50 Days of Kindergarten Readiness

Happy Summer!  We hope you and your kids are swimming, catching lightning bugs, sleeping in, spending time with friends, and eating popsicles!










If you have a child starting kindergarten this year, mixed feelings of excitement and concern may be lurking beneath the surface of summertime fun.  So, to make it easy, tomorrow we are launching, drumroll please...

50 Days of Kindergarten Readiness

here at A Hands On Mom. Each weekday we'll post a quick tip, activity, or skill related to kindergarten readiness.  We'll post here, Facebook, and Twitter, so take your pick and follow for quick tips.  Blog followers will get a daily email--super easy!

Our promise to you: we will only post things that are quick, easy, and pertinent. Because, like you, we've got our own lightning bugs to catch. 

"It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward." --Chinese Proverb

 

Fish Face!

Amy B Croker
MAT, Elem Education

I guess I was a little hungry when typing up the posts for this week. The summer definitely gives me a big appetite. So my friends at www.parents.com of course had the cutest dessert recipe that will put a smile on any kid's face. The name is not the cutest or sounds the most appetizing, but it sure looks delicious! Enjoy and maybe you and your kids can come up with your own name. The girls and I came up with "Fish Face." 






Fishy Dessert -you can get as creative as you want with this recipe.Make it your own!
Make sweet sorbet fish by adding fruity fins and cereal faces.
Bring the sea to them with silicone blue cupcake liners

Healthy Snacks for Your Kids



Amy B Croker
MAT Elem Education

As moms, we are always looking for fun and healthy ways to feed our kids, right? It is easy to get in such a rut of the same snack foods such as Goldfish, Yogurt, Fruit or Cheese sticks. So I went on a search on one of my favorite websites, www.parents.com and found two adorable snacks, that I will definitely be trying with my kiddos and wanted to share with all of you.

Happy Snacking!

Blueberry-Banana Stacks

A great one to do after you go blueberry picking and easy for your kids to help make.

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Ingredients:

• 6 mini chocolate, caramel, or berry-flavored popcorn cakes
• 1 - 2 tablespoons strawberry-flavored cream cheese
• 6 banana slices
• 6 fresh blueberries

Make It Spread cakes with cream cheese and top with banana slices. If desired, dollop with additional cream cheese and top with a blueberry. Serves 2.

Safari Snack

A fun one for the zoo or a safari theme party.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 of an 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 - 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Celery sticks, animal crackers, and/or assorted dippers such as peeled jicama sticks, carrot sticks, apple wedges, pear wedges, or graham cracker sticks

Make It1. For dip, in a small mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in peanut butter, milk, and honey until well combined and smooth. If desired, chill before serving.
2. To serve, spread dip in celery sticks and garnish with animal crackers and cut-up fresh fruit. Or, serve with assorted dippers. Makes twenty 1-tablespoon servings (1-1/4 cups).

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Shake it up with Homemade Ice Cream

Amy B Croker
MAT, Elem Education

Need a fun, easy and inexpensive activity to do with your kids that will not only cool you off, but will also be a great learning experience too?
Here is an ice cream recipe we posted last week under "Family Summer Fun" and thought it would be fitting to post it by itself on this great day of not only spending time with family and friends, but also for celebrating the brave men and women that have fought for our country.
Happy Memorial Day!

Ice Cream Recipe:

Watch as liquid mixture transforms into solid ice cream before your eyes. All you need is sugar, milk, vanilla (or any flavoring of your choice), ice, salt, a quart-size food-storage bag, and a gallon-size plastic bag.

First, mix one tablespoon of sugar, ½ cup of milk, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla in a bowl. This will make about one scoop. Transfer the contents to the quart-size bag and seal.

Then fill the gallon-size bag with two quarts of crushed ice and 6 tablespoons of rock salt (or coarse salt). The rock salt will keep the ice from melting. Make sure both bags are completely sealed.

Place the quart-size bag inside the gallon-size bag. Shake for about 10-15 minutes, making sure the contents of the two bags do not mix. The bags will get very cold, so use gloves or a towel to hold them.

This hands-on activity will show how matter changes state from liquid to solid and then, as the final, tasty product drips down your chin, back to liquid again.

Beat the "Are we there yets" we these car games

Because a lot of you will be leaving for the long Memorial weekend or will soon be preparing for your first summer vaca, we thought it would only be appropriate to repost our favorite car games/activities that we posted last April before Spring Break.

So to beat the "are we there yets," here are some games to help you through your trip.

Even though we adjusted some of the games and activites, most of the ideas originated from our Family Fun friends.

We wish you safe travels and very little whining throughout your family roadtrip.  :)

Surprise Balls

Put a stop, at least temporarily, to the "Are we there yets?" with Surprise Balls: wads of aluminum foil that have been wrapped around special items, such as candy and small toys.

At certain milestones (every 50 miles, say) toss one to each kid.

Make sure at least one contains a written directive: "Pull over and change seats," "Stop for ice cream," and so on.

Both the treat and the wrapper will keep kids occupied as the foil is great for twisting into fun shapes.

The Best of License Plates Games:

 

Instead of focusing on states, get more creative with these versions of the classic license plate game.

What You Need

• Nothing

Instructions

1. Challenge older kids to make phrases out of the letters in license plates. For example, EYP 908 can become Eat Your Peas. Or have younger kids search for their ABCs by playing a mobile game of 21. Ask your kids to each pick a license plate, add the numbers, and see who comes closest to 21 without going over.

Crazy Creatures

Bottom of Form Turn the car into a creature laboratory, where strange-looking people and beasts or any combination of both are born.

