little explorers

momstown reads Lucky Duckling at Tales for Tots program

momstown chapters read Scholastic's Lucky Ducklings at Tales for Tots programs across the country - it was a great fit with our Little Explorers curriculum theme as our little ones learned all about a true story about some very lucky ducklings!

 

tales for tots lucky ducklings

 

Lucky Ducklings is the true story of a family of ducks who went for a walk only to fall down a storm drain and how an entire town rallied to save the ducklings.  Just when you think the story is over and there is nothing more that can be done, someone else jumps in to help!

 

lucky ducklings ottawa

momstown Ottawa decided to make the ducklings a compass - so next time they will know where they are going! What a great tie-in with our Little Explorers theme this month!

 

tales for tots lucky ducklings

 

momstown Hamilton's little ones made colourful duck mobiles, using duck cutouts, stickers, card stock cut-out umbrellas, and a coat hanger - what cute little ducks!

 

tales for tots lucky ducklings

momstown Brampton kiddos got painting - sweet little duck pictures! With a bit of blue paint, cut out ducks, and feathers, they had some Lucky Duckling masterpieces!

 

Learn more about momstown's partnership with Scholastic and the Tales for Tots program - running monthly in momstown chapters across the country!

Posted by Teacher Mom on 05/08/2013 - 10:07
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Make a Simple Compass with your Preschooler

momstown moms and kids made a fun and easy preschool compass craft to go along with our educational curriculum of the month “Little Explorers”.  It is a simple activity, to help your preschooler learn about Science in a fun and interesting way.  Try it at home with a treasure hunt for a fun afternoon of learning and exploring!

 

Our Little Explorers and Little Scientists  gathered together to make some compasses.  Here's how we did it;

 

1. First we drew the face on our compass.

make your own compass

2.  Next we put a paperclip on it.

make your own compass for kids

3.  Then we 'magnetized' the paperclip by rubbing a magnet along it; Rub the magnet south TO north, and you have to make sure you only go in one direction (i.e. lift the magnet off the paper clip inbetween 'rubs').

make your own compass for kids

4.  When we put it in water, the compass turned in the water until it pointed North!

preschool compass

Submitted by momstown Burlington

 

 

Posted by momstown team on 04/22/2013 - 11:05
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Sensory Play with Spaghetti

The momstown Milton Baby Sensory group had a wriggly, squiggly time exploring cooked spaghetti!

 

sensory fun with spaghetti

 

Playing with cooked and coloured spaghetti is an inexpensive way to have some good sensory fun with our little ones. Babies as young as 5 months and preschoolers up to age 4 year old can have fun touching, tasting and creating art with spaghetti.  It looks like it would be a messy activity, but it isn't!  

 

Instructions:

 

1.  Boil 1lb of spaghetti in a large pot. Once it is cooked, drain it and separate into a couple of bowls.

2.  Add about 1/2 tsp oil to each bowl and some Wilton gel food colouring (start with a small dab, add more if needed). The oil helps keep the colour from running onto clothes (though make sure to use a spoon while you are mixing the colour into the spaghetti!).  

 

Aside from being a tad oily, no colour leaked onto clothing or hands!  We used a plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor and added some toys and tools for fun.   

 

For more ideas on how to engage your child in sensory play, visit momstown Milton.

 

Posted by momstown team on 04/22/2013 - 10:40
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Sign of the Month: Exploring

While your little ones are out exploring with the other momstown mamas and kids this month, take some time to teach them a new sign.  This sign is for "Exploring".  It's a great sign to teach young and older children, as it is a simple but fun sign!

 

 

How to use this sign: 

Practise with you child and model the sign; "Let's go exploring".

Teach them the sign and ask them to make the sign when they hear the word in these great Exploring books.

Show your child the sign for "exploring" when Dora and Diego go off on an adventure with map, on the tv!

 sign language for "explorer"

 

 Check our other sign language posts here.

 Laura Berg, my smart hands

Monthly signs are submitted by guest blogger, Laura Berg, My Smart Hands,

Laura Berg is the President of My Smart Hands Inc, a company that teaches baby sign language and now boasts over 200 instructors worldwide. Her recently published book, The Baby Signing Bible (Avery/Penguin) has cemented her status as the go-to authority on Baby Sign Language.
Posted by Teacher Mom on 04/02/2013 - 17:46
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Vinegar and Baking Soda Kitchen Science Bubbles

vinegar baking soda science

 

“Bubbles! Exploding Bubbles!!!”


This was the scientific observation my year 2 year old while completing this super sensory experiment. Not only a fun way to watch cause and effect but the use of the eye dropper qualifies this as fine motor skill practice.


Supplies you need to have on hand to create fun bubbles that also count as a science experiement:


•    Baking Soda (a whole box)
•    Vinegar
•    Eye Dropper
•    Food Colouring
•    Cloth for spills/explosions
•    Tray, Baking Sheet with a ridge is perfect
•    Muffin Tray


Start by sprinkling a fair amount of baking soda all over the baking sheet so it’s nicely covered.


Put vinegar in about 6 of the muffin sections, about half way full. Add various colours of food colouring to the vinegar sections, one colour per area.


Suck the coloured vinegar up in the eye dropper by pressing the eye dropper into the vinegar. Then deposit the vinegar into the baking soda hills.


POOF! Bubbles will group up and spill around the tray like a mini volcano. Your child will delight with excitement that their action just created this response!

“Again!!!”


Likely your child will love to do this over and over and over, measuring the results in their mind. Does the blue “water” do anything differently than the red? Ask them probing questions to encourage experiementing actions (ie: If you put more vinegar do you get bigger bubbles? If you add more colours does it change the explosion? How?)


As long as your child can maneuver the eye dropper well, this is a great activity to keep busy for a long time. Perfect for the kitchen table while dinner prep is happening and you can watch over but not do it for them.


One piece of warning – stay out of the baking soda! It tastes gross and has a messy flour-like consistency if it’s made a mess of.  If you’re anti-mess you may wish to discourage your child from raking their hands through their finished product (like mine did…) as the mess will be a combination of powdery and also sticky from the vinegar.

 

If your child loves the 'exploding' effect, try creating baking soda and vinegar "Volcanoes" together. All details and instructions here.

Posted by momstown mama on 04/02/2013 - 16:15
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Toilet Roll Binoculars

This month momstown moms and kids are going exploring.  Two pieces of equipment that every explorer needs is a compass and a great pair of binoculars!

 

We love the different ways that you can make simple or even elaborate binoculars, depending on the age of your child.  The best part is that it uses recycled items that you have around the house. 

 toilet roll binoculars

  

Materials:

2 toilet paper rolls

Elastic Bands

Single Hole Punch

Glue

String, Yarn, pipe cleaners, embroidery string, plastic cord, or ribbon to make the strap

Embellishments- strapbooking paper, construction paper, wrapping paper (jungle print or camoflague is fun), stickers, sequins, jewels, etc.

 

Directions:

1.  Wrap your toliet rolls in wrapping paper or construction paper and glue it in place.  Little kids might just want to keep rolls plain and decorate with crayons or stickers.

 

2.  Take one elastic (or two) and put it around both toliet rolls to hold them together.  You can also use decorative paper or foam to then make strips from one roll to the other (just like REAL binoculars) or even wrap both rolls together (see images for ideas!).

 

3.  Decorate the rolls with additional embellishments if you like.

 

4.  Make holes on the outside end of each of the rolls, to attach the string or yarn for the neck strap.

 

Take some time to read about exploring and be sure to feed your hungry explorer with these great snacks for on-the-go.

 

 If you want to see a great step by step video- check this out from Simple Kids Crafts.

Posted by momstown team on 03/29/2013 - 11:44
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