tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24141645148903392952024-03-18T22:53:56.295-04:00My Bright FireflyMyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-21397754478969636332017-11-30T01:07:00.001-05:002017-11-30T17:59:57.337-05:00<h1>
Fairies on Cherries Christmas Ornament</h1>
<h3>
Fairies and Unicorns Celebrate Christmas</h3>
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We made this year's Christmas ornament inspired by our current favorite unicorn book. Unicorns and fairies immediately spark imagination and fill children's colorful and shining pretend world. They won the first place out of all our Christmas craft ideas hands down.<br />
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Christmas ornaments inspired by children's books: links to more ideas and inspiration from this season's project "10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas" can be found at the end of this article.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6r02qwfJh1ThyphenhyphenNEMYizZeyZM8XVGKCzCoCKOLwO72KUbVq5orLnI9i0jE0U64AccYMKr0g54HCXsi2qCupnQkWUbs9qympDnN7v6-KV9OiWFwmTaby0yNedX5GWP93TWpdLgKl9p53w89/s1600/2017-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6r02qwfJh1ThyphenhyphenNEMYizZeyZM8XVGKCzCoCKOLwO72KUbVq5orLnI9i0jE0U64AccYMKr0g54HCXsi2qCupnQkWUbs9qympDnN7v6-KV9OiWFwmTaby0yNedX5GWP93TWpdLgKl9p53w89/s640/2017-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Goodnight Unicorn </h3>
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Goodnight Moon was our favorite during toddler and preschool years. This new book "Goodnight Unicorn" (A Magical Parody) by Pearl E. Horne resembling an old favorite, and at the same time, has it's own "magical" qualities.<br />
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"Goodnight unicorn lovers everywhere" - these last words of the story are accompanied by a child sleeping in a familiar room dressed up in a unicorn pajamas. How very precious and recognizable! But the book doesn't end there. There are "Unicorn ology" pages at the end of the book.<br />
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Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934649635/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1934649635&linkCode=as2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=9910d70af42b28513bb7c7bd1ebd6503" target="_blank">Goodnight Unicorn: A Magical Parody</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1934649635" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<h3>
And There Were Three Little Fairies Sitting on Cherries Christmas Craft</h3>
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Fairies on cherries were our favorite page in this book. And now they are sitting on our Christmas tree! They are well loved already and well played with every day.<br />
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For this ornament we used:<br />
yarn,<br />
tulle,<br />
chenille stems,<br />
red tissue paper,<br />
white glue, scissors, a black Sharpie, ruler.<br />
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<b>Cherries:</b><br />
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We cut 6 inch squares of red tissue paper. We applied white glue all over the paper, crumbled it, and rolled in between the palms to form spheres. While still wet with glue, cherries were poked with the green stem, and the glitter was sprinkled (optional).<br />
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<b>Fairies:</b><br />
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Wrap some yarn around a carton tube.</div>
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Take it off the tube and tie it with a piece of thread.</div>
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Cut the yarn on the opposite side, collect it together and tie it again to form a fairy's head. </div>
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Fairy's arms are made of two stems. Separate yarn into two parts, insert the arms between the parts of yarn. Cut up the string of tulle. Tie the tulle under the arms to form a waist line and wings.</div>
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<h3>
Christmas Ornaments Inspired by Children's Books</h3>
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Here are today's precious ornaments and favorite books:<br />
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<a href="https://rainydaymum.co.uk/mondrian-christmas-ornaments/" target="_blank">Mondrian Inspired Christmas Ornament</a> from Rainy Day Mum. "Coppernickel Goes Mondrian" by Wouter van Reek.<br />
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<a href="https://happybrownhouse.com/scrabble-tile-name-christmas-ornament/" target="_blank">Scrabble Tile Name Christmas Ornament</a> from Happy Brown House. "Santa's Book of Names" by David McPhail.<br />
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<a href="https://www.castleviewacademy.com/golden-snitch/" target="_blank">Golden Snitch Christmas Ornament</a> from Castle View Academy. "Harry Potter" by J. K. Rowling.<br />
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<a href="http://themamaworkshop.com/2017/11/30/diy-grinch-christmas-ornament/" target="_blank">Grinch Christmas Ornament</a> from The Mama Workshop. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" by Dr. Seuss.<br />
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Find more ideas and inspiration from this season's project "10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas" here: <a href="http://www.mamamiss.com/2017/11/20/10-days-of-christmas-2017/" target="_blank">10 Days of Christmas - Kid Made Ornaments and Crafts </a>from Mama Miss.<br />
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MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-71722368515691544782016-12-08T14:08:00.002-05:002016-12-11T13:24:48.286-05:00Elephant and Piggie Christmas Ornaments<h2>
Elephant and Piggie Celebrate Christmas</h2>
We made Christmas ornaments inspired by our very favorite Elephant and Piggie books. These fun characters are a pleasure to have for some quality dramatic play for this kid! The most special ornaments on our Christmas tree make us smile - I suspect they might be treasured by this little reader later on.<br />
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Christmas ornaments inspired by children's books: links to more ideas and inspiration from this season's project "10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas" can be found at the end of this article.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- We are going to have Christmas!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- Yes, Santa will come!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- He is so BIGGY- BIG- BIG-</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- I CANNOT WAIT!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- Piggie!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- Yes, Gerald?</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">- I am SO HAPPY to go to the Christmas party WITH YOU!</span></i></div>
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<h2>
Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems</h2>
These books did wonders for this little reader: the love for reading and confidence, fluency and expression, comprehension and creativity. We have read the books in different settings: adult reading, child reading, adult and child, two children. Each book becomes even more fun every time they reread it.<br />
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It is hard to choose a favorite from this series. It could be "We Are in a Book!" as the reader becomes part of the story. It makes it engaging for kids. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423133080/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1423133080&linkCode=as2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=000ef68d96528d7942d0eed3f9fc6429" target="_blank">We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1423133080" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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As we are into dancing here, we found this book very funny: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423114108/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1423114108&linkCode=as2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=8c89f9fb4cc4f9db3d1f541ffec68d51" target="_blank">Elephants Cannot Dance! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1423114108" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<h2>
Elephant and Piggie Christmas Ornaments</h2>
I love how our elephant and piggy are ornaments and dramatic play props for this Christmas season. They just can't stop talking and creating new stories: so fun!<br />
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For this ornaments we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>clear plastic ornaments,</li>
<li>pink and blue construction paper, </li>
<li>ribbons, bows, tinsel to fill the ornaments,</li>
<li>a black Sharpie, tape, scissors.</li>
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We drew ears, a trunk, and a snout free hand and cut them out. We decided to use tape to attach the parts to the ornaments. Elephant's glasses: two white circles with the eyes drawn on them are placed on a piece of tape; the frames a drawn on tape with a Sharpie. Piggie's eyes and a mouth are drawn on the ornament. <br />
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<h2>
Christmas Ornaments Inspired by Children's Books</h2>
Here are today's precious ornaments and favorite books:<br />
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<a href="http://www.planetsmarty.com/2016/12/diy-dinosaur-ornament.html" target="_blank">Dinosaur Fossil and Dinosaur Ornament</a> from Planet Smarty Pants. "The Dinosaurs' Night before Christmas" by Anne Muecke.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theeyesofaboy.com/2016/12/dream-snow-christmas-tree-ornament.html" target="_blank">Rustic Wreath Christmas Tree Ornament</a> from The Eyes of a Boy. "The Dream Snow" by Eric Carle.<br />
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<a href="http://thesoccermomblog.com/2016/12/08/ice-skate-ornaments/" target="_blank">Christmas Candy Cane Ice Skating Ornament</a> from The Soccer Mom Blog. "Katie The Candy Cane Fairy" by Thomas Nelson.<br />
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<a href="http://zingzingtree.com/felt-paw-print-christmas-decoration/" target="_blank">Felt Paw Print Ornament</a> from Zing Zing Tree. "Merry Christmas, Splat! (Splat the Cat)" by Rob Scotton.<br />
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Find more ideas and inspiration from this season's project "10 Days of a Kid-Made Christmas" here: <a href="http://www.mamamiss.com/2016/11/22/10-days-kid-made-christmas-2016/" target="_blank">Christmas Ornaments Inspired by Children's Books</a> from Mama Miss.<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-69980151486854863312016-11-08T11:11:00.000-05:002016-11-10T03:43:14.983-05:00Math Games We Love for Preschool to Second GradeFun with Math and playful explorations of the early Math concepts: our little ones are into Math recently. Math can be so much fun at this age! Some of our favorite games are here; as well as links to the gift guides for this holiday season from some of the best Kid Bloggers on the Web.<br />
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<b><u>Balance Beans: Seesaw Logic Game</u></b>. Kids can practice measuring weight and balancing the scale, logic skills and physics principles. There is a series of challenges with the answer keys going from easy to hard. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01I56R576/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01I56R576&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=3955e0ecfd1a36699e1e583d7bf516b1" target="_blank">Balance Beans Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B01I56R576" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b><u>Money Bags: A Crazy Coin Counting Game</u></b>. Kids collect and count money, exchange them in a bank, and more - the biggest money bag wins. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TDTQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004TDTQ&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=820036828f27d3348297edd8c2efc289" target="_blank">Learning Resources - Money Bags Coin Value Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00004TDTQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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<b><u>Geometric Shapes Puzzles: Super Mind</u></b>. This is a series of 30 puzzle challenges going from easy to hard. I like how the difficulty level increases gently... until the child can concur a challenge that would take me time to solve. The Super Mind puzzles are created with the increased level of difficulty and a sequel to Mighty Mind. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00001N2MX/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00001N2MX&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=5dfc0fb8a7a7db34207403700b548c29" target="_blank">SuperMind</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00001N2MX" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b><u>Geometric Solids: 14 Relational Shapes in Six Colors</u></b>. They are great for "Roll or Stack?' game, can be filled in the sensory bins, are wonderful tools with magnetic sand. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0034IX85O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0034IX85O&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=89c80f3945208600cc66bae6af35f520" target="_blank">Learning Resources View-Thru Geometric Solids (14Colored)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B0034IX85O" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b><u>Electronic Learning: Telly the Teaching Time Clock</u></b>. Telly has a working digital clock and a night light. Analog clock offers two modes. A quiz mode is for setting time in five minute increments, or kids can ask Telly to tell the time. Telly comes in primary colors, or pink and purple. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003BEDE9Q/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003BEDE9Q&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=bd30e5e53e4cce25fd9f05a631a6d0f7" target="_blank">The Learning Journey Telly The Teaching Time Clock, Primary Colors</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B003BEDE9Q" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b><u>Sum Swamp: Addition and Subtraction Game</u></b>. Swamp creatures race to the finish line. They will have to make up and solve some number sentences that (hopefully) will help them to go through the swamp fast. Each game doesn't last too long to keep little mathematicians excited in the swamp adventure. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00004TDLD/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004TDLD&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=db19405de38d8529ccc23d4b7aed764f" target="_blank">Learning Resources Sum Swamp Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00004TDLD" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.<br />
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<b>Math in Art: Spirograph</b>. Spirograph was developed by a mechanical engineer as a drafting tool and first introduced in 1965. This "the original Spirograph" set is a newer version of the old favorite. Kids might enjoy exploring Math and Art concepts through creative play. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B009VE38CI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B009VE38CI&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=fb32a591e13f308337fa475aea00fe66" target="_blank">Spirograph Deluxe Design Set</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B009VE38CI" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b>Logic and High Tech Fun: Laser Maze Jr</b>. Get the laser beam to the rockets so they can safely return to Earth. The series of challenges are offered with the increasing level of difficulty. Kids are to place mirrors on the grid to direct the laser beam. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00T5UZ9KC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00T5UZ9KC&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=b4e85b123603047908dfa9b80b4da878" target="_blank">Laser Maze Junior Board Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00T5UZ9KC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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<b>Practice Left and Right, and Counting: Turtle Flip</b>. This is a simple "Hot Potato" game with the twist. Any fun opportunity to practice left and right, counting and comparing numbers, attention and memory is very welcome! Amazon affiliate link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B014OBPKDW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B014OBPKDW&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=a981e5cb97fdba809687d2f8dd8f6cd1" target="_blank">Turtle Flip - Educational Family Game - Fun for Kids and Adults 6 Years and Up</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B014OBPKDW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
