Labyrinth Adventures

Labyrinth & mazes are found all around the world in many cultures and civilizations. Designs have been found carved in rock, clay tablets, mosaics, manuscripts and pavements. The significance of them for the various cultures they were part of and the story of how they developed from one place to another is often mysterious and hard to grasp.
The labyrinth has long been associated with the legend of the Minotaur, the monster half-man half-bull which resided in the heart of a labyrinth on the island of Crete. Theseus was able to get to the center of the labyrinth, slay the Minotaur and find his way out again by following a thread he had trailed behind him on the way in.

A labyrinth differes from a maze in that it has only one path that weaves its way to the center and back out again. There is only one entrance and exit: no dead ends, and no choice of which way to turn. In recent years, labyrinths have seen a resurgence as an interactive tool for spiritual reflection, meditation and focus.

Several weeks ago at the Summer Connections Camp at  Teamwork Wins (a local camp for children with Asperger's and other hidden challenges) I created an outdoor labyrinth using some colored rope. The theme of the week was "Treasure Hunt" or "seeking & finding that which is hidden". I thought this would be a good time to introduce labyrinths to the kids.

I first gave each camper a printable labyrinth to use on the tabletop (Find "Printable Labyrinth Activity" here) and showed them how to use it. Then I told them that there was a large labyrinth in the yard that we were going to use topractice concentrating and relaxing. They were excited!

It was a very hot & humid day so I didn't keep them outside as long as I wanted. Had it been cooler I would have allowed them to do a relaxation & guided imagery when they got to the center.

Some of the feed back I got was great:

"It took longer than it looks."

"Its really hot out here, but I feel calm and relaxed anyway."

"That was COOL! Can I do it again?"

and my very favorite: 

"You MADE this for us?"

I thought the best way to show you what we did was with a photo album journal. You can view the
album here:

Labyrinth Day

I'd love to hear about how you have used labyrinth activities on the playground, in therapy or in the classroom!

Here are some other links to learn more:

http://www.labyrinthresourcegroup.org/manual.html

http://kidsrelaxation.com/2011/03/21/labyrinth-activities-to-calm/






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Recycled Boat

Got cardboard, a couple empty plastic bottles, an egg carton and a stick? Then you’re ready to make a boat! When I saw this idea on GreenKidCrafts.com, I knew we HAD to try it. After a trip to the yard and garage for some supplies, all we had to do was fire up our hot glue gun and we were ready to embark on our boating adventure.

Because this project is all about turning something unusual into a boat, we started the activity with a book about a boy who fills the bathtub a little too full. My son read Janie Spaht Gill’s “The Tub That Became a Boat,” a predictable word book, with ease.

Then I read to him Richard Scarry’s “Busytown Boat Race,” another book about silly boats made from all sorts of unpredictable things. (My favorite is the mice’s swiss cheese sailboat!)

Now it was time to start on a project I knew would really float my son’s boat. (Yes, I do love a cheesy, well-placed pun.) I cut a box of diapers (courtesy of our youngest son) into two cardboard shapes – one in a square, the other in a triangle (for our sail). I poked holes in the “sail” so he could thread the stick through.

My son painted the cardboard sail with acrylic craft paint.

Then I drew two parallel lines on the bottom of the cardboard square and supervised my son in the use of a hot glue gun. (Note: NEVER let your child use this tool without your guidance. The burns can be wicked!) We placed our Gatorade bottles (with caps on) on top of the glue. Next we glued on part of an egg carton, threaded the stick through the sail, and poked the stick through the egg carton and down through the cardboard base.

The only thing left to do was set sail (in our bathtub). When we tested it out, my son rather matter-of-factly explained to me that the bottles were filled with air, which is why it floated. Holy cow, he remembered that little nugget of info from our Will it Float or Sink activity!

My son had fun adding a few bathtub squirty toys to the boats’ egg carton seats. (Can you see Sandman taking a ride in the picture up above?)

To wrap up our boating activity (or should I say “expedition?”), I read Tony Mitton and Ant Parker’s book “Busy Boats,” which introduced us to all different types of boats.


Happy sailing!

Flexibility & Patience-Priceless Gifts

Today on my walk I was thinking of how lucky I am to have a supportive family.

