Kid Crafts - Perler Beads!
There are tons of reasons to fill your house with crafts. Maybe it’s cold and wet outside. Maybe your kid is sick or has an injury. Maybe you just want them to have something to do that isn’t playing video games or watching TV!
SO you go to Michael’s Craft Store. You are all immediately overwhelmed with choice.
Do we want to make our own slime? Do we want to try out friendship bracelets? Are the kids too old for the science experiments, too young for the yarn projects?
Are these just going to end up as tiny, sticky bits of trash all over my living room?
These are all fair questions. Craft projects can be their own sources of anxiety! (Read our blog post all about Messy Science with Kids HERE) It is also hard to know exactly where to start. ESPECIALLY with something like
PERLER BEADS.
Perler beads are colorful beads with holes through them that are used to make mosaic style art pieces. You use flat pegboards of various sizes and styles depending on what you are planning on making. Once the design is made, you place a piece of wax paper over it and carefully iron it on medium heat until the beads have melted into each other firmly. I suggest also ironing the other side once you have removed the design from the pegboard, but it is not required.
Some Cons:
>You really have to do an entire project in one sitting. Leaving perler beads half done on a pegboard is not like leaving an unfinished puzzle. The slightest rumble can send them scattering which can be really frustrating.
> This isn’t really a con! It’s just something you need to know. Even at ages 5 and 7, this is not something my kids can do without supervision. It is definitely a family activity that you actively participate in. Once they learn to follow a pattern and how to fix mistakes, you can all work on your own designs together! But they will still need your help with the iron for a long time.
> The ironing is tricky: The beads can come up if you press too hard on one part. If the design gets messed up in this process it is really hard to “fix” it. Most of the time you just have to start over. Once you figure out how much heat, pressure, and time your designs need this can become a lot easier.
> The beads get everywhere. It’s just a fact. We have been pretty good about cleaning up, and this is a good lesson for your kids to be responsible with their crafts and big clean-up helpers, but colors get mixed, boxes get knocked over. I suggest doing it on the floor if you can.
Our Verdict: This Craft Medium is Fun, Clever, Thoughtful, Versatile, Timeless.
They are incredibly versatile in what you can make and you can buy as much or as little of them as you want. They are not sticky and do not go bad! If you are a beginner, there are templates for designs as simple as stars, hearts, and generic animals, or as complex as highly detailed portraits and star ships! There are perler sets for nearly any fandom your kid (or you!) participates in, including Mario Bros., Star Wars, and Minecraft!
Once we tried out a kit and decided this was really fun, we began making our own designs! My daughter decided to try out making a unicorn, and my son made his own little heart shape. You can also find plenty of designs for anything you like on artistic sites like Pinterest, where we found all of these! Once you get a feel for them, it becomes fairly simple to create your own designs.
You aren’t just making more plastic toys to clutter your house. I mean, in a sense you are, but they are so much more than that. They are something that you created together. So many toys right now are made to engage the “unboxing” excitement in kids. It’s all about the initial thrill of GETTING the toy or collectible, then it’s immediately old news.
On a sick day from school, my son and I made his favorite characters. They are a staple in the household right now. They are waterproof so they even go in the bathtub! They eat at dinner with us, we talk for them, they get a movie pick in our movie night rotation. They mean so much to us, and I think it is in no small part because we worked together to create them.
The more creative you get, the more you can do!
We have made necklace charms for my daughter’s friends. We have made Valentines to mail to friends far away. You can make key chains, name tags, picture frames, 3D figures, flower pots (with perler flowers!).
The Crafts Can Be Used In Active Games: We made an entire afternoon’s fun in the form of a Minecraft Item Scavenger Hunt! The kids had to follow clues, do mini games, and complete an obstacle course to get their proper Minecraft tools and weapons. At the end, even the PRIZE they earned for solving all the riddles was an egg made from Perler beads! It took a lot of planning and crafting, but I got to do something special with the kids and it didn’t cost anything more than the craft pieces I already had.
Have you tried these yet? If so, let us know what you’ve made in the comments!
Night Walks:Activities for Autumn
Despite the ninety degree temps we all know that the days are getting shorter and shorter! Pretty soon it’ll be dark before our littles’ bedtimes.
Whether or not you have the ever-present battle against screens in your household, it can be hard to decide what to do with your evenings, especially when adding in dinner, bath time, bed routines, and finding time for yourself to decompress.
An easy breezy add to your weeknight is a brief Night-Time Walk together! These do not require much prep, can involve kiddos of any age, and can span any amount of time you need.
Optional Materials: Binoculars, Paper, Coloring Implements, Compass, Flashlights
FOR CLEAR SKIES
Creating your own constellations: Much like looking for shapes in clouds, you can look up at the stars on a walk and ask your kids if they see any shapes! Tell your own stories about the shapes they see.
Learning the constellations: older kids may be interested in constellations and the stories they tell! You can pair this with one of these amazing constellation story books!
Moon Phase Journal: We talk about this a lot, but by having your child do observational drawings of the moon as it changes, it helps your child begin processing how time passes long term. If you do the observations from the same spot, your child will also see how the moon moves around the sky based on the seasons!
Bonus: Help them learn how to use a compass when finding the moon, the planets, and the stars so that they can begin to learn basic parts of navigation!
Autumnal Celestial Events:
Sea and Sky Events 2023 has all of the upcoming celestial events in the night sky. We will list a few of the best ones below.
September 23 - September Equinox. The September equinox occurs at 06:43 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.
September 29 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 09:59 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Corn Moon because the corn is harvested around this time of year. This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year. This is also the last of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
*EARLY EVENING* October 8, 9 - Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the the 8th and morning of the 9th. The second quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn't interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
October 28 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 20:25 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon.
October 28 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
For cloudy nights
Weather Journal: During a lovely evening walk together you can discuss the weather! What do the clouds look like? Who thinks it’s going to rain? Is there wind? How does the outside feel at night versus during the day? What kinds of animals are we hearing and seeing? Afterwards, you could have kids do a brief journal entry. Kids can do observational drawings, write questions, and create graphs to see what kind of weather shows up the most in a week/month/year!
“Night Sounds and Sights” Scavenger Hunt:
Night Bird Sound
Rustling of Leaves
Crickets (or other night bug sounds)
A Bright Star: Planet or Star?
The Moon: What phase is it?
Autumn Leaves in multiple colors
Moth
An Evergreen Tree: Bonus - can you smell it?
A Flickering Streetlight
A Stop Sign — Did you notice anything interesting about this sign? (point out how it’s reflective so it’s visible in the dark)
September 13 - Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day
SEPTEMBER 13TH IS “KIDS TAKE OVER THE KITCHEN DAY”
In our Screenless Activities: Quick Recipes blog post, we discussed how beneficial it is to cook with your kids, and how uncomplicated it has to be. There are A TON of lovely children’s books that even have recipes! A good example is on the READ ALOUD section of our Common Ground Youtube Channel. Blue’s Clues Read Aloud: Blue Makes Breakfast. (We will have a list of Teacher Recommended books about food with recipes at the bottom of this blog! Don’t forget to scroll down!)
There is nothing more bolstering to a child, more comforting, more healthy, than quality time with you.
In our busy lives, this can feel hard to come by. We spend A LOT of time with our children! With school, extracurriculars, work, and finding time to breathe on our own, this can feel daunting. But Conscious Discipline says that even FIVE MINUTES of undivided attention a day can make all the difference in the world.
