DIY (with Preschoolers) Recycled Crayons Tutorial with a Science and Sensory Diet Twist

In our family's Free Christmas Gift Exchange, I drew the "recycle" slip.  That served as the catalyst for a variety of Advent opportunities to demonstrate "loving others" (which part of our Rule of Seven) through working together to create and test fun gifts for family members.  The first of these was Do-It-Yourself Recycled Crayons -- a sensory-friendly preschool craft with some learning connections, too.  Here's a How-To Review

1.  Practice fine motor and one-to-one correspondence skills by placing a paper cupcake liner in each section of a muffin tin.  (Or, if you want funkier shaped crayons, try using some silicon baking trays.)

2. For some large-motor proprioceptive and vestibular input, go on a hunt throughout your house for every small or broken crayon bit you can find.  Then, get those fine motor skills to work peeling them!

3.  If any of the peeled crayons are long, work hand strength by breaking them into bits.

4. Use the pincer grasp to place all the peeled crayon bits into muffin tins, sorting them by complimentary or contrasting colors.  Add a bit of color-mixing theory to the activity by discussing what the resulting crayon colors might be -- avoiding mixes that will make dull grays and browns!  (If you wish, for extra tactile input, sprinkle glitter into the cups.  For olfactory input, add scents.)

5.  Then, after doing a little science-minded prediction about what might happen to the crayon pieces when they are heated, pop the tray into an oven, pre-heated to 150 degrees F, for 15-20 minutes.  Leave the oven light on for eager eyes to witness if their predictions are correct and be sure to take the tray out when the crayon pieces seem just melted, but not bubbly. (While checking the crayons, if you realize too late - as we did - that a few non-wax coloring pieces got mixed in - note the yellow and green bits below - just roll with it!)

6.  Carefully have an adult remove the tray from the oven, showing it from a safe distance to eager young ones.  Then, after taking advantage of the inherent science lesson on matter and how it changes from solid to liquid due to the heat of the oven, place the tray in the freezer.  Or, if it is cold enough like it was here when we made our crayons, just put it outside.  (You can take a toothpick to swirl the colors a bit if you wish before freezing the crayons, which can add a little more color mixing and visual interest to the activity.)  While you wait for your recycled crayons to freeze, have a little tactile sensory fun playing with all the leftover wrappings.

7.  Once the melted crayons have frozen, have another quick lesson focused on the affect of cold temperatures on liquids.

 

8.  Then, get those fine motor skills working again peeling the crayons.

At this point, your recycled crayons are ready to test, wrap and gift, or use.  

(Just be sure that, if you are gifting them, the recipient knows what they are.  One of our young nieces actually tried to nibble hers, thinking they were homemade Christmas edibles.  Ooops!) 

This post is being shared at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday.  Check out the links there for more budget-friendly ideas.

First Food!

With the New Year has come first food!  Yep!  Jack had his first "solids" this past Sunday and was all smiles in sweet potatoes afterward.  What a delight for Nina, Luke, Daddy and me to share this special first with him.  We thank God for such simple moments of joy!  And, we look forward to Jack modeling for his picky-eater older siblings how to enjoy a more varied diet.  Indeed, he is already on his way with peer (sibling)-tutoring.  Luke could not wait to finish off Jack's leftovers!

And Mama has had some "first food" this week, too.  Yep, she has gotten back into the habit of waking earlier than everyone else to feed her soul first thing in the morning with dedicated time for prayer and devotions.  Now, that's nourishment to smile over!


How about you?  Have you had a praiseworthy "first food" moment this week?  Share about what you are thankful for and check out the inspiring links of others at Thankful Thursday over at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Living the Liturgical Year: Three Days for the Three Kings!

Liturgical Table 2010

Whoo hoo!  I almost forgot to order The Story of the Three Wise Kings from the library this year and was so excited to see that, despite putting it on hold "late", the book came in yesterday.  That means we'll be able to do a mini-book study of it to build upon last year's Epiphany fun!

In fact, the kids and I were so eager to start "studying" the Epiphany this morning that we began doing so even before picking up the book. Upon Luke's request, we began by using lots of fine motor skills and a dash of creativity to make some crowns "just like last year's" (see pictures below of last year's; this year's to come later).  We also did some three kings coloring and dot-to-dot's from the activity book that Santa left Nina as her "frankincense" gift.  (More on the kids three gifts in a later post.)  And, then, there was some spontaneous reenactments of being the kings on camels (a.k.a. a big, stuffed Clifford dog and an equally large horsey one) delivering gifts to baby Jesus (played by sleeping Jack.)  Later in the day, we also,  of course, read the book.

Tomorrow morning, we will read it again and do some further child-led explorations for the Three Wise Kings and Epiphany.  Can't wait!

DIY: Recycled CD Movement/Sensory Diet Spinners

Sometimes, we all need breaks from our many to-do's, right?  Well, I think I have discovered a tool to help us take such breaks here in our home while keeping moving -- literally:  Recycled CD Movement / Sensory Diet spinners!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to make recycled gifts for our family Free Christmas gift exchange this past year.  So, for the older cousins and Mike, the kids helped me make recycled CD spinners inspired by the Independence Day ones at Family Fun.

1. To do so, for some of their cousin's spinners, Luke and Nina helped me rip up old calendar pages and glue them onto recycled CD's.  This calendar tearing and gluing, in fancy SPD/OT (Sensory Processing Disorder/Occupational Therapy)-Speak, is a good bi-manual task and motor planning activity.  In layman's terms, it is just plain old fun for young ones!
2. Then, for other cousins and for Daddy, they simply helped me think of four choices to write on the CD's.  Things like, "study", "snack", "socialize" and "sleep" for their college-age cousin and "yoga", "touchdown", "hallway relays" and "jumping mattress" for Daddy's (ideas for free active time together).  These spinners could then be used for spinner wars -- seeing whose knocked the other one down or stopped spinning last while getting visual input -- as well as for making decisions about what to do during spare moments.
3. From there, the kids watched -- and reluctantly practiced patience-- as I glued a marble to the circle inside each CD (as a device to make the spinners turn) and a plastic lid to the opposite side (as a handle).  
4. And, finally, they got to test the spinners out before wrapping them in recycled paper.

Since giving Daddy his spinner, the kids have enjoyed simply spinning it and watching it go round and round -- great for visual input -- as well as using it to decide what Movement/Sensory Diet activities (our speak, not theirs) to do during idle moments.

Now, as I write this, I am envisioning making more spinners with other choices on them -- and maybe some pictures instead of writing on them --for the kids.  Chore spinners.  Calming activity spinners.  Alerting activity spinners.  Rooms-to-conquer during Tidy Time or Family Work Time spinners.  You name it!  Such possibilities...  A fun to-do to tackle which will, in turn, give us impetus to take a break from to-do's.

Which will we make first (and when)?  Life will unfold and let us know.  In the meantime, we are curious, what type of spinner might you tackle making first?  Do share your ideas and let us know if you end up making some.  They're great fun!

This post is being shared at 5 Minutes for Mom Tackle It Tuesday. Check the links there for inspiration on tasks -- big and small, housework related and not -- that might inspire you!

Makeshift Monday - Letter Tracing at the Fridge

As much as I want to consistently plan and carry through on well-thought out and creative lessons and projects for my children, it never fails that "life happens".  Consequently, spontaneous, semi-structured lessons become the order of the day at times.  So, I thought I would begin documenting these through occasional Makeshift Monday posts -- brief explanations which evidence impromptu ways to keep the kids engaged (or not) with varying degrees of success.

First up?

During some rather important and lengthy (due to holds) phone calls I had to make one morning, Luke and Nina got a bit antsy.  Likewise, I felt guilty that I was on hold on the phone instead of engaged in quality learning and play time with them.  That was when I spotted a poster that had fallen out of a pile of clutter I had been going through earlier in the day.  It reminded me of some recent yahoogroup conversations on interactive posters with workboxing and- BINGO!  Guilt assuaged.  Focus on writing engaged in.  A makeshift Letter Tracing at the Fridge activity commenced!

I attached the poster to one side of the fridge with magnets and gave Luke a dry-erase marker and a page protector to trace away with.  He quickly became involved.  Success!  (Even if he did get some marker on the actual poster when the page protector slipped.)

And Nina?  She, of course, wanted to join in, but (a)  there was not enough room on the side of the fridge for them both to work on the poster at once and (b) the letters to be traced on the poster were a bit too small for Nina's stage of pre-writing skill.  So, I wrote her name -- which she is still learning to recognize the letters for -- largely on the back of a piece of recycled paper, slipped it into another page protector and - viola! - a tracer for her was soon attached to the front of the fridge. 

Who cares if she went at it right to left instead of left to right without my guiding her to do otherwise?  She felt "big" and proud and I was able to attend to the service person that had just come back onto the phone line...

So, deep, thoughtful and hugely effective lesson?  No!  Fun and engaging for the kids while abating my guilt and helping to keep the house a bit quieter during an important call?  You bet!

What makeshift lessons have you been doing recently?  Leave a comment or link to share!

Belated Thanks for Me Ecanta Tu Blog Award

In the midst of being without my own computer due to a hard drive failure in late November and early December, Leann at Montessori Tidbits was kind enough to send me encouragement by passing along the Me Encanta Tu Blog (I Love Your Blog) award to us here at Training Happy Hearts.  Thank you, Leann, not only for thinking of us during our forced blogging hiatus, but also for pointing me toward your blog once more- which I love!

As I understand, to accept the award, I am supposed to answer the following questions:

1. Why did you create the blog?
To share our homeschooling journey, as we wrote about in our first post.

2. What kind of blogs do you follow?
Many, when I can make time to do so.  Most commonly, I follow homeschooling, SPD, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Reggio, preschool, parenting, organizing and Catholic-Christian blogs.

3. Do you have a favorite brand of makeup?
Nope.  I never got into wearing make-up, besides on stage, and I haven't been on stage in about four years now, I think.

4. And a favorite clothing brand?
None - just comfortable, conservative and, usually, with a dress or skirt line!

5. What makeup products are essential for you?
None.  But drinking a lot of water is vital, I believe,

6. What’s your favorite color?
It's always been red, but lately, yellow (not for wearing, but for looking at) is growing on me.  I love its brightness.

7. What’s your favorite perfume?
None. Perfume scents often give me headaches.  But, we do like the scents of cooking and baking here.  Vanilla, cinnamon... even garlic has its place.

8. What’s the film you liked the most?
The Wizard of Oz has always been a favorite, even if we have yet to share it with the kids,

9. What countries would you like to go to?
Prior to marriage and family, I was lucky enough to work, travel and/or volunteer in over 30 countries.  Since then, I have barely been beyond state lines.  One day, I would like to travel with the kids.  Following the footsteps of my heritage (mainly Irish and Italian) and Mike's (mainly Slovak and German) would be fun.  Hiking hut-to-hut in Switzerland would be a dream come true.  Visiting friends in many different nations would be heart-warming.  Volunteering/doing missionary work as a family in a developing nation is a goal I would love to see come to fruition if it is God's will for our family.
Now, with a quick Google search, I did not see any rules about who or how many folks to pass this award onto, so I am keeping it simple (Simplicity is a goal fo mine for 2011) by passing the award onto a single person -Rebecca at Raccoon School, who shares my interest in SPD, Montessori and Homeschooling, and whose well-organized blog is chock full of helpful photos and ideas.  Rebecca, Me Encanta Tu Blog.

Celebrating 2010 to 2011!

We had such a fun time at our annual family New Year party. Games. Appetizers. Chocolate fondue. Familiar faces and new ones. And, of course -- loads and loads of silly string!

We pray your new year is filled with family, friends, faith and bountiful blessings!