Monday, October 28, 2013

Fall: Pumpkin Letter Identification

Cynthia (Nanny):
To review letter identification, I printed cards with pumpkins on them that have letters overlaid on top of them.
I found a little felt pumpkin bag in the dollar bins at Target to put the cards into.
I started by modeling how to draw out a pumpkin letter card and name the letter.
Then, the girls took turns naming letters.
They were very successful with the game so I decided to challenge them a bit by asking them to give the sound instead of just the letter names.
They actually did pretty well and only got confused with the letters that look visually similar like b, d, p along with y and v.
Next week we will continue to work with pumpkins and will play again.

Fall: Pumpkin Art Projects

Collaged pumpkins

Arielle (mommy):
An old standby I always like to do as a kinder teacher was the tear art projects, tear art rainbows, tear art apples, tear art letters, etc.  To do tear art you fill in an outline with torn up peices of construction paper.  To make this a little more interesting, we used magazines today to create a tear art pumpkin.  

First we looked through magazines and cut out all the orange objects we could find (and a little bit of green for the stem).  After we gathered lots of orange pictures, I drew an outline of a pumpkin for Lil to fill in.  

She glued the orange (and green) peices to fill in her pumpkin, then I cut it out and had her glue it to black construction paper.  When she was finished I had her copy the work pumpkin with white crayon onto the paper.




Cynthia (Nanny): Paper Jack-o-lanterns

I precut a pumpkin shape and black triangles out of construction paper for the girls to create their own jack-o-lanterns.  I prompted them by asking what they needed to glue on and they responded with eyes and a nose.  I showed them how to use the small triangles to make a mouth.  I thought we were done but Little Sister said that we should add some hair. Great Iidea! 

Fall: Decorating Pumpkins

Cynthia(Nanny):
To get in the spirit of Halloween this week, we visited the pumpkin patch and brought home some pumpkins to decorate. Here are the girls creations:

Fall: Carving Pumpkins

Cynthia(Nanny):
To celebrate Halloween, we carved a pumpkin. At first, they were a little scared to reach in and pull out the pulp, but after a while Big Sister was ready to dig in and get dirty. Little sister needed more convincing but was at least able to feel the gooey texture.


Arielle (mommy):
Last week the kids and I went over to our friends house to have a play date and we also cut open two pumpkins and roasted pumpkin seeds.

We had 12 kids digging into a large sized pumpkin and a small pie pumpkin.  They pulled out all the insides and separated the seeds from the pulp.  

When we finished both pumpkins we were all surprised to see how close the volume of seeds for the small pumpkin was to the much larger pumpkin!

To roast our pumpkin seeds we used coconut oil and sea salt for delicious results.

Rather than having 12 children carves the pumpkins, we let them paint them (with minimal arguments over territory).


Fall: Pumpkin Word Bank

Cynthia (Nanny):
Today we explored pumpkins using our 5 senses and created a word bank poster to describe the girls responses as they described the pumpkin.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Letter Z

Arielle (mommy):
Going through the alphabet this way has been a lot of fun, but I can't say I'm sad to be done!

Imtroduction:  Lil is pretty familiar with the letter Z and it's sound so we had a little fun making Z with the kids toys and learning manipulatives.  It was fun for us to look through the toys and think what we could use and how we could use them to make the letter.



Writing:
Lil practiced writing Z using some of the different tools in the Nick Jr. Draw and Play app.  This is one of the only paid apps I have (I bought it when it went on sale) but it is great because it offers a ton of different tools and creativity for budding artists.  There are even animated stickers, fireworks, and bouncy balls that keep kids excited.  I have spent a small amount of time playing it and was entertained.  This app really proved to be an engaging way for Lil to practice writing.


Craft:  Z dresses up as a zebra

Cynthia (Nanny) 
Today we only had time to create the last page (yaaaay!) in our ABC book. I really like the ideas Arielle shared for Y and Z so we will have to try one of these on Monday. 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Fall : Handprint Art Apple Tree

Cynthia (Nanny):
One of the girls' favorite things we do is painting with hand and foot prints. Today we used their hand and finger prints to create an apple tree.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Fall: Apples Everywhere!


