Our usual storytime at the library was cancelled this week for a Bollywood dance performance from Geeta Dias’ Bollywood Dance.  I have such a hankering for Indian dance; I was a thrilled and captivated audience member.  I love the high energy movements and music.  It was such a delight to expose my children to it, especially at our local, small branch.

At one point we were taught different mudras, sacred hand gestures that convey meaning in Indian dance.  You can see Max in the front.

At the end of the lecture and performances the audience was taught a Bollywood dance routine.  I wish I could have captured Max on video, but the moment worked because I was participating too.  

Om Shanti! 

With Earth Day just around the corner, here is a great science craft that kids can make: a solar oven. 

The directions are remarkably easy and you might already own all of the materials.  This is wonderful to do with your own kids, or in a community or classroom setting.  I learned how to make this at Biscayne National Park’s Family Fun Fest, which was all about the sun.

Step One: Order pizza.

Did I mention how much you’re going to love this project? 

Seriously, a pizza box is an ideal container for this project, but any lidded cardboard box will do.

Materials Needed

pizza box
sheet of plastic (a report cover or page protector works great)
foil
tape
a piece of study wire or a pencil

How to Make a Solar Oven

1.  Cut 3/4 of a square out of the lid of the pizza box.  Make it big as this is your solar panel, but leave one side attached.  Tape a piece of foil to cover the underside of it.

2.  Open the box and tape your sheet of plastic to the underside of the lid, so it is covered.  Be sure to make a decent seal, as this will trap the heat in the oven.

3.  Line the inside of the box, including sides, with foil.

4.  Use a piece of wire wedged into the little holes in the sides of the box or a pencil to prop open the lid. 

How to Use Your Solar Oven

1.  Put some food inside.  Nachos work great as they don’t spoil easily. 

2.  Close the lid and place the oven in a sunny spot in which the solar panel faces direct sunlight.

3.  Wait. Wait. Wait. And eat!

4.  Of course, it goes without saying, be sure to recycle these ovens when you’re done.

Educator Tips

1.  Explain solar energy before the project.

2.  Cut the solar panel squares, sheets of foil and wire in advance to make it easier.

3.  Plan this activity for a hot time of the day if you live in a Northern climate.  This can take a while, so have another activity to do while the nachos cook.

4.  You can make a larger oven and bake mac and cheese in advance of the lesson.

This is a fun, Montessori-inspired activity to teach children how to button with a playful activity: building a snake. Not only do they develop this skill with lots of practice, but they also work on strengthening that all-important pincer grasp needed for writing.

Materials needed

a ribbon
2 large buttons
about 8 pieces of colorful felt

How to Make a Button Snake

1.  Sew a button on either end of a piece of ribbon.

2.  Cut felt into little squares.  Measure your button and make a slit in the center of each felt square which will mimic a button hole.  Make enough squares to eventually fill the ribbon.  Put the squares in a bowl.

How to Teach the Button Snake

1.  Introduce your child to the snake.  Show him how to button a square on the snake.  Break it down into steps.  Put the button half way through the hole.  Use your other hand to pull it out.  Once the square is on, push it to the bottom of the ribbon.

2.  Allow your child to try.  Encourage him to choose a color he likes.  Talk him through the steps at first, but then back off and let him figure it out.

3.   Some children will do the whole snake in one sitting, and others will complete this task over a period of days.  If you are doing this at home and don’t need to share, let your child set the pace.  Little fingers can tire easily.

4.  Once the snake is assembled, he needs to be unbuttoned and returned to his spot on the shelf.  This is a part of the task the child needs to complete.

Why This is Great

Skill building takes practice.  Buttoning clothes and frames are limited to only a few buttons at a time.  The button snake provides lots of practice in a single time frame.  Buttons on clothes can be small and tricky at times.  The button snake is very gently and easy to use.

Accomplishing a large task creates a sense of pride in a child.

Inspired by our Sistine Chapel project, I’ve given the boys more interesting and directed art projects.  Sure, it fun to just go wild and be creative, but I sensed that my little ones needed a little direction to move beyond scribbles and splashes.  We’ve started doing still life paintings, and they love them.

How to Teach Still Life Painting to Preschoolers

1.  Look at pictures of still life paintings, so children can see a variety of artists’ work.

2.  Create a simple tableau, like a bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers.  Limit the colors to 2-3 in the beginning.

3.  Demonstrate sketching in pencil and then painting a still life, talking about the shapes and colors you see.  Make some mistakes and incorporate them into your piece.

4.  Give your child paper, a pencil, and paints (watercolors are best in the beginning) after they’ve seen you do it.  Encourage him to keep at his work even with mistakes.  Once his masterpiece is created, have him sign it with either his whole name or just the first letter of his name.  Praise.  Praise.  Praise.

The election of a new pope is exciting world news.  Here’s a great way to connect kids to the history which is unfolding in real time as well as teaching them a lesson in art history.  Letting children practice painting their very own Sistine Chapel is fun work that engages them fully. 

