Disney's PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE Activities to Print, Play, and Learn!

*PR Materials Provided

Are your kids looking forward to seeing the new movie Planes Fire & Rescue, in theaters TODAY, as mine are?  I know a lot of you will be heading to the theaters soon, it's a great film to help keep the kids busy this summer or escape the heat!

My little guy has the first PLANES movie on Blu-Ray/DVD and a bunch of the PLANES toys so every time a commercial comes on for it, he gets very excited.  It will be so cool to see the new adventures of Dusty and meet his new friends.

Since my little guy is too young to sit through a movie in the theater, we'll have to wait a bit longer, and buy it the day it's released for home viewing, I wanted to share these cool Print & Play activities for the rest of you.

Click the image above to download.

These include a bingo game, healthy camping recipes, backyard camping tips, hidden characters sheet, and a mobile/puppet craft.  There's lot of fun activities in there!

I also have an educational activity book you can download and print.   Enjoy and have fun using both the extend the PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE fun at home!

Click either the image above or here to access. 

Snowman Math

Snowman Math Materials

Dice

Math Mat (above)

Cotton Balls

Dry Erase Marker & Sheet of Kleenex for Eraser

Page Protector or Laminate

I love being able to make my own learning materials for ER using the beautiful digital scrapbooking kits I've collected.  This simple addition activity I created with Let It Snow, a now retired kit from Louise Franks Designs.  (Visit the kit release post to download the Design Team Quick Pages I created, they're still available for free download.)

Snowman Math is simple and straight forward to do.  Roll a dice for the first number.  Write it on the first blank line.  Roll again for the second number and write it on the second blank line.  Use cotton balls to represent each numeral and place on the corresponding snowman.  For example, if the first roll is a two, place two snowballs on the first snowman image.  Then count up all the math manipulatives, in this case the cotton balls, to get the total.

I printed the math mat on high resolution paper so the colors would be nice and vibrant.  Then slipped it into an empty page protector for a cheap way to "laminate" it and make it reusable.  On the otherside of the page protector, I slipped in a copy of this printable of Rhymes to Help Students Write Their Numbers, thank you to Miss Ingram for providing it.  That way ER can refer to it, if she needs help while writing.  I also put a piece of cardstock in between the two to make it a little stiffer and easier for ER to write and erase on.

Besides the cotton balls, we sometimes use some fun snowflake counters that I also used to Let It Snow to create.  We also use them to create patterns.  I glued them to an old empty cereal box before cutting them apart and "laminated" with clear packing tape so we can use them over and over.

Linking this up to the weekly linky at the blog I helped co-found, ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.



Disclosure: As a member of the Louise Franks Design Team, I received access to kits to create promotional items.  While this was not part of a DT assignment, I did use a complimentary kit to create them and in the interest of full disclosure am noting this for readers.

I Have A Dream Mobile for MLK Jr. Day

ER has been learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at kindergarten and we've also been reading books about him too.  As an extension activity we made this mobile, with ER providing an age appropriate dream based on MLK Jr.'s ideals.  Writing it on one side of the cloud was slightly torturous, not for her but for mom as it was slow going, but good practice for my little who does not like handwriting at all.  Plus it was a good opportunity to talk about how if there had been no Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Right's movement, then our family, which is multi-cultural, might not exist.  That was certainly an eye opener for her.

Making this hybrid project began with searching through my digital scrapbooking kits for a cloud image.  I added the text, alphabet - altered by clipping on papers to change the colors, and banner to it.  Printed that out then deleted the extras and flipped the cloud image.  Printed the flipped version for the back of the cloud on our mobile. 

After we talked about the dream MLK Jr. had, we came up with one that's applicable to five year olds.  The word on the street is that the boys and girls don't always get along at recess!  ER wrote it on one side.  Afterward, we glued it onto chipboard.  I cut it out and then glued the flipped image on the other side.  We have left the back side blank for the time being, my hope is that we'll add another wish to it next year.

We punched holes at the top with my Crop-A-Dile for hanging and then more at the bottom of the cloud.  Each hole was reinforced with an eyelet.  I had some dimensional white bird stickers leftover from Christmas, I think they are doves.  They look like it to me and if they're not, well they're a decent substitute!

