SMMART HALLOWEEN MATH ideas

ideas from today's SMMART Halloween Math segment on "Good Things Utah" will be posted on Sunday...so check in next week! (You can also check out the GTU website where they're posted the day of the segment.)

Also, be sure to enter the "Wild Things" Giveaway on Tuesday, October 13th for an awesome gift pack (Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are book, 2 tics to Megaplex Theatres IMAX pajama party for "Where the Wild Things Are" movie, 4 tics to Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient History).

Enter at http://Giveawaytoday.blogspot.com Winner will be announced at midnight.

Thanks so much and be sure to pass on this site to other moms who would like to check out Science, Math, Music, Art, and Reading activities that I post weekly on my site.

SMMART "WILD THINGS" GIVEAWAY @
http://giveawaytoday.blogspot.com

SMMART ideas will be featured on http://giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/ on October 13th. Hopefully more moms, grandmas, care-givers and teachers will be introduced to SMMART ideas!

Go to http://giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/ on October 13th to win a "WILD THINGS" gift-pack GIVEAWAY!

A few local businesses have been nice enough to donate these great gifts:

*Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is being donated by a darling children’s bookstore in Tooele, UT called The Purple Cow Bookstore.(http://purplecowbookstore.blogspot.com/)

The Purple Cow Bookstore is having a fun, WILD RUMPUS on October 16th at their store: 992 N. Main St. Tooele, UT (435) 882-9805. They'll be reading the book, and there will be wild thing activities to enjoy!

*Larry H. Miller’s Megaplex Theatres has donated two tickets to attend their PAJAMA PARTY for “Where the Wild Things Are” ($18 value/each ticket)!

On October 17th at 9:00am, guests are invited to attend a breakfast in their pajamas and they'll participate in a reading of Sendak's book and watch the movie in 2D IMAX! The pajama party will be full of fun, giveaways and prizes! (If you can't make the party-you can still get two tickets to the movie!) (http://www.megaplextheatres.com/) (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Megaplex-Movie-Theaters-and-Jordan-Commons/49252845147)

Nov.7th, Megaplex theatres will host a pajama party for the upcoming Disney's "Christmas Carol", starring Jim Carey.

*Thanksgiving Point has donated a family-four-pack of tickets to their Museum of Ancient Life where you can check out some ancient “wild things” that used to roam the earth.(http://www.thanksgivingpoint.com/)

Thanks to our awesome sponsors!

So...head over to http://giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/ for your chance to win!!!!!

Lisa

SMMART READING: LETTER STARTS

Summer is winding down in the northern hemisphere...sigh. Enjoy these last few weeks of playground fun weather!

Throughout the day as you come across familiar words and objects, stop to ask your child what letter a certain word starts with.

You could ask your child what letter her name starts with: “Daniela, what letter does Daniela start with? D-D-D-Daniela”. Emphasize the letter sound that the word begins with.

This activity can be fun to do on a swing outside. Pull your child towards you and ask her the letter start of a word before you let her go.

"Swing...S-S-S...Swing. What letter does Swing start with?"

When she answers correctly, or you help her and tell her the correct answer, reward her by giving her a big push on the swing.

Lisa

SMMART BLOG DESIGN

I am trying to figure out a few things about blog design...and tinkering around with a few things. I wish I was a master at HTML...but alas. I am learning a lot by googling and searching out ways to redesign this blog. I am sort of a do-it-yourselfer in many ways...but in many ways I will seek out professional help if I get in over my head.

http://www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com/ is not helping my do-it-yourself side. I was on a friend's blog and IT WAS SOOOO CUTE! I had to ask her who designed it, and she led me to April, a 24 year old NBC intern-by day/blog designer-by night. She does some really nice work and this week she's offering 50% off of her prices when you blog about her. She's teamed up with an 18 year old graphic designer and they're doing amazing things together (So young, so talented. Kind of reminds me of when I was first married and learning to ski...slowly...and these little 4 year olds were whizzing by me-without poles!) ... AGHHHHHH .... What do I do?

...I know what I'm going to do...I'm going to keep trying to figure out a few things and give it a go on my own....and then perhaps crawl over to April.

I am trying to get at least the beginning of the design up and ready before October 13th, when I'm on GTU.

Deadlines, deadlines.

