Fun with Money

While Little Bear and I were cleaning, we came across some loose money. Little Bear ran to get her piggy bank, however I stopped her before she could put all her change in it. I figured it was time for an impronto lesson! First I told her what each coin was, which did not seem to sink in. So then I had her separate the coins into piles; small, medium, and large.

After she separated it, the fun really began. Little Bear put all the coins into patterns. Dime, nickel, penny, dime, nickel, penny, etc.

Little Bear LOVES patterns. The more complicated the better! After patterns I asked her to make letters. She had a little trouble with that, but eventually she figured it out.

She had some problems with the letter "d". I think it was because she was doing it upside down, so she thought it was a "p". All in all, this impronto lesson was a total success! We worked on patterns, numbers, and money values.

Reorganizing the Computer Room!

Reorganizing the Computer Room!

So, I mentioned in another post we are starting Cub School in June. However, I was not sure where I wanted to spend all that time. So I decided to reorganize the computer room (or Daddy's Cave as Little Bear calls it). I have not used my half of the computer room for about 3 years. When my computer broke, I bought a laptop. So my half of the room became the "place where you put everything". I have been meaning to reorganize it, but this summer project gave me the excuse I needed. The first thing I wanted to do was take out the big ugly broken tv, that way I could use the tv stand as a bookshelf. Luckily for me, I chose a great day to throw it out. Bulk Trash Pick up day (which happens once a month) was that Tuesday! Yea for good timing! So now my room looks like this:

It's really messy, but I will fix that. So I decided to reorganize things. I did not like the idea of the bookshelf in front of the window. Not really sure why, but just do no like it. Also, the giant tent has to be moved, otherwise there will be no room to work. I moved the tent to the living room. (I am sure my Hubby will have something to say about that when he comes home). Little Bear still plays in the tent otherwise I would pack it up and put it in the garage. I actually got that tent at Ikea for $10 about 3 years ago. She loves it and I can pat myself on the back for a good purchase!
Now, after moving the tent, I moved the bookshelf against the wall and moved the computer desk to where that little table is. That little table is also from Ikea. It came with 2 chairs and was only $20, another good purchase! I moved the table to the middle of the room. So now my room looks like this:

It's amazing how much room I have now! As you can see Little Bear was excited and all ready to play in her new area. However, I am still not done. My computer has been fixed by my Hubby's brother. So now Little Bear has her own computer to do ABC Mouse on. A great learning site for kids! I recommend it to everyone! Not only does it teach children in a game like manner, but it is also teaching her computer skills. So, for the computer I just need to find a mouse and keyboard and it is all set. The bookcase is a little bare as you can see. I did put some of our craft stuff on it though. I can not wait to get the books :) The walls are also very bare, but I am hoping to fix that soon! Now, see that empty corner there? Well, I am planning to make a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree there! Little Bear is really excited about that. Each week when we work on a new letter, she can add the letter to the tree! I also need to get a bean bag or two, so that right under the tree we can read together. I am very excited about how this room is coming along!

Books, Books, and More Books! Our 1st Library trip!

Books, Books, and More Books! Our 1st Library trip!

Today Little Bear and I went to the Library for the first time. We both signed up for library cards. I was a little disappointed when we got them, they did not have our names on them and we did not have to print our names on them. I really wanted to get a card with her name on it or even one where she could write her name, oh well. Then I let Little Bear pick out some books. So what did she choose? Dinosaur books of course! We even got a music cd with Dinosaur songs. We got Dinosaur Dig and Dinosaur Zoom by Penny Dale. I liked these best, very colorful and it introduced new vocabulary. It has sound words like "Vroom and Splash" and the Dinosaurs are doing everyday things. We will be looking up more of her books! We also got Dinosaur Parade by Kelly Milner Halls.  I liked this one too. Very colorful and she clumps the Dinosaurs together by similarities, such as "herds" and "spikes". Finally we got Dinosaurs and Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons. Both of these books are very factual, they talk about how fossils are made and how dinosaurs died. The first book was not a favorite. The dinosaur pictures are not very detailed, but it was full of bright colors. The second book about the dinosaurs was a little better detailed and she included many dinosaurs in the book. She separated them into groups, such as "horns" and "meat eaters". However, be warned this book shows the dinosaurs eating other dinosaurs! Overall, I think the library trip was a success! Now, I think the problem will be having to return the books. :)

Giving the Librarian her card.

Getting her books back.

Reading her Library book!

Playgroup Project: GHI

Well I was a little scared of going to Playgroup today. Ever since we got back from vacation, Little Bear has been in a mood. Whining, crying, and even tantrums. However, everything went great! Thank goodness. This weeks for our Summer Playgroup Project we did GHI. I was responsible for the letter H activity. I picked this really cool Shape House project from First School. The house is made of basic shapes and then you can decorate it anyway you want. Some kids used cotton balls for clouds and some made it night time with beads for stars. I loved this project because the kids got to be really creative.

Here is the G for Giraffe.

Here is H for House. Little Bear chose to make it a rainy day.

Here is the I for Iguana.

I was also responsible for the "I" snack. I must admit I had a lot of fun doing this one. I got this great recipe for rice crispy treat worms from Spoonful. I just renamed them Inchworm so they fit the letter of the day. However, they could even be called Caterpillars. They were a HUGE hit with the children!

 For ABC, click here!
For DEF, click here!