Book Review: 101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest, Funnest Ever!

{Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book at no cost for the purpose of reviewing. The opinions contained in this post are entirely my own. Also included in the post are Amazon affiliate links.}

I was so excited to receive a copy of  "101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest, Funnest Ever!" by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller earlier this summer. I follow the Kids Activities blog and facebook page and love all the great activities they share and post, so I just knew I would love the book!

"101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest, Funnest Ever!"  is chock full of easy to implement activities for kids that are sure-fire boredom busters! The book is broken down into four sections, "Boredom Busters", "Crafts", "Games" and "Simple Science". Each activity is only one page long, with a materials list and tips to help with activity implementation. Almost all of the activities are accompanied by a beautiful photograph of the activity. Plus, there are modifications included for younger kids and for older kids! 

I've not been in a classroom this summer (with the exception of helping out on various summer camp field trips), so I've not had the opportunity to implement any of the ideas yet, but I am SO excited that I've already bookmarked many to do with students during the first few weeks of school! (I will admit to trying a few activities on my own, though. I just couldn't wait! ;) There are a few activities that I've tried in the past, such as the "No Sew No-GlueTutu", the supersoft dough featured in "Archaeology Dig With Supersoft Dough" and  "Cork Boats & a Tinfoil River", that were BIG hits with my Pre-K classes, so I'm thrilled to have tons of new ideas ready to try. 

One of the first activities I want to try is this "Sticky Note Pom Pom Maze" from page 37. It looks like SO much fun! I'm pretty positive that this will quickly become a student favorite immediately!

From 101 Kids Activities by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, printed with permission of Page Street Publishing June 2014

For full instructions, click here to download.

My class always does a unit on transportation and we usually make paper airplanes to fly, but I think I've just found the ultimate homemade glider! On page 121, Rachel and Holly feature a game called "Egg Carton Glider Throw". The game idea comes with instructions on how to make your own foam glider that is more sturdy than the store bought versions, AND, it is from recycled materials you probably already have lying around! Doesn't it look fun?

From 101 Kids Activities by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, printed with permission of Page Street Publishing June 2014

For full instructions, click here to download.

I've shown this book to a few teacher friends, and they have all said that they have to have a copy! There are just so many great activities to try. Our new school year starts in less than 2 weeks, and I think after the dust settles and the kids are comfortable in their surroundings, I'll share the book with them and let them pick some activities to try, as well!

My Amazon affiliate link to get your own copy of this fab book:

All photos used with permission from 101 Kids Activities by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller, printed with permission of Page Street Publishing June 2014.

I'd love for you to share your thoughts! Leave a comment below!

Words Matter!

A little word cloud with our favorite "play" words:

2011 Edublogs Award Nominations

It's nomination time for the annual Edublog Awards! There are so many wonderful education blogs I follow, that it was really tough to narrow some of the categories down to just one name. In several categories, I would have liked to acknowledge more than one blog or blogger. I am blessed to have found wonderful online communities that promote sharing ideas and fellowship with other early childhood bloggers around the world. Thank you to all who share in the early childhood blogging community--because of you I am more reflective and continually inspired! 


Words (or mere nominations) cannot express my gratitude for all that these bloggers share. My nominations for 2011 are:


Best Individual Blog and Best Individual Tweeter: Deborah Stewart at Teach Preschool. I could nominate Deborah for almost every category in these awards. Her sharing and support to everyone in the online preschool community is, in a word, phenomenal!

Best Group Blog: Irresistible Ideas For Play Based Learning. Sherry and Donna over at Irresistible Ideas share ideas from play based preschools from all over Australia. Their ideas are always innovative, inviting and irresistible!

Best New Blog: Kreative Resources. Leeanne has only been blogging for a couple of months, but has managed to already share a wealth of information and ideas.

Best Ed Tech/ Resource Sharing Blog: Teaching Heart. Teaching Heart shares a variety of ideas and lovely printables for games, activities and teacher resources.

Most Influential Blog Post: Brick by Brick: Teachers and Kids at the Art Table. Scott has an amazing way of reminding me to slow down, listen and learn from my kids. This post in particular, is one of several he has written that prompted me to be a more reflective practitioner.

Best Teacher Blog: PreKinders. PreKinders shares ideas, printables and games. Definitely one of my "go to sites" when I need ideas for a particular theme or unit of study.