Arielle (mommy):
For the past week and a half I've been showing my kids apples everywhere we go.  We noticed them at the grocery store, in books, in games, in songs, and in their favorite tv shows.  

We found a great youtube video my HarryKindergarten all about apples.  I used to use HK youtube videos when I taught kinder.  He has great videos that teach counting (by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's), months of the year, days of the week, seasons, weather, money, exersize, and really most everything you'd want to teach a 5 year old (or younger).  The apple music video did not disappoint.  Lil and O both loved the tune and the beat the song had.  The song includes a lot of good information about apples which I appreciate as well.

You can watch "I Love Apples (kid's song)" on youtube or on http://www.harrykindergartenmusic.com/song/57

Lil love Curious George and I just knew there had to be an episode about apples.  I found episode 2 of season 3 called "Meets the Press."  After I figured out it wasn't about CG taking a trip to his local news station, we watched it on Netflix.  This episode was cute and informative as CG goes to an apple orchard and accidently learns first hand how apple cider gets made.

I also did a youtube search for the episode and found it there as well.

We were having so much fun finding apples everywhere I figured I'd be able to find a game for my iPad and I was right.  We found a free app called "Quack's Apples."  Lil enjoyed helping Quack get his apples into the river by pointing sticks in the correct direction.


Last week we read several apple books we have that are worth mentioning.  Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie is a great book to read aloud just for fun (though it did have good information on different types of apples and instructions on how to bake an apple pie).  How Do Apples Grow is a good scientific book.  I Am An Apple scientific too but much simpler and easier for little ones to comprehend.  Ten Apples Up On Top is a great book for incorporating counting into the apple theme.





Monday, October 21, 2013

Fall: Cooking with Apples

Cynthia (Nanny): Crock Pot Apple Cider
Today the twins and I used a simple recipe I found on allrecipes.com to make Apple Cider.
It was a big hit and the girls loved that they were able to add in the ingredients.
As soon as their mom walked in the door, they wanted her to try it. They were so excited to tell her about it.
We took advantage of the chilly weather outside and took their cider cups outside. Great, easy recipe for kids and your house will smell like Christmas. :)

Ingredients Needed
64 oz Apple juice
2 c Orange juice
2 tbsp cinnamon
3-4 cinnamon sticks
(After testing it, I decided to add one diced apple to the pot for extra flavor)
Add all ingredients to a crock pot. Let it simmer on low for about 6-7 hours. Stir occasionally. 

Cynthia (Nanny): Apple Muffins
Today we made Apple muffins using a Jiffy brand muffin mix.  I diced and added in half an apple to add extra apple flavor.  
The girls really enjoy taking part in these cooking activities.  Their favorite part was stirring the batter.  It's always fun to let kids help with cooking.  

Fall: Apple Sorting and Patterns

Cynthia(Nanny):
Today we used real apples to sort by color. The girlpicturess were able to sort very quickly on their own. To provide a challenge, I asked if they could sort by size, but this was a little confusing for them as they said all of them were big. 

I think with older kids you could actually measure to decide how to sort by size.

Guru Moment: A great way to let kids sort objects is to have them create their own rules for how they sorted. They can even turn it into a game where the other kids have to guess what they used to sort.


Cynthia (Nanny): Patterns
I started out by modeling how I could create a pattern using the three different colors of apples.  Then,  I had the girls extend my pattern and create their own.  

After some practice,  we used pictures of apples to create patterns just as we did with the real apples.  
They were able to create a pattern with two apples,  but it seemed like the third color caused some confusion.  I had to re teach the core of the patten and how that part repeats over and over.  We also tried naming the colors in a singing voice to help them remember what was supposed to come next.  
After they were more successful,  they were able to glue down their pictures.  




Arielle (mommy):
I wanted to have Lil build a pattern with real apples but we didn't make it to the store and we only had one apple at home.  I decided to have her do apple prints to make patterns instead.  

I cut the apple in half and had her use two different colors of paint to create an AB pattern with the apple "stamps."


