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Paddle To The Sea Makes Geography and Art Lessons Fun!

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Paddle To The Sea is such a fun way to learn North American geography and so much more. If this is the first you have heard of the classic story, let me tell you just a bit more…

The story, written from the viewpoint of a canoe that was made by a Native American boy, starts up north in Canada. His journey takes Paddle, the little canoe, through wilderness adventures as he travels to the Great Lakes.

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What a great way to teach geography --- a book and some soft air dry clay! #school #art #geography Click To Tweet

Students learn about wildlife native to forests, streams, marshes and ponds. There is much opportunity to expand learning by researching topics described in the tale. Readers can learn about saw mills and the iron milling businesses, to name just two. We found videos about the logging business and iron ore mining that further enrich the learning experience.

Clay canoe made from soft airdry clay #ad

The children in our home-school group made their own soft air-dry clay canoe sculptures while hearing the Paddle to the Sea book read to them. At the end of each session, we broke into small teams using a big map of Canada and the northern part of the USA.

The children located and labeled the various landmarks named in the story (Lake Nipogan and the Apostle Islands, for example.) Then they opened their laptops and found videos about sawmills, iron mining and the fishing industry on the Great Lakes. A multimedia approach to learning makes it so effective and FUN.


Enjoy!

 

 

 

Best Puzzles Preschoolers Love To Do With No Frustration

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Preschoolers love doing puzzles but some puzzles don’t love them back. I have watched dozens of 3 and 4 year olds eagerly tackle puzzles in my classroom and I can say without exception that some puzzles are better than others. A few just need to be thrown away! Here are some puzzles for preschoolers that they will love and play with over and over again.

Preschoolers love doing puzzles - here are some tips on the kinds they will like the best!

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There is one puzzle that, if it were not a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles puzzle, I would have thrown away a long time ago. My kids love TMNT so I don’t have the heart to part with it – yet.

I bought the puzzle from a discount store for one dollar. Typically the puzzles at that store are great but this one is impossible. It is one of those flat puzzles that you make on its own board, which is a style that is very good for young children.

This particular puzzle’s design, though, was very poorly done. The edges of the puzzle do not match the body of the puzzle at all. There is no way to find clues to which piece goes where. It does have the shapes etched out on the cardboard but it is so frustrating that few of my children stick with it to the end.


A similar puzzle in my collection did hit the “circular file” I gladly pitched it right into garbage can! The puzzle had the design lightly printed on the cardboard base, which is perfect for preschoolers, except they printed the WRONG PICTURE on it! My kids are smart. Whenever one of them would grab this puzzle from the cupboard and recognized that it was the one with the misprint,  it was pushed aside for another selection. I don’t like throwing anything away but this one was just taking up precious storage space.  It was time for it to go.

Puzzles for preschoolers

24 Piece Puzzles Are Great For Preschoolers

My preschoolers love the 24 piece puzzles that you just pour out onto the table and look at the picture on the box. I have at least a dozen of them featuring all sorts of popular characters like Princess Sophia, Winnie the Pooh and Toy Story.  By the end of the school year, nearly everybody can make them without help. The beginning of the school year is a different story. My class includes 3 and 4 year olds. Three year olds are at various levels of development. Some are just not ready for a 24 piece challenge.


Colorful Jigsaw Puzzles With 2-8 Pieces Are Great For Little Puzzle Playing Beginners

Wanting everyone to have frustration-free fun making puzzles, I ordered some new simpler ones that I love …. and so do they! Some were from The Learning Journey and some were made by Galt.

Both brands of puzzles have large pieces, which are easy for little hands to work with. I love the adorable cartoony pictures! The colors are vibrant and the pieces are very durable.

Find the perfect jigsaw puzzles that your #preschoolers will love! #kids #ece Click To Tweet

In each case, all four puzzles come mixed together in the same box. There are puzzles of very few pieces – 2 or 4 pieces – on up to 8 piece puzzles. Perfect! What I love about The Learning Journey’s puzzles is that there are numbers on the back of the puzzle pieces that correspond to the number of pieces in the puzzle.

