A is for Apples & Apple Pie

Happy new school year! My classes begin this coming Weds. at the Escondido Adult School. I teach three Parent Education classes called Parents & Children Learning Together. I am part of a great team of teachers and together we teach 9 classes a week. See web site. Our 3-4 year old classes will meet twice a week and a letter will be introduced each class. We will cover the entire alphabet by Christmas break. Beginning in Jan. we will spend a week on each letter. Using Alphabetology engages children & makes learning fun!

For letter A:

• We will read The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
• Make a apple pie art project with torn paper, glue brushed on with Q-tips, and real cinnamon sprinkled on this a salt shaker.
• Decorate a block letter "Aa" from dltk with apple colors (red, yellow, and green)
• Sort apple shapes by color

Thanks for the Review

Danielle at MyHomemadeJourney.com says, "My absolute favorite thing about Alphabetology is that you get to do fun and educational things with your children." Thank you Danielle for your review of Alphabetology! Check out her blog at www.myhomemadejourney.com

Excited About Letter E

I am so excited about our letter E projects! Next week out 3-4 year old parent participation class will be focusing on E and elephants. The projects and books are some of my all time favorites. We will be reading Elmer the Elephant by David McKee and There is a Bird On Your Head by Mo Willems.

Elmer the Elephant is about a brightly colored patchwork elephant that wishes he was just the regular elephant color. Elmer rolls in berries to blend in with the herd but in the end he realizes he enjoys being his unique self.

There is a Bird on Your Head is about best friends, Gerald and Piggie. Gerald discover that there are worse things than a bird on his head...2 birds, a nest full of eggs...eggs hatching... This silly read will have your kids giggling!

We will be making patchwork elephants like our hero Elmer. Cut out an elephant shape out of any color of construction paper. Paint white glue on the paper with a paintbrush. Cover the elephant with tissue paper squares. Google search a black and white clip art elephant or use this one at teachers.net/gazette/MAR03/images/ele.pdf

St. Oswald's Nursery school did an entire Elmer the Elephant bulletin board!

C is for Painting With Hot Wheels Cars!

Dip those Hot Wheels in Paint and Vrroooom Vrrooom for fun and motor skills development!

Thanks for Thanksgiving!

I can smell the Thanksgiving feast and feel the chill in the air! Beautiful pictures in this Thanksgiving book perfect for even the youngest children. The text is simple and the art is rich. Love the illustrations by Doris Barrette. My new Thanksgiving favorite this year!

Fall Teacher Gift

Showing love to our teachers! Yesterday, I had my Parent Teacher Conferences for my kiddos. I love their teachers! With three kiddos close in age, I have had conferences with some of the same wonderful teachers 3 times! I have become close with many of them. To show my appreciation, I brought each teacher Fabulous Fall Muffins. I tweaked the allrecipes.com Addictive Pumpkin Muffin recipe (I used a 15 oz can of pumpkin and an extra cup of applesauce, used half wheat flour, pecans instead of walnuts, and Craisins instead of raisins)

Red & Yellow: Fall Pumpkin Fingerpainting

What do you get when you mix red and yellow fingerpaint? Big orange pumpkins and some messy fun! Talk about the sound the letter P makes and practice the Alphabetology hand movement that goes with P: "P,p, pop!"
1. Cut a pumpkin shape out of a large piece of white construction paper.
2. Help your child put on a smock or old T-shirt.
3. Place a dot each of washable red and yellow paint on the paper.
4. Let your child enjoy and explore the mixing colors and fun texture!

There are so many fun letter activities for P! Pop popcorn, eat pizza, go on a picnic, decorate with pine cones, make pumpkin pie. Okay...those are mostly food ideas. Wear pink and purple while you play with play dough. Remember that the hand movement is the secret weapon to learning the letter sound. Practice often!

Such a Deal! Beautiful Books for $5 from Kohls

Need a fabulous gift for $5? (or even less if you have a Kohls coupon) Kohls has beautiful books by Nancy Tillman available now!

"On the Night You Were Born" is a beautifully illustrated story that will make the child you read it to know "there has never been anyone like you... ever in the world." But...my favorite book is "Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You." Messages of unconditional love include: "I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go."

Best Play Dough Recipe Ever!

Teach the ABCs by making the letters out of play dough! There are many play dough recipes but this is my favorite! It is quick, easy and fabulous! You'll need some Cream of Tartar- don't skip this ingredient. It keeps the dough fresh.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups of colored water (just use food coloring)
1 TBSP cooking oil
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of salt

Put all of the ingredients in a medium or large pan on the stove. Cook slowly on medium-high and stir until the dough thickens. Keep in a plastic container.

Use cookie cutters and plastic knives as fun tools. Make a roller out of a bit of PVC pipe. Be sure to sand the ends so they are smooth.
See www.playdoughrecipe.com for a Pumpkin Pie Play Dough recipe and many more great doughs!

Capes and Superheroes

Does the superhero in your life need a cape? Sometimes our little ones need props; a wand, superhero cape there, tiara, plastic sword, firefighter helmet, police badge, princess dress... The Pleated Poppy has a cape making tutorial. Need a plan to make superhero wrist cuffs from toilet paper tubes?