In spite of my easy going, non-confrontational nature, there are many things about me that require flexible thinking and patience on the part of anyone who knows/loves/lives with me.

On the outside, I am the children's yoga teacher, always ready to be creative & have fun, however, this comes with a price & I know I am probably not the easiest person to live with.

Last week I stopped at the store to pick up some supplies for a yoga camp program. While I was there, I was very excited to see some some items that I could use for a different class.  I hesitated a moment and could not remember what I had at home and I did not want to buy double so I called Jay, my significant other at home to find out. The conversation went like this:

Me:  [excitedly]: Hi honey! you know those big plastic bugs in my office? The ones on top of the Tabla drum and next to the basket of paper plate African masks?

(At this point another customer looked at me strangely...)

Jay: [sigh]: yes...?

Me: I'm at the store. can you see which ones I have already so I don't buy duplicates?

Jay: [silence]:

Me: Babe are you there?

Jay: [blandly]: I'm here...

Me: You see them?

Jay: Uh huh. There is an orange ant, a green beetle with a spike on its head, a tarantula and a gray-blue looking beetle kind of thing...

Me: OK. No Lady bug, grasshopper or bumblebee?

(More strange looks from customers.)

Jay: No. None of those.

Me: Thanks-be home in a bit...

Ok. I know. Its weird. I am ok with weird. While many women my age are excited about Pottery Barn sales & who won on Dancing with the Stars, I get excited about giant plastic bugs. I just can't help it.

My family however, sometimes does not share my enthusiasm. I can't blame them really, especially when the dining table is covered with paint, glue and paper mache and its almost time to eat. Or when they find little grains of colored rice on the floor with their bare feet. Or there are a dozen yoga mats are drying all over the yard killing the grass and  when there are twisted staples, tiny beads & glitter all over the living room floor from a project gone wrong. I can see them shake their heads & roll their eyes and chuckle. Then they see the rain sticks I made, or the colorful mosaics when they are completed or see me put the giant bugs to use in a class or family event. Then they 'get' me, relax a little & see that I am not merely an overgrown child who likes to collect imaginary creatures & make a mess, but there is definitely a purpose & a method to it all.

While most see a freakishly large, tacky dust-collecting piece of plastic that will no doubt pollute the environment someday, and Jay sees dollar bills flying out of our piggy bank and another closet being taken over for "storage", I see the beauty & the GIANT educational potential of simple, tacky looking toys! The kids LOVE them! This is how I get their attention, keep their imagination stimulated, their minds curious & their senses engaged in a world outside & away from all the noise, violence, electronic screens, flashing, blinking lights and annoying sound effects. These giant plastic bugs are part of a sanctuary of fun & a vehicle for learning.

So, I want to take a minute to extend boundless love & sincere gratitude to this family I live with:

To Jay for making room for me, my daughter, my rain sticks, drums and other odd looking musical instruments, my art supplies AND my growing collection of giant bugs; to my daughter for being so compassionate & willing to 'share' her own stickers, crayons, scissors, ideas & her beautiful heart with me & the kids we work with; and to my sons, for inspiring me to keep the creative, explorative spirit alive in myself and to encourage it in others.

As much as I am sure I annoy them sometimes, this family trusts and believes in me, maybe more than I sometimes trust & believe in myself. It touches me that they are aways there for me, giving me ideas and encouragement, (and sometimes sideways looks), and through their example, reminding me how much I value their priceless gifts of flexibility and patience!






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Friend vs. Foe Beetle Tic-Tac-Toe

“There’s a bug in the house!” yelled my son as he pointed at the window. Ugh! It was big, too. But luckily, it wasn’t inthe house. Unfortunately, though, the insect clinging to our window screen was a Japanese Beetle. (They’ve invaded our neighborhood but, thankfully, our trees, plants, and bushes seem to be holding their own against their insatiable appetite.) The only thing these pests are good for is inspiring a science lesson and craft, so that’s just what I created.

My son and I looked online to find out what we were up against.  We also talked about beetles and learned that while the Japanese Beetle seemed to have no redeeming qualities, the ladybug (also in the beetle family) does.

I read him Denise Fleming’s “Beetle Bop,” a whimsical fiction book whose rhyming text talked about all the different colors and types of beetles.

