Nature: Our Outdoor Classroom!

Yesterday, Peanut came home excited to tell us all about the "sticky" walk she took at Preschool. Sticky walk? We never heard of such a thing. She proceeded to tell us what a sticky walk is-
"put tape on your wrist, then go outside and pick up stuff like yellow leaves and red leaves...."
She then told us that she found bark, flowers, and a prickly thing.
"What a neat idea," I thought.
This is where I got my inspiration for today's post- using nature as our outdoor classroom! My girls love taking nature walks and it gives us the opportunity to observe, explore, and learn about God's amazing creation! Next time you take a walk with the kids, try one of the activities below.

Sticky Walk
After taking your "sticky" walk, share what you've found. Look in books or online to learn about new discoveries.

Bug Walk
Have fun looking for little critters! Be sure to take along a magnifying glass so that your child can get an up close look at the bugs found. (Actually, I saw the cartoon characters doing this on the new PBS show- Sid the Science Kid. They were exploring pill bugs and they were using a magnifying glass to count the number of legs on the bug. Next, they drew a picture of the bugs in a bug journal.) If taking a walk in the woods, be sure to take along a piece of white poster board. Scatter dirt and leaves from the top of the ground onto the paper. You will be surprised at the plethora of life living there!

A few "buggy" book suggestions:
Little Miss Spider by David Kirk
Five Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! by Bob Barner
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

Fall leaf creations
This was one of my favorite fall creative thinking activities when I was teaching. Take a walk with the kiddos and collect a variety of fall leaves. Brainstorm with your child different pictures that they can create with the leaf. Do they see a dog, a person, a volcano? Encourage them to use their imagination. Choose a leaf to glue on white construction paper. Next, have your child use markers(love washable for our younger artists!) to draw a creation by adding details to their leaf. (also known as elaboration- creative thinking skill)

Fall leaf rubbings
Save a couple leaves from your leaf walk above to make leaf rubbings. Put the leaf under a piece of white paper. Using crayons, have your child rub over the leaf. Use more that one leaf and different colored crayons to make a beautiful poster!

Other Nature Activities
adapted from Preschool/Kindergarten Instant Lessons For Little Learners- The Mailbox 1997

1. Nature collage: glue items from nature on poster board. Hey, why not use the items found on the "sticky" walk!!

2. Pebbles and Rocks: collect different sizes of pebbles and rocks. Have child drop the pebbles and rocks into a plastic bin of water. What are the differences in the splashes made by each rock? How long did the ripples last? Count and Compare. My girls love collecting rocks. Let your child pick out a few of their favorites for a rock collection.

3. Sand/Dirt Writing: Using a stick, let your child practice their writing in sand or just plain old dirt in the backyard.

4.Texture walk: Feel and compare the different textures found in nature. What feels soft? What feels rough? Extensions: Put the different objects in categories. (Rough, Soft, by Color, or Size.) Play which object doesn't belong.

5. Animal Homes: Next time you take a walk in the woods or around the neighborhood, search for animal homes. Where do ants live? Where do birds live? Spiders? etc.

Other resources for outdoor learning:

My First Nature Book- A life size guide to discovering the world around you by Angela Wilkes

http://www.naturenet.com/coolkidwebSites.htm

Sparkly Pants???

Oh, what to do with a pair of pink, sparkle pants? Recently, Sunshine overheard me talking about a craft that I was planning for my mother's group. all you magazine had a fun fabric craft pictured on the front of their August cover: decorative storage boxes. For our first craft, I was looking for something that was useful and easy to make. Once she saw what we were making, she just had to make a fabric covered pencil holder for her new teacher. After searching at Grammy's house for fabric, she actually found a pair of pink sparkly pants to cut up to be used for her craft. I didn't realize when I was planning that this would be good craft for kids, also. Here are some ideas!!

Empty shoe box: organize photos or for a memory box filled with notations, make a card center- store cards for birthdays and other holidays
Small box: create a recipe box or fancy gift box
Tin can: pencil or scissor holder
Large box: magazine storage or toy storage

Choose fabrics that match the decor of the room where you will be storing the box.
Kids can choose whatever they fancy- maybe pink sparkly fabric if they are anything like my girls, the sparklier- the better!!

