Learning theorists and play

This post is very short as I have been busier than I anticipated. Next thing I realized is that it is almost 11:00 and I forgot to put a post together. I found this little graph that mayches some of the more populare learning theorisists to different groups of "play." Maybe you all will find it interesting.

Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs! Dinosaurs!

     This week is one of my personal favorite topics. Dinosaurs. I have always beenfascinated with dinosaurs. Personally my favorite is the apatasaraus, but hey, each dinosaur was cool.
     Also this week we had my parents come visit us feom out of state. I did not really focus on taking photos of our activities as much as ones with my kid and his mimi and papaw so this week there are just not as many.
     As a Catholic honestly as long as you make sure to believe that the world was created by God than honestly there is no written doctrine stating we should believe in the big bang or if young world creationism is correct. It all happened by God's power whichever way you choose to believe.
     Along with dinosaurs we learned about the letter "Ll" and number seven.


Monday: Intro Uppercase "L"/Intro Dinosaurs
Books:My "l" Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
How To Raise A Dinosaur by Natasha Wing
My First Dictionary

Songs: This Little Light of Mine
Oh How I Love To Be A Dinosaur (Tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic)

Oh how I love to romp and stomp and chomp throughout the land
Oh how I love to romp and stomp and chomp throughout the land
Oh how I love to romp and stomp and chomp throughout the land.
Oh it's great to be a dinosaur.
Oh how I love to be a dinosaur
Oh how I love to be a dinosaur
Oh how I love to be a dinosaur
I love to romp and stomp and chomp throughout the land

Activities:
Intro Uppercase "L." Intro "Ll" vocab picture words in dictionary. Color uppercase L coloring page

Play Red Light Green Light

Intro Dinosaurs. Talk about how they lived a long time ago. How big they were. How they had rough scaley skin and were cold blooded and what that means...

Work on dinosaur puzzle

Tuesday: Intro Number Seven/Herbavores
Books: Seven Loaves of Bread by Ferida Wolff
Dino Swimming by Lisa Wheelet
My First Dictionary

Songs: Jesus Loves Me This I Know
Jesus Loves the Little Children
Do You Know the...(Tune of Do You Know the Dinosaur)
Do you know the stegasaurus, the stegasaurus, the stegasaurus? Oh do you know stegasaurus? He had plates on his back.
Do you know the apatasaurus...He had a really long neck
Do you know the triceratops...he had three big horns

Activities:
 Review "Ll" picture vocab words

Smelled and tasted fresh lemons and limes

Intro Number seven/seven coloring page

Intro Herbavore Dinosaurs

Dino egg hunt: took 3 different colored plastic easter eggs, 7 of each color, and placed them around the living room. Used coordinating pieces of construction paper to use as the dino nests. Helped child find and the eggs and figure out which eggs go in which nest. Counted the eggs together after all are found and sorted.

Wednesday: Intro Lowercase "l"/ Carnivores
Books: Young Lions by Toshi Yoshida
Dino Wrestling by Lisa Wheeler
My First Dictionary

Songs: Let's Make Some Noise (be loud) by Raffi
Tune of The Wheels On the Bus
Oh the t-rex had really sharp teeth, really sharp teeth, really sharp teeth. Oh the t-rex had really sharp teeth and ruled the dino land
Oh the raptor had really sharp claws, really sharp claws, really sharp claws. Oh the rapter had really sharp claws and ruled the dino land.
Oh the pteradactyl had a really sharp beak, a really sharp beak, a really sharp beak. Oh the pteradactyl had a really sharp beak and ruled throughout the land.

Activities:
Review "Ll" picture vocab words. Intro lowercase "l" and do coloring page.

Ladybug apple print painting fun: cut apple in half. Dip it into paint and press on paper for ladybug body shape. Add black dots....

Work on plain animal puzzle because of the lion piece.

Intro carnivores.

Trace matching dino footprints of my kids toy dinosaurs to show one way carnivores would hunt their prey. If you have a copier you can make several copies and then hide the matching toy dinosaurs. Have the child follow the footprints to find what dinosaur they belong too.

Use toy dinosaurs and use them to make their footprints in playdough.

