Books of the Week – Jan. 9, 2010

M has fallen in love with CD books lately. Thankfully our library has a pretty good selection. I’m just so happy that he’s gotten to this stage; believe me, I enjoy the break I get when he’s listening to one of his books!
Two of his favorites are below, they also just happen to be wonderful classics…
First, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton:
Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Anne, are becoming outdated and replaced by newer machinery, so off they go to look for work. They end up digging a cellar and then realizing they can not get out! A little boy (M loves this part) comes up with the perfect solution. :) This is a great book for kids who love trucks, big machines, digging, etc.
And Katy and the Big Snow, also by Virginia Lee Burton:
The inside cover of this book shows an entire map of the town in which Katy lives (um, if a tractor can “live” somewhere)… that map alone is reason enough to check this book out. M is enthralled with the map, and loves the story too! Katy is a tractor who is sometimes used as a bulldozer and sometimes used as a snowplow. When a major snow storm hits the city Katy comes to the rescue (the other snowplows are in over their heads) and clears out the town, helping the police, the fire department, the hospitals, and on and on. This is a great book about hard work and helping those in need. And it has a big machinery. :) What more could a little boy want?? :)
For more book reviews, see Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns!
Have a beautiful day! :)

Our New Morning Routine

http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2009/12/our-calendar-free-printables.htmlWe’ve got a great new 20 minute routine in the mornings that is getting our days off to a great start, so of course I have to share!

I recently read this very interesting article about helping children develop literacy skills, in particular doing away with “letter of the week” type activities and helping them learn their letters in context. Now, I can’t say I’m ready to do away with learning individual letters… M loves the letter lapbooks I’ve made for him (and I really do intend to make more!), as well as the letter collage pages he gets every week. But, I loved the idea of the “morning message” on the blackboard. I don’t know… call me crazy… but I love using M’s chalkboard – it’s just so teacherish. ;)

So, we start off by putting the current date on our magnetic calendar, and we talk about what day “today” is, what “yesterday” was, and what “tomorrow” will be. (Naptime is making a comeback, thank you dear God, and occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays – so we discuss whether today is a nap day or not first thing in the morning so there are no surprises later on!)

We sometimes do the weather chart too, but really there’s only so much you can say about winter in Minnesota. Is it cold today? Yes. Is there snow? Yes.
Then we head over to the blackboard side of M’s easel. I write something along the lines of “Happy New Year!” or M gives me something to write, or some days it’s something like this:I say each letter as I draw it, then we go over them together with a cute little pointer (a pencil with an apple topper – also very teacherish, don’t you think?). I do it, then M does it, then I pick a “mystery letter” for him to find. Then he has to find all the “s”s, or whatever, on the board. This is a lot of fun and he always looks forward to it.

Soon thereafter we read a Bible story from this children’s Bible. We started at the beginning and read one short story a day. He is really enjoying this too, and I give a one or two sentence recap of the story from the previous day. We are covering them fairly quickly, but I intend to pick one or two stories every couple of weeks and start doing our “Sunday School on Fridays” again (which I will be posting) with crafts and activities to help reinforce some of the stories we’ve read.

Then we read this rather long prayer that we used to say every morning at breakfast, but somehow had gotten out of the habit. This is also when we pray things like “help us remember to pick up our toys and not argue with Mommy today”. Believe me, I’ll take all the help I can get!

Here’s the prayer, if any of you are interested… it’s pretty sweet:

“Jesus, I thank you for each new day.
I offer myself to you,
and all the things I shall do –
my work, my study, my play.
I thank you for the many good things you give me
and for all the kind people who take care of me.
Bless me as I begin this day,
be with me at home, at school, and at play.

May all I do honor you.
May your dear mother Mary
and my guardian angel protect and help me.
I believe in you.
I hope in you.

I love you,

Jesus, my friend and my God!”

Have a beautiful day! :)

Book Review – Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich

I recently read this book, and have to say, enjoyed it much more than I expected.  It held my interest, was a quick read, and is beautifully made with high quality paper that just feels good to touch (now I *know* such a thing is not really important, but if you are like me, these special touches make reading a good book just that much better).  The photos throughout the book are lovely and inspiring, and it was truly a pleasure to read. 
I can say this book was not as overtly religious as I expected it to be.  It’s point, as I’m sure you can guess, is that Judeo-Christian beliefs, and the morals that go hand in hand with those beliefs, were what our founding fathers based our system of government upon.   But this point is made in a very modest manner, simply by taking the reader on a “walking tour” of our nation’s capitol and letting it speak for itself. 
Each chapter describes one of thirteen monuments, buildings, or memorials in and around Washington D.C.  The tour begins with the National Archives, includes the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and several others, ending with Arlington National Cemetery.  Each chapter describes the design, architecture, and history of one of these locations, in an incredibly interesting and well-done manner (stunning photos are included).  Each chapter then includes religious symbolism (and by this I do not mean only Christian symbols; Jewish and Islamic imagery is there also) seen at the location.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in our nation’s capitol and architectural history, and who can listen with an open mind to evidence that our founding fathers were for the most part deeply religious men who intended to protect our religious freedoms, not prohibit religious imagery or religious expression.
In the introduction Gingrich writes:

