Sunday Spiritual Thought

Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 "And ye cannot ^abear all things now; nevertheless, be of good ^bcheer, for I will ^clead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the ^driches of ^eeternity are yours."

Children's Book of the Week

 

This was a really cute book that we got from the library this week.

Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay

Synopsis

Stella’s little brother Sam is back in this charming picture book. Sam asks his big sister whether or not she is sleeping. "Yes," answers Stella. "Aren’t you?" But Sam can’t sleep: he misses his beloved and faithful dog, Fred. Where could he be? Sam knows that Fred is afraid of many things: the dark, the monster that lives in the closet, and the giant toad that lurks downstairs. Luckily, Stella is there to reassure Sam as they search everywhere. Gay’s delicate watercolors, full of whimsy and humor, bring Stella and Sam’s world to life.

Rhyme/Music Activity Thursday: Hickory Dickory Dock

First we read this book. I found it at the library. ;)

Then we learned this song.

We made out own clocks. ;) I cut the numbers out of an old calendar and I cut the 'mice' our of brown and white paper. They look sort of like half hearts.There is string attached to the mouse to look like the tail too. This is a picture of Collin's.

For older children: one of the girls at playgroup is 9 -- she's homeschooled and comes with her younger brother so we talked about limericks. Hickory Dickory Dock is a limerick so after we discussed what a limerick is -- proper order of rhymes and syllables -- she wrote her own. ;) It was fun!

Teeth Day 2

Craft: I drew a tooth on a piece of paper per kid. Then I gave them each an old toothbrush and some white paint. Again, we practiced strokes to brush teeth as they painted the teeth white.

Science: I drew a happy tooth on a paper bag and a sad tooth on another. Then I grabbed different foods from around the kitchen and laid them out. The kids had to tell me which bag they went in -- will they make the teeth happy or the teeth sad?

Alternate: Cut out two teeth and draw a happy face on one and sad face on the other. Then go through magazines and cut out pictures of food and glue them to the appropriate tooth.

Song:

Little Tommy Toothbrush

Sung to : "Eensy, Weensy Spider"

Little Tommy Toothbrush

Had a big job to do.

He spread himself with toothpaste

And jumped up on a tooth.

He scrubbed and scrubbed the germs away

To prevent tooth decay.

Then Little Tommy Toothbrush

Jumped down and said, "Hooray!"

Snack: We ate the items from the happy tooth bag.

Teeth Day 1

Science Part I: First, we took a "giant tooth" (a tile) and smeared it with different foods. We used orange marmalade, ketchup and mustard. Then we set it aside and let it dry. I talked to them a little bit about how teeth have armor (enamel). When food sits there it weakens the enamel so cavities can get through and cause tooth decay. Then we talked a bit about what tooth decay is.

Craft/fine motor skills: I printed out two 4x6" lips. You can draw them on red paper if you want to... I'm just not that artistic. Just do a Google image search. It works great! ;) Then I gave them a 1/2 x 8" strip of white paper and a pair of scissors (watch them closely with the scissors). Ronni got the children's scissors  and I gave Collin my small scissors. They cut the strips of paper up and then glued them to the mouths. The top one was Collin's and the bottom one is Ronni's. Whoever these mouths belong to are in desperate need of some orthodontic care. ;)

Science Part II: Finally, it was time to get back to the giant tooth. ;) First, I talked to the kids about the different ways to brush teeth (side to side, up and down, and small circles). I gave them each an old toothbrush with a small cup of water and smeared a bunch of toothpaste on the "tooth". Their job was to clean. I had them practice the different strokes for a little while then I just let them go at it. I thought they did pretty well. The food all turned green when mixed with the blue toothpaste... eeew! haha!

Music: I Brush My Teeth - sung to "Jingle Bells"

I brush my teeth, I brush my teeth

Morning noon and night.

I brush them, floss them, rinse them clean

I keep them nice and white.

I brush them once, I brush them twice

I brush them till they shine.

I always brush them up and down

Those precious teeth of mine.

I eat good foods, I eat good foods

I give my teeth a trea.

I always eat fruits, breads and milk

Vegetables and meat.

If I eat sweets, if I eat sweets

I brush right away

To keep my teeth shiny bright

And free from tooth decay.

FHE - Building Strong Families

Collin was in charge of music and he chose "My Eternal Family".
Then we said an opening prayer and started the lesson. I got the idea from here.
I talked about the first family -- Adam and Eve -- and discussed how they had to teach their kids so they could be a strong family. Then I had the kids name things that a family should do. The website gives examples like 'show love', 'service', 'use kind words'. I put them on blocks then we stacked them up and I talked about how if we do all these things we can be a strong building but if we don't do one of these (I pulled out that block) the family weakens (all the blocks fell over). We did this a couple of times, pulling out different blocks, each time the "family" fell over. The kids had fun!
Here are some examples:

Spiritual Thought Sundays

3 Nephi 17:21 And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

"The Savior made it clear through his simple but powerful example that we must make time to call our children to us, to see that they are blessed, and to pray unto our Heavenly Father for them."

                          -- Mothering with Spiritual Power by Debra Woods

Children's Book of the Week

I know... that's a really long name. haha!! In case you can't read it in the picture it's called, Jared and the Ordinary Handy-dandy, Excellent, Extraordinary Plain Brown String. Yes, quite a name. ;) 

Jared's mom gets a gift in the mail and challenges her kids to see what they can do w/ the wrapping. One child gets the wrapper, one gets the box and Jared gets the string. What can a little boy do with string? Find out as you read this story about "the joy of sharing." It's a wonderful story w/ a great moral!
Reading level 9-12 yrs

Feet Day 3

Craft: (Well, ignore the distraught face there... they both wanted the orange crayon. ;) We used some of the footprints from the other day and glued them to a popsicle stick. They colored them and drew a face on them.

