Jessica - The Mommy Teacher

Wants Vs. Needs Activity – An Absolute NEED Around The Holidays

“I want,” “I want,” “I want.”

Does anyone else spend a lot of their days teaching their kids to start sentences with “May I please have?”

This holiday season I want to be proactive and talk about the difference between a “want” and a “need.” I want Sean Patrick to begin to learn that needs come first and then anything else (that we might like) is a gift that is not a guarantee. Hmmm… we use I want a lot too come to think of it.

So, Today we talked about money. How daddy goes to work to earn money and we can save the money, use the money for things we need, share the money, and then spend the money on things that we decide on (together as a family).

I showed Sean Patrick the first page of the printable and we talked about it (using simplified language).

Next, we talked about the next page of the printable.

Then, we used magazines to cut out pictures of things that we need every day and glued them on the side of the third page of the printable under the jar that says “need.”

Finally, we cut out pictures of things that we want but we will talk about and think about for a couple days before we put it on our list to Santa.

Here is what our finished product looked like:

If you want this printable by itself I sell this printable in my TeachersPayTeachers Store HERE.

But, if you want to pay an EASY $5 TOTAL and get all of my printables and resources then click HERE.

December 3, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Christmas Tree Printables

My kids had a blast choosing which template Christmas Tree they wanted to paint this morning. They chose the colors they wanted to paint with and they carefully tried to fill in the circles using their q-tips.

These templates are perfect for q-tip painting, dot-painting, fingerpainting, or glueing and decorating.

We talked about what a real Christmas tree looks like (the colors, shapes, accessories, etc.) and we talked about the size of the tree using non-standard measurement (two hands tall, one forearm tall, 4 toy eggs tall, etc.).

Get this printable by clicking here on this page.

To have access to ALL of my resources and printables there is a one time fee of $5!

December 2, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Countdown to Jesus’ Birthday ~ Activity Calendar

As I pulled out my Advent Calendar with daily Scripture verses about the anticipation and birth of Jesus, I thought of so many other things that I wanted to do to get ready for Jesus’ party that we all know of as our Christmas Celebration.

So, I made an activity calendar and thought y’all might want to jump on board and remember WHO this month is REALLY all about.

Click HERE to get the calendar! 😉

December 1, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Santa Countdown For The Playroom

I really like to display our seasonal arts and crafts on the playroom wall, and I have always loved to display and talk about a Santa Countdown.

It only made sense to me to countdown on Santa’s beard…So, I made it happen.

I decided to post it tonight so that you could get a head start if you wanted to.

I will be posting a printable EVERY day until Christmas so you will have lots you can do with your kiddos.

If you just want this printable it is only $1 HERE, but my membership is only a one time payment of $5 and I have TONS of resources so you may want to join instead. 😉

I am going to talk to Sean Patrick tomorrow morning about this and here is how the conversation will start:

“Look at this cute Santa picture. What do you think about him? What do you notice? (Wait for him to notice numbers) We are going to use the numbers to tell us how many days there are until Santa comes. We will cover up one number each day until we fill his beard. When his beard is full that will mean that it is time to bake cookies for Santa! It will be a calendar countdown! So lets cover up the first number – this is twenty-four (a two and a four).”

I plan to let Sean Patrick fill one circle each day with dot paint first and then glue a cotton ball on each number as we countdown.

And here is what it might look like when it is time to bake cookies for Santa:

November 30, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

Do You Have A Favorite Thanksgiving Movie?

This week, I re-discovered and had nearly forgotten about “Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers.”

The Mayflower Voyagers (This Is America, Charlie Brown) [VHS]

Sean Patrick is only 3 1/2 but we watched “The Mayflower Voyagers” and discussed the entire movie while it was on. This movie is perfect and appropriate for young kids, but it is meaningful for all ages.

By pointing out all of the details, he stayed engaged and interested.

I said things like “OOhhh look! A map! Do you see the land and the water?” (I paused the movie for a second to point these out).

And then, “Oooh a ship! That ship has a special name called the Mayflower. It is going to take the Pilgrims to America. Would you want to ride on that ship?”

You get the point.

I talk to him a lot during the movie and he really enjoys the commentary, though I know most of you would go NUTS if someone talked the whole way through a movie haha; I understand.

But, for little ones… the dialogue helps them to process what is going on and helps them to put all the pieces together.

Discussing the details also helps children store the information for better memory recall, and helps children to get a better grasp on story elements like setting, plot, characters, major events, and all the underlying details that build comprehension.

This specific movie is currently on Netflix, which is great because (unless you check this out at your local library or find it at a grocery store) it is not too affordable online.

November 27, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments