My Photos (W/E 8-27-11)

I am scheduling this post ahead of time in case we lose power or internet connection due to Hurricane Irene.  I hope anyone else who is located in the Northeast has and will stay safe for the duration of the storm.

Here are two of my favorite photos from last week . . .

(Click any photo to enlarge)

"Fruit Salad!  Yummy, Yummy!!"

"Incognito"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Play To Learn Diner: Counting with Fruit Salad Activity (Free Printable)

This is our first Play To Learn Diner activity designed for preschoolers.  I was a little worried about how it would be received, since one of our twins loves learning activities, but the other is resistant to them because he does not master them as easily.  I am very pleased to be able to report that both twins enjoyed this activity very much.  In fact, our son even came to me two hours later to tell me how much he liked the activity, so I hope other children out there will enjoy it just as much.

For this activity, we used Soft Fruit Counters, one plastic bowl for each child, and one of the counting worksheets (found below) for each child.  The Soft Fruit Counters set from Discount School Supply contains 108 pieces of fruit between 1" and 2" each.  You are welcome to use other types of pretend fruit, but you will need to have more than 20 pieces of fruit per child.  I liked using these because the size made them easy to manage for little hands and they fit inside the bowls perfectly.

TO PRINT:  Click on the image below to enlarge.  Then right-click on the image and select print.  Use your browser's back button to return to this page.

This activity is split into two parts.  The first part asks your child to choose any 10 pieces of fruit to put in his or her bowl in order to create a fruit salad recipe.  Then your child should count how many of each type of fruit is in the bowl and write the correct number in the box next to the appropriate fruit pictured on the worksheet.

The second part of the activity asks your child to repeat the same steps, but to choose 20 pieces of fruit, instead of 10.

(Click any image to enlarge)

This activity helps your child to practice counting from 1 to 10 and from 1 to 20.  Then there is more practice counting when he or she needs to figure out how many of each type of fruit they have in the bowl  Your child also will be introduced to writing numbers.  I had to make dotted lines for some of the numbers for both twins to trace.  Our daughter picked up writing her numbers quickly.  After the first time she traced a number, she did not need me to make dotted lines for her again for the same number.  Our son needed to trace most of his numbers, except for 0 and 1.

Thank you to Discount School Supply for sending us a complimentary product sample to use for this activity.

Silly Monkey Stories: A New Kind of Dim Sum

Quite awhile ago, Discount School Supply had sent us Chinese Dim Sum play foods for an activity involving basic multiplication I was writing about.  Part of these sets were a very popular dim sum food called Sui Mai.  We don't take the children to eat dim sum very often, but they have been several times.  Plus a few of the Chinese restaurants around here do offer Sui Mai as an appetizer on their menus.  Also, we have two copies of the board book (which I love) called Yum Yum Dim Sum.  So it is not unreasonable for us to expect that our preschoolers would know at least some of the names of the foods and to have an idea of what is savory and what is sweet.

A couple of weeks ago, our daughter was cooking up a storm in her play kitchen and then presented me with a plate of food.  I forget what else was on the plate, but I do remember her telling me to eat my Chinese Marshmallows before they get cold.

Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories!

If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

Play To Learn Diner Giveaway: Learn Fractions by Cutting Bread [CLOSED]

Since I was so pleasantly surprised at how receptive my 6yr old son was to my introduction to very basic fractions, I decided it was time to teach him about how to discern between 1, 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4.

To aid me in this task, Gummy Lump, one of the leading online resources of play foods, sent us a Melissa & Doug Cutting Bread Play Food Set. This toy was perfect for this lesson because it has an English muffin, a bagel, sandwich slices, and a loaf of bread that can all be split into halves, a baguette that can be cut into thirds, and a bread loaf that can be divided into fourths.

