Rattles and Redheads: Parenting

Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Guest Post on MoneySavingMom.com

Crystal, at MoneySavingMom.com has provided me with the opportunity to be a guest blogger and post how to make homemade baby wipes.

MoneySavingMom.com is an amazing resource and tool for tips, couponing, frugality, and home management. Check out my guest post, here.

Happy Thursday!!

Candice S.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Weekly Preschool Planner: Weather Thematic Unit

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Science Experiment #2: Varying Sounds and Tones (Making Music!)

Our musical glass jar have had a prosperous life making music for well over an hour. I decided to use some variety to allow us to hear different sounds other than just tones, so we also used a recycled tin can and a plastic container.

The goal was to determine the changes in tone by feeling up each glass jar with 1 cup water, another with 1/2, and then the last two with a 1/4 cup of water. Then we added 1-2 drops of food coloring to each glass jar. Harmony did this successfully while supervised.

The experiment was to determine which glass jar was louder, why, and the differences in the tones that the jars that were filled with different levels of water. We whipped out our observation booklet and documented the different tones that each one made, compared and contrasted, and determined what the possibilities (the water) were of the tones being so high, low, loud, quite, etc.

Preschool+ age appropriate and beyond. Even our Stud had fun banging wooden spoons around.. Simple enough for us and the supplies were easily accessible without purchase.

Happy Saturday!

Candice S.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Teaching Science To Your Preschooler

"Science is an intellectual activity carried on by humans that is designed to discover information about the natural world in which humans live and to discover the ways in which this information can be organized into meaningful patterns. A primary aim of science is to collect facts (data). An ultimate purpose of science is to discern the order that exists between and amongst the various facts." (Gottlieb, 1997)

Every child has an hypothesis based on a collection of simple data that they over analyize. A child is constantly exporing the world around them. They crave learning new things. It is in the way that material is presented to them that awakes the want to learn and explore. Science comes quite a bit more naturally to us because the human brain is relentless for asking "why" and "how" things are. We are always asking questions about the way life works, the way objects work, and how everything falls into place. Science allows us to form an opinion, to collect data or facts about that opinion, and gain perspective on the information we accumulate. Children gather information every single day and form opinions on the simplest forms of science.

I am going to start a little series for parents that has idea's on science experiments that allows a child to form an hypothesis and collect data to test their hypotheses. This series is not made to be so structured that it's boring and it isn't going to just be "experiments" but more "ah ha" moments for a child to really pursue how things work. To test the simple things such as watching ice melt to applying two colors together to form a new color.

My goal is to provide other sources for preschool science lessons and experiment's that allow parents to have options. There is not an adequate of age appropriate material out there that is available without a fee. wanted to be another Mom to post some fun experiments or "ah ha" moments that we do here at Rattles and Redheads.

I will be posting some science projects that Harmony and I have done over the last few weeks. I will make an attempt at posting these on Saturday morning's. In the meantime, check out our tutorial on changing a liquid to a solid..

Happy Thursday!
Candice S.
References

Gottlieb, S. (1997, April 8). Religion and Science. Retrieved on February 10, 2011, from http://www.theharbinger.org/articles/rel_sci/gottlieb.html

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Reading List for February

Here's our nice fun pile of books that we are pursuing for this month! Usually we keep our books anywhere between 1-2 weeks (an average of 12-20 books) and read most over and over again. There are some books that are geared towards our thematic units for preschool, while other's we read a chapter or two on a daily basis.

Charlotte's Web is a "big girl" book that Harmony and I have been reading during storytime in the day and in the evening before bed. Although, as I read I ponder if the realistic farm life is a little too difficult for my little mini-me to grasp. She's intrigued, none the less and loves hearing about Wilbur's adventures.

Harmony loves the Fancy Nancy Series. We recently checked out Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day (I Can Read Book 1) and Fancy Nancy at the Museum (I Can Read Book 1). We have read almost all of the Fancy Nancy Books, and I cannot find one reason why every preschool girl who enjoys dress up and succumbing to the princess inside of them cannot enjoy the pleasurable experiences of these books.

If You Give a Pig a Party (If You Give...)

Too Cute! We have "If you give a pig a pancake"..It discusses the adventures of pigs and the "fun" ..and some trouble that come along with them. Such a fun book!

Our thematic units for this week are birds and how to tell time. I do not go strictly to every single aspect of our lessons having geared towards our "theme" but I do try to keep the direction pretty clear, as to not confuse us. The following books will help us with coordinate with our lesson plans.