colors in a jar

It's a rainbow of colors around here--between the end-of-summer flowers still desperately hanging on and the leaves beginning to change, it's gorgeous.

So I thought I'd put to use some of the containers I've been holding onto and really give Maddy, Owen, and Cora a chance to realize just how beautiful it was in their very own backyard, especially when we isolated each color.

• Color Jars: I wrote the name of each color on a label--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white--and stuck each label on its own container.

These containers are from rice, cous-cous, peanuts, pickles, pretzels, really they're just the large ones with great lids that I couldn't bear to recycle quite yet.

And one afternoon when Maddy, Owen, and Cora were all out back playing, I brought out the containers and just said, Everybody grab a container. There are a ton of beautiful colors out here right now--we're so lucky! Today, we can pick what anything we want. Let's go on a color hunt and see how full we can get each of our jars!

purple, pink, and red color jars

So that was it. Maddy and Owen each took a jar, and Cora and I worked together to find everything we could to shove in the 'green' jar. And then we put them on the table and admired how beautiful the colors were, all smooshed together in the same container.

It was an awesome activity--easy and simple--and fun to finally freely pick the flowers we've been growing all summer.

And then Maddy started crying because she didn't want summer to be over or the pool to close (it's been closed for weeks), and she wanted the pink flowers to stay around all year long, and she didn't like the yellow mums we have because she only likes pink and purple and she didn't want me to take away the summer flowers, and she didn't want our tomato garden to stop growing.

So I tried--unsuccessfully--to explain everything a mom tries to explain when her five-year-old daughter is over-tired and won't stop crying, but that didn't work. So we called Nanny, who many times is the only one who can help in this kind of situation, and (thank goodness!) she did.

I have a bunch of posts ready to go that involve tutoring, just like I promised, but I couldn't help myself today. This was simple, sneaky, and way too fun.

colors in a jar

i heart my garage

Okay, I don't really.

But ever since I started hanging Maddy, Owen, and Cora's artwork in my least favorite place in our house, I have liked it a little more.

We were in need of a rainy morning activity and some new artwork for our walls, so today I wallpapered the garage in blank paper, brought out the finger paints, and let my little ones do the decorating.

• Garage Art: We threw on junker clothes and old shirts (for smocks) on Maddy, Owen, and Cora, and we put newspaper down on the table in the garage.
  

Then I said, Okay, time to take this old artwork down and replace it with some new masterpieces. Let's make these finger painted masterpieces. I bet they'll make our ugly garage beautiful!

Owen's painted hand

So we globbed the paint on tiny hands, and Maddy and Owen started out with hand prints and smears. Cora was not feeling the finger paint at first but eventually warmed up to it. . .

It's getting more and more beautiful. . .

We talked textures--both on their hands and the ones they created on the paper--and patterns and color blending.

Maddy decided to put paint on the empty paper roll and rolled it on the wall, which really created a cool texture. How fun is that?

I showed Owen how to make circles on the wall by stamping the empty paint containers, and then he grabbed a "real stick" from outside to use for making lines in the paint.

Maddy rolls the paint.

I'll never love the garage--it's spidery and buggy and always ends up an obstacle course of bikes, scooters, and skates.

I think of the organizing possibilities every time I walk through Target, but until we get there, I'll take tiny hand prints, little finger swirls, and a collage of artwork any day.

And that was our learning for today--using hands, fingers, sticks, and their own growing brains to beautify our garage.

i heart my garage

new for us friday--candy, colors, chopsticks

Today's New For Us Friday involves three totally random but fun things: candy, colors, and chopsticks.

It's Friday. I couldn't resist. Plus, I haven't had Sour Patch Kids in years. And sorting--in any form--is awesome for a million reasons.

And, it was the Back-to-School Picnic and Movie Night at Maddy's school, so I knew we'd be outside and up later than normal.

Our first-ever nephew was born last night (woo-hoo!).

My husband and I were out late last night watching Time For Three perform with the BSO at the Meyerhoff. Too fun.

It stopped raining, it finally cooled off, and it's officially fall.

So, with all of these reasons to celebrate, I went a little sugary today with my kiddos.

• Candy, Colors, Chopsticks: It may look involved, but the setup of this activity was easy and took about five seconds. I cut apart an egg carton from a dozen eggs into three, six-section parts. Then I cut red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and white squares from construction paper.

I wrote the color names in upper case on one set of cards (for Owen), lower case on another set (for Maddy), and left the last one blank (for Cora).

Then I dumped a few handfuls of candy (marshmallows, Sour Patch Kids, Mike and Ike's, and Juji fruits) on the lid of the egg carton. And I grabbed three sets of chopsticks.

My little sorters. Of course the smallest is sneaking some. . .

Then I met Maddy, Owen, and Cora at the table, and I set their egg cartons, their chopsticks, and the big tray of candy in front of them.

I said, What do you think we're going to do for our snack today?

And Maddy promptly picked up her chopsticks, started putting the red candy in the red section, the yellow in yellow, and said, We're sorting. We do this in Kindergarten all the time, Mommy, of course I know. (Okay, then. . .)

Cora sorted her candy.

Yep, Maddy's absolutely right. Everyone uses their chopsticks to pick up the candy--that's the only rule. So start sorting!

