Easy Kids Activity: Tell Me a Story with Magnets

While online gift shopping I came across this nice idea for a storytelling game. "Story cubes" are dice with pictures on them, roll the dice and kids have to make up a story based on the images they rolled. Well of course why buy when you can make your own story telling game. This type of activity is easy and it helps kids build creativity skills, pre-reading skills, and a great way to keep them busy so you can get things done. Like my dinner...



Making dinner can be a challenging time. The Kids like to stay with me in the kitchen so I include them in the cooking whenever I can. But then terse times I need to occupy them. My younger son was playing with his Refrigerator magnets making the pieces "talk" to each other. When I asked a few questions about his story, eureka! A new Kids activity struck me.
We have many, many, many magnets that we have collected through the years. Alphabet letters, Melissa and Doug animals and dinosaur magnets, vacation souvenirs, a farm book with farm animals, and responsibility / rewards chart magnets. I keep things in a storage "just in case bin" or circulate some of these through so we don't get bored with them. This is a sample of the magnets from the fridge. 

Easy Kids Activity: Tell Me a Story Magnets, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

Our Tell Me a Story Game:

1. I grab 3 - 4 magnets from the storage bag and put them in a row on the fridge.

2. We talk about the picture on each magnet.

3. Then the kids "take a minute to think about a story using these 3 magnets." (At first, I had to make up the stories so the kids would get the idea of the game. Since about a dozen times playing, the kids now get more detailed, and very elaborate in their stories. Which may require more "thinking time.")

4. When my younger son is ready, he starts telling me his story.

5. PARENTS NEED TO LISTEN. Even though I am cooking (usually), I always stop to fully listen to the story. Its often short and I can spare the 1-2 minutes it takes him to tell me.

6. Then its moms turn to make up a story. I go last because I have found over time that my son simply imitates my story on his turn and just changes a few things around.

7. Pick new magnets and keep "story telling."




Variations:

-- Sometimes the kids pick their own magnets to use.

-- Or they pick some out for mom to make up a story.

-- Baby girl likes to take the magnets and "act out" her stories. Or she repeats segments of the story like "Roars" when my son said the Lion Roared at the Farmer. She is learning the game early on and will be vary familiar as her vocabulary grows.

-- We often put criteria on the story depending on what new things are happening in our lives. For example we have required many stories to "take place in Japan," when my husband and I were traveling there. Or my son makes the characters repeat an activity he learned in school that day.

The options are endless. We have also made up stories using the action figures we take to the car, and we have even started making up our own endings to the books we read at home. That's been really fun.

I hope we have introduced an easy, low-cost, game that's fun for kids.

Make Mistakes. Breath, Reflect. and Laugh.Out.Loud

Poem: Absent or Called in Sick Today

Absent.  

May, 2011

Older Son

You are "feeling well" today, 

and at home you wanted to stay.

So I called you in sick to school,

Dad would've said: "staying home wasn't cool!"

But as a teenager you won't want to spend,

A moment with me or make amends.

So today what would you to like to do?

Go to a museum or maybe the zoo?

I'll pack a snack, it'll be such fun,

And then we'll take a walk in the sun.

Your only 5 for a limited time,

And I want every minute to be sublime.

So when your 14 I'll leave you alone,

And in my heart I'll have known,

That we spent a day at play,

when I called you in sick to school today!

The Story Behind the Poem:

When it was just my older son and I at home - we went out on outings nearly everyday of the week. Once to a museum, one day to the library story time hour, one day to fetch groceries, and everyday to the park! I loved being out with him. Even after my young son was born, by 6 months we were back going on our outings, the 3 of us. 

So when school started... I MISSED my son soooooo much! Preschools 3-hour schedule was manageable, but after mid year when we transitioned from half-day kindergarten to full day, that was tough. Then it happened. My older son missed ME!! He wanted to stay home and do things "like we used to." OKAY!!! I (happily) called my older son in sick, to Kindergarten. I know, we parents, embedded in the education system lied! My son simply wanted to be home with me that day... And how I treasured it too. 

We did end up going to the zoo, seeing his favorite animals. So the day was educational still, but mostly because I was with him, again, out exploring like we used to... It was totally worth it! 

by: Areyousureaboutthatblog Author
Not Authorized for Reproduction Without Permission

Make Mistakes. Breath, Reflect. and Laugh.Out.Loud

Back to School Ways to Save

Summer felt so short this year. Probably between preparing for our trip to Japan and packing the kids for their two weeks with my mom, that prep ate up a lot of time. So, with school starting we are getting back into our routine, and that includes Saving Money while getting our Back To School supplies!!

I love saving money. I get a real thrill knowing that I saved money by Not Spending Money. And for those absolute supply needs its great saving 70%, 80%, and 90% off retail prices. Saving money is an irony for me, because ideally we Do Not  want to spend any money. Don't crack open the wallet if you don't have to. 