I told her they were doves and that they symbolize peace and hope.  We added a dove to one side of a punched scalloped circle, the other side could be used to write facts about MLK Jr. or additional dreams.  These have been suspended with fishing wire.  I like that since the fishing wire is "clear" it kind of gives the illusion that the birds are "flying". 

Supplies Use: Cloud Image from Retired I Heart Spring Kit by Louise Franks Designs, Alphabet, Papers - used as clipping masks, and Banner from Playful Kit by Louise Franks Designs.



Shared At: Skip to My Lou, Crafty Moms Share, Tutus & Tea Parties, and the blog I helped co-found ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.

Valentine Countdown Chain

Making paper chains are a fun and simple project to do with your preschooler. It's a good way to practice cutting straight lines. If you turn it into a countdown chain, you can also work on number writing.

For our Valentine Countdown Chain, I used pink cardstock and paper scraps from the project I will be posting tomorrow for the Creative Scrapbooking Diva's Valentine Blog Hop. I liked the scrapbook paper because it's double-sided. Both sides of each loop will be pretty and it's good thickness, unlike some paper that's so flimsy it bends all over as you try to cut it. Using a ruler I drew lines to make strips. ER then cut each line to make straight-ish strips. Remember, we're still practicing cutting straight lines, not proficient at it...yet!

A scalloped circle punch was used to make our number markers. I wrote each number for ER and she traced over it. In an ideal world, I do not advocate tracing. However, ER finds numbers very challenging and is more willing to try if she has guidelines to trace. So we traced, because I wanted this to be a fun project and not one that resulted in tears. Don't look too closely at the hand grip on the marker, that's also a work in progress.

To assemble the chain, form circles with strips and place the number over where the two ends met. Staple on top of number to form chain. Continue until the chain is finished. We were going to use ours to countdown the days until Valentine's, but ER decided it was too pretty to use, so it's on display as a decoration. This was a nice project because ER could work on it semi-independently, meaning Mommy got a chance to empty the dishwasher and mop the floors. I know you're thinking my life is pretty glamorous right about now, aren't you☺

Shared on the Weekly Show & Tell Linky Party on my other blog ABC & 123 and Easy Homemade Crafts at Quatro Mama's blog 4tunate.

Happy Ten Day!

10/10/2010
In honor of today's special number 10 date, I thought it would be fun to share ten of my favorite posts! I broke them into five activities for kids and five of my own crafty projects.

5 Kid's Activities & Projects:

Our Color Dice Game is one of the easiest ways to help your child learn their colors in a meaningful way because it connects the concept of color with objects in their everyday life. Developing Fine Motor Skills also share simple ways to work to preschoolers at home. Reuse your child's artwork or have them create new one of a kind originals and then turn them into these children's art showcase cards for mail anyone would love to receive! Mommy and Me Valentines are another good way to turn your child's painting into mailable art.When we reviewed these adorable ABC flashcards from Zooples and Co. I also shared several easy ways to incorporate them into learning activities. On a side note, Lindsey now makes cool ABC magnets, that I love! Playdoh mats are another good way to introduce the alphabet to kiddos.
A Gift for Jesus, in this post I shared a family tradition we did every Christmas. It's a wonderful way to teach children about the true meaning of the holiday. My number one post of all times, hits wise, is also a holiday post. I continue to get inquires about the handprint calendar I used to make with my kindergarten classes, to this day even though it was from the first month I had my blog.Here is a more recent one, but it's my current favorite: 10 Reasons Why You're A Great Dad. This mini books combines our photos, my daughter's beginning writing, and many priceless memories in an unforgetable gift that celebrates the relationship between my husband and daughter. Brad say's it's one of the most meaningful gifts he's ever gotten.

Another great time capsule type gift you can make with even the littlest of tykes, is the handprint and footprint canvas we gave my Dad one year. I love looking back and seeing those tiny prints!

