As you can see I don’t have many apps in my iphone library but the ones I do have we like and use regularly. Sean Patrick loves the Starfall ABC app and so do I. It is entertaining, engaging, and it has been great for developing his oral vocabulary, phonemic awareness, letter recognition, fluency and more. I like to introduce apps and sit beside Sean Patrick as he plays and learns because I can articulate and reinforce skills that I think are important, but they could also be played independently.
So, now let me hear from you for a Mommy Teacher Share Moment….
“What Apps are in your iphone/ipad library?”
When 25 or more people “share” on by commenting on this post or on facebook I will pick a winner (at random) to “gift” the Starfall ABC app to, or a coveted app of similar value 🙂
I was following “Mekmommy” on Instagram and saw this fun, illustrated picture:
The Mommy Teacher that I am had to know the play-by-play and story behind this authentic, on-the-spot mini lesson. Krista (this particular mommy teacher) is a mommy of three and the blogger behind “The Mommy Calling.”
So, here is the story shared by Krista that I hope inspires you the way that it inspired me:
“It all started b/c Maddox ran inside freaking out because our yard was full of spider webs. Of course, living in the country cobwebs will always be there, so I had to figure out a way to help him understand. It actually turned into a lesson about counting, adding, habitats, the food chain, a ton of things!
I tore some paper off of the butcher roll and drew a spider. As I drew it, we talked about how it has 2 parts to its body, the head and the body, setting up for a later conversation about the difference between insects and arachnids. Then we counted out the 8 legs as I drew them and talked about how there are 4 on each side and how 4+4=8.
I used a different color crayon to draw the “silk”. I drew some in the spider’s belly, and drew a line coming from the spider and as I drew a random “web” pattern I explained that as the spider moves with the silk behind him it makes the web. After I drew the web I talked about the uses of the web. I broke it down by first drawing the spider in the web telling Maddox that the spider lives in his web. Then I drew an egg sac and explained that this is where the spider lays its eggs and they hatch. I drew a bug flying on the outside of the web and a dotted line leading to the web explaining that as the bug is flying it gets caught in the web because it is so sticky. I explained that the sticky web is how the spiders catch their food to eat. I drew an arrow from the spider to the bug and explained how the spider will then eat the bug. I then asked him if he remembered what the web was for and we broke it down into living, laying eggs, and eating.
Maddox then got his own crayon to copy what I drew and he explained it back to me while I reinforced that there were 2 body parts and counting and adding of the legs (making sure he drew 4 on each side rather than just drawing out 8 random legs so he could visually see the 4+4=8). We didn’t go into the details of the web again, but again we discussed the live, lay eggs, eat. All-in-all it was about 15 minutes and he was so proud that he spent the next 15 minutes talking about it over and over and hung his picture up and called his daddy to tell him about it. In 30 minutes he learned so much about so many things. And it wasn’t anything that was hard to explain or too over his head. It was such a great reminder of how many important things they can learn without a classroom and without making it a boring ‘lesson.'”
Cootie was one of my favorite games as a kid and is now one of James’ favorite too! By rolling the die, you get to add different body parts to your cootie bug! Whoever builds his/her bug first, wins! Though Cootie is the original, there are a series of Cootie Games for your little one to play, including Don’t Break the Ice, Ants in the Pants, and Don’t Spill the Beans! These games go for as low as $3.99! Collect them all!!!
Pre-School Learning Skills
Counting (Cootie)
Body parts (Cootie)
Fine motor skills (All games)
Hand-Eye coordination (Ants in the Pants)
Balance (Don’t Spill the Beans, Don’t Break the Ice)
Spacial/Structural Awareness (Don’t Break the Ice)
Taking turns (All games)
Imaginary play (ditch the rules and let them play!)
BONUS: It’s a puzzle AND a game! This has been James’ favorite game so far because he loves puzzles! In order to play this game, you must first put the 50-piece game board together. Then there’s a spinner (an instant favorite for even my 2 year old). It’s the simple things, really.
Pre-School Learning Skills
Fine motor skills (puzzle)
Spacial Awareness (puzzle)
Number recognition (1-10)
Number awareness: relationship between number symbols and counting objects
Taking turns
Early addition
Another BONUS: They also have other Learning Journey Explore and Learn Games!!!
I had to share my latest photo mug that I ordered through shutterfly. Move your mouse over the image of the mug, then click and hold as you preview the mug from left to right. This mug captures my little man, Sean Patrick, in all his Halloween personalities: he was a horse (his favorite animal), a skeleton (thanks to my sis Ali who bought him these fun glow-in-the-dark pjs), and a cowboy (like his daddy who is a cowboy at heart). If you want to make a teachable moment mug (and keepsake) you can always put pictures in order of age (age 1, age 2, age 3, etc.) to discuss with your little one the sequence of their growth and development. Or you could sequence 4 pictures of your little one that depict him/her in each season of the year…which would be a great teaching tool as well as a keepsake.
