Creative and Curious Kids!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Color My Wardrobe

Very simple idea. Inexpensive. The best gift ever!

My daughter received a Crayola: Color My Wardrobe craft kit for her birthday in April. She just loves it. Not only does it stimulate creative thinking, but also role play and hours of fun. She still has dresses left to decorate after all of these months. It is something fun to do with her older sister as well. After making numerous designs, they hold fashion shows with the cardboard doll to share their new creations with the family.

I'll have to confess, I designed a few dresses myself. Hubby even made a camo-dress. What a great Dad- designing dresses with his daughters!
(Don't tell anyone. He, He!)

Blank dress

Dress after creating!

Another creative design

And Dad's famous......

Camo Dress

Although this product is inexpensive, you could make your own cardboard doll and cut out dress patterns for your child. Use small pieces of Velcro to attach the dresses to the doll. Also, you can use other art supplies such as ribbon, little fabric flowers, or glitter glue to decorate the dresses.

Enjoy your day and have fun being creative!

Jen

Monday, June 22, 2009

Digital Storytelling

Today was the first day of a series of teaching workshops that I will be taking all week. Digital storytelling was the topic for today's study and ways to integrate this technology into the classroom. The software that we explored was Microsoft Photo Story 3. I found it to be pretty simple to use.

Here is a quick overview of what you can do with this software:

Create slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile–based portable device.
Source: Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows XP

Digital story telling can be used in the classroom by both the instructor and the student as a learning tool. The instructor can use it as a motivational tool to introduce content, as well as a tool to teach.

Students can use this software for a variety of classroom projects such as, a personal timeline or family tree, a culminating activity for a field trip, or to share research.

If you are interested in learning more, seeing examples, or trying your hand at digital storytelling, you can download the software for free.

Other resources that might be of interest:

7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling: Promoting Deep Thinking Through Stories

Be sure to comment and let me know if you give it a try or if you've used this software before. Beside in the classroom, this would also be a great tool to create our own family stories at home.

Take Care,
Jen

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hello!

Hello! I haven't been around lately due to my pregnancy symptoms- having a little bit of a rough time. I'm 12 and 1/2 weeks now, so I'm hoping that things will get better soon! I'm sure my family is hoping the same. We haven't been too busy with a lot of "planned" projects, but the kids still manage to be creative and curious even while Mom is resting or trying different cures for nausea. Here's what they've been up to!

Sunshine(age 7)
-sewing clothes by hand for her baby doll.(the best that she can- fun for her, though)
-playing her keyboard- she taught herself how to play Happy Birthday, Twinkle, Twinkle, and a little bit of Beethoven she heard on tv (I think that she has some natural ability that Mom doesn't have- need to find an affordable piano teacher)
-made a Japanese Koi (she was peeking over my shoulder while I was reading The Crafty Classroom and saw the craft on there and just had to do it. Go to The Crafty Classroom for directions. Fun craft.)
-summer gymnastics- 3 hrs a week
-archery with Dad

Peanut(age 5)
-using her imagination to send her Pet shop animals, polly pockets, Thumbelina dolls, and Tinker Bell on wild adventures!
-teaching herself beginning addition: writing down math problems using her fingers and then working on memorizing them(3+3=6, etc)
-drawing maps for her animals
-making up songs and performing them for me
-fashion shows throughout the house
-planting her cherry seeds outside after she eats her cherries

Also, swimming, fishing, biking, scootering, and church camp! So far a great summer start for the girls!

Take Care! Hoping to get back into the blogging groove soon!

Jen

Friday, June 12, 2009

Why Ask Why?

To learn silly! That's why.

Well, recently I purchased the book Why? by Lila Prap from my online book store.

Yes, I'm my best customer- I can't help it. I love books and I get excited about the new products that we get in. It's great to test them out on my kids! Usborne Books merged with Kane/Miller publishing, so we have an even greater selection of books.

Why? has won many awards and has received a lot of great reviews. It is a very simple book that asks questions like Why does a zebra have stripes? or Why don't snakes have legs?

I think that children are attracted to this book because of its humorous pictures and answers. Factual answers are included, but along with some very silly answers. This would be a fun book to use with kids to encourage creative thinking. They can come up with nonsense answers to the questions presented as well. Another fun idea for older kids would be for them to choose a few animals to research and create their very own Why? book.

Guess What? I have good news! I'd like to share a copy with one of my readers! To enter a chance to win your very own copy of Why? just pop on over to my website and take a peek. Come back over here and leave a comment about a book that you found interesting over at my site!

For extra entries:

2 entries: write a post on your blog.
1 entry: tweet about the contest!
1 entry: Follow me or subscribe.
1 entry: Add me to your blog roll.
1 entry: post a link about contest on facebook.

Yeah- lots of chances there for you to win!

Contest ends on June 26th!

Good luck!! and Happy Reading!

Jen

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

I've been Tagged!

Recently, I was tagged by Superhereos and Princesses to name 7 Unimportant things that make me happy!

So here goes!

1. chocolate and peanut butter icecream
2. coffee (when I'm not pregnant)
3. early morning quiet time outside in the summer
4. cooking a new recipe for my family
5. tiramasu
6. a good book
7. watching animals in nature

Now it's my turn to play tag! Ready, Set, Run! Caught ya! Your it:

The Snail's Trail

A Duck in her Pond

Little Toes and Cheerios

Jamerican Spice

Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

The Masked Mommy

Here are the rules:
Answer the question.
Mention/link who tagged you.
Tag 6 of your favorite bloggers (or someone you want to learn more about!)

Have a great day!

Jen

Creative Tips!!

**Use ziplock baggies to organize craft supplies. Label with permanent marker. (Yeah, I organized the craft drawers yesterday! Let's see how long it stays neat before the girls destroy it!!)

**Don't throw away your little plastic apple sauce containers; they make great water or paint holders for your little artists!

**Create charade cards for a family fun game. Play in teams with Daddy, too. For younger children, draw little pictures for them to act out.

**Using washable markers, draw little faces on your chidren's toes. Yes, I said toes!! They will have fun having a conversation with thier little tootsies. (TOE TALK from 365 ways to a SMARTER PRESCHOOLER)

**Connect the literature you are reading to your child with a follow up activity. For example: Have your child paint or draw a picture of the main idea in the story or search online for crafts relating to the story.

**File those creative ideas! If you find a learning article or fun activity, but don't have time to do it right away, file it for later. I keep a file in my file cabinet labeled Learning Ideas.

**Keep a junk box for your child that is filled with recycled materials. It is amazing what they can create out of junk. Things to include: paper towel rolls, small boxes, yarn, small plastic containers, spools, popsicle sticks or tongue depressors, scraps of fabric, straws, etc. If you need a quick activity with the kids, it is right at your fingertips!

**To help eliminate clutter from all of your child's precious artwork, take pictures and create a photo album of their work. This takes up less space, but still provides you with memories. Keep a few favorites to frame and hang on the wall!