I have discovered the joys of books on tape!...Here's the thing...I've been struggling with what to do at times when I would need to get something done quickly (or a shower) and would pop in a video but most videos are soooo stimulating that I would have to deal with all the "crazies" afterward. Now I just put in a book on tape and they play and listen to good books!
Some books on tape that are great for preschoolers:
The Tales of Peter Rabbit
Frog and Toad Audio Collection
Warm and Joyful Animal Tales by James Herriot
Winnie The Pooh
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Fairy Tales part Deux
I'm just all full of links today!!
So here's a great link to a site that has online open source books that have fairy tales for preschoolers!
The Baldwin Project
So here's a great link to a site that has online open source books that have fairy tales for preschoolers!
The Baldwin Project
Go! Eat! Be Merry!
Here's an awesome site if you like the book nourishing traditions but need menu planning for you!
Kitchen Muse
Kitchen Muse
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Homemade Playdough
Why spend the $$$ on that weird smelling artificial stuff when you can make your own???
Here's a great homemade playdough receipe:
2 C flour
2/3 C salt
2 C water
4 t cream of tarter
2 T cooking oil - preferable olive oil or such
10 drops essential oil - I use Lavender to keep the kids calm
Mix all ingredients except for essential oil. Stir together in a heavy saucepan over medium heat with a wooden spoon constantly. Mixture will thicken and when it's no longer gooey and will stay in a ball then remove from the heat. Cool slightly then add essential oil and knead. You can then split it into smaller balls and add coloring with gloves. Don't skip on the cream of tarter because that is what allows it to stay fresh for so long.
Here's a great homemade playdough receipe:
2 C flour
2/3 C salt
2 C water
4 t cream of tarter
2 T cooking oil - preferable olive oil or such
10 drops essential oil - I use Lavender to keep the kids calm
Mix all ingredients except for essential oil. Stir together in a heavy saucepan over medium heat with a wooden spoon constantly. Mixture will thicken and when it's no longer gooey and will stay in a ball then remove from the heat. Cool slightly then add essential oil and knead. You can then split it into smaller balls and add coloring with gloves. Don't skip on the cream of tarter because that is what allows it to stay fresh for so long.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Lions and Tigers and Fairy Tales OH MY!
Well if you want to get a room full of christian moms nervous talk about fairy tales...second only to fantasy books and mythology.
Maybe it's happened to you....you thought you'd read your child a fairy tale and holy cow! When did these things get so ugly and SCARY??? The problem that most of us have with fairy tales is that we don't realize that they are not meant for all ages of children. We've seen the "santized" versions that Disney puts out and have no idea what the originals even are. They should come with a rating system like the movies (G, PG, PG-13, R etc ) but they don't. Each fairy tale speaks to a different age group (3/4, 4/5 and so on) so there's nothing wrong with fairy tales in fact they are archtypes.
An archetype (pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit.) or /ˈɑɹkɪtaɪp/ (Amer.)) is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior.
They help children sort out what bad, evil and the opposite good, kind are all about.
Then there's the problem with witches etc. Even the bible mentions witches so we shouldn't be so quick to throw out something just because of the language. If the word "witch" bothers you, you can always change it to a word that doesn't bother you and yet keep the fairy tale intact helping your child to see how good triumphs over evil.
I also don't recommend explaining a fairy tale to a child. Let the child "live" the story for a while. Remember that these stories are archetypes and that means the child internalizes the story and then figures out for themselves who the "good" guy is and who the "bad" guy is.
Some appropriate fairy tales for young preschoolers would be:
The Little Red Hen
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Little Tuppen
The Turnip
The Shoemaker and the Elves
Choose one story, memorize it and then tell it to your child every day for a week. Pick a time that's somewhat quiet and you can cuddle up. After the first day you can start adding little crafts about the story, or puppet shows or even acting it out.
Have fun!
Maybe it's happened to you....you thought you'd read your child a fairy tale and holy cow! When did these things get so ugly and SCARY??? The problem that most of us have with fairy tales is that we don't realize that they are not meant for all ages of children. We've seen the "santized" versions that Disney puts out and have no idea what the originals even are. They should come with a rating system like the movies (G, PG, PG-13, R etc ) but they don't. Each fairy tale speaks to a different age group (3/4, 4/5 and so on) so there's nothing wrong with fairy tales in fact they are archtypes.
An archetype (pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit.) or /ˈɑɹkɪtaɪp/ (Amer.)) is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior.
They help children sort out what bad, evil and the opposite good, kind are all about.
Then there's the problem with witches etc. Even the bible mentions witches so we shouldn't be so quick to throw out something just because of the language. If the word "witch" bothers you, you can always change it to a word that doesn't bother you and yet keep the fairy tale intact helping your child to see how good triumphs over evil.
I also don't recommend explaining a fairy tale to a child. Let the child "live" the story for a while. Remember that these stories are archetypes and that means the child internalizes the story and then figures out for themselves who the "good" guy is and who the "bad" guy is.
Some appropriate fairy tales for young preschoolers would be:
The Little Red Hen
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Little Tuppen
The Turnip
The Shoemaker and the Elves
Choose one story, memorize it and then tell it to your child every day for a week. Pick a time that's somewhat quiet and you can cuddle up. After the first day you can start adding little crafts about the story, or puppet shows or even acting it out.
Have fun!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
and another thing...
why do i feel the need to compulsively look at homeschooling curricula?...I wish I would just make up my mind and stick with that but then something happens and...I change my mind...grrrr
time...
So tomorrow Angel Baby will be the same age that Rocket Dog was when Angel Baby was born...20 months.... First I can't hardly believe it's been 20 months but second I realize that Rocket Dog was just a baby when my second was born. Looking back I was just in survival mode at the time but now i've looked at the pictures of the kids and it's almost like I'm looking at someone else's kids! I don't really remember much from that time...good thing I had a camera!
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