SMMART BABY: Reading

New little topic to share with you ... for the younger crowd. This activity is a fun way to engage baby during reading time.

Many books have a natural rhythm to them. Hold your baby's little foot or hand and tap it on the page while you are reading to her.

You'll find that she just may try to tap out the rhythm. Kicking at the pages to try it out on her own. Super cute to see that little mind learning and mimicking.

Your older children will like doing this with you too!

SMMART TIME-OUT: Fire Safety

Did you know that you are supposed to change the batteries in your smoke detector every six months to a year? Can't believe I didn't know this! (Maybe I did once upon a time, but just forgot:) It kind of sucked the wind from my lungs when I heard the fire chief remind us at my pre-schooler's last field trip. There were some other great reminders too...thought I'd share a few to make sure that we're all Fire Safe!

-Make a FIRE ESCAPE PLAN from your home and PRACTICE with your family. I think it would be a good idea to practice every six months when you're changing the batteries in your smoke alarms. Here is a link to help you plan your fire escape plan: http://www.sparky.org/safety_tips.html

-Help your children become aware of what a fully suited FIRE MAN LOOKS LIKE and teach them to not hide from the possibly scary looking man, but to trust him to help your child.

-Here are some great SAFETY DISCUSSION POINTS to share with your children:

http://www.firesafety.gov/kids/discuss/index.shtm

- TEST YOUR FIRE ALARMS MONTHLY. Let your child be involved in pushing the button and testing the alarms to make sure they're working. The fire chief showed us a fire alarm that, when activated, sounds a voice-alert. Here is a review on the KidSmart fire alarm-you decide if it's better. Be sure to remember a CO Detector too! (Some alarms come 2-in-1)

-Teach your child how to "STOP, DROP and ROLL" while covering their faces, and Feel doors if they're hot or cold before exiting.

I think a great activity to share with your children is to show them these hazardous room pictures at http://www.firesafety.gov/kids/lesson/lesson_plan_hfs.shtm and discuss the fire safety mistakes. You could print the list of mistakes and then cut them into strips. Take turns choosing a strip and finding the mistake in the picture.

If you haven't had a chance to visit the fire station with your child, plan a field trip there and invite some neighborhood friends. Our fire station did an excellent job of sharing some life-saving ideas with our children, and reminding MOM of what I need to do to ensure that my family FIRE SAFE!

SMMART VIDEO

So much to learn, but I am learning how to add video to my site. Thought I'd share a SMMART Art oldie from (December 2008)

Livin' Lovely

I can't believe I didn't post sooner about my interview with Leah from Livin' Lovely.

Leah and I worked together as former pharmaceutical sales representatives and now she hosts a "networking community designed to bring together women entrepreneurs by featuring success stories, profiling unique women and their ventures, provide a community forum for interaction between readers, writers and all of the successful women we highlight".

Check out my interview with Leah...and other unique women and their aspirations.

http://livinlovely.com/?p=776

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SMMART TIME-OUT: Vacation in VA

Be out for a bit...excited to see my first little niece!

Summer 2010 Activity Calendar

Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed/Th/Fri/Sat

SMMART READING: Summer Calendar

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A local media company , Deseret Media Companies, and the Utah Governor's office want to "link arms with all those who work toward the mission of literacy...(and) boost literacy" in school-aged children. They are circulating a calendar for the summer months with activities for each day. Some activities are literary in nature, while others are crafty, and some encourage activity.

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It would be fun to create your own Activity Summer Calendar. Each morning, your child will look forward to reading an activity that you will do together that day.

You can get fancy and type the activities into a calendar template, or just write the activities down on a dedicated calendar for this purpose.

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Here are some fun summer activities to share with your child from the "Read with a Child" calendar:

-Visit your local library and join their summer reading program

-Make a pirate map of your backyard. Draw pictures of trees and rocks. Count off steps and remember Xmarks the spot!

-Ask an adult to help you bake cookies. Sugar cookies can be shaped into fish or other sea creatures.

-With an adult, set up a sprinkler and run through the water.

-Use various sizes of small bowls of water and let children toss balls into the bowls.

-Organize an outing to a water treatment plant. Write or draw about how you can conserve water within your home and community.

-Begin a daily journal.

-Learn about what lives in water?

-Sea serpents are legendary marine animals that resemble enormous snakes. Write a paragraph or draw a picture about a sea serpent living in the Great Salt Lake or waterbody near you.

-Blow bubbles outside.

-If you went for a swim in the deep blue sea, what would you see? Draw a picture.

-Let children sit under an umbrella in a sprinkler rainstorm.

-Read a story about the mammals in the ocean and seas. What are some differences between mammals and fish?

-Watch the sky today. Find a book about clouds, weather, and rain.

-Learn new words and write their definition, or draw a picture of the meaning.

-Share a descriptuve story of what you would do if you were stranded on a desert island.

-Use a clean spray bottle with a nozzle strem to write your name on the widewalk in water.

-Show different shaped balloons, before and after adding water. Describe how they change in shape, size, feel and color.

-Water watcher-try to use less water while brushing your teeth.

Check out this site for more Reading Activity Calendar ideas:

http://pbskids.org/island/activities/calendar/