, etc. - I'm pretty sure we have a wooden set of numbers from the dollar store around here somewhere - but the novelty of the clay numbers seemed to capture his interest nicely.

Here are 5 ideas of what you can do with a set of 20 numbers:

1. Put them in order. We did this once, and he got bored around #15. But if your child is just learning to count, this would be perfect.

2. Set up addition and subtraction problems. This is what we did the most of. You could even flip the other hearts over to their blank sides and use them as counting aids.

3. Skip counting. This is one of those concepts that doesn't come naturally to me to teach (like telling time on a clock - "when the little hand is on the 5, that means 25" - huh?). Anyway, I showed him briefly what counting by 2's meant, but I think we are awhile away from this.

4. Which number is bigger/smaller? We've been doing it with three-digit numbers, but you can do it with as small a number as you want. Another variation is: "can you find/make a number bigger than this number?"

5. And, of course, matching your numbers up to your Disney Cars' racing numbers.

Another idea would be to put a few objects out (i.e. five cotton balls) and have the child match the right number to the set.

Comment! Do you have other ideas to share about what we could do with these numbers?

Disclosure: If you click on any links in this post and purchase anything, Lynn may earn a small commission through her affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.

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Show and Tell #34

Welcome! New to ABC and 123? Please check out our FAQ in the sidebar.

Once again we all have the opportunity to appreciate the great variety of activities shared by our readers! It looks like loads of you are gearing up for Thanksgiving with crafts, cooking projects, and learning activities. If you are still in need of activities for the next week before the holiday pull up your barstool for a search of last week's links that are sure to provide inspiration. At our house we have been searching for suggestions on teaching the kids about giving to others, being thankful for all they have, and practicing gratitude. So, here are three feature links from last week that do just that!

My Delicious Ambiguity shares colorful printed Gratitude Cards put together to encourage thankful thoughts.



>At Long Wait for Isabella they put together some lovely Blessing Cards for handwritten notes.


Together Time 4 Families posted a wonderful thankfulness journaling activity for preschoolers and kindergarteners. The explanation includes several extension activities for this reading and writing activity.



Now it's your turn to share what you've been up to!

<a href="http://www.abcand123learning.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="abc button" src="http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/meyeringk/ABCGraphics-Page003.jpg" /></a>

Please remember these rules:

~Post an "Ah Ha Moment," favorite lesson, experiment, learning game, field trip, whatever you're currently working on, or your child's fridge worthy artwork, handmade gifts or anything holiday related.

~Direct link to your post, not your home page.

~Include a link back to us or our link button in your post.

~If you come back and your link is missing, double check to make sure you've followed the directions!

~Lastly, please try to visit and comment on, at least three links. Spread the comment love and make someone's day!

Tweet

Pin It Now!