tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44287719420854077512024-03-20T03:01:31.103-05:00Camp SlopIt's slop, but it's good!Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-48392095697239064842015-01-13T21:18:00.000-06:002015-01-13T21:19:32.073-06:00Kitchen Counters - Top 40 OrganizingAs part of my New Year's Resolutions I am purging excess STUFF in our house and organizing everything I can get my hands on. I am following the plan outlined here: <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html">http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html</a></b></span><br />
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My first order of business was to declutter the kitchen counters. We have a small, eat-in kitchen and counter space is at a premium. Also, flat surfaces in our house tend to become dumping grounds for junk and paperwork (as evidenced by these pictures). Warning: these are real, lived in pictures.<br />
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<u><b>Before:</b></u><br />
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This is our main counter space. There's not much to it. The stand mixer and Keurig have to stay out on the counter due to lack of storage space (we use them a lot too).<br />
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Our teeny tiny counters next to the stove.<br />
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And after several hours of hard work and two full bags of trash we have the after...<br />
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After:<br />
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I eliminated the bread basket in the corner (the bread was moved to a drawer) and put the Keurig in its spot. This makes it closer the coffee mugs and now the Keuring doesn't hit the bottom of the cupboard when we lift the top.<br />
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Same counters, but from a different angle. I'm searching for produce storage solution that is better than one basket on the counter. I haven't found anything I love yet though.<br />
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The stove area. Another of my resolutions was to give up soda pop. With the bottles gone, it looks a lot better in this area.<br />
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Though technically not part of the counter declutter, I thought I'd add this picture of our dining table. I repurposed the old bread basket to hold art supplies for kids. In an ideal world I'd love to have nothing on the table (except maybe some fresh flowers), but the reality is that my kids spend a lot of time drawing and coloring at this table. At least the basket looks better than the paper piles they usually leave behind.<br />
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The next step is to organize the cabinets and drawers. After that I may get crazy and even shop for some window coverings. Ha! <br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-44583249985392842332014-07-01T13:22:00.000-05:002015-01-13T21:15:55.173-06:00Controlling Paper Chaos - Top 40 OrganizingI shared in an earlier post that I was spending time this summer organizing the areas in my house that need it the most. I wanted to share the first area I tackled because I'm so excited about it.<br />
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With 4 kids in school and activities, the paper clutter in our house was out of control. I really wish I had taken a picture of all of the papers that the kids brought home on the last day of school. It literally filled their backpacks so that they could barely zip them! <br />
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I wanted to sort through the piles to keep the most memorable pictures and papers and also to file away the important papers that I would need to reference later. I had saved so many papers through the year though that the thought of sorting through everything was very overwhelming!<br />
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I started, as I start most projects, by scouring Pinterest. I have always loved <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2013/07/keepsake-boxes.html" target="_blank">this idea by A Bowl Full of Lemons</a></b></span>, so when I saw it again on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it. It seemed like fate that when I went to check the prices of the totes and folders that they were having a great sale! I ordered them on the spot - in 4 different colors (coincidentally, the 4 colors they had available were also the 4 colors that we already used to sort our kids' things).<br />
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They aren't perfect, but they look so much better than the stacks of papers on my dresser or the counter. Having a limited space to store things really helps me to weed things out and figure out what's most important.<br />
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To label the file folders I ordered a Dynmo label maker (which I also happened to buy while it was on sale for $9.99 - I had a lot of dumb luck with this project). I LOVE my labeler and can't believe it took me so long to buy one.<br />
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The totes took care of the keepsakes, but I still needed a handy place to store important papers that I need to reference quickly (and storing them in files was an out of sight, out of mind issue for me).<br />
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I came up with my school year action binder. I made the cover quickly in Publisher (you can download it for free by clicking on the picture).<br />
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Inside I added dividers and folders for each child and each activity. Here I can store class newsletters, contact info and class lists.<br />
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I also have a general school section for both our elementary school and our preschool. This is where I store info that is relevant to both kids at that school - things like calendars, handbooks, and login passwords for homework websites.<br />
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Here's hoping that the next school year is less stressful and chaotic and more organized!<br />
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What tips do you have for keeping school papers sorted and organized?<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-64691023828346373972014-06-26T09:40:00.000-05:002014-06-26T21:20:17.731-05:00What My Child is ReadingFor our family, summer means lots of trips back and forth to the library. The kids are a part of their school's summer reading contest as well as a few other contests in town so we like to keep a fresh supply of books on hand at all times.<br />
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Here's what we've been reading so far this summer:<br />
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<b>Pinky:</b><br />
I checked out The Complete Calvin and Hobbes for myself. Pinky, who also loves Calvin and Hobbes, swooped in and grabbed the books before I had a chance to read them. I can't argue with her love of reading or her love of Calvin and Hobbes. <br />
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She also plowed through the sequel to My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, aptly named - My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: The Seaquel. <br />
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<b>Chaos:</b><br />
Chaos and I are reading two new chapter books together. The first is Galaxy Zack: Hello, Nebulon. It's a beginner chapter book series about a boy and his family who move to the planet Nebulon. The story depth is what you would expect with a beginner chapter book, but Chaos loved hearing about the new planet and the illustrations kept him engaged.<br />
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The second book was fun because we recommended it for purchase to our library - and they listened! And let us be the first to check it out! The book is The Pirates Legacy by Alain Surget. It's the story of orphaned twins, Benjamin and Louise who run away from their Parisian orphanage and set out for freedom. They stumble into adventure when they discover their long lost father is a legendary pirate.</div>
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<b>Wild One and Sprout:</b><br />
We picked up a few fun reads at the library this week.<br />
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Dot is a clever book with illustrations that are even more clever. The kids asked me to read this one over and over.<br />
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Exclamation Mark is a book about finding your own voice and embracing what makes you uniquely you. It's a fun book to read and even Pinky tried her hand at voicing all the different punctuation marks.<br />
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Mrs. Crump's Cat was a recommendation from Pinky! It's a sweet story of a stray cat who finds its way into Mrs. Crump's heart - even though she has no need for a cat.<br />
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Z is for Moose wins for the book that made us laugh out loud the most. Moose REALLY wants to be a part of Zebra's alphabet line up. He's at times annoying, angry, and sad as the pages are turned. It's a great ending though and definitely worth a couple of re-reads. <br />
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What have you been reading lately?<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" target="_blank">Linking up to some of these great parties.</a></b></span><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-14255170363732451052014-06-22T21:43:00.000-05:002014-06-22T21:43:00.539-05:00Summer of Science - Week 1 - MagnetsThis week kicked off our first week of what I'm calling our Summer of Science. I am using <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/2013/09/alphabet-in-simple-science_6.html" target="_blank">Memorizing the Moment's Alphabet in Simple Science</a></b></span> and adapting it to fit the needs and ages of my kids.<br />
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We began with Wild One's first <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/phonics-and-early-reading/first-start-reading" target="_blank">First Start Reading Lesson</a></b></span> on the letter M. I really enjoy the simplicity of these lessons and the fact that everything is done for me. Wild One was really excited to start her very own workbook too! She loves to write and draw - she will sit for hours and write letters and draw pictures - which is one of the reasons I chose this curriculum for her.<br />
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After she finished her lesson (it took us about 15 minutes), we began reading some books about magnets. I've done a magnet theme in the past for the older kids so it was fun to revisit some of our favorites. Some of the books and supplies we used are listed in the widget below (nonaffiliate links).<br />
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Before we kicked off our experiments with magnets though, I asked the kids if they wanted to keep a science journal. I want the focus of our studies to be on having fun and exposing them to science concepts, not on writing. Pinky in particular is not fond of writing, and I didn't want something like a science notebook to stand in the way of her participating and enjoying our lessons. They all agreed that they wanted a notebook, so I pulled together some free printables and made a couple of my own as well. I will let them choose when they want to use the notebooks and when they don't.<br />
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The cover of their journals is a free printable from <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Notebook-Freebie-885836" target="_blank">Read Like a Rock Star on TpT</a></b></span>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3M1epz7nQME5RNGPx-HRTDpJVx0HnpdcmbXTmCmAdpxkHQrG0T9YtSS2ZqlCuTQthdkZa_otcqmN6_gQyC7sSrseS4Xw4IDYwph95two5-bGQjubEonibzGwju6LDREx_1N5Ig2q2I/s1600/sjcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoN3M1epz7nQME5RNGPx-HRTDpJVx0HnpdcmbXTmCmAdpxkHQrG0T9YtSS2ZqlCuTQthdkZa_otcqmN6_gQyC7sSrseS4Xw4IDYwph95two5-bGQjubEonibzGwju6LDREx_1N5Ig2q2I/s1600/sjcover.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a></div>
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Chaos, Wild One and Sprout are all using the the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/2013/09/alphabet-in-simple-science_6.html" target="_blank">free printables from Memorizing the Moments</a></b></span>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzbLr8dH4SEnGCvr_m5yJ7USiSCVBEbbgHAy1_3hrcsn4QwDaZMO-NlWqKm3HphxBj-nEopENhraNJ4Wj4yLZjDwyS9_7l4hAsYLTGFtQlC7ZpcCCr2FXVgOB4PZrAOngQnt4y6SAk80/s1600/basicsj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzbLr8dH4SEnGCvr_m5yJ7USiSCVBEbbgHAy1_3hrcsn4QwDaZMO-NlWqKm3HphxBj-nEopENhraNJ4Wj4yLZjDwyS9_7l4hAsYLTGFtQlC7ZpcCCr2FXVgOB4PZrAOngQnt4y6SAk80/s1600/basicsj.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
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In addition, I made an observation sheet for Chaos and Wild One to use while viewing experiments. Again, I wanted to focus on the science, so I chose to allow them to draw what they could see - something they both love. You can download this very simple page by clicking on the picture.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_P7dlcK5TeuZjRWazZLZkVrcjg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Journal" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0wq4iiEZ-WFjhTqD5fF0BIoS89yV8p0iRSpIJ2SBuspyjD77l-dBYYpxxDfsKq0YniJFbQdP2wXUL8i6SdsxQrkn3z0pfFRao-zxtuA_BxUmC7qSes_7gMIaV7Nq0nmQZz3aydlWnOw/s1600/sjd.png" height="320" width="245" /></a></div>
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For Pinky, I created a page for her to write out a definition of the topic we are studying and to make predictions about what she thinks will happen. I also left room for her to draw a picture of what she sees. You can download this page by clicking on the picture.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_P7dlcK5TeuSHVtQTRGNWo0b3M/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Journal" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8p6j2YPPpXdUN2H3uy8fld1s4LEwX7qe4Q28OVmz8T4CgiAokWtpnPLER59NEDm4dHlxjMFUOQJ-XsZZ-0G4k4S3PUuarBzkb44LUGn-WME8iHw3EXpKsBykfEI3zsrS395vJBhGr2g/s1600/sjw.png" height="320" width="249" /></a></div>
