Homemade Snow

Snow in San Antonio is rare, but not when you have 2 simple household ingredients! 

We used 1 box of baking soda (approximately 2 cups) and 1/3 cup of white hair conditioner. That's it! I made one batch for each child. 

We mixed the two ingredients together and it felt like real snow! It was cool to the touch, moldable, and a little slushy. This will for sure be a go to winter activity for us! 

Winter Science

Arielle (mommy):  Before deciding what exactly to teach Lil and O about winter, I asked Lik questions to figure out how much she already knows.  She was able to describe the weather in winter, the activities people might do outside, and the clothing we should wear.  As we talked about winter, I worked with O in practicing to say winter words.

Lil told be that in the winter it is so cold it snows instead of rains.  This seemed to lead to a science experiment about freezing water.  I asked her what would happen to a cup of water if we put it in the freezer, she quickly said it would freeze.  So I decided to make it a bit more complex by having her freeze hot water and cold water and observe the changes.

We created a visual to show her predictions.  She thought the cold water would freeze first and the hot water would freeze later.

While we waited for the water to freeze we watched the brainpop jr video clip about winter (this clip is free right now).

O and I read a winter cloth book to get him involved too.

5 Senses of Christmas: Sensory Pool

Arielle (mommy): to explore the sense of touch in a festive way I decided to create a sensory experience using wrapping paper, ribbon, and various ornaments.  I admit it's not really pretty, it looks like a bit of a mess, but the kids had a blast in it!

I get a little stressed out by sensory tubs.  Whether they are rice, sand, water beads, Cheerios, it doesn't matter.  They stress me out because of the huge potential for messes.  That's why I decided to use a kiddie pool.  I loved using the kiddie pool so much I think we will use it for painting and other messy projects while it's too cold to go outside.

O had a great time just playing in the paper and touching everything.  Lil had a blast wrapping ornaments in the paper scraps and tying them with ribbon.  Then she put the gifts under the tree.  This kept them both (quietly) busy for almost an hour!  

Nativity Free Art

Arielle (mommy):

The kids have a Fisher Price little people Nativity set that we get out every Christmas, and the love to play with it.  Today I decided to use it for Lil and O to make observations (to tie in science and properties of matter: color, shape, size) and to create some free art.  

Lil drew a picture of the scene, and as she did so, she picked up each peice and carefully picked out the correct colors before she began to recreate it on the page.  She also tried to keep shape and size in mind as she was drawing.

O used playdoh to explore.  I helped him desperate the doh into three peices to represent baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Fall: Leaf Crayon Rubbings

Cynthia(Nanny):
Using the leaves we collected, we observed them and talked about how they felt and looked. Then, I modeled how to make a crayon rubbing. The girls had some trouble using the right amount of pressure and coloring in a single direction. Right now, they're still in the scribbling stage of coloring, so I had to realize their crayon rubbing wouldn't be as clear. Still, they had fun trying to see part of the leaf, especially the stem, show up on their paper.

Fall: Leaf Hunt

Cynthia (Nanny):
Today we began our Fall leaf unit by going on a leaf hunt outside. The twins each had a bag to put their leaves in.  They had fun running to find leaves and chasing butterflies along the way.  While we were searching for the leaves Big Sister found a wildflower and wanted to add it to her bag.  Even though we were looking for tree leaves I praised her for knowing that flowers have leaves too. Sometimes, kids will say or do something that you wouldn't expect and really show just how much their minds are always connecting and learning.  Just go with it.  ;)

Fall: Pumpkin life Cycle

Arielle (mommy):

Today we got scientific with pumpkins.  We watched a short youtube video about how pumpkins grow, and then we created a fun craft about the life cycle of pumpkins.

To prep:

I folded 1 peice of orange construction paper in half, then cut it into a pumpkin shap, leaving the fold in tact.  I wrote "Pumpkin Life Cycle" on the pocket.

I cut one side of the pumpkin in half and glued down the side to create a pocket.

I cut out a small green rectangle and glued it behind my pumpkin pocket.

I cut a 2 foot long peice of yarn and added tape to one end, the other end I taped inside the pocket of the pumpkin.

I cut out 6 white construction paper circles and punched holes to the top and bottom of each one.

