Birds, Fish and Rabbits

We finished up our week of pets by learning about birds, fish and rabbits.  

Every monthly box from Mother Goose Time comes with a new I Can Read book.  These are great beginner readers.  Elli used the sight word pointers to find the words in the book.  Every month focuses on new sight words.  Sometimes she gets frustrated because she can't read like her older sister, but she loves that she can identify sight words in these books.  They're a great confidence booster.  Mother Goose Time also sends a new My Little Journal every month, which is another great tool for increasing literacy and practicing handwriting.  Elli really likes working in these books.  One of the letters of the month is T.  Elli used the included popsicle sticks to practise making the letter T using the monthly letter cards.  

Elli also did some math work by counting feathers, and then by trying to blow them onto the monthly number card.

The crafts are always one of Elli's favorite things.  She loves making the make and play items and using them throughout the day (and sometimes even months later).  The invitations to create have been a big hit with both my girls.  They love using the materials to come up with their own ideas.  They really enjoy the process of making art and it's fun seeing what they come up with.

 We talked about fresh water versus salt water and the kinds of fish that live in each.  Elli decided that the salt water was no good to drink.

We also did the would you rather cards.  I would read a card to Elli, such as would you rather have ears like a dog, rabbit or cat, and then she would pick her answer.  Some of these cards led to funny discussions.  

We played go fish with salt and fresh water cards.  We used them same cards to play a matching game.

Elli also had fun "fishing" for popsicle stick fish.  

There was also lots of dancing to the dance n' beats DVD that we get as an add on every month.

Dogs and Cats

This week we started our third week with Mother Goose Time's me and my family theme.  This time it's all about pets.  We spent the first 2 days learning about dogs and cats.

We reread the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Lonely Wolf.  Included in the day bag for dogs was a very sturdy puzzle with a picture from the book.  Elli loves puzzles, so this was especially fun for her.

The girls made dog shakers filed with rice.  We listened to music while they shook them to the beat.

Elli has really been enjoying the invitations to create, which are new this month.  She used the included supplies to make her own cat picture.  

The girls worked together to give their stuffed animals check-ups.  They both love playing veterinarian, and actually play this all the time. 

We talked about how cats lick to clean themselves and also to drink and eat.  We mixed up fruit and yogurt in the blender and then froze it in cups with a stick, perfect for licking.

Elli collected different colored nature items outside.  I placed them in a paper towel and then she smashed it with a rock.  When she was done we opened it to see what colors were left behind.

We playd the included cat and rat game.  Elli and I took turns rolling a dice and moving the right number of spaces.  We each had a card with words and would cover the word that started with the same letter that we landed on.  This was a good way to get Elli used to recognizing letters.

Elli had so much fun playing cat and rat that I brought out a game we have, Feed the Kitty.  She did really well with taking turns and we worked on counting out the wooden mice.  We'll finish up the week with fish, birds, and rabbits.