Happy President’s Day to you! I like to celebrate Presidents, with little ones, by talking about several well known Presidents like Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, etc. and the current President of COURSE. One great teaching tool for talking about the Presidents is coins. Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and dollar bills provide a visual of former presidents for children, as well as introduce other significant concepts that may be taught to older little ones.
I like to teach a few facts (about the Presidents AND coins) and then let little ones make their own interpretations by playing with their new ideas….one example is a coin face drawing. Simply put the coins down on drawing paper and allow your little one to draw the body and maybe even add details to their picture.
I have been waiting and waiting for the chance to write to you about an extremely cool teaching tool for literacy that is one of my new “favorite things!” The Bookworm is a switch-adapted device by AbleNet that is used to turn nearly any book into an interactive listening book. It conveniently hooks onto the back cover of any book and is easy to use once it is set up.
When I first received the Bookworm in the packaging I was intimidated at how high-tech it looked, but after watching the tutorial video, it made all too much sense. It is so practical (and fun!) to record each page while using the corresponding stickers provided with the Bookworm materials.
Sean Patrick listens to mommy singing ABC's in "The GunnyWolf"
Children learn and practice so many skills by spending time alone with a book that has the print recorded. Of course you want to model reading these books first, but then your little one will know how to follow along and can process so much this way. I had a listening center in my classroom and now I have one in my home thanks to the Bookworm! Here’s an idea of SOME of the skills your little one COULD be practicing with a bookworm:
~Demonstrating understanding of book and print concepts
~Following along with print and a story line being read aloud
~Processing information read orally
~Building oral vocabulary
~Developing Reading Comprehension
In addition to the educational aspect I have some “happy mommy” bonus features:
You can plug in some headphones and occupy your little one at church, in the car, in waiting rooms, and other places when or if you want to “keep the peace.” I have been recording ABC books, Number books, Color Naming Books, Rhyming Books, and Shape Books because that is the oral vocabulary I am currently working on with my son, but you might want to record books that focus more on reading comprehension….you decide! 🙂
Grandparents pay tons of money to personalize and record their voices on just one book, but now you can maximize the effect with an instrument that has the memory to record several books.
If you think this device is cool, you have got to check out the AbleNet online store! They have SO many resources that accommodate to so many learning styles. I am glad I found out about AbleNet!
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!!!
Ages 2+ (according to the box, 8+, but we can adapt)
My husband is not only great at all things math-related, but can easily calculate numbers in his head. He doesn’t credit good study skills or a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering for his number genius, he credits the many hours he spent playing Dominoes with his grandfather. I, on the other hand, played with my dominoes by stacking and building houses and though I use a calculator for even simple math, my creative side dominates. It’s no surprise then that Dominoes is one of my favorite games for helping to develop BOTH sides of the brain.
Ages 2+: Let your child have fun stacking and knocking the dominoes down. There are endless ways to build them (vertical, horizontal, or both). If you get creative enough, you can use play dough balls and create your own 3D Angry Birds game!
Pre-School Learning Skills
Fine motor skill development (turning dominoes around in one hand, stacking and balancing)
Hand-Eye coordination
Imaginary Play
Spacial Awareness
Creative design
Sharing
Ages 3+: Use picture Dominoes to develop matching skills. Disney makes some fun Princess, Handy Manny, Cars (and more) Domino sets where you match characters together, instead of matching dots.
Even at this “big kid” age, keep building! No need to always follow the rules to the game. Let your child’s imagination run wild as he/she builds houses, mazes, bridges and more! Another idea is to line dominoes up to make different patterns (horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical…).
Pre-School Learning Skills
Pre-Math Skills (matching and patterns)
Hand-Eye coordination (balancing)
Fine Motor Skills (stacking and building)
Imaginary Play
Spacial Awareness
Creative design
Sharing
Ages 4+: Introduce Double 6 Dominoes and begin teaching the rules to simple Domino games. Continue to do the same activities as before because, well, it’s still fun!
Pre-School Learning Skills
Counting
Addition and subtraction (depending on the game)
Matching
Number awareness (understanding the relationship between numbers and amount of dots)
I like to teach a few facts (about the Presidents AND coins) and then let little ones make their own interpretations by playing with their new ideas….one example is a coin face drawing. Simply put the coins down on drawing paper and allow your little one to draw the body and maybe even add details to their picture.
