Letter Day Preview- Zz

We made it to the end!!! Wahoo!!!!! I have had a great month and I am so glad that I decided to teach my Boo the letters this way. I feel like I never got bored since the letters were changing daily, and there was always something fun to look forward to doing.
Z day was filled with smiles at the local zoo! Of course we saw zebras!!! But the best part of the zoo was seeing the itty bitty giraffe that was just born yesterday! He was so cute!!!


I printed off a cute Zoo book that we colored. I added this pdf to the Z page on the wiki as well as a zoo checklist and some word wall words.

We also attended an open house for a nearby temple (my husband says it's Z for Zion!)
Busy day and I am looking forward to our culminating picnic tomorrow.
Happy Teaching and keep on learning!!!

Letter Day Preview- Yy

For Y day we did 2 things- ate lots of yummy yogurt and yoga poses! The raspberry yogurt made a great, healthy breakfast for my Boo. We even tried making yogurt Popsicles but ended up breaking our Popsicle tray (long story). :) We tried doing some Yoga poses with these great cards I used for my second graders. My daughter's favorite poses were the rock, the gorilla, and cat (ended up looking more like the cobra though). She had a great time and I did, too!

Letter Day Preview- Xx

Earlier this month we picked up some old X-rays from Grandpa. Little Boo just loved looking at the black and white images of a hand and foot!That was so much fun! We also ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria and what just happened to be the shape of the butter???
An X , of course!! Perfect!!!
I made some X-ray alphabet cards that went along with a file folder game. The file folder game suggested you print them in full size pages but I opted to make smaller, more compact cards that we could play with!

ABCs of Me Winner

There you have it- comment #2 please contact me with info so you can receive your prize! I know I am SO SO SO behind in my letter posts but I promise to briefly update you soon!

Updating.......Letters , Curriculum, and Quiet Kits (oh my!)

LETTER POSTS
I have a few posts to write... we have had X, Y, and tomorrow will be letter Z day so look for those posts. I will choose a # for our winner of the ABC's of Me book tomorrow night as well! good luck to all who entered!

CURRICULUM PLANS FOR AUGUST
I have come up with curriculum for the month of August....
We will have the theme "I'm a Fit Kid". This will encompass mainly nutrition (something I need to work on), physical fitness and gross motor skills (something my Boo will LOVE), and getting into a healthy routine and schedule (like what chores she will do and when, teeth brushing, potty training MAYBE, etc.... ) Thanks to ORANGE JUICE I won a year membership at Tidy Kidz where I can put some of their ideas to work ASAP! And I want to get back into some of those basic Montessori independence activities. WOW its going to be a busy month!

QUIET KITS
I will also be using some Itty Bitty curriculum to review ABC's with an Alphabet Quiet Kit. I am going to be pulling a lot of these great ideas and books into this kit. If I can squeeze in the time I would love to make a Montessori-on-the-go Quiet Kit which would include the categorization cards as well as a set of sandpaper letter flashcards or simple beading activities (any other ideas?) And I would like to make a Shapes Quiet Kit too. Lots of plans!!

It is currently 2 in the morning and I better catch some Zzzz's for our Z day at the Zoo!
Happy Teaching! :)

Picnic Talk- Jump, Skip & Hop

Today at ABC and 123 we are discussing outdoor games and physical activities that we love to do together as a family. I will be honest and upfront and say that neither my dear husband or myself are athletic. But we have been blessed with a very active, strong, sporty little girl! I know that one day soon she will be teaching us about athleticism just as I am teaching her the alphabet. Fair trade!
We do love to be together though. We spend many hours a week at parks, outside exploring, jumping on the mini tramp, and running around the kitchen table! My almost 2 year old daughter will pull at my finger wanting me to chase her around and around and around.... I think we have a future track star in the making!
We also love to hike together. We are fortunate to live by some amazing mountains that offer such a beautiful view of the valley atop the peaks. Definitely worth the climb!
I tried doing yoga with my Boo when she was about 9 months... not really interested. I am going to give it another go for our letter Y day.... she may be more up to it this time! :)
Reading the title of this week's picnic talk is getting me all excited to teach my daughter HOW to skip and hop (she has mastered the jump). I am going to look into finding a copy of "Skip to my Lou" and "the Bunny Hop" since she loves to perform to music (there is a great marching song I play for her on the piano that she LOVES)
Happy Teaching!!! :) Let the love of learning inspire the teacher in us all!

Letter Day Preview- Ww

First of all- THANKS so much for all those that have been blessing me with awards! You have no idea how far a little recognition will go... so please know I deeply appreciate it.
Second, thanks to all those who are adding stuff to our WIKI! Yes, W day can not go without paying tribute to all those who are wikiing (is that even a word?) and adding some incredible stuff! THANK YOU!!! And the great thing is that we all get to benefit from your ideas! Don't you just love sharing?

OK- back to W day... We caught a few minutes of a great show on PBS called Word World. SO cute- just never seem to have time to watch it! (yet surprisingly we seem to have plenty of time to watch elmo... something isn't right here!) We also watched this funny little clip on the letter W:


I think it might have been more entertaining for me!
Daddy took her out to Warrens for dinner while I was busy helping out with Cub Scouts (I am on the pack committee...)
W day wouldn't be complete without some fun getting wet in the water. Little Boo splashed around and sprayed herself for quite awhile!Happy Teaching!

Letter Day Preview- Vv (easy volcanoes)

For V day we made a volcano! I didn't want to spend too much time making one and after collaborating with my sister in law I came up with this super easy volcano! All you need is:baking soda, vinegar, red food coloring (for the lava) plate, small plastic snack container, toilet paper roll, tape (volcano)

Cut the toilet paper roll into 4 equal squares. Because this cardboard has been rolled up, it will make a great slope for your volcano. tape down to the plate as well as inside the container (AKA mouth of the volcano).
Add the food coloring first. Then scoop in some baking soda. We put in the vinegar last- since this was a liquid and easiest to pour. Watch with amazement as your volcano erupts! Just watch out for curious little hands who want to taste test this bubbly concoction!
We also ate veggies... yes, I took a picture but I won't bore you with a picture of it!
YAY for V day!
Happy Teaching!

My New Favorite Diaper Bag

Yesterday was my birthday! Hooray for being one year older and wiser (and more exhausted and forgetful...)

Here is one of my favorite birthday gifts:

I got tired of hauling around an enormous diaper bag SO one of the gifts my hubby gave me is this adorable Eddie Bauer Bag.... I love it because it has a lot of outside pockets, its waterproof, and very small and light weight.

The bag I have is gray and white with a stone pattern. I couldn't find a pic of it online so I will have to take a pic. :)

You know you are a mom when diaper bags make the perfect gift.

Letter Day Preview- Uu

I woke up Friday and had a wonderful revelation. It was U day and we were heading out to see a parade in honor of the pioneers in Utah! Love it when things fall into place like that! Especially on a day like U day when there just didn't seem to be as much to do...
Some things we DID do are:

1. Utah pioneer parade in the morning- so HOT but lots of fun! Especially watching the news helicopters overhead! There were even some unicycles in the parade!
2. Went to our local university's grill for dinner.
3. Posed for some pics by Daddy's car since his license plates start with U!

Since I am playing catch up on three letter days- I don't remember if we did anything else for U day....
Happy Teaching!

Letter Day Preview- Tt

T day is here!
Some fun things we did to celebrate the letter T are:

1. made an egg carton train (idea from Preschool Express). This was a Mommy and Me project since Boo was more interested in painting the newspaper covering the table.
2. set up a small tent in the yard- I had this as a reading tent in my second grade classroom- because of our small house I don't leave it up all the time, but it is fun to put up once in awhile and use as a toddler playpen!
3. ate a delicious dinner of tacos
4. went to the local train museum- this was a fun field trip we took with my parents and brother.
5. played with musical instruments triangle and tambourine
6. learned (more like watched Mommy sing) I'm a Little Teapot. She calls it the "Pot" song :).
   
7. went to our local religious temple and took pics outside... despite the fact it was like 100 degrees outside, I wanted some pics of her in a little dress with ruffly socks and shoes. (I know I am such a mean momma!) Her favorite part of the temple? The water fountain! No wonder- she was probably so hot!
   

All in all- fun T day! Happy Teaching!!

Letter Day Preview- Ss

There are SO many things that start with the letter S!! We had a hard time narrowing things down (our other activities that we wanted to do I will add to the WIKI for future reference.
Somethings we did do:
ran through the sprinklers (my child was born to get wet)
ate a nice hearty spaghetti dinner
made a sunflower handprint painting (got the idea from somewhere out there in the blogosphere...)did a science experiment about melting-
ATTENTION all parents whose children hate peas.
TRY this at home: put an itsy bitsy amount of butter of hot peas. Watch as your child is amazed as it melts. My Boo ate FOUR servings of peas just so she could watch the butter melt!!!!

Happy Teaching!

Picnic Talk- Organization

Greetings ABC and 123 readers!
OK- I am showing you ONE picture of the most organized space of my house! I have piles of educational materials, felt, resource manuals, and other supplies in various piles around our house that need to find a better place to be stored! I really look forward to seeing all of your wonderful ideas!
But I DO have this:Thanks to some pencil boxes I had purchased awhile ago, I have organized our kitchen cabinet with all our pencils, crayons, stickers, glue sticks, scissors, batteries, etc. I am pretty stinkin' proud of this one little space!
Happy Organizing!

Letter Day Preview- Rr

R day already! WOW! Before going into our days activities, I am going to answer a question from Orange Juice. She asked a great question wondering if my daughter was understanding the concept and learning her letters. My Boo is almost 2- and I need to say that my intention in doing these letter days was just to get her feet wet and provide her with some alphabet schema or background knowledge. I am amazed at how much she is actually grasping. I would have to say she is about 75% accurate in letter sounds A-R and letter recognition is probably around 50%.... there are certain letters she knows really well- like D, M, X, K (sometimes mislabeled as an X). I plan on doing some sort of an assessment with her this week to see where she is at. I am trying to figure out her strengths and let her guide me with her education- so far I can say she is a great memorizer. At the same time- I am trying NOT to go overboard with "school stuff" and provide her with a well rounded childhood.
OK, lets review the letter R!
RAINBOW ROCKS

went on a rock hunt, collected several different rocks in a bucket
we then painted rocks in a rainbow of colors

once the rocks dried, we danced in a circle around the rocks (don't ask me why we do this... other than the fact that my daughter loves to run in circles, I have no reasonable explanation! this is a good example of me gearing Boo's learning to her interests!)

we then matched the rocks on colored felt squares. i thought that this would be easier than it really was.... my daughter just wanted to jump on the felt. she has bundles of energy ALL the time!

we danced with some ribbon around the living room

We ate Ravioli for dinner and also ran around the table.... and of course we had some yummy rootbeer floats! The r sound is a little tricky for my little one to say- not as difficult as the L sound though.
I had great plans for doing rainbow art with strings and some Montessori rice activities (as well as coloring rice) The day was too short for all that R fun!
Happy Teaching!

Letter Day Preview- Qq

This was quite the day- as far as letter learning is concerned! I have been nervous for Q day to come since we started the ABC days.... why, you may ask? I am concerned about teaching my Boo the correct sound the letter Q makes. While most say "kw", those familiar with digraphs and phonics know that without the u, the q says "k". So which do I teach my daughter- the phonetically correct way, or the generalization?
I ended up teaching her that the Q says"k". But from her Letter Factory experience, she already knows "kw". More often than not, u follows q and therefore makes that sound. I can't stress over such a little thing! RELAX, Keri!!! She isn't even 2 yet!!!!
Here is a picture of our Q day project with q tips. We had fun painting and making a big mess!
We also looked at some quilt books, ate quesadillas (not a cook and actually made enchiladas! oops!)
Happy Teaching!

Letter Day Preview- Pp

Friday was our letter P day! We had SO much fun! 3 different parks, 2 yummy picnics, and 1 banana flavored Popsicle!

Here is our day in photos (minus the lunch picnic, and popcorn and pretzel snacks!):

part pineapple/ham, part pepperoni

YES we visited three parks! My daughter was in heaven!!!

Funny side note: a police car was following us after visiting the splash park- I thought we were going to get pulled over- luckily we didn't!

Mommy & Me Made Book Giveaway: the ABC's of ME

This day is here at last! I am so pumped up about this giveaway! I love sharing what I create- and one of you lucky readers will get to take home your own personalized copy of an ABC book! This is a sturdy, hard-bound blank book (includes a customized cover and uppercase and lowercase letters on each page). The possibilities are endless with what you and your child could create with this book... picture collages, a dictionary, even use as a portfolio of your child learning the ABC's by gluing in artwork, writing samples, or photographs.

The one in the pics is for my daughter- you will notice the fairy clip art- that is customizable of course!

Best Part- you can enter as MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT! Here's the catch.... you need to submit something to our site's WIKI (online datebase of lesson helps and ideas).
Click here for a tutorial- or just go straight to the site, click on any page, click on EDIT PAGE, and then type in your idea! Make sure to leave your name somewhere on the page.

SO in review- for every new idea added to the Home Teacher WIKI, come back here and post a comment (let me know what you added, what page it was on, etc).
WHAT if you add 10 new ideas? come back and comment 10 times! NO LIMIT!!! I just want your help building this WIKI!! :)

GIVEAWAY ENDS JULY 31 at midnight.

I am so excited I may just enter my own giveaway! :)

Letter Day Preview- Oo

Hooray for the letter O! I was seriously WONDERING what I was going to do today- thank you Eva for leaving a comment on my blog about your O day plans! Thanks to her we got the idea to make an obstacle course.

jump over the broom, under the piano bench, walk on the green plates, and finish off by jumping on the mini tramp!

Went to the church where my husband is organist and Boo made her organ debut... (actually a lot more interested in the stops and buttons on the organ than the keys!)
Ate dinner at the Olive Garden (thanks to some gift cards we had saved up). Boo ate the olives from the salad, of course!
YAY for O day! Happy Teaching!

First Giveaway Coming Soon!

Tomorrow I will be posting about our first ever Mommy-Made Book give-away! This will be an event open to ALL- stay tuned for more details!

Picnic Table Talk- Imaginative Play

Welcome ABC and 123 readers!
This is my favorite kind of play! I love to watch my little one pretend play by feeding her dolls. We will turn a basket upside down and use that as the dolly's table- setting it with mini dishes, cups, pots, and pans. She will then grab the play food and say "yummy" while feeding it to her babies (as well as the blocks, books- anything in sight!). She will even try and feed Mommy! Scrumptious!
We also like to pretend play with the cardboard house (thanks to the old dishwasher for breaking causing us to buy a new one). She has a purple chair inside that she likes to sit on while eating snacks. She likes it when I sit in there too- its mighty squishy!
Isn't it lovely home decor though? Just seems to tie our living room together...

Letter Day Preview- Nn (nature and nutrition)

N is for nifty, neat, and nice- three words that described our day!
For N day we went on a nature walk. I thought of bringing along a checklist on a clipboard(i am SO a clipboard person- I used them in my second grade class all the time) The checklist consisted of handwritten pics of rocks, bugs, trees, flowers, water, and leaves (6 things I knew we would find). Had I thought about it earlier I would have made one on the computer- maybe next time! Luckily for my daughter we found everything on our list in the first 5 minutes of our nature walk (she must not be a clipboard person like her momma!) What I loved about having the checklist- she remembered more when we reviewed everything we saw during our walk. Her favorite part of the adventure? These enormous dandelions. She just laughed and laughed as they tickled her chin!


What is a letter day with out food? We ate nachos- yummy for me , little Boo didn't like the cheese on the chips. She requested plain chips instead.

We went to the Nickel-cade for a fun activity. Not my favorite place- but we had a 1.00 in nickels to spend riding on the little carousel and cars. Boo had fun putting the nickels in the slots- this place is just so germy though that we immediately de-germed after playing there!

I worked on a nutrition chart for my Boo. This is something that is extremely important to me since I am not a good eater myself. I wanted something that she could participate in and would be a constant reminder of what foods we are lacking in our healthy diet.
I plan on putting this chart where we can see it often. The plan is to have Boo add square markers to the graph for each serving she eats from the different groups. We'll see how it goes....

Check out these addition resources on nutrition:
Wholesome Toddler Food
Little People's Plates (loved this site- there are some really cute pdf's to print to track your toddler's eating
The ABC's of Teaching Nutrition to your Kids

Hope these sites help.... I have no idea what we are doing for O day....ideas?
Happy Teaching!