Paper Plate Angel Wall Display

I have a giant empty wall space that needed a Christmas lift! So Little Mister and I cut out some paper plate angels. He actually ended up playing with the scrap wedge pieces. He grabbed my hole punch and tried his best to punch holes in them. So, I swiftly seized this teachable moment and punched a different number of holes in each and had him counting while I made more angels!

We then stamped the line "Heaven and Angels Sing" from a wonderful Christmas Carol using letter blocks and ink. Finally, we hung them on the wall. I hot glued a bit of yarn on the back of the plates to use as a hook!

Lyrics
Angels we have heard on high
Singing sweetly o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be,
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo! Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

History
In A.D. 129, Telesphous, Bishop of Rome, ordained that, "In the Holy Night of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, all shall solemnly sing the 'Angel's Hymn.' " With that proclamation the 'Angels Hymn' became the first Christmas hymn of the Christian church. Its most common English version was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick, and its most memorable feature is its chorus Gloria in Excelsis Deo!, which is Latin for Glory to God in the Highest.

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Turkey Track Leaf Play

I love those awesome old Oak trees that have leaves shaped like turkey feet. I grew up hearing them called Turkey Track trees. Little Mister and I were outside playing yesterday and he noticed some 'turkey track' leaves on the ground. I was so proud of his observation skills and we immediately jumped into the moment. Within seconds we were on a Turkey Track Hunt through a far-away, dark jungle. (I know turkeys don't really live in the jungle, but that's where my little hunter wanted to tromp!)

We brought some of our trophies inside and sorted and matched them according to size. All in all, we had a terrific hunt. We used our imagination and then sharpened some math skills. I'd say it was a successful afternoon!

***No actual leaves were harmed in the evolution of this post! Stunt leaves were employed and promptly released after they served to make Little Mister smarter.***

The Day of the Turtle

Does this ever happen to you;

Driving down the road and come up on a turtle trying to cross, you swerve to miss him and watch in the rear view mirror to make sure the car behind you does the same as you let a strange sound escape your mouth. Yeah? Me too. The other day, we actually turned around and was going to assist the turtle across the street. I realized that Little Mister has never seen a turtle up close. So, we brought the mobile-home guy home for the day. Don't worry, when the day was coming to a close, we let him go (far from busy streets)!

Confused about what to name your turtle? Luke or Lucy?

 Finding this creature lead to many learning activities:
Sensory play : cold vs. hot (warm actually) with frozen turtle eggs
Language: the letter T
Math: counting turtle parts, 1 head, 2 eyes, 4 legs...
Literature: Look Out for Turtles by: Melvin Berger and Yurtle the Turtle by: Dr. Seuss
Science: where do they live, what do they eat, etc...
Good Stewardship: we are all part of this beautiful planet! Let's take of all things that live here!

**Featured at The Good Long Road, Kids Co-Op
in honor of World Animal Day

Scripture Tree: Teaching Compassion

Those of you who have been here before probably remember that I have recently lost a sister to cancer. Well, a few days ago a very close family friend, affectionately known as Granny M, lost her son. Ironically enough, several members of this family helped me SO much through the initial stages of my grieving process. We wanted to somehow reciprocate their loving kindness.

Little Mister has been surrounded by loads of sadness and mourning as of late. Through it all, I wanted to think of a way to reinforce his understanding of kindness and compassion to others. I also want him to learn how God's word is there for us when we are sad, lonely, angry or hurting. It can speak to our personal situation and make us feel better. Hurting may be slow to leave, but we can have a peace in our hearts knowing that God, who loves us very much, has this whole world in his hands; that includes me AND you!

So, I found a few scriptures and wrote them on construction paper. We slipped the paper into ziploc bags. I used a hole punch (making sure to stay on the outer part of the sealed area) and made a hole in the top middle. We then added a piece of cut yarn to tie on as a hook.

 

 We wanted it to be a surprise for her to find on her way to church in the morning. This explains the night shots. Yes, I had my son out late. We tried to be stealthy. However, when I opened the car door he yells, "Oh Mommy, the Moon. It's so pretty!" No one called the police so I don't think they heard him. LOL

We love this family and hope they can find strength and comfort in the Word of God!

Color Sorting turned Failure Lesson

While working at the church the other day, Little Mister was getting bored waiting on me. I raided the cabinets and found a bag of different colored flat plastic shapes (people, flowers, animals, etc.). I cut some matching color squares from construction paper and set it all on the floor. This kept him busy for some time. First he played with the shapes. They had conversations with each other which I eased dropped on. Too cute! Then, he made shapes with them. Finally, I started asking him to find all the blue things and stack them on the blue paper. We eventually made it through all the colors and I finished all my work as well.

Once I went over to see what he had been doing and noticed some wrong color placement. I pointed to one and asked "Are you sure this is in the right place?". He got so upset. And kept repeating a pitiful, "Oh No!". I was shocked. He was actually on the verge of tears! This from the same little boy who once told me, "I'm happy and I'm a genius". I had to stop for a moment and gather my thoughts. 

We discussed how we don't always get things right the first time but we keep trying. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes, even Mommy doesn't always get things right all the time. We learn by trying. Some may have to try longer than others and that's alright too! Of course, all this was followed by some snuggles and then happily moving pieces around on the paper! 
Totally caught off guard by this teachable moment!

That Pig is Not Pink!

We were lucky enough to be invited over to a friends house for a Bar-B-Que the other day. Weren't we surprised when we got there and discovered they had a pet potbelly pig named Charlotte. She is only 5 months old! Little Mister would toss her an apple slice and say, "There pig"! He wouldn't get too close but kept wanting to go back out and see her! I also answered tons of questions, like: what do pigs eat? where do pigs sleep? does she swim in that pool? what is that noise? where is all her hair? It turned into a teachable moment for him and me. I had to come home and look up some facts about pigs!

