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Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes

April 8, 2013 by Mama Carmody 8 Comments

Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
with free printables




 

Time for fun with diamonds. What is the first thing you think of when someone talks about a diamond? My first thing is a kite. The second thing I think of is the song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Below are listed some fun things to do with diamonds. Have fun and please come back and share the different activities you have tried and how you liked them.


Content:

Toys
Crafts:
Kite Picture
Flower Made from Diamond Shapes
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Toys

You may have a shape sorter with a diamond shape in it. I would recommend the Discovery Toys: Playful Patterns (just use the diamond shapes today). Also try a Hape Geo Form S – Diamond Shaped Puzzles or kite. Please stop by and share what type of diamond shape toys you have.

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Crafts

Diamond Flower Craft


Kite Picture

Material for Diamond Kite Craft

Materials Needed:

Diamond Kite Template
Construction paper or paint, markers, crayons
String or yarn
Stickers
Scissors
Glue

Instructions:

1. Print Diamond Kite Template

2. You can either color or paint the kite on the template or use the template as a pattern to cut the kite out of construction paper. For this craft, I decided to cut the kite out of construction paper and glue it to another piece of construction paper.

3. Glue a piece of string or yarn to the bottom of the kite and have it run all the way to the bottom of the page so it looks like the kite is flying high in the sky.

4. Add stickers to the kite for extra decoration. Stickers are great for young children to exercise their fine motor skills as they peel and stick them to the paper.

Have fun learning about diamonds with this Diamond Shaped Kite Craft

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Diamond Flower

Materials Needed:

Material Needed for the Diamond Flower Craft

Diamond Flower Template
Construction or tissue paper
Scissors
Glue
Green marker

Instructions:

1. Print Diamond Flower Template

2. Cut 2 diamonds out of green paper.

3. Cut the rest of the diamonds out of whatever color you want your flower to be.
You can cut out as many diamonds as you want.

4. Glue the diamond petals in a flower shape with their points touching in the center of the flower.

5. Draw a green stem on the flower.

6. Glue the 2 green diamond shaped leaves to the stem.

Now you have a beautiful diamond flower to remind you of spring or to give to mom or grandma for Mother’s Day.

Have fun making this beautiful Diamond Flower Craft

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Foods for snack or meal time

I searched the web and couldn’t find any diamond shaped foods but you can always use a diamond shaped cookie cutter to cut vegetables, fruits, cheese, etc. You could also use triangle shaped foods and show your child how to put them together to create a diamond.

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Story Time

Much to my disappointment, I have not been able to find any books that are only about diamonds. I have found some books that discuss several different shapes and diamonds are included so I am listing those books. If you know of any books that are just about diamonds, please let me know.

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up
There isn’t much of a story. Actually it’s just a poem on the first page of the book but seeing how the different animals are made with the shapes is very interesting. The pictures are very bright and inviting to a child. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, octagon and hexagon.

Museum Shapes by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Reading Level: Kindergarten – 3rd Grade
This is a very interesting way to introduce your child to shapes and to the art world. Your child is introduced to different shapes and asked to locate the shapes in famous pieces of art work. A fun way to teach your child to look for shapes in items they run across every day such as wheels, on clothing or in a painting. Not only is this a good book for teaching shapes but it would be good to read before heading out for an afternoon at the art museum. There are reference pages at the end of the book that provide information on each of the pieces of art that are represented in the book. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, crescent and arch.

Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald
Reading Level: Ages 2 to 5
This book does not actually teach shapes but it is a good review and a fun mystery. The book starts out with two black circles in the middle of the page and it asks, “Do you know what I am?” As you progress page by page you find different shapes cut out of the pages with different hints. By the time you reach the end of the book you find, created over a three page spread, the answer to the original question. You will need to get this book to share with your child. It is quite fun to see what the shapes create at the end of the book. The shapes that are covered are circle, triangle, oval, diamond, crescent and semi-circle.

When a Line Bends . . . A Shape Begins by Rhonda Gowler Greene
Reading Level: Preschool to 2nd Grade
The book starts out by describing different types of lines and then it discusses the different shapes that can be made when a line bends. The book is written in rhyme and gives many, many examples for each shape. There are fun multi-colored pictures to go with each example. Your child will have fun looking for the different shapes that are described in the text. The shapes that are covered are circle, square, triangle, rectangle, star, heart, oval, diamond, crescent and octagon.

