Spring is right around the corner here in the Grand Valley. Farmers and families are starting to plan out their vegetable and fruit gardens. To me this is truly the start of the New Year as it represents a shift in both the weather and the activity level of the community. We get to see […]
Cats and dogs have always been a large part of my life. I have fond memories of my grandparents dog Pepie, cat Tiger, and my favorite horse Sniffer. Pepie would ride with us to feed the horses and run around the pasture with reckless abandon. Sniffer loved having me visit because it meant a treat […]
Our nation is seeing an expanding interest in healthy foods that are grown in local family and small business gardens. This link will help you find one in your area: https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets . In my area, starting in June, there are several farmers markets that offer a wide variety of seasonal goodies to take home. Everything from fresh […]
Grandma Great always had a flower garden no matter where she lived. I remember, as a young child, helping to plant, tend, and then harvest the garden foods that we would later eat. At her house there were two sections set aside for flowers, one in the front and one on the side where there […]
Welcome to our final blog entry for this month. Throughout the month, we have talked about the importance of helping our youngsters not only know their numbers, but also understand what they represent. This ability to understand what numbers represent lays the foundation for future mathematical thinking. Therefore, it is important that our children have […]
Welcome to week three! Hope you had fun playing the matching dot games. Do you see dots everywhere now? Get ready for another dot-filled week! For this week’s activity we are going to reinvent the game of bingo. Again, we will not be using symbolic representation of numbers. Instead, we will be representing numbers with […]
As we talked about last week, subitizing is foundational and relies on visual patterns. Often parents focus on symbolic representations of numbers and encourage their children to memorize these symbols. Parents might believe that when their children know these symbols they have an understanding of what that symbol means and represents. However, “knowing” the number […]
Have you ever seen children as young as three who can count up to 100, but struggle to answer when you ask what comes after number 100. It is not uncommon that young children learn rote counting without really understanding the meaning behind the numbers. How can we help our children develop a deeper understanding […]
Wooden blocks, Magna-tiles, and Lego bricks have taken quite a residence in the childhood of young children. Toys like these and other building materials provide children with a fascination with creative opportunity. As an adult, I am still astounded by the ideas that come to mind when I open one of the Lego containers I […]
I have consistently found that young children are always fascinated by anyone viewing photographs or videos on a smartphone. “Can I see, can I see?” they say as they mosey their way into your lap. Where children viewing what has been taken by a camera is important, it is also just as important to get […]