Frozen Science Mini-Book

A few weeks ago I posted a Frozen learning pack I made.  Due to a delay in our book order (I'd ordered a couple of Frozen books), we haven't actually done our Frozen theme yet.  Fortunately, that gave me time to add to them!  I ended up making this Science Mini-Book about the states of matter.

Here are a few sample pages:

 

You're welcome to download the mini-book here.

Spanish Spring Printables

I have to admit, I've been pretty bad about making materials in Spanish.  However, I'm hoping to break that trend!  Here are some Spanish Spring Vocabulary cards I made recently!  I'll make a corresponding Little Reader lesson once I have a new computer (my old one died on me).

Check out my other Spanish Resources Here!

Plant Life Cycles Week

Since I was planning on planting my garden, we spent the week focusing on plants and their life cycles.

Of course, we started off by reading books on the topic.

I found this great plant life cycle craft at Education.com

Making a garden craft from Education.com

I found these seed and plant 3 part cards free from Montessori Printshop.

Flower Craft

We used the same technique for this flower as we did for our Dolfin Coffee Filter Craft.  I had Xander completely color a coffee filter with washable markers.   Then we got it wet, squeezed it, and let it dry.  Next he glued it to some blue paper and glued on a pipe cleaner stem, leaves and center.  To finish it off, he glued on some green tissue paper grass.

Gardening Sensory Bin

His favorite thing to do with it was fill the carrot with beans.

We got a cute little sunflower kit from our last book order (and saved it for nicer weather).  Xander was so proud to water it and plant the seeds himself.  Sadly, less than an hour after transplanting the sprouts into the garden they had been eaten.

Planting the Garden

Xander "helped" me plant the garden.  He had a great time and got super dirty!  I'm so glad my dad let us invade some of his landscaping so that we can have fresh herbs and tomatoes!

 

Tree of Gratitude Update

A week on plants seems like the perfect time to post an update of our Tree of Gratitude!  I love how full and colorful it is starting to look! Xander has been grateful for some odd things, as well as some very profound ones.  I try hard to let him choose whatever it is he would like to be grateful for, big or small!  You're welcome to check out our other gratitude and kindness related activities on the MAY We Be Grateful Post!

Making different rectangles with square tiles.

Doing an All About Spelling lesson, only using his toes as pointers.  Whatever makes the kid happy!

Fun and Games

Playing Spot It (from Chick-fil-A) and doing some Imaginets.

I found a started set of Zoobs at Target.  He can't snap them together yet, but he can sure direct me to snap them for him.  This was his "sword."

Practical Life

He insisted on vacuuming his room himself.  Who was I to argue?  He was so proud of himself (even if realistically, he didn't do very much of it).

Giant Steps

About four years ago my world crashed down around me and I lost almost all of the things I valued most. My dreams had to be adjusted to fit the new situation and I had to figure out how to make a decent life for my then unborn son. Tonight, I graduate with my Masters in Teaching and am fortunate enough to already have a job lined up for the fall! This accomplishment marks a HUGE step closer to creating the life that I had wanted for myself and for Xander. It hasn’t been an easy road (and I know I still have a ways to go), but I am SO glad that I took it. Thank you to all of the wonderful family and friends who have supported me along the way! There’s no way I could have done it without you! Very excited for the next step!

*The was my personal Facebook status today.  With all of the support I have gotten from blog readers through my early education journey, it only seemed appropriate I share here also.  Thank you all!

Love Note

We're celebrating  May We Be Grateful month in our house, where we are focusing on gratitude and kindness.  Not only do I want to teach Xander about expressing gratitude and being kind to others, I also want him to experience that gratitude and kindness himself.  Now, of course, I always try to express love and appreciation to Xander, but as a little something special, I decided to write him a love note.  

I picked out a cute card that I had, wrote Xander a note to remind him how much I loved him, and sent it in the mail so that he would receive it at daycare.  My daycare provider told me he was so excited to receive mail there!  When I picked him up he was holding his card and insisted on reading it to me right away.  He also read it a few times after he got home. I want him to remember that he is always loved and that I am always thinking about him, even if I'm not there, so this was perfect. It was such a simple thing for me to do and it brought him so much joy! 

 Check out our other May We Be Grateful activities and share your own!

12 for 2014 - Progress Report

In January I started my personal 12 Books for 2014 challenge in order to get myself to read more of the nonfiction I always plan to read but never quite get to.  I have another one and a half books checked off my list.  First, for the half, I read Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People.  To be honest, I did not finish it.  While the book was interesting, it was very long and wordy.  I did not make it all that far before it was due at the library.  I had seen a presentation on the same topic by the authors, and found that their presentation had been a fantastic summary of all of the ideas.  Therefore, I am feeling okay with not finishing it.

The other book, which I actually read cover to cover, was Design Make Play.  The book focused on using making and tinkering as a tool in STEM education and the idea that children learn important problem solving and engineering skills better when interacting with real world materials.  The book was filled with great ideas and examples of how those have been implemented by others.  While I originally intended to read it for my students, I also found myself liking a lot of ideas from the book for Xander's education.  I had the urge to run out and buy him every type of constructive toy I could find.  I also started collecting bottle caps and paper towel tubes for him to use to create.  While it wasn't necessarily a page turner, I am very glad I read it.  Maybe I need to add a STEM component to Xander's education! :)

My Twelve Books for 2014

In no particular order:
1.  The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
2.  Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky
3.  Design Make Play by Margaret Honey 
4.  Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
5.  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Champan
6.  Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by William Pollack   (Stopped Reading)
6.  Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
7.  Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People by Robert S. Root-Bernstein
8.  Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
9.  Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
10.  A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
11.  Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
12.  Beyond Snapshots: How to Take That Fancy DSLR Camera Off "Auto" and Photograph Your Life Like a Pro by Rachel Devine