More Math For Beginners

For beginning counters I like to have this work in my classroom.  I keep it fresh by changing the objects out about once a month.  I usually just find something interesting and cheap in the seasonal section at Walmart. One time I did pretty little rocks, One time I did spiders (on sale in October), another time I did little icicle decorations (Winter).
Right now we are studying dinosaurs so I have a bunch of little dinosaurs.

All I do is get 15 objects and put them in a bowl or container.  Then I make a paper and laminate it or put it in a sheet protector that looks like this.

Then I let my kids put the objects on the sheet on the dots.  This activity is reinforcing what I have already taught with number rods, or what I showed you earlier with blocks. Kids and Math.  After they learn the quantity from these lessons they need to learn the symbols, this is a beginning lesson for the symbols 1-5.  Once they are starting to understand that I will give them this sheet.

I will let them look at the old one but use this one to put the objects on.  After some practice challenge your child to do it with out the sheet with dots.  Once they can do this they are ready to move on so make a sheet for 6-10.

Potty Training

I must admit this is not a subject I know a ton about.  We typically only have one or two kids in diapers in our class.  You can not force them, or tease them, or make them feel bad that they are not potty trained.  That doesn't work, it usually just hurts their self esteem.  There are some things that I usually do that seem to help.

First if the kid is old enough to potty train then they are old enough to stand up.  I know it can be a little challenging at first, but being able to stand on your own is a major accomplishment as a child.  If you let the child stand while they are being changed instead of laying down (the same as the day they were born), then you acknowledge that they are growing up and getting older.  Next, I don't do anything for them during changing that they can do for themselves.  They go and get the diaper, and the wipes for me I get myself some gloves.  I am very pleasant and I talk to them and ask them questions (really spend some quality time with them) while this whole process is going on.  I then ask them to take off their shoes and their pants.  It will be really hard for them at first but this is super positive for them.  Make sure they know how impressed you are when they can do things for themselves.

Of course it takes longer, but it is very good for the child.  Anything they really can't do I give just enough help that they can do the rest.  I let them undo the diaper, then I have them hold their shirt up and I take the diaper off and clean them up well.  I let them push the foot pedal on the diaper pail and I throw it away.  I then let them put the new diaper on as well as they can (sometimes I just give them underwear to wear, or at least a pull up) i make sure it is secure and on comfortably then I have them put their pants and shoes back on themselves.  I help them with buttons and ties only if needed.  I let them wash their own hands afterwards, and I wash mine.

If they are in underwear and they have an accident I use the same process I let them do everything I just am there to help if needed,  and I do the cleaning (to make sure they are really cleaned up well).  I have them wash their hands, then put on the new clothes that they got out of their backpack by themselves before we went to the bathroom area.

If they did not have the confidence to go to the bathroom on their own this will help them start to gain that confidence that they can do things for themselves. It helps them gain self esteem instead of tearing it down.  And although you won't ever really say it eventually they will start to understand that going to the bathroom in the toilet is much easier than the whole process of cleaning up when they don't.

Note- I really don't like diapers once they are old enough to potty train.  I don't really even like pull ups.  Yes they are convenient and help prevent some messes, but a child really understands the consequences in a more real to life way if they are just wearing underwear.  Especially if it is summer and they are playing outside a lot, they won't get stains on your nice couch or on your carpet.
Also- Make sure they are in appropriate clothing--  That is clothing that they can take off and put on by themselves.  They shouldn't need your help in order to go to the bathroom.  Do everything you can to make it a situation where they can do everything for themselves, even if it means keeping a stool in the bathroom so they can get on the toilet by themselves, or whatever will make the situation as user friendly to a child as possible.

And those are my thoughts-- Let me know if you have more ideas for potty training moms :)

Tip from a friend given to me was to have another child show your child how they go to the bathroom in the toilet.  Especially if your child looks up to that child that may help them want to go, or not be as afraid.  She also thinks it was super helpful to have someone else on her side like someone at the preschool or daycare talking to her child and encouraging them as well!

Stressed

It has been a crazy last few weeks!!  I am taking 19 credits at USU, and work started at the preschool.  I have been trying to do training and go to school!  Finals are next week and I am now working 40 hrs or so a week!
CRAZY!!  I love the teacher I am working with this year she is amazing and doing some really cool art projects with the kids.  She is also there for all the time and I can't be right now because of class.  My kids are adorable this year and I am so so excited because nap time is going much better than last year so far.  If you want you can come try to get 20 kids to all take a nap at the same time!  Not the easiest of tasks I assure you. Anyways tons going on but writing here is keeping me sane.  It gives me a break from the crazy and I love it.  I hope it is helping others besides me as well.  Good Luck with all your endeavors and,

Toodles!!

