Letter Writing: Customizable Tracer Pages

Want to help your child practice writing her name? Check out these customizable tracer pages. Kiddos can connect the lines to practice writing. I just wrote my child's name on each line and printed the page. http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/none/tracer-form.asp

My classes through Escondido Adult School begin soon. I am teaching Parent and Me Learning Together. Class is held once a week for children ages 18-36 months from 9-11 am. Choose a Monday or Wednesday class. Class for 3-4 year old children is twice a week on Monday and Wednesday from 11:30-1:30. There are a few spaces left! Class begins after Labor Day. Check my web site www.abcbook.us for more info.

I will be posting art projects throughout the fall. Summer break is over so let's get started. (I hate to see the summer go!)

Letter C: Crowns, Crackers, Caterpillars, Clouds

We read Bob and Otto, a story about a worm and a caterpillar and did some fingerprint artwork too! We used cotton balls on our artwork to make clouds. Everyone pitched in for our "Cc" picnic with crackers, cookies, carrots, and more.

Since we are the Pirates and Princesses, and it is "Cc" day we made crowns. I spray painted Burger King crowns silver and had the children embellish the crowns with fun, shiny confetti.

Our pirates and princesses are becoming quite the Alphabetologists! We even had some sad faces when class was over. See www.abcbook.us for super easy letter ideas. Phonics has never been so fun and easy!

Letter G: Green, Groceries, Games!

Check out the star green glasses and green velour workout suits! "Gg" is for green, grocery, and games! Pirates and Princesses Learning Adventures headed to Henry's Marketplace for our letter "Gg" day.

The kids looked for "Gg's" in the aisles. It takes about 100 times of exposure to really learn something new. As the kids search for letters in print in stores they work on that repetition. It is great for the kids to find the different fonts of the letter too. It's real world learning.

At the park, we played games. One family brought a pinata!

Letter E: Eggs

Pirates and Princesses Outdoor Adventures' spring session is under way! Our class is sponsored by Escondido Adult School in Escondido, CA. I am grateful to the many moms who took a chance and signed up for the class. Our enrollment has grown! We meet weekly at parks for our letter celebrations. Our first class met at Kit Carson Park where we focused on "Ee." Elizabeth the hen came and we did "egg-spiraments," crafts, songs, and more!

Our handprint hen craft was adorable. Helpful hints: Trace around a lid or a bowl for the head, a quarter for the eye, and a penny for the eyeball. Instructions can be found at: http://www.first-school.ws/activities/crafts/animals/birds/rooster-handprints-1.htm

We did a hilarious handplay activity called "Crack an Egg on Your Head." Sit your child in front of you for this goofy game you can play again and again. See it demonstrated on your tube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05svBr3FJD4

Oh...and we did the chicken dance. What a fun group of kids and moms we have!

Letter V: Valentines and Volcanoes

Every letter deserves a party and "Vv" is no exception. The children exchanged Valentines, tried various vegetables, and conducted a volcano experiment. The experiment went so well, I think we will work more experiments into our classes this spring. The kids loved the exploding volcano and "lava."

Making Fairy Houses

Has the Tooth Fairy visited your house? Two of our three children have had visits from the enchanted creature who leaves fairy dust in her wake and delivers treasures under pillows of toothless children. The kids made a fairy house yesterday near a pine tree. Fairy houses are tiny structures constructed from all natural materials set in natural settings to keep fairies comfortable. Here are some great sites with pictures of fairy houses.
http://kidoinfo.com/ri/make-a-fairy-house/
http://askthepartyfairy.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/fairy-houses-jpeg.jpg
http://askthepartyfairy.wordpress.com/fairy-craft-make-a-fairy-house/

Hmm, where's that caterpillar?

I love seeing kids investigating. My son had a clump of weeds and a magnifying glass. We had found a caterpillar but it had carefully re-hidden itself prompting further investigation. Magnifying glasses are an inexpensive must have tool for young scientists.

Letter T: Tent, Tree, Tractor, Triangle!

We threw on our T-shirts and tennis shoes to head to the park for "Tt" day. We set up a tent on the playground, learned about the title page of a book, did abstract triangle art, made turtles with googlie eyes, played pin the face on the tree and more! Could learning be more fun?

Letter F: Fairytales, Fur, Feathers, Fins!

Our Pirates and Princesses Learning Adventures class focuses on a letter each week and uses the multi-sensory approach in Alphabetology to engage learning while having fun! We visited Barnes and Noble to look for a tour. We found "Ff's" on magazines, movie covers, books, mugs. stickers and more! We learned that "fairytales are fiction." Then we headed over to Pet Co for our "Fur, Feathers, and Fins" tour. We saw some scales too! It was great to see the kids searching print to find the letter "Ff." Who needs worksheets when you have the world to experience!

Love of Learning

We are learn best when we are engaged and having fun. My kids go through phases of topics they are completely taken with. I love to just go with it and help them become experts in their areas of interest. I know lots of names of heavy construction equipment from my middle sons' obsession as a toddler. My boys ages 7 and 9 have become fascinated by the airplanes and ships of the World War II era. Spending time with their Great Grandpa Robert King, they have learned of his adventures in the South Pacific as he served as a young navy sailor on an oil tanker. I love taking topics my children are captivated by and facilitate their further study. So... we've headed to local aerospace museums, built models, saved money to purchase small die cast models, watched documentaries, interviewed Great Grandpa, and checked out books at the library. We even found a WW I and II themed restaurant in San Diego called the 94th Aero Squadron. It turns out that it's not just young boys who love old planes. After telling Grandpa Paul about our adventure, he made reservations for his extended family to celebrate a family occasion there.

Our fabulous local library allowed the boys to set up a display of WWII in a glass case at the entrance. The boys were thrilled! We love our local librarians. They help us find and order books and movies and share the boys' excitement. It is crazy to see how our 7 year old can name WW II planes. I can recognized the Corsair but have a LOT to learn!