I gave Maddy and Owen the challenge of trying to put five (for Maddy) and four (for Owen) candies in each section for their ages. With Cora, as she reached for candy, I'd say, Is that red or orange? What color are you looking for next? Is this one white or yellow?

Maddy's letters are covered!

When they finished, I said, Okay, now cover each of the letters in your name with any candy you'd like, and those are the ones you can eat first. Of course, they gobbled them up, and the second time I asked if Maddy and Owen could do a pattern on their letters with colors or shapes.

It was far from healthy, but it was so fun.

The chopsticks actually do help them work on fine motor skills--any time they use them. The color sorting was more for Cora, since Maddy and Owen seem to be solid here, but reinforcing can always help.

Having them put one candy on each letter helps with one-to-one correspondence, and pattern-creating is a super-important early math skill.


Next time, I may:

• use beads, small legos, or foamies instead of candy;
  
• take out the color cards and have them do an open sort, figuring out any way they want to categorize the candy or small objects;
• have them sort according to numbers, putting specific numbers on the cards inside the egg carton;
• have Maddy and Owen decide for each other their focus for the sort.
  

Just a tiny bit of learning on a super-sweet Friday!

new for us friday--candy, colors, chopsticks

hellooooo, hospital!

We've taken a break from our monthly business tours until today, and boy were Owen, Cora, and I excited to get started!

Today's tour was a little different; it didn't involve pizza, flowers, or cars. We weren't learning about bagel-making or the fire station.

Instead, we headed over to our community hospital to check out the place where most of our babies were born and to see what all the noisy construction was about!

• Hospital Tour: Our group met our tour guide, the Marketing and Community Outreach Coordinator, in the lobby. She introduced herself and got our tour started!

Our first stop was the imaging area of the hospital, where x-rays are done. Our children were in a trance, watching the technician explain how she does the x-rays for children, and she even demonstrated on two of our kiddos (without really taking the pictures, of course!).

Wow! We got to see how x-rays are done
at the hospital imaging center.

The kind people at the hospital had a conference room ready for us, complete with snacks, drinks, and goodie bags full of informative handouts, a first aid kit, and a Health Handbook. Any break to fill little bellies is a sure hit, and we all really appreciated this little snacky surprise.

We listened as a program director explained some of the programs that the hospital offers for new parents and growing families. We also learned from a dietitian about healthy food choices for dinners and lunch boxes.

Although the hospital was directed to follow new guidelines (until the H1N1 threat subsides) that did not permit us to visit the nursery, ER, or other "cool" spots in the hospital, we were still happy to walk through the secret tunnel that connects the hospital to the Physician's Building next door.

We also loved checking out the construction area and the new heli-pad. Huge working trucks--right there in front of us! It was a little person's dream day.

Our tour guide assured us that if we schedule a springtime tour, we'd be able to see how our hospital has changed, take a look at the new cafeteria's kitchen, and all the places we couldn't see this time. Looks like our May tour is already planned!

These tours have been a blast for my children and pals in my local MOMS group. All it's taken has been a phone call to get the ball rolling, and the behind-the-scenes look at local spots in our community have been so fun and informative for Maddy, Owen, and Cora.

FYI: Although our July tour was hard to top, from what I heard, the August tour of our local Rita's Italian Ice was awesome. We couldn't be there because we attended a funeral, but working with the manager and owner was a pleasure. They made organizing it easy and said that all franchises are encouraged to do tours for the community.

Go ahead, grab some buddies and show your kiddos behind the scenes at Rita's!

hellooooo, hospital!

just owen and me, sorting s's and t's

Owen and I did a simple sort today--another beginning sound sort that focused on s-, st-, and t-. He is used to doing sorts, but the way we did today's was a little different.

I did it more to have him work on his pronunciation of the s- sounds, but it also helped him distinguish the somewhat tricky st- beginning blend sounds.

I am well aware that certain sounds take longer to master for some little guys, so I'm not worried, but if we can work on them while playing games, why not?

• s-, t-, st- sort: This sort focuses on the s-, t-, and st- beginning sounds and forces emerging readers to listen closely for the st- blend. It's not easy, but Owen managed through it fine.

I introduced the three different sounds we would "search for" by talking about the sounds s-, t-, and st-. Before we looked at any of the picture cards, we talked about words that we knew that began with each sound. This little brainstorming helps get kiddos' brains ready for some of the pictures they may encounter.

I never made a big deal Owen when he pronounced his s- words incorrectly; I just repeated the word correctly--not too slow or fast--in a normal conversational tone.

Our sort in early stages. . .

Then, as we put all of the picture cards face down in a big pile, I identified each picture.

Finally, we took turns flipping them and figuring out under which category they best fit. I started by flipping a card and saying, Yes! Star! Sssttttar. Hmmmm. Where do you belong, star? Let me see--ttttent, star? No. Stttar, star. Yes! That was a lucky one because there's a picture of a star right next to the st-.

Owen flipped a card, and we did the same thing. I really stressed listening for the hidden t- sound after the initial s- in stump, and he picked up on it.

If either of us made a mistake (and we both did!) we let it go until the end, when we checked our work. When we moved st- cards from the s- column, we did so because the st- words had "hidden t's after the s". Blends are still very tricky for little ears.