Then it was time to get our craft on. The day before, I had mixed 1 cup of Plaster of Paris powder and water. Then my son and I filled plastic spoons. We tapped the bottom of the spoons on the counter to release any air bubbles and level out the plaster (so we could glue magnets on the back later).

After an hour, the plaster had dried enough to be released from its spoon molds. A full day later, they were completely dry and ready to paint. (Check out Disney’s Family Fun site to see where this idea originated from.) Using acrylic craft paint, we painted five of the plaster shapes like Japanese Beetles and five like ladybugs. Truthfully, we painted a total of 12; my son wanted to keep painting, so we made a few extras too! I used a black Sharpie marker to add some details (e.g. a line down the bugs’ backs between the “wings,” antennae, etc.) and dipped the opposite end of the paint brush in white paint to make dots for eyes. To make the ladybug’s big black dots, we dipped a pencil eraser in black paint.

When dry, we attached magnets to the back. I used a black Sharpie permanent marker and ruler to draw a Tic-Tac-Toe board onto a paint can lid.

Now, it was time to play Beetle Tic-Tac-Toe … or shamelessly get beat. (If only the real Japanese Beetles in our yard were as easy to beat as I am!)

Making Nautical Fraction Flags

When my son came home from his math summer camp with a table of fractions in his backpack, I thought, “Really?” Could a soon-to-be first-grader really comprehend fractions? Why not? To supplement whatever my son had picked up in this classroom of multi-aged kiddos, I decided to whip up some fractions of our own.

I was inspired by nautical flags. They’re geometry was perfect for a lesson in fractions! To prep for the activity I bought five colors of fabric, some muslin, Pellon Wonder-Under, and a package of four square cork bulletin boards. I attached the Wonder-Under to my colored fabrics and cut each into shapes to match the patterns on four nautical flags that demonstrated the fractions 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, and 1/8. I cut the muslin into squares bigger than my cork boards.

Then I ran freezer paper that I’d cut to 8 ½ by 11 inches through my printer and printed some labels. (You can download the labels here.) If you’ve ever worked with freezer paper, you know that its waxy side will temporarily adhere to fabric when pressed with an iron set to medium-high heat. I cut the shaped labels out and ironed them onto my fabric shapes.

When it came time to start our lesson in fractions, we read Loreen Leedy’s “Fraction Action.” This book has great illustrations and told the story of a teacher whose pupils have to come up with real-life examples of fractions (e.g. a sandwich cut in half, a flag with three stripes, etc.).

Then I handed my son all those fabric shapes and asked him to sort them into four piles by their labels. Once this was done, I asked him which of the piles had the biggest shapes and asked him to put the two triangles together to make a whole square. I showed him that the bottom number in the fraction 1/2 was two and that’s why there are two shapes that make up a whole.

He peeled the paper backing from the Wonder-Under off of the triangles and positioned them on the muslin. I ironed to bond them together.

Then we moved on to the 1/3 flag with three stripes, the 1/4 flag with four cubes, and lastly, the 1/8 flag with eight triangles; this last one required several looks at the sheet of nautical flags I’d printed to get the configuration right.

After each was ironed, we reviewed the fractions again before he peeled off the fraction labels.

His fraction flags were beautiful! I used spray adhesive to glue the flags to the cork bulletin boards and 3M Command Picture-Hanging strips to hang them on his bedroom wall. Now he can review his fractions any time he wants from his very own bed.

NOTE: Only adults should apply spray adhesive and when doing so, carefully follow the can’s instructions. That stuff is super sticky but also quite toxic.


For other great math ideas, visit Love2Learn2day's Math Monday blog hop!

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Two days ago when I picked my oldest son up from summer camp, his little brother and I found a small toad in the yard outside the school. We stopped and gawked for quite awhile. As we walked into the building, I turned back to see parents and children coming and going, oblivious to that small magical creature hidden in the grass.

To teach my children one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my adult life – that there is beauty all around us, all you have to do is look – I wanted to put together a nature scavenger hunt.

In order to put the game cards together, we headed out for an early morning walk on a nearby trail. I told my son to find some cool stuff. It was an easy assignment. He found everything from a seed pod shaped like an “S” (a natural letter) to a ladybug and wild berries. I kept my camera clicking. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to catch the orioles we saw – these were the only ones I’ve ever seen in our neighborhood and they were amazing!

