This past week was all about Japan

These are some of the books and DVDs we read or looked at this week.  We were learning about Japan!

The books that D seemed to like best were:  Suki's Kimono, The Way We Do It In Japan, and All About Japan.

The DVDs we watched were:

• Big Bird In Japan
• Families of the World:  Families of Japan
• The Little Travelers Japan
• Spirited Away

D enjoyed all of these.  Big Bird In Japan was probably her favorite and we watched certain segments of it over and over again.  Her favorite part was when Big Bird and Barkley go to a Japanese restaurant.  It starts around the 5:10 mark in the YouTube video below:

Counting to ten in Japanese

Today we watched a DVD documentary called "Families of the World:  Families of Japan"which featured two 9 year old children, one who lives in an urban area and one who lives in a rural area of Japan.

One of the children talked about her calligraphy lessons and showed her working on her calligraphy.  As soon as D saw this, she got the idea that we should do that too.

Yesterday we learned how to count to ten in Japanese and how to make the corresponding characters in kanji.  Today we tried to paint them in calligraphy like we saw on the DVD.

D wanted to paint more!  We looked in our books but could only find the character for "lucky".  She couldn't get enough, and later in the day she was still writing her kanji numbers in sidewalk chalk outside.

A Note About Curriculum and Lesson Plans...

I do not use a formal curriculum in my daycare.  Instead, I put together my weekly themed lesson plans myself.  This is more work for me, but I enjoy it.

I do not believe in making lesson plans for colors, shapes, numbers, or stuff like that.  I think those basics should be part of each and every day.  There are several opportunities in a normal day to explore such concepts naturally and informally.  Some examples:  counting the different colors of food we picked from the garden, using different shapes in a craft project, announcing what color crayon I'm going to use to draw something, talking about our favorite colors, etc.  I believe learning that occurs naturally is more effective than a forced curriculum.

The themed lesson plans that I've created so far are about classical ballets, foreign countries, and different animal habitats.  These may sound like advanced subjects, but part of the advantage of designing the lesson plans myself is that I can tailor them to the children in my care.  I believe that even very young kids get something out of these subjects.  It gives them a foundation to build on in the future and it gives them exposure to words they may not be likely to hear otherwise.

Last week we did a basic geography review.  This week we are learning about Japan.  The main things I hope D takes away from this week's activities are:  Japan is a country far away.  Life in Japan is both similar and different from life here in the USA.  Lots of things we use in our daily lives come from Japan.

The books we read this week

These are some of the books we read this week!

Make-A-Face

I purchased a Melissa & Doug Make-A-Face Sticker Pad from Amazon.com ($5.99) because it looked like something that I would have loved when I was a kid.

I was right!  It is super fun!  D and I made a bunch of faces today.  We got a little carried away because it really was a lot of fun.

The sticker kit comes with 20 big sheets of blank faces and lots of stickers.  You choose your girl's eyes, mouth, eye brows, glasses, necklaces, earrings, headbands, and barrettes.

We're going to try to wait a while before we do any more so that we can make the fun last.  But even after the blank faces are all used up, we'll have extra eyes and mouths and accessories leftover.  So we can draw our own blank heads to use with the rest of the stickers.

Our Beans Are Growing!

Last week, Thursday, we planted bean seeds in one of our raised beds.  We planted two varieties:  green pole beans and yellow wax bush beans.  We've been making sure they get lots of water (kids love watering).  Many of our seeds have already sprouted!

Yesterday we read one of our "Let's-Read-And-Find-Out-Science" books called How A Seed Grows.  And we started more pole bean seeds in an egg carton, just like the book instructs.

We also started a variety of seeds (pumpkin, pea, bean, spinach) on a plate using a few layers of wet paper towels.  These will be easier (less messy) for us to observe each day and sketch in our journals.  Yesterday they were hard dry seeds when we started them.  Today they've nearly doubled in size as they've been absorbing water.

So far, this is not D's most favorite activity but I hope she'll like it better when she can see the roots starting soon.

Parts of a Flower

We sculpted flowers  out of clay, painted them, glued them to a sturdy piece of board, and labeled their basic parts.

We've also been drawing flowers that we pick from the garden in our journals.  We've drawn shasta daisies, marigolds, zinnias, snapdragons, catchfly, and daylilies.

The Bieber/Gomez Wedding (Barbie Style)

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez

The Wedding Party:  Salena's Sister, Justin,
another bride's maid, Salena, and Salena's
mother.

   












We were playing Barbies today and our barbie Bieber got married to our barbie Salena Gomez in a lovely ceremony near the front door.

Salena's sister was the maid of honor and her mother walked her down the aisle.  Instead of rice, we threw confetti at them.  They had a reception in the my-little-pony park where these wedding photos were taken by D who was also the wedding planner for the event.

Last Day of School is June 12th

The last day of school in the Milwaukee Public School System for this school year is fast approaching!

Do you know where your school age children are going to spend their days this summer?
Hopefully, it's with us!

For the summer months (June, July, & August), Tadpoles Pollywogs & Froglets Daycare is offering a 10% discount!

Your school age child could spend their summer days with us exploring nature outdoors, doing art activities, playing games, learning about science, and reading books that interest them!

For more information, please call (414) 510-8694 or e-mail:  frogletsdaycare@gmail.com

More Music!

 

Adding more music to our kid music library!  Additional selections include:

• Lisa Lobe & Elizabeth Mitchell - Catch The Moon
• Putumayo Kids Presents - Hawaiian Playground
• Putumayo Kids Presents - Caribbean Playground
• Putumayo Kids Presents - Brazilian Playground
• Putumayo Kids Presents - European Playground

Picking Strawberries

Picked this whole basket of strawberries from our garden this morning.

It's great for kids to learn where food really comes from.

Kids are more likely to try different foods if they had a hand in growing, picking, and preparing the meal.  Real concrete experiences!  It gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment.