Learning is an Adventure!

Learning is an Adventure!

Developed by Leslie Davis, as part of a team project with Sandy Lieberman and Maria Praslin

Overview

	You, the parent, are your child's first and most important teacher! Every time you are involved in a conversation, activity, or just sitting quietly holding hands with your child, they are learning from you. They can learn that they are loved and loveable, valued and valuable, intelligent and capable. Every moment becomes a "teachable moment," that is, an instant opportunity to share an important piece of you with your child.
	Here are some activities, listed by skill area, to give you some ideas to turn those teachable moments into true, fun learning adventures.
	Point the arrow to a "hyperlink" (one of the underlined words like "Overview") and click the left mouse button to find your first learning area.
	This is an activity for students and parents to share.

Cognitive

(List contributed by Maria Praslin, classmate, teacher and collaborative group member)

Visual Skills: Match and sort by color shape and size

1. Help your child identify basic shapes.

2. Help your child identify colors.

3. Go on a shape walk (Be triangle detectives).

4. Cut out shapes from a magazine (make a shape collage).

5. Have child trace various shapes (talk about them).

6. Draw & cut out paper shapes.

7. Play Color/Shape Bingo game.

8. Cut out colors from magazines (make a color collage).

9. Describe a shape and have child guess what shape it is.

10. Sort buttons by color or shape.

11. Sort M&M’s, Gummy Bears, toys, clothing etc.

12. Help your child complete a number dot to dot.

13. Help you child complete an alphabet dot to dot.

14. Draw a pattern & have your child copy it.

15. Help your child make a chain link pattern using colored paper.

16. Look in refrigerator & have child find two containers that are empty and two that are full.

17. Look around the house and find three things that are heavy & light.

18. Choose two pieces of clothing & have child tell how are they are alike and not alike.

19. Do puzzles with your child.

Number Sense Skills: Recognize, count, match & write numbers.

Have child trace numbers 1-20.
Write numbers 1-10 on little pieces of paper. Mix them up & have child put them in order.
Count buttons on a shirt/ sweater.
Count objects around the house.
Practice counting 1-20 orally.
Practice counting small objects one at a time to 20.
Sequence objects in order from big to small.
Play Number Bingo.
Mix several types of beans/pasta in a bowl and have child sort them into jars or cups.
Have your child match numbers with same # of objects.
Have child put # cards in order.
Form numbers using play dough.
Help child to learn telephone number.
Use flash cards to practice numbers.

Alphabet Knowledge Skill: Recognize letters

Help child make alphabet flashcards.
Cut out letters from magazines.
Have child trace his/her name.
Have child name letters in his/her name.
Write & cut apart child’s name, have child put in order.
Write child’s name really big & have child glue cereal/bans on it.
Trace letters in salt.
Trace letters in shaving cream.
Help child match upper/lowercase letters.
Play Alphabet Bingo.
Have child write his/her first & last name.
Form letters using play dough.
Use flashcards to practice letters.
Write some favorite letters.
Practice writing the alphabet.
Eat alphabet cookies (say letter before eating it).

Speech and Language Development

Written Language:

Read books together
Make lists, e.g. grocery, To Do, favorite things, ingredients, fruits, animals etc
Notice and read signs along the highway
Write your child a letter; help them read it.
Read a newspaper or magazine. Circle all the letters in your child's name.
Use magnet letters to make words on the refrigerator words
Read coupons and match them to the products on the shelves.
Help your child write a letter to someone special.
Read the cereal box with your child at breakfast.
Use a spiral bound notebook to start a journal.
Name the letters on the license plate in front of you while you're driving
Write letters on the sidewalk with chalk
Draw letters on your child's back with your finger. Have them guess what you're drawing
Take pictures, mount them in an album and write a description or story.
Read a special book, such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and write a personal "rewrite" with your child as the main character
Practice writing the names of family members
Choose a favorite stuffed animal; take it along on outings, then write about its adventures.
Label boxes of toys in your child's room.
Have your child help you sort and read the mail.
Have a special event. Make invitations together

Oral Language Development

Sing the ABC song
Give 2 or 3 directions, like sit on the chair, put on some gloves, turn in a circle, smile, etc. See if they can remember and complete them.
Take turns telling stories with a beginning, middle and end.
How many things can your child tell you about a given topic, such as dogs, or shoes, or trees?
Say familiar phrases in a new way. For example, I'm hungry, I want food, I need to eat, etc.
Describe a drawing or painting using colorful, expressive terms.
Name all the body parts. Remember wrists, knuckles, shins, etc.
Cut the fingers off an old glove; add faces and details to make finger puppets. Tell stories.
Use wooden spoons as microphones. Take turns interviewing each other.
Choose 2 items. Describe how they're alike or different.
Learn a nursery rhyme. Talk about the rhyming words. Are there any others that rhyme?
Play a silly name game, substituting the first letter of your child's name. E.g. Austin, Boston, Foist. Make it into a silly song.
Play I'm thinking of something…….. Then describe attributes of an object for your child to guess.
Hide something in a bag. Give three or 4 clues and have your child guess what it is.
Play a listening game. Have your child close their eye sand try to guess while you make different sounds around the house, like running water.
Cut pictures out of old magazines. Have your child put them into categories, such as clothing, furniture, fruits, etc.
Play the Go Together Game. Sort objects into groups, e.g. toothpaste & toothbrush, comb & brush, etc. Discuss why they go together.
Talk about a task, such as feeding the dog. What do you do first, next, last?
Have your child look around the room, and then close their eyes. Move something, such as a sofa cushion. Can your child tell what's different?
Make simple homemade instruments, such as rubber bands around an empty tissue box guitar. Make up songs to sing and play.

