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

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!

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

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.

Dad's the Best!

Shawn is off on a Boy Scout backpacking trip with our oldest son. Since I am on Summer Break from teaching- I am having a bit of fun being crafty! There are so many amazing blogs and ideas. So get some Dad's Rootbeer and get ready to spoil dad. I get 364 so he can have his one I guess.

Crazy Tie Tradition: 2Cleverblog.com
Tie-riffic Ideas from: meandmyinsanity.com
Tie Banner: blog.familybringsjoy.com

Fabulous Photo Gift for Dad

Cut out and decorate over sized letters to spell "DAD." Take some pictures of your child or children posing with the letters for a custom Father's Day gift Dad will love showing off at work. Saying "I love you" in sign language makes the photo even sweeter!

Must Have Hand Print Mother's Day Keepsakes

Their little hands grow so fast! Hand print art projects are my favorite! These hand print crafts make great Mother's Day gifts for mom or grandma. Truly a forever keepsake to be treasured!


Hand Print on Ceramic Tile
Supplies:
6X6 white ceramic tile
Bright colored acrylic paint for the hand print
Small foam paint brush
Paper plate for the paint
Krylon clear spray

1. Wipe off the tile to make sure it is clean.
2. Squeeze paint onto the paper plate and use a foam brush to paint your child's hand. Press your child's hand down on the tile.
3. Let the paint dry.
4. Spray a very thin layer of Krylon clear spray paint on the tile and let it dry completely. Add two more coats of clear paint, letting it dry between spraying.


Plaster Hand Prints
Supplies:
Plaster of Paris (this can be purchased at a craft store)
Mold (We used the aluminum to go salad container from Pizza Hut)
Margarine container or old bin for mixing
Paint stick for mixing (free at the paint counter at home supply stores)
Pencil for writing the child's name
Old T-shirt or paint smock
Cup for measuring water and plaster

1. Put on an old T-shirt or paint smock
2. In a margarine container or old bin, mix plaster with water according to the directions on the package. Mix well using the paint stick. Be sure not to breathe the plaster dust when measuring and mixing.
3. Let the mixture set for about 5 minutes, until it is the consistency of pancake batter.
4. Pour the mixture into your mold.
5. Help your child press her hand into the plaster pushing down each finger and the palm of the hand. Wash hands immediately.
6. If you do the hand print too early and the mixture still has too much liquid, simply wiggle the mold, shaking the plaster smooth and try again.
7. Use a sharp pencil to etch your child's name and the year into the plaster.
8. Press a paper clip or ribbon at the top if you'd like a hanger. I prefer to skip this step and display on a small plate stand.

This activity can be used as an Alphabetology alphabet activity for...
M for Mother's Day
G for gift
H for hand print

Letter G: Hands On Science

Kids learn by doing! With this simple science experiment, your little on will have fun while exploring color mixing. Use food coloring to tint water. Pour the water into an ice cube tray and freeze. Practice saying "Hypothesis" and explain that hypothesis is a fancy science word meaning a guess. Have the child make a hypothesis or guess about what will happen when yellow and blue are put in the baggie together.

Help the child put a small piece of yellow ice in a plastic zip bag with a small piece of blue ice. Your child will use her hands to warm the ice and help it melt. The yellow and blue ice melt into green. Read White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker about a silly rabbit who jumps into buckets of different colors of paint.

As an Alphabetologist (someone who does fun and silly activities to learn the letters of the alphabet and early phonics) use this project for...
Letter G: mix yellow and blue to make green
Letter P: mix red and blue to make purple
Letter O: mix yellow and red to make orange (the "o" in orange doesn't make the aw sound as in "octopus" but it's okay to use as a fun project)
Letter B: red, blue, and a bit of yellow to make brown.
Letter H: Talk about the science word "hypothesis" and what it means. Mix different colors after making a hypothesis about what the outcome will be.

Alphabetology is on Amazon!

I have meant to do it for awhile. I am excited about making a bit of progress. My web site is up at www.alphabetologyfun.com. I also have a Facebook page and have Alphabetology up on Amazon. Each week we do great arts and crafts letter projects and I am now going to work on being better on getting ideas up on my blog. Thank you to the few of your following this! I appreciate your support and encouragement!