new for us friday--finders keepers. . .

Owen is my game-guy.

He is forever up for playing a game, whether it's a card game, a bingo game, a travel game, a board game, an outside game, a computer game, or an action game. It doesn't matter.

He'll play any game at any time.

So when our friends at GameWright sent us a box of new games to try out, you better believe my big guy was in heaven. Actually, we all were.

Today's NFUF tops my big 4-year-old Owen's list of best all-time games.

• Finders Keepers: This game is made for players aged 4 and older, and it's based upon one of favorite children's book series, Can You See What I See? (2002, Walter Wick), the books where readers are directed to search for certain items on each page. The books we all wish we published ourselves, before ole Walter Wick. . .
  

There are actually two ways of playing Finders Keepers; an easy way and a more difficult way. We've only tried the easier way at this point.

"Find Me" tiles and "Keep Me" cards

Our version is simple but so fun. Players get twelve "Keep Me" cards, and they place the cards face up in front of them. These cards have 3-6 random objects on them. Someone flips over a "Find Me" tile, and this tile has a picture of one object on it. Players scan their "Keep Me" cards for the picture on the flipped tile, and each card containing that object is moved to the player's "Keepers" pile.

The object is to be the first person to have all of their twelve cards move to their "Keepers" pile.

Sometimes we don't move our cards to a "Keepers" pile; instead, we start out by arranging our cards in a fancy pattern or shape (diamond, square, "O", or whatever), and we just flip our cards over once we locate the object. I'm not sure how this started, actually, but it works.

This game, like Hisssss, is awesome on so many levels. It's made well--like all of the GameWright games. It's fun and engaging for little guys--okay, and their parents as well.

I love, love, love that this game is familiar to young readers even before they play it because it's an extension of a book that many little ones love to read.

There's no reading or math involved in this particular game, but players must be able to organize their cards and scan them in such a way so that they can match the object to the cards in front of them without missing a beat.

And some cards are tricky! Objects are enlarged, shrunk, twisted, flipped, and sometimes even hiding behind each other, forcing players to pay attention and really focus on locating the "Find Me" object.

We're always up for trying something new, and games, well. . . new games for our New For Us Fridays are a special treat. I'm adding Can You See What I See? to my list of "must have's" for holiday time and birthdays, and if you are in need of some help in choosing a game, consider checking out GameWright's website. It is beautiful, easy to navigate, and one of the most organized sites I've seen.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to GameWright for sending us a bunch of super-cool games, which we're looking forward to trying out in the next few weeks. Like every product I mention on teachmama.com, my opinion is wholly my own, influenced only by my three little gamers, Maddy, Owen, and Cora.

new for us friday--finders keepers. . .

leafy letter learning

At a super-crazy sale at our craft store last week, I picked up a few packs of leaves--at literally a quarter a piece.

I remembered reading about this cute idea a while ago on one of my favorite, favorite blogs, and I couldn't help myself.

I'm a sucker for alphabet games and letter learning.

Especially on glittery, beautiful, fall leaves?!

Too fun.

• Letter Leaves: I stuck with letters--uppercase and lowercase--because I thought that both Cora and Owen could use them in different ways. But I have some extra leaves so I'll put numbers on them in the next few days.
  

I called Owen over to me one afternoon, and I had 'Owen' spelled out in front of me on the leaves.

He said, Hey. My name's on those leaves.

I said, Oh my gosh, it is. How funny? And look, all of other letters are on those leaves. Can you help me match up these uppercase letters with their lowercase letter friends?

Um, maybe. I think I'll help you for a second.

leafy letters

So we matched up some letters--not all of them. Maybe about half, and then he was finished for a while.

our matched letters--uppercase and lowercase

I put a few leaves in front of Cora--letters C, O, R, A.

I said, Cora, your name begins with a 'C'. 'C' is your special letter. 'Cat' starts with 'c', and 'crayons' starts with 'c' and 'candy' starts with 'c'. Here are the letters of your name, C-O-R-A.

I repeated it, then I mixed up the letters of her name and said, Oh, no. Your letters got all mixed up. Let's fix them.

We put them back in order, mixed them up again, and put them in order again. And then she said, Let's do the ABC Song. (Yes! I'll do the ABC Song!)