When we got home, I supplemented my own photography with beautiful images from FreeNaturePictures.com, an incredible site with lots of pictures for free download. With the addition of just a few clip art photos, we were ready to make our game cards.

I used Picnik online and Microsoft Publisher. Well, I shouldn’t really say “I." I had some help. My oldest son loved dragging and dropping the images into the collage template and hitting “shuffle.” Some of the things in the hunt are big (such as an owl); other things are small (like a spider). I made four cards, two per page. You can download the PDF file for free here. 

TIP: Make them reusable!
Print, cut, laminate, and give your child a dry-erase marker to check off which nature discoveries they find. Once you both start looking, I think you’ll be amazed at all the wonderful things you would have missed otherwise!

Rainbows: Eat and Learn

Unfortunately, we had a wet spring and up until about three weeks ago, our summer weather was on the same trajectory. Nobody was happy about it. While we were stuck inside watching the rain, I cooked up this colorful weather-related activity. 

First, my son read Dana Meachen Rau’s wonderful non-fiction book called, “Rainbows (Wonders of Nature).” Then I gave him a pair of scissors and a worksheet.

Download this curious question puzzle here.

The words inside white boxes made up the question; the words in yellow boxes comprised the answer. My son cut and moved the words around until the rainbow-related fact was unscrambled.

QUESTION: What two things do you need to make a rainbow?

ANSWER: You need sunlight shining through drops of water.

The curious question activity was something I found in "The Everything Kids' Dinosaur Book" by Kathi Wagner and Sheryl Racine and adapted for this subject matter.

While we waited for our own rainbow outside, we whipped up some rainbow cupcakes. These are so easy and super fun. Simply follow the directions on the back of a white or yellow cake mix box. Divide the batter evenly and add food coloring.

This is a great opportunity to talk about primary colors and how to make secondary colors (e.g. red and blue food coloring can be added to make purple). Spoon some of each colored batter into lined muffin tins. Bake according to the box’s instructions.

Cool. Frost. Share. Impress.

Reading a Treasure Map

When my son mastered reading a grid during the Crayon Word Roll activity, I was inspired to test his map-reading skills further. His interest in pirates is still strong so I knew a treasure hunt would excite him.

This activity combined reading clues and a map, all cleverly disguised in a hunt for an inexpensive puzzle treasure.

I drew a floorplan of our house and printed a grid over the top (download the grid I used here). 

Then I wrote five clues that lead him to various places on the map. I gave him the following to start:

You’re hunting for a treasure.

A treasure you will find.

Look at the map. Read the clues.

You’ll have to use your mind.

Go to C5 to begin.

If you get tired, have a seat.

While there, you may even find a treat.

Each of the hidden clues was folded inside of a small cardboard box with a treasure chest sticker on the outside. The first box also contained a piece of candy.

From one clue to the next, he made his way all around our house, getting closer to the treasure until it was found. 

My son L-O-V-E-D this activity! The only thing he struggled with was quelling his excitement enough to slow down and sound out the words in the clues. 


ARRrrr, mateys! This is an excellent way to trick your child into reading!

Hard and Soft C Song and Sort

When my son reads the word “face,” he almost always says “fake.” Figuring out when to use the hard and soft c can be difficult. Before we started our activity, we watched Sean Kingston’s “Two Ways to Say C” performance from Electric Company on YouTube.

Not only is Kingston’s song catchy, but it’s helpful too. The following lyrics are proof:

When the c is hard, it sounds just like a k …

When the c is soft it sounds just like an s …

Now if a c comes before an e, i, or y,

That is when you know to give the softer c a try …

And when the c comes before an l, r, or t,

You probably want to use the harder sounding c.

After we listened and danced a little, I gave my son a Venn diagram and some lick-and-stick words that started with and/or contained the letter c. (Download the Two Ways to Say C Venn Diagram and word list here.)

We made the lick-and-stick words a few days earlier, with instructions from I Can Teach My Child. I cut a piece of freezer paper to 8 ½ by 11 inches and printed our words on it. (I used freezer paper to prevent the liquid from seeping through and smearing my ink-jet printed words.) Then I dissolved 1 tablespoon of grape jello (pick the flavor of your liking) in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. 

