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Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes with Free Printable

September 10, 2012 by Mama Carmody 14 Comments

Circles: Learning Activities for Shapes
with free printables

Are you ready to have fun with shapes? We are going to start out by having fun with learning activities for circles. There are so many circles all around you. The buttons on your shirt or coat may be circles. The wheels on the car or your bike are circles. What other circles do you see? Maybe you are eating something for dinner or a snack that is a circle shape. Have fun with theses activities and stories that are about circles.

Content:
Toys
Craft:
Circle Pizza
Snacks
Story Time
Music
Related Posts
Toys
What type of circle shaped toys can you find to play with today? Do you have some balls, a hula hoop, a slinky or a game of ring toss? You could play with marbles or a yo-yo (if your child is a little older). Look for circles on some of your other toys, like the wheels on your cars and trucks. A toy that I liked using with my children and with my preschool classes was Playful Patterns by Discovery Toys. When learning about circles I would just use the circles and the pictures that used circles for the children to play with. It is also a good toy for learning colors and sorting activities.

Craft
Circle Pizza Craft

Circle Pizza Craft

Materials Needed:

Materials Needed for Circle Pizza Craft
Materials Needed for Circle Pizza Craft

Circle Pizza craft page
Pepperoni craft page
White Paper
Light brown crayon
Brown crayon
Reddish brown crayon
Red paint
Paint brush or foam applicator
Hole punch
Scissors
White glue
Basil and oregano seasonings

Instructions:

1.  On white copy paper, print the circle pizza craft page and the pepperoni craft page. I printed the pizza on cardstock so it would hold up better with the paint and glue.

2.  Color the edge of the crust with the light brown crayon. (The Crayola color I used was actually called tan.)

Circle Pizza Craft: Coloring the crust.

3.  Color the pepperoni with the reddish brown crayon then cut them out. (The Crayola color was called Mahogany.)

Circle Pizza Craft: Creating the Pepperoni

4.  There is an empty area on the bottom of the pepperoni page. Use the brown crayon and color that area. Then use the hole punch to punch out sausage crumbles.

Creating Sausage for Circle Pizza Craft

5.  Cut a white piece of paper into very thin strips; to resemble shredded mozzarella cheese.

Assembling the Circle Pizza

6.   Use the paint brush or foam applicator to paint the “tomato sauce” on the pizza.

7.  Lightly sprinkle the basil and oregano and the “shredded cheese” on the wet paint. (I didn’t use glue for this part. The wet paint held everything well. I did use the handle of the foam applicator to push the “mozzarella” into the paint so it would hold better.)

Seasonings and “Cheese” on Circle Pizza

8.  Glue the pepperoni and the sausage on the pizza.

Learn about circles while doing this fun Circle Pizza craft.

9.  Now you have a wonderful Circle Pizza.

* The above craft would also work well for a lesson on the sense of smell.

** You can also use the Grape craft from Learning Activities for the Color Purple or the Blueberry Pie craft from Learning Activities for the Color Blue.

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Foods for snack or meal time

Ritz crackers or any round cracker, cut cheese into circles, sliced banana, Cheerios, make some personal pizzas with English muffins, round cookies or slice an apple through the middle for some circle shaped slices.

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Story Time

(affiliates included)

Circles (The Shape of the World) by Dana Meachen Rau
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
This is a wonderful book to introduce circles to any age. The text is simple and there are great illustrations of circles that we see around us every day.

Circles (Shapes) by Marybeth Lorbiecki
Reading Level: Birth – 4yrs old
A cute introduction to circles. The rhyming storyline leads you through bright illustrations of a kitten’s birthday party. There are many circles on each page to be observed, counted and enjoyed.

I See Circles (All About Shapes) by D. H. Dilkes
Reading Level: Birth – 4 yrs old
D. H. Dilkes has a great series of little books that discuss different shapes. In this book you will find circles in many different places. I like the fact that the illustrations are photographs of every day items. The text is simple which is great for a young child that is just being introduced to shapes.

So Many Circles, So Many Squares by Tana Hoban (only covers circles and squares)
Reading Level: Birth to 2nd Grade
There is no storyline to this book. It is just pages and pages of pictures from the world around us. It concentrates on two shapes; circles and squares. This is a great book for introducing shapes to your child. This book could lead into a great game of finding circles right where you are.

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Music & Singing Time

Because of copyright laws I am not going to put links to songs (unless I have permission from the artist). I will give you the names of songs that I like to use and you can find them on a CD, video or YouTube to sing with your child.

Ring Around the Rosie

Mister Sun (Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun) I would always have the preschoolers make a big round circle with their arms for the sun.