5 Favorite Crafty Projects:

Don't just give a picture, when you can make this cute three step frame. To create my apple frame all I had to do was paint, embellish, and tie on ribbon to make it super special! My Simple Things frame is an example of a more embellished altered frame and is my favorite, I love seeing it in my office every day. Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Decorations: A cute frame, one of my favorite centerpieces - that illuminates your photos printed in vellum and is so pretty and inexpensive, the cute kid's table decoration shown above, paper star banner, handmade treat baskets and clippies for little girls, AND a quick way to finish your kid's tablecloth...there's a lot of fun ideas in this post! My favorite handmade holiday decoration, a Valentine Countdown can be see in this post.
The Envelope Mini Book I did a tutorial for is an easy way to get started with making your own mini books. The main components are premade envelopes, perfect for stashing little mementos. Here is another project using envelopes, Thanksgiving Treat Mini Book. One thing I love to do, is turn empty containers and turn them into unique gift containers, I made this upcycled Starbucks drink container box and bottles set for Valentine's Da. It would also be a great project to make for holiday treat giving. This hot chocolate tin turned treat canister is another favorite project.
This button pillow is one of the first sewing projects I ever attempted and it got featured a lot of places too:) I hand sewed it, although now I am confident enough to use my machine to make it a much quicker project. The other project I hand sewed and love is the handprint ornament, my favorite to see on the tree.

That was a fun trip down memory lane for me, I hope you enjoyed it too! Did you notice I snuck in ten more activities so you really got twenty of my favorite links? I have lots more to share too:) You can find all my Crafty Projects, Crafting with Kids, and Learning Activities by using the links.

C is for Cookie

My favorite storybook version of this classic children's song, takes place in the Southwest. I got it years ago with classroom book order points and rediscovered it recently. Since ER is was born in Santa Fe, I think it's especially suited for story time with her. The beautiful watercolor and pen illustrations by Ashley Wolff bring the story to life in the desert landscape.

On the title page Skunk is baking up a batch of cookies, but on the next the cookie jar is empty. Skunk goes on a hunt looking for the culprit, running into several friends along the way, including Raven, Turtle, and Raccoon. As each friend is encountered they join Skunk in the search, which eventually leads to the Ants. Turns out the DO have the cookies and everyone ends up enjoying them together. I like how on each page there is a hint as to which animal friend Skunk will run into next. It's really cute to hear ER chanting along with me as I read.

In case you are unfamiliar with this chant and game:

(Chant together)
Who took the cookies from the cookie jar?
The jar was full!
Where did they go?
Mmm...Oh!...
Now I know!

(Second Part Alternates)
(insert player/child's name) took the cookies from the cookie jar.
Who, me? (child)
Yes, you! (rest of players)
Couldn't be? (child)
Then who? (rest of players)

Chant together until each child's had a turn.
We didn't do this, because it's not developmentally appropriate for ER, but when still in the classroom, I did a shared reading activity using sentence strips with it. It was a lot like the one described in Day Two of this unit on Hubbard's Cupboard. This Cookie Sheet Math from Childcareland.com is another good kindergarten appropriate activity and would make a learning great center.C is for Cookies: For our book art project, we made a big plate of cookies! They're not the edible kind but at least they last a lot longer. The supplies are pretty basic but there is drying time and the cutting took ER quite awhile. She was really working on those fine motor and cutting skills!Create cookies paper with brown paint and let dry completely. You can skip and use brown paper but I think this makes a cuter finished project.
Cut up your dried cookie paper into squares. You will have more than you need. Then have your child clip off each corner.
Continue cutting and snipping off points until you have a circle like shape. I still have watch ER very closely during this step and help turn the paper and tell her where to cut.
Create a cookie sheet out of tin foil, glue on to construction paper. Glue cookies on top and add chocolate chips with a Q-tip and black paint.Counting Cookies: We also used the number boards I shared previously and mini cookies to practice number recognition, counting, and 1:1 Correspondence. If you need some basic counting boards, I suggest these downloadable ones from Excuse Me Mrs. C! (NOT product placement above, just thought I'd let you know where we got our mini cookies. Cause I know someone would ask, if I didn't share☺) Counting Chocolate Chips: I made another simple game for ER out of brown circles. Ours go up to twelve, but this game could easily be changed to fit your own targeted numbers.

To Make: Cut out twelve circles from light brown paper, these will be the cookies. Punch holes in them, so that they represent numbers 1-12, (see above photo). Cut out twenty four circles from dark brown paper. Twelve will be your chocolate chips. Layer one light brown circle on top of a dark brown one, glue together and laminate. Use the remaining dark brown circles to make calling cards and label 1-12. The dark brown paper showing through represent the chocolate chips.