Our finished sort!

Once we finished, we shuffled the three anchor cards and picked one. We decided that we would be "in charge" of that sound and that we'd share the last one. After putting all of the cards face down again, we searched for our own sound and put those cards in the correct column.

We did the same thing one last time--nothing like a little repetition--and we called it a "speed sort". We picked cards as fast as we could and called them out as we placed them under the correct sound. Fun, fast, and I'd honestly do it a million times to hear Owen's giggling as he shouted out the words.

So that's that. Just a tiny bit of beginning sound learning and tricky s- pronouncing for us today, disguised as play.

Thanks again to Bear's Words Their Way (2003) for another fun sort!

just owen and me, sorting s's and t's

let's get to the bottom of sounds

Everything that I do as a Reading Specialist, when I tutor with any student, is assessment driven. Before I begin work with anyone, I give him or her the appropriate assessments, I then evaluate the results, and I set reading, writing, and word study goals. And then all of my work sessions with that student focus on meeting those goals.

But I (gulp!) never really formally assessed Maddy, Owen, or Cora. Just like the cobbler's kids running around in bare feet, my own children have been running around un-assessed up to this point. Shame!

The other night, Maddy said for the first time, Mommy, I want you to tutor me so I can learn to read.

Instead of yelling, What are you talking about?!? I've been secretly tutoring you for the last five years!! And you can read!! I said, Oh my gosh--I would love to. Let's set aside some time each day so that we can work. I'll tutor you the best way I know how.

So that's what we've been doing. I've finally (shhhh!) sat down to assess my kiddos. I'll share in the next few days the details, but today I got through about half of the test I use for my little students in kindergarten, grade one, or (sometimes) younger.

• Snider Test of Phonological Awareness: This assessment is actually an adaptation of the Roswell-Chall Test of Auditory Blending (in Yopp, 1988), but it is my favorite for younger children because it includes a number of different components, it's quick, and it's easy to administer.

fyi: Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sound units in words. It is actually so important, it's the precursor to solid literacy development.

Hundreds of assessments exist to test phonological awareness, but this one contains six parts, organized from easiest to most difficult for little learners. It also contains the language you need right in the beginning of each section; you literally read from the page as you administer, and basically, student's results determine where instruction should begin.

The test begins with Initial Consonant the Same, and here students choose two pictures that begin with the same sound. This shows us that he can understand and isolate the beginning sounds.

Beginning Sounds section

The second part is Rhyme Supply, and here students demonstrate that they understand the concept of rhyme and can supply a rhyming word for a given word. Any word counts as long as it rhymes--even if it is a nonsense word.

The third part deals with Substituting Initial Consonants, and this is where things get difficult for the emerging readers. Owen tried this section and ran off to play with his cars. And I was fine. I learned a little from the two sections he completed for me, and I'll go with that.

Blending, or putting together two distinct sounds (ex: i-n for in) is next, followed by Deleting Initial Consonants (ball, take away b and you get all). These are higher on the difficulty continuum, as is the last part, Segmentation. Students need to actually break the word apart for Segmentation, demonstrating that he or she can isolate each phoneme in a word.

When administering, make notations as you go; write the words your child supplies and circle the word for the first part. If he says something funny, smart, or confusing along the way, write it down! That way, you can file it away and smile at how little and super-cute he was someday down the road when he's a cranky teenager.

So, what does this mean for us? It just means that if you can administer this to your little ones--even if you just do the first two sections, that you might consider working on the concepts that were a challenge with your child. Or, if this is way too much, ignore this post and carry on as usual. Any little thing we can do to sneak in a bit of learning for our kiddos each day helps. Ha! Look how longs it's taken me!

If you want more information or activities to use after administering this, check out teachmama's posts on rhyming, early literacy, letter recognition, and/ or alphabet.

let's get to the bottom of sounds

hole punch happy

We've been hole-punch happy over here lately.

Ever since Owen learned how to use it, he's been unstoppable.

At first, using the hole punch was really difficult for Owen; hole punching requires muscles that super-important in developing that tough tripod grip, and for some little ones, these muscles really need to be worked.

But we fell into some cool ways of getting him punching to make it more fun. Here is just one of them:

• Hole Punch Happy: Owen, Cora, and I were working on a variation of Number Boxes the morning I brought out the hole punch.
  

Instead of using individual pieces of construction paper for Number Boxes, we used the huge rolls of paper that I totally heart instead. I rolled one out the length of the room and numbered from 1 - 15. I brought out some Foamies, and Cora and I counted objects and then placed them under numbers 1 - 5, until Owen the hole puncher stepped in.

Our loooong sheet of number boxes

I noticed that Owen had punched around the edge of a whole piece of paper, so I cut the paper into halves, then quarters, and then halves again, so that he ended up with lots and lots of tiny papers outlined in holes.

Owen's holes, holes, and more holes

Then boom! Owen decided to merge Number Boxes with his happy hole punching, when he said,

Mommy, look! I can make six holes in this paper for number six!

I said, Oh my gosh! What a good idea! Owen, you're really using your brain. Why don't you put your paper with six holes right where it belongs on our chart?

