Scott Traylor is the CEO of 360Kid a kid focused technology company that makes educational and entertaining products for kids.  In his blog Scott addresses issues about technology and learning often, as well as how the two affect things like the toy market, advertising to kids, education and more. I find his blog facinating, love reading it and thinking of the future that technology and learning have together. His most recent post breaking down a collection of holiday toy lists and finding trends in them was such an interesting read I had to spotlight his blog this week.  Check it out and see why it’s one of my faves!

When school started up again we all knew that summer was behind us, but sometimes it’s hard to let go. It takes great effort to convince my kids that they need to wear socks and undershirts again, that a hoodie isn’t the same as a jacket when they go outside and that hats and mittens are now a dressing staple. Now that November is here and the cold is setting-in I think my kids are starting to understand the importance of dressing for the weather. In case you have stubborn summer kids, here are a few books about cold weather clothes that might get them in the mood.

Longjohns

written and illustrated by Kit Allen
published by Houghton Mifflin Books
board book
This is a wonderful book consisting of simple single word vocabulary (hat, mittens, longjohns) on one side of the page and wonderful stick illustrations opposite. Even as a board book consisting on single words, it manages to tell a delightful story. A child gets dressed to go outside to play in the cold weather then comes back inside to enjoy a warm cocoa before bed. I love that the book shows the child layering clothes on before going out and is dressed so you only see eyes peeking out. The illustrations cross the center of the page keeping them nice and big but without cluttering up the words. There are three other books in this wonderful series: Galoshes, Swimsuit, Sweater.

Under My Hood I Have a Hat

written by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka
published by Harper Collins
picture book (age 4-8)
Based on Karla Kuskin’s original poem ‘Winter Clothes’ published in 1964, Fumi Kosaka’s pastel illustrations have turned this into a wonderful book for kids to enjoy. The child comes in from outside and takes off layers of outdoor clothes. After enjoying a hot drink and cookies the layers go back on for another outside adventure. The story consists of simple sentences and the page structure encourages kids to guess what comes next. Kosaka’s illustrations focus on just the child and avoid cluttering up this easy-to-read story with extra background images. This and the repetitive text makes it an ideal story for beginner readers.

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow

written by Shirley Neitzel, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker
published by Greenwillow Books
rebus picture book (baby to preschool)
Similar to the story structure and rhyme of ‘The House that Jack Built’, this story builds with each layer of clothes. As a new article is added, it’s given extra emphasis on it’s own page, then beside it lists the other clothing elements already included. The repetitive text and the rebus images make for a consistent and predictable story, great for beginning readers. Children will be able to read parts of the story and enjoy predicting the clothing that comes on next. This is a great way to introduce winter clothing vocabulary too. Be warned, you kids may take to repeating all or parts of the rhyme when getting dressed to go out.

Thomas’ Snowsuit

written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko
published by Annick Press
picture book (age 4-8)
This is the most copy heavy of this month’s book picks, but you can’t go wrong with a Robert Munsch book. He writes with kids in mind, repeating text and adding sound effects. Thomas refuses to wear his new brown snowsuit. When his mother insists he puts it on they have a big struggle. The snowsuit is on but Thomas’ mom looks frazzled after the ordeal. Thomas’ behaviour is repeated at school when his teacher and principal ask him to put his snowsuit on. A struggle ensues and the teacher and principal end up in their underwear. In the end Thomas wants to go out and play with his friends so he puts his snowsuit on without any trouble. I’m sure kids and parents alike will relate to this woes of winter dressing, but in the end, in order to enjoy the outside and friends, the winter gear needs to go on, and Thomas realizes that.

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On Thursdays we go to music class and I don’t want to have to bathe my son before so I try to stick to mess free activities if we do art before heading off to sing!  I have been saving these feathers for weeks, waiting to make this super simple Native American headdress craft. You can use glue but when we make something that a child can wear and use for pretend play, the faster it’s ready to play with the better.

1. Gather your material. You will need a piece of construction paper, double stick tape, feathers, a hole punch, some ribbon, crayons and scissors.
2. Cut your construction paper into a strip.
3. Have your child color this with crayons.  We made those crayons… but you’ll have to wait until next week to see how and what we used ! 
4. Fold the strip and punch holes on either end.
5. Add tape to the inside. I added a lot of tape. My little independent soul wanted to add the tape himself, tried to add the feathers at the same time too and got frustrated .  He took a “breather” while I added more on either side of the paper and he was ready to come back.
6. Add your feathers.
7. Press your paper together.
8. Add the ribbons to either side.
9. Tie it on your kiddo and have fun!

