Fly Swat Painting

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,

That wriggled and wiggled and tickled inside her;

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;

How absurd to swallow a bird.

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;

Fancy that to swallow a cat!

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady that swallowed a dog;

What a hog, to swallow a dog;

She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow,

I don't know how she swallowed a cow;

She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,

She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,

She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;

I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...She's dead, of course!

Master 2 and master 4 have taken a real shine to the rhyme There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. After reading it today we decided to get out the Fly Swats and get painting. As you can see the boys had a great time and it provided another great opportunity for colour recognition practice for Master 2 and Master 4 enjoyed swatting the colours over each other to make new colours. The end product looked great and I'm going to take a piece from the painting and trace the Old Lady from the story and put it into their art folders.

I'm A Little Tea Pot

I'm a little teapot, short and stout.

Here is my handle; here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up, hear me shout

Just tip me over and pour me out.

I'm a Little Teapot! (2007) sets up pretend play. Kubler paints toddlers in togs that mimic the colors of a teapot. They are the teapot! Tottering two-year-olds stand on one foot and bend: Tip me up, and pour me out! Balance skills! At book's end, a tea party.


Below are some fun activities that you can link with the rhyme
I'm a Little Tea Pot:


Craft Activity: Show your child a tea bag and tear it open and show them the leaves. Brew some tea and make it strong. Get busy painting with the undiluted tea.


Role Play: Sit with your child and have a pretend tea party. Make some sandwiched together to have with your pretend tea.

Numeracy:

1. Find different tea cups and saucers and get your child to match the cups with the correct saucers.
2. Pairs of items that are tall and short - tall teapot, short teapot; ta;; flower, short flower; tall glass, short glass etc

Water Play: Fill your water tray, baby bath, sand shell (anything that you can use to put water in) and fill it with teapots with different-sized spouts and different sized cups. This will allow your child to explore pouring water into cups, great for hand-eye co-ordination.

Cooking: Decorate tick-tock biscuits with marshmallows, freckles and half a pink mint roller (as the handle). These are so cute and quick and easy to make. Mix up a little icing and give your little one an ice block stick to use to apply the icing.

The Value of Nursery Rhymes

I'm a little teapot, short and stout.

Here is my handle; here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up, hear me shout

Just tip me over and pour me out.

Great literature? Perhaps not. Yet, this deceptively simple rhyme contains the basic building blocks of literature: character, plot, setting, and point of view. Nursery rhymes are your child's first venture into the joy of story and reading. They're short, catchy, and they stick in your brain, making them more portable than picture books.

When my own children are restless, I calm and refocus them quickly with their favourite rhymes. Is baby bored and fussy in the store? I quietly sing the teapot song and he stops to listen and watch. Is my toddler bouncing off the walls? I turn that bounce into a game as we jump over Jack Be Nimble's candlestick together. My preschoolers attention span for longer stories grows rapidly because he's already enjoyed the brief adventures of the Itsy Bitsy Spider and friends.

Nursery rhymes and songs are the perfect vehicle to begin building vocabulary and structure. Though their subject matter sometimes offends modern sensibilities, their timeless appeal rests in their visual imagery and catchy rhythm and rhyme. With so many to chose from, anyone can find a few favourites.

Children are born with a love of rhythm and rhyme, music and song and so why not base activities around a weekly Nursery Rhyme Theme that truly brings the rhyme to life for your child. Each week I am going to blog activities for a rhyme that will allow your little one to experience and enjoy. Nursery Rhymes provide opportunities for:

• Nursery rhymes introduce memorable characters with defining moments. Old King Cole is a merry old soul. Little Miss Muffet suffers from arachnophobia. The Itsy Bitsy Spider defies the elements to climb that waterspout.


• Nursery rhymes excite us with action and suspense. Little Bo-Peep loses her sheep. Will she ever get them back? Jack and Jill climb up and fall down a hill. Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall and cannot be repaired. These rhymes are dramas in miniature with conflict and resolution.