What You Need

• Paper

• Markers or crayons

Instructions

1. Start by folding a piece of paper into three equal sections.
2. One person draws the face in the top section, then folds down the paper so the next person can't see it. That person then draws the midsection of the body, folds down the paper and passes it to the third person, who sketches the legs in the bottom section.
3. Finally, unfold the paper and name your creature.

 Scavenger Hunt

Just because you're in a car doesn't mean you can't go on a scavenger hunt.

What You Need

• Pen or pencil

• Paper

Instructions

1. To avoid arguments over who has the easiest items to find, make a master list with several of each item on it -- six motels, 19 blue cars, two towns that start with the letter w -- so that the kids have to work together to find them all.

Summer Family Fun Time

Amy B Croker
MAT elementary education

What are you going to do this summer? "School is out for the summer!" I can hear that song playing in my head now, but not in a fun way, but a panicky kind of way.

I wonder if I signed my girls up for enough camps or swim lessons. Or did I sign them up for too much? Decisions, decisions, right?

Well, after a brief moment of panic on the last week of school, I decided, what the heck! Forget worrying about if you signed them up for the right camps, forget comparing your schedule to friends', forget worrying about not having enough to do or fun vacations planned and just enjoy the summer.

Enjoy the down times, enjoy not having the same ole routine and just try to discover new places to go and people to see where you already are. Enjoy some family and friends time in your own backyard.

So that is what we are going to do and here are some things I am going to try to do this summer with my family:

• Shake up some Homemade Ice Cream in the backyard:Watch as liquid mixture transforms into solid ice cream before your eyes. All you need is sugar, milk, vanilla (or any flavoring of your choice), ice, salt, a quart-size food-storage bag, and a gallon-size plastic bag. First, mix one tablespoon of sugar, ½ cup of milk, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla in a bowl. This will make about one scoop. Transfer the contents to the quart-size bag and seal. Then fill the gallon-size bag with two quarts of crushed ice and 6 tablespoons of rock salt (or coarse salt). The rock salt will keep the ice from melting. Make sure both bags are completely sealed. Place the quart-size bag inside the gallon-size bag. Shake for about 10-15 minutes, making sure the contents of the two bags do not mix. The bags will get very cold, so use gloves or a towel to hold them. This hands-on activity will show how matter changes state from liquid to solid and then, as the final, tasty product drips down your chin, back to liquid again.
• Go to a drive-in movie or screen on the green:  http://www.stardustdrivein.com/ or http://www.franklin-gov.com/index.aspx?page=16&recordid=691
• Enjoy Local Family Nights:  Cheekwood Botanical Gardens has some great family nights all summer long.
• Explore our hometown or the surrounding areas: Pretend we are tourists and try some things we may not try on a regular basis.
• Take a daytrip somewhere new
• Go bowling
• Pick what we will eat that night for dinner: Go to the farmers market or a local farm and pick some yummy local flavors.
• Learn something new-either take a class with my girls, cook or do a fun new craft. There are local craft stores that have monthly classes. So check out Michaels or JoAnns for their schedule.
• Go for a moonlight stroll with the family or a bike ride.
• Roast marshmallows and catch fireflies
• Host a cookout with friends-get to know our neighbors or reconnect with old friends.
• Campout inside. Play games, tell stories and just enjoy some good ole family time.

So what are you all going to do this summer when friends are on vacation, when camps are not in session, when it's raining, when you have had a enough of the same ole same ole activities day in and day out? Are you going to pack your calendar slammed full of activities to save your sanity as well as your kids or are you going to just enjoy this down time of no schedule, no appointments or classes to get to?
We would love to know and would love to get more summer family fun ideas from our readers! We would also love for you to send pictures of your summer fun.

And another year goes by...

Amy B Croker
MAT, Elem Education

My 4 year old finished her last day of Pre K today! As I kissed and hugged her goodbye, I couldn't help but get a little weepy at how fast this time has gone by. We have had the end of the year programs and dance recitals to prepare us for this day, but until it gets here, it really doesn't hit you.

"Where does the time go?," as you hear alot of your fellow mommy friends say! How did this day get here so fast? How did our kids get this big already!

Doesn't  it seem like yesterday you were bringing them home from the hospital wondering how in the world you were going to take care of this sweet little blessing, just hoping and praying you remembered everything the nurses taught you such as how to swaddle, nurse properly, change their diaper,etc. You were on survival mode at that point! All your worries at that time were when they were last fed, when they had their diaper changed, how long their last nap was and when they needed to eat or be changed again.

Now, it is what is the best mother's day out program or daycare, what is the best car seat, bike, the best age to start classes, camps, learning how to swim, what age they should be walking, talking, transitioning to a big girl bed, reading, counting, losing their first tooth, and the list goes on!


So as your child reaches their own milestone, whether it is completing their first year of dayschool, accomplishing potty training (whew!), finishing their first year of Kindergarten (tears) or finally tackling a two wheeler bike without training wheels, it is time to celebrate! Time to get out the camera and tissues, kind of celebrating!

It's time to mark it down in their baby book, record it in a family photo album or post on Facebook for family and friends to see. Then, as a parent, or even as a family, it is time to reflect on where your child was just a year ago. Think about how far they have come.

Talk with your kids about how much they have grown during this school year, challenges they had to face and conquer, things they learned that they didn't know before, friends they (and you) met along the way, and now the new and exciting things to come in the next school year.

Think of this end of the school year as kind of a New Years Eve resolution...celebrating the end of a school year and the beginning of a new one. What goals does your child want to set and accomplish this coming year, or even this summer?

first day of school

last day of school