What other numbers do you want to help Cora with? Can you punch eight holes? Nine holes?

He punched a piece with eight holes, and then we decided to empty his little hole punch. With a handful of tiny dots, he counted out fifteen and put them under '15' on the chart.

It was a very cool way of combining what Cora and I were doing--math and counting--with what Owen was practicing--fine motor skills. Hopefully in the next few days I can come up with some other ways of using Owen's many dots, other than for confetti. . .

All of the fine motor skill activities we do, like cutting with scissors, using chopsticks, stringing beads, playing with pop beads, doing puzzles, or anything that forces our little guys to use their fingers and hands is extremely helpful in setting them up for success later.


Need more fine motor skills activities? Consider play with:

• Legos
• blocks
• beans
• crayon bits
  
• paper clips
• Litebrite
• sewing cards
• Play-doh or clay
• paint brushes
• dry noodles

These are just the tip of the iceberg--there are dozens of ways of working our kiddos' fine motor skills. Feel free to share yours!

hole punch happy

new for us friday--kaa-chew! news on the flu

Today's New For Us Friday is a little different--a little less gamey, less tasty, less less fun, and less exciting than normal. But it's still new, so it qualifies in my book as a NFUF.

This week, I had the opportunity to ask some of my many burning flu-season questions to an expert in the medical field.

Having no background in medicine whatsoever, I've been especially confused, overwhelmed, and anxious about this year's flu season. After today, I'm not completely worry-free, but I do feel a whole lot better having some of my questions answered.

In reading The Kids Post with Maddy, Owen, and Cora during breakfast this week, we've been learning a little bit about the flu each day. On Tuesday, we read about our Germ Fighter in Chief and grabbed some tips for trying to stay healthy from Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius.

On Wednesday, in What Can You Do?, we read about why we need vaccines along with some specific steps everyone can take to reduce his or her chances of getting the flu.

Finally, I was able to get some of my own questions answered, from Dr. Russel Libbey*, a pediatric infectious disease expert. Here's the skinny:

• Finding Flu Answers: Below are the questions that I sent to Dr. Libbey.
  

1. I was planning on having my children, ages 5, 4, and 2 years, get the regular flu shot; in fact, my 4 year old already got the FluMist at his yearly appointment in August. The pediatrician told me the others could have it after Labor Day. Does it make a difference for people to get the shot this early, or should we wait until later in the fall? Will it really be as effective in four months?

Flumist lasts about 6 to 9 months, flu shots 4 to 6, so you should get Flumist while you can. There will likely be several strains as there often is. The vaccine tries to predict which might be most novel to our immune system and most infectious-it is not always 100%. The seasonal vaccine is available now and should be offered to all. It may not be so easy to coordinate if you wait for the H1N1 vaccine.

2. Is there a difference in strength between the FluMist and the flu vaccine? Would you recommend one over the other for certain ages?

The strength is not the issue. The live vaccine appears to confer a better response for a longer time, especially with younger kids. It is probably less significant into the 20's. Flumist is a great vaccine and, in addition to it being easy to take, it lasts longer with slightly better immunogenicity in the younger population. I feel much better offering the Flumist early than the shot which may not last as long. It seems that the shot is equal or even better in the older population.

3. With the controversy surrounding the h1n1 flu vaccine, can it really be recommended that children and pregnant women get it? What are some of the possible complications?

Flu during pregnancy is significantly associated with miscarriage. It is best to get the vaccination before getting pregnant or in the 2nd or 3rd trimester, but if there is flu around, it is worth getting vaccinated.

4. What is the recommendation for getting the seasonal flu vaccine and h1n1 vaccine? Is it safe to get both? How long should we wait between getting the seasonal flu vaccine and the h1n1 flu vaccine, or does it not matter?

There is no restriction on time intervals between immunizations except for a month between live vaccines that can not be given on the same day. It is safe to get multiple vaccines at any time, truly. And if it is the only time to get both flu vaccines, it is ok too.

5. On top of the regular, general precautions we take to prevent the spread of germs during the fall and winter, what else would you recommend we do to stay healthy this season?

Good hygiene, diet, exercise and stress reduction! The same advice for all good health.

6. Seriously, I'm scared and sick at the thought of a possible pandemic. Tell me something that may assuage my fears and those of my friends and family, or please encourage me to go out and get myself some face masks before they run out. I'm not sure what to do, so I'm not doing anything yet.

Really, it is not going to be as dire as some pictures might suggest, especially here, However, it could be devastating in some underdeveloped countries, but that is another controversy that is outside of our perspective here. I do not think you need to be scared.

Okay, so Dr. Libbey was kind enough to answer some questions for me, but here are a few links to check out if you still need more:

• Center for Disease Control: H1N1 General Information
• American Academy of Pediatrics: H1N1 Information
  
• MedImmune: Don't Play with the Flu--Take a Flu Quiz (no, really!)
  
• FluMist
• Don't Play With the Flu on Facebook: For everyone who fans the page, $1 will be donated to the non-profit, Families Fighting Flu.
  

Here's to getting our flu vaccinations early.
Let's hope for a healthy, flu-free flu season!

