Teach At Home Thursday: Growing Plants

There is something about watching things grow and change.   This is why I became a teacher and started this series, Teach at Home Thursdays. When I was working in the classrooms, too often parents would  they don’t know how to help their children at home without buying materials or curriculum and then they don’t know what way to “teach” their children as there are times they learn different methods at school.

This is so common and breaks my heart to hear a parent say this; after all we are a child’s first teacher. That’s right a parent is a child’s first teacher, but what exactly does that mean? Let’s think about it, first who teaches your child how to be comforted when they are crying? Who is the person or persons that they model their language development from? Are you seeing a pattern here? It all goes and comes back to parent involvement. With that being said, it is my philosophy and always has been to help my student’s parents do thing with them at home that help to develop skills and create opportunities to spend time together as a family. The learning will come from there; it is amazing when it does happen.

A simple and easy activity to do at home is growing things, whether is be a flower, a vegetable or even a fruit. Growing something together is almost symbolic of your relationship with your child; you are learning and growing together.

Start with whatever you want to grow, in my household; we planted flowers, garlic, started lettuce and cucumbers. Cost for the activity will all depend on what you want to plant, where you plant them and what you plan on doing it.  The garlic and the lettuce were leftovers from our meals; the cucumbers were given to us in a kit and the flowers, we bought two different kind, wildflowers and gladiolus.

 

We used baby food, salsa and pickle jars and yogurt containers to start our plants. I picked up a bag of soil at Rite Aide for $5.00. Total cost of the project: $15.00 with the soil and the bulbs that we purchased. Not bad for a learning experience that will hopefully help us have some extra food!

 

our planted flowers

some garlic (love me this stuff)

into the soil they go!

getting some sun: our lettuce, garlic and avacado tree (well hopefully)

day four: look at those roots!

We started by planting the garlic cloves. They were pretty easy to plant, fill a container, make a hole and drop in the clove. Cover with dirt. Good to go. The Gladiolus were just about as simple, fill a jar with dirt, place bulb on top and done.

 

Once all of the seeds/bulbs were planted, we discussed what we were going to see, what we thought was going to happen, was it easy or hard to grow food, what they looked like on day one.  We took pictures to document our plants.

 

To help to document the growth and help the children to enhance their reasoning skills, I created a workbook page that they could keep track of their plants. Here it is:

 

 

On the page is a line for what day it is of growth, how tall, the date and a space to draw a picture. The picture is the most important part for the children as this is where you will see what they are noticing. At first the children drew an empty container (well filled with soil) . A couple of days later, they couldn’t see the roots, so they drew an empty container. When we turned the baby food jar over, they discovered there had been roots growing the entire time. Woah, what a surprise for them. They knew plants had roots, but didn’t realize they had to grow down before they could grow up! What a neat experience. I loved seeing their faces light up like light bulbs. Continue on another week and we are starting to see green! They are thrilled and I couldn’t been happier with their fascination with how the plants are growing. Even Bean is so excited to see the plants. He always tries to grab them. It has been three weeks now and our books are growing and so are our plants.

 

 

our flowers after three weeks! They look great

garlic one: the kids loved seeing it so much we planted three more containers

more flowers: closer look at them

look at our cucumber after two weeks!

and after three weeks! It is always so amazing to me at how fast they grow!

love all the flowers, cannot wait to see them when they bloom

 Pumpkin wanted to "unplant" one of the plants so we could explore it more closely. What a great idea, even I sat there in awe. This is our garlic after a week of growing.

Best part of the activity my children have a better understanding of where some of their food comes from. Next step: measuring our plants and introducing the concept of composting.

 

What have you see when you plant with your children?

 

Memorial Day

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

To find out more history of the Pledge of Allegiance, check out this webpage.

Countdown to Summer

If you been around for awhile or just joining us countdown charts are a huge hit in the Barefoot house! When making the countdowns, I try to incorporate different activities to make whatever it is we are counting down to more interesting. This is also a great way to help incorporate chores! Yes, I said it, chores; there is something about having a chore on a countdown chart that makes it just a little less work like.