So we worked together to put the uppercase letters in alphabetical order so we could sing the song and point to each letter as we sang.

Even Owen joined in on the letter-arranging.

And that's all the sneaky learning for today.

When we were finished, I put the leaves into a small basket and left it on the table. Occasionally Maddy, Owen, or Cora have them out on the floor as words, names, clothes, or flying carpets for their Polly Pockets or cars. I really can't complain, at least they're playing with their letters, right?


More letters of the alphabet fun:

• magnetic letter learning
• eating letters
  
• jell-0 mix letters
• tic-tac-toe letter fun
  
• building letters
• on the road letter hunting
  
• teeny-tiny alphabet books
  

Thanks to Pink and Green Mama for the leafy-letter inspiration, and thanks to others who inspired her!

leafy letter learning

wiggly words

Maddy's Kindergarten teacher is--in my humble opinion--the best of the best. My dream has come true: Maddy landed a super teacher with whom she has already fallen in love.

A few weeks back, Maddy was sent home with a packet of information about things parents can do at home to help promote literacy and learning. I literally danced around the house when I saw it.

Three cheers for the Kindergarten team at Maddy's school!

It included uppercase and lowercase alphabet cards to cut out, and it included four sheets of words. They classify the words as early emergent, upper emergent, early fluency and fluency. I put them on the computer in the form of tiny flash cards to use for learning and games.

Here they are to download: Early Emergent Word Cards; Upper Emergent Word Cards; Early Fluency Word Cards; and Fluency Word Cards. I added a few words to these lists in order to include all of the words that our kindergartners are expected to know by the end of the school year.

• Wiggly Words: I have a wiggly board that I use for making writing that much more fun for emergent readers and writers. It is a thick piece of cardboard and put several layers of drywall tape on top of it. (I found the drywall tape on our workbench a few years ago--it's really just a hard plastic grid with tape on the back; anything bumpy or textured will work.)

Students put a blank piece of paper on top of the board, and when they write their words, or letters, or numbers, they look bumpy and wiggly. Crayons work best and will show the best 'wiggle'.

All I did this afternoon was dump the Early Emergent Word Cards and the Early Fluency Word Cards into a small bucket. I knew Maddy was comfortable with most of the Early Emergent words, and I thought I'd throw in a couple more challenging ones for fun.

wiggly words on a wiggly board

Next, Maddy pulled two cards out of the bucket and put them face up above her Wiggly Board.

I said, Okay, Maddy, you big word reader, let's see which word you'll choose to write. Will it be 'are' or 'you'?

I always read two words and gave her a choice. That way, she was using some of her reading skills by listening to the words I read and then reading them again--or trying to--by herself when she made her decision.

She was never put on the spot or forced to read a new, tough word on her own, out of context. I always try to set her up for success.

It was the luck of the draw that our first few words were from the Early Emergent list, but as we pulled more and more cards, they were mixed--easier words with more difficult ones.

Searching for all of the 'g' words

Then she wanted to find all of the words that had a letter 'g' in them to read and write because she felt she had really begun to write her lowercase 'g' well. So we hunted for those words, and she wrote them when she found them.

And before we knew it, Owen and Cora turned up the music way too loud, their dancing around turned to spinning and rough-housing, and Maddy wanted to join them. (Who wouldn't?).

So our little sight word fun was over, but fun it was. . .

Maddy has had a blast lately, playing with sight words. And as I've said before, there are tons of cool ways to help make these important words more familiar--and fun--for our emerging readers, and most of these ways take minimal preparation time on a parent's part.

Five, ten, or twenty minutes now and again to help our little ones become better readers is worth it!

wiggly words

trying to keep smiling: quick trick, candy countdown

After taking care of three on-and-off sick kiddos for the last three weeks, and after a crazy week of Halloween parties and craziness, I was finally hit with the bug yesterday.

From my bedroom, I could hear Maddy, Owen, and Cora asking my husband every two seconds for another piece of candy.

Every. Two. Seconds.

I know there are very cool ideas out there about a "Halloween Trade"-- a small gift in exchange for the children's bag of candy--which is a super idea, but I just didn't get there this year.

