Deirdre, Author at JDaniel4s Mom

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as a elementary school and technology resource teacher in Northern Virginia, she became a stay at home mom in upstate South Carolina. Her blog features ways she and her 5 year old are exploring learning, crafting, creating healthy meals and living life to its fullest. Deirdre can also be found on twitter as @jdaniel4smom and on her blog's FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

{Christmas Math Activity} Number Tally Match

December 9, 2013 By Deirdre

$Christmas Math- Activity Number Tally$ JDaniel’s school is focusing the Common Core. One the Common core math skills he has been working on recognizing numbers via tally marks. Since gingerbread cookies are favorites at my house around the holidays, we recently worked on a Christmas math activity that has us matching numbers on pretend gingerbread cookies.

How to Put Together This Christmas Math Activity

I placed numbers on several brown cookie shape cutout I made by tracing the outline of cookie cutters. I then outlined the shapes with white crayon to create a frosting like edge. Several paper cut outs were made of each shape. I placed a set of tally marks on one of each shape. Various numbers were placed on the remaining cutouts of that shape. Only one of the numbers matched the one with the tall marks.

$Christmas Math- Activity Number Tally$

We placed foil on a old cookie tray and the matching started. It look a little bit of time to sort through the numbers. Once the number cookies had been laid out, he quickly matched them.

JDaniel is now five and in kindergarten. Young children would probably have found this more challenging. What he and I both worked on with this activity verbally explaining why the numbers matched. I just love to hear how he explains things. He was able to explain how each stick represents a part of the number. The total number of sticks equals the whole numberWhen we had finished matching cookies, I had him put them in number order from the biggest number to the smallest. Then we arranged the numbers in reverse.

The number cookies with both numeral and tally mark displays could be used in many other ways.

Sort even and odd numbers
Create addition sentences
Create subtraction sentences
Play “I Spy The Number”
Show me the number before
Show me the number after

You will find this Christmas math activity and many more on my Early Learning Math board on Pinterest.

$Christmas Math- Activity Number Tally$
How else could I use these number cookies?

Homemade Christmas Cards- Old Card Stencils

December 6, 2013 By Deirdre

The holidays can be a crazy and busy time of year. There just doesn’t seem to be the time to enjoy small family moments. We have to plan many of them in advance or create a Christmas bucket list of them so they won’t be forgotten. Knowing when we will put up our Christmas tree and work on homemade Christmas cards actually seems to help my family savor the moments rather than rush to complete them so we can move on to something else.

Previous years my son and I had time during weekdays to get some of our bucket list items done or to sit and craft. Since he has started kindergarten and I have gone back to work it is been more challenging. There are only so many hours in a day that we are awake and together much less to sit at the kitchen table and craft.

Homemade Christmas Cards- Old Card Stencils

I recently had some unplanned time think over crafts and projects I wanted to do for Christmas. Over the Thanksgiving break my son and husband went to spend the holiday with his family. My sister Shell and I spend the holiday with my mom at the hospital. (She is at this writing is still seriously ill) While I sat at her bedside, I worked on a list of Christmas themed projects to do with my son.

While she wasn’t able to chat with me, I chatted with her about what I was doing and projects she had made for Christmas.

Our tree growing up was filled with milk weed seedpod ornaments painted gold with tiny plastic holiday themed creatures in them. She made door decorations and put together very unique and special wreaths. I think it was due to seeing her crafting when I was little that I craft today. Because I craft today my son has learned to enjoy creating things with his hands.

My guys got back on Saturday and I started working on a homemade Christmas card stencil project that I had come up with while sitting by my mom’s bedside. JDaniel had I have the best time making cards for my mom. They are not fancy or even keeping to one Christmas theme. They are special because we made them together. Taking the time to sit and work on Christmas projects despite a busy schedule means we will have Christmas memory or Holiday “MOMent” to carry forward.

Snowman card is the one I made and the one JDaniel is touching is his.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

You will find more Homemade Christmas cards and other Christmas crafts on my Crafts for Kids board on Pinterest.

What is one of your Mom moments? Have you ever made homemade Christmas cards?

Displaying Restaurant Manners

December 4, 2013 By Deirdre

Two weekends ago I went a friend’s birthday party at a very nice restaurant not far from my house. I don’t go to very nice restaurants very often so, I was excited about getting dressed up to go out. Our group was set to sit in a section of the restaurant that had room for large tables.

