Be grateful

During the Thanksgiving season, we like to express our thanks. Each day a person gets to share what they are thankful for and then we write it on a feather for our family turkey. On Thanksgiving day, I then had my daughter and cousins write what they were thankful for. For the little ones, I had them draw a picture and I would add the words to it. 

Small steps for writing. 

Integrating Holidays: Independence Day

The kids are getting older and each year, finding activities to help them connect the meaning of the 4th with fun has been a challenge. But there have been great resources.

4th of July is a time of BBQ's, family time, friends, and fireworks. But while you are outside playing, get the kids moving in a USA scavenger hunt or guess game of the founding fathers. A favorite site I go to is I mom.

While it is an education site for lesson plans, this page has activities that have kids focus on the three freedom documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. There are also activities that involve students in creating time lines and posters.

America's Freedom Documents

To go along with learning about the documents, i mom has a document you can create with your family.

Two summers ago, we learned about our Founding Fathers with these cards: (you can find more here Founding Father cards)

We also did a savenger hunt with the cards from the I mom website as well.

This has been a wonderful site full of positive activities not just for the Fouth, but for each day. Enjoy and Happy Independence Day!!

Integrating Celebrations: Flag Day, June 14th, 2012

According to Wikipedia, "In the United States Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.[1] The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775." By now, your child has been exposed to Memorial Day and will soon be exposed to the 4th of July. So to a young child, this all could be very confusing as the flag is present in every Holiday. I explain to my child that Memorial Day is to remember all those people that fight for us, 4th of July is America's birthday, and Flag Day is well, the flag's birthday. All represent America. Here are some books you can read to your child. I find that even for my older children, they love to hear a quick story, especially in the summer. Pictures books are great for all ages. w a Afterwards, have some fun making a yummy flag treat. I find there are so many places to find recipes, but my favorite is KraftFoods.com What You Need: **3cups boiling water, **2pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Berry Blue Flavor Gelatin **2cups ice cubes, **2pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened **1/4 cup sugar **1tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, **2pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin, or any red flavor **2cups halved strawberries **1/2cup blueberries Make It: STIR 1-1/2 cups of the boiling water into dry blue gelatin in medium bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add 1 cup of the ice cubes; stir until ice is completely melted. Pour into 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate 20 min. or until gelatin is set but not firm. PLACE cream cheese, sugar and half of the whipped topping in large bowl; beat until well blended. Spoon over blue gelatin layer in dish; spread carefully to evenly cover gelatin layer. Stir remaining 1-1/2 cups boiling water into strawberry gelatin in separate bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add remaining 1 cup ice cubes; stir until ice is completely melted. Let stand at room temperature 5 min. or until slightly thickened. Spoon over cream cheese layer in dish. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set. SPREAD remaining whipped topping over dessert just before serving. Decorate with strawberries and blueberries to resemble a flag. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator

Integrating Holidays: Cinco De Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May, is a day celebrated in America as a day of heritage and pride. In Mexico, primarily in a town called Puebla, it is a holiday called, El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla).In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. It is not Mexico's independence day-that is September 16th. Here are a few books you will enjoy to check out.

So what fun literacy things can you and the kiddos do to recognize and celebrate Cinco de Mayo? How about sing about it? Here are some songs you can read and sing along together to familiar children's tunes. And of course, cook up some Mexican food and enjoy a great meal. All Around Puebla (to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel) France invaded Mexico In 1862, Thinking they would march, march, march, march Right into Mexico City. But what they had not counted on Was General Zaragoza Who ordered his men to fight, fight, fight, fight, Fight for their freedom. So all around Puebla The Mexicans chased the French, Until the last French soldier gave up – Cinco de Mayo! Cinco de Mayo (to the tune of Are You Sleeping?) Cinco de Mayo, Cinco de Mayo, The fifth of May, The fifth of May Is the anniversary Of a great victory For Mexico. For Mexico. Today’s a Day to Celebrate (to the tune of London Bridge) Today’s a day to celebrate, Celebrate, celebrate, Today’s a day to celebrate Courage under fire. The Mexican Army, they were poor, They were poor, they were poor, The Mexican Army, they were poor, But that did not stop them. They followed orders and charged ahead, Charged ahead, charged ahead, They followed orders and charged ahead, Routing the French forces. A great victory they did win, They did win, they did win, A great victory they did win In the Battle of Puebla. Today’s the Fifth of May (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell) Today’s the fifth of May, “Cinco de Mayo,” we say, Let’s join hands and sing and play – It’s Cinco de Mayo today.

