Rainy Day or Evening Fun Family Time

What's better than snuggling with your kids, a blanket, and a bowl of snacks for a family movie night? On the next rainy evening, turn the family room into your own personal theater. Pick a movie the whole family will enjoy, settle in, and enjoy the show

Spend some quality family time together with a favorite board game. Maybe you will be buying and selling real estate in Monopoly or enjoying the  treats in Candy Land, or one of my favorites, LIFE.  Playing board games are a great way to spend a leisurely day at home.

As long as the kids are stuck indoors, why not spend the day together making a favorite family recipe? Make cooking fun with your "assistant chiefs" by assigning responsibilities. Not only will they feel important and useful, they'll also be proud of their delicious goodies. Plus, you get to sit down and enjoy the goodies together. 

Some times we forget the simple things are often the most fun. This is one indoor activity that is educational and fun! Reading with your child will improve reading skills and build excitement for books. Snuggle up in a blanket with a few favorite books and read together. Take turns reading, and if your child is a toddler have "read" the book from the pictures! I think you'll be amazed at their response. 

Since it looks like this weekend may be a little rainy and cool, try a few of these ideas. Have fun, and have a safe, warm, dry, weekend. 

Hands on experiences

In the dolphin class we are always having valuable  teaching moments full of fun. Children are full of curiosity and what's a better way to learn then hands on experiences. This week we are exploring cold weather. Children learn and understand best when they are actively engaged, using their senses. What they can feel, smell, touch, taste and hear will help them to remember the materials better.

This child is learning "what happens to water when it freezes?"and "what happens to ice when it melts?"  What she is learning now will be stored into her memory and will be carried over to another learning experience.

Learning how to dress appropriately for the cold weather can also be a fun learning hands on experience. This is also an excellent fine motor activity to do with your children. Not only are they having fun but they are learning a skill that will help them in the future.

The children are exploring different types of arctic animals and balancing "ice glaciers" fun hand eye coordination skill

While reading to your children remember, it is alway important to ask your child lots of questions about what you are reading. Doing this will help with their critical thinking and will allow them the opportunity to share with you what they learned from their hands on experiences.

What To Do When It's Cold Outside!

When it's too cold for your children to play outside, you may find yourself going crazy trying to find engaging indoor activities before they're glued to the television or getting into other mischief. Indoor activities should provide a balance of physical activity and creative outlets. Some indoor activities depend on the age and interests of your children, as well as your tolerance for the noise and mess it may make.

Cooking Adventures

Regardless of your kids' ages, you can find plenty of culinary creations to do together. Let toddlers and preschooler help by pouring pre-measured ingredients and "stirring" the mixture. Older children will enjoy rolling and cutting cookie dough, and all your kids can participate in the decoration with colored frosting and sprinkles. For healthier, no-cook options, make a fruit salad and let your little ones tackle dividing peeled orange slices, pulling the stems off cherries and using the melon baller.

Building Forts

Build the indoor clubhouse of your children's dreams using a range of everyday items from couch cushions to blankets and cardboard boxes. Help them choose a safe location. Let them take the lead on construction, but offer assistance if they need help keeping blankets tight between two points or they want to move a chair that's too large. When they finish construction, enjoy a snack together inside the fort.

Make a Mural

A wall covered in white paper makes the perfect canvas for you and your want to be artists to decorate. Tape white paper over an entire section of the wall and ask your kids to help color it in using washable crayons or markers. This approach works best if you're kids are old enough to reliably stay within the boundaries of the paper. For younger children, let them draw a series of pictures at the table and then tape them to the wall in a group mural once they're finished.

Have a Dance Party

Dance the day away by having an indoor dance party. Turn off the regular lights and bring out the flashing holiday lights, along with any blinking toys and flashlights. Choose a short playlist of dance music from your computer or cd's and lead your kids in different dance movements for each song. After you show off your own dance moves, give each child a chance to make up their own dance move that everyone else follows for that song. Do the dances with your kids to keep up the momentum and excitement.

Set Up An Indoor Gym

Create an indoor kids gym with different activity areas, each featuring a different recreation item. Depending on your kids' ages, these fitness items could include a jump rope, a hula hoop, a sit-n-spin and stilt cups. You don't need to have a ton of space, but you should place the activity areas far enough apart so that your kids aren't at risk of accidentally hitting each other. 

And most important, remember to have fun and take lots of pictures! Enjoy your winter day! 

What will our legacy be?

What will our legacy be? Can wehabe a legacy?sn't that what Athelete,celebrities and humanitarians have? Well that is true but we can have one too. How? Well a legacy is something that is handed down such as a Gift, bequest, or something from an ancestor ot predecessor. So how can that apply to us? Well as teachers and parents we all have things that we are passionate about. It could be reading,math,art or sports.it could be music or cooking. So how can I take that passion and make it a legacy? Well, as parents we can involve our children. Let them help us with thecthings we love. Share with them why we enjoy it. As teachers we can share our love of reading,math or science. How will our legacy be known? Children will say that they developed a love of reading because of a teacher. Family members will say thatthey got that passion from their mom or dad or aunt. Even though at times it may seem tedious to involve young children, the rewards will be worth it. We will be able to see a passion develop in them. So what will our legacy be?

Positional words

Learning positional words such as up, down, inside, under, next to, between, right and lift are just some of the words that are very important for preschoolers to learn. Positional words help the children relate to where they are in the world around them and how objects relate to one another. Positional words are essential for communication and increases their ability to give and follow directions. 

Ms. Kelly and I strengthen and support the use of positional words daily, by play games, sing, songs and reading books. We use positional words during art and small group activities, and we emphasize positional words when we are giving directions.

Positional word "up"

Positional word "down"

 Right

 

On top

Our group is doing a calendar activity where positional words are continuously being used.

It's A New Year and A New Day!

Now that Christmas has come and gone, it's the time we usually decide what we are or aren't not going to do in the new year. This is going to be short, sweet, and to the point today. 

When making your New Year Resolutions be sure that you set realistic goals and expectations. Set smaller goals that are going to continue to motivate once they are reached. If you know in your heart of hearts you're not going to stick with it, don't set it as a goal or resolution. 

No matter what your goal or resolution, if you fall off the wagon so to speak, pick your self up, dust your self off, and start again!! It's never to late to make changes. But you have to be the one to make them, and you have to want to make them for the right reasons and for yourself, not for someone else!

What ever goals or resolutions you set for the upcoming year, I wish you much success! 

And on a side note, I read this really cool idea on Face Book...write something positive and good that happens each day in your life, put them in a jar. On December 31, take them out of the jar and read all the wonderful things that happened to you/for you/ because of you during the year.