Sensory Motor Skills

(List contributed by Sandy Lieberman, classmate, teacher and collaborative group member)

Fine Motor/Art

Puzzles with knobs
Sequential puzzles
Pegs, peg boards, and pattern cards
Lotto games (commercial or homemade)
Pictures and objects for classification activities
Shape-sorting box
Cubes and pattern cards
String beads
Play with chalk on side walk
Paint
Nesting cups
Shape-sorting box
Snap blocks
Lacing boards
Play dough
Stacking toys
Pull toys
Blocks
Busy Box
Roly poly chime ball
Busy surprise box
Chalk board and chalk
Coloring books

Screw tops on bottles
Rice pouring - plastic utensils, cans, spoons
Water pouring - in bath or outside. Plastic cups and bottles, all sizes and shapes
Fisher Price toys …. House, garage, castle, and farm
Wooden work bench and hammer
Manipulatives such as Lego, Lincoln Logs, etc.
Cutting paper with a scissor
Coffee cans

A. Straight clothespins put along edge

B. Put lids on and off

C. Put blocks in them and empty out

D. Three different sizes used for learning about size difference

Gross Motor

Jump ropes
Bikes/tricycles
Scooter boards
Horizontal ladders
Wooden stairs
Rocking boat
Balls (varied sizes) roll, throw, bounce, kick, and catch
Bean bags toss
Wagons, wheelbarrows
Low balance beams
Old tires
Large boxes
Tunnel
Movement record
Running, jumping, hopping, and skipping
Neighborhood walks

Social - Emotional

(Group generated list)

1. Help with house hold chores (simple)

2. Putting on/taking off own clothes

3. Cooperative games--taking turns, mutual building, puzzle making

4. Leader and follower games

5. Give a minimum of 4 hugs every day!

6. Discuss possible alternatives to life's little dilemmas

7. Look, smile, or make silly faces at each other in a mirror.

8. Discuss feelings like happy, sad, angry, uncertain, afraid, etc. Talk about how to handle them.

9. Recognize and comment on your child's attempts, even if they fall short.

10. Learn more about your child's current and future developmental stages and milestones. http://www.investinkids.ca/DisplayContent.aspx?name=ages_and_stages&audience=parents

Community and Global awareness

Explore familiar and new places on a local town or city map.
Save recyclables and make a visit to a local recycler. Donate the money to charity.
Do something kind for a neighbor
Introduce yourself to someone you do not know yet.
Practice saying "hello" or "thank you" in as many languages as possible. http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/
How many countries have flags colored red, white and blue? http://www.photius.com/flags/alphabetic_list.html
Get a small globe in your home
Find a pen pal from another country
Send a cheerful greeting to a distant relative
Acknowledge different viewpoints by beginning sensitive statements with, "here in our home, we believe….."

Where to Take Your Children in California

Southern California (Sandy Lieberman and Maria Praslin)

Parks

WorldWeb.com

1. Irvine Ranch Land Reserve

Irvine Regional Park
Mason Regional Park
Peters Canyon Regional Park
Round Canyon
Bommer Canyon
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
Eisenhower Park
Irvine Regional Park
Orange County Zoo
Santa Ana Zoo
Santiago Oaks Regional Part
Adventure City Stanton
Balboa Fun Zone Belmont Park San Diego
California Adventure Anaheim
Castle Park Riverside
Disneyland Anaheim
Knott's Berry Farm Buena Park
Lego land Carlsbad
Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia
Pacific Park Santa Monica
Pharaohs Lost Kingdom Amusement and Water Park Redlands
Sea World San Diego
Universal Studios Hollywood Universal City
Raging waters San Dimas
Knott's "Soak City" Water Park Buena Park
City of Fontana/Jurupa Park
City of Vista The Wave Water Park
White Water Canyon San Diego
Wild Rivers Water Park Irvine

Multicultural Places to Visit (Maria Praslin)

African American Museum, Exposition Park, L.A. www.caam.ca.gov
Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena www.armoryarts.org
Avila Adobe at El Pueblo, Los Angeles
California Heritage Museum, Santa Monica www.californiaheritagemuseum.org
China Town, Los angeles
Chinese American Museum, Los Angeles www.camla.org
Craft & folk Art Museum, Los Angeles www.cafam.org
Fowler Museum of Culture, UCLA
Heritage Square Museum, L.A. www.heritage.square.museum
Huntington Art Library & Gardens
Japanese Gardens, Encino
Japanese American National Museum www.janm.org
LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
La Purisima Mission, Lompoc
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
Museum of the American West, Griffith Park www.autrynationalcenter.org
Museum of Contemporary Art, L.A. www.moca.org
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
Museum of Tolerance, L.A. www.museumoftolerance.com
Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena www.pacificasiamuseum.org
Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center, L.A. www.plazaraza.org
San Gabriel Mission, San Gabriel
Southwest Museum, L.A. www.southwestmuseum.org
Zimmerman Museum, L.A.

Family friendly adventures on California's Central Coast

http://www.centralcoastkids.com

http://locallinks.com/things_to_do.htm

http://www.pasoroblesdowntown.org/

http://www.visitslo.com/ecm/What_Is_There_To_Do/Family_Activities.html

Conclusion

Below are 2 choices for adding a page about your special adventure to our class Learning Adventure Journal. Decide if you will do a special activity together at home, or visit a special place. Ask your teacher for the activity page that goes with your choice. Also, if you would like, our special adventure bear can join you!

Journal Page One

Journal Page Two