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Because we've done a unit on magnets already, we repeated a lot of activities. For that reason, I didn't really take pictures this week. Here are some pictures of our last magnet study. You can click on the pictures to learn more.<br />
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Some of our fun included:<br />
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A magnet sensory box:<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJxOEXglqNs5mHDRM4OUYhV7tz-D7WLOatPB0zOWZOHGQ3uGe-kV4gA7XCQ-2MxVoSEtKZI6wteO3BDwEst5tLRc8z79in17uzBGMtAzMdxwiEdeExCTd1gYs86pbFyZGoCGpwE3PnVA/s1600/magnet+sensory+bin.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
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Testing the strength of magnets (magnet "jumping"):<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDs4gaWfiIvaJXutE1GFpDMuipQFNCGdSd5Mxs6tf9tngDAb0FSkv5ppz48wOUo6aHg1mdiLjZU6rtYQyZWNQSvRSrUIzRPPMeshUeSzW4VOXOTgGe4eX4c0lM-mI8sNqiFWVbDTGtKSI/s1600/magnet+jumps.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
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Painting with magnet marbles:<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr8Lo3aQ2UvDC3A3RNdEJ9Yr58vNFg1RQ54V5q3BjLSZ4C-ypJEvjJQC-zthQoIq2y1MfBgspZ22y1eDbIp-WDAsnzCjK_Uk1hV8ZL6dvjIQFzOD_W4sK6N2-cbqtj530KvMvy5DdjO3w/s1600/magnet+marble+painting.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Discovering if magnets work when submerged in water:<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" target="_blank"><img alt="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-we-did-this-week.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrc_ExDtkDm2DfbUvH9Y3F5gZ7VgdP0aUBTDB5sqGmK2TNLCq1YzWTMjO0FXFeZ54oFZgucq6hGuHbonjpUXFcaNxawV4rsL7ivfqDhAAktSEA22gr7Pi530ZAsBjyVAgzQZFgOW80OU/s1600/magnet+in+water+2.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></div>
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We tried a few new things as well. Together Pinky, Chaos and myself read The Magic Schoolhouse Amazing Magnetism.<br />
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We also tried making a paper clip dance like <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/2014/03/m-for-magnet.html" target="_blank">Kaysha did on Memorizing the Moments</a></b></span>.<br />
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It was a fun week and the kids were excited to be back in "Mommy School." I'm really excited to spend the summer diving into science with the kids!<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-59842354161003695452014-06-20T17:42:00.003-05:002014-06-20T17:42:45.555-05:00Summer PlansIt's summer vacation and once again I'm excited and motivated for another summer of learning with my kids! Here's hoping that the motivation lasts all summer and extends to regular blog posting!<br />
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To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to do much besides summer bridge books and flashcards this summer, but I changed my mind because of two things:<br />
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<li>Wild One has a huge desire to learn to read. And not just any books, but chapter books. :) I told her that we would take it one step at a time, but I just can't ignore her enthusiasm to learn! </li>
<li>I stumbled upon the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/2013/09/alphabet-in-simple-science_6.html" target="_blank">"Alphabet in Simple Science" over at Memorizing the Moments</a></b></span>. If you haven't see it yet, you should definitely check it out! After reading through the posts, I was inspired to try it with my kids!</li>
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I've decided to adapt the science curriculum that <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/" target="_blank">Kaysha at Memorizing the Moments</a></b></span> has developed to make it work for all 4 of my kids. For the younger 2, we will focus on letters and sounds and the <i>introduction</i> of science concepts. For the older 2, we will delve deeper into topics and maybe even do some science notebooking (I've created some experiment observation pages that I plan to share).<br />
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In addition, Wild One will be working through the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/phonics-and-early-reading/first-start-reading" target="_blank">First Start Reading program</a></b></span> with me. In fact, the order that letters and sounds are introduced in this curriculum will determine the order that we tackle the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.memorizingthemoments.com/2013/09/alphabet-in-simple-science_6.html" target="_blank">"Alphabet in Simple Science" series</a></b></span>.<br />
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As for the older 2, they will both be completing their summer bridge books as they do every year (I take them out for ice cream when they finish it). Pinky has been struggling a bit with math this year, so she's also working on the<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.mathmammoth.com/review_workbooks/" target="_blank"> Math Mammoth review books</a></b></span> this summer.<br />
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I also picked her up <b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Math-Fashion-Fun-puzzles-American/dp/1593699441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403302450&sr=8-1&keywords=fashion+math+book" target="_blank">this book</a></span></b> just to prove to her that math can be fun. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj7YEZ1cL_ojIG4J1scQwWmgMng77HMjAZJUd3Sv9e4yokmcNqYpJ5DOsRCmHVIzu-dhKCIaq3K7XOIpOvETxLVhfF7xAnTAssQiINbiBgBWZuHYGa4H5HWk96AwOrjFdj-IFQ7ouHTY/s1600/fashionmath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj7YEZ1cL_ojIG4J1scQwWmgMng77HMjAZJUd3Sv9e4yokmcNqYpJ5DOsRCmHVIzu-dhKCIaq3K7XOIpOvETxLVhfF7xAnTAssQiINbiBgBWZuHYGa4H5HWk96AwOrjFdj-IFQ7ouHTY/s1600/fashionmath.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></div>
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We'll also be reading plenty of books, and I plan to continue our "What We're Reading" posts throughout the summer.<br />
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This summer we're finally trying out the <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/tag/summer%20challenge/" target="_blank">Summer Challenge that Carisa created at 1+1+1=1</a></b></span> too! I had fun stocking up my prize bucket and coming up with tasks for the kids to complete to earn a point. I will share our prizes and challenges in another post.<br />
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Finally, I have taken on my own sort of challenge and am working on organization (a task that will take much longer than just this summer). I started by listing 40 areas of my house that need to be organized using <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-summer-2014/" target="_blank">this printable from White House Black Shutters</a></b></span>. I plan to take them on one at a time and document befores and afters. If I feel brave I may share those here too.<br />
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Well, that's another ambitious summer for us. What are your summer plans?<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-43788643239795747922014-05-11T23:16:00.000-05:002014-06-22T16:18:45.457-05:00What My Child is ReadingThe weather is turning warm (sort of), so it's time to update our "what we're reading" list.<br />
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<b>Pinky:</b><br />
Pinky has been on a real graphic novel kick lately. I love to check out the book recommendations at <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://www.amightygirl.com/" target="_blank">A Mighty Girl</a></b></span>, and the Zita series caught my eye. Pinky has read the first two books in one day and is patiently waiting for our library to get a copy of the third book.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7JJ6ZY81hZvnCs6sCnweAcQq6LGvLWhFvYY9NEOTslWaHoSARmp2ck79POFxcl6GUQFIkHV7t1wWWe0ga27yIaDWQ3tvvoyXPCut1KCj5GwcQ03GhE80IU67WdWGd7wqvWkKfpjiEno/s1600/zita.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7JJ6ZY81hZvnCs6sCnweAcQq6LGvLWhFvYY9NEOTslWaHoSARmp2ck79POFxcl6GUQFIkHV7t1wWWe0ga27yIaDWQ3tvvoyXPCut1KCj5GwcQ03GhE80IU67WdWGd7wqvWkKfpjiEno/s1600/zita.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a><br />
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I picked up Sketch Monsters on a whim. A story about a girl who draws her feelings as monsters in a sketch book (who then escape and nearly destroy her town), it was a hit with Pinky.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGYL8w2wp5cMurhKLEZIE-p6z98s2LRU2YHIvLplNhf-AESXQ2ZFnrtFGNqLPVZTxptqBKBFv2lBxTLZ2fSRmAW5VeqRfkbpbJQ9M3L81l_FAZakEqgeAgiHNUwjBQVER6xuaUrivSuc/s1600/sketch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGYL8w2wp5cMurhKLEZIE-p6z98s2LRU2YHIvLplNhf-AESXQ2ZFnrtFGNqLPVZTxptqBKBFv2lBxTLZ2fSRmAW5VeqRfkbpbJQ9M3L81l_FAZakEqgeAgiHNUwjBQVER6xuaUrivSuc/s1600/sketch.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
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Pinky's also in the midst of reading the Lunch Lady series and Timmy Failure (which she has deemed hilarious).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlza152cdcfyVmKpTPESRCnz7Q_2Ho6HnmMZGTNCHNnR4wi5CgBXu4EaTxucmP4Prw7DAiaUUjRm2fXVAnmDohLyu5XCBCBBtL2g_4GqVBJ_PkXcBPWiOPwEsd5BXFk_s9XVc95Acm9NY/s1600/lunch+lady.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlza152cdcfyVmKpTPESRCnz7Q_2Ho6HnmMZGTNCHNnR4wi5CgBXu4EaTxucmP4Prw7DAiaUUjRm2fXVAnmDohLyu5XCBCBBtL2g_4GqVBJ_PkXcBPWiOPwEsd5BXFk_s9XVc95Acm9NY/s1600/lunch+lady.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77Nfj-5cpHiYzbewbApOhEAJcFF5Zvias2bQZPHpsb1J-wGlHVd99JesN9lTLDUDiXcRZYGc8lD18ScRAPJxzfCTuCT_40ioiI7MfnJLFGfcr8Xjc4M_KUEMq-Nwb0uT0hO0DsROccTc/s1600/timmy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77Nfj-5cpHiYzbewbApOhEAJcFF5Zvias2bQZPHpsb1J-wGlHVd99JesN9lTLDUDiXcRZYGc8lD18ScRAPJxzfCTuCT_40ioiI7MfnJLFGfcr8Xjc4M_KUEMq-Nwb0uT0hO0DsROccTc/s1600/timmy.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><br />
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My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish was another quick and fun read for her. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0FJZdFOOP_7Wv5eIrq4iiZSubg4p_lhrLox__GU9bsrXEyiDwVQJ2RBdySc1469BHA98uT6xsHZYbgp75kxOSpBovj93XnHq6Hu2gYa7CjIfjOuSYVV8tPoDTPHF0BqJGipVUyIvub0/s1600/zombiegoldfish.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0FJZdFOOP_7Wv5eIrq4iiZSubg4p_lhrLox__GU9bsrXEyiDwVQJ2RBdySc1469BHA98uT6xsHZYbgp75kxOSpBovj93XnHq6Hu2gYa7CjIfjOuSYVV8tPoDTPHF0BqJGipVUyIvub0/s1600/zombiegoldfish.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
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Much to my delight she is also plowing through the first Harry Potter book. We started reading it together, but when I wasn't home to read it to her one night she just continued on without me.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-W6gGZqNVHmL-z5fphgtJItjfIFoQiaLk54WahoFEwv55sJ8MohQmL4CcsVZu5TIwt9GgX5K3NcnDTtNvnaGZZ-kKZjdvP1wcRpHyW1a52XyE_BVEcx_bfmFDt8RQKjbH5M3cC-rPo40/s1600/hp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-W6gGZqNVHmL-z5fphgtJItjfIFoQiaLk54WahoFEwv55sJ8MohQmL4CcsVZu5TIwt9GgX5K3NcnDTtNvnaGZZ-kKZjdvP1wcRpHyW1a52XyE_BVEcx_bfmFDt8RQKjbH5M3cC-rPo40/s1600/hp.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a><br />
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<b>Chaos:</b><br />
Chaos has really taken off in his reading lately. After reading lots of Bob Books and readers from his school he was pretty excited to get his hands on some new books from the library.<br />
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We checked out the Fly Guy series on the recommendation of a friend and were not disappointed. Chaos loved these books and the reading level is perfect for him.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVBM64Z8-YgXKIHVcCgg7u-qfqprTLzDCtHzaqlvxfmDLG1HZcPxw9kuqIquvdC4CJ3HqY12fIbWdKKDdQG7E6isvdQvYXbbfFFdAQLsV5pgAdp-DeM11QsNw1fLObSjuECio8lo4bNs/s1600/flyguy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVBM64Z8-YgXKIHVcCgg7u-qfqprTLzDCtHzaqlvxfmDLG1HZcPxw9kuqIquvdC4CJ3HqY12fIbWdKKDdQG7E6isvdQvYXbbfFFdAQLsV5pgAdp-DeM11QsNw1fLObSjuECio8lo4bNs/s1600/flyguy.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><br />
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We're also loving the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. Both Chaos and Wild One crack up at the stories (even Pinky has been seen with her nose in these books).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnA-Tg7PtsBdK0LE3g7Pg_Hs6LDIcG-f0ANwJ5noFrVzgdKpEoqwb-phBO6flZ9IDUNoMeJHXUO5rjHWEqrHDhi3XZLim4RoO6KBa21O-KG4OUa5IENok829VtTAja64fYt4CWT12Puo/s1600/piggie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnA-Tg7PtsBdK0LE3g7Pg_Hs6LDIcG-f0ANwJ5noFrVzgdKpEoqwb-phBO6flZ9IDUNoMeJHXUO5rjHWEqrHDhi3XZLim4RoO6KBa21O-KG4OUa5IENok829VtTAja64fYt4CWT12Puo/s1600/piggie.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a><br />
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We just started reading Captain Underpants together. It's not my type of humor, but is right up his alley. Sometimes we have to stop reading because he's laughing so hard he can't hear me.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKbEk7uH5I7ZgNKIV6AwBVFazK-Iywe0_4LiZSEDF2XuaFihm4wSvpVUh8JLCM_ZKGqfJDnC-SYXBYmu5_L8YMY4vSDsbirKmNqL4DX4Hz8NLBUT4Ig3r3uWL1KVNek6zywaEqTl-tXI/s1600/underpants.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKbEk7uH5I7ZgNKIV6AwBVFazK-Iywe0_4LiZSEDF2XuaFihm4wSvpVUh8JLCM_ZKGqfJDnC-SYXBYmu5_L8YMY4vSDsbirKmNqL4DX4Hz8NLBUT4Ig3r3uWL1KVNek6zywaEqTl-tXI/s1600/underpants.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a><br />
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<b>Wild One and Sprout:</b><br />
We usually read to the little girls together so many of their favorites have been the same.<br />
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Another <b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.amightygirl.com/" target="_blank">'A Mighty Girl'</a></span></b> recommendation, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, was a great read with a great lesson.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiEZP97a2u7WeWGC6NKGaNP6T3pE0YGkhZ2Uqh1DByknTCdIddZed-uCLq-aF6tEOLXxmhDV-4T-i18dZYw6e6baWbHIJ2m9heuxObLWdU4_MPOs4gbQVDb6NdZ5_c9WDpJHP4N7YT1Q/s1600/mistakes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiEZP97a2u7WeWGC6NKGaNP6T3pE0YGkhZ2Uqh1DByknTCdIddZed-uCLq-aF6tEOLXxmhDV-4T-i18dZYw6e6baWbHIJ2m9heuxObLWdU4_MPOs4gbQVDb6NdZ5_c9WDpJHP4N7YT1Q/s1600/mistakes.jpg" /></a><br />
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The Watermelon Seed was a short and funny book that they wanted to read over and over again.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR2a6hhHMoelKZvmy80SxYtxbdYahxmV0-fWY-sSLifrOdlSVe3c3yeu6Hwk21oef36xhnlzMpAoQxb-SlsWr3C3TR3T4QGlhtVA_EZs4dmhlxzvn57NNOfe1jC34ASmogdpcj28OKBA/s1600/seed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifR2a6hhHMoelKZvmy80SxYtxbdYahxmV0-fWY-sSLifrOdlSVe3c3yeu6Hwk21oef36xhnlzMpAoQxb-SlsWr3C3TR3T4QGlhtVA_EZs4dmhlxzvn57NNOfe1jC34ASmogdpcj28OKBA/s1600/seed.jpg" height="320" width="258" /></a><br />
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Little Hoot was a cute story about a little owl who just wanted to go to bed early, but his parents made him stay up. From the same author as Little Pea, this book is a fun story.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46bsV2Etbs_1crzy86p2UEPsgd6XFnX3GDXUFyG9-ieMy88XLxljrqN6jH08FsBHJgG6kWS-11qJBVUN35NSHWjNEh_QCj9Z1xFgnTTEA974kLEB9YpO3HUe8wwgUa5ZwAdIfapy4N98/s1600/hoot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46bsV2Etbs_1crzy86p2UEPsgd6XFnX3GDXUFyG9-ieMy88XLxljrqN6jH08FsBHJgG6kWS-11qJBVUN35NSHWjNEh_QCj9Z1xFgnTTEA974kLEB9YpO3HUe8wwgUa5ZwAdIfapy4N98/s1600/hoot.jpg" /></a><br />
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Fanny came in Wild One's Easter basket this year, and it has quickly become one of my favorite books. When Fanny's mom won't let her get the Connie doll that all of her friends have, she sets herself to making her own Connie doll. The result isn't perfect and Fanny is a little insecure about her doll at first, but she soon recognizes that her doll is different in a good way. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mIl2d8umTH8TCfMoiXE-19ROOMBlp5lf2M25UFl5yEpm1IZmrt66rYJzUPJTEAIQsgihQDunN6AHyPb1qnSBm_QM402mIqVNmhscOVqwigmMgiP9wWtMuBXtt4IXr7maISAZ-ejxSQ4/s1600/fanny.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mIl2d8umTH8TCfMoiXE-19ROOMBlp5lf2M25UFl5yEpm1IZmrt66rYJzUPJTEAIQsgihQDunN6AHyPb1qnSBm_QM402mIqVNmhscOVqwigmMgiP9wWtMuBXtt4IXr7maISAZ-ejxSQ4/s1600/fanny.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" target="_blank">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a></span></b><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-21701073056355669582014-02-16T17:58:00.002-06:002014-02-16T18:00:53.817-06:00Free Geography PrintableI've received a few requests for a copy of my US Geography sheet. I am providing this printable free of charge as long as you agree to comply with my<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b> <a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/p/fine-print.html" target="_blank">Terms of Service</a>. <span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="color: black;">Just click on the picture to download.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_P7dlcK5TeuTkpEMnJFMEJKMDQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="US Blank Geography Page" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz1aOOIowOFvJxwnf5YaCot-12zRn6Qqky_8Vaco96cPMz_jWG-yuSEp9W0O_1MkjvQEI37MpS9qCA7o4ZAAfH5f6adhqe7_3y03iVdllczNSjJQ9lIpLHPovnPtpRBymUCjoIq7Wr9o/s1600/USGeography.png" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
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I am unable to share pictures of the flags and state quarters as they are not my own, but here is a link to where you can find them to print for yourself (or you could color your own flag and tape in real state quarters).<br />
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<b>State Flags:</b> <a href="http://www.50states.com/flag/#.UwD4ALSpDdU">http://www.50states.com/flag/#.UwD4ALSpDdU</a><br />
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<b>State Quarters: </b><br />
Coloring Pages: <a href="https://www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/50sq/">https://www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/50sq/</a><br />
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This site has a great informational sheet about each quarter/state: <a href="http://www.usmint.gov/mint_Programs/50sq_program/?action=designs_50sq">http://www.usmint.gov/mint_Programs/50sq_program/?action=designs_50sq</a><br />
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I hope you find this printable helpful!<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-80971370547727492982014-02-15T22:19:00.000-06:002014-06-22T16:18:23.217-05:00What My Child is ReadingWhat we're reading during these cold weather days...<br />
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<b>Pinky:</b><br />
This winter it's been a struggle to get Pinky to choose to read. She's much more interested in playing with her Legos. Still, I've managed to find a few things that she's really enjoyed.<br />
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Calvin and Hobbes - Pinky has had a great time reading all of my old copies of Calvin and Hobbes. We're on the waiting list for the complete collection from the library, and I may be more excited than she is to read it!<br />
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney - Pinky started this series over Christmas break and quickly read through all of the books. I picked up the Dork Diaries from the library recently thinking she may enjoy those as well. We will see.<br />
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A to Z Mysteries - Pinky is reading through this series at school during her reading time. These are very quick reads for her, and she can read them quickly in the time she has at school. She likes the mystery element to the stories.<br />
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Pompeii...Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt Davis is not a book I would have picked for Pinky. She typically shies away from nonfiction books so I was happy to see her choose one from the school library. She has brought this book home more times than I can count now. She is fascinated by the story of the erupting volcano burying a town.<br />
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<b>Chaos:</b><br />
Chaos has been making great strides in his reading recently. In addition to the phonics and early readers that he's been reading, I've also been reading him some longer stories.<br />
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Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Ganett is what we're currently reading. He loves the adventure and the illustrations in the story. <br />
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Garfield books have been a staple in our house for several years. It started with Pinky constantly bringing them home from the school library, and now Chaos is following in her footsteps. I remember reading Garfield when I was a kid so it's fun to see that the stories and jokes are still funny to my kids.<br />
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<b>Wild One:</b><br />
Wild One still loves to read. Reading time (and library check out) are her favorite parts of preschool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs4ngcmidzeBO1pQNVMhZ8ROSBq5hAGoRc-_Wp73Dj8CEXGQOHDpVmTYggSSNgDSkDsRWSBPKl6lQIwXAtWhFw0p2Ja7ohieStXWhgKqQY6zXfoBYjKFwmgXuY1jWLGXJwFbK5AwNbIw/s1600/pete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKs4ngcmidzeBO1pQNVMhZ8ROSBq5hAGoRc-_Wp73Dj8CEXGQOHDpVmTYggSSNgDSkDsRWSBPKl6lQIwXAtWhFw0p2Ja7ohieStXWhgKqQY6zXfoBYjKFwmgXuY1jWLGXJwFbK5AwNbIw/s1600/pete.jpg" height="200" width="156" /></a><br />
Pete the Cat books are her absolute favorite (the other kids enjoy them as well). I have found her walking around the house chanting "Did Pete cry? Oh goodness no! He kept walking along and singing his song..."<br />
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<b>Sprout:</b><br />
Sprout loves just about any book you will read to her. She would probably even sit and listen to me read an instruction manual if I let her look at the pictures while I read it. Of course, we do read her good books. :)<br />
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Sprout is a big fan of the Brownie & Pearl series by Cynthia Rylant (especially this book with the car). The stories are short and sweet with colorful illustrations. She asks us to read these over and over again.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" target="_blank">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a></span></b><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0px none ! important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-15916328252146243252013-12-05T22:22:00.000-06:002014-05-11T22:25:08.275-05:00Crafty Ornament ExchangeAnother year, another ornament exchange on my craft message board. I couldn't decide what to make (too many choices thanks to Pinterest), so I fell back on an old favorite. I love the way they turned out.<br />
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I even loved the gift tag I made using card stock and my Sizzix embosser. <br />
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<br />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-70509148918551935392013-06-15T17:04:00.000-05:002014-02-15T21:33:34.864-06:00Summer Math and the Math CurseWhile the kids will be reading every day this summer, I also want them to be practicing math every day too. I've always loved the concept of a math journal so I decided to make one for Pinky and Chaos. Each day they will solve one problem in their math journals for some extra practice.<br />
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To start, I bought a one subject notebook for each kid. I whipped up some super simple labels in Publisher to add to the front with some packaging tape<span style="color: #0000ee;"><span style="color: #0000ee;"> <span style="color: black;">(I went with simplicity over beauty here).</span></span></span><br />
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Inside, on the top of each page, is a word problem. They can use the two page spread to draw and write the answer to the problems.<br />
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For Chaos (shown above), I downloaded a free set of Kindergarten math journal prompts from<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b> <span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">Krazee 4 Kindergarten</a></span></b></span>.<br />
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For Pinky, I purchased a set of <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Journal-Prompts-for-Second-Grade-Summer-Version-Common-Core-Based-604868" target="_blank">prompts from Teacher Tam's Teachers Pay Teachers Store</a>. To start though, we are using problems from the book Math Curse by John Scieszka. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91NPZM7BaTrBNzsW6W5xeSPqJ3xr3PQIpi2i2wuOhANrt9bZxfdVdZQBW8nr3bzR0qkTw4FXwczKetmlRQNtRRMAcotkhIlT3_BeTTCEFId3CD9c5xY2OtpLsw2txAGkqCPAYuzaFZEI/s1600/math+curse+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91NPZM7BaTrBNzsW6W5xeSPqJ3xr3PQIpi2i2wuOhANrt9bZxfdVdZQBW8nr3bzR0qkTw4FXwczKetmlRQNtRRMAcotkhIlT3_BeTTCEFId3CD9c5xY2OtpLsw2txAGkqCPAYuzaFZEI/s320/math+curse+book.jpg" height="320" width="317" /></a>
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We read the book together, then I typed up some of the problems in the
book to add to her math journal. Some of the problems I changed
slightly either by simplifying or changing numbers. A few problems are
made up by me.<br />
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I hope the kids have fun with these math problems! The book, if you've never read it, is really fun. <br />
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" target="_blank">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a></span></b><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-5275409059348873982013-06-13T16:43:00.000-05:002014-02-15T16:43:55.715-06:00Summer GeographyWe have officially begun our summer learning adventure! I've been planning fun things to share and teach the kids this summer, and I'm very excited to share them with you. <br />
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I think I am most excited about our plan to study each of the 50 states. Pinky and Chaos have both always loved looking at maps and love to learn facts about the states we travel through on our road trips.<br />
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I searched Pinterest and blogs for the "perfect" lesson plans or state books to use for our study, but didn't find one that was exactly what I wanted, so I made my own! They are a simplified version of <span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b><a href="http://anna.xanga.com/738620253/item/" target="_blank">the ones provided at The AnnaMatrix blog</a></b></span>. I didn't want to have too much writing detail because Chaos will be joining us for this study, so I created a one page document for the kids to fill in while we read about and explore each state. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXccRzGB_PgWVPR8CBoKHUSFsdtEdCixtCC9n-vqpdkmumpy-1qnnkwaC7PVCExiajzICdyl7Twpmpm6eYtmKYARsxaCk2Lx-vLZI8zA5RB6uVx_ji85AsyWhXzIUsnf-dX_LOU9lLf4/s1600/state+study.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXccRzGB_PgWVPR8CBoKHUSFsdtEdCixtCC9n-vqpdkmumpy-1qnnkwaC7PVCExiajzICdyl7Twpmpm6eYtmKYARsxaCk2Lx-vLZI8zA5RB6uVx_ji85AsyWhXzIUsnf-dX_LOU9lLf4/s320/state+study.png" height="320" width="246" /></a><br />
The page covers the basics:<br />
<ul>
<li>state name</li>
<li>nickname</li>
<li>abbreviation</li>
<li>capital</li>
<li>state flower </li>
<li>state bird</li>
<li>state tree </li>
<li>state rock </li>
<li>state insect </li>
<li>the year the state was founded </li>
<li>the order in which it was added(first, second, third, etc.)</li>
</ul>
