Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Play to Learn: Pizza Party! A Sight Word Review Game

It's time to Play to Learn!

Today, let's play Pizza Party. I used Pizza Party as a sight word review game but it can be easily adapted to fit your specific needs.

This was really easy to set-up.

What You Need:

white paper plates

crayons

markers

construction paper

What To Do:

1. Draw a pizza slice on the paper plate & color.

2. Use colored construction paper to cut out toppings -

we used red pepperoni, green broccoli and brown mushrooms.

3. Write target sight words on the toppings.

4. Place toppings face down on a plate.

How To Play:

1. Taking turns each child will turn over 1 topping at a time and read the word.

2. If the word is read correctly - place the topping on the pizza.

If the word is read incorrectly - it goes back onto the topping plate.

3. Continue to play until 1 child has the target number of toppings

on their pizza (we used 6 because it best fit our pizza).

4. Once you have a inner, take all toppings off your pizza & play again.

This game was a hit!

The Lil Divas played Pizza Party over & over again.

Other Ways to Play:

You can use this game to practice/review:

- letter recognition

- number recognition

-addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts

- vocabulary

& more

Can you think of other ways that this game can be used?

Note: This is great for 1 player or small groups and it can easily be stored in a ziploc baggie or large envelope making it perfect for use in the classroom as well as at home. I gave each Lil Diva her own set of target sight words so it was very individualized. This could easily be done for different levels/groups as well.

Have a great Pizza Party!

Bern

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: A Lil Diva Makeover

For the Littlest Diva's birthday last week we took her to

get a Hello Kitty Makeover. Talk about the PERFECT gift!

She loved each and every pampered minute

and was ecstatic with the final result.

Isn't she a cutie pie!?!

She's my Lil Diva for sure!

Bern

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Band-Aid Magic Vision App (featuring The Muppets) Review

Do your kids give you a hard time when you have to administer a little first-aid at home? The Lil Divas do not like having cuts or scrapes cleaned and they certainly are not compliant when it comes time to put on any ointment, etc. The Band-Aid Magic Vision app featuring the Muppets is a really cute way to distract kids from the fears of first-aid. It's really simple to download the FREE app and so easy to use.

First, you choose one of 3 characters - Kermit, Miss Piggy or Ganzo.

Then, scan a Muppet Band-Aid box or bandage to start the fun.

Your character appears to pop right off your band-aid!

Each character has their own little activity that kids can play along with.

They are all interactive, funny and kid friendly.

The Lil Divas enjoyed taking pics of the characters and thanks to the app's use of augmented reality technology we were even able to take a few pics of them with the characters which they found hilarious.

These are pics we took using the app itself on our iPad. The Lil Divas enjoyed taking lots of photos of the characters and each other as they played with the app. They had fun looking through all of the saved photos in the photo album.

Miss Piggy is her usual hilarious self - posing for the cameras and acting bossy. She was the Lil Divas favorite character (mine was Gonzo - he is just so funny!).

Gonzo sticks onto the screen and we must shake him right off the page (SPLAT!) The Lil Divas enjoyed shake, shake, shaking him until he finally popped off (see our clip below for a first hand peek of Gonzo in action).

The Littlest Diva had a bit of a soft spot for swinging & singing Kermit.

She was singing along with him by the 2nd or 3rd time she chose him.

Here is a short video clip of the Lil Divas playing along with the app:

Interested in downloading this fun & FREE app for your kids? The Band-Aid Magic Vision app featuring the Muppets is available for iPhone 4, 4S, iPad 2 or the new iPad. To download simply search in the Apple App Store for Band-Aid Magic Vision.

Bern

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Growing a Beanstalk - Learning About Plant Growth (+ a Garden/Flower/Plant Linky)

I always find learning about seeds and plants so interesting.
It was one of my favorite science topics when I was teaching.
There is so much to observe and so many fun ways to initiate learning.

My "Go To" experiment has always been growing lima beans.
It is simple, offers quick results and boy, do these little beans grow!

