Alphabet House: House Boat

Alphabet House: House Boat 

What types of houses are found on the water? Mermaid Houses? We had a lot of ideas of how people can live on the water. Most of our theories revolved around the Little Mermaid and Sponge Bob. We learned about House Boats. Living on a boat can be dangerous especially during a storm. We set the plastic boats on the water (parachute). We moved the parachute calmly like gentle waves and then we grew the storm bigger and bigger. The boats were tossed around and most of them ended up on the ground instead of on the parachute. We met some friends at the park to help us create our "perfect storm".

Calm Waves

Stormy Weather.

The kids really loved this activity. We predicted what would happen to the boats as the storm grew. We've been having quite a few storms in our area lately. We imagined what it would be like if we were in a house boat instead of our homes. We discussed what we might do to be safe on a boat like wearing life vests and also how learning about the weather helps boaters stay safer in the event of a storm.

Neighborhood Walk on the way to the park. What is your address? What color is your house? We found numbers on each house on our way to the park. I explained that the numbers help people find your house. Your friends, family, police, ambulance and fire department all need to know your address to find your house. We painted and numbered our houses. Each one of us thinks our house is very special especially since it's where our mommies & daddies live. 

 

We explored the house to find shapes. Doors=Rectangles, The Kitchen in our house comes to a point with a Triangle by the sink, We found square mirrors, drawers, circles on the dining room chairs.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Art of Writing

Mother Goose Time Growing Gardens monthly journal.

Recognizing your own name and then learning to write it are magical things.

It's not an easy task. Try holding a pencil between your toes. Are you able to write your name easily. Adults often forget that preschool children are developing the motor skills needed for these tasks. 

We play a lot, but our play has a purpose. One of the most important milestones for writing is developing Pincer Grasp. This is the ability to hold small objects between your thumb and pointer finger. We build with lego's, dress dolls, tear and crumple bits of paper, paint with eye droppers,  string beads, practice opening and closing latches, play with water bottles and squirt guns etc... These are all ways we work to develop a more mature pincer grasp which is needed in order to hold a pencil correctly. 

Parts of a Plant. Mother Goose Time Growing Gardens Theme.

The Art of Preschool is the fundamental building blocks of learning.  Cutting, gluing, painting, crumpling, coloring are all ways we are developing our fine motor skills. This is why it's important to let them get messy and do things themselves.

Painting worms using rubber worms instead of brushes. Look at that Pincer Grasp in action! 

Counting and arranging Sunflower seeds on our Sunflower headbands.

So Proud of the finished product. 

Holding crayons, scissors, paintbrushes etc... develops the skills needed for later writing.

Learn more at www.mothergoosetime.com

An InLinkz Link-up

Watch it Grow

"Plants grow in the soil,

Plants grow in the soil,

It has lots of nutients,

Plants grow in the Soil"

(Opening Song- Mother Goose Time Day 1, Growing Gardens curriculum)

Where do you find dirt?  Many of the children have plants growing in their house. What does a plant need to grow?  Soil, sunlight, and water. 

 The kids smelled the dirt, which smelled like- dirt. They scooped the dirt. They wrote with their fingers in the dirt and noted how the dirt changed when we added water. The water made the dirt look darker, and it looked like it got smaller.

Day One.

The kids scooped soil into containers and spread the grass seed on top. We watered them and waited for the grass to grow.

Day Five. 

On Day five the grass finally sprouted. How exciting!

Find out more at Mothergoosetime.com

Music and Movement

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without."  - Confucius


Most of us remember singing songs as very young children. It's one thing we learn as children that stays with us throughout our lives. If I sing B-I-N-G-O or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star nearly every adult would be able to finish the song. Music is an important part of our lives as we grow and learn. In the 1950's research began into what is called "The Mozart Effect". Researchers theorized that classical music may improve the IQ.  It has been proven that musically trained children have higher SAT scores. Music education contributes to higher math scores, greater self esteem, creativity, and verbal skills.

Music is especially important in developing language skills for preschool age children.  Children who are exposed to music have more developed language skills and are able to express themselves better than children who are not exposed to music. Music also strengthens memory and fine motor skills.

We use music throughout our day. As part of our Mother Goose Time Preschool curriculum. Included as part of the curriculum is a CD of songs to use everyday. We start with, Circle Time, Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and then "Little Helpers". Routine and repetition are important at this age.  The CD also includes both sing-a-long and instrumental versions of popular children's songs like, The Muffin Man, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and many others.

Each month our curriculum also includes a CD that is part of the monthly theme. This month our Theme is Growing Gardens. We use these songs to reinforce the concepts we are learning. They love the songs. Their favorites so far this month are Rabbit Hop, Hot Potato, and Peas in a Pod.

As a part of our Add On Curriculum we participate in a Program called Dance N Beats. This DVD provided by Mother Goose Time promotes fine and gross motor skills. We are learning through dance and songs that coordinate with our monthly theme.

Dancing along with Dance N Beats

April was a crazy Month

So much to do and so little time. That seems to be my motto. As the mother of 4 children there is always something to do, someone to take somewhere, a practice, meeting, homework, field trips, birthday parties, etc.... It never seems to end.

This past month has been no exception. My youngest daughter celebrated her 9th birthday. She has been dying to have a sleepover. I'm not a fan, but she had her heart set on it. So I did what any pushover, er mother, does and we had a sleepover.

11 kids playing twister, eating way too much, telling scary stories, listening to music, making pillow cases, & picture frame

The very next day a few of my teammates and I held a fundraiser for The Avon 39, The Walk to End Breast Cancer. Talk about busy. I started walking in the Chicago Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in 2008. My Grandmother passed away from breast cancer. In 2003 my Aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now a 12 year survivor. 

 

Jellyfish Jiggle

 

Playing games makes learning fun. Who is Hatching? Toss the pom pom onto your game board, then match the hatching turtle with the site word, letter or number. 

Jellyfish are a type plankton. "I know plankton from Spongebob"  Groups of Jelly fish are called a "bloom". Jellyfish look like an umbrella.  Some Jellyfish are transparent and can be nearly invisible to the naked eye. We thought this was a really cool video to learn about Jellyfish.

 We tried to pulse our bodies to "swim" like a jellyfish.

O is for Octopus

Throughout the day we practice writing our names. This year we've been using plastic sleeves Avery Economy Clear Sheet Protectors, Acid Free, Box of 50 (74090) This way we save paper and get lots and lots of practice in. We use dry erase markers along with printables from The Kidzone website .

 

Scientists recently learned that 2 of an Octopus's arms are actually used as legs to walk across the ocean floor. An octopus has no skeleton but it does have a skull to protect it's brain. An octopus has the ability to camouflage itself by changing color.  What letter does the Octopus remind you of? We have been working on the letter O, writing and counting to 8.

Find out more about Ocean Commotion at Mother Goose Time.