Page 10 – Playful Learning

Investigating Spring: Resources for Young Scientists

By Mariah Bruehl, 18th March 2015

Springtime sun and rain puddles naturally raise our children’s desire to explore outdoors. Often, we do not need anything but the time and desire to be outdoors to initiate springtime investigations. As soon as we walk outside, observations begin. However, there are a few other tools we can provide children to further their natural curiosities.

Children’s literature is plentiful and rich with books about birds, seeds, flowers, mud and weather. I almost always start with literature in introducing topics to students. There is magic in story and deep connections develop between reader and text. Conversations begin naturally through text and story and often ideas or questions emerge for exploration. When this happens, it is the perfect time to lay down the book and explore with our senses. Maybe take a spring walk bringing along observational tools: sketch book, pencil, watercolor, magnifying glass, and a field guide or two. Or, set out a collection of seeds to sort, classify, and pattern. Or begin planting some seeds in trays and record daily observations.

Children’s Literature

1. A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long

Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long have created such a magical book in A Seed is Sleepy. The illustrations are whimsical yet realistic. When looking through the text with young readers have examples of some of the seeds in the text and see if, while sharing the book with you, they can locate the seeds in the illustrations. Discuss actual size, versus the magnified size presented in the book. Ask your child why the illustrator might have decided to create them magnified. Discuss how to illustrate observations scientifically: realistic with great attention paid to detail such as color, size, and shape. Also, discuss the wording of the text. How is a seed sleepy? How is a seed adventurous?

2. Spring Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow

The flower illustrations in Spring Walk jump out at the reader quickly as the flowers are in bright, bold colors as spring flowers naturally are. The illustrator highlights the colors even more with a detailed but colorless background. The flowers jump out because of their prominence. A fun way to use this book may be to teach your child how to take close up photographs (micro) that bring out the details. Or, one may sit with a sketchbook, pencil and watercolor paints to practice detailed, observational sketching.

3. Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray

Rita Gray has written a springtime rhyming text to share with readers why flowers are an important part of spring and what insects / birds use them as a food sources. Kenard Pak’s illustrations are delicate and detailed. A child may sit for a while with each page to study the arrangements of flowers, insects and birds. This book may be used as a field guide to bring along on a wildflower walk. There are several pages dedicated to simple, yet stunning illustrations of spring flowers which the author names and describes.

4. Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and Steve Jenkins.

The study of birds in springtime is perfect to take our students and children outdoors. The book Mama built a little nest by Jennifer Ward and illustrations by Steve Jenkins provides readers with a beautiful story accompanied by detailed facts. Ward introduces us to many different birds and invites us to learn how they create their nests. Jenkins collaged illustrations are colorful and bold. It could be fun to try creating a collage of a birds’ nest found on a spring walk.

5. Feathers: Not Just For Flying by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah Brannen

Another bird book to delight young readers is the new book entitled Feathers Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah Brannen. This gorgeous non-fiction book is ideal to refer to when studying the birds of spring. The author focuses on feathers and their many uses. One idea may be to have students study found feathers and create detailed sketches. These sketches could then be written about in poetic form such as Haiku poetry.

6. Mud by Mary Ray Lyn

This story, by Mary Ray Lyn, is a lovely introduction to the exploration of mud. Lyn uses few words yet the words are perfect and will provide new vocabulary for our younger students. The illustrations by Lauren Stringer have a unique perspective, as though the reader is the one playing in the mud. Read aloud Mud and then explore by taking your child outside to explore in the mud. Let him/her take their shoes off and describe what it feels like to walk through barefoot. What words describe the feeling? What does it smell like? Do you hear any sounds? Or bring some mud inside using a plastic container. Put out some newspaper or plastic and begin exploring with your child. What does it sound like when you mix it up with a stick? Can you paint with it? Does it have a smell?

7. Laughing Tomatoes And Other Spring Poems / Jitomates Risuenos Y Otros Poemas De Primavera

Let’s add in some poetry and better yet poetry in two languages: English and Spanish. This colorful, poetry book is perfect for ages up to fifth grade. The author brings spring alive with poems about spring and how it makes people feel. Poems range from quite short (3 lines) to many lines. The illustrations are whimsical and light: a real spring feel! Enjoy this book with your child and then play with writing some spring poems together.

