Everyday Teachable Moments

Busy Bag (Take Three)

I started adding step-by-step teaching tips for some of my recent Busy Bag activities that Sean Patrick is experimenting with but this is taking me some time for a few reasons:

1) I like to introduce one activity every few days and really spend time maximizing the teaching opportunties from that “game” as Sean Patrick calls them.

2) I am a mommy teacher so I don’t spend much time on the computer – this blog is my hobby and I try to carve out more time in my day actually spending time working with and playing with my little ones 🙂

3) I like to spend time adding teaching tips for older children as well because I believe that EVERY activity can be and should be accommodated to each individual child.

So….at that….here is another activity….and one just in time to make use of all those Easter Eggs floating around your house 🙂

Egg Counting (The Link attached has other GREAT ideas, but try not to take them at face value….make a little step by step teaching plan for each activity because a “lesson plan” can structure the pace and aid the learning process)

This activity has MULTIPLE uses… to teach counting one to one and to teach addition in the most organic way by teaching about all the ways to get to a number (1 + 1 + 1 + 1= 4 ; 2 + 2 = 4 ; 4 + 0 = 4)

I suggest that you work on counting to, or adding to, ONE number at a time.

1) Start with the smaller side of the eggs on their backs….if you are working on the number four then place four egg halves on their backs.

2) “Let’s use the Easter Eggs to see all the different ways we can count to four!” or for older kids “Let’s……ways we can add to the sum of four”

3) Place one pom pom in each egg (I switched to the small pom poms after the first try because I wanted all of them to be able to fit in one egg half when attempted) One and one and one and one is four! (four younger kids you can use “and” in place of “plus” and “is” in place of “equals” just for now while they are being introduced to adding.

3) Dump them out and say – let’s see if there is another way to fill the eggs to count to four …One, two and one and one is four so two and two more is four.

4) Continue this until you have exhausted every means of arriving at the sum of four. For older children model and demonstrate how to write out each problem.

5) Pick a number close in proximity to the number you worked on (like 5) and do it again….together this time.

6) Pick a number easier than the original number (like 3) and allow your little one to try on their own as you watch and make encouraging comments.

April 6, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Busy Bag (Take Two)

I really love the Busy Bag exchange! Getting a bag full of age-appropriate activities is exciting, but, it helps to have some direction. A bag of activities will only take your little one as far as you LEAD them. There might be instructions on some of the activities, but I wanted to add my step-by-step teaching tips because otherwise your little one simply has something to occupy their time (which isn’t all bad! I am a mommy too remember?) BUT you also have a great teaching opportunity….to meet your little one in his/her zone of proximal development. Wait what? Basically….a chance to tap into their prior understandings, engage with their working memory, and BUILD onto what they already know.

I joked with my girlfriends the other night at dinner about one of the activities in the mix because it seemed almost too open-ended to even figure out what it’s purpose was. But open-ended materials can leave room for some of the most organic learning experiences, and it has many purposes for more ages than the suggested age.

Lets begin with the Pom Pom Activity

1) I started by letting my little one investigate on his own so I could observe what observations he was making and so he could just get his curiousity out before I started something slightly more structured.

2) We talked about the colors (sorting them into groups for a better visual). We talked about how soft they were (texture). We talked about how they were little (size). We talked about how there were a lot of pom poms and tried to count them (one by one correspondence) as we put them inside the tupperware.

3) We pretended we were little crawfish and used our pinchers to pick up the pom poms. “Oooh, lets put the red ones in first!” (Pre-writing in mind….proper pencil grip!)

4) We practiced pushing them the pom poms in the hole with just our “pointer finger” and then just our “thumb” and later we were silly trying to push it in with our pinky finger.

5) Finally, we practiced taking turns and Sean Patrick had a blast racing me to push my pom pom in on my turn.

If you have older ones….accommodate and adapt the activity to fit what your little one is working on….estimation, graphing, or adding. You probably have the materials just lying around your house so it is too easy not to get it together.

So, my encouragement is not to take activities at face value EVEN IF the picture of the activity SEEMS self-explanitory.

March 30, 2012 by Jessica | 1 Comment

Home Videos + Instant Re-play

I have always loved watching home videos. It is fun to re-live memories and I think deep down inside it is kind of fun to sit back and observe yourself the way that others might. Well, I am really going to embarass myself today with a “home video.”

