Salad Spinner Art!

It's been raining here....constantly.

For 3 weeks, I think we have seen the sun twice.

That's not normal Texas weather... not that Texas weather is ever normal I suppose.

When dreary days keep you stuck indoors, you have to find some activities to break free from the gray and bring some sunshine back into your day.

Salad spinner art is the perfect rainy day activity!

Thank goodness for Mother Goose Time and this STEAM activity, because it put some much needed color back into our gray day.  And it was all stuff I already had right here at home!

All you need is:

• salad spinner (check thrift stores)
• paint (we used fingerpaint)
• small paper plates (or cut paper)

We learned so much through trial and error during this STEAM activity.

We learned where to place the paint to get the best coverage of the plate and about color theory.

Here's my girl in action:

Plate 1

Plate 1 Results

Plate 2

Plate 3- starting the paint in the center produces more plate coverage.

Are they not beautiful or what?!

The bottom is plate 1, the middle is plate 2, and the top is plate 3.

We did about 17 more plates that day.

Then more the next day until we ran out of paint.

She (and I) loved this activity. 

Not only did we experiment through trial and error about where to place the paint, but we also went over color theory- seeing what colors made what.

Avaleigh could observe how brown was made or green! 

I should have done this with my high school students when studying color theory.

I know kids of all ages would have fun doing this and the results are never exactly the same.  

Older students could even write about their learning and attach the plate to back up their writing.

If I only knew then what I know now.

Seriously....so much fun!

Happy Art Making!!!

   

Preschool Math: "Rocking" Out

We journeyed to Ayers Rock this week.

Have you ever heard of it?  I hadn't until our Mother Goose Time curriculum introduced me to this stunning red rock in Australia.

Using our monthly manipulatives, Avaleigh "rocked" out her math lesson on Ayers Rock day :)

Check out this 20 second video and catch some highlights of our day!

So much of math is understanding abstract concepts.

In order to make it concrete, especially for young learners, you need to use manipulatives.

Each month, we receive a new set of manipulatives in our box, and this month it was little colored game people (with smiley faces!)  Avaleigh used these people and a bowl turned upside down to help her reenact what her math card stated.  

Each card was about hikers doing something with the rock.  Some hiked, some went around, and some even left.  By reenacting the scenario on the card, Avaleigh was practicing adding and subtracting just through playing!

By incorporating the rock (bowl), Avaleigh also practiced prepositional phrases 

(around the rock; to the top; ect) and moved her game pieces accordingly.

Below you can see how she started taking her  manipulatives and making them go home.

I was really impressed with her math skills!

The manipulatives make such a difference.  

If I asked her what 5 minus 4 was, she would NEVER be able to tell me 1.  However by bringing out the manipulatives and actually acting out the problem, she could tell me 1 and understand why.

At this age, it's all about teachers and parents making math concrete and 

kids can do so much if we just give them the opportunities.

What are some of your favorite manipulatives?

Have fun learning this week!

Preschool STEAM Station: Sedimentary Rocks

We are on a wirlwind adventure this month as we study different destinations all over the world in our Small World box from Mother Goose Time.

One of Avaleigh's most favorite activities happened this week when we "visited" the Grand Canyon, and it just so happened to be a STEAM station activity.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. 

(so glad they included Art... it used to be called STEM a few years ago)

The Grand Canyon activity we did really focused on SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, and ART.

Sedimentary rocks are formed from the compaction of layers upon layers of sediment, which are evident in the rows of colors we observe in the Grand Canyon.  The picture MGT sent was perfect to catch the idea of layers.

So how do you get this idea of layers of sediment forming rocks to preschoolers?

You break out the play dough.

Through the use of kitchen tools (technology), Avaleigh pressed and rolled out an assortment of colored play dough into thin rectangular layers.  We discussed the colors she had and she picked which color would go next in her layer stack (art).

Once her layers were done, she pressed them together using the pressure of her hands (compaction).  Then it was time to cut into the rock.... I mean play dough ;) 

Using more tools from her kitchen (knives), Avaleigh cut and cut into the playdough rock to reveal a rainbow of layers.

Isn't that beautiful!?!

Of course afterwards, she wanted to press all the colors together and form a ball, but it didn't turn into a glob of gross brown color immediately like I thought it would.

It turned into this rainbow mix.

Still lovely.

This STEAM station reminded me of one of my favorite labs I did with my 6th graders- a ROCK CYCLE lab, which you can read about here (rock cycle rap included).

Understanding big concepts like sedimentary rock formation doesn't start in 6th grade.  

It starts right here in preschool.  

