May 21, 2012

Wooden? Trashy? Our friendly faces are both (in a good way). A wood square serves as our base, but our main feature is, well, our unusual features. So go on and gather up everything from bottle caps to erasers for a trash-to-treasure project you just can’t refuse.

May 20, 2012

Do-the-Math Hopscotch

Friday is supposed to be a sunny day.  Get the kids out of the house and enjoy an afternoon playing in the sun.  Enjoy! 

     this game, inspired by a similar version from the book “Game On!” by Pat Doyle, a bit of math adds an educational twist to hopscotch.

What You Need

• Chalk

• Stones

Instructions

1. Setup: Draw the hopscotch area to resemble a calculator
2. The first player tosses her stone on the “1″ key. She then hops on an equation equal to 1 (for example, she might jump to the following keys: =, 1, +, 0 or =, 3, -, 2). Players use 1-footed hops when landing on odd numbers and zeroes, and 2-footed hops for even numbers and symbols. A player’s turn continues until she makes a mistake, such as stepping on a line or hopping on an incorrect equation. The winner is the first person to work through all the numbers to 9.

You might also like:

• Beyond Hopscotch
• Indoor Hopscotch

May 17, 2012

Celebrate “Get Caught Reading Month” this month.  Reading to your host children is one of the most important activities an au pair should do DAILY.   It will not only improve your host child’s ability to learn in the future but your English will improve as well.    The Association of American Publishers has teamed up with the National Basketball Association and Reach Out and Read to carry the campaign, which celebrates the pleasures of leisure-time reading, to a new level. This year, the groups plan to distribute thousands of posters featuring NBA and WNBA stars “caught reading” their favorite books, at select NBA events and through Reach Out and Read pediatric centers in 50 states.   

READ! READ! READ!  

Here is craft to enjoy with the kids. 

Hold Your Place in Style

 

30 Minutes or less

These colorful bookmarks slip right over the corner of your page to mark your place with customizable flair.

Materials

• Scissors
• Card stock

• Glue
• Markers

1. To make one, first cut a 1 3/4- by 8-inch strip of colorful card stock.
2. Holding the strip horizontal, fold each half of the strip down at a right angle at the strip’s center, as shown.
3. Next, use shapes cut from colored paper or card stock to create a design for your bookmark that’s about 3 1/2 inches across.
4. Glue the pieces together, adding details with markers, if you like, then glue your design across both folded halves of the card stock strip, securing them together.
5. Be sure to let your bookmark dry completely before using it in your latest read.

May 16, 2012

May is Bike Safety Month.  Bicycling is fun, it helps us keep fit, and it gives us mobility.  It also helps kids develop judgment and self-confidence, safe practices and lifelong skills.  The most important part of having fun cycling is to learn to do it safely.  Here are some basic safety rules for all kids and au pairs to follow.  There is additional information in your welcome folder.   Remember:  you are a role model, if your host child is wearing a helmet so should you.  

The basic set of rules for beginning bicyclist are:
1. No playing in the road.
2. No riding on busy streets.
3. Stop and look before entering a roadway to cross or for any other reason.
4. Bicycle ride with traffic regardless of whether it is on the road, on the shoulder or on a sidewalk. [In situations where the infrastructure or other factors force you to ride toward traffic, adjacent to it, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you approach every intersection (road, alley, driveway, parking lot access, etc) with extreme caution and prepared to stop instantly.]
5. Stop for all stop signs and obey all other traffic signs and signals.
6. Make your own decisions (don’t do something just because a friend does.
7. Keep at least one hand on the handlebars at all times — two is better.
8. No riding at night — even in broad daylight bright cloths are good.
9. Even if you are doing everything else safely and right (please do), it is a good idea, and sometime the law, to wear a bicycle helmet. Bicycle gloves are a second good piece of personal protective equipment.

May 11, 2012

Materials

• Shoe box
• Markers, paints, or crayons
• Paper

• Glue
• Small presents

1. Decorate a small box or shoe box.
2. Buy or make a few presents (such as a package of fancy tea, coupons or cards) for Mom and place them in the box.
3. Write out a fun schedule (such as – when you wake up, open gift #1) of when you’d like her to open each gift and presto! — a day full of gift-giving.

May 6, 2012

Painted Thank-You Mug

by Catherine Newman 

With the stroke of a paint pen made for pottery (we used a Pebeo-brand Porcelaine 150 with a bullet tip), kids can turn an ordinary mug into a useful keepsake for their teacher. For an even more robust thank-you, include a gift card to a coffee shop.

Materials

• Rubber band
• Oven-safe ceramic mug
• Towel

• Ceramic paint pen
• Damp cotton swab

1. To make a guide for writing evenly, place a rubber band around the mug.
2. Working on a folded towel to keep the mug from slipping, use the paint pen to write a message, moving the rubber band as needed. (Tip: Keep a damp cotton swab handy to wipe away mistakes before they dry.) When you’re finished, bake the mug according to the instructions on the pen package.

April 30, 2012

If you can sing in the rain, why not paint? A soggy day can transform drawings into Impressionist art.

Materials

• Card stock

• Washable markers

1. Draw on card stock with washable markers, then place the papers outdoors in the rain until the colors have run.
2. Bring the paintings back inside and put them on a flat surface to dry.

April 28, 2012

Clemyjontri  Park  6317 Georgetown Pike  McLean, Virginia

If you have to pick one playground to visit in the Washington, DC, metro area, pick Clemyjontri Park in McLean, Virginia. This two-acre playground has so many play sets and activities to keep your kids occupied. It also has sheltered picnic areas and benches for your family to rest and grab a bite to eat.

The park has four playground areas that surround a carousel. Each area has its own theme: fitness, transportation, schoolhouse and rainbow.

