On a ROLL again - Name Bowling

We just can't wait to get on the roll again!

And learn the letters of our name

Little Mister went bowling for the first time this week. His Aunt Tina and I actually went early one day and we were the only folks there. (I was worried about all the noise, so it worked out perfect.)

He was so excited when he saw all the balls we had to chose from, then bummed because we couldn't keep it!

I took the ball up to the line and he pushed it down the lane. I'm glad they were not busy because the worker had to get it a few times for us. He couldn't push it hard enough to make it roll all the way down. But he had fun! 

I took this new experience and made some learning fun out of it as well. I made some 'pins' from TP rolls covered in colored construction paper. I wrote a letter from his name on each pin.

He would aim at a specific letter or color and launched the ball at it!

Then he started cheating

Then it became a hockey game

BOYS! Gotta love'em!

Mayflower Math and More

 

 OK, I know the first thing you may be thinking... Since when were pirates on the Mayflower?! Answer: Since my Little Mister became obsessed! This was a fun project/activity and pretty easy!

 I had some thin strips of Balsam wood left over from one of my projects, so I just cut out a boat shape. I halved 2 craft sticks and hot glued them together and then along each side of my boat. Across the bottom, I glued 2 more sticks after trimming about 3/4 of an inch off. Then I glued the entire boat to a pre-painted paper plate. The thickness of the doubled craft sticks allows plenty of room to slide other sticks "in" the boat. We then painted masts and stamped some sails. Finally, we decorated some craft sticks as people!
Pilgrims and Pirates!

 You can play Mayflower Math many ways depending on your child's skill level. First I just asked him to put 2 pilgrams and 1 pirate in the boat. Then we counted 2+1. Or, 4 pirates were on the boat and one jumped overboard. How many were left, 4-1? You get the idea!

We also tried to play with a die. He rolled and added that number in the boat. Rolled again and took that many out.

Simple but very fun!

We also made a Mayflower handprint that I think turned out VERY cute!

Alright, not only an I a science geek, I am also a history hound! So here is some interesting information about the Mayflower and her famous voyage!

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on September 6/16, 1620, with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members aboard the small 100-foot ship. During the first month of the voyage, the seas were not severe, but by the second month the ship was being hit by strong North Atlantic winter gales, causing the ship to be badly shaken, with water leaking from structural damage. There were two deaths, but this was just a precursor of what happened after their arrival in Cape Cod, when almost half the company would die in the first winter.
On November 9/19, 1620, they sighted land, which was Cape Cod. After several days of trying to sail south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on November 11/21. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.
The Mayflower has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future United States.

 
List of Mayflower Passengers
This is a list of the passengers on board the Mayflower during its trans-Atlantic voyage of September 6 - November 9, 1620, the majority of them becoming the settlers of Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts. Of the passengers, 37 were members of the separatist Leiden congregation seeking freedom of worship in the New World. The Mayflower launched with 102 passengers, as well as at least two dogs, and a crew of 25-30 headed by Captain Christopher Jones. One baby was born during the trip and named Oceanus Hopkins. Another, Peregrine (meaning "wanderer") White, was born on the Mayflower in America on November 20, before the settlement at Plymouth. About half of these emigrants died in the first winter. Many Americans can trace their ancestry back to one or more of these individuals who, 'Saints' and 'Strangers' together, would become known as the Pilgrims.

Persons with an asterisk after their name are known to have died in the winter of 1620-1621