• Nursery rhymes explore familiar spaces or transport us to faraway places. Mary's little lamb follows her to school. Old MacDonald's farm is filled with noisy animals. London Bridge falls down. Familiar rhymes encourage the imagination and create connections between your child and his growing world. A child raised with Star Light Star Bright and Hey Diddle Diddle will be curious about the lights in the night sky.


• Nursery rhymes encourage children to playact. When Jack jumps over the candlestick, we all jump with him. Who can resist falling down at the end of Ring Around the Rosy? Even baby gets into the act when you ham it up while identifying each little piggy. These early experiences set the stage for later imaginary play, an important part of child development.


• Nursery rhymes introduce the rhythms of poetry and the fun of playful language. Academically, Hickory, Dickory, Dock has a specific meter and structure, but don't focus on that. The good stuff is in the playfulness of this poem. Peter Piper is packed with alliteration, but its appeal lies in the challenge of saying it without stumbling over the pickled peppers. Nursery rhymes remain popular because they're fun to recite to each new generation.

However, the best reason to rhyme is not for instructional value, but to share the joy of story for its own sake. Read or recite your favourites with animation and your child will join in with a smile. As he grows older, leave off or change the ending of a familiar verse and hear your child fill in the blanks. Make it an ever-changing game. Share a playful rhyme with your children and create a bond that shows them that you love them. What could be better than that?

Musical Instruments to Make at Home

Children love music as much as they enjoy making things. Why not join these two creative forces and make one or all of these fun and easy musical instruments to encourage play and creativity.

Bean Shakers

What You Need:
Empty Plastic Bottle (small, medium or large, it's up to you)
Dried peas, beans or lentils
Superglue

Instructions:
Clean out the bottle and allow to dry thoroughly.
Fill the bottle about 1/8 to 1/4 full with the peas, beans or lentils.
Place superglue around the threads of the bottle opening and quickly tighten the lid and allow the glue to dry before playing with the shaker.

Kazoo

What You Need:
Waxed Paper
Paper towel tube
Rubber bands

Instructions:
Cut the waxed paper to fit over one end of the paper towel tube.
Secure the paper with several rubber bands.
Poke a few holes in the waxed paper.
Hum into the unpapered end to make music.

Drum

What you need:
Large, cylindrical formula container
Craft knife
Tyvek (what no-rip envelopes are made of; available at your local post office or at office supply stores)
Markers
Duct Tape
Heavy-duty wrapping paper or one of your child's drawings

Instructions:
Remove the lid from a large, cylindrical formula container.

Cut out the bottom with a craft knife.
Cut a piece of Tyvek (what no-rip envelopes are made of; available at your local post office or at office supply stores) into a circle that's 4 inches wider than the mouth of the oatmeal carton. (For instance, if your container measures 5 inches across, the Tyvek should be 9 inches.) Don't worry about making the circle perfectly round; we traced the carton onto our envelope, then cut around it, keeping our scissors roughly 2 inches from that line.
To get it as taut as possible, adhere 2 pieces of tape directly opposite each other after pulling the Tyvek tight between them. Continue in the same way around the container, until all 8 strips are applied in pairs (you'll need to gather the material slightly as you go). Finally, cut one last, longer piece of tape and wrap it all the way around the edge of the Tyvek.

TAMBOURINE

What you need:

2 paper plates
stapler or glue
hole punch
string
jingle bells
crayons

Instructions:

Staple or glue two paper plates together, facing each other. Using a hole punch, make holes around the plates and tie jingle bells to the holes with string. Decorate the tambourine with crayons. Shake to play.

Cactus Rain Stick

Fill an empty wrapping paper roll with rice and tape ends closed. Poke straight pins from one side through to the other up and down the roll and decorate. The pins are stuck into the cardboard randomly so that when the cylinder is turned upside down, the rice falls through bouncing off the straight pins, creating a rain stick sound.

Chimes

What you need:
ruler or stick,washers,nail polish,string,mixing spoon

Instructions:Hang the washers from the ruler or stick with pieces of string by wrapping the string around the ruler or stick and securing. Strike the washers with the mixing spoon to play.
Note: You can make this craft colorful by painting the washers first with different color nail polishes, such as red, gold, glittery, etc. Parents should supervise this part of the activity closely.

