Thinking is Fun with ThinkFun
As an educator, I am always on the hunt for fun educational games but I have found that there are not many board game options for my toddlers. I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about Think Fun at Toy Fair 2013. They offer a range of games for children aged 18 months all the way through adulthood. Think Fun has a number of great new games for 2013.
The Hello Sunshine game is suggested for children ages 18 months and up for 2 or more players. This hide & seek learning game includes large plush friendly looking sun and a set of double sided cards. Hello Sunshine focuses on teaching and enforcing transitional words as well as introducing spatial awareness and taking turns. My 3 year old toddler was so excited to play a game where his 16 month old brother could be an active player instead of an interruptor. "T", 3 years old decided that he would be the leader in the game, he "read" the cards and modeled for his baby brother "A", 16 months old. They had a great time taking turns, hiding Sunshine under a chair, on top of a pillow, in front of their noses and many more places. Hello Sunshine is a great interactive game that promotes physical movement, gross motor skills, language and vocabulary and spatial skills.
The Hello Sunshine game is suggested for children ages 18 months and up for 2 or more players. This hide & seek learning game includes large plush friendly looking sun and a set of double sided cards. Hello Sunshine focuses on teaching and enforcing transitional words as well as introducing spatial awareness and taking turns. My 3 year old toddler was so excited to play a game where his 16 month old brother could be an active player instead of an interruptor. "T", 3 years old decided that he would be the leader in the game, he "read" the cards and modeled for his baby brother "A", 16 months old. They had a great time taking turns, hiding Sunshine under a chair, on top of a pillow, in front of their noses and many more places. Hello Sunshine is a great interactive game that promotes physical movement, gross motor skills, language and vocabulary and spatial skills.
|
|
|
Zingo Sight Words is a great game to teach and reinforce sight word recognition. Learning, recognizing and reading sight words are necessary to become a fluent reader. This game is set up like a classic Bingo game with cards and pieces but there is a "zinger" that you manipulate to produce 2 sight word "chips". This game is suggested for 2-6 players in Pre-K through 1st grades. "T", a 3 years old pre-reader, played Zingo Sight Words with "L", a 5 year old beginning reader. "L" is currently learning and working on her sight words and immediately became the leader in this game: reading the words out loud which allowed 'T" to both visually and auditoriliy recognize the words. They played a number of rounds and really seemed to enjoy the game while learning and reinforcing their reading skills through memory and concentration.
|
|
|
"T" had daddy bonding time playing Swish Jr. with his dad. This game is suggested for 2-6 players ages 5 and older but 3 year old "T" was able to learn and play the game after an explanation and demo by daddy. Swish Jr. is a "See It, Stack It" card game where 2 or more cards are layered so every shape fits into its matching outline called a "swish". "T" was able to create his own "swishes" and explain the game to me. Swish Jr. is a great visual perception game to practice spatial awareness as well as reasoning. We have a great time as a family: concentrating and mentally twisting, turning and stacking the cards to make as many "swishes" as we can.
|
|
|
-SD
*Disclaimer: , I receive product samples for review purposes. No other compensation was received. Views expressed are always 100% my own.
*Disclaimer: , I receive product samples for review purposes. No other compensation was received. Views expressed are always 100% my own.
The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed and so do we!
In honor of Earth Day we watched The Magic School Bus: All About Earth DVD and learned lots from Ms. Frizzle and her class! "T" especially enjoyed "The Magic School Bus Goes to Seed" episode, where the class' garden is going to be featured on the cover of Plant It! magazine, but Phoebe's garden plot is empty. We loved learning about how plants grow from seeds as well as what we can do to show the Earth how much we love her.
This DVD has both English & Spanish language options plus a bonus episode!
After watching Ms. Frizzle and her class plant and grow a beautiful garden, "T" was adamant on planting his own garden. We live in an apartment, so a great choice was Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit that included everything we needed. "T" placed a soil disc into each pot, watered them, planted his seed (zinnia, sweet basil, sunflowers) and is waiting patiently for them to grow.
I am giving away a copy of this DVD; to win, just answer the question below and you will be submitted into the drawing by 4/30/13 by 11:59pm. One entry per person, winners chosen randomly, open only to residents of the US.
