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LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

October 9, 2014 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis 2014

***Update 10/17/14 Congratulations to Tania. She is the winner of the 2 tickets to the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis, Friday, November 7, 2014, 4-8:30pm. For anyone still wanting to attend the event, tickets are selling out quickly. Get yours today. http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/
Indianapolis Convention Center
Halls I, J & K
100 S Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46225

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend the opening night of LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis as well as 2 tickets to use in a give-away. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

Please excuse my formality as I will be calling our beloved building toy by their formal name: LEGO® building bricks. This is a sponsored post and I have been informed that these wonderful little pieces are not called Legos or LEGOs but LEGO® bricks. Of course, those of us that grew up playing with them and watching our children and now our grandchildren play with them; we know what they are REALLY called. As stated above: “All opinions and insights are my own.” 🙂

I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend the LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis. Have you ever been to one of their events? It is packed with tons of fun building opportunities and exhibits. There will be three acres of space providing lots of construction zones, dozens of life-sized LEGO models and displays and much more. I am amazed at the creations that people build out of these little bricks.

Sometimes these events sell out so you might want to get your tickets early. Click this link to purchase your tickets now: http://www.legokidsfest.com/indianapolis/tickets.html

I hope to see you there!

Fun Trivia

More than 400 billion LEGO bricks have been produced since 1949. (These little building bricks are just 11 years older than I am. How’s your math?)

The LEGO minifigure represents the world’s largest population of people! More than four billion minifigures have been produced in the last 30 years. This is almost 12 times the population of the United States!

Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach more than five times around the world.

With a production of about 306 million tires produced a year, the LEGO group is the largest producer of tires in the world.

LEGO is the contraction of two Danish words, “leg godt” which means “play well”. (Sounds like the LEGO® Corporation has the same feeling about learning that I do. It should be fun!)

“Leg Godt!”

Community Helpers – Overview

February 14, 2014 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

Community Helpers – Overview

Teaching your child about community helpers can help them understand and feel more secure in their ever widening world. Learning about community helpers can help them realize that they don’t need to be afraid when they hear sirens in the neighborhood or in the car. The sirens are signaling that there are people out there to help take care of them. Police officers are there to help us when there is an accident. Firemen help us if there is a fire. The doctor and dentist help keep us healthy and the school teacher helps us learn new things.

When I taught preschool, we studied community helpers in the three year old classroom. At home, you might want to introduce some of them even earlier; for instance, the doctor. Children have to go to the doctor regularly, from birth, so reading books and talking about the doctor may help put them at ease. Before my children went to their first dental appointment, I read books to them so they would understand what was going to happen.

In the following posts you will find book suggestions and crafts to do with your children to help make learning about their world fun. Enjoy playing pretend with your children as they become the doctor and you are the patient. Please come back and leave comments about the books and crafts you enjoyed together. I would love to see pictures too. You can share them on the Love to Laugh and Learn Facebook page.

Doctors: Love to Learn about Community Helpers
Dentists: Love to Laugh and Learn about Community Helpers
Police Officers: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
Firefighters: Love to Learn About Community Helpers

Review: Peanut Butter and Jam Concerts at the Center for the Performing Arts, in Carmel

December 22, 2013 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

Review: Peanut Butter and Jam Concerts

Disclosure: I decided to do this review, for the Peanut Butter and Jam Concerts, on my own. I was not asked to do it. I purchased the tickets for my great-nephew and myself.

I had first read about the Peanut Butter and Jam Concerts in the Indianapolis Star. They are geared for children ages 1 to 7 years old. The entire experience is just under an hour. There is 30 minutes of music followed by 15 minutes for the audience to touch and play the musical instruments. The purchase of a child’s ticket allows the admission of two adults for no additional charge.

Today’s performance was given by the Sounds of Brass, from the Hendrick’s Symphony Orchestra. I was especially interested in this performance because my husband was one of the musicians. We picked up our 2 year old great-nephew and took him to this concert.

Brass Group from the Hendrick's Symphony — Brass Group from the Hendrick’s Symphony

When you first arrive, each child receives a carpet square to sit on. (I taught preschool for several years and I used carpet squares in my classroom. They are wonderful for helping children to get a concept of their personal space.)

Carpet Squares to Sit on at Peanut Butter and Jam Concerts

There are chairs that the adults can sit in but many sat on the floor with their children. It is a wonderfully intimate setting for little ones to be introduced to different styles of music.

View from behind the band at the Peanut Butter & Jam Concert

The interaction with the musicians at the end of the concert seemed to be a big hit with everybody. A few of the children were able to get musical sounds out of the instruments which is quite a feat on brass instruments. You don’t simply blow air through a brass instrument to get a sound, you have to buzz your lips just right as you are blowing the air.