8. Spring An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur and illustrated by Leslie Evans

This spring acrostic poetry book is perfect for the Kindergarten / First grade classroom. The author uses acrostic poems to tell the story of spring. Follow this book up with students creating their own acrostic poems about what spring means to them.

9. Lost in the Woods by Carl R. Sames II & Jean Stoick

This beautiful picture book tells the story of a young doe and the first days of its’ life. The photos will captivate young learners and is a perfect accompaniment to discuss spring births.

10. And then it’s spring by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead

The pictures and words work together to tell a fun story about waiting for spring. Children will relate to waiting for spring to come and the excitement that follows when it finally does. Use this book to discuss personal experiences in waiting for spring.

11. Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine by Allison Wortche and illustrated by Patrice Barton

Rosie Sprout’s Time to Shine is a lovely, personal story about growing up and making choices. Children will connect with Rosie and how to tries her best to do the right thing after a mistake. Children may enjoy planting their own bean plant and make observations after listening to this story.

12. Amazing Plant Powers by Loreen Leedy & Andrew Schuerger

Loreen Leedy has created another fun non-fiction text that will grab young readers attention. In Amazing Plant Powers Leedy provides readers with catchy facts, micro photos and detailed drawing. Try creating catchy brochures with students to display information learned about certain plants. They will love emulating Leedy’s style in publishing.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

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A Cinderella Study for Big Princesses

By Mariah Bruehl, 17th March 2015

While we all get swept up in the happily ever after notions of today’s fairytale characters, it’s important to break open the concept of being a “princess” and widen the definition of what that might look and feel like for girls, both young and old. For deep within these tales are valuable lessons to be learned that go way beyond finding your prince charming.

My first year of teaching was in an amazing kindergarten classroom. We were very fortunate to have a guest teacher come to our class once a week over a period of time to introduce the children to a Cinderella Study. I watch watched, captivated each week, as Karen Balliett, shared Cinderella stories from around the world and lead thought provoking discussions about the universal commonalities as well as the cultural twists among them.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 /

Years later, the time was ripe for sharing the Cinderella Study with my daughters’ book club and it turned out to be a great experience! We gathered our favorite versions of the Cinderella tale (see above).

Everyone had their own copy of the printable above and we started out by introducing the elements of story. Once the girls knew what each term meant, we read the different versions and took notes on each one. As we read, the girls started to notice different nuances in the story.

In some of the stories Cinderella had to look beautiful every time she saw the prince, in others that was not the case. In some versions the Cinderella figure marries the prince and in some she does not. In the versions where Cinderella does marry the prince, in some of them she shows forgiveness to her step-mother and step-sisters and in others she does not. Where the magic shows up and what is required to access it differs from tale to tale as well. The possibilities for discussion are endless!

Once we finished our exploration we took some time to draft notes on our own Cinderella stories, which then led to final writing pieces. By the time we got to writing our own stories there was not moment of hesitation as each girl new exactly what they wanted to write. We ended with a lovely author share, as we munched on carrot sticks and hummus, and eagerly waited to hear each other’s inspiring tales…

Printables

A Charley Harper Scavenger Hunt

By Mariah Bruehl, 10th March 2015

Our world is full of opportunities to learn and discover something new if we keep our minds open and experience new things. It is also essential to show this concept to the children in our lives.

Last summer, I was able to attend an amazing concert and light show called Lumenocity (see below for a clip from a YouTube video).

This was a phenomenal experience where art, music, and technology were combined! The show featured a local artist that was new to me, Charley Harper. I was stunned that I had not heard of this artist before, especially with his local ties. After the program, I was hooked on his artwork. I immediately came home to search for more information and view more of his works. I was also excited to share this new to me artist with my daughter. Charley Harper’s works are so playfully perfect for children and she was able to see how enthusiastic I was about learning something new.