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Related Posts

Shapes – Overview
The Lessons – Overview
Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Ovals: Learning Activities for Shapes
Squares: Learning Activities for Shapes
Rectangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Triangles: Learning Activities for Shapes
Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes
Hearts: Learning Activities for Shapes
Learning Should Be Fun
Colors – Overview
When Do Children Start Learning

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Filed Under: Learning Activities, Shapes Tagged With: diamond, diamonds, educational activities, fun learning, laugh, learn, learning, learning about diamonds, learning concepts, learning fun, learning opportunities, learning shapes, lessons, love, love to laugh and learn, love to learn, making learning fun, preschool, preschool lessons

National Train Day 2017

May 13, 2017 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

National Train Day 2017




Tomorrow, May 12, is National Train Day. There are special events happening all over the country. Check out your local train depot and see if they have anything special planned.

The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum is our local depot. It has a wonderful event planned for tomorrow. Outside you can explore several old train cars or enjoy a handcar ride. Inside you will find several model trains set up and running. The little ones can enjoy craft time and there’s a dress up area.

Last year we took the grandchildren and had a blast. Here are some of the things we enjoyed.

My grandson loved exploring the inside of the different train cars.

National Train Day 2016: Checking out old train cars

One of the engines actually had moving parts. What more could a little boy ask for?

National Train Day 2016: Engine with moving parts

There were lots of model trains to look at and interact with.

National Train Day 2016: Model Trains

There were fun hands-on activities like coloring and playing with trains.

National Train Day 2016: Hands-on Activities

There was even live music for all of us to enjoy.

Live Music

It was a great event and we are excited to join in the fun again tomorrow. The event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and it’s free. Get there early and enjoy every moment of it.

The Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum
315 W. Avenue B
Temple, TX 76501

Filed Under: Attractions and Events Tagged With: conductor, hands on, hands on activities, love to laugh and learn, model train, National Train Day, National Train Day 2016, National Train Day 2017, train depot, trains

Mama Carmody and “Love to Laugh and Learn” are Relocating

November 4, 2015 by Mama Carmody 18 Comments

Mama Carmody and “Love to Laugh and Learn” are Relocating

Mama Carmody and “Love to Laugh and Learn” are relocating, from Indiana, to Texas next week. I’m sorry that my posts have been erratic this year but I have had a lot going on.

Mama Carmody is Relocating: Texas Bound
Mama Carmody is Relocating: Texas Bound

My daughter and grandson came to Indiana for an extended period of time, starting this past May. My son-in-law serves in the army and has been deployed for several months. From the time my grandson was born I have tried to convince myself that I could be a long distance grandparent. I grew up in Indiana and my grandparents lived in Florida and West Virginia and I loved them dearly. I knew I could have a good relationship with my grandson, even with the distance…a lot of grandparents do. Then my daughter found out she was pregnant with my second grandchild. After spending several months with my grandson and daughter, then finding out I have a granddaughter on the way, I knew I didn’t want to be a long distant grandparent. So my husband and I have made the decision to head to Texas.

I will still be blogging, it just may take a little bit for us to get settled. As I stated in my very first post, “Learning Should Be Fun”, I have wanted to share fun learning activities and family friendly events to enjoy with your family. Now I will be able to continue with one of my original visions. I will be adding Family Friendly Events for the Killeen/Fort Hood/Austin area. I plan to continue to post the Indianapolis Family Friendly Events too, so don’t anyone give up on me.

I will also continue to add different learning activities for your family’s enjoyment. I look forward to this new adventure and am glad to have you along for the ride.

Related Posts

Learning Should Be Fun
When Do Children Start Learning
The Lessons – Overview
Colors – Overview
Shapes – Overview
Fun with Music – Overview

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: granddaughter, grandparent, grandson, Indiana, Learning Should Be Fun, love to laugh, love to laugh and learn, Mama Carmody, relocating, Texas

Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old!

October 7, 2015 by Mama Carmody 8 Comments

Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old!

Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old
Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old

I’m celebrating my blogs 4th year in existence. It’s been a rough year. Last year, at this time, I was so excited that my blog had gone from 1000 followers to 5000. Earlier this year, I found out I had been spammed and I didn’t have near the following I thought I did.

Thank goodness I have followed the suggestions of Bob Lotich, from Christian Personal Finance, and Jonathan Milligan, from Blogging Your Passion. They both said that you should choose a topic, for your blog, that you are passionate about. It should be something that you love even if you never make a penny from it. I do love sharing ways to have fun with your children while sneaking in a little learning in the process.