With Lil:

After discussing how a pumpkin grows we went step by step, I asked her what you first plant in the ground, she said "seed" and then I had her draw a seed on one circle.  Then I wrote the word on it.  We went step by step that way until we got to our last step (ripe pumpkin) and she drew an orange pumpkin.  After she drew all the pictures and I labeled them, I had her place the steps in order.  Then she wrote numbers 1-6 on the circular cards.  After that it was time to thread the cards onto the "vine."  We placed a peice of tape in the yarn behind each circle to hold it in place.  

This activity was really great because it pretty much hit all the "instructional" areas. 

Fine motor: threading the yarn, putting on tape

Sequencing: putting the steps in order

Science: learning how a pumpkin grows

Numbers: labeling the cards with numbers

Early literacy: labeling the cards whit words

Art: drawing each stage

Fall: Comparing and Contrasting Apples and Pumpkins

Cynthia(Nanny):
Today we created a modified Venn Diagram to review what we've learned about apples and pumpkins.
The twins did a really great job being able to place the description cards in the correct box. 

Guru Moment: When I asked them about where they grow little sister said "in a garden" then big sister added, "like a pumpkin patch!" I loved how they were able to recall their real life experience when we picked pumpkins at a pumpkin patch. Hands on/real life experiences make learning so much more fun and they remember so much better than just being told.

Arielle (Mommy):

Today I was inspired by Cynthia's comparison of apples and pumpkins with the girls to do the same with Lil while I was napping.  We created a traditional Venn Diagram with facts about pumpkins and apples.  After that was complete, we created a book, and lil used the Venn diagram as a word bank to fill in the blank spaces I provided her.  Then she illustrated each page.  This was a great opportunity to learn about the properties of matter, review the 5 senses, and discuss how things grow.  Lil added the book to her browsing box.

About Me: My Teeth

1st Dentist Visit

Cynthia (nanny):

Today, the girls had their first dentist visit. They both did really great and way better than expected. Their dentist was very kid friendly and gave us a lot of helpful tips. Today, during Morning meeting we discussed how to take care of our bodies with exercise, eating right, and having doctor check ups, so the dentist appointment fit in perfectly.  

Here are some great tips from the dentist:

· Offer milk and juice with meals and water in between rather than the other way around. The sugar in milk and juice can deposit on teeth, but food can help minimize that. So, water is good throughout the day. 

·Brush their teeth while they are lying flat in your lap in order to properly get their gumline. Using downward motions along the top gums and upwards motions on the bottom gums help pproperly clean both teeth and gums. Also, this strategy can help future dentist visits not seem so foreign. 

·A little goes a long way. Dip the brush in the tube of toothpaste instead of squeezing onto the brush. (When you've started using a fluoride toothpaste) 

·Brush twice daily, but especially at night to prevent decay. 

·If you notice a little bleeding along the gums, its not a cause for panic, it's just an indication that you missed that area before and are now giving it a proper cleaning and removing bacteria. 

Those are a few tips I thought I'd share that will definitely help us. 

About Me: My Body

This next unit we will be titled All About Me. We will cover topics including I am unique, TakingUsing  of my body, and My family is special. 

Cynthia (nanny):

Today we reviewed the 5 senses we learned about previously. 

Then we bridged what we learned about senses to discuss different body parts we have and how we can move them. We named body parts that we knew and reinforced ones they weren't too sure about (thigh, ankle,) Those are a bit specific and could be included with leg and foot. 

Next, we played the Hokey Pokey game to reinforce body part names. 

During the day we moved about the house in ways other than walking to see what other ways our body allows us to move.

Arielle (mommy):  Today we talked about the parts of the body by making a "my body" poster.  

I glued the person onto the construction paper, left it on the table during snack time, and went to clean the kitchen.  When I walked back out Lil had taken her carrots and glued them to the poster as hair.  At first I wanted to laugh, then I was annoyed, then I thought it was pretty creative so I let it go.  Lil said she used carrots because she has red hair.  Then she told me "I need some more carrots because I have really long hair."  The poster would be easier to read without the carrots, but oh well.

After she finished making her person, I wrote the body part names on card and had her put them where there was a line pointing to that part.    As I asked her where each part was, O sat at the table and pointed to each part on his body.  

5 Senses Review: Day 5

Arielle (mommy):  To wrap up our final day of the 5 senses we watched a few youtube kids' music videos for 5 senses, there are several.

We made a smoothie with strawberries, bananas, and juice.  I gave each child a plastic lettuce knife used for lettuce cutting, and sat them at the tab,e so they could cut the fruits themselves.  Bananas are a great fruit for little ones to cut and they can even use a plastic butter knife.  This was a great activity.  It was very hands on, s they used their sense of touch, the blender is loud, so that took care do hearing, they needed to use their sense of sight so they could see what they were doing, and they enjoyed using their sense of taste and smell  when they ate the smoothies.  