Here are the directions from all you magazine:

1.Measure the top and lip of the box lid, and add 1" to the length and width; cut a piece of fabric that size. Using a paintbrush, apply Mod Podge to the top of the lid;center it one he reverse side of the fabric. Cut a square from each corner of the fabric, then fold it up the side and over the lip, adding extra Mod Podge at the edges.

2.Cut a second strip of fabric to cover the box, with a little left over to tuck under the bottom and over the top edge. Apply Mod Podge to the sides of the box and lay it on the reverse side of the fabric. Wrap the fabric around the box, tucking the ends underneath and over the edge. Use more Mod Podge as needed. Adhere labels to the finished boxes.

all you: Issue 8, August 29,2008

Be creative with your kids! You can create something for Mom, while the kids are creating!

Confessions of a Creative Clutter Queen

Oh no! My eldest daughter is slowly, but surely turning into her mother! The good habits-GREAT, but now I see the bad habits forming. In this case, the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree! Anyone who knew me as a child has no doubt in their mind that this child came from my womb.


My daughters CRAFT CORNER: what happened over there???? How can she even find a marker or the glue??

I confess! I am a Closet Clutterer. Only my closest,dearest friends know this about me. Part of the problem is my creative, impulsive, possible ADD nature! It's hard to be organized when you have so many new and exciting ideas popping into your brain. I guess it can be a blessing or a curse. Here is a test for you to see if you are a Creative Clutter Queen! You might be if............


1. You are excited to find your blue
terry-cloth shorts- from the 1980's!!

2. You have loads of clean clothes scattered in piles
throughout the house, but your dresser and closets are empty.

3. You have lots and lots of creative masterpieces
done by your little Picasso!

4. You can't park your car in your garage,
not because you don't know HOW to park
it, but you can't fit it in with all of the STUFF!

5. Your child's bassinet is still at the bottom of your bed and she is over 4 years old! (Now that's bad- I'm being sentimental while some poor baby can be using it! Shame on me!)

6. Books, Books, and More Books!!
Found in every room in the house, even the bathroom.

7. Toys add decorative flair to every room,
not just your child's room anymore.
Toys in the l.r., d.r. and scattered everywhere else!!
(Time to donate and/or sell, sell, sell!)

8. Your husband is frustrated because you keep recycled materials that you will have a use for later!

9. Oh no, was that bill due yesterday?
Who put that under those papers on my desk??

and lastly- you might be a Closet Clutter Queen if....

10. Your rental video is late because it somehow
got mixed in with the toys, books,or the laundry pile that
hasn't been put away!!

On a serious note-Is there possible hope for me or my children to dig out of the chaos? I think so. It is just going to take some time. If you struggle with clutter, procrastination, and/or organization, you will have to visit Flylady! Her suggestions are awesome and she has lots of encouraging words and tools to share!! I'm going to try to be disciplined and start again with her babystep plan! Blogging doesn't help though- I'm enjoying this creative outlet a little too much. I was doing really well and then started to slip back into old habits. I hope that my confessions today will help other moms who struggle with the same things to laugh at themselves and realize that there is hope amongst the clutter!!

Photo Fun

SURPRISED!


YES!!

I'M COLD!!

PHOTO BOOK
Last night, I came across this idea when I was reading Nick Jr. Magazine (Feb/March 2008) to my girls. Alice Wilder, Ed.D., cofounder of THINK IT INK IT PUBLISHING, gives tips on making a funny face book in the Nick Parent's Connect section of the magazine. I couldn't resist. It looked like so much fun. Here are just a few of her suggestions for capturing your "kid's favorite expressions in print."

1. Warm up before the big photo shoot with a funny face off!

2. Using a digital camera, take photos of your child being silly. Call out different expressions while shooting- surprised, angry, stinky,freezing, etc.

3. Publish the book together. Print out the best shots and paste on paper. Have your child create a decorative cover and then bind with ribbon or metal rings.