Relationships

One of the first things that a child learns is the relationship between things.  For instance: big and small, narrow and wide, long and short, close and far.

In the Montessori Classroom we teach  lessons for each thing that we have on the shelf in the class.  These lessons are usually taught silently unless you need to teach vocabulary words.  Children have a hard time listening and watching at the same time.  While we are showing something if we want to talk we stop showing, talk, and then go back to showing, to give the child a better chance to soak everything in.  The reason we teach lessons is so they know how a certain thing is supposed to be used.  You would not believe how many small objects and things like glass and knifes and other things are in a Montessori Classroom.   The children learn so much from these things, for instance one of their favorite lessons is squeezing an Orange to get orange juice.  First they wash the orange and then they cut it open with a knife.  Because we teach the children how to use everything we can have so many more things in the classroom for learning that you probably would not naturally think of allowing a child to touch or be around.

In the Montessori Classroom one of the first lessons taught is The Pink Tower.  The pink tower is a series of 10 blocks that increase in size by 1 cm on three sides all the way from 1cm cubed to 10cm cubed.  We teach this lesson by bringing all the blocks to our rug (A Child's Space & Respect ) one at a time putting them down randomly.  We hold the blocks on the top with one hand so we can really feel the difference in weight as we lift them.  We sit at the rug and have the child sit next to us (usually on your non dominant side so they can see better).  First I find the three largest blocks I compare them by putting my hand over them to see which is tallest.  When I find the tallest I put it as the base of the tower.  Then I find the largest out of the two remaining.  I put it on top of the first block.  Then I put the last of the first large three on the tower.  Then I find the next three largest blocks and repeat until the tower is built.  I put my hands near the base of the tower spread apart and narrow them together as I raise them up the tower.  This is to help them visually see that it goes Larger to Smaller as it raises.  I then verbally label the blocks.

I point at the bottom block and Say Big, then I point at the top block and say Small.  This is all I will teach them then I will let them use the blocks by themselves until they can build it biggest to smallest.  If they are younger this can take hours of playing with it over days, weeks or even months, depending on how ready they are.  Other kids will learn it immediately.  Usually they cant really do it right at first.  It will be so tempting to interrupt them and show them the right way.  Please try not to do this.  It is so much better for them to understand on their own then have you show it to them.  It may seem like you are helping them but if they learn it in their own they will remember it more and have a better understanding of it.  (if they are really struggling, go ahead and teach them the first lesson again the same way)

Once they can build it from largest to smallest pretty consistently you start the next part of the lesson.  Sit down with them while they are working on it and start with the largest and teach them big, smaller, smaller...smaller, smallest.  When they understand this then start at the smallest block and teach them small, bigger, bigger...bigger, biggest.  


We are constantly trying to teach children vocabulary abstractly (basically expecting them to just imagine it, or using our hands to gesture it).  They will always learn best by using concrete examples.  Something they can not just see but touch and feel.  There are a million other things they can do with the pink tower these are just the first two lessons. If you are interested in learning more let me know and I will post some more.  I will try to make a video (this is much easier to see than to read!)

 

If you don't like pink (like me) there is always the option of having natural wood which I think is beautiful!

A Child's Space & Respect

This is a lesson that helps children understand respect, and courtesy for space.  This is awesome for getting all those things off your floor that your child spreads out.  It also helps the child feel like they have some control of their environment.

In a Montessori lesson in the classroom there is almost always a rug.















This rug is put on the ground (sometimes we use small ones that can be placed on a table) and unrolled, then the space on that rug is that child's space.  If they need more space they can add another rug, but their works need to stay on their rug.  This way they child can choose where they work, in that little patch of sunlight, or in the same area as a friend or next to a window where they can see outside, etc.

This is a great way to do this at home as well.  First all your child's things stay on a little carpet instead of all over the place.  Next that rug is the child's space and no one may touch it, or step on it, or play with anything on it, unless they get permission from that child.  It gives the child some control of their environment, it makes them feel like they can create and work, and no one can ruin or mess up their work.  It helps them focus.   Also since they only have a small space, unless they lay out more rugs, they have to clean up first to get something else out or it gets too crowded in their space.

There are so many interesting small things in a Montessori classroom and the children want to touch and use everything!  When they first come in to the classroom they have to learn to respect other children's space.  They will see a child working on something and it is natural for them to walk over and touch it or try what the other child is doing.  In a Montessori classroom you will frequently hear the other child say something like: "this is my work, please wait until I am finished to touch it," or "if you want to work with me will you please ask me first," or "please don't touch my work but you can watch me if you like."

You might think that this does not go along with teaching a child to share and be social, but in all actuality it is much more realistic to life. It also show's the child the same respect that we as adults expect.  Can you imagine if you were working on a computer at the library and someone came up and just started pressing keys on the keyboard.  What if you complained to the owners of the library and they said "you need to learn to share."