Best Free Webtool: The SEEDS Network Idea Search. The SEEDS Network has a wonderful search tool that helps you find ideas. Ideas and activities are presented in a printable format that also denotes the age ranges, supply list and activity description. 

Lifetime Achievement: Vanessa Levin of PreK Pages. Without a doubt. Long before I was a blogger (or ever dreamed I'd be one), I was a surfer. I surfed the web for ideas to implement in my teaching. PreK Pages was one of my "go to" sites for all things preschool.  Back in my "surfing" days, I would have never thought I'd have the opportunity to "meet" such an esteemed colleague, but through the online preschool community, I've found Vanessa to be even more of a resource that I could have ever imagined. Vanessa shares in various online communities and is supportive of other bloggers and educators. She is tirelessly and enthusiastically presents Best Practices to the preschool community. 

I'd like to personally thank the bloggers listed above for his or her contribution to the online preschool community. Each of these bloggers are fabulous and I encourage to to vote for them when the nominations are tallied and the voting begins.


I'd also like to thank all the wonderful bloggers who are not listed. I just couldn't list you all. Whether you realize it or not, I value your input and expertise. I feel I'm a far better teacher having met and shared with you all. 

Ready for Accreditation...almost

One of the things that has kept me so busy this year is our impending NECPA accreditation. NECPA stands for "National Early Childhood Program Accreditation". NECPA is nationally recognized, with quality standards comparable to NAEYC's ,  going way above and beyond state child care regulations. The NECPA observational verification visit will assess (among many other things): teacher/child interactions, health and safety practices, school administration, best teaching practices, student progress, the physical learning environment, and our family/school interactions and relationships. (Not much really, just everything!)

We have worked very hard for the last couple of years to make sure that every classroom in all three of our schools are accreditation ready. At this point in our process, I hear in my head  "NECPA, NECPA, NECPA" in the same sing-song voice that Jan Brady used to say "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" on the Brady Bunch.

Overall, the accreditation is a good thing. In the end, we will have the very best child care centers in our town--and the documentation to prove it. But logistically, this process has been a pain. In Georgia Pre-K, the amount of paperwork that we have to keep is simply overwhelming. Now, we have a 3-inch ring binder of the NECPA required forms we fill out daily.

We've had to make some changes. I've had a small woodworking center in my class for years, but we've used play tools and golf tees as hardware.  Teacher Tom writes frequently about his use of real tools and implements on his blog. I've often commented that while I admire his bravery, I'm simply not ready for that yet. We are using real screwdrivers, levels, tape measures nuts, bolt and wrenches. That's about all I can handle for the time being.

 


I even got my husband to come up to the school to help me. I still hadn't hung my beloved Jan Brett alphabet since I'd moved into my new room.  He was so sweet to come and help me. (Truth be told, he probably came just to see me, as I've spent a lot of evenings there lately!)

I've got my barn still set up in dramatic play...

We're adding to Our Little Pre-K Community and still have our doctor's office, construction zone, and outdoor cafe. We also have theme boxes for the children to explore a variety of other things, as well. This week, our theme boxes include: community helpers, pizza place, beauty salon, and an additional medical box for the children to use in this center. 

We still have our kitchen/living area for home living play.

I set up a little fruit stand in dramatic play, as well.

Tomorrow's the day! The final visit..I think we're ready. I know we have the best centers in town--no question. Now, it's time for us to show it off. Then, we wait. It takes a few months before we'll know if we made it.


Fingers crossed. X

Using A Picture Schedule in Pre-K

In one of my most popular posts last year, Picture Schedules in the Pre-K Classroom,  I described the picture schedule that we used in our class.  I've received many emails about that schedule. Shortly after writing that post, my friend I and were fortunate to be invited to observe a preschool program in South Carolina that had implemented Conscious Discipline in all 22 of their pre-k classes.  We visited many of those classrooms and saw some really exciting things going on. One of the classrooms had this picture schedule posted for their kids to manipulate. I had to take pictures! Our class theme/acronym is F.I.S.H. (Family Involvement Starts Here).

I made one of these this year. Mine is pretty similar to the one above. I have it located on the bottom of a low hanging bulletin board, so it is at just the right height for little hands to manipulate.  We have a "time keeper" class job, so the children take turns being in charge of the schedule.