NAEYC has an incredible list of Quality Time Tips for Meaningful Days that basically boils down to: Noticing the positive, expressing affection, special rituals for daily quality time, letting them choose your activities, and putting technology away so your attention is only on each other. Utilize this CELLPHONE PARKING in your home for meals, games, books, walks with your family.
One of the tips is to take the time to EAT with your child! Does this sound stressful because of a picky-eater? You can give them some of the power they crave in that interaction by allowing them to COOK/PREPARE DINNER with you.
Provide them choices that give them power, but are within parameters you set. If they are not fans of vegetables, give them an option of vegetables to choose from and cook. “Would you like to cook broccoli, carrots, or snow peas tonight with dinner?” “Do you want to make the bbq chicken or the meatloaf?” “Which fruit from these options could go with what you have chosen?”
It is going to take them longer, and there will be more mess. We are constantly in the current of busy-ness. Cooking may feel like it takes forever already without a kid taking forever to break an egg (INTO the bowl… with the shells… and now it’s all over their fingers…) and spilling flour all over the place. This is how they learn. Think of every shaky letter and number they’ve ever drawn that you cheered over, and cheer over their stirring, their sifting, their pouring in the same way. Maybe they never develop a true passion for cooking… but they will learn to love learning. They will know that you are their champion, and that you support their process every step of the way. *Bonus* You can teach them how to clean up their messes, and give them more responsibility!!
They may not be interested, They may not want to try the food, et cetera. This is okay! Invite them to join you, allow them to “parallel play” if they want to be in the kitchen, but not engaging. Explain what you are doing step by step. These kinds of activities almost never go as planned, and sometimes do not go as well as you hope. The point is that quality time, that expression of patience. Still give them choices over what you make, still offer them the chance in the future. Teaching them that they have autonomy and how to express their choices with strength and kindness is also an incredible lesson.
Mistakes are Science. Does your kid want to use baking powder instead of baking soda or vice versa? cut the batter in half and let them try both. Do they want to double the amount of sugar? Do they want to try to add something odd to the sauce? Our instincts are to immediately say no. Treat moments like this like improv: “Yes, and-” is your friend here. OBVIOUSLY keep them safe, don’t let them play with boiling water or eat raw chicken. But letting them have a little leeway for experimentation, especially if it’s just this one day, or once in awhile, is a positive experience.
Cooking is a chance to tell Family Stories. Family Recipes are often inextricably tied to Family Traditions and happy holiday memories. There are recipes with cultural and religious significances that tie important lessons to a tangible experience. Cooking can be a history lesson! Connect your digital-native child to their great-great-great grandfather who kept their master-chef recipes written in a water-logged journal. Humans have changed between generations… but everybody has to eat.
There are a ton of poignant children’s stories with recipes in them.
We use a lot of them in the Creative Curriculum too! See below:
Peeny Butter Fudge by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison. There is no one like Nana in the whole wide world. She is the best. Nana knows how to take an ordinary afternoon and make it extra special! Nap time, story time, and playtime are transformed by fairies, dragons, dancing, and pretending -- and then mixing and fixing yummy, yummy fudge just like Nana and Mommy did not so many years ago....
Every Color Soup by Jorey Hurley. All you need is a pot, a spoon, an adult helper, and vegetables of many colors to make a very special soup—Every Color Soup! Learn colors and vegetable names in this bright and colorful picture book with minimal text perfect for the beginning reader. Jorey Hurley’s bright, graphic art and simple text make this vibrant book a perfect read-aloud for budding cooks and their families. This lively picture book also comes with a recipe!
Apple Sauce Day by Lisa Amstutz. Applesauce Day is here! Maria and her family visit an apple orchard and pick apples. Then it's time to turn the apples into applesauce. Every year they use a special pot that has been in the family for generations. Follow along as everyone helps to make delicious applesauce.
Kalamata’s Kitchen by Sarah Thomas. This book does not have recipes, but encourages trying new things and experiencing foods from around the world! Tomorrow is Kalamata's first day at a new school, and she's nervous! What if the kids aren't friendly? Or worse, what if they don't like alligators!? If only Kalamata and Al Dente could go to back to the Indian spice market they visited this summer, then maybe she'd remember how to feel brave when new experiences seem scary.
The Empanadas that Abuela Made by Diane Gonzalez Bertrand. A whimsical look at the making of empanadas serves up the festive fun of a family’s effort to concoct the delicious pastries, with an easy empanada recipe included.
Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Gilmore. Cora loves being in the kitchen, but she always gets stuck doing the kid jobs like licking the spoon. One day, however, when her older sisters and brother head out, Cora finally gets the chance to be Mama's assistant chef. And of all the delicious Filipino dishes that dance through Cora's head, she and Mama decide to make pancit, her favorite noodle dish.
Bee Bim Bop! by Linda Park. A Korean American girl celebrates food and family in this cheerful book about cooking a special meal by Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park.
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story By Kevin Maillard. Fry Bread is elegantly written with lovingly rendered pictures that evoke family and love on every page. It’s all about cooking to be connected to the past while moving forward together.
Star Wars: Galactic Baking. These are NOT PICTURE BOOKS. They do not have a story! But any Star Wars Cookbooks that you can get your hands on are so fun, silly, weird, and worthwhile. Star Wars is loved by so many people young and old, and it is such a fun way to connect responsibility and learning to ADVENTURE and IMAGINATION STATION.
Sesame Street Let’s Cook! These are also not picture books, but they are an EXCELLENT introduction to cooking for young chefs.
PLEASE share your experiences, your stories, and, most importantly, YOUR RECIPES with us! We will share more recipes on our social media leading up to September 13th. We would love to someday build a Common Ground Cookbook from our BIG, SHARED COMMON GROUND FAMILY.
Love Love Love,
Your CG Chefs
April 22nd is Earth Day - Things to do with your Kids
FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND IS EARTH DAY AND WE ARE SUPER EXCITED TO LEARN ALL WE CAN WITH YOUR KIDS!
What is Earth Day? I Earth Day Videos for Kids I Our Earth Day Post 2021
A lot of our classrooms have done Creative Curriculum Units, like Trees and Recycling, about protecting their planet. They have learned poems about The Litter Monster and read books on all the wonderful things trees do to keep our planet healthy and safe. Even in the Busy Bees’ Space Unit, they cover that Earth is our little blue dot in the vast expanse of the universe, and the only known one to hold life!
In celebration of Earth Day, rather than focusing everything on the one day, we have provided a month’s worth of activities, songs, and experiments to awaken curiosity and excitement for the subject from a bunch of different avenues!
World Wildlife Fund Activities and Presentations
Millions of Monarchs: A Journey Through The Monarch Butterfly’s Winter Home
Court Whelan, Natural Habitat Adventures
April 26, 2022
1pm ET | 10am PT Register now and download the supplemental material pack for pre- and post- activities.
Recommended for grade levels: 2-6Plant a pollinator garden
Interested in a hands-on project that supports pollinators? Use your green thumb and our Pollinator Garden Guide to create a garden of wildflowers at school, in your community, or at home. Learners can track the garden’s progress (and its visitors!) with the included wildflower science journal.
As part of the One Square Foot campaign, Air Wick and WWF are giving out free native wildflower seeds suitable for your region. Visit the Air Wick page to get your free seeds and learn more.Discover the Northern Great Plains
Teach about ecosystems and the impacts of human activity through the lens of one of the last remaining healthy temperate grasslands in the world using lessons from our Grasslands of the Northern Great Plains Content Pack.Just added! An activity book with fun printable puzzles and easy-to-read infographics on pollinators, wildflowers, and grasslands.
