Yay for Spring!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and even though it's snowing as I type, (totally weird for the Pacific Northwest), I'm ignoring the snow and concentrating on the calendar.

Looking for some springtime literacy fun? Here are some old favorites:
Roll-a-Word Bead Caterpillars, "Taped" Bunny Book, bunny window decals
Spring Break Alpha-Quest
Easter Letter Art
Shadow Stories
Letter Rocks
Our favorite bunny books

The other day, my three year old asked me to get out the "book making stuff" so he could make another bunny book. Isn't it fun when your kids start to read and write just because they want to?!

This year, I'd like to try these cute thumbprint Easter cards from Red Ted Art with my little one.
And speaking of Easter, here are about a million (25 actually) Easter ideas from NurtureStore. They all look fun and adorable!

I love this list of books that celebrate spring. (From The Book Diaries.) #7 on her list is one of our new family favorites!

By the way, I'll be back Monday. -No Friday post this week, so if you want to link up or check out the Weekly Kid's Co-op, you can visit any of the other participating bloggers.

Happy Spring! 

Fun Friday

Here's what we've been up to this week...
Laughing at our interesting and gross answers to the questions in this book:
You Gotta be Kidding! The Crazy Book of "Would you Rather" Questions


Would you rather eat 20 orange peels or 20 banana peels?
Or what about this one...
Would you rather walk knee deep through fish guts or walk through a dark cave full of thick spiderwebs?

Good stuff!


Ok, on to the Weekly Kid's Co-op...

<a href="http://www.rainydaymum.co.uk/" target="_blank"><img src="http://rainydaymum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/comeplayatkidsco-op.jpg" alt="Kids Co-op" width="125" height="125" /></a>

From Cupcakes to the Puppet Stage

I'm organizing. Again. It seems like I always attempt it, yet I never actually succeed at becoming organized.

While cleaning out my baking cupboard, I unearthed some adorable cupcake toppers left over from my son's birthday. In an effort to avoid cleaning, I made this little tiny puppet stage out of the box and the toppers. It's good for laying on the table and acting out a little adventure. We thought it would also be fun to video record the action to make a cool movie.

Cute, eh?  Obviously the credit for the cuteness goes to the folks at Meri Meri, since all I did was cut a slit in the bottom of the box. Oh, and I also handed the puppet stage and the puppets-on-a-stick to my three year old for some dog-gone puppet fun.  *Speaking of puppets-on-a-stick, I would recommend swapping the toothpick for a more sturdy (and safe) mini-popsicle stick. As you can see from the pictures, I started out with the picks and after some poking and toothpick breaking, decided to switch to the safer option.

Ok, quick...Go dig through your cupboards and find some supplies for your very own petite puppet set!

Fun Friday

Hi Friends! Here's what we've been up to this week:

In case you can't tell, this is a snow angel. Aka a snow butterfly!

I know it has nothing to do with literacy, but we don't get snow in March much, so waking up to an inch or so was pretty exciting!

It's time to share! Feel free to post your family's fun ideas below!
Grab the badge and join in:

<a href="http://www.rainydaymum.co.uk/" target="_blank"><img src="http://rainydaymum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/comeplayatkidsco-op.jpg" alt="Kids Co-op" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Yarn Books

As I mentioned last week, we've been goofing around with yarn lately. I was inspired by another cool creative challenge. (This one is over at NurtureStore, as part of the Kids Art Explorers series.)

When I asked my three year old what we could do with the pile of yarn I put on the table, his first question was, "Where's the glue?" (Glue is an essential project-time element for him.) Once I got him some glue and paper, he made lots of glue and yarn masterpieces. Then he wanted to make a J since it's "his letter." I drew the J in glue and he stuck the yarn on it. Then he wanted to make the rest of the letters. Technically he got sick of sticking the yarn on after about one third of the letters, but he was very determined that "we" finish the whole alphabet. He named off letters for me to make until we had a full alphabet made of yarn. Add some binder rings and it makes a pretty adorable little abc book, right?

Slightly older kids could totally handle the whole alphabet, and they could even make yarn illustrations to go with each letter. It's a great way for kids to think about letter formation, plus arranging the yarn is excellent fine motor work.