That's what I am doing right now each and everyday with our Mother Goose Time curriculum...

laying out the foundation for understanding hard concepts.

Want to read more preschool STEAM ideas? Click here.

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File Folder Games with Mother Goose Time

Hi, my name is Leslie and I am a former public school educator (8 years).

Currently, I home school our little preschooler, Avaleigh, who is 3.5 years old using 

Mother Goose Time- a prepackaged curriculum unit study for preschoolers.

The quality of the things we receieve are TOP NOTCH and as a teacher, I REALLY struggle in throwing this stuff away when were are done. But my house just can not handle keeping all the stuff.

There are some things we get every month though that I do keep- one of those being the 

BOARD GAMES.

I turn these into file folder games and store them in a filing crate.

Here's how I do it:

First I find out where the board game is using the Supplied Core Tools list and dig it out of the box, and then I get the supplies I need: a file folder, small snack bag, pieces, and glue.

First I open the snack bag and staple it to the back of the file folder.  This allows the bag to open completely and makes storing the pieces easy.

Then, I glue the game board to the inside.  I like to do this with the file folder almost closed that way the middle creases line up and there are no air pockets.

Then I look at the lesson and read through the directions on how to play together. 

I also look at the learning goals that are listed underneath the title.  In this case the goals are:

Patters and Sorting 18.2

Self-Direction 2.2

I then look at the back of my Teacher Guide and see what exactly are the expectations.

Self-direction 2.2 is about maintaining attention and repeating an activity until success.

Pattern and Sorting 18.2 is about matching, sorting and charting. 

During the game the child is expected to match colors.

I write these goals and expectations on the front of my file folder, and write the title of the game and whether it is Math or Reading related.  

Now if Avaleigh needs help in a certain area, I can easily find the game to help reinforce those skills.

If I had a class, I would let parents check these games out and play them at home with their preschoolers.  As an educator, you do not just educate the child, but also the parent.  Parents want to help their kids, but some just don't know what to do or where to begin.  As a teacher, you can assess the needs of the child and equip the parent at home with games that the child is already familiar with.    Mother Goose Time makes it possible to share the fun of learning at home- 

creating fun memories in the process.

A win win for everyone.

And all I had to do was glue it in a folder.

Happy Learning friends!

Getting Ready to Travel with Mother Goose Time

During our first week of It's a Small World unit with Mother Goose Time, we had a ton of fun preparing for a trip!

First thing up: We need to pack a Suitcase.

Instead of digging out our roller suitcases, I grabbed one of our bags and asked Avaleigh to pack it.  The first thing she threw in was her Beauty and the Beast Usborne book.

She LOVES that story.

Then she packed her baby blanket, all sorts of clothes and shoes.  She has never packed a bag before like this, and she had so much fun digging through her drawers finding items to bring.

After packing her bag, we worked on making a Make and Play Suitcase.

Fine motor skills came into play to lace our yarn around the suitcase.  The finishing touch was using her markers to decorate the front with her name.

On every trip, you have to remember your Camera, and that is what we studied the 2nd day.

She used snapshots in the magnifying glass to locate the matching images in her theme poster.

On the back of the magnifying glass are simple activities- for example: on this airplane picture, the back stated to fly around the room like an airplane.  She had so much fun doing this.

MGT sent pictures of the destinations we will study in this unit like, The Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Matterhorn, and Saint Basil's Cathedral.  I cut up the pictures to make puzzles for Avaleigh.  Some were a little more challenging than others.

Such a great activity and one that I put in our "to-go" play bag.  I pull it out when we go to restaurants, grandparents, trips, whatever...

You could do this with pictures or magazines at home.  Add magnets to the back and make it a little more interactive!

Time to travel!  Let's get on the Boat or Airplane!

On our 3rd day we studied Boats and Airplanes.

Using Popsicle sticks, star stickers, and a clothespin, Avaleigh created an airplane during our Invitation to Create.  She's been running around the house with it making it fly.

However, her absolute favorite thing out of this box has been the My Little Journal booklet.

I precut shapes for her to use to make a boat on the front cover.  

I had her tell me what shape it was as she glued it down. 

Then she wrote her name- backwards.

I don't know why she did it this way, but she was so focused on making her letters, I didn't want to stop and correct her right then. 

I helped with the "e".

I wish I snapped pictures of her sitting at the coffee table with this book just coloring away at it, or of her using her shapes and shape cards to make different transportation vehicles.

I've been nursing and dealing with a newborn while teaching her, and it is definitely a challenge.

However, I love the fact that I can set out MGT activities for my girl to learn and do while I tend to the baby.  I might not snap the picture, but she's loving learning, and so am I.

Happy Travels!