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For more great ideas for this holiday season from some of the best Kid Bloggers visit this page:</div>
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<a href="http://www.kcedventures.com/kids-resources/creative-gift-ideas-for-toddlers-kids-teens" target="_blank">Welcome to the Ultimate List of Gift Guide Ideas for kids of all ages!</a> hosted by KC Edventures.</div>
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-25763024987306552642016-06-05T14:43:00.000-04:002016-06-06T23:03:06.597-04:00Tasty Volumes of Juice: Measure Liquids Math Activities for Kids. <h2>
ice Math: Volume, Taste, Color, and Mix</h2>
Our introduction to volume was refreshing and fun. We used our senses to explore juice drinks, measured them, and created our new favorite mixes.<br />
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<b><u>STEM challenge</u></b>: How the volume of juices effect the taste of the mixture?<br />
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For these activities we used our new favorite juice drinks: Santa Cruz Organic. They are lightly sweetened, refreshing, and made with organic fruit juices and natural flavors. I received this product for free from the sponsors of the <a href="http://www.greenmomsmeet.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Green Moms Meet program</a><span id="goog_1278303051"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1278303052"></span> who received it directly from the manufacturer. All experiences and opinions are my own.<br />
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Juice Observations and Games: Notice Colors, Taste, Smell, Guess the Sugar Amount </h2>
We tried to use all five senses to compare and contrast the juices:<br />
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<li>Notice and describe the colors: light and dark yellow and red.</li>
<li>Discovering the fruits: observe the smell and taste, the ingredients the juice is made of.</li>
<li>Reading the label: a short environmental print practice (we found the pictures of fruits and read some words that caught the eye).</li>
<li>Guess the Taste game: one player closes eyes and takes a sip; then tries to guess the juice.</li>
<li>Guess the Sugar game. We were able to find out that lemonade has more sugar than other juices; discussed how too much sugar is not healthy and brought a container of drinking water to the table.</li>
<li>Introduction to volume and juice transfer activity.</li>
<li><b><u>A new discovery: Juice (as any liquid) takes the shape of its container!</u></b></li>
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For these activities we used:</div>
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<li>A tray to collect spills, containers of different shapes and capacity, syringes and pipettes.</li>
<li>Santa Cruz Organic Pomegranate Agua Fresca juice drink. It is red in color, contains organic pomegranate and lemon juice, 14g of organic sugar.</li>
<li>Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade. It is light yellow in color, contains organic lemon juice and juice concentrate, organic natural lemon flavor, 22g of sugar. </li>
<li>Santa Cruz Organic Mango Passion Fruit Agua Fresca juice drink. It is bright yellow in color, has a pleasant smell, contains organic mango puree, organic passion fruit concentrate, organic lemon juice and natural flavors, 14g of sugar.</li>
<li>For more information about Santa Cruz organic juice drinks, visit <a href="http://www.santacruzorganic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.santacruzorganic.com/</a>. Follow on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/santacruzorganic" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/santacruzorganic</a></li>
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<h2>
Juice Math: Liquids and Measurements</h2>
We found numbers 1 to 3 and letters "ml" on the syringe. Then we used syringes to measure the volume. <br />
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Pictured below, since the cups are the same shape and size, and liquid takes the shape of its container, we can compare the volume and fill the cups to about the same volume in the cups.<br />
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<b><u>The art of juice drinks:</u></b> how to make a perfect mix? How the volume of juices effect the taste of the mixture?<br />
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The two questions above turned out to be inspiring! Now we pay more attention to the choice of fruits, and what we drink, and the healthy choices we can make... <br />
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And we are getting more creative with the flavors of drinks, mixtures, and popsicles - that is a fun (and hopefully ongoing) process for this summer!<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com135tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-90870327627617899642016-06-01T18:59:00.001-04:002016-06-02T13:09:51.456-04:00Smart Beavers Water Play and Engineering for Preschoolers<h2>
Build a Dam Like a Beaver</h2>
We recycled a plastic table cloth to build a river in the yard. It turned out to be a fun engineering activity, river exploration, and a water play. We were able to explored the water flow hands-on: kids adjusted the "river" easily for different outcomes with this quick set up. They attempted to engineer a simple dam with supplies at hand - a great problem solving activity since the effectiveness of their structures was easy to see.<br />
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Our beaver craft can be found here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/happy-beaver-earth-day-craft-for-kids.html">Happy Beaver Earth Day Craft for Kids</a> from My Bright Firefly.<br />
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Beaver books we loved (Amazon affiliate links): <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0698116283/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0698116283&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=U65CZDHDBSA5AH77" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Little Beaver and the Echo</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0698116283" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0142404667/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0142404667&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=OG4EQTIXA5YE7UUO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Turtle's Race with Beaver</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0142404667" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0385386524/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385386524&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=LPPJTYYBK4QB7YNI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beaver Is Lost</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0385386524" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Beavers Water Play</h2>
To create a river, we rolled four pool noodles in a table cloth and secured with tape. <br />
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A small choice of toys and supplies was offered for explorations and building: plastic fish and ducks, rocks, sticks, soil with clay, three buckets of different sizes, two watering cans of different sizes and shapes, a gardening hose, portable toy water wheels.<br />
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Water wheels are optional for these activities. Amazon affiliate links: <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004SNPYKG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004SNPYKG&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=WTTBBQ6TUNJOMNUU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Small World Toys Sand & Water - Water Wheel</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B004SNPYKG" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0000WXGKO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000WXGKO&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=56MNGILLUQVLKX7N" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">American Plastic Toy Sand and Water Wheel</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B0000WXGKO" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Engineering challenge</u></b>: How to position the pool noodles to keep the water inside?<br />
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<b><u>Engineering challenge:</u></b> How to position the river for the fastest flow of water? For the slowest flow? For creating a lake with the water flow underground? (We tried different angles of river on the grassy slope.)<br />
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Beavers' activities change the water habitat. Kids played with plastic fish and ducks helping them down the stream. <br />
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<b><u>Engineering challenge:</u></b> create a water flow for the ducks to go down the stream.<br />
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<u><b>Engineering challenge:</b></u> create a dam that can stop the flow of water and form a small "pond" for beavers.<br />
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It was an interesting process of attempting to stop the flow of water using rocks, sticks, leaves, and soil with clay. It is a process since building the dam is not an easy task. Two of the best solutions for the day were found:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Position the river in a V shape to collect the water at the bottom of the "V".</li>
<li>Place a bucket inside the river, place the ducks inside, and start filling the bucket with water until the overflow will send ducks down the river (or just dump the bucket: whichever comes first).</li>
</ol>
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I call it a success for the day!</div>
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<h2>
A to Z Animal Series</h2>
For the month of June, kid bloggers are working together to bring you A to Z Animal series. Some fun ideas for kids activities and crafts are coming! <br />
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Albatross, Beaver, Crab, Duck, Elephant, and so on. You can find all the links here: <a href="http://www.teach-me-mommy.com/2016/06/the-a-z-of-animals-series.html" target="_blank">A to Z Animal Series</a> from Teach Me Mommy.<br />
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The first article in the Animal series is <a href="http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-is-for-albatross-preschool-animal.html" target="_blank">The Bird with the Biggest Wingspan: Albatross Craft</a> from Preschool Powol Packets.<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-16032120579397222292016-05-25T14:27:00.003-04:002016-05-25T14:38:49.266-04:00Fun Introduction to Sentence. Summer Learning Games for Kids.<h2>
Soup Can Word Towers on Sentence Street</h2>
Introduction to finger spaces between the words, capital letters at the beginning of the sentences, and punctuation at the end sounds boring and complicated for little ones. <br />
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We needed a great visual for playing with the sentence in a fun way. Of course, cut and paste words to build a sentence is a great practice. But our awesome soup can towers served us well:<br />
<ol>
<li>Vegetable and soup cans are so fun to build with!</li>
<li>We were able to observe and create words that are big and small, short and tall. Spacing the words using a finger was our new "magic trick".</li>
<li>The first and last cans on our Sentence Street were "special" color coded cans. They got to be great manipulatives for playing with the new concepts. You can also find our pretend play set up for a period and a question mark here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/05/zookeeper-dramatic-play-introducing.html">Zookeeper Dramatic Play: Introducing a Question and a Question Mark</a>.</li>
</ol>
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The idea for these activities came from a wonderful new book that was released yesterday! <br />
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"100 Fun and Easy Learning Games for Kids" by Amanda Boyarshinov and Kim Vij is a great resource for preschool and kindergarten this summer. The book was sent to us for a review free of charge. All opinions in this post are my own. This article is not sponsored in any other way.<br />
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<a href="http://theeducatorsspinonit.com/100-fun-and-easy-learning-games" target="_blank">100 Fun and Easy Learning Games for Kids</a> from The Educator's Spin on It.<br />
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<h2>
Stack a Word</h2>
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This activity has been reprinted with the permission from the publisher from book "100 Fun & Easy Learning Games for Kids".</div>
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Materials: construction paper, scissors, 10 cans of similar size, black marker, tape. </div>
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Directions to make: </div>
<ol>
<li>Cut 10 papers to wrap around the cans.</li>
<li>Write two vowels and two consonants on each paper. Vary letter combinations to include all letters.</li>
<li>Attach a letter paper to each can with tape.</li>
<li>Write down on a separate paper select consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words in focused word family.</li>
</ol>
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<br /></div>
<h2>
Introduction to a Sentence Dramatic Play</h2>
For these activities we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>Color coded cans with four letters per each can,</li>
<li>A book from Usborne Very First Reading series: "Captain Mac" by Russell Punter. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00593XQ9U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00593XQ9U&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=DMFKU2ZZB7MBZ5CJ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Usborne Very First Reading 16 Books Box Set Collection Pack</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00593XQ9U" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. </li>
</ul>
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We built the towers, noticed their sizes, spaced them out using a finger. <br />
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Finally, Captain Mac was able to drive a car down the street to check for the first and last cans on the street.<br />
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The cans are also color coded for the type of vegetables inside. So that if I need to use one, I'll know to open consonants or vowels. Yes, we store our new game supplies in the pantry - fun!<br />
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We missed a word! (Pictured below.) Will Captain Mac be able to find a missing tower?</div>
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<h2>
100 Fun and Easy Learning Games for Kids</h2>
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"100 Fun and Easy Learning Games for Kids" by Amanda Boyarshinov and Kim Vij was our go-to resource for these activities. I love all the game ideas! They are fun, easy to set up, and just in time for the busy summer. </div>
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Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0166PXEEQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0166PXEEQ&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=YDQNBS7WRDQ4GJYA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">100 Fun & Easy Learning Games for Kids: Teach Reading, Writing, Math and More With Fun Activities</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B0166PXEEQ" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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My Firefly loved this book as much as I did. She paged through admiring the illustrations and exclaiming "I want to play this!" for each. I guess, we will be using this book A LOT during this summer. All the games are very easy to set up with the supplies that are readily available.<br />
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All the games are divided into six chapters: fantastic reading, amazing writing adventures, really cool math, super science, magical music and art, and going global. <br />
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"As the parents of children ages 2, 4, 5, and 8, we wanted to make sure that the skills our children worked so hard to learn would be remembered. We also wanted to extend our children's learning and challenge their thinking in fun ways." (From the authors of the book, p. 6)</div>
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Yes, we were able to enjoy the challenge in fun ways with their first game, and are looking forward to so much more!<br />