This is what we do to children all the time, they are learning and using some object or toy, possibly creating or figuring out something really important in their mind, another child comes over and starts breaking the block tower they built, or coloring on a paper they just made a masterpiece on, or even just bothering them so they can't concentrate.  They come to us and tell us what happened and we as adults tell them, you need to learn to share.  How Rude!  We expect respect and to be able to work in our own space as adults, but we usually don't give children that same respect.

As an adult if someone touched what we were working on, especially if it was just a curious child, we would probably use the same words that a child in a Montessori classroom would use.  "This is my computer, please wait until I am finished to touch it," or "if you want to work with me in my space will you please ask me first," or "please don't touch my project but you can watch me if you like."

We are not teaching the child to be antisocial, we teach them to have respect for them self and for others.  We teach them that what they do is important and that they have a right to not be interrupted.  We teach them that they need to ask someone first, if they want to join them in doing something.  It is just basic respect that we anticipate others will give to us as adults.  We try to teach children to give us that respect, but it is rarely given to them in return.  They learn it so much more quickly if you let them feel what it is like to have that respect.

When we teach them polite ways to communicate with others, they will amaze us.  It is incredible to see a child be bothered by something and instead of running to the nearest adult to solve the problem, they politely work it out with the other child.  We give them so much power and control when we teach them the skills to solve problems on their own, instead of always just fixing their problems for them.  This is how the world really works.  We will not always have someone we can run to so we can "tattle" or to fix all our problems.  We grow up and need to be able to work things out with other people.  Can you imagine how much better a person will be able to do this in their adult life, if they started learning these skills as a young child.

One more thing with this we are constantly interrupting children.  If you walked up to an adult you would say excuse me.  If you wanted that adult to go somewhere with you, you would give them prior warning and probably ask them instead of demanding that they do something with you.
Children deserve this same amount of respect.  Tell them what the schedule will be like today, and because they are just understanding time, sometimes they need warnings a few minutes before changing activities, try using an hourglass (it is a very concrete representation of time for a child).  If they don't want to do something in the daily schedule, try to work out a compromise with them.  If you go to the doctor with me we can go to that park you really like afterward for lunch.

Usually what happens (because we are all busy and just don't even think about it) is a child is in the middle of discovering some really cool thing about their world or just happy and enjoying what they are doing and we come up to them and say time to go and start putting their coat on them.  They freak out!  They have had no warning and no time to finish up what they were doing.  Don't you hate it when you have something planned and it is interrupted by someone else and you don't get to finish what you planned for the day.  A child feels this way ALL THE TIME.

They plan to stack these blocks higher than they ever have before.  They get all the blocks out and bring a chair in from the other room to stand on.  They put some pillows on the ground for if they fall.  Just as they are about to start this project that they have set up and prepared and spent time thinking about and planning, Dad walks in and says come on we are going to grandma's.  Let's go.  I bet that child would have loved to have known that soon they would be going to grandma's before they started their project.  They probably would not have made such a lofty goal for an activity, maybe they would have just built their normal block tower or chosen another activity.  It is so important for children to learn to make goals and follow through with them, but when they are constantly interrupted and feel they have no control they may just stop making those goals.  Tomorrow they may have all day to make that really high block tower, but they won't even try because they are going to get everything ready for it and probably just be interrupted again, because they don't know what your plans are.  So why should they waste the effort?

I know what I am saying can seem harsh, but I am just trying to put us all in a child's shoes, so we can really appreciate how they feel sometimes.  The first time someone shared this with me it really opened my eyes and I thought it was worth sharing.

Sending Love your way,
Carly

Learning From a Child's Perspective

"Play is a child's work"
-Dr. Maria Montessori
We underestimate how much a child is learning every day.  Their learning curve is so much higher than ours will ever be.  Before a child is 6 they learn more than an adult ever could come even close to in 6 years.  From 0-6 years old the brain is like a sponge soaking up everything, never in a person's life will they be able to learn as fast or as well as when they are this age.  Many times when we think they are "just playing" they are learning something about their environment that is so important and integral to who they will be as a person.   Remember the first time you drove a stick shift?  A child is constantly in situations where they feel that way, they don't understand the rules for everything, and they don't have the muscle memory to just accomplish tasks to us that just seem simple.