Take a peek at a few more photos that we've selected below!


ANGRY! grrr!


SO, SO SILLY!


SUGAR AND SPICE...

After finishing our photos for our book, we decided to have a little fun. We tried to take our own group photo by stretching out Mom's arm. We couldn't stop laughing as we reviewed the digital photos. We had a difficult time getting everyone in the photo and my kids just thought it was hysterical.

FAMILY BLOOPERS!!

The girls and part of Mommy

Oops! Where are the kids?

Help! They're squishing me!



AND ONE LAST SILLY MOMENT CAUGHT ON FILM- DRUMROLL PLEASE..............................


Now that is some bad photography! Wow!


This is so cool: Check it out!!
THINK IT INK IT PUBLISHING: creative writing program that lets kids publish original stories

Higher Level Thinking

When our children are small, we start with the very basics- simple words, colors, 123s and ABCs, but as they grow and their thinking develops, there are things that you can do with your little ones to encourage higher level thinking. When I was a teacher, I would often use Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking to guide me when planning activities for my students. I wanted to be sure that the tasks required would stretch not only their knowledge base, but their thinking. Bloom's model arranges different level of thinking in sequential order, starting with knowledge and moving up to synthesis. I listed them below from highest to lowest.

Synthesis: most difficult level of thinking that requires original/creative thinking

Evaluation: judging information

Analysis: studying something separately and thinking about how it relates to whole

Application: apply knowledge from one situation to another- your child builds a tower with legos and says it looks like a building he/she has learned about.

Comprehension:understanding of concepts- Retells story in own words.

Knowledge: recalling or knowing something- Example: Your child tells you that a frog is an amphibian.

Okay, so you may be thinking: My child is only four and can barely tie a shoe, how am I going to have them analyze or evaluate things?? Don't worry, I am going to list some suggestion on how incorporate these levels of thinking into your daily activities. I'll start with knowledge and then work my way up to synthesis activities, so here goes!


Knowledge: Memorize simple songs and rhymes with your child. This will help them with beginning reading and communication skills. My children would memorize simple books and it would build confidence in their abilities. "Look, Mama-I'm reading!" Even though this is at the bottom of the taxonomy it is very important. Children need knowledge to learn and to apply the higher levels of thinking.

Comprehension: While reading a story to your child, ask them questions. Have them retell you the story in their own words. Kids get excited about new movies that come out in the theatres. Have them share their favorite part and discuss the plot with them. Question your child about what they have learned in school so that they can explain new concepts.

Application: Cooking with your kids would involve application. They would need to apply basic math skills to follow a recipe. Using maps and charts also involves the use of this level of thinking. My girls are very curious about maps and globes. Use maps to apply other information learned. Where do they live in relationship to the rest of the country, the world? Where do interesting animals live? Show them the different continents and discuss the countries that reside there. Have your child use clay to create model of something newly learned.

Analysis: Have your child compare and contrast different things. How is a frog and turtle alike? How are they different? Compare and contrast different characters in a story? How are they like your child? How are the characters different? etc. Analogies are also great. Often, I would do analogies with my students. One day, I was reviewing a packet of analogies when my daughters asked me if they could try them. I was surprised that they were able to think about the relationships between words so young. For example, I would say Sun is to yellow, as Grass is to..... They would answer Green. Okay, it seems simple, but it requires thinking to figure out the relationship. Another example would be- Fur is to bear as _________ is to bird- answer: feathers
Analogies for Beginners

Evaluation: Have your child give their opinion about something. Which game do they like better? Why? Which book is their favorite and why? If they could change the end of the story, how would they make it different?

Synthesis: My girls love to create something new out of junk. This level of thinking really requires your child to use their imagination to create something new. Writing a story or song with your child would require using this level of thinking. My six year old loves to write songs and then uses her acoustic guitar to sing them. Who know maybe we have a future star on our hands? Ha, Ha!


Adapted information on Bloom's Taxonomy from
TEACHING GIFTED KIDS IN THE REGULAR CLASSROOM
by Susan Winebrenner