ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: June 2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Bilingual Wednesdays- Oso Pardo


June 25th  was  Eric Carle  birthday and we celebrated his life and wonderful work with my kids. Either in English and Spanish I LOVE his books!

These are some ideas for the Spanish Brown Bear, Brown Bear What can you see? 
Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí?

Some words you can teach in Spanish
Bear: Oso
Bird:Pájaro
Cat:Gato
Duck:Pato
Frog:Rana
Horse:Caballo
Sheep:Oveja
Dog:Perro
Teacher:Maestra
Children:Niños

And you can also review colours: brown, red, white, black, blue, green, yellow, golden, orange,purple.

This is how I prepare a Take me home bag for the book

Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, que puedes ver?
yo puedo ver una rana verde mirándome a mi!


I added the book and puppets and glove for retelling the story


We colour, cut and store characters in the book in a retelling bag.


I pasted a pocket in the books with activity cards for independent and guided reading. I made  Spanish flashcards to review the characters from the story.
Download the freebies in my blog




Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Show and Tell #107

Turn your driveway into a giant game board with the fun (and educational) idea from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational.


The Iced Tea play dough from JDaniel4's Mom seems like an interesting way to put our leftover sun tea to good use.


Kitchen Fun with My 3 Boys put together a clever Father's Day snack that would be fun all summer long! 

It's your turn!



  abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


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


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


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Monday, June 25, 2012

USA Movement and Music

Hi, I'm Jedda from This Little Project.  With Independence Day coming up, we've been working on our country's geography in one of our favorite ways: with music and movement!

I have a four-year-old and she goes around the house singing the names of all 50 states in alphabetical order.  I love the magic that music gives children!

Here is the song she's been singing:

I love how this video shows the shapes of the states.  It helps her to "see" the state she is singing about and now she can point to and name all her states on a map too.


My six-year-old son already knows his states so he's been singing along with this song that is about each state and the order they joined the union:


This song is fun for learning or reviewing the state capitals:



One game we like to play with the US map is the, Map Munching Game AND the"Don't eat the State" games!  This is a really fun way to review and learn new state geography.

Another game we like to play is with an inflated globe.  We call it "Where in the U.S. is....?"  or "Where in the world is....?"
I hope these movement and music ideas make learning even more fun for you too!

Be sure to stop by This Little Project for more fun {little} learning ideas :)

Happy Fourth of July!


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Summer Fruit Series: Strawberries


Our family spent time this week picking, tipping, and washing berries before making them into jams and sauces to last through the year.  Yum!  Here are some strawberry inspired lessons, crafts, and activities for you to enjoy.

Muffin Tin Mom put together a strawberry snack perfect for after school.

Visit Strawberryville for some online education and entertainment.
CalStrawberry shares a lesson plan appropriate for 1st-4th graders to look at the math and geography of strawberries.  The link includes a little berry quiz.

These easy to make Strawberry Sachets from Country Living would make a sweet summer gift.

Extract DNA from a Strawberry for this advanced science lesson.  My kids enjoyed this lesson at a special science night at school this year.

Use strawberries to practice adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers with this lesson plan intended for 3rd grade students.

The Strawberry Patch has a wealth of resources for a Strawberry unit including: facts, poems, crafts, taste testing, math activities, and much more!

She Knows suggests 5 Craft Ideas to be made using strawberry crates.






Central Florida Memory links to several lesson sin a unit on the book Strawberry Girl.

easyStrawberryrecipes.com is a fun resource for all the strawberry recipes you might desire.

Sarah's Journal has a recipe for strawberry play dough.
We love the book The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.  This lesson in predicting is appropriate for K-2nd grade students.
Hey Section 40 explains a thematic writing lesson where students are encouraged to write a short ode to a strawberry.


Engaging Lessons and Activities has a download of math and literacy activities for Strawberry Day available for 1.99.
Below is a brief lesson in drawing a perfect strawberry.



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Show and Tell #106

Science Spark used sugar cubes for a simple experiment.


Raise a Boy shares 5 beginning yoga poses appropriate for children.  This post is the second in a 2 part series on the topic.

Stay at Home Educator shares a simple, yet entertaining, letter stacking game for practicing the ABCs.


It's your turn!

  abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


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


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


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Teaching with Ticia: Yankee Doodle


I love Yankee Doodle.  It's a fun song, it's easy to teach to kids, and there's history behind it.

I'm bringing this up because we're about to hit 4th of July and this is a great time to teach this song to our kids.  Ages ago, I wrote my first post about it with just the poem, here's a short mini-unit to do on this fun song.

LANGUAGE ARTS

1.  Look for the rhyming words.  Check out Mary Ann Hoberman's Yankee Doodle book.  It's a great example of making a parody of a rhyme and still keeping the original flavor.  What part of the rhyme is over the top and what parts could really happen?

2.  Look up what a macaroni is.  Write both a denotative (dictionary definition) and a connotative (your own words) definition.  It is a great way to truly internalize a word's meaning.


MATH

1.  Graphing- graph the vowels or choose a few consonants to graph.  It's a great exercise in prediction skills to think of which one will happen most frequently.

SOCIAL STUDIES

1.  Search for pictures of a "Macaroni."  Then draw what someone might look like today when we say "Macaroni."

2.  Read and find out the history behind the song Yankee Doodle.  Would you have been proud to be called a Yankee Doodle if you knew it was an insult?

COOKING

1.  Make hasty pudding like in the second verse of the song.

MUSIC AND MOVEMENT

1.  Yankee Doodle was nearly chosen for our national anthem.  Listen to "My Country Tis of Thee," "Star Spangled Banner," and "This Land is My Land."  All of these songs have been put forth at one time for a national anthem.  If you were choosing a song, what would you choose?