Just to in front of our long table sat a family sitting at two large round tables. One table was obliviously the kid’s table. There were eight children from the age of four to about nine sitting there. I was amazed at how quietly the children sat the table. They got up to visit their parents and grandparents at their table from time to time, but for the most part they stayed at their table. The joked around a little, but not too much. The friend sitting next to me commented that they must have a lot of practice in sitting nicely at the dinner table of nice restaurants. JDaniel doesn’t have a lot of practice. I think he might have forgotten to use an indoor voice from time to time.
Behind us were three rows long tables. They remained empty for about 45 minutes. Then they filled with a large group of fraternity brothers and their date. The guys wore ties and their dates wore pretty cocktail dresses. I wish I could say that they acted like the grown up version of the children sitting at the children’s table in front of me.

They were loud. Two guys shouted back and forth down the table the most up to date sport scores as they read off their smart phones. Loud teasing was tossed from table to table. Not everyone was loud and rude, but they ones that were out shined the quiet ones.

As dinner went on the children sat quietly and visited more with the adults in their family. The college students remained loud and after a while started stumbling to the bathroom. I was told not to go near the bathroom by one of my friends. The floor near the bathroom stalls was awash with sticky and slimy substances.

Somewhere near the end of the evening I bent my head in prayer. I sent praise for the parents that had done such a good job getting their children restaurant ready. I sent petitions for the college students from a very good private college needed to work on their restaurant manners. I prayed that my husband and I would help JDaniel be restaurant ready as a child and later as an adult.

I know that he may try different thing in college, but I sure hope and pray that he doesn’t leave napkins on the floor along with silverware or sit on the edge of a table tipping it forward so glasses on it smash to the floor. That if he chooses to drink that he will do so responsibly. Having people get to see him stagger through a restaurant or rant about a manager who had cut him off from alcohol purchases is not something anyone needs to see.

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday.

Christmas Activity – Balancing Pom-Pom Tree

December 2, 2013 By Deirdre

Green colored craft sticks of various lengths glued symmetrically onto a green craft stick make a wonderful Christmas tree craft and a science experiment. Yes, a science experiment. We could have simply glued the stick together and then glued pom-poms on the trees branches. We could have, but we didn’t.

What I did ask JDaniel to do was to try to pick up tiny pom-pom is chopsticks that were strapped together with a rubber band. When a pom-pom was gripped between the chopsticks, I asked him to try to put a pom-pom on each branch.

Getting the pom-pom to balance on the sticks wasn’t easy. If you placed them down just a little bit off they fell onto the table. It took a lot fine motor work to pick up the pom-pom and release it onto just the area of each branch. We found if the pom-pom was held near the bottom of the chopsticks it had a shorter distance to fall to was more likely to stay on the branch. If the pom-pom was too far up, we risked having it bounce off the branch and onto the table.

Christmas Activity- Balancing Pom Poms

How did we make the tree?

Cut each of four color popsicle stick in descending lengths with a sharp tool.( I used a hand held pruning tool.) We had a 2 inch stick, a 3 inch stick, a 4 inch stick, and a five inch sticks.
The sticks were lined up on a full length stick horizontally.
When we thought they were symmetrical, the sticks were glued into place.
The tree was left to dry for a few minutes while we wrapped the rubber band around the chopsticks.
Small pom-poms were placed in a cup while the tree was drying.
Then we started the balancing activity. As I mentioned, this Christmas activity was a little tricky. It took a lot of focus and finger control to balance pom-poms on a tree. The branches sit on the fulcrum base and can wiggle.

Sight Word Christmas Tree

November 29, 2013 By Deirdre

Sight Word Christmas Tree

Being able to build a sight word what you have learned to read is important to building an understanding of the word’s sounds and letters. Recently JDaniel and I sat down to build a sight word Christmas tree.

We started by cutting out the trunk and four tiered levels of green for the Christmas tree with green and brown paper. The tree was then glued to a piece of black construction paper.

I had gone through JDaniel’s current list of sight words and created Christmas tree balls with the letters to build several of the words. I didn’t try to create letters for just the number of words needed to fill the tree. Letter balls were created that would build many of the words on his list. JDaniel would get to select what words he wanted on the tree. Each group of lettered Christmas balls was placed in its own silicone cup so, he would be able to locate the letters he wanted easily.

Sight Word Christmas Tree

When all the letters were laid out, JDaniel started building. It was really hard to decide if A or I should go on the top of the tree. He suggested I make a start for the tree featuring the one letter word not selected later on.

Honestly selecting what words to display was harder than trying to spell the words. He can read so many sight words now. The list seems to get longer and longer each week.

We didn’t end up using all the lettered Christmas balls. It looks like we will need to do this activity again. I am totally open to filling the front of the refrigerator with sight word trees. What fun it would be to see all the words JDaniel can read. He is so excited about reading and learning new words. Did I tell you that he has read several books all by himself? He is thrilled when he comes across one of his sight words in a book. It is like finding an old friend.

