New! Valentine's Day Art Lesson

Teach children about shape, color and overlapping and celebrate Valentine's Day at the same time. Inspire Valentine's art with Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault's book, "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, illustrated by Lois Ehlert.

Kids love the rhythm and rhyme of this book and enjoy listening to it over and over. The lowercase alphabet gallivants through the pages which have lyrics like these, "A told b, and b told c, 'I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree..."

Whether Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is an old favorite for your children or a brand new literary experience, the art lesson will help them be more aware of color brightness and value, shape and the concept of overlapping. See the complete Valentine's Art lesson here...

Speaking of Art... Congratulations to the 2011 Caldecott winner, Erin E. Stead

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of 19th century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. This year's winner is illustrator Erin E. Stead for, "A Sick Day for Amos McGee", written by Philip Stead (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook). See a sample image from the book below.

The 2 Caldecott Honors went to Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, (Little Brown) illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Laban Carrick and Interrupting Chicken written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick). All three books have different illustration styles. See more...

Interesting read...

I am presently reading, "Brain Rules:12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home,and School" by John Medina. The book presents scientific research about how the brain works as well as practical ways of applying the information.

I love Rule 12 where Medina examines how babies learn,"by active testing through observation, hypothesis, experiment and conclusion" and how it is possible to break this cycle as children get older and learn that education is not about investigation but about getting something, "What do I need to do to get the grade?"

Medina published a new book in 2010, "Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five".

Brain Rules is an interesting read and a good reminder to present a curriculum in a manner that offers opportunities for exploration and first-hand experiences.

Happy Teaching

Patricia from kindergarten-lessons.com