Please Remember: I am not a doctor, do not have even close to a medical degree, and am just relaying information about a "hot topic" to teachmama readers because I love them so much. Please consider visiting your health care provider if you have any other questions or concerns. OR, if you are a doctor, know a doctor, wish you were a doctor, or should be a doctor, feel free to add, correct, or clarify any information above.


*Here's some info on the doctor who answered my questions:

Russell Libby, BA '74, MD '79, is founder, president, and medical director of Virginia Pediatric Group and co-founder, VP, and medical director of American Pediatric Consultants, Inc. Currently chief of general pediatrics at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, Libby has been named best pediatrician in the Washington area by Families magazine for over 10 years and listed among Washingtonian's top doctors. Libby also hosts the television programs To Your Health and Dr. Libby's World of Medicine, and has recently published Guidelines for Pediatric Home Health Care published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, "The Social, Civic, and Medical Uniqueness of Pediatric Practice" in Art and Practice of Pediatrics, and a chapter on Pediatric Home Health Care for the textbook Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Thank you to the people at MedImmune who contacted me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing Dr. Libbey and being a part of this campaign.

FYI: I am not being compensated in any way for providing this information; it is just important to me--and many people I care about--so I thought I'd share.

new for us friday--kaa-chew! news on the flu

trying to keep smiling: quick trick, noticing

Lately, I've felt overwhelmed by Cora's 'two-year-old-ness'.

Her fiery temper; her constant movement; her unceasing energy; her smiles, hugs, songs, and cuddles; her high high's, and her low low's. Some days we enjoy this roller coaster ride, and others, we all want off.

But what I've also realized is that as a parent, I'm more experienced than I was when Maddy was two, but I'm not in the fog of fatigue that I muddled through when Owen was the same age. I'm in a different place, and although I sometimes wish that Cora already knew the correct ways of behaving, I seem to have forgotten that those behaviors have to be taught.

So last week, I needed to revisit my old, trusty parenting books for a quick refresher. I didn't like that I had begun to sound like a broken record, ordering everyone around, raising my voice, and being a reactive parent instead of a proactive parent.

I needed to stop, breathe, and really start to notice the behaviors I wanted her to continue. And then I needed to share with her what I noticed.

It's all about "shining your light" where you indicate value:

• Noticing Behaviors: The goal with noticing is to state an observation rather than make a judgement.

No--Good job, Cora.

Yes!--Cora, you put your toys in the bin and your clothes in the drawers. You cleaned your room so you can find things when you want them.


Wordy, yes. Takes thought, yes. But it does make sense, especially for our little guys.

Here's the skinny--

• Start your sentence with the child's name or the pronoun 'you'. Look at you!, or I noticed. . .
  

• Describe what you see. You found her blanket and gave it to her. That was helpful!

• End your description with a 'tag'. Tags describe attributes of your child or values you admire, like that took determination; you sure are organized; that was helpful; that was thoughtful.
  

Some examples--

• Look at you! You're eating with your spoon!
• You did it! You went potty on the big potty. Good for you!
• Owen, you held the door for Cora. That was helpful.
• Cora, you offered Maddy a french fry when hers were all gone. That was so thoughtful.
• Maddy, you picked up all of the doll clothes without being asked. That was super helpful.

Becky Bailey believes that if you accentuate your child's strengths, you teach them their abilities. If you encourage their contribution, you teach them how important it is that they share their gifts.

It's hard. It's so hard. But positive behaviors have to be taught--which is much easier said than done sometimes.

And if we spotlight the behaviors that we want repeated (think: Special Plate), then most likely those behaviors will be repeated.

This Quick Trick is another one from Becky Bailey's Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline (2000), which has helped me to become more conscious in my disciplining. (When I am disciplined enough to use it!)

I'm far from an expert, hardly the perfect parent, and by nature am quick-tempered and fiery myself (hmmmm, where does sweet Cora get it?), but I am always, always looking for quick tricks to keep in my back pocket. Do share yours!

trying to keep smiling: quick trick, noticing

tic-tac-toe, owen in a row

Lately, Owen has been having a difficult time with the 'W' and 'N' in his name. Sometimes upside down or with too many lines, his letters need a little TLC.

In our coloring and painting lately, I've tried to sneak in a few reasons to write his name, but after his first mistake, he'd drop the pen, chalk, or paintbrush and go run to do something else.

It seemed like the the letters were really beginning to frustrate him.

So today before his rest, I thought we'd focus on the individual letters of his name rather than the whole name itself. And I threw it into an old favorite--tic-tac-toe.

• Tic-Tac-Toe: I created two boards--one with four grids and one with two grids. Then I grabbed our letter cards. I didn't need all of the letters today; I would only use the letters of his name--OWEN--and for now, uppercase letters would be fine.

the boards

I printed out a few sheets of both since I wasn't sure how well Owen would do with the smaller boxes, and I asked him to grab either markers or crayons and to get ready for a rockin' new tic-tac-toe game.

I told him that we were going to play tic-tac-toe today but not like he remembered it. We weren't going to use x's or o's--no way, Jose. We were moving up to bigger and better things--the letters of his name.

