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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

Kite Picture

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:

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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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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Shapes – Overview

April 28, 2013 by Mama Carmody 15 Comments

When I taught preschool, I taught about shapes after my unit on colors. Now that I think back I emphasized colors before shapes with my own children at home too. Children seem to recognize colors before they do shapes so I just went along with their natural curiosities.

As I stated in my overview post on Colors, my children’s first introduction to shapes was not in a formal setting. It was done during everyday activities, like dressing or playing with their toys. Constantly talking to your children helps them to learn. I would say things like, “Look at those colorful stars on your socks”, or “Doesn’t this strawberry look like a heart.” It doesn’t matter if your child is a few days old or three years old, continually talk to them and explain to them what they are seeing. Their understanding of the world around them and their knowledge with grow faster than you can imagine.

Most of your child’s learning should come through play and conversation with you. Read books, do crafts, get down on the floor and play with your child and talk about the things you are playing with.

You will find book suggestions, craft ideas and even snack suggestions that have to do with shapes in the following posts. Use them all at once or break them up and use them over several days. Just have fun with your child and the learning will follow.

Review: Conner Prairie with Young Children

October 5, 2012 by Mama Carmody 11 Comments

Back in February, a friend and her 2 year old accompanied me to Conner Prairie Interactive History Park. I was interested in finding out what types of activities there might be for very young children. We were very pleased with the amount of interesting things there were to keep a young child happy and entertained. In February, most of the outside exhibits are closed but we still found plenty to do. Please check out my review Review: Conner Prairie on President’s Day (with a 2 yr old).

This past weekend, Saturday, September 29, 2012, my niece and I decided to take two 1 year olds and one 3 year old to Conner Prairie. We were taking advantage of the free admission offered by Smithsonian Magazine We had a wonderful time and we again found plenty for little ones to do but there were a few things we had not considered. I am going to share with you some of the successes and challenges of our day.

Our first challenge…we were out-numbered. Two adults with three very young children kept us on our toes. Our second challenge; we should have used a wagon instead of strollers. It took so much time buckling and unbuckling kids from strollers that we ended up bypassing a lot of things we were interested in. We did see a really neat fold-up wagon that someone was using. I came home and found one on Amazon.com (EasyGoWagon). I currently have it on my wish list for a future purchase.

Another problem with the day was that we didn’t really consider how many things that we were excited to see and do that very young children would have no interest in. It had been so long since my niece and I had been to Conner Prairie that we were just anxious to get there and experience it all again. We didn’t consider that the children really wouldn’t care about looking around in an old house or seeing a blacksmith at work. We decided early in the day that we were going to make another trip, for adults only, sometime in the near future.

So as not to leave you thinking we didn’t enjoy our time at Conner Prairie, let me share with you all the fun things we found to do with the little ones. Of course, they loved Animal Encounters. There were so many young animals for the children to see and touch.

There were even two week old baby goats. This was one of the places that got a little scary since the adults were out-numbered. Our little ones wanted to go in every direction at once and we were kept hopping trying to keep them within sight and arms reach at all times.

Our next stop was the Lenape Indian Camp. This is one of the spots that if the children had been in a wagon we would have let them out to run around a bit but we had just gotten them strapped back in the strollers from the Animal Encounters. When I was here in February, the 2 yr old we had with us loved running in and out of the huts.

We walked the entire grounds, even though we didn’t go in very many of the buildings. We did stop in the blacksmith’s shop. Although the children didn’t get a lot out of it, they sat very quietly and watched while my niece and I listened for a little bit. We took time to walk through one of the houses. The most exciting part for the kids was the water pump outside the house.

Conner Prairie: Pumping Water is Hard Work

We spent several minutes there while my 3 yr old great-niece pumped water…

…and the two 1 yr old boys played in it.

The other big hit of the day was the River Crossing Play Area. You definitely need to bring an extra change of clothes if you are going to spend time outside at the water area. There is a replica of a steamboat for the children to climb on but the big hit was the water play table. Let me explain; this water play table isn’t one of those small tables you might find in a preschool or kindergarten classroom. This thing was the center of the whole exhibit. It was huge. Water ran from the top of it down several levels. You could put up barricades to build a dam to stop or redirect the water. My 3 yr old great-niece and I put up a few walls for the dam. My two great-nephews just enjoyed splashing and playing in the water as much as they could.

Conner Prairie: River Crossing Play Area

They were soaked by the time they were finished. Thank goodness it was a warm day and we had a change of clothes for each of them.

There was also an indoor area for play at the River Crossing. It is a civil war themed area with trains…

…pieces to build a Playmobil fort with soldiers and a great climbing area. The boys were too small for the climbing area but my great-niece loved it.