Giving kids a random material and asking what they can make with it is about as simple as it gets, but these are the kinds of activities that always turn into totally engrossing, engaging project time. Best of all, it's so fun to see how different kids tackle creative challenges. My five year old used the same pile of yarn for a Lego prop, and my three year old niece needed some scissors because, "That yarn needs a haircut!" By the way, this is the same sweet niece who told me (very politely) that my hair was looking kind of ratty, so maybe I could use a bath. Obviously she's into grooming these days!

What are your favorite yarn projects? If you want to show them off, be sure to link up over at NutureStore!

Have a great week!

Fun Friday

Happy Friday, and happy March!

This month is birthday month here at Small Types. To celebrate, I've got a little birthday present for you! Today only, you can click here to download my Read and Write at Home document for free. It's a resource for teachers to share with parents, so if you're a parent, you can pretend I'm your child's teacher and I'm giving it to you! If you're a teacher, feel free to share! Either way, you'll find some fun ideas and printables to use at home to support literacy learning, including literacy activity cards, mini-notes, writing paper for your home writing center, finger puppets and more.

Next, I promised I'd share a fun and playful literacy idea each week. Here's what we're playing with this week... YARN! What does yarn have to do with literacy? This post is long, so you'll have to come back Monday to find out. :)

Finally, what's a birthday without a party? So...it's time to come and party with the Weekly Kid's Co-op! Check out the links below, and join in to tell us what you've been up to this week.

Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for reading Small Types!

Imprints from Tricia No Time For Flash Cards Train Up a Child Caution! Twins at play Creative Family Fun mamascout Share With A Kid Scribble Doodle and Draw

One Perfect Day Ways2Play Mum of Twins a Toddler and a Teenager Carrots Are Orange Small Types Rainy Day Mum Smiling like Sunshine Dirt and Boogers RainbowsWithinReach

The Mommies Made Me Do It It's A Long Story Reading Confetti B.Inspired, Mama! The Good Long Road PlayDrMom ToddlerApproved Growing A Jeweled Rose

Time Out with Dr. Seuss

Of course, Dr. Seuss is a year-round favorite in most households, but this time of year, families and classrooms everywhere, are gearing up to go all out with the Seuss love. (Just check Pinterest for proof!)

This year, as we read the books, I'm making a point to ask my kiddos what we can learn from our favorite characters, since Seuss was an absolute master at including some pretty important life lessons within each rhyme-y, silly tale. In fact, some might argue that a kid could learn just about everything they need to know about being a good person from the pages of Dr. Seuss favorites.

• Horton teaches us to be loyal and true to our word.
• Sam-I-Am is big on getting us to try something new.
• Mack stands up to Yertle and speaks out for what's right, even when it's tough.
• The Lorax encourages us to take care of our natural resources.
• And from Oh, the Places You’ll Go, one of my favorite bits of advice:
• "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go ..."

The best part is, reading a lesson expertly woven into the pages of a great book is WAY better than a lecture from mom or dad.

So, I'm thinking that there might be times when a little reading time out is in order. I don't mean sending kids to their rooms and making them read books for punishment.  Obviously if we want book lovin' kids, it's a BAD idea to use books as punishment.

Instead, I'm making myself a little list of book titles with specific messages that apply to particular character traits or behaviors I'm trying to encourage in my kids. I'll keep the list handy (in my family list book), so when I see a particular behavior pattern that could use some work, I can whip out the prescribed book for a little reading and chatting. I'm no behavior expert but common sense tells me that this would be most effective when everyone is calm and happy, and not in the midst of a brotherly fistfight.

For more on learning character from Dr. Seuss's characters, click here or here.  And besides the Seuss faves, this list from Simple Mom and this one from No Time For Flashcards both include tons of great book suggestions for teaching life lessons through literature.

I'd love to hear your suggestions. What are your favorite books, (Seuss or not), that teach a lesson and entertain all at the same time?

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The idea of teaching character through exemplary book characters also inspired me to create this new classroom activity. If you're a teacher be sure to fly over and check out Super Character. (But don't do it today--there's a big Leap Day sale on Wednesday, so go then!)