Thursday: Practice Line Tracing/Practice Scissor Skills/ Dino Facts Review
Books: The Lord's Prayer by Richard Jesse Watson
Dino Soccer by Lisa Wheeler
My First Dictionary

Songs: Our Father by Michael W. Smith
Our Father Song by Matt Maher
Tune of Five Little Ducks
One dinosaur went out to play
On a bright and sunny day
He had such enormous fun
That he called for another dinosaur to come
(Call out) Dinosaur
(Pat hands on floor) Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Repeat until you reach 7
7 little dinosaurs went out to play
On a bright and sunny day
When they heard mommy dinosar yell it's time to eat they hurried back for her tasty treat!

Activities:
Review "Ll" words in picture dictionary

Intro Lord as another title for God and Jesus
Intro Our Father. Explain the story of how Jesus told us to say this prayer and that is why it is called the Lord's Prayer.

Practice tracing lines witg work sheet

Practice scissor cutting skills

Review dino facts we have learned

Seperate dino foam stickers in their matching dino families. 7 foam stickers in each family. Count the different dino family members together. I found dino foam stickers at our Hobby Lobby.

Friday: Letter "Ll" Vocab Review/Fossils
Books: The Lady With the Alligator Purse by Nadine Bernarx Westcott
Llama Llama Red Pajama by
Fossils by Claire Ewart

Songs: Mary Had A Little Lamb
Tune of Oh My Darling Clementine

Great big dinosaurs. Great big dinosaurs
Lived so long ago
Some liked land, some liked water, some liked to fly through the air.

Great big dinosaurs. Great big dinosaurs
Lived so long ago.
Some had horns, some had spikes,
Some had wings like a bat.

Great big dinosaurs. Great big dinosaurs
Lived so long ago.
Some ate plants. Some ate meat.
Now they are all extinct.

Activities:
Review "Ll" vocab words from picture dictionary and do vocab color page.

Play with lego locomotive blocks

Intro fossils. Explain what they are. Use dino rawhide bone treats and dry rice and dry paint brushes and let children play archaelogist and excavate for "fossils."

Watch dino sponge kit expand in the water.

These are some ideas I came up with to have fun while learning about dinosaurs and the letter "Ll" and number seven. Do you have any added ideas to share with the other readers? Please share if you do in a comment.

L Is For Laughter

     Whenever my child finds something truly funny it is hard to ignore what it is. I always find myself pausing what I am in the middle of to go and find out what has cauded his infectious giggles. No matter what it is he is laughing over I find myself joining in on his fun which then ends up with both of us laughing hard and enjoying the moment which is started by the sound of my child's laughter. It is one of my very favorite sounds ever. Only a few sounds top it.

Intro Into Literacy Processing Theory

   
   

The term literacy was first used by the learning theorist Marie Clay. Literacy is the term used for how children learn to read and write.
      The main area I want to focus in on is the term emergent literacy. Emergent literacy is the very first stage of children beginning to learn to read and write. It starts from early infancy up until age six. Reading to children is the most important factor to children learning to read amd write easier as they get older. For young children the idea of reading has more to do with a need to learn more about new situations. It is learned through processes rather than just in the isolated circumstances of a set time to sit down and focus on reading. The more one integrates language, words, sounds, and freedom of use of writing utensils the quicker children will become invested in learning even more about letters, phonics, books, words as a whole, and also trying to create what they see. You see reading and writing are learned simultaneiously for emergent readers, but writing tends to be easier to achieve than reading.

     For the early pre-schooler children are able to focus more and are able to learn how books should be treated. Board and cloth books can still be used, but should be a small percentage of the time. Story books with paper pages and a sinple storyline that focuses on only a few characters are the best for this age group. Stories with rhyming in them and a short paragraph or two per page and fun photographs as well as a little silly will make children more excited. The more emphasis the reader can put into making each character unique is also going to entertain children and engage them. Making sure to point at the words as a familiar story is being read will help children begin to recognize words with symbols. Also allowing the children to finish sentences in a favorite book is also a way they can become invested in learning to read. Allow children the time to draw and color whenever they seem interested. The more practice they get with drawing, scribbling, tracing, and more than the quicker you will see scribbles tyrn more into symbol drawing which will make learning to write a lot easier for children.

All Weather Comes From God

      This week I thought it would be fun to learn more about weather.  Weather is such a fun theme. There are many types of weather to choose from and some fun interactive activities can be used to help young children understand the weather concepts.
     As Catholics certain acts of God I do not understand. Weather is one of those things. Sometimes weather seems wonderful, other days it is filled with destruction. A few months ago I read a very interesting G. K. Chesterton book, The Man Who Was Thursday.  It was kind of focused on the mystery surrounding why God allows certain weather things to happen in one place and other things happen in a different place. It was filled with mystery and a good read, but it took me half way to think I was comprehending it. Anyway, as I was thinking about what weather topics to delve into more with my child this book kept popping back into my mind....

