Happy Easter

Easter bunny box
Since it is the last post for the month and it is Easter on Friday, I thought I would feature a craft. I found this lovely craft that involves making a bunny using a toilet roll but I decided to do just a simple paper craft. All you need is:

For Friday :)

• Pair of scissors
• Bright coloured pencils
• Glue
• Lots of patience

WHAT TO DO:
1. Please see the print out under the Fine Motor Development tab
2. Have your little one colour in the template first
3. Carefully cut it out and assemble with glue, lots of patience here
4. Have your little one keep their chocolate eggs inside

Happy Crafting! :)

Easter break time

Holiday break
As the end of the first term comes to an end, it is time for a small holiday... As a result, the blog will be going on a small break from 29 March to 10 April. The last blog post will be on the Wednesday 28th March. But when I return there will be lots of new and exciting blog posts:

• Fun Autumn recipes to make with your little one
• New Maths games
• Fun with Phonics ideas
• New Autumn craft ideas
• All of this and more!

Thank you to all those who continue to support the blog, I really appreciate it.

Have a wonderful Easter break with your little one and I will be back to blogging on the 17th April :)

Don't stop learning this holiday! :)

Kind regards

Krysten

What colour is this?

Afrikaans Colours
On the blog today, two wonderful page print outs that teaches the basic colours in Afrikaans. Click under the Elke Dag Afrikaans tab: https://countingstarstutoringsupport.blogspot.co.za/p/elke-dag-afrikaans.html. The pages are great for your student files and it can be printed as a poster for your classroom. The best way to teach the colours in Afrikaans is to apply it to real life. Use the colours to show association with that colours. E.g. Draw a red apple and under it write ROOI or Rooi. When little ones associate colours with objects, then it is easier to understand.

Gelukkige leer! :)

Making time

Happy Homework
As many of you know I have developed my Learner Development Support Program. I also do Tutoring, Homework Help, Fine Motor Development, completed a Reader and Scribe course and Facilitating. But the reason behind this post is to discuss my Homework Policy that I have. Homework is given but it is Happy Homework. Happy Homework takes 5 minutes long and just enforces what was taught. It can be anything from reading Sight words to practicing 3 set of times tables. I still feel kids should get homework but not to a point that it takes longer than 20 minutes. Yes, it is important to learn but projects and solid learning needs to be done at school.





Happy Homework:

Words and Writing:
☆ A list of 10 Sight words is given, these Sight words are also placed onto Flashcards
☆ A list of 8 Spelling words is given focusing on a specific sound, these Spelling words are also given on a flashcard and a practice page for the Spelling words is given
☆ One page is given to practice writing, once each letter is mastered in writing, then fun sentences/poems is given to help with practice

Maths:
☆ It depends on the age but different things are given for homework
☆ Children ages 4 - 6 get fun counting cards and children ages 7 - 9 getting taught in a way that works for them. Parents need to please give me a clear outline of what is being taught
☆ Important Maths skills are focused on during the Learner Development Support Program


Please remember when completing Happy Homework:
☆ Complete all the homework given, this homework helps your child
☆ Parents will be informed of what is for homework so responsibility is given to the parents
☆ Encourage your child to learn during the Happy Homework sessions, don't give out the answers
☆ When learning Sight words and Spelling words, use the words in a sentence to help with learning

Happy learning! :)

Understanding Phonics

Learning Phonics
Under the Phonics Development page, I discuss the 5 steps to use when understanding Phonics. The 5 steps are important as it assists with learning Phonics. Phonics is important because it assists your little one towards the first steps to reading and writing. It may not seem important now to learn the weekly words but it will be beneficial.

Follow my 5 steps when helping your little one with Phonics homework and your little one will be on their way to becoming great readers and spellers.

Happy learning! :)

Pencil this and pencil that

Pipe cleaner Pencil Worms
It is Friday so that means it is Arts and Crafts time. It has been a while since I have featured an Arts and Crafts post. Arts and Crafts is a great way to start the weekend and it is a good way to work the Fine Motor Development Skills for your little one. Click on that tab to find out how to make a Pipe cleaner Pencil Worm. But why are pencils important for Fine Motor Development? Pencils help us write therefore it assists with this development. Pencils take on a whole new look with this fun craft.