Some Excellent Teachers Pay Teachers Activities: We know it seems a little counterintuitive to print a bunch of activities out on paper for your kids… but these are really fun and simple. You can do math activities, language art activities, art activities, anything that interests you!
Science Experiments for Earth Day: We are so excited for these we may do some of them at school! But if you’re looking for a “non-screen” activity to do with your kids, these are excellent options.
Fun Songs to Sing Together — Have an Earth Day Dance Party!!!
Excellent Books to Share Together
What kinds of songs, books, and activities do you have? Do you all do a family clean-up day, or daily activities to help the Earth out? We would love to hear from you! If we all share and learn together, we can do incredible things.
All The Earth is a Garden! Let’s grow together.
LJ and your CG Family
Screenless Activities - Springtime Fun
It is finally Spring! The days are (mostly) warmer, and our evenings are more filled with light!
Our busy lives can still make creative moments with our children challenging. Trust us when we say we understand the impulse to hand over the tv remote or the iPad so you can get the dishes done or one last load of laundry into the dryer (we didn’t say ANYTHING about folding it. That’s over the top).
We had a lot of fun with our Simple Recipes for Kids blog, so we wanted to give you some more screen-less activities to do with your kids. None of us are the perfect #PinterestParent, so we kept them simple and (mostly) pre-planning free! You can use stuff you have around the house and the local environment.
Spring Time Origami - Spring Time can be beautiful… but it can also be rainy. Sometimes getting OUT and ABOUT just isn’t possible! Here are some fun folding crafts that can lead to imaginative play and don’t involve a big crafty mess. (Unless you want to paint them, put glitter on them, attach googly eyes, etc. Be as intensive as you like once the animals are finished)
How to fold your own Frog : The timeline for Spring in Reston is defined by amphibians! In Walker Nature Center’s spring update they talk all about vernal pools and their necessity to the survival of tadpoles. They also talk about when you can hear and see certain amphibian species throughout the season. Fold your own froggies and create your own little habitat right in your living room!
How to fold your own Rabbit (Whole Body) (Head): Rabbits are a spring icon! You could make whole rabbits, you could make rabbit heads and use them as book marks, you could set up a whole spring scene or do a play with the fox puppets below. While you’re at it, check out some amazing National Geographic rabbit facts here!
How to fold your own Tulip: One of the quintessential spring flowers for any garden, the tulip is known for its wide variety of colors and dazzling beauty! You could create your own garden without the requirement of a green thumb. You can find tulip facts here!
How to fold your own Fox (Whole Body) (Head): Reston is FILLED with foxes. Fox kits are born in the spring, usually in March or April, and you'll see them emerge from the den four or five weeks after birth. Read more about foxes HERE.
How to fold your own Butterfly or Water Bomb
Moon and Stars Journal: This is one of my favorite ideas for the spring. You do not need a fancy telescope or binoculars to find Spring Constellations. Look at the pictures of them and see if you can find them in the sky! Find an open field or go on a night walk. You can also track the moon phases together! Once you’re done observing, either make some drawings by flashlight outside, or do them right from the window of your house! (We do it from our back balcony.) They do not have to be perfect, this is all about enjoying the night sky together… but you would be surprised at what your children retain.
Spring Scavenger Hunt: Find these things out in the wilderness! You do not have to collect them, just enjoy them.
A blooming flower
The sound of a frog
A bird’s nest with eggs (don’t touch!!!)
A honeybee
Three different bird calls.
A cherry blossom tree (See if you can incorporate the bridge by Lake Anne. It’s incredible)
A lightning bug (late spring)
Tadpoles (any vernal pool!)
A Fox Den
Add your own
Do you have Spring traditions? Share them with us in the comments! We love finding new and exciting things to do, especially if they can be done spur of the moment.
Love Love Love,
LJ and your CG Family
Screenless Activities - Quick Recipes
Your kid is a font of good ideas. They want to make dragon trains and have princess dance parties. They want to turn the living room into a Hotwheels rainforest! They want to cook a three-tiered cake to celebrate Wednesday! If only we could see the world through their eyes…
But you’re tired! Work is long and Covid is never ending. There are dishes to be done and laundry to fold. It can feel like it takes a huge effort to switch directions into the creative realm.
My advice to you: Do it anyway, keep it simple.
You don’t have to turn your whole house into a sprawling city scape to play Taxi like they did in Bluey, but you can pull the chairs around and put on “city noises” with youtube. (I did say screen-less… but I think we can make exceptions for excellent ambient noise apps).
You don’t have to put on full costumes for a dance party! You could just only dance a certain way if you’re a certain character/princess.
I WILL WRITE MORE ON SIMPLE DANCE PARTIES AND IMAGINATION GAMES IN A LATER POST! For this entrty I’m going to focus on one thing, and it’s because my little Imagination Rockstars have been a little obsessed with it…
Baking on a School Night.
I know. I picture it too.
Sticky bowls. Flour on the floor. Every one of our measuring spoons eventually hits the floor, and they all just end up tossed into the batter bowl.
But before you say no, think about what baking offers your child and you.
Measuring out ingredients is good for several different math essentials from number sense to subitization to fractions.
Helping in the kitchen gives them a sense of independence. It offers confidence that they are being entrusted with real tools, not toys. It gives them a chance to feel like they are contributing. Being natural helpers, this is an enriching experience for them emotionally.
Baking and cooking give the child an opportunity to experiment. Little failures with you help them become more familiar with failure as an essential part of the learning process rather than something to be feared.
You get a chance to be with them, doing something fun, no distractions. This is an incredible boost to your relationship and the trust you share. It also may help you feel enriched and emotionally boosted, because who doesn’t like licking a batter spoon? At the end of the day flour and milk are pretty easy to clean up. Having giggles and belly laughs can turn a whole day around.
All this being said, you don’t have to bake a three-tiered cake.
Simple recipes that do not take four hours to complete are key. I like to use the Star Wars Cookbooks for kids! They also have Harry Potter cookbooks, Sesame Street Cookbooks, and countless online resources for parents like who you have gone through the process.
Rice Krispies Treats: We LOVE cooking rice krispies treats at the center with our students. They are easy, fun, and full of mostly shelf-stable ingredients. They are also super easy to modify for allergies. You can cut them in any shape you like. They can be multicolored. You can BUILD with them! The possibilities are endless, and the clean-up is quick.
Banana Bread: Everyone has a fantastic banana bread recipe. We included “Big Bird’s Banana Bread” recipe because it was specifically designed with little hands in mind. It’s yummy, healthy, and perfect for breakfast and snacks!
Frozen Yogurt Bites: These are so cool because you really can’t go wrong with flavors. Fruit and Yogurt are foods for all ages, so an older sibling can make a scrumptious treat FOR a younger sibling. Silicone baking molds come in all sorts of shapes from robots to unicorns, so you can have “themed tea parties” with your frozen treats on the side!
Mug Cakes: Full disclosure, we make these in my house all the time. They’re quick, simple, and small, perfect for a little sweet bedtime bite while we read. If you are totally out of energy but still want to do something a little extra sweet with your littles, this one “takes the cake.”
No Bake Cookie Dough Balls: All the fun of making cookie dough without any of the worry about raw ingredients or messing with the oven! This is one example of a really great recipe that accommodates allergies and has healthy ingredients for growing bellies.
We are not always the parents we want to be, all patience and creativity. But you are amazing. All of you. Just as you are. At the end of the day, you’re not going to remember spotless counters. You’re going to remember the first time they cracked an egg. You’re going to remember when you mixed up baking flour and baking soda and laughed at the result. And they’re going to remember that even on a cold, rainy Tuesday, you all found a little magic together before bedtime.