For summer, we wanted to make a countdown till the end of school. It was actually Peanuts idea he kept saying “Ma, how many more days? Then are those school days or weekends?” As if it really mattered right? You still have to live that day before the school year ends.

My mind drew a blank on what type of countdown to do, we have down a couple over the years, our back to school one, with pencils and a can, a calendar one where we just crossed the days off, and this time, I wanted some more visual. My disney countdown here.  I looked on Pinterest and found a couple of ideas and decided yes, these will work if they are modified just a bit.

What is more summer like than the sun, using construction paper, we cut a sun out. Making paper chains was a big hit for Pumpkin’s party; you can read that here, so paper chains it was.  21 days sounded like a good number of days to countdown from. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to color code it or just make it colorful. The kids decided to just let it go with the flow and see what happened. As they were cutting the strips of paper to make the links, I hopped on word and typed up a list of summer activities to start to make our transition into summer more fun!

These are in order of how I wanted them to occur, also so it matched up with the Memorial Day holiday.

1.       Time to clean out your clothes, sort them, what fits, what doesn’t? Pack them and donate the rest.  Make a game out of it, who can come up with the most  interesting outfit?

2.       Bathing suit shoping, woo hoo! Who is ready for summer? Do you need a hat as well? Maybe some sunglasses too?

3.       Let’s play outside and make footprint animal sandals, those are going to be fun!

4.       Time to move our plants outside, they need the sun and summer lovin’ as well.

5.       Make coconut smelling summer playdough. Can you smell it, yup that’s summer!

6.       Haircuts! Have to look good for summer. Smile your future is so bright!

7.       Celebrate Memorial Day! Let’s make red, white and blue food! It’s the unofficial start to summer!

8.       It’s hot today, a summer treat is in order. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

9.       Clean out our summer toys, does anything need replaced? Let’s make an obstacle course!

10.   Learn some sign language, summer words: hot, summer, fun, play, sand

11.   Time to stock up- we need more bubbles. Ready for some poppin’ fun

12.   Catch fireflys tonight and let’s make one to hang in the window

13.   You are my sunshine- family artwork project.

14.   Have a dance party- luau anyone? Summer is almost here can you feel it?

15.   Go on a scavenger hunt? Let’s find some fun nature things, get out your egg cartons.

16.   Fire time, who wants smore’s?  Let’s check out the stars, get out your stargazing kits!

17.   Make an end of the year gift for your teachers. Say thank you!

18.   Have a water balloon fight, who can get Mama?

19.   Get out the summer chairs and furniture, camp out in the backyard?

20.   It’s the last night before the end of school, get some rest. Tomorrow is a fun day!

21.   It’s officially summer! Welcome, oh how we missed you. Take your last day of school pictures?

 

The countdown turned out fabulous, I love the way that the colors pop and how it just screams fun. What are some of your favorite summer activities. Have you made your bucket list yet? We are busy trying to figure out how we will make our this year. Here’s one of our favorites. Check out how we have made our summer checklist in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

Savory Sunday: Yogurt Drops

Easy, Cost Effective and Tasty: Yes, that is just my type of recipe or snack. Years ago, I learned that half of what you are paying for at the grocery store is convience! Shredded cheese in a bag, add three dollars to the cost. Umm no thank you, I will shred it myself.

Baby food: Yuck, bain of my existence, why make it harder for yourself and why pay someone almost triple what it will cost you to make at home. I came across these yogurt drops in the baby food section and was like wow, these are great but really $4.29 a bag? umm that is a big no!

I loved the concept of yogurt drops, thus it was time to create my own. Starting with a cookie sheet, piece of parchment paper, a ziploc bag and some yogurt. We had our own for a fraction of the cost and the best part is, I know exactly how they were made!

I started with a strong flavored yogurt, Black Cherry seemed like a good one to start with,  after all you will only be getting a small bite at a time.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Fill a ziploc bag with yogurt and snip off the corner, or if you have a pastry bag, that would work as well.

Gently sqeeze dime sized amounts on the cookie sheet.

Place the cookie sheet into the freezer for about 20 minutes and instant drops!

Frozen drops and into a storage container! Love this fun and easy snack!

What do you like to enjoy on a hit summer day?

Best part, we created applesauce drops for Bean!