Using this play food set, I demonstrated to my son how we go about changing "one whole" into fractions. Here are some examples of the statements and questions I posed:

• If we cut this bagel into two pieces, what did we make? Halves How many halves do we have? 2
• If we have two halves, what do I have if I take one piece? 1/2
• What else do we have here that can be cut into halves?
• If we cut this baguette into three pieces, what did we make? Thirds
• If we have three equal pieces and I take one piece, what do I have? 1/3 If I take two pieces, what do I have? 2/3
• If we cut this loaf of bread into four pieces, what did we make? fourths
• If we have four equal pieces and I take one piece, what do I have? 1/4 If I take two pieces, then what do I have? 2/4 or 1/2

Once I felt my son was fairly comfortable with the concept of one whole, 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4, I gave him this free printable worksheet that I made, which asks him to color each shape based on what the shaded area represents. I did the first row with him to make sure he understood how it worked. He actually colored most of the shapes correctly. The ones he missed were partially due to his rushing and not double-checking which color corresponded to which fraction.

(To print, click on the image to enlarge. Then right-click and select print.)

By the end of this lesson, I was pretty confident that we laid down a good foundation for understanding fractions. I asked my son if he thought fractions were hard and he said that he thought they were a little bit hard, which made me happy.

Once the lesson was done, it was time to play. My son could not wait to cut into the bread and butter again and again. I was served an assortment of yummy food, such as French bread with imaginary chicken soup.

You can find this play food set along with a large assortment of play foods by Melissa & Doug, KidKraft, Haba, Voila, Guidecraft, and more on GummyLump.com . For a limited time, Gummy Lump is offering a Buy 3 Get 1 Free promotion on Melissa & Doug play food sets.

Thank you to Gummy Lump for sending us a sample toy free of charge to use in this learning activity and for providing a second toy for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive one Cutting Bread Play Food Set by Melissa & Doug.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the selection of new products on GummyLump.com . Then leave a comment telling me which product is the one that looks like the most fun to you. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND GummyLump.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry each, follow Gummy Lump on Twitter and/or "like" Gummy Lump on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile for each entry you complete.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, May 17th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Play To Learn Diner Review: Pizza Parlor Math Problems (Free Printables)

Welcome to our first Play To Learn Diner activity, where my 6yr old son demonstrated to me how much he actually knows about basic multiplication, division, and fractions by playing pizza parlor. I was reluctant to start off with this topic, but he proved my concerns to be unfounded.

To aid us in this learning activity, Discount School Supply sent us a Cut & Play Pizza set, which comes with a 6-slice pizza held together with Velcro, a pizza pan, a spatula, a pizza cutter, plus cheese and red pepper shakers. This play food pizza was the perfect prop for this activity because there were no loose toppings or small parts to worry about, which made it much easier to focus on the lesson at hand.

Although using the Cut & Play Pizza Set would make this math lesson much more enjoyable, I have provided some free printables below, which can be used to demonstrate these math problems. The first page is a pizza that can be decorated with your child's favorite toppings and colored in before cutting out the pizza slices. The second page is a pizza platter that should be cut out in a complete circle.

(To print, click on each image to enlarge. Then right-click to select print.)

Pizza Parlor Math Problems:

1. There are two people at the pizza parlor sharing one pizza. IF one person ate 3 slices of pizza and the other person could only eat 2 slices of pizza, THEN how many slices of pizza are leftover? (6-3)-2=1
2. IF 6 people want to share 1 pizza equally, THEN how many slices does each person get? 6 divided by 6 = 1
3. IF 2 people want to share 1 pizza equally, THEN how many slices does each person get? 6 divided by 2 = 3
4. IF 2 people want to share 1 pizza equally, but also would like to bring 2 slices to their friend who is sick at home, THEN how many slices does each of the 3 friends get? (6-2)/2=2
5. There are two people at the pizza parlor sharing one pizza, but they cannot agree on what kind of pizza to order. One person wants plain cheese, while the other wants pepperoni. IF they order one cheese pizza with pepperoni on half the pizza, THEN how many slices will have pepperoni on it? 6 divided by 2 = 3
6. There are two people at the pizza parlor sharing one pizza. IF the first person can only eat 1 slice of pizza and the second person can eat twice as many as the first person, THEN how many slices will be leftover? 1 + (2x1)=3, 6-3=3
7. There are 12 people at a pizza party. IF each person can eat 1 slice of pizza, THEN how many pizzas would they need? (12x1)/6=2
8. There are 9 people at a pizza party. IF each person can eat 1 slice of pizza, THEN how many pizzas would they need exactly? (9x1)/6=1.5

I was in awe that my 6yr old son did not get even mildly stumped until the very last question. Even then, he figured out the correct answer after 3 attempts. I completely under-estimated him.

