Mother Goose Time to the Rescue!! - Preschool Fun For the Summer

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August is a superhero theme with Mother Goose Time.  Who doesn't love superheros?  But as always, there is not only a ton of fun but a ton of learning and amazing opportunities to spend valuable time with your children.  If you have little ones at home, even if it's just for the summer months, I can not recommend enough that you purchase one of the summer time boxes from MGT.  They are typically review boxes that cover all the letters, numbers and shapes.

My boys have never been ones to sit down in my lap and read a book.  We never have been able to spend time like that together.   But you will read article after article about how valuable reading with your child is to their later success in school and life in general.  I felt like we were failing our boys, yet trying to get them to curl up for a story was torture.  For us, Mother Goose Time is how we spent that quality time together.  It's how we spent time talking, introducing new vocabulary, spending face to face quality time and learning.

I don't get money for saying this, there is no commission.  I do get our curriculum for free in exchange for sharing our stories, but I would still tell everyone I know, even if I paid for it out of pocket.  I am just passionate about the difference it has made in my family and I want that for others.

So with out further ado, here is what we have done so far with the superhero theme, or at least what I have photographed.  This was a combination of Day 1, Superhero Symbol and Day 2, Glasses.

This lesson was called Super Vision and I remember it distinctly from three years ago.  It was like a magic trick to them then and again this year.  First we each had some red cellophane which we explored looking through.

Then we made these paddles.  I had to help Adam out quite a bit, it was hard to cut cellophane, but he helped me glue it in and tear the tape.  I didn't give them the cards with the pictures until all of them had the color paddles ready.  I wanted them to all be surprised at the same time.  They were in total shock when an image appeared.

 Lucy and Peter decided to make their own drawings with red scribbles over the top.

It didn't work quite as well, but I loved that this project got them started and launched them into creativity.  It also made them do some serious problem solving when it didn't work as they had hoped.  Maybe it was because the birds weren't blue, they were more purple.  So he tried again.

In this months box we got magnet wands for each child!!!  This was an activity from Day 1 that I just hadn't gotten to.  I cut out the shapes, added paper clips and gave Adam a magnet wand to go fishing.

He would pick up a shape and place it on the shield. Which revealed a secret message when all shapes were in place.  But it was hard, really hard to get them all lined up.

We also experimented with how strong the magnet was and found out how many shapes it could hold at once.  Turns out it can hold them all!

Peter continued to stay very focused and made a pretty cool drawing.

He pointed out that when he held the color paddle over the red sun the center part disappeared and only the outside rays could be seen.

At this point they were ready to move on.  I set up the new theme poster on the wall under our palm tree from the Alphabet Island theme and waited for a good opportunity to explore it with Adam or whoever may be interested.

What's great is that I took no time to prepare and I didn't have it all planned out and scheduled to a T.  We were there at the table, eating lunch and cooling off.  I asked if they wanted to learn about superhero vision and make a color paddle and everyone cheered.  I cut open the bag, popped out the cut outs, handed out the supplies and we were having fun creating in a matter of minutes, if that.

What we didn't get to I keep in the back of my mind for another spontaneous and fun moment or I just open another bag and we continue on with something new.  So easy!

Campfires and Campfire Stories

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We have continued to steadily and randomly work our way through this months Camping theme with Mother Goose Time.  This day was all about the Campfire.  I thought it was pretty darn clever to work in the character trait of being responsible.  For the Circle Time song we sang "Can You Be Responsible"? to the tune of "The Muffin Man".  The last line changed.  First it was "And put out the fire?", then "pick up the trash" and lastly "stay on the path".   These are all concepts taught in our Cub Scout Troop, but it was an excellent reminder.  We had just returned from camping and I was able to give clear examples as to why it is important to be responsible with campfires, picking up your trash and staying on the path.  When we were done singing our song and discussing these concepts I handed them each a "Responsible" friendship feather.

During the summer months the Mother Goose Time boxes typically review all the letters instead of just learning the three we do during the school year.  In this camping box each child received a My Little Journal with all the letters of the alphabet along with a set of alphabet cards.

On campfire day we taped the F alphabet card to the F page for fire.  Adam first spotted the campfire on the page next to the F page and colored that in.  Look at him color in the lines!  Oh and his arms are colored orange so he can "be like Daddy".  If you can figure that out, more power to ya.