After spreading out the letter cards, we hunted for "his" letters, and we set them aside. I asked him to put the letters in order on top of the board. Then I asked which of the letters in his name was his favorite--he said, W, so I said that he could be W to start. I'd be O. And then we played.

a few of our games

We played and played and played some more. And here's how we mixed it up:

• we'd both be the same letter but use different colors;
• we'd turn the letter cards upside down and pick a letter to use;
• we'd pick a letter card for each other;
• we'd just say which letter we wanted to be.

And if one of us made a mistake--made a M for a W or backwards N (and we both did!), we just paused, said, Let's double check that letter again, we wrote it again, and we moved on.

It's easy to adapt tic-tac-toe for whatever you need. You could work on:

• individual letter writing;
• number writing;
• sight words;
• names--of themselves or people in their family;
• color words;
• word families;
• fine motor skills--placing a sticker, stamp, or jelly bean inside the square;
  
• or just simple game-strategy learning.
  

So that was our little bit of learning for today. We're slowly moving back into a school-year schedule, and it's actually kind of nice, except we still really miss Maddy during the day.

FYI: If you need letter cards, check out this previous post: sticky fingers writing.

tic-tac-toe, owen in a row

these shoes are made for walkin'. . .

I must be a horrible mother.

I can't say that I remember exactly the first time any of my children took their first steps. But if I check old calendars, I'm sure it's there, probably with huge circles around the date and smiley faces or stars in the square.

I know that Maddy was around 11 months old, Owen closer to 10, and Cora, well, I know she was walking around at her first birthday party. My kiddos were early movers and shakers--running, riding, scooting, bouncing, swimming, jumping, and cartwheeling well before they were supposed to. I'm not bragging and certainly cannot take credit for their athletic prowess; I'm sure they get it from my husband, and I'm thankful.

But what I do know for sure is that whenever they were close to being ready to walk, I wanted their little feet to be equipped with the right shoes. So we would load our little family into the car and head for Stride Rite so our baby's tiny feet could get measured and fitted, and then he or she would (try to) walk out of the store with the best shoes on the market.

Today, I'm super excited to share that teachmama readers have the opportunity to win a pair of Stride Rite's latest and greatest shoe innovations.

Here's your chance to get your little one started walking on the right foot. . .

• Stride Rite Giveaway: Stride Rite is launching a new "Sensory Response Technology" for its new line of baby shoes. This SRT line of shoes actually improves the way a child learns to walk via a sensory feedback system, an ultra-flexible design that allows for more freedom of movement, and a unique construction that reduces the number of stumbles and falls. I'd say that's giving a little one the right start, wouldn't you?

The SRT's features promote a healthy lifelong walking pattern and provide children:

• a greater feel of the terrain;
• more natural support;
• freedom of movement;
• more overall comfort;
• a removable insole that helps Mom and Dad stay on top of proper sizing (I wish every child's shoe had this!).

Available in toddler sizes 3 through 8 (including wide and medium), the SRT's are available in four boys' styles and seven girls' styles, all of which are totally cute.

So how will this giveaway work? 5 winners will be chosen to receive one pair of SRT shoes, available in sizes 3 to 8 infant/ toddler (including medium and wide). Each pair is a retail value of $50.

In order to enter, readers must drop me a quick comment to let me know who in your life needs to try these new Stride Rite SRT's AND fill out the following form: http://bit.ly/zb2Qb

The winners will be chosen by random.org, and the contest will end at midnight on September 28th.

Are you a Facebook nut? Consider joining two fun fan clubs: teachmama & Stride Rite

these shoes are made for walkin'. . .

super sweet shape snacks

As rainy and dreary as the last few days have been, we needed something fun to do to pass our gray afternoon. So after Maddy got home--and before we practiced cartwheels downstairs--we sat down for a sweet snack.

It may not be a New For Us Friday (realllllly), but it was a new activity that involved a little bit of learning and a whole lot of sugar eating.

In my book, that's a winning combination for any Friday.

• Sweet Shape Snacks: During rest time today, I created some very simple shape cards. I included a triangle, square, rectangle, circle, oval, diamond, and heart. The name of each shape is in large letters on the bottom of each page, and each shape is printed in a different color.
  

I put a piece of cardstock behind the shape page to make it more sturdy, and I inserted both sheets in a plastic sleeve.

Then I told Maddy, Owen, and Cora to meet me at the table so they could be ready for our "Super Sweet Friday Shape Snack".

The square is almost ready to eat!

I told them that in order to eat their Super Sweet Snacks, they had to first make their Super Sweet Shape. I handed each of them a plastic knife, and I showed them what I meant.

I peeled off one long strand of licorice (we used Twizzler pull-and-peel), and I said, I'm going to use this piece of licorice to make the outline of this shape. I have a question, though. Cora, is this shape a circle or a square?

We gave her a good 'Woo-hoo!' for correctly answering 'square', and then I said, Okay, now--before I can eat my licorice--I have to outline the square with licorice.

Watch how I measure this side of the square and then cut my licorice with my knife so that it matches the line properly. I'm going to do that for the whole square. When all sides are covered with licorice, I'm done! My square is complete! And then I can eat my candy.

Working on shapes--or just cutting licorice?

Immediately, Maddy and Owen wanted to begin. Maddy started with the diamond, and Owen started with the circle. They really loved using the knives, but they enjoyed eating the licorice even more.