Lisa

SMMART...AND KREATIV!

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Room Mom 101 @ www.room-mom101.blogspot.com was nice enough to think of me and pass on the Kreativ Blogger Award...in July. She actually awarded me this honor the very day that I was in the hospital giving birth to our third daughter! Now that I'm chasing after three little cutie-pie girls, I've sort of been feeling like a chicken with her head cut off...not able to keep up on anything...praying for patience...and loving the feel of pillow fluff under my tired head. So, I'm a little late in accepting this award, but THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

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So, here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

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"If I am unable to assume the duties associated with this title"...It's because I'm face down asleep in a bowl of cheerios (my breakfast, lunch and dinner lately)...but I digress:

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7 things about me:

1. I am half Hawaiian and half German. My father grew up on the Big Island (where most of our family lives...and on Oahu too) and left after college when he joined the Air Force. He is a handsome, dark, poly-looking man...and I am the most caucasian looking Hawaiian you've ever seen, while my siblings pulled the natural tans from the gene pool...oh well. OH, and yes...I hula!

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2. My favorite flavor of ice cream is Breyers Vanilla Bean- Love it! Love it! and yes, I loved it a little too much during my recent pregnancy!

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3. I always remember loving Science. Some of my first memories are doing all of the "extra credit" activities in our science book in 5th grade (digging around for rolly pollys, recreating Pangea from continent and island shapes, diagraming the inner core of the earth). I had an AWESOME science teacher in 7th and 8th grade that nurtured that love and brought science to life! Thanks, Mrs. Keefe!

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4. When I was in 4th grade my family lived on the beach in Cocoa Beach, FL. Every time Cape Canavral would launch a space shuttle, the whole school would go out into the grassy field and we'd all be lined up in our classes and watch the shuttle blast into the air and then drop it's boosters. That was sooooo cool! We need to get back there to show our kiddos and eat space ice cream.

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5. I speak Czech. "Ano, mluvim Cesky!" I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 19 months in the Czech Republic, Prague Mission. (My husband and I have been able to visit Europe and our mission a couple of times since.)

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6. I studied Molecular Biology/Chemistry minor in college...but sometimes wish I had studied nursing or pharmacy...there's always tomorrow!

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7....and the 7th "thing" about me is...my favorite thing to do in the kitchen is create over the top desserts that are asthetically pleasing and make you want to take a picture (that is...when I have the energy to do so and I'm not in this cheerio rut!)

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Okay, so let me introduce you to my 7 Kreativ Blogger nominees:

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1. http://www.skiptomylou.org/

2. http://thislittleproject.blogspot.com/

3. http://porterpreschool.blogspot.com/

4. http://lets-explore.net/blog/

5. http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com

6. http://www.notimeforflashcards.com

7. http://oodlesofart.blogspot.com/

7.5. http://deepspacesparkle.blogspot.com/

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So, check out these fun sites...and enjoy!

Lisa

SMMART MATH ideas on "GOOD THINGS UTAH"

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Watch "Good Things Utah", abc4 at 10:00am on October 13th

I'll be presenting fun SMMART Halloween Math ideas!

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Also...on October 13th, stop by

www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com

where I'll be featured and giving away a fun SMMARTidea giveaway!

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Lisa

SMMART ART: BREAD BUGS

I thought a smmart way to spend our summer would be to fill our summer weeks with different themes. This week has been all about insects. Boy, have I learned a lot! (Like, did you know that lady bugs are actually called Ladybird Beetles and turn onto their backs to excrete a smelly ooze from their legs when birds and predators come threatening?)

Early this morning I thawed out a few balls of frozen roll dough (or you can whip up a batch of dough from scratch) and shortly after breakfast the dough was thawed enough for us to sculpt our masterpieces.

We made sure to talk about an insect's head, thorax, abdomen...as we secured the six legs and wings to the insect's thorax.


Our littlest helper even placed the 7 ladybug spots onto her little bug.

Then, into the oven...Brush with melted butter...and Voila!


A yummy snack. The girls really liked pulling off the wings, legs, spots, antenae...and eating those separately as they dipped each bite into cream cheese or a little butter.

Oh the possibilities...what other bread sculptures we could make to go along with our weekly themes.

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Lisa

A Quick Trip to Bear Lake...But I'll post again next week!