Christmas Traditions

We have a few small traditions at Christmas that I like. Two involve storybooks about elves. The first is from a storybook called "The Puddinhead Story". It is the story of a very busy elf, who runs ahead of Santa on Christmas Eve, delivering pajamas to all the boys and girls. He puts the box containing the pajamas on the porch, rings the doorbell, and runs on to the next house. He's so fast, that most children have never caught sight of him. However, the delivery of the pajamas marks the fact it is time for the child to put on their pajamas and go to sleep, so that Santa can come deliver presents.  We started the Puddinghead tradition last year and the results were amazing. There was absolutely no arguing about going to bed.  Delivery of the pajamas can be tricky. Some people have neighbors deliver the package, ring the doorbell and run.  Instead, I bought a remote doorbell for about $10 on Amazon. When no one was looking, I put the package on the back porch and quietly shut the door. I moved away from the door and waited a few minutes, and then pushed the remote doorbell. My son went running for the door, but of course, no one was there!

The second elf tradition that we've started is one that most people have of heard of by now: Elf on the Shelf. I know that most people use the Elf on the Shelf, or Henry, as we call our elf, as a behavior modifier. Fortunately, we don't have to use ours in that manner very often. However, I do grow weary of hearing my son talk about what he wants for Christmas and asking if he can open presents yet. So, when he starts talking about presents, I have learned to point to Henry and say, "I'm not the one who needs to hear your list. Henry is". Grant will then walk over to Henry and have a very polite and lengthy, one-sided conversation with the elf about what he most desires for Christmas.

New Magformer Accessory Packs

I've already posted an article about Magformers and they still top my favorite toy list. However, in the last year, the company has added new shapes. Magformers are a relatively expensive toy, but I have found that QVC typically has the best prices and kits available.  I'm not a QVC affiliate, so I don't make any money for pointing out these deals. I just love this toy and think every child should own a set. 
If you prefer not to click on links, go to http://www.qvc.com/ and search for "Magformers" to find these kits, most of which sell for about $24 a piece.

Magformers 20-Piece Magnetic Trapezoid and Rectangle Accessory Pack
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.T30253.desc.Magformers-20Piece-Magnetic-Trapezoid-and-Rectangle-Acces

Magformers 22-Piece Diamond and Isosceles Accessory Pack
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.T30250.desc.Magformers-22Piece-Diamond-and-Isosceles-Accessory-Pack

Magformers 20-Piece Magnetic Pentagon & HexagonAccessory Pack

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.T30252.desc.Magformers-20Piece-Magnetic-Pentagon-HexagonAccessory-Pack

Magformers 36pc Jumbo Magnetic Building Set w/ Instructions
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.T30245.desc.Magformers-36pc-Jumbo-Magnetic-Building-Set-w-Instructions

Bloco Wild Cats

After all of our enjoyment of the Lauri foam models, I looked to purchase others. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any other models made by Lauri. So, I expanded my search and came across the Wild Cats foam and plastic construction set by Bloco.  The kit includes pieces to make six different cats, although not all at once. In our experience you can make 2 - 3 cats at once, depending on which ones you select.

After many months of owning this product, I am less enamoured with it than I once was.  I still love the bright colors and details given to the construction of the cats. The foam is very thick and durable. However, in our experience, it is just a little too thick, or the connecting pieces are just a little too short.  This product is manufacturer recommended for 5+.  My four-year-old, who has excellent fine motor skills, is not able to put these models together by himself. Even I find some of the pieces aggravating to put togeter. Sometimes the pieces just don't stay together, because of the aforementioned problem of either the foam being too thick or the connecting pieces being too short.  Also, because the animals are so cute and colorful, my son likes to play with them after they are constructed. This leads to the animals falling apart, even if they are not being treated roughly. When a toy takes an hour to build and then falls apart, a normal child response is to want it rebuilt, immediately.  Consider the parental exasperation this could cause!

We've only tried the Wild Cat kit.  There are many other really cute kits, but they all appear to be made of the same thick foam and plastic connector pieces, so I will probably skip purchasing any other kits.  This is one of the few times I've reviewed a toy that I'm not very fond of. I've done so, because frankly it is an expensive toy and in my experience does not work well. I hope the manufacturer will fix the design flaw, but I also hope, in the meantime, I can help save someone the frustration and expense of buying this toy!

Model Airplanes and Helicopter

When Grant was three, I had this idea of finding an easy-to-construct model made out of foam, but had never actually seen such a thing. Then, I came across the Lauri Peg-a-Plane model set on clearance at a parent-teacher store. I was so excited. It was exactly what I had been hoping to find AND it was airplanes and a helicopter, which interested Grant. 