We are in the position that we have developed muscle memory for everything around us and we have figured out all the strange sometimes unspoken rules of our environment.  For those that drive a stick shift you can probably relate to this, you don't need to concentrate to know when to shift or to know how far to push or when to release the pedals.  For anyone who drives, it is not difficult to make a turn in a car like it was when you first drove, you rarely if ever over or under correct while driving.  You probably rarely think about turning on your turn signal, you don't consciously slow the car with the brake when coming to a stop, it is like the car has just become part of you, and does what you want.  Now imagine your first driving experience to how a newborn child feels.  They cant control their body, they cant make their hand do what they want, they can't just stand up and walk where they want, they have no balance or control.  They don't understand basic rules of physics like friction and gravity.  They lay down and try to take a drink out of a sippy cup and it sprays them in the face the first 10 times they try and finally they understand that they need to put it in their mouth and then lay back.  They don't understand the language around them, and they can not communicate sometimes even their most basic needs.  Do I even need to talk about all the social rules and etiquette that are involved in living with other human beings.  Imagine being put in a totally foreign environment with no prior knowledge of anything to make comparisons, now imagine you don't know how to communicate with those around you, and now imagine that you are in a body that as hard as you try barely does anything you want it to.  Half the time when you try to move your hand you hit yourself in the face.  What an amazing and daunting situation.  Yet children enter this world and grow and develop and learn incredibly quickly much faster and better than they will ever be able to at any other time in their life, and sometimes we think they are "just playing."

Never Please Never assume that a child is "Just Playing," we are always trying to rush them around in our busy world and we are taking opportunities away from them.  How long does it take a child to walk around a building?  You may think they are just dawdling and going slow to make you mad, but sometimes they are seeing things for the first time and they are just amazed, a small rock, a bug on the ground, the petals of a flower, things that we have stopped "seeing as a child" we mostly ignore our environment and just hurry on with our busy schedule.  Can you imagine if you were seeing some absolutely amazing thing for the first time in your life and someone was constantly badgering you to hurry up and go, or even worse they just grabbed you and pulled you away from it, not even giving you a chance to protest.
I understand that we all have busy lives and are in a hurry to do a thousand things.  We don't always have time to let a child take 10 minutes to walk 20 feet.  But please understand why they are doing the things they are doing and give them the respect they deserve, their little minds are constantly learning and buzzing and doing things just as important as what we have planned in our busy schedule each day.  We all expect that respect as adults, yet rarely is it given to a child.

You could always tell them Mommy really needs to get to... before they lock the door today.  Could you please hurry to the car and we can come back later to look at that.
That shows the child so much more respect than "hurry up we need to get to... Stop Dawdling!!"
I am guilty all the time of feeling and sometimes reacting like the latter statement.  We just don't tend to see children as little humans who deserve as much respect as anyone else.  I will tell you what though, the times when I have really stopped and tried to see things from their point of view, and given the respect to them that I would give to an adult, they have really surprised me by acting like an adult and giving me that respect back.
Instead of turning and running (because they feel they have no control and this is their way of trying to gain control) and telling you nah nah nah nah nah nah

They feel respected and like their voice is heard so they respond with OK mom.  They may even work out a compromise (just like a little adult) "can we come back tomorrow."  I don't know about you but I would much rather work out a compromise than chase an angry, frustrated, child who is acting out because they feel no control of their world.

Just some thoughts, I would love to hear your real life experiences about any of this.

P.S. thanks to my sister in law for the sippy cup story about her daughter.
Toodles

Opening your Senses

So one day during the summer I went outside and just wrote down everything I felt and sensed, it was awesome I read this all the time and just relive that moment.  I thought I would share my musings, and encourage you in your own. This is a great way to bring peace to yourself and make you feel more in touch with the world around you.  Sometimes we get lost in all the crazy frantic business and forget to really stop and see what beauty surrounds us.