Charley Harper was an American Modernist painter who specialized in wildlife artworks. Capturing his subjects with a minimal amount of visual elements, he illustrated many books and created many prints and posters. I love the clever titles for his artworks and their simple, yet beautiful depictions:

Art and nature certainly go hand in hand! I decided to combine the two in an activity to get children moving outside, appreciating art and nature all at the same time. Using the artwork of Charley Harper, I have created a fun spring scavenger hunt. Use this printable to go on a nature walk and see how many of these creatures you can discover. I hope that this activity will open your eyes to the beauty of spring and lead to new interests and activities around your house, just as experiencing a new artist has done for me.

If you get hooked on Charley Harper art like me, check out the Charley Harper Art Studio to see more of his works. If you are looking for a mindful gift for someone in your family they have an outstanding selection of children’s products. We have two puzzles at our house, and I have my eye on some of the books, sticker sets, and coloring cards.

Are We Imposing a Glass Ceiling on Our Children?

By Mariah Bruehl, 9th March 2015

As a society, we tend to underestimate the potential of children. As educators, we are trained to adhere to developmental models, and as parents, we feel the pressure to check off a predefined list of specific milestones at each age and stage of development.

Although these behaviors are natural for parents and educators who are striving to do everything they can for their children, they may at times (often unwittingly) impose limitations on our expectations. This narrowly defined focus may cause us to miss out on other signs of growth, insight (and possibly brilliance) from our children. As our children get older, the checklist becomes even more standardized when they move into a one-size-fits-all educational paradigm.

Although understanding the milestones of child-development is important, perhaps we should pose some questions…

Do they prevent us from noticing and nurturing other traits, characteristics, or strengths that are equally important?
Do they on some level, impose a glass ceiling by predetermining what children are and are not capable of?
Do they on a subtle level, cause us to dumb down our language, responses, and expectations of our children based on this “common knowledge?”
Do they lead us to believe that children are only considered capable if they process and demonstrate their understanding in predetermined ways?

Observant parents and educators realize that there is much more to children than meets the eye. Children are inherently driven to actively investigate and make a positive impact on the world around them. When presented with stimulating and engaging experiences, children intuitively take full advantage of the opportunities to learn. It’s up to us as parents and teachers to encourage children to tap into their potential by nurturing these internal processes.
Maria Montessori once said:

“The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.”

― Maria Montessori

Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, agrees about the untapped potential of children:

“All people, and I mean scholars, researchers, and teachers, who, in any place have set themselves to study children seriously, have ended up by discovering not so much the limits and weaknesses of children, but rather their surprising and extraordinary strengths and capabilities, linked with an inexhaustible need for expression and realization.”

― Loris Malaguzzi

By realizing that children possess hidden potential that may exceed our narrowly defined expectations, we can make a more concerted effort to help them unleash it.

However, this DOES NOT mean pressuring children to read by age five. Shifting the content of a third-grade curriculum to a fourth-grade level and claiming to have raised “standards” is not the solution.

Too often, current school curricula do not leave much room for exploration, investigation, or at times, even questions. Combine that with mandated, high-stress, high-stakes tests, that are written to confuse and trick children, and teachers who are being evaluated based on those scores—and you have a recipe for disaster. Not only are we placing a glass ceiling on our children, we are tying the hands of our most gifted and talented teachers.

Have you noticed an increase in your child’s level of anxiety related to performing in school? Does your young child already feel as if they can’t keep up academically? Is this how we intend to inspire the next generation of children to live into their potential? Given the recent cognitive research that shows how stress inhibits meaningful learning, I hardly think so.

What if Maria Montessori was right?

What if children are capable both intellectually and emotionally of far more than we as a society ever allow them to reach or express?

What does that mean for us as parents and educators? As a society, are we placing our resources, talent, time, and energy in the right places?

The good news is that as parents and teachers, we can tune in and do little things that can make a big difference for the children in our lives…

Connect

Find little moments to slow down and be fully present with your child. Let go of expectations, set plans, or preconceived ideas of how this time will go. Be present with your child and follow their lead. Listen intently and make suggestions based on an interest they express. Pick-up on one of their ideas and run with it. This shows the children in your life that their questions deserve answers, their thoughts are interesting, and their ideas are worthy of coming to fruition.