Anyway, along with weather week it is the letter "Kk"  and number 6 week. Every timeI write this little section I always feel like I am a character on Sesame street.....

Monday: Intro Uppercase "K"/ Meteorologist/Clouds
Books: My "k" Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
Meteorologist by Saundra J Christian, M. Ed
My First Dictionary

Songs: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
I'm Just A Little Black Rain Cloud from the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Weather Song (Tune:oh my darlin, clementine)
What's the weather
What's the weather
What's the weather like today?
Is it sunny? Is it windy?
Is it rainy? It is cold?
(Repeat, but use different weather conditions...stormy, hot, foggy, etc.)

Activities:
Intro uppercase K and do the coloring page.

Go ouside and have fun kicking different sized balls. See which size can be kicked the farthest...

Practice karate skills

Intro weather week...review meteorologists and how important that are as far as weather goes.

Explain clouds. Watch a pre-k video on youtube that helps explain the different types of clouds. Use paper, glue, and cotton balls to have your child create his own cloud shapes.

Use cotton balls for sensory play. Preyemd to be snow clouds and use the cotton balls for snowflakes.

Work on weather puzzle.

Tuesday: Intro Number Six/Intro Wind
Books:Curious George Flies A Kite by H. A. Rey
A Windy Day by Lola M. Schaefer
My First Dictionary

Songs: Let's Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins
A Rather Blustery Day from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh


Activities:
Review "Kk" picture wotds from dictionary

Introduce number six and do coloring page

Kite sorting/counting activity. Cut out different colored or sized kites and six matiching bows for the tails. Have the child sort the bows into the correct piles than work together to put them with the correct kites. Count the bows after they are put on the kite tails

Intro wind. Go outside and blow bubbles together and watch the wind blow them away. Try and listen to the sound of the wind. If it is very noticeable open a conversation up about how it feels.

Play meteorologist...buy green felt and poster board. Glue the green felt onto the poster board to make our own green screen...cut out weather symbols for kids to use to play meteorologist in a more hands on way. Make it even more personal by adding a cutout of the child's state on there to help add a geography lesson too.

Wednesday:Intro Lowercase "k"/Rain
Books: Supersaurus Saves Kindergarten by Deborah Underwood
A Rainy Day by Lola M. Schaefer
My First Dictionary

Songs: Kitchen Sing Sing by Raffi
If All the Raindrops Were Lemon Drops and Gum Drops
Rain Rain Go Away

Activities:
Review Kk picture vocab words. Do lowercase k coloring page

Play with the play kitchen

Have child help prepare lunch in the kitchen

Introduce rain. Remind how clouds are made up of water so when they get full the water comesdown as raindrops.

Use dry rice and metal dishes to make the sound of rain

Thursday: Practice Tracing/Practice Scissor Skills/Storms and Tornadoes
Books:Ten Kisses For Sophie by Rosemary Wells
The story of Hesus calming the storm from child's Bible
My First Dictionary

Songs: Knees Up Mother Brown by Raffi
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
Weather Report by Raffi

Activities:
Review Kk picture vocab words.

Use old keys and playdough. Let children make ket shapes in the play dough

Practice tracing lines page

Practice scissor skills

Intro storms and storm safety. Talk about tornadoes and how they are formed. Practice tornado drill/turtles.

Tornado water activity: take two 2 liter bottles of soda. Fill one up with water 3/4 way full and use food coloring and glitted for added fun. Use lots of duct tape to tape the two bottles openings together. Swirl the water around to make the tornado/cyclone.

Friday: "Kk" Vocab Review/Snow

Books:Curious Kittens by Ray Volkmann
A Snowy Day by Lola M. Schaefer
My First Dictionary

Songs: If I Were King of the Forrest from The Wizard of Oz
I Just Can't Wait to Be King from The Lion King
If All The Snowflakes Were Candy Bars and Milkshakes....

Activities:
Review "Kk" picture vocab words and color the vocab coloring page

Decorate crowns and play king for a day. Explain how important it is for kings to recognize kindness. Being kind is very important. Explain what kindness is and give scenarios to act out ways to choose kindness.

Intro snow and how when it is cold weather water from clouds gets cold and becomes snowflakes

Play snow cloud with cotton balls and pretend the cotton balls are snowflakes

Have fun with shaving cream for a mini winter wonderland on the table.