Interacting with the musicians at the Peanut Butter and Jam Concert

This was an extremely entertaining and educational event. I highly recommend taking time to attend at least one (if not all) of the Peanut Butter and Jam concerts. They have one concert each month and they fill up fast so be sure to call and get your tickets early. Please look for me. It is very likely that you will see me at several of these events.

Rhythm! Discovery Center Review

October 9, 2013 by Mama Carmody 15 Comments

Rhythm! Discovery Center Review

On Saturday, September 28th, we took advantage of the free admission offer by Smithsonian Magazine and headed to the Rhythm! Discovery Center. I would describe Rhythm! Discovery Center as an interactive percussion museum. There are several “hands-off” displays of different percussion instruments but I must admit that I didn’t really pay much attention to them. We were all about the hands-on pieces; and since we brought a 2 year old with us there was plenty of “hands-on” everywhere we went.

Here are a couple of the “hands-off” displays:

Rhythm! Discovery Center: "Hands-off" Displays — Rhythm! Discovery Center: “Hands-off” Displays

Let me warn you, if you or any of your children are sensitive to noise then this is not the place to go but if you don’t mind some good old fashion racket then you will have a blast.

One of the very first things we encountered was this huge drum. No, that it not just a large display, it’s a drum.

There are so many opportunities for learning at the Rhythm! Discovery Center. You could experiment with rhythms or the way different instruments made from different materials sound. For instance, how does a drum with an animal skin head sound different from a drum with a plastic head? Listen to how the drum sounds different from the cymbals.

Rhythm! Discovery Center: Different Mallets

You can experiment with how the drum sounds different if you hit it with your fingertips, the palm of your hand or your fist. There were also different things to play the instruments with so you can listen to the differences of playing with a hard mallet, a soft mallet or a brush (the musical kind, not the hair kind). You could also learn the names of the different instruments and from what country they originated.

The lessons we came to learn this day were simple (since we brought a 2 year old). We were simply experiencing the joy of sound and music. And there were secondary lessons like sharing and learning to wait your turn (which actually, he does very well).

Below are some of the pictures from our day:

The Cymbal

The Chimes
Children of all ages enjoy Rhythm! Discovery Center.

Wooden Instruments

The Percussion Wall

Rhythm! Discovery Center: Percussion Wall

Crash Cymbals
The cymbals were actually way too big but Jeremiah listened very closely to Uncle Pat’s instructions. I love the joy on his little face once he was able to crash them together.

So Much Fun
We truly enjoyed our time at Rhythm! Discovery Center and look forward to going back many more times.

Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes

April 17, 2013 by Mama Carmody 11 Comments

Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes

Are you ready to have fun with stars? Take your child out late one evening and lay in the grass or on a blanket and watch the stars. If you live in the city you may have to drive away from the bright lights before you can see them. Enjoy playing with stars, eating stars and doing crafts with them. Please come back and share comments of the fun things you have done.

Content:

Toys
Craft:
Popsicle/Craft Stick Star
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

What star shaped toys do you have? Maybe a shape sorter with a star in it? How about a special pillow you sleep with at night? When I was little I had a star shaped police officer’s badge. I used the Lauri Toys Shape and Color Sorter in my preschool classroom. It has a star shape and the children really enjoyed it. Please leave a comment and let me know what star shaped toys you have at your house.

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Craft

Popsicle/Craft Stick Star

Materials Needed:

Popsicle/Craft sticks
Glue
Paint
Paint brush or foam brush
Paper to protect workspace

Instructions:

1. I covered my workspace with parchment paper because I bought it for $1 at the Dollar Tree. You can cover your space with whatever you have.

2. Since I wanted to use multiple colors I painted my sticks before I put them together.

3. After the paint dried, glue the sticks together in the shape of a star.

4. I’m going to use a ribbon to hang the star in my window.

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Foods for snack or meal time

Star fruit, chicken and star soup, occasionally around Christmas you can find star shaped pretzels or crackers, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut vegetables, cheese and bread

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Story Time

I See Stars (All about Shapes) by D. H. Dilkes
Reading Level: Birth – 5 yrs old
D. H. Dilkes has a great series of little books that discuss different shapes. In this book you will find many different stars. I like the fact that the illustrations are photographs of everyday items. The text rhymes and is simple which is great for a young child that is just being introduced to shapes.

Laura’s Star by Klaus Baumgart
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
An adorable book about a little girl and a falling star. Laura was looking for a special friend to tell her secrets to and found it in a most unusual place. The sparkling little star adds so much to the story and the illustrations.

Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up
A beautiful story to go along with teaching the star shape. The children in the book go on all types of adventures with stars. They see them in the sky and they make some and put them in their pockets. I like how the author encourages a child’s imagination such as saying stars look like silver eggs you could put in a basket. The illustration shows a little girl holding a basket up in the air as if she was gathering the stars. Be sure to take your child along on this wonderful adventure with stars. They will learn that sometimes they might even feel as shiny as a star.

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