Learning Anatomy with Littles

Learning anatomy with littles is just a game away. 

Last evening, a little asked me to play a game.

"Great! I'd love to! Choose a game." 

Back she came, with Somebody.

Not somebody, Somebody, one of our favorite educational science games. We've owned this game for years, probably fifteen. Its helped littles learn parts, functions, and body systems in a fun, family-friendly way.

We gathered around the table, ages three to eleven.

We played. 

We learned together.

Somebody rejoined the rest of our favorites in the game cabinet. 

Real-Life Learning: Teaching Elapsed Time

"Mom, can I use your phone?"

"We want to see how long it takes to get home!"

Elapsed time. A very abstract concept for a concrete six-year-old learner. The concept is often taught on paper with a story problem:

Emily is baking chocolate cake. The cake must bake for 38 minutes. If Emily puts the cake in the oven at 2:15 pm, what time will she need to take the cake out of the oven?

Most children learn elapsed time by this manner. This is a necessary piece of the elapsed time puzzle. However, there is another piece many parents and teachers miss. Internal, personal understanding of elapsed time is not something that can taught on paper. It must be experienced, not just once, but many times. Understanding this part of the elapsed time concept is a necessity for life. Without it, time management is nearly impossible.

"Don't start the car yet! I have to set the time. When I tell you, turn the key."

Seconds later I was told to start the car. The stop watch on my phone ticking away, I pulled out of the parking space. Heads craned around confining seat belts (though we were excited about learning, I reminded learners they must remain in their seat belts). Shouts of learning excitement filled the car.

"It's two minutes thirty seconds!" An older learner shouted. Little learner listened, as the digital numbers were read orally; another important skill.

"Now it's four minutes twenty-nine seconds!"

Six minutes forty-two seconds later, we pulled in the driveway. 

We experienced lapsed time, visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically.

We unpacked groceries and learners had more ideas:

• How long will it take to fill a gallon milk jug with water, faucet open as far as possible?
• How long will it take for a marble to roll down the KNEX ramp?
• How long will it take me to get dressed?
• How long will it take for water to boil?
• How long will it take for the clothes to dry in the dryer?  or Is the time on the dryer dial accurate?
• How long will it take for us to get to the library? Does it take longer to go to the library than to the grocery store? (Comparison of time is the next level of elapsed time. Write down each elapsed digital time and subtract to find the difference.We do this every day! )

Teaching elapsed time can be fun and relative to life.

It can also help children and young adults plan their days well. Will I have enough time to brush my teeth and still read an extra paragraph before emptying the dishwasher for mom? Will I have time to stop for gas and still get to work on time? 

If you are looking for ways to make take math off paper for little learners ages 4 through 8, you may find A Month of Math: Measurement or A Month of Math: Geometry helpful resources.

"Let Me Do It!"

Toddlers are industrious! They can accomplish much in a short time. Unloading cabinets. Emptying bags of flour for "snow". Unwinding tape rolls. But there is more...

Given a task, an important one, one they care about, they will accomplish much and feel incredibly empowered, eager for the next "job". Last night was one of those moments.

Mr. Red, the fish we inherited from great-grandma when she passed, needed a clean bowl. The water had become a science culture, I am sure, though I didn't test it. Poor Mr. Red! Sick children needed care. Mr. Red had to wait. I moved the fish bowl to the kitchen counter, near the sink, grabbed an extra large coffee cup from the cabinet, scooped Mr. Red into the cup, and within seconds was joined by our toddler who "wanted to help".

"Let me do it, too!"

What toddler doesn't like to play in water!

Mr. Red was swimming happily in the coffee cup I placed out of reach. I dumped the yucky water and poured the rocks and stones into water to be washed. Chair pushed to the sink, smiling toddler turned on water and began cleaning rocks.

Thirty minutes later, the toddler had cleaned every rock and placed all of them back in the bowl. She was so proud to contribute, to care for our beloved Mr. Red. She knew she could be a productive, contributing member of the family, accomplishing tasks of importance. Her smile spanned ear to ear, dimples dotting each corner.

My toddler is like me. She wants to contribute. She wants to serve, to care. In doing so, she catches a glimpse of the much bigger picture, one much bigger than herself. What started as "let me do it!" ended with "I like being a part of a family!"

How can your child contribute? How can he or she make a difference and catch a glimpse of a greater community? Imagine the possibilities!

• help organize the pantry, cylinder cans on one shelf, rectangular boxes on another. 
• water the plants, inside or out, with a pump spray bottle (great for fine motor skills)
• fold washcloths in half and half again
• match socks
• sort laundry
• organize the plastic container cabinet
• sort coins- pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters
• roll coins (get paper rolls at the bank)
• make sandwiches (spreading is a great skill)
• empty bathroom trash cans into the larger garbage can
• carry hampers to the laundry room
• make cookies (with supervision and help)
• help put seeds in seed beds
• help wash the car (and clean out the inside)
• put library books in the bag to go to the library

Swimmy

 A one-hour adventure with the beloved Swimmy by Leo Lionni

The preschool and elementary age fish in our school listened eagerly to Swimmy. After the reading, we chose white construction paper from our paper tray and brushed cool-hued watercolors lightly over the entire paper. We had our sights set on a mixed-media collage we found highlighted in 25 Terrific Art ProjectsBased on Favorite Picture Books by Karen Backus, Linda Evans and Mary Thompson.