The Back to School shopping frenzy sometimes makes us parents feel like we are doing something for our kids, helping their back to school success, and making them happy with new "things." But really do those freshly opened packages of pencils, crayons and markers make them any smarter? On top of the shopping frenzy, there's a small emotional learning for my kids too: you don't have to "shop" for "new things" to be successful in school! Don't get me wrong - sometimes we do need new tools for our job: pencils, or a pencil case, but these items don't improve your reading skills! Or make our kids happier on that first day of school. What's the message when that new pencil breaks? Or their new clothes gets a rip? Is that item, that's now ruined, making them sad?  I should hope not. 

But when it comes to a new school year, there's always a list of supplies that are needed (notice I didn't say need to be purchased).

Here's a few ways we save on School Supplies:

Recycle Last Years Supplies

At the end of the school year my son brings home his pile of papers, projects, half filled notebooks, folders, and used pencils. From 2nd to 3rd grade transition we reused several pencils, folders, notebooks and our book bag. Hos notebooks had maybe 15 pages filled. We ripped those out for reuse. Pencils were resharpened if they were more then half their original size. Otherwise they stay home in our homework basket for at home work. 

Repurpose Packaging

There is the unspoken pressure, as kids get older, to bring in "new supplies" to school. We get around this in 2 ways. 

1 - Keep a Like New Box.Iin my storage area, I keep a few boxes for crayon, colored pencils and markers on hand. So when I'm thrifting, or consolidating a few crayons from a larger box (say 60 crayons), I can put them in a smaller crayon box (24 count). My sons taking a "new" box of crayons to school and moms saving money.

2 - Put it in the Pencil Pouch. We opened our thrifted colored pencils, barely used, and put them in the pencil pouch and tossed the tattered box with another kids name on them. 

Store School Supplies in One Place

You don't need to hord supplies, because excess is wasteful too. But do keep every thing in one place so what you have is easy to find and replenish. 

For us the toy room is an ideal place to securely fasten shelves for kids stuff that isn't often used, but easily accessible. We have our box of large items like notebooks, boxed items like crayons and color pencils, glue sticks and folders. 

Then our pens pencils (see the link to alternative bags) and used crayons go into the supply box, or our kitchen craft shelf for project time.

When craft supplies run low I can easily access our supply boxes. Our "recycle & repurpose" supplies are here to. So creativity is sparked within eyesight of what we may need.

I also keep our incomplete craft sets, unused items, excess usable crayons & markers from previous years here too. Great for future school supply lists and our crafting supplies.

Thrifting and Discount Stores

All discounts are not equal!!! We do thrift, with a tighter belt then in previous years. It's easy to fall into excess, even when your saving money. When school supplies DO go on sale (July / August) Target and Walmart sell crayons for $0.25 a box. So when I'm thrifting, crayons need to beat that price. It pays to be familiar with reduced retail prices so you can know when the thrift stores truly have a deal.

Our rules for thrift stores always apply. 1. It has to work/it is not broken. Even opened packaging is acceptable. Especially with school supplies. Just be logical an think thru if you can: 

1. Find the purchase elsewhere for a better price? 

2. Unique items always come home! 

3. Do you REALLY need it?

Big Box and Discount Stores

The same thrifting theory applies to Big Box & Discount stores. Big Lots recently had heavy stock folders, 15 in a pack for $1.50. That's $0.10 per folder - great deal. But during back to school sales Staples has $0.01 penny folders. That's a Better Deal! I personally won't drive out of my way to another store for a few cents savings, because I'll spend what I would save on folders to drive there in gasoline! If it is not "on the way" I'm not going. So take into consideration the convenience of savings. 

As an aside, read the fine print if you do go in for $0.01 folders or something similar, there's a $5 minimum purchase requirement. So you have to spend to save. Back to Schools a great time because you can stock up on other sale items. But be careful of the impulse buy. You might spend everything you've saved for an item you wouldn't otherwise buy.

My favorite false frugal save is dollar stores. Don't buy crayons for $1 when target sells them for $0.25. And sometimes there brand of markers doesn't last as long as crayons does. So it's not worth buying generic if your running out and buying replacements - due to failure!!

Buy TWO

As the school year passes, by Winter Break its time to restock up on use supplies. New pencils, erasers, maybe a few notebooks and glue stocks need to be replaced. And yes, teachers will ask for Kleenex boxes am paper towels again. So when we make our back to school purchases we usually Buy Two of what we don't have in our supply box at home.

Make mistakes, breath, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud

The days are long but the years are short, very short. As was our summer!!

School Pencil Pouch Solutions: An Alternative School Supply Solution

I love back to school deals. I do not believe in paying FULL PRICE for anything. NADE, Zero, Zip. When we are out at second hand stores I always keep my eyes open for school supplies, and alternative school supply solutions. I keep them in our school supplies bin in the playroom. See the red box here.

This year we snagged a bunch:

$1 for 10 crayons markers

$1 for 12 color pencils

.50c for 100 color index cards

.50c for 2 glue sticks

.17 for 70-page wide rule notebooks

And thru sales and thrifting we've found:

.1c folders

$5 pocket file folder, accordion style

But Pencil Pouches drive me nuts. The vinyl ones have holes in them within a few weeks of school starting. Forget about the plastic ones! 