-SD
*We were not compensated for this post. We received a DVD to watch & review.
This DVD has both English & Spanish language options plus a bonus episode!
After watching Ms. Frizzle and her class plant and grow a beautiful garden, "T" was adamant on planting his own garden. We live in an apartment, so a great choice was Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit that included everything we needed. "T" placed a soil disc into each pot, watered them, planted his seed (zinnia, sweet basil, sunflowers) and is waiting patiently for them to grow.
I am giving away a copy of this DVD; to win, just answer the question below and you will be submitted into the drawing by 4/30/13 by 11:59pm. One entry per person, winners chosen randomly, open only to residents of the US.
-SD
*We were not compensated for this post. We received a DVD to watch & review.
|
|
|
*Jane M. - Lizzie, my LO has a stuffed version she carries around
*Scherrie D. - Lizzie is one of my faves too!
*Ria R.- Our fav characters are the students. They are always so
eager to learn and explore.
*Scherrie D. - Lizzie is one of my faves too!
*Ria R.- Our fav characters are the students. They are always so
eager to learn and explore.
Landmark Mix & Map (Geographical Exploration)
Recently, we have been working on basic geography and recognition of the continents. I thought it would be a great idea to begin identifying and matching landmarks with their location in the world.
Materials Needed: globe, maps of the world, Landmark flashcards, Safari Ltd. Around the World Toob & Safari Ltd. World Landmarks Toob
First we reviewed the continents on the globe and maps, then we examined with the Safari Ltd. Landmark & Around the World replicas: we discussed what they looked like and what they could be made of in real life. Next "T" placed the landmarks(all 17) on the correct continents when given clues: ex."The Statue of Liberty is located in New York City. New York City is located in North America". After he completed placing all the landmarks, he matched the landmarks with their coressponding flashcard and I read one fact from the back of the card.
This project focused on recalling, categorizing, critical thinking, analyzing, determining importance, sorting and identifiying geographic features.
Materials Needed: globe, maps of the world, Landmark flashcards, Safari Ltd. Around the World Toob & Safari Ltd. World Landmarks Toob
First we reviewed the continents on the globe and maps, then we examined with the Safari Ltd. Landmark & Around the World replicas: we discussed what they looked like and what they could be made of in real life. Next "T" placed the landmarks(all 17) on the correct continents when given clues: ex."The Statue of Liberty is located in New York City. New York City is located in North America". After he completed placing all the landmarks, he matched the landmarks with their coressponding flashcard and I read one fact from the back of the card.
This project focused on recalling, categorizing, critical thinking, analyzing, determining importance, sorting and identifiying geographic features.
|
|
|
|
READING EGGS IS AN ONLINE LEARN TO READ PROGRAM
I am always in search of any and everything educational for my toddler, probably due to my education background. I was introduced to the Reading Eggs online program which was described as a place "where children learn to read". I have extremely high expectations for my 2 year old and I thought this would be a great challenge for him as the program is geared toward children ages 4-13. The program offers one on one lessons where children can learn and progress at their own rate. The program has been developed by a highly experienced team of educational teachers, writers and developers. The Reading Eggs program focuses on a core reading curriculum of phonics and sight words using skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success. It completely supports what children learn at school and will help to improve your child’s results at school.
It was simple to sign up and the site is pretty easy to navigate. I input his information and set him up to complete his first lesson. When you begin the program there is an option to test to set the child's level or simply start with the basics. I decided to allow him to test, the assessment consisted of letter and word recognition as well as complete sentences. He did well with the letter recognition but was unable to recognize most of the words correctly (he is only 2 years old). His individual lessons have been focusing on letter recognition, upper and lowercase letters, "writing" the letters as well as letter sounds. I am impressed with the program and its ability to taotally engage a 2 year old. The interactive animation, games, songs and various collectible rewards keeps him excited and engages from start to finish...I often have to set a timer because he doesn't want to stop using the program!
Reading Eggs offers a free trial as well as a sample lesson. Subscriptions are offered on a monthly basis or blocks of 6 or 12 months. The prices are reasonable and it is truly a sound investment in your child's educational journey.