Warm sun bakes my hands and face

The fragrance of country foliage and soil reaches my nose 

Small insects and prickly grass brush my skin

The sound of a chirping cricket touches my consciousness

The twittering of birds fills the air with wonder

The coolness of earth and the heat of air mix and intertwine

I watch the beauty of fluttering leaves in the wind

My eyes communicate the roughness of stone to my fingertips

Cars hum down a mountain road

The feathery tips of the grass sway gently in the cool breeze

The clouds meander past at their own pace

I can almost taste the scent of amber cream on my hands and arms

Old wood tells a tale of times past and days gone by

TASTE THE BEAUTY OF THE DAY

Luvin' Blogging

So I have decided I love blogging, it is a great creative outlet.  I tend to go through spurts though.  I write when I have a little break (or take a break because I need one even if I don't have time).  Then I get super super busy and no blogging for a while.  But, I am back.
This has been quite the crazy last 2 weeks, I found out all at the same time that I have ADHD, and my IQ is in the 99th percentile.  So I have intelligence but at times it feels like the answers are written on a bouncy ball jumping around in my skull so fast that my brain can't quite keep up, or make any sense of it all.  But at least I guess one kinda makes up for the other.
Well back to activities to do with your kids!!  OK science and reading and math are awesome but lets start with social emotional today.  Kids need to strengthen this as much as any other area!  Maybe even more.
I love to talk about emotions with my students.  I found these beautiful pictures on google that I will share so you can use them if you want.  In my class we look at the pictures and make faces like we are feeling those emotions, we talk about why we feel that way sometimes and what the name of the emotion is, for group activities I usually just go over the basics- Angry, Happy, Sad, Shy, Scared, Excited, etc.  But many of the individual students are ready to go further.
I took classes to be a foster parent and one of the social workers who taught us said that a huge problem for some kids is that no one has taught them how to express emotions and they have no way to understand what they are feeling.  One young boy, who had been through hell, went out for an activity with his foster parents one day and he told his foster parents that he was feeling funny.  They were worried, they thought he was sick, or there was a problem.  After he was with them for a while he finally could explain what he was feeling that day when he was "feeling funny."   He had been feeling happy, he had felt so little happiness in his life that first of all it was a weird feeling to him.  Second of all when most of us talk to even a baby we say things like Oh look at you, you are so happy.  Or oh you are sad, look at those crocodile tears.  These infants who cant even talk yet are exposed to things this young boy had never been exposed to.  This goes to show that we do so many things naturally that are good and right and helping our children and we didn't even know it.  This also shows that expressing emotions, something that also seems like it should be natural, is in many ways a thing that is learned through life. 
The better your child is at expressing them self, the better they will be understood.  They will have better skills with making friends, with writing and reading, and with speaking.  They will understand them self better, and be able to communicate their wants and needs more easily to others.  They will be able to relate to others more easily, it can help them have more empathy and even to be a better listener.  So don't just teach them the basics teach them as many emotion words as you can think of (you will be amazed at what they can learn!).  You will also be amazed at how hard it is to explain an emotion with words.  This is something that you need to always be able to do when you have a teaching moment, have the correct word for an emotion that you think your child may be feeling and give them that word.  Instead of them always feeling angry, maybe they are really feeling lonely, impatient or jealous and it would be helpful for them to know the difference.  Here are some lists of positive and negative emotions I found at http://www.self-improvement-mentor.com/list-of-human-emotions.html

Adequate	Awe	Assured	Able
Capable	Certain	Charmed	Cheerful
Comfortable	Compassion	Courageous	Confidence
Determined	Delighted	Eager	Energetic
Enthusiastic	Excited	Exhilarated	Expectant
Elation	Empathy	Excellent	Fascinated
Glad	Good	Great	Grateful
Glorious	Glamorous	Graceful	Happy
Hopeful	Humorous	Inspired	Interested
Joyful	Magnificent	Lust	Love
Pleasure	Playfulness	Peaceful	Pleasant
Powerful	Pride	Positive	Relaxed
Relieved	Satisfied	Surprised	Sympathy
Stable	Sublime	Superior	Thrilled

Annoyed	Anxious	Apprehensive	Agonize
Anger	Anxiety	Apathy	Bored
Burdened	Cautious	Competitive	Concerned
Confused	Contempt	Depressed	Destructive
Disgusted	Distracted	Doubtful	Disappointed
Exasperated	Exhausted	Embarrassment	Envy
Frustrated	Fear	Guilty	Greed
Grief	Harassed	Hesitant	Hostile
Ignored	Impatient	Indifferent	Intimidated
Isolated	Irritated	Jealous	Jumpy
Lonely	Mad	Manipulated	Miserable
Obnoxious	Overwhelmed	Panic	Pressured
Remorse	Revenge	Shame	Sad
Scared	Shocked	Suspicious	Stress
Tired	Uncomfortable	Uneasy	Used
Wary	Weary	Wasteful

Always take the time to explain to your child in words what is going on around them or what might be going on inside.  They will always be so much the better for it.  You could turn the emotions into a fun memory game where you match them.   You can make faces and have them guess what they are.  I have these cool things called emotion cubes.  Two are positive and Two are Negative.  One set has a picture of faces with different emotions, the other has pictures of different situations (like someone giving a gift, someone giving a hug, one with a child sitting there and their parents fighting, one with someone helping someone in a wheelchair, one with 2 kids fighting, one with someone breaking another kids toy)  Things they can understand. The cubes look like big dice.  You pick one and throw it then talk about whatever it lands on.  Easy to make and a great teaching tool.  You could do it once a day, for instance right before bed time when they want to stay up and will do anything to keep you in their room, you can have a lot of teaching moments right then!

All Right Toodles and See you all Later!!