 These manipulatives make an appearance all the time.  They create all sorts of creatures with them.

 Next he drew a "fire" on the fire page.

 Pretty good, right?

 Then, on his own accord, he started tracing the Fs across the bottom of the page.

He spent quite a lot of time in his journal.  Could it be?  Could I have one child that actually doesn't mind workbooks?!?!

On Campfire day we got a recipe card to make Campfire Snacks.  First we discussed what you can cook over a fire.  Marshmallows and hotdogs were the obvious answers.  Mother Goose Time had us give them cream cheese and lunch meat.  Since I didn't have cream cheese, well at least I didn't have any that wasn't growing mold, I cut up cheddar cheese into cubes.  Then I cut the lunch meat into strips which they rolled up to look like hotdogs and we pretended the cheese cubes were marshmallows.  We stuck them on our pretzels and pretended to roast them over the fire before we ate them.  This actually turned into lunch.  I just added a few sides.

This game was left over from Sleeping Bag day and I just couldn't skip it.  The idea was to have them face down, have the child flip two over to see if they go together.  I knew this would be too challenging for Adam so I just simply put the cards face up.  I thought this might intrigue him, but he quickly refused to do it.

What did happen was Lucy and Peter played the game while Adam watched.  I have NO doubt that he was picking things up as they played.

I made sure to make the sounds of the letters and sound out the names of the items on each picture for him to hear.

Now it's my turn to tell a little campfire story.  When we were camping this last weekend we were sitting around the campfire in the early morning and my uncle asked me if Adam new his numbers.  My reply was not a simple one.  I told him that there are a few parts to learning numbers.  First they typically learn to count, then they learn the one to one correspondence, where they count out objects learning that each number actually represents a quantity and then they learn to recognize the actual symbols for numbers.
I told him that Adam can count really high, even way past twenty.  He can recognize the pattern in counting and will fill in the blank if I stop, 32, 33, 3?.  I also explained that Adam is getting better and better about understanding that a number refers to a quantity.  So when I tell him to give me 5 crackers he can do so with out hesitation.  He's even done a bit of math when he has asked me for 4 crackers and I only give him 2 he corrects me and asks for 2 more.  Lastly I told him that Adam has surprised me quite a bit with recognizing written numbers.  He for sure knows numbers 1, 2, and 3 thanks to our sandcastle game, but he knows more than that too.  I just haven't pinned down which ones he knows exactly.
My uncle looked at me amazed and said "you probably could be a teacher by now."  (Like an official one in an official school, he wasn't trying to be offensive, and I wasn't offended.)  I don't think he was expecting such a detailed explanation and honestly it surprised me a bit too.  How in the heck did I know all this?
I know this because I have used Mother Goose Time for five years now.  I knew none of this when I started.  Mother Goose Time has trained me to be the educator I am today.  In fact I would have never called myself an educator before and they have given me the courage to do so.  They have helped me grow in ways I would have never imagined.  They have given me so many ideas on how to learn beyond a piece of paper and a pencil.  They have given me a deeper understanding of my children and how they learn, which is a priceless gift.
If you want to teach your children and you don't know where to start, Mother Goose Time is your answer.  I had no clue what a little child needed to know or how to teach it and apparently, now I do!

I  know I put a disclaimer at the end of each of my posts about Mother Goose Time saying all these opinions are my own.  But I just have to reiterate that.  I don't get commission, no referral discounts, nothing.  This company has a Blog Ambassador program, not for marketing purposes, but to support other educators.  I LOVE this company and this curriculum and what it has done for my family.  It has created priceless memories, it has given me insights into my children I would not have had with out it.  If I were to talk about it with you in person you would see tears in my eyes.  It has impacted me so deeply and I want other families to have what we have had.  That is all, that is why I share.

Winter Wonderland - Skiing & Experience God - Four in a Flock

Wow, long title.  Sorry about that.  But I wanted to make sure you knew we did an Experience God lesson on this day too.  I've been getting better about working in an Experience God lesson each day.  Maybe it's because it's December and Christmas is coming.  Part of my motivation is that I have been posting the ideas on Mom with a Dandelion in Her Hairs Facebook page.  I think most people I know are trying to figure out how to fit more Jesus into Christmas and I thought quick posts on Facebook with ideas could be helpful.