Xylophone

What you need:
tall glasses or jars, water, mixing spoon

Instructions:
Fill the glasses or jars with different amounts of water. The more water in the glass, the lower the pitch will be. Having less water in the glass or jar will raise the pitch.
To play, gently strike the glasses with a mixing spoon.
Note: This instrument should probably be played by older children in "the band" because of the use of glass.

Guitar

What you need:
empty shoe box,rubber bands,ruler or stick

Instructions:
Remove the cover from the box. Stretch the rubber bands around the box. Attach the ruler or stick to the back of the box on one end to act as the arm of the guitar.
To play, strum or pluck the rubber bands.

Cymbals

What you need:two matching pot covers yarn or ribbon

Instructions:
Tie the ribbon or yarn around the handles of the pot covers. To play, strike together..

Pegging Colours to make Patterns

This morning the boys and I spent some time focussing on colour recognition and patterning. If you are just introducing patterning use a simple AB pattern based on colour .Using everyday objects are a great way to reinforce patterning at home. (cars and trains are a favourite in our house!) I'm always looking for creative activities with a dual purpose - that suits a 4 year old and a 2 year old!! The boys had a great time this morning working through these simple cards that I made last night. I had some smiley face stickers in the craft box and used them to create AB and ABC patterns for Master4, and then put a smiley face of each colour for Master2 in different variations. I was looking for Master 2 to identify colours and use his fine-motor skills with the pegging onto the card. This is a really easy activity to make for your little one at home and you will find once you have spent time showing him how to do it, he will happily sit and complete the cards independently.

Easy Ways to Teach Numbers, Counting & Maths

Numbers, Numbers everywhere.... we are all about numbers this week leading up to the celebration of Numeracy Week here in Queensland. I put some glitter paint into zip lock bags for Master 4 to practice writing his numbers. When teaching numbers I find children respond really well if they are able to touch and feel numbers and make numbers in different textures.

Though preschoolers generally don’t recognise it, maths is another way to understand and make sense of the world, much like language. Like words, maths is used everywhere and is an integral part of everyday life. What exactly is maths? Simply put, maths is the observation, identification, description and explanation of numbers, space, relation, and order. Counting, measuring, problem solving, reasoning, and identifying shapes and patterns are the activities of math. Preschoolers, who have opportunities to learn maths through play and everyday interactions are gaining the foundation for maths development.

Beyond exposing young kids to maths, fostering a healthy attitude is key. A maths attitude includes observing that maths is all around, identifying maths as fun and interesting, and believing that maths is something you can do. When a child notices that mittens make a pair, observes the similar shape of stop signs, or delights in counting animal crackers, this child is not only doing maths, but also showing a healthy math attitude.

The best way to teach preschool children (or students of any age) is in a purposeful manner—in a context that has a purpose to the child. Teaching moments can be created by playing a game that involves mathematics (e.g. recognizing the number of dots on a die or a domino). Everyday activities provide a wealth of real learning opportunities. Basically, as parents we need to find or manufacture situations that create a real need on the part of the child to use, and thus learn or practice math. Below I have listed some ideas for you to use at home. You will probably recognise many of these that you already do on a regular basis without even intentionally teaching to your child!

Count everything
As you go up steps, eat strawberries, pick flowers, put up Lego's, you name it.

Count to 60 while brushing their teeth
Master 4 and I take turns brushing his teeth and I count out loud to 60 for each of our turns. It's an easy way for him to understand the concept of one minute and he's picked up most of his higher numbers too.

Use Card Games
From UNO to Go Fish, these are fun and easy ways to get to know numbers and their relation to each other.

Cook Together
Include your child when you cook. Have him count the cups of milk, the tablespoons of margarine, or the eggs when you cook. Show him the recipe as you cook so he can follow along.

Build a Playhouse
All kids love to take part in building forts and playhouses. A nice side effect is that they'll painlessly pick up geometry while using measurements & angles. On a smaller scale, plan and build a Lego fort.