Integrating Holidays: Happy Valentine's Day!!

Make February 14 a special day with activities that extend Valentine's Day into academic subject areas. You can do counting for math, experiements in science, and of course writing in Language Arts.

The kids can make Homonym Hearts, Synonym Hearts, Ideas to Write from the Heart, and write a short story on "All about Valentine's Day". Just click on the words to see the links. They are free printables.

Of course, you can google all kinds of activities as well. Have fun teaching them why we have a day dedicated to LOVE. There is nothing wrong with that. It's what the world needs now, right? You could even find songs all about it everywhere and then have your kids write their own poems and songs.
Here are some fun books to read with your kids while you make cookies, cards, and decorate card boxes.

I love the stories of a love of child and parent best:





These are oldies, but goodies. I only recommend paper backs for a few reasons:
1. Older kiddos can read them to siblings
2. That's all we parents have time to read and reading is important-to our children as well as for ourselves.
Of course there are chapter books out there, and I will dedicate more posts to those, should you need longer reads for your kids.


Olive, the Other reindeer was a cute book and now she is back!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

P.S- I really wish I could get these posts out to you sooner, so you can order the books, but as a working mom myself, it is close to impossible. I can only hope to share these with you and the local library or book store has them. You don't have to read them on that day, but all year through. Enjoy!!

Integrating Holidays: Happy Birthday Calendar!!

My 3-year old asked me whose birthday party it was when we were celebrating "Noon" Year's Eve at the local library. There is really not an easy way to explain it, so I just told her it is the calendar's birthday. That seemed to work.

Last year, I posted some ways different cultures bring in the New Year. You can view that again here: New Year Celebrations.

This month, there are a few celebrations you can start the new year off with.
Jan 16 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - National Day of Service
Jan 18 - Winnie the Pooh Day
Jan 23 - Utah Legislature Convenes

Jan 23 - Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon-Dragons are legendary in Chinese mythology symbolizing power, strength, and good luck.


Looks like it will be a strong year!!

Integrating Holidays: Advent

Many Christians around the world celebrate Advent. It begins December the First. I have not been able to update the blog weekly like I have wanted to , but wanted to begin this Christmas Season with some ideas and websites your family can go to for writing, crafting, and reading ideas.


Disney has many links and countdown calendars you can create and enjoy.

Countdown Calendar

Ornaments


Advent Calendar


My favorite one that I will be working on for next year:
Persnalized Advent Calendar

I really like the activities in the calendar.


Here is an idea I am using in my home this year. I took a shoe holder and will be using the pockets for the readings, candy, and activities. It is not what I want it to look like yet, but it is only December first. I am just proud I had it ready to go.

We just got done with our first activity: Make an ornament and give it to a neighbor.

Integrating Holidays: Labor Day

We all associate Labor Day with the ending of summer. The end of BBQ's, picnics, warm weather, and freedom from school. For many Americans, it marks the start of football season. How are parents, can we really explain to our children why we celebrate Labor Day?

Many teachers tie this to their community unit to get small children to understand workers and how they help the community. This can be extended at home so that children undersand that all the things workers do, sometimes they just need a day of rest and to be honored.





For the older children, there are books that can tie the day to a definition.




Plan on being in the car for a while? Here are some short stories you can print for the car ride camping or to grandma's house:
Short Stories: Apples for the teacher

Also, to give some hands on time to connect the stories, students can make a collage of workers on paper. Enchanted learning has a great craft for that.

However you celebrate this long weekend, make sure your child understands why they are having it. Give the name meaning and enjoy your day off. Thank you for all of your hard work!

Integrating Holidays: Fourth of July

Explaining what the 4th of July is to a 2 1/2 year old is quite interesting.