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Related Posts

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

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Filed Under: Learning Activities, Shapes Tagged With: circle, circles, educational activities, free printable, fun learning, learn, learning, learning concepts, learning fun, learning opportunities, learning shapes, love to laugh, love to laugh and learn, love to learn, making learning fun, preschool, preschool lessons, printable, shapes

Review: Radio Disney Event, Indianapolis 2012

June 17, 2012 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

The Radio Disney event was nothing like what I had conjured up in my mind. I thought this was going to take place in one of the many large buildings on the Indiana State Fairgrounds but I was wrong. I was also surprised to find out that, although the event was free, the fairgrounds charged $5 to get in and park. There was only one entrance open so there was no choice but to pay the $5 to get in.

Still holding on to the picture in my mind of entering a large building with rows of exhibition booths and a stage for the concert, I was shocked when this is what I saw:

Radio Disney Event, Indianapolis 2012

It looked more like a kid-sized state fair. There were a few food booths scattered around. The ones serving cold items were the favorites since the temperature was hovering near 90 degrees. There were all kinds of booths with great activities and crafts for the children to participate in.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Turbana

The first exhibit I came to was the Turbana tent. Turbana manufactures many flavors of plantain chips. I’ve never tasted a plantain let alone a plantain chip but they were giving away small packages of chips so I won’t be able to say that for much longer. There were several other free items too.

Turbana Give-Away Items

There was also a foam banana, a real banana and a cute button and coloring page presented by The Produce Mom.

The Girl Scouts of Central Indiana

Girl Scout's of Central Indiana

The Girl Scouts of Central Indiana had a booth where they used homemade solar ovens to cook s’mores.

Girl Scout's of Central Indiana - Solar Oven

Although they didn’t have instructions with them to show how to make the ovens, one of the ladies described it for me and I found these instructions on the internet: Making A Pizza Box Solar Oven. You were able to cook and eat the s’mores you made…yum!

Rhythm! Discovery Center

This is a place I want to visit but just haven’t made it yet. Rhythm! Discovery Center is an interactive percussion museum. They had several drums set up and some cute shakers for the kids to make their own music. It looked like it was a real popular place.

Rhythm! Discovery Center

A Critter’s Chance

A Critter's Chance Banner

A Critter’s Chance is at the top of my favorites list. I love and respect the job they are doing for the rehabilitation and rescue of exotic animals. For a small $2 donation they would take your picture with one of their rescue animals. I donated $2 to help them out and was able to get a great picture for my blog.

A Critter's Chance, Inc

Four Willows Farm

Four Willows Farm

At the Four Willows Farm exhibit you were able to get a ride on a horse. I saw “kids” of all ages getting rides.

Four Willows Farm - Horse Back Rides

If you have been thinking about taking riding lessons, Four Willows Farms is a training facility that specializes in American Saddlebred training, showing and riding instruction.

Indiana Horse Rescue

Indiana Horse Rescue

I don’t believe I could word any better what Indiana Horse Rescue is all about than they do in their mission statement:
“To provide a caring, positive environment for those horses that have either been neglected, abused, abandoned, and/or are at risk of going to slaughter. We will place these horses in an environment that benefits both the horse and the adoptive family.”
They do not receive any state funding but wholly rely on the support of caring individuals that have a heart for neglected and abandoned horses.
This is the adorable little gal they had at their exhibit for the kids to enjoy. I loved what they did with her mane.

Indiana Horse Rescue Exhibit

My Conclusions on the Day

This event may not have been what I pictured in my mind; it was actually so much more. You may have noticed that I didn’t mention the concert. I actually didn’t stay for the concert. I was more interested in finding out what type of activities there were to enjoy with your children.

As you can see from the few exhibits I posted, there was a lot to do even if you weren’t interested in attending the concert. The one thing that disappointed me is that I am an “old school” Disney fan and I didn’t see much that actually related to Disney at all. There were a couple of Disney backdrops for picture opportunities and there was a set of balloon Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the concert stage but other than that, not much to make you think of Disney.

Radio Disney - Balloon Minnie Mouse

Regardless of my disappointment in there not being much that reminded me of Disney, there were a lot of fun things to do with your children. I would definitely go again and for the mere price of $5 for parking it was a great deal.

If you took your family out to enjoy the day, please leave a comment here and on my facebook page of how much you enjoyed your day. If you took any pictures you would be willing to share I would love to see them. Just post them on the Love to Laugh and Learn facebook page.

Related Posts:

Attractions
Review: Conner Prairie on President’s Day (with a 2 yr old)

Filed Under: Attractions and Events, Reviews Tagged With: family friendly, family friendly activities, family friendly events, fun learning, learn, learning, learning fun, learning opportunities, love to laugh, love to laugh and learn, love to learn, making learning fun, Radio Disney, review, reviews

Learning Activities for the Color Orange

June 13, 2012 by Mama Carmody 7 Comments

Learning Activities for the Color Orange





I usually taught the color orange in the fall so we would do pumpkin or jack-o-lantern crafts. But it’s summer time as I am writing this post so I had to come up with some other more “summery” learning activities for the color orange. If it happens to be the fall when you are reading this post or you will be waiting to teach or review the color orange in the fall be sure to check out my post Pumpkins Are Orange and Other Learning Concepts for more ideas.

Content:

Clothing
Toys
Craft:
Carrot
Snacks
Finger Play
Story Time
Music
Related Posts


Clothing

Go through you closets and drawers and see what kinds of orange clothing you have to put on today. Orange is a great summer color; so bright and cheery. Get dressed in your orange and have a blast today.

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Toys

What kinds of orange toys can you find to play with? Like I said before, as I am writing this post it is early in the summer so look at some of your outside summer toys and see if they are orange or have orange on them. Do you have an orange ball or a beach ball with orange on it? How about an orange water gun? You could get a package of water balloons and only fill the orange ones then have a great orange water balloon fight!

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Craft

Have fun learning about the color orange with this carrot craft.

Carrot Craft

This is a good craft for a little one. It’s very simple and they can practice using their fine motor skills while tearing pieces of paper.

Materials Needed for Orange Carrot Craft
Materials Needed for Orange Carrot Craft

 

Materials:
Disposable icing bags
Orange construction
Green ribbon or rickrack
Scissors for cutting ribbon

 

 

1) Have your child tear the orange construction paper into little pieces. I used 3 pieces to fill the icing bag.

Learning Activities for the Color Orange: Orange Carrot Craft
Learning Activities for the Color Orange: Orange Carrot Craft

2) Have them put the pieces of construction paper into a disposable icing bag.

Learning Activities for the Color Orange: Orange Carrot Craft
Learning Activities for the Color Orange: Orange Carrot Craft

3) Tie the bag off with the ribbon.
4) Now you have an orange carrot.

Have fun learning about the color orange with this carrot craft.

* I have seen something similar to this done for snacks or party favors; substituting the paper with orange jellybeans or goldfish crackers (mine is filled with Cheez-Its).

Learning Activities for the Color Orange: Snack Filled Carrot

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Foods for snack or meal time

oranges, orange juice, carrots, sweet potato fries, goldfish crackers, orange pepper

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Finger Play

Alley Cats

One orange alley cat wondering what to do
(hold up 1 finger then hold up both hands in a questioning manner)
Along came another cat, And now there are two
(hold up 2 fingers)
Two orange alley cats scamper up a tree
(act like climbing a tree)
Along came another cat, And now there are three
(hold up 3 fingers)
Three orange alley cats, Running through the door
(act like you are running)
Look here comes another cat! And now there are four
(hold up 4 fingers)
Four orange alley cats, Playing in our drive
(act like cats playing, batting at yarn, etc)
Out pounces another cat, And now there are five
(hold up 5 fingers)
Five orange alley cats, Hear a scary sound
(freeze in place, looked scared)
Oh no it’s a dog!
Run, cats, run so we can’t be found!
(act like you are running away)
– Author Unknown
Adapted from http://rhymes.yakaberry.com/cats.html

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Story Time

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
Reading Level: 4 yrs and up
“Mr. Plumbean lived on a street where all the houses were just the same.”…UNTIL?!?!…read this book to find out what happens to Mr. Plumbean’s house and how he “fixes” the problem. What would you do if this happened to your house? How would you fix the problem?

The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up
Daisy and Floyd planted a beautiful garden. Everything grew exactly as they planned except for one enormous exception. Right in the middle of their garden grew an extra large carrot. Read this cute little story to find out how they were able to harvest this huge surprise.

Orange: Seeing Orange All Around Us (A+ Books) by Sarah L. Schuette
Reading Level: 5 yrs old and up
Here is another great color book from an author that has quickly become one of my favorites. I love her color themed books. Like her other color books, the primary theme of the book is written in rhyme. After you have read through the book you can go back and get more information about the orange item on each page. You can learn interesting facts about carrots, butterflies and tigers, as well as several other objects. There is also an informational section in the back with more opportunities for learning and fun activities for the color orange. I believe that it is given such a high reading level because of the extra information on each page. Personally, I would read this to a child that was under the age of 1 year old. I believe the rhythm of the rhyme and the bright pictures would keep them interested.

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Music

Here is a song I enjoyed about the color orange. It even helps your child learn to spell. Because of copyright laws I won’t attach a link to it but you can do a search on the internet and either find the CD or a YouTube version.

Orange Song by Frog Street Press

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Related Posts

The Lessons – Overview
Colors – Overview
A is for Apple: You Can Learn More Than Your ABC’s from Apples
Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts
Learning Activities for the Color Red
Learning Activities for the Color Blue
Learning Activities for the Color Yellow
Learning Activities for the Color Green
Learning Activities for the Color Purple

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Filed Under: Colors, Learning Activities Tagged With: color, colors, educational activities, fun learning, learn, learning, learning activities for orange, learning activities for the color orange, learning colors, learning concepts, learning fun, learning opportunities, lessons, love to laugh, love to laugh and learn, love to learn, making learning fun, orange, preschool, preschool lessons

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