We started our activity by observing the lime bean seeds.

First, we placed them in a cup of water for a few hours to soak

Then we came back to see if anything had happened to them.

Here's what we found -

The Lil Divas were thrilled to see the changes and couldn't wait to get hands-on. We observed the outer layer which was now coming off the seeds after being soaked and I told them it was called the seed coat.

We discussed how the seed felt - hard and smooth. The Littlest Diva was quick to point out that something had sprouted from the bean. I had them find the embryo of each seed and we discussed what they thought would happen to it. They both thought the plant would grow from there.

We split open a few seeds and observed the insides. We saw the embryos up close and I pointed to where the leaves would grow. I also told them that the bean itself has stored food inside (cotyledon) which will nourish the growing embryo.

The Lil Divas were amazed at how much you could see from just the seed.

Next, we moved on to our growing experiment.

We talked about what living things need to grow -

sunlight, air, water & food.

Here's what we did for our experiment:

1. Take half sheet of paper towel and fold in half.

2. Place 3 lime beans inside, leaving space in between each.

3. Fold paper towel closed and using spray bottle wet the napkin.

4. Place in a ziploc baggie - be sure to leave open for air.

5. Hang in a sunny spot.

* I made little houses to act as greenhouses to cover our baggies out of cardstock*

For our experiment, we also wanted to see what would happen if seeds did not get what they needed to grow.

So, we put a few lima beans into baggies without water, sealed them tight to keep out air and placed them in dark spots - the Lil Divas chose to put them inside a box and in a cupboard of their play kitchen.

Then, we observed the results and made sure to keep our seeds/napkin moist by adding water when needed with the spray bottle.

After a few days, we were able to see the roots and the beginnings of a leaf sprouting.

Within the next few days, you could clearly see the leaves growing.

After about a week and a half we had our own little baby beanstalks as the Lil Divas called them.

What happened to the seeds that didn't receive sunlight, water & air?

Nothing!

It was wonderful to compare the two and see how important sunlight, water & air are for growing plants.

Have you done any gardening, plant experiments or flower activities with your children or students recently?

I am excited to be joining forces with these fab bloggers -
http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com

http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com

www.theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com

http://www.duckduckoctopus.com

http://livingmontessorinow.com

http://mamaslittlemuse.blogspot.com

http://www.rainydaymum.co.uk

http://readysetread2me.blogspot.com

http://playfullearners.co.uk

http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/

to bring you The Flower, Plant & Garden Blog Hop!

We would love to have you link up and share your
flower, plant and/or gardening fun with kids.

Bern

Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Sunday Showcase 5/26/12 - Share Your Child Centered Ideas!

Hello & welcome to this week's
The Sunday Showcase -

WHERE YOUR CHILD CENTERED IDEAS
are the STARS of this show!

It is one of the highlights of my week to see all the amazing child centered ideas shared here! We invite you to look around & check out what our fellow bloggers have linked-up this week. We know you will leave here inspired and ready to create, play & have fun!

If you are here for the first time please read

our informational post for the full details.

Here's the quick cheat sheet version -
this is a fun & relaxed linky with a few simple guidelines.

Anything kid friendly and/or child centered is welcome!

You are welcome to share more than one post,
but we don't accept links for giveaways,
shops, or downloads for purchase, etc. They will be deleted.

If you're linking up we do encourage you

to visit some of the other link-ups!

Everyone appreciates comments, encouragement, feedback, etc.

Your 2 Hostesses (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and/or Classified:Mom)

try to visit & comment on link(s) as much as we can.

We also share some on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

We aim to spread the love &
we appreciate you joining in and sharing with us here!

*Important*

Please note that by linking up you are giving us permission to use a photo (with proper link to you!) in our featured section! If you prefer not to be featured comment below or e-mail me.

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The Showcase Features:

(taken from last week's posts)

Our most clicked link this week was...

Plain Vanilla Mom's Sensory Bottles for Little Ones