• Allerton, Isaac
  • Mary (Norris) Allerton*, wife 
  • Bartholomew Allerton, 7, son 
  • Remember Allerton, 5, daughter (Leiden, Netherlands)
  • Mary Allerton, 3, daughter (Leiden, Netherlands), the last survivor of the Mayflower company
• Bradford, William 
  • Dorothy (May) Bradford*, wife 
• Brewster, William 
  • Mary Brewster, wife
  • Love/Truelove Brewster, 9, son
  • Wrestling Brewster, 6, son
• Carver, John
  • Catherine (Leggett) (White) Carver, wife
• Chilton, James*
  • Mrs. Susanna Chilton*, wife
  • Mary Chilton, 13, daughter 
• Cooke, Francis
  • John Cooke, 13, son
• Cooper, Humility, 1,  baby daughter of Robert Cooper, in company of her aunt Ann Cooper Tilley
  • John Crackstone, son
• Cushman, Robert
• Fletcher, Moses*
• Fuller, Edward* 
  • Mrs. Edward Fuller*, wife
  • Samuel Fuller, 12, son
• Fuller, Samuel , (brother to Edward)
• Goodman, John*
• Minter, Desire
• Priest, Degory*
• Rogers, Thomas* 
  • Joseph Rogers, 17, son
• Samson, Henry, 16,  child in company of his uncle and aunt Edward and Ann Tilley
• Tilley, Edward*
  • Ann (Cooper) Tilley*  wife of Edward and aunt of Humilty Cooper and Henry Samson
• Tilley, John*
  • Joan (Hurst) (Rogers) Tilley*, wife
  • Elizabeth Tilley, 13, daughter
  • Turner, John*
    • boy Turner*, son, died in the winter of 1620.
    • boy Turner*, younger son. died in the winter of 1620.
  • Winslow, Edward 
    • Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow, wife
    • Mrs. Thomas Tinker*, wife
    • boy Tinker*, son, died in the winter of 1620.

Planters recruited by Thomas Weston, of London merchant adventurers

• Billington, John 
  • Eleanor Billington, wife
  • John Billington, 16, son
  • Francis Billington, 14, son
• Britteridge, Richard*
• Browne, Peter 
• Clarke, Richard*
• Eaton, Francis 
  • Sarah Eaton*, wife
  • Samuel Eaton, 1, son
• Gardiner, Richard 
• Hopkins, Stephen 
  • Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins, wife
  • Giles Hopkins, 12, son by first marriage 
  • Guild, John, (Essex)
  • Constance Hopkins, 14, daughter by first marriage
  • Damaris Hopkins, 1-2, daughter
  • Oceanus Hopkins, born en route
• Margesson, Edmund*
• Martin, Christopher* 
  • Mary (Prower) Martin*, wife
• Mullins, William* 
  • Alice Mullins*, wife
  • Priscilla Mullins, 18, daughter
  • Joseph Mullins*, 14, son
• Prower, Solomon*
• Rigsdale, John*
  • Alice Rigsdale*, wife
• Standish, Myles 
  • Rose Standish, wife
• Warren, Richard 
• Winslow, Gilbert , brother to "Pilgrim" Edward Winslow but not known to have lived in Leiden.
• White, William*
  • Susanna White, wife widowed February 21, 1621, subsequently married Edward Winslow - first Plymouth wedding 
  • Resolved White, 5, son, wife was Judith Vassal
  • Peregrine White', son (born aboard the Mayflower in Provincetown Harbor)

Men hired to stay one year

• Alden, John - considered a ship's crewman (he was the ship's cooper) but joined settlers
• Allerton, John*, was listed as a hired man but was apparently related to one of the Pilgrim families on board, Isaac Allerton's, who all came from Leiden. He sailed in order to settle in North America, and was to return to England to help the rest of the group immigrate, but died during the first winter of the Pilgrims' settlement. He may have been a relative of the "Pilgrim" Allerton family^.
• Ely, Richard, hired as seaman, returned to England after term was up but later returned to New England and died there. He is mentioned briefly as a sailor by name of Ely in "Of Plymouth Plantation."
• English, Thomas*, hired to master a shallop but died in the winter
• Trevore, William, hired as seaman, returned to England after term was up

Servants

Thirteen of the eighteen persons in this category were attached to Pilgrim families, the other five were with non-Pilgrim families. Four of those listed here were small children, given over by Samuel More to Thomas Weston and then to agents John Carver and Robert Cushman, who assigned them to senior Mayflower Pilgrims to be classed as indentured servants. This was all due to scandal involving the children’s mother and her husband Samuel’s effort to dispose of the children by sending them away to Virginia as indentured servants. Long ago, Richard More and his siblings were even thought to have even been parentless London street waifs, but in 1959 a 1622 document revealed their being the product of an adulterous relationship as the reason why the children were sent abroad on the Mayflower.

