How to make that Halloween Candy downright educational

There is candy GALORE in my house.

It's only going to get worse tonight!

How do we make the sugar-filled holiday useful while our children's teeth are rotting out?

Explore Candy with our kids.

Here are a few simple ideas to try with your kids:

1) Sort your candy stash!  

For young kids, try something simple like:

Little and Big

Or, allow your kid to choose how they sort.

This is especially good for kids.  Let them choose.

Then ask them how they sorted and why.

Then.....listen.

It's hard for me too :)

Boxes, bags, clear wrapping, plastic wrapping, foil, etc

2) Count your candy stash!

Charlotte has just learned about the number "30" and is practicing counting to 30.  She wanted her 3rd piece of candy yesterday and I told her she had to successfully count 30 pieces of candy (dropping them into the plastic pumpkin as she counted) to be able to eat a new piece.  She stumbled on 15 (for some reason she doesn't like that number) about 3 times.  

Finally, she made it. 

Candy is quite motivating, after all!

Hopefully your counting doesn't end in crying :)

Adelyn and I are practicing counting to 10 while dropping a piece of candy in the pumpkin as we go.  This is called one-to-one correspondence.  One number for one piece of candy.  It's something that kids have to learn...they have to practice.  There are tons of kindergarteners who don't have 1-to-1 correspondence.  So, it's a great skill to use candy to reinforce.

Also, have kids count any bags of candies they open like M &Ms or Skittles.

3) Make "math-y" problems with your candy

I like to ask after Charlotte opens an M&M bag....

How many blues are there?

How many reds are there?

How many more reds are there than blue?

Or. One of my girls' favorites :)

How many skittles do you have? (lets say they answer 10)

wait for them to eat one

Make a really big deal out of this loss.  

"OH NO! YOU ATE ONE SKITTLE! How many do you have left?"

That game can last for an entire bag of skittles!

Enjoy that sugar.

Happy Halloween :)

Make your own books

One of the things I learned about children's books in my grad program was how over-stimulating most children't learning books really are.  Number books are notorious for putting a million things on a page instead of just a number and that number of objects.  When we're trying to use books to teach something, the more "busy" a page is, the less kids are able to focus on what they are supposed to be learning.  Your best bet?  Make your own books for whatever your child is learning about.

What do you need to make your own kid-book?

• 1 piece of construction paper or cardstock for the cover
• printer paper
• Crayons, markers
• Any printed pictures you might need
• glue
• scissors

Directions: However many pages you want your book to be (let's say 20) you'll need to divide by 2 (to get 10) and add 1.  So you'll need 11 pieces of printer paper to make a 20 page book.  Put the construction paper or cardstock on the outside of your 11 pieces of printer paper.  Fold the whole thing in half.  Staple 3 or 4 times along the folded edge to bind your book.  Write the title on the front and also on the first page as a title page.  Now you're ready to add whatever contents you want!

There are some added benefits to your kids making their own books with you.

Fine motor skills are among the skills that kindergarteners struggle with the most because they haven't practiced or experienced them enough on their own.  You can choose how much you want your kid to help, depending on their age.  Here are some ideas:

• Let them cut out pictures with kid-friendly scissors (3 yrs+)
• Let them color pictures with crayons (18 months+)
• Let them glue the pictures into the book (2 1/2 yrs+)
• Let them write some of the words in the book (or trace words) (3 yrs+)
• Let your child choose graphics

Charlotte loves to glue by herself

Cutting is another favorite activity

The great thing about making your own books is that they can be about pretty much anything you want them to be about.  If your child is in Preschool or Sunday School, you could choose to create a book about a topic that will support what they are already learning.  

Yesterday we talked a lot about Charlotte and rhyming words.  Without going into a ton of detail about literacy development, it's safe to say: rhyming words are really instrumental in reading (phonemic awareness) and later in spelling (with word study). 

We're studying really basic word patterns right now, so we made a book about words that end with -at.  Charlotte is just learning about reading, so I chose a book with a repetitive pattern.  If your kid has books like this (like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?) you know that they don't actually have to be able to read to recite the entire book :)  Even better!  

Charlotte can focus on the idea of pointing to words as she "reads" them without having to do all of the other "reading" work.  The pattern makes it an easy read, giving her independence and confidence.  This is a book that she will keep in her "quiet time" basket so she can read it to herself over and over again.  Also, one simple sentence with one simple picture keeps it basic and best for learning.