I've added a picture of the state's quarter and flag for Chaos and Pinky. I also added a map of the United States so the kids can color in where the state is located. When we've finished all 50 states, I plan to bind these pages with a cover to create a book to look back on. I hope to be able to share these pages for you to download and use as we go along. I will share more detail about each study we do as well.<br />
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The first state we are studying (and we are going in no particular order other than by when the books are available at the library) is Minnesota. One particular book series that I'm hoping to use throughout the summer is <a href="http://sleepingbearpress.com/series/72-discover-america-state-by-state" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Discover America State by State. </b></span> </a>I've found the series to be interesting to my 7 year old right down to my 3 year old. There is a lot of information given without being overwhelming.<br />
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We are also using our<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597750093/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1597750093&linkCode=as2&tag=camp03c-20%22%3EUnited%20States%20Explorer%20Wall%20Map%20(Laminated)%20(Reference%20-%20U.S.)%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=camp03c-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1597750093%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>National Geographic laminated US map</b></span></a> to identify the states we've studied.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" target="_blank">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a></span></b><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-4154681661812178692013-06-11T16:24:00.000-05:002014-02-15T16:25:41.365-06:00What My Child is Reading<span id="goog_1472424495"></span><span id="goog_1472424496"></span> It's been a long time since I posted what my kids are reading! Here's a few of our current favorites.<br />
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<b>Pinky:</b><br />
Pinky has continued to enjoy reading longer chapter books. She still enjoys the Rainbow Magic series, but has branched out to try different series.<br />
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Judy Moody - She just started the Judy Moody series and has really enjoyed it. I told her if she read "The Not Bummer Summer" I would let her watch the movie when she finished.<br />
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My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman- A series about unicorns? That's really all Pinky needed to know about this book to be interested. I have not read this book myself, but judging by the way Pinky's nose has been in it all day, I'd say it's a hit.<br />
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Babymouse - The Babymouse series was recommended to me by a teacher friend. It's written as a graphic novel (something that is VERY appealing to Pinky) and tells the story of Babymouse - a mouse with big dreams and a wild imagination. As soon as Pinky finished the first book, she grabbed another and asked if I would get more from the library.<br />
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<b>Chaos:</b><br />
Chaos continues to love his I Spy books and has really enjoyed reading super hero books as well. He loves to read facts about all of his favorite heroes from his newest book, Meet the Marvel Super Heroes.<br />
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A few other books Chaos has been enjoying lately:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtO1Dh5TlNC0m1YxXFhywTFuiKBC8XsvcUQ0GRqaOHxOUq52kLZ-LKma3fEphfMBR8arxIoaoXUE7yKtbv6nvRLw2a58LVlzFG4l9QciSmE_lEegqdjFFgtu2udBtNE4fN06Rg3dthYU/s1600/The-Sand-Castle-Contest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtO1Dh5TlNC0m1YxXFhywTFuiKBC8XsvcUQ0GRqaOHxOUq52kLZ-LKma3fEphfMBR8arxIoaoXUE7yKtbv6nvRLw2a58LVlzFG4l9QciSmE_lEegqdjFFgtu2udBtNE4fN06Rg3dthYU/s1600/The-Sand-Castle-Contest.jpg" height="200" width="199" /></a><br />
The Sandcastle Contest - Any book by Robert Munsch is bound to be a hit with kids. His books are always fun, wacky reads.<br />
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Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown - I'm sure most people know the story of Flat Stanley. Chaos even knew who he was without ever having read the book. It was fun for him to learn how Flat Stanley became flat!<br />
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<b>Wild One:</b><br />
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Wild One continues to love everything related to dance, so it was no
surprise she loved reading Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird.</div>
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When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang has also fascinated Wild One. She loves watching Sophie get angry and then calm down. She has been walking around the house quoting this book over and over again.<br />
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<b>A few other books we have enjoyed as a whole family:</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgqw1GTAJXxxc5EnRF8O0iLrMdyBk4JrzodO2u-LEWG4nCayWnLy5EQ3-L2ByhOe-CkEZ72Spsf2ObXLFO5O9A5nEazxUQwwcMUzfeUiZAceMzTjc2LFsb8JAt_54ypzujFhRYi3gG1g/s1600/sylvester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDM-wk_UoT2mA08CgeIMp5Xxwzi_wyAhomaT0QbD-l2dzfoj8ru5ptBOQVKQnHVTIAUhp25s_mlUKLsDc6hhh7WXRlX-mZcjoInWgKiZuAn7jM0dsn5w-ZNuBszoBTtLSViuQniK-5Xg/s1600/one.jpg" height="183" width="200" /></a><br />
One by Katharine Otoshi is a wonderful book about standing up for yourself and others with an added lesson of counting and colors.<br />
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Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Stieg is a classic about a young donkey who makes an unfortunate wish.<br />
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Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy is a fun story about a Granny who is quite different than what her granddaughter thinks she should be. When granny conforms to the norms, her granddaughter realizes that she's quite bored with an "average" granny. <br />
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Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett - We picked this book up on a whim while at the library, and I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it. It's a story about a girl with magical yarn who changes an entire town. The illustrations in this book are just as wonderful as the story itself.<br />
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Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-80760186260766114072013-06-09T16:08:00.001-05:002013-06-09T16:08:07.825-05:00Summer Learning - WritingOne thing I really wanted to work on with Pinky last summer was her handwriting. It's something she just doesn't enjoy. She will draw all day, but just really dislikes putting pen to paper to write. I wanted her to write more, but I didn't want to fight with her to do it. I came up with two ideas to help.<br />
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The first was Draw Write Now books. Since Pinky already loves to draw I thought this would spark an interest in her. I was right! We started with Book One and have since expanded all the way through Book 4. I make her do the writing before she begins drawing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ19Gc2iVN-wObLHigDbIl3_g-q6pZCwdDUJY_-I3cES8qFCe-dICNwLem3Qr4R5EaKjBG-FY8IMo5vLiw1UyTnNWTE5I8XbEJ36Upu5PDKq7yvP_aqSiI7gwBSXhXMzlhRsvsJjcePIc/s1600/drawing+and+writing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ19Gc2iVN-wObLHigDbIl3_g-q6pZCwdDUJY_-I3cES8qFCe-dICNwLem3Qr4R5EaKjBG-FY8IMo5vLiw1UyTnNWTE5I8XbEJ36Upu5PDKq7yvP_aqSiI7gwBSXhXMzlhRsvsJjcePIc/s320/drawing+and+writing.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I picked up the books secondhand on ebay and used Melissa and Doug storytelling paper we already had on hand.<br />
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The second idea I had was probably MY favorite. I happened to have a spiral bound one subject notebook on hand (probably leftover from back to school shopping in the fall). On a whim I wrote a note to Pinky on the first page (even added a little picture to go with it). I told her that we could write letters back and forth to each other. Each night, before she went to bed, I would (secretly) write a little note and tuck it under her pillow. After she was tucked in, she would turn to the next page and write a note back to me. She usually added a picture too. Sometimes she would answer a question I had asked or respond to something I had said and sometimes she came up with things completely on her own. When we reached the end of the notebook, I picked up another and we started again. It has turned into a wonderful keepsake and a way for us to strengthen our relationship. We have kept up our journals since we started them last summer. <br />
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Looking for more writing ideas? Check out my Pinterest board:<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-writing/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Writing </a></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE77iD65uaTJ1DLniwqeI62EQztR65Fpi1YZTgCCqj9OJfqsBLUnG78pdZLk0606LKUfB79D2J9Lo2xZ8wWbv-nPmAe9bGpFes66uHwvhIGYvt5j07n3h76_5hud2nHlswWAPlg-PgyA/s1600/me+on+the+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLE77iD65uaTJ1DLniwqeI62EQztR65Fpi1YZTgCCqj9OJfqsBLUnG78pdZLk0606LKUfB79D2J9Lo2xZ8wWbv-nPmAe9bGpFes66uHwvhIGYvt5j07n3h76_5hud2nHlswWAPlg-PgyA/s1600/me+on+the+map.jpg" /></a><br />
The story is told by a young girl who shows readers a map of her room, then continues, step by step, to show the larger picture: her house on her street, her street on a map of her town, her town in her state, etc.<br />
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This was a really fun way to begin to explore maps with the kids and to help them understand where they live in relation to the rest of the world.<br />
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Looking for more great Geography ideas? Check out my Pinterest board:<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-geography/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Geography </a></b></span><br />
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Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-9219996562919359952013-05-31T18:43:00.000-05:002013-05-31T18:43:07.465-05:00Summer Learning - MathBeing the wife of a self-proclaimed math nerd, it's important to us that our kids have a strong foundation in math. Trying to make it fun can sometimes be a challenge though.<br />
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Last summer we worked on addition and subtraction facts with Pinky. We also reinforced skip counting, telling time to the hour and half hour, and counting money.<br />
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While we did use flashcards - we made it a routine to spend 10 minutes with a set of flashcards each day - we also spent a lot of time playing games.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vi5aSGT_T9rni8oCITcDf0fJq9MoFoUZmEYRCM1SeSyr8q4DlygdvTswjuO8iEv2sAAtOXUGuLyNRK3CsRxSEa9OdZYyE0b9iSkdOhZwoXt7K838QvVjloCju3vOotP2CK9PKZhpmbM/s1600/sumswamp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Vi5aSGT_T9rni8oCITcDf0fJq9MoFoUZmEYRCM1SeSyr8q4DlygdvTswjuO8iEv2sAAtOXUGuLyNRK3CsRxSEa9OdZYyE0b9iSkdOhZwoXt7K838QvVjloCju3vOotP2CK9PKZhpmbM/s1600/sumswamp.jpg" /></a><br />
The hands down math game winner in our house is <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004TDLD/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004TDLD&linkCode=as2&tag=camp03c-20" style="color: #38761d;">Sum Swamp Addition and Subtraction Game</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=camp03c-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004TDLD" style="border: medium none ! important; color: #38761d; margin: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><span style="color: #38761d;">.</span></b> I found this at a garage sale for only $1 (and it had all the pieces - bonus!), but you can buy it from Amazon or Learning Resources. The premise of the game is simple. You choose a game piece and try to be the first person around the board. You roll 3 dice - 2 number dice and one operations (addition or subtraction). You arrange the dice into a math equation (always putting the larger number first) and solve. The answer to the problem is how many spaces you can move. There are, of course, some tricks along the way. You can land in a spot marked "even" or "odd" and you must remain there until you roll the appropriate number. The favorite part of the game for my kids is "the endless loop" which ensures that you will get lots of practice. The game itself doesn't take long, but my kids beg me to play over and over. It was $1 well spent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrlXQno_Vv7vj3uxpX6xfn1CeL9YVMNO3t8SBGDATiTL-dSItszjZxAjV8xWNXs0wCFwpHKbM1_xXNIqhzDaiFDkg44FbFD1BG6cGqVh34NGCef8miS1EuIhh-ndQbCtHE6Ih5czgxfU/s1600/eeboo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrlXQno_Vv7vj3uxpX6xfn1CeL9YVMNO3t8SBGDATiTL-dSItszjZxAjV8xWNXs0wCFwpHKbM1_xXNIqhzDaiFDkg44FbFD1BG6cGqVh34NGCef8miS1EuIhh-ndQbCtHE6Ih5czgxfU/s1600/eeboo.jpg" /></a><br />
Another fun math game is <b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WLTN6O/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000WLTN6O&linkCode=as2&tag=camp03c-20">Eeboo Time Telling Game</a></span></b><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=camp03c-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000WLTN6O" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
The game can be adjusted based on skill level. You can choose to tell time by the hour, half hour, quarter hour or down to the minute. Each player chooses a clock with moveable hands. A card is flipped over to show a digital time. Players must then set their clocks to that time. We very often change up the rules to this game or just use the clocks to practice without playing the game. Pinky loves to use the clocks to play school with Chaos.<br />
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Of course, having fun with math doesn't have to mean spending money on a store bought game. A great way to practice coin counting skills is to count real coins or even to set up a store and play with a toy cash register.<br />