“The founders had a very straightforward belief that liberty was the purpose of a just government, but that the maintenance of this liberty among a free people would require virtue.
And if virtue was to survive, it would require “true religion,” which was any religion that cultivates the virtues necessary to the protection of liberty.
Implicit within this vision of the Founding Fathers is a pluralistic sensibility.” (p. xviii)

This is such an interesting and beautiful book, and would make a wonderful gift;  I have already agreed to loan my copy out to a couple of people, and will be buying extra copies as gifts.   Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishers for giving me this book to review!

The Little Red Mailbox

 

Have you seen the adorable little mailboxes at Target’s Dollar Spot??  Well, our Target had them (out with Valentine’s Day items, the Monday before Christmas) and M insisted that he needed one very badly.  Now, I normally don’t just give in to him on every little thing, but they were awfully cute, and I thought he could play mailman with it. 

So, it’s turned into this very endearing routine between M and Daddy.  It’s sooooo adorable.  M asks for “mail” every evening and Daddy says, “Well… we’ll see…”, then later writes him a little note, which we slip into the mailbox when we check on the darling-sleeping-sweetness later on.  Sometimes there’s even a Curious George ring or some such trinket included. 

Now,  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but Daddy is up at 5am every morning and M doesn’t see him before he leaves for work. 

So, lately, every morning I hear a little thud, pitter patter over to the dresser, then a sweet voice (well, sweet, depending on what the clock says) exclaiming  “The mail came!”  (He knows if the flag is up, there’s mail!)  Then a clink, clank, clunk as he opens the mailbox… then more pitter-pattering out the door and into my room for me to read him his note.  It’s so much fun and such a nice way to keep the two of them connected first thing in the morning. 

Sometimes M will stick a painting or a note of his own in the mailbox and put it on Daddy’s side of our bed for Daddy to discover when he comes home.  This is always very exciting as you can imagine. ;) 

The notes M writes always go something like this… “Dear Daddy, love Matthew.  Mommy and Daddy and Matthew.”  Goodness, I sure do love my boys!!  :)

Have a beautiful day! :)

Shapes Cutting, Pasting, and Sorting Pages – Printables

M was SO into his ABC cutting and pasting collage pages that I had to come up with something similar to keep him from going through the entire alphabet in a month. So, this is what I came up with for him… (This is his finished collage for the “square” page.)

I made a set of cutting and pasting shape collage pages. And then I realized this would be a fun sorting activity also!

I’ve made two sets of printables; one is for cutting and pasting, as M did in the above picture, the other is for sorting: (I’m thinking this will be perfect in our pocket chart).

It’s fun to use real, every day objects to show children how shapes are all around us. :)

Just Click on the links below to go to the download page.

Shapes Cut-and-paste Collage Pages
(You’ll see is a lot of space between the pictures on these pages. This is so the child will have plenty of room for cutting.)

Shapes Sorting Cards

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – January 4, 2010

No Art Box again this week… lots of family things going on.  We (extended family) tend to celebrate Christmas for a long, long time.  The last get-together is next Sunday; after that I hope to regain my sanity get back to blogging on a regular basis (including comments, my dear, neglected, and patient bloggy-friends).

M also discovered paint-with-water books and that was his “art” of choice, argh. (There are around 40 in this pile – most of which were done within a 2 day period.)

Art around here may never be the same again, sigh.  It was like an addiction – especially the screaming, floor-pounding, raving tantrum when there were no more pictures to paint.  And the insisting that we could run to Target right now (!!) to get some.  Oh, it’s 15 degrees below zero right now?  But why on earth would that be a reason to stay in our warm home if there are no paint-with-water pictures there??

Anyway (see how I always have something to say even when there’s no real post to write?) – I thought I’d put the linky up in case any of you had some art to share. :)  Link up below!

Have a beautiful day! :)

Guidecraft 3-D Feel and Find Giveaway WINNER

The winner of the Feel and Find Giveaway is #19 – Heidi, who said:

“I think my kids would like the
Playhut Big Red Fire Engine Pop Up Play Tent.”

Congratulations, Heidi!  Email me your shipping address, and Happy New Year! :)

 

 

***PRINTABLES***

This is a reference page for all the printables I’ve created and made available.  I thought it was time to make one page with all of these links before it gets to be too much to manage.  I’ll add to this page as I make new items, and you can access it from the sidebar menu.

Printables are listed by skill subject.  For listings by Theme, go here.

Each link (click on the images) will take you to the blog post about the printable.  From there you will find any “how-to” information you may need as well as the links for downloading the printables.