If you have followed be for any length of time, you have seen me put these ideas into action. I don’t simply tell you about these activities but I document them as I enjoy them with my grandson and great-nephew. Here are my little helpers:

My Little Inspirations
My Little Inspirations

Many thanks go out to their mommies for sharing them with me and sometimes accompanying me on our adventures.

As I take a look back at my very first post, “Learning Should Be Fun”, I hope that I have fulfilled my original goal. “My real vision for this blog is that it can help families have fun learning together…”

I would love to hear from each of you. Have you found value in the activities I have shared? Which ones have you tried? I would love to hear about the successes and the failures. If you have suggestions of activities you would like to see me blog about, please share those too.

Thanks to each and everyone of you for your follows and your support. May God richly bless each of your households.

Most Sincerely,

~ Mama Carmody

Related Posts

When Do Children Start Learning
The Lessons – Overview
Colors – Overview
Shapes – Overview
Fun with Music – Overview

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: 4 years old, blogiversary, celebration, love to laugh and learn

Let’s Play with Toy Guns

December 20, 2014 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

Let’s Play with Toy Guns

I believe toy guns are getting a bad rap. I must say I hadn’t given it a lot of thought before but now I have a grandson and a couple of great-nephews, so an interest in guns is something we are going to have to deal with.

I raised two girls so guns were never a big subject around our house. We played with water guns and bubble blowing guns but that was about it. But when I was a little girl, I had a cap gun. I wore it in my holster as I strutted around in my cowgirl boots and hat. I loved playing with my cap gun when I was really young. As I got older, I was allowed to use our BB gun. I have always been fascinated with guns but I am definitely not a violent person. The first time I shot a bird, I cried. (We were trying to keep sparrows out of the purple martins’ birdhouse.) It only stunned him, so he eventually flew away but I didn’t shoot at any more birds.

Let's play with toy guns.
Let’s play with toy guns.

The idea of toy guns around the house hit me the other day because I was adding pieces to our dress-up clothes. I had purchased a soldier outfit and a police officer outfit. I was looking for a badge at the Dollar Tree when I ran across a package with a toy gun, a badge and a pretend walkie talkie. I hesitated because I have heard all the controversy about playing with guns and the possibility of instilling violence in our children, but are we missing a teaching opportunity?

My son-in-law serves in the army. Carrying a gun is part of his job. I have deep respect for all of the individuals serving in our armed forces. They carry guns to protect us and people in other countries. I believe that teaching our children how the military men and women are protecting us is a wonderful lesson. Yes, it is sad that there are wars but it is wonderful that there are people willing to put their lives on the line for others.

Then there are the police officers. They also carry guns as part of their jobs and put their lives on the line for others. Teaching respect for our police officers and learning about how they serve us are just a couple of lessons that can be incorporated into your child’s play with toy guns.

There are people that use guns to hunt for food. Wild game is healthy for you and is fairly cheap, in comparison to store bought meat. Many people around the world depend on hunting for their food. They don’t have or can’t afford to run to the grocery store to pick up something.

Lessons that can be slipped in while the children are playing with their toy guns:

  1.  Respect for our military and police.
  2.  Serving and protecting others.
  3.  Honoring our veterans.
  4.  Our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.
  5.  How to properly handle a gun.
  6.  Where our food comes from.
  7.  The benefits of forgiveness and the consequences of revenge.

If we are worried about how our children will grow up and handle guns, shouldn’t we be talking with them about it, while they are young? Rather than avoiding or not allowing the opportunity for role playing and discussion, we should be giving them the opportunity to play and explore.

As children turn into young teens, many start playing violent video games or start sharing their interest of guns with their peers. Is this who and what you want to influence your child about the use of guns?

Some parents are worried that allowing their children to play with toy guns will create violent adults. According to an article on WebMD, titled Toy Guns: Do They Lead to Real-Life Violence?, “studies show no link between playing with toy weapons in childhood and aggression in adulthood”.

So let the kids play with their toy guns and let’s use the opportunity to instruct and raise more gun responsible teens and adults.

Filed Under: Articles, Learning Activities Tagged With: children and toy guns, educational activities, gun, guns, hunt, hunting, laugh, learning opportunities, love to laugh and learn, love to learn, military, police officers, toy gun, toy guns

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