Rhymers will be readers: it's that simple. Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're four years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they're eight.

--Mem Fox

Mother Goose, anyone? Find nursery rhyme lyrics + their origin and history here.

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Wooden Photo Flashcards

I've always wanted to make personalized flashcards with words and items from around our house. This how-to for making your own wooden flashcards might be what finally gets me to do it! See it here.

We've recently realized that flashcards are a great way to learn and remember the words that my son's kindergarten class is working on. The problem is that my son isn't always enthusiastic about practicing more letters and numbers at the end of the school day. What is working for us is keeping flashcards in the car so that when when we are waiting in line at kindergarten drop-off, stopped at a long red light, or lucky enough to have someone else driving us I can hold up a few cards and we get some word practice in. It isn't time that can be used for anything else so it feels like a fun distraction and becomes more of a game than work. Even little sis gets in on the fun!

A Tactile Matching Game

We used a funnel to fill sets of balloons with pantry items of varying texture: 2 each of rice, flour, sugar, small pearl tapioca, lentils, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds. The kiddos then used their sense of touch to pair off the matching balloons while also trying to identify the sometimes mysterious contents.

Filling the balloons was almost a bigger hit than the matching done afterward. I think we'll add more textures as the balloons we have filled become easier to match and a harder version of the game is needed.

Homework Station

Having been a teacher in my previous life, I once required my students to have a special spot at home dedicated for just doing homework. The purpose for this assignment was to get them to focus on just homework. Well, this month in the Family Fun Magazine they had an ingenious idea! They used a tri-fold display board, decorated it and used it on the kitchen table. Not only is it completely functional, but you can simply put it away when the homework is done. The other cool part is that when kids are involved in creating something they are more likely to take care of it and use it!

HaPe Bamboo Collection - Games

A few beautifully made bamboo games that I can see the kiddos having oodles of fun with, and being challenged by:

Cagola - A balancing game

Pisa - A color-matching and balancing game.

Kombino, or Kombolino - A tactile version of a Sudoku game.

Bialo - A springboard and color matching game.

See more games here.

Travel Matching Games

Matching and memory games never fail to keep my kids entertained, especially when there is more to the pictures being matched than just the pictures. I was flipping through the latest Cookie magazine and read about a child who keeps herself occupied on trips by making up names and stories for the children in eeBoo's I Never Forget a Face travel matching game. It struck me as such a great and convenient way to encourage imagination and storytelling.

I'm interested in the Once Upon a Time set for the same reason.

See more beautifully illustrated items from EeBoo here, or buy their products here.

You can buy travel versions of games here, or the regular versions here.

Clear Piggy Bank

The problem with most piggy banks is that the kiddos can't see how much they have collected inside - these clear piggy banks take care of that!

A B C Activities all Summer Long!

I just love what The Crafty Crow is doing on their blog. They are adding fantastic ideas and links that go with each letter of the alphabet. It is a great resource for those long summer day!

Tot School

What toddler wouldn't have fun participating in these creative ideas? They teach colors, organizational skills, hand-eye coordination and so much more.

via Tot School

Bird Nesting Kits

These bird nesting kits are such a neat idea:

The kits are stuffed with a variety of leftover yarn and wool scraps. Hang this special stash near a bird feeder, where you can enjoy watching the birds come and go. Throughout the spring and summer you will enjoy finding the splashes of color in the nests they build!

The kit comes with information for adults and for children about birds and nesting.

Handwashing to really remove the germs

We've had a sick week, and while I know that frequent and thorough hand washing is one of the better ways to prevent this, I can't always control how the kids choose to, or not to wash. Sometimes I hear the water running for awhile and their little voices singing to keep track of time, other times the water is off almost before it turned on.

To help the kids visualize what they usually can't see, we coated their damp hands with our mildest cinnamon (try glitter instead) and pretended it was germs, dirt, and bacteria that we needed to scrub off. This kept them washing as long as they needed to and made them aware of all the nooks and crannies that are easy to miss.

*I have sensitive skin, and while the kids haven't complained, my hands can feel a slight cooling effect from the spicy cinnamon, similar to after handling a mildly-hot pepper. If we do this again I would probably try it with glitter, which would require more cleaning to get off anyway.

Idea via The Crafty Crow

Out of Ideas?

If winter is lasting a little too long and all of your ideas are exhausted, have a look at Let's Explore. They have fabulous activities for every age group! The watercolor initials is on our list of art projects this afternoon.

Julie Morstad Alphabet Cards

I think these are some of the loveliest, most whimsical alphabet cards I've seen. They are so beautiful and nostalgic.

Inauguration Day

Today is the perfect day to teach your kiddos about democracy and patriotism!

image by Jasper Johns

English From the Roots Up

Ever since I graduated college, I have had a serious craving to learn.  Certain things fascinate me, and I want to soak in the knowledge.  I hope to pass that trait along to my children, and the English From the Roots Up flashcards would be such a great tool.  

On one side of each card is a Greek or Latin root word.  On the reverse side, you get the meaning of each root word, along with several English words that draw from that root word.  I could read through them for hours on end.

You can get English From the Roots Up here.

Photo via The Pioneer Woman-Homeschooling

Bullseye

This picture says it all. Do you think it works for big boys too?

Raising Kids Who Care

With this holiday season coming to a close and a New Year on it's way I am excited to follow through on the "New Year motivation" to improve and enrich my children's lives.

This article has some inspiring examples of things we can do to help our children understand that there is a bigger world than the one we see every day and that helping others may very well be the best way to help ourselves. My kids are still little and sometimes I use that as a reason to not involve them in acts of service, and this was a good reminder that there is no better time than now to encourage them to be selfless and help and serve others.

Pulley System

We need to build or purchase one of these pulley systems - It would be loads of fun hung over the staircase this winter.

ColorKu - Wooden Color Sudoku Puzzle

Have you played Sudoku? It is a stimulating game of numbers and logic and while it is a little old for my kids I am tempted to purchase this kid-friendly color version, ColorKu, for me to mess around with until the munchkins can appreciate it. It comes with 104 puzzle cards and I am sure you could limit some of the simpler ones to less squares to teach the game to a curious child.

Random Dot-to-Dot Drawing

In my son's preschool class the kids were given a dotted paper and asked to connect the dots however they wanted. The teachers then had each child "interpret" their dot drawing. I thought this was a great creative activity and it is as simple and quick as randomly dotting a paper and handing it over to your child for additional imagination and creativity...

{You can't see the lines my son drew very well on this scan, but it is no surprise to me that the drawing involved pirates!}