Have a POTATO Day!

Why? You ask.  Why not.  Because there is a lot of learning you can do with potatoes.  Here are some activities that I had fun sharing with little man and his one year old buddy!

1. Play hot potato.  Old but goodie.  I sat the little one on my lap and she helped me pass a ball back and forth to little man.  The giggles and squeels were awesome!



2.  One Potato, Two.  Sing a hand-rhyme.

One Potato, Two

One potato, two potato, three potato, four
Five potato, six potato, seven, potato, more
Eight potato, nine potato, ten potato, then
Let’s start over and do it again.

(pound your right fist on your left fist and then left over right- repeat to rhythm of poem)
 
Source....

3.  Color Mr. Potato Head or play with Mr. Potato Head toy.  Name the different parts: eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, etc.

printable

 

 

4. Spud observations:  Take out an actual potato. 

Let your little one observe and feel the different texture of the potato. 

Talk about it and where it grows. 

What do they see on the potato? 

If they are old enough, they can draw their observations.

 

5. Potato Painting

I cut an old potato in half and let little man paint with it.  He enjoyed this activity.  We were focusing on the color red this week, so I gave him red paint.  Then he asked for yellow and being he asked nicely.. yellow he got. 

 

 

More ideas..

*Roll Mr. Potato Head Game and printable.
*Magnetic Mr. Potato Head with printable.
*Potato activities from Make Learning Fun.

And then we have couple of funny potato posts from this blog...

Over-baked potato!

Mr. Potato Head

 

 

 

 

Any more fun potato ideas for little ones?

Jen

 

Thank you to Church House Clipart for the cute potato image!

The Foot Book and Activity

After reading The Foot Book by Dr. Suess, Little Man and I had fun exploring all kinds of feet!!

I found these wonderful animal feet cards at kidz club (love this site) and made this file folder activity.  You can also go to the site and print them in black and white for coloring.

I decided not to cut out the animals. I pasted them on the inside of the folder.

On the back of the folder, I made a pocket for storage for the feet.  (After printing out the feet, I glued them on colorful cardstock.)

A fun activity that is easy to store and pulled out when we study animals or visit The Foot Book again.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.. I also traced Little Man's feet and let him decorate them!

For more fun with FEET...

1. Feet crafts.. make a chick, butterfly, or bumble bee!
2. Ff is for fish, fingers, and feet!
3. It's Jello Time... walk in Jello??
4. The Foot Book Printables and Teaching Ideas-
    www.apples4theteacher.com.

“In the house,

and on the street,

how many, many

feet you meet.”

Dr. Suess

Fun Science for Kids

Getting kids interested in science is something a lot of parents want to do. And the earlier we start, the better the results. This is because early on, kids get the impression that science is a subject that is fun and engaging. Aside from this, if they understand the easier basic science concepts, then it will be easier for them to grasp the more complex concepts later on.


So how exactly do parents go about to create an environment of fun science for kids? There are numerous books out there that can help. One of these books is “The Amazing Science Discovery Series”. This series specifically targets kids in the elementary grade levels and covers grade 1 to 5 science lesson. It’s a set of 5 ebooks designed to help parents re-discover the fun in science together with their kids.

Here are some tips adapted from this book to help you plant the seed of love for science in your little ones.

 
Fuel their curiosity.

If your child asks you a question the answer to which you aren’t sure of, don’t invent an answer or end it by saying you don’t know. The best way to approach this tricky situation is to find the answer together with your child. Research together. Maybe do an experiment together to check the outcome. That’s the scientific method in action.

Children learn a lot by doing. And if they see that you are enthusiastic about finding the answers and if you both are successful in finding it, it will show him that science is fun and that it is something comprehensible.

Encourage your child to ask questions and take time to help him find the answers. This will keep him interested and involved in science.


Allow your child to explore.

As parents, we can be naturally over protective of our kids. But in the interest of science, we need to give them the opportunity to get down and dirty and explore the natural environment. Go on a trip to the beach, or a fishing expedition. Go camping with them once in a while or help them plant an herb garden. All of these activities provide them with the opportunity to interact with the natural world, which is something they will learn about in their life science classes.

