The Mom I Want to Be

Traffic

 

In summertime our garden walk

Is like a summer street;

So many bugs run up and down

With tiny little feet.

The ants are shiny taxicabs,

Oh, my! They go so fast!

Here comes a caterpillar bus

Who slowly travels past.

I’m very sure that bugs must have

Some very special vision;

For I have never, never seen

A bugmobile collision!

 

Jane Lear Talley

Pad of paper and felt-tip pens, or instant camera

Yard, park, nature walk, or other outdoor area

Magnifying glass

Bug identification book (optional)

          

Walk or drive to a park or nature area. Bring a small pad of paper and drawing materials, or an instant camera, if you prefer. Walk through the area and help your child find some bugs. Use a magnifying glass to get a closer look. When you locate a bug, have your child draw a picture of it using her pad and pens, or take a photograph. Continue your walk, looking for different bugs. After you gather a nice collection, return home to organize the drawings or photos. If using a regular camera, have the film developed. Lay the pictures or photos on a table and have your child examine the bugs. Ask her to look for features that are similar and different. If you have a bug identification book, have your child try to identify the bugs and label them.

There are words that end with the “v” sound (example:  dove and love), but there aren’t really any that end in the letter v.

             

The letter V is an extremely reliable letter.  It only makes the vvvv sound as in van.  This makes it an easy letter to teach.

 

1. Present a capital and lower case V to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Give examples of V words, such as violin, vase, and van.  See if she can think of any other words that start with V.

 

2. Read The Velveteen Rabbit or Growing Vegetable Soup

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with V for the V bag this week.  You might find a van, velvet, vase, vanilla, Velcro, vitamins, violin, vest, visor, vegetables, etc.  Pull out an object each day and ask if your child knows anything about it.  Create a list of the items, displayed where it can be seen.

 

4. Create a V collage.  Have your child search through magazines for V words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  Vine-y V’s.  Provide a cut out V taped to waxed paper for easier handling and cleanup, green construction paper and markers.  Show your child pictures of vines.  Show them how to draw a curly vine on the V, and then encourage them to cut out leaf shapes and glue those to the vine. When dry, glue to 8½ x 11” paper and place in alphabet book.  Alternatively you can pre cut leaf shapes, or sponge paint the leaves on, if your child cannot handle scissors well yet.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of V’s to trace across the top and a blank spot below, a van pattern, markers, stickers and glue.  Glue van to paper, and encourage your child to decorate with stickers and markers.

 

7. Other activities:  Have vegetables and dip; talk about Velcro and how it works; make vanilla pudding; talk about Voting; Paint vases; make vegetable prints; listen to violin music; make a science fair volcano; talk about vultures;

The Letter T is a very unreliable letter that often makes sounds other than the base /t/ sound:

     /t/ as in turnip

     soft /th/ as in thing or hard /th/ as in the

 

1. Present a capital and lower case T to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Give examples of T words, such as today, teeth, and ten. 

 

2. Read Tikki Tikki Tembo

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with T for the T bag this week.  You might find a train, telephone, toaster, toothbrush, truck, triangle, table, tiger, turtle, etc.  Pull out an object each day and ask if your child knows anything about it.  Create a list of the items, displayed where it can be seen.

 

4. Create an T collage.  Have your child search through magazines for T words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  Toothpick T’s.  Provide a T cut out from construction paper, a box of toothpicks, and a small cup of glue.  Show your child how to dip the toothpick in the glue, and then place it on the T to decorate.  When dry, glue to an 8½ x 11” piece of paper for their alphabet book.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of T’s to trace across the top and a blank spot below, googly eyes, glue,  turtle pieces (use teal paper!), markers, and extra bits of colorful paper.  Encourage your child to decorate the turtle shell, and then show him how to glue the head, legs, tail and shell to the page. 

 

7. Other activities:  play tic tac toe; make triangle collages; talk about trees; make a tent to play in; take apart a broken telephone to see the insides; count to ten; taste different herbal teas and rate them in order of preference; have a teddy bear picnic

 
Teddy Bear Trail Mix
Teddy Grahams

Measuring Dinosaurs

 

Identify and compare the length of four dinosaurs.