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<hr />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com152tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-58268677066150913982016-05-20T13:10:00.002-04:002016-05-20T13:10:33.115-04:00Fun STEM Challenges in the Block Center for Preschool and Kindergarten<h2>
Easy Engineering and Math Challenges for Preschoolers</h2>
Preschool engineering, math and art are at play here for some awesome STEM challenges and kids' creative solutions. The variety of materials to explore, including some environmental print, pretend play ideas, or a giant small world - these STEM challenges are fun for kids.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaaMipDvtjA/VzzmGcWiDsI/AAAAAAAAJyM/gjua2C1zIcwlA3wC66dnH6roM8wnA3ElACKgB/s1600/Engineer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaaMipDvtjA/VzzmGcWiDsI/AAAAAAAAJyM/gjua2C1zIcwlA3wC66dnH6roM8wnA3ElACKgB/s640/Engineer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Creative Block Center</h2>
Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://frugalfun4boys.com/2016/05/08/engineering-challenges-clothespins-binder-clips-craft-sticks/" target="_blank">Add Wooden Clothespins and Craft Sticks to the Block Center</a> from Frugal Fun for Boys. I love the engineering challenges and fine motor aspects of these activities.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/11/problem-solving-with-cubes-and-craft.html">Cubes and Craft Sticks Engineering</a> from My Bright Firefly. The challenges progress from the easiest with 3 cubes to the little more complex. Some free play at the end was very inspired and creative!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/04/mail-delivery-dramatic-play-preschool.html">Mail Delivery Pretend Play Quick Set Up</a> from My Bright Firefly. Craft sticks, triangles, and numbers helped us with our mail delivering services.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pre-kpages.com/environmental-print-block-center/" target="_blank">Add Traffic Signs for a Print Rich Environment</a> from Pre-K Pages. A free printable set, craft sticks, and a pool noodle - kids will love having traffic signs at the block center.<br />
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<a href="http://www.totschooling.net/2015/09/free-magnetic-tile-printables.html" target="_blank">Free Magnetic Tile Printables</a> from Totschooling.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QDxrZxkPvZA/VzzmHRVvedI/AAAAAAAAJyU/KK3MGR4zDBwPdC8Fhklt4ETeahXOFX1FwCKgB/s1600/2015-11-023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QDxrZxkPvZA/VzzmHRVvedI/AAAAAAAAJyU/KK3MGR4zDBwPdC8Fhklt4ETeahXOFX1FwCKgB/s640/2015-11-023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://www.sciencekiddo.com/magnet-powered-car/" target="_blank">The Power of Magnets in the Block Center</a> from The Science Kiddo. Make a magnet powered card and explore the properties of magnets hands-on.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/08/rocks-on-mirror-preschool-activities.html">Dinosaurs, Rocks, and Numbers on the Mirror</a> from My Bright Firefly. The mirror reflections of the objects and light enhances child's play and motivates to go through some fun engineering and math challenges.<br />
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<a href="http://www.two-daloo.com/exploring-reggio-expanding-block-play/" target="_blank">Reggio Inspired: A Pet Store Dramatic Play Easy Set up</a> from Twodaloo. A variety of materials at hand enhances experimenting and creativity.<br />
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<a href="http://fun-a-day.com/book-structures-block-center/" target="_blank">Add a Structures Book to the Block Center</a> from Fun-a-Day. This Book of Famous Structures is a wonderful idea for the block center!<br />
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<a href="http://theimaginationtree.com/2013/04/train-tracks-small-world-in-a-cardboard-box.html" target="_blank">An Oversized Cardboard Box for the Small World Set up</a> from The Imagination Tree. Kids will love playing and improving their giant small world play scene!<br />
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<a href="http://inspirationlaboratories.com/duplo-counting-games/" target="_blank">Train Station Dramatic Play: Lego Duplo Counting Games</a> from Inspiration Laboratories. Help kids with the planning stages - they will love creating this fun Train Station Dramatic Play Simple Set up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP_ga8tlWFqX19kZvTHE1VpZ8Tx82OrFylX6Ru9XxpXEVwhqTyyGXu9D3jwpEa2Iyi90c8zf48EpUkjmcyvZk2LbTQ-BQJUFEqye4GPqPCu3gz7rjssCUGU_GcKiEp7YNYN7LN4uKh3h8/s1600/2015-11-024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP_ga8tlWFqX19kZvTHE1VpZ8Tx82OrFylX6Ru9XxpXEVwhqTyyGXu9D3jwpEa2Iyi90c8zf48EpUkjmcyvZk2LbTQ-BQJUFEqye4GPqPCu3gz7rjssCUGU_GcKiEp7YNYN7LN4uKh3h8/s640/2015-11-024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Preschool Engineering</h2>
Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://www.whatdowedoallday.com/2013/03/diy-obstacle-course-for-toy-cars.html" target="_blank">Race down the Ramp Filled with Labyrinths and Tunnels</a> from What Do We Do All Day. Kids will love setting up obstacle courses for their race cars (and exploring some physics hands-on).<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/06/colorful-creepy-castle-printing-with.html" target="_blank">Engineering a Colorful Creepy Castle Using Foam Blocks</a> from My Bright Firefly. Engineering and Art come together for some fun castle play.<br />
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<a href="http://www.learnwithplayathome.com/2014/07/bricklaying-for-kids-invitation-to-play.html" target="_blank">Construction Playing with Play Dough and Blocks</a> from Learn with Play at Home. Play concrete (play dough colored grey) was used for some creative engineering and building.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/05/letter-e-is-for-engineering.html">Geometric Solids: Engineering in Action</a> from My Bright Firefly. Explore the properties of geometric solids through several fun challenges.<br />
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<a href="http://handmadekidsart.com/invitation-build-preschool-stem-activities/" target="_blank">Shapes and Bridges with Mini Cups and Craft Sticks</a> from Handmade Kids Art. How high can you build your structure?... and other fun engineering challenges.<br />
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<a href="http://growingbookbybook.com/language-activities-for-preschoolers-preposition-fun-with-balls/" target="_blank">Ball and Magna Tiles Challenges: the Relative Position</a> from Growing Book by Book. Describe and problem solve while learning prepositions.<br />
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Engineering and Math Games and Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten: Fun STEM challenges in the creative block center are beneficial to the little ones on so many levels. We are always on a hunt for some awesome play ideas!<br />
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<hr />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-49849026835584133362016-05-17T11:30:00.000-04:002016-05-17T11:30:05.097-04:00Sense of Time, Observation Skills, and Math with Cats Preschool Activities<h2>
Waiting Games and Cat's Lunch Dramatic Play</h2>
Waiting is not an easy task for preschoolers. How long can I wait if one minute feels forever? "Waiting" is a wonderful book that inspired us to compare and contrast the cats, review greater - lesser number while feeding the cats, review the seasons... or just patiently look through the window.<br />
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Mindfulness, patience, and a sense of time are all great players in the game of waiting!<br />
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<h2>
Waiting: Observation Skills, Time, and Patience</h2>
"Waiting" by Kevin Henkes received Caldecott award for many good reasons. Five toy friends on the window sill are waiting for their happy moments. How long should they wait? After all, friends are there to go through the happy and sad times together. So they do. They experience a rainbow and a thunderstorm, a loss of a friend and a picnic together. <br />
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Will patience win at the end? There are no answers provided, only the invitations to observe, think, and be mindful. The illustrations feel subtle and poetic with the soft pastels, my favorite combination of chocolate and blue on a creamy background.<br />
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Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0062368435/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062368435&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=ITZRK4IAUVWCDL6K" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Waiting: Caldecott Honor and Geisel Honor Book</a>.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0062368435" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Math with Cats Preschool Activities</h2>
It happened that a cat visited five friends. She was happy... and she waited. What she was waiting for? <br />
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The answer was unexpectedly sweet: she was waiting for her kittens to arrive soon! For these activities we used stackable matryoshka cats. They are origami cats and very easy to make. The tutorial is found here: <a href="http://krokotak.com/2013/07/koteshki-matryoshki/" target="_blank">Matryoshka Cats</a> from Krokotak.<br />
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We enjoyed reading this short story many times. Each time the new discoveries were made and new things and feelings discussed. <br />
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Our new stackable cats remain favorites for several days now. I made them and drew their facial features using a crayon first.<br />
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We compared and contrasted the colors of the cats in the book. Do they make a patterns if set up side by side? What are similar? (Pink noses and ears, they all have patches, only one cat has stripes too.)<br />
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We looked at the number, color, and size of the patches on each cat. Then used watercolors and Q-tips to make our cats different.<br />
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<h3>
An Invitation to Feed the Cats</h3>
For this activity we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>5 cats,</li>
<li>7 plates,</li>
<li>many gold fish crackers in a bowl.</li>
</ul>
Are the numbers of cats and plates same? Greater and lesser numbers reviewed here. What can we do to set up the table properly? Possible answers: remove 2 plates, bring more cats, set additional plates for us so that everybody has a plate. Than our cats made an order of fish. Fish was counted and served - the cats were grateful.<br />
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Such a lovely book, lovely cats: we enjoyed these simple activities!<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com93tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-25060007693805944462016-05-15T12:50:00.000-04:002016-05-15T12:50:26.772-04:00Sunset on the Fields Art Project for Kids Inspired by Vincent van Gogh<h2>
Exploring Light and Dark Colors, Light and Shadows with Vincent van Gogh</h2>
Sunset on the Fields, a gorgeous, cheerful, and relaxing painting by Vincent van Gogh, turned out to be great for hands-on explorations of light and shadows. Small child's previous experiences and feelings are there to admire the artwork and support this art project. <br />
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We tried to stick to an easy painting technique throughout this project: short brush strokes, or just dabbing the brush (pictured below). We concentrated on playing with light and dark colors, and the feelings we might have at the end of the day with the diminishing sunlight and shadows spreading out.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PsUbltqVtUU/VyeRkMFUv3I/AAAAAAAAJwE/h8YA8wpqnWQ0d_k7Uciad4y_e4ZxPaQ9gCKgB/s1600/2016-5-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PsUbltqVtUU/VyeRkMFUv3I/AAAAAAAAJwE/h8YA8wpqnWQ0d_k7Uciad4y_e4ZxPaQ9gCKgB/s640/2016-5-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Vincent van Gogh, The Sower, 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2>
The Sower on the Farm Art Appreciation for Kids</h2>
The goal of our art appreciation discussion was to discover the intricate play of light and shadows at the end of the day. <div>
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Some questions we discussed:</div>
<ul>
<li>What can we see in this picture?</li>
<li>The sun is almost down, but the farmer is sill working hard on the fields. He is sowing the seeds, he is a sower. </li>
<li>Why does the sower have to work so late in the evening? What might he think about?</li>
<li>Vincent van Gogh admired the colors he saw at the sunset on the fields. He wanted to make beautiful paintings using all the shades of colors he could notice when observing the glittering sun filling the sky and the fields. What colors can you see here?</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIXw1kVJ1ladkQg8jiv0YMb7gqYJ637VJDVR8wPUAYn-RfDCYPE4EUDoSgucTU7MWB5B7KthdgIyWnhvfUwoLvKpquPeR49G7wMmv-mdQZKUqz613fFvNdG7jZcJo52KLJt_oVmORXKMM/s1600/IMG_3164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIXw1kVJ1ladkQg8jiv0YMb7gqYJ637VJDVR8wPUAYn-RfDCYPE4EUDoSgucTU7MWB5B7KthdgIyWnhvfUwoLvKpquPeR49G7wMmv-mdQZKUqz613fFvNdG7jZcJo52KLJt_oVmORXKMM/s400/IMG_3164.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Sunset on the Fields Art Project</h2>
For this activity we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>Yellow cardstock paper, a horizontal line is drawn by an adult,</li>
<li>tempera paint: yellow, blue, brown, black, and white,</li>
<li>paper plates for mixing colors.</li>
</ul>
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We started by reviewing two spaces: yellow glittering sun above the line and farmer's field below the line. The sky was painted first.<br />
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My Firefly drew a circle for the sun and traced it with brown paint. We allowed brown to dry while we discussed the shades of yellow and played with mixing colors on the plate. Since the paper is already yellow, we needed to make lighter and darker shades than the color of the paper. <br />
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The sunrays were painted by dabbing the brush or short strokes using brown and starting from the outline of the sun. Then shades of yellow were added. I showed how making short strokes carefully does not mix the colors on paper, but adds layers of paint for the effect of the glittering sun. Several strokes of white and the lightest yellow were added at the end.<br />
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We scratched the sun with the other end of the brush to let the brown outline show through. Then we outlined the inside of the sun with the brush to smooth the imperfections.<br />
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The fields were painted in a similar manner. The colors we used for mixing: blue, black, and white. We talked about the negative space left and tried to fill it with colors (letting the yellow of the paper to pick through).<br />
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The effects of the light and shadows is achieved. Considering the age of the painter, oh, this is an amazing painting, a last "Good night!" to everything in the nature. Well, I used this to point out how important the good night sleep is and how important it is to go to bed in time.<br />
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This article is a part of "Exploring Famous Artists" series. You can find many beautiful art project ideas for kids inspired by famous artists here: <a href="http://www.messylittlemonster.com/2016/04/Exploring-famous-artists-inspired-art-projects-for-kids.html" target="_blank">Exploring Famous Artists (Series throughout May)</a> by Messy Little Monster.<br />
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Hands-on Geometry with Tangrams</h2>
Three Little Pigs based pretend play with tangrams was our awesome introduction to this fun family game. We reviewed some geometry, did some meaningful counting, and proceeded to making fun fairytale characters. <br />
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This activity turned out to be too long for a four year old, but we couldn't stop until we reached the happy end where the Big Bad Wolf is huffing and puffing... and helping a happy couple of pigs to sail away on a honeymoon (sorry for the spoiler).<br />
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<h2>
Three Little Pigs on the Tangram Adventure</h2>
"Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes" by Grace Maccarone was our wonderful guide into the world of seven magic shapes of a tangram. The book could be very fun for the family to read and play together. Each part of a story offers a tangram puzzle of a fun character. <br />
<br />