Free Time

With so many facts and skills being squeezed into the school day and more pressure to cover greater amounts of data, one of the best gifts that grown-ups can give their children is time to discover and pursue their personal passions. For it’s the endeavor that is chosen approximately 10 minutes after the infamous “I’m Bored…” declaration that shows you where your child’s true interests lie.

Tune Into Your Expectations

If given the support, children will rise to our expectations. It is up to us to constantly check in with ourselves about what we are really expecting. If we are tired of seeing a certain behavior in our children, we need to make sure that we are not actually looking for or setting them up for that behavior.

On the other hand, when we really believe that our children are capable of doing something, more often than not, they do. Hold the picture of them being respectful, treating their siblings kindly, sharing their things, or whatever your goals are for them, clearly in your mind. Then, speak to them, treat them, and respond to them as if they are on their way to achieving that goal. When you really believe that your children are capable, then the inevitably slip-ups, simply become teachable moments.

There is nothing more exciting than when our children surprise us with their brilliance, insight, and creativity. Let’s give them every opportunity for them to show us their best selves…

Resources for Teaching Kindness

By Mariah Bruehl, 6th March 2015

Kindness. It’s truly one of the simplest ways to connect with one another. It can be exchanged through a smile, a wave, a handwritten note, or a hug. Kindness doesn’t need to cost anything, and it doesn’t have to be extravagant.

Growing up, my mother always told me to be kind and that it pays to be nice. When I was young, I knew that you should hold a door for someone, take a moment to smile and say hello, and offer help to those who look like they may need it. I grew up believing that you should go out of your way to care about and be thoughtful of others, from all walks of life. Now, I’m doing my best to impart that same simple wisdom onto my daughters. I tell them they should always say please and thank you and that gifts (no matter how small) should be followed up with a note of appreciation. I tell them that each of their classmates deserve kindness, even if there comes a time when one of those classmates isn’t kind to them. We talk about empathy and taking time to really think about other people’s perspectives. I explain to them the importance of including others who look like they may need a little extra compassion. When my girls leave in the morning for school, I always tell them “Be good to your teachers, and be good to your friends.” They are learning that those few words have great and powerful meaning behind them.

Teaching our children to be kind, compassionate, generous, and appreciative is perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give one another. I believe that it’s our responsibility as adults, role models, leaders, parents, and educators to not only teach these behaviors to the next generation but also to model them ourselves.

Here are a few resources to help all of us share more deliberate kindness in the world.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation

 www.actsofkindness.org

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to encouraging kindness in homes, classrooms, and communities. Their website is overflowing with free resources as well as ideas for how to spread kindness like volunteering at a community garden, donating old books, writing a poem for someone you love, or simply saying good morning to a stranger. In addition, you can read about and share your own stories of kindness. This site is truly an invaluable resource.

Teaching Tolerance

http://www.tolerance.org

Founded by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance helps teachers and schools fight prejudice, promote equality and celebrate diversity. I have used many of these lessons year after year in my elementary classroom. Be sure to read about the national campaign, Mix It Up, a Teaching Tolerance initiative that encourages students to step outside of their comfort zone and get to know someone new at lunch. Mix It Up inspires students to make connections and develop relationships with classmates across social boundaries. This can be easily adapted in the classroom as well.

The Kindness Journey

http://thekindnessjourney.com/resources/

This website follows twelve-year-old Jaden Winn and his mother Amanda as they embark on a yearlong journey across the United States. Their main goal is to educate and inspire people along the way to join in the #kindnessmovement while raising funds for Life Vest Inside, an organization dedicated to uniting the world with kindness (http://www.lifevestinside.com). If these two don’t move you to spread the love, I’m not sure what will!

Picture Books that Promote Kindness

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Chapter Books that Promote Kindness

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Finally, use the printables below to spread more kindness in your home, classroom, or community. What will your deliberate acts of kindness be?