Santa hit the jackpot with this kitchen!

Buying gifts for children is a tricky business, you never know what will be a hit and what will fall flat and never get played with. I wasn’t planning on doing a gift guide this year, there are so many lists out there, I figured I’d pass and stick to my regular glue and glitter. Then I got email after email asking me for advice. I admit I always worry when I get those emails because I don’t want to lead you the wrong way. Kids are so variable.  So I decided instead of doing a wish list gift guide listing all the toys I think are cool, I am doing a parent to parent it’s worked for me guide based on experience, including a reader suggested list. I have not been paid for any of these endorsements, nor have I contacted any of the companies to include their products.  Please feel free to add your child’s favorite toy in the comments. This guide is about sharing and helping other parents!

We have 3 parts to our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.

My Favorites

Reader’s Favorites

Books Every House Needs

From now until January 1st the gift guide will be on the main menu bar for easy access.

When I saw that the bulk nuts arrived at my local grocery store today my mind was racing with ideas. I have made hundreds crafts with walnut shells but few were young child friendly.  So I played with paper and decided on making a family of walnut shell turtles. We have been talking a lot about family and being thankful lately and my son loves turtles. This ended up being a huge hit, not just while making them but after they dried we played with them all evening.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 1 walnut for every 2 turtles. Because cracking the nuts doesn’t always work perfectly I would have extra on hand. Some card stock ( any color), some white construction paper, markers, glue, scissors and googly eyes.
2. Start by cracking open your walnuts and cleaning out the nuts. My son helped by eating the nuts but not the actual shelling.
3. Next place the shell on the card stock and draw a body , making 4 legs a head and tail.  Cut out and use this as a stencil.
4. Trace the stencil on the construction paper.
5. Have your child color the turtle bodies any colors they want. My son decided he wanted them to be all one color, and got upset when some yellow got on two other outlines, so we simply traced 2 more. No biggie.
6. When they are all colored add glue to your shells.
7. Pop the shells on the bodies.
8. Add glue for the eyes.
9. Pop the eyes on. Let dry.
10. Cut out when dry.

Books About Family

Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman is one of those books that you read and think oh I love it, but will kids? I am here to tell you yes! They love this old Yiddish folk tale about a little boy, his very special blanket and his grandfather who made it for him. Over the years Joseph’s blanket transforms into a jacket, a vest, a tie, and handkerchief and finally a button. The story is beautiful and kids love not only the repetitive text when the grandfather is sewing but also the continuing storyline of the mice that live under the floor boards who use the scraps of material for all sorts of things. There are no goofy gimmicks, no lights or sounds just a great story and beautiful illustrations in this gem! A fantastic book about family and growing up.

The Family Book by Todd Parr is a book that doesn’t give readers a narrow definition of family , it doesn’t say that your family has to look a certain way, or be the same as your neighbors. As a teacher I really appreciated the matter of fact way it embraced diversity. Kids see that families are not all like theirs and it’s important to validate the truth while recognizing that while they may not all look alike, all families are made with love. Great book , cute illustrations and children love it.

Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham is beautiful. The story is about a little boy who is desperate to find some hair for his mama who has lost hers to chemotherapy. Marcus wants mama to be in the family photo but she doesn’t want to be the way she looks. His mission comes to a climax when he shaves off all his own hair hoping to give it to his mama. When the barber sweeps it up with the other hair on the floor Marcus is heart broken and goes home in tears. I was sobbing reading this, I knew it was a story about a mom having cancer but the way the author wrote it , it was magical. The complex emotions this little boy felt for his mom and she for him, jumped off the page and you can’t help but cry. I wasn’t sad ,I was touched by the love and desire to fix his mom and make everything better, and his parents tenderness to his feelings. I can’t recommend this book more highly. I should note that this is not a book for toddlers, I would probably wait until a child is 4-5 before reading them this gem.

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler had my son clapping and be bopping in his jammies before bed. This book is so fun to read, the musical words are impossible not to dance to. My son loves jazz, and his only disappointment was that there were no trumpets in the book. He didn’t understand that the family in the book , which included grandparents, aunts , uncles and cousins were listening to a record. I tried to tell him it was like a cd but the illustration was clearly a record player and he wasn’t buying it. Still we loved this book , the family was loving and I loved that the older brother was holding the baby, not common in kids books to see a boy holding a baby. Great book even without a trumpet.