When it was time to eat, I had to ask our hosts . . .  Is that Pork Ribs on the grill?

Of course we had to come home and do some "piggy thing", as I was told! Too funny! We had a fun day with good food and friends and a meeting a pig named Charlotte!

Random Piggy Facts:
* A pig will live an average of 12 -18 years, estimates range up to more than 20 years.
*Although often called miniature pot bellied pigs, the term miniature is relative - they are smaller than most pigs kept for food production, but they still usually weigh 125 pounds or more when fully grown.
* Pigs are very intelligent. This is usually a positive trait, and in fact pot bellied pigs are quite trainable, much the same as a dog (i.e. can be house trained, leash trained, and will learn a few tricks).
* Original specimens brought to the United States in the 1980s were black. Now several varieties are available including grey, white, tan and red. Spotting (or ”pinto”) seems to be a preferred variation to many owners.
* Temperament of your pet pot-bellied pig will vary. Males tend to be more aggressive and ”pigheaded” as they mature, especially if they are not neutered. Females can become territorial when they are pregnant. Most pigs will go through ”teenage” years as they mature. This stage is when they test their boundaries and see where they can put YOU in their pecking order. It is up to the owner to ensure that the pig learns its rightful place in the ”herd.” The owner should make the pig ”earn” his food and treats, thus enforcing the fact that the owner is the ”alpha.” During this phase the pig may develop ”selective” hearing and ignore commands from owners. It is up to the owner to consistently and uniformly enforce each action of the pig. If left uncorrected the pig may become unruly and this is, unfortunately, the time when most pigs are abandoned to shelters and rescues. It’s not the pigs fault; it is the lack of education on the owner’s part. Please be sure you are prepared for the responsibility of pet ownership before you purchase your pet. His life depends on you.

If it Rolls . . . It Can Paint

If it rolls . . . it can paint!

That was our motto today! We started out to just paint with some marbles. 

 We had so much fun that we started looking around for other round things to paint with. We found different size balls and other toys at first. Then he decided to use one of his snacks, grapes. This lead us to the kitchen where we found some more fun things. Little Mister pointed out to me the difference in size of our selected items because he sorted them. This got me to thinking. 

I divided our paper into 4 squares by gluing on some uncooked Fettuccine.

Then we used each square to paint our 4 kitchen items.

Candy

Grape Tomatoes 

Grapes

Coriander (spice)

The 4 squares allowed us to compare the painted lines of our items.

We discussed how the bigger items made bigger lines with paint and the smallest items left behind small lines.

A fun and educational project!

Being in the Moment

My husband is in charge of changing the sign in front of our church. We try to do this weekly for announcements or encouraging phrases to those who pass by on the highway. I go and help by sorting the letters and getting them ready for him to put up on the sign. Little Mister loves to go and "help" as well. I let him stack the letters that my husband brings in while I get the ones ready to go out. 

One day we were waiting for the letters to be brought in and I decided to get the letters out that spell his name. Immediately he dropped down on the floor and started to sort them. He would get them in the right order and I would pretend to move them by accident. He would say, "Sorry Mommy", and sort them out again. We did this over and over while we waited. 

Finding the time to teach children does not have to be chiseled out of the day. It can happen in the minutes you are standing in line at the bank, sitting at a red light or walking around the block! Learning does not only happen in a classroom or, for that matter, within 4 walls. Find those teachable moments and seize them with gusto!

Outside with Daddy changing the sign

This thing is REALLY tall

Triangles and Sunshine

Little Mister was in fine form today when we met a friend for lunch! Little did she know her  toast would be quickly confiscated and made into a game piece.

It’s a triangle.

It’s a yellow triangle.

It’s a yellow triangle hat!

Never underestimate a slice of toast!

 Later that day, we were perusing the aisles of a local thrift shop (a great place for those who like to re-purpose items) and we discovered a silly letter “S” with a yellow sun attached! From that moment on we tried to spot everything that was yellow or shaped like a circle in the store! This kept him engaged for some time, and I was able to browse around and look for treasures! [For older children you could look for things that start with the letter S.] 

S is for Silly Sun

Pasta Patterns

While in the throws of making some fireworks from noodles, I noticed that Little Mister was pushing the pasta shapes around the table. I had to stop and take a closer look. He was arranging them into patterns. Well, immediately I grabbed some construction paper and made a crude pattern on it. Lets not waste any teachable moments! I placed the patterned paper in front of him, he looked at it and then me. I matched one on the paper and he was off. I was almost blinded by the light on top of his head as it went off! Amazing how kids can catch on so swiftly.

Objective- Notices Simple Patterns of Objects (MS Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Mathematical Development 2.2.2)

Dragonfly Nymph and Spoons

At the creek again today! Wouldn't ya know it ... this whole big creek and Little Mister finds a dragonfly nymph's moulted skin! Well, being an entomologist, I seized this teachable moment with great joy! We talked about a dragonflies life-cycle in simple terms. When we got home, we looked up some pictures of dragonflies and discussed them a little more. After which, we just had to paint some! 

Materials- Plastic spoons and knives, popsicle sticks, acrylic paints, brushes, glue, google eyes, jewels

Procedure-
1. Hot glue the knives in a criss-cross pattern to the spoon. (adults only!)
2. Paint your dragonfly.
3. Glue on eyes.
4. Add jewels to the wings.
5. Glue a small twisty-tie to the back of the head if you want to hang it (optional).

spoon with knives attached

painting another one

adding jewels