5 Senses Review: Day 4

Arielle (Mommy)

Activity #1:

Today for our senses review we read and discussed senses we found in an Abeka God's World (Kindergarten) workbook.  It has a page for each sense and talks about how our senses keep us safe. 

Activity #2:  Throughout the day we have been working on different activities and discussing the senses we are using for the activity and counting how many of the 5 we are using.  This morning we played with Legos and we figured out that we were using 3 senses; we used our sense of sight to see the colorful Legos, our sense of touch to feel the Legos, and our sense of hearing to hear the Legos clicking together.  O didn't put any in his mouth so nobody used their sense of taste, and they don't smell, so we didn't use that sense either.  

We made fruit and yogurt parfaits for snack (using granola, Greek honey strawberry yogurt, strawberries, coconut, and apples) and decided we were using all 5 senses as we ate.

Cynthia(Nanny)

Today we added a new poem to our 5 Senses Poetry Book. This one was also a rebus style poem with pictures to help the girls read and sing along with me. 

Then, using the memory game cards we used yesterday, I put them in a bag for a new game. I modeled how to draw out a card and formed a sentence to go along with the card. This was  a last minute idea I had which really let me assess the girls vocabulary, knowledge about senses, and sentence structure. 

5 Senses Review: Day 2

Arielle (mommy):

Today we made a book called "My Five Senses".  It included two pages for each sense; "I can smell with my nose.  I like to smell pie."  An so on.  Lil came up with an object that she liked to experience with each sense, then drew it.  For the writing part, we used a variety of strategies, for one page, I had her sound the word out by herself, (she wrote m for music).  For another page,I helped her sound out the word as she wrote, (she wrote blant for blanket).  On another page, I provided her with a word bank that she copied the word from (rainbow).  As we wrote the book, I had Lil tell me the next sense and the body part we use for it.  After the book was complete, we read it together, and I added it to her browsing box.

Cynthia (Nanny): 

Today we used our sense of touch, sight, and smell while we played with shaving cream. The girls really enjoyed this. It's so easy and costs you next to nothing to have your kids do this fun sensory activity. You can have them play on trays, directly on a table, or on foil like I did.  

5 Senses Review and Extension

Cynthia (Nanny):
Day 1: This week we will be reviewing what we've learned so far about our the senses and how we use them to learn.  This week will also give us some time to do some activities we didn't get to as well as a few of our favorite activities and games from this unit.

Today the girls asked to play with the water beads we introduced on Friday. Of course,  I knew this would become a favorite of theirs. This a great activity that covers multiple senses and also leads to great vocabulary and language development. As they're playing we took turns calling out letter names and talking about what the beads and toys felt like, what they were playing, etc.

Activity 2: As a type of assessment or quiz, I wanted to see how well the girls would remember the five senses and how we use each. In school,  foldables are a great learning tool so I want to try to expose the girls early to this fun and effective way of learning.  

I created a five section foldable book for the girls to demonstrate how they can use their five senses. We discussed each sense and then I let them choose pictures to glue under each flap. This book is also a patterned book that they are able to remember and read independently.  I look forward to using more foldables with the girls.  (See www.dinah.com to learn more about Dinah Zyke foldables) 

Arielle (mommy):  

We spent the morning at the park, we talked about using our 5 senses at the park.  Feeling the slide, seeing the trees, hearing the birds, smelling the fresh air, and tasting the snack we brought with us.

5 Senses Review: Day 3

Arielle (mommy):

Today we made a poster I can hang in Lil's room for review.  I cut out all the pieces, then Lil and I assembled the person.  We added some elements like poppoms, ribbons, and google eyes to make it 3D.  When we were all done with the paper Lil, I asked her to tell me how to label all of the senses.  She told me each part and what sense was associated with it, I wrote it on a card, and had her glue it on lines I had drawn next to each body part.

She's pretty excited to have this silly (yet informative) poster of herself.

Cynthia (Nanny) Day 3: The 5 Senses Memory Game
I printed pictures of the five senses and added in the number 5 and a picture of  a boy and girl to relate it back to everyone uses their sense to learn and grow.  I glued the pictures to index cards and cut them in half. The girls did really well with remembering where the picture cards were when it was their turn to find a pair. I started with just two pairs and slowly built up to the whole set.  