Painting the Sistine Chapel Lesson

To Prepare

Tape paper to a flat underside of a table.  You can tape a Sistine Chapel Coloring Sheet to the paper or just leave it free style. 

Make a sign with a cross to remind them that this is a real church.

A drop cloth and smock are musts, as are thick paints to prevent dripping.

Before the Lesson

Look at pictures of the Sistine Chapel together.  Point out the ceiling.  Discus what you see.  Note the most famous part of the piece, Adam and God touching fingers.  Explain what a fresco is (a painting painted directly to the wall).    

Introduce the artist, Michelangelo, to your children.  Tell  them that it took him 4 years to paint the Sistine Chapel.  You can relate that to their own lifespan.  Explain that the pope asked him to paint it and that it shows the glory of God.

Choose a few key points to repeat throughout the lesson.  For preschoolers I suggest these facts:

1. The Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo a long time ago.
2. It took him 4 years to paint it.
3. It is a church which shows the glory of God.
4. A fresco is a painting on a wall, not a paper or canvas.
5. Right now the cardinals are choosing a new pope inside the Sistine Chapel. 

Let your child paint

The best way to learn is by doing, so just let him give it a whirl. 

I acted as an assistant and handed paintbrushes to my kids.  They asked for the color and the thickness of brush and I readied it for them.  This made it a very clean project.  Older kids might benefit from dealing with the paint themselves, but preschoolers might end up struggling too much. 

As they paint talk about how it feels.  If they can’t reach a part of their ceiling, encourage them to problem solve.  Admire their work.

And then the modern art form comes into play.  Jack takes pictures of Max painting.  A blogger’s child.

The Final Materpiece

Here’s a repost from St. Pat’s Day 2012.

I love holidays! 

In anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day, we are doing little crafts all week to decorate our home.  Here are two super simple ideas for the toddler set.

1.  Simple Rainbows

Tape three crayons together using painter’s tape to help a little one draw rainbows.

2.  Green Finger Paint

Nothing reinforces the concept that yellow + blue = green than two globs of paint mixed together.  Messy is the best way to learn.  Later you can cut shamrocks out of the green swirls if you want.

Here’s a fun little Valentine project you can make for toddlers and preschoolers using paint chips. 

1.  Cut two hearts out of each color of pastel paint chips (Martha Stewart paint at Home Depot has great options.)

2.  Write matching 2-word messages on the pairs of hearts mimicking Conversation Hearts.  For a more advanced preschooler, you can write messages on different colors of hearts, so they actually have to read the first letter to find the match.  This raises print awareness and is a great pre-reading skill.

3.  Cut index cards to the size of a box of Conversation Hearts and glue on the hearts.  Put the memory deck inside the box along with a few of the candies.   

4.  Play memory by taking turns drawing two cards and searching for a match.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

No, it’s not just because our dishwasher died and the new one won’t get here until next Wednesday.

My kids really needed to learn this life skill.

After breakfast and lunch, they took their own dishes outside to a dish washing station.  It was very basic with warm soapy water, rinse water, and towels for drying.  I gave them a scrub brush and a sponge which I had cut in half so it would fit their small hands.  They had so much fun that I scored the same points I would have had I taken them to the zoo!  Mom bonus: their dishes were clean and put away by the end of this activity.  Yay!

Washing dishes is part of Montessori’s Practical Life curriculum.  Practical Life simply means giving children the chance to cultivate skills they can use around the house.  These skills foster independence, a sense of accomplishment, and competence in everyday life.  While children learn these tasks, they also strengthen their finger muscles and gain an eye for detail.  The yogurt didn’t disappear off the bowl just by putting it in soapy water.  Jack had to actually wipe it off.  See how focused they are in the pictures; that shows their full engagement.

Their final task was putting the dishes back where they belong, which teaches responsiblity and sorting skills.  

The kids kept begging for more, so I guess we better keep eating.  Maybe we don’t need that delivery next Wednesday. 

That reminds me of my mom’s favorite joke when I was growing up: Why would I buy I dishwasher when I already have two? (meaning my sister and me).

Moms are so hilarious.

Here’s a great art project for little ones to strengthen their pincer grasp. 

A Bean Ghost!

This is a simple gluing project with a Halloween theme.  We used small black beans and large white beans.  I was originally going to use cannellini beans, but I love them so much, it hurt to think of them not being eaten.  This ended up being a good switch, because the black beans are so small that they taxed my little ones’ fingers.  The large white beans are easier to handle and cover so much area that the kiddos felt they were making real progress.  We switched back and forth between the beans and completed the project in 2 sessions.

1.  Draw a ghost outline with eyes and a mouth.

2.  Working one section at a time, have your child squeeze glue and apply beans.  Encourage him to pick up beans with his thumb and first two fingers.  That will strengthen the pincer grasp he needs for writing.

3.  Wait for the beans to dry and admire your amazing decoration.