After a few completed shapes, I asked what else they could do with the licorice--could they make the square into a house? the circle into a face? I modeled by showing them how I could make the diamond into a kite.

Until our bellies could hold no more, we worked on shapes and played with licorice; then we headed downstairs to work on handstands and cartwheels.

This secret little math activity was directed more at Cora's understanding of shapes and Maddy and Owen's cutting and measuring skills, but it turned out that Cora more enjoyed cutting and Owen needed to more clearly distinguish the difference between a circle and oval and square and rectangle. Maddy was just happy to have an excuse to eat sweets, use a knife, and talk about school.

It's a take what you need activity. Happy (kind of) NFUF, shape-name-learning, fine-motor-skills honing, and shape-word-reading!

super sweet shape snacks

free fence writing

Today we used the bright afternoon to our advantage and did some fence writing and drawing.

Fence writing?

Yep. Free-bird, outside, sun shining, wind blowing, bugs biting, markers marking, little artists working, fence writing.

• Fence Writing: I used the huge rolls of paper (that we have used for our Backyard Alphabet Hunt), and I pinned a few sheets vertically along our backyard fence.

I grabbed my box of bingo daubers, huge poster markers, and the container of a little bit of anything leftover (crayons, mixed markers, chalk pieces, you name it). After a long while of daubbing (dotting?) and free art, I tried to sneak in a bit of learning.

I put up a blank sheet on the fence for Maddy, and I wrote her name at the top. I said, Do you think you'd be able to write your name all the way down to the bottom of the fence? How many times could you write your name, now that you're in Kindergarten?

She got started and didn't stop until she wrote her name four times and was distracted by a ginormous mosquito on her leg. It was a start!

A closer look at our fence art

I asked Owen if he could make dots with the dauber in a complete circle, covering the 'O' in Owen and keeping the dots connected. I wanted him to work a little on his fine motor skills and to practice lining up his dots along "his letter".

Then we worked on his name a few times, using the super-huge poster markers which we rarely use. Any opportunity to use new tools to practice names is usually exciting for emerging writers.

With Cora, I made big triangles and circles and asked her if she could fit as many dots as she could inside the shapes. Using the dauber is tough at first, but with some practice, she did fine. Then I made thick lines with the poster markers and asked her to make dots along the line. This was more tricky, but again, it's working her little 2-year-old (and quickly developing) fine motor skills.

It was a fun bit of time spent between hitting the swings yet again, but by the time we were finished, the fence art looked beautiful.

And Maddy, Owen, and Cora had no idea how the change of pace--standing along the fence and using their bodies to center themselves, to use their whole arms to work on their writing, to use the large markers and daubers, and to use their imagination to create pictures of cars, flowers, clouds, and squiggles helped them develop the skills they'll need to be successful down the road. They just thought it was new and fun.

"Writing is by nature a social process. Writing represents the means by which a message can be communicated to someone else. Children learn how to become writers through meaningful interactions with more knowledgeable people" Dorn & Soffos, Scaffolding Young Writers: A Writers' Workshop Approach (Stenhouse Publishers, 2001).

Dorn & Soffos are referring to the importance of a teacher working with students in a writers' workshop environment, but the precursor to this starts here in the home--or back yard--with parents and children talking about letters, numbers, words, or shapes and building them together. Grab your bug spray and head out back!

free fence writing

lunchbox love notes

We had a fantastic long and sunny weekend, and my heart hurts at the thought that tomorrow Maddy goes back to school. I'm sure that one of these days, I'll get into the swing of things, but until then, I'll just have to keep sending her to school with little hugs.

I sat down at the computer tonight to make some love notes for her lunch box for the next few days.

• Lunchbox Love Notes: These are very simple notes, and each has a picture to go along with it. I want them to be easy enough for Maddy to read. I made a few varieties on the same page--easy to print on one sheet and cut apart.

The Love Notes are here for friends to download and print out.

She is working so hard at being a good Kindergartner. I know she's tired by the end of the day; by Friday of last week, she was beat.

If a tiny note at lunch that says, Good job! puts a smile on her face or reminds her of how proud we are, then these little love notes will have done their job!

Plus, I'm hoping that the simple text (with words she is familiar with) along with the tiny pictures will help her to decode these little messages. I know that will certainly be something she will feel proud about, and I hope to modify the template to add different messages as her word bank increases throughout the school year.

Keep this on the d.l., but I think I'll even stick a few of the "I love you" ones into my husband's lunch bag before he leaves for work! I might even be note crazy by the end of the week, and I may make some for Owen and Cora to find around the house. . .

lunchbox love notes

new for us friday--hissssssssssss

Today's New For Us Friday:
Our New Favorite Game!!

This week has been really different for us; with Maddy in Kindergarten all day long, Owen, Cora, and I are slowly adjusting to a new norm.

So to make it a little easier for a very lonely Owen, we tried one of his new birthday games this week. We played it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today--Friday. With all of this change in our lives, a little consistency somewhere couldn't hurt, right?

Because we totally and completely heart this game and we've been Hissssing every day this week, I thought it would be perfect for this week's New For Us Friday.

• Hissss: Created by Gamewright, Hisss is geared to players ages 4 and up--perfect for my newly 4 year old Owen.
  