Fall: Measuring Pumpkins

Arielle (mommy):
I love pumpkin tastes and smells!  Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin ice cream, pretty much every sweet thing is better with pumpkins.  The bigger the pumpkin the better!  So today we measured our pumpkins and made comparisons in size.  

First we used our sense of sight to look at the pumpkins to decide which was bigger, then we lifted them, then we used string to measure them.  We stretched the strings out to compare just how much bigger around the big one was than the small one.  



I cut out different sized pumpkins for Lil to put in order from biggest to smallest.



Letter Y

Arielle (mommy):
Introduction:  After a review of Y and its sound, Lil made a tear art Y.  Tear art is great for fine motor practice which really helps with handwriting.



Writing practice:  To practice forming the letters and recognize the different way y and Y can be written, Lil used a felt square with pieces if yarn to make the letters.  She enjoyed it so much she moved on to making her name and her brother's name in yarn.  The yarn really sticks to the felt.


Craft:  Y dressed up like a yak


Friday, October 18, 2013

Fall: Apple Number Matching Game

Cynthia (Nanny):
I created some cards with numbers 1-9 and corresponding dots to match the numbers. 


Big Sister wasn't up to playing the game, so she sat with me as Little sister and I played the game. 


I laid out the number cards and then had little sis count the dot cards with me. Then, she placed the card next to the number. 


The girls still need more practice with touching and counting each dot from left to right, but I think games like these will help with that concept. 


I made two sets and glued them on to different colored cardstock so that the girls can practice counting and matching during our Learning Bin time.

Watercolor Relief Alphabet Chart

Mommy (Arielle):
Today we did a fun letter review art project with a couple of friends.  We made water color and crayon relief paintings of the entire alphabet.

Before the activity, drew the grid on construction paper.  5 1.5 inch lines across the top and 6 2 inch lines down the side.  I drw in pencil.

To begin the project, I had the girls trace my grid lines in different colored crayons.  Next I had them write all the letters of the alphabet on the chart (one letter per rectangle).  Last, we got out the water color paint and I had hem color each individual rectangle using different paint colors.  The effect is neat since the paint doesn't stick to the crayons, it shows through.


(The crayons showed better after it dried)

Guru moment:  To incorporate math next time I will have them paint the rectangles in a pattern.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Fall: Apple Shape Lacing

Cynthia (Nanny): Apple lacing activity
To work on the girls' small motor skills, I had them trace a paper apple shape with yarn. Instead of using shoe laces, I taped the ends of a string of yarn. 

The girls had some trouble with the under, over motion but did better with some encouragement and more modeling. 

I may have punched too many holes, so another modification I made was letting them skip holes as they moved around the apple. Their frustration soon turned into smiles and clapping.

Letter X

To learn about the letter X, we created our ABC page, b talked about the tricky sound, and sang the Who Let the sound out song.
Then, we used Play-Doh to create letter Xs.

Arielle (mommy): 
 Introduction: After reviewing X and its sound, we played a game of tic-tac-toe.  I had Lil be the letter x.  She won. 



Writing practice:  Lil practiced writing Z using water colors on construction paper.  



Craft: We made an X-ray fish



 

Fall: Apple Picking letter and number review

Today I created a mini apple tree with paper to help the twins review the letters and numbers we have been working on.
They took turns picking apples and naming the letter or number on the apple. Today I focused on A-E and 1-5. Tomorrow we will play the game with new apples. What an easy to make game and great way to review what we know.

Fall: Counting Apples Mini-Book

Mommy (Arielle):
Today we reviewed numbers one through 10 using our apple theme.  We created a counting book with apples on apple trees.  

I folded 3 pages of copy paper in half, cut them, then put all the pages together to make the book.  Next I cut out  green tops for the trees and brown trunks.  We glued a tree on each page (11 trees in all since we used on for the cover).  I wrote numbers 1-10 on the trucks, and on each page wrote "I have ___ apples."  

I had Lil identify the number on each page, then use red finger paint to show the correct number of apples.

After the paint dried I had Lil go back and write the number of apples on each page in the blank space.