]]> http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/11/walnut-shell-turtles.html/feed 11 http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/11/walnut-shell-turtles.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NoTimeForFlashCards/~3/kXKSHo1kSRo/indian-corn-craft.html http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/11/indian-corn-craft.html#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:01:37 +0000 admin http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/?p=1874 Marshmallow Corn !

I was looking for a good place to hide Halloween candy and found marshmallows I hid months ago. They were hard and dry and perfect for a craft! If you don’t hide sugary treats from yourself in your kitchen just leave the marshmallows out over night to get stale.  They need to be stale so that your child can color them, without marshmallow bits getting on your markers, or being too squishy to color. Have fun with this, my son thought it was hilarious that he could color the marshmallows and asked at dinner if he could color his fish sticks. Thankfully the markers were put away.

1. Gather your materials. You will need a handful of stale mini marshmallows, yellow and brown construction paper, red, brown , yellow and orange markers , glue and scissors.
2. Start by coloring one end ( or more) of the marshmallows with various colors.
3. Keep going!
4. While they color the marshmallows draw an ear of corn on the yellow paper and husk on the brown.
5. Add glue to the corn.
6. Add the marshmallows.
7. Color the husk if you want.
8. Cut the husk out.
9. Glue it on the top- you can wait until everything is dry to glue it on. I was eager to post this so I fast forwarded a bit. 
10. Let dry and cut out .

Books

This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed is a stunning gem of a book. I can’t believe I haven’t read it before, normally great books like this go through teaching circles like wildfire. The book has so many layers it will keep toddlers and preschoolers alike busy and engaged. The text explains the first Thanksgiving while counting 1-10 in rhyming poetry and the illustrations by Mark Buehner have hidden treasures, see if you can find them! After I return this to the library, I will be buying it for sure!

Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey was such a treat to read. It’s a reworking of the classic Christmas poem, with a Thanksgiving twist.  A bus full of kids head off to the turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving and are immediately enamored with the birds. When a child asks the farmer what the axe by the door is for… well let’s just say the truth is told and the kids fall apart. They don’t stay down for long though, the kids outsmart the farmer and their teacher to save the turkeys from the axe. Somehow the author finds a way to make the possible slaughter of these happy friendly, named turkey’s funny. My son was giggling while I was kinda nervous that they’d get the axe! Great rhymes throughout this hilarious book!

Thanksgiving Treat by Catherine Stock is a really heart warming book that will take you back to family gatherings of your childhood. The story follows the Thanksgiving day preparations of an extended family and one little boy who just wants to help. He goes from one job to the next where he is always told he is too little, or it’s too dangerous for him to do, and he should go somewhere else. Finally his Grandpa steps in with a very important job and the sad little boy is given new hope to be helpful. I remember being too little, and I know that from time to time my son is told he is too little too, this book is a kind reminder of finding ways to make even our littlest family members feel important and included. My son really liked it as well, while reading it today he stopped me and listed some of the things he is still too little to do, and the things that he has recently been able to do independently. Great book to sit down and talk about with your child.

I had to do it! I believe in jumping on experiences to solidify learning, making the learning memorable and giving your child something concrete to attach to it.  This letter of the week activity is timely, and my son was excited to open the candy packages , test a few pieces but glue most on.  I liked it because it also gets rid of some of the hard candies I am still uncomfortable giving him.  Don’t miss the link to another great learning with candy activity from my FamilyEducation.com blog.

1. Gather your materials. You will need 2 pieces of sturdy construction paper, white glue, candy , scissors and a marker.
2. Start by writing a lowercase c ( although this could easily be used for an uppercase craft as well). For letters like c where the letter is similar in both upper and lowercase I try to make the letter small to convey the proper shape to my son. These pictures are close ups but the c actually only took up 1/2 of the page.
3. Add your glue. I was told rather forcefully that this was NOT my job, it was his and my job was to take pictures. He’s going to be fun at 14.
4. Unwrap your candy.
5. Start adding your candy to the glue. Add more glue if necessary.
6. Let dry. We did this in the morning and went out and let it dry for a few hours. Between the glue and the sugar dissolving into it it’s strong once it’s dry. Except for Runts- which all resisted gluing ( makes you wonder what’s in them… a lot of wax perhaps?).
7. Cut out and glue onto the other page of construction paper.

