Mom on the Make

Finding fun amidst the chaos of Motherhood

A Few Photos from the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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We visited one of our favorite places on New Year’s Eve…….the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We watched two movies on this visit presented by the marine biologists that work at the Aquarium.  The first movie was “Project White Shark” and the second was “Mysteries of the Deep”.

Project White Shark was about all of the new information researchers are learning about white sharks by tagging them, then tracking their behavior.  With diligent tracking, they have learned the details of their migration patterns between the San Francisco Bay, Hawaii, and the Cabo San Lucas area with almost exact specificity.  It really was fascinating to watch the migration patterns from month to month.  And very helpful, I might add.  I know which months to avoid taking a dip in the Stinson Beach area, for instance.  🙂

Mysteries of the Deep highlighted some very strange looking creatures that live in the great depths of the ocean.  By great depths, I mean the area that does not receive any sunlight whatsoever.  Really interesting to learn to about this region.  Watching the look of wonder on the kids’ eyes as we viewed these creatures was really fun for Mountain Man and I.

We’re going to make a better effort at stopping to view these movies on our future visits.  The presenters stick around at the end for questions, which is always helpful for inquisitive minds.

Here’s a few photos from our visit…

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Pretty starfish in the touch pools.

Colorful Fish near the kid’s splash zone…..

Colorful Fish near the Kid's Splash Zone.

 

More Colorful Fish!

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The next few photos are from the eel exhibit.  We did not see this one five months ago when we visited last.  It might be new.  Totally cool display of three different types of eels.2012-12-31 09.52.06

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Two cute penguins that were kind enough to stop waddling around and pose for me….

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A view from the second floor balcony outside of the kid’s splash zone…..

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Another great visit to one of our most favorite weekend getaways……. 🙂

Read Kiddo Read

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read kiddo read

Read Kiddo Read

I found a new website today that I’m in love with and just have to share.

James Patterson was interviewed on a radio talk show today about his efforts to encourage more reading in kids’ lives.

The idea to encourage the masses to read more arose from his experience with creating a love of reading for his son, Jack.  Patterson and his wife were not happy that Jack was not in love with reading, so they set out to change it.

Find Books your Kids will Relish

Patterson and his wife would go out and find books that they knew Jack would LOVE and then give them to him at the beginning of the summer.  This started the ball rolling for his love of reading.

Researching books that you know your child will love is a great start.  Stories and adventures that you are SO sure your kids will love, its almost a guarantee that they will probably stay up late turning the pages.

Spurred on by his love of reading and knowledge about how important reading is for developing young minds, Patterson went on to create a website called Read Kiddo Read.   The site focuses on encouraging kids to read by supplying lists of great books for them to peruse, learn more about, and then want to read.

The mission of the site is “Dedicated to making kids readers for life.”

Organization of the Site, “Read Kiddo Read”

Patterson divides the site up into age groups to make sorting through the titles much easier.  The major groups are:

  • Great Illustrated Books for 0-8 year olds
  • Great Transitional Books for ages 6 and up
  • Great PageTurners for ages 8 and up
  • Great Advanced Reading for ages 10 and up

The Pageturner section is the category I’m interested in for my 8 year old daughter, Imagineer.  When I clicked on this section, it is then further divided by “Fantasy and Other Worlds”, “Real World Fiction”, “Action, Adventure, Mystery”, and “Just the Facts”.

Once you choose one of these subcategories, you will then see the list of books.  When you click on a picture of the book, there is a parent review and educator review of the book provided.  Also, on the right sidebar, there are links to check the book out using a library finder or to purchase it at Amazon, B&N, Independent Bookstore Finder, Target or Walmart.  Very convenient.

I’m really looking forward to showing this tool to my kids when they get home from school today.

Sometimes it just takes one tool like this to motivate the little ones to check those books out and get reading, consistently.

Patterson discussed how simple rituals, like reading as a family for a half hour after dinner every night, is a great idea.