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We've also had a lot of fun with <b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/04/add-it-math-game.html" target="_blank">Add it Math by the very talented Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler</a></b>.<br />
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Life of Fred: Apples has also made a few appearances this summer as well. Both Pinky and Chaos enjoy reading about Fred and his doll Kingie. If you've never heard of Fred, you can <span id="goog_285400850"></span><b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/">read a sample here<span id="goog_285400851"></span></a></b>.<br />
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For my techie loving kids, we also watch a few LeapFrog movies (these are really more appropriate for Wild One and Chaos, but Pinky still enjoys them) - Numbers Ahoy, Number Land, Math Adventure to the Moon, and others are often available on Netflix instant streaming.<br />
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Looking for more great math ideas (most low or no cost)? Check out my pinterest boards:<br />
<b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-math/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Math</a></b><br />
<b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-online-games/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Online Games</a></b><br />
<b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/educational-apps/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Education Apps</a></b><br />
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<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_9d3e26e4-f7e8-4012-8804-8f4aad3d5091" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fcamp03c-20%2F8010%2F9d3e26e4-f7e8-4012-8804-8f4aad3d5091&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fcamp03c-20%2F8010%2F9d3e26e4-f7e8-4012-8804-8f4aad3d5091&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_9d3e26e4-f7e8-4012-8804-8f4aad3d5091" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_9d3e26e4-f7e8-4012-8804-8f4aad3d5091" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT>Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-80573177302664213912013-05-25T21:19:00.000-05:002013-05-25T21:19:42.657-05:00Another School Year OverDo the school years go faster every year? It seems that I had great plans to keep updating my blog, but, somehow, time kept slipping away from me! We're nearing the end of the school year here which means I'm gearing up for another fun summer with the kids. I have so much planned for this summer - the kids have asked if we will do "Mommy School" again!. How can I say no? <br />
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Before I start posting my plans for <i><b>this</b></i> summer though, I feel I should finish up the posts from <i><b>last</b></i> summer. I have a half dozen posts just waiting to share with you. I ran out of time to add pictures and edit them last year but am ready to share them now. Look for new (old?) posts starting tomorrow with many more to follow this summer!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_gbJcSx63sAqA-clo6Xk7XY3A89RWc-LM8NUY65hCR0wzTL_5VghFG_g4tvtpyWIr1MocnazrBdgb7uVnvL32jtZO03-f3JLukBH9L6ypPCvrSFPfNp-0uFKlzca4wvbEtM3zXrpWSc/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_gbJcSx63sAqA-clo6Xk7XY3A89RWc-LM8NUY65hCR0wzTL_5VghFG_g4tvtpyWIr1MocnazrBdgb7uVnvL32jtZO03-f3JLukBH9L6ypPCvrSFPfNp-0uFKlzca4wvbEtM3zXrpWSc/s320/IMG_1650.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Happy (almost) Summer exploring!<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-51454201954065457192012-12-04T22:05:00.000-06:002014-05-11T22:13:31.349-05:00Crafty Christmas Ornament ExchangeI was excited to be a part of my Craft message board's ornament exchange again this year. Using the leftover felt and instructions from the <a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html" target="_blank">wool candle mat that I made</a>, I was able to whip up these cute snowmen ornaments. I love, love, love the way they turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbPf709LuxJdu6kD3IqqjNOpyTq0hqAB2EwFKkdslHk0B3t2mbwT_pX2FIaa_fEqO0u9m9dZjcA_xOHpyGYs-7PEXTg2UdT1pCfSF_E1jBvf-9grRpIRX127CAAbKlFUrQ7qEjfFk5Ws/s1600/2012ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbPf709LuxJdu6kD3IqqjNOpyTq0hqAB2EwFKkdslHk0B3t2mbwT_pX2FIaa_fEqO0u9m9dZjcA_xOHpyGYs-7PEXTg2UdT1pCfSF_E1jBvf-9grRpIRX127CAAbKlFUrQ7qEjfFk5Ws/s1600/2012ed.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a>
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<br />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-61772338114740124942012-08-13T16:30:00.001-05:002012-08-15T22:03:04.879-05:00Summer Learning - ReadingOur number one goal for learning this summer was to spend a lot of time reading. I want to raise my kids to be avid readers who are excited to read new books. I want books to be a part of their everyday routine.<br />
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Last year when Pinky was learning to read she<b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-we-did-this-summer.html" target="_blank"> set a goal to read 100 books by the end of summer</a></b>. I created a sticker chart for her and helped her find books that she was able to read (we read the entire Bob book collection and many intro readers). It was hard work, but she was so determined. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EYEsG2OPk09qjAuEWP3plfHzIzE_KxA1Hr2vt_ePHN-H2ZcfcQALfdpxuUlBZsmjDSfQDzLon3jKpZ7Z161PSQRTRmKow5IhD3Dkma9pLowZ1ytlIdzE8CpanTzjSdH0ZbbnFNmZYRQ/s1600/reading+chart.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EYEsG2OPk09qjAuEWP3plfHzIzE_KxA1Hr2vt_ePHN-H2ZcfcQALfdpxuUlBZsmjDSfQDzLon3jKpZ7Z161PSQRTRmKow5IhD3Dkma9pLowZ1ytlIdzE8CpanTzjSdH0ZbbnFNmZYRQ/s320/reading+chart.jpg" width="240" /></a>
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This summer she wanted to read even more. We set her goal at 110 books. It's getting trickier as her books are getting longer, and it's not quite as easy for her to ready a dozen books a day like it was before. I mostly give her free choice of what she reads though I do make books available that I think she may enjoy and will allow her to improve her reading. We have some basic ground rules: the book must have a story (not just one or two words per page) and no repeats. If she reads a chapter book on her own we count it as 2 books. I've also allowed her to choose to read a magazine in place of a book. I don't want to be to strict on WHAT she reads, I just want her to read and enjoy it. I think next summer we will set a goal for how<i> long </i>she reads each day instead of a certain number of books. This is more in line with what her school requires (30 minutes a day, twice a day).<br />
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For Chaos, he is showing many signs of being ready to read. He knows all of his letters and their sounds and can even recognize a few sight words. We've begun VERY slowly introducing the Bob books to him. I downloaded the <b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bob-books-1-reading-magic/id403753501?mt=8" target="_blank">Bob Books Reading Magic app</a></b> for my iPhone, and he really enjoys it. It's helped him become familiar with the books and words, which has helped him read and sound out a few words in the books. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_jUlwi5bFIXmRru2Z6GDitONG6iQjEDuc1fY91joLG3X02xb1xijv12j1mwcfUvezg9bxX39D64HVntvjENAWCVd7oCYpnpGUxa8RkhGzFT2C6QE8yEnNd2mGAWJBMMYULRnv7zm2XQ/s1600/bob+book+app.jpg"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip_jUlwi5bFIXmRru2Z6GDitONG6iQjEDuc1fY91joLG3X02xb1xijv12j1mwcfUvezg9bxX39D64HVntvjENAWCVd7oCYpnpGUxa8RkhGzFT2C6QE8yEnNd2mGAWJBMMYULRnv7zm2XQ/s320/bob+book+app.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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To help him learn his sight words, I printed out our public school's Kindergarten sight word list on small cards. I chose 5 words to start (the first sight words to appear in the Bob books) and taped them to his bedroom door. I told him this was a "lock" for his door. In order to unlock his door he had to touch each card and say the word. To lock it when he left he had to do it again (in reverse order). He thought it was hilarious and loves to "lock" his sisters out of his room.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzORrO4toWmNqCki3LpOz_2eCp40NWAbxPMLNXuhoPVqLxHNfexgKagxlCKNu-Ex0_3e26-LVI_Jh6GTItdKUBVrJg0NfbEqGOrFqqdOc65pAmYVFnNjWr0QR6aXrirGBh4oqRqnSHgDI/s1600/sight+word+lock.JPG"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzORrO4toWmNqCki3LpOz_2eCp40NWAbxPMLNXuhoPVqLxHNfexgKagxlCKNu-Ex0_3e26-LVI_Jh6GTItdKUBVrJg0NfbEqGOrFqqdOc65pAmYVFnNjWr0QR6aXrirGBh4oqRqnSHgDI/s320/sight+word+lock.JPG" width="320" /></a>
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We are continuing to reinforce letters and their sounds. We love the LeapFrog movies (Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory, Amazing Alphabet Adventure, Phonics Farm, Let's Go to School, and Word Caper). Many of these are available on Netflix for instant streaming if you subscribe.<br />
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Looking for more ideas? Check out my pinterest boards:<br />
<div style="color: #38761d;">
<b><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-reading/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Reading</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/letter-of-the-week/" target="_blank">Letter of the Week</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://pinterest.com/spartangirl/love-of-learning-spelling/" target="_blank">Love of Learning - Spelling</a></b><br />
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Next up in our summer learning series - Math! Thanks for stopping by!<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/search/label/link%20parties" style="color: #009900; font-weight: bold;">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-5718843733403792142012-07-29T21:58:00.000-05:002012-07-29T21:58:27.345-05:00Toy Rotation - UpdateWe've been really enjoying our toy rotation this summer. It's been so HOT that we've spent a lot of time escaping to our basement playroom. Keeping up with the toy rotation has helped keep the room enjoyable. <b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2012/04/playroom-toy-organization.html" target="_blank"> (If you missed our first toy rotation post, you can check it out here.)</a></b><br />
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I've been working on fine tuning some aspects of the rotations. One area that we are tweaking is the number of toys for each rotation, particularly when it comes to sets and accessories. <b style="color: #38761d;"> <a href="http://thelittlestories.com/2011/12/12/how-to-rotate-toys/" target="_blank"></a></b>I've found that the number really depends on which toys are in rotation. For example, during the month of July my kids played with ONE toy - their Little Tykes Bounce House. I also discovered that my kids do not want dress up clothes out of rotation (they threatened mutiny). Now I choose 5 or 6 outfits each rotation so that they always have dress up clothes, but they change from time to time.<br />
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I also tried working in <a href="http://childhood101.com/2010/01/an-invitation-to-play/" target="_blank">invitations to play</a>. On my second toy rotation, I turned the playroom into a store. I added a shopping cart, turned the shelves to resemble aisles in the store and set up a table with a cash register. I even included some posterboard and markers for the kids to create signs for their store. The great part about this set up was that I stocked the shelves with the chosen 9-10 toys for that rotation. They could choose to use those things as their store inventory or just play with them if they didn't feel like playing store.<br />
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Here's a picture of our current rotation: <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMNKbgJ46JVq2mi6EeipzTYM_fJWk2D6pnVA1AJjYXzVmDY9Q8qaif97DI38VWvX6LHMwZHqr6HREIjsL4h7oqRDkadMHJCLv_Q3pOASjBDOscLKZPcX9HPov6xjb1lf1UrwqbOiM59c/s1600/toy+rotation2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Playroom Toy Rotation" border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMNKbgJ46JVq2mi6EeipzTYM_fJWk2D6pnVA1AJjYXzVmDY9Q8qaif97DI38VWvX6LHMwZHqr6HREIjsL4h7oqRDkadMHJCLv_Q3pOASjBDOscLKZPcX9HPov6xjb1lf1UrwqbOiM59c/s320/toy+rotation2.jpg" title="Playroom Toy Rotation" width="320" /></a> <br />
Our most recent toy rotation<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6Ei1FA2uV9TLYtYikmD1wfWkhzeJtUW5FVlvlZV4swp4PBKY49uiYS7WpCj6vJLSYyc62EqhJbFa2UP7j0J6aQ0ls1tXKdwYHqPeZ8XUwdPDMbiTGPv9HAuEwFCMLUGNtrCwoktgW_A/s1600/toy+rotation2+dress+up.jpg"><img alt="Playroom Toy Rotation" border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6Ei1FA2uV9TLYtYikmD1wfWkhzeJtUW5FVlvlZV4swp4PBKY49uiYS7WpCj6vJLSYyc62EqhJbFa2UP7j0J6aQ0ls1tXKdwYHqPeZ8XUwdPDMbiTGPv9HAuEwFCMLUGNtrCwoktgW_A/s320/toy+rotation2+dress+up.jpg" title="Playroom Toy Rotation" width="320" /></a>
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Five dress up outfits seems to be the right fit for the 3 oldest.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bgVhXADY3lx43vjxsgRZ1ovoM5VzM8903lcd0UTZfh_VObKSzcXFtKNZvWCZ_6BoJk2gC81wm9cMSnx84xYm7mXP7beiDc6N8bh1xLDFGJicBpttnfVeacvwaca8kZ6taGpE36ybkF4/s1600/toy+rotation2+toy+shelf2.jpg"><img alt="Playroom Toy Rotation" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bgVhXADY3lx43vjxsgRZ1ovoM5VzM8903lcd0UTZfh_VObKSzcXFtKNZvWCZ_6BoJk2gC81wm9cMSnx84xYm7mXP7beiDc6N8bh1xLDFGJicBpttnfVeacvwaca8kZ6taGpE36ybkF4/s320/toy+rotation2+toy+shelf2.jpg" title="Playroom Toy Rotation" width="320" /></a>
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On this shelf: dollhouse vehicles, marble maze set, and 2 totes of dollhouse accessories (one for people and one for furniture)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJeA77O-yWgWGPhx2yr1i7B-_MdgO24lxkXOZveqaWTnWgckfv4floJMHtzY5CB8qTI4GpSw0pfpMKIfWh9uPKwpQaq1Zyss_FeuaIgUCREMj1FDxwJsahFUWnGiARJ025NSSY92qfLA/s1600/toy+rotation2+toy+shelf.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Playroom Toy Rotation" border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJeA77O-yWgWGPhx2yr1i7B-_MdgO24lxkXOZveqaWTnWgckfv4floJMHtzY5CB8qTI4GpSw0pfpMKIfWh9uPKwpQaq1Zyss_FeuaIgUCREMj1FDxwJsahFUWnGiARJ025NSSY92qfLA/s320/toy+rotation2+toy+shelf.jpg" title="Playroom Toy Rotation" width="320" /></a>
