MapQuest for Letter Mm

We printed out a map of our neighborhood on MapQuest.com and have been using it all week to plan our route:

• to the park


• to our church


• to the library

KID 1 loves being the map reader, marking our route before we step out the door, map in hand. Along the way, we make a note of everything we see that starts with "Mm." I will turn our word search into word cards for him to glue corresponding pictures from magazines on the back.

Some "Mm" words we found:

• mailbox
• magnolia seeds
• moss
• moth
• mower
• month (printed on a "Yard of the Month" sign)
• movers (on the side of the moving truck that delivered our piano!)

For more frugal tips and tricks, go here.

Painting with Magnets

Continuing on with our exploration of letter Mm, we tried a new "Mark-Making" art activity: Magnet Painting.

We have a set of Magnetix ($3 at a children's consignment sale) that works perfectly for this activity. I cut some of our easel paper to fit a cookie sheet and taped it in place. If you have strong enough magnets, you could just use the tabletop. KID 1 used two metal balls and two magnetic posts, one for each hand.

He really enjoyed sliding his magnets around the bottom of his tray and watching the effects as the little metal balls rolled through magenta paint.

Special Note: The "stand" for the cookie sheet is actually a tv table turned upside down! Whatever works, right? The links below show three different sizes available in these magnetic building sets. The smaller sets have smaller balls that could be a choking hazard for little ones. Any of these sets would work for this art project, plus add a science toy to your playroom. What a great way to learn cause and effect!




For more tips and tricks, head on over to Works-For-Me Wednesday.

Musical Murals

We're learning about letter "Mm" this week, and I'm anxious to share one of our very cool activities!

On Monday, I cut a big, long piece of easel paper and taped it to the floor. I gave both kids their own set of crayons (we used Colorations Silky Sticks, which are soft and glide over the paper).

To prepare them for the activity, I told them to just listen to the music and draw what they feel. I didn't say much more than that, and they didn't really need to know more. After a questioning look from KID 1 (What are we supposed to do?), I reassured him that he would know how to draw the music once he heard it.

The first piece of music I selected for them to "draw" was "Moonlight Sonata," which has lots of repetitions. It's very smooth music, and my 4-year-old really reflected the feel of the music as he drew, using large, sweeping movements of his arm in concentric circles. My toddler tapped, dabbed, and pounded her crayon to the beat, raising her crayon over her head with a flourish as she looked up to see if we were watching.

I tried to melt into the background and just observe, occasionally reminding them with a hand signal to just listen. I didn't want them to feel their art time was a performance, but it sure was fascinating to watch!

The second piece was my husband's choice (he was home from work by then and thoroughly fascinated by this little experiment) and we moved this new mural up to the table so the kids could really move their whole bodies. He chose "Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)" from the Swing Kids soundtrack. Oh, my goodness, it was so funny to watch! And what a difference between the two pieces of art! Fast, jaunty scribbles took up the center of the page as his feet flew beneath him! Watch our video...it's too funny!

Combining our love of art and music really works for us!