Plus, being a sweet tooth myself, I do want my kids to have some candy. Call me crazy. Some candy. Some.

So this Quick Trick I came up with on the fly, from my bed, and I was just thanking my lucky stars that I had been keeping empty egg cartons for a while and had enough to do this.

• Candy Countdown Cartons: I grabbed the egg cartons, taped a piece of paper that said "Maddy's Candy Countdown" onto one carton, "Owen's. . . " on another, and "Cora's . . ." on the last one.
  

Maddy's Candy Countdown Carton

Then I said, I've heard enough crying for candy. Enough! I am trying to rest, and all I hear is 'More candy! More candy! Can we please have candy?'

First of all, we don't eat candy all day long. Secondly, we're not going to finish all of this candy anyway. Imagine how your bellies would feel if we let you eat junk all day long. Remember the Berenstain Bears and 'Too Much Junk Food'? It's Mommy and Daddy's job to help keep you safe and healthy.

So here is your Candy Countdown Carton. Owen, how many little holes are in this container? He counted and told me.

Right. Twelve. So I'm going to dump all of our candy onto the floor, and each of you can pick twelve pieces of candy. That's it. Stick one piece in each of these holes, and when Daddy or I say it's time for candy--for dessert or when we say it's time--then you can pick one of your pieces.

When your Candy Countdown Carton is empty, candy's gone. There's no more. So go through the candy, pick your favorites, and fill up your containers.

Owen fills his Candy Countdown Carton

So they did. And maybe giving them some ownership over a tiny bit of candy, maybe because 'twelve' seems like such a big number to them, or maybe because they just they were happy to play with their candy for a bit, Maddy, Owen, and Cora were content.

I could hear them, after lunch, picking out a piece from their cartons. One piece and they were done.

Maybe this 'Good-bye Halloween Candy' Quick Trick worked after all--or at least for today.

Just a little something to try if you'd like. Hope you had a great Halloween!

trying to keep smiling: quick trick, candy countdown

new for us friday--dinner in a pumpkin

This New for Us Friday isn't really new--that's the funny thing.

I've made Dinner in a Pumpkin for the last two years as our Halloween night dinner.

But when we hollowed out the extra pumpkin on Wednesday as we carved our Jack-O'-Lanterns, Maddy, Owen, and Cora said that they never, ever, ever had dinner in a pumpkin, especially not on Halloween.

You mean 'pumpkin pie? Owen asked me.

No. Dinner in a pumpkin. Remember, meat, teeny mushrooms, rice, all cooked in a pumpkin that Mommy drew a face on? C'mon, it was soooo good. Everyone thought it was funny and strange to have our meal come out of a pumpkin. Remember?

Nothing.

Cora I can understand not remembering, but Maddy and Owen? Seriously? I bet if it was a pumpkin-shaped pizza they'd remember. Now there's an idea for next year. . .

• Dinner in a Pumpkin: I found this recipe several years ago in the Post, and I love it. I thought the kids loved it, too, but apparently it didn't leave much of an impression on them. Several of my friends have asked for the Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe, so here it is to share.

This dinner is easy to prepare ahead, since it is something that does take a little bit of time, and everyone knows there's no time for cooking on Halloween night. We will actually eat this Saturday before Trick-Or-Treating.

We prepared the pumpkin on Wednesday, and Thursday, Owen and Cora watched--and tasted--as I prepared the meat filling. Button mushrooms? Yum. Water chestnuts. Double yum.

our happy little pumpkin

After it cooled, I drew a face on the meat-filled pumpkin, and Saturday I'll throw the big guy in the oven for about 30-45 minutes to bake for the final time before we pound the pavement in search of candy.

No, they haven't actually eaten this particular meal yet, so this New For Us Friday is a little bit backward, since Maddy, Owen, and Cora actually did have this before but just don't remember it. Does that make it something 'new'--I'm not sure. Kind of? Anyway. . .

I thought that I'd share it today in the spirit of Halloween and fun family traditions.
Have a great one!

new for us friday--dinner in a pumpkin

action, action 1, 2, 3!

Owen was nutty today.

I honestly think he had enough energy this afternoon to run a marathon. Except that it was raining. Again. And he and Cora were starting to get whiny, crazy, cranky, and rough.

