PreK+K Sharing Turns THREE with a HUGE Give Away!

OH HAPPY DAY!!! Collaboration turns THREE!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
WIN OVER $300 Worth of ECE PRIZES!!!

If you had a baby born on November first of 2011, that child is now quite the independent young whizz kid: singing, playing, discovering, building, digging, jumping, questioning and exploring at every opportunity! And that's just what happens around here at our collaborative blog ALL!THE!TIME! 

Month in and month out: it is a thrill to see our collective efforts of contribution to the Early Childhood field continue. Three years is a long time! I am so very proud of the 750 articles that fly united here under our collaborative banner. This is now something of an encyclopedia of sharing!

What an honor and thrill to wear the crown of editor-in-chief and rub elbows with these dignitaries and authors. I stand in awe and gratitude for the dedication of these professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty to share their best. My heart is full. THANK YOU. 

It is time for a CELEBRATION! 

In honor of our latest milestone we've gathered some happy prizes for a VERY lucky winner! I will be giving away a set of all three of my picture books. Each of my books include a CD insert inside, as the text of that book are the lyrics to one of my earlier songs. I write on the first of every month and this is my body of work here at the collaborative. You can get better acquainted with my work and travels over at my blog: Rainbows Within Reach. 

The first to jump into the give-away spirit was our very own "Simply Kinder" Jennifer! We have had the amazing opportunity to be together on several memorable occasions, the latest of which culminated in my visiting her school wearing my author hat and then the four of us taking a JEEP tour across Sedona, hubbies included. If you want to see a picture of me levitating over Red Rocks click here, but most likely you want to see what Kadar is cooking up at all things Simply Kinder! Here are her contributions around our Sharing collaborative. 

It was her brilliant idea to ask EduCents to get involved and involved they got! The lucky winner will receive a gift certificate for $100 worth of goodies from the EduCents vault of unique shopping opportunity! Think of the VALUE of that prize on the little lives you impact! 

This summer I had the great good fortune to have the brilliant Deborah McNelis stay in our summer haven for a delightful visit! She was our #GuestEduCelebrity in the spotlight of one of our #TeacherFriends Twitter Chats. We tweeted together in real time! What a hoot! I also got to eavesdrop on her conversations with China on spreading her amazing 'brain-work' around the world. Deborah is donating her brain packet for 'Thriving at Five.' I know the winner will glean much from her awesome set of cards and their professional presentation. We will see each other next at the Redleaf author's reception at NAEYC.  Visit her website, Brain Insights for all the latest! Deb's articles here at the collaborative are simply amazing. 

Next up! Our lucky winner will receive a set of FOUR CDs from one of our founding {and most consistent} contributors, MISS CAROLE! We go back in the 'way-back' machine a VERY l-o-n-g time! Let's just suffice it to say that my hubby has had birthday pizza in Miss Carole's dining room on more than one occasion! We have been the guests more times than I can count in the windy city home of the gracious hostess, Miss Carole. Ages ago the two of us got to co-present at a national convention of the American Library Association. Seeing Carole's snowball blizzard unfold in real life is an amazing experience! Visit her articles here at the collaborative or her website Macaroni Soup for her latest adventures. We have Dallas-NAEYC hugs slated for next week at her booth! 

What a complete delight to have two digital products donated by one of our newest authors. I can always count on Terri's enthusiasm and support when I have yet another of my last minute ideas. Terri has contributed her two best sellers to our incredible prize package. The two of us have yet to meet in real life, though our plans to do so are scheming all the time. When ever I have an opportunity to travel WEST I think of Terri! One of these times we're going to have all of our ducks in a row and it is going to happen. Terri blogs at "Kinder Kapers" and has a growing list of articles here under our PreK+K Sharing banner as well. 

Ask and you shall receive. Dr. Ellaine Bailey-Miller is one of those 'get results' type of people! She is a dynamo and power house for certain. I have gotten to observe her organizational skills and insight upon her invitation to give the keynote at Auburn University several years ago for their state conference. It has been a pleasure to watch her children grown up over the years of our continued interaction. She writes for us on so many issues near and dear to the youngest in our midst. She contributes a copy of "The Scientist in the Crib" for the lucky winner. Thanks Ellaine! 