Bella Kai: Preschool Graduation and End of Year Celebration

With graduation season in full force, it was time to share one of the preschool graduations/end of the year celebrations that I helped to plan. When Peanut was in preschool, his teacher asked me to coordinate the graduation/end of the year celebration and of course I jumped at the chance.

There were three big challenges: little if no budget, little time and very limited resources. What was I thinking? Hello? Talk about adding stress where it wasn't before! These are my favorite types of parties to plan because I feel as if my skills are really being tested. When you have a big budget, it is easy to make the party look stylish (again this is just my opinion!) and spend money on little things. When there is no money or very little you have to be resourceful and use what you have.

Simple, Fun, Colorful and Memorable was what I shooting for.
Starting with the invitations, I really think they captured what the theme was.

Now, what to do with the kids that again was simple, fun and could include all of the children. We had children going to kindergarten (age 5) all the way to just starting preschool (age 2). I kept racking my brain and racking my brain, I also wanted to incorporate an end of the year memory activity. After days and I do mean days of searching (these were the days before Pinterest) and talking with my colleagues, it hit me! Why not do t-shirts? They are easy, each child can modify it to his or her own desire and best of all, the parents can send in a shirt. This helped with the budge for three reasons, one it saved me from having to create 18 different whatevers! Each t-shirt was something that the children already had and liked. (always a bonus) and three, it was one less thing I had to stress about.

The children were asked what they wanted to put on their shirts and after seeing a couple others putting their hand prints, they all wanted too. The shirts ended up having their hand prints, the year, their name and the room number. At some point, we included the children from the rest of the school that were going to Kindergarten and all of the children in Peanut's room. The more the merrier right?

I have to admit I think t-shirts ended up being the hit of the day! There is just something so cute about seeing children's hand prints!

 

After the t shirt decorating, we sang a song about the end of the year and going to kindergarten, we also sung it again and changed the wording for staying in preschool for another year! We did our best to include everyone!

 

Here are the lyrics to the song:

 

Now I know my ABC's,
Colors, shapes, and days.
I sang some songs,
Learned some poems, rhymes, and fingerplays.

I played outside on sunny days
And inside when it rained.
My little hands and little feet
were busy every day.

My Teacher was (teacher's name), (Ms. Michelle)
I kept her on her toes,
She tied my shoes, combed my hair,
and even wiped my nose.But now it's time to say "good-bye"
To all my preschool friends.
School is over, summer's here,
But learning never ends!

 

After singing, we enjoyed some cake! The cake was phenomenal, not only was it exactly what I envisioned but it tasted great too (or so I was told, cake is not an item, I actually eat). Isn't it adorable?

Faithfully cakes did a fantastic job, I told her what I was picturing and out came the perfect cake!

 

 

 

When cake was over, we ventured outside for some bubble blowing, after all bubbles are a super fun activity and have a huge impact for very little money. Using items that the school had on hand, the children helped to make bubbles. You can read the recipe that was used in this previous post or find the recipe under the recipes tab of my blog!

The ending part of our celebration was to let go of balloons with a special note attached hoping that someone would get them and send a note back to the children.
Below you will find the tag and the balloon cluster before the children let them go.

 

 We had the children let go of the balloons in age order, starting with the children going off to kindergarten and working our way down to the two year olds, the staff and then the parents that joined us. The children loved to see the balloons float up into the air. While the balloons were floating we were asking the children where they thought the balloons would end up. There answers were great! China, Hawaii, my house, to the president and my grandma in Heaven. You couldn't help but smile! There is just something about a child's innocence.

 

It was a beautiful way to end the year and celebrate the next step in the children's lives.

Cost breakdown of the party:

Balloons, ribbon and tag: $5.00 ( a local party store gave me a 50% discount, when I told them what it was for, SCORE!)

Invitations: design free (there is a reason, I learned how to do photoshop :) )
printing: we used the teacher's paper allotment for the school year.

Lunch: provided for the children under the school meal program guidelines. There was no choice in the matter under federal guidelines, the children must eat the lunch provided. Using a cookie cutter of a smiley face, and a balloon, we just dressed up the lunch. Cookie cutters, were things that I already had on hand.