Upon seeing the bags of decoratins, plates, etc. the conversation goes something like this:
Toddler (T): We are going to have my birthday party.
Mom (M): No, honey , we are going to have a party for America.
T: Yeah! It's 'merica's birthday. Where does 'merica live?
M: We live in America, the United States of America. We celebrate where we live because we have freedom.
T: (Looking up in deep, deep thought). Where is she? I want to see America.
M: Well......forget it honey, let me find a book about the 4th of July and America's birthday.

What a concept that we take for granted. We know what it means to be free, what liberties we have, and how far our country has come. This year, let's not forget the little ones who are still trying to grasp this concept.

A new website I love that sends weekly updates each Sunday with activities is imom.com. This week, it was chuck full of actvities for the Fourth. Check out the objective this week: Operation Red, white, and blue

A few books that you can order or find at your library to read each night to your children are:




I also have one in Spanish to read called: Celebra el cuarto de julio by Alma Flor Ada and F.Isabel Campoy. Reading in a different language to children helps their comprehension and you can ask questions like:
What do you think the book is about?
What do you think they are talking about on this page? How do you know?
By using pictoral cues, children are still reading and using a higher level of thinking.
For the babies, a book I found is:


Of course, you can always google some activities to play in your backyard, but some activites that I am personally using for our party on Sunday game from Disney's family fun website. We will be playing the flag tag relay.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Integrating Holidays: Father's Day

Why do dads get a day in June?
*Dads get the warm weather, so they can golf.
*Dads get there to be no school, so mom can watch the kids all day-so he can golf.
*Dads get a day on Sunday, so he can watch sports.
These answers are from a student when asked why Father's Day was in June.

Students often get to make all kinds of crafts for moms on their day, but school is usually out when it comes to dads. Here are a few ideas so fathers can get the homemade crafts with love.

I always love to go to enchanted learning to see what ideas they have. Such easy, practical crafts.

Michael's had great site this month for crafts: Crafts for dads

Barnes and Noble has a great section for gift ideas.

A few good reads:








My ultimate favorite gift I had the kids make for their dad was a book. I ordered them from Bare Books. We started the books on the first of June, 2006. I placed a picture of each child and they could decorate the cover. On the back we created an "about the author page."
We then did the steps for writing, prewriting, outlining, drafting, editing, writing, and publishing.
They wrote on the bottom of the page and drew their illustations on the top.
When they first started this project, they were 5 years old. This year, there are 8 more pages left in the book that they will complete. For 5 years, the kids have been adding to the bare book, and now it is a chapter book.
Dad loves it. I love it. It is great to see how the kids have grown.


Whatever you decided to do for dad, I am sure he will have a wonderful day just being remembered.

Integrating Holidays: Memorial Day

The last Monday of May is a time when the grills might be fired for the first time. This marks the beginning of Summer and the end of school. However, the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. It was previously known as Decoration Day, but still recognizes the American solders that have died while in military service.

Since children will be outside this weekend, have some outside activities to play.
1. Collect large rocks with washable paint (red, white, and blue) and let the kids paint them. Place them around a gravesite of a soldier.
2. Enchanted learning has a great idea that will help decorate your BBQ area.
Visit: Enchanted Learning


Vocabulary words you can help the kiddos understand are:
veteran, honor, memorial, cemetary, May, sacrifice

Discuss them and help them understand the words in a sentence. These books will also help them learn.

Integrating Holidays: Mother's Day

Hallmark is going to make a lot of money this week. Why shouldn't they!? Dads, we are going to honor our favorite ladies: mom. Here are some books you can read to the kids to get them excited, ready, and wanting to make lists for what to do for mom.






Of course afterwards, to encourage writing, have them write out a list of things they can do for mom. For the younger kiddos, have them draw pictures while you write what it represents. You can pick the top items. Making and writing a mother's day card is also something you can do. Enchanted Learning has wonderful card making ideas!
Finally, dad, I bet if you took the kids out for an afternoon at the movies or bowling alley and left mom at home, she would not feel left out. You might even drop her off at a friend's house, so she doesn't end up cleaning!