Build a word...

Get some magnetic letters or bath letters. Have your child stick them up so he can see them all. Start by you, the parent, posting a word on the fridge:

Cat

Have your child sound out the word or read it. (Make the word fit your child's ability...you could even just do letters).

Then either:

1. Tell your child to change the word cat to....bat, mat, sat, etc. A sequence of words might be : cat, sat, mat, map, cap, lap, tap, top, etc....

2. Or let your child build a word and challenge you to read it. Then go back and forth taking turns building and reading. When I do this Charley I usually build off his word to make a word that rhymes his by just changing a letter.

* Please note that I do these things with Charley because he LOVES it. He begs to play school and enjoys sitting and doing things like this. If he didn't I WOULD NOT force it or shove this down his throat.

Make reading fun!

Make reading fun by having your child keep track of how many books or how many minutes they read. I made a snake...something my son would think is cool. But you can do anything....We also created a place where he can keep all the books he CAN read. This bucket allows him to find a quiet place to practice. He can easily find the books he can read on his own!

Hunting for Treasure...

My friend Molly shared with me a little activity her mom did with her when she was little. And I gave it a try up at the cottage. I wrapped up some little treasures in tinfoil (not necessarily new but match box cars, little animals etc.) You have to make sure they weigh enough to sink. Then I tossed them out into the water and Charley and his friend CJ had to hunt for them. They sparkle like treasures. Once they found them they got to excitedly open them to see what treasures they uncovered. It got them in the water! Then they ended up wrapping up things and tossing them back in. Success!

shaving cream + sunny day =

A happy boy! When I was teaching we would do shaving cream spelling. I had high hopes of doing some letters and sight words with Charley this afternoon. But I ran in the house to grab something and when I returned he was very busy .... covering himself. I think I will just let him have at it and then run through the sprinkler. For those of you who need a fun way to get your kiddos ready for school. Shaving cream and a finger will be the ultimate way to practice spelling words, letters, sight words, math problems...and more. The dollar store sells it for a dollar a large can!

The Foamerator!

One of my favorite monthly parenting resources is Family Fun magazine. A subscription for it isn't very expensive and usually once you order one you can order another one for five bucks...so if you don't get it ...talk to a girlfriend before ordering so you can take advantage of the deal. In the August issue they featured "The Foamerator!" Ed's aunt Katie also let us know that it worked and her daycare kids loved it. By cutting off the bottom of a plastic water bottle, securing a damp washcloth to the bottom with a rope or rubber band, and then dipping it in a shallow bowl of dish soap - you can have loads of fun. Charley is still working on blowing deep breaths for this one but it was a hoot.

Silly Putty with a Silly Guy

Homemade Silly Putty

What You Need:

• Two parts white glue
• One part liquid starch

What You Do:

• Mix ingredients and let dry until workable (like silly putty is supposed to be - I actually just started working it in my hands and the right texture came about faster. I did not let it sit and dry) . Add more glue or starch if necessary. Store in airtight container.

Chalk paint

Recipe:

1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
Food coloring for color

Charley enjoy the mixing of this the most. The paint will paint rocks and sidewalk...but small areas at a time. Happy Painting!

Doctor! Doctor!

Today Charley's challenge was to be Dr. Charley. He had some patients that had lost body parts. (I cut out people in magazines and trimmed a body part or two off each one) He had to find the body parts and glue them back together. It was great!

I could see him enjoying making silly people and mismatching the body parts too....hmmmm...maybe tomorrow!

cereal puzzles...

Just heard this idea from a friend. She got it from her summer reading program. It is fast and easy if you need an activity to keep your kids out of your way for awhile…………cut the front off of your empty cereal box and cut into pieces, making a puzzle. Do this with several different kinds, mixing pieces in one bag so kids have to figure out which piece goes with which cereal box………………………….

Thanks Kimberly!

Free the....

Freeze a small toy in a bucket of water and then have the kids work hard to "Free the _____. from the ice. They can use squirt guns, water, tools, or other creative measures. Sounds like fun to me! We will be doing this on the next hot day!

Give the kid a mission

Charley saved the Easter Bunny this morning! He was stuck on an island...surrounded by alligators and he needed to cross the river. Charley's mission...to build a bridge so that Easter Bunny could get to the basket of eggs.

Mission accomplished!

I can build it...can you...

Grab some blocks...we have a bin of pattern blocks. Take turns building a shape or picture and then the other person has to try and copy it. We start using only 3 blocks and then do four and then once we have the hang of it we use whatever. Build away, talk about shapes, use your imagination. You can use any type of blocks or tinker toys.

Recycle your Crayons

My friend Sarah made these for her son's valentine's this year. What a creative mom! She said she used a silicon heart baking pan from Micheal's craft store. We are heading there today to get one....not sure if we will get hearts but so fun! What a great way to use up your old crayons. This is not her recipe below but one I found online. I will try it this week and put a different recipe if it doesn't turn out.

1. Gather up all of your broken crayons, and cut them into small pieces. (An adult will need to complete this step.)

2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

3. Fill the muffin tin with an inch-thick layer of crayon pieces.

4. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the wax is melted.

5. Allow the tin to cool; then pop out the crayons, and they're ready for use.

Tips:

1. If you don't have a muffin tin to devote to crayon making, you can line your regular muffin tin with foil cups.
2. Candy and soap making molds can also be used to create fun, shaped crayons.
3. Recycled crayons make a great no-cost gift or party favor.

What You Need:

* Broken crayons
* An old muffin tin
* A knife

I Love book

Have your child practice writing and reading. Talk about the two words I and LOVE. Then give them a magazine and have them cut out things they love. Then have them write the words I and LOVE on each page. They can READ this book!

They will practice: writing, reading, cutting, gluing....and so much more!

Valentine Graph

Give your child a small cup of candy hearts. Have him/ her count the different colors. Have him sort them, count them, read them (if they can), and graph them. Why not. Then talk about more and less. Could you even do a lessen on adding and subtracting. SURE THING!

Colored Garages

My friend Kimberly gave me this idea. Give your child this task....lay out different colored pieces of construction paper. Have him park his cars in the right garages. He can practice sorting by color. Then you can play car shop and shop for cars.