We were going to have a low-key, playing games kind of afternoon once Maddy returned from school, but I could tell it just wasn't going to fly.

I thought fast, grabbed some huge index cards and big red dice, and Maddy and I got to work.

• Action, Action 1, 2, 3: Really, this game was made with supplies that we had close by: large index cards, markers, and a set of huge red dice that just happened to be on Owen's bedroom floor today.
  

I said, Okay, friends, I need some help. I know of a really awesome game we can play together that will make our hearts happy and let us exercise inside today since it's rainy and muddy outside.

First, we need to think of as many actions as we can, and I'll write them on these big cards. After I write the words, you guys can draw a picture underneath that shows the action. Here's the first action I thought of--'Hop on one foot'. Who wants to draw the picture for this one?

A bunch of our Action Cards

We came up with a bunch of actions like Run in place, Swim, Dance, Roll, Clap your feet, and Wiggle. Here are the Action 1, 2, 3 Cards to download.

Maddy drew most of the pictures, but Owen and Cora illustrated a few.

After all of the pictures were drawn, Maddy slowly read the whole pile of cards to Owen and Cora. We laughed at some and talked about the difference between a somersault and a roll.

Then I said, Here's how we play this game: First you roll your choice of one or two dice, and you tell us what number you rolled. Then you flip a card and try to do that action as many times as the number.

I'll roll the dice. Let's count the number--right. Six. Now I'll flip a card. Oooooh a good one! This card says 'Clap your feet. Let's see if I can clap my feet six times.

Woot, woot! Maddy has to catch the ball five times!
Can she do it? Sure!

After my feet-clapping, Maddy wanted in. And Owen wanted in. And Cora wanted in. Woo-hoo! I got lucky with this one. . . We took turns rolling, flipping, and acting. It was fun. And it was a distraction and a little something new. And luckily, Owen rolled a '12' for Running in place and a '10' for Hopping, and everyone Swam, Danced, and Wiggled together.

It got our bodies movin' and threw in a little counting and reading practice, and that kind of learning always makes this mama happy.

Lately, I've tried to have Maddy and Owen read more written print, because kiddos do need practice reading both type and print, but downloading these Action 1, 2, 3 Cards is a time-saver, which goodness knows we all need.

I left space for tiny artists' pictures under the words. Giving little ones some ownership over their learning materials is super-important because it makes them more active participants in their education, plus they'll feel a teeny-tiny bit more invested in the activity.

Happy rainy day reading and action fun!

action, action 1, 2, 3!

trying to keep smiling: quick trick--teacher notes

In my desperate attempt to re-organize our lives during the first two weeks of school, I created a few things that I've really leaned on lately.

With Maddy and Owen's recent bouts with coughs, bad bellies, runny noses, coughs, and (we're pretty sure) the swine flu, I've had to communicate more frequently with both of their teachers. Goodness knows that the mornings I have five seconds to scribble a quick note, paper and writing utensils are nowhere to be found.

Today's Quick Trick has made my correspondences with their teachers a little more easy.

• Teacher Notes: I made one set of these Small Teacher Notes with Maddy's name on the 'Re:' line and another set with Owen's name on the line. The notes are tiny--two to a page--so that not to much paper is wasted.
  

I left the 'To:' and the 'Date:' line blank so that I could fill it out on the fly. I included only a few blank lines for a hand-written note, and then I have a line for my signature. My name, email address, home phone and cell phone are included on my template so that a teacher--or administrator--can quickly get back to me if necessary.

I printed out four copies for each Maddy and Owen, paper clipped them to small envelopes, and I put them in a safe spot, easy to find and unable to be lost. (Hopefully.)

I also made a Large Teacher Note and printed a few in case I needed more room for a message.

I modified the templates to share; they have none of our personal information included. Here are the Small Teacher Notes and the Large Teacher Notes to download if you'd like.

I remember the days when I was teaching and was so busy I couldn't sit down anywhere--let alone at my computer--until the end of the day. If I have a last-minute something to convey to Maddy or Owen's teacher, maybe--just maybe--they'd find a second to read an old-fashioned note before they find time to sort through all of their emails.

Who knows? I'm learning as I go. . .

trying to keep smiling: quick trick--teacher notes