State that dinosaurs needed food to grow and that food helps us to grow too.

 

Prepare the Dinosaur Cards (PDF)

Cut 144 feet string to the length shown on each dinosaur card.

Attach and wrap length around each card as follows:

 

70 feet for Apatosaurus

40 feet for Tyrannosaurus Rex

25 feet for Stegosaurus

9 feet for Protoceratops

 

Take the children out to the playground or into the hall. One at a time, show children the dinosaur cards. If students can read numbers, have them identify how long each dinosaur was. For each card, have one child hold the end of the string. Have another child unwind the string and walk forward to show the full length of the dinosaur.  Let the other children form a chain by holding hands. Have them stretch out the chain, arms length, and count how many children it takes to reach from the head to the tail of each dinosaur.  When you are done measuring, explain that in order to grow so big, dinosaurs had to eat nutritious foods. Point out that eating nutritious foods also helps children grow.

Ten Fluffy Chickens

 

Five eggs and five eggs

That makes ten.

Sitting on top is the mother hen.

Crackle, crackle, crackle;

What do I see?

Ten fluffy chickens

As yellow as can be

Babies thrive on routine.  Knowing what to expect next is reassuring, and you can help baby associate daily rituals with song cues.  Playing a favorite selection each time you bathe at night, for example, will signal to baby that it’s time to wind down and transition into getting ready for bed.   Pour through your cd collection to select the right tracks for playtime, meal time or quiet cuddle time

 

 

Choose a dimly lit area of your house that is free of distractions to feed your newborn.  Shut out the stresses of your day and bask in this special bonding time: stroke baby’s face, talk about your day together, play a soothing CD and enjoy cradling your little one.

 

 

Infant massage is said to promote restful sleep, heighten self-assurance, promote weight gain, aid in digestion, and stimulate neural connections to boost brain development and intelligence.  Massage is also a fun and relaxing way to bond with baby, develop trust, and familiarize her with her own body. 

 

After bath time or before bedtime, give baby a calming massage using only very gentle pressure with baby oil or lotion.  Massage her in a warm, dimly lit room that’s free of distractions.  Play the same music at each massage session.  Alternatively, you could sing your own lullaby as you massage baby.

 

 

When babies get fussy or cranky, a change of scenery can work wonders.  Hang wind chimes from a tree in your back yard.  Take baby outside to listen to the notes and touch the chimes.  This simple distraction can calm his nerves and let you both enjoy a tranquil stroll outdoors.

 

 

Set up a bird feeder just outside your window so that your baby can enjoy the magical sights and sounds of your back yard birds.   Use books such as What does violet see: birds as a springboard to teach fascinating facts about birds.

The letter R is an extremely reliable letter.  It only makes the rrrr sound as in rat.  This makes it an easy letter to teach.

 

1. Present a capital and lower case R to your child.  See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Give examples of R words, such as red, ribbon and rainbow.  See if your child can think of any other words that start with R.

 

2. Read River

 

3. Go on a scavenger hunt around the house to find items that start with R for the R bag this week.  You might find a rabbit, rice, rattle, ring, ruler, rope, ribbon, rock, radio, etc

 

4. Create an R collage.  Have your child search through magazines for R words, and glue them to paper for his alphabet book.

 

5.  Ribbon R’s.  Provide an R cut out from red construction paper, and a number of different ribbons, cut into small lengths.  Using brushes and lightly watered glue, have your child attach the ribbons to the R, covering it as completely as possible.  When dry, glue to an 8 ½ x 11” piece of paper for their alphabet book.

 

6. Provide a worksheet with a line of Rs to trace across the top and a rainbow template below (print from book or freehand it), and watercolor paints (or crayons or markers).  Talk about the spectrum of colors (ROY G. BIV) Let your child paint the rainbow.

 

7. Other activities:  Have red beans and rice for dinner, play music and dance with ribbon streamers, make a list of things that are red, paint rocks, bake rainbow cookies; make a ribbon rainbow

Rectangular-shaped snacks
Red-colored snacks
Raisins
Rainbow Popcorn
Rice Krispie Treats
Rainbow made from cut up fruit