"Use your tangrams to help the pigs beat the big bad wolf! Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0590308572/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0590308572&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=TXWIYNYDBRRFL3ED" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Three Pigs, One Wolf, Seven Magic Shapes (level 3) (Scholastic Reader, Math)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0590308572" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Tangram Activities for Preschoolers</h2>
Our tangram (pictured above) is drafted on foam before the activity. I introduced "the magic square" and cut it apart during the activity while we counted all the pieces.<br />
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At the beginning of the story, a magic duck gives seven magic shapes to the first pig. The seek and find activity was fun since it is "magic": we found and counted little, medium-sized, and large triangles. That left us with a square and a parallelogram. <br />
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My Firefly got used to the shape and worked with parallelogram with no visible difficulty. Learning through play is the best!<br />
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This ancient Chinese puzzle, the tangram is fun for kids and adults. For the little ones, it is a wonderful playful introduction to the world of similarity and angles, area and perimeter, and the magic of geometry.<br />
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Building a Question for the Zookeeper Preschool and K Dramatic Play</h2>
Dramatic play with a zoo keeper and animals are always exciting for preschoolers. Today we engineered a gate to the zoo and set up a funny zoo game to practice building questions and answers, as well as using a question mark and period.<br />
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This quick set up turned into ten minutes of building questions and handing tickets. The zoo animals were very excited about entering the zoo and learning to use a question mark!<br />
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<h2>
Welcome to the Zoo</h2>
"Welcome to the Zoo!" by <span class="a-size-medium">Alison Jay was the wonderful book that inspired us for this dramatic play. We made up some funny stories and questions using the simple and engaging illustrations from the book. There are no words in this book. The pictures are so cute and funny - the book is asking for telling stories with animal sounds, or playing games, or discussing the latest trip to the zoo.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium"></span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0803731779/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0803731779&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=SC2URKVSNCYJR7AA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Welcome to the Zoo!</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0803731779" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Zoo Animals Dramatic Play Quick Set up</h2>
Zoo STEM connection: We started by finding the right supplies for engineering the zoo gate.<br />
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For this activity we used:<br />
The Zoo gate,<br />
toys at hand: a pretend zoo keeper and animals on a tray,<br />
Lego Duplo blocks,<br />
DIY cards "it, is, a, ?, ." taped on blocks,<br />
small bits of paper for pretend tickets.<br />
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<ul>
<li>Zookeeper: Who wants to come to my zoo?</li>
<li>Giraffe: I do!</li>
<li>Zookeeper: Great! My question is: (building sentences pictured above Is it a giraffe? It is a giraffe.)</li>
<li>Giraffe: Yes, I am a giraffe!</li>
<li>Zookeeper: Welcome to the zoo! Here is your ticket.</li>
</ul>
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After Giraffe enters the zoo with his ticket, the game continues with the next animal of choice.<br />
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This simple scenario became very addicting! We couldn't stop playing until we ran out of "tickets". (We didn't run out of the animals because they continued finding excuses to go in and out of the zoo.)<br />
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Then the zoo dramatic play changed according to the flow of imagination: so fun!<br />
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Are Dandelions Weeds and Other STEM Activities</h2>
Dandelion Math activities: counting, sequencing, comparing, building shapes, measuring length with the ruler, introducing addition and subtraction (without the terms). We included some dandelion science, engineering, and art activities and had a picnic on the lawn.<br />
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Dandelions are beautiful flowers that have several benefits for the environment and can be used in the diet. We admired the flowers and made our wishes: kids love blowing on them! Why can dandelions be considered weeds? They can go out of control quickly which makes them unwanted plants in certain areas. <br />
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The goal of these activities was to explore why dandelions can be so pervasive people start to consider them weeds. These flowers are members of the daisy family. And yes, daisies can be considered weeds in several states. So do roses if they are out of control and unwanted on a certain flower bed. <br />
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Dandelion Sequencing for Preschool and Kindergarten</h2>
Pictured below, the sequence is right to left. In reality, we did it left to right: <br />
<ul>
<li>the flower is still closed (we opened it up to find yellow petals inside), </li>
<li>a yellow dandelion, </li>
<li>yellow petals turned white, </li>
<li>seeds on the flower (we picked one to find a seed at the end and to see how well it can fly), </li>
<li>the center with all the seeds gone.</li>
</ul>
To build this sequence for the first time, we started with the yellow flower, then discussed how it looked before (or after), picked an example from the lawn, and placed it on the tray. <br />
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This sequence includes 5 elements which might not be easy for preschooler. I mixed up the flowers and invited My Firefly to build a sequence again. She did it three times before managing it on her own. If too difficult, it can be set up as a matching activity with picture clues. We noticed beautiful dandelion free printables here: <a href="http://kruschkiste.blogspot.de/2015/03/legekreis-lowenzahn.html" target="_blank">http://kruschkiste.blogspot.de/2015/03/legekreis-lowenzahn.html</a> (this blog is in German).<br />
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<h3>
Dandelion science connection: </h3>
Weeds are plants that people don't need. We found a catchy fun song to learn about weeds (or to sing it happily while weeding): <a href="http://capriplus3.com/2016/04/song-about-weeds-for-children.html" target="_blank">Song About Weeds</a> from Capri + 3. There is the cutes video in this article too.<br />
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Dandelions can be considered weeds: there are too many of them because their seeds spread up easily with the wind and form new plants.<br />
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<h2>
Dandelion Compare and Contrast</h2>
Pictured below:<br />
<ul>
<li>Are these flowers differ by color? What colors do you see? (light and dark yellow).</li>
<li>Which does not belong?</li>
<li>Which one is different?</li>
</ul>
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Possible answers:<br />
The first one because it has the longest stem. All the other stems are short.<br />
The second one because it has a leaf. All the other flowers do not have leaves.<br />
The last one because it is the biggest flower. Al the other flowers are small.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Dandelion Art Connection:</h3>
We took some dandelion indoors for a lovely art project found here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/04/dandelion-art-project-for-kids.html">Dandelion Art Project for Kids</a> from My Bright Firefly. We had fun with color mixing and painting, and hung up the picture as a bright reminder of a beautiful spring day.<br />
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<h2>
Long or Short Dandelion Stems: Measuring and Arranging Activities</h2>
We are only starting with the ruler. I measured and cut the stems to the 0 to 4" long. <br />
<br />
Invitation to measure with the ruler: we positioned the ruler together to see how long each stem is.<br />
Invitation to arrange the stems from the shortest to the longest.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Dandelion Science Connection:</h3>
Can you find the flowers with the long stems in the grass? <br />
With the short stem? <br />
Which one was easier to find? <br />
Why do you think some flowers grow taller then the others?<br />
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<h2>
Counting Dandelions. Introduction to Addition and Subraction without the Terms.</h2>
Pictured above, pick as many dandelions as the number on the tray.<br />
Pictured below, a different number is on the tray:<br />
<ul>
<li>Do you need more or less dandelions now?</li>
<li>How many flowers do we need to add to the tray? This is hands-on: add flowers one by one, count the total, count the new flowers that were added.</li>
<li>How many flowers do wee need to take from the tray (for a smaller number)?</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Dandelion Engineering Connection:</h3>
How many flowers do we need to make a square? How many sticks?<br />
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How many dandelions do we need to take from the tray to make a triangle?<br />
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<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Dandelion Patterns</h3>
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<h2>
Parts of a Plant</h2>
Why dandelions can be considered weeds? We observed, touched, and measured the root; discussed how the root helps dandelion to survive in adverse conditions. We counted the amount of stems and flowers on the plant; reviewed the seeds spreading with the wind.<br />
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Invitation to find the parts of a plant matching activity:<br />
We used two plants: one is pictured below, the other is taken apart.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05EVNYiZiB9MWn3baKQ0VS6wAPL8vd3jMF5eXvzpcsrxdPBdiCG9hFEJAGa5Ymohbu3SE3zfUaw8On_FD6O2w0o7Ha4kB9WAmj1kG0Q16NOYzOFRq_zh16Flhn0ZozOM1k8oW3amp61fi/s1600/IMG_3108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05EVNYiZiB9MWn3baKQ0VS6wAPL8vd3jMF5eXvzpcsrxdPBdiCG9hFEJAGa5Ymohbu3SE3zfUaw8On_FD6O2w0o7Ha4kB9WAmj1kG0Q16NOYzOFRq_zh16Flhn0ZozOM1k8oW3amp61fi/s400/IMG_3108.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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These dandelion STEM activities were very fun! They included a picnic blanket, a basket of simple tools, and a lawn filled with dandelions on a lovely sunny day. We extended the activities indoors:<br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/04/dandelion-art-project-for-kids.html">Dandelion Art Project for Kids</a> from My Bright Firefly.<br />
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<h2>
A to Z Outdoor Activities</h2>
A wonderful collection of fun and simple ideas for the outdoor activities this season was brought by Something 2 Offer: <a href="http://something2offer.com/spring-outdoor-activities-blog-hop/" target="_blank">A to Z Spring Outdoor Activities Blog Hop.</a><br />
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<a href="http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2016/05/alligator-action-rhyme.html" target="_blank">Alligator Action Rhyme</a> from Preschool Powol Packets. Little alligators will love rolling in grass with these rhymes - how cute!<br />
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<a href="http://www.creativeworldofvarya.com/10-favorite-outdoor-ball-games/" target="_blank">Ball Games</a> from Creative World of Varya.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ourwhimsicaldays.com/home/chalkboard-pretend-play" target="_blank">Chalkboard Pretend Play</a> from Our Whimsical Days. Spark imagination with this simple set up for lots of fun play with chalk.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/04/dandelion-stem-activities-for-preschool.html" target="_blank">Dandelion STEM Activities</a> from My Bright Firefly.<br />
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<a href="http://mrsleblancslearners.blogspot.com/2016/05/froggy-fun-outdoors.html" target="_blank">Froggy Fun Outdoors</a> from Mrs. Leblanc's Learners.<br />
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<a href="http://tuffspotplay.co.uk/growing-tuff-spot" target="_blank">Growing Tuff Spot</a> from Tuff Spot Play. Dirty, messy gardening can be so much fun for the little ones!<br />
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<a href="http://royalbaloo.com/hiking-with-kids/" target="_blank">Hiking with Kids</a> from Royal Baloo. Joining a hiking parenting group can be amazing! So many fun ideas for the nature walk activities and helpful tips for hiking with kids are provided in the article.<br />
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<a href="http://something2offer.com/jungle-gym-fun-outdoor-activities/" target="_blank">Jungle Gym Fun</a> from Something 2 Offer. <br />
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<a href="http://something2offer.com/lets-go-fly-a-kite/" target="_blank">Kite Activities</a> from Something 2 Offer. Make flying a kite a family experience; build or decorate it for the "Most Creative Kite" award - great ideas for the outdoor fun with the kite!<br />
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<a href="http://www.clareslittletots.co.uk/2016/05/mud-kitchen-tuff-spot/" target="_blank">Mud Kitchen</a> from Clare's Little Tots.<br />
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<a href="http://uno-zwei-tutu.com/2016/05/02/nature-art-project-children/" target="_blank">Nature Art Project</a> from Uno Zwei Tutu.<br />
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<a href="http://www.naturalbeachliving.com/2016/05/life-at-the-pond.html" target="_blank">Pond Life Explorations</a> from Natural Beach Living. Free Pond Life scavenger hunt printable is included. <br />
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<a href="http://something2offer.com/rock-painting-kids/" target="_blank">Rock Painting</a> from Something 2 Offer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.craftymama-in-me.com/how-to-create-a-simple-sidewalk-chalk-stem-game/" target="_blank">Sidewalk Chalk Math Game</a> from Crafty Mama in Me. <br />
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<a href="http://livingmontessorinow.com/2016/05/02/tactile-nature-letters-free-printable-letter-templates-montessori-monday/" target="_blank">Tactile Nature Letters with Free Printable Letter Templates</a> from Living Montessori Now. Take learning letter sounds outdoors and to the nature walk!<br />
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<a href="http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2016/04/u-is-for-free-underground-scavenger-hunt.html" target="_blank">Underground Scavenger Hunt</a> from Preschool Powol Packets. It's amazing what kids can find! Free Underground scavenger hunt printable is included.<br />
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<a href="http://www.craftcreatecalm.com/2016/05/garden-xylophone-outdoor-activity-kids/" target="_blank">Xylophone Outdoor Music</a> from Craft Create Calm. Recycle and create some music outdoors - how fun!<br />
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<a href="http://preschoolpowolpackets.blogspot.com/2016/04/y-is-for-yellow-photography.html" target="_blank">Yellow Photography Scavenger Hunt</a> from Preschool Powol Packets. <br />
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<a href="http://www.craftymama-in-me.com/zoo-atlanta-visit-review/" target="_blank">Zoo Atlanta Visit</a> from Crafty Mama in Me. <br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com86tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-91143801953683523272016-04-27T16:43:00.001-04:002016-04-29T18:16:02.659-04:00Thunderstorm Art Project with Mr. Brown for Preschool and K. Thunderstorm Safety for Kids.<h2>
Thunderstorm Safety Art for Kids</h2>
Yesterday we had great opportunities to observe thunderstorms and hail from the safety of the house. Today was for fun activities to reflect on the experience and to review new safety rules we have learned. <br />
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We built our thunderstorm art project around the gradual changes in nature we observed. Mr. Brown helped us with the sounds of the thunderstorm which made this art project exciting! But safety is first, and we had quite an experience with that yesterday!<br />
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<h2>