So, if you are making the 2-piece Ocean theme puzzle (which is this adorable sea turtle) you just look on the backs and find the two pieces with the number “2” on them. It helps my little kiddos learn to identify numbers, too.  I bought the Ocean set and the four Dinosaurs puzzles, too.Puzzles that are fun and easy for preschoolers to do #ad

The Galt  brand puzzles do not have that, which is really too bad, however the pictures on the puzzles are so distinctive that it is simple to sort through to find which ones go together. [For instance, in the Farm set you just look for cows or pigs or lambs or chickens on the pieces. It is quick.] I bought both the Farm set which includes puzzles with 4, 6, 8 and 12 pieces and so does their 4 in a box Vehicles puzzles.

Vehicles puzzles for preschoolers #ad

Picking Out The Right Puzzles For Preschoolers

Types of puzzles that are best for young children vary.  Here a some of the most popular styles:

 

Do your children like puzzles? What are their favorites?

Firetruck floor puzzle for kids #ad

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Enjoy!

…….


5 Reasons You Will Love Teaching Your Kids How To Cook

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Create fond memories while you make great family meals. Teach your kids how to cook. This special time will be a favorite part of your week that is worth repeating again and again – I promise!

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Five reasons why you will love teaching your kids to cook #kids #cooking

5 Fringe Benefits Of Teaching Your Kids How To Cook

As you explore the world of cooking together, you will discover there are fringe benefits. Teaching your kids to cook can lead to…

 

  1. Quality Communication – it is amazing what you will learn as you listen to your kids share at the kitchen counter. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. Be a good listener and ready to laugh! Nothing is too trivial to chat about. Just let them talk.  
  2. Peace – i.e. a technology-free zone! Yes, you can finally get all those devices  TURNED OFF! Make a team agreement that you will turn off the phones, laptops, video games, etc. for this special time together. Everything can be recharging while you are cooking something spectacular in the kitchen. Have the power cords and docking station ready before you start.  Turn off the phones, plug them in, and get busy.
  3. Teachable Moments – cooking is educational. Teach your kids how to read the recipes. Show them how to prepare for cooking by pulling together the ingredients, bowls, pans, measuring cups, spoons and other tools.  Learning how to cook teaches children how to:
    1. Read accurately
    2. Pay attention to detail
    3. Use math skills for measuring and timing.
    4. Organize
    5. Take turns
    6. Follow through on projects from start to finish.
    7. Appreciate each others work.

 

Children love to #kidsactivities #homeschooling

  1. Team Work – cooking together encourages cooperating with each other. Learning to work on a team is a great life-lesson. Let your kids make grocery lists, check for ingredients, plan menus, and help them learn how to implement their plan.The Pride of Accomplishment – Congratulations! You have made something delicious together. Consider putting a collection of the recipes together in a binder. Eventually, you can publish a family cookbook of your very own.

 

Create your own in-home curriculum for teaching your kids how to cook or buy one already set up for you! The cooking class curriculum from Kids Cook Real Food  is highly recommended and will cut your planning time way down!

Apron set for kids #cooking #kidsactivities #ad

Here is a list of fun tools:

 

5 reasons you will LOVE teaching your kids how to cook! #cooking #kids #recipes #food Click To Tweet

 

More fun than you can imagine - teach your kids how to cook! #familyfun

However you decide to put your cooking lessons together – just do it. You and your kids will value this precious family time together as you build lasting memories.

Enjoy!

 

 

 



 

Directory of Brilliant Preschool Websites Just For You

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homeschool, teaching, lessons, crafts, kids, momlife, ece

 

Preschool moms and preschool teachers are all very busy, busy, busy. Preschoolers take so much time and need lots of attention, yet, preparation is the key to help them learn. So let’s save some time!  If you are looking for make-at-home project ideas for your little ones or are writing lesson plans for a preschool class, you need to find great ideas FAST!