Happy crafting!

Can I have one?

Pro-Pets
I went to high school with a girl who said she never had a family pet growing up. I found it rather weird. I was 18 at the time and grow up with two pets. I asked her why and she said her mom just never wanted one. I think pets are great to have as they do form part of the family. Right now, I am don't own a pet but was lucky to have my cat in my life for 15 years before she passed away last year. Yes, I do miss her but one day I will get a cat but for now, I am okay without one.


Having a pet in the family can be so great for your little one. I am more of a cat person but I think your little one's first pet should be a dog. Remember, you must have space and energy to have a dog. Puppies can be great but they aren't small forever. Below are reasons why getting your little one a dog is a good idea

1. Exercise:
Yes, the most obvious one. Regular exercise will be great for the two of them. There is something so great about walks in the park on a Saturday morning, your little one on their bike and the dog being happily walked. Walking the dog every day if you can. If your dog is getting fat then you're doing something wrong. Nothing personal, just a quote I read somewhere (or something to that effect).

2. Love:
We never forget our first dog/pet. The bond we feel for the animal becomes incredble. If your little one is an only child, then a bond is created that is similar to the bond with siblings.

3. Responsibility
Remind your little one about the responsibility that comes with owning a dog. Yes, cuddles are important but picking up poop, regular walks and feeding are all about the responsibilities of owning a dog.

4. Happiness
There is nothing quite like coming home to a loving dog after your little one has had a difficult day. A person can never be sad around a dog


Contact your local dog shelter (please not the SPCA) to find the perfect dog for your family.
ADOPT DON'T SHOP!

Get the trolley

Fun Grocery Games
Let's face it, going food shopping with your little one ends up being stressful and always being asked if you can buy something for them that they don't need. So why not turn food shopping into something fun? Below are some fun ideas to try with your little one next time you're out:

1. I-SPY
Good old I-Spy never hurt anyone. This game can be played using colours (for your very little ones) or with your older one who is learning to spell. Remember to keep it simple


2. SPELL IT OUT
Think of simple words and have your little one sound out each word. This will help with pronunciation and spelling development

3. DESCRIBE
Have your little one describe certain items that are on the trolley. Have your little one think about where it is grown before it makes its way to the Supermarket

4. READ IT
If you have lots of patience and time, have your child read out the shopping list. This helps your child with reading and it helps them understand reading when it is used in a real-life situation

5. COST
Give a simple money question to your child and let them figure it out. For example, I have R6 and apples cost R2 each, how many apples can I buy? If the chocolate cost R8 and I have R5, will I have enough money to buy the chocolate? Yes or no? Why not?


Happy Shopping! :)

What is the time?

Teaching telling the Time to children
Learning to tell the time is something that many of us adults take for granted. We remember the time when we first learned to do just that, tell the time. I read somewhere that it takes a child of 9 years old 2 years to fully grasp the concept of this. Many of us don't have that kind of time on our hands (see what I did there? Sorry, I can be cheesy at the best of times) so we need to find a way to set up the process.

At Counting Stars, I have made my very own booklet on Learning to Tell Time. In there, there is a lot of hints on how to read time in Analogue and also it explains Digital. If you are interested in having this as part of the Learner Development Support Package included in the Grade 3 Maths Package (The Left side only help) then please inquire about it when asking for the package.

The best tip I can give parents when they are teaching this concept is to apply it to real life. Clocks are everywhere so why not make it a fun game on the way to school? Please introduce learning to tell the time when:

☆ Your child is 9 years old
☆ Sooner rather than later. That way when it starts getting taught at school, your child understands the concept
☆ They are confident with Maths with regards to subtracting and confident in counting in 5's
☆ If your child owns a watch. Please don't go out and purchase your child a watch when they don't even know how to use it. It can be either a simple Analogue or Digital watch

Happy learning!

