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Reverse Garbage - a shopping outing Cakes just loves

4/12/2013

Who doesn't love shopping? Well actually I don't and I am sure Cakes isn't too keen either, but if you have ever been to a Reverse Garbage I am sure you could shop until you drop. Cakes and I carefully travel down every aisle to ensure we don't miss anything cool or a bargain. Cakes has two rules to follow when shopping on top of all other outing rules. 1-don't touch anything that can get broken including putting things back nicely, 2 -make sure you have some idea of what you can use your find for before adding it into the basket.

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Weekly Kid's Co-op - Letter learning

4/11/2013

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Cakes has been really into learning about letters recently (despite the fact she still calls them numbers), she can find an M for Mummy, D for Daddy, P for Poppy and an N for Nanny anywhere. In trying to keep up with this interest, I have been on a search for fun and interesting ways to extend her letter and sound learning. I found these four great activities on last weeks Weekly Kid's Co-op linky.

From Making Boys Men - Crafting while learning phonics
Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails - Alphabet Soup Bath
Two much fun - Play-doh letter fun
The Measured Mom - 10 Ways to write the alphabet: letter T

Please link up and check out the other great ideas from this week.

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Potato printing

4/10/2013

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When I was little I remember doing potato printing at Kindy (and loved it). As an adult I have never done this at school or at home with Cakes as I had been guilted into believing this would be wasteful with perfectly good food. (I am still undecided where I stand on using food for art, I use pasta for threading so I should know where I stand). We recently had a potato go rotten in the cupboard and threw it into the worm farm, instead of breaking down and feeding them, it grew into 3 new potatoes. Potatoes I wasn't willing to eat so we used them for painting.

A quick wash, cut in half and carefully cut shapes (while Cakes was busy in another room). And there we had it another fabulous painting tool. Cakes and Princess S did potato stamper printing for a long time making different patterns, talking about the colour, the shapes and counting. The large printed pieces of paper were great sheets of wrapping paper for gifts. I think Cakes was more excited about giving the paper than the presents.

Learning

shape recognition
colour recognition
counting
patterning
small muscle development
hand eye coordination

What you need

trays
sponges
paint
potatoes
knife

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Daddy Doctor - Role Play fun

4/9/2013

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No one goes to the doctor very often in our household. Cakes has rarely been sick (touch wood), Daddy has a great immune system and is rarely sick more than 12 hours and I am just too lazy or busy most of the time (I have been pretty healthy of late). Through books, television and experiences children seem to have a rather good grasp of how different occupations within the community work or what they are for.

The different doctor sets you can buy from cheap ones at Kmart to the more expensive, all have very easy to use equipment. Daddy sat down at the Cakes doctor surgery and got a full medical, his heart checked, blood pressure, eyes checked and even a bandaid for his fingers. She said he was very sick when he came in but was all better when leaving. We might need to have a few more conversations about the healing process next time we play.

Learning

language development
social skills
empathy/sympathy
health
understanding of community roles

What you need:

cheap doctors kit from Kmart
a willing patient

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Salt, light table and playdough cutters

4/8/2013

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Light tables have been something I have seen in big schools, libraries and the odd play centre. Having a simple home made one has given Cakes and I the opportunity to experiment and get messy with it. Salt as been the most enjoyable (and messiest) resource we have used on it so far. Using the salt was fun for sensory play and gave Cakes the time to make marks and patterns with her hands. Adding playdough cutters was a fun mark making resource as it left a clear picture outline for the light to seep through. As this is best used in a dark room or at night it was a great activity to bring out one night when Princess S was visiting. I was pleased to see some team work and turn taking emerge through their play. The conversation between the girls was about shapes, pictures, texture and possibilities.

Learning

attention span
language development
shape recognition
small muscle development

What you need:

Light table (or DIY light box)
salt
playdough cutters
mat

Bathtime foam numbers

4/5/2013

4 Comments

Our $3 foam letters and numbers made their way to the bathroom recently and Cakes spent time sorting, ordering and 'reading' them. She told me all about each number, it's colour and "how many it was". Her favourite thing about the numbers in the bath was the way that they stuck to the wall when wet. She tried each number while it was dry, wet it and placed it on the wall. We talked about the ways she could move it; pulling it off, sliding it and flicking it.

