Here is my recommendation for your listening pleasure this week.

Train Adventure

Here is a rhyme that you can listen to on the mp3 audio file. I have given you some suggestions for actions you can do as you say the rhyme.

I built a little snowman. (make circle with arms)
He had a carrot nose (point to nose)
Along came a bunny (hold up two bent fingers)
And what do you suppose? (hold hands palms up and shrug)
That hungry little bunny, ( make bunny again )
Looking for his lunch, ( hop bunny around )
Ate the snowman’s nose. ( pretend bunny is eating nose )
Nibble! Nibble! Crunch! ( pretend to be eating a carrot )

Enjoy!

SNOW EXPERIMENT

Most children know that snow melts and becomes water. But most children do not know the relationship of how much snow equals how much water. For this very simple experiment you will need:

• A tall narrow glass jar
• Snow

Simply fill the jar all the way to the top with snow and put the lid on. Bring inside and watch over a period of time. The snow melts and you are left with a small quantity of water. You could take guesses as to how much water will be in the jar after the snow has melted. Mark lines on the jar with marker or tape to indicate your estimate.

Once your child has the idea, you can use different types of jars and use your estimating skills.

Enjoy!

PODCAST OF THE WEEK

A new week and here is my recommended podcast for you. It’s called SNOW DAY and so appropriate for where I live, as we have snow on the ground. Not enough for a snow day though!

Snow Day – Listen Together Podcast

WASHING LINE FUN!

Compared to when I was a little girl, very few people hang out their washing to get it dry. In England we would forever be pegging it out, dashing outside to bring it in, and waiting for the next dry spell of weather. In our school, we realized that hanging items of clothing on a line was a very popular activity, in part because it was such a novelty; but there are lots of learning opportunities too! All you need is a rope that can be attached to something sturdy at each end and some pegs. Make sure the line is at a good height for your child. Remember to supervise! There is potential danger with a rope.

Here are some ideas for washing line activities for you and your child to enjoy together.

· Clothes pins (pegs) require a lot of manual dexterity, so I would suggest starting with simple pieces of fabric that can easily be draped over the line, so that children can concentrate on manipulating the peg rather than keeping the fabric from sliding off. Stay away from shiny fabric for this reason.

· When your child is competent with the pegs, get out lots of mittens and gloves and start pegging. Discuss whether to hang from the wrist or fingers.

· Start with small mittens at one end of the line and peg big ones at the other end.

· Think of other criteria and group accordingly, such as by color, pattern or fabric.

· An older child may be ready to find pairs and hang them together.

· An alternative to actual mittens and gloves is to make your own out of construction paper or card. I would recommend laminating construction paper to make it be a little more substantial for young children to handle. They will last a lot longer too. If you make your own, you can control the sizes and colors and perhaps make sorting easier for your child.

 · Use words such as big, bigger, biggest; small, smaller, smallest; phrases like let’s compare; how can we tell which one is bigger; let’s measure etc. You and your child will come up with your own ideas for sorting and matching. If you like, you could share them with me on the web site!

Enjoy!

Here is a fun finger rhyme I want to share with you.

Children love to sort items – to put them into categories. You can sort with many different items, but here are some ideas for mittens and gloves, as our podcast theme is mittens. Get out lots of gloves and mittens, with different sizes, colors, patterns and fabrics.

• A first activity I would suggest would be to “rummage” through, and just pick one and talk about it. You might choose a tiny one that your child had as a baby; or choose a big glove and discuss who it might fit etc. Ask your child to choose one and then talk about it together. Your conversations will encourage your child to look critically at the gloves and mittens, be able to recognize different attributes such as color, material or pattern, which are all excellent beginning math skills.
• Sort out into two piles – mittens and gloves.
• Match up pairs.
• Sort into big and small. Those that are medium-ish will encourage discussion. Ask how will we decide? Your child might say if it’s bigger than “this” particular one, then it’s big; if it’s smaller, then it goes in the small pile. She might suggest a third pile for medium sized mittens and gloves. All are good ideas.
• Select a few mittens and sort in a line according to size.

Use words such as big, bigger, biggest; small smaller, smallest; phrases like let’s compare; how can we tell which one is bigger; let’s measure etc. You and your child will come up with your own ideas for sorting and matching. If you like, you could share them with me.

Enjoy!

There are changes at Listen Together Podcast. Now, everyone has access to the complete podcast library – that’s currently 50 podcasts – each one with songs and a story for little ones. The podcasts were intended for ages 3-7, but your child may not be ready at 3, may be ready earlier or still interested as an older listener. You be the judge. Each week I will share my recommended podcast. Sometimes I will also give you some activities to try that complement the podcast.

THE PODCAST OF THE WEEK is MITTENS. Of course, you can listen to any of the podcasts any time you like. Simply browse the PODCAST LIBRARY. Enjoy!

Watch this space for fun activities to complement the podcasts.