Sense of Sight: Day 5

Arielle (mommy):

Today is our final day of sight!  At our house we continue to be very busy with Lil's birthday preparations.  Of course I figured out a way to incorporate the two.  I decided to make Lil a Rapunzel costume to wear (we searched the stores and I was frustrated by the quality and price).  I had Lil use her sense of sight to describe Rapunzel's costume, and as I made the costume, I had her compare it to a picture of the character and tell me what I needed to add.  We used an old pink leotard, a purple tutu, purple felt, purple tulle, and some hot glue to make the costume.  It's definitely not an exact replica but not bad for some things we found around the house.

We also experimented with sense of sight a bit when I had Lil use a magnifying glass to observe things.  I also blindfolded her and had her try to write her name without using her sense of sight.  We topped off the day by reading the first few pages of a story without looking at the pictures and discussing why our sense of sight helps us understand picture books better.

Cynthia (Nanny):
To wrap up our sense of sight unit we created the fifth part of our Senses book collection.
I printed and cut out some pictures of familiar objects for the girls to choose. Again, I wrote predictable sentences for them to remember as they read.  Obviously,  they can't read the words yet but memorizing stories is such a great skill to promote early reading.  After they glued in the pictures I filled in the blank to match the picture they chose.  I read their story to them and then I had the girls rear it out loud to me.  They were excited to read it on their own and add it to their Browsing bags to read for later.  

Activity 2:  

This week we had lots of rain so I took advantage of a teachable moment and had the girls use their sense of sight to observe the rain. On a whim I wondered if they would be able to complete a vocabulary activity with me that I would have done with school aged children. Of course, they rose to the occasion. After we observed and talked about the rain falling outside I made a chart with 4 spaces for the word, the picture, what they think the word means, and what the word actually means. Sometimes it can be really difficult to describe the meaning of words, so teaching vocabulary skills early is crucial to kids lifelong success.

Activity 3:

Last week I spent some time with Lil and she showed me how to use the water bead sensory bin. I think I may have had more fun than she did and couldn't wait to have the girls try them.  They loved them! After letting them explore on their own for a while,  I told them we were going to play a letter and color hunt game. I would call out letters or current colors and have them search for them in their tub.  They had lots of fun and will be on our list of games to play next week.  

Sense of Sight: Day 4

Cynthia(Nanny): Day 4: The twins had fun completing some Sesame Street puzzles I made. We focused on turning pieces or moving them around until the picture "looked right" or when they could "see" the characters. To make the puzzles, I first printed images of familiar cartoon characters from the internet. Then I cut them out and pressed them in between contact paper as opposed to laminating them as another option. Last, I cut the picture into 4 pieces (older kids could have more) Very easy to do and kids will love them.

Guru Moment: The girls did become a little frustrated with the pieces moving, so I probably need to create a separate square mat with Velcro strips to hold the pieces in place.

2nd activity: 

For our discovery sensory bottle activity I filled two water bottles with baby oil. You can also use glycerin for better results. 

Then I gathered some items for the girls to add into their bottle. 

After they added all the items I super glued the cap shut and closed the bottle. The girls were then able to shake, move, roll and experiment with the sensory bottles.           

Arielle (mommy):  

It continues to be a very busy week with Lil's 4th birthday coming up this Saturday.  We spent some of the day out shopping for Rapunzel decorations and purple and yellow decorations. I told Lil to use her sense of sight to spot those things in the store.  At one point she asked me if she could feel something and I asked her what sight she would be using if she did that.  She said touch, so it was good to know she retained that from the first week.  Then we discussed how we use our eyes to see, and we don't need to touch.  Here are some of the decorations I made for her party with the purple and yellow things we found. :)

Guru moment: It's important to realize that you don't have to feel guilty when you don't have time to sit down and do an involved project every single day.  There are plenty of wonderful teachable moments that come up just in our everyday activities.  At their young ages, almost everything is a learning opportunity for preschoolers.

Sense of Sight: Day 3

Arielle (mommy):

Since our focus for sense of sight is noticing the colors we see, the colored vinegar on baking soda is a great activity.

I have Lil a medicine dropper to transfer the colored vinegar slowly.  She loved seeing the baking soda turn different colors and start to bubble.  

This activity was a great way to experiment with color mixing as well.

