Sometimes I plan an activity in my head and it goes one way. Then I give it to my kids and they do something totally unexpected with it. That is what happened with this letter learning activity I call Button Letters. My daughter had her own very unique idea for how to put the buttons on the letters that was not at all what I had envisioned, but ... Continue Reading
Easy fall science: Sprouting Indian corn
Last fall, our family attended a harvest festival where my kids had the opportunity to go into a corn field and pick some Indian corn right off the stalk. We brought several ears of Indian corn home with us and used them for a few different projects. During our seed unit, we had previously learned that corn kernels are seeds. So we ... Continue Reading
Corn fine motor activities
Fall is a great time to use corn in your learning activities. If your little ones are still building their fine motor skills, you'll find eight corn fine motor activities below to try out this fall. Note: For more corn activities, see my Corn Unit Study page. Who knew there were so many versatile ways to use corn for developing ... Continue Reading
Letter Tic-Tac-Toe {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}
Can I make a confession? I really do not like playing tic-tac-toe. The game requires very little in the way of skill, so virtually anytime I play it ends in a tie. And it just isn't challenging enough to hold my interest. However, my kids went through a phase where they loved playing tic-tac-toe. Which, of course, meant that I was ... Continue Reading
Learning about the parts of corn using Montessori printables
During our corn unit, I put together a fun, hands-on, and Montessori-inspired activity to learn about the parts of corn. My kids had a great time dissecting an ear of corn and learning about all the parts that make up both an ear of corn and an entire corn plant. Note: For more corn activities, see my Corn Unit Study page. We ... Continue Reading
Montessori-inspired caves unit
Several years ago when my kids were 3 and 4 years old, we took a trip to Colorado. While there, we visited some spectacular caves with really cool formations at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. My kids don't recall the caves we toured anymore, but I was still excited at the idea of doing a Montessori-inspired caves unit with ... Continue Reading
Pattern block letters {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}
I have very fond memories of playing with pattern blocks back in elementary school. My friends and I used to spend our entire recess creating elaborate domino puzzles with them to show our classmates when class resumed. So hoping to recreate some of the fun from my youth, one of the first toys I bought after adopting my toddler-age son ... Continue Reading
Fall math activities using corn kernels
We had a ton of colorful corn kernels left over from a fine motor project my kids had done, and I was looking for an educational way to use them. Then I realized I could set up a corn kernel math activity to help my kids work on estimation, grouping by 5s and 10s, and counting. Note: For more fall fun, see my Fall Activities for ... Continue Reading
Writing letters in a salt tray {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}
When learning to write their letters, kids can become very frustrated if they make a lot of mistakes. Have you ever worked with a kid who was writing letters on paper and felt he had to erase every letter that wasn't perfect so he could start over? If the child makes a lot of mistakes, it can definitely be a slow, laborious, ... Continue Reading
6 books about corn for kids
Corn is a fascinating food with a long and storied history in the Americas. It has sustained cultures for generations and remains a staple food in many countries today. In this post I'm sharing a description and review of six books about corn for kids. These children's books about corn will help your kids understand corn's history in the ... Continue Reading
