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 Back to Basics

Reading and cooking with kids

Learning at Home: More Than Computers & Workbooks

1/30/2021

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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
     Hang tight, parents, we’re halfway there! The word halfway though is very subjective. Could be a good thing and you’re reaching an end point or a bad thing and you’ve left something behind, but either way, you can’t go back and yell, “do over!”
     It was in the summer with all this virus mess that I realized that homeschooling was going to be the best option for both my daughter and myself, though not without some stress. Mine, not hers. I tell myself that it’s only kindergarten but know that one always needs a strong foundation to build upon and so these early years do matter, so back to stressing. Then I read a blog from a homeschooling mom who said that if she had to do it all over again, she would relax more, read a ton of books and slow down, basically stopping to smell the roses as the saying goes. Slow down and see the value in the small things not missing opportunities that might pass by. And that’s just what I’ve done. I’ve slowed down and look for the everyday teachable moments that might be turned into extended learning opportunities and the end result has been a happier child filled with curiosity and imagination, excited to learn.
     I can’t redo the first half of her “school year,” but I’m not sure that I would want to because making the changes that I have has shown me just how unimaginative and limiting sitting in front of a computer screen and filling out worksheets can be and that learning doesn’t have to be just during the hours of 8:00 to 3:00. I haven’t given up all computer work and still offer worksheets and wipe clean boards but I’ve been reading books throughout the day and have found that learning can also take place when you least expect it. For example:
  • Playing games – card and board games like Monopoly (my five-year-old daughter’s favorite if you can believe it), Uno, Rummy, Scrabble, etc. involve math and reading, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, as well as a bit of planning ahead and plotting. Hmm...should I worry about the plotting and planning part?
  • Movies – can be a great history lesson. During the month of December, I drag out all the Christmas movies and one of my favorites is Meet Me in St. Louis. My daughter and I watched it together and it generated a whole plethora of questions and much discussion ensued. We talked about fashions of that period (she was particularly fascinated with the corset and declared her gratefulness that women no longer have to wear them), the crank wall telephone, ice delivery, doctor house calls, homemade ketchup and that crazy Halloween scene. Still don’t know what that one was about.
  • Baking and/or cooking – our kitchen adventures always turn into a lesson, sometimes positive and sometimes uh, not-so-sure-about that taste, but they all still involve some math, a bit of science and a dash of creativity. Just recently we experimented with the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker my daughter received for Christmas. Boy, oh boy was that a true kitchen adventure! Almost a Lucy and Ethel moment, but fun and educational nonetheless. The activity confirmed that I will never be a Pinterest perfect mom, ha.
  • Hiking – my daughter and I both love to be outdoors and so whenever we take a walk or hike, I’ve been bringing along nature identification books or she brings her camera and then we identify the various plants, insects or critters in the photos she took when we get home. This sparks lively discussions and more in depth research about animal homes, diets and habits, the best environments for certain types of plants (she is quite fascinated by fungus, particularly coral and puff ball mushrooms), birds and what their eggs look like (after finding shells at the end of summer) and much, much more.
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  • Internet – research tells us to limit screen time for children and that reading comprehension takes a dive when reading on a screen, but I’m one of those people that turns to Google when I wonder about something. When my daughter and I see something new or are just curious about a topic, I Google it for the information and for the photos to show her. Just last week we got into a discussion about fashion, specifically the differences between a shawl, stole, and Spencer jacket and what a bustle is, while doing an Usborne Activities Sticker Dolly Dressing book. A visual is always helpful to enhance understanding and make connections. I also like to look things up on YouTube, like recently watching how maple syrup is made. I know that she’s taking it in because she pointed out the maple trees in our area that are already tapped for sap.
  • Books – of course my world always includes books and so I’ve started reading to my daughter at various times throughout the day, not just at bedtime. It has become a habit to pull out books that are related to different questions and discussions that crop up throughout the day. Sitting down to share a story doesn't take very long, but it reinforces my daughter's learning and helps us create a stronger bond through books. I’ve also subscribed to Vooks, 'a streaming service for kids where books come to life,' which has led us to discover new titles we may not have otherwise found.
     These are just a few of the things that I’ve been doing with my daughter that shows me how her curious mind fuels her thirst for knowledge and how excited she gets to find the answers, and as we say that we are lifelong learners, I too have been learning new things when we do our searches. Don’t ever be afraid to tell your children that you don’t know something. It shows them that learning is a life long process and that we all can learn something new, as well as how to go about finding an answer to their question. 

“Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.”

Happy learning!

-Kate @ BTBL

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 5) for Kate, and two sons (now 3 and 1) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.

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Good Evening, Parents & Children! Today is Monday!

4/6/2020

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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
     Bored yet? Pulling your hair out looking for ideas to keep those young kiddo’s engaged? We thought that we would try to help by offering up a few book suggestions with ideas for extended activities to promote learning during this time of sheltering in place.
     We have always promoted reading aloud and using picture books can take a child out of their world and send them on an adventure stimulating curiosity and imagination and also offers a smooth transition to extended activities. Studies have shown that hands-on-learning improves retention of information and offers a sense of empowerment when children take ownership of learning through real experience. It also offers up experiences that can be applied to real life and gives background knowledge that can be recalled when needed.

     Our first suggestion is a book that you can utilize for the entire week: Today is Monday. It’s actually a traditional folk song used to teach children the days of the week that celebrated artist, Eric Carle revived with his unique artwork. If you don’t have a copy of the book, look for a read aloud on YouTube and also look for the poem along with the song on-line to share with your child(ren). Start each day with the song.

     Have a calendar at the ready or the days of the week cards and then read the story each morning and discuss what day it is and where it falls in the week. If you have cards, have children place them in order to reinforce sequencing. Other ideas include:
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  • Each day, have children create a menu for dinner that includes the featured food. Older children can write out a menu and younger ones can draw pictures of their menu.
  • Look for coloring pages for each food or even search on-line for activities for Today is Monday.
  • Each day use the featured food in a different way. For instance, young children can count the number of letters or draw a picture of that food. Come up with other foods that are the same color or start with the same letter.
  • Older children can come up with an acrostic poem using the letters of the food for that day, use the letters of the food to see how many new words they can make or just use the first letter of the food and come up with other foods that start with that letter.
  • Look and discuss Eric Carle’s unique way of using collage for his artwork and each day have children come up with their own unique illustrations for that day of the week. Let them unleash their inner creative spirit even trying Carle’s collage technique.
  • On Monday, cut out some string beans and string them up.
  • On Tuesday, sacrifice a box of spaghetti and have children count how many noodles are in a box. Play a game of pick up sticks or use the spaghetti for artwork.
  • Be creative with Wednesday’s ZOOOOP. Actually make soup that day or pretend to make a soup. Name it and decide what will go in it. My daughter made a letter soup with magnetic letters, cardboard letters and pasta letters all mixed in a Tupperware bowl and then we used them to spell simple words.
  • For the next three days, create outdoor scenes of where this meat and fish is found or find coloring pages of each.
  • Sunday, Ice Cream! Make your own ice cream in a bag or cut a cone out of construction paper and then scoops of ice cream and sprinkles to top it off.
  • You can always have your child make one large illustration and add each food to the picture every day. Let them use their imagination and be creative.
     Enjoy your week and just keep reading! And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, so you don't miss any book suggestions or activity ideas!

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.