Put your kid's name on the cover!

Keep it really simple with basic graphics.

Only 4 large words encourages Charlotte to point to each as she says them.

While Charlotte is almost 4, Adelyn is just barely 2.  She is learning about things like colors and shapes right now. So, we made a book this morning that reviewed shapes and colors.  I made it in the same simple pattern because she has a big sister who LOVES reading this to her.  However, if you have just a 2 year old, you could simply write the name of the shape at the bottom of the page and leave it at that.  Your 2 year old is looking at the pictures.

Again, put your child's name lots of places :)

I made this pattern simple, underlining the color with a crayon.

You could have your kid draw their own circle on the left!

Charlotte already loves reading this book to Adelyn because she is a super-star sister.  However, Adelyn decided quickly that she also likes to read her book on her own.  Here is what you would want your 2 year old to do: Turn pages and identify colors and shapes.  

You can always laminate the cover of your book to make it more durable.  Of course you want to keep these books where your kids can get their hands on them as much as possible!  Practice at storytime.  You read one book to your child, then have them read one book to you :)

Good Luck!

Let me know how your book-making goes and what type of book you made :)

Teaching your kiddo to read

There are about a million different ways to teach your child to read.  I'm no literacy specialist, but I have some basic training in K-8 literacy (enough to be dangerous).  A friend recommended this book to me and here are a few reasons I love it so far:

1) It is designed for a parent-child interaction, not for a classroom.

2) Each lesson is pretty short (20-30 minutes).

3) It is a scripted book so even if you know NOTHING about literacy, you can do it!

4) Each lesson is broken into a few different "activities" that Charlotte thinks are pretty fun.

I got this copy from Walmart.com for $12.99
http://www.walmart.com/ip/390907 

Notice the "script" for each lesson

This is a later lesson

It even gives you a guide on pronouncing

Ok, so my daughter is 3 1/2, which is on the young end of the spectrum they list in this book.  As with anything I would teach, I know I have to take my time.  Charlotte has a normal attention span for a 3 1/2 year old (which is to say almost non-existent).  Some days we can do an entire "Lesson" in no time flat.  Other days we can't seem to get through 1/2 of a "lesson".  Who cares?  If the idea is to teach my child to eventually read, I should move at her pace, right?  If she doesn't seem to be in it one day, I move on to something else, or cut it off at 1/2 a lesson. 

So, here are a few recommendations for any program you try:

• Keep it fun (If they are bored, stop)
• Span out the lessons if they seem to be struggling
• Do other "fun" activities to reiterate the parts they seem to struggle with
• Take your time
• Remind yourself that this is a bonding experience that no one can ever replace :)

Charlotte and I are currently on Lesson 14.  We've taken weeks off here and there and rarely do a lesson daily.  A few things that Charlotte seemed to struggle with in this particular program were the "rhyming" activities and the normal "sounding out" of words.  So, we've reiterated these two things over the last few weeks, without teaching more lessons.  Today, I taught a new lesson and we sailed through the lesson.  My patience definitely paid off and her confidence is a sure sign!

Sidewalk chalk makes everything more fun!

One of the things we've been "reviewing" is sounding out words.  I like to write them on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk.  This allows Charlotte to "hop" along the word instead of just using her finger in a book.  If you know my child or watch her in the video below, you will see why this is helpful :)  However, as a teacher, I can tell you that most kids benefit from this type of kinesthetic activity.

I copy them exactly as shown in the book

 Another reason this is great is that it's there every time we go outside.  A great way to have your child "review" (if you're at home with them during the day, especially) is to show Daddy when he gets home.  It's a win-win interaction.  It shares with Daddy what we've been learning AND gets your child to review an extra time.

I also noticed that Charlotte seemed to minimally understand rhyming words.  So, I went to the library and asked those amazing librarians to help me find some narrative stories with rhyming words.  So, as we read out bedtime stories, Charlotte listens for rhyming words (and yells them out if she hears them). This is an easy way to review rhyming words, while also reading a story that will engage Adelyn (my 2 year old).  Here are a few of the books we have this week for this purpose.  There are tons of examples though.  Your public librarian can probably hand you 10 without thinking twice.

I'm sure I will have updates and new learnings as we move throughout this program.  Right now, we're at a good place and moving at the perfect pace for Charlotte.  If you decide to give it a whirl, good luck!  Let me know how it's going and what you might need help with!