That is why I created this list of online resources that are rich with preschool projects, crafts, teaching tips and ideas. I wanted a quick way to find them myself and am sharing this list with you. As you find the blogs you especially like, be sure to sign up for their email list and other social media. If you lose track, or want to find more, come back here. The list will be waiting for you!

Looking for great #preschool resources? The FREE directory of preschool websites is just what you need! #teachers #parents Click To Tweet

All of these blogs have lots of preschool teaching/kids crafting posts. Some are exclusively pre-k and others have a mix. Every one is guaranteed to have a wealth of information to help you teach, train and entertain the young children in your lives.
kids activities, crafts, STEM, prek, preschool crafts, kids learning games

Directory of Preschool & Kindergarten Blogs and Websites

(alphabetical)

Enjoy!

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Super Bestest Grandparent



Fun Preschool Math – With Fishies!

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Our preschool class had such a good time on F is for Fish day learning how to graph and sort using colored Goldfish crackers. This is NOT a sponsored post. I just enjoy teaching little ones in fun, delicious ways. These crackers are fun and delicious! 
preschool lessons, math

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The first time I used these activities was when we celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday in our classroom. That was three years ago. Letter S is for Seuss. We made Dr. Seuss hats for our craft and did the fish sorting and graphing, tying it in with Dr. Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish book!
preschool math, fish graphing activity
So, again I pulled this activity out, this time for F is for Fish. That was the day we made our colorful paper clown fish craft. So pretty. Talk about fine motor activities AND learning how to follow directions. My kids did such a great job.
preschool math activities
Packaged Goldfish crackers for each of my preschoolers!


preschool math, sorting activities, learning to use a graph, counting
Miss A enjoying her graphing activity.

These math activities accompanied my F is for Fish lesson but can easily be used with O is for Ocean. All three were great fun!

FREE PRINTABLES
Fish Sorting Mat
Fish Cracker Graph 1

Preschool math is fun with fishies! #preschool #ece #STEM Click To Tweet

Enjoy!

 

 


How To Make A USA Cookie Map

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What a delicious fun way to learn the geography of the United States – make a cookie cake in the shape of the map of the USA. Here is how to make a USA cookie map!  

My daughter is a homeschooling mom. She teaches my precious 8 year old granddaughter, MacKenzie, and a cute little sweetie named Kailyn, age 7. Their most recent, very creative, history/geography lesson involved making an edible map of the United States. Correction: 2 edible maps!!! What fun.

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How To Make A USA Cookie Map

USA cookie map #maps #sugarcookies #homeschooling
First, Shannon took the girls to the store with their list of ingredients. Her students were the shoppers. Each girl is in 3rd and 2nd grade, respectively. Had they been a little bit older, she would have had them do the money-math, as well. At their age, reading the recipe and selecting the various candies and decorations was just challenging enough to be educational and stay FUN.

The girls selected it all, including their own frosting. MacKenzie is a chocolate lover so, no surprise,chocolate was the flavor she chose. Kailyn loves pastels so she picked pink.

 

USA cookie map #homeschool #geography #map Ducks n a Row

Chocolate chips served as mountain ranges. Yellow generic chocolate candies (M&M type) were used for desert regions. Green candy for plush forest areas. Blue candies for water, such as the great lakes and Mississippi River.

 

US cookie map, edible map, geography lesson #sugarcookies
To make a cookie map, use a large jelly roll baking pan and classic rolled sugar cookie dough. (recipe link below) Bake it, let it cool and cut the outline to look like the map you are making. Have a copy of the map nearby for your children to use as a visual aid.
BTW, the scraps taste good, too, so don’t throw them out. In this case, grandpa got them and enjoyed every bite!

 

United States cookie map, USA map, #sugarcookies #maps #homeschooling
 
Click here=>> Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe
 
How to make a USA cookie map! #tips #homeschooling #teachers Click To Tweet

Enjoy!