Do you have recipes you and your families use when baking with kids? We would love to see them! Share them in the comments.
With love (and plenty of baking disaster stories!)
LJ and your Common Ground Family
Holidays in Covid: Keep The Spirit Despite Quarantine
*PLEASE NOTE: we will be adding more items all week long! Check for updates!*
Home for the Holidays is not such a jolly thought when it’s because of Quarantine.
That’s where so many of us find ourselves right now. With 569 new cases in Fairfax County just today (Fairfax County Health Dept. Dashboard), there are a ton of families in our community who will not be traveling to see loved ones for Christmas.
So what do you do to help maintain the Christmas Spirit if you are stuck in quarantine? Ms. Victoria and I (Ms. LJ) have been there before, and are in that situation now, and we thought we would help you get some good ideas.
Holiday Stories: You could go totally screen-less for most of our activity suggestions below, or you could have holiday specials playing in the background! But my personal recommendation will always be BOOKS AND STORIES.
Audible books has a ton of kid-friendly holiday audio dramas and read-alouds. It really puts me in a festive mood to share favorite stories with the littles.
Do you have family that you would like to visit, but you are playing it safe? You can read over zoom. Read stories to each other! Do this nightly! You could read a chapter book and parse them out chapter by chapter until the end of the year! During the day you could talk about what might happen next, send theories to each other, or just talk about your favorite part. We did this with my friend and her kids last year and the kids got to pick out picture books for each other. It was just one more gift they could give to their friends, and it made them feel like they were together even when they were apart.
We have a WHOLE SERIES of Read-Alouds! They are available HERE on our website and on our YouTube Channel! We also have a HOLIDAY PLAYLIST where we will be adding more videos!
Caroling: Spread is limited outdoors, and it is easy to socially distance. You can go to your friends’ and family’s houses and sing your favorite Christmas songs to them on your sidewalk! Sidebar: We do not advise singing together with a group that isn’t quarantined with you, even outside. You expectorate far more when singing! We advise singing to a group at least ten feet away.
CARDBOARD CRAFTS:
We know you’ve ordered just a ton of stuff from the internet for the holidays… right? No? Just us? Well if you’re like us, There’s definitely plenty of cardboard to go nuts with. When we were stuck in quarantine, we built a very interesting space ship… It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be jolly!
Do you not have enough to make a whole house? Make a mini gingerbread cardboard village! Everyone cuts and decorates their own house and can cut out little cardboard people, animals, furniture, space ships… this is something that could take up literal hours.
Holiday Recipes and Foodie Crafts:
Holiday Activities and Crafts:
Print-Outs: Sometimes a relaxing activity on a cold day can be as easy as coloring with hot cocoa. I’m serious! Sometimes we as parents think memories have to involve HUGE EVENTS. My daughter’s favorite thing is to color together with no distractions. Put on Christmas music, get out the colored pencils, make some hot cocoa, and just get goofy with it. Click the links we have to get print outs, or just google your own! Holiday Print Outs
Advanced: If your kid is a little older, use a little journal or even some stapled together pieces of paper to make your OWN. HOLIDAY. STORY. Write your family’s next classic! This activity is fun for the whole family, allows your school-ager to practice writing and drawing, and can be a real laugh riot.
CLICK HERE for a little book creation pdf!
Here’s a MINI BOOK creation PDF and instructions!
Holiday Themed Dance Party: I am so not kidding when I say that “dancing it out” helps drive away the darkness. Studies have shown that dancing helps with anxiety and depression. It boosts mood and memory, which is perfect for making new holiday traditions!
Maybe you feel like pretending you’re on stage during The Nutcracker.
Holiday Scavenger Hunts: Do you have local family that’s in the area that you can’t visit because one of you is in quarantine? That really stinks… and it’s hard. BUT there is something you can do to show that you’re around.
Chalk games:
Write loving messages on their walkway! Have them do the same for you
Write HOLIDAY RIDDLES THEY HAVE TO SOLVE BY THE END OF THE EVENING!
Draw a little game they have to play outside like hopscotch or floor is lava or dance party! If they’re little kids it doesn’t have to be too complicated, just have spaces where they HAVE to run like a reindeer or play “don’t see Santa!” freeze dance.
Write each other up a “holiday nature walk” scavenger hunt! Possible things that could go on your list:
A snowman light up structure
A unique/whacky inflatable
A singing house
A bit of frost on the ground
A wreath made of real foliage
A real Deer
A Santa Claus
People singing live music
Birdsong
A Winter Constellation, like Orion’s Belt
A moon in a particular phase
An Evergreen Tree
A squirrel/Chipmunk
Holiday Drive-Thru Lights: Ms. Victoria is a HOLIDAY LIGHT GURU. We are going to provide links for a couple of official set-ups you can buy tickets to, but we will also have QR codes available that will take you on an amazing round trip through some spectacular light shows in your area free of charge!! Make sure you go to the bathroom, pack your favorite snacks, and have some music queued up for the radio (scroll up for links to neat music playlists on spotify).
Curious? -- Little Caesar's Pizza Kit Review!!
WE ARE DOING A FUNDRAISER FOR DELICIOUS LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA KITS UNTIL JULY 7TH AND THE REVIEWS ARE IN!!
Are you intrigued about getting these for your next movie night, but unsure if your kids would be interested? Well GOOD NEWS!! One of our Rising Stars families came back with a STELLAR REVIEW about the “build your own mini pizza kit” and I think the pictures speak for themselves…
These are easy peasy for toddlers to participate with. They cook up really nicely, they are easily shared, and did you know that a child is much more likely to try a food that they helped to prepare? It’s true!
Have you tried any of these kits? Do you have pictures from your family gathering?? Feel free to share them with us! We would love to see all the ways that these little “party in a box” pizzas add to your memories.
Anyone can buy them and support us! Share THIS LINK or THIS FLYER on your social media, with your office, with your fam! Anyone who buys a mouth-watering pizza, breadsticks, cheese bread, or cookie kit with our link earns us money!
PIZZA PIZZA!!
-Your CG Family
WOYC21: ARTSY THURSDAY- We made Crayons!! Here's How...
It was a gorgeous, perfect day today… Most of our time was spent enjoying the outside and celebrating the good weather!
But your Common Ground Office Friends had a silly, fun, totally “Artsy Thursday” inspiration that we absolutely had to act on.
We decided to turn our GIANT TUB of broken, old crayons into new, tie-dye crayons in totally whacky shapes!
Ms. Mimi had seen the idea during one of her Teaching courses last week, and we LOVED it! Ms. Liz ran out to Michael’s to get some fun molds and we went to work! See below for pictures of our process and results!
Peel the crayons. If you want to make this process go a little faster, soak them in water! the wrapper comes right off.
Chop them up! They don’t need to be uniform. We used scissors (poor scissors!) and made a bunch of tiny chunks. Leave some of the chunks bigger, we’ll explain why later!
We used silicone molds with all sorts of different shapes! They can go in the microwave, the oven, and the freezer, so they’re perfect.
Place a layer of crayons in the molds. fill it up! When they crayons melt, they’ll shrink. Since these will completely melt and mix together, we advice complimentary colors.
Place in the microwave. 1-2 minute intervals should do it.
Once the wax is completely melted, place one of the larger chunks in the center of each mold shape. It will create a marbled look with the other colors you added. This color can be as different from the other colors as you like! You can also add another layer instead.