We started our day learning about skiing and making self portraits of ourselves skiing down a mountain.  Honestly, I don't think my boys have really seen skiing before.  So I pulled up a YouTube video for them to watch so they had an idea of what they were trying to draw. 

Mother Goose Time sent us two miniature craft sticks for skis, a paper and a pretty paper frame for our project.

 Beautiful Lucy came for a visit on this day and drew a pretty great picture.

 Peter seems to ski like I do, with his skis crossed.

 Adam enjoyed banging his blue bear manipulative on the highchair. 

 Lachlan is gluing his skis down.

Always has to use that tongue for precision. 

While still at the table we played a game of would you rather for the Mountain Travel lesson. 

The cards ask a would you rather question, like the one above.  Would you rather live on a beach or on a mountain.  There were four of us here on this day for voting.  I grabbed what I had handy for keeping track of the votes, cheerios.  But the bears they suggested in the Teacher Guide would have been much cuter. I think I was the only one who voted for the beach.

 Personally, I thought the Penguin would be hard to ride.

I know the pictures all look the same, but they are all very different questions.  It was fun to hear their answers and it sparked some funny conversation.

Next we slipped in an Experience God lesson called Four in a Flock.  We learned about being a shepherd, finding lost sheep and protecting your sheep through the night.  First we prepared 5 pieces of paper with 4 circles each.  I figured the kids could help me with that part.

 As they were doing that I hid 20 cotton balls around the living room.  Cotton balls aka sheep.

It's always easier to find sheep in the day time with a flashlight. ;)

When they found the sheep they would bring them back to the papers. 

 Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

Just as a shepherd watches over his sheep, God watches over us.  Jesus is the lamb of God.  

Later in the day I got out a tray of flour and two big craft sticks for the lesson Ski Tracks.  We were supposed to draw numbers in the flour, but I just let the kids explore the flour on the kitchen floor, making tracks with the skis/craft sticks.  Honestly, I used this time to get some work done on the computer.  They were completely happy making a mess and experimenting with something Mommy wouldn't normally let them play with.  Just a quick sweep and it was all cleaned up. 

Vet Bag Art

Normally I cover a full day of activities and lessons in one post.  But for this post I am just going to cover 1 lesson from Day 11 which was about, what happens at a doctor's visit?

This one lesson went so well and extended into play for so long, I just have to share in detail.

Vet Bag Art was the craft for the day.  Mother Goose Time provided us with a vet bag to be decorate.  All the kids were on the floor playing so again I brought all the supplies to them to see if I could get them interested with out a fight.  As soon as I sat down, Lucy was game.  So her and I got started.  She colored her vet bag, then we punched it out of the paper, folded it in half and I used the yarn to sew it all together.

MGT provided this little roll of bandage material.  I cut a strip for Lucy and encouraged her to find an animal to fix up.  She chose a horse of course. 

Getting him all wrapped up.

This is when Peter started getting interested.  He wanted to fix up some animals as well.  So I got him started on his vet bag.

Lachlan got these awesome new markers for a birthday present.  Everyone is enjoying them very much.

With his vet bag all prepped, he got to work on bandaging up the dino.

Lachlan was now ready to join in.  I had him do some of the details that were a bit hard for Lucy and Peter.  He put the brad in the pretend scissors and did the weaving of the yarn. 

The dino is all better and now the robot needs some help.

I did not divvy out the bandage very equally.  Lachlan got a pretty tiny piece, but it didn't seem to faze him.  He chose to fix up the hippo.

He needed some tape to keep his bandage on.   He couldn't quite get it tied off.

Lucy's horses health improved and now the red robot needed some care.

Lachlan got his hippo all repaired and held him carefully and so content and proud.

Thank you hippo, for being such a good patient.  Get well soon.

He didn't know I was looking and didn't know I still had the camera.  He was just standing there, continuing to take good care of his patients.

When we ran out of bandage Peter stole the green ribbon for the ribbon wand.  I didn't mind.

Lachlan found one more "animal" in need of help.

So the moral of this picture story is this: go to the store and buy some bandage for your kids to use during play time. 

What a great way to see their compassion shine!