As we created we strayed from the collage instructions in the book, adding our creativity with twisted tissue paper, sponge- painted seahorses, and torn paper rocks.  The results were amazing! 

My favorite moment of the adventure was the six-year-old's reaction to the fishes failure to cooperate. She sighed, "How sad!" What a character lesson!

Check out Swimmy by Leo Lionni for a powerful example of the importance of working together.

Our Favorite Microscope for Little Learners

"Mom, look at this wasp's nest. Quick! Go get the microscope!"

Little learners are curious. Curious about everything, big or small, wanting to take a second, closer look. That is when our Magiscope comes in handy. No slide preparation. Built-in light source. Removable ocular for odd- shaped specimens. What else could a curious little learner hope for?

When our oldest son was six years old, grandparents asked what he would like for Christmas. The Magiscope made a  perfect present, one which satisfied him (as well as his siblings) for years. In fact, 17 years later, it is still one of our favorite learning tools.

As I speak to parents, whether in a living room chat or at a large convention, I often mention our fascination with this portable scientific tool, one that gives little learners a simple, age-appropriate introduction to magnification. We carry ours outside to the swing set fort or to the front yard. We have even taken it on vacation. When the Magiscope is not with us, we collect the specimen in a baggie for observation at home. The Magiscope helps to foster a curiosity for natural science in our eager learners. For that, I am  grateful.

For more information, check out these links:

• http://www.magiscope.com/
• http://www.teachersource.com/product/brock-microscope-model-70-magiscope/microscopes-magnification

"C" Words in My Celery Prints

Thought up a fun learning activity while making dinner last night. Cutting celery and onion for baked chicken, I noticed my celery stalk was slicing in the shape of "C". Perfect!

I finished cutting the celery slices until I had a four inch perfect-for-a-five-year-old-sized-hand piece. Then I poured a small amount of paint in a shallow Styrofoam veggie tray (a plastic lid could also be used). Instructing my five year old in print technique, I showed her how to make a "C" print by dipping the end of the celery into the thin layer of paint and pushing gently onto a white piece of paper. Perfect! Prints! Yahoo! She was very impressed, and so was I.

While the paint dried, we (all of us in the kitchen) worked together to list "C words". When the paint was completely dry, my daughter copied the words onto her paper. Perfect! Prints! Great lesson on the letter C. Love impromptu fun learning. Perfect! Prints! Learning! Yahoo!

It's "P" Day

Grab the magazines, construction paper, scissors, and paste! We cutting out pictures that start with the letter P. After we cut "P" pictures, we will be dining on Piggies in a Blanket (hot dogs cut in half and wrapped in biscuit) and then reading books about pigs. We may decide to act out The Three Pigs or pull out the flannel board version. Any one for a game of Parchesi? Later today we are going to a local parade to watch our cousin march with his high school band. He is a percussionist. Perfect!

Pig books:
If you Give a Pig a Pancake, Laura Numeroff
Pigs, Gail Gibbons
All Pigs are Beautiful, Dick King-Smith
The Book of Pigericks: Pig Limericks, Arnold Lobel
Pig, Jules Older

Preschool piggie ideas http://stepbystepcc.com/animals/pigs.html

Lots of piggie activities http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/pigs.htm

More piggie stuff http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~orchard/pigs/pigs.htm

If you don't like piggies, how about popcorn, peacocks, pancakes, or pandas...

Popcorn
Popcorn Plants, Kathleen V. Kudlinski
Popcorn activities http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/popcorn.htm

Peacocks
Colorful Peacocks, Deborah Underwood

Pancakes
Miss Mable's Table, Deborah Chandra
Curious George Makes Pancakes, H. A. Rey
From Maple Trees to Maple Syrup, Kristen Thoennes Keller
Ideas for teaching math while making pancakes and other foods, check out Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula http://www.cherylbastian.com/flip3pancakes

Pandas
Giant Pandas, Gail Gibbons
Follow the giant pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/default.cfm
Panda activities http://www.first-school.ws/activities/animals/wild/panda-giant.htm

Occupying Preschoolers

Over the past sixteen years of homeschooling, I have had to occupy my share of preschoolers. In fact, it remains a daily joy! (I typed "challenge" and realized though I might feel challenged at times, I love my preschoolers and am savoring the very few years I have left- unless God has other plans. I am counting it all JOY!) With a three year old, and another who is five, I am often pulling ideas from my mental file to engage (not just busy) my younger ones while I finish proofing a high school essay or grade a Geometry lesson.

Knowing many of you are in the same boat, I wanted to share a link to an article I wrote for Homeschooling Today. It originally printed in the July/August 2009 issue.
http://www.homeschooltoday.com/news/172/30/Creative-Ways-to-Occupy-Preschoolers/