SMMART READING: Letter Matches

Okay, so break out the magnetic letters, or foam letters, or even letter stickers for this activity. Write a few words down that your child can sound out, write down spelling words for school, or write down a few letters that your child can match.

Have your child place the magnetic letters on top of the written letters in each word, or place a letter sticker above each letter of a word.
Easy fun!

SMMART READING:

LETTER HUNT

Scrabble? Bananagrams? Magnetic letters, perhaps?  Any of these will do.

Hide one letter tile or magnetic tile in a plastic Easter egg.  Hide the letter filled Easter eggs throughout the yard or living room.  Let your child go for a letter hunt and fill her basket.

Now as you open the eggs together, have your child say a word or two that starts with that letter.  Encourage your child to sound out the word and spell it.

Refill each egg, and let your child hide the eggs this time.  Now, hunt!

SMMART MATH:

Tube Tunnel and Chocolate Bunny Ears Probabilities
Nothing like probability to jump right into the Easter Candy festivities!...as I've said before, it's always a triumph when our children "work" for their candy.

This was a super fun activity to do with my girls. The 2 1/2 year old LOVED rolling her gumball down the tubes over, and over, and over... She would hear the "plink" of the gumball into the plastic bowl and run over to see which bowl it landed in.

At times one side was favored, but after some adjusting it was hard to say just what side the gumball would shoot out.
So, first you need to build your tube tunnel. Hopefully you've been saving up those paper towel and toilet paper rolls! Use masking or duct tape to secure the first tube to the back of a chair, the counter, or somewhere elevated.

Tape tubes together until you have formed a tunnel. For a little fun and variation, you can even make a tunnel with several entrances and exits for more variation. When you feed two routes together, cut a hole in one tube and snip off the end of the other tube at an angle. Insert the angled tube into the hole. This allows for a pretty clear tube route (so the inserted tube doesn't block the route). Be sure to secure the tube tunnel onto an object for stability in a few places along the tunnel route. Place a bowl under each exit.
Now let your child roll a small rubber ball, gumball, holiday candy or other small round object through the tube. Keep track of how many times the ball falls into the right/green bowl or into the left/red bowl during 10 runs. What number of times did the ball roll into the green bowl? ...and into the red bowl? Multiply that number by 10 and this is the percentage of times that outcome was realized.  So, the ball rolled and landed in the right/green bowl 4 times out of 10...that's a 40% outcome! 
Probability is the measurement of how likely an event (one or more outcomes of an experiment) is. (http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol16/intro_probability.html)
Probability of an Event Equation:
The probability of event A is the number of ways event A can occur, divided by the total number of possible outcomes.
P(A)= The Number of Ways an event can occur
...........The Total Number of Possible Outcomes


P(red bowl) = 1 (#ways ball can fall into red bowl) =1/2
......................2 (Total number of bowls)
This is a bit over a young child's head, but it's helpful to understand a bit of the concept so you can teach PROBABILITY.
Now, this Chocolate Easter Bunny activity will help illustrate the principle of Probability again.

Cut off the tips of the ears on a hollow chocolate Easter bunny.  Have you child drop a jelly bean into one of  the bunny's ears.  Ask your child to predict which ear the jelly bean will drop out of.  Will it be the ear that is closest to the face or to the tail (on a sideways looking bunny-If you have a forward facing bunny, you need to mark one ear to differentiate between the two...maybe an extra notch or bite from the top).

Flip the bunny upside down, taking care to not tilt one way or the other.  Notice which ear the jelly bean drops from and record your observations during 10 different attempts/trials.  Your child can keep track on a piece of paper.

Now help your child label a piece of large square grid graph paper (http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/grid%20paper%20large.pdf) at the bottom with the two possible outcomes..."Nose-side Ear"/or "Shorter Ear" or "Tail-side Ear"/ or "Longer Ear".  Let your child glue a jelly bean onto each square that this outcome occurred.  Now you'll have a very yummy graph.

Keep in mind, these activities are for learning purposes and obviously, the flip of your hand on the chocolate bunny or the sleek exact glide of the ball/Easter candy in the paper towel tunnel are not going to offer the perfectly exact and equal settings....but eating the candy after these activities sure will be fun!

SMMART MATH:

JELLY BEAN FLIPPER and PROBABILITIES.
Super Fun way to play with your food!


Build your own jelly bean flipper with a lever (spoon), duct tape and a fulcrum (Duplo lego, wooden block, cup or some other toy or object that you can hold still when your child is flipping).  Twist a piece of duct tape into a cord. Slide a spoon inbetween the cord and the fulcrum.  Tape both ends of the cord down on either side of the spoon (don't tape the spoon) to secure the spoon in place.   The height of your fulcrum may determine the distance that the jellybean is hurled.  You are creating a "first class" lever...if you want to learn more about 1st, 2nd and 3rd class levers, check out this link (http://www.professorbeaker.com/lever_fact.html).

Now place a jelly bean into the spoon's cradle and quickly apply force to the handle end of your lever/spoon.  This will propell the jellybean into the air.