See other great ideas at Colour Giggles.

Crack an Egg on Your Head! Letter E idea!

I love this fun interactive song!
Karen at Expert Village has a video on you tube.

Crack an egg on your head
Let the yolk drip down (X3)
Repeat
Squeeze an orange on your shoulders
Let the juice drip down (X3)
Repeat
Spiders crawling up your back
Spiders crawling down
Repeat
With a pinch and a squeeze and a cool ocean breeze...
Do you feel the chills?

Teepees, Tents, and Hide Outs

Every kids needs a place where he or she can escape and take a break. Our 8 and 9 year olds are always building forts out of blankets draped across chairs held in place by a stack of books. The kids also have a card table tent. As a kid, I had a circus themed card table tent and I loved it! On Etsy, MissPrettyPretty sells imaginative card table playhouses.

The Land of Nod offers a canvas teepee for the cowboys and Indians in your life while Outdoorplaytoys.com offers a camo tent for your adventurer.

Want to make your own card table tent? The EmptyBobbin has a pattern for purchase. A free pattern is available at OldDaysOldWays

Awesome Experiment!

You just need grapes and a microwave to do this awesome experiment! The kids did this about 20 times at home. They just couldn't get enough! I love this site because it explains what is happening in the experiment. Go to www.superchargedscience.com/documents/ScienceGuide.pdf
and then scroll down to "Making Plasma."

Teach ABCs- With a Secret Weapon

Did you know that if you use multiple senses to learn something you are more likely to remember it? The brain learns by receiving information from the body and outside world. Our senses (sight, sound, touch taste, smell) bring information to the brain.

Alphabetology incorporates a secret power by using multiple senses in learning. The letter card provides visual imput. Saying the letter sound provides auditory imput. Alphabetology is unique in providing brain imput through a simple hand movement done while saying the letter sound. For example: For letter N, say the letter sound for N twice while pointing to your nose. "N, n, nose."

The silly and simple activities you choose for your letter activities can be referred back to. For example: "Do you remember when we dressed like pirates, put pennies in our pockets, and had a pepperoni pizza picnic with Papa for P day? Who knew learning could be so fun!

What Comes First Spelling or Reading?

Great question. Reading and spelling are closely related. Good readers are most often good spellers. In the Scholastic article "How Children Learn to Spell" Louisa Moats writes, "Word knowledge builds systematically on other word knowledge. It's that cycle of success that teachers love to see develop: Learning begets learning. Most young children who are exposed to print in their homes spontaneously begin to experiment with writing." Reading to children early and often will help them love reading, become readers and spellers as well. So keep on reading!

Playroom of My Dreams!

This is not my house but I wish they would invite me over to play. I know I am a grown up, but it looks like so much fun! Check out The Wonder Years blog for more pictures and information about this magical play space.

Favorite ABC Book!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is my favorite read aloud book for teaching the ABC's. If you get the CD of Ray Charles reading/singing the story it's even better!
Here is a cute You Tube version of the book.

Teach the ABCs with this fun and easy Chicka Chicka Boom Boom art activity. Just scroll down a bit on the Kinder by Kim page. Make an oh so cute edible coconut tree.

Get more ideas for teaching the ABCs with the grab and go guide Alphabetology.

D is for Dot Paints- Fun Without the Mess!

Say "yes" to painting without the huge mess to clean up! I love dot paints! We purchased a set of six dot paints at Michaels craft store(search online for coupons before heading to the store.)

Here a few ideas for using dot paints...
*Print out or write a letter "D" on paper and decorate it with dot paints
*Write your child's name with a black pen and have your child dot paint his/her name.
*Practice counting out loud while dot painting
*Roll a dice and paint the number of dots on a scrap of paper
*Check out Tot School's fabulous Do-A-Dot Upper Case Alphabet Letters or Home School Creations pdf dot activities.

Mompetition: This is funny but kind of true!

Can't we just be friends and be different? It is hard enough being a parent without being judged harshly by others over simple differences. Time Magazine posted a silly but true article spotlighting a funny (adult funny, but don't show the kids) YouTube video poking fun at "mompetition." I just don't have the energy to deal with competitive mamas, so I steer clear. Gratefully, I have a large circle of supportive mom friends who are accepting and encouraging. What has been your experience?

Check out the article and funny youtube video. Click here!

Using Scissors! The right way and the wrong way...

The kids and I were at lunch a few days ago and parents of cute little children in the next booth over were discovering patches of missing hair on their son's strawberry blond head. Chunks of hair had been trimmed by his helpful older brother. Oh, how many of us have been there! Cole cut his hair as a toddler and he did quite a job of it!

Alphabetology is all about fully preparing children for school success and this includes fine motor skills like using scissors. We sing a great song in our Parents and Children Learning Together preschool class to help teach children how to hold scissors. The Cutting Song is sung to the tune of Frere Jacques...
Thumb on top
Thumb on top
Cut, cut, cut
Cut, cut, cut
Turn the paper
Turn the paper
Not the scissors
Not the scissors.