Wordless Wednesday ~ Messy Beer Bread Baking!

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.

Counting Board

by Carrie Wells
"Happy children learn best" - Dr. James Partington.

Discovering what motivates a child and really tapping into that is a great way to get children interested in learning! I wanted to find some way to combine Lydia's interest in cats with Lydia's interest in numbers, so I designed this counting activity:

I used the little envelopes that library cards go into, and I glued them to a large piece of posterboard. I printed large numbers and placed them on the front of each. Then I found all different cats, I printed the designated number of cats, and attached them to equal-sized pieces of black paper. Lydia can count the number of cats on each paper and place into the corresponding envelope. This activity targets rote counting, random counting, number recognition, colors, and following directions. If she cannot match the number of cats to the correct number, I will tell her "That goes in the orange envelope in the top row." Once you have the board itself made, you can switch out the cards based on theme.

                    

Eye-2-Eye

by Carrie Wells
I decided Lydia & I would make Valentine's Day robots today. I had in mind what I wanted Lydia's robot to look like, but I also wanted to give Lydia the freedom to design her own robot. So I cut out a whole bunch of pieces to build "my" robot, gave them to her with a blank sheet of paper, and allowed her to glue them together as she wished. Here's Lydia's Valentine's Day robot:

Wow, that was not at all what I had in mind! Lydia used the pink piece like a hat and the rectangle as a face. She turned the smile upside-down and made the arms, legs, hands, and feet look all crazy. Here's what I had in mind when I cut the pieces out:

So, the simple lesson learned is that it's great to let your children be creative. We shouldn't set boundaries regarding art and creativity ~ Let them use their imaginations!

But then I thought some more and realized that there is a much greater lesson here. I told Lydia we were making robots. In Lydia's mind, what she created was a robot. I was inclined to tell her where to place each piece to make a "real robot" (according to my definition), but I stopped myself. I was reminded that everything in life is about perspective. From Lydia's perspective, she made a robot. From my perspective, I made a robot. Our robots look very different, but we are calling these works of art the same thing: robots.

I'm sure as she grows and matures, we'll encounter this same situation many times - where my idea of a clean bedroom is different from her idea. My idea of a good birthday gift is different from her idea. My idea of staying out late is different from her idea. My idea of a good college major is different from her idea. But she's her own person with her own ideas...and even when I disagree, I hope I can remember our robots and smile...and find some way to place our ideas alongside one another.

February Specials at Gallery Direct

As a Gallery Direct Ambassador, I have some great specials to share with my readers!

Gallery Direct is offering 50% off photo uploads on gallery wrap canvas the month of February. These make great Valentine's Day gifts for the loved ones in your lives. Here are a few ideas of photos that I thought would look beautiful on canvas as Valentine's Day gifts:

Also, here's a promotional code to use for 50% off the entire site until Valentine's Day (2/14): Love50

Lydia's New Pen Pal

As a young child, I was fortunate to live in a neighborhood with lots of children around my age. We used to have so much fun playing outside, going over each others' homes, going swimming together...lots and lots of imaginative play. We were a creative bunch, so we'd play house, do crafts, play school, and find ways to transform anything into a fun game. Slowly, over the years, my friends moved away. Several of us stayed in touch, but one family in particular moved away when I was in 7th grade. They had two children, a son my age (Jonathan) and a daughter my sister's age (Jennifer). My sister kept in touch better than I did, and even met up with Jennifer once years later. Through the magic of Facebook, we were able to re-connect a few years ago. What's awesome is that our old friend Jennifer has a son the same age as Lydia! Jennifer is a SAHM, and she is into cooking, crafting, cloth diapering, breastfeeding...all the things I am into. She also just gave birth to a baby girl who is close in age to Bryce.

So one day I was thinking about both the benefits and downfalls to all of this technology that allows us to stay in touch with old friends...and one thing we miss out on is having real pen pals. So I though...why not start a pen pal relationship with Lydia and Jennifer's son Jack? I explained the idea to Lydia and showed her pictures of Jack. She was excited to have a pen pal (to the best of her understanding). I presented the idea to Jennifer, and she loved it, too. So exciting!

Lydia is making a book about herself for Jack

Lydia proudly displays her book

Lydia walking to the mailbox

We placed our letter in the mailbox.

And Lydia got a cool dinosaur card from Jack!

Jennifer told me that Jack loved his book from Lydia, and Lydia loved her card with extra stickers from Jack! I'm super-excited to exchange valentines. Lydia has been working on a few things to send in the mail soon. Can't wait to get our next letter.

Creative Freedom

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.
I thought I would kick off February with a simple but fun painting project with Lydia. I gave her a piece of pink construction paper, I took plates and filled them with pink and red paint, and I grabbed a bunch of different kitchen tools (including a potato masher, meat mallet, flower cookie cutter, heart cookie cutter, and whisk). It began innocently.

I quickly realized this was going to get messy, so I removed Lydia's dress. 

This is her using the cookie cutters in the red and pink paint.

Painting with the potato masher. Still not too messy.

How the heck did that happen all of a sudden??

It gets worse...

Well, here's the final product. It's definitely unique and not at all what I was expecting.

Um, yeah...this looks like something out of a horror movie...only she's still sitting upright.

I never wanted to be one of those parents who limited their children's creativity because I didn't want to clean up a mess. I guess this really proved that. That's what I call creative freedom, toddler-style!

Guidecraft Educator Review #7 ~ Flower Match Garden Patch & Animal Train Sort and Match

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D. 
This month, the Guidecraft Educators are reviewing some great manipulatives for preschool-age children: Flower Match Garden Patch and Animal Train Sort and Match.

           

To use these sets, you place a magnetic board vertically in a slot in the wooden box. Then, you choose a card to copy by placing small plastic pieces on the board. The great thing about these sets (as with many of the Guidecraft toys) is that you can follow the directions OR be creative. Lydia is now 2 1/2 years old. I tried to demonstrate how to follow the picture card to make identical flowers, but this was pretty challenging for her to complete independently. Instead, I allowed her to play freely and make her own rules. Lydia loved combining different pieces to make all different types of flowers.

Lydia creating her own flowers.

Here are some other ways these sets can be used:

~Sort the different pieces by color in color-coded bowls.

~Sort the pieces by shape.

~Use the pieces as stencils to trace your own flowers or animals. 

~Lay the pieces directly on top of the cards on a flat surface (instead of creating them vertically on the peg board). 

~Place the pieces under paper and do crayon rubbings. 

Both of these sets would be great for children with fine motor delays or for occupational therapists to work with their clients on visual performance and object manipulation. They would also be great in a manipulative center in a preschool or kindergarten classroom.

BUY IT! You can purchase the Flower Match Garden Patch (RV $40) & Animal Train Sort and Match (RV $45).

WIN IT! What's great about this Guidecraft Educator group is that each month, one of us will be hosting a giveaway of the product that we have all reviewed. Visit Mommy Moment for a chance to win a Flower Match Garden Patch & Animal Train Sort and Match for a special child in your life. This contest is open to the US and Canada. 

* I received the aforementioned product for free to review. The opinions expressed are honest and provided without monetary compensation.