Once the mixture had cooled, I handed my son a sponge brush and he “painted” the back (i.e. waxy side) of the printed words. I let it dry thoroughly before cutting out the words. 

With a little help pronouncing the words, my son was able to sort which words made the hard c sound (e.g. car, camel, candy), which made the soft c sound (i.e. city, cereal, price), and which made both (e.g. circle, concert, circus). All he had to do was remember the rules from the “Two Ways to Say C” song, figure out where to put them on the Venn Diagram, and lick 'em and stick 'em.

While the stickers aren't a necessity, I think the grape-flavored words certainly added to my son's enjoyment of the activity. What a tasty way to learn about hard and soft c!

Looking for some great books to help your child master the two sounds of c? Check out these by Joanne Meier and Cecilia Minden:
Carrie's Surprise (The Sound of Hard C)
Cindy, Cedric, and the Circus (The Sound of Soft C)

Snow in July

Really? You betcha! In my experience, thinking about snow when the humidity is high and temps are even higher is the only good time to ponder winter weather. Besides, what kid wouldn't love two attempts [clearing throat] ... ur ... I mean experiments to make snow, reading a few fun books, and then having our own "snowball" fight?

To kick things off, we took turns reading the following fiction books: 

1. Lost in the Snow, a Magic School Bus Level 2 Scholastic Reader by Joanna Cole
2. I Love Snow by Hans Wilhelm (My son read this Level 1 reader himself.)
3. The Biggest Snowball Fight! By Angela Shelf Medearis (Get ready for some giggles! This is a funny one.)

Then, we got busy making "snow" from a bar of ivory soap. Check out this Steve Spangler science video to see what we did (and how cool it was).

While it looked like snow, it didn’t feel (or smell) like it. We moved on to our second attempt, using Insta-Snow Powder, which I bought at an educational toy store that just opened (I like to support local business and it was only about $4). Just add water, watch, and be amazed! It felt more like snow but still wasn’t the real deal. We talked about the differences between winter snow and our Insta-Snow.

 

To wrap up our fun, I raided my son’s sock drawer and grabbed as many balled up white athletic socks as my arms could hold. My son claimed the spot behind our living room couch as his fort; I was left out in the open to get pummeled by our “snow balls.” His aim has obviously improved since last winter. At least they weren’t as cold and wet as the real thing! 


What fun!

Marshmallow Math (Counting 1s, 10s, and 100s)

Math is so much more fun when you can eat it. I learned this little lesson when we did Let’s Go Fishing (Snacktime Subtraction) with peanut butter, goldfish crackers, and pretzel sticks. For this activity, I was banking on my son adding (not eating) the marshmallows. It took a little convincing, but when I promised he could eat some after we were done, he was game.

I used three sizes of marshmallows – small, large, and those crazy jumbo-sized ones. The little marshmallows had a value of one, the large ones had a value of ten, and the big honkin’ ones were worth 100. I explained this to my son and gave him an answer sheet with this key at the top.

I started by giving him just three little marshmallows and asking him to add them up. Simple. Then I added some large-sized marshmallows. Lastly I added some of the biggest marshmallows. At first my son was adding them (i.e. 100, 200 … 210, 220 … 221, 223, 224). I gave my son a 1-100 numbers grid to use in case he needed it; he didn't (yahoo!).

Then I explained that when you have a number in the hundreds, the number will have three digits. I made three lines on his answer sheet and asked him how many jumbo marshmallows were on the table. “Two,” he said. I told him to write it on the first line. Next I asked how many large marshmallows were there. “Two.” He added this to the second line. Finally, I asked how many little marshmallows (i.e. ones) there were. “Four.” Now he had the answer: 224.

We ran through a number of problems, with answers that ranged from 22 to 955. To wrap up our activity, I put three jumbo marshmallows and two little ones in front of him. I could see him thinking this through before he added three lines and wrote 302. “That’s right! There are no tens so you write a zero in that spot. Great job!”

To reward him for all that hard work, I whipped up some rice krispie treats. What else am I gonna do with all those marshmallows? MMMMmmm. (I’m really starting to like these math activities!)

Want to download the Marshmallow Math answer sheet? A free download is available here.