• Butten, William*, age: "a youth", servant of Samuel Fuller, died during the voyage
• Carter, Robert*, teenager, servant or apprentice to William Mullins, shoemaker.
• --?--, Dorothy, teenager, maidservant of John Carver.
• Doty, Edward, age probably about 21, servant to Stephen Hopkins
• Holbeck, William*, age likely under 21, servant to William White
• Hooke, John*, age 13, apprenticed to Isaac Allerton, died during the first winter
• Howland, John , age about 21, manservant for Governor John Carver
• Langmore, John* , age under 21, servant to the Christopher Martin
• Latham, William, age 11, servant/apprentice to the John Carver family
• Leister, Edward also spelled Leitster. , aged over 21, servant to Stephen Hopkins 
• More, Ellen (Elinor)*,  Elinor (Ellen) More, age 8, assigned as a servant of Edward Winslow. She died in November 1620 soon after the arrival of the Mayflower at Cape Cod Harbor.
• More, Jasper*,  brother, age 7, indentured to John Carver. He died onboard Mayflower in Cape Cod Harbor December 6, 1620. He was buried ashore in the Provincetown area.
• More, Richard,  brother, age 6, indentured to William Brewster. Richard More is buried in what was known as the Charter Street Burial Ground but is now the Burying Point/Charter Street Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts. He is the only Mayflower passenger to have his gravestone still where it was originally placed sometime in the mid-1690s. Also buried nearby in the same cemetery were his two wives, Christian Hunter More and Jane (Crumpton) More." 
• More, Mary*,  sister, age 6, assigned as a servant of William Brewster. She died sometime in the winter of 1620/1621. Her burial place is unknown, but may been on Cole's Hill in Plymouth in an unmarked grave as with so many others buried there that winter. As with her sister Ellen, she is recognized on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb in Plymouth, misidentified after her sister's name as "and a brother (children)" - the statement of calling her "a brother" mistakenly coming from William Bradford's failing memory years after the event of her death.
• Soule, George, 21-25, servant or employee of Edward Winslow
• Story, Elias*, age under 21, in the care of Edward Winslow
• Thompson/Thomson, Edward*, age under 21, in the care of the William White family, first passenger to die after the Mayflower reached Cape Cod.
• Wilder, Roger*, age under 21, servant in the John Carver family
• Williams, Thomas*

In all, there were 102 passengers on the Mayflower - 74 males and 28 females

Carpenters

• Kerr, George

Animals

At least two dogs are known to have participated in the settling of Plymouth. In Mourt's Relation Edward Winslow writes that a female mastiff and a small springer spaniel came ashore on the first explorations of what is now Provincetown. There may have been other animals on the Mayflower, but only these two dogs had been mentioned.


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Blue Man in My Truck - A Memory Game

This game happened quit by accident. 

Little Mister brought a green car, yellow number, a blue man and his new "Mack" truck to the table one morning. He loves the truck because the back opens and he can put small cars or toys in it.

I noticed him put something in, tap on the table, and take it right back out. Then he'd select another item, put that in, tap and out... on and on he went!

So, I thought we would make a memory and observation game of it.

I placed the three toys in front of him and told him to take a good look and then pointed out each one and said their name. Then, I got him to close his eyes and hid one of the toys in the truck.

He opened his eye and I pointed to the remaining toys and said therir names and asked him to guess what was in the truck.

We did it several times and I then stopped pointing out the toys and just let him observe what was there. After a few tries I added a new toy, pointing it out and saying its name. A few tries more and a new toy was introduced. 

Having fun and sharpening some observation and memory skills!

Playing with Spiders made me Smarter

First, we painted our letter S black. Then used a small piece of yarn dipped in white paint to make spiderwebs.

