Twelve Days of Christmas

We love to sing 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' in our house and classrooms.  There are two ways we use this book.  In our home we use the song to remind us of our faith.  We also like to use this book as a triangular number pattern example in the classroom.

Classroom:  The 'Twelve Days of Christmas' provides a wonderful math/music lesson in the classroom.  The gifts really start to grow, assuming that the partridge in a pear tree was given ( 1 x 12 =12) twelve times.   The book demonstrates a triangular number pattern.  

Day 1:  Partridge in a pear tree=1 gifts

Day 2:  Partridge in a pear tree + two turtledoves = 3 gifts

Day 3:  Partridge in a pear tree + two turtledoves + three French hens = 6 gifts

My husband and I love to teach this lesson.  The students predict how many total gifts were given by the twelfth day.  Many of the students guess much too low.  We use Jack Kent's 'Twelve Days of Christmas.'  The main characters overwhelmed expression just adds to the story.  The students start to feel sorry for the main character. 

In the past we have made charts to show patterns, individual posters for each day, and wrote new lyrics.    

You can find our 'Twelve Days of Christmas' lesson at our Liz and Ron Store.

Home:  Here is a quick history review.  Long ago, the Roman Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith openly.   'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was written as a "catechism song" to help children to learn about their Roman Catholic faith.  The song was written somewhere between 1558 to 1829.

2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed 

Keeping Our Preschoolers Growing and Learning During the Winter!

We know it is hard to keep our kids active, engaged, and challenged during the winter. Here are some low cost educational activities for the the winter months.  

Physical Education

“Dancing Balloons”-  

• Try to keep the balloon off the ground. (music)

• Have your child lay on his/her back.  Put the balloon between their feet.  The child tries to pick the balloon off of the ground with straight legs and bring the balloon over their head.  Then lower the feet without letting go of the balloon. Many people do this exercise with a Yoga ball.

Movement

• Rent a kids movement DVD.
• Example:  “Bo on the Go”  or  “Wiggles”
• Zumba Kids-YouTube 
• Create a hopscotch with tape in the garage or in a spare room:

Math

Measurement:

• Rice Bin-Supply the bin with variety of scoops, measuring cups, counters.

Spacial:

• Cookies-The child rolls out the dough and estimates if the cookie cutter will fit on the flattened dough.  Is the surface area enough?  Do we need to roll the dough more?   Do we need to add more dough?

Literacy

Writing Activities:

• Take a cookie sheet and cover it with shaving cream.  Have the child practice writing letters and their name.
• Also you can fill the cookie sheet with rice.  

Take a mirror and Crayola Window Markers.  Have the child practice writing letters and their name. The markers erase with soap and water.

• Create a simple story with a beginning, middle, and end using PowerPoint, Prezi, Page Maker, etc.

Literacy Technology

Computer Games and Apps-

• Articulation  
• Starfall 
• PBS 
• Toddler Flashcards (Free) 
• Baby Flash Cards-Letters (Free) 
• Write My Name

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Building Number Sense Before School Age

We know that babies, toddlers, and preschoolers need opportunities to explore with their hands. Sometimes it is hard to move children from exploration activities to higher level comparisons and questioning. 

Activity 1: Less than More Than

Step 1:  Take two containers and label them “ 1” and “2”.

Step 2: Student counts items in each container.  “Which container has more stars (objects)?”

Step 2: Student counts items in each container.  “Which container has more stars (objects)?”  "Which container has the greatest amount of stars?"

Step 3: Keep doing the activity.  Repetition is important. Make sure to do the activity with an empty container.  It is important for the child to see what “zero” or “none” looks like.

Extension:  After the student understands the words "more" and "greater than."  Take time to move to "less than"  and "least."

Look for "Number Sense: Counters, Scoops, and Rice Activities" @ our TPT store.

Green Bluff Charm and History

Green Bluff

Cooler temperatures, bold colorful trees, and ripe pumpkins bring a new energy to the Inland Northwest.  Harvest in Washington State is the time for family, friends, and celebration.  Many families are familiar with Green Bluff located in Colbert, Washington.  The Green Bluff Growers’ Association started in 1902.  There are over 46 different farms.  Each farm has its own expertise and charm.  Corn maizes, pumpkin patches, pumpkin chunkin, tractors, apple orchards, crafts, carmel, antiques, and apple pies are all on the bluff!

Farm Chicks on Green Bluff

Pumpkin History

http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/autumn09/pumpkins.cfm

http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/pumpkinhistory.htm

http://www.history.org/kids/games/pumpkinpatterns.cfm

http://www.history.com/videos/pumpkin-carving-history-of-the-jack-olantern

Pumpkin Math

http://store.aimsedu.org/aims_store/e-activities/2-3-math/measurement-en-2/area-en-2/

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson028.shtml

http://www.pumpkinnook.com//giants/record.htm#bigones



High Country Orchard

Car Math Games: I Am Thinking Of...

Early Childhood Math Game: Number Sense

My husband I spend much of our time commuting to work. Here is one of our favorite games to play.  


I Am Thinking Of…..

Simple:  I am thinking of something that has 4 legs and 1 tail that likes to wag.  What am I thinking of? (dog)


Complex:  I am thinking of an animal that has 2 eyes and 4 legs and says “neigh.”  What am I thinking of? (horse)


I am thinking of something that has 2 wings and 1 beak.  What am I thinking of? (bird)


I am thinking of an object that has 4 legs that do not move.  You might find a bowl and spoon on top of this object. What am I thinking of? (table)

Andy Rash's "Are You A Horse" is a silly favorite at our house.
http://andyrash.blogspot.com/2008/09/are-you-horse-endpages.html  The very naive cowboy is in search of a horse.  On his journey he meets some desert animals. Each animal tries to help the cowboy along the way.

One More Than.....

Early Childhood Games

One More Than……

Today our family lounged around our house for the day. I heard some giggling and laughing in the living room. My husband and son were playing a quick math game. He is four years old. "What is one more than two?" Confidently my son answers "three!" We always count around the house, but this game really helps to build number sense. We have multi-colored bears that he can demonstrate "one more than.” Building one-to-one correspondence between objects and an actual written or verbalized numbers can be a challenging skill. I can't wait to hear. "What is one less than ...."