The Magic of Silent E

Words ending in a silent e are tricky. If I had a nickel for every time my son mispronounced them, I’d be one rich lady. To help him practice several of these words, I wrote a story about a magical wizard who leaves his trusty letter wand with a child for safe keeping. When a friend comes to play and the wand is pulled down off the child’s shelf, amazing things start to happen: a family pet turns into Pete and stuffed animal bear cub transforms into a cube.

The story has several blank boxes, into which my son had to find the right words to glue in order to complete the story.

Before my son started working on the book, we talked about how silent e changes the way letters sound, how the e in race makes the a say its name (i.e. it makes the “aye” sound, not the “ah” sound). Then, because my son desperately needs practice using scissors, I had him cut out the words he’d be gluing into the book.

He sorted the words, finding the two that matched – one without the e and the same word with an e on the end (e.g. cap and cape, hug and huge, Tim and time). He read these words and then we started the story.

I read the first page and had him write a friend’s name of his choice into the story. From then on, we read the pages together (I helped him when necessary and gave hints when he had trouble). He used the picture prompts and beginning letter clues to help choose the right words to complete the story.

When it was done, he colored the wands and wizard, told me he couldn't wait to share his new book with Dad, and hopped on the computer to play Magic “e” Adventures, a free online reading game on Fun4TheBrain.com.

Download a free PDF of “The Magic of Silent e” book and Word List I made here. Simply cut the pages in half horizontally and staple along the left side.

For another great book about the amazing transformation that occurs when words have a silent e on the end, check out “Here Comes Silent E!” by Anna Jane Hays.

Backyard Rock Classification

The soil in our yard is filled with rocks. While my husband and I found this frustrating, our sons were overjoyed. During multiple weekends adding landscaping beds to our backyard, the boys occupied themselves picking up rocks from the freshly turned dirt. Being the geeky mother that I am, I seized the opportunity to use my sons’ growing rock collection as an educational activity.

I hit the local library in search of books about rocks, but was discouraged by the overly technical details most contained. The non-fiction available there was WAY beyond my son’s understanding. I did grab Melinda Lilly’s “Read and Do Science: Rocks” book, though. It provided a brief explanation of the three types of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary). I also read "Let's Go Rock Collecting" by Roma Gans to my son before he began sorting, measuring, and studying his own rock collection.

I instructed my son to pick eight rocks of varying shapes, colors, and sizes from his stash. Then I gave him a ruler and a rock classification worksheet I’d made. He wrote the numbers one through eight on sticky notes and we placed each rock on top, to keep them straight.

Download a copy of this worksheet here.

Then one by one my son examined each rock. What color is it? Is it shiny or dull? Rough or smooth? How long is it? Does it look like metal or glass? When he’d made check marks or filled in the appropriate boxes on his chart, we moved the rocks (and sticky notes) around on the table, putting them in order biggest to smallest and wrote the corresponding numbers at the bottom.

I planned this activity to teach my son about observation, but instead the lesson ended up being more about characteristics and measuring. It never occurred to me when I prepped for this, that my son wouldn’t know what shiny and dull meant or how to read a ruler (aside from the big numbers).

So what did Ilearn from this? That sometimes the best kind of learning is accidental.

Brown Baggin' It: A Touch-and-Feel Game

Too many worksheets make for one uncooperative boy. It’s easy to get in a rut. Ask a soon-to-be-first-grader and they’ll tell you: ruts are NOT fun. To mix it up, I put together a guessing game for my son that I discovered in “Rainy Days and Saturdays” by Linda Hetzer.

I labeled brown lunch sacks with the numbers one through 10. Then I ran around the house and collected 10 objects (e.g., an apple, crayon, flip-flop sandal, etc.) when my son was out of the house, stuffed one object in each bag, and stapled the top shut. When he got home, the fun began. I gave him the bags to feel and guess what was inside. 

A scotch tape dispenser is the same shape as a snail. I had never noticed this before, but my son sure did. (Clever, huh?)

He listed the guesses on a page of his spiral notebook.

When he finished touching, smashing, and squeezing each bag, he opened them and wrote down each of the objects in the second column next to his guesses.

My son only guessed one object correctly and he was disappointed. I told him that we sure rely on our eyes a lot to tell us what things are; he agreed. I applauded his creative guesses and his mood changed from deflated to proud.