Every entomologists has this hang up: Spiders are NOT insects!! Insects have only 6 legs, spiders have 8!
8 legs just means MORE play-doh fun!

We practiced some color matching with bottle caps and pipe cleaners.

We crafted a spider catcher to place in our garden. It is a little hard to see in the picture. We found a Y shaped stick and tied another stick across the top to create a place for a spider to build its web. The catcher was then stuck into the ground and awaits a tenant!

I also made a printable to practice patterns.

Finally, an oldie but goodie! We made a hand print spider and placed it in a web near our front porch!

I hope you enjoyed all these spider-y activities!
And I know you're smarter already!

Rocks in my Socks

We are still working on activities for name recognition. 

He knows they are the letters of his name because he calls them "Rylee's letters". However, he continues to put them in the wrong order. So, I have been looking for any and all opportunities to review his name over the past few weeks. We sing songs while driving in car. I usually change the B-I-N-G-O song to his name. The beginning of the song usually changes depending on the places we are going or what we are doing at the time. He enjoys it as I'm sure do passing motorists. My friends tell me that I can get a little animated. We got an applause from a near by car once while sitting at a stop light. Hey, when there's a song in your heart , a girls just gotta let it out!

Anywho, when we go outside to play my Little Mister is automatically drawn to the rocks in our driveway. Usually I ask to find shapes or specific colored rocks, but today he had his own agenda. He brings me several rocks that are flat on one side. Of course flat rocks just cry out for something to be put on them right? Right! In this instance, we labeled them with the letters of his name and I Mod Podged over it. Once dry, we dropped them in a sock and let the play begin.

It's Getting Corny in Here!

Corn is my favorite food and has been as long as I can remember. 

Even before I have memories, my momma has pictures to prove it!

It wasn't hard to get into the Fall corn craze and get crafty with my Little Mister. I even found ways to throw in some learning activities as well.

ENJOY!

This is our first time to do any bubble wrap painting and it was so fun. I taped the sheet to the table to keep it in place and let him do his thing. It didn't take him long to figure out those bubbles POP. We did however manage to make some cute Indian Corn to hang in our kitchen.

Some Language Arts fun. I used fruit cups and spelled out the word corn. I gave him a handful of candy corn and asked him to put two in the O cup. Then, put one in the R cup. You get the idea.

We did some pre-writing exercises with a printable I made. He traced the line to help the farmer get to the corn field. The printable is at the end of this post.

Learning the letter C. After I managed to convince him that it was NOT a hat, we put glue on it and attached some popcorn. More went in the mouth than on the letter!

We practiced some candy corn math. See the full post and get the printables here.

And of course we had to do some painting!

                      

Happy Belated Birthday Johnny

A birthday bash for Simple Saturday. 

Sorry we're late Johnny Appleseed!

Sept 26, 1774 - Mar 11, 1845

Johnny Appleseed was a real person.  His real name was John Chapman and his real story is actually nearly as interesting as the legends that have since developed.John Chapman made a quite successful business out of traveling around and planting apple orchards wherever he thought pioneers were going to settle in-mass a few years after he planted an orchard.  He’d find a new area that was largely unpopulated; buy up land for cheap; then establish an orchard. Once he established the orchard (including fencing it in and the like), he’d travel on to a new area and do the same.  Over the course of the year, he’d then travel around visiting each of his orchards and maintaining them as needed, as well as gathering seeds to plant new orchards.

Read more at http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/10/johnny-appleseed-was-a-real-person/#VwKOJpZx8I2GBX4D.99

Candy Corn Math with Printables

As we were going to be spending a large chunk of the day at the hospital, only visiting, we needed some easy take-along's that were fun and educational. I made these the night before and they stowed easily in his bag. We only started out with 1-4 and will add additional numbers as needed.

After I sat and cut all these things out . . . I realized how much faster (and easier) it would have been to make them in PhotoShop. So, I just saved you tons of time by making these printables below.