Grocery ads

Sometimes I don't post my ideas because I don't have a picture of it. I decided I need to just get these ideas out and not wait for the perfect picture every time. Here is an idea I have adjusted from the days in the classroom.

When I sort through the newspaper or mail I like to save the grocery ads. Max and I will go through them and do different activities. Sometimes we go through each item in the ad -- if he likes the item to eat, he circles it. If he doesn't, he puts and X through it. Teaches great fine motor skill (pre-writing) and teaches critical thinking.

Sometimes it becomes a look and find.

Mommy: I am looking for something to drink that is yummy for breakfast with pancakes.
Max: ORANGE JUICE (and then circles it or puts a star sticker on it)
Mommy: What would be something you can put on your bread to make a sandwich?
Max: Peanut Butter! (or jam or lunchmeat....)

COST: free
Variations: Younger ones can just do labeling. Can you find the apples? Can you find the milk? What's that? (point to something and have them tell you). Older kids could be given four or five different colors and be told to circle all the things in a certain food group i.e. fruits and vegs with a certain color, each group being a different color. An older child could be given a certain amount of money and be told to "shop" in the ads for what they would like to buy for that week if they could. Have them find the best deal. You can tell them to circle all the foods they think are good for them and X out all the bad ones (then look over it together and discuss). Find all the foods that start with the letter B. Different colors for different meals - blue for breakfast, red for lunch, green for dinner, yellow for snacks.... what else????

One Hand Two Hand Red Hand Blue Hand

name that tune:

DUN DUN DUN
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN

DUN DUN DUN

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNdundundundun
dundundundun
dundundundun

dundundundun
dundundundun
dundundundun
da da da da
da da da da
da da da da da daaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Now, see if you guessed correctly:

This activity is pretty self explanatory but here are a couple details:

• The shirt is from good will. I cut off the sleeves and made a painting smock.
• I just had him use a water color brush from a watercolor set.
  

• Don't be afraid of painting on the windows, it washes off easily with warm water and a little dish soap.
• Use washable tempera paints like the school kids use.
• You could cover the floor if you wanted to, but my son isn't crazy messy, so I didn't. The drips wipe up easily.
• Put very small amounts of paint on the paper plate palette. This prevents spills and encourages fun mixing. You can always add more, but it's hard to take away some once it's poured.
• I didn't plan on Max using his hands at the end but he did and it was fun and the paint came off his hands MUCH MUCH easier that I thought.
  
• Throw on your favorite classical music - it's a lot more fun.

COST: Under $5 dollars
Variations: Obviously older kids could paint something not as abstract. They could draw your family. Draw what they WISHED or IMAGINED they saw out your window. Encourage them to do seasonal art on your windows, or to write things like Happy Fourth of July or Happy Birthday. They could practice their spelling words on the window. How's that for homework? Toddlers could be given only the colors for that upcoming holiday - orange and black, pink and red, etc. to create an abstract holiday masterpiece.

So much fun.

Muffin Tins

So the animals got a totally luxurious private bath at the Muffin Tin Day Spa the other morning.

The muffin tin in the above picture actually rusted that day because the animals soaked for too long.

woops.

I set the muffin tin out on our deck with the intent of re-storing it somewhere besides my kitchen (like for a future mud pie kitchen) because it is pretty much un-usable now. While it was out there, Schmeese found it and started gathering rocks to put in each cup. Totally on his own with no prompting. He did that for like 15 minutes.

Muffin pans are wonderful. I can remember my mother using them with my little sister. She went to the local "teachers lab" where they had an Ellison press and she cut and laminated tiny paper hearts (maybe like an inch by an inch) and she would have my little sister sort them into the muffin tins by color. She has also used colored buttons for sorting. You could use little shapes or letters or numbers.

Cost: Pretty much free unless you wanted to go and laminate the little paper hearts

A Perfect Fit

I'll admit, my shoes are not organized in the bottom of my closet. Maybe yours are. Either way, you can play a simple game with your toddler.Take out of your closet 6-8 different shoes. Hold up a shoe (say the color or style) and tell your toddler to find the other one and place them in a match on the floor.
Very simple but it is fun to watch them "hunt" for the right shoe.
Can you tell what shoes I love?