I don’t think we can implement family reading time right after dinner, with sports practices, but I think 8pm could work for us.  I’m going to start tonight.

I will keep you posted with the books that my little ones choose from this list.

Let me know if you find any gems on this site as well in the comments below.  Thanks! 🙂

States, Capitals and Flags, Oh My!

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USA Map

USA Map

Looking for fun and educational summer activities for kids?  Read on….

The U.S. States and Capitals

Broadway is going into fifth grade next month and has decided that she needs to memorize all of our states and capitals before the school year begins.

In fifth grade at her school, they do quite a bit of work on this subject and she would like to be prepared, so I decided to create a list of the states, capitals and abbreviations.

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Tools of the Mind Curriculum

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Tools of the Mind Curiculum

Tools of the Mind Curriculum

As I mentioned before in a previous post, the book NurtureShock, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, brings up some excellent, well-researched points about how we should be raising our kids.

There is one more study I would like to discuss that is outlined towards the end of the book, called the “Tools of the Mind” curriculum designed for Kindergartners and First Graders.

Tools of the Mind Curriculum

The curriculum implements a few minor changes to the traditional ways of teaching this age briefly outlined below.

1. The wall calendar is a straight line of days along a narrow sheet of paper rather than a typical month by month set up.

2. The alphabet on the wall separates the consonants and the vowels into two different sets, rather than simply going from A to Z.  Consonants with similar sounds are clustered together (ie: C,K,Q).  Also, next to each letter is a sound map, meaning a picture of a “monkey” is next to the letter M, for example.

3. Learning through play.  The example given in the book is about playing fire station.  The kids learned all about firemen the previous week, and are now going to pretend they are firemen and write out their roles.  They get to choose between being a pump driver, 911 operator, fireman or a family that needs to be rescued.  The kids tell their teacher the role they would like and write out a play plan.  They also draw themselves in their chosen role.

The kids then proceed to play for 45 minutes in their role.  If they fuss, then the teacher asks if that was in their play plan.  They need to become self – motivated to stay in their role for so long.   At the end, the teacher plays a clean up song CD which signals that play time is over and they pick up.

4. Reading Time Structure – the children are paired up during reading time with one child holding a drawing of lips and the other a drawing of ears.  The lips drawing holder.  After the first reading, they switch roles.

5. Games – this curriculum utilizes games that require restraint, like Simon says or a game where the teacher plays music and the kids have to draw a certain shape until the music stops.

After Kindergarten, the tools curriculum continues into first grade with a make believe premise based on a book that they are currently reading in class.

Stunning Test Results of Tools of the Mind Students

The Tools techniques were developed by Drs. Elena Bodrova and Deborah Leong in the nineties.  In 1997, they decided to do a test with 10 kindergarten classes in the Denver public schools where half of the teachers would teach the normal district curriculum and the other half would implement the tools curriculum.

One third to one half of the students in these classes were Hispanic and had very limited English proficiency.  At the beginning of kindergarten, they were about a grade level behind due to this obstacle.

In spring, the kids from the tools classes “were now almost a full grade-level ahead of the national standard.”  Bronson points out that in this district, “only half the kindergartners score as proficient at their grade-level.  Of the Tools children, 97% scored as proficient.”

Why Does Tools of the Mind Work so Well

By staging a play area like the fireman example where there is a firehouse, the 911 operator, the family who is in the fire, the trucks, the firefighters etc…, and having each child commit to one role, the level of play becomes more mature, sustained and multidimensional.  Bronson says, “This notion of being able to sustain one’s interest is considered a core building block in Tools.”

Teaching children early on to remain focused and committed to the task at hand is an invaluable asset that will serve them well for the rest of their life.

Playdates are Great for Tools type play

Ms. Imagineer, who is in second grade, is always setting up play scenarios with her friends during playdates.

