The if-you-can-spell-it-you-can-eat-it rule
was in effect and here were the results:
Here’s another product I unveiled for a recent snack time: I had heard rumors of Scrabble cheese crackers, but only recently found them at the downtown Safeway.
The if-you-can-spell-it-you-can-eat-it rule was in effect and here were the results:
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I’ve always loved the building of vegetable 'faces', but Hanoch Piven has expanded the fun to a whole new level of art. This summer the neighborhood kids and I joined the fun. First we read Piven’s great books: Then we created self-portrait poems: For Neighborhood Camp this week, I led our young authors in a series of writing activities. At the end of the day, each child chose one writing piece to include in a poetry chapbook. These books were then given to participating families as a celebration of our fabulously creative kids! This particular book format is easy to make and can be used for a variety of purposes. I’ve been folding them with my elementary school students for years. A quick search of the web unveils a whole host of formats. Here’s one set of directions: A sample creation: Why it’s great: Does Grandma live 1,000 miles away from that sweet voice you hear each day? Kiddos have no patience for writing long thank you notes? This tool allows you to capture and send a visual AND audio moment-of-joy to share with anyone in the world. How to use it: Details:
Share via Facebook, Twitter, email or embed the 'foto' in your blog/website. Be sure to set your profile settings to “Make my Fotobabbles private by default.” Have an idea that should be on a billboard? Now’s your chance at values.com This cutie web tool allows users to create and post a billboard with a positive message. Here’s mine: Drop me a comment when yours is published.
I love that Big Red Dog. I know Clifford is on PBS Kids, but I love that pup just as much as Emily Elizabeth. My adoration stems from two major experiences: 1) While my sons were in preschool, the 30 minutes of Clifford programming on OPB meant I could shower alone. No Clifford meant no privacy: I’d be rinsing shampoo through a chorus of little hands knocking on the glass door, asking for Cheerios, telling on their brother, and asking when I was going to come out and play. However, If I let Clifford and T-Bone entertain my little darlings for 25 minutes I could shampoo, condition AND shave my legs. Mommies know: That’s golden! 2) This Scholastic Clifford computer game is a nice treat for beginning readers. Simple - and deceivingly fun – my kid is practicing letter recognition and basic phonics without ever knowing it. His favorite game is the one that allows players to type in simple three or four letter words. If spelled correctly, a related picture of Clifford is painted across the screen. Can you spell zoo? Cat? Soup? My kid can. Granted, both these “how do I love thee” praises of Clifford involve screen time – which means they are a sometime activities not an always activities. But.... maybe that makes his Big Red allure all the more powerful. Look closely at the front cover of this Mad Libs book. It’s the “NEW” party game circa 1958. My sons received this last Christmas (Thank you Cousin Kristin!) and the fun has lasted all year long. For those of you unfamiliar with these classic word games, it goes a little something like this: Players generate a list of prompted words … Part of the body: ankle Adjective: purple Adjective: scratchy Noun: chair These words are then entered into a prewritten story … Beauty Advice: If the skin on your ankle is purple and scratchy, massage it gently with a chair. This, of course, is just plain silly – which is perhaps why
my kids love it. I swear my five year old just waits for the prompt of “part of the body” so he can shout intestines at the top of his voice. Slimy has also become his favorite adjective. Last month's snow day brought a gaggle of neighborhood kids into the house. They all stripped off coats, hats and mittens and then played Mad Lib for almost an hour. Laughter erupted throughout every new round of hilarious noun/verb/intestine confusion. New or not: that truly is a do-it-yourself laugh kit! I'm a bit behind in the blog department. We've been traveling, working, Thanksgivinging and even home improvementing. (It's a full life.) But -- I'm sneaking in a quick post here to tell you about my new favorite tag cloud generator. "Tag cloud generator" is the techie word for "really cool free thing on the web." In a nut shell -- Tagxedo takes all the words you want and creates a pretty picture based on the frequency of the individual words. Other sites (like Wordle.com) do this as well, but the great thing about Tagxedo is that you can choose from a variety of shapes for your picture & you can save it in a variety of formats. Example: When not chasing my kids this month, I've been writing the second chapter of my dissertation paper. If I drop all the text into Tagxedo this is what is created: Why did I choose to create a tag cloud in the shape of JOY?
Because I finally finished that chapter (insert dance of joy here)! I'm thinking of all the fun writers might have with this tool. Here at home we could use it to create a fun family Christmas card (in the shape of a Xmas tree), or Valentine's day cards (in a heart), or at school with animal reports (in the shape of the given animal). So many fun options to explore!! I found this lovely bucket-o-cookies at Safeway and couldn’t help but snatch them up. Our snack time yesterday was strictly: If you can spell it - You can eat it! My 8 yr-old thought this was hilarious. My 5 yr-old looked at me as if I had just told a slightly offensive joke. Both boys started with their names and then ventured off into new territory. This activity has its downfalls, of course: the longer the word,the longer you have to wait to eat the cookies; Both boys side-stepped this dilemma by focusing to the ever-popular three letter words. Although my youngest son was nervous
at the start of this activity, all those yummy chocolate letters were pretty convincing motivation. He gained confidence quickly. He even helped me spell a few words of my own… and then sweetly offered to help me eat them. I’ve talked before about my belief in letting kids get bored. In a busy, fast paced, go-go-go world – it’s good for all of us to catch our breath and just give ourselves time and space to see what happens. Let your mind wander. Start a project before you know where it’s going. Start a project that you may never finish! These are not activities that are easily approved in the adult world , but for kids their activities that are just right for exploring their abilities. One good bet for inspiring the preferred response to boredom is a handy stash of ‘stuff.’ Our ‘stuff’ always includes letter stickers, glue sticks, scissors, crayons, construction paper, magazines and (of course) full and total access to the recycling bin. Awhile back, my oldest son created a treasure hunt for me. All of his own doing, I was surprised when his quiet work ended and I was invited to begin the search. My son’s handmade notes led me one to another and along the way I was rewarded with the junk food we had purchased for a recent Birthday BBQ. In the end, neither of us ate/drank the treasure, but we enjoyed the hunt. Here’s the note I left for him to extend the fun.
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