I have a feeling we’ll be playing this little game again sometime.

Of Mice & Yoga...

This week I am again reminded that we can only plan loosely when working with kids. They are wired differently, energetic & so spontaneous that we have to stay on our toes & think  'flexibility'.  (And  isn't that part of what yoga is all about?)

I love the way the kids keep me grounded and rooted in the reality that no matter what our "Best Laid Schemes" - lessons & plans are as a 'teacher' - whether a yoga teacher or academic one - there is a really good chance that the kids will 'miss the point' and create their own lesson in spite of our good intentions. We have to let go of  the outcome we think we want-and embrace the one we actually get. (This would fall under "non-attachment").

Today gave me one of those moments-and instead of teaching ideas & leading young minds to answers, I found more questions.

So I have been working with a wonderful family providing private yoga classes for 2 children. Our main focus has been reducing anxiety & using calming techniques along with postures that release body tension. I have put together a customized program using themes and characters that 'Zack' - 7 years old- likes & relates to.

I was very pleased with the work I had done- creating a story and activities & games around his favorite topic: Star Wars. He loved it and was very excited at the idea of travelling to stars and planets - as he learns yoga. I modified the story so that I would not be emphasizing the "Wars" part: there were Peaceful solutions & outcomes, and no battles only "challenges" and so on.

Today was another exciting adventure. We talked about what to take with us on our "Star Quest"-popcorn, pillow pets, blankies and, of course a Ray Gun (I did not judge him or censor him- but he assured me it was only for protection.)

As we landed our aircraft on a strange new surface-(sand, water, lighthouses...) we realized we were on planet Earth and at the beach. We also saw surfers, jellyfish, dolphins and an array of other creatures and  things. (So far so good. They were engaged and using their breathing and practicing the postures with me. )

At one point in our story, I introduced a scenario where I was going to guide Zach through the process of using his calming breaths to stay focused so he could overcome a "challenge". (That was my intention.)

The 'problem' was that a shark was swimming in the water nearby-and as soon as I introduced a shark in the water Zach immediately responded by (being silly) jumping up off of his mat, and hiding under a blanket saying "oh no! a shark. he's gonna eat us!!".  

As his mom and I were redirecting him back to the mat and getting him to remember how to breathe to stay calm & think about what to do next in this situation, he suddenly smiled and told us "Its OK-I just blasted him with my Ray Gun!".

So the imaginary shark, no longer posing a threat, was now blasted away into another galaxy-as was my lesson plan, my peaceful breathing techniques and my staged 'teaching moment'. My ego was also blasted & I had no choice but to be humbled.

Clearly, Zach's lesson today was not how to use yoga breathing to handle his anxiety in a tough situation, or how to use the dolphin pose to release tension in his tight shoulders. It was self-preservation, which is also very important to all of us as individuals and as a society.

How as parents & educators do we walk that fine line between teaching kind, peaceful interactions and appropriate self-protection?

While we want to teach children to talk things out & peacefully resolve conflict when they can, I wonder where teaching them to also be prepared, and protect themselves from threatening & dangerous situations fits in? (The Yamas of Yoga texts tell us about "Ahimsa"-non harming-but also that we are allowed to defend ourselves against attackers.)

When children perceive something as a threat, are we doing them more of a dis-service by making them feel badly if they "protect" themselves by force: with a push, a punch-or an imaginary Ray Blaster? Do we really need "Zero Tolerance" policies or to expell a child for making a pretend gun with his fingers or just a little more common sense in looking at & considering each situation as individual and unique?

Today I was suddenly concerned that we as educators are sending mixed messages in emphasizing the "Peace" part too much and the "Protection" part not enough. Is this part the reason that so many kids are falling victim to depression, feel dis-empowered and become bullies or act out violently towards classmates and teachers?

You have to admit, in spite of all the programs in existence and the schools cracking down on violent behavior and inappropriate language, etc. there has still been a steady increase in school violence and bullying to now epidemic proportions. Why is that?