She will set up an optometrist office, a school, a restaurant, a house with a neighbor or a veterinary office to name a few.  She and her friends assign roles, and usually give Mr. Bam-Bam a small part in the play scenario too ( 🙂 ).  They can play for hours.

It really is quite amazing how engaging play can be when the area is set up efficiently to portray the playtime scene and when all characters commit to a role.

Have any of you had any experience with this curriculum in your school district?

 

8 Reasons Musical Theater is Great for Kids

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musical theater masks

Musical Theater

I think getting your kids involved in some sort of public speaking activity is a great thing to do for their personal development.  Broadway has been attending musical theater classes since the age of 7 and absolutely loves it.

We have a local theater group that does an excellent job of offering a different musical three times a year for kids ages 5-18 years to participate in and develop their acting, singing, and public speaking skills.

How we got started in Kids Theater

Broadway showed a strong interest in being on stage and performing in front of an audience, so we signed her up for the Aladdin Musical class at our local theater for 7-11 year olds.

She just absolutely ate it up.  She loved everything about it – the story, the costumes, the music, the choreography, the animated professional teachers, and the group of students she was getting to know  each week.  The class was four months long that ended with a big show.

It was really well done, and it was this show that started the string of musical classes that she has taken since this one.  Imagineer loved watching Broadway’s shows so much that she jumped in and participated in a musical  two summers ago when she was six.  She really wanted to see what was behind the big heavy curtain.  🙂

Memorial Day Weekend Shows

This past Memorial Day weekend, Broadway was in five shows with a different theater group that she joined last year.  This group produces three musicals per year and the proceeds go to charities, mainly to our local Children’s hospital and the Make a Wish Foundation.

This theater group is fantastic because they put on so many shows, giving many of the performers the opportunity to play several different characters.  Broadway played three different characters in the five shows that she was in over the weekend.

Participating this weekend in this musical extravaganza made me realize how lucky I am to have my daughter in this type of group.  The lessons she is learning every week from rehearsals and performances are numerous and really helping her to grow and develop into a confident young girl.

Below are eight lessons that kids learn from participating in theater and hopefully that they will carry with them through their lives.

Lessons your Kids will learn in the Theater

1.  Patience – during rehearsals and shows, there is a great deal of waiting around for your turn.

2.  Practice makes perfect – the kids go to weekly rehearsals to hone their singing and acting skills.

3.  Public Speaking – having the ability to stand in front of a large group of people and speak with confidence and clarity is a wonderful attribute to have in your skills arsenal.  Speaking in front of a large group is one of the greatest fears experienced by many people.  By starting theater early

4.  Memorization – In order to learn their lines, the kids have to memorize many lines to pull off their roles. This keeps their brains fine tuned and prepares them for exam preparation in their middle and high school years.

5.  Confidence – Going through the process of preparing for their roles and seeing their hard work come to fruition with an amazing performance gives kids a quiet confidence knowing that a big project will come together if the proper work has been completed.

6.  Creativity – With their roles, the kids can adlib and make the roles unique with a touch of their individual personality.

7. Writing – There are high school and college age kids in this theater group and some of them have started writing musicals.  In fact, last year, the Christmas Musical was written by one of the high school cast members.

8. Musical Instruments – the musical scores in these plays are amazing and very inspiring for the young actors to learn how to play the music themselves.  So far, my daughter has tried the piano and baritone horn.

There are many more positive attributes to working on a musical or play in your childhood years, but the above, are the top 8 that first came to mind when thinking about this weekend.  Seeing your child step out onto stage and sing a solo, or perfectly deliver her lines is an amazing feeling.  After the show, the kids are glowing with confidence and excited for their next play.  It really is exciting to see the growth in the little ones with each successful performance.

I wish that this opportunity was available to me when I was little.  Theater groups for kids are more prevalent today and I think thats a great thing.  They build confidence, creativity and camaraderie in our little ones.

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