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On this shelf: K'nex, magnadoodle, hopscotch and doctor kit
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The breakdown of toys is as follows:<br />
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<u><b>Moving:</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Stick horses </li>
<li>Hopscotch set (bottom shelf - not put together) </li>
<li>Dollhouse vehicles</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Pretending:</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Doctor kit </li>
<li>Dress up clothes </li>
<li>Dollhouse village</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Thinking: </b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Magna Doodle </li>
<li>K'nex </li>
<li>Marble Run Maze</li>
</ul>
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Now, I know you might be thinking - "What's with all the dollhouses?" I acquired all of these dollhouses without really meaning to. Two of them were gifted to us as hand-me-downs, and one I picked up at a garage sale for $1. I intended to keep one and donate the other two, but the kids and I could never agree which to keep and which to donate. The kids LOVE to set up all 3 houses and play "neighborhood" with them. They were thrilled to see that I allowed all 3 dollhouses to stay and put them into rotation at the same time. We'll see how it goes.<br />
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The totes on the shelves contain the pieces to the houses - blue for people, red for furniture. I am still unsure on the "perfect" number of accessories for toys like the dollhouse. Pinky certainly prefers to have more so that each room can be decorated, while Wild One would be happy with a mama, a baby and a crib. I guess only time will tell how this rotation will work for us. I will keep you updated!<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-2185986269941940592012-06-07T20:48:00.002-05:002012-07-29T20:03:46.620-05:00Our 2012 Summer Bucket ListIs it really summer vacation already? It always amazes me how quickly the last month of school flies by! I still have quite a few activities and crafts to post, but I wanted to post our Summer Bucket list first! The kids and I had fun putting this together again this year!<br />
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<h4>
<b>2012 Summer Bucket List</b>:<a href="http://chemistry.about.com/od/glowinthedarkprojects/a/glowingbubbles.htm" target="_blank"><br /></a></h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://chemistry.about.com/od/glowinthedarkprojects/a/glowingbubbles.htm" target="_blank">Make glow in the dark bubbles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/06/fun-with-mud.html" target="_blank">Mud paint again</a></li>
<li>Go camping</li>
<li>Create flags for our garden</li>
<li>Make a backyard obstacle course </li>
<li><a href="http://july.tipjunkie.com/repurposed-can-luminaries-4th-of-july/" target="_blank">Create 4th of July luminaries</a> </li>
<li> Make sunprints </li>
<li><a href="http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/03/outer-space-themed-bath.html" target="_blank">Take a glow bath/make glow water</a> </li>
<li>Have a picnic</li>
<li>Make and fly paper kites</li>
<li>Visit the Children's Museum, zoo, nature center and, of course, the LIBRARY!</li>
<li>Add nature/leaf rubbings to our nature journals</li>
<li>Make popsicles</li>
<li>Go to the farmer's market</li>
<li>Go on a "playground safari" and visit as many playgrounds in one day as we can</li>
<li>Visit 3 new state parks</li>
<li>Watch fireworks</li>
<li>Visit our cousins</li>
<li>Have a water balloon fight</li>
<li>Make chalk paint</li>
<li>Learn to ride a bike</li>
<li>Eat cheese curds (a summer festival favorite)</li>
<li>Read, read, read - Pinky has set a goal of reading 110 books (10 more than last summer). Chaos wants to read 10 - all by himself!</li>
</ul>
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I'm linking up to Little Wonders' Days' Summer Bucket List Party!<br />
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<a href="http://littlewondersdays.blogspot.com/2012/05/summer-bucket-list-party-2012.html" title="Little Wonders' Days"><img alt="Little Wonders' Days" src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/summerbucketbutton2012.jpg" style="border: medium none;" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-87583633523455306922012-04-29T04:25:00.000-05:002012-04-29T12:23:23.526-05:00What My Child is Reading<div style="text-align: left;">
Here are a few of the books we've been enjoying this week.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAflyVVYQLqqS8j9R41esuZrTMhuEvyNB0X8mDEJDmZuoPiMWuZVz17ifiuBUKcm8dbOUM5jA1LyZVjmpvC-2vxN71AXRLRJp2iEMME5m9MK8jqVM-WKRUUwRtKmp4cWHLLtzdcRjE8Q/s1600/edwardo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAflyVVYQLqqS8j9R41esuZrTMhuEvyNB0X8mDEJDmZuoPiMWuZVz17ifiuBUKcm8dbOUM5jA1LyZVjmpvC-2vxN71AXRLRJp2iEMME5m9MK8jqVM-WKRUUwRtKmp4cWHLLtzdcRjE8Q/s320/edwardo.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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Edwardo the Horriblest Boy in the Whole World by John Burningham was one of my favorites. It's a good reminder to parents to build our children up, not tear them down. I think this is a must read for every family.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF0zKE1tR7RJc75xRQTrObBZ-w0EE3_lOUOhXaWdl6-BDoecv3yjjGnnp8su2DRfwR29PAmv-MR-jlgsBWGXs4lzbuWLS6BDyCsjsb-ktLZs7nIeUxrIv-io_JnTc51PENI5NH2ZhlxE/s1600/big+bear+hug.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF0zKE1tR7RJc75xRQTrObBZ-w0EE3_lOUOhXaWdl6-BDoecv3yjjGnnp8su2DRfwR29PAmv-MR-jlgsBWGXs4lzbuWLS6BDyCsjsb-ktLZs7nIeUxrIv-io_JnTc51PENI5NH2ZhlxE/s320/big+bear+hug.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In honor of Earth Day, we read Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland. The story is about a bear who likes to hug! He hugs trees, would-be-dinners, and more until he sees a man cutting down a tree in the forest. Suddenly the bear doesn't feel much like hugging. This a cute and funny story about conservation and being true to yourself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzrYlOXtmh4C2znDOUIBwNfVWmCu8vHXr2YnJyhn8Vj6dv6bzs6_Z1zwWss5bCVFvKimmgdLxr-ni29LrU3l-bMntNGNaYc4q9JxAK5XqWNbvfRqNuZenrjho4-KxPsJ6yVeZvqBhxKA/s1600/stuck.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzrYlOXtmh4C2znDOUIBwNfVWmCu8vHXr2YnJyhn8Vj6dv6bzs6_Z1zwWss5bCVFvKimmgdLxr-ni29LrU3l-bMntNGNaYc4q9JxAK5XqWNbvfRqNuZenrjho4-KxPsJ6yVeZvqBhxKA/s320/stuck.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers, is an over the top story about the lengths to which a little boy will go to retrieve his kite from a tree. The story is absurdly funny and had my kids laughing out loud.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9vIaPWq1f9DxyurWZjbwYh3Uss3x0APqsOYfvpy2Ny_wpS6-OItU_4TwrnNuOuHwqk06HLhvqh2jVUrqIok3N_0dxDHHXCX69Rd7OaS_xIQdblODApmECiG8kvjrnBASl9JNAx4xezg/s1600/Scaredy+Squirrel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9vIaPWq1f9DxyurWZjbwYh3Uss3x0APqsOYfvpy2Ny_wpS6-OItU_4TwrnNuOuHwqk06HLhvqh2jVUrqIok3N_0dxDHHXCX69Rd7OaS_xIQdblODApmECiG8kvjrnBASl9JNAx4xezg/s320/Scaredy+Squirrel.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
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Our favorite read this week was Scaredy Squirrel. Scared of the unknown, Scaredy Squirrel spends every day in his tree. One day, his safe world is disrupted and Scaredy Squirrel must make some changes (after he panics of course!). </div>
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Linking up to:<br />
<a href="http://learningwithmouse.blogspot.com/search/label/weekly%20reading"><img border="0" height="80" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wKQtyTbjoT4/Sq-KaGVjfpI/AAAAAAAABrE/n85piwgCaE8/Picture%206%5B6%5D.png" width="80" /></a><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" /></div>Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-54755600709904029592012-04-24T16:01:00.000-05:002012-04-24T16:01:50.105-05:00K5 Learning Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYWOvaf2OaOE4iPf4z6KiMP0kj2inyr70FidBeYJvtDI36OcJApGHj8N_PVWiMUUyi2WWoBS_HJzSs0oIdnoRo1oTmbfDawgHBqZd2_UIvp9AQQ1-Ln9Pey0npNW2Wl1nMGbr9ch9rho/s1600/K5+Logo+200+px.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYWOvaf2OaOE4iPf4z6KiMP0kj2inyr70FidBeYJvtDI36OcJApGHj8N_PVWiMUUyi2WWoBS_HJzSs0oIdnoRo1oTmbfDawgHBqZd2_UIvp9AQQ1-Ln9Pey0npNW2Wl1nMGbr9ch9rho/s1600/K5+Logo+200+px.png" /></a></div>
We recently had the opportunity to review <b style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.k5learning.com/" target="_blank">K5 Learning</a></b>, an online reading and math program for kids from kindergarten through grade 5. K5 is designed for home use and can be used for after-school, weekend and summertime supplemental study or in conjunction with a homeschooling program.<br />
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We received a 6 week free trial to evaluate the program. I had tried out some of the<b style="color: #6aa84f;"> <a href="http://www.k5learning.com/sample-lessons" target="_blank">sample lessons on their website</a></b> and was fairly impressed at how fun and informative the program was.<br />
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Pinky, my techy lover, was very excited to try out the program. We began with an online assessment of her reading and math skills. This was not her favorite part as the tests were long (it is suggested you break the test up into several sessions), but it was nice to have a fairly accurate picture of what she already knew and what she needed to work on.<br />
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Once the assessment was completed, it was time to play...or rather, learn. When Pinky logged in, she was able to choose which area she'd like to work on: Reading, Spelling, Math, or Math Facts. Pinky really enjoyed the animation and the games. As a parent, I loved the feedback that was provided in the parent area (progress reports, quiz results, spelling words learned and the progress made on each math fact). I also liked that parents could assign any math or reading assignment to their child at any time and add specific spelling words to be studied.<br />
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After using the program for 6 weeks, I can say that both Pinky and I enjoyed it.<br />
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<u><b>Pros:</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>The segments or assignments were broken down into smaller, 5 minute increments. It was nice to have the option to take breaks or limit screen time for a day.</li>
<li>The assignments were fun. Pinky enjoyed them and would ask to play.</li>
<li>The feedback I received on Pinky's progress was helpful and informative. </li>
<li>Customer service was very helpful and friendly. </li>
<li>The site is ad free. </li>
<li>They offer a free two week trial (and they don't ask for payment information - it is really, truly a FREE trial).</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Cons:</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>The cost. K5 is available on a subscription basis for $25/month or $199/year with discounts for siblings. As a supplemental study program, I feel that it may be cost-prohibitive for some families. </li>
</ul>
Overall, I was impressed with the K5 program. It is something that I will keep in mind for bridging the gap during summertime. I encourage you to try the 2 week free trial if you feel this program could work for you.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Disclosure: I received a free 6 week trial of K5 Learning in order to write this review. All opinions presented are mine and not influenced by the company or the free product I received.</i></span></span><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-5573746156063930182012-04-20T07:31:00.003-05:002012-04-21T22:38:46.797-05:00Playroom Toy OrganizationFor a long time, I have been struggling with the issue of too many toys. With 4 kids, 2 sets of grandparents who love to send gifts, and my personal love for garage sales, there has been a constant flow of new toys in our house. It felt as though we were drowning in toys. No where was this felt more than in our playroom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZfUHUbIa5Ke8ruvRxYlsikj9_LImoc5osYuBWaQbpEGo-jhsY0UHVGkzFFmNS1_OnsqcxwhJ_glnsYQhTzPoCFBIJVHLlkYHxi4Ip8BsBiQjw-vPL1cWBgfCKfSVnf3oiitB395mJNk/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+before+2.jpg"><img alt="playroom toy organization organizing toys before" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228800214659874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ZfUHUbIa5Ke8ruvRxYlsikj9_LImoc5osYuBWaQbpEGo-jhsY0UHVGkzFFmNS1_OnsqcxwhJ_glnsYQhTzPoCFBIJVHLlkYHxi4Ip8BsBiQjw-vPL1cWBgfCKfSVnf3oiitB395mJNk/s320/playroom+toy+organization+before+2.jpg" style="height: 240px; width: 320px;" title="Playroom toy organization" /></a><br />
While the kids loved to play down here, it became a source of stress when every tote, bucket or bin would be emptied on the floor (you can see that the totes were so full of toys that some of them wouldn't even fit on the shelves).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_YpqL19rrORV0bnkf0WcKlyJ8BpdDtFZs8go4-ncE7arlAHGqcROSCOQa0Ww1wbszdzUiqLW6y0fXbh_RtlOaJ8QLZ_dJ8dW5-4R1Usz2TLEXakR4ILbUjAtnBef-o-eEh4udvfdM5E/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+before.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733229087362126898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_YpqL19rrORV0bnkf0WcKlyJ8BpdDtFZs8go4-ncE7arlAHGqcROSCOQa0Ww1wbszdzUiqLW6y0fXbh_RtlOaJ8QLZ_dJ8dW5-4R1Usz2TLEXakR4ILbUjAtnBef-o-eEh4udvfdM5E/s320/playroom+toy+organization+before.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