Book

Harriet’s Halloween Candy by Nancy Carlson is the perfect after Halloween read. Harriet is a puppy who after tick or treating is excited about all her candy. She is also very protective of it and doesn’t want to share it with anyone, especially her little brother Walter who was too little to go out trick or treating. She hoards her candy, sorts it and of course eats it. She also hides it, until she runs out of places for it to go , and decides to try to eat it all. A cautionary tale for young children for sure!  My son liked it and he said to me ” Mama I will share my candy with you so I don’t get a tummy ache!” .

Tip about reading holiday books. Kids love to review their experiences with special events like Halloween, going to the pumpkin patch etc… so don’t rush to put away the Halloween books just yet. Now is a perfect time to read them and talk about your child’s experiences. Often times preschoolers will enjoy reading these books even more now , after having the experience to back it up.

Candy Alphabet!

Pop over to Craftitivity Corner on FamilyEducation.com to see how we used our Halloween candy to play with the alphabet!

There are some blogs I absolutely get lost in, Dollar Store Crafts is one of them. I adore this blog . The crafts are not just inexpensive and made with things from dollar stores and things around your house , they are incredibly creative and really hip. There are crafts for all ages, and all abilities featured . My favorite feature is that you can search by cost $1 and under, $5 and $10 and more. In this economy it’s awesome to have someone break it down for you like that before you end up at the store adding everything up and second guessing if you can afford a new crafty creation! If you haven’t visited before – check it out!

Apple Farmer Annie

Mr. Cookie Baker was an instant hit at our house. The book is about who else, Mr. Cookie Baker and it shows the reader how he makes cookies from scratch, ices them and sells them. It’s a great book to explain baking and bakeries. My son loves the part where Mr. Cookie Baker eats a cookie after a long hard day and then says goodnight. I like the illustrations, they are bold and detailed without being cluttered and can almost tell the story all by themselves. Be warned though reading this will almost definitely make you crave a cookie or two.

Pizza at Sally’s is another great look at a small business owner , and how she does her work everyday and feeds the masses with her yummy pizza! I like how it not only explains how to make pizza but it also looks at the ingredients and how they are grown and processed.  Of course it’s not explained in depth but it is explained enough to start a dialogue with interested preschoolers for further investigation.  My son loves the cat in this book, the same cat is in many of the other books but for some reason he particularly loves it’s presence in this one. It’s inspired me to make the dough from scratch with my son next time we have pizza!  A lovely book!

Truck Driver Tom is one of my son’s picks. The story is simple, Tom and his puppy drive produce from the farm to the market and see the country side and much more along the way. The best part of this book are the fun bright and detailed illustrations, there is a wide variety of trucks, cars , emergency and construction vehicles! Also it’s a great lesson about how our food gets from the farm to us.

Zinnia’s Flower Garden This book is really useful not just about teaching about flowers and gardens, but also about patience and the annual cycle of a garden.  Zinnia plants and waits, waters, enjoys her flowers, then they die, she collects the seeds and plans her garden for next year.  I love that the main story is perfect for my almost 3 year old but there is much more for older children with longer attention spans. There is a little journal with notes about what’s happening with her garden, and various facts about plants as well.  Like in so many of her books the author celebrates hard work and her characters take great pride in what they do. A fantastic message for readers, big and little. I also love the mix of illustration and photographs in this book especially, it gives the illustrations depth and a really interesting look.

Free Art or Open Ended Art is crucial! Kids need to be able to have no boundaries and simply create. I get asked often how I schedule my son’s learning and really I don’t have a strict schedule.  We play and the learning comes from that most of the time- I throw in crafts every second day or so and we read all the time. Crayons, markers, paper and stickers are always available for easy creations. Today we didn’t make a craft we made the materials,  recycled crayons. It’s easy and fun. You may notice a change in my son from the making to the using, we popped out and got a hair cut, and sucker !

1. Gather your materials. You need orange crayons, a single black crayon, muffin tin and non stick spray.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 300.
3. Peel the paper off your crayons.
4. Break your orange crayons into little pieces, easily the favorite step for my son.
5. Pop them into the greased muffin tin.
6. Into the oven it took about 10 minutes to melt. While it melts, peel and break the black crayon into small bits.
7. Add small bits of the black crayons to the orange. I tried to make a face but it didn’t work- you could use shavings and place them as the crayons are cooling.
8. Pop back into the oven for a few minutes.
9. Swirl the wax and let cool.
10. Tip if the crayons aren’t releasing from the muffin tin , put them in the freezer for a few minutes and they will pop right off.
11. Now it’s time for fun – use the crayons for some free art! My son was excited to use the crayons HE made !
12. If you can’t tell that is a pumpkin and goblin eating a string cheese.  As per my son’s explanation! Have fun !

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