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Flower Print + Scrape Painting

By Mariah Bruehl, 3rd March 2015

With blizzards, cold fronts and low temperatures blanketing much of the country, spring and its promise of warm days and flowers poking up through the ground seems far, far away. But with a simple art project, you can magically create spring inside, no matter how cold it is outside! Read on for a fun painting project and art history extension.

Supplies:

Table covering
Heavy paper (watercolor or cardstock)
Paint (I really like Biocolor paint)
Paper plate
Fresh flowers
Ruler

This project can get messy, so cover your work area with newspaper, butcher paper, or a disposable table cloth.

Squeeze blobs of paint onto the paper plate, leaving plenty of room to press the flowers down into the paint. Now it’s time for flower painting fun! You are essentially replacing your paint brush with a fresh flower, so dip the flower into the paint, then gently press onto your paper.

Experiment with mixing paint colors and using differently shaped flowers as you cover your paper with flower prints.

Don’t worry if petals or other parts of the flowers get stuck in the paint—that just adds fabulous texture! Show your child how to twirl the flower back and forth in a circular motion to create a different type of mark. Younger children may also enjoy brushing the flower across the page just like they would with a paint brush.

Once your masterpiece is complete, set aside to dry.

Extend the painting fun and enjoy an easy teachable moment by introducing your child to the Impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. Towards the end of his life, Monet focused almost entirely on painting the water lilies in his garden pond, creating paintings that make the viewer feel as if he or she is gazing down into the water. Read a picture book about the artist to learn more about his life and work. Some of my favorites include: Philippe in Monet’s Garden by Lisa Jobe Carmack, Where is the Frog?: A Children’s Book Inspired by Claude Monet by Geraldine Elschner, Katie and the Waterlily Pond by James Mayhew and The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt.

To transform your flower painting into a Monet-inspired work, you only need some blue paint and a ruler. Squeeze a line of blue paint along the far left edge of your painting. (Left-handed children might find it easier to manipulate the ruler if the paint is squeezed on the right edge of the painting).

Use the ruler as a scraper, and drag the blue paint across the paper.

If needed, add additional lines of paint in the middle of your artwork so that you can completely cover the paper with blue paint.

I love the effect the scraper makes, smearing the flowers and creating a beautiful impression of rippling water—just like Monet! Experiment with how wet or dry your flower prints are before scraping paint across them (in the above painting, my flowers were not that dry at all, and you can see in the upper right how much of the flower smeared).

For more Monet-inspired art-making ideas, take a look at this Pinterest board with suggestions suitable for toddlers to teens! Or, if you’re ready to hang up your artist’s smock, channel your inner scientist and use any leftover flowers for this fun Dissecting Flowers lesson.

Secret Kindness Pals

By Mariah Bruehl, 27th February 2015

February is an ideal month to start a new trend in your home or classroom… Secret kindness pals create excitement and add warmth through kindness to the classroom.

Begin with Literature

To begin our exploration of kindness, I start by reading aloud. I have found that literature provides the perfect introduction and helps weave ideas together for students. The short chapter book entitled, Horrible Harry and The Green Slime by Suzy Kline shares a story of a classroom where the teacher chooses to give her class secret pals. The first time I read this book to a class I had a student ask if our class could have secret pals. I said “yes” for many reasons and one of them being that the timing was perfect. It was very close to Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness week had just started.

Literature Links:

Horrible Harry and The Green Slime by Suzy Kline
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

A Week Filled with Kindness

Our kindness week is filled with excitement as students think about different ways to be kind to their secret pal and to others. We create lists with simple ideas to spread kindness: hold the door for someone, help another student get their book bag out of their locker, draw a picture, write a poem, bake some banana bread, and many more. We draw pictures for our secret pal making sure to include colors, activities or people he/she enjoys. We discuss how being kind feels and how it feels to be the receiver of a kind act.