When it was time to clean up (and at times it felt as though the toys were ankle deep), the kids would become overwhelmed. Then, we would argue. We would yell. We would threaten. We would help clean up. We vowed to not buy more toys. We promised we would get rid of some toys. But nothing worked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1olVl8NtDIKBVzF1JxlX-KoqrTu8-dreregzifqtpgwZxiiJNVr7ZTyJwdoBeZqIm_QGYz70QkEsx71QwZeeqPatvDWO3lcyCKx0cdGrukSoboHeu_B0GHmIsubLppMVkM3Ft9mOdiMY/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+before+3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228804934291922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1olVl8NtDIKBVzF1JxlX-KoqrTu8-dreregzifqtpgwZxiiJNVr7ZTyJwdoBeZqIm_QGYz70QkEsx71QwZeeqPatvDWO3lcyCKx0cdGrukSoboHeu_B0GHmIsubLppMVkM3Ft9mOdiMY/s320/playroom+toy+organization+before+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Then one day I read a great article about rotating toys. The article <a href="http://thelittlestories.com/2011/12/12/how-to-rotate-toys/" style="color: #009900;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"How to Rotate Toys" on the Little Stories blog</span></a> is really great reading. I highly recommend checking it out.<br />
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Almost as soon as I finished reading I grabbed some (okay, a LOT) of Rubbermaid bins and dumped every. single. toy. into the center of the room and started sorting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfEV-p5dkIieBX_4kLXTdYfI28n4VTS3EvjjIKT9uM9bT_KB2dqPKXyCl-l2GdObHyafDLlFQRd0c0nG35ynERX3w4uq_h7xG4vHcAkzEXEEaPvA7DpDqf9zoxAWK35HSh3c5dvkhBpA/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+during.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228807352375522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfEV-p5dkIieBX_4kLXTdYfI28n4VTS3EvjjIKT9uM9bT_KB2dqPKXyCl-l2GdObHyafDLlFQRd0c0nG35ynERX3w4uq_h7xG4vHcAkzEXEEaPvA7DpDqf9zoxAWK35HSh3c5dvkhBpA/s320/playroom+toy+organization+during.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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The mess wasn't pretty, and a few times I questioned my sanity for taking on a project of such magnitude., but I persevered.<br />
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I immediately weeded out any toys my youngest had outgrown, toys that were broken, or toys that had come from McDonalds or other cheap/trinkety type toys. To be honest, I didn't really get rid of anything else. I was very fearful that the kids wouldn't like the new playroom and wanted to be sure I could "go back" if I needed to.<br />
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To sort the toys, I put sets together inside plastic freezer bags and labeled them along with the number of pieces included (to make it easier when they were rotated out).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCskqP7TKeOJ4PCvpfIh495Pj6LkC05ag4WQa3b8TGz2flMr1zKfwvd3-r9ZTrw_oWd54SxDupiR_6OirX39kRgEsU3KxwVrtdo51XgCHNAHdAmIhgirUxWYgQP8ZWfGwkbVe7p2VNKI/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+sorting.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733506388876839890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCskqP7TKeOJ4PCvpfIh495Pj6LkC05ag4WQa3b8TGz2flMr1zKfwvd3-r9ZTrw_oWd54SxDupiR_6OirX39kRgEsU3KxwVrtdo51XgCHNAHdAmIhgirUxWYgQP8ZWfGwkbVe7p2VNKI/s320/playroom+toy+organization+sorting.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 315px;" /></a><br />
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I added signs to the outside of the totes that outlined exactly what was inside. I tried to avoid generic labels, for example, labeling "Little People Farm" and "Little People Garage" instead of just "Little People." (I plan to show you my storage area in a future post.)<br />
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Once every toy was packed away and organized (including large items like the play kitchen and washer/dryer set), I made a list of which toys I wanted to include in our first rotation. I listed each child's name and, under it, each category that <a href="http://thelittlestories.com/2011/12/12/how-to-rotate-toys/" style="color: #009900; font-weight: bold;">Kim included in her article</a>. I tried to make the toys overlap between kids as much as possible.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpkQn1OGLQkuN2P706BvMviOQx3unq5fvEW3HCpwdXFCyXupdLCoUIXviJGL6apofrkxMxqRgatRVh3pzhfJExtY-oaeI4RIxLL9YskZvTR32uCAlMl2MVehgebfGIB9BuOKx7n9UOvE/s1600/toy+rotation+plan.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733506391295349842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpkQn1OGLQkuN2P706BvMviOQx3unq5fvEW3HCpwdXFCyXupdLCoUIXviJGL6apofrkxMxqRgatRVh3pzhfJExtY-oaeI4RIxLL9YskZvTR32uCAlMl2MVehgebfGIB9BuOKx7n9UOvE/s320/toy+rotation+plan.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 242px;" /></a><br />
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Finally (the part I had been looking forward to), I got to work setting up the chosen toys. I was VERY nervous about how the kids would react. I had told them I was working on making the playroom even better, but I was certain there would be tears or protests about the finished product.<br />
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I unveiled the "new" playroom to the kids about a week ago. I am happy to say they LOVED it. I know they loved it because they wouldn't stop telling me how much they loved it. I made sure to bring out a few toys that they hadn't played with in awhile (and the ball pit was my insurance policy that something in the room would be awesome for them, just in case there were tears).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q8Tg-5GChlpSm8KreUyHnMwRZlyyEpwD-nP5dYqc8QHFgz_2RQVxtWuW_Vi-38QzDjZimLcaoD96hyxTsN4IGi0Ky2FP6ekxvZyS0iqpeUK4J4j6SiWBO0JSGZUs8JcrZOQGyfyynHk/s1600/playroom+toy+organization+after.jpg"><img alt="organizing rotating toys after" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228795189908114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q8Tg-5GChlpSm8KreUyHnMwRZlyyEpwD-nP5dYqc8QHFgz_2RQVxtWuW_Vi-38QzDjZimLcaoD96hyxTsN4IGi0Ky2FP6ekxvZyS0iqpeUK4J4j6SiWBO0JSGZUs8JcrZOQGyfyynHk/s320/playroom+toy+organization+after.jpg" style="height: 240px; width: 320px;" title="playroom toy organization rotating toys" /></a><br />
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Here's a close up look of what's on the shelves:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTa1_NRs_7EJq5kWU3V1mc5Z83rxyjuALjbcOh4KfV2jah7my7Ibr5Mm_f-P238O-fe6KzJt6nXqUxvEzTUKUxgVUPQMkKgWF1Aeyv1SvOD4jyIwW5DQ3LJqpri3SFJbvwr2pNYUudI0/s1600/rotating+toys+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733229076867585698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUTa1_NRs_7EJq5kWU3V1mc5Z83rxyjuALjbcOh4KfV2jah7my7Ibr5Mm_f-P238O-fe6KzJt6nXqUxvEzTUKUxgVUPQMkKgWF1Aeyv1SvOD4jyIwW5DQ3LJqpri3SFJbvwr2pNYUudI0/s320/rotating+toys+2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Little People Farm and an additional animal/farm set, Peek a Blocks gumball machine, My First Purse, Mr. Potato Head and a Playmobil safari animal set<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozGWrTzhj7n-aKxYd8kDoCKLa69lylM7g3wEHGqUPVVgBeMdnVrkURCUEdNGzgJTKarx-2b4at2bMZ_WlvWiyyUZAlVSTvWjA9rTPJT_0idqtZOeB7CwFCd0Fk_GjNUg8gBXqzsO39qU/s1600/rotating+toys+1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228808907201394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgozGWrTzhj7n-aKxYd8kDoCKLa69lylM7g3wEHGqUPVVgBeMdnVrkURCUEdNGzgJTKarx-2b4at2bMZ_WlvWiyyUZAlVSTvWjA9rTPJT_0idqtZOeB7CwFCd0Fk_GjNUg8gBXqzsO39qU/s320/rotating+toys+1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Puzzles, Dora school set, wedgits and 2 large Tonka trucks<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCQCknKxJwNJj0W2fl8lREyi6GuXrmsHVjRfz-kv1fkyk59MyOVpNpBbHU5nGNolYNEHUpk41P1bCbdNjoayxrW6MIMbAo6_pxHBr0yaJ0WH1U9_wSanUW00AAI3GgBRPloyJYYf-QMQ/s1600/rotating+toys+3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733229082151451090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCQCknKxJwNJj0W2fl8lREyi6GuXrmsHVjRfz-kv1fkyk59MyOVpNpBbHU5nGNolYNEHUpk41P1bCbdNjoayxrW6MIMbAo6_pxHBr0yaJ0WH1U9_wSanUW00AAI3GgBRPloyJYYf-QMQ/s320/rotating+toys+3.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Fisher Price Loving family dollhouse (Wild One decorated this one for me).<br />
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Also "on rotation" but not in the close up pictures - a ball pit and a tunnel.<br />
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After nearly a week, the kids are still just as happy with the room. They have been playing longer, with less complaints about cleaning up. And to my amazement - they've been playing with fewer fights too! For my husband and I, the room feels calmer and more inviting - a place we don't mind spending time anymore. I even feel like we can finally add some artwork to the walls without completely overwhelming the space.!<br />
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I have a lot of fun ideas for upcoming toy rotations. My plan is to rotate every 2 weeks. I hope to share the rotations with you so you can see how rotating toys works (or doesn't work) for our family in the long term. Be sure to check back!<br />
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<a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/search/label/link%20parties" style="color: #009900; font-weight: bold;">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a><br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-25543831506486451072012-04-17T11:23:00.003-05:002012-04-17T11:23:00.041-05:00Storytelling DiceI've seen many versions of storytelling games online. We even have a few storytelling card games of our own. Still, I couldn't resist making these dice for the kids.<br /><br />The wooden blocks (they are 3/4 inch squares) came in a 6 pack at Micheals. I'm not certain on the exact price, but I do know the were under $2. Using a black Sharpie, I drew characters on one die, setting on another, and objects on the third.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzNF4TylpaY5lulPokQQNRQ5Csr6Rg039M169D24AGIXYrXzr6bTC5mljPhg6Te_QeTIxgRu0oDgGQiyvOk01WfSXz3Rgv_VZ-Auwnh36r1ZVlxgJSjE0zIFFBXYUuWRHhqtqNATxxAU/s1600/storytelling+dice.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzNF4TylpaY5lulPokQQNRQ5Csr6Rg039M169D24AGIXYrXzr6bTC5mljPhg6Te_QeTIxgRu0oDgGQiyvOk01WfSXz3Rgv_VZ-Auwnh36r1ZVlxgJSjE0zIFFBXYUuWRHhqtqNATxxAU/s320/storytelling+dice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727767847526282770" border="0" /></a><br />I'm not an artist, so I tried to keep the pictures simple. I knew my kids would enjoy these, but I was surprised by how long it held their attention.<br /><br />Super fun, easy, quick and inexpensive - everything I love in a project!<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/search/label/link%20parties">Linking up to some of these great parties!</a><br /><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428771942085407751.post-6012062223269071972012-04-13T13:06:00.027-05:002012-04-18T14:22:41.481-05:00What We Did This Week<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">**Just a quick note - I welcome any pinning from my blog as long as it does not include pictures of my kids. If I credit the idea from another blog, please be sure to pin from the ORIGINAL source so proper credit can be given. Thank you!**</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pinky is 6 years, Chaos is 4 years, Wild One is 2 years, and Sprout is 1 year</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7vduEK_JZKPo8RiyqR_YBpd2ef43S91E_SKIF1mNYbJy0ew3tsbpK0Y0nyG4L1kRjIwiRtp2TBDEzXkugGuVTH9p9fSo3c72UXWrCgNDAiMaVqbtBjnU7wKskWWxdz4yRdXJSFC8gmw/s1600/lotw+banner.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7vduEK_JZKPo8RiyqR_YBpd2ef43S91E_SKIF1mNYbJy0ew3tsbpK0Y0nyG4L1kRjIwiRtp2TBDEzXkugGuVTH9p9fSo3c72UXWrCgNDAiMaVqbtBjnU7wKskWWxdz4yRdXJSFC8gmw/s320/lotw+banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730950644048123554" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />This week Chaos learned about the Letter T.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8tXTPSV0gy8AlK8JQcOyvn4XQkBYPkh7-HDUB6NGTiUQ-UguuVGZEEUD3naNsEcC6w8DlOZz9dMwOyaD-xcoARSCbP7xrw7nqAFni0xDfi_pF3fMoCVxv7zwon7BXcskT7aqdVM_MFs/s1600/Taxi+T+letter+of+the+week.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8tXTPSV0gy8AlK8JQcOyvn4XQkBYPkh7-HDUB6NGTiUQ-UguuVGZEEUD3naNsEcC6w8DlOZz9dMwOyaD-xcoARSCbP7xrw7nqAFni0xDfi_pF3fMoCVxv7zwon7BXcskT7aqdVM_MFs/s320/Taxi+T+letter+of+the+week.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730971025095562898" border="0" /></a><br />We started with our uppercase letter creation - Taxi T!<br /><br />Chaos kept asking to do more, so we put a lot of pages in our Alphabet Binder this week:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71Xb-Kgcqel4Mi3S4Z8KrzqujkiLlWfDmUoTipsdF8ftRvgktc5CYrlikceKJT2oiBlxO5xZpK06yTL66_sW443f2RKr3nuEfhRmEFfC-zCajeSPymqsGVdvNGZyP4IdZkNFEKz9PsSI/s1600/Letter+T+pages.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71Xb-Kgcqel4Mi3S4Z8KrzqujkiLlWfDmUoTipsdF8ftRvgktc5CYrlikceKJT2oiBlxO5xZpK06yTL66_sW443f2RKr3nuEfhRmEFfC-zCajeSPymqsGVdvNGZyP4IdZkNFEKz9PsSI/s320/Letter+T+pages.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730974573262301330" border="0" /></a><br />1. Handprint T (Chaos traced his own hand) - Tiger<br />2. Tactile T - toothpicks. The idea for this craft is <a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://123mytoddlerandme.blogspot.com/2011/12/textile-alphabet-binder.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here at The Active Toddler</span></a> and the letter sheets were <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.quality-kids-crafts.com/educational-printables-alphabet-templates.html">printed from Quality Kids Crafts</a>.<br />3. Color by Letter. The sheet is from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.education.com/slideshow/hidden-picture-color-letters/color-hidden-b-kindergarten/">here at Education.com</a>.<br />4. Letter T maze (Chaos loved this even though it was a bit hard for him). This worksheet is also from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.education.com/slideshow/letter-mazes-z/letter-maze-o-kindergarten/">Education.com</a>.<br />5. Color by Number from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/ABCColorbyNumber.html">here at 1+1+1=1</a><br />6. Animal T coloring sheet from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.education.com/slideshow/color-animal-alphabet/Color_Letter_A/">here at Education.com</a><br />7. Triangle art page. The idea for this page came from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://kidscount1234.com/alphabetartbook.html">here at Kidscount1234.com</a><br />8. Taxi T uppercase letter creation<br /><br />Chaos has been asking to write his letters so I laminated some tracing sheets for him. He thought this was okay, but still prefers to write on the magnadoodle.