Letting them go out and explore will allow them to observe first hand the effects of weathering on various rock formations, the water cycle, and food chain and so much more. It will also make them aware of the need to conserve our resources and to be conscious of some of our actions that can harm the environment.


Throw a science party for your kids and their friends. 

This is not as geeky as it sounds. Science parties are a great way to make science fun and cool for your child and his peers. You may not realize it, but something like a magic show can become a fun science activity for your child if the magician is also a good teacher and talks about how concepts learned in the physical sciences are used to make some magic tricks possible.

Another idea is a kite making and flying party. Through this party, your host can talk about how kites are able to fly and how the weather can affect how high you can fly your kite or how specific kite designs are better compared to others.

For more ideas like these, be sure to check out “The Amazing Science Discovery Series”, exclusively available at: www.amazingsciencediscovery.com


Disclaimer:  This is a guest post by Gabrielle Hunter for "The Amazing Science Discovery Series".  I did not receive compensation to post this article, although I am an affiliate and will earn compensation through the sales of this series.

Chameleon Themed Books and Activities

My children have always been fascinated with chameleons! When peanut was just 2, she would ask the librarian for the same Chameleon book weekly- Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley.  She adored the photos in this non-fiction book and would "read" along with her favorite parts.

Little man has been fascinated by the chameleon characters in his fiction books: The Mixed up Chameleon by Eric Carle, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni, and Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro . 

Chameleon isn't happy with being a chameleon and wishes to be like other animals, even humans.  We enjoy seeing him get mixed up as he wishes to be a flamingo, a deer, and more.  At the end of the story it teaches a great lesson about being happy with just being you! 

Activities

1. Act out the story with...

The Mixed Up Chameleon Story Patterns from Kiz Club

2. Paint a chameleon
Art Project by in His grace

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"Parrots are green, elephants are gray, pigs are pink." But chameleons change color wherever they go. "On lemons they are yellow. In the heather they are purple." One chameleon is not pleased with his changeable appearance. He thinks, "If I remain on a leaf, I shall be green forever, and so I too will have a color of my own."

Read to find out what this chameleon discovers! Another sweet story about accepting who you are. Great for teaching colors and camouflage science concepts.

Activities

1. Explore camouflage with this cool activity!

Colorful chameleons activity by Helping Little Hands

2.  Play a game.

Camouflage Chameleon Game by Bright Hub Education

3.  Toddler Activity
After cutting out a variety of different colored chameleons, have your child match colorful pom poms to the different chameleons.  For fine motor fun, provide plastic chop sticks. (If creating the above game, the chameleons can be reused for this activity.)

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What a fun story written by the Japanese author, Chisato Tashero. We love the colorful illustrations of the different animals yearning to be different colors and patterns.  What happens when all of the animals turn different colors?  Read to find out how the problem in this story is solved! Great story to be combined with the above stories of self acceptance and differences. 

Activities

 

1.  Make a Chameleon Puppet

Toilet Paper Roll Craft from DTLK

-just add a popsicle stick to make it into a puppet

2.  Explore Culture
Teach your child about Japan. Read a book or explore online.  Next, share on a  map Japan's location in relation to our country.  Share simple phrases in Japanese.

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More chameleon themed printables/activities-

ABC matching chameleon cards from The Virtual Vine

Chameleon Party Blowers from Disney Family

Books we'd like to explore...

So much fun.. looking forward to doing lots of chameleon activities with my kiddos... hope you'll join in on the fun!  Leave a link in the comments if you have a post or a fun idea!!

Enjoy your day!
Jen



Exploring Wildlife

On our recent trip to the mountains, we loved observing wildlife!  It's usually the highlight of our trip and this trip was pretty special, because we spotted something that we've never seen before- except for at our zoo of course.

Yeah, our first bear sighting!!  I wish I got a better pic, but there he is... see above!  We were so excited!