If you have an emerging or early reader, I think they would love to create a sight word tree too. You might also like the activities pinned on my Learning to Read board on Pinterest

Thankfulness and Joy

November 27, 2013 By Deirdre

When the Indians taught the Pilgrims how to grow maize and live the new land they had moved to, I believe the Pilgrims were filled with thankfulness and joy. Recently JDaniel and I went to Roper Mountain Science Center’s colonial garden. The weather was warm and sunny probably nothing like the November the Pilgrims had. The master gardeners were getting the garden ready for winter and JDaniel happily helped them out.

He spent 30 minutes or more plucking seeds out the wheat grass pods. The master gardeners praised his willingness to work so hard for so long and suggested in consider being a junior master gardener. JDaniel’s chest welled up with pride. He loved hearing that he was good at seed removal. One the gardener decided he needed a reward for all his work. She showed him where slugs are hiding in the drains around the garden. JDaniel helped her gather them with such joy. Slimy creeping creatures may not be something everyone likes to deal with. Sticking his fingers in the the drains to grab a slug or two at a time filled my son will such joy!

The slugs were placed in a can and JDanel was guided to the chicken coop. He pushed the slugs through the fence and the chicken rushed over with thankfulness and joy. It was like they were having their own Thanksgiving feast a few weeks earlier. Some of the other children gathered around the pen wanted to know what he had done to get the opportunity to give the chickens slugs.

After feeding the chickens, we moved on to an area where feed corn was set out for people to take the ears off the cobs. Just has he had with the wheat grass seeds JDaniel start in on the corn with vigor. We both noted that there were various techniques for taking the corn kernels off the cob. There was the twist the cob to get a row of kernels off at a time. There was the flick off one kernel at a time. Finally there were the push it off one row at time.

We had the best time at the farm. There were lots of smiles, giggles, proud moments. I am not sure the Pilgrims or Indians giggled during their Thanksgiving feast. This Thanksgiving I am am giggling as I remember those moments of pride, our joyful smiles and the chickens clutching slugs in their beaks like they were the best food in the world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is linked to Mama’s Losin’ It and Mrs. Matlock.

Science Kids- Exploring Turkey Basters

November 24, 2013 By Deirdre

Playing with kitchen tools and water has been a favorite activity at my house for years. JDaniel used to play with a tub of water while I made dinner when he was little. Now that he has started school there hasn’t been as much time for it. Science is something we can talk and learn about while playing with water. Just last week JDaniel said he had some great ideas for exploring a turkey baster in a roasting pan filled with water. All I need to do was take pictures and listen to his ideas. “This would make a great blog post,” he told me. I decided he was right. I think your science kids will love exploring with turkey basters too.

There are many ways to press on the bulb and make water squirt out I was told. You can press your fist into the bulb with all your might and water will rocket out of the baster.

The bulb can be placed under your chin and squirt the water into the turkey baster. I tried this and found that I didn’t have strong neck muscles. (There must be some exercises I do to get better at this.) It was fun to try though.

This next exploration was fine for our house, but won’t work in a classroom. JDaniel put the tube of the baster in his mouth and blew through it. He was able to create tiny bubbles in the bulb.

When you fill the bulb with water and then squeeze, water will squirt wildly out of it. We found that pressing on the bulb with your thumbs causes the water to fire out the fastest. I also learned to stand back a little.

This was the most innovative turkey baster exploration. JDaniel stuck his thumb up into the bulb to see if water would still flow out of it.If you give your children the opportunity to explore water and fun tools to explore it with, they will come up with fun and innovative way to explore. My science kid loved exploring turkey basters.

You will find more science experiments for your science kids on my Early Learning- Science board on Pinterest. If you are looking for another Thanksgiving science activity, I think you will like our Thanksgiving Science Sink or Float activity.

Science Kids: Dyeing Corn Experiment

November 22, 2013 By Deirdre

We wondered if we dyed popcorn on the outside if the popcorn would be the same color as the outside of the kernel was or would it be white? We also wondered if the dye would seep into the inside of the kernel. These seemed like great questions to find answers to right before Thanksgiving. The pilgrims and Indians are said to have had corn at the first Thanksgiving. Popcorn is made from corn right?

Popcorn was placed into three bowls that already contained a little bit of vegetable oil. JDaniel used a measuring cup to add popcorn kernels to the bowl. Then he used a spoon to stir up the mixture and coat the corn.

When the kernels looked very well coated, JDaniel added food coloring to each cup. We were running low of the red food coloring so, that bowl didn’t get the same amount dye as the others. The mixture in each bowl was then stirred up.

