Duck, Duck, Goose!

Hmmm, I can't seem to make up my mind ... Google+ Collection for Little H or another post to my blog. The collection is private and allows Little H and her nearby adult reader to make personal comments which only immediate family members can see. But I have much more control over the format in the blog setting and because it's public, maybe some other mom or grandma will be able to use the resources. Sooooo ... I think I will let them pick which works best for them in their new home.

Turns out doing multiple video calls with an abundance of family members and friends can be a little taxing for a high energy preschooler, not to mention repetitive. My goal: collect some jokes, youtube videos, and other suitable preschool material that might peak the interest of a preschooler. Hopefully it will form a connection that gives her something different to talk about in our video time together.

This week's topic was picked by none other than Little H! Her favorite stuffed animal since she's been old enough to know what she wants - her beloved Kuka. Now I have to admit I have NO idea how to spell that little duck's name, but it has traveled the world with her from the U.S. to Mexico, Manila, and even Hong Kong! Grandma Sandy, find me some jokes about a goose or a duck!

JOKES
Okay Little H ... I'm hoping you can learn one of these duck jokes from Lemon the Duck to share with me on my next video call. The following was my favorite:

Q:  What do call two ducks and a cow?

A:  Quackers and milk 

Q:  What did the duck say when she bought some lipstick?

A:  Put it on my bill!

And Grandma remembered you wanted a goose joke too!

Q: What do you do if someone throws a goose at you?

A:  Duck! 

Try this tongue twister from Kids Jokes. You'll need to say all the words in order; then repeat going faster and faster! Can you do it without messing up what you say?

Granny's gray goose goes last.

 DUCK SONGS

Sometimes you just need to hear different versions and pick your favorite!!

• The Duck Song (We've done this together and you thought it was silly!)
• Five Little Ducks
• Five Little Ducks
• Five Little Ducks by The Learning Station
• Five Little Ducks (fingerplay)
• Silly Goose
• Six Little Ducks
• Six Little Ducks

BOOKS ONLINE

Grandma was so sorry to hear that some of your books didn't make it your new home!

So I found some books where ducks or geese were the characters.

• Boo to a Goose
• Duck and Goose Go to the Beach
• Duck for President - read aloud
• Duck on a Bike
• Duck Soup
• Farmer Duck
• Five Little Ducks
• I Wish I Had Duck Feet
• Little White Duck (also a song)
• One Duck Stuck
• The Story About Ping

When creating a learning environment in the home, don't forget the importance of nonfiction literature and factual resources. I'm feeling a little bummed that I couldn't find easy books online about ducks, but I did find a great resource for nonfiction in general. ("Nonfiction" is usually the American spelling while British spelling shows up as "non-fiction"... even I learned something new today!) 

Little ones can be sponges when collecting new knowledge and this schema will help them make future connections as readers. Check out some tips for reading nonfiction with your child. Before you watch one of these videos, set an expectation for the young viewer. For example, discuss what your child already knows about ducks; then challenge her to find something new in the video.

• Baby Ducks Hatch Live
• Ducks
• Quack! Honk! (Learn about ducks & geese)
• An Egg Is Quiet (How did this get here??? Well ducks and geese do lay eggs!)

Since Little H thinks ducks are just so cute sometimes you need a video just for fun!

Ducklings Video

It's a good thing this grandma caught a little shut-eye on the couch this afternoon since my promise to Little H  turned into a four hour project! So since I've already warned you in previous posts that I'm a pinterest junkie I'll end today's writing by directing you to my board: PS-Pond where you can find suggestions for duck art projects and activities for all those wonderful rubber ducks Poppa Tom gave Little H.

 

 

Oops ...

Wow, it's been a long, LONG time since I've posted. Sorry for the corrected springtime post from 2015 that now looks like it's current. My fingers were moving quicker than my brain! I guess I will have to play around with the revised templates and get rid of things that no longer work!

Obviously I fell behind in my Early Learning posts once summer of 2015 hit.  I still had time with Little H once a week, but the other days were filled with outings with friends, pool time, and supervision of my daughter's kitchen construction. Or was it the milestone birthday and all those medicare decisions to make???

By the end of the summer ... the new pattern was established and New Horizons was in a crumbled folder at the back of my mental file cabinet, almost forgotten only to be rediscovered while playing with Google+.