Kids who aren't quite ready to write

I had a question about this.  My friend has a child who doesn't want to write.  Here are some helpful things you can do if they just don't seem ready to write.
First have them do lots of things with the three fingers on their dominant hand (thumb and first two fingers) that they will eventually use for writing.  One of the things we do in class, is have lots of things with knobs, like puzzles, and just make sure you teach them to use those three fingers when they do the puzzles.  Another great thing to help them develop those fine motor skills is pouring, get a little tea set that they can use or little cups with handles and teach them to use those three fingers when they pour.  Kids love water, you can make it interesting by putting food coloring in it or even let them have real juice.  Another great exercise is tweezing or tonging.  Start with a pair of tongs like salad tongs and have them transfer objects from one bowl to another with the tongs.  The better they get, the smaller tongs you use, until they are using tweezers, and once again using those three writing fingers.  These are all strengthening and control exercises for those fingers they will eventually be writing with.  Anything that has them use those fine finger muscles will eventually help them build up to writing, like stringing beads, buttoning, zipping tying, picking up small objects (for instance you could give them a bowl with dried corn and peas, or grains, seeds or beans and have them sort them into piles), all these will help them develop those muscles and control needed for writing and they will never even know they are working!

Also encourage them to color and draw if you can, eventually they will want to write but don't force it if all they want to do is doodle then let them doodle.  You can try using cookie cutters as stencils this takes more control than doodling and sometimes they like it.

Next they need to be learning how to combine letters for writing.  If they are learning their letter sounds (and I included some things in earlier posts to encourage this), then they are ready to start recognizing the difference in letter symbols.  This is awesome, once they are ready for this go buy a small set (so they can easily manipulate with their hands) of plastic or wooden letters (you will probably need 3-4of each letter so you may need more than one set.  Have them start "writing" with these.  It is good to start with lower case and add upper case after they already know all the lower case letters. Have them find the letter that sounds like... and have them learn to spell/write simple words and things like their name.  If it is too hard at first for them to sort through the whole alphabet then just give them the letters in that specific word mixed up and see if they can put them in order, or give them just the letters they know and see if they can pick out the right ones.  Encourage them and tell them how they are getting so good at "writing" and it may give them the confidence to try with pencil and paper.  I wouldn't have this be your main set of letters but the craft stores sell little foamy letters that are sticky and you could do writing projects with these to make it different and fun.

Either way if you are doing both of these things, when they NEED to write, like when they start kindergarten, they will have the muscle and control with their fingers, and they will have the know how so it will not be hard for them to transition into writing. 
Good Luck and let me know if you have more questions!!
Toodles

Everyday Life

A child is like a sponge soaking up everything around them in their environment.  If you provide a good environment they will just amaze you at the things they can learn.
Today I wanted to talk about things you do every day.  We think they are boring but kids think they are absolutely fascinating!  Mopping, Sweeping, Doing Dishes, Polishing, Dusting, Sorting, Cooking, Buttoning, Zipping, Tying, Sewing, Hammering, Cutting, Cleaning, Folding, I could go on forever.  Children see you doing them and they want to try so bad!

Let them!  Carefully teach them how, and as long as it is not horribly dangerous or there is just absolutely no way they can do it without hurting themselves, let them try!  I know, I know MESSES! So what!  It is a little more work for us, but developmentally sooo great for your kids, if you don't like the mess they make then show them how to clean it!  Let them serve their own food, pour their own drinks, do the dishes, help you clean the table.  If they cannot do it the way you do it modify it for them.  Buy a measuring cup and let them pour all their drinks from that instead of you pouring it into their cup for them always.  Give them a shelf in the kitchen of their food and snacks they can prepare for them self.  Give them a shelf in the refrigerator that has the same thing.  Give them their own dishes that they can wash and clean and guess what! don't give them plastic!  If you can give them breakable dishes, it teaches them to be careful!  (Now you probably want to buy their dishes at the thrift store so they don't break your nice set that goes together) Let them pick something nice and pretty that can be theirs and theirs alone.

Kids don't get good self esteem from us telling them how great they are.  They get their self esteem from doing things for themselves and realizing for them self that they can do those things.  Don't take this away from them by doing everything for them, I am always absolutely amazed at what a child can do for themselves if you give them the chance.  You may need to spend extra time teaching them.  They may not get it the first or second or maybe even the third time, but if they are interested and it won't hurt them, let them try.  You can always get another plate or glass if one gets broken, you can always wipe up a mess, but it is a lot harder to fix a broken self esteem!!

Beginning Readers!