The object of the game is simple: to collect the most cards by building lots and lots of snakes. The way you build a snake is by matching a color on one card to a color on another. There are three cards--heads, bodies, and tails. In order to make a snake, the color of the head has to match a body card, and the other side of the body card has to match a tail.

Owen adds to this snake by connecting two
body cards together.

The super-cool and fun part is that you can add as many body cards as you can to make the snake longer, and twistier, and turnier. When you pick the card that completes the snake--either head, tail, or a body card that can connect two already-started snakes--you win that snake.

You Hisssssssss loudly and move the snake to your snake pit right in front of you.

It's very simple, but color matching and simple strategizing do come into play. And Owen and I have had a blast naming our snakes, making funny Hissss sounds, and cheering when either of us pulls the wild card--the rainbow head or tail.

By the end of the game, snakes and snake parts are spread out everywhere, so another thing I like is that this game requires movement--placing the cards in the right spots and then relocating a snake once you win it.

In my book, this game is an absolute winner and just might become a (shhhhh!) staple birthday gift for all of our 4-year-old pals. Thanks again to my pal, Heather, who also introduced us to our Stranger Safety DVD--among a million other cool-kid toys.

And FYI: This company is so awesome that if you check out the site, they can recommend games by age or form (dice, card, party, etc). How fun is that and how easy does that make buying birthday gifts?!

I'm thinking that after this long weekend, we'll be closer to being back on track. I'm betting we'll mix things up a little more around here by trying out some cool new color, sound, and writing games that I've hunted down this summer. . . let the fun fall begin!

new for us friday--hissssssssssss

watch out--literacy lava 2 is here!

Literacy Lava is a free pdf ezine for parents, offering tips on ways to incorporate reading, writing and communicating into family life.

In the second edition of Literacy Lava, you’ll find ideas for motivating reluctant readers, for literacy on the go, for developing the imagination muscle, for linking math and literacy, for having a pirate party and a book picnic, for rhymes, games, activities and more!

Brought to you by bloggers and writers who are passionate about children's literature and literacy, Literacy Lava 2 is erupting with no- or low-cost activities parents can do with their kids.

So, if you think you'd like a little lava to read with your java...

If the price tag FREE appeals to you...

Grab Literacy Lava 2 today, via The Book Chook blog.

And. . . if you are always looking for a reason to celebrate (like me!) and you are up for some awesome giveaways, head on over to Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms.

Talk about some really great books, teaching resources, manipulatives for little learners, and free printables--I'm crossing my fingers I can score some myself!


We're back to our old game next week--a little bit of secret learning here and there, once I've got this first week of school under my belt and I can get my troops where they need to be on time. I'm looking forward to it!

watch out--literacy lava 2 is here!

teacher to tutor: 101--getting started

Are you a teacher at home on childcare leave?

Do you miss the interaction with students and
being in the classroom?

Or, are you still in the classroom and want to work with students in a slightly different capacity?

There are a million ways to do it, but for me, tutoring has been an awesome way of staying on top of my teaching game while at the same time adding to my family's income. And the tiny bit of extra money coming in makes it a tiny bit easier for me to stay home with my children--for which I am beyond grateful.

I've had a number of people contact me about the in's and out's of tutoring. They've wanted to know how I began, what materials I use, how I organize the time with each student, and a ton of other really smart questions.

I'm a big fan of not re-inventing the wheel, so here it is. . .

Remember, though, my posts here are just suggestions and ideas.

• Tutoring--Getting Started: I knew that if I wanted to work with students in Reading or Language Arts, then I needed to figure out a way of letting the world (or my little part of it) know that I was able and willing to do so.
  

I needed to advertise. So I made several fliers--one full page, one half page, and a bunch of business cards that I printed out from home.

My fliers and business cards, modified just a bit, are here to share: large flier, half-page flier, business cards. If they work for you, that's great. Please just make sure to adapt them for your own qualifications and experiences before you throw them around your town. (Some were created on Publisher and others on Word.)

Then I hit the streets. Well, kind of. . .

I grabbed a sitter for one morning to sit with my one and only bambina, who was only about 9 months old at the time, and I literally hit the town with pushpins, fliers, cards, and patience in hand.

• I posted the half-pager on the boards where only half-page ads were permitted, and I posted the big guy on all the other boards. I hit grocery stores, coffee shops, doctors' offices, gyms, dance studios, martial arts centers, tanning salons--literally anywhere I could think of where community notices were posted.

• I went into each and every elementary, middle, and high school in my area, and I asked the main secretary if I could meet with the school counselor. If I was able to, I did, and during my short meeting with him or her, I introduced myself and asked that my name, flier, and/or card be handed to any parent who requested tutoring information. (Most schools cannot recommend tutors outright to parents, but if a parent asked for one, I wanted them to have mine!)
  

• Finally, I searched for online community message boards, and I posted my information there--only the free ones--and there were about three or four at the time. Times were tough for us at this point, so my budget for advertising was pretty darn slim.
  

And then I waited and waited and waited. And soon, believe it or not, (woo-hoo!!) some calls trickled in.

Next time: My procedure for handling calls and dealing with that important first conversation with parents and meeting with students. . .

teacher to tutor: 101--getting started