We have a "time keeper" class job, so the children take turns being in charge of the schedule. They simply move the fish to the appropriate fishbowl at each transition time throughout the day.

The kids really enjoy manipulating the schedule and will remind each other that it's time to change it. I often see children going over independently to refer to it. As I mentioned my my earlier post,

 "manipulating the schedule can be an especially helpful task for some children with autism or special needs. It is also very soothing for a child with separation anxiety. They can look and see what comes next and when "Mommy or Daddy is coming back."

 This new picture schedule seems to be really working out so far. I have a few that are struggling with separation anxiety and this has been a  really helpful tool to them. Now, I just need a little teacher magic to help me manage my time. I keeping getting behind schedule!

Pillow Talk

   I admit that when I first heard about the communication strategy known as "Pillow Talk" early last summer, my initial thought was the Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie. (My mom is a big Doris Day fan and we saw all of her movies growing up.)

   “Pillow Talk” is an interaction in which the teacher spends a few quality minutes one on one with each child as they begin to lay down for nap.  This is time for unscripted talk, a time children can choose to share whatever is on their minds.

   NAEYC's Young Children published "Fostering The Emotional and Language Needs of Young Learners" in March 2002 promoting the use of this technique in early childhood classrooms. In the article, authors Soundy and Stout proffer that “[t]alk is a major instrument of learning, a natural activity that underlies and supports literacy development”. They go on to state that “the early preschool years must be devoted to affectionate literacy interactions which children are engaged in, animated by, and cognitively challenged with language”.


    I am a firm believer in fostering language development in my pre-k students. I know that one of my weaknesses is that I tend to let Circle Time go on too long, and that is largely in part to my allowing each student to have his/her say. I feel bad if I have to tell a student we'll come back to them later.  When I first heard about “Pillow Talk” this summer, I decided I would try it in my classroom this year. It has gone very well. I visit each child's mat for just a few minutes, but those minutes are so precious. At the beginning of the year, I had a few new students who were very shy. The few minutes we spent together each day during “Pillow Talk” really helped us form a bond. The time quickly became as important for me as it was for the students. Now, the kids all really look forward to it and will often ask throughout the morning if we are going to have that time together.

   Occasionally, the talk is superficial or just little updates about what is going on in their lives. Sometimes, I am able to get a better picture of the students’ home life. I may not always have the time during arrival or circle time to hear every students’ story, but they KNOW I will have the time to listen, one-on-one, during “Pillow Talk” time. I am sure that I have connected with a couple of students through “Pillow Talk” that may have taken most of the year to make that special connection without it.  I do not use our special time together to talk about any difficult moments through the day, unless the student initiates that portion of the conversation. I feel strongly that this is a special and safe time, not a time for admonitions or rehashing earlier discourtesies.
  
   Soundy and Stout talk in the article about how this practice promotes communication and language building experiences, but I feel it also it gives the children a sense of value and importance. My students know that I value them and really want to hear what it is that they have to say, even when we are in our busiest moments.  I think I will continue to see the benefits of this type of discourse in my classroom and will certainly continue this interaction in my classroom.

Super Fun with Shawn Brown

I have been to a LOT of trainings lately. One of the most exciting this year was a training with Shawn Brown. I was introduced to his music several years ago and have been sharing his music with my students ever since. They love the upbeat tempos and rhythms. Anyone that sounds that fun on a CD just HAS to be fun in a training, right?   Oh, yeah!

If you are not familiar with Shawn Brown, you can visit his Super Fun Show website or can get a little sample here:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Shawn Brown for a few minutes, and he is a very nice guy! I browsed the booths (there were only a few) and met a few old friends from other childcare centers. 

I do find it interesting that these conferences are a PRIME spot for a children's book vendor, yet at the last several I've been to, children's book vendors are conspicuously absent!

The conference started with a local step/marching band that marched in to greet us and get us pumped up.

 

We went to a couple of classes, then reassembled for lunch and the afternoon session with Shawn Brown. I love a conference session where you are up and moving --- not sitting in the same spot every minute fighting the "nods"! There was no sitting out of these sessions.

 The Grand Finale was doing the Super Fun Show with Shawn Brown! 

Of course, I bought a couple of the CD's to take with me and he was kind enough to autograph them for me!

We were given a CD of his chants as part of the conference, too!