BUSY! Did you miss me?

So, life has been a little crazy. I have not been very diligent with my blog postings, but know that I'm still here.

I've been on the road with training sessions, I've been doing a complete overhaul of our learning space. (Cleaning, reorganizing, etc...), and We went camping! Here are a few pics to enjoy:

Remember the great vertical gear board we saw in Cleveland? Well, here is our version I made last week! I keep forgetting to unpack the camera from my training materials, so I don't have as many photos as normal. I will however have a tutorial post coming for you very soon! The children LOVE this board. The gears are fun, but using it as a HUGE vertical geo-board has been their favorite thing to do so far.

We have been spending a lot of time out in the summer sun, and finding great places for shade too! There is nothing like a swing on your belly, everyone needs to be a flying super hero once and awhile!

Dane is gearing up for Boy Scout Camp. We went camping as a family to give him some practice before the event, and had a great time.

So, I apologize if you have been waiting to hear more from me. We are enjoying our summer, and I'll be back in the blogging world sporadically over the next few weeks with intentions of more regular appearances when fall rolls around. I'm also having the blog and website merged.... watch for new changes on the horizon.

Comments

Juliet Robertson said…

Yes you are missed but understandably so :)

July 31, 2011 at 3:36 PM

Ticia said…

Wow that is a cool gear board can't wait to see the tutorial

July 31, 2011 at 7:26 PM

Yelena said…

Yes, I've missed your posts. You always have such terrific ideas (I tried a couple, including melting sandpaper art, and they worked out great!) I can't wait for a tutorial for the gear/geoboard. It looks like so much fun and I already have the gears, the rubber bands and a big pegboard left over from a different project.

July 31, 2011 at 8:07 PM

A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...

Our DIY Light Tables

There has been a lot of buzz about light tables over at Teach Preschool on Facebook . Deborah has collected some great ideas for light table play and has been experimenting with making her own table over on the Teach Preschool blog. I thought I would share with you our two light tables and how we made them. This first table is one that we put together with some scrap wood pieces, an old plexi-glass door from an entertainment center, and a couple of aquarium lights. Total Cost = $0. (We had everything on hand.) The table needs a little bit of tweaking. (It is on my to do list). Basically, we made a frame of wood around the plexi-glass and placed the lights under it. Our DIY skills in putting this together were far from expert, so the frame has a couple of gaps (and the reused wood is warped). We plan to try a new frame and use some caulk to seal any gaps. We also plan to attach the lights to the side of the frame instead of just placing them on the f...

"The Markers Don't Work!"

How may times have you heard, "Ms. (fill your name in here), this marker doesn't work!" I know I hear it all the time. Sometimes it is because our little friends forget to replace the caps, and sometimes the markers have just been "all used up!" What do you do with all those markers that just don't work? Please don't tell me that you throw them out, try this instead: First, sort your markers out. Put the caps in one container ( save those too, I'll show you what you can do with them in tomorrow's post) and the markers in another. I have a box for the markers that "don't work" for the children to place them into every time they run across one. You can also have the children help you test the markers periodically to sort out the ones that need to be removed from the "working set." When it comes time to use "the markers that don't work," we use a small sponge paint roller to roll water onto our card...

Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

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