Owly and Wormy Bright Lights and Starry Nights

Andy Runton's 2nd Owly & Wormy picture book, Bright Lights and Starry Nights!, is available for pre-order on Amazon for $9.61-- publication date 11/12!  Price can change at any time but once you order you're guaranteed the lowest price between your order time and the end of the release date.  If you love Owly as much as we do, have a kid that likes happy picture books, or just love cute and friendly owls, then hurry and pre-order Bright Lights and Starry Nights!

  
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• Andy Runton's Owly graphic novels are wonderful for kids of all ages!
• See how adorable Owly & Wormy are in an Owly animated short!

*post contains affiliate links

Preschool Activity: ABC's with Chalk and Water

My son is doing home preschool with the Utah UPSTART program.  It's all on the computer so I like to supplement with regular activities.  I use resources on my Home Preschooling Helps post to find ideas.

I discovered this fun chalk and water activity On Gayle's Preschool Rainbow (scroll down to 'Erasing with Water').  My son actually enjoys practicing letters with this method.  We have small chalkboards that we got from a friend who's a retired teacher. 
(No Biggie has a guest post on Make and Takes that shows you how easy it is to make your own chalkboards!)

Fishing for Floating Foam Fish

This is an easy to make fishing set that can be played with outside in water or indoors on the floor!  The fish are fun plain but even better with numbers, letters, or holes for a fantastic learning activity.  Make two poles to play a fun game to see who can get the most!

My kids have had a good time fishing for floating foam fish in the kiddie pool. 

Supplies:

fun foam (Dollar Tree find)

brads (mine are small craft brads)

dowels ($1 at Walmart)

ribbon

strong magnets 

hot glue gun and/or waterproof glue

Use waterproof glue for ribbon and magnet if you'll be playing in the water.  I made a slit in the foam before attaching the brad eye.

Friendly Blogger: Vanessa from Silly Eagle Books

Vanessa is the 'author' of the blog Silly Eagle Books.  She's also mom to a 3 year old girl and an avid children's vintage book collector!  Through reading her blog I know that she is a dedicated mom who spends quality time with her daughter.  She lets her former English teacher/writer/editor background shine through in her blog writing.  Some of my favorites about Silly Eagle Books are the photos Vanessa shares out of books, the book posts that have a suggested activity (easy preschool time ☺), and the simplicity of the blog.  There's a sweet story behind the naming of the blog and you can read about that on her FAQ page!

I wanted to get to know Vanessa a little more so I asked her some questions:

Head on over to Silly Eagle Books for good book reading suggestions and easy crafts too!

Peep and the Big Wide World

-Image from uen.org-

Peep and the Big Wide World is a fun learning show for preschoolers and recommended for ages 3-5.  It explores basic science concepts with nature.  A little about the show: "Set in and around a pond, a bush, and a tin can, the show follows a newly hatched chicken named Peep, and his friends Chirp and Quack (a robin and a duck), on their daily adventures. Surrounding them is a large urban park — a place of great wonder and mystery, a place they are forever eager to explore, a place they call "the big wide world.""

We've checked out Peep DVD's from our library many times and enjoy it!  A new season begins Jan. 2010 on public television- it's a WGBH program.  In Utah you can watch Peep and the Big Wide World on digital channel 9.1 (uen).

For every story there are 2 recommended books!  Just like Sesame Street, this can be an easy and fun preschool time with your child.
* Play games with Peep and Friends or find some activities!
* It's narrated by Joan Cusack.  See why she loves this show!

Home Preschooling Helps

I did 2 years of Home Preschool with my daughter and will be doing the same with my son. Babyzone has a good article about this choice.  The best tip I have is to stay on top of lesson plans and get your prep work done at least the weekend before.

If Home Preschooling isn't on your mind these links can be helpful in finding toddler and preschooler fun! This list of resources was compiled long ago but I try to keep it updated. 

Alphabet and Reading:
Starfall- ABC's
Starfall- Learn to Read
Starfall- ABC Practice Printouts 
KidZone- Alphabet Recognition and Printing Practice
ChildFun- Sets of Alphabet Coloring Pages  (scroll down a little)
Fisher Price- Alphabet Coloring Pages

American Sign Language:
Starfall
ThinkQuest

Preschool Themes:
Everything Preschool- Preschool Themes
Preschool Express- Preschool Themes
Activity Idea Place- Activity Themes
ChildFun- Activity Themes
Preschool Education- Theme Topics
First School- Preschool Themes
Gayle's Preschool Rainbow- Activity Central
Child Care Lounge- Activities and Themes

Miscellaneous:
DLTK- Number Buddies
Activity Idea Place- Fingerprint Fun
StoryPlace- Pre-school Library
FamilyFun- Arts and Crafts
Kinder Friends- Free Resources
dmoz- Open Directory: ABC's and 123's
Online Preschool- Toddler Activities & Games

Learning Fun:
Tessy & Tab Fun for Kids
National Geographic Little Kids
Kids National Geographic
NASA Kids' Club
StarChild

Other Helps:
Lakeshore Learning- pre-k/4 yrs. products
Free printable file folder games- File Folder Fun

Here's what we did with the Fingerprint Fun at Activity Idea Place.