Mr. Brown Can Moo!</h2>
"Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises" is an excellent book to add to this activity. We read through the first pages and stopped at the sounds of rain, thunder, and lightning. This is the best visual for the sounds!<br />
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We also used this opportunity for a quick practice of the digraph -oo- words.<br />
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Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0679882820/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679882820&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=UQFNNQ6TMSZGQD3B" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You : Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises (Bright and Early Board Books)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0679882820" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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For this activity we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>Dr. Seuss book,</li>
<li>cotton balls and white glue,</li>
<li>watercolors, a brush, and a dropper,</li>
<li>washi tape and self-adhesive gems,</li>
<li>green construction paper,</li>
<li>Kwik Stix red paint.</li>
</ul>
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<h2>
Thunderstorm Art Project</h2>
The first change in nature we observed is the cloudy sky. That's where we started with our art project. We used green construction paper to represent beautiful and peaceful green grass before the rain. My Firefly used a pencil to outline a cloud, then traced it with the school glue (pictured above).<br />
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We had observed the change in colors of the clouds. She loved painting the cotton balls grey with a brush and with drops of paint from the dropper. I reminded her to use the dropper carefully to avoid putting too much water down. Though it wasn't messy. She could only pick up a couple of drops of paint at a time from her watercolor case.<br />
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"Dibble dibble dibble dopp," said Mr. Brown. My Firefly's pretty rain drops are made with the pieces of washi tape. She loved working with washi tape while making Dr. Seuss's noises.<br />
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"Splatt splatt splatt" was easily drawn with red Kwik Stix solid tempera paint. The vibrant red color is dry in seconds - very handy for making quick lightning strikes. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B013HO4OR0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B013HO4OR0&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=CXTTPE343T6PGOZU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Pencil Grip Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint, Super Quick Drying, 12 Pack (TPG-602)</a><br />
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My Firefly wanted to add self-adhesive gems to her lightning. Now, this lightning looks dangerous!<br />
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"Boom boom" Mr. Brown's thunder represented by black and silver washi tape made the thunderstorm even more dangerous.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B013HO4OR0" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Thunderstorm Safety</h2>
Since it is only the basics for us, we discussed that lightning is electricity produced by the storm. The lightning strike is very dangerous. That's why it's so important to stay indoors during the storm.<br />
<br />
Water is a great conductor of electricity. This knowledge would be too advanced for this age. But the simple fact is it is a bad idea to go jumping in puddles barefoot when there is thunder and lightning around. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, that's what we observed yesterday. A father followed his two kids age 4 and under jumping in puddles barefoot while thunder was heard and lightning was visible. When I actually told that father that the rule is to take kids inside, he replied: "Whose rule?"<br />
<br />
This encounter is one of the reasons we are working on thunderstorm rules for two days now... and discussing what to do if we can see somebody else is in danger. This article might be helpful too: <a href="http://www.mamasmiles.com/lower-anxiety-end-bossy-behavior/" target="_blank">Two Questions That Lower Anxiety</a> from Mama Smiles.<br />
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The Thunderstorm Art project was so fun!<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-77038935101616976482016-04-25T13:50:00.000-04:002016-04-25T13:50:47.211-04:00Smart Bananas Math Activities for Preschoolers<h2>
Preschool and K Hands-on Math Activities</h2>
Smart Bananas Math: building and playing with a number line, counting down the number line, circles, measuring length and weight, heavier - lighter, compare and contrast bananas, cutting bananas and water transfer.<br />
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<h2>
Smart Bananas Hands-on Math</h2>
<h3>
Introducing Estimation to Preschoolers</h3>
Guess how many bananas are on the tray! <br />
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Estimation is not an easy task for preschoolers. With all the support and playful encouragement, we didn't get the estimation number out of My Firefly that day. I mean, look at that face, "I don't know!"<br />
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They just don't know how many and don't want to make it up. We made this as a family activity, and everybody estimated right: 10 bananas. Then she stated she thinks there are 10 bananas. Modelling helps, and here is a start!<br />
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<h3>
Building a Number Line, and Counting up and down the Number Line</h3>
To check if the estimation was correct, we decided to build a number line. Invitation to build a number line set up: two trays with bananas and numbers.<br />
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My Firefly made it to number 5 this time. Commenting the process is important, "One banana, adding one more makes it two (placing down a banana, then the number 2), adding one more banana makes it...<br />
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Pictured below, "this one is a sad banana".<br />
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We finished our 1 to 10 number line together: she placed a banana, and I placed a number. Counting down the number line went the same way.<br />
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<h3>
Using Bananas to Find the Amount Needed to Make a Bear-Friend Happy (understanding addition and subtraction hands-on)</h3>
We had a favorite bear friend visiting. The bear wanted some bananas too! "Hello!" she said, "would you please share some bananas with me? I want 3 bananas!"<br />
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Three bananas were placed on the tray (pictured above). "But I want 5 bananas now!"<br />
<ul>
<li>Should we add more bananas to make five?</li>
<li>OK, add one more. Is it five? (No.)</li>
<li>Should we add one more. Is it five? (Yes!)</li>
<li>How many bananas did we add to the tray?</li>
</ul>
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Bear said, "Thank you! But these are too many bananas! I think I only want two." How many bananas do we need to take from the tray?<br />
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<h3>
Compare and Contrast Bananas</h3>
Which banana does not belong? (Pictured above.)<br />
Possible answers:<br />
<ul>
<li>The first banana because it is peeled, the rest are not.</li>
<li>The second banana because it is facing the right hand, other bananas are facing the lift hand.</li>
<li>The last banana because it's on the plate, the other bananas are on the table.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Longer - Shorter: Measuring Bananas with the Ruler</h3>
We used a cutting board, a ruler, and a plastic knife to measure and cut bananas in 1" to 5" chunks.<br />
Invitation to arrange from the shortest banana to the longest was fun. In the process, My Firefly discovered the chunks that were of the same length.<br />
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<h3>
Heavier - Lighter: Measuring Bananas with the Scale</h3>
This turned into a free play sensory activity with the cutting board and the scale. I stayed around to comment "heavier - lighter" for the developing active vocabulary. <br />
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Fun challenge: <br />
What is heavier: a cup of bananas or a cup of water? (Pictured below.) My Firefly loved using a dropper to balance the scale. The green tray is for containing water spills.<br />
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We also built circles with bananas. Challenge: can you build a circle with two bananas? 3, 4, 5?<br />
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Smart Bananas math activities turned into a fun sensory play and hands-on explorations of the <strong><strike>complicated math concepts</strike></strong>. How fun!<br />
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<hr />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-48671869071872837982016-04-22T13:04:00.000-04:002016-04-22T13:04:11.695-04:00Mail Delivery Dramatic Play: Preschool and K Engineering and Math<h2>
Mail Delivery Pretend Play Quick Set Up</h2>
This fun quick set up using supplies at hand turned out awesome for engineering a mail delivery services and playing with math. Some activities included: building and playing with a number line, practicing writing numbers, counting up and down, squares and triangles, learning manners.<br />
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<h2>
Mail Delivery Preschool Engineering</h2>
Challenge: we have these sticks we can use to build houses. What are the shapes used in your houses?<br />
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Challenge: this looks like a beautiful community of neighbors. What else do they need to live happily together? (Possible answers: a road, trees)<br />
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Challenge: how would a mail carrier find the correct house to deliver toys and flowers to? (Possible answer: A mail carrier would need an address.) Can you make addresses for these houses using this number cards?<br />
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<h2>
Mail Delivery Preschool Math</h2>
During our pretend play, lots of different scenarios came up, of course. Pictured below: <br />
<br />
The strong wind blew through the neighborhood (showing the wind with hands while picking up a couple of numbers, or mixing them up). Oh, no! What happened? The mail carrier will not be able to deliver mail! Can we fix it?<br />
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We set up a little post office at the end of the drive way. Supplies used: paper and a pencil, toys to be delivered, a truck designed to carry a driver, a package, and a piece of paper.<br />
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Math challenges: writing down numbers, counting up and down the number line when delivering mail.<br />
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After mail delivery set up was cleaned up, My Firefly wanted to draw a picture of the pretend neighborhood.<br />
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Math challenge:<br />
<ul>
<li>Color the roof of the second house green,</li>
<li>color the roof of the forth house brown,</li>
<li>color the roof of the house after the forth one red,</li>
<li>color the roof of the house before the second one black,</li>
<li>color the roof of the house that is in between the second and the forth houses purple.</li>
</ul>
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As someone might notice, we are falling in love with challenges here. The next ones planned (hopefully) is Banana Math.<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-45327649015759835252016-04-20T14:38:00.000-04:002016-04-20T14:40:07.939-04:00Dandelion Art Project for Kids<h2>
Dandelion Playful Hands-on Exploration Outdoor Activities</h2>
Dandelion art project was a lovely outdoor explorations followed by the painting project. We explored and reviewed light and dark colors yellow and green, and had some color mixing fun. This paint project had great opportunities for exploring short - long strokes, or paint brush dabbing; filling negative spaces with dandelions. Learning to manage paints and a brush is a process!<br />
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<h2>
Light - Dark Yellow and Green Explorations and Play</h2>
We spent a lovely afternoon on a lawn filled with dandelions. We had some tools and a snack - enjoying the spring weather, and the colors and smells. <br />
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We observed dandelions noticing parts of the plant, and colors and shades for each part. Pictured above: fun with dandelion patterns.<br />
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<h2>
Dandelion Art Project for Preschoolers</h2>
For this activity we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>a palette,</li>
<li>yellow and green tempera paints, white and brown to create new shades,</li>
<li>a paint brush and Q-tips,</li>
<li>a cup of water and a paper towel.</li>
</ul>
12" by 12" printed paper, a photograph of the grass, was used for this activity.<br />
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Color Mixing Experiments</h2>
We discussed the colors we noticed during our outside explorations, then the options of paints on the table for creating lighter - darker yellow and green.<br />
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For mixing, I filled a couple of spaces of the palette with yellow and added drops of brown to one of those. For ligter green, we mixed green and white.<br />
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Painting Dandelions</h2>
On a separate piece of paper, we explored the effects of short and long strokes, dabbing brush and using Q-tips while using light and dark yellow.<br />
<br />
I encouraged using dabbing brush or short strokes during the painting time to keep the dark and light yellow strokes visible. If the colors were completely mixed on paper, another layer of short strokes was added.<br />
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Kids discover naturally that washing brush before using a different color is a good idea. For us, this process does take time. My Firefly is a fan of brush washing and changing the color of the water in the cup (whenever she remembers to do so). It helps to have a sturdy see-through plastic cup half full with water.<br />
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Spring is the best for having fun outside with so many beautiful opportunities for the new discoveries and art projects!<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-43389069132719960192016-04-18T17:24:00.000-04:002016-04-18T17:34:50.076-04:00Happy Chicks on Grass Preschool Art Collaborative Project: Decorating with Lines, Dots, and Patterns<h2>
Decorating Chicks with Lines, Dots, and Patterns</h2>
Straight and wavy lines, horizontal and vertical, dots, making patterns with colors and shapes were the focus of this fun painting chicks on the grass activity. We visited a chicken coop, reviewed the chicken life cycle, and enjoyed this collaborative painting project.<br />
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<h2>
Chicks on Grass Review</h2>
We made some fun observations at the chicken coop. Hens looked so happy walking around on the grass. The rooster greeted us with his load "Hello". That was such an inspiration for our chicken art activities!<br />
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Chicken life cycle<br />
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Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://www.naturalbeachliving.com/2016/04/chicken-life-cycle.html" target="_blank">Chicken Life Cycle Free Printables</a> from Natural Beach Living. These are fun hands-on activities using free printables and small world figures.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.iheartcraftythings.com/2011/09/life-cycle-of-chicken.html" target="_blank">Life Cycle of a Chicken</a> from I Heart Crafty Things. Beautiful ideas will help building a life cycle in the egg together!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://teachingmama.org/5-baby-chick-songs-chants/" target="_blank">5 Baby Chick Songs and Chants</a> from Teaching Mama. Fun songs will engage kids in rhyming and playing with chicks.<br />
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<h2>
Chicks Collaborative Painting Project, Activity 1</h2>
Green, yellow, and blue tempera paint was chosen to paint the landscape. This is a great easy activity for practicing short strokes.<br />
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<h2>
Chicks Collaborative Painting Project, Activity 2</h2>
For this activities we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>Yellow chicks silhouettes,</li>
<li>tempera paints with glitter mixed in,</li>
