Holiday Activities

Kindergarten Readiness – Easter Fun & Learning #1

Some of the fun of holiday activities is being able to do the same things over and over. Learning involves repetition as does kindergarten readiness. This year’s Juno musical album of the year was Christmas songs, so this post can certainly repeat some of the same Easter songs that we’ve heard before.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little Easter eggs,     4 little, 5 little, 6 little Easter eggs,
7hug-bunny little, 8 little, 9 little Easter eggs,    10 little Easter  eggs.

This is an easy song and so can be used with quite young kids. Make up a few more verses such as 1 little, 2 little, 3 little Easter bunnies or 1 little, 2 little, 3 little Easter baskets. This song can also use other animals: 1 little, 2 little, 3 little fluffy chicks or 1 little, 2 little, 3 little ducklings, etc.

Here’s another song to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It,  that can use a variety of actions for some moving fun:

If you like the Easter bunny, hop around. If you like the Easter bunny, hop around.
If you like the Easter bunny and you think he’s kind of funny, If you like the Easter bunny, hop around.

The bunny can jump around, hop on one foot, or even sit right down.

Singing encourages lots of brain development and  kindergarten readiness. Children learn vocabulary and rhythm. Music is similar to math as it is based on spacing and sequencing, too. Singing also promotes listening and auditory skills. Singing and moving at the same time is even more of a challenge. Children need to not only think of what to sing and how to move but how to coordinate and do both together.

Readiness for Kindergarten, Dr. Seuss #15 & Shamrocks

St.-Patrick's-DayGreen Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss, is a perfect book for today. Are you wearing green for St. Patrick’s Day?

Besides the green connection this book is important for another reason – the element of fantasy. Most kids know that there is no such thing as a green egg but delight in the fun even though it is not real. This real or fantasy issue is controversial. Some people think that exposing children to fantasy is not just deceitful but catastrophe in the making, while others believe fantasy is an essential part of childhood.

Weren’t last month’s Oscars, for the most part, all about fantasy? Fantasy for grownups, not just kids? No matter which side we’re on of the fantasy-reality debate in childhood, the reality is that human beings love a good story. In fact, George Lakoff, a university scientist, wrote in his book Metaphors We Live By
that our minds crave stories and are part of the structure of our brains. Apparently, our brains are hard-wired for stories. The context of a story can make a concept come to life, making it easier to understand. Stories harness the power of the imagination to help us learn and remember. Thinking strategies are stretched when listening to and following along with stories and language skills are exercised.

What does this mean for kindergarten readiness? That stories are a powerful teaching and learning tool! The Irish love a good story  and St. Patrick himself used story as a teaching tool. St. Patrick noted the difficulty of understanding the Trinity. He used a 3-leafed shamrock to show how 1 leaf can have 3 parts and so does God, as in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Or so the story goes…

For St. Patrick’s day wear green, pin on a 3-leaf shamrock, look for 4-leaf clovers, tell stories, explore what’s real and what’s fantasy and build readiness for kindergarten as a byproduct of all the fun!
Don’t you agree that’s the golden treasure?

Readiness for Kindergarten – Presidents’ Day

Today is Presidents’ Day in the United States and Family Day in some parts of Canada. This suggestion is relevant for both.

Making Presidents’ Day meaningful for young children is a challenge. There are crafts and other activities to do with little ones, books and stories to read or tell. There are games and songs, too, and community activities.

What are some of the things most memorable about Washington and Lincoln? Their words! Both of them gave some powerful speeches. No matter how your family celebrates Presidents’ Day today, one way to honor their memories is to spend some time exploring words and encouraging your child’s language learning. Words can create memories and are important in all kinds of ways.

Readiness for Kindergarten – Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day To all the kids and families, have a Happy Valentine’s Day, today. This handy little project in the picture contains a message for you from me. But to figure it out, you’ll need to watch this short little video from Rachel Coleman at Signing Time. Did you know that signing a few … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Happy Valentine’s Day

Readiness for Kindergarten – Valentine Treats for Learning

The kitchen is not just the heart of the home, think of it as one of the first classrooms for your child–so much development happens right there, creating a foundation of learning and promoting readiness for kindergarten. Will you be making some special treats for Valentine’s? While having your child ” help” in the kitchen … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Valentine Treats for Learning

Readiness for Kindergarten – Learning in the Pink

Pink is a valentine color along with red and white and can be used to color up some valentine learning and readiness for kindergarten. Being able to correctly name a color isn’t quick and easy for children. Instead, it is very challenging and requires several thinking skills.  To learn what color goes with what name, … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Learning in the Pink

Readiness for Kindergarten – Lanterns for Learning

This weekend our city had a multicultural event with Chinese New Year and Robbie Burns Day combined. The eyes of the little ones watching the lion dance and parade followed by bagpipes and a sword dance were big and wide as they watched all the action. All the colors, sounds and movement keep kids and … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Lanterns for Learning

Readiness for Kindergarten – MLK Day Craft Project

A favorite January project is cutting out snowflakes and talking about them. Kids seem to like the idea that:  No 2 snowflakes are alike. They are all different, even when they don’t completely understand same/different. That’s a good thought for today: No 2 people are alike. Just like snowflakes they are all different. This project I … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – MLK Day Craft Project

Readiness for Kindergarten – Happy New Learning Year

I just watched an incredible TED video on when learning begins. The whole topic of children and learning has important implications regarding readiness for kindergarten. While the video did not have any direct suggestions for how to maximize learning to enhance kindergarten readiness I loved something that Annie Murphy Paul stated, “Learning is one of life’s most … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Happy New Learning Year

Readiness for Kindergarten – Tidy-Up Time at Christmas

While I don’t usually take down the Christmas tree this early, last night it fell over and decorations flew all over the room. Thank heavens that’s never happened before. My husband said it was all because it was a wild tree and was trying to escape. I didn’t feel much better but Lee giggled. However, … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Tidy-Up Time at Christmas