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACmf6yF_rFpGo3vyeY3jUsjkef0TCf-7Uoi3mc5hm0ZLTKry67A_8cR5FPIC8Iv0j1e32EJYN7bv529FlI9hRawzU07ImSfKjlu7pwm_yBlrEadnozs34vyUxh06WehalOt6ei_ab0b0/s1600/letter+t+tracing.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACmf6yF_rFpGo3vyeY3jUsjkef0TCf-7Uoi3mc5hm0ZLTKry67A_8cR5FPIC8Iv0j1e32EJYN7bv529FlI9hRawzU07ImSfKjlu7pwm_yBlrEadnozs34vyUxh06WehalOt6ei_ab0b0/s320/letter+t+tracing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731045234037612338" border="0" /></a><br />These adorable letter tracing sheets are a <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.lawteedah.com/2010/09/printables-alphabet-tracing-papers.html">free printable from Lawteedah</a>.<br /><br />We also worked on letter searches from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/01/k4-letter-hunt-worksheets.html">COAHS</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.education.com/slideshow/find-letter-a-z-nursery-rhyme/find-a-nursery-rhyme-kindergarten/">Education.com</a>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAS38U_fFWfsTbSSe1x_KGjBA6trFaZOwlIgx2clIhihxF2qsYM9aMyEVbwrB4USFXixi_-OzHWGu7MlA6Q-e4PzsQR2fBN8LC2SW0TGlO8od2fx1gif04Vs4cEyxPMYd_PGBwpFdAgQ/s1600/letter+find.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAS38U_fFWfsTbSSe1x_KGjBA6trFaZOwlIgx2clIhihxF2qsYM9aMyEVbwrB4USFXixi_-OzHWGu7MlA6Q-e4PzsQR2fBN8LC2SW0TGlO8od2fx1gif04Vs4cEyxPMYd_PGBwpFdAgQ/s320/letter+find.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731045238891838242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We used our alphabet cookie cutters with our <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-playdough-with-koolaid.html">homemade playdoh</a>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0yUtXUGPs8xFuF67a89H34G7RKs_RoFXYySYjmHRTV83OFzpz6Y76jDiyUZLjbkPuXRNZhKR8GqFeN1c9XkfwcsJYtt8MtUtEWmmNTp37ZqOkk5ZfG55UuTdBRJe6Ig-sWAQwpD8r0s/s1600/playdoh+letter+of+the+week.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0yUtXUGPs8xFuF67a89H34G7RKs_RoFXYySYjmHRTV83OFzpz6Y76jDiyUZLjbkPuXRNZhKR8GqFeN1c9XkfwcsJYtt8MtUtEWmmNTp37ZqOkk5ZfG55UuTdBRJe6Ig-sWAQwpD8r0s/s320/playdoh+letter+of+the+week.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730971015482947842" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYs7nAQhurhmv5lpDWVM7a1xxgF1q4LgPTkaBvY2unacC1PIowJ0uQP9QWOJwZ5Z92ybRILaeX3N70XG_TBvvwu23XYj4TJmY0e42u2cVXPxfmBPZLYQkh26IRIPkE0r7MFfhJ6T2AfV4/s1600/playdoh+letter+of+the+week+2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYs7nAQhurhmv5lpDWVM7a1xxgF1q4LgPTkaBvY2unacC1PIowJ0uQP9QWOJwZ5Z92ybRILaeX3N70XG_TBvvwu23XYj4TJmY0e42u2cVXPxfmBPZLYQkh26IRIPkE0r7MFfhJ6T2AfV4/s320/playdoh+letter+of+the+week+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730971017365476882" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We played with Chaos's Hot Dots Jr. this week too. We have the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K9BWA4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=camp03c-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004K9BWA4">Getting Ready For School set</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=camp03c-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004K9BWA4" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" border="0" height="1" width="1" /> and used the "Learn Your Alphabet" and "Uppercase and Lowercase Letters" cards. He did very well with these.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEqMQC-nBGnlaLfjqTHp8D16efHVlV8R7r1gS2cqIg8ONN_jxrXPttCvcqP5KjgKjh1cwShLnneW8xMqft-zhfcYPPvfdU6OYZGqpSVMhM377ZFAo7vK0V5UCmiJO2Lz1vYqdkYWcnhI/s1600/letter+of+the+week+hot+dots.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfEqMQC-nBGnlaLfjqTHp8D16efHVlV8R7r1gS2cqIg8ONN_jxrXPttCvcqP5KjgKjh1cwShLnneW8xMqft-zhfcYPPvfdU6OYZGqpSVMhM377ZFAo7vK0V5UCmiJO2Lz1vYqdkYWcnhI/s320/letter+of+the+week+hot+dots.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731365245500461746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The favorite activity of the week was the Letter T Discovery box. I found the idea<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2008/07/letter-of-the-week-t-t.html"> here at No Time for Flashcards</a> and modified it a bit. I gave Chaos a bin and had him search the house for "T" items to put in it. We had a lot of fun talking about our "treasures."<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXxqV0w_7JNijeqQsQj0BZwOxeMWW44RhZbyUvOb_18Ljl_JPct2N5BfjU1sCn_L0PcUpiH-uJQvzqvUbDMHQSlUut2Nt3Q0_l5bZtWKW3-_mCtfKT1gmm7yFx5e-OU6IbZaND-dGx9w/s1600/letter+t+discovery+box.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXxqV0w_7JNijeqQsQj0BZwOxeMWW44RhZbyUvOb_18Ljl_JPct2N5BfjU1sCn_L0PcUpiH-uJQvzqvUbDMHQSlUut2Nt3Q0_l5bZtWKW3-_mCtfKT1gmm7yFx5e-OU6IbZaND-dGx9w/s320/letter+t+discovery+box.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731376417181046594" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One of Chaos's search results - a tissue, tea cup, toothbrush, tiger, table, triangle, toilet paper roll, and Thomas the Train.</span><br /><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" id="Player_c27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb" height="175px" width="500px"> <param name="movie" value="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fcamp03c-20%2F8010%2Fc27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fcamp03c-20%2F8010%2Fc27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_c27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_c27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="175px" width="500px" align="middle"></embed></object> <noscript><a href="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fcamp03c-20%2F8010%2Fc27775f4-61a7-429f-b4e9-b19ec87e5ccb&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</a></noscript><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWNFZDLGhP5q_m4DzMSGD484nCkE9TgaZL6w1Rx34J_L0sPDKbf_iHqBnpZqPLOfRfEIBjdKmTQ9-KNVIwG2TX4bJECkU06cKzmKk_pyQIWe9Iidx55MfNtIBskkDz0Qs-hHTqW3sujk/s1600/bfiar+banner.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWNFZDLGhP5q_m4DzMSGD484nCkE9TgaZL6w1Rx34J_L0sPDKbf_iHqBnpZqPLOfRfEIBjdKmTQ9-KNVIwG2TX4bJECkU06cKzmKk_pyQIWe9Iidx55MfNtIBskkDz0Qs-hHTqW3sujk/s320/bfiar+banner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730950646726470866" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />For our second "row" Wild One and I read Goodnight Moon.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLU_7pCsvSGVZIRJBclcoG53kApJ_HgQQglkfscTVIocVCiQRamL43GlbWk9MpIVuGZzJn3t3W1BTJ1tKXap2OWBJ_J8TqExGlnsZnnjHjxiyiIWm1IkwJYpFEn93QTNfLO33Vd2xCEic/s1600/goodnightmoon.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLU_7pCsvSGVZIRJBclcoG53kApJ_HgQQglkfscTVIocVCiQRamL43GlbWk9MpIVuGZzJn3t3W1BTJ1tKXap2OWBJ_J8TqExGlnsZnnjHjxiyiIWm1IkwJYpFEn93QTNfLO33Vd2xCEic/s320/goodnightmoon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731043673495033026" border="0" /></a><br />She really enjoyed this book, and I loved that she would say goodnight to every object in the room ' "Night-night chairs! Night Night bears!" She also insisted on counting the three bears each and every time we read the book.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZG52iIZy2kRwhx2hW9CBfzUHZQ7o6t0juiLcWM8A4XBwvak680uJMdJ_-3Ok5Bvjzm4hxb6BdpwO70w9tM-Y8LENsStWtiAO5GbVKxknRN02focw2IAhNoXF3mm7OYaNF2epe-poFSc/s1600/goodnight+moon+dramatic+play.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZG52iIZy2kRwhx2hW9CBfzUHZQ7o6t0juiLcWM8A4XBwvak680uJMdJ_-3Ok5Bvjzm4hxb6BdpwO70w9tM-Y8LENsStWtiAO5GbVKxknRN02focw2IAhNoXF3mm7OYaNF2epe-poFSc/s320/goodnight+moon+dramatic+play.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731407066990996850" border="0" /></a><br />After we read it a few times, I set up a baby bed for her doll and we had fun putting baby to bed. Wild One really loves playing with dolls so this was an activity we did a LOT this week.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFZDNNY3kL0YMjv6AuSGwGJRlz9K9sfq64755KITO9a_EzZ67Fg2ccD1y6uOuXVpJMh_Nr7e_OIxJo-FZRnHMwE5fWoUyYCIn4qw0DRUb3YsQMzDbI2cp-lCAnHX0ZCCaBeftHNnv0G4/s1600/goodnight+moon+craft.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLFZDNNY3kL0YMjv6AuSGwGJRlz9K9sfq64755KITO9a_EzZ67Fg2ccD1y6uOuXVpJMh_Nr7e_OIxJo-FZRnHMwE5fWoUyYCIn4qw0DRUb3YsQMzDbI2cp-lCAnHX0ZCCaBeftHNnv0G4/s320/goodnight+moon+craft.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731365243040055842" border="0" /></a><br />Next we made a moon craft with<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://iheartcraftythings.blogspot.com/2011/07/story-time-happy-birthday-moon-creating.html"> instructions from I Heart Crafty Things</a>. We added silver glitter glue for stars. All of the kids had fun with project (especially when they found out glitter was involved!).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsgGR2CnBVid12blmyL6lwiZjSnRkZA_OK5oWoFaXfRrYzXORY1wEKsh3Ji1pAif_KvZku1qsx-PxUQgyFEOLumWhW35c7XiPCeGCOseOO3_b313yItpzbpnOtkUEegQJTL8r9NNmlx4/s1600/red+balloon+goodnight+moon.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRsgGR2CnBVid12blmyL6lwiZjSnRkZA_OK5oWoFaXfRrYzXORY1wEKsh3Ji1pAif_KvZku1qsx-PxUQgyFEOLumWhW35c7XiPCeGCOseOO3_b313yItpzbpnOtkUEegQJTL8r9NNmlx4/s320/red+balloon+goodnight+moon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731402845542326114" border="0" /></a><br />Finally, we had some fun playing with a red balloon!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuh8KSiV_lvte4upSJJikXH1Q60xEDg87kj7ELxZhC6ZggTUUibjE6SepRaFYCxGvWzeYsfZgjddmEnH8b0Eu-x1vvPGAgLVuRhboJV4-ZNEDq5_YAqUs6pJI4QyG6XuvP3emE1uk-Nk/s1600/after+school+adventures.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuh8KSiV_lvte4upSJJikXH1Q60xEDg87kj7ELxZhC6ZggTUUibjE6SepRaFYCxGvWzeYsfZgjddmEnH8b0Eu-x1vvPGAgLVuRhboJV4-ZNEDq5_YAqUs6pJI4QyG6XuvP3emE1uk-Nk/s320/after+school+adventures.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5730950639412290770" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Pinky and I started our after school adventure by reading a book by one of my favorite authors: Bear Shadow by Frank Asch.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRslRh64V_KGsln2Fhdn4v5JZreCAE0EOS7FOV_3_Q-_jr4l1xBK5wBar1CUT1Ruw0JhG2h81jVQ6ThiKA5UzVYMsO9RcgVrqbZV-nOeyE-pT7n73Bwfr8fRiI9AB7UFHrHwoO33aTuco/s1600/bear+shadow.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRslRh64V_KGsln2Fhdn4v5JZreCAE0EOS7FOV_3_Q-_jr4l1xBK5wBar1CUT1Ruw0JhG2h81jVQ6ThiKA5UzVYMsO9RcgVrqbZV-nOeyE-pT7n73Bwfr8fRiI9AB7UFHrHwoO33aTuco/s320/bear+shadow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731043672116287890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The book led to a discussion about why we have shadows.<br /><br />To get a basic understanding of shadows, we read What Makes a Shadow?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3leuPRxY-NDjNQn_vGfpFPyGe_FE9WSJL2Ry1Ie72M2-XYvz32dicVWRrWBYMCUYW9H6Muy0gD5GX59O30U_a2Ioym4lUR3YxT86AuZUa7miUm4ju03HIdZ5eR_IHymhyphenhyphenYIyX2ejY64/s1600/what+makes+a+shadow.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3leuPRxY-NDjNQn_vGfpFPyGe_FE9WSJL2Ry1Ie72M2-XYvz32dicVWRrWBYMCUYW9H6Muy0gD5GX59O30U_a2Ioym4lUR3YxT86AuZUa7miUm4ju03HIdZ5eR_IHymhyphenhyphenYIyX2ejY64/s320/what+makes+a+shadow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731043675174204146" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We tried a few of the experiments in the book. First, we used a flashlight and a stuffed animal to predict where the shadow would be (in front, to the side, behind, etc). We moved the flashlight around to see how the shadow moved.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ764tqB88Orl0U_JRz6AG-gFHErbQ_9PbJlMJhpE1rgeK-ygysOdVleuXwbfxLq9Nb0Tzbrtz6CU-qmSZlH9M2gdir0DH0LOqxCTQfKIO8qh9b-LfS6NY4z1sLzh15faX-FqjYi80EU/s1600/shadow+experiment.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNZ764tqB88Orl0U_JRz6AG-gFHErbQ_9PbJlMJhpE1rgeK-ygysOdVleuXwbfxLq9Nb0Tzbrtz6CU-qmSZlH9M2gdir0DH0LOqxCTQfKIO8qh9b-LfS6NY4z1sLzh15faX-FqjYi80EU/s320/shadow+experiment.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731365245518328114" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Next, we shined the flashlight through objects with different opaqueness and predicted if the shadow would be dark or light. We used a paper towel, a sheet of vellum and construction paper, and a book. We talked about why some of the shadows were lighter (more light could shine through the vellum and paper towel). <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> I tried, but could not get a decent picture of this activity.</span><br style="font-style: italic;"></span><br />Finally, for some shadow fun, we made our own shadow puppet theater. I used the<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/cereal-box-shadow-theater/"> tutorial at minieco.co.uk</a> to make a theater from a cereal box. I cut a few landscape shapes from cardstock to set the scene.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-GFz2MbZR7KqRg_5uwqO_3mHEIzmeTem1hQ-bDC26Q_v-ffC3YECKey3nkowBkAJRO917debKFNbAIL1UJkp_05E9qdhFHoFH0BCA1ETiexM6QDfpBeRKCOq8wiCWzai6is3G6utPmg/s1600/shadow+puppet+theater.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-GFz2MbZR7KqRg_5uwqO_3mHEIzmeTem1hQ-bDC26Q_v-ffC3YECKey3nkowBkAJRO917debKFNbAIL1UJkp_05E9qdhFHoFH0BCA1ETiexM6QDfpBeRKCOq8wiCWzai6is3G6utPmg/s320/shadow+puppet+theater.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5731042831246863858" border="0" /></a><br />Instead of cutting out characters (which would be easy to do with your Cricut and some black cardstock) we used Star Wars figurines. We really had a lot of fun with this project, and I encourage you to give it a try. You may be surprised at how creative you kids can be while telling a story (and learning something too!).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://campslop.blogspot.com/2011/04/kid-link-parties.html" style="color: #009900; font-weight: bold;">Linking up to some of these great parties</a><br /></div><br /><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54489/88/655ACB6B329ED55A420A2270C3156840.png" style="border: 0 !important; background: transparent;" />Heather @ Camp Slophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13690055557299574645noreply@blogger.com5