Lemonade Stand

Set Up A Lemonade Stand

Keep your child(ren) busy this summer by setting up a lemonade stand.  After reading The Berenstain Bears' Lemonade Stand, work with your child to mix his/her own lemonade, set up a premade lemonade booth or make your own, and then start collecting the profits! 

Berenstain, Mike.
The Berenstain Bears' Lemonade Stand.
April 2014.
HarperCollins Publishers.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

On a hot summer day Brother Bear and Sister Bear are outside when Mama Bear offers up some lemonade.  As the neighbors in Bear Country soon begin to notice the lemonade that Brother and Sister Bear are drinking, they soon want some for themselves, prompting the Bear siblings to set up a lemonade stand, charging 25 cents a cup.  The lemonade stand quickly turns into a neighborhood party, complete with fireworks.

Children are sure to love this quick read about the familiar Berenstain Bears' characters!  The idea of setting up a lemonade stand and collecting some money is also sure to be popular with children!

Put your creative juices to work creating a lemonade stand of your own - involve your child(ren) in the making of stand and decorating of the sign or purchase a premade "Fresh Lemonade" cardboard stand, as shown to the right, from Amazon.com for just $33.99.

Other "Lemonade" books to share:

• Caterina and the Lemonade Stand by Erin Eitter Kono
• Olivia Opens a Lemonade Stand by Jared Osterhold
• Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J. Murphy
• Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink by Victoria Kann
• The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco

Educational Aspects of Lemonade Stand:

• Counting Money
• Measuring and Mixing
• Socialization
• Creative Arts
• Persistance

Tweet

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!

Visit Your Local Library and Sign Up for a Library Card

 Sign Up for a Library Card

Parish, Herman.
Amelia Bedelia's First Library Card.
May 2013.
HarperCollins Publishers.

While this book may be a bit lengthy for the younger children, it perfectly explains what children can expect on their first visit to the library while signing up for a library card.  Not only does Amelia Bedelia learn the rules for visits to the library, she also learns how to treat a book properly and what to do when "accidents" happen.

After reading, make time to visit your local library - if you haven't done so yet, have your child(ren) sign up for their first library card and experience "checking out" a library book.  Be sure to look/ask for information about the children's programs at your local library!

Other Books to Share:

• Richard Wright and the Library Card by William Miller
• D.W.'s Library Card by Marc Brown
• Sam's First Library Card by Gail Herman

Educational Aspects of Visiting the Library:

• Book Appreciation
• Exploring Book Genres
• Socialization

Tweet

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!

Educational Summer Reading and Related Activities

It's been a LONG time since I've hit up the blogging scene, but I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things since I have a backlog of books to review!  It is my hope to post on week days a review for a book and a related activity to keep this summer full of reading and fun, educational activities.  Check back tomorrow, July 7, for the first in the Summer Reading and Activity series!









Tweet

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!

R is for Robots

Trying to get back in the swing of blogging for 2014... let's hope I am successful in posting at least once each week!

Fliess, Sue.

Robots, Robots Everywhere!

August 2013.

Random House Children's Books.

Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Children will quickly learn all of the ways that robots exist our lives today - in space, on farms, inside homes... this book about robots is sure to be a hit in a household or classroom with boys!

The colorful illustrations and simple rhyming text is easy to follow and allows for a quick read-aloud with lots of room for discussion!  I've already got plans to use this in my classroom with one little guy in particular who is constantly building robots out of anything and everything!

Pair Robots, Robots, Everywhere! with the following products and you've got a super gift that's sure to be a hit:

• ZOOB-Bot 50 Piece Building Set
• Eeboo Build a Robot Game

 


Tweet 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!

Transportation Gift Set for Toddlers

Know a transportation-loving toddler?  This combination of book and puzzle would make a great Christmas gift for the little one!

Biggs, Brian.

Everything Goes: Santa Goes Everywhere!

Balzer + Bray (An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers).

September 2013.

Review copy provided courtesy of publisher. 

$7.19

From Amazon.com: It's Christmas Eve, and Santa's doing something a little different this year. Instead of by sleigh, he and a reindeer pal travel by boat, plane, truck, train, and more, delivering presents to children around the world.

The book features bright, colorful illustrations that will attract the eye of young readers.  The book is ideal for young children (ages 1-4) who enjoy vehicles, as they are introduced in one-word fashion, one per page.  

Transportation Big Knob Wooden Puzzle
by Callie's Corner from Amazon.com
$10.50

Pair this big-knob wooden transportation puzzle with Biggs' Everything Goes: Santa Goes Everywhere! for a great gift combination.  Almost all of the means of transportation depicted in the book are represented in the puzzle (with the exception of a canoe and sailboat).





Tweet

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!

Thanksgiving Day Thanks

There's still time to share new Thanksgiving reading material!

Elliott, Laura Malone.
Thanksgiving Day Thanks.
August 2013.
HarperCollins Childrens.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Sam's class has been busy preparing a special feast to celebrate Thanksgiving.  As the rest of the class thinks about a special project and "thankful feather" to share during the feast, Sam feels as though he's faltering, and not sure what he's really "thankful" for.  However, as the festivity preparations continue and eventually take place, Sam's project is ruined.  However, with the help of his class, Sam discovers what it is that he's truly thankful for - the perfect thing to write on his feather to add to the class' yarn turkey. 