So I've resolved to searching for wallets and cosmetic cases! Canvas zippered is preferred, but through the discount stores like Ross, Marshall's and TJ Maxx I've found leather ones for under $5. 

My new treasures!

Make mistakes, breath ad laugh.out.loud!! 

What to ask at Parent Teacher Conference

Ever wonder what to talk about at Parent Teacher Conferences. Especially discussion that is beyond the standard "how is s/he doing in class?" After doing some homework of my own, here are two questions that will easily get you a better answer then the standard  "s/he's doing well."


Two Questions to ask your child/ren's teachers at Parent-Teacher Conferences:

1. What will my son/daughter learn by the end of the school year?

2. What should we be working on at home?
Details about these questions are below.


Couple of tips for a successful Parent Teacher Conference.

1. Listen! This is the hardest one. As parents we are often overflowing with pride (or hiding under the desk) after what we hear from the teacher about our children. This is the Teachers time to TELL YOU about what happens with your child in THEIR classroom. I understand you might hear things you do not like. But try not to instantly "defend" your kid - or make excuses. First really try to see things from the teachers perspective. (Dont stop reading until you see Step 3.)

2. Acknowledge that you heard what the teacher said. This doesn't mean you agree. It just means you understand their concern/point.
- (If necessary) Tell the teacher you will discuss this topic with your child at home, then you can ask if you can set up a separate Conference at a later date if you still need to talk about your/their concerns later.


If you are reading this post, please post a comment below on what you liked - or didn't  - about this read. Does the topic interest you and you want to know more? Submit a question and I am happy to tackle it.


3. Try to be open and understanding. Stand out from the rest of the parents and don't be defensive about your child. Sometimes (surprisingly) our children act differently in the classroom. Regardless of why, my normally polite and outgoing child was relatively quiet (and rude) in class. Which can positive and negative, but how will I know if I don't listen to the teacher and try to understand.

4. Say Thank You to the Teacher. This teacher spends a lot of time with your child, and is hopefully addressing your kids needs. Depending on school before care and after care, teachers spend anywhere from a typical 7 hour school day with our babies to a whopping 10 hours... Say thanks - it can't hurt.

5. The teacher is nervous too (maybe). Even the most veteran teacher gets butterflies at parent teacher conferences. Every year its a new group of parents, a new batch of kids. So remember, you and the teacher might feel the same way. And you are there for the same reason, your little one.

These questions are suitable to ask not only the Lead teacher but also the specials teachers, including art, music, etc. Schools don't always habe a sign-up time with these additional yet equally important group, therefore seek them out. (Emails a great way to set up times in advance.)

Where should my child be in his school work at the end of the year?

Some answers you are looking for will include the major goals for the class by the end of the year. In Kindergarten, perhaps they should be able to write their first and last name legibly or have memorized 150 sight words. In 3rd grade teachers may look for essay writing skills or memorized the Multiplication table 0 thru 12. Many "goals" and things that our kids are learning are based on State standards (which is addressed briefly below). Obviously as schools integrate the 2010 Common Core legislation, those standards take precedence.

Be prepared to get a wide array of answers too. Some teachers may pull out the "guidelines" for the class showing you exactly what the kids learn week to week. My sons Spanish teacher showed me her lesson chart showing colors and numbers will be learned in the next two weeks and learning about animals in the upcoming month. She also reviewed the objective of the class (for our school it was) "exposure to a second language and not fluency."

Other teachers may simply answer with "here's what we a working on now (counting money or journaling) and by the end of the year "he should be able to write his first and last name legibly."


State Standards and Classroom Objectives

Most states have "state standards" which are the minimum in learning goals and objectives children need to have gained in their grade for that school year. These goals are organized by daily lessons, weeks, quarters, and through the end of the school year.  Your individual school, public, private, charter or otherwise will have additional standards to meet in their schools mission and vision. For example, a vocational school will have labor related tasks and concepts the students need to learn, where a catholic school has additional religious concepts the students learn.


What should we be working on at home? Or what can I do after school to help reinforce what's being taught at school?

This question serves a two fold purpose. First: it shows the teacher that you are interested and responsible in aiding in your Childs education. Homework (and after school study time) is critical to build healthy study habits and to reinforce / review what was learned at school during the day. (Homework however, in the Primary years, is not for learning new ideas. See this blog post where re-teaching math at home WAS WORKING, when it shouldn't have.) Secondly, this question helps to make sure the parent and teacher are "on the same page" regarding what work should be done at home.


It takes a village.... And It Looks Like Pieces of a Pie

Look, we all know that it takes a village to raise a child. I always explain my children's learning for me equates to how you view slices of a pie to equal a whole. A whole pie has many slices: one for what is learned in school, one for what we learn on the playground, one for home learning (which includes manners, self care, and reinforcing school learning at home). Other pie slices are other family members time and what kids learn (with grandparents, aunts, uncles), time with friends/outside/park, vacations and leisure time (yes, kids are always learning), and the "accidental learning" or teachable moments. Of course there's more then this simplicity to teaching and learning, and them add that we are also raising a child. Talking to their teachers is another piece of your child's learning pie - everyone plays a part in the schooling of our children - including you.

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and  Laugh.Out.Loud