2.  Try marching in beat to the music.  Or play the game found here.

ART

1.  Make a newspaper hat and decorate it with feathers to make it a "Macaroni hat."
2.  Since this is a patriotic song, try making art using only red, white, and blue.  How does the picture turn out?  What color stands out most?  Try combining different mediums.  Does it change the artwork if you paint and then color with crayons?

What would you do with Yankee Doodle?

Friday, June 15, 2012

Summer Fun List Suggestions


Over the last several weeks I have run across many  summer fun list suggestions.  Here are a few ideas {and lists} that grabbed my attention.  Hopefully you will find some inspiration for enjoying the season!
Teach Beside Me filled a box with boredom busters for lazy summer days.

Playing House shares their list (and several links) for summer fun suggestions.

Reading Confetti puts together an A to Z list of summer activities.

Doing Life Together takes their Bucket List literally in the summertime.

Quirky Momma linked up to last week's Show and Tell post with 6 Cool Summer Activities.

Six Sisters' Stuff lists 100 Ideas for Summer Fun.
A List Maker's Life  hangs the summer fun to dos out on the line.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Travel Games and Printables


For our family, school is out for the summer!  We have many fun things planned to play, experiment with, and explore in our own neighborhood.  However, we will also be spending some time on the road in route to our favorite vacation destinations. Here are some ideas we have gathered for entertaining excited young travelers.

Serving Pink Lemonade created several wipe off car games.

A girl and a glue gun explains how to make magnetic silly faces, which would be fun for back seat entertainment across the miles.

A girl and a glue gun also has a popular post about putting together a travel binder I Spy game.

Apartment Therapy wrote about a fun way to recycle bubble wrap into a travel BINGO that pops!

The Divine Miss Mommy lists 5 Educational Kids Games appropriate for travel.
Yellow Pear Photography put together lovely little travel tins.

The Dating Divas have put together some travel games and printables intended for a date night, yet they could be adapted for use with children.


Do you have a travel trick or activity to share?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Fathers Day Gifts from Children

 A Mama's Two Cents offered a colorful printable for the Super Dad in your life.


2 Love Learning put a different spin on the shirt and tie card.

Inner Child Fun came up with some crafts for the kids to make for dad.  The brag book made out of cast off technology is especially clever.

Junk in Their Trunk has printables and freebies for making Dad smile.


Don't miss the paper "iDad" from Charlotte's Fancy.

There are several cute suggestions for Father's Day on Simple Kids.  I especially like the "D is for Dad Day" menu.

Her Gardening Blog lists several ideas of gifts kids can make such as a BBQ Kit or a Money Tree.

Brandi has devoted an entire blog to DIY Father's Day craft ideas.

Life of a Modern Mom shares the step by step instructions for creating a folded dress shirt card.

Momania lists their ideas for the Top 10 Inexpensive Father's Day gifts/experiences.

Have fun putting together something special for the Fabulous Fathers in your lives!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Show and Tell #105

Making Boys Men encourages us to get messy while experimenting with fizz!


The Fit Kids Clubhouse experimented with states of matter using balloons.


Enchanted Homeschooling Mom shares a lesson for exploring the 50 US States.

It's your turn!
  abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


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


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


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Letter Toss


    



My 2.5 year old is all boy.  He loves to run, jump and climb his way through the day.  When I create educational activities for him, I usually incorporate some kind of movement so that he can burn off a little extra energy while he's learning. This game, called "Letter Toss", is a new family favorite. It's flexible enough to use with children who are practicing letters or words.

To play, you'll need:
  • 1 large piece of paper
  • 1 pair of scissors
  • 1 marker
  • 1 muffin tin
  • 1 rock, marble or penny
Cut out paper circles that will fit snugly in the bottom of your muffin tin. On each circle, write a different letter or, for older children, write a different word. I like to include one or two letters my son already knows and then fill the remaining spots with letters that are unfamiliar to him. Seeing something he recognizes helps him build confidence and make connections more quickly.



Next, give your child the marble (or whatever item you chose for him to throw) and ask him to toss it into the muffin tin. When the marble lands, have your child name the letter under the marble. In this example, your child would say, "{T}". If the marble lands on a letter that he does not know, name it for him and ask him to repeat after you.  


  


Once your child masters letter names, you can increase the difficulty by having him name the SOUND each letter makes.  In this example he would say, "{T} says /t/".  Then you can ask him to make up sentences filled with {T} words. For instance, your child could say, "Tom told Tim to talk to Tony" or "Texas toast tastes terrible to tiny tadpoles". There are so many possible combinations of words that can be used and it's a fun challenge to create longer and longer sentences.   

Children who are learning to read words can play entertaining variations of this game too. The most obvious goes like this: When the marble lands on a certain word, your child reads it out loud or, if he has too much difficulty sounding it out on his own, he repeats the word after you.   

You can mix up the practice by asking him to use the word his marble lands on in a sentence. For instance, if the marble lands on {she}, your child might say, "SHE is a great friend." Let's pretend that he threw the marble again and it lands on {and}. He could add to his story by continuing, "I like to jump rope with her AND play hopscotch."   

And finally, a third variation of this game helps your child with spelling. First, ask him to look at the word under the marble and spell it out loud. When he's finished, have him spell the word with his eyes closed and then spell the word again with his eyes open. Looking at the word the first time through ensures that your child spells it correctly. When he closes his eyes during round 2, his brain stretches to recall the spelling and then, when he opens his eyes again, he has the chance to check that he spelled the word correctly.   

It's amazing what a piece of paper, a muffin tin and a marble can do, isn't it?!      

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