Seeing Elk is always a treat!  They are such beautiful creatures.

Little critters are always fun as well.  I felt bad for this little guy.. little man would not leave him alone.  He even named him Yellowy.

Oh... and I even had fun observing my own little wild things!!

For more nature related activities and fun, be sure to visit my post at The Activity Mom.. Nature Activities. You'll find ideas for learning and creating with sticks and stones!

Enjoy your day!

Jen

Ice Cream Activities

Recently, I posted my ideas for an ice cream week with the kiddos!  Well, we had fun testing ice cream, making a craft, reading an ice cream mystery and more.  Take a peek.....

Ice Cream Craft

Materials: ice cream template, tissue paper, markers, stickers, scrapbook paper, scissors

Ice cream Word Search

Materials: Word Search, pencil, and ice cream for eating!

Literature:

The Ice Cream Mystery by

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Should I Share My Ice Cream?

by Mo Willems

Ice Cream Taste Test

Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Choose a variety of ice cream flavors for your kiddos to try!  Blind fold them or have them close their eyes.  Which flavor is their favorite? Can they guess the flavor? 

We tested the following flavors: Spumoni, Rasberry Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Turtle Trail

For more ideas for an ice cream taste test, visit No Time For Flashcards: 5 Senses- Ice Cream Taste Test

We're not done celebrating the joy of ice cream just yet. 

Stay tuned for more ice cream fun!

Jen

Summer Fun Activities

This week we had a chance to try out a new Summer Bingo game that I created.  Little man didn't quite get how to play, but he must of enjoyed it, because he asked to play it the next day.  For a free printable and to get the scoop about the game, be sure to my most recent post at  The Activity Mom.

I'm always looking for fun and simple ways to entertain the kids during these long hot days. Pinterest has been a wonderful resource for finding ideas and activities for Summer Fun!  Here are a few of my favorite pins on my Summer Board...

Icy Pirate Boats from Pink and Green Mama

Take a Hike Leaf Print Tees from Skip to My Lou

Chalk Treasure Hunt from Nuture Store

What summer fun ideas have you found on Pinterest?

I hope that you are enjoying your summer!

Jen

Ocean Sensory Bin

I've seen many beach themed sensory bins around the blogosphere that I absolutely adored, so I decided to make one for little man.  Let's just say it was a BIG hit!  He must have played for an hour or more. 

 Materials:

Dollar store toys: dolphin, submarines, fish, shark

 Seashells

Water Beads

 We played with and without water.  It's hard to see the water beads above, but little man had fun playing with them in the water. 

Water and sensory play all in one!

Here are the beads with very little water- above.

Big sisters couldn't resist, either!

Little man just looked over my shoulder and yelled..

"Seashells!  I play and water!"

Do you have a summer themed sensory bin to share?

Just leave a link in the comments!

Jen



Letter Tt Activities



Play-doh Cavity Critters Activity

 Tt is for Tooth!  My inspiration for this group of activities was.....

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Yes, those little guys can be annoying, but they taught my son a lot about teeth through music and play.

Activity 1: Play-doh Cavities (see pic-top of page)

Materials- laminated tooth, laminated tooth brushes, play-doh

Object: Scoop the play-doh off of the tooth so you don't get cavity critters!- fine motor fun, concept development

Adaptation: roll a die and scoop off the number shown- counting

                    

Activity 2: Happy Tooth, Sad Tooth Felt Board

Materials: Felt Toothbrushes, felt Letter Tt, card stock teeth

Object: Clean the tooth with the toothbrush- now it's a happy tooth! Color recognition, concept development

Activity 3: Toothbrush painting

Activity 4: Matching Tt's

Object: Match the letter Tt

1. You can match an upper case T with a T or lowercase with each other.

2. Or match the uppercase with the lowercase.

Clipart source for teeth... http://www.freeclipartpics.com/

Teeth printable



Oh, he loves the letter Tt! Oh, he loves the letter Tt.......

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        For more fun with the letter Tt, check out            Tt is for Turtle.

Jen