T-shirts: children provided. We provided the t-shirt paint, about $10 using a Micheal's coupon.

Bubbles: supplies already on hand. If you are buying them for a special occasion, it will usually cost about $3-4 dollars, depending on the brand of supplies you purchase and also the amount you decide to use.

Paper supplies: napkins, plates, forks, cups and spoons: $12 and the left overs were kept for next years celebration.

Cake: $50, now I know what you are thinking, yes $50 is a lot of money and we could have had
probably got one cheaper somewhere else. With everything else being cheaper or stuff we already had, I wanted a centerpiece. The rave reviews that were received about the cake, made it worth it. There was so much cake left over that we were able to give everyone in the school a piece, about 80 people. Yes, 80 people. The students and the staff throughout loved us on this day!

Total cost of the party: $77 dollars. If you break it down to a per person cost, if you go by the amount of people that ate cake; it breaks down to 96 cents a person! If you go just by party guests, it is $1.27 a person. Either way it is a huge score!

How do your children celebrate their preschool graduation? or kindergarten for that matter? I would love to hear the details.

Travel Tuesday: Pearl Harbor

As many of you know or are discovering from my blog. I love to travel and visit new places. There is something about learning about a new place that really appeals to me. When I hear of an activity or a place to visit, you can betcha, I am on my computer working away trying to find information and coupons for the place! Throughout the year, I am hoping to share places with you that I have traveled and my tips and tricks for making your visit there wonderful. It is a goal of mine to have all of my kiddos visit every state before they graduate high school. Not only do I want them to see our beautiful country, but there is something to be said about having your children learn and appreciate different cultures. 
 
My first place to share with you is Pearl Harbor. I absolutely adore anything in Hawaii and Pearl Harbor combines my love for Hawaii and my love for history. Yes, I am a history nerd :) Proud of it! You can visit the official tour website : Pearl Harbor Tours or the National Parks web page: Pearl Harbor

First, Pearl Harbor is free. You can't beat that price, now, you are not allowed to carry bags into the museum or monument for security purposes. It cost about three dollars to check your bags. Me, I just lock them in my trunk or leave them at home. 

The down fall of the park being free is that you have to go early, they only give out a certain number of tickets and then they are gone. The summer months especially fill up quickly, as do national holidays, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, December 7, Labor Day especially.

I have been lucky enough to visit Pearl Harbor on a few occasions, my first being Veteran's Day and my second on December 7.  What an experience I will never forget.

You will begin your trip to the monument by watching a brief (about 15 mins) video of the events leading up to the attacks at Pearl Harbor, you will also be given the opportunity to listen to a survivor speak about the morning. Let me tell you, prepare yourself for tears and goose bumps. Having seen the movie on four separate occasions, I can honestly say I still cry and learn/see something new each time. When the movie is over you then walk to one of the boats that takes you over to the memorial it's self. It is a short ride but very humbling as you listen to sailors explain the events of the morning and show you where exactly they take place. When you enter the memorial it is quiet, they ask that you refrain from speaking loudly and honor the victims of the attack by staying so.  I have been a few times and I tell you I learn and see something new each and every time I go. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my multiple trips.


welcome sign and my sister

If you are nice one of the sailor just might take his picture with you.
 He told me it was an honor to be bringing visitors to P.H.

This always gives me chills- how anyone survived is a miracle.

by far my favorite- this is a plumeria flower in the oil that still leaks out to this day.

some of the ship is above water and if you look carefully you can see the majority is not.

one of the battleships presently there- just gives you an idea of how big they really are.

The wall of names- the men and women who perished that day- divided up according to branch of service.

the survivors who passed away and wanted to join their fellow service men. They were buried at sea.

the anchor from the Arizona! Talk about huge!

a flag always flies above and you can actually purchase one as a souvenir

each one marks the placement of  a ship in the harbor that morning.

flags from inside the memorial

One of my favorite stories to tell about Pearl Harbor is from when I took Peanut there for a visit, you can read all about it here. A good night not Good Bye.

This is just one of many places that I highly recommend you visit when you visit Hawaii. Learn and embrace what Pearl Harbor means to our nation.