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recycling center tour!
A few months ago, Owen asked me where the "recycle guys" took the stuff that we put into our happy blue bins each week. I told him that everything went to the recycling center, but I wasn't really sure what that meant or where it was. What better way to learn about it than to go see for ourselves?We had to tour it! (Or at least see if we could--)Recycling Center Tour: It was our first tour of the summer (our bank tour scheduled for June had to be postponed), and our family was psyched!We had … Read More...
sticky finger writing: writing letters and sight words
There are a million, trillion cool ways of getting little ones to practice letter writing and to commit sight words to memory. It's so awesome that I'm able to use just some of these techniques on Maddy and Owen now--at 5 and almost 4 years old, they're at a perfect age for it. Today, since it was gorgeous outside, we used one method that it seems all little emergent readers love: Jell-O writing. Jell-O Writing (or sticky finger writing: writing letters and sight words): After I put Cora … Read More...
happy fourth flag cake
Happy, happy 4th of July!! An American flag cake for July 4th is a tradition in our family. If our crowd that day is large, we do a double-layer, and if it's small, we stick with just one. Cool whip icing, blueberry stars, and strawberry stripes. . . It's Independence Day bliss. Thanks for subscribing to teachmama! Have a good one! … Read More...
new for us friday –edamame, snacky style
Goodness knows why I picked up this monstrous container of Dry Roasted Edamame without ever trying them before. But as many know, Costco sometimes has that effect on people.I thought they'd be a surefire hit since we all looooooove steamed, salty edamame any night of the week. My kiddos love to pop out the beans, make piles, then eat them one by one. Edamame is a super, high-protein, packed with vitamins kinda vegetable, so I'm always happy to provide.I wondered if my troops would feel the … Read More...
buggy kindergarten calendar
Back in May when we attended Maddy's Kindergarten Orientation, we were given this awesome calendar of activities to carry us through the summer months, right up to the first day of school.The theme is "Catch the Reading Bug" and the goal is simple: get our kiddos in the habit of reading. Do cool activities with them to encourage real reading. Draw with them, explore with them, and play games with them. Visit the library often. Read every day. Write every day.As a Reading Specialist and … Read More...
travel bingo
Maddy, Owen, Cora, and I have been in Pennsylvania for the last few days so that I could say goodbye to the father of one of my best friends while my husband re-couped from knee surgery.It was an emotionally--and physically--exhausting trip to say the least, and after our usual 3 hour trip back to Maryland took close to 5 hours, I was more than happy that I took a few minutes while the kids ate lunch with my parents to create a Travel Bingo: MD to PA for our ride home.Travel Bingo: I admit, I … Read More...
bugs bunny on broadway giveaway
Calling all DC Metro Looney Toons Fans! The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor George Daugherty, is going "loony" on July 11, 2009, at 8:30 pm, with "Bugs Bunny on Broadway" at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. What a cool way of introducing your children to some incredible classical music and the complete awesomeness of a concert at Merriweather--sitting under the stars, listening to the BSO, and watching 'toons on the big screen? If you ask me, it's summertime … Read More...
pony tail holders
We found a new pack of beautiful ponytail holders in Maddy's room the other day. They were hiding in a big box of hair accessories and jewelry from her Fancy Nancy Salon Tea Party Birthday Extravaganza this past winter.Instead of putting them in our hair, where they belong, we found a new home for them: our toes!Who knew how difficult these could be for little fingers?Surprise! We found another fun and sneaky way to work on fine motor skills. . .Pony Tail Holder Piggies: I put them on Owen's … Read More...
new for us friday–summer bridge books
Woo-hoo!!It's a Summer Bridge Activites Giveaway! Happy, happy Friday!Have you ever tried the Summer Bridge Activities series for keeping your children focused on learning and their brains working during the summer months? Before this summer, I had not. But I'm glad that the kind people at Carson-Dellosa Publishing asked if I'd be interested in trying one. I looked at the calendar today, and, being that it's a Friday and we're trying new things on Fridays this summer, I thought we'd take a … Read More...
tricky, tricky digraph sort
I had Owen all to myself this afternoon while Maddy played at a friend's house and Cora took her nap. I gave him the choice of playing anything from our Big Blue Box (my fun box of learning games and tutoring activities), and he chose Alphabet Spin I. We played a round with Ike, one of his Matchbox cars and then Ike's big brother joined us for a second round of Alphabet Spin II. Always exciting around here. . . Then I pulled out a sort that I hoped would help him distinguish some beginning … Read More...