Put it into the microwave for a little bit longer, and then when you’re satisfied put it into the freezer until it’s firm and cool.
We got a uniform back onto the crayons by melting one or two colors into cups and then pouring a layer of wax into the molds once they had firmed up a bit in the freezer.
The result is, dare we say it, ADORABLE and totally functional! We gave them out to all of our students, and we have so many leftover crayons we plan on letting them make their own combinations in the future! It was such a bright, happy way to recycle our old crayons that no one seemed to want. Some of our kids did not even want to color with them! We had a couple of our Honeybee Students play with their robots like toys.
Friends of CG Fridays!: SCRAWL BOOKS (With Exciting Upcoming Events!)
Scrawl Books over in Reston Town Center is a fabulous gem on Reston’s “Shop Local” Crown.
When I found out they were putting in a little bookstore right on the corner of Reston Town Center, I was absolutely delighted. It is within reasonable “Lunch Break” walking distance. It has an amazing selection, and whatever they don’t have they’re willing to order. They support local authors.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, their events promote early literacy and support several wonderful causes. In short? They’re just Good people. Good people doing Good things. And we love having friends like that.
When we contacted them a few years back to do live readings in their store, they were so supportive! They not only let us swipe their stuffy sleepover idea, but they donated items for the stuffy goodie bags!!
On Friday, March 26th, they’re actually doing their own Stuffed Animal Sleepover featuring Children’s Author Ethan Berlin! Children drop off their stuffies for a night of amazing activities, including a reading by Ethan Berlin himself of his new book I am not a Dog Toy.
Sign Up Here if you are interested.
And now, they are going to be doing a BOOK FAIR WITH US in April to celebrate Common Ground Childcare’s 49th Birthday.
When: April 12th to April 19th (LINK INCOMING, STAY TUNED). It is an online bookfair, so it goes 24/7 that entire week!
Where: Scrawl Books will have a page for us on their website, so we will post the link for that when it’s available.
How: We will have recommended books and classroom wishlists on our special link, but you can buy any of the books on the site once you have clicked through! It is not just for kids, stock up on your adult summer reading too!
Why:
- Books are brain food: For our birthday, we are promoting early literacy, consistent literacy, holistic literacy. Reading is good for everyone of every age, no matter what style of book you’re reading. Pick books out for you, your kids, your friends, your family, your school. Pick books out to donate to charity, or for your child’s classroom.
- #ShopLocal: You will be supporting a local business! Scrawl Books is a Reston treasure, and supporting them is supporting your whole town.
- Fundraiser Time: Scrawl books will keep track of how many books are purchased during our book fair and Common Ground will get a percentage of the proceeds! Is there a better birthday present that?
The Pandemic has hit all of our local businesses hard. Right now Scrawl Books is open for curbside pick up and delivery, and we hope that our Covid-19 numbers will go down and enough people will become vaccinated that we can all be together again. Until then, Scrawl Books has agreed to do live online readings for our classrooms on Wednesdays. They are partnering with us and supporting our school. The very least we can do is talk about how wonderful they are, and recommend them every chance we get.
THANK YOU, SCRAWL BOOKS!!
Love Love Love,
LJ and your Common Ground Family
Unplugged Life: Our Favorite Backyard Games!
GAME RULES:
Find the Set Up HERE
Server (Royalty) must put one foot behind the service line
Everyone must Hit UNDERHAND
Ball must bounce ONCE and only ONCE in your square before your strike it (including on the serve)
If someone makes a mistake you rotate up and that person goes to the back of the line (outside the #1 square)
Server takes care of any arguments (unless it involves the server – then vote as a group, or play rock paper scissors)
Inside lines are out, Outside lines are in Why? Because inside lines are shared, while outside lines are not shared so you know who’s square it bounced in.
You can move anywhere outside the square or in your section of the square
If it bounces in your square you MUST strike it
Server Must Ask “Are you Ready” before serving
No Carrying, Stalling or Holding – you must Strike or Hit the ball
YOU ARE OUT IF:
The ball in your square bounces 2 times or you hit it before it bounces
You hit the ball out of bounds
You hit the ball to an inside line
You hit the ball Overhand
You hit a ball that was another players ball (it bounced in their square and you hit it before it bounced a 2nd time)
A ball bounces in your square an you are unable to get to it before it bounces a second time
Some other game variations that we sometimes learn:
VARIATIONS:
Around the World: Server must call “Around the World.” You can go to the right or the left, they must go around the square in a circular rotation. Anyone can say “reverse” BEFORE you strike and go the opposite direction, if you don’t say it before the strike the server can call you out (ie. If you call it while you are hitting the ball). If Server calls “Around the World No Reverse” you can’t reverse it
War or Battle: Server must call “War” or “Battle” and declare their opponent. War – Server wars with one person (2 square) until someone misses. Battle – Starts just like war, but someone can call “BREAK” before they strike the ball and then switch to battling with a different player in another square.
Cherry Bomb: You are allowed to use overhand hits (except on the serve) Underhand hits are also still allowed.Manhunt
Set Up: Divide the playing field OR hiking trail in half and designate two small “zones” on both sides to hold people who are tagged. There can also be a designated circle on each side where the flag is placed.
Each team tries to take the other team’s flag and return across the center line without being tagged.
When guarding the flag zone or the holding zone, a defender must be at least 2’ away from the zone boundaries.
If a player is tagged while on their opponent’s side they are must go to the holding zone on their opponent’s side.
If a player who has stolen the flag is tagged, the flag is returned to the flag zone, and the player goes to the zone.
A player can be freed from the holding zone when a teammate crosses the center line and tags the player; both players then receive a free walk back to their side.
A player can only free one teammate at a time.
If an opposing player can get both feet into the flag zone without being tagged, they can remain there without safely (without getting tagged) before attempting to cross the center line.
Variations
Limit the number of players allowed in the circle at one time.
Allow a player in the circle to throw the flag to a teammate.
The flag must still be carried over the center line however.
The players in the tagged zone can join hands and reach out of the zone to make it easier to be freed.
Similarly, all players in the holding zone are freed when a player makes it across to rescue them.
For extended games, allow players to hide their flags in plain sight in a designated area.
How to Play:
Play begins with the pitcher rolling the ball smoothly to home plate. The kicker must kick from behind home.
If the ball is kicked and rolls out of bounds before going past first or third base, it is called a foul and the kicker must try again.
Kickers must run the bases in order and may stop at any base and wait to run again at the next kick. There, however, must be only one runner on a base and they must remain in order. No runner can pass the person in front of them.
A run is scored for the kicking team when a base-runner touches all 4 bases, in order, without being called out at any time.
A runner advances one base on an overthrow to the base player.
Teams switch sides after three outs or nine runs are scored. Outs are granted when:
The pitcher controls the play of the game. Play begins with the pitcher rolling the ball to the person up to bat, the kicker. Play stops when the ball is thrown to the pitcher.
The kicker kicks a fly ball and it is caught before it touches the ground. Note: When a fly ball is in the air, the base runners must remain on base until after the ball is caught (called tag-up) before they can advance to the next base.
The base player has control over the ball and a foot on the base before the base-runner reaches the base.
The base-runner is tagged on his/her body by a fielder with the ball before s/he arrives at the base. Note: If the base-runner must advance because of another runner or kicker behind, it is called a force-out and the fielding team only has to tag the base to call an out. If there is no runner or kicker behind, it is not a force-out and the fielder with the ball must tag the base-runner.
One base-runner passes another.
A base-runner intentionally interferes with a fielder who is trying to recover the ball.