So I'll do a quick rewind and list the highlights of that missing year:

• Little H turned 3 with a birthday party starring Miss Jamie and then started preschool. No more weekly projects with this grandma. Sigh ... not sure if that's disappointment or relief ... just kidding although my back doesn't miss pushing her higher & higher on the backyard swing!
• I joined Pat, Tudy, Susan, Kris, & Lisa for our 1st. Girls' Weekend in Chicago. Hmmm ... just  like a visit to Vegas - what happens on Girls' Weekend stays with the girls.
• Took an amazing trip to Charleston ... a definite bucket list item for all foodies
• Hosted an Oktoberfest party (getting hungry just thing about that one) and a Sparkling Wine Night 
• Lots and LOTS of Meetup events
• Vacationed in Daytona with Doris
• Back to Florida to see Pat
• THE NEWS - my son got a promotion and was moving to the Philippines for 2-3 years!!!
• 2nd. Girls' Weekend - this time in Pittsburgh

Wow!! That's definitely the condensed version minus the colorful ongoing emotions, the laughter,  and yes ..  some tears. It skips over  a constant through the year - the amazing times spent with friends and family! There were simply too many fun times to list from the remarkable snow sculptures in Lake Geneva last winter to the silliness of trying out bag chairs in the middle of the aisle at Meijers. 

However, it does bring me full circle as to why I was playing with Google+ - I now use Google Hangouts for texting and video contact with my son and his family.  They moved a month ago and NONE of us want those international phone bills!! So I'm playing around with technology once again: browsing communities, experimenting with collections, and thinking of ways to stay connected with Little H.  

Upon reflection, it really IS a time of New Horizons!!

Spring, Spring, Spring!

What are some signs of spring? Spring makes me think of birds returning, weather getting warmer, gentle rain, the grass turning green, and plants beginning to bloom. Frogs are a'hopping by the pond and turtles are lazing in the sun. Decisions, decisions!! Luckily I have my spring activities and art boards on Pinterest to help me narrow my choices.

Little H LOVES the color yellow so this bird nest caught my eye rather quickly at Mrs. T's First Grade Class. Remember ... when an adult does all the cutting, a project done by an older child can easily be adapted for a younger one. But to make it look really different from the chick we did in March, I think I'll change the bird color to red. Luckily that bag of feathers I bought for the chick project included orange and red feathers as well!

Can't take the teacher out of me ... I'm beginning to think of possible games when I visit the dollar store! I grabbed these small Easter eggs, but don't plan to use them till mid-April. We'll pretend they are bird eggs ... Little H is VERY good at pretending! I put two nests on the workmat so I could vary our counting activities. This way I can call out a number or show her a number card to fill each nest. Then we can compare the eggs to work on some math vocabulary: more and less. At two and a half, she really doesn't have a good grasp on that concept yet. If she shows interest, we could also do some simple addition problems.

Then while looking at some of her other class projects I found a simple rainy weather craft. Coloring this umbrella will be a snap with her Do-a-Dot paints. Think she'll glue it on a pale blue background and maybe add some raindrops with dark blue tempera. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Hmmm, I think we need to have more painting this spring and in a project that allows more expression for Little H.  Teaching 2 & 3 Year Olds had a Cherry Blossom Craft that I thought looked like fun ... just hope Little H thinks it's fun too! Sometimes she just wants to glue and it's sure a lot less mess for me to clean up so I'm happy to oblige!

Goodness knows, I always have plenty of wine corks around so we can use those for the pink blossoms. Not sure how the feather will work for the stem, but I still have plenty so we'll give it that old college try! If she finds it frustrating I can always have her use the end of her paintbrush to paint the branch.

My friends know that I'm not really an outdoorsy kind of gal, but Little H does love all kinds of  animals. Since I've already come up with a "bird" craft I think we'll do an animal from the pond. (Yes ... the Pinterest junkie has a board for that too!) I saw a turtle at Preschool Activities that gave me an idea. I don't want to repeat all those dots I have planned for the umbrella. Instead, I thought I'd cut out squares of tissue and have her place them on the turtle shell. Then we'll spray water on the tissue and let it dry.  The tissue paper will bleed a pattern on the shell and when the tissue is dry, we'll remove it. Repetition problem solved! There Was a Little Turtle is a cute rhyme we could do and Five Little Speckled Frogs would be a great pond song to learn. Uh oh ... might have to have some frog stick puppets too!

 FTM posted this gift idea as a frugal Mother's Day gift and I quite agree! I just happened to find a 5x7 shadow box in my closet that would make a perfect frame. Then I kept looking and found some bright green polka-dot ribbon to make the bow. I'll just need to cut some tissue paper squares and this will be ready to go!

I never used cupcake liners to make flowers before so I decided to look at Hobby Lobby and see if they had any spring designs. Sure enough ... jackpot! I found striped lines in spring colors.  A little more searching and I found some jeweled flower stickers in matching colors that would look great in the middle. Thank you Crafty Crow for the great idea!