Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

I know I said I was taking a blogging break.... and really, believe me.. I am...... BUT we did this yesterday and I have been flooded with so many questions and comments about it, it will seriously take me much less time to blog about it than answer everyone individually.... So here goes... and then, I'm back to my break ;). I was inspired by a lot of posts on pinterest and even some videos out there for this.  I love the idea of crayon melting down on a canvas, but what I didn't like about it was how structured the process was. It was way to product orientated, and you know me.... I like a good product, but the process for children is SO much more important!  During a recent training, I shared this idea with some other early childhood professionals, where you could glue the crayons anywhere you wanted before starting the blow dryer. Yesterday, we took the step of gluing the crayons away..... The only reason you need the crayons to be held in place is to allow...

We interrupt this online blogging world for a seriously busy real life!    Blogging will commence again when life has settled, and I'm caught up with all of those other real life things! Please feel free to visit the archives, or any of the wonderful blogs in my blog roll!   I'm doing my best to keep up with emails, and I have so many wonderful fun ideas and activities to share with you, but...... there are other things that need to be done, like research papers, workshops, and family time.    Don't worry, I'll be back.... I'm just not sure how long it is going to be.

There has been a HUGE BUZZ around the web in regard to water gems/water beads. After seeing them on so many different blogs, I figured I had better check them out. Obviously, if so many people are going nuts over them, I had to see if the hype/buzz was really something to talk about.......

If you've been following the  training page , or my  Facebook,  you know I've been on the road a lot! Last week, I had the opportunity to present here in Marquette. We had a fabulous time playing with science. One of the things I like to do with all of my training sessions is to provide participants with something to take home that they can use IMMEDIATELY with the children they work with.  Throughout the summer,  we have been making air powered bottle rockets! These rockets are quite simple to make, and with the bottle version are great for improving fine motor skills. Each time a child squeezes the bottle, they are working on strengthening those muscles! Another adaptation of this rocket is just to use the straws. This form often produces a lot of "spit", BUT is fantastic for children who need some extra help developing muscles around their mouth that help with speech :).   (Leeanne has a great tutorial for the plain straw ones over at Kreat...

I am SUPER delighted to share with you another guest post for our What Would You Do With It? Wednesday linky party!  This week, Laura Eldredge from the SEEDS Network shares an amazing trash to treasure art idea that focuses on collecting and combining a wide array of items in your art work!

I'm a firm believer that the world is our classroom, but here is our main space that is confined by walls: It has been awhile since I took photos of our main play/classroom.

I have a busy week coming up, and I'm not sure how much I'll be touching base here on the blog. I will presenting three different training sessions in three different counties this week!

Look what I did this afternoon......  I was inspired by   A Little Learning for Two to upcycle one of the cribs from my friend into a chalkboard desk. I didn't take a lot of photos along the way, but you can click here for tutorial I was inspired by. I tweaked the design to add a shelf on the bottom for extra supplies. The paint is drying and I have a house warming party to get to.... So the rest of the accessories will have to wait for now. I finally finished painting the final tower for my outdoor tire planters! Life has been busy and some of my "projects" have been on the back burner for quite some time. See the top one on the left.... That was the final tire! Please ignore all of the weeds growing through the rocks. (another thing on the list that I just haven't tackled yet!)  Check out the sunflowers that the birds planted! How cool is that! Well, off to enjoy the rest of my weekend. Chances are it is one the of last really nice ones we will have before we s...

Can you believe it is the first Wednesday in September??? I know, right? I can't believe it either! This summer sure flew by!  I am SUPER excited to be bringing back What Would You Do With It? Wednesdays!  This week, I have a VERY special guest blogger, Deborah Stewart of Teach Preschool . Did you know that in addition to being an educational consultant, singer/songwriter, and running her own preschool, Deborah runs the Teach Preschool page on Facebook ? She scours the web for amazing blogs and inspiration to share with over 21,000 followers! She is truly amazing. I am so excited to share with you my very first guest blogger! Clothespin sensory play for young children by Deborah J. Stewart of Teach Preschool Clothespins are excellent tools for young children to play with. They come in all colors and sizes, can be used in all sorts of games, and promote fine motor skills. I like to keep a supply of clothespins in my classroom all the time for the children to explore.....