Even with the several challenges, that we didn’t think of in advance, we had a very good day. The children were very well behaved and enjoyed the activities that we presented them. We got there just after they opened at 10:00 a.m. and didn’t leave until after 2:00, so we found plenty of things to do with small children.

Here is some advice if you are planning a day at Conner Prairie with very young children:

1) Take a wagon instead of strollers for an easier way to get children in and out quickly to enjoy the different experiences.

2) If your children are under 3 yrs old, make sure the adults aren’t out-numbered by the children.

3) Don’t expect to get to enjoy the full experience of Conner Prairie because little ones cannot handle much of the history part of the experience so….

4) ….plan another trip to Conner Prairie very soon; just for adults!

Review: Conner Prairie on President’s Day (with a 2 yr old)
Learning Should Be Fun
The Lessons – Overview
Colors – Overview

Review – Christmas on Monument Circle Indianapolis

December 10, 2012 by Mama Carmody 11 Comments

It has been several years since we headed downtown to check out the huge “Christmas tree” and decorations on Monument Circle, Indianapolis. We usually just drive around the circle, take in the sights and then move on. I am not a fan of the one way streets, the crowds and the parking situations so driving through is enough for me. But since it was 60 degrees outside, on this December 1st, and I wanted to gather information for my readers I grabbed my camera and we headed downtown for an adventure.

We did have trouble finding a parking spot and the closer you got to the Circle the worse the traffic was but we finally found an empty parking meter. Since it was after 9:00 p.m. we didn’t have to pay so that was nice.

The “tree” was just as wonderful as I remembered it but I don’t know that it was worth parking and walking around the monument. There really wasn’t a lot there. Of course there was the tree, the large toy soldiers and sailors that stood along the edge of the monument and the beautiful Nativity scene in front of Christ Church Cathedral. I believe I would have enjoyed it just as much from my car window.

Christmas Tree at Monument Circle Indianapolis

I did find two reasons that you might want to get out of the car and walk around the Circle: The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop and The Chocolate Café – The South Bend Chocolate Company. Both shops were open late on Saturday evening and had plenty of tasty treats to offer.

Since I like to include a little fun learning in my activities I wanted to share a few interesting facts I found in an article by Julie Sickel, a writer with the Indianapolis Star. The title of the article is “Here are 50 Facts Relating to the Long-Running Holiday Tradition”. I am going to list a few of my favorite facts but you should read the article to find the rest of them.

1. More than six miles of electrical wire and more than two miles of garland are used for the Circle of Lights.

2. There are 52 strands with 4,784 colored lights strung from the top of the monument to its base.

3. The colors of the bulbs represent different branches of the U.S. military: green for the Army, clear for the Air Force, blue for the Navy, yellow for the Coast Guard and red for the Marines.

4. There are 26 12-foot-tall toy soldiers and sailors and 26 10-foot-tall peppermint sticks surrounding the Circle. (This would be a great counting opportunity for your kids)

5. The ceremony’s most revered annual guest is Santa Claus, who arrives after the lights are switched on.

6. The switch to light the Monument is flipped by a child 12 or younger.

7. For more than two decades, the lucky child has been chosen through a coloring contest.

8. At 284 feet tall, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is about 21 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty and 16 feet short of a football field.

9. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the largest in the nation to be dedicated to the common soldier.

10. The 38-foot-tall bronze figure atop the statue is named “Victory” but also is called “Miss Indiana” by Hoosiers. She faces south to welcome soldiers returning from battle.

Here is a fun observation my daughter made when she was about 10 years old and I still see it every time we go to see the Christmas lights. (I’m going to give you some hints before I tell you what we actually saw. I want to give you a chance to see if you see the same thing we did.)

As we drove towards the Circle my daughter kept saying that she saw a certain character from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer television special created by Rankin/Bass. I looked all around and couldn’t find it. I thought it was a character at the foot of the tree or in a store window. As it turns out, it was an illusion created by looking at the monument through the lights. Take a look at the picture below and see if you can figure out what character we see. Leave a comment as to who you think it is. Once you have made your guess you can click on the picture to see who the character is that we see.

Do you see a character from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

If you don’t see what we saw, then click on the picture below. I have created an overlay of the character on the portion of the monument that we saw it. See if that helps you see it when you look back at the Monument picture.

So can you see him too or do my daughter and I just have vivid imaginations? If you take a drive downtown to look at the lights please leave a comment and let me know if you saw him. We usually see him as we are driving towards the Circle not once we are really close to it. Have fun enjoying the sights, lights and fun this holiday season.

You might also like:

Review: Christmas at the Indianapolis Zoo

Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes with free printables

Content:

Toys

Crafts

Kite Picture

Diamond Flower

Foods for snack or meal time

Story Time

Stars: Learning Activities for Shapes

Diamonds: Learning Activities for Shapes
with free printables