Give Them Puzzles
Young children learn valuable spacial lessons while putting together puzzles of all types. Tangrams (geometric shapes that can be put together to create pictures and new shapes) are also great tools.

Let Them Earn Some Money
Even tiny tots can do small jobs and earn some pocket money. pay the money with different denominations of coins each week so your child starts to identify coins and their value.

Use Math Games
There are so many great board games that incorporate maths concepts.

Do Connect the Dots
Paint by number, connect the dots and other "funbook" type sheets are great ways to learn early concepts while having fun.

Play Dice Games
Kids can roll the dice & add the numbers, play "horses" or make up lots of games on their own.

Sing Songs & Memorise rhymes
Everything from "10 Green Bottles sitting on the wall" to "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" teaches counting down and subtraction. Many jump rope songs involve numbers too, and kinesthetic learners (those who learn best while doing and moving) and auditory learners (those who learn best by hearing and saying things) will especially benefit from moving and singing while they learn.

Count items around the house
Gather up items around your house such as buttons, pencils, paper clips, etc. Put them in stacks and count them with your child

Play Hopscotch
Use chalk and draw a hopscotch game outside. Make sure to say the numbers out loud as you play.

Read counting books
Check out counting books from the library. Read counting books to your child. Have him practice counting as you read the book.

Have a treasure hunt
Fold up ten pieces of paper. On each piece of paper draw a number of items. For example, draw one fish, two triangles, or three apples. Also write a clue on the paper telling where to find the next number "clue". Start the game with number one and end with the number ten. Have your child count the items on the page before you read the clue.

Play a telephone game
Using a toy telephone and a telephone book, have your child call an order a pizza. Help him read the number and press the numbers on the phone. You can also call the florist and have flowers delivered. Let your child use his imagination.

Make a counting book
You can purchase a blank book at an educational supply store or make your own with construction paper and a three-hole punch. On each page have your child draw or trace a number. Have him draw items such as balls, worms, or smiley faces to correspond with the number. Make pages for one to ten or one to twenty if your child is older.

Play an "I spy" game
Take turns playing "I spy". Look around your room and say, "I spy something we have two of (or three of)..." It could be speakers for your stereo, cushions on the couch or pictures on the wall, or anything you can count.

Some of my favourite books to use when I'm teaching about numbers and counting are:

• Hungry Monsters Teach Counting in Rhyme by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.


• Young Children Can Learn to Count Down From Ten With Ten Little Ladybugs written by Melanie Gerth and illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith


• Miss Spider’s Tea Party Teaches Counting With a Social Lesson written and illustrated by David Kirk.


• Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore


• The Bad-tempered Ladybird Eric Carle, a good story to discuss the concept of size with a young child. This book would also be excellent for consolidating a child's understanding of time, as at the top of each page it shows a clock face with the time that the bad-tempered ladybird meets each animal.


• The Very Hungry Caterpillar


• The Shopping Basket by John Burningham


• Nine Ducks Nine by Sarah Hayes


• Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne


• The Smartest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson


• One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab by April Pulley Sayre

Father's Day

Why I Love My Daddy - Illustrated by Daniel Howarth is my favourite book to use with little ones leading up to Father's Day. Every one's daddy is the best. And who better to tell the world than children themselves? This charming book combines endearing things said by children about their fathers with gentle illustrations of familiar animals. The text is amusing and insightful, with reasons why daddies are loved by their children ranging from 'because he tickles me' to 'because he is my best friend'.

Father's Day celebration in Australia takes place in the same way as in several other countries around the world. Taking opportunity of the occasion to express gratitude for their dad and thank them for all their care and support. The greatest gift is one made with LOVE. All children take great pride in gifting a hand-made gift, to honour their dad. This year we are making our dad a puzzle that has been hand-painted with love. I bought blank puzzle templates from the discount shop and outlined the word DAD on it for the boys to paint. We then decorated a box and broke the puzzle into pieces for Daddy to put together on father's day! Then to finish our present off the boys hand printed paper to use as wrapping paper. So cute and made with SO much love x