<li>small paint brushes and q-tips,</li>
<li>school glue and a brush for glue,</li>
<li>palette for working on the easel.</li>
</ul>
We were to place chicks onto the grass, then glue them on. It might be more convenient to paint the chicks on the table first since there are small details to be painted. I encouraged painting on the easel as an additional exercise for the hand and arm muscles: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/01/the-art-easel-for-preschoolers.html">The Art Easel for Preschoolers</a> from My Bright Firefly.<br />
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<h2>
Chicks Collaborative Painting Project, Activity 3</h2>
The challenge: decorate chick's neck, wing, tail, head by creating patterns with dots and lines.<br />
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These chicks are busy with different types of lines and dots.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Q-tips: we made patterns of dots using Q-tips and two colors of paint.</li>
<li>Dabbing brush: we practiced dabbing brush to make the shortest strokes.</li>
<li>Straight lines and wavy lines using paint brush is a skill to practice. The slow motion of the hand produces the thicker line. This wasn't explained, rather given an opportunity to explore.</li>
<li>Negative space: the space in between the lines was filled with a row of dots or by dabbing paint brush. The negative space was finally found during this activity - a great exploration!</li>
</ol>
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I am happy with the discoveries that were made during this project! During this activity, we observed each space separately and discussed the types of lines that would fit in each given space. Wavy lines were new so we painted them together. Negative spaces were found and filled with dots at the end of the activity.<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-5879153680138522172016-03-22T03:40:00.000-04:002016-04-15T08:06:35.194-04:00The Rook: First Chess Games for Preschool and Kindergarten<h2>
Introduction to Chess for Kids</h2>
Many benefits of chess for kids remain unique and valuable. While playing hands-on, collaborating as a team, children exercise problem solving and planning, concentration and creativity, memory and willpower. <br />
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Chess can be an excellent introduction or a compliment to math and logic games, computers and programming, history, social studies, and more.<br />
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<h2>
Chess Is Child's Play</h2>
"Chess Is Child's Play" by Laura Sherman is a great book for parents and teachers. Even if it is a parent like me who don't know or remember much about the game of chess, this book makes it possible to introduce kids to the game and have fun playing starting from the very first lessons.<br />
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The authors give age specific recommendations that make possible to discover chess as early as age 3. <br />
<br />
The book is very easy to follow and provides helpful tips for playing chess with kids. It starts with describing many benefits of playing chess for kids and tips on how to choose a chess set. The explanations of the rules, descriptions of the little games, and tips for educators are provided in each chapter.<br />
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Did you know that Armenia was the first country to include Chess as a required class for elementary school in 2011?<br />
<br />
Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/193627731X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=193627731X&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=LL45UWT6UNPO7O7L">Chess is Child's Play: Teaching Techniques That Work</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=193627731X" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
First Chess Games: The Rook</h2>
We started our chess games with the rook. It's a simple and fun "character" that looks like a castle built in a corner of the "magic kingdom". The rook moves simply forward, backward, right, and left. That is easy for adults. For little kids, this is an opportunity to learn the directions through play, to recognize rows and horizontal and vertical lines, and a great introduction to a computer algorithm. <a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question717.htm" target="_blank">What Is a Computer Algorithm</a> from How Stuff Works.<br />
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For our Rook games we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>a spinner with arrows (DIY from the table game we had),</li>
<li>two rooks,</li>
<li>cards with the image of an arrow on each,</li>
<li>a die (dice),</li>
<li>a marker to write a number.</li>
</ul>
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We positioned the rooks in the opposite corners on the board. The goal is to provide the white rook with a set of commands to walk him through the maze and meet his friend, the black rook.<br />
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We followed these steps to build a maze for the rook:<br />
1. Rotate the spinner to determine the direction: forward, backward, right, or left.<br />
2. Take a note card and position it with the arrow pointing in the desired direction.<br />
3. Throw the dice to determine the number of steps, write the number on the card.<br />
4. Place the card at the starting point on the board, let the rook follow the command written to proceed through the maze.<br />
5. Fill next note cards the same.<br />
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When our maze started looking messy with several cards on the board, but the white rook was not getting to his friend yet, we started using the dice only, or the spinner only - filling the direction or the number of steps as we found better to finish building the maze.<br />
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The next step is to place all the cards in a correct order in a row under the board. Now we have our first algorithm:<br />
The Maze to Black Rook Algorithm!<br />
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With all the fun, we didn't noticed that we practiced counting, problem solving, learned directions and following instructions. Love this!<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-60313172678564092052016-03-20T16:00:00.004-04:002016-04-15T08:08:55.194-04:00Our Top 10 Princess Books for PreschoolersA new princess book is always exciting for our four year olds. In this article, we are featuring our top ten princess books. This list does not include Disney princesses. Though beautiful and loved, Disney princesses are a different story. These books can be a new spin of an old story, or a beautiful retelling of a favorite classic.<br />
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Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake by James Mayhew. We enjoyed reading this story about the princess swan again and again, danced to the music, and made Swan Lake art found here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/07/composers-swan-lake-painting-and-hand.html">Swan Lake Painting and Hand Print Art.</a><br />
Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0764164074/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0764164074&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=DMZUFKQSPO53MMOR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan lake (Ella Bella Ballerina Series)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0764164074" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
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The Princess and the Pig by <span class="a-size-medium">Jonathan Emmett. This story and the book is pretty cute and has a nice message for the kids. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0802723349/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802723349&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=V3JIYMR4GFQRVYV6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Princess and the Pig</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0802723349" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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The Princess and the Giant by Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton. This princess has excellent social skills. She can make friends even with the scary giants. And being a friend means giving a helping hand when your friend needs it. Fun rhymes and engaging illustrations make this book a pleasure to read a story about this creative princess.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0763680079/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0763680079&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=LCJEJTFRLXEKW5B7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Princess and the Giant</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0763680079" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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Cinderella by Sarah L. Thomson. There are many different versions of the Cinderella story. We liked this one for the beautiful water color illustrations. The text is easy to follow with many details from the traditional story. Well, Cinderella's Dad is kind of missing here.</span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0761461701/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0761461701&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=HWMBFDUHVD4SCD7L" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cinderella</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0761461701" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" /></span><br />
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Sleeping Beauty by <span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary">Sarah Gibb. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0807573515/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807573515&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=BMHQKDNVVHMA2PRN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sleeping Beauty: Based on the Original Story by the Brothers Grimm</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0807573515" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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Princess Sylvie by Elsa Beskow. Sylvie and his father, the king, leave their castle to spend a beautiful and eventful day in the woods. </span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0863158137/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0863158137&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=HBZXVL64UCHFV7TL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Princess Sylvie</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0863158137" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by <span class="a-size-medium">Jane Yolen and <span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary">Heidi E. Y. Stemple.</span></span><br />
"Some princesses wear their jewels<br />
while fixing things with power tools."<br />
Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1416980180/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1416980180&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=D6TRRFTOE2OMX3LL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Not All Princesses Dress in Pink</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1416980180" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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Princesses on the Run by <span class="a-size-medium">Smiljana Coh. This book was recommended by the wonderful <a href="http://www.3dinosaurs.com/" target="_blank">3 Dinosaurs.</a> Princesses can finally set aside all their responsibilities and everyday activities. They got together to spend some time with friends. So fun!</span></span><br />
<span class="a-size-medium"><span class="a-size-medium">Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0762446129/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0762446129&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=LBCNNXHPRQ26UXLV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Princesses on the Run</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0762446129" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by <span class="a-size-medium">Ian Falconer. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1442450274/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1442450274&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=62DWVKV3TBWGELJF" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Olivia and the Fairy Princesses</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1442450274" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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That's Not My Princess by <span class="a-size-small a-color-secondary">Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells. Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0092L00D0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0092L00D0&linkCode=am2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=5RJJO62JPUSYMSOB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">(That's Not My Princess) By Fiona Watt (Author) board_book on (Jun , 2006)</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B0092L00D0" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a></span></span>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-18496402645649661982016-03-07T19:09:00.000-05:002016-03-07T19:13:27.076-05:00Lacing Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten<h2>
Benefits of Lacing Activities for Preschoolers</h2>
Kids love playing with colorful ribbons, laces, and yarn - they can be pleasant to touch and explore. My daughter was like a little kitten when she got her hands on two balls of pretty yarn. <br />
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We tried some activities that are a step up from traditional lacing cards. Ideas featured here are combinations of lacing with art, craft, math, science, literacy.<br />
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Lacing is an excellent fine motor skills practice. These activities are wonderful for cognitive skills and math: planning the steps ahead and problem solving, colors, patterns, and measuring are used in a playful way here. Eyes and hands work together to create an amazing new pattern.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7NON8_WGgII/Vt3HHTLzmVI/AAAAAAAAJj4/vLKD2x22Xpc/s1600/2016-2-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7NON8_WGgII/Vt3HHTLzmVI/AAAAAAAAJj4/vLKD2x22Xpc/s640/2016-2-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fun with Lacing for Kids</h2>
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<a href="http://www.teach-me-mommy.com/2016/01/matching-stickers-lacing-cards.html" target="_blank">Matching Stickers Lacing Card</a> from Teach Me Mommy. This beautiful activity is easy to set up and great for practicing visual discrimination skills.<br />
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<a href="http://www.funathomewithkids.com/2013/10/halloween-fine-motor-giant-lacing.html" target="_blank">Giant Lacing Spider Web</a> from Fun at Home with Kids. Upcycle a box to make a nice home for a pet spider. This activity is great for Halloween and Earth Day, or just any fun rainy day.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/peacock-paper-plate-lacing-card-craft.html">Pretty Peacock Lacing</a> from My Bright Firefly. We counted beads while lacing and learning about these interesting birds.<br />
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<a href="http://www.3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/red-pajama-lacing-activity/" target="_blank">Llama Llama Red Pajama</a> from 3 Dinosaurs. Any little Llama fan would love making this warm and cozy pajama for a friend.<br />
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<a href="http://happilyevermom.com/toilet-roll-lacing-ornaments-two-different-ways/" target="_blank">Lacing a Dream Catcher</a> from Happily Ever Mom. This cute little dream catcher is a simple lacing and beading activity. <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2GpN3vd_Rys/Vt3HH2Cd-aI/AAAAAAAAJkM/bO6k11AbOvA/s1600/lacing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2GpN3vd_Rys/Vt3HH2Cd-aI/AAAAAAAAJkM/bO6k11AbOvA/s640/lacing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/happy-beaver-earth-day-craft-for-kids.html">Happy Beaver Earth Day Craft</a> from My Bright Firefly. This toy beaver can stand on his own and has movable paws. Lacing was done connecting numbers 1-25.<br />
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<a href="http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/7213/preschool-skills-lacing-cards" target="_blank">Discovering Designs and Patterns Using Ribbons</a> from Kids Activities Blog. Lacing using ribbons and a kitchen supply is so creative!<br />
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<a href="http://artsycraftsymom.com/paper-plate-seashell-craft-for-preschoolers/" target="_blank">Paper Plate Lacing Sea Shell Craft</a> from Artsy Craftsy Mom. These simple and adorable sea shells will bring back the fun memories of the beach fun.<br />
