Naturally Educational » Author Archive
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We Are Going to the Moon!
For our summer crafts and story and circle time, we started learning about our families and then explored the natural world around us. Then we set our sites on the stars! We climbed aboard our rocket ships and zoomed up to the moon, visited a few planets, and then swung by the stars. Here’s how we made our rocket ships: Materials: Cardboard Tube Tinfoil Poster Board (we used red and blue) Stickers (for decorating your rocket) Scissors Glue Jar Top or Glass (for tracing a … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), 6-8 (Early Elementary), Science
Pancakes from Scratch
At another Mommy & Me at Garden of Eve, Eve led us in picking wheat, threshing the wheat to separate the grain from the chaff, grinding the wheat (in a blender..though my kids have stone-ground grains at some local colonial-themed events), stirring in the eggs, sugar, baking powder, and milk, and frying up the pancakes. Unless you have a field of wheat growing in your backyard, you may need to take a few shortcuts–but making a … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), All Ages, Bodily-kinesthetic, Featured, Home Arts, Taste
Jam, Jelly, and Preserves
We have the good fortune to live near an organic farm (Garden of Eve) owned by young parents. The mom runs a summertime “Mommy & Me” that includes a circle time and a farm “chore”. One week the children picked blackberries and turned them into jam! The process was fairly simple: Pick the berries Wash and dry the berries Meanwhile, sterilize glass jars in boiling water Crush the berries in a bowl Add mixture to a pot and pour … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergartners), 6-8 (Early Elementary), All Ages, Ecology, Featured, Home Arts, Science, Summer, Taste
Slithering Songs
Usually I do not post the theme songs I use with my kids because I did not write them! Most of the time they are anonymous pieces I find on the Internet. Maybe I should, though. Here’s a song about snakes that I wrote, based heavily on typical preschool counting songs: Five Little Snakes by Candace Lindemann (start with five fingers up) Five snakes molt their skin to grow some more, (children can reach for the sky) One slides away … Read entire article »
Filed under: 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), Ecology, Science, Songs
Tickly Octopus Craft
Octopuses have so many fascinating adaptations and we found a storybook that captures this information with humor and charm: Tickly Octopus. Tickly Octopus is the story of a fun-loving octopus who enjoys tickling his friends–but only the wiggly, giggly fish appreciate his tentacled-tickles. When our octopus protagonist goes on an adventure to recover his friend oyster’s pearl, he discovers he has so many other talents, including zooming through the water, squeezing through holes, and squirting ink … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 1-2 (Toddler), 1-2 (Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergarten), 5-6 (Kindergartners), Featured, Science
Education Blogs Custom Search Engine
Because I love you all–the education bloggers, the parents, the homeschoolers, the teachers, the crafters, and, most of all, the kids, I wanted to create something helpful for the community. So, I put together a Google Custom Search Engine with some of my favorite educational bloggers. You can easily use the search engine. It is right on the sidebar of my site (under “Search Educational Blogs”). This was not an entirely selfless exercise. When I create … Read entire article »
Filed under: Educational Blogs
Something’s Fishy
Whether teaching your kids or students in the classroom, you usually have the advantage of knowing your partners in learning. For my moms’ meet-up group, I have been organizing a weekly “Preschool Play Date”. Today our preschool play date suddenly became a Toddler Play Date and I had to adjust our plans. The result was a fun and easy fish craft that even a toddler will enjoy. Sea creatures are always a hit with little ones, … Read entire article »
Filed under: 0-3 (Babies and Toddlers), 3-5 (Preschool), 3-5 (Preschool), Ecology, Science
Make a Note of It!
My daughter has been taking piano lessons for almost a year and she loves to play. I am impressed with the progress she is making with her teacher. She can play pieces with chords, using both hands. However, I can tell that help with sight reading notes would improve the fluency of her play–and probably her enjoyment. We bought flashcards but they did not hold her interest and I do not like to push. Instead, inspired by … Read entire article »
Filed under: 5-6 (Kindergarten), Featured, Music, Musical
Would You #BagItForward This Year?
Imagine showing up to school with no supplies because your family cannot afford them. As an educator who has worked in a variety of districts, I have seen how this can affect students. The more perceptive teachers sometimes quietly supply the students with what they need. Many students, however, suffer the embarrassment of being labeled “unprepared” or “scatterbrained” or “lazy”. And teacher-funded classrooms are not the solution–the most gifted teachers should not have to sacrifice … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Volunteering
Ewww…Oooo! Insects and Other Bugs
We went for a program at a local nature center and it was a great reminder that a lot of our negative reaction to insects and other bugs is a learned response. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t recoil when I see our friend, Rosie… The educator at the nature center urged kids to exclaim “Oooo!” instead of “Ewww!” and I think that she has the right idea to encourage the children’s sense of … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3-5 (Preschool), 5-6 (Kindergarten), All Ages, Ecology, Featured, Summer
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