Cost: FREE

Color me Happy

Problem: Schmeese needs to learn his colors, has a lot of energy and I need to nurse the new baby.
Answer: Construction paper, scissors, masking tape, marker, walls

Instructions: Get out a piece of paper for each color you want your child to learn. I chose three to start but I will add more soon.
Cut a large square from the paper and label with the word name of the color. Cut the rest of the paper into 3x3 (or so) squares.
Place large squares on different walls or in different areas of your house. I kept them in the same room this first time, but I will make it a little more exhausting next time around.
Put all small squares in a bowl. Roll up masking tape loop and put it on back of square. Hand it to your child and say the name of the color. Schmeese caught onto this so fast that I didn't even have to show him what to do. You may have to demonstrate a couple times for your child however. Have your child return to you every time to get a new color. You don't need to tape loop them all before you start. Just do it as you go.

After about 5 or so of each color make things a bit more difficult. I stuck the colors all over Schmeese's shirt (see first picture). He had a grand time going to each color and checking out his shirt to find all corresponding colors and placing them on the wall.

If you want to use the same squares and start over again, stick all masking taped squares on separate pieces of wax paper for later use.

Cost: Pretty much Free

Variations: More colors. High and low: "Put the blue square HIGH on the wall" "Put the yellow square LOW on the wall". You could do the same activity with shapes, letters, words (for much bigger kids - I am imagining first and second graders categorizing words they read and placing them: foods, animals, household objects, plants.) You could definitely do this outside it the weather permitted. "Run to the red square! Walk backward to the yellow square!"

PS - forgive the cruddy muddy pics. Remember I was nursing?

Daily Masterpiece

Do you have markers?Do you have butcher paper?

I received an email when I was teaching in Provo about the Daily Herald ridding themselves of newsprint ends (the picture below), Call your local paper and ask about it.

I have also bought this.

On Monday, tear of a large piece of butcher/art/newsprint end paper and let your toddler go at it. The next day, use the same sheet again. Wednesday, the same.

**Hint to the wise: Markers are MUCH more fun to color with according to The Schmeese. When he is drawing with them I give him no more than 2 at a time and make him put on the lids right after he is done with those colors. Taking off and putting on the lids is half the fun. If your child struggles with the whole lid thing, encourage them and keep saying "you can do it" until they do. And oh how they love to finally "get it". If you let them just go for it with markers, crayons or whatever, you are asking for a MESS and you are also overstimulating your child.

I stood one marker on end and Schmeese was intrigued. At first he had a hard time learning how to make them balance, and then he spent 15 minutes balancing markers in a row. The key is to not let them give up and keep encouraging.

After lining them up, have your child touch the top of each marker gently as you count out loud or say the colors out loud.

Color practice:
Mommy: Schmeese, can you give me the blue marker?Mommy: Schmeese, can you color on the red circle? (this didn't work so well the first time around, but we will keep working at it)Would marker time be complete without making marker wands?Who didn't do that as a child?

By the power of Grayskull!!!!!!!!!!

Hang up your art on a window or wall until the next day. Working on the same big piece of paper all week creates one large masterpiece, saves paper, and saves you the hassle of trying to scrounge around for more drawing paper all week. Below is four days worth of art time.
Be prepared for this when Daily Masterpiece time is over.

Variations: 1)Use different mediums/techniques each day: markers, crayons, colored pencils, stamps, stickers 2)place an eraser, a spoon, a matchbox car, or other small object on paper and have them color around each object on the paper. 3)Draw lines together on the paper and have your child follow the lines with a small car or doll. 4)Draw circles and have your child put objects in each circle (a piece of macaroni, a cheerio, a coin - be sure they are of age to not put it in their mouth though).
**Older children can work on a mural all week long, adding scenery and characters daily - Fairy land, pirate ship, battle scene, princess castle. There is such novelty and potential in that huge piece of paper.... let them go with it!

Other ideas for daily masterpiece time?