Dancing to Nursery Rhymes

Every month we get the Mother Goose Time add on of dance n' beats.  It's a dance DVD with choreographed songs from the monthly theme.  It also comes with a song book and additional ideas for crafts, games, extended learning, etc.  Elli loves the dance n' beats DVD.  It is her favorite add on that Mother Goose Time offers.  

The basic Mother Goose Time curriculum keeps us pretty busy, so  I very rarely use the dance n' beats book.  The DVD is great to pop in when I'm trying to cook or clean up.  Elli loves to dance and this is an easy way to keep her busy.

Character Rhymes

This week with Mother Goose Time has focused on character rhymes:  Humpty Dumpty, There was a Crooked Man, Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Hey Diddle Diddle and Old King Cole.  

The girls did lots of literacy work this week.  Addie read the I Can Read book to Elli, while Elli worked on finding the sight words in the book.  They did some pages in the my little journals, looked at letter cards to determine which ones were straight versus crooked, used wikki sticks to make straight and crooked letters, and also used the shape stamp from this months box while writing post cards.  They played a game where they would roll the cube and then jump over the letter that matched the cube card or sound.  Elli also played a game where she would find a picture that matched the sound she rolled on the cube and stick it to her tape spider web.

Elli used the shape beads, one of the manipulatives in this months box, on the shape creation mats.  She also used them to make different shapes in play dough.

Every monthly box comes with a new cardboard puzzle.  Elli loves doing these.

We talked about finding the shortest distance between two places.  

And of course the girls made lots of art.  Spider web pictures, wire sculptures, broken egg pictures, crowns, and spoon men.  Next week will focus on food rhymes. 

The Wise and Foolish Builders

 This months Experience God add on pack from Mother Goose Time focused on the parable of the wise and foolish builder.  Each month comes with a lesson plan book, memory verse poster, and storytelling cards.  The lessons can be done daily, or split into 4 once a week lessons.  

The girls liked making the Jesus is the rock craft the most this month.  I even let Elli use the hot glue gun herself, with lots of supervision.  Regular glue was just not working for this one.

What's in the Box for March

 Mother Goose Time picks a new theme every month.  March is at the pond.  In each box you get a teacher guide, planning journal, gathering list, theme web, CD, shape stamp, and manipulatives.  The manipulatives for this month are green and yellow ducks and a magnifying glass.  

Each box also comes with a theme poster, color wand, calendar, circle time songs, letter cards, cookie cutters, number fish, cloud shape, and gosling.  

The celebration pack for this month is for St. Patrick's Day.  It includes a complete lesson plan with games, crafts, and even snack ideas.

For week one we'll be learning about life around the pond:  turtle, snake, tadpole, frog, and duck.

Week two covers pond plants:  submerged plants, bog plants, emergent plants, floating plants and algae.  

Week three is all about pond insects:  dragonfly, mosquito, water strider, mayfly and the backswimmer.

For the last week we'll learn about life at the pond:  snail, crayfish, lizard, alligator and fish.  I love how easy Mother Goose Time makes it to stay organized.  All 20 days come in their own bag with all the little extras needed to complete the lessons.  We're having a lot of fun this month with nursery rhymes, but I know the girls are excited to learn about ponds. 

Manipulative Giveaway!

Mother Goose Time is sponsoring a manipulative giveaway this week through their blog ambassadors.  Every monthly box from Mother Goose Time comes with two new manipulatives.  The manipulatives are used through out the month to help enhance the lessons.  They are the first things that my three year old digs out of the box every month.  She can't wait to see what new goodies we get.  Since we've been using Mother Goose Time for two years we've amassed quite a bunch of these.  The kids favorites are kept in a basket in the living room, and they get played with quite a bit. 

Some times the box comes with lacing beads, which are great for fine motor practice.

Other months we get shapes, counting cubes, geo boards, and other math based items.  

A lot of the months come with some sort of counter.  The animals are the girls favorites, but we've also received trucks, boats, food, etc.

And every once in awhile you get something completely different, like stamps, stacking games, magnet boards, etc.

The manipulatives make learning more hands on, and fun.  

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY

 This giveaway will be open from 2/13/17- 2/20/17. Prizes will be fulfilled by Mother Goose Time. Must be 18 years or older to enter to win, and a resident of the USA. Failure to claim prize within 48 hours will result in forfeiture.  Void where prohibited by law.

Entry-Form
Follow the Mother Goose Time blog links below for more chances to win.

Valentine's Day

Every monthly box from Mother Goose Time includes a celebration pack.  This moths pack was for Valentine's Day.  

We read the Prince's Valentine, and the girls used the story telling set to retell it.

The girls made their own heart headbands.

I hid heart puzzle pieces around the house.  The girls found them all and then worked together to put them together.

We talked about ways to make your heart healthy.  The girls played a game where they would throw a cube onto the poster and then complete the exercise listed.

They also made valentines cards for their friends.