MomStart

Forget the Mommy Guilt, it's a new day

You are here: Home / Archives for teaching

Gifts Teachers Want: 15 Ideas

by Leave a Comment

Gifts Teachers Want

Sample provided.

Whether you’re looking for a gift for your child’s teacher, or have friends that work in the education field as I do, you’re probably wondering what kind of gifts teachers want for the holidays. That’s why I’m pleased to introduce you to Teacher Peach!, a fantastic line of products made just for teachers. They have a wide assortment of gift sets that are special for being both thoughtful and practical. They’ve paid great attention to detail, putting together great kits of products that teachers will use in their classroom, with designs that emphasize bright colors and words. They’ve thought of everything, including Sharpies that read “Teachers Only!” – I’ve helped my teacher friends label things for their classroom before, so I know how important that is! These lovely gifts are available in options for every price range and feature everything from the class supplies teachers always need (And usually spend their own money on), to fun and unique: They have a “The Real Teacher’s Pet™” line of pet accessories, which I think is perfect since all the educators I know also love animals! Check out my top 15 teacher gift picks below, and put a smile on your teacher’s face this holiday:

Science for 3 Year Olds? Absolutely!

by Leave a Comment

I’m super excited to be working with KinderCare over the next month. They have amazing resources for parents and they strongly believe what I believe. Little kids are sponges that absorb everything. So we should show them the world. Today we’re talking science for 3 year olds!!

Can 3 year olds really begin to understand scientific concepts like states of matter, force, and motion?

“Absolutely,” says Meg Davis, manager of curriculum development for Knowledge Universe. “Children are young scientists. They learn about the world around them through their senses.” This natural curiosity is the basis for KinderCare’s new early science education program, to be launched this summer.

Called Spectacular Science, the two-week program presents basic science concepts in ways three-year-olds can engage with and understand.

“The key is to provide children with plenty of hands-on opportunities to explore science in a playful way.” – Meg Davis, Manager of Curriculum Development for Knowledge Universe

For example, while learning about states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases), our children will pretend to be balloons filled with air that float up into the sky…and then fall back to the ground. That kind of physicality helps bring complex concepts to life for young children.

Can’t wait to nurture your own kids scientific curiosity? Bring a little bit of Spectacular Science home with these three ideas inspired by KinderCare’s new curriculum.

prepare_math_header

1. Science in Creative Expression: Shadow Art

• Scientific Concepts:

o Light and Shadows

• Materials Needed:

o Sidewalk chalk

Pick a sunny day to head outdoors with your sidewalk chalk, find a hard, flat surface, and search for shadows to trace. Encourage your child to identify a shadow and trace its outline with the chalk. Create your own shadows and trace each other’s outlines.

Ask open-ended questions: What does a shadow look like? What shape is it? How is a shadow made?

Extra Credit: Later, go outdoors to see how far the shadow moved!

2. Science in Motion: Freeze Tag

• Scientific Concepts:

o Liquids and Solids

Physical movement and acting out ideas and concepts helps children understand them more clearly, and this well-known child’s game incorporates a science lesson too: Freeze Tag. (Freeze Tag works best with a few friends.)

Explain the simple rules: One child is It and tries to tag the other children. If a child is tagged, the child “freezes” in a fun (or funny) position. If another child tags the “frozen” child, he or she becomes “unfrozen” and can begin running again. After several minutes, ask another child to be It.

During breaks, ask: What else freezes?…That’s right, water. When does water freeze? What is water like when it unfreezes?…What is another word for ‘unfreeze’?

3. Science in Everyday Conversation:

· Scientific Concepts:

o Critical Thinking

o Hypothesizing

o Science Vocabulary

Science learning at any age involves curiosity, exploration, and discovery. Families can support science learning in everyday conversations by asking “how” and “what” questions that prompt children to think critically and explain their reasoning.

Ask questions like, “What would happen if… of How do you know that…? Then sharpen children’s skills by inviting them to test their ideas. For example, if you are exploring what sinks of floats ask, “Will the rubber duckie float? Let’s try it…”

You can find more amazing activities like this one at Adventure Ahead: www.adventureahead.kindercare.com

Hola! Teach your child Spanish with these cool Bilingual Toys

by Leave a Comment

Hola Mamacitas! We all know the best gift we can give our children is quality education, and more often than not, we start educating them at home way before they set their cute little feet into pre-school. But there is a second best gift we can give our kids, and that is learning another language.

textualis

If you know another language other than English, the best thing you can do as a parent is share your linguistic skills with your child. Teach them at a young age so that they can use it as often as they do English and be really good at both. They’re bound to learn how to speak, read and write English anyway, what with everyone around them talking in English. We use what were familiar with, and children are no exceptions.

Their advantage is they can pick up things really fast (the advantages of being young) and most of them can emulate speech really well because studies have shown that young children have better verbal and cognition skills if they learn a second language. You should use this opportunity to introduce another language to them as part of their play and learn phase and you will be surprised with the results. You won’t need Spanish translation services anytime soon when you’re child is done!

No Habla? No problem!

But what if you don’t know another language? Don’t worry! You can still introduce your children to other languages by getting them cool Bilingual Toys. There are a multitude of brands and toys to choose from. Pick a toy that has a language or languages that you want your child to learn. It’s best to choose a language that you feel your child can use in the future because if they like what they learned at an early age, chances are they’re going to seek further education on it when they grow older. That is a huge advantage going in to college and getting a job.

Top Bilingual Toys

1. Ingenio Slide and Discover from Smart Play

Smart play’s Ingenio line of bilingual toys is a must have for any parent that wants to teach their kids another language. The Slide & Discover teaches kids 160 words in English and Spanish by using learning cards (17 in all) that have unique learning themes for each one. The flash cards also have colorful illustrations and real-life photos, with 10 word pairs in English/Spanish.

When you slide one of the cards into the front of the Slide & Discover, and then slide the five tabs up and down, this will reveal an English word, a picture, and the corresponding Spanish word. The Slide & Discover is lightweight and ultra portable, you can take it anywhere! The learning cards store easily in the back of the toy and the handles make it easy to use.

2. Dora Explore and Play Pad

Another awesome bilingual toy from Smart Play is The Nickelodeon Dora the Explorer Explore and Play Pad. This educational learning toy has the look of an everyday grown-up tablet, but is loaded with content that lets your child play and learn in English and Spanish.

This toy actually looks like an iPad! Turn it on using the home button (placed at the bottom, just like an iPad), and from there, four modes will appear: ABC & 123, Words, Spelling, or Quiz mode.

· In ABC & 123 mode, every time the button is pressed, kids will hear Dora pronounce the letters and numbers in English or Spanish.

· In Words mode, Dora will pronounce the name of the image on the screen to each corresponding letter in either English or Spanish.

· In the Spelling mode, Dora will spell out selected words in either English or Spanish.

· Pressing the question mark will immediately bring up Quiz mode, which will ask kids to find the corresponding letter or number that Dora states.

Au revoir

Learning another language is a great way to help our young kids with their early development. Not only will your child excel at school, but they will also have an advantage when faced with the challenge of talking to another child from another country. Your child may be the one who welcomes a foreigner or new immigrant, making them feel welcome and accepted in this great country of ours. Future Ambassador? Maybe! J