So now your child knows at least one sound for each letter (short vowel sounds), and you have worked on phonemic awareness like in my last post NOW you can have them start sounding out words.  At first only use words that have that short vowel sound the short vowel sounds are as follows
A as in Ant
E as in Elephant
I as in Igloo
O as in Octopus
U as in Umbrella
So if you have taught them that I sounds like I as in igloo then try to get them to read ice they are going to be really confused.  Ice may be a short word but it has the Long Vowel Sound and there is a silent E so this is way too hard at first for them.
All the words they read at first should be as follows:  Consonant, Vowel, Consonant. I like to call this a CVC word.  If you want you can introduce some basic sight words as well (the, a, and, or), sometimes I introduce some words that start with vowels as well, as long as they are only 3 letters and have the same letter sounds as your child has worked on.  I went through the whole alphabet and tried to come up with all sounds with this pattern with the right sounding letters and I will post all those words here for you if you want some ways to use these words then email me and I can send you some templates I have made.
There are some great books out there that start with these CVC words but they can get pricey so if you want just take a look at this list of words and I am sure you can come up with a fun little book you and your child can make together with these words to help them be excited about reading it.  Color the pictures together and make the story as silly as you want just have fun!

Here is my word list (it is a little long, lol): I can't  find some of the words these are only those that start with smatbhcgrekdlfi,  I will try to find my words that start with jnopquwvxyz I seem to have misplaced them but these should get you started!

map     mop     mud     mad     men     mat     met     mob     mug     mom     man     mix     sat     set     sit     sad     sob     sid     sod     sud     sag     sam     sum     sin    sun     sap     sip     sax    six    tab     tub     tic     tad     ted     tag     tug    tim     tom     tan     ten     tin      tap    tip     top    tut     tax      bad     bid     bed     bud     bib     bob     bag     beg   big     bog     bug     bam     ban     ben     bin     bun     bop     bur     bus     bat     bet     bit     box       act     add     amp     and     ax    ant        hot    hat     hop     hub     had     hid     hog     hug     ham     hem     him     hum     hen     hip     hit     hut      cab     cob      cub     cod     cog     cam      com     can     con     cap     cop     cup     cat     cot     cut       gab     gag     gig     gum     gun     gap     gas     gus      gut     rib     rob     rub     red     rid     rod     rag     rig     rug     ram     rim     ran     run rap     rip     rat     rot     rut       egg     end     elK     elm     elf      Ked        Kid       Kim       Ken       Kin     Kip        Kit        Kix    Keg     dab       dib       dub       dad        did        dud       dig        dog        dug       dim       dan        den        din       dip        dot        lab       lob       lad       lid       lag       leg       log       lug       lap       lip       lop       las       lat       let       lit       lot      lax     fib       fad       fig       fog       fan       fin       fun       fat       fit       fax       fix       fox       ill       if       inn       it       in       imp

Toodles for now

Before they start Reading

Congratulations!
Your child is learning their letter sounds, here is some phonemic awareness to help them out!
 It will be a challenge for them at first to connect sounds together to make a word so practice it.  Take short words and say them outloud one sound at a time and see if they can connect what you are saying.  For instance I say D        O       G  hmmm what word is that D       O       G can you hear what word I am saying.  This is seriously challenging for young readers at first.  It is easier to introduce it this way then right when they are trying to read and sound out words.  For instance you are driving somewhere in the car just make it a game.  Sam can you tell what I am saying D       A      D?   IF they are struggling give them hints at first, like Sam when we cry we are S     A     D, what word is that?  At first you might sound out the word 15 times before they get it, and that is if they can even hear it.  Once they get the hang of this though it will be so much easier for them to read, and you can start this before they even know their letter sounds if you want!  Great game for helping your child to read earlier.   Some kids can hear the sounds after practicing just a little bit, and others take a lot of practice.

Have Fun and Good Luck!

Picture Boxes and other ways to learn Letter Sounds

Like I said before Concrete is the best at first.   If you can it is good to find things in their environment, say today you decided it is S day and you and your child are going to find everything in the house that starts with a ssss sound.  That is awesome and great phonemic awareness, and vocabulary building for your child.

Next you can work with s objects (find little objects, you can order online or find little things at the dollar store or Walmart or wherever.  Start Making collections of letter objects in little boxes, I like tupperware containers, or little travel soap containers, or even those organizers for hardware .  Have a box with all S objects and another with all M objects etc.  This is good for vocabulary building and for letter sounds.  As your child starts to understand the concept you can mix 2 boxes together and see if they can sort them apart (be careful if they are not ready for this then it can end up being a huge mess to clean up for you!)

Now it can be hard to find objects with the correct letter sounds (remember you only teach one letter sound for each letter at first), so if you don't have the resources to do objects then the next best thing is pictures.  I like to make picture boxes.  I bought 30 or so little travel soap containers from Walmart.  I put the little picture on the outside of the box (so they can clean it up by themselves easier)  Then I put a larger letter and larger separate pictures inside the box I did this for all the letters.  This was really helpful for kids to associate the sounds with the symbols of the letters.  I will put pics on the side so you can see what I am talking about.  Just as with the objects, once they have a good grasp on this let them mix two or three boxes of the pictures together and see if they can sort them by sound.  Email me if you would like my templates.