The transportation area has airplanes, cars, motorcycles and trains for your kids to ride on. It also has a race track for your kids to race each other.

The schoolhouse area includes a learning maze, where world maps, US maps and clocks are placed throughout the maze for your kids to see.

The rainbow area has a rainbow archway, at least eight swings and various educational pictures, such as sign language, alphabets and Braille.

The carousel opens on weekends only from April 3 to May 30 and September 7 to October 31, and daily from May 31 to September 6. And no, it is not a small carousel that you normally see at a local fair. It has chariots, a spinning tea cup and fourteen prancing steeds. The use of the playground is free, but there is a $1.50 fee to ride the carousel. It used to be free to ride the carousel during the week, but this $1.50 fee is now applicable for both weekdays and weekends.

There are sheltered benches, a picnic pavilion and tent sails for you and your kids to take a break from the sun. However, those spaces may be limited, especially if the picnic pavilion is rented out, so make sure to put on plenty of sunscreen. There are no shelters over the play equipment, of course. Plus, for safety reasons, it’s impossible not to follow your kids around since it’s a huge playground, especially during busy times.

Another nice thing about this park is that the entire playground is covered with non-slip surfaces, so no worries about mud holes there. This makes the playground accessible as well. Other accessible features of this playground include swings with high backs for kids who need extra support and ramps to the elevated play equipment. 

In terms of facilities, the park has large restrooms, water fountains and drink machines. No food and drinks, no pets, no smoking, no bicycles and no skateboarding allowed on the playground.

April 27, 2012

Today we celebrate Morse Code Day.    Why?  Today is the Birth Anniversary of Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code which was a remarkable invention in the history of communication.  This this great man who left a milestone in the field of communication by his invention that changed our life and now from telegraphic system of communication we are able to use fastest way of communication i.e. Internet. Samuel Morse was not a scientist – he was a professional artist. He came to America in 1832 having been appointed Professor of Painting and Sculpture at the University of the City of New York. It was on this homeward voyage that he overheard a shipboard discussion on electromagnets. This was the seed out of which the electric telegraph grew. Morse is remembered for his Code, still used, and less for the invention that enabled it to be used, probably since landline telegraphy eventually gave way to wireless telegraphy. Beginning in 1836, Samuel F. B. Morse and Alfred Vail developed an electric telegraph, which sent pulses of electrical current to control an electromagnet that was located at the receiving end of the telegraph wire. Morse code was also extensively used for early radio communication beginning in the 1890s. For the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of high-speed international communication was conducted in Morse code, using telegraph lines, undersea cables, and radio circuits.

Here is a fun project to work on with the kids — make up a special code with your kids!!

Sometimes it’s hard to commit a phone number or locker combination to memory. Here are a couple of innovative ways your child can use letters or colors to record hers.

Materials

• Beading cord or hemp
• Lanyard hooks or key rings

• Assorted lettered or colored beads

1. Tie a long piece of beading cord or hemp to a lanyard hook or key ring.
2. Write the telephone number or locker combination your child needs to remember on a piece of paper. Then have her choose one of the codes below and string on beads as described.
3. Tie a secure knot at the end of the strand and trim the ends.
4. Letter Codes: For a phone number, follow the key (see below in Tips) to select the appropriate letter for each numeral, and use ornamental beads as spacers between the area code, exchange, and last 4 digits. The chain on the left shows part of a phone number with the numbers 31-665.
5. For a locker combination, use the letters to form double-digit numbers, if needed, stringing spacer beads between them.
6. Color Codes: To represent a locker combination with colored beads, use one hue to represent units of 10, another for units of 1, and a third as a spacer. For a phone number, simply string together the same color beads so they add up to the correct digit, where 4 green beads in a row equals the number 4 and so on.
7. You can even add letter beads to the end of the string as a reminder of what number is being coded. For example, MC could stand for Mom’s cell phone.

Tips:

Key: A-1; B-2; C-3; D-4; E-5; F-6; G-7; H-8; I-9; J-0

April 25, 2012

World Penguin Day:

Penguin Awareness Day, and World Penguin Day are great opportunities to learn about and appreciate one of the few natives of Antarctica. On these days, spend a little time learning about them…. a pictorial book or internet site is fun. You can also watch a documentary of these cute and popular, grounded birds.

These days are also a time to wear black and white—penguin colors. However, wearing a tuxedo in their honor is optional. It is also popular today to tell a penguin joke or two.   If it is a rainy day, watch Happy Feet, my son’s favorit

World Penguin Day coincides with the annual northward migration of penguins. This happens each year on or around April 25th. Penguins do not fly. Rather, they walk, or waddle their way to and from.

Did you know? Penguins are found in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, the Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos Islands. Elsewhere, they are only found in zoos.

Create your own march of the penguins by crafting a group of these adorable cold-climate creatures. You can make adults with the directions below or cut the pipe cleaners in half to make baby birds.

Materials

• 1 (12-inch) black pipe cleaner
• 1 (2 1/2-inch) white pipe cleaner
• 2 (4-inch) black pipe cleaners
• Pencil

• Scissors
• Orange craft foam
• Craft glue
• Googly eyes.

Instructions

1. Make a body by coiling a 12-inch black pipe cleaner around a pencil. Hook a 2 1/2-inch piece of white pipe cleaner between the top third and fourth coils and around the bottom coil.
2. For each wing, fold a 4-inch piece of black pipe cleaner in half and bend the ends. Attach it by tucking the bent ends between the top third and fourth coils.
3. Cut a beak and feet from orange craft foam. Stick the beak between the coils and secure it with a dot of craft glue. Then glue on the feet and a pair of googly eyes.