The directions I had read for dyeing popcorn said to add white vinegar to the mixture. We added only a dash to each bowl. Neither of us had any idea what it would make the popped popcorn kernels smell like. We did know that the bowls smelled a little stinky. Maybe it would have been better to put the mixtures into a plastic zipper bag. The bag would have sealed the smell in.

The bowls were set aside overnight in a closed cabinet so, the smell would be contained. We ended up being busy the next day. The mixtures ended up sitting for twenty four hours before we took them out of the cabinet. When we took them out we noticed that the outsides of most of the popcorn kernel were tinted the color of the dye that had been soaking in.

We should have set the kernel onto a paper towel and patted them dry. We didn’t do that. Instead JDaniel scooped up the kernels with a slotted spoon. Most of the liquid dripped off of the kernels, but enough was left on them to make the bag a little bit drippy and messy.

When the kernel had been fully loaded into the paper bag, we folded the top over twice and placed the bag into the microwave. The microwave was set for two minutes and thirty seconds. We watched and listened to bag of corn kernels as they rotated around in the bag.

After the buzzer on the microwave went off, I took out the bag. I thought it would be too hot for JDaniel. There was a slight pink tint on the walls of the microwave. I guess the red corn kernels decided to share their color with the walls. The wall cleaned up quickly with a wet sponge!
Popcorn Dyeing Experiment

The warm bag was placed into a bowl that JDaniel carried to the table. We were both excited to see what the contents of the bag would look like. Would the popcorn be red, green and blue?

I dumped the contents of the bag into the bowl. The puffy section of each kernel was white. The area the white puffs curl around in the center of the puff was still the color we had dyed it.

This led us into a wonderful discussion on surface area. We talked about how the surface area (the outside) of the popcorn pops open and the inside of the kernel becomes the outside. It was fun to see how this happens. Being able to see the remnants of the outer surfaces dyed color really helped JDaniel see that.

It also gave us a yummy afternoon snack tinged of vinegar flavor on it. We added melted margarine and some salt to cover that flavor a little bit.

Dyeing Popcorn turned about to be a wonderful pre-Thanksgiving science experiment. It would be fun to do any time of year I bet.

What book did we read before exploring this science kids dyeing corn experiment?

The Life and Times of Corn. Actually, we read and reread this book. JDaniel was fascinated by corn facts shared in the book.

The Life and Times of Corn cover everything you might want to know about corn. There is a diagram of the plant and all is sections. Different types and colors of corn from about the world. (Who knew there is pink corn!) Ways it was popped through out the years along with ways it is served around the world.

There are so many interesting facts and illustrations it is no wonder that we had to read it several times.

I have decided to ask you to link your posts to the Read.Explore.Learn. Facebook page instead of running a link up. I hope you will stop by and share your children’s book related activities there

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Advent Calendar Ideas – 25 Blessings

November 20, 2013 By Deirdre

25 Blessings Advent Countdown Activities for Kids

Every year my sister Shell sends my son an Advent calendar with chocolate pieces tuck behind its tiny doors. He loves it. JDaniel looks forward to hearing scripture verse behind each door while he is enjoying a piece of milk chocolate every morning. Why not come up with something special for us to do in the evening each night during Advent I thought when the box delivering this year’s Advent calendar arrived. That is when the seed of thought for the Advent activity 25 Blessings started to grow.

I had to think through what I wanted our family to do for our 25 blessings and if it needed to be something beyond offering prayers of Thanksgiving. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided that I would offer up an area or person for us to be thankful for and a list of ways we could show our thanks for that area or person in our lives.

My family has been blessed in so many ways this year along with having many challenges. This year my husband lost his job and went back to school. I searched and searched for a job and found one at a wonderful school in early November. JDaniel started kindergarten and found going to school five days a week full time wasn’t something to dread.

We have been blessed with an amazing family, friends and church that has supported us with prayers, listening ears, and emotional support through the challenges we have encountered with all those changes. They have truly helped us is make it through this year.

There have been troubles with an aging house and cars. Thankfully our immediate family is aging well. (My husband did back issues earlier this year, but it is much better.) Both our mom’s had health scares early in year and seem to be much better now. JDaniel’s fall allergies seem to have disappeared and only his spring ones remain.

Why did I tell you all this before sharing my list? I thought it might help some of the things on my list make more sense.

Advent is truly I time for us remember those blessings and be thankful.