Learning

letter and number recognition
colour recognition
sorting (colours, numbers, letters)
ordering
patterning

What you need:

$3 foam letters and numbers

Weekly Kid's Co-Op - Australia Day Fun and Valentine's Day Love

1/24/2013

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Australia Day falls this Saturday with a public holiday on Monday, these activities and printables from last weeks linky came just in time!

Australia Day Fun links Clockwise around picture -

Making Boys Men - Kids Aboriginal Art
Lesson Learnt Journal - The Australian Flag (Free Printable)
Wildlife Fun 4 Kids - Add Animal Fun to Paper Straws

Valentine's Day Love links left to right from picture -

Mum Central - Hanging Heart Decoration
The Fairy and the Frog - Valentine Window Decorations Buggy and Buddy - Playdough and Playdough Cutter Valentine
Preschool Powol Packets - Ladybug Valentine Heart Card All Our Days - So Loved Valentine's Day Printable
The Chirping Moms - A Valentine's day Chocolate making party
B-Inspired Mama - Snowflake Valentine Craft
Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails - Valentine Day Tic Tac Toe
Gift of Curiosity - Free Valentine's Day Printable Pack

With Valentine's Day less than a month away these ideas from last weeks linky will come in handy.

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Paper tube Didgeridoo

1/22/2013

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Cakes has seen the Didgeridoo used in many community and theme park performances, though her favourite place to see the Didgeridoo in action is in a ZingZillas video on her CBeebies app on my phone. So before making a paper tube Didgeridoo she did a little research and watched an Indigenous Australian playing the Didgeridoo for the ZingZillas. She requested colours to paint her paper tube with and said "I need these colours 'cause the man had them colours". We then discussed why that the colours he used were made with dirt and plants found in the environment. She then asked "why doesn't he use paint?", this lead to a discussion about the history of Indigenous Australians (and paint).

Cakes then used all her colours to make marks on the paper tubes. She did straight lines, wiggly lines, dots and some marks she described as Australian animals "a turtle in green, a pattypus (platypus) and an Emu".

At first Cakes put her mouth around the outside of her tube and she appeared very distressed by the sound it was making. I demonstrated putting my mouth inside the tube and she tried that. Still not luck. Together we practised blowing rasberries and then placing the tube to our mouths. This was perfect and Cakes played it for the entire morning. We had a mini corroboree though it wasn't as much fun without clacking sticks and some dancing. We might try again when Daddy comes home.

Learning

Indigenous Australian culture
small muscle development
hand eye coordination
aesthetic appreciation
music making techniques

What you will need:

paper tubes
paint (colours naturally found and made by Indigenous Australian's or Ochres)
cotton buds (or fingers)

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Crazy croc

1/21/2013

3 Comments

Making a crazy Croc was a simple as an egg carton (well half to be exact) a bit of paint,a stapler and a few staples. Cakes has seen many crocodiles at various zoos, themeparks and digitally. This proved useful when asking her what colour paints she wanted. She request green for his "scaly rough skin", white for his "sharp teeth" and black for his "beedy eyes". We broke the egg carton into smaller pieces first and then painted all the green and all the white. Once this was dry we stapled it together and painted the black onto his eyes. Her egg carton crocodile has been played with several times since he was finished and everyone that walks in the door gets to meet him (right after they check out her Emu's hanging in her room).

Learning

hand eye coordination
small muscle development
creativity
role play

What you need:

egg carton
paint (green, white, black, red)
stapler
staples

3 Comments

Egg Carton Redback Spiders

1/18/2013

5 Comments

With my belief that a redback spider would kill Cakes if bitten, it was important for her to know what they look like so she could avoid them (even though she has been told not to touch any spider). When Cakes and I did research on these little arachnids we found that even though they are venomous that no one has died from a redback spider bite since anti-venom was introduced in 1956.

After looking at their picture we discussed their body parts, 2 body parts and 6 legs unlike an insect with 3 body parts and 6 legs. We collected some egg cartons and broke them into groups of 2 for the head and body. They were painted black with 4 holes on either side (note our legs ave come our of the back part of the body however it should be the front half), threaded 4 pipe cleaners through the holes then out the other sides and painted a red strip on the back.

When asked what Cakes enjoyed doing the most when making her redback spider she said "putting in the cleaners as legs, it was really hard". She then reiterated I was not to touch her spiders as they are very "emonous", when asked what emonous means she said that "you might die or get sick". SO her spiders are sitting in the middle of a room and not touched, hopefully she will let me pick them up before someone trips on them.