MYO Pumpkin Patch

Target has these adorable pumpkin coasters in their party/paper products aisles. I originally bought them to use as invitations, but the possibilities for crafts and activities is just too tempting! They're perfect to string together into a fall garland, draw faces on for the 5 Little Pumpkins, or simply scatter across the yard to create a pumpkin patch.

I wrote numbers 1-10 on the back of the pumpkins and spread them around the yard for A to find and place in her bucket. The idea was to introduce her to the numbers as she picked up each one.

The fatal flaw in my plan was believing my two year old would want to pick up the pumpkins and place them in her bucket.

It never occurred to me that she would prefer the pumpkins on the ground where they lay.

"Would you like to put the pumpkins in your bucket?" "No tank you." "Um, okay..."

I guess I'll wait until E gets home from school. Then we can use the pumpkins to demonstrate the mathematical concept of doubling, like in the book:

Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins by Diane Ochiltree

E loves this book, and while I'm not as enthralled with the story of a raccoon that accidentally dumps 16 pumpkins down a hill, I like the math concepts hidden inside. The main character goes to load up her wagon with pumpkins for Gramps. At each stop she makes, she adds twice the number of pumpkins, starting with 2, then 4, and so on until she gets 16. Here, the wagon tips and spills the pumpkins down the hill. Sam is upset she ruined Gramps pumpkins, but he hands her a spoon and together they turn the bruised pumpkins into pumpkin pie.

Dinosaurs! Dinosaur Teeth Math

Now there's a smile you can't resist! E's teacher told me she needed some extra practice writing her numbers, so instead of giving her practice sheets, I devised this fun (and delicious) math game. I printed out a picture of Buddy from Dinosaur Train and placed a number of candy corn "teeth" on his mouth. E had to count the teeth and write the number down. Then I took away a few and asked her to write down the number of teeth now off the paper. Finally she had to subtract the second number from the first and write down the answer.

When she had done enough equations to cover the basic digits, I switched gears a bit. I placed one dinosaur tooth on the paper and asked her to count the stripes. Then I added a second, then a third, and so on. Each time she had to write down the new number of total stripes. After seven candy corn, I showed her the pattern she had made by counting by threes.

Of course at the end she got the chance to rot out her own teeth with Buddy's. :)

Dinosaur Dream by Dennis Nolan

The illustrations in this book are amazing! The story... not so much.

The premise isn't bad: a little boy discovers a baby dinosaur at his window and decides to walk back through time to return the dinosaur to his home. They journey through the ice age, the time of mammals, and back to the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, facing dangers in each era. The narration is dry, wordy, and a bit awkward at parts, but the paintings are truly beautiful. It's too bad the author didn't double the illustrations and make this a wordless story. I suggest you use the book as such and let your kids flip through the pages, supplying their own narration on each page.

Ride the Math Train!

Inspired by Katherine Marie's domino robots, I created an addition train for E this evening.

Each car held two dominoes, perfect for adding together vertically. (C'mon, you know you're jealous of my mad drawing skills!)

It actually took me longer to draw the train then it did for E to finish the problems. You can almost see her little wheels turning...

The Boxcar Children Books by Gertrude Warner

It's a week for classics! Do you remember these? I believe this was my first introduction to reading chapter books on my own. I must have been six or seven years old, but I still remember the story of four orphaned siblings and their adventures while living in a boxcar. The books are wholesome, exciting, and a perfect introduction to chapter books.

I just ordered the set of four for E. I plan on reading the first one outloud to her at bedtime and letting her enjoy devouring the rest on her own.



I'm linking up to:
- ABC & 123's Show & Tell

Watermelon Math

How many seeds does each watermelon have? How many when you add the sets together? Cutting out the watermelons proved to be a great exercise in fine motor skills; adding up the watermelon seeds helped practice math and penmanship.

For a second activity, I cut the circles and glued them to the page to demonstrate fractions. While E dotted the seeds I explained simple fractions and how to write them.

Not to leave the baby out of the fun, I helped her create a W is for Watermelon page. She did a great job gluing the triangles and adding the seeds. Then she had a wonderful time scribbling over the entire sheet and eventually pulling the watermelon off and tearing them into little pieces all over my floor.

But how can you deny that joy to such a free spirit?

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert

This is one of those books you should have on your shelf. It combines the colorful collage art of Lois Ehlert, the alphabet, and a wide variety of fruits and veggies... what more could you want? Not only will your child have her ABC's reinforced, but she'll be introduced to exotic and interesting produce on every page. It's a favorite of our family.


 
I'm linking up to:
- ABC & 123's Show & Tell