Language Arts: Here the kids had to tell me about their footprints so... this is the interview I had with Mr. Bode (yellow) and Mrs. Boley-dalawie (no idea where Collin came up w/ those names.)

me:What do you like to do, Mr. Bole?

Mr.Bode: I like to play catch w/ my sister but she runs away with my ball.

me: What kinds of shoes do you like to wear?

Mr Bode: My 'jump really high, run really fast shoes". They help me chase my sister, knock her down and take my ball back -- but that's really mean.

Mr. Bode and Mrs. Boley-dalawie then re-enacted this sequence for me -- quite interesting.

me: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us Mr.Bode?

Mr.Bode: I love going fishing!

me: laugh and turn to Mrs. Boley-dalawie What do you like to do?

Mrs. Boley-dalawie: Drink juice boxes.

Me: What are your favorite shoes?

Mrs. Boley-dalawie: my church shoes.

Mr.Bode: Her super-fast running shoes!

me: Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Mrs. Boley-dalwie: I like to color.

Science: We examined feet. How do they move? Are our feet different? How -- big small? colors?

Then we wiggled our feet different ways to see what happens... we wiggled toes, walked our feet, ran, and jumped (all while sitting in a circle -- that works your abs. ;)

Math: We matched.... ;) Do I really need t explain. In case you can't tell, the second picture is of socks b/c I thought shoe would be too simple for the four year old.

Music Activity Thursday

On Thursdays we go to playgroup so we don't do craftivities. However, we are going to start doing activities there. The moms are going to be rotating different topics and I was asked to do activities centered around music. So... I thought we'd have Music Activity Thursdays here too.

Today is something simple and will probably only take 5-10 minutes.
Here's the song (you probably all know it):

Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes

Tune of: "London Bridges"

Author: Unknown

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

Knees and toes, knees and toes.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

And eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

Ankles, elbows, feet and seat,

Feet and seat, feet and seat,

Ankles, elbows, feet and seat,

And hair, hips, chin and cheeks.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

Knees and toes, knees and toes.

Ankles, elbows, feet and seat,

And eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

Activity: Talk about the different body parts. If the child is younger, discuss what the different body parts are called. If the child is older then talk about what the function of that body part is. My four year old LOVES learning how everything works. Have fun and get creative. If you have any ideas on how to expound on this topic then please post them in the comments. I'm interested to hear what ideas you may have.

Feet Day 2

 

Craft: We went outside and made footprints on waxed paper. We made an assembly line... first the pan of paint, then the wax paper, bucket full of soapy, warm water, and the towel. The kids loved it. I wish I had an extra pan so one of them could have been a different color but I only had one pan.

Movement/following directions: After we made footprints we walked on footprints. I cut out a bunch of black footprints. First, I arranged them in a simple walking pattern. Then, I spaced them apart so they had to jump. I made them a little more complex as we went. The kids had fun making up their own patterns too.

This one was too simple for my four year old so he helped me teach Ronni, my two year old. I cut footprints out of different colored construction paper -- two of each color. I got one set of colors and the other set I laid out on the table. I held up a color so Ronni could see and asked her to find the matching color. She would hand it to me and then Collin would tell her the color and have her repeat it.

Finally, Collin worked on writing his letters in a dry-erase letter book we have while Ronni colored.

 

Another children's book this week...

Yeah, I know I just posted one yesterday but, hey! It's my blog, right? hehe! We read this one during circle time and it is a GREAT book for Circle Time (scroll all the way down for more info on Circle Time). It gets everyone moving and laughing together. Push the little button and it plays the sounds of children laughing. Anytime I push the button my kids can't help but laugh with them. The book also gets you all playing pat-a-cake, this little piggy, peek-a-boo, piggy back rides, butterfly kisses, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Ring Around the Rosie -- all while laughing. It was tons of fun and my kids just loved it! Great way to start our morning. ;) Right after family scripture and prayer. ;)

Children's Book of the Week

This is a darling little book. One little duck gets lost on his way home to go to bed. Other little animals encourage him on the way. Finally, a kind turtle helps him get home. The illustrations are fabulous! It's a great book to read at bedtime.

Reading level: Baby--Preschool

Feet Day 1

We started by tracing the kids' feet onto paper. I spaced their feet a little bit apart so they could be butterfly wings. Then the kids colored them, painted them with glue, then glittered them. (Ignore the pineapple, that was our snack. ;)

This was our math for the day. I made this caterpillar out of an egg carton. I cut out 6 cups and ran a pipe cleaner through them. I put antennae on the front with a cute little smiley face. My 2 yo worked on counting the bodies and my 4 year old worked on addition and subtraction in increments of two.

Finally, a little song and dance number. We sang "Dancing Man" and of course, we had to wiggle around to whatever we were singing about. I'll post the lyrics of the song below.

Dancing Man

Sung to : "This Old Man"

This old man, he has feet,

See him dancing down the street.

With a tip, tap, tip, tap,

Watch him go,

Sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

This old man, he has feet,

See him twirling down the street.

With a tip, tap, tip, tap,

Watch him go,

Sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

Additional verses: "See him leaping down the street. See him jumping down the street. See him marching down the street."