Conclude with A Clue Poem

I ask students take part in writing clue poems about themselves to conclude and reveal our secret pals. Each student composes a poem with ten clues about themselves. Students also write the name of their secret pal but not their own name on the top. This way we do not know the writer but do know who it is for. I then read each poem aloud, tell the class who the secret pal is and we all try to guess who wrote the poem. When we figure out the writer, he/she then delivers a special Valentine’s box to his/her secret pal.

A Personalized Surprise for our Secret Pals

I often choose to conclude our mini-unit on the day of our Valentine’s party for the simple reason that my students can make a Valentine’s collection box for their secret pal. You could easily conclude on a different day with a different type of simple gift. I ask students, as a family homework activity, to create a personalized Valentine’s box for his/her secret pal. Students know their secret pal through our classroom community but I also have each student fill out an interview about him or herself describing their favorite places, people, activities, etc. This information is passed along to their secret pal. This way he/she can add personal touches to drawings, poems and the Valentine’s box. The results are often beautiful and varied ~ as students really think about their pal and his/her interests.

Website:

https://www.randomactsofkindness.org

All Natural Fizzy Bath Bombs

By Mariah Bruehl, 25th February 2015

It’s mid-February and there is something in the air, something floating like tiny wisps through the heart shaped ether. That’s right, it’s snow. Well it is where we live anyway. Snow, snow and a bit more snow. So it’s appropriate that this month, the month in which love is celebrated in all it’s shocking pink, chocolate flavored glory, that we take a little time to show one another some real love and care.

Where we are, in Eastern Canada, winter is long and can feel a bit grueling. By February the novelty of the snow and cold has worn off and we are all longing for spring, but spring is a little way off yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge a little and find ways to feel warm and cozy in the mean time. It’s a great time for candle lit baths, snuggles by the fire and time to give our dried out skin a little extra love.

My two farm boys love nothing more that a good soak in the bath, so this seemed like a great time to add a little extra fun with some heart shaped fizzy bath bombs. Of course I want their bath to be cozy and good for them, so these are made with natural ingredients that will help keep their skin from drying out after snowy adventures outside. I made my fizzies with chamomile tea, to help battle colds and aid relaxation; you could use peppermint tea, lavender or just plain water, all should work well.

The ingredients are all items you may well have in your pantry, and any mold that you happen to have will work too. The only special item is citric acid, but that is easily found at home brew stores or your local Bulk Barn. If you feel like theming your bath fizzles, you can add your favorite essential oil to the mix. Personally I prefer to add the oils neat to the bath for a maximum hit of goodness, do what works best for you.

Chamomile Bath Fizzies

You will need:

1 cup of baking soda
1/2 cup of citric acid
1/2 cup of corn starch
2 table spoons of Epsom Salts
2 1/2 table spoons of Coconut Oil
3 Table spoons of cold chamomile tea (you could use a different tea, witch hazel or just plain water)
Up to 10 drops of essential oils such as lavender, chamomile or geranium. All of these oils are suitable for children.
1-2 drops of food coloring (optional), I used 1 drop of red to get a pale pink color.

If you have a mixer this is ideal, if not use a wooden spoon or whisk to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Mix the dry ingredients together and then add your oil. The mixture should become crumbly, make sure the oil is evenly distributed.

Next add the liquid, mix slowly and carefully. There will be a little bit of a fizz on contact but if you keep the mixture moving it should be minimal and the moisture will be absorbed quickly. The mixture will take on the texture of damp sand, once this happens stop adding liquid.

Press your sand like mixture into your molds, this is when you will know if you added too much moisture! If the mixture begins to fluff up it won’t set, my original batch was too wet and did just this. Luckily you can still add it to the bath and enjoy.

Leave the mixture in your molds overnight to dry. I used heart shaped candy molds and they worked perfectly. You don’t need to coat them with anything, once they are dry they will pop straight out.

These fizzies are perfect to gift to friends or simply to use yourselves, adding a little extra warmth and fun to a cozy, winter bath time.

Post Office Invitation

By Mariah Bruehl, 23rd February 2015

A post office is a fun theme that can be used to enrich other themes such as a holiday, or after a Birthday when your child is writing thank you cards. Post office play also can easily branch into subjects like Math, Geography and Environmental Studies.