Here is the list of advent calendar ideas or blessings and the day we will be rejoicing and remembering them:

Grandparents health
Births in our family and our church
Family returning from job assignments overseas
Good doctors and healthcare
Wonderful teachers at school
Learning to read
Wonderful coaches in soccer class
Our home
Clean Clothes
Kind neighbors
Friends to play with
Good food to eat
Cars that get us where we need to go
Awesome resources available at the library
Police and firemen that keep us safe.
Clean water to drink
Being able to freely worship
Allergies that seem to be lessening
Opportunity for my husband to learn a new SQL Server Database and Programming
Job for Mom (me)
Wonderful parks to explore and play in
People who remember our family in prayer
Words of encouragement and lessons from the Bible
Amazing friends
Memories of loving and laughing as a family

Here is my list of ways we can celebrate our advent calendar ideas or blessings:

Make a baked good to take to a person on the list we are thankful for.
Draw picture to send to a person on the list we are thankful for.
Send a prayer of thanks
Donate some toys in their name to Miracle Hill
Donate books in their name to the local library
Take food to the food bank
Call a person on the list and give them thanks
Invite a person on our list to do something with our family
Look for someone during the day to do something kind for just as we had kind things done for us
Send a card or e-mail to family remember sharing something we are thankful or to give them thanks
Read a bible verse that talks about that area of thanks
List five things that make that area or person special
Share a special memory about that area or person
State a lesson you have learned from that person or event

You could easily adapt this to your family. Simply sit down and make a list of things you are thankful for or have blessed you. You will have 2 areas or people in no time at all. I tried to include things in the following areas:

Immediate family
Extended family
Health
Neighbors
Community helpers
Church members
Events that happened this year
Ways our basic needs have been met

Then all you need to do is come up with ways you want to rejoice in those blessings or advent calendar ideas. You are more than welcome to use our list of ways.

I printed out our blessings and ways to celebrate onto an envelope and index cards. They could have simply been written out.

Will you join me in this Advent activity of counting down 25 blessing?

{Five Little Turkeys} Stick Puppets and Rhyme

November 18, 2013 By Deirdre

Five Little Turkeys Stick Puppets and Song

Have you ever sung the song the Five Little Turkeys with hand print turkey puppets? If you haven’t you, really should. It really is a lot of fun. We did it recently at our house. We put this activity together, because JDaniel loves the Halloween book Five Little Pumpkins .When I clear out the stuffed animals on his bed, I usually find the Five Little Pumpkins under one of them. Finding a Thanksgiving song that was similar and making puppets became a mission of me.

On a pretty day last week, JDaniel and I made turkey hand prints on our deck. I had to be careful not to tickle him as I applied the paint. After a few JDaniel sized turkey had been created, it was mine turn to make a couple. I think he did a better job of pressing his hand down to make a print then I did. I made a few extra turkeys so we could decide which of mine were the best five little turkeys.

We were so fortunate to have warm day. The turkey dried quickly. I think the fact we used washable paint on white drawing paper helped too. Construction paper and acrylic paint seems to take longer to dry. When they hand prints were dry, we added beaks and feet.

Then they were ready to cut out. We also cut out twelve by eight pieces of cardboard from cardboard boxes in our recycling box. The cardboard would be used to make the turkeys a little bit stiffer. A colored popsicle stick was threaded through two horizontal slits I made in the cardboard.(I didn’t think the popsicle stick glued between the hand print turkey and the cardboard would stay in place.

The hand print turkeys were glued onto the cardboard pieces and then cut out. It was a little tricky cutting through the cardboard even though it wasn’t that thick.

When all five little hand print turkey puppets were done. We worked on the rhyme. It was easy to learn its words. Holding the turkey was a challenge. We found that JDaniel needed to hold some and I need to hold others or we needed a tool to help us. The tool we found that worked the best was a chip clip. Two or three turkey could be attached to chip clips and the clips’ handles could easily be held by two hands.

The side of the kitchen table with a white sheet over the back door was a wonderful stage for the five little turkeys to bob up and down and say their rhyme from. We also found the end of the end of a bed and the railing of the deck worked too.

After singing the son a few times, JDaniel took the Thanksgiving decorations of our living room mantle and create a play with the five little turkeys. It was truly amazing.

Here is the Five Little Turkeys rhyme we used:

Five little turkeys standing at the door,
One waddled off, and then there were four.

Four little turkeys sitting near a tree,
One waddled off, and then there were three.

Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
One waddled off, and then there were two.

Two little turkeys in the morning sun,
One waddled off, and then there was one.

One little turkey better run away,
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

If you have the opportunity to make hand print turkey puppets, you may want to think about having them say a Thanksgiving rhyme. Five little turkeys on stick puppets and a Thanksgiving theme rhyme are just plain Thanksgiving fun!