Monday, November 26, 2012

The Twelve Days of Christmas





Andreasen, Dan.
The Twelve Days of Christmas.
September 2012.
Sleeping Bear Press.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

A classic Christmas song comes to life in this story and it will have you looking at things entirely differently that you might have prior to this reading and after looking at the illustrations, in which animals are brought to life and seemingly antagonize that poor partridge that is trying to rest peacefully in the pear tree!

This book is a great way to introduce young children to the "12 Days of Christmas" while at the same time it could be used to reinforce the concept of counting from 1-12.  The book could also be used to get children thinking how the antics of these animals affect the partridge and what emotions it might be experiencing.  This fun holiday read that incorporates a whole host of other themes will make a great addition to your holiday collection!







If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

November Guidecraft Educators Review/Giveaway Link



Each month, the Guidecraft Educators will share our honest feelings about a Guidecraft product(s) and how these products would fare in an early childhood classroom. This month's selection comes from Guidecraft's Construction Toys line - Magneato Better Builders - 100 piece set

I was SOOOO excited to see this arrive for review!  I love getting new manipulative-type toys for the kids to try out and they love finding something new on the shelf to explore.  The product immediately caught their eyes and the excitement run rampant until they were able to really get their hands on the Magneatos. 


This 100-piece set is ideal for small groups of children (I had about 7 at the table using this toy at a time, to ensure their were ample pieces for each to experiment with).  I probably could have gotten a few more at the table, but opted to try it out this way first... it worked well and all 20 children did have a chance to explore before the end of the day!

 Children loved how they were able to feel the "pull" as the magnets attracted each other and were even more amazed by how they repelled each other at times... I was impressed by the comments that were coming from their mouths and the way the vocabulary flowed - "Miss Katie, I can't be strong enough.  It keeps going sideways!"  The Magneatos provide such an opportunity to bring science and engineering into the children's lives in a creative way!

Magneatos Better Builders also offer children the opportunity to put their creative minds to use!  I had lots of children commenting and showing off their "castles" and "towers."  I also had a few children make a "necklace" with the curved pieces, while others still opted to make "microphone" and sing some of their favorite songs!

I'm definitely going to have to pull these from the shelf for a planned science/engineering activity on magnetism! 
We absolutely love these and they're going to be a hit for some time in our classroom!



So... what do other 'Guidecraft Educators' have to say about the Magneatos Better Builders - 100 piece set???
Maureen at Simply Stacie
Andrea at MommyPR
Deborah at Teach Preschool
Carrie from Huppie Mama
Jody from Mommy Moment
Candace at Mamanista!
Lisa from Planet Weidknecht
Vanessa from Pre-K Pages
The Giveaway

Guidecraft is generously offering ONE lucky reader of the Guidecraft Educators a chance to win one of these fabulous 100 piece sets of the Magneatos Better Builders!!! To enter, head on over to Andrea's post at MommyPR, as she's hosting this months giveaway!

You have until Friday, November 16 @ 11:59PM Pacific time to enter. 

Or... if you just can't wait to win one and NEED them now, they can be purchased online at: 








If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!