LITERACY SKILLS…

LETTER RECOGNITION & FORMATION:

• Build-A-Letter Templates:
• Build-A-Letter Lower Case Templates:
• ABC Collage and Trace Book:
• Letter H tracing (part of Letter H lapbook):
• Sorting Large and Small J and j (from letter J lapbook):
• Dot to Dot Tracing Letter J and j (from Letter J Lapbook):
• D and d writing practice and pre-writing skills (part of Letter D lapbook):
• Sorting Large D and Small d (from Letter D lapbook):
• Dinosaur Upper and Lower Case Matching Puzzles:

ABC LAPBOOKS:

• Letter B:

• Letter F:
• Letter D:
• Letter H:
• Letter J:

SPELLING AND NAME RECOGNITION:

• Christmas Ornaments for Stringing and Spelling:

PHONICS:

• Clip Art – Things that Begin with H (part of Letter H Lapbook:
• Clip Art – Things that Begin with D (part of letter D lapbook):
• Clip Art – Things that Begin with J (part of letter J lapbook):
• ABC Upper and Lower Case Game Cards:

MATH SKILLS…

SIZE DISCRIMINATION:

• Bob the Builder Size Sorting Trucks:
• Bob the Builder Scrambler Size Sequencing:
• Baseball Size Sequencing (part of Letter B Lapbook):
• Frog Size Sorting (part of Letter F Lapbook):

COUNTING:

• Hundred’s Chart 0-99:
• Floor Number Game:
• Autumn-themed Play Dough Mats for Numeral Formation 1-10 and Counting:
• Play Dough Mats for Numeral Formation 11-20, and Counting:
• Heart Count and Clip Cards (numbers 1 through 12):
• Counting and Comparing Bob the Builder Flip Book:
• Number Stamping Chart:
• Grid Games (small or large blank grids):
• Count the Sheep Grid Game with Game Pieces:
• Counting Baby Birds (part of Letter B Lapbook):
• Sequencing Jars – Numbers 1-5 (part of Letter J lapbook):
• Easter Basket and Egg Counting File Folder Game: 

PATTERNS:

• Heart Pattern Strips (part of Letter H Lapbook):
• Dinosaur Pattern Strips (part of letter D Lapbook):

SHAPES:

• Build a Shapes House (part of Letter H Lapbook):
• Shape Sorting Cards:
• Shape Cut and Paste Collage Pages:
• Bird Shapes Craft:
• Raccoon Shapes Craft:
• Stegosaurus Shapes Craft:
• Panda Bear Shapes Craft:

VISUAL DISCRIMINATION:

• Which Dinosaur is Different? (part of Letter D lapbook):

GAMES:

• Autumn Tic Tac Toe:
• Bob the Builder Game Cards (for Memory, Matching, or Go Fish):
• Hard Hats and Hammers Tic Tac Toe (part of Letter H Lapbook):
• Fish in the Fishbowl (part of Letter F Lapbook):
• Chicks in Eggs Game (using plastic Easter eggs):

COLORS…

• Color the Bulldozers (part of Letter B Lapbook):
• Color the Flowers (part of Letter F Lapbook):
• Sequencing Jellybean Colors from Lightest to Darkest (part of Letter J lapbook):
• Color the Daffodils (part of Letter D lapbook):
• Color Sorting Dinosaurs with Color Wheel:

SCIENCE

• Flower Nomenclature 3-Part Cards:
• Flower Names 3-Part Cards:
• Moon Phases 3-Part Cards:
• Tree Nomenclature Cards:
• Leaf Nomenclature Cards:
• Bird 3-Part Cards:
• Butterfly Nomenclature 3-Part Cards (Parts of a Butterfly):
• Scavenger Hunt List:

FINE MOTOR SKILL ACTIVITIES…

• Dinosaur Lacing Card:

CALENDAR PIECES AND WEATHER CHART…

• Weather Chart:
• Calendar Month, Year, and Day Cards:

CALENDAR DATE CARDS, LISTED BY MONTH AND THEME:

• January - *snowflakes*:
• February – *dinosaurs*:
• March - *baseball*:
• April - *baby animals*:
• May -  *bugs*:
• June – *hot air balloons*:
• July - *seaside summer*:

• August - *work trucks*:

• September – *trains*:

• October - *owls, squirrels, leaves, pumpkins*:
• November - *apples, scarecrow, cornucopia*:
• December - *wreath, snowman, candles*:

 

RELIGIOUS PRINTABLES…

• Jesse Tree Schedule (2010), Prayers, and Ornaments:
• Jesse Tree Schedule (2009), Prayers, and Ornaments:

MUSIC, SONGS, POEMS…

• Christmas Song Book:
  
• Dinosaur Poem and Stick Puppets:
  

MISCELLANEOUS…

• Thanksgiving Tree Template: