05.03.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool, Product Reviews at 10:19 am by Administrator
Let me preface this by saying I get no compensation for this product review and simply wanted to share this program by completing a review on Zoo-phonics.
This is my first year using Zoo-phonics, a kinesthetic method for teaching phonics, reading, spelling and writing using literature. The program is based on 26 animals, one representing each letter, who each use a different signal, or movement, to teach pre-readers letter sounds. The program covers pre and early readers from preschool to about 2nd grade (or anyone needing extra assistance, including ESL learners). Zoo-phonics teaches the alphabet as a whole unit and introduces lowercase letters before uppercase due to the fact that they are used in 95% of written works.
I have taught elementary, including 3 years in Kindergarten, and 10+ years in several preschools and have never had the success experienced this year with Zoo-phonics. Working with preschoolers (ages 2-5) this year, these children have played and sung their way to learning their ABC’s. The children knew most of the letter sounds after the first two weeks of school! We then focused in depth on one letter a week for the remainder of the year. My students’ favorite Zoo-phonics activities this year have been:
- alphabetizing using stuffed animals (we use stuffed animals that represent each letter and put them in ABC order). We have gotten them from discount stores and Goodwill for low cost.
- the songs with their movements, of course
- spelling or sounding out simple words using stuffed animals or merged letter cards
They do these things and think we are playing a game versus learning. That is SO important at an early age. Keep it fun!! My kinesthetic learners have also made significant progress using this program because the animals bring the phonics to life. It’s something they can relate to and something they can touch and hold while they connect the sound to the animal/letter.
The program has many options to personalize your classroom Zoo-phonics program. My top three favorites include:
- Zoo-Music Collection CD “Music That Teaches” - This has been the heart of our program! The children LOVE dancing and singing to the music and it has helped them remember the movements and sounds.
- Zoo-Fonts English and Spanish - This CD contains all of the Zoo-phonics‘ fonts and a great selection of clipart to produce personalized worksheets and handwriting papers, BINGO games, playing cards, games, posters, stick puppets…
- Adventures in Learning Teaching Guide - The teacher’s guide which offers a wealth of information and ideas to incorporate all other disciplines (math, science, social studies, art, music). Different guides are provided for each grade level, pre-K through 2nd, including an ESL supplement.
If you are looking to change or enhance your current phonics or reading program at your school or your home, I highly advise looking into this program!
A few related links to introduce you to Zoo-phonics:
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04.21.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 5:24 pm by Administrator
Outdoor Preschools/Wood Kindergartens Have you heard of this concept? The idea is that the children have school in an outdoor space suitable for braving all types of weather. I love the general idea, although I’m not sure I would take a fancy to it here year round, with the tornadic rainstorms, hail, sweltering heat and freezing snow that the different seasons bring to our area. I would have assumed that this concept is for moderate climates and that ample shelter is available, but one information site states that children head for shelter when the temperature is below -10!
Today, in our 76 degree, sunny backyard, we enjoyed free play, (a shortened) Morning Meeting and a picnic lunch within the freedom of the outdoors. From a maid’s point of view I loved it since there was nothing to vacuum and no table crumbs to worry about at our usual clean up time before nap. Since the children use so many natural treasures for their exploration, there is virtually no clean up for them as well. As a teacher, I reveled in watching them explore their surroundings with all of their senses. They felt the cool grass with their bare feet, smelled the fruity scent of the blooming flowers, watched the butterflies dance in the garden, and could hear the geese honking as they traveled above. After releasing their initial energy on the swings and playset, the children settled into searching for flowers to pick, digging in the dirt, watering the garden, building castles in the sand, ”saving” caterpillars, butterflies, ladybugs and beetles, and playing catch and chase. The creativity comes alive outside since the toys are basic and change from situation to situation and child to child. A pile of pine needles is straw for the horse (a.k.a. the dog) to one child and a bed for a baby for another child. A stick is an instrument to tap on different surfaces listening to subtle differences for one and a mast for a boat another is building.
Our Morning Meeting consisted of a rhyming book on flowers and bugs, read while the children drank juice to cool off and chose the sandbox as their seating area. Then we enjoyed singing Oh, Mr. Sun and Baby Bumblebee before playing ‘Round and ‘Round the Oak Tree for at least 15 minutes! The weather was easily discussed, as was a sorting activity where we put the natural things we’d seen into the categories of plants or animals/bugs. We skipped the calendar today since it was inside on the board, but I easily could have strung it to the fence for calendar time. Maybe tomorrow…
Tomorrow we’ll bring along the Explorer’s Kit (magnifying glasses, tweezers, a compass, a timer, gloves, a hat, a notebook, a pencil, etc.) to expand our search of nature. I also plan to set up the easel so the children can splash the paint around without worrying about making a mess.
I’d love to hear more ideas on what others are doing to create a classroom out of a natural environment!
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04.10.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 3:02 pm by Administrator
I don’t mean to turn this blog into a freebie posting site, but lately I have found several great deals. So, today I found this from Core Knowledge, the same people who brought us the series What Your (insert grade level) Needs to Know book series. They have now put out a preschool book and are promoting it with a free download of the story Thumbelina with some activity pages.
My daughter and I have already read it and I’m getting ideas for a unit study! I’m sure I’ll print the story so that she can also enjoy it on her own.
Along the same lines, I’ve been sharing classic stories with my children but sometimes it’s hard to find attractively illustrated stories of old classics and as preschoolers, they are not likely to sit through long readings, even with a good storyteller! To combat this, I read when they are a captive audience - either while they are eating or are in bed. I bought the iTalk Pro - Microphone
for my iPod
and record stories to put on their mp3 player (a SanDisk Sansa c250 2 GB MP3 Player). After we’ve read bedtime stories and they are tucked in, I play the stories for them to fall asleep to. The quality is fantastic - even on the inexpensive speakers that their inexpensive mp3 player plays on! They are comforted by my voice and listen to the natural cadence of a story being read aloud.
They have come to request stories be played more than bedtime music!
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03.21.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 1:54 pm by Administrator
One of my students’ favorite activities in the spring is watching caterpillars change into butterflies. I order the small set of caterpillars from Insect Lore and we chart how they change as we discuss what we think will happen next. After a few days of enjoying the butterflies (once they “hatch”), we release them into the garden. Older children could journal their findings.
Well, I wanted to share with you that Insect Lore is now offering a free butterfly Zoobook with any order of $25 or more before April 15th, 2008. Add the Butterfly Zoobook to your order then use coupon code: ZOOBOOK08. The price will be deducted from your order.
Please note that I receive nothing from sharing this information, other than the joy of knowing that other children will learn about butterflies.
I’ve just ordered our caterpillars and tonight am going to scoop some frog eggs from the ditch out front and pour them into an aquarium so that we can watch those develop into frogs. COOL! Spring is so much fun!
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03.18.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 9:43 pm by Administrator
Let me say that I am getting no compensation for plugging MediaMan. It is as an extremely happy customer that I highly recommend it.
To quote MediaMan’s self-description: “MediaMan is the ideal software to manage your media collection. It is not only a powerful tool to keep a digital catalog of all your books, videos, music, and games, but also an interactive jukebox that can enrich your digital entertainment life.
Managing a collection with MediaMan is a lot of fun. Featuring Amazon International importer, virtual shelf, tagging, barcode scanner, rental management, and fully customizable user interface, this little piece of program is fully loaded. And you’ll never believe how easy it is to use it.”
I originally downloaded the program in the summer of 2006 to upload all of my books, videos, CDs, and DVDs into an organizational format that I could easily use. Each week as I planned my lessons, I simply typed in a keyword and MediaMan provided me with all of the options my library contained, complete with cover art and descriptions to jog my memory in case I needed it. Gone were the days of searching through hundreds of storybooks and DVDs to find a few items to use that day/week.
Then, my husband, my wonderful, loving husband, got me a new computer for Christmas 2007. As thrilled as I was, I was then daunted by trying to transfer all the programs that I had painstakingly uploaded over several years to my new computer. Being right-brained like many teachers and slightly unorganized (which is the reason I needed a media organizational program to begin with!), I could not find my registration key which would allow me to install the program in my new computer.
After searching the house in a panic and learning that my husband had already cleared my old computer of “unneeded” information since he was now using it, I emailed Mr. He Shiming at MediaMan with my plight and he got me up and running again within hours, resending my registration information and directions on how to load it into my new computer.
You can’t imagine my relief and utter respect for He Shiming and his glorious MediaMan creation and I wanted to tell everyone about this program. If you are overwhelmed with trying to keep your media in check, you need to visit iMediaMan.com!
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Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 8:42 pm by Administrator
Here’s a fun twist to encourage writing. Use this to practice writing letters, numbers, and shapes.
Materials needed:
- blank paper
- drawing utensils
- blank cube template or wooden block
Take a blank cube template or wooden block and label each side with letters, numbers or shapes that your child/student is working on. Take turns rolling the “die” and writing the shape of the letter, number or shape on top. This can be played by any number of children of varying ages.
More ideas:
- Make the sound of the letter
- Write the capital/lowercase letter that corresponds to it instead of that letter
- Count to the number showing (use manipulatives - like m&m’s - if necessary)
- Add or subtract each new number shown
- Find the shape in the room
- Add each new shape rolled to one picture to create a piece of art
- Develop each shape into an object (for instance, a circle can become a sun; a square can become a cake)
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03.11.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 4:47 pm by Administrator
Children develop from the “inside out”, meaning that they have control over their midsection before their arms and legs; their arms before their fingers, their legs before their toes, etc. This is why a child rolls over before she walks and why she bats at toys before she picks up small objects. A keen observer will note that children need to develop arm strength and skills before mastering holding a pencil to write. However, there are ways to help develop a child’s prewriting skills in anticipation of later writing. Many of these involve tactile methods that help most children, not only kinesthetic learners. Remember that your child does not have to write the letter in order to learn it. Work with your child’s development to teach her. The most important thing is to keep it fun and tailored to the child’s interests and manner of learning.
- Using painter’s or masking tape (or sidewalk chalk outside), “write” a large (3 - 4 foot) letter (or number) on the floor for your child to walk on. Practice walking in the manner in which she will write the letter later. (For instance, for an “i“: Start at the top, walk down the stick to the end. Step off, walk back to the dot and hop on it once to “dot the i”. OR For an “s“: Start at the top and stay on the squiggly line as you walk to the end and step off.) Add fun to this: 1. make the letter sound or say the letter name as you walk on the letter, 2. spell out your child’s name, 3. play a version of Twister where you call out a letter for the child(ren) to run to, 4. leave the letter on the floor and refer to it when your child wants to watch a favorite show, etc. “Before we watch t.v., let’s walk the letter and make its sound.”
- Use sidewalk chalk to draw a really large letter or number on the driveway and have your child ride her bike or skate on the letter path. “Closed” letters like O, Q, D, B and numbers like 8 and 0 are fun with this.
- Near a beach? Use your feet to draw the letter or number as big as yourself in the sand. Watch the water fill up the letter river and slowly wash away.
- Use your pointer finger to draw the letter or number in the air, in the dirt outside, or “on a cloud”.
- Form the letter or number using your whole body in front of a mirror or join together with a friend to create the letter. Take a picture to outline later with your finger.
- Have old license plates? Trace the letters on your car’s license plate with your finger while you say the letter name or sound.
- Find letters in signs around town. Take pictures of them with a digital camera. Put the pictures of the letters in ABC order later.
- Cut out letters from magazines and newspapers. Aim for headlines instead of the tiny article print. Make an ABC book and glue letters on appropriate pages.
- Pour some salt, sugar or corn meal onto a baking sheet and write the letter in it. Pudding, yogurt, whipped cream, and applesauce are fun, non-toxic alternatives. Older children (that know not to eat it) can also enjoy shaving cream and fingerpaint as a medium.
- Create the letter or number out of play dough or better yet, bread dough to bake and eat!
- As your child begins to develop a knowledge of letters or numbers, “draw” one on her back (or on her hand with her eyes shut) with your finger to see if she can guess what letter it is. Have her draw one for you to guess.
Helping your child develop an awareness of letters and sounds builds the background for future reading. Make it fun so that reading becomes an enjoyable activity.
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03.04.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool, Child-friendly recipes at 9:10 pm by Administrator
Are you trying to increase your child’s protein or fiber intake and your child likes cupcakes? You must try these!
Instead of buying the quick cupcake snacks filled with hydrogenated oils and no fiber or protein, give your child a yummy treat that he will ask for more of! My bean-snubbing girls and students ALL love these and have NO idea what’s in them! Although I don’t consider these health food, these cakes are perfect for when your child would like a sweet treat but you don’t want it to be empty calories.The oatmeal and beans increase the fiber, protein, and even iron content of these cakes, making it hard to refuse your child a “treat”. You’ll only be limiting him due to the after-effects of the beans!
Beanie Cakes:
- one box of any brand cake mix (I have used Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker or the comparable store brand all with great results.)
- eggs, oil and/or water as noted on cake mix box
- 1 cup dry oatmeal
- 1 or 2 (16 oz. each) cans unseasoned beans (can be same type or varied), rinsed
Using a small food processor, combine rinsed beans and just enough of the water to puree beans. Grind oatmeal into a flour (a clean coffee grinder is great for this). Mix cake mix, oatmeal flour, and beans, along with eggs, oil and remaining water as noted on cake mix box. Pour into cake pans or cupcake tins and bake as directed on box.
Once cool, you can serve as is or ice with your favorite icing, like the cream cheese icing, below.
Makes 2 13×9-inch cakes that are thin like brownies.
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
On low speed, blend 1/2 cup sugar at a time into softened cream cheese until preferred consistency is reached.
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03.03.08
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 9:47 pm by Administrator
Posted by monkeybusinessbaby on February 29, 2008:
Miss Gina,
My little busy boy is 17 months old and into everything. When we tell him “No” he throws a big fit. He gets over it quickly so I am not overly concerned at this point but he also hits when he does not get his way and this I have a problem with. It took alot to remain composed the other day when he cracked me in the head with the mouse from my computer. OUCH!! He will also take whacks at the dogs if they are near by and he is not getting his way.
Is there anything at this age I can do to teach him this is not acceptable behavior. I have tried to tell him to be nice and that he is hurting mommy/daddy but nothing works.
Looking forward to some help with the whipper snapper.
Dear Monkeybusinessbaby,
I can feel your pain - literally! It is not easy to stand by calmly while our youngsters release their frustrations on us. Since anger is a valid emotion that can and should be expressed in an acceptable manner, your job is to help him learn how to safely deal with his anger.
My first suggestion toward lessening your son’s tantrums is…are you ready for this nugget of wisdom?…to avoid situations that spark the tantrums. Stay with me here. The best example of this is the delicate balance of the use of the word no. Your son is in that delicate stage when he’s trying to learn and grow through exploring with all of his senses. Unfortunately, not everything in his environment is safe to explore this fully and he’ll naturally hear “No!” pretty often. The less you use the word, the fewer potential tantrums he’ll have.
How is this possible without becoming your son’s doormat? Start by child-proofing your home. Get down on hands and knees, put away things he shouldn’t have, cover outlet holes, etc. Here is a pretty comprehensive article on child-proofing to start. With a child-friendly environment where he is safe to explore, theoretically, you’ll already use the word less and the fewer tantrums he’ll have.
Next, try to head off potentials for disaster by preparing him. Tell him what you want him to do versus what you don’t want him to do. Like, “We pet the dog’s back. See (as you model the action). He likes gentle hands.” Instead of, “Don’t pull the dog’s tail,” as he approaches the dog. This helps the child visualize what should be done. If you know that a certain situation may set off an episode, share your expectations beforehand in short sentences, not long drawn out explanations that will lose his attention. For instance, tell your son, “We’re going to play at Joe’s house today. Let’s remember to keep the toys in Joe’s room,” or “Mommy’s buying food at the store and you get to choose 1 treat,” and stick to your word! If he knows that tantrums create results, his behavior will be reinforced.
Also, instead of using commanding statements, like “Get in the tub”, try offering choices to your child, like, “Would you like blue or red water for your bath?” (just add a few drops of food coloring to the water) or “Should we play with balls or boats in the bath?” Giving choices removes the suggestion of power from children who may be in the mood for a power struggle.
Of course, if a child just wants to enjoy a good battle, a good teacher would tell you that bored children are mis-behaving children. Tucking away some of a child’s toys and rotating them weekly or monthly somehow makes them new again in the child’s eyes when brought back out and therefore they usually play longer and more intensely with them after an absence. If boredom is the root cause of a child’s misbehavior (the child keeps getting into things, keeps hearing, “No!” and gets increasingly frustrated) try this. Keep a bucket of blocks or cars, a bean or rice bucket, or play dough tucked away for when boredom arises. (Pounding play dough is another great stress reliever!)
Since nothing is fool-proof there are sure to be some tantrums. Here are some ideas for those times. Once a tantrum starts, make sure other children are out of harm’s way and that adults are on guard, then give him words. Say with feeling, “You’re mad! You wanted the ball! You want to hit something! Punch this pillow!” Then, give that pillow a beating it’ll never forget! Your child will probably be confused initially by your actions and stop his antics at least long enough to watch you. He may even join in teaching that pillow a lesson. Let him say, “I’m mad!” so he learns that is a safe way to express his feelings. Often, children will turn on the smiles as they release their aggression and they see the humor and fun in what they are doing.
When you can’t completely rid your child of all tantrums, forecast them. You’ve now witnessed several episodes and are probably getting keen on predicting a tantrum coming on. Let’s say your son is jumping off the couch onto the hardwood floor near your pointy cornered coffee table. If you expect a tantrum during a moment of discipline, be ready. Get close to your child, squat down to his level, place your hands gently on his arms as you look into his eyes and say, “That’s danger! We sit on the couch.” You are ready to grab his arms if he decides to strike out, stopping him in the moment. You can immediately take his arms and hit them on the pillow. If your child is out of control and you feel strong enough, you can wrap your arms around him with his back against your chest, holding him firmly while rocking and singing calmly until he relaxes. (Watch his head and feet, especially if he has shoes on.) Otherwise, quickly scoop him up and take him to his room (a supposed safe zone) and shut the door until his tantrum is over. Show no emotion while doing this, saying only, “You may throw a fit in here.” This is as much to protect your child as it is to protect other adults, children and pets. After several of these time-outs, many children start to run to their safe zone when they feel out of control. Depending on where you are, you can completely ignore the tantrum by removing yourself from the area (perfect if you’re both in his room when it happens or an otherwise safe spot). With no one around to watch his antics, he’ll likely calm down.
Back to the original situation, if he chooses to sit when asked, you are right there to hug him and offer that immediate reward. Make every attempt to respond each time he follows directions without throwing a fit and be sure to tell him how proud you are. If you feel your child would enjoy it, create a behavior chart like this one to document each time he acts appropriately in a questionable situation.
So, to review and put the suggestions in an easy to reference format, to head off a tantrum, try to:
- Avoid situations that are likely to spark a tantrum.
- Child-proof to create a child-safe environment within which to explore.
- Prepare your child before potential tantrums.
- Speak in positive, short sentences; telling your child what to do, instead of what not to do (model behavior as needed).
- Stick to your word! Be consistent!
- Offer choices instead of commands.
- Keep your child actively engaged in fun activities.
Once a tantrum begins:
- Clear the area of other children and pets.
- Give him words, “I’m mad!”
- Model appropriate behavior (punching a pillow).
- Forecast tantrums; get close and stand ready.
- Try holding him through a tantrum, removing him to his room (or other safe zone), or removing yourself as appropriate.
- Praise, praise, praise when he responds as you would like! Consider a Good Behavior chart.
Of course, not all of these suggestions work all of the time or with all children. Depending on your child’s temperament, some may work one day and not the next. This is the joy of getting to know your child and growing together.
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10.14.07
Posted in Mommy Nature's Home Preschool at 5:36 pm by Administrator
Mommy Nature’s Preschool Blog is getting a facelift! Why? Well, our website, MommyNature.com, has served more as an information source for what we are doing at Mommy Nature’s Preschool which has left the blog trailing behind, searching for a goal, as it often just simply restates what can be found on the site, causing inefficient, double-work on my part! Therefore, I thought the blog could serve a more helpful role in answering questions that would be beneficial for all.
I bet your next question is, “What questions?” Some of you may not realize that I receive several contacts a week asking for more information on how I created something on the site or looking for more in-depth information on ideas for specific learning activities. I’ve even created writing sheets for a mom who used a public computer and couldn’t download the font she was looking for (from SearchFreeFonts.com, not some paid program I have secret access to! 
Well, this all gave me the idea to use the blog as a vehicle to serve a larger group. I’ll begin by answering questions already posed to me, usually via email, but please send in any you have (through this blog or via email) and if I don’t have the answer, we’ll work together to find it! Meanwhile, visit MommyNature.com for more updates and activity ideas to use - great for those cold/wet weather indoor days!
Thanks,
Gina
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