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<a href="http://thepinterestedparent.com/2016/02/sew-weave-easter-bonnets/" target="_blank">Designing and Lacing a Perfect Easter Bonnet</a> from The Pinterested Parent. These adorable Easter bonnets are so easy to make.<br />
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<a href="http://www.momendeavors.com/2012/10/halloween-kids-craft-handprint-spiders-in-a-diy-lacing-card-web.html" target="_blank">Handprint Spider in a Lacing Card Web</a> from Mom Endeavors. This craft is so much fun with lacing!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1twluGVmX8Y/Vt3OaHgzDEI/AAAAAAAAJkY/_FifrKh3Olo/s1600/lacing2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1twluGVmX8Y/Vt3OaHgzDEI/AAAAAAAAJkY/_FifrKh3Olo/s640/lacing2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://happyhooligans.ca/lacing-tree-ornaments/" target="_blank">Lacing Christmas Tree Ornament</a> from Happy Hooligans. The choice of paper and yarn of different colors and textures is beautiful!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/03/lacing-card-paper-plate-craft-for.html">Lacing Card Play Basket</a> from My Bright Firefly. This lovely little play basket is an easy paper plate craft for preschoolers.<br />
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<a href="http://parentingchaos.com/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-diy-lacing-cards/" target="_blank">The Very Hungry Caterpillar Lacing Card</a> from Parenting Chaos. The colorful textured caterpillars eating a leaf are very engaging!<br />
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<a href="http://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/rainbow-lacing-busy-bag/" target="_blank">Rainbow Lacing</a> from Coffee Cups and Crayons. A nice and simple craft that will keep them lacing.<br />
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<a href="http://mamaot.com/fine-motor-activity-for-kids-funny-face-lacing-plates/" target="_blank">Funny Face Lacing</a> from Mama OT. Kids will love exploring feelings and emotions while lacing these funny faces.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mAAyF3Ufi44/Vt4X3WlV9UI/AAAAAAAAJko/Rp1bMFu3CTc/s1600/lacing3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mAAyF3Ufi44/Vt4X3WlV9UI/AAAAAAAAJko/Rp1bMFu3CTc/s320/lacing3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-84430678617276428642016-03-03T12:40:00.000-05:002016-03-03T17:30:52.759-05:00Fun Ideas for Easter Basket Stuffers for Kids<h2>
Our Top 5 Cool and Inexpensive Ideas for the Easter Basket</h2>
Doc McStuffins themed Easter basket, colorful and smooth mess free sidewalk chalk, Pley gift card, the new favorite Easter book, and a cute Easter basket made together with love or personalized - these fun Easter Basket ideas are our favorite!<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2wE-5PyXI-M/Vti583tF6TI/AAAAAAAAJjs/vefDZRNMvRw/s1600/2016-2-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2wE-5PyXI-M/Vti583tF6TI/AAAAAAAAJjs/vefDZRNMvRw/s640/2016-2-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
Doc McStuffins Easter Basket Stuffers</h2>
We made a trip to the dollar store, found some free printables, and laminated cute Lambie's hugs cards to add to our pretend play doctor's tools and supplies. That made this little Doc McStuffins happy: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/doc-mcstuffins-doctors-play-kit-easter.html">Doc McStuffins Doctor's Play Kit Easter Basket Stuffers</a> from My Bright Firefly.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NJxr6A2cD2Q/VtcxkYkUDZI/AAAAAAAAJi0/RuCgQniYGfg/s1600/IMG_2947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NJxr6A2cD2Q/VtcxkYkUDZI/AAAAAAAAJi0/RuCgQniYGfg/s400/IMG_2947.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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</h2>
<h2>
Colorful and Smooth Homemade Sidewalk Chalk</h2>
Only 3 ingredients are needed to make your own cute and lovable sidewalk chalk. These little chalks are smooth and mess free!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZYeKt-AHj8/Vtcxj7CW6NI/AAAAAAAAJiw/jyZGDdtxcDM/s1600/Love%2BBooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZYeKt-AHj8/Vtcxj7CW6NI/AAAAAAAAJiw/jyZGDdtxcDM/s400/Love%2BBooks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pictured above:<br />
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<a href="http://teachingmama.org/toddler-tuesday-diy-chalk/" target="_blank">Beautiful Chalk Hearts</a> kids will love from Teaching Mama.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/83361/homemade-easter-chalk-melts" target="_blank">Easter Bunny Chalk Melts</a> are so fun and engaging from Kids Activities Blog.<br />
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<a href="http://de-tout-et-de-rien-caroline.blogspot.com/2014/02/mess-free-sidewalk-chalk-recipe-recette.html" target="_blank">Colorful and Smooth Sidewalk Chalk</a> from De Tout et de Rien. Kids will love the extra feature of the retractable chalk made in recycled deodorant containers.<br />
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<h2>
Pley Gift Card</h2>
Sponsored Pley blog campaign: all views and opinions with regard to Pley or the products they feature are my own and were not reviewed by the company prior to publishing. You can find our full disclosure here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2014/08/disclosure-and-privacy-policy.html"><span style="color: #2f3977;">Disclosure and Privacy Policy.</span></a><br />
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</div>
Pley is online toy renting service found here: <a href="https://www.pley.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.pley.com/</a> This service works in three easy steps:<br />
<ol>
<li>Choose your favorite toys,</li>
<li>Free Delivery to your door,</li>
<li>Play, Return, Repeat.</li>
</ol>
Pley is always on the hunt for the best toys, so their assortment reflects the latest and greatest toys. Their biggest collection is building toys. They have 400+ Lego sets!<br />
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I love the idea behind this service: "The coolest toys without the mess or expense". Oh, yes, those Legos are expensive; and My Firefly loves opening up a new play set.<br />
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That's why Pley made it to our Top 5 Easter Basket Stuffers ideas. They offer a gift card option: "the perfect gift that keeps on giving". <br />
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There are two gift options available:<br />
<ul>
<li>Pay to provide ongoing toy rental</li>
<li>A choice of one-time gift card amount</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-bHPnGLEZOxyFi7Km-VZRzDQKT4CZefiMLdeNFw2vcqNLliJxhaxCr48GvRO3eGAHxdcvh0d4bj6shiVb2TqJgGFrCJP51Ae_FbLGZtc3EvaTQCbtQa7wSl8Z7xRgzHq7-Yk1TCosftQ/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-bHPnGLEZOxyFi7Km-VZRzDQKT4CZefiMLdeNFw2vcqNLliJxhaxCr48GvRO3eGAHxdcvh0d4bj6shiVb2TqJgGFrCJP51Ae_FbLGZtc3EvaTQCbtQa7wSl8Z7xRgzHq7-Yk1TCosftQ/s400/unnamed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Currently, Pley is running I Love My School contest. Nominate your school by telling them why you love your school. The elementary school with the most number of nominations will be announced as the winner and will receive $500 worth of fun educational toys.<br />
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Nominate your school on Facebook today: <a href="https://apps.facebook.com/my-contests/form/your-chance-to-win-500-for-your-school." rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://apps.facebook.com/my-contests/form/your-chance-to-win-500-for-your-school.</a><br />
<br />
The deadline for entry is March 25, 2016.<br />
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<h2>
New Favorite Easter Book</h2>
If to single out the one favorite, I'd put this sweet and colorful board book into the Easter basket (Amazon affiliate link): <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402772092/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1402772092&linkCode=as2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=H3XOSRJEGB4AHD43" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Quiet Bunny's Many Colors</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1402772092" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EvHzsyDjqxg/VtdBFEwve0I/AAAAAAAAJjQ/P30iC5BlCoA/s1600/387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EvHzsyDjqxg/VtdBFEwve0I/AAAAAAAAJjQ/P30iC5BlCoA/s400/387.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/03/bunny-books-and-sight-words-games.html">Bunny Books and Sight Word Games</a> from My Bright Firefly<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sunnydayfamily.com/2015/03/easter-books.html" target="_blank">15 Books for Your Easter Basket</a> from Sunny Day Family<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.planetsmarty.com/2015/03/march-books-for-5-year-olds.html" target="_blank">March Book Recommendations for Kids</a> from Planet Smarty Pants<br />
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<h2>
Personalize or DIY Your Perfect Easter Basket</h2>
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/03/30-beautiful-easter-baskets.html">30+ Beautiful Easter Baskets</a> from My Bright Firefly<br />
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This collection of playful basket ideas - arts and crafts made by kids or for kids - show and share all the love with them!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MGCLSjoKWlM/VPPOko28KVI/AAAAAAAAIHU/Qeh6rfYNvQY/s1600/Winter10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MGCLSjoKWlM/VPPOko28KVI/AAAAAAAAIHU/Qeh6rfYNvQY/s1600/Winter10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span id="ms__id7610"><strong id="ms__id7611">More Pley Toy Renting Service Ideas from My Bright Firefly</strong></span><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/01/lego-table-ideas-for-living-room.html">Lego Table Ideas for the Living Room</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/11/our-top-10-ideas-for-managing-toy.html">Our Top 10 Ideas for Managing Toy Clutter and Keeping Kids Happy during Winter Months</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/finding-spring-abc-letters-games-pley.html">Finding Spring ABC Letters Games. Pley.</a><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<span id="ms__id7632"><span id="ms__id7633">(Click on the picture below to enlarge it.)</span></span><br />
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Amazon Easter finds (affiliate links):<br />
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<a href="http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=290235&u=1240245&m=31260&urllink=&afftrack=" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://static.shareasale.com/image/31260/BLB2805_cons_468x60_Q4update_offer.jpg" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" rel="nofollow" /></a>MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-56019588226442833032016-02-29T18:35:00.000-05:002016-02-29T18:41:16.073-05:00Happy Beaver Earth Day Craft for Kids<h2>
Beaver Lacing Craft for Earth Day</h2>
We talked about rivers and lakes, learned about beavers, and had fun lacing with yarn while counting up 1 to 25 and down 25 to 1. These activities were inspired by the book "Beaver Is Lost" by Elisha Cooper. Dot-to-dot lacing is fun!<br />
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Ponds, Lakes, and Rivers is the theme for February at Poppins Book Nook. You can find our previous Poppins Book Nook activities here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/01/a-trip-to-paris-france-with-diva-and.html">A Trip to Paris, France with Diva and Flea. French Dog Outfit Pattern.</a><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBq0Gky-U7w/VtSZExcoQqI/AAAAAAAAJiM/1KgFrc1pMJs/s1600/2016-2-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBq0Gky-U7w/VtSZExcoQqI/AAAAAAAAJiM/1KgFrc1pMJs/s640/2016-2-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Beaver Is Lost</h2>
"Beaver Is Lost" by Elisha Cooper is our book of the month. This wordless book with beautiful watercolor and pencil illustrations has won New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book award. The scary adventures of the lost beaver motivate to retell his story for the Earth Day!<br />
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Amazon affiliate link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EBRU0RG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00EBRU0RG&linkCode=as2&tag=lauandlea-20&linkId=PDX27EUFCL7VYJPS">Beaver Is Lost</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=lauandlea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00EBRU0RG" height="1" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
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<h2>
Beaver Earth Day Craft</h2>
We used 2 copies of the beaver Earth Day coloring page printed on brown construction paper, found here: <a href="http://parenting.leehansen.com/downloads/coloring/earthday-coloring.htm" target="_blank">Earth Day Coloring Pages</a> from Pastiche Family Portal. Pictured above, beaver's head and body is cut out from the first page; beaver's paws with additional inch are cut out from the second page. The tail is drawn free hand.<br />
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For this craft we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>a hole punch,</li>
<li>a black marker for the numbers, a red marker to circle the holes for attaching paws and a tail,</li>
<li>oil pastels for coloring,</li>
<li>brown yarn, the tip is wrapped in tape for the ease of lacing.</li>
</ul>
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To make the holes on paws and a tail, place these parts under the body and mark the spots.<br />
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The order of lacing was market with numbers 1 to 25:<br />
numbers 1-8 are around the head for lacing making loops around the edge,<br />
numbers 9-11 are placed on both sides of the body for lacing dot-to-dot across the body,<br />
numbers 12-14 are on the left leg for lacing making loops around the edge,<br />
numbers 15-22 are placed on both sides of the body for lacing dot-to-dot across the body,<br />
numbers 23-25 are on the right leg for lacing making loops around the edge,<br />
numbers 9, 11, 15, 22, 16, 20 are circled in red to mark the holes for attaching paws and a tail.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ec8LMz6M54/VtSZFm8jP3I/AAAAAAAAJiU/cplCuttampk/s1600/IMG_3019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ec8LMz6M54/VtSZFm8jP3I/AAAAAAAAJiU/cplCuttampk/s640/IMG_3019.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Our beaver can stand on its own and say "Hello" (the upper paws are movable). We laced him counting from 1 to 25, then went the opposite direction - counting down from 25 to 1, finished by lacing making loops around the edge around his body.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8V_-_QFuWk/VtSZGPxQKiI/AAAAAAAAJiY/byleaGU3cjk/s1600/IMG_3026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q8V_-_QFuWk/VtSZGPxQKiI/AAAAAAAAJiY/byleaGU3cjk/s400/IMG_3026.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Some interesting facts about beavers:</h2>
<ol>
<li>New words: dam, canal, lodge.</li>
<li>Beavers are the second larges rodents in the world: adult capybara can weigh up to 200 lb, adult beaver up to 60 lb.</li>
<li>Beavers cut trees with their front teeth for food and for building. The broad scaly tail makes a beaver a great swimmer and can make loud slapping sounds to scare away the predators and warn beaver's family of a danger.</li>
<li>Beavers are herbivores, nocturnal, and don't hibernate.</li>
<li>Beavers' dams change and create ecosystems in many ways.</li>
</ol>
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<h2>
Ponds, Lakes, and Rivers Is the Theme for January at Poppins Book Nook</h2>
It's time for the Poppins Book Nook - a book club that goes live on the last Monday of each months. <br />