Cynthia (Nanny): 

Today we played a memory observation game to practice sense of sight. I did two trials of 5 items where they would name the items and then close their eyes as I removed the items.  They were able to rremember and name all 5 items after playing 3 times.  

Even though it was a little challenging,  the girls had fun guessing the items and then hiding the items behind their backs and having me guess who was holding which items.  

Sense of Sight: Day 2

Cynthia(Nanny): 

Today for our sense of sight practice, we played a color matching game. 

Beforehand,  I painted a circular piece of poster board with several different colors. I added a layer of modge podge sealant so it would dry smooth and not so rough. Then, I labeled clothes pins with the color word and visual. I modeled how to squeeze the pins to open and clip to the correct color space. I clipped one pin on the correct spot and another on an incorrect spot. 

They were very quick to tell me I needed to fix it. :) After each girl practiced matching a pin I let them complete the game on their own. They did very well with matching up the colors. It was also a great fine motor exercise which I didn't realize it would be.

Guru Moment: I think having them use clothes pins or plastic tweezers to grab items when sorting definitely needs to be something we practice doing more of.

For science and math today we practiced sorting different objects by color. I filled a bin with red, blue, yellow, and green items. We used pom pom balls, colored popsicle sticks, and colored noodles. 

I was wondering if the fact that the objects were not the same would cause some confusion but I'm assuming since they are familiar with sorting they focused on colors and had no problems.

Guru moment: It may have been too easy, but sometimes these games that kids feel successful with can help reinforce concepts and build confidence. Many times I heard the girls say "this is a fun game!" :) 

Do you have any ideas on how I could have made this more challenging? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Arielle (Mommy):

Today we watched a music video clip from Sid the Science Kid about the sense of sight on youtube.  

To continue of study of sight and color I made a color matching game similar to Cynthia's but a bit more challenging for Lil as she is older.  Instead of completely different colors, I had Lil match colors that were different shades.

Ahead of time I went to Home Depot and collected some paint swatches, two of each one I selected.  Then I laminated the swatches, left one of each as is, and cut the other set up.  I hot glued the cut swatches to clothes pins.

We discussed how the colors were similar but the shades were different, some were lighter and some were darker.   We discussed how our sense if sight tells us what color things are.

Sense of Sight: Day 1

Cynthia(Nanny): 

This week we will learn about the fifth sense; the sense of sight. Today during our Morning meeting I reviewed the senses we've learned and said we should be learning about sight. I pointed to my eyes and said we use our eyes to.... I wanted them to finish my sentence and big sister said "see things!" We practiced naming things around the room that we could see. Then I covered their eyes to demonstrate how if our eyes are covered or closed, we are unable to see. Our theme with sense of sight will be colors, so the majority of our activities will be centered around color. Our first activity was using colored circles to create patterns. We practiced touching and moving the circles first before gluing. When we "take turns" putting the items in line, they seem to catch on alot faster. After some practice I had the girls make a pattern and glue it on a sentence strip. I was happy to see that big sister created an A-B-B-A pattern.  Very impressive especially after having a week off! :)

Next, I read Baby bear, baby bear, what do you see?  By Bill Martin to reinforce sight. Afterwards I even tried having the girls retell the story in the order it happened. With a few prompts they were able to retell about 75% off the story. After lunch, we created a Colors Poetry book. I created simple songs to help them with color identification. I cut the pages and had the girls glue them into their books. After they glued them, I read them out loud and had them help me read using the picture cues. These books will go in their browsing bags for future reading.

Guru Moment: After seeing one of Arielle's posts using lap desks for the kids,  I decided these portable work spaces were a great idea. Luckily I found them at Michael's for $5 each. Thanks for the tip Arielle! :)

Arielle (mommy):  

Today was a busy day between the park, the gym, and Lil having a friend over.  We introduced the sense of sight by playing "I spy" in the car.  The old game where you say "I spy something red" and everyone has to guess what it is you are "spying".

To do some exploration of color and light, we got out our water beads, I added some color paddles, and some colorful links so we could change the color of the clear beads by putting them on the different colored objects.  

Guru moment: Since Owen loves to throw the water beads all over, I put some into bottles for him, and hot glue the lids on.  I even put glitter in one for the added color.

To learn about colors and how they mix together we free painted with acrylic paints on canvas.  I let the girls explore by mixing the paints.  We discussed what colors to use to make new colors and continued our discussion of sight as we talked about the colors we see in nature. I used an old calendar with photos of landscapes to protect the table, so these provided some inspiration for the paintings and the discussion.