The manufacturer recommended age is 4+. I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking that Grant was able to put these models together by himself at age 3. However, he was able to find all the appropriate pieces for each model and place them on top of instruction sheet pictures. His fingers and fine motor skills were not strong enough to push the pegs through the holes, especially when this toy  was new and the holes in the foam had not yet loosened up from use. Although he could not put the models together by himself, this was a great project for us to do together. I taught him how to read the instructions, which are pictoral, not written. The pieces are clearly labeled A through Z and are meant to be put together in alphabetical order, which reinforces alphabet learning, as well. After each step was completed, I would ask him what was next, and he was able to tell me what to.

By age 4, Grant could put these models together by himself. Even though we have built them over and over again, he still enjoys building and playing with them. We have never lost or damaged any pieces. They are durable, even in little hands, and reasonable priced. If you're looking for something a little more difficult than building with blocks, but your child isn't quite ready for an erector set or regular legos, this toy is a great option!

Teaching Your Child To Read

A little over a year ago, I decided to research methods for teaching children to read. I bought a couple books on the subject. The one I found the most interesting and agreed with the philosophy was titled: "Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever".  Here's what I felt the basic premise of the book was: read outloud with your child as often as you can. When you read together, make it a comfortable, stress-free, special time, so your child associates positive thoughts about reading. Read and read and read with your child. By doing this, you will teach them that reading is worthwhile and enjoyable. This will foster a desire in them to want to learn to read.

It's a great philosophy and I have read to Grant since he was born. Sometimes for hours a day. I know that the process of reading with him everyday has instilled a passion for reading inside of him. However, something was still missing from the reading equation for us. The Reading Magic book seemed to imply all I had to do was read to him and soon, he'd be reading on his own. Feeling a little frustrated, I asked a friend, who is homeschooling, what she had used to teach her kids to read.  She recommended "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".

At this writing, Grant and I are on Lesson 30 out of 100. He can read the following sample sentences: "An ant can eat a seed. That seed is in the mud" from Lesson 29. I find this pretty impressive for a 4.5 year old, especially since a couple of months ago, he didn't recognize many written words.  This book helped fill that missing gap between desire to learn and how to learn that we were looking for.  I'm giving this book two big thumbs up!

Learning Sight Words

Grant's pretty particular about what DVDs he will watch, so I tend to check them out from the library or rent them on Netflix first, before buying.  However, I couldn't find "Meet the Sight Words" DVDs at either place. So, I took a big risk and bought the set without a trial run.

Fortunately, Grant loves these DVDs. The added bonus is that I never had to teach him how to read a single sight word. He just picked them up naturally from watching these DVDs repeatedly.

A similar product that I tried out about six months ago, but Grant refused to watch at the time, was Word World. I personally thought the concept was a great one and really enjoyed the videos. I think now that he is a little older and reading, he may be more interested in the Word World videos and will definitely give them another try!

Cuisenaire Rods and Miquon Math

When it came time to think about helping my 4-year-old prepare for kindergarten, I thought back to my own kindergarten experiences and what I enjoyed. Three things came to mind, one of which was cuisenaire rods. Of course, I didn't remember they were called cuisenaire rods. I had to do several google searches before I finally found what those color coded sticks that measured between 1 and 10 cm each were called.

Once I knew what they were called, I searched for cuisenaire rods on Amazon.  This lead me to the Miquon math curriculum. I was already intent on buying cuisenaire rods, but when I found a math program specifically designed to use with the rods, I was thrilled. I had been researching many different math programs for young children, but after reading reviews about Miquon on several different sites, I decided it was the curriculum I wanted.

I purchased the full-three year curriculum, all three teachers guides and a set of cuisenaire rods. For the last month, my son and I have been sitting down about twice a week with the Orange Book and the Cuisenaire rods, learning how to add and sequence. This week, we've started to learn subtraction. The visual aspect of the rods makes math concepts easy to grasp and my son is able to figure equations out on his own, once he's given direction.

If you decide to buy this, don't skimp.  The worksheets do not have any directions on them. You need the three teaching guides to go with the curriculum. They are: First Grade Diary, Notes to Teachers, and Lab Sheet Annotations. These books not only give suggestions of what is effective, but also what is ineffective when teaching math.  There are also suggestions of other activities you can do with completed worksheets. I think these added activities make the learning experience richer. The added bonus is my son and I are having a fun time together learning something new.

Some reviewers object to the fact that the workbooks are printed in black and white, instead of the brightly colored workpages children have come to expect.  Don't worry. The cuisenaire rods are brightly colored and they are covering the black and white pages while the computations are being done. In my opinion, colored pages would detract from the rods - which are really the main point of this learning method.

Bottom line: This method is time intensive and requires parental involvement. You cannot just hand the workbook and rods to the child and expect them to figure math out.  However, for about $90 you get three years of curriculum. Miquon and cuisenaire rods also makes mathematical concepts so easy, even a four-year-old can do first grade math.