HOT OFF THE PRESS! Our lucky winner will receive Carolyn Kislowski's newest and coolest digital download product called "Book Ends: Writing Prompts for Author Studies." What could be nearer to my heart? Carolyn is also 'newish' around these parts, but settling into her date with the bestest of front-line-Kinder-teacher insight every month! I've just realized that she lives in the area our youngest went to college. Cue 'Small World' music. My favorite fall-memory? Driving through her hillsides. If only we had known each other then! Learn all about Carolyn at her blog, "Holding Hands and Sticking Together" which tells you a lot about this dear heart. Or read her articles contributed for over a year, here at our community. 

Carie. My sweet Carie. I have written numerous articles about how the two of us met one another and all of the interactions that have taken place since our first encounter. Carie's contribution now is that of a kindergarten teacher, but prior to her central Illinois classroom? She served our country for nine years in the Army, with a year of active duty in Iraq. The woman is energy, enthusiasm and eagerness all rolled into one. Think dynamo, think Carie. She is contributing her Kindergarten Office digital download. I saw them in action in her classroom and knew that others would WANT them! Find Carie's thoughts at "Kindergarten Hugs" or around here, too! 

There are so many things that come from the blogging experience. Growth. Friendships. Learning. People. Insight. Professionalism. Staying with it/blogging/writing over the long haul reaps all sorts of additional rewards. I just recently received a copy of Dr. Julianne P. Wurm's book, "More Working in the Reggio Way" as a result of my own trip to Reggio and reflections on this incredible approach to working with children. She found ME! I have promised a review of her book and then promised to pass it on to a lucky winner! Talk about perfect timing! I have been turning the pages and learning so much from her insight. As promised I will pass my copy to our lucky winner! 

To conclude. Insert drum......roll....... 

Without a doubt the author that receives the most readers month after month after month is our very own Deb Chitwood!!! It is amazing to see how she weaves together a modern Montessori approach around themes and freebies that she searches the cyber-globe to collect into her monthly contributions. Not only does she write from the heart and soul of experience, making every teacher and parent's work easier, but she professionally networks her article out to the wider world as well. I always wonder if she has more minutes in her hours, or how I might follow in her footsteps to learn how she juggles it all! We came so close to meeting in Colorado, but alas, she was moving even further westward at the time. Meeting this powerhouse is at the top of my blogger bucket list. Visit her comprehensive blog, "Living Montessori Now" or spend the day in her contributions to our collaboration. In either place you will be blessed. Our lucky winner will receive a copy of her eBook, "Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy." From the title alone, you know why we adore this woman!  

*** THIS JUST IN! ADDITIONAL PRIZEs JUST ADDED! 

It is TOTALLY my fault that I had this give away idea at the last possible moment. Some of our authors will be discovering our fun once the Halloween hoopla settles down. 

I have just heard from our national dance expert, Connie Dow that she is contributing a copy of her first book, "Dance, Turn, Hop, Learn" to sweeten the grand prize. Connie's articles are gathered here for your reference. You will want to learn more at her website.  

True to form. I can ALWAYS count on Bill Corbett! He has just found out about our party and is adding a copy of his book to the loot pile. You can learn more about Bill at his site, Cooperative Kids or read back through his many articles in support of parents. 

How lucky are you feeling? 

I know you REALLY want to win this GRANDEST of GRAND prizes! 

I've made the Rafflecopter SUPER easy! 

You get entries for following our blog, tweeting or pinning. 

EASY-PEASY!

Good luck! 

I threw in some extra digital downloads for runner-ups! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The whole reason that it finally dawned on me that this birthday-milestone was about to unfurl, is that we are packing and leaving for NAEYC at dawn. In many ways the annual NAEYC conference is the before and after watershed marker of my calendar year. 

THIS YEAR. NEXT THURSDAY! I will be presenting on Nov. 6th at 1:00 in the afternoon in room D222!!! I am very grateful to Zaner-Bloser for their continued support and sponsorship! If you're attending NAEYC, by all means I invite you to come! Bring a friend! The title of my workshop is, "ABC, 123, Just for Me: Movement and Music make Fine Motor Fun." This is the official launch of the two videos we shot earlier this year for Fine Motor Fun. Before and afterwards please meet me at my booth #1119.

If you are in the Dallas area on Tues., Nov. 4th you are cordially invited to the ZB kick-off reception that begins at 4:00 with hors d'evours and PRIZES at your favorite Dallas restaurant. Reach out to me for that location so that I can add you to the guest list! 

Now how can I be of further service to you? How about a couple of links to some of my favorite articles for November! Just click the picture to leap over to my blog! 

Earlier I wrote about the inherent potential for racism to unfold in our over-simplified observation of Thanksgiving with young children. I know we all mean well, but every year we need to take a harder look at what we present to our youngest on the reality of history. 