Maybe instead of censoring these imaginary scenarios, we need to let kids start exploring & working through these 'taboo' subjects again through creative play, where it is safe, just as Zach did today. Maybe we have taken an unrealistic stand and have gone overboard with zero tolerance & character education. Both Peace & Conflict are part of life and two sides of the same "Human Nature" coin. Knowing when to employ each is an important life skill not only for self preservation & safety, but for self esteem and self-responsibility. Maybe we need to re-examine this and come up with a better  & less confusing approach.

Maybe Zach has the right idea:  always carry your Ray Gun, just in case. If you ask me, he acted appropriately: he came prepared for anything & when a danger arose, he didn't have to think. His instinct took over & he protected himself, his sister and his mom. (Wouldn't we do the same as parents?)

He has also made his yoga teacher think again. And learn another un-intended lesson.

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men-(an' this Yoga teacher) go oft awry..."

Counting Money with Coin Caterpillars

My son just wrapped up a four-week math summer camp and loved it (he clearly has his father’s genes). One of the things his teacher mentioned that he should continue to work on was counting money. Imagine my glee when that very same day Miss Kindergarten shared an amazing activity and printable on counting coins on her blog. (Yes, I do believe in fate.) Her Coin Caterpillars idea was EXACTLY what we needed!

Rather than just hand my son some pocket change and her worksheet, I decided to make some caterpillar faces so we could create caterpillar problems to do now andlater.

To make the caterpillar faces:

1. I traced a quarter onto construction paper and an empty cardboard cracker box I pulled out of our recycle bin and cut them out. 
2. I cut and bent a pipe cleaner in the shape of a “V” and hot glued it to the cardboard circle. 
3. I added glue on top and put the construction paper circle over it, sandwiching the pipe cleaner in the middle. 
4. Then I laid a pencil over the pipe cleaner and wrapped both ends around the pencil to make the squiggly antennae.
5. All that was left to do was glue on some googly eyes and draw a smile.

To make his coin caterpillars, I asked him to pick several coins and line them up in a row with a caterpillar face at the beginning. Underneath he wrote the values of the coins and then used a 1-100 numbers grid to count forward (i.e. add the values together).

So cute. So fun. And such good practice. Thank you, Miss Kindergarten!


Find this idea and loads of other great math activities listed on love2learn2day's Math Monday blog hop here.

How to Make a Thinking Cap

“But, Mom, what about the brain?!?!” was my son’s question when we finished his human organs tee shirt. Truth be told, I thought that we’d just read up on the brain and add what we learned to his Body Book (visit this post for links to download the Body Book pages free). But, ohhhh no, that wasn’t going to cut it for my son. Apparently I’d set the bar too high with our other human body-related activities. (I have no one to blame but myself.)

Frantically searching the web for a fun craft to do, I found the Brain Child blog. Hallelujah! This incredible site had the perfect activity to cap off (excuse the corny pun) our lessons on the human body.

Before we got crafty, we read Pamela Hill Nettleton’s book “Think, Think, Think: Learning about Your Brain.” It taught us what the three parts of your brain are used for:

• The cerebrum helps you think.
• The cerebellum helps you move.
• The brain stem keeps your heart and lungs working.

Now it was time for my son to make his very own thinking cap!

What we used:

A can of Great Stuff foam sealant (cost: approximately $4)

Lots of aluminum foil

Disposable gloves (a pair for you AND a pair for your child)

Protective eyewear

A disposable bowl that fits your son/daughter’s head

Waxed paper

What we did:

1. I covered the top of my son’s head in aluminum foil. I’d recommend finding a bowl that’s a snug fit and covering it completely with foil. If you omit the bowl, use LOTS of foil to make your foiled hat thick and stiff. This will serve as a permanent base for your "brain."
2. After we removed the foil form, we put on gloves and eyewear and sprayed the foam sealant, covering our foil hat completely. Before handing over the can, I showed my son how to make folds like what you’d see in the cerebrum. 
3. We set our “brain” on top of waxed paper to dry, threw out the gloves, and gave each other a high-five. “That was cool, Mom,” my son said. I agreed!
4. I checked the brain cap a few hours later and as it was drying, gently pulled the waxed paper away from the bottom where it was sticking. Then I turned it over since the top was dry, letting the bottom dry thoroughly overnight.

Note: We did this in our garage with the door open so there was plenty of ventilation. While the sealant’s can didn’t give this warning, I thought it best to control the mess andprotect our brains.