Three fouls by an individual kicker equal an out.
If a ball is touched by a member of the fielding team before it bounces, it is a fair ball.
For safety, there is no sliding or throwing of the ball at a player. (or do… depending on the age and skill level of the kiddos)
At the end of the game, have each team do a cheer for the other team, and have teams form lines to high five each other!
Playing Area: Dodge ball can be played indoors or outdoors. The ideal playing area is a rectangle identical to a volleyball court that's 60 ft long by 30 ft wide.
The court is divided in half by a center line. An "attack line" is marked 10 ft from the center line on each side of the court. The attack lines are parallel to the center line and extend the full width of the court. There is also a 4 ft-wide "neutral zone" extending across the playing area at center court to separate both sides.
How to Play: There are ENDLESS VERSIONS OF THIS GAME. The basic idea is that there is a non-zero number of balls, and if you are hit with a ball you are out. Kids can come up with as many rule variations based on theme or skill level they want. Here are some fun options:
Dodgeball is played with 2 teams of 6 players if the game is played indoors and 10 players for outdoor competition.
The object of the game is to knock all of your opponents "out" of the game without being eliminated yourself.
Starting Play: The game begins with the "opening rush."
All 6 dodgeballs are lined up along the center line; 3 on one side of the center hash mark and 3 on the other side.
Players position themselves behind their respective end lines.
On the official's signal, both teams run to center court to get their balls.
Eliminating Players
A player is "out" if:
He gets hit by a ball below the shoulders – The ball may not hit the floor or wall first.
She drops a ball that’s thrown to her.
His ball is caught by another player.
She steps out of bounds – During play, players may only leave the playing area to retrieve a ball, and they may only leave through their end line. They must also re-enter the game through their end line.
He crosses over the neutral zone – Players may step safely into the neutral zone, but they may not step over the neutral zone line on the opponent’s side of the court.
She slides or dives head first into the neutral zone.
A ball hits him and another teammate (they are both out).
She gets hit by a ball rebounding off of a ball lying on the court.
He hits an opponent in the head with the ball.
Blocking - Players can defend themselves by blocking a ball coming at them with another ball, but they have to maintain control of the ball they are blocking with. If they drop the ball, they are "out."
There are 3 types of dodgeball games, each with slightly different objectives:
Elimination Game: The game is played until all members of one team have been eliminated. The first team to knock out all of its opponents is the winner.
Timed Game: The game is played for a pre-determined amount of time or until all members of one team are eliminated, whichever comes first. If there are players remaining when time expires, the team with the most players still on the court wins the game.
Scored Game: A scored game can be played either as an elimination game or a timed game. Teams earn points for the number of players still "in" at the end of each game.
Bombardo, Dr. Dodgeball, Gaga, and many more!
Hide and Seek
This is another classic game with so many variations that it is hard to know what the original version is!
Basic: Seeker counts while the other’s hide, the Seeker finds the hiders, the last one to be found gets to be it! (or gets to pick who is it, depending on what the winner wants)
Basic with Base: Same rules, except the hiders can try to escape their hiding spot to tag a base selected before the game starts.
Sardines: One person hides while everyone else counts. They split up and look. Once a seeker finds the hider, they hide WITH the hider. The last seeker to find them all loses!
Fox and the Goalie: Also known as Manhunt, Fox and the Goalie involves one person hiding, everyone else seeking. Instead of the game ending when the fox is found, however, it is not over until the Fox is CAUGHT by the seekers. This can be played with a base, but is often just “go until you’re out.”
TIPS
All you need is a ball. Kickball is about the right size, but smaller is fine for small hands. If you are playing with smaller children, a softer ball is preferred.
All the kids stand in a circle with plenty of space to swing their arms. One person has the ball.
To throw the ball AND catch the ball, you have to be airborne. Therefore, the game starts with the initial ball thrower jumping in the air and throwing the ball to another person. (do not spike the ball unless it is agreed upon beforehand, it’s not fair)
The person who is being thrown the ball has to jump in the air, catch the ball, and throw it to another person before they hit the ground.
Once a person is “out” you do not close ranks, but continue to throw with that space empty. That way it becomes harder to throw it to another person as the game goes on
A person is out if:
They are the catcher and fail to catch the ball while they themselves are airborne.
They are the catcher and fail to throw the ball before they hit the ground.
They are the thrower and fail to throw to another person.
They commit an illegal throw: The throw is too hard, too high, too wide.
The winner is the last one in the circle
Double Dutch
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Depending on age, this game can be quite complex! But the basic idea is this:
Volleyball is a game played by two teams, usually of six players on a side, in which the players use their hands to bat a ball back and forth over a high net, trying to make the ball touch the court within the opponents’ playing area before it can be returned.
To prevent this a player on the opposing team bats the ball up and toward a teammate before it touches the court surface—that teammate may then volley it back across the net or bat it to a third teammate who volleys it across the net. A team is allowed only three touches of the ball before it must be returned over the net.
Here is an amazing article with graphics where they get more technical: ARTICLE
How to Play:
Divide everyone into two to four groups; each team sits on a boundary line.
Give each player a number, each group should have a one, a two, etc.
Place the “bacon” in the center of the playing area and assign each team one goal line at either end of the playing area.
The adult calls out a number and all students with that number run to pick up the “bacon.” Once they get better at this, you can start saying things like “all even/odd/prime numbers!” or even “the sum of…. 3 and 1!” but make sure everyone is relatively aware of how to do simple math or what even/odd/prime numbers are.
The person who gets the “bacon” first tries to run across his/her team’s goal line without being tagged. The person whose number was called who did not get the “bacon” should try to tag the other player before they get across the goal line.
Once someone is tagged or gets across their goal line, the round is over. Everyone who played in the round give each other high-five’s and they go back to the boundary line with their teams.
IF YOU ADD MORE GAMES LIKE THIS IN THE COMMENTS, WE WILL ADD THEM TO OUR BIG LIST!! Please help us collect fun outdoor games for our kids to play. After all, OUTDOOR IS BEST! Whole body play is good for number sense, emotional resilience, physical health and fitness, sensory issues, and attention spans! Also they’re just super fun.
Hurray!
LJ
Women's History Month: Fantastic Books for Kids
Hello Common Ground Readers!
TODAY IS READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY!!
March is also WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, so we decided to share ten of our most favorite books to share with your children. Reading to children is essential. It is food for their imagination. It is integral to the development of empathy and understanding people not like them.
Reading is a gateway to the entirety of what we can know. All you have to do is hand them the keys.
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison: Buy Here - Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of forty trailblazing black women in American history.
What will I be? by Jayla Joseph: Buy Here - There are no limits on the greatness we can achieve! A positive & powerful picture book showing Black girls planning for their futures.
Little Feminist Board Book Set by Lydia Ortiz: Buy Here - It is never too early to learn about amazing women of history! This set of board books teaches our littlest leaders about women activists, artists, leaders, and pioneers with colorful pictures to capture their imagination.
Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World by Kate Pankehurst: Buy Here - Share a different story each night, fill your children’s brains with all of the wondrous things even one person can do to change the world.
A Is for Awesome!: 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World by Derek Desierto: Buy Here - Why stick with plain old A, B, C when you can have Amelia (Earhart), Malala, Tina (Turner), Ruth (Bader Ginsburg), all the way to eXtraordinary You―and the Zillion of adventures you will go on?
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating : Buy Here - Who doesn’t love sharks? Who doesn’t love a woman awesome and brave and smart enough to swim with sharks just to learn about them? Read your little marine biologist all about Eugenie Clark!