K Is For Kitchen

   

   

The kitchen, atleast from my own perspective, is filled with the best memories. Family gathered around for dinner and sharing stories. There was  always something delicious smelling coming from the stove area. It was always busy with people coming and going. For young children it is so great to start out good memories in the kitchen. When you allow them to interact with you in prepping meals you are giving a wealth of knowledge to them.
     When cooking in the kitchen children become more involved and interested in food choices. Depending on us adults, children will be able to be more open to trying out new and healthier meals. Ofcourse I must say with the exception of children with sensory issues involving them in the food prep stage will not necessarily fix their pickyness over night, but it will help them begin to be more interested in attempting to try newer textures they did not seem open to before.
     Cooking is a science. Children tend to love measuring things with adults and dumping and mixing up ingredients. They love seeing the outcome of how all those ingredients turn out. Experimenting, hypothosizing and imagining what things will end up looking, tasting, and smelling like. These are questions that can naturally arise while working together on a meal. Along with a science lesson all the measuring, pouring, and mixing adds more strength to their fine and gross motor skills, which will help them as they learn to write as well as strengthen their hand-eye coordination.
     Literacy is also a key componemt of cooking in the kitchen. Children are quick learners and if they see and hear us reading off cooking directions they will learn the importance of needing to read to know how to cook new things.
     Social interaction and collaboration happens aswell when kids are introduced to cooking. They will learn that usually cooking is something that can be done in a family but also needs good teamwork.
     When children get to play with a play kitchen then they have all the free time to breakdown what all they learned when working at the real thing. When peaking in on their play you can hear the vocab they learned from working with you, and see how they work with kitchen appliances from how they watched you work with them. They can use their own imagination for creating their own recipes. Really it can be fun to take a moment to appreciate what they have begun to comprehend about nutrition and cooking safety, and following instructions, as well as add in their own creativity.

 There are so many more reasons why the kitchen is an enriching learning experience for young children and should not be trivialized. Can you think of other ways cooking with your child is educational?


   

Technology and the Early Childhood Student

   

     I was born an 80' baby and toddler. I grew up as a 90's kid. I spent my teenage and collage years in the new millenium. Life has changed so much since the days of getting to run around outside with the neighborhood friends until the street lights went on and it was time to go inside. The days of hours and hours of imaginative free play have begun to fade away into kids who have watched commercials to remind them to get their 60 minutes of exercise outside. It was so odd to me to see a commercial geared towards kids to make playimg outside unplugged as a fun thing to do. Growing up technology was more a rainy day activity and the computer, well i believe I was seven years old when I remember my mom and dad being able to get financed for a computer. Before the internet was a thing. The sound of the very slow dial up connection is a soumd that I do not think I could forget. Too slow to really want to mess with. Outside was where the fun was at. Technology was definitely not something pushed like it is today. I remember getting my first cell phone at ahe twenty and it was an old school flip phone. Now I see elementary school kids running around with cell phones of their own like it is how it always has been. That is not to say I am putting down the advances in technology. The fact does remain that my kid's generation is one that will never know a life without computers.

     A big part of me is happy to not have a pc computer or a i pad in our house because I want my kid to enjoy soe of the magic of a mostly tech free childhood can be, and yet I know how much it cam help to enhance his learning. There is a fine line between using technology to help enhance a kids learning and just letting the child be taught by a screen. I am very picky about when and why I use our tv for Anthony to watch. Rainy days there may be a little bit more use or week-end mornings. Normally though I try hard to limit him to an hour of rv. At three I can tell when too much has been allowed for him. It is during those times there are mors meltdowns over turning it off. The tv shows I do allow though are basically pbs kids shows, veggie tales, and other educational dvds and some of the old school disney cartoon movies. My kid knows that my phone can play music, stale pictures, and as facetime for mimi and papaw. Other than that he does not care much for it because I do not have space ro download games. That is not to say sometimes I wish I did have an i pad for educational games.. especially when waiting at the dr.s office and what not. Eventually we will get a pc in our home and our child will quickly learn the valuableness of it, but right now seeing him more excited to be outside in nature and exploring through human interaction  is so refreshing and invaluable to me. Each family is different though. What works for us mqy not be in your family's best interest. That is cool though. It is why getting to be at home helping my kid learn and grow in his way is so wonderful. Each person learns in a unique way. Technology used correctly can be so helpful.

What are your thoughts on kids and education and technology today? How do you use it to help your child's learning journey?