We love doing kids art projects in the style of great artists for the bimonthly Kids Get Arty series. This month we had fun doing an easy Picasso for kids activity-- cubist-style portraits! We went online and studied lots of different portraits that Picasso had done. We talked about the differences between his work and portraits done by other artists and looked at other cubist style portaits to find similiarities. The 4 year old, 6 year old and I … [Read more...]
Random Acts of Kindness and Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments
To spread kindness to our neighbors this year I had big plans for all the cute, fun things we could make. I had visions of pinterest-worthy crafts to show our neighbors just how much we appreciated them. And then tragedy struck Sandy Hook Elementary last week and beautiful creations no longer seemed to be what our neighbors needed. Our local elementary school was in partial lock down all week. Parents could not walk their kids to their classrooms … [Read more...]
Kids Art Activity: Discovering Dali
It's time for Kids Get Arty! We participated for the first time in September and had a blast drawing pet portraits in the style of Brooke Churchill. I was completely blown away by how fantastic the experience was and still cannot believe we waited so long to join in! For November's challenge we decided it was time to FINALLY visit The Dali! I have been wanting to go since we moved here 2 years ago, but was worried the kids weren't quite ready. Now … [Read more...]
Math Fact Practice: Flashcard Passport Game
My first grader has to learn all sorts of math facts this year and so far this fall has been working on addition. The kids study their flashcards throughout the month and their parents are supposed to quiz them periodically and sign whether or not they can answer them quickly and accurately on their homework sheet. Holding up flashcards got boring very quickly so last month we played a fire hose game to "put out" the correct answers. It was a hit … [Read more...]
Spoon Feelings Activity for Kids
We have been having so much fun participating in the Virtual Book Club for Kids! This month's author, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, was new to us and we excited to see her book Spoon in the Scholastic book order last month. (affiliate link) Spoon is the story of a little spoon who begins to fret that his friends, Knife, Fork, and Chopsticks, have it so much better than him. His friends think he is the lucky one, but he can only see the things that … [Read more...]
Fire Hose Fact Practice Game
My first grader needs to work on her addition fact speed as part of her homework this month. We also have been talking about fire safety and today it occurred to me to combine the two--after all what better reason to go quickly than a fire? I wrote some of the sums the 6 year old was working on the fence with sidewalk chalk and drew flames around them. I also wrote letters and sight words in "flames" so my 2 and 4 year olds could play too. My … [Read more...]
Practice Questioning with a Question Ball
Good readers need to be able to recall and make sense of, or comprehend, what they read. One of the best ways to increase comprehension in readers of any age is with the Questioning Strategy. In order to better understand the text kids learn how to create teacher-like questions about what they have read. Sounds simple, right? All it takes is practice! This is where the Question Ball comes in! How to use a Question Ball to increase reading … [Read more...]
Pumpkin Themed Play Date and a Blog Hop
We invited some friends over on Saturday for a pumpkin play date! It was a great way to celebrate the first day of fall and definitely got us in the mood for fall. The best part? It was fun for the kids and super easy to put together! Pumpkin Books: We started the play date with a pumpkin story, the book Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell. The story follows a little girl and her family as they enjoy many fun fall activities. This is one of … [Read more...]
