Growing up, I loved art class. I may not have been the best at drawing, but it was fun and helped me to relax. In elementary school, I would stress over my art work looking like my classmates. Middle school was a blur for a lot of reasons. High school changed things. My freshman Studio Art teacher was an amazing woman. She inspired me to be myself in my art. She told me not to worry about what others thought and enjoy.
Thanks to Ms. W, I continued on with art every year in high school. I took several classes that were on painting and, in my last year of high school, art, pottery, and sculpture filled the end of my day. Art classes were something that was a perk for me. I was lucky to go to a school that had a variety of options in high school. Then, in college, while working on my teaching degree, I took an Art & Learning course. This course was a lot of work, but oh so rewarding.
I remember studying different artists over the years during classes. My bedroom was decorated with Monet’s Water Lilies and I adored it. Art appreciation continues to be part of my life. JSL’s nursery school class recently completed a unit on artists. They studied Seurat (one of my favorites thanks to his dots) and here is JSL’s version of Mondrian:
So my question to you this week is inspired by my love of art:
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
It is no secret that my boys love technology. They are not afraid to jump on a computer and they LOVE my iPod. Since I inherited the iPod from my parents, I have been trying to figure out some good educational applications for JSL. At almost four, JSL wants to do things like his big brother, but he needs learning tools that are developmentally appropriate.
Yes, we have games for the kids. My favorite items are still the ones that focus on some area of learning in a fun way where the boys do not realize it is happening. I guess the teacher in me will always be present. As part of the Family Review Network, I was recently I was asked to review Letter Buddies AlphaBooks by Cavallo Media. Here is the video that I previewed that made me know it was something I wanted to try with my preschooler:
Available in the iTunes Store for $2.99. Released March 18, 2011 in the Education category. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and also an iPad version.
What We Thought of Letter Buddies AlphaBooks:
As a certified reading teacher, I was very intrigued with an application for younger children that begins to introduce early reading skills. When I put Letter Buddies AlphaBooks onto the iPod, JSL and I sat down on the couch to check it out together. We decided to try out the letter F first. JSL receives speech therapy, and this is the sound that he is working on. Within seconds the iPod was pulled out of my hand and I sat and watched my three year old son participate in an interactive letter lesson.
We were introduced to Furry F and asked if we knew any words that start with the letter F. JSL sat there and said a few of them without me prompting him. Yes, at three he was responding to the cues of the application. Then I watched as the flashcard like photos and words came onto the screen.
A fan was shown. JSL would say it, move to the next screen where Furry F was with the Fan having his fur blown. The screen said “I like the fan.” JSL repeated this carefully looking at the words and getting his proper sounds out.
This repeated for five more words introduced by Furry F including: flower, feather, fire, fork, and fish.
While waiting for his speech lesson, JSL continued to explore other letters. Just looking at the menu he was starting to recognize his letters. The start sounds and word/letter recognition was amazing. JSL was actively engaged and would have kept going, but it was time for his speech lesson.
Of course, JSL HAD to show his teacher what he was trying. She was intrigued by the application and watched as JSL repeated the Furry F section. We both admired how this could be another great tool to use with JSL to reinforce start sounds with words. Of course, the reading teacher in me also knew he was really homing in on pre-reading skills as well. It was a win-win application.
JSL continues to ask to use Letter Buddies AlphaBooks to this day. He adores “chatting” with the characters and picking different books. I would recommend this to others looking for an interactive early literacy application for the preschool set.
Disclosure: This post was written for Family Review Network, and Cavallo Media who supplied me with a complimentary code for my honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are 100% mine.
What a week it has been. There has been so much going on that the time seemed to fly at certain points. Do you know what the following items all have it common?
Spring break
April showers
Passover Seders
Hunger strikes
Lots of family time
Laundry from sickness
Making big decisions
Rain, Rain, Rain
Pajama days
Disney DVD central
Any ideas? Well, when we look back at the past week, I think these items pretty much sum things up. It was Spring break, there were so many April showers that plans to play outside were almost always canceled. The Passover Seders were not only time spent with lots of family, but when your hunger strike of sorts started. No JSL, you can not live on potato chips and matzoh balls! Oh and the matzah and cream cheese at Nana and Papa’s house – the same we have. If you can eat it there, it will work at our house too.
Thanks to refusing to eat almost anything, you made yourself very sick all over my bed. That was also a day of really big, hard decisions for me. Did I mention that it rained, and rained, and rained? While stuck inside we sported pajamas and watched a bunch of Disney DVDs. You and NHL are now fans of Robin Hood.
The sun actually came out yesterday. While outside at Nana and Papa’s house, you made a face. It pretty much summed up the way I was feeling.
Thank you for making me laugh and smile – I needed that!
Love,
Mommy
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Monday and Tuesday night were late nights for our family. Yes, TechyDad and I are typically up working late – but the kids are asleep for many of those hours. For some reason midnight seemed a lot later when both boys were still up and running around.
We had a wonderful time at Aunt S and Uncle M’s house for both of the Seders. Extended family were in town to help celebrate and remember the traditions of Pesach. Thank you Aunt S and Uncle M for including us and giving our boys fabulous memories of Passover Seders.
There is so much to write about, but right now I am on Mom duty. Both boys are home for Spring Break and the little guy woke up feeling a bit off. Poor kid is miserable and I have laundry to work on thanks to it. Not sure if he is sick, or just so exhausted he is getting sick (not eating isn’t helping either). So if I am scarce for a few days, no need to send in the troops – just taking care of the family and trying to get everyone back on track while limited to Passover foods.
If you have any suggestions on things to feed an almost four year old that refuses to eat Passover food – I would love them.