To Play: Match the number calling card with the cookie with the same number of dots {or} pick up a number card and ask your child to find a number less than, greater than, or equal to it.
Don't forget to wrap up your C is for Cookie activities, with baking real cookies! They don't have to be anything fancy. Even the ones that start with "open package" are yummy☺


Shared at:

A Love Note

We've been working a lot on writing lately, and recently ER asked me to write "I love Mommy" so she could copy/write it all by herself. I think I'll be keeping her first attempt at almost four years old forever♥

Part of Wordless Wednesday at: Five Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, Two of a Kind Working on a Full House and Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus.

P is for Princess Pigtoria and the Pea

My new favorite book for teaching the alphabet and specifically letter P is Princess Pigtoria and the Pea by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrated by Henry Cole.

Based on the classic tale, The Princess and the Pea it's a great teaching tool. The alliteration is plentiful and makes it a fun silly read. The entire storyline is infused with P word after P word giving teachers plenty of opportunities to stress the beginning sound while reading, example:

Presently, Pigtoria stood in the portal of Prince Proudfoot's palace. She pounded on the door. A page led her into the presence of the prince.

Book Description: Poor Princess Pigtoria heads off to see if Prince Proudfoot of Porksville will propose and help make her palace pretty again. The prince ends up being a pompous porker, a partner Pigtoria can do without. She prefers Percy-the-Pizza-Pig. They marry and open a chain of profitable pizza palors and paint Pigtoria's palace. Everyone ends up perfectly happy even Prince Proudfoot.

Letter P ideas to use with the book:

• Give students a letter P die cut, have them hold it up each time they hear a P word.
• Take turns having a student stand by the whiteboard and make a tally mark each time a letter P word is said. Count them all up at the end.
• Photocopy a page of the book or type out the text and enlarge. Have students highlight or circle the letter P every time they encounter it. While this might technically be copyright infringement, I think most children's authors would be pleased to have their work used to help educate. As long as only one page is used and it's not for commercial gain it's probably okay.
• Make a letter P book and have students choose five letter P words to copy and illustrate.
• Have students write a letter sentence or two with as many P words as they can and still have it make sense or let them make silly letter P sentences and illustrate.
• Take the sentence from the activity above, type and print out, and then attach to a pig art project (like the one below☺)
• Make a paper plate pizza with as many letter P toppings as you can think of. Write what's on your pizza on a piece of paper and staple below.
• Plate of P Foods, if you were at the party with Pigtoria and Percy what letter P foods would you have? Cut our magazine pictures or draw them onto a plate, be sure to label them to get some handwriting practice in!

Pretty simple, my kindergarten students used to really like them and it engaged their active listening skills. Many of the ideas are easily adaptable for any letter of the week book.

Now onto the perfect book related craft, a Paper Plate Pink Princess Pigtoria Pig, try saying that ten times super fast, to go along with our book. Here's a quick how to: Paint two paper plates, a dinner and dessert sized one. Stack on top of each other, as shown above.

To keep this craft as mess free as possible, I used my new mini glue dots. They come in a handy rolling dispenser! Did you know they came this way? They're my new favorite☺ You can learn more about Glue Dots on their Facebook Fan Page. Cut four legs, two triangles for ears and a circle for a nose out of pink paper. I freehanded these and if ER was a little older I'd have let her cut them out. Right now we're still working on straight lines so I didn't want to frustrate her.

We used bigger glue dots, the kind on the individual sheets to attach each. Remove the clear backing, press down onto your paper, rub in, and the peel off the mounting paper. I've been in love with these ever since I saw our librarian use them for craft at storytime. She loves them because huge amounts of kiddos can came through and make foam crafts without any mess. They are great for foam crafts, white school glue doesn't usually work too well with those.

I use them mainly for scrapbooking and papercrafts. They are the easiest way to adhere things like metal accents, ribbon, and other bulky embellishments to layouts and projects. I am never without them on hand.These are the half inch size and while it took a few tries for ER to get the backing off, she's now an expert. We also used the mini glue dots to attach the wiggly eyes.Now you have a cute pink paper plate pig, but she's not a princess yet! She's missing a few important things don't you think?Now that's better! Don't forget Princess Pigtoria's crown, little curly pipe cleaner tail, and nostrils for her nose.

A Summer Bonding Project with Glue Dots and Shared At:

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here. While the Glue Dots used in this project were provided to me, I have and continue to use and purchase them myself.