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The Protégé Effect: Do, Repeat, Teach, Learn

1/17/2020

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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
     If you are a parent of a young child, you know that they are continually growing both in stature and in cognition and therefore, ability. Like any construction project that needs a strong foundation, brains are also built upon a strong foundation and a child’s experiences and interactions help to make their foundation solid. During early childhood, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes with connections forming between the brain cells at a rapid pace. Connections that are regularly used will be kept and those that are not will be eliminated. Because children are learning everyday through experiences, it is important to offer a variety of experiences to learn from as well as repeated experiences. Repetition helps children develop and master new skills as well as allowing them to construct meaning of their world and how they fit into it. Repetition promotes learning and can also be achieved through daily tasks and routines such as making meals and baking in the kitchen. Introduce learning in the kitchen through:
  • Numbers and math through weights and measures
  • Literacy through books about baking and cooking and reading recipes
  • Creative exploration through new ingredients and recipes
  • Tactile experiences through kneading dough and the feel of various fruits and vegetables
  • Vocabulary through a discussion of what you are making
     While adults crave variety, preschoolers thrive on repetition. When preschoolers do things over and over again, they develop and master new skills while also constructing new understandings of their world. Think of how people master a new skill such as baking or playing a musical instrument. It takes repetition and practice. As preschoolers repeat and practice a variety of skills, they build their proficiency in those skills, which in turn leads to greater self-confidence.
     Working in the kitchen also teaches children about cause and effect. Sometimes a recipe might not turn out the way you thought because a step was missed, measured incorrectly or misunderstood. A child can learn from the mishap and repeating the recipe will help them to master the task and allow for success, building confidence and self-esteem. It will also demonstrate to a child that their actions have consequences, both positive and negative. A fun watch to include might be 'Little Bear and the Cupcakes' where Emily and Little Bear’s muffins turn out hard as rocks because they forgot to add baking powder.
     Another way that learning occurs in the kitchen that has a pedagogical association is learning by teaching and we aren’t talking about the parent as the teacher but your child. When a child becomes the teacher, understanding is on a deeper level because the child has taken ownership of their learning. This has also been termed the protégé effect, “a psychological phenomenon where teaching, pretending to teach, or preparing to teach information to others helps a person learn that information.” I remember watching my mother in the kitchen and then later as an adult thought, “no problem, I can handle that” only to discover that it wasn’t working out the way I thought it would. But when I had to do it myself and explain to another what I did or how to do it, it stuck in my mind because I had to struggle to gain an understanding of it and make it clear enough in my mind to explain it to my own child. First hand knowledge is always the best and when someone can explain it and teach it to another, a deeper understanding has been gained and perhaps has even allowed that person to see it in a new way putting a whole new twist on it, fueling the imagination. So, as you cook with your child, have them explain to you what they are doing and why and make sure that you offer opportunities for pretend play to extend the learning.

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth learning can be taught.”
Oscar Wilde

     I often find my own daughter in her play kitchen explaining to her dolls and stuffed animals how to make pizza or pancakes or something that we have done in the kitchen. She gathers her ingredients and asks each one what they want on it or in it as the case may be and then she goes on to explain what she needs to make it and how she is making it and voila, she has created her own masterpiece that she proudly displays on her small plates. I find it amusing but then I think, she’s really learning. Her pretend play extends to real world life skills. It’s all about the actual experience of doing.
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Just remember that when in the kitchen:
  • Messes will happen
  • Children need to use their hands for a sensory experience and learning
  • Errors are a learning experience and can create a deeper understanding of why and how
  • Children are not on the same time schedule as you are. Slow down and make it enjoyable
  • Don’t underestimate your child just because of their age
  • Allowing your child to “teach” you leads to greater understanding
  • Connecting a recipe to a story or cooking to music includes literacy along with singing and movement, aiding in the development of the brain.
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**We like to think that the warm memories might also include a dad, a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling. Happy memory making!**
Happy cooking!

-Kate @ BTBL

Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.

0 Comments

    Author

    We are mom Sandra and daughters Amanda and Kate, all with backgrounds in literacy and education, who want to share our philosophy of taking the basics of life; books, simple toys that encourage play, imagination and creativity, and using cooking and baking to teach math and real life skills to raise happy, inquisitive children. Join us in exploring the old and the new and sifting through the myriad of research to consider what is best for our children.

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