There are also reading eggs apps called Eggy Words available to keep your child learning on the go. These apps helps children learn the sight words that are essential to everyday reading. The Eggy100 app, which includes the first 100 sigt words, is free and the Eggy250 app, includes 250 sight words, is $2.99. These apps are available at the iTunes App Store and as an Android App on Google play.
-SD
*Disclaimer: The views expressed are that of thirtymommy. We were not compensated to write this review. We did receive a a complimentary 3 month subscription.
It was simple to sign up and the site is pretty easy to navigate. I input his information and set him up to complete his first lesson. When you begin the program there is an option to test to set the child's level or simply start with the basics. I decided to allow him to test, the assessment consisted of letter and word recognition as well as complete sentences. He did well with the letter recognition but was unable to recognize most of the words correctly (he is only 2 years old). His individual lessons have been focusing on letter recognition, upper and lowercase letters, "writing" the letters as well as letter sounds. I am impressed with the program and its ability to taotally engage a 2 year old. The interactive animation, games, songs and various collectible rewards keeps him excited and engages from start to finish...I often have to set a timer because he doesn't want to stop using the program!
Reading Eggs offers a free trial as well as a sample lesson. Subscriptions are offered on a monthly basis or blocks of 6 or 12 months. The prices are reasonable and it is truly a sound investment in your child's educational journey.
There are also reading eggs apps called Eggy Words available to keep your child learning on the go. These apps helps children learn the sight words that are essential to everyday reading. The Eggy100 app, which includes the first 100 sigt words, is free and the Eggy250 app, includes 250 sight words, is $2.99. These apps are available at the iTunes App Store and as an Android App on Google play.
-SD
*Disclaimer: The views expressed are that of thirtymommy. We were not compensated to write this review. We did receive a a complimentary 3 month subscription.
|
|
Home-preschool Projects
Create a Fossil
Since we have been discussing fossils, i decided that it would be a good idea to have T create his own fossil.
Materials needed: model magic, placemat, rolling pin, objects to make impressions, construction paper, play doh tools.
First, T played with his model magic and rolled it out with the rolling pin. Then he chose two items to make impressions on the clay (he chose a cookie and big bird). He made the impressions in the clay and cut out the circles with his play doh tools. We let them dry for a few hours andwhen they became stiff we glued them to construction paper.
This project worked on self regulation skills, small muscle control, eye-hand coordination and following directions.
Materials needed: model magic, placemat, rolling pin, objects to make impressions, construction paper, play doh tools.
First, T played with his model magic and rolled it out with the rolling pin. Then he chose two items to make impressions on the clay (he chose a cookie and big bird). He made the impressions in the clay and cut out the circles with his play doh tools. We let them dry for a few hours andwhen they became stiff we glued them to construction paper.
This project worked on self regulation skills, small muscle control, eye-hand coordination and following directions.
|
|
|
|
|
Fossil Dig
We have been learning about dinosaurs and I came across this great hands-on project to help T understand exactly what a paleontologist does.
Materials needed: small box/containrer, a handful of sand, small paintbruf, a copy of a dinosaur skeletonl cut up, construction paper, glue
First, I placed the dinosaur skeleton in the box and covered it with sand. Then, I gave T the small paintbrush and told him he had to "uncover" the fossil and had to be very careful. Next, T retrieved the fossil pieces from the box and placed them on construction paper. When he was done, he arranged them in order and finally glued them down.
This project was engaging and assisted with his fine motor skills, role play and solidified connections. It encouraged the use of 5 senses and worked on eye-hand coordination.
Materials needed: small box/containrer, a handful of sand, small paintbruf, a copy of a dinosaur skeletonl cut up, construction paper, glue
First, I placed the dinosaur skeleton in the box and covered it with sand. Then, I gave T the small paintbrush and told him he had to "uncover" the fossil and had to be very careful. Next, T retrieved the fossil pieces from the box and placed them on construction paper. When he was done, he arranged them in order and finally glued them down.
This project was engaging and assisted with his fine motor skills, role play and solidified connections. It encouraged the use of 5 senses and worked on eye-hand coordination.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|