Use masking tape to put a line down on the carpet or place a stick in the grass to separate two areas outside.  Now, with each flip, record the number of times (out of 10) that the jellybean landed on the side closest to you, or on the other side of the tape away from you.

You can help your child graph the number of times that the jelly bean landed on a certain side, or just determind the percentage of times that the jelly bean landed on one side or the other.  If the jelly beans landed on your side 7 times (7 X 10 = 70%), even though there is a 50% probability that it will land on this side.

Flip those brightly colored jellybeans outside in the grass, and your child will have a super-fun time "hunting" where they landed.

Remember...Probability of an Event Equation:

The probability of event A is the number of ways event A can occur, divided by the total number of possible outcomes.

P(A)= The Number of Ways an event can occur

.........The Total Number of Possible Outcomes

P(launch) = 1 (#of ways can be launched)  ..........

  2(# of sides it can land on)

        is=to 1/2 or 50%

SMMART Science:

Nighttime Nature Walk Bracelet

What brings more wonder and imagination than a nighttime stroll, hand in hand, with your child?  Now that the weather is warming up and spring is upon us, make a bonding memory with your child as you imagine your world during twilight.  If it's cool, bundle up.  Bring along a flashlight.  During warm summer nights, you can even pack an evening snack to share.  Spread out a blanket on the grass and enjoy a fun treat, lit by the beams of your flashlights.

Imagine yourselves as two fairies who are gathering accessories to adorn your fairy homes.  Perhaps you are night owls on the hunt for prey, finding bugs and vermin that come out at night.  Maybe you're just out on a nature walk together.  Observe the budding tulips...poke around your garden...gaze at the moon.  Gather your treasures on a Nature Walk Bracelet.

Tape a piece of duct tape, inside out, around your child's wrist.  As you find nature's little treasures, adhere them to the bracelet.  When you are finished with your evening adventure, cut the bracelet off your child's arm and set it aside until morning, when you can more closely observe the magical pieces you collected.

This will certainly be an adventure your child will remember with nostalgia as he grows.

SMMART GUEST BLOGGER:

Macaroni Kids Layton

Hey Utah mommas! If you are always looking for something to keep your kids happy and busy, check out Macaroni Kid Layton-Farmington!
We are 2 Utah moms and together we publish a free weekly eNewsletter where we promise to bring you a HUGE list of family friendly events happening in and around Davis County. Each week you will find fun crafts, activities, giveaways, product reviews, movies, book reviews and more for kids of all ages. We strive to find great toddler activities, elementary aged events, and tween\teen hangouts.

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Here is an example of an educational article we send in our newsletter:

How to Try Until You Succeed

By Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D.

Have you ever tried to do something only to find it was harder than you thought it would be? Learning something new—like riding a bike or working on a homework assignment—can sometimes seem impossible. It’s times like these when you might feel like just giving up. But if you put your mind to it, you can succeed at even the hardest task.

Here are four surefire ways to help you try until you succeed:

1. Ask for help. If you really get stuck trying something you haven’t done before, ask someone to help you. A parent, teacher, or older brother or sister is a great place to start. Even if you still don’t succeed right away, having someone there with you to think of ways to solve the problem can make trying easier. Remember: Everybody needs help sometimes, so never be afraid to ask.

2. Walk away … but then come back. If you are trying something new—like learning to skateboard or teaching your puppy to roll over—but find you are getting nowhere, take a break from what you are doing. Walk outside to get some fresh air, read a favorite book, or take a quick nap. Then, come back and try some more with a new outlook.

3. Think creatively. Write down the problem or task you are having a hard time succeeding at. Then, write down three things that could help you solve the problem. If these don’t work, go back and write three more. Repeat this until you succeed.

Example:

Problem: Learning the notes for piano

Things to Try:

1. Practice

2. Make up a song about each letter note

3. Ask Mom to quiz me

4. Don’t give up. It may seem as though the easiest thing to do is just give up. But giving up is no fun. The real fun comes from trying—and trying again until you succeed.

Don’t worry if it takes you longer than everybody else to succeed at something, and don’t worry if what you do isn’t perfect. The real success comes from not giving up. When you learn to throw a fastball or perform a pirouette, you will feel proud and happy, and with this great success, you’ll be ready to try again when the next hard task comes along because you will know you can do it!

Happy trying!

Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D. is an educator, author, and communications coach. She is author of the children’s book Bumblelina (2010), the first in a series of books for preschoolers based on life lessons including friendship, sharing, respecting the environment, the importance of trying, and more. For more information, visit www.Bumblelina.com or www.SherrieMadia.com.

Check out http://Layton.MacaroniKid.com

SMMART SCIENCE:

Baby Chicks Hatching

Welcome SPRING!!!!!

Check out this intriguing video...your kids will adore watching these baby chicks come into the world.

http://www.msichicago.org/online-science/videos/video-detail/activities/the-hatchery/

SMMART TIME-OUT for Tidbits

Already plotting and planning your St. Patrick's Day morning?  This Shamrock egg-over-easy will be a hit!

Crack an egg inside a sliced green bell pepper ring. Cover on low heat until the yolk pinks over.

BTW, for another morning's breakfast, cook your egg-over-easy inside a fresh onion ring slice...very yummy!