Saturday, May 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Easter Books
I forgot to go through our books and pull out some spring themed ones a couple of weeks ago. I am super proud of myself for pulling out Easter and rabbit/bunny books tonight.
Somewhere we have a Peter Cottontail book that I couldn't put my hands on just yet.
Somewhere we have a Peter Cottontail book that I couldn't put my hands on just yet.
Happy Easter, Maisy!
Written and Illustrated by Lucy Cousins
I bought this on clearance a year or two ago.
The illustrations are fun and it's one of our only books that specifically mentions Easter.
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrated by Clement Hurd
Classic and touching.
I am a Bunny by Ole Risom
Illustrated by Richard Scarry
Fun vintage/retro illustrations.
The Classic Tale of The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real
by Margery Williams
Illustrated by Michael Green
This is mine from when I was young. I still remember the store where it was bought. Love this story!
Tales of Peter Rabbit and His Friends
Written and Illustrated by Beatrix Potter
This is also mine from when I was young. According to an inscription in my mom's handwriting, it was bought for me in 1984. I loved, loved, loved this book!
I wish I could wake Ziggy up right now and read these books with him.
(I am so sorry for the poor quality of these images and the fact I did not link the books to Amazon!)
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wishlist Wednesday: Oriental Trading Company
Ok, ok, BPA, lead, plastic, and Made in China aside, these are the things I would buy right now from Oriental Trading Company to foster and facilitate in-home learning.
1. Tie-Dyed Beach Balls. These are available in both a regular ($11.00 per dozen) and a mini size ($6.50 per dozen). I see playing clothesline volleyball with these. I see these in a kiddie pool, with or without water. I think these could even work inside on a rainy day. They are available in other designs, but I'm a sucker for tie-dye and you could use them as inspiration for some cool marbleizing art.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
1. Tie-Dyed Beach Balls. These are available in both a regular ($11.00 per dozen) and a mini size ($6.50 per dozen). I see playing clothesline volleyball with these. I see these in a kiddie pool, with or without water. I think these could even work inside on a rainy day. They are available in other designs, but I'm a sucker for tie-dye and you could use them as inspiration for some cool marbleizing art.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
2. Alphabet Bean Bags. The entire alphabet on bean bags in pretty colors. So. Many. Ideas.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
3. Colorful Traffic Cones. Foot races, bikes races, and obstacle courses! You could practice listening skills as well ("Run to the red cone and then skip to the purple cone.")
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
4. Colored Masking Tape. Yeah, I'm not sure this is a good price for this ($25.50 for 10 rolls) and I don't know exactly what I would do with it, but I know it's cool. Really cool.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
5. Wood Beads. 600 beads (an entire pound of beads) for $6.25, and in such lovely colors! Sorting, tong transferring, math, stringing and lacing---the world is your bead oyster!
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
6. Buttons, buttons, buttons, buttons, and buttons. Rainbow, wooden, self-adhesive, shaped, and great big. So many buttons! Again, sorting, tong transferring, math, stringing, lacing, and arts and crafts. So many options!
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
7. Colored Clothespins. 50 colored clothespins for $5.25. These would be awesome for hanging children's art work and marking progress on a chore chart or a daily schedule. It would also be neat to use them for matching works and other materials you create.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
8. Pompoms. These rainbow pompoms (or their solid colored cousins) could be part of a sorting, math, or art activity. Fun!
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
9. Laces and Chenille Stems. Because you are going to need something for all this lacing and stringing I keep talking about.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
10. Watercolors. I believe in having high quality art materials for children, but it's nice to have something more affordable on hand for experiments and the like.
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
11. Letter Stampers. Available in uppercase and lowercase letters, these stampers have knobs that I imagine would work well for little hands. What a fun way to explore early literacy and make some unique art and gifts as well!
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| Courtesy of OrientalTrading.com |
12. Foam Shapes. These are available in lots of shapes including letters, fruit shapes, geometric shapes, and even sock monkeys! I've used these in the classroom and kids love these for sorting and math activities. Playing around with stickers is also a fun way to strengthen fine motor skills and create art.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lovely Learning Blogs
(Note: I originally published this at Green Moon Rising.)
1. Besides a terrific blog, Playful Learning, Mariah Bruehl offers workshops, e-courses, a book (which is awesome), and numerous other resources. I fell in love when I first saw the number jars activity. In fact, the entire Learning Experiences section is amazing.
2. Play at Home Mom is written by "a group of moms who have a firm belief in positive parenting and play based learning." I love submersible science and Bubble Boy.
3. Pink and Green Mama is written by a friend from college, MaryLea, who loves color and kids and putting the two together. You can't help but feel happy when reading this blog! I especially like the colored glue and watercolor leaves and milk carton weaving.
4. Before she was Sew Liberated, Meg McElwee was Montessori by Hand. The blog documents Meg's experience teaching in a Montessori classroom in Mexico. The photos of her early childhood students in their environment are inspiration for making your own Montessori environment a thing of beauty and peace.
5. A Reggio Emilia colleague first told me about Julianne Wurm. Sadly, Julianne hasn't updated her blog since March, but she has a resource page with templates for tracking projects and observations. These would be handy for a classroom teacher, homeschool teacher, or if you just want to geek out and formally observe your own kid.