Indoor family fun

Fun Card Games for kids
Having a deck of cards on hand is always great to have on hand for awesome games to play with your little one. Turn this possible rainy day into a fun day. (Thanks to kidspot.com for the excellent ideas)










CRAZY EIGHTS!
Here's how to play: Each player is dealt seven cards. The remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the table, forming a draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned face up to start the discard pile next to it.The first player adds to the discard pile by playing one card that matches the top card on the discard pile either by suit or by rank (i.e. 6, jack, ace, etc.). A player who cannot match the top card on the discard pile by suit or rank must draw cards until he can play one. When the draw pile is empty, a player who cannot add to the discard pile passes his turn. All eights are wild and can be played on any card during a player's turn. When a player discards an eight, he chooses which suit is now in play. The next player must play either a card of that suit or another eight.The first player to discard all of his cards wins.

PIG! Here's how to play: To play, choose which cards you want to collect then choose a card to discard and put it, face down, on the table in front of you. When everyone has a card on the table, simultaneously pass your card to the player on your left and then pick up the card which has been passed to you

WAR!

Here's how to play: The object of War is to win all the cards in the deck. Aces are high, 2s are low. The tricks are played according to rank; suits are ignored. All 52 cards are dealt with each player (if you have two players, each player has a total of 26 cards). You do not look at your cards - they are placed in a stack face-down. Holding the stack of cards face-down in one hand, you use the other hand to flip the card face-up on the table in front of you. Each player flips a card, so if you have two players you will have two cards facing up in front of you. The highest card wins the trick and the trick winner takes the 2 cards and places them at the bottom of his or her stack of face-down cards. You continue to play like this until one of you has accumulated all the cards. In the game of War, a war is a means to break a tie. When two cards of the same rank are played, you break the tie by playing new cards in addition to those already on the table. The player with the highest-ranking new card wins the tiebreaker and all the played cards. If you both play a card of the same rank - let's say you both play a Jack - you have to have a war. You leave the Jacks face-up on the table and put one card on top of your Jack - face-down - and then another card face-up on top of the face-down card. So you'll have the following configuration of cards in front of you: the tied Jack, a face-down card, and a face-up card. The person with the highest face-up card takes all the cards on the table and places them face-down at the bottom of their stack. If the top card is another tie, you place another face-down card, then a face-up card - basically, you keep going until someone wins the war. This is the best and fastest way to accumulate cards. If one of you runs out of cards in the middle of a war, the other player wins.

SPIT

Here's how to play: Spit is a game where you need to try and get rid of all your cards as quickly as possible. Once you shuffle the cards deal them to each player. Each player then deals out five piles of cards in a row in front of himself, with all cards face down. The first pile has one card, the second two cards etc until the fifth pile has five cards. Turn the top card of each pile face up which is known as stockpiles. Each player will have eleven cards remaining in his hand which is known as the spit cards. When both players are ready, they say "spit" together and each player turns his top spit card face up, placing it in the middle of the table between the two rows of stockpiles. These two cards are the "spit piles." Keep on playing as quickly as the players can, using only one hand and moving one card at a time. The goal is to play the 15 cards in your stockpiles onto the spit piles.

Happy Card Playing! :)

I don't eat that!!

Fussy eaters no more
How many parents are dealing with fussy eaters? It is a constant battle from the moment your child wakes up in the morning to dinner time. I was raised to eat everything on the plate or go to bed hungry. My mom was strict growing up and there was no such thing as wasting food and being fussy. I guess some parents just rather give in to children because it is just easier.

I am not sure if some parents out there have heard of the celebrity chef Guy Fieri. He said something amazing about fussy eaters. He feels that kids shouldn't choose from a menu when eating. Kids must get involved with helping with the cooking process. When children know what goes into their food, they are more likely to eat it all up.

So if you don't have the patience in the week to cook with your little one, find a day on the weekend where you can cook together. Make delicious and simple freezer meals. Start off with a quick dinner that has lots of vegetables. Cottage Pie is a wonderful first dinner to cook together. Involve your child in the whole process. From finding recipes to cook together, shopping for the ingredients and of course cooking together.

Happy cooking!