This book is a great way to introduce young children to the most basic details about Thanksgiving - how the holiday came to be and the reasons that it is still celebrated today.  There's still time - make sure to pick up a copy of your own while you're out finishing the shopping for your festivities!  You might even find a new tradition to begin in your family!




Tweet
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!

Guidecraft Educator Review/Giveaway Link: Barnyard Activity Boxes

I've really been slacking lately in the whole blogging and reviewing department... I'm making it part of my goal to get back on track, as I keep receiving lots of amazing products and books!  So, to start over...

Each month, the Guidecraft Educators share our honest feelings
about a Guidecraft product(s) and how these products would fare in an
early childhood classroom. This month's selection is from Guidecraft's Manipulatives line - Barnyard Activity Boxes.


From Guidecraft: Can you count them all? One red horse, two orange cows, three yellow sheep, four green pigs, five blue geese, and six purple chickens. But don’t forget the six barns as well. Our 28-piece set features six wooden barns and their corresponding farm animals to help with counting, sequencing, shape-sorting, color-matching and more! Each barn has the animal screened on one side; a shape-cutout on the opposite side; a barn door with child-friendly elastic hinges; and a color-coordinated Acrylic panel so children can see who lives inside each barn! A great combination of dramatic play and educational elements all wrapped up in one!

Our Thoughts: From the minute the Barnyard Activity Boxes found their way into the classroom until it was time to put them away for the day, children were mesmerized and wholly engaged in them!  In fact, the children moved so quickly to get to them, that I wasn't even able to get a picture of all of the barnyards together! 

The children used the barnyards in MANY different ways, but by far, the most popular was using the animals as puzzle pieces and inserting them through the cutouts on the sides!  This in particular, is great for increasing fine motor, eye-hand coordination and manipulating the pieces to make them fit. 

The barnyards also came in very useful in individualizing activities to meet the academic and learning needs of the children.  They foster a great deal of language usage (discussing numbers, animals, animal sounds, colors, etc).  I used the boxes with several children to practice counting (as we have many children who struggle counting past 1).  We also used our imagination and had a barnyard parade (creating patterns with the animals)! 

The Barnyard Activity Boxes are wonderful for (literally) hours of play and engagement and can be used in so many purposeful ways!  For the time being, they've found a home on our math manipulative shelf and are still being used daily!  They are well worth the investment!!!

So... what do other 'Guidecraft Educators' have to say about the Barnyard Activity Boxes?

Maureen at Simply Stacie
Andrea at MommyPR
Deborah at Teach Preschool
Carrie from Huppie Mama
Jody from Mommy Moment
Candace at Mamanista!
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 Barnyard Activity Boxes sets!!! To enter, head on over to MommyPR for details!

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

Barnyard Activity Boxes:  Guidecraft.com or Amazon.com

 

Tweet 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!

Guidecraft Educator Review/Giveaway: Texo Builders

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 is from a long-awaited new line by Guidecraft - Texo.

From Guidecraft:  TexoTM is the award-winning 3 dimensional design and construction system by architect, author and designer Lester Walker. The beauty of TexoTM is the variety of building systems found within one toy: simple puzzles, shape sorting and color matching at its most basic level, the system allows for a gradual progression to stacking the interconnected shapes and on to advanced architectural models such as bridges, houses, skyscrapers and more! Solid wood rods and planks coupled with the geometric precision of molded plastic connectors enhance the design and construction potential. Also included is a deluxe Activity Guide with how-to’s, commentary and step-by-step instructions on maximizing the potential of TexoTM. Ages 3+.

The TEXO builders were a HUGE hit in my classroom!  I broke them out during work time (a time when children have a choice about where they're going to "work," what they're going to "work" with and who they're going to "work" with and then have the opportunity to follow through with that plan with staff support).  Two children started out at the table with the TEXO builders, but the crowd quickly grew.  One child worked with a staff member to try and build a model from the activity book that was provided - that proved to be a little too difficult for her and she quickly moved on to her own creations.  Other children made simple representations - magic wands... this has been the biggest use so far.  However, as their little minds develop, I'm sure the structures will as well!

While the children were exploring, I too, was exploring!  Exploring how these could best benefit the children in my classroom.  Fine motor coordination was most prevalent in my mind!  Creative representation was also at the top of my list... along with the incorporation of literacy into the activity if children opt to take advantage of the activity guide with provides photos of structures that children can try and mimic as well as text that can be shared. 

My Thoughts: The TEXO builders provide for a variety of learning mediums to be explored - color, shape, creative representation from simple to complex.  This particular 100 piece set is ideal for a group of MAYBE 3-4 students... any more and things get a bit chaotic.  The wooden pieces are very sturdy and held up very well.  There are a few of the plastic "rod" pieces that are already breaking a bit at the ends.  That was a bit disappointing, but to be expected when being used by 4-year olds.  Overall, the TEXO builders are well worth investing in and will provide for many hours of enjoyment.

So... what do other 'Guidecraft Educators' have to say about the TEXO 100 pc Building Set?

Maureen at Simply Stacie
Andrea at MommyPR
Deborah at Teach Preschool
Carrie from Huppie Mama
Jody from Mommy Moment
Candace at Mamanista!
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 PowerClix sets!!! To enter, head on over to Pre-K Pages for details!

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

TEXO:  Guidecraft.com or Amazon.com

Tweet 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!