Friday, March 22, 2013

DIY 'Find it' style game for lil kids


Have you seen the 'Find it' games. It is basically a plastic tube filled with plastic rice and lots of tiny 'treasures' to find. The concept is great for older kids, DD7 spent ages playing with a friend's one. For letter X week I decided to try and make a Pre k version as one of our treasure hunts activities.

A bottle would be perfect but we only had glass ones -a scary option for a toy! We went in a differnet directions an made a find it 'box' from a 2lb berry container. The shape turned out to be great for little hands to hold, tilt and shake.
 
After a scavenger hunt to find little items to include,  I took a picture of the treasures and printed a copy. Mini Piwi could refer to the card to check what else she needed to find.
Mini Piwi used various scoops and cups to fill the plastic container 3/4 full with our well used sensory box beans. We stirred in the 'treasures' and sealed up the box with tape.
 Mini Piwi was pretty happy with her 'treasure chest'. It turned out to be pretty tricky to find everything but we all had fun trying!




Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A Book for Classic Kid Book Fans! I Hate Picture Books!

This week we are excited to be co-hosting the 12th Kid lit Blog hop.

It was hard to choose a book to share because everyone had a different favorite this week. Eventually it was agreed that we should let everyone know how much we liked "I hate Picture books' by Timothy Young.

 



When DD7 started reading chapter books she declared that her picture book are for ‘little kids’. It was a sad moment for me. That was, until I realised that she still selects many of these books to read at bedtime. She says it's lil sister. Of course. The young boy in the Latest book by Artist Timothy young is going through a similar conundrum.

Source: ihatepicturebooks.com


This young man (we are not told his name)  has decided he is throwing away his picture books. Why? Because he is too old to believe ‘that Pigeons can drive buses and that Caterpillars eat cheese and salami’. Not only that, his books are getting him into trouble. He gives several examples including what happens when he draws on the the walls with a purple crayon (like Harold)  or (literally) eats Green eggs and Ham. It isn't until he starts thinking about the one that frustrates him the most that he begins to rethink his spring cleaning.

The book is written if it is the main character talking to the reader and has the sense of humor you would expect from this age. This is probably why DD7 thought it was so funny. For me, it was the reference to all the kids books we  love that made it stand out. Over 200 well known books are apparently referenced in this book. Some you recognize in the text,  others are in the illustration as the books strewn around the floor. DD3 loved playing 'spot the book'. There were many the kids didn't recognize and it sent us on a search at the library to find them. A book that leads to more books -you have to love that! 

A digital copy of this book was sent to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Now onto the hop! We can't wait to see what you all have to share!
Welcome to the 12th Kid Lit Blog Hop. We did it! We hit 100 links once again! Thanks to all of YOU, we are developing a thriving community of bloggers and authors who love to share their favorite kids books. Last time, there were so many links to fantastic posts about children's books, literacy, and favorites lists. Lots of variety! As you can see from our header, we are taking some time off for our Spring Break. That means that all the posts, tweets, and shares you see or have seen since mid-March are all automatically being posted. I will be responding to emails and comments upon my return at the start of April. But, just because WE are on break, doesn't mean the rest of our wonderful KidLit community can't connect once more for the Kid Lit Blog Hop. Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!
Kid Lit Blog Hop
<div align="center"><a href="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/category/kid-lit-blog-hops/" title="Kid Lit Blog Hop"><img src="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kid-Lit-Blog-Hop-Button-Sep-2012-e1349976901756.jpg" alt="Kid Lit Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
 

Suggestions For How to Participate:

1. Although not mandatory, we ask that you kindly follow your hostesses and co-hostesses. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.), but we've added our preferences below. If you could just give us a quick "follow" or "like" that would be much appreciated! Make sure to leave us a message if you are following us (i.e., on Twitter or Facebook or on our websites) and will be sure to follow you back. Thanks! :-)
Hostesses:
Our Co-Hostess for This Week:
2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. Check out some other books. Don't be a stranger, go see what books other families are checking out, and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you! 4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links! 5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Happy Hopping!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Preschool Puddles:Easy to make Water cycle model

Mini Piwi had fun learning about the water cycle in a fun and colorful way. A Toddler or Preschooler may not know about Precipitation and Evaporation just yet but, they do know all about puddles!

This week we got some rain and lots of big puddles to splash in. Mini Piwi was disappointed that the puddles weren't there by the next morning. I used this game/activity to explain where the puddles had gone.


1. I explained that we were pretending that the pile of colored mini pompoms represent a puddle on the ground. The cotton balls are a cloud in the sky.
2. The sun shines on the puddle. We used Mini Piwi's sun puppet, but we could have used a ball or balloon.
3. The heat of the sun 'picks up' the drops of water in the Puddle and it is 'added' to the cloud.

4. Mini Piwi added all the pompoms to the cloud until it was big and puffy.

5. When the cloud got full it rained and all the raindrops fall to the ground again. The pompoms fall off the cotton balls when you roughly shake the whole thing.
Mini Piwi did this over and over and thought it was hilarious when it 'rained'.  All the giggling bought Big sis over to the table and she got 'rained on' too.
We’re joining in with these bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network to bring you ideas for Spring and Easter – pop along and see what fun activities they are sharing with you today. We also invite you to come and share your own ideas if you are blogger please link up your Spring and Easter posts below and join us celebrating Spring and Easter.
The Magic of Play, Rainy Day Mum, hands on : as we growPutti's World, Blog Me Mom, Scribble Doodle and Draw, 3 Dinosaurs, Buggy and Buddy, Royal Baloo, Kitchen Counter Chronicle, Nurture Store, The Usual Mayhem, Making Boys Men, Two Daloo, Reading Confetti, Creative Play House, Fantastic Fun and Learning, Here Come the Girls, Blue Bear Wood, Zing Zing Tree, Mummy Mummy Mum, Red Ted Art, Life at the Zoo, My Little 3 and Me, Imprints from Tricia, Smiling Like Sunshine, Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails, Creative Connection for Kids, 52 Brand New, Inspiration Laboratories, Kid World Citizen, JDaniel 4s Mom, Inspired by Familia, Kids Creative Chaos, All Done Monkey, ArtChoo, Something 2 Offer, Child Central Station, KC Edventures, Momma's Fun World, Sun Hats and Wellie Boots, Discovering the world through my son's eyes, Little Artists
 

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