 

If you still have time for a few Fall Leaf Color Projects, 

this RoundUP is for you! Granted there are some jack-o-lanterns mixed in, but the seasonal tree colors win the day!

One of my favorite RoundUPs of the last month was this one that includes 56 Easels in the Early Childhood classroom. If you're a creative-type I know you'll get a kick out of looking over my shoulder! 

For those of you that like to plan well ahead, here are some Christmas possibilities.

Can't wait to see you in Dallas! 

Good luck with our Give-away!

Here's some photos of earlier NAEYC fun with the authors! 





Where's our picture from last year? 
Will need to scout about a bit!  

Montessori-Inspired April Showers Activities

By Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori Now

Today, I want to share some ideas for Montessori-inspired trays using a free April Showers Preschool Pack from Our Little Monkeys. I love the versatility of this printable pack! The activities could work well for a spring-, weather-, April showers-, or gardening unit. Thank you, Our Little Monkeys!

Of course, strict Montessorians might want to skip the activities with smiling flowers. But I’m an eclectic Montessorian, and I happen to love smiling flowers! :)

With 35 pages, there are many hands-on activity trays you can put together from this preschool pack. Print out and laminate the activities you choose on cardstock, or print them out on thick, glossy photo paper and skip lamination for activities that will have very light use in a homeschool. Following are just a few examples of hands-on activities created with the April Showers Preschool Pack.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Water Cycle Activity

I like to add 3-dimensional objects to an activity for preschoolers whenever I can. For this activity, I found some acrylic gems in a variety of shapes, including raindrop shapes, at a hobby store (Michaels). I used an inexpensive wooden tray from the hobby store.

I would use this activity to tell the story of the water cycle, moving the raindrop through the water cycle as I tell it. Then I’d leave the activity on the shelf for the child or children to use whenever they choose.

F is for Flower Beginning Sounds Activity

I love glass gems! For this Montessori-inspired activity tray, I found glass gems at the hobby store. I put the exact number of glass gems for each color in a round candle coaster along with a sugar tong from Montessori Services. This makes a nice language activity, but I especially love that the themed printable adds interest to a practical life tonging activity.

Of course, you don’t need to use glass gems for this activity. You could use playdough balls, pom poms with a strawberry huller, magnetized pom poms or Power Magnets on a metal tray, or dot markers (if you don’t laminate the activity).

In Montessori education, we emphasize phonetic sounds rather than letter names. I would demonstrate the activity by placing the printable on a rug and saying, "/f/ is for flower." Then I would show how to use the sugar tong to place a few of the glass gems before returning the tray to the shelf for the child(ren) to use.

April Showers Beginning Sounds Activity

In the preschool pack, this is intended as a worksheet with a circle-the-beginning-letter activity. I like to cut apart these sorts of printables and make them into hands-on activities.

I made this into a clothespin activity like the count-and-clip cards also in the April Showers pack. I used a medium-size tray from Montessori Services, which is very handy and more difficult to find locally than larger trays. I would use a ¼” round color coding label in the color of the tray on the back of each card to correlate with the correct position of the clothespin. This serves as a control of error (instant self-correction devise).

If you have a preschool or group, this would be a great activity for a large- or small-group presentation, although it can be introduced individually, of course.

Presentation Tips

• If you’re presenting to a large group, go to the rug container, get a rug, and roll it out on the floor in front of you. For an individual child or small group, it’s helpful to use a rug if you’re presenting an activity on the floor.
• Go to the shelf where the activity tray is located, pick up the tray with both hands, and carry it to your rug or to a table.
• For a large-group presentation in a preschool, generally the children will be seated in a circle. Present the activity facing toward the group. If you’re presenting to an individual child, have the child sit to your left if you’re right-handed so that you don’t block the child’s view with your arm.
• Place the cards in a row on the rug or table, starting at the left and working to the right. As I place each card on the rug I would say, “Raincoat” emphasizing the initial sound, “/b/ /b/ boots,” etc. When the cards are all laid out, I would start with the first card (for example, the raincoat) and say something like: “The letter ‘r’ makes the sound /r/; the letter ‘ū’ makes the sound /ŭ/; the letter ‘j’ makes the sound /j/.” (Here’s a post with information about Montessori sandpaper letters and how to introduce sandpaper letters, my favorite activity for introducing phonetic sounds.)
• After attaching the clothespins to all the cards, I would turn the cards over to see that the color-coding dots are under the clothespins.
• When you’re finished with the activity, put the activity away on the shelf. Always show how to clean up and put away an activity when you first present it. If you had a rug out for the activity, roll the rug up and put it away.