Language Building for Preschoolers

Just a short thought.  In the United States we tend to teach kids the letter names (the ABC's).  This is not necessarily the best way to teach your child if your goal is for them to read.  The best thing to do is actually to teach them the sounds of the letters first.  For instance if a child learns that C sounds like see, A sounds like Aye, and T sounds like Tee, when they try to put those sounds together they are going to get the word SeeAyeTee, which we all know is not what CAT sounds like.  If you teach them the sounds first, when they try to read they will get the word cat from the letters CAT. when they try to read it.  When they are trying to read it is usually the first sound they learned for a symbol that comes to mind.  Eventually they will get the sound Aye for A and then translate it into the long A sound then read, but why not skip that step of translation, and give them the sound as the first thing that comes to mind when they see a letter!  This really works!
In the English Language some letters have more than one or many sounds.  Just teach one sound from each letter at a time. For instance teach A as in astronaut or Alligator, not A as in Ark or Air.
After your child knows the sounds of the letters, then teach them the names.  As many can attest it takes about a week for a child to get the names of the letters after they already know the sounds.  For some of them it only takes a day.
There is a great song for teaching this send me an email at smileincamo@hotmail.com and I will give you a link and can give you the visuals I made to go with it!

Toodles

Kids and Math

For kids it is really important to start with concrete examples and start young!!  Many children by a few years of age have memorized the counting numbers.  They can rattle off with confidence 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.  That is wonderful, but the problem is they usually have no idea what that means.  They know when they say it everyone praises them and smiles, but they have no idea 1 is one object, 2 is two objects etc.  Understanding this concept is so important and a 2-3 year old can understand it, but you need to work with them.  When you are not at home you can do something simple like counting fingers.  While your child is eating, if they spill any cereal on the table have them pick it up and practice counting each piece as they pick it up.
It would be great to start with blocks, this helps kids understand that two is bigger than one etc.  Get a whole bunch of uniform blocks (same size).  Start at first with 1,2,3 don't go any further until your child really understands what you are teaching.

Take one block and say this is one let them touch it and feel it then lay it down in front of you.  Put two blocks together and say this is two, let them touch and feel and have them repeat this is two, then put them down in front of you just further away then #1 block so it looks like math example #1.  Then do the same with 3  blocks saying this is three.  In Montessori we do something like this but it is with these things called the Number Rods.  It is basically what I am explaining but the blocks are glued together and painted different colors do differentiate between them.
You can also take the one block and put in on top of the first two block and count ONE then move it to the second one and say TWO.
Then go to the first block of the 3 blocks and count ONE then move it on top of the second on and count TWO then move it on top of the Third block and count THREE, then put the number one block back in place and let the child try.
After you tell them what something is, then you ask them by name where it is for example: where is two? where is one? where is three?
After they can show you where they all are without help you then move on to doing this.  What is this (point to one of the groups of blocks) What is this (point to another) when they can tell you which one is one, which one is two and which one is three without you even using the names just asking what is this? and pointing they are usually ready to add 4 and 5.  Just add two at a time, dont move past 10 blocks until they really understand easily up till 10.  I have tons more you can do with math but that will have to wait for another time, I got to go to church toodles!
Carly

The Gatorade Crash

So my friend Crystal, had a bad day yesterday.  On her way home from conference in Salt Lake to Rexburg she got in a car accident just outside of Brigham City while reaching for a Gatorade in her car.  I haven't seen her forever so it was nice to see her but not the best circumstances.  She was driving and her friend was asleep, her friend didn't wake up until the car started rolling.  As soon as Crystal takes an online quiz I am going to take her to Instacare to get checked out (I can't believe they didn't go to the Hospital yesterday!)  I think they were in shock.  Being in more pain this morning they decided to go get checked out, well at least her friend did!  They stayed at my house last night. They were really a bedraggled bunch.  Their car landed in a big muddy puddle on its side.  They were covered in water and mud, and so was their stuff!  What a crazy night!  Well we are off to Instacare then the bus to take them back to Idaho.  I am then off to my first day of work this season for Head Start (we are doing training today)

Toodles

Inbetween Conference

Wow loved the Spirit of God by the MOTAB!

My sister-in-law Hope (you can see her blog at http://jakeandhopekendall.blogspot.com/) let me know about this great website for kids.
WWW.STARFALL.COM
If you are trying to help your child learn how to read this is where to go!  It has all sorts of exercises for learning letters and reading, and kids love it, because it teaches by games!  It is free so check it out.  If you like it you also have the option of getting the App on your Iphone for it.  My niece could do many of the games before she was even 2.  Start your kids early on reading and reading readiness!  Go to Starfall.com