6. Filth Wizardry features art and craft activities for children that encourage freedom, exploration, and mess. I like the DIY sand art lightbox, giant reclaimed wooden blocks, and the music wall.
7. The North American Montessori Center has a blog with lots of helpful info for Montessori teaching and homeschooling. Of course, I'm a bit biased because I have written for them in the past.
8. Another Reggio Emilia inspiration, Bambini Creativi showcases some pretty cool stuff. Watch Life as a Superhero! right now. You will want to grab the kids in your life and do your own version of this precious, precious activity. I had to scroll back an entire year (and a couple months) on a friend's Facebook wall to find this link. It's that good.
9. For Small Hands sells child-size items, toys, books, and Montessori resources. For example, you could purchase a child-size wooden drying rack for clothes or rags, a book about tidying up, or a peg loom. It's worth it to check out their partner site, Montessori Services, as well. You can register to receive merchandise rewards for your school based on a percentage of purchases made by parents and others. I use their products as ideas for things that I could be keeping an eye out for at thrift stores, dollar stores, etc. (When I Googled "small hands" to make sure I had the correct link and information, "small hands smell like cabbage" was automatically generated in the search box. Wha?!?)
10. Pinterest. Seriously, get on there. It's a wonderful way to catalog all of the ideas you find on blogs and websites that you want to remember for later and browsing Pinterest itself can provide tons of ideas and inspiration for parents and teachers alike. (When you do get on there, let me know and we can find each other.)
Please excuse the lack of photos. I had picked out beautiful photos from each of the sites and then realized I should really get permission first. That's the courtesy I would appreciate it if it were my photo. I'll be contacting each of the blog or site owners and hopefully will be adding photos later.
1. Besides a terrific blog, Playful Learning, Mariah Bruehl offers workshops, e-courses, a book (which is awesome), and numerous other resources. I fell in love when I first saw the number jars activity. In fact, the entire Learning Experiences section is amazing.
2. Play at Home Mom is written by "a group of moms who have a firm belief in positive parenting and play based learning." I love submersible science and Bubble Boy.
3. Pink and Green Mama is written by a friend from college, MaryLea, who loves color and kids and putting the two together. You can't help but feel happy when reading this blog! I especially like the colored glue and watercolor leaves and milk carton weaving.
4. Before she was Sew Liberated, Meg McElwee was Montessori by Hand. The blog documents Meg's experience teaching in a Montessori classroom in Mexico. The photos of her early childhood students in their environment are inspiration for making your own Montessori environment a thing of beauty and peace.
5. A Reggio Emilia colleague first told me about Julianne Wurm. Sadly, Julianne hasn't updated her blog since March, but she has a resource page with templates for tracking projects and observations. These would be handy for a classroom teacher, homeschool teacher, or if you just want to geek out and formally observe your own kid.
6. Filth Wizardry features art and craft activities for children that encourage freedom, exploration, and mess. I like the DIY sand art lightbox, giant reclaimed wooden blocks, and the music wall.
7. The North American Montessori Center has a blog with lots of helpful info for Montessori teaching and homeschooling. Of course, I'm a bit biased because I have written for them in the past.
8. Another Reggio Emilia inspiration, Bambini Creativi showcases some pretty cool stuff. Watch Life as a Superhero! right now. You will want to grab the kids in your life and do your own version of this precious, precious activity. I had to scroll back an entire year (and a couple months) on a friend's Facebook wall to find this link. It's that good.
9. For Small Hands sells child-size items, toys, books, and Montessori resources. For example, you could purchase a child-size wooden drying rack for clothes or rags, a book about tidying up, or a peg loom. It's worth it to check out their partner site, Montessori Services, as well. You can register to receive merchandise rewards for your school based on a percentage of purchases made by parents and others. I use their products as ideas for things that I could be keeping an eye out for at thrift stores, dollar stores, etc. (When I Googled "small hands" to make sure I had the correct link and information, "small hands smell like cabbage" was automatically generated in the search box. Wha?!?)
10. Pinterest. Seriously, get on there. It's a wonderful way to catalog all of the ideas you find on blogs and websites that you want to remember for later and browsing Pinterest itself can provide tons of ideas and inspiration for parents and teachers alike. (When you do get on there, let me know and we can find each other.)
Please excuse the lack of photos. I had picked out beautiful photos from each of the sites and then realized I should really get permission first. That's the courtesy I would appreciate it if it were my photo. I'll be contacting each of the blog or site owners and hopefully will be adding photos later.
Welcome!
Hello! Maybe you followed me here from my other blog, Green Moon Rising, or maybe you've found me some other way. Either way, thank you for reading Sneaky Fox Learning. Why an education blog? After several years of teaching in Montessori schools and Reggio Emilia inspired schools, both public and private, I thought it was time to put my knowledge to use outside the classroom. Why Sneaky Fox? One, I like foxes and two, my undergraduate mascot was a vixen (Holla, Holla, Sweet Briar!), and three, I thought a sneaky fox could represent the idea of "sneaking" learning into your every day activities. It doesn't have to be all flash cards and memorizing facts, folks! Hang out here and you'll see what I mean!
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