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You can find our previous Poppins Book Nook books and activities here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/p/poppins-book-nook.html" target=""><span style="color: #2f3977;">Poppins Book Nook</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span id="ms__id5310"><span id="ms__id1119" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;"><strong>Ponds, Lakes, and Rivers</strong></span> <strong>book fun below!</strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://by-gods-grace-cat.blogspot.com/2016/02/poppins-book-nook-ponds-lakes-and-rivers.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nature Walk along the River</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from Growing in God's Grace. "Water Dance" by Thomas Locker.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://chestnutgroveacademy.blogspot.com/2016/02/poppins-book-nookpond-books-and.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Frog, Turtle, and Fish Units</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from Chestnut Grove Academy. Favorite picture books about ponds.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/fun-math-roll-a-pond-scene/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Roll a Pond Math Games</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from 3 Dinosaurs. "Jump, Frog, Jump!" by <span class="a-size-medium">Robert Kalan.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="a-size-medium"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="a-size-medium"><a href="http://laurensahm.blogspot.co.nz/2016/03/poppins-book-nook-ponds-lakes-and-rivers.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nature Walk to the Pond. Birds.</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from SAHM I Am. "One Duck Stuck: A Mucky Counting Book" by </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span class="a-size-medium">Phyllis Root.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="a-size-medium"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="a-size-medium"><a href="http://www.sunnydayfamily.com/2016/02/turtle-discovery-bottle.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Swimming Turtles Discovery Bottle</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> from Sunny Day Family. "Turtle Splash: Countdown at the Pond" by Cathryn Falwell.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">More Ideas from My Bright Firefly</span></strong></span></span><br />
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<br />MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-91431718135968763142016-02-24T14:32:00.000-05:002016-02-24T14:38:02.323-05:00Peacock Paper Plate Lacing Card Craft for Kids<h2>
Fine Motor Skills Fun Peacock</h2>
The beautiful diversity of birds can be confusing for the little ones. Are chicken, penguin, and peacock all birds? We practiced our fine motor skills while making a colorful peacock using beads on the paper plate lacing card and a hole punch. I love the hands-on Math practice we had while at this colorful craft.<br />
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Kids will love making peacock sounds with this bird!<br />
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</h2>
<h2>
Peacock Paper Plate Craft and Learning about Birds</h2>
We watched a short YouTube video about peacocks first: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDvFdj-pFMc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Most Magnificent Peacock Dance Display Ever.</a> This video lasts for a couple of minutes which is great because we had to watch it several times: gorgeous colors!<br />
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Some facts about peacocks were discussed:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The beautiful peacock's tail is made of feathers - it's a bird.</li>
<li>This bird sounds funny!</li>
<li>This beautiful bird is a male bird. There are peahens and peachicks.</li>
<li>The beautiful fluorescent colors are made by the light reflection from the tiny crystals in feathers.</li>
<li>Unlike turkeys, these large birds can fly.</li>
<li>Peacocks eat plants, flower petals, seeds, insects. They are omnivorous.</li>
</ul>
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For this activity we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>a paper plate</li>
<li>a hole punch</li>
<li>yarn and a chenille stem for the DIY needle</li>
<li>pony beads</li>
<li>tempera paint</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://www.easypeasyandfun.com/paper-plate-peacock-craft/" target="_blank">Paper Plate Peacock</a> from Easy Peasy and Fun has great instructions for this craft. Please, visit them to see how to make an easy template and a beautiful way of decorating the bird with a cupcake liner.<br />
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First, we painted our peacock blue, both sides. For a quicker craft, crayons can be used for coloring.<br />
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My Firefly loves working with the hole punch! It is a wonderful tool for strengthening muscles in a fun way. She made holes around the peacock's tail. I made a bigger hole in the center.<br />
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<h2>
Fun Math Activities with the Peacock Craft</h2>
<strong>Counting and equal quantities:</strong> For each feather, 6 beads were counted to make them equal. Some feathers were made longer by adding one bigger bead to 6 pony beads. <br />
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<strong>Patterns:</strong> My Firefly wanted to make patterns on a couple of feathers.<br />
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<strong>Lacing pattern.</strong> She had no problem following three easy steps:<br />
<ol>
<li>Thread yarn through the center hole from the back to the front.</li>
<li>Count and thread beads.</li>
<li>Thread yarn through the hole at the edge.</li>
</ol>
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Multi-colored yarn can be used for the lacing activity without beads. Happy Lacing!<br />
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<span id="ms__id7610"><strong id="ms__id7611">More Pretend Play Ideas from My Bright Firefly</strong></span><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/06/play-with-long-strokes-and-shades-oil.html">Lion Mask</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/05/hoppy-fathers-day-frog-on-lily-pad-easy.html">Frog on a Lily Pad</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/04/kangaroo-diy-pencil-holder-correct.html">Cereal Box No Glue Kangaroo</a><br />
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<span id="ms__id7632"><span id="ms__id7633">(Click on the picture below to enlarge it.)</span></span><br />
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MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-12643261888531066352016-02-22T13:58:00.000-05:002016-02-22T21:50:14.038-05:00Doc McStuffins Doctor's Play Kit Easter Basket Stuffers<h2>
Doc McStuffins Easter Basket Ideas</h2>
My Firefly loves pretend play doctors. All things play medical tools and supplies are never enough. We found some new things at the dollar store and online to make a little Doc McStuffins surprise kit for her. Some fun ideas for Easter basket stuffers and our favorite doctor's play supplies are also featured in this post.<br />
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<h2>
Doctor's Play Kit Easter Basket Ideas</h2>
Pictured below (click on the picture to enlarge), our fun finds from the dollar store:<br />
<ul>
<li>Doc McStuffins jumbo playing cards</li>
<li>Colored bandages</li>
<li>Fun pet animals erasers</li>
<li>Dollies hearts</li>
<li>Pocket size tissue paper</li>
<li>Dry erase markers with wipes and magnets</li>
<li>Travel bottles</li>
<li>Multi purpose clips</li>
</ul>
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Some fun supplies were printed out and laminated. We used colorful clips to clip them together. The materials pictured below are free printables found here:<br />
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<a href="http://disneyjunior.disney.com/doc-mcstuffins-pet-vet-check-up" target="_blank">Pet Vet Check Up Checklist</a> from Disney Junior<br />
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<a href="http://stella123.com/x-is-for-x-ray-free-printables/" target="_blank">X is for X-Ray</a> from Stella 123<br />
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<a href="http://visionsource.com/doctors/free-eye-chart-download/?it=patients/free-eye-chart-download/" target="_blank">Eye Chart</a> from Vision Source<br />
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also, <a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2012/09/tot-school-doc-mcstuffins/" target="_blank">Doc McStuffins Tot Pack</a> from 1+1+1=1<br />
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The check up checklist works nicely when laminated with dry erase markers. It is not only great for some fun playing, but also introduces first simple tables and teaches kindness and basic care for the pets.<br />
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Pictured below: a little container with heart shaped candies and a laminated cuddles card; a free printable found here: <a href="http://disneyjunior.disney.com/cuddle-me-lambie-valentine-s-day-cards" target="_blank">Cuddle Me Lambie</a> from Disney Junior.<br />
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The Doc McStuffins doctor's kit pictured below was a surprise kit decorated using dry erase markers on the bag. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>More Pretend Play Ideas from My Bright Firefly</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/02/finding-spring-abc-letters-games-pley.html">Flower Girl Pretend Play</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2014/10/space-preschool-activities.html">Space Pretend Play</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2016/01/a-trip-to-paris-france-with-diva-and.html">A Trip to Paris Pretend Play</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Click on the picture below to enlarge it.)</span></span><br />
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MyBright Fireflyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671578485877500583noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2414164514890339295.post-88108251855600345362016-02-17T14:29:00.000-05:002016-02-17T21:24:25.664-05:00Finding Spring ABC Letters Games. Pley.<h2>
Spring Flowers Letters Matching Games for Kids</h2>
We tried to catch the sun and enjoy the pop of colors on the window while playing and reviewing our ABCs with spring flowers. Our snowman is standing strong outside bathed in sunshine. We are so ready for the spring to come. <br />
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At this time of year, bright colors and sunshine are a joy to play with! Last February, we made this sun catcher to greet the upcoming spring: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/02/sunshine-and-rainbows-collage-and-play.html">Sunshine Mobile to Brighten Your Day.</a> This year, lovely spring flowers on a window sill are lots of fun to have.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KO-SOZSrPFw/Vr_Ri5C4btI/AAAAAAAAJg4/VuG6_8e-STs/s1600/2016-2-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KO-SOZSrPFw/Vr_Ri5C4btI/AAAAAAAAJg4/VuG6_8e-STs/s640/2016-2-13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Finding Spring Letters Games</h2>
This invitation to create an ABC spring flower garden looked so beautiful! Supplies for these activities are dollar store finds. <br />
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For these activities we used:<br />
<ul>
<li>an Easter basket</li>
<li>flowers from a dollar store (each stick had 6 flowers; so four of those are bought and cut apart: $4 total)</li>
<li>bath and shower travel bottles</li>
<li>stickers and a black Sharpie</li>
</ul>
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There are many ways to play these Spring Flowers ABCs.<br />
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<strong><u>Invitation to build the alphabet</u></strong><br />
My Firefly started by arranging the ABC bottles. This game took her a long time because she declined any assistance and sang the ABC song for every bottle. The bottles feature smiley frogs, turtles, butterflies, and flowers: they look very cheerful in the sun!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHqI3nHapUU/Vr_RkDMfk2I/AAAAAAAAJg4/cMb2pPEG0e8/s1600/IMG_2969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kasperskylab_antibanner="on" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JHqI3nHapUU/Vr_RkDMfk2I/AAAAAAAAJg4/cMb2pPEG0e8/s400/IMG_2969.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong><u>Uppercase and low case letter match</u></strong><br />
Uppercase letters are on the bottles, and the flowers have tags with low case letters. My Firefly noticed this level of difficulty while arranging her spring flowers, but was motivated to continue.<br />
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<strong><u>Spell your name with spring bottles</u></strong><br />
I picked the bottles with the letters of her name. She arrange the bottles to make the name. Additionally, she practiced spelling when arranging the flowers.<br />
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<strong><u>Spell the word "SUN"</u></strong><br />
Only three bottles and three flowers are needed for this activity.<br />
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<strong><u>Flower Girl Pretend Play</u></strong><br />
That basket of spring flowers is beautiful and an inspiration for many pretend play ideas. The best is to share flowers with friends, and smile!<br />
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<strong><u>Measuring Water in the Bottles</u></strong><br />
We measured 1-10 tablespoons of water for each bottle, compared the levels of water in the bottles and the sun light reflections.<br />
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<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
Learning ABCs through Play. Pley Online Toy Renting Service.</h2>
There are ABC video games. I personally do not like those. We try to limit screen time, but allow some computer and video games experience needed for school. Instead of practicing ABCs, kids can enjoy some wonderful educational video games for little ones. Our favorite is Doc McStuffins game. Players have to use different tools to assess a patient, make a diagnosis, and help them: great for beginning critical thinking!<br />
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There are letters and numbers toys. We loved these: <br />
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Lettersaurus, AlphaPet Explorer, Count and Learn Cookie Jar, Duplo Number Train, Count and Compose Music, Scribble and Write.<br />
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You'd say these toys can get expensive, and kids might find them boring in a few weeks. So here is an exciting solution: Pley Online Toy Renting Service. <br />
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Pley has recently added one more fee option to their line-up. For the low price of $9.99 children can receive one toy per month. This option is just right for the letters and numbers preschool toys!<br />
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Sponsored Pley blog campaign: all views and opinions with regard to Pley or the products they feature are my own and were not reviewed by the company prior to publishing. You can find our full disclosure here: <a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2014/08/disclosure-and-privacy-policy.html"><span style="color: #2f3977;">Disclosure and Privacy Policy.</span></a><br />
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I'd like to invite you to visit Pley at <a href="https://www.pley.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2f3977;">https://www.pley.com/</span></a> This service works in three easy steps:<br />
<div>
</div>
<ol>
<li>Choose your favorite toys,</li>
<li>Free Delivery to your door,</li>
<li>Play, Return, Repeat.</li>
</ol>
▪ Pley offers access to a large selection of educative toys, including 400+ LEGO sets and popular robotics toys. New toy options have just launched! <br />
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▪ Pley is always on the hunt for the best toys, so their assortment reflects the latest and greatest toys. </div>
▪ Besides having access to a variety of toys, kids learn the concepts of sharing and reducing waste for the environment.<br />
▪ It's really convenient and helps reduce clutter: Pley packages get delivered to your door and when the kids are done playing, they can return them for a new toy. No more toys sitting unused on shelves!<br />
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Pley clean and sanitize each toy after every use using eco-friendly and kid-friendly solutions. If your kid is interested in keeping a particular set, they offer the option to buy it in one click from your account page.<br />
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What are your favorite tips on learning letters for preschoolers?<br />
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Amazon affiliate links:<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>More Beginning Reading Ideas from My Bright Firefly</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/p/creative-abcs.html">Creative ABCs</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/03/bunny-books-and-sight-words-games.html">Bunny Books and Sight Word Games</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mybrightfirefly.com/2015/04/parts-of-book-with-lulu-bookmark.html">Parts of a Book with Lulu the Bookmark</a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">(Click on the picture below to enlarge it.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Spring Fun! *affiliate link*</span><br />
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