Finally, Lil got to read her pattern book.  She will add it to her browsing box (box of books she can "read") which will help her with reading confidence as well as counting and number identification.


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Letter W

Arielle (mommy):
Introduction: After looking at W and w, saying the sound, and naming words that start with w, Lil did a w letter search.  I made it by writing many w's with other letters.  Lil had to find all the w's and stamp them with her dot painter.  


Writing practice:
I was going to have Lil paint the letter w with water colors, but after she finished her letter search, she grabbed the paper I had written W on, and wrote W's by dragging her dot painter across the page.
I'd rather she do what seems authentic then to wait around for me to show her exactly what to do next.


Craft: W is for Walrus





Fall: Apple Core Numbers

Arielle (mommy):
It has been way too long since I've posted a math activity.  I thought of this one and knew it would be great for our apple theme.

Lil and I made 6 apple cores by cutting out 6 ovals and cutting them lengthwise it half, then I cut out 6 rectangles.  I put them together to look like apple cores.  Then we painted some pinto beans black for our apple seeds.  After we glued the cores on, I wrote numerals one through six on the bottom of the apples and the number words on the top of the apples.

After it was all ready, Lil glued the correct number of "seeds" on each apple.


Guru moment:
This was too easy for Lil.  Next time I will write the words and have her write the numerals.  I could also go up to ten or start at 6 and go up from there.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Fall: Apple Descriptive Words

Cynthia(Nanny):
Today at snack time the girls had apples and peanut butter. Then, we created a poster listing all the descriptive words the girls could come up with. Before I drew the apple, I showed the girls the partial picture to see if they could guess what I was going to draw. When I asked them to tell me what they know about apples, big sister was quick to say red and little sister chimed in and said green too! To get them to come up with other words I used each of the 5 senses to see if they could describe it based on that. They did pretty well! Later, we can add other words as our Apple Unit moves on.


Fall: Apple Tear Art

Cynthia(Nanny):
To kick off our Apple unit, we decorated an apple using tear art. Tear art is where you cover space with torn pieces of paper to give it a 3D mosaic type of look.

 
Guru Moment: I loved Arielle's idea of using a colored piece of paper for projects to eliminate white spaces. That's a tip I'll make sure to use more often.



Fall: Glue and Chalk Apples

Arielle (mommy):
I was drawing pumpkins with glue on black construction paper as a sample art activity for my little art class when Lil grabbed her own black paper and glue bottles and began drawing apples with the glue.  

We let our glue drawings dry over night, then we used chalk to color them.  The glue lines are left black which creates a neat effect.


This is the pumpkin that was Lil's inspiration:



Monday, October 14, 2013

Fall: Oil Pastel Apples



Arielle (mommy):
I love Fall!  The colors, the smells, the crisp (ish...we are in Texas after all) air.  I have been looking forward to Fall since August 1st and have been itching to start Fall themes since Labor Day.  Cynthia managed to get me to hold off but the time has finally come... Sort of.

Today is Monday Funday (on Mondays we go to the park with our homeschool friends, I host an art class for the big kids, and Lil has Pilates class at the Y.). It's a busy day and we don't have time for many projects.  Tomorrow we will begin the Fall fun but today was a little preview during art class (which Lil popped in and out of). 

For our little art class we looked at some of Van Gogh's landscapes and discussed the use of movement and line.  Then the kids used oil pastels to create fall landscapes in a similar style.  

Lil was interested in creating a picture too and drew a fall landscape with an apple tree to kick off our fall apple unit.


Lil is 4 and the kids in my "art class" are between 9-11, so there is quite a bit of differentiation but they all made it work for themselves. We used yellow construction paper to avoid having any white space on the page.


I'm excited for more fall fun to come!  Happy Fall!

Friday, October 11, 2013

About Me: Footprint Art

Cynthia(Nanny):
Today in keeping with our All about me theme we used the girls footprints to create a cute picture to hang in their room.


About Me: My Family Tree

Cynthia(Nanny):
Using the handprint art tree we made last week we created the girls family tree.
They glued their pictures on and then added a pic of their mommy and daddy.
We will hang it in their room along with their All About Me poster.