I cannot tell you how much fun all three of my children are having with this pizza set. Pizza is a universal language, whether you are 3 or 6 years old. So far, this set has provided hours of play daily. My 6yr old used his imagination and built a makeshift pizza oven. They even learned to take turns with their favorite part . . . cutting and serving the pizza.

You can find this and the full line of Angeles Baseline Table and Chairs at DiscountSchoolSupply.com

Thank you to Discount School Supply for providing a sample pizza set free of charge for us to base this article upon.

Giveaway & Review: Melissa & Doug Stir Fry Slicing Set ($30 GC) [CLOSED]

Since my husband and I cook almost everything in our French skillet, our children were especially excited to add this wooden Stir Fry Slicing Set by Melissa & Doug to their play kitchen. I knew this toy would be a hit with all three children because rarely does a day go by without their pretending to cook up something fun.

This sought after cooking set retails for just $19.99 on ecoTimeToys.com . Its 17 pieces include a double-handled wok, a knife, a spoon, a pair of chopsticks, 3 shrimp, 3 mushrooms, 3 snow peas, bok-choi, a red pepper, and cubed steak.

What my children and I thought about this pretend play wok set:

1) Our kindergartner was extremely excited about this toy. He had watched my husband and I cook over the years and knew exactly what to do as far as chopping, stirring the food, and even using the chopsticks.

2) Our twin toddlers learned by watching their big brother. They did not have such an easy time cutting the veggies and the meat at first. Although the Velcro was very strong, they started to master chopping and cutting after some practice.

3) One thing I was not expecting was how adamant my kindergartner was about following the stir fry instructions that were on the back of the box. He insisted that it was a recipe and that it must be followed to the letter.

4) So far, this set has been very durable. There has been lots of tossing the food into the wok. There has not been any injuries or casualties to any of the pieces, even when a piece of bok-choi goes flying several feet because the kids are cutting a little too enthusiastically.



5) Although my kindergartner does not know it yet, this Melissa & Doug toy is going to help me introduce the concept of fractions to him during the week of winter vacation. The bok-choi, red pepper, and cubed steak are all divided into thirds. I wish there was one item that was divided into quarters to help me with this lesson.

6) I also have to point out that it was very clever of Melissa & Doug to add Velcro to the ends of the chopsticks. The only problem is that Velcro causes the two chopsticks to stick together even if that is not the user's intention. I think a pair of training chopsticks (ones that are hinged together at the top) might be a better choice. Having to stop to pull the two chopsticks apart repeatedly became frustrating after awhile. My son ended up turning the chopsticks around and used the bare ends for picking up the food instead.

I definitely think this is a unique toy that would make a fun affordable gift for a birthday or for the holidays. This set comes in a box ready-to-wrap. To find more green toys like this one by Melissa & Doug and other respected brands, visit ecoTimeToys.com .

Thank you to ecoTimeToys.com for providing us with both a review product and a contest prize free of charge.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $30 GC to ecoTimeToys.com .

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:
Browse the vast selection of toys on ecoTimeToys.com . Then leave a comment telling me what gift you would pick up with the $30 GC if you won this contest. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND ecoTimeToys.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Follow ecoTimeToys on Twitter OR Fan ecoTimeToys on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with either the link to your Twitter profile or to your Facebook profile. You may do both for one extra entry each.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook, making sure to show a thumbnail of a product photo or the sponsor's logo. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!