Water the Flower Game

For this 1-5 number activity, I used two of the acrylic raindrops as game pieces, although there are paper printables included that you can use. There’s even a numbered die included, which is easy to assemble.

Counting Raindrops Activity

To organize the small items in this activity, I used two Really Useful Box organizers (which I find really useful ;)) from an office supply store, although you could use any sort of small containers that work for you. I used the blue glass gems as pretend raindrops (10 gems since the numbers are from 1-10). Paper raindrops are included in the printable, although I used the glass gems because they’re 3-dimensional.

For this activity, place the number cards face down in mixed order, draw a card, place it on the green square on the mat, and count out the correct number of raindrops onto the page.

A Few Other Suggestions for the April Showers Pack

• For the “What Color is the Umbrella?” activity, I think it would be great to match up the umbrella cards with the tablets from Montessori Color Box 2. (Here's a post with DIY Color Tablets and presentations.) I would probably also use the umbrella cards for a color scavenger hunt where the child(ren) would find objects from the classroom or home, matching the umbrella colors.
• I often laminate handwriting practice cards to create wipe-off handwriting cards.
• I would use the cards intended for 3-part cards or memory game as a cute theme-related memory game. I recommend downloading some of the printables linked to in the following post to use as 3-part cards if you’re doing a spring- or gardening unit: Free Montessori Botany Materials for a Gardening Unit.

I’d love to hear if you’re doing a spring- or gardening unit study! :)

Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in Colorado Springs with her husband of 36 years and their cat of 11 years. She blogs at Living Montessori Now.

Linked with AfterSchool Linky Party, Tuesday Tots, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co., Thrifty Thursday, Fun Stuff Fridays, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Preschool Corner, Fun Stuff Fridays, Show-and-Share Saturday, Link & Learn, and The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom.

Reuse and Sort!

If you're one of the many teachers and parents who can't stand to throw away a cardboard box, a paper towel tube, a jar or any other useful doo-dad, because you just know you'll need it someday for project time; here are a few new ideas to help you put your collection to good use.

It's time to reuse and sort!

Why? Well, the "reuse" part is obvious. Every day is Earth Day! And sorting is an important skill for young children. As they learn to recognize and classify items into groups, they learn to see items in sets, which is an essential beginning math skill. Learning to sort helps kids develop logic and analytical thinking skills, not to mention the fact that it's just a practical life skill.

Box Sorter:

1. Collect tiny boxes. I started with some particularly solid boxes of the same size and shape as a base. I think this helped the whole structure say upright. This is only important if you plan to stand the structure upright like a shadow box.
2. Trim boxes so they are all approximately the same depth.
3. Attach boxes in any fun arrangement using masking tape or duct tape. I also wrapped duct tape around the entire outside edge.
4. Decide what you want to sort, and decorate or label the inside of your boxes. With 26 boxes, you could make a section for each letter of the alphabet, or you could do sections for each number, color or any other sorting characteristics. (In my example above, I used paper cut to fit the inside of the boxes, and I secured loosely with tape so I could change the labels to sort something else later.)
5. Have kids go on a hunt to find tiny items to fit in each category. Discuss and display for a while, then sort a new way! We sorted Lego pieces that started with each alphabet letter.

Jar Sorters:

We've also used baby food jars for the same kind of sorting activity. We labeled each one with a different letter of the alphabet, and collected items to go in each jar. You could obviously use jars of any size, but my kids enjoyed the challenge of finding TINY little items to fit in the tiny jars. Again, I labeled with removable stickers so it would be easy to change the sorting categories.

Here are some ways to sorting: (Really, the possibilities are endless!)

• Alphabet letters
• Numbers
• Textures
• Colors
• Shapes

Word Rollers:

 If your kids are a little older, and starting to read and learn spelling rules, you might also like to try Word Rollers. This activity is a great way to use up old paper towel rolls, and practice combining letters to make words. You can make your own, or use my free Word Rollers printable. (Download here.) Just print, attach to tubes, cut and you're ready to roll. This printable includes color words, CVC and CVCe words, plus a blank template to customize with words of your choice.

If you'd like more ideas for using the Box Sorters for playtime, visit my blog, www.smalltypes.com to read about our Toy Apartments!

Ok, go gather your materials. Oh, that's right. They're already stashed in your garage, closets and cupboards!  :)