Sean Patrick LOVES to watch himself over and over again, the same videos repeated so many times I can’t even stand it after a while haha.

For that reason, I started to integrate videos that taught him things that I wanted him to learn, like the ABC’s, Counting, Letters in his name, variations to head-shoulders-knees and toes, etc. I filmed these things while he was next to me or singing along so he could see himself and would actually want to watch them, and it worked….maybe he also just liked to watch mommy sing while looking and sounding ridiculous. Don’t torture yourself by watching it more than once…unless for some reason your little one finds it amusing haha:

For older kids, help them come up with a skit that teaches them about whatever topic you are learning and their “lines” can teach them more details about their subject. As they learn their lines, say them, watch those videos they will storing the facts in their brain so naturally.

March 19, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Teaching Via Everyday Choices

There are A LOT of websites that give activity ideas for little ones, but my goal is to make teaching your little one such a natural part of your everyday routine….. and it helps to have some insight into the best teaching techniques.

Most parents who are “teaching” their little one spend more time “drilling” our kiddos (flash card style) than actually teaching them. This isn’t ALL bad and trust me, I am guilty of this at times!

We get very caught up in the idea that if our child has learned a skill (like letter naming) then we need to constantly ask them “What letter is this?” and then wait for their answer. Don’t get me wrong….this is a GOOD thing. You are helping your little one to recall the information repetitively for recognition and fluency’s sake! But I want to ADD that YOU still need to be reinforcing what your little one knows and not just leaving it up to them.

Here is my example of what I am trying to incorporate at home:

Sometimes when I am grocery shopping I see underlying learning opportunities in the products I buy (Alphabits, Fruit Loops for sorting or patterning, Familiar Print, etc.). But when I was picking up a box of waffles, I saw the opportunity to reinforce teaching shapes by buying a box of circular shaped waffles AND a box of square shaped waffles.

Instead of asking Sean Patrick, “Do you want the waffle that is a square or a circle?” (because I know that he knows his shapes), I talk more about it more to reinforce his familiarity with the shape vocabulary and help him make connections. “LooK! This waffle is shaped like a circle!” I said this as I held up a strawberry Eggo waffle. “It goes round and round and round like the wheels on the bus!” (I made it turn in circles just so that he would make a connection of another circular-shaped object) “And this waffle” (holding up the cinnamon toast waffle) “is shaped like a square. It has FOUR sides. One, two, three, four like a square on the floor!” Then I bent down and traced my finger on the outline of the square counting the sides. “Do you want the circle waffle? or the square waffle?”

He chose the “circle!” and he proceeded to tell me about it while he ate “I bite a circle. I bite a round and round” haha – I think he gets it.

Ignore the fact that his diaper is coming apart at the moment, we need to move into pull-ups because of all the “false alarms” that come with potty training. He cracks me up!

March 12, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Activity Swap Giveaway! (Winner Announced)

Rafflecopter randomly selected a Winner: Entry# 216 Jacqueline V whose favorite aisle is the “beads” aisle. Congrats!!!

My friend recently shared an AWESOME mommy teacher idea to start an “Activity Swap” for our little ones…..why didn’t I think of that?!?

We love our cookie exchanges, recipe exchanges, etc. And now, an exchange that is even more meaningful, the author of the blog Second Story Window came up with the perfect exchange that will benefit everyone involved.

Basically, every mommy buys supplies in bulk for one activity they choose or come up with. Then, each mommy places the materials and instructions in gallon-sized ziploc bags…. providing enough for the amount of mommies involved. Each mommy who provided an activity gets to take an activity from each mommy home too. Essentially, a mom can show up with ONE activity and leave with several for her little one. Click here for the blog that gives specific tips to organize the event!

I LOVE this idea and it put me in the mood to go shopping at Hobby Lobby for some materials. So, I thought I would supply a $25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card to one mommy (or daddy, grandma, teacher, whoever!) who is inspired today.

Enter below (giveaway starts today -march 5 and ends friday march 9) – winners will be announced saturday the 10th!

And don’t be confused by the first several comments….Rafflecopter didn’t update when I changed the “Leave a Comment” entry from my last giveaway; so sorry if that confused anyone! Don’t worry about changing your comment….just wanted to let you know it was my oversight! :

a Rafflecopter giveaway