My Little Golden Book about Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Buy Here - The Little Golden Books all about amazing women are phenomenal, and this one is no exception. Add it to your shelf for your little freedom fighter.
The Girl who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill: Buy Here - This one is for middles instead of littles, but it is worth reading to anyone who will listen. Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
I will be Fierce! by Bea Birdsong: Buy Here - A powerful picture book about courage, confidence, kindness, and finding the extraordinary in everyday moments.
Dear Girl: A Celebration of Wonderful, Smart, Beautiful You! by Amy Krause Rosenthal: Buy Here - A book about how every woman is extraordinary, especially YOU.
Please share your favorite children’s books on amazing women in the comments!
Do you like posts like these?? We have several book lists for all different themes! Here’s one for Children’s Books on Math!
Subscribe to our blog so you don’t ever miss a thing!
CG Challenges: A Mile a Day
Hello Everyone!
Miss Liz and I have been noticing the incredible benefits of daily, extended outside time on our students. They’re sturdier and more resilient. They have more energy but are simultaneously more able to pay attention.
With shorter days and bitter winds it is often harder to get out, especially after school and work. We totally get that. It is why we have started our own mile a day challenge. One mile of walking or running each day. That’s a twenty minute walk on average! It has been such a refreshing incentive to get out there even when we want to stay under our blankets and cuddle our dogs!
THEN we thought… do you know who would love this challenge? Our school-aged kids. They have to sit in front of the computer all day for school. Even if it’s cold, there is no better way to shake the sillies out than a brisk walk in the fresh air.
Monday through Friday, every day, we are going to get those kids out there, and we want you to join us! Walk a mile on your lunch break. Take a walk after work around your block or cul de sac. You’d be surprised how much energy you have for the rest of your Saturday if it begins with a mile in your shoes! It’s as good as a cup of coffee.
What do you think? Join us? We still have 26 days of January to go! You could also go from January 10 to February 10, or March 15 to April 15, every day is a new day to start something wonderful for yourself.
We will be posting our journey through January. Every day will be a little adventure, and while we are sharing ours, we hope you will share yours too! Do you have a little park by your house? Do you walk the trails? Do you prefer to bike the mile with your kiddos? Do you have a four-pawed companion that comes with you?
Post pictures or stories and use the hashtag #CGMileADay so we can see them all!
Show us what your mile looks like!
One mile a day… take that first step!
Miss LJ
CG Challenges: Mathematical Reading Recommendations!
Fairfax County’s WINTER READING CHALLENGE is such a fantastic idea!! We will be posting recommendations all winter! Today, the recommendations are all Math-based. A deep foundation of number-sense is key to a lifelong love and understanding of mathematics. This is easy to achieve because math is everywhere! It’s in nature. It’s in music. It’s there to help you share a muffin and build the best fort. By embracing all the opportunities to experience math, especially in beloved stories, we are giving our kiddos a leg up while spending quality time with them!
Here is a “top-ten” list of our favorite math books! Buy them for your bookshelf, or help us by picking one up for our classroom! Tangible, physical books that the kids can touch are especially good for growth.
1,2,3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle: A classic, colorful story that encourages kiddos to count to ten with their favorite animals. Also provides an opportunity for number pairs. (example: There are five animals! Two lions, three tigers! There are five animals! Four birds, one rhino!)
Feast for Ten by Cathryn Falwell: A count-to-ten book that ties numbers to food and family. Gives the opportunity for a class to have snacks and count them, or to “share” the food they pull together.
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins: Introduction to subtraction from 10-0. Can be paired with an art project
Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert: This covers shapes as well as numbers, and it uses shapes to create bigger pictures.
Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews: Number names and sequences! Number comparisons! General number sense and subitization.
One Red Sun by Ezra Jack Keats: Simple 1-10 book, incredibly lovely, inspires art through mathematics
Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins: A whacky story that is so good for number pairs and comparisons!
Quack and Count by Keith Baker: This is perfect for subitization and number pairs, which is the beginning of addition.
Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris: Excellent for pattern recognition and repetition, as well as how to create patterns on your own.
Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins: This is more for spatial awareness along with distance and proximity. It’s also just a relaxing, fantastic story
Save The Date: Summer Camp Teaser
The Summer Camp you remember that your kids will never forget…
Kids need to be outside. They need to run under the trees, chase each other, skin their knees.
They need to play with rules they make up themselves.
That’s why Common Ground is hosting a classic summer camp that is perfect for any kid from kindergarten to rising fourth grader.
1 in 12 kids are as fit as the average child 35 years ago. Their attention spans are suffering under a sedentary education style. Sensory training, emotional regulation, physical stability, these are as key to learning as letters and numbers, and much harder to master after age 5.
We believe in exploration, reasonable danger, and dirt. Our weekly themes are designed to teach kids about the world and their own abilities. There will be projects, games, and field trips! We are also looking to do swimming lessons.
We will be outside as much as possible, allowing kids to foster independence through child-led lessons that encourage enthusiasm for holistic learning.
KEEP AN EYE OUT! We will begin registration in the next few weeks! Think Capture the Flag. Think trail running and skipping stones in the creek. Think sweat and dirt and sunshine. Your kids deserve a camp experience like you had.
LET’S GO OUTSIDE!
Ms. LJ
Who We Are: Our Teacher Recommendations for Children's Books.
We have read them all! Twenty Times! In silly voices! We present to you Common Ground’s vetted list of children’s books for every age! When asked, the most popular authors were Eric Carle (overwhelmingly) and Anna Dewdney, but these were the personal favorites for everyone!
Ms. Marita, Infants Teacher:
Ms. Nha, Infants Teacher:
Ms. Patty, Infants Teacher:
Ms. Pinky, Toddler Teacher:
Ms. Simi, Toddler Teacher:
Ms. Kisha, 2s Teacher:
Ms. Delia, 2s Teacher:
Ms. Janette, 2s ad 3s Teacher:
Ms. Vanessa, 3s Teacher:
Ms. Petty, 3s Teacher:
Mr. Josh, 4s Teacher:
Ms. Adella, 4s Teacher:
Ms. Victoria, School-Age Teacher:
Ms. Mimi, Assistant Director:
Ms. Liz, Director:
Click Clack Moo, Cow's that Type by Doreen Cronin. I just LOVE how the farm animals organize a union to get better working conditions!
What you do Matters series (what do you do with a problem, what do you do with an idea, what do you do with a chance)
"None the Number" series
Ms. LJ, Teacher:
Chapter Book: The Boggart (The Boggart and the Monster is my favorite, but you should read the first one!)
Chapter Book: The Bailey School Kids — Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots is #1, but they’re all amazing
Chapter Book: The Hobbit — There are graphic novel versions too, but it’s a classic, it’s a charming read, and it’s worth it.
#GiveTime: Community and Causes
Hi there! LJ Donnell here with some incredible (and quick!) ideas to #GiveTime to your community! This is a part of our #GiveFundsGiveTime Campaign for #GivingTuesday, so if you need more ideas, visit THIS PAGE. We also ask that if you have any excellent ideas of your own that aren’t listed here, PLEASE share them in the comments!! A community is always better when we work together.
So far, our suggestions are:
5 minutes a night knitting/crocheting/making blankets for Project Linus
Do click throughs on charity sites
Sign petitions
Call your local representative and talk to the about an issue
Draw inspirational chalk messages around your neighborhood
Draw loving chalk messages and pictures on the sidewalk of your local hospital so patience can see them out the window
Write post cards to senior citizens and other high-risk populations who are stuck in quarantine and away from their families. Example Here
Share/Amplify social media messages for local businesses, charities, and local activist groups. — I know this doesn’t sound like much… but it really means the world to people trying to get their messages out there. It takes you very little time, and you could make a big difference to their business or cause. Even something as small as sharing a “Missing Pet” post from your local neighborhood’s facebook could make a world of difference for a family.