Here is a list of props that you may like to include in your child’s post office:

Mailbox: Make your own from a cardboard box or purchase a mini metal mailbox from a craft store, dollar store or online.
Envelopes, writing paper, cards, postcards: make your own cards or print these free envelope, writing paper and draw your own postcard templates.
Stamps, mailing labels, air mail sticker: can be found at your post office
Address book, phone book, map/globe/atlas: the tools that we use to locate the person we are mailing a letter to
C hild size mail bag or uniform: don’t forget a name tag!
Mail sorter
Post Office signs: Open, Closed, Mail here, Postage Costs, etc. Great for writing practice!
Coins, cash register: ring in the math practice!
Scale, tape measure: introduce measuring skills
Clocks: post offices often have clocks set to times all over the world – label the location on a sign below each clock
Pens, notepads, “cancellation” rubber stamp, ink: kids love to stamp the envelopes to “cancel” the stamps

Ways to support learning:

Teach your child his/her address
Make your own stamps by cutting small drawings with fancy edge scissors or by using this stamp punch.
Weigh and measure packages
Reduce junk mail by looking into a no junk mail program in your country
Start a stamp collection
Visit your local post office or your country’s postal system website
Share old postcards from your travels with your child and look up the location on the map
Discuss the pros and cons of electronic mail verses paper mail

Books to read with your little ones:

Owney the mail pouch pooch – Mona Kerby
Here Comes the Mail – Gloria Skurzynski

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Snowflake Math

By Mariah Bruehl, 20th February 2015

Anytime learning can be rooted in the world around them children thrive. This is true for mathematics-based explorations, just as it is for science and history. Right now snow, lots and lots of snow, surrounds my children.

There are many activities that can be done with snowflakes that enhance children’s mathematical understandings.

First, if you can, observe snowflakes outside; watch them fall, catch them on a gloved hand, or on black paper, and observe them with a magnifying glass or a camera zoom. With older children you can try a snowflake fossil technique. If the weather is not cooperating with you look at snowflake books or pictures of snowflakes. When observing the snowflakes ask your children questions such as, “How many sides does your snowflake have?” “Do all of the snowflakes we see have the same number of sides?” “It’s said that no two snowflakes are exactly alike, but can you find any that are similar?”

Next make paper snowflakes, there are many methods for making paper snowflakes, but one of the simplest methods starts with round paper coffee filters and a pair of scissors, appropriately sized for your child. First have your child fold the filter in half. Then count the “valleys” in the filter. Our coffee filter halves had 12 valleys. We knew we wanted to fold this piece into thirds so we divided 12 by 3, arriving at 4. This told us we needed to have each section have 4 “valleys”. Now fold the half-moon filter into 3rds, using these “valleys” as a guide. Finally fold the filter one last time. You have essentially folded the coffee filter into 12 pieces, but after cutting you will be left with a six-sided snowflake.

If you are folding snowflakes with older students now might be the time to take out a protractor.

Instead of counting the “valleys” in the filter and using a division problem to decide where to fold you could instead try to figure out the angles you will need to create. Present questions such as, “If the paper snowflake is a circle and therefore 360 degrees, how many degrees will the angle be when we divide the circle into sixths?” “Into twelfths?”

Now cut out your design making sure not to cut all the way through the folded edge.

Snowflakes also lend themselves to discussions of fractions. When you observe snowflakes in their natural setting it is very rare to find some that is completely intact. They have taken quite a ride to get to the ground and often have broken branches. You can observe what fractions of the branches are broken.

Symmetry is another mathematical concept that can be reviewed when observing snowflakes. Leaving aside the damage that can happen to a snowflake while it falls, snowflakes form in a symmetrical manner. Each snowflake starts as a hexagonal prism and since each arm of the flake forms under the same weather conditions each branch will be identical. After creating their paper snowflakes children can find the lines of symmetry by reviewing their folds, or using a straight edge, or pencil, to mark them.

Math really is all around us, especially in those little flakes currently falling outside my house!