Volunteer as your Cal de sac’s glass recycling person — okay, this one may be a 15/20 minute task once a week. Have your neighbors put their used glass products in bags and place them on their doorsteps, then you take them to the nearest glass recycling bins. You could also set up a round-robin sort of thing, and it’s as easy as making a post on your neighborhood’s facebook or NextDoor page.
Pick up trash on your walk — You may be getting fresh air. You may be on a little run! You may be taking your kids out of the house to get rid of some of their energy. Either way, just have gloves in your pockets and a grocery bag so you can pick up trash you see on the walk. You’d be surprised how little effort it takes, and what a big difference it makes. Wildlife in the area is getting snared in disposable masks on the ground. It’s pretty awful. Every little bit you do, even if it’s just five minutes while you’re already walking outside, could save a precious life.
#GiveFundsGiveTime is all about giving what you can when you can, and not overtaxing. All good deeds make waves, no matter how small. Let’s make this holiday season as full of hope, magic, and love as we possibly can.
See you out there!
Ms. LJ
GIVE TIME: Making a Mess! I mean... Experiments.
SCIENCE IS FUN!!
BUT…
It can be exhausting and overwhelming to turn our kitchen into a science lab.
We found ourselves one Sunday afternoon with crunched leaves in the couch, slime clinging like cement to the outdoor furniture, jugs of different juices with candies and half-melted cheetos floating in them. We had spent all Saturday cleaning, and it felt like we were living in a giant sand garden where the slightest breeze would blow something sticky all over everything… I saw my kids about to turn on the hose for their water table, opened my mouth to yell “NO MORE SCIENCE,” and then listened to what I was about to say to them.
I am not saying you should let your house just be totally dedicated to the whims of a toddler. What I am saying is that curiosity is the KEY to learning.
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF PRESSURE.
If you watch Emily’s Wonder Lab or watched The Magic School Bus, you think that every experiment has to be organized, clever, and steeped in some fantastic, curriculum-based scientific concept.
Science is not neat. Science is messy. It also does not have to be complicated.
We have a Scientific Method Worksheet free to download IF YOU WANT. It’s not necessary, but it can be nice to keep track of all the journeys of discover you go on. Free Download Here.
What if your three year old wants to know what’s inside an acorn?
1. Ask them what they think. This is a HUGE part of it, because you want them to start trying to figure things out.
2. Gather the materials! (AND YES THEY CAN BE DANGEROUS!) for this one, you just need a hammer and something to protect your floor if you’re inside.
3. SMASH IT! Let them help. It is important that kiddos learn how to use tools safely, or else they will use them NOT safely.
4. Poke at it! Look at the pieces! What is it? This can be the end of the experiment. If they want to know more about the stuff inside, you can look it up, but keep it simple, keep it steeped in wonder.
WHAT ABOUT THE MESS.
Friends, I hear you. My son is a big water-pourer. All the time. He gets in the sink and runs the tap. He sprays the hose into jugs of all sizes. He is constantly stealing people’s drinks and pouring them into other people’s drinks. We keep towels poised in the pantry for when he inevitably spills a cup of water onto the floor, the table, the dog.
This. Is. Science. He is developing spatial awareness. He is figuring out which containers hold the most and the least. He is studying how water works. He is using all of his senses to experience water. “This water’s hotter! This water has air bubbles! This water is wet! (okay, all water is wet, kid…)” He is excited, curious, and into it.
I ended up making a path of towels with different buckets of all sizes up and down the towel line. Before he poured, I’d ask him what he thought would happen, and supply during “observations” time what happened.
"Uh oh! There was too much water for the red cup. Is there too much water for the blue bucket?” “Uh oh! When you put sand in the cup, it becomes too full for the water! Why do you think the sand sank to the bottom?”
As they get older (my five year old is really into science experiments now) you can get into the more complicated messes. “Why is this slime so sticky? What happens if I add baking soda to it? Why shouldn’t I wash it down the sink?”
This was a winding road. Let’s do a quick wrap up, a conclusion, if you will.
These messy science experiments have a lot to offer your kids. They help them study the world around them in a safe environment where they have relative autonomy. They show your children the rewards of being bored and making their own fun. They show your children (and you!) that it’s okay to take chances, make mistakes, and get a little messy… as long as they are willing to clean up after themselves.
Once they realize there is time allowed for “SCIENCE TIME,” it is much easier to enforce the concept of “NOT-SCIENCE TIME.” That helps guide the fun and limit the mess. The worksheet above lets them write down any questions they have that can be answered during “SCIENCE TIME” so you don’t have to be constantly on the look out for eggs hiding in the bathtub… (that was a weird one.)
So get out there, science teams! Make the wonderful messes and maybe answer your own questions!! If you need a list of fantastic easy science experiments, check it out HERE!
Love you all, you whacky scientists,
Ms. LJ
Life, Unplugged: The Night Sky
Common Ground Friends…
It is COLDER. DARKER. GRAYER.
We know coming home after the sun sets can really sap everyone’s energy. At 6:30 PM you still have to do dinner, night time rituals, morning preparation, and there’s always dishes… It’s hard to avoid handing out tablets or throwing on The Magic School Bus. Crafts and games can be amazing, and we will be posting on this blog on those another time, but this particular blog is about the magic and majesty of simply…
Looking up.
You can enchant your child with their night sky any time of year. You can do it with or without a telescope.
Help them track the phases of the moon with this amazing (and free!) MOON CHART.
Introduce them to constellations with this super cool (and free!) set of Constellations worksheets (Found HERE)
Use this (free!) App to explore your night sky! (of course, then it’s not COMPLETELY screen free, make sure they’re looking up instead of at the phone or tablet)
Teach them The Moon Phase Game by Ms. LJ! (if you watch it beforehand, you can play with no screens!)
Listen to Gustav Holst’s Planets Suite while you fill out your moon chart.
Is your kid developing a passion for astronomy? Purchase a kid-friendly telescope!* For less than 100 bucks you can offer years of incredible family experiences and create new traditions.
From today until the new year, there are so many glorious events happening right above you. Here are only our favorite three, you can find the full list here. (There are three other meteor showers between now and January 1)
November 11, 12 - Northern Taurids Meteor Shower. The Northern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The Northern Taurids is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The shower runs annually from October 20 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th. The thin crescent moon will not be much of a problem this year leaving dark skies for what could be a really good show. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 30 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra. During this type of eclipse the Moon will darken slightly but not completely. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of North America, the Pacific Ocean, and northeastern Asia including Japan. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
December 21 - Rare Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn will take place on December 21. This rare conjunction of these two planets is known as a great conjunction. The last great conjunction occurred in the year 2000. The two bright planets will appear only 7 arc minutes of each other in the night sky. They will be so close that they will appear to make a bright double planet. Look to the west just after sunset for this impressive and rare planetary pair.
After you’ve come in with a little more wonder (and dappled cheeks!) you and your kiddos can make up your own stories and constellations while making hot cocoa. You can talk about what you wished for on the falling stars. You can read a book about your favorite planet, or just talk about your favorite part of the evening. Anything you do is fine, because you did something fantastic together.
GO START YOUR NEW TRADITION!
— The CG Crew
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