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Elece Hollis's BlogPosted by Elece Hollis Hello Parents and Teachers, This sewing project is one most children, boys or girls, will enjoy. I have used it with students and my own children to help them learn the basic concepts of sewing. Making pillows is a quickly accomplished project which can rid your student's mind of the mysteriousness of sewing. It teaches all the basic steps without the complications of a pattern and machine. Every person can benefit by learning at least a few basics of sewing, with or without a machine. Sewing is a good method for improving hand-eye coordination and developing fine motor skills. It can be used to improve concentration and build self-confidence. For 4-H , scouts, homeschool, classroom, or fun personal Christmas gift making project, try sewing pillows. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Teachers and Parents, When you make small handmade books with children they become enthusiastically involved in the process. This method of teaching is hands-on. The child gets into the project first by researching, then assembling, and finally decorating book pages and cover. The assembling of a book involves measuring, cutting, designing, and fastening pages between book covers. The whole process of making a small book can teach a child many skills. It works well in home schools because different age and grade children can each participate at his skill level. It also will work well in the private and public classroom and acts as an art project as well. As parent or teacher, you will enjoy seeing the individuality of the student come through with book making. Why not change the routine “what I did this summer” reports by making books instead of writing a report? This approach will perhaps bring some fresh enthusiasm to writing practice. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Parents and Teachers, There are many things a person needs to be aware of when caring for an infant, toddler, or child. When training older kids to be good sitters, I call these basic things the "know-knows" of babysitting. That little pun may help the would-be babysitter see what he is facing before he takes on his first job. He should know the children he will be keeping. What peculiarities or problems the child might have, like allergies, for example. He should know the place where he is caring for them and what dangers are inherent in that place. He show know how to entertain the children safely. He should know how to handle emergencies, how to get help in crisis, and that he is responsible for the children's safety. I recommend the sitter be at least thirteen years of age before caring for children on his own, with no adult present. He or she would benefit from taking a babysitting class and a first aid course. Training is essential if children are to be happy and safe. Many young people want to take on babysitting jobs, but are they ready? They can be. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Parents, Kids always enjoy foods they have prepared themselves. Granola is as simple to make as party mix. The child will enjoy all the measuring and stirring involved and only need help when baking the granola and pouring it out to separate and cool. Granola may be a food your children shun, but most children love this homemade version, especially when the recipe is adjusted to fit their preferences and dietary needs. Granola is made from oatmeal, honey, seeds, nuts and raisins and is a good fingerfood. It has been served as a snack and breakfast food in my home for many years. Loved by adults and children alike, this recipe has been passed on to my grandchildren. We have produced batches to send granny and it ships well. It makes a tasteful gift for friends and family. Your little cooks will love making granola. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Teachers, How much does Johnny weigh? Would he not be interested in finding what his weight would be on the moon? Would he be fascinated by the difference in his weight and that of a bird, an elephant, or a banana? Most children would be. Kids love to weigh things and this project will give them simple practice. The article, How to Weigh Things, will also inform of basic facts about weight measurement and compare it to the metric system. Students will use a bathroom scale, a fish scale, a grocery produce scale, and a postage scale to weigh items on a list. Chart and compare the findings. A balance scale will also come in handy in the classroom. Hold a discussion of the pros and cons of metric measure as opposed to English measure used in the United States. What metric measures of weight are familiar to your students? Compare weights of food packaging to make students more aware of the many uses of weighing in everyday life. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Parents and Grandparents, Wouldn't it be great to have a child around who loved tools and wanted to fix things around the house? Can you imagine the benefits and increase in selfconfidence a child could gain through learning to do simple repairs. Encourage your child to follow the directions, help assemble new items, and take part in house remodeling and rennovations so that he will be able to tackle needed repairs in his own home or workplace when he is grown. A simple saying like "lefty--loosey, righty-tighty " can save a child many moments of frustrations when tightening and loosening screws. Just think of all the little tips and tricks that he can learn to save time and become a skilled handyman. Let him choose a repair project and go to work on it. Things might not turn out perfect, but the child will learn and improve his skills with time and practice. A trip to a flea market , the attic, or a garage sale may provide just the project needed (an old coffee table, a wobbly chair, or an old toy) and some spare starter tools besides. Children learn by doing so allow the child to make mistakes and learn from them. You will all have a great time. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Parents and Teachers, The chipmunk is a cheerful litle animal that children love to read and study about. If your students live in chipmunk territory, they will have an opportunity to observe chipmunks and learn about these small cute creatures. What do chipmunks eat? Where do they live? Do they hibernate like bears through the winter? What sound do they make? Do they live in nests? Answer these questions and rev up the curiosity about chipmunks--a fun animal to study. Encourage the students to make journals or charts to show when and where they saw chipmunks and what the chipmunks were eating. Art can be included with this chipmunk study also as the subtle differences in coloring will make for an interesting discussion of colors and tones. Students can draw and color the chipmunks they see. Chipmunks can be used as the basis for a nice lapbooking project. Who doesn't love the comical and cute little chipmunk? ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Parents and Teachers, Welcome to Kids' Activities. Summer is spinning rapidly to an end. The gardens are lanquishing in the late summer heat. As you plan classwork and unit studies for your children, don't miss a chance to study the premier butterfly. Beloved by all, the Monarch is a butterfly that is both beautiful to watch and fascinating to study. Also, look at the amazing feat of migration which has made this species so popular. What an exciting study monarch butterflies make for students. If there are milkweed plants growing in your area, likely you can find monarchs, their eggs, and their pale green chrysalises. You may have the opportunity of observing the butterflies emerge and of studying the annual migration. The milkweed is the only plant that the Monarch caterpillar will feed on. See a photo that will help you recognize it in field or meadow. Teach your kids to recognize the caterpillar and the monarch while differentiating it from the similar Viceroy butterfly. ~ Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Parents and Grands, As the summer progresses, children seem to tire of the same old things. They start to use that awful forbidden word again--bored. Here is an idea for some nice sloppy fun mashing amd mixing in the kitchen--almost as messy as dyeing Easter eggs! Making their own popsicles is quick and fairly simple . The children can use their imaginations to concoct wild and wonderful flavors and shapes. Orange, grape, cherry and lime can make way for orange-pineapple, peach, coconut and guava. If you have fresh fruit , canned fruits, fruit juice or jello, you are in business. Buy popsicle molds at the dollar store or make do with plastic cups or ice cube trays. Herd those kids into the kitchen and let them play. Your kids will have a blast and make a delightful mess making popsicles on a hot day. Let them make them last thing at night or early in the morning to allow them at least three hours to freeze. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Readers, Keep those children learning all summer! Studying insects can be great fun for the whole family. Why not go on a bear hunt! The Isabella Tiger moth is best known for its caterpillar the Woolly Bear. This caterpillar is easily identified and children love to watch it curl up when it is touched. This simple self-defense mechanism helps the caterpillar hide from birds and other predators. Children can hunt and observe the caterpillars and keep some for the purpose of watching the Tiger Moth build its cocoon and just a few days later emerge as a large moth. It is a wonderful science project and will help the students develop a love of insects as they observe the life cycle and the metamorphosis of this creature. Learn about what characteristics make an insect different from a bug. Learn how to identify the caterpillar and also the difference in true legs, prolegs, and prop-legs. Read Woolly Bear Hunting and get interest stirred up for the study of this fascinating insect. ~Elece~ Posted by Elece Hollis Hi Moms and Dads, Have you heard the latest trend in party-giving? More parents are shying away from parties at fast food restaurants and amusement parks and saving time and headache by giving birthday parties at home for the kids. Theme parties are an old idea, but the choices are so varied that you can easily come up with a party idea new to the neighborhood. This is one I have tried with my own kids and it proved a real sucess --The Crazy Hat Party. Each child is asked to design and create a hat to wear-- freaky, funny, silly, goofy, crazy hats. Ideas for invitations, decorations, food and games make it lively and fun. The party can be for birthday or just about any celebration of family and friends. I hope you have fun. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, I hope you are enjoying the first few days of summer. If you should be going to the ocean this summer or spending anytime on the beach if even near a lake or stream, you might encourage your child to create a treasure box to remember his summer with. He can collect, clean, sort and glue small seashells to a wooden box and shellac it to keep as a reminer of the fun he had. If you are staying at home, or far from any beaches, the child can still use shells from a hobby store and make a box. Studying the shells and about the ocean with its sand shores and tides is a good summertime educational project. The box pictured with the article, Make a Seashell Treasure Box, was made by a small girl. She didn't like my directions and used her own eye for art to decorate her box her own way. Hey, that's what it is all about, right? Creativity and individualism? If we as parents and teachers take over craft and art projects and demand they are done in the prescribed way we are liable to squelch a child's creative spirit. So use the project idea and allow the child leeway to decorate his box in the way most beautiful to him. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hi Parents and Grandparents, With school out and the whole of the out-of-doors begging to be explored what better way to entertain the kids than by having them hide and find treasure! Remember hiding the loot and then writing a trail of clues for friends and cousins to follow? I remember digging up a black kettle filled with bubble gum--better than gold! Mom used to throw some great birthday parties. On long summer days we entertained ourselves and treasure hunt was a favorite activity. For summer parties, when children are anxious to be outside running and playing, the old time treasure hunt is a great choice. We had some wonderful hunts in our childhood days. Little ones enjoy a treasure hunt and you would probably be surprised to find teenagers relish the game too! Find ideas aplenty for prizes and instructions for preparing and conducting a treasure hunt. Have fun and if you are good maybe the kids will let you play. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Readers, Any young Leonardos in your crowd? Start them in sketching and they may develop into artists, inventors, engineers, designers, writers, teachers, or some such occupation that is dependent on the ability to observe and to describe that observation. An art journal is a great place for a child to draw and copy what he has seen. It is a place for recording found ideas and for exciting memories to be preserved. Summer is so full to a child and he has so much to see that he can only remember for long those sights that impress him most and the ones he has recorded. A simple booklet of art paper stapled together or a fine hard bound sketch book can serve the purpose. So get those little ones started on this creative project which can entertain them in the quiet spots of summer. I wish them and you many of those. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, Teachers, Parents, and Grands, Are your children itching to get their hand dirty? Do they want to dig and garden with you? Here is a good way to growplants even in a small space. Does your child want to plant something? A container garden is an ideal way for any child to experience the joy of gardening. With containers a child can plant flowers and even fruits and vegetables where there is no room for a full scale garden. With some container creativity, a child can plant in an old shoe, a bucket, a pickle crock, even a basket leftover from Easter. Study gardening and do some reading and you are on your way to a happy adventure and a beautiful container garden. Grab a trowel and some potting soil and come on! ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Readers, Spring is here and the farm is a great place for children to learn about baby animals and see them up close. Children love animals and are thrilled with the wonder of baby animals. They may see colts, calves, kids, lambs, kittens, piglets, and chicks. Do some reading and researching at the library then head for the country on a mission to see some newborn animals. If you can arrange a visit with a farmer or just take in drive by glimpses of animals grazing, it will be an adventure for a child. If not, why not take your trip to the zoo to look for babies there? Visiting farm babies is a late spring event. Your children might want to make it a spring tradition. Don't forget the camera! ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Teachers, Your students will love reading and reasearching different trees and presenting tree artwork through the Arboretum project. The students will study trees together as a group, and then study on their own one specific tree. They will be making a small book about their tree listing its information. They will be directed to collect tree bark , cones, flowers, nuts, and leaf specimens and to make a large drawing of their tree. Students can write reports or poetry about the trees. The class will host an arboretum in their classroom where guests can tour the tree displays and look at the student's work. This is a hands-on tree study project that will work well in the classroom or for groups of homeschool students. Kids will enjoy not only the learning from books, but learning from observing trees in the area and preparing and presenting a unique program for classroom visitors and parents. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, Collage, melange, hodgepodge--call it whatever you please.This art project provides a great way for children to occupy themselves in an artistic endeavor. It allows them to openly express themselves. The making of a collage is very hands-on and messy--cutting, arranging, and gluing fun from beginning to end. Kids of all ages love making collages. Then too, every young artsist has the leeway to create his own way--with bright colors or dark, pastels, or fantastic. Collage is an art form that allows the child a great deal or room for creative expression. There are really no "wrong" collages, so any child, whether he happens to be talented at drawing or not, can succeed with collage. I hope you will enjoy the tips and tricks for collage artists in The Art of Collage. ~ Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, Americans are intrigued with sushi. Many people think sushi is very complicated food made with raw fish and shrimp wrapped in seaweed. Really, sushi is rice cooked, cooled, seasoned and formed into rolls to be sliced and eaten with gusto. Sushi is fun to prepare, fairly simple, versatile, and healthy. It is one of the fast foods of Japan. Why not try it with your children or students? It would be a good precursor to a study of the country of Japan. You may find you like sushi enough to make it a part of your own home meals. Children will love learning some foreign words and new cooking methods. They will try some new flavors and new foods--good for them. Sushi--It all starts with rice. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, Americans are intrigued with sushi. Many people think sushi is very complicated food made with raw fish and shrimp wrapped in seaweed. Really, sushi is rice cooked, cooled, seasoned, and formed into rolls to be sliced and eaten with gusto. Sushi incorporates vegetables and other healthy goodies. Sushi is fun to prepare, fairly simple, versatile and healthy. It is one of the fast foods of Japan. Why not try it with your children or students? It would be a good precursor to a study of the country of Japan. You may find you like sushi enough to make it a part of your own home meals. Children will love learning some foreign words and new cooking methods. They will try some new flavors and new foods--good for them. Sushi making--It all starts with rice. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Friends, Tired of the election already? Collecting is a hobby many children relish and as they collect and label their keepsakes from the election, they will gain knowledge of the candidates and the issues. They will take an interest in something parents and teachers hope they will not ignore --an American political process--the election of our nation's chief executive. Later, the items children have collected, whether they are items that pertain to the new president or to one of the candidates who lost, will be fun and of value. A collection will help them understand how our freedom to choose our leaders works and why they should feel blessed to live in a free country. Thanks for reading Election Collection. I hope you teachers will try the study project which involves graphic design. Also, see other recent articles pertaining to the US Presidents, the Electoral College and the process of Election. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello Teachers, My recent article is a simple project for studying the counties, townships, or parishes within your state. With a few reasons presented stating why learning the counties will be beneficial to students of any age. Often you need to know where a county is without stopping to drag out an atlas or road map. Where are the weather forecasters saying a storm is brewing? Where can you vote? What county and where is something happening? This project helps you teachers drill the students on this important piece of knowledge painlessly. I have used the project with my own students in fifth, eigth ,and tenth grades. They liked making the state map poster. Some took greater interest and pride in theirs than others, but I think all the students learned. I was able to add in loads of interesting facts and trivia about our home state in two classes a week over a six week period. Read this article today and see if you can use it in your school room. I think you will enjoy studying counties. This will relate also to my articles on elections since voting is carried out and reported in the news by counties. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Readers, How important is it in this election year for students to understand how we as a country choose our President ? We all may tire of election news, but this is a great time to give kids a grasp of the details of something big they will soon be part of. Voting turnout has been pathetic in America in recent years. Are voters feeling overwhelmed by the process? Could it be that many citizens lack knowledge of the election process? Help your children and students to become strong citizens who will someday exercise their right to vote with pride. Knowledge helps overcome fear and frustration. In this article, American Presidents, you will find a list of the forty-three US Presidents in order with their terms of office. I include the inaugurattion oath and also list the qualifications for running for office . Try these ideas and simple games for learning the Presidential facts. Two of my previous articles deal with the electoral college and how a person is elected to an office through the use of a mock election in the classroom. Read Election Fun. Good day, ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Readers, Want to take advantage of all this spring wind? Why not do a unit study with your children about kites?Kites has been around for centuries and have served as an inspiration to poets, artists, inventors and scientific researchers. What can your children learn through studying kites? Plenty! From the basic physics of flight, to how weather forecasters gather data. Kites come in all sizes, shapes, and materials. I used this kite study sucessfully with my own students. The boys seemed to get into it most. One student who loves origami, tried designing mini-kites and flew those. He also built kites out of diverse materials and in shapes that I did not believe would fly. He proved me wrong. There is room here for imagination, initiative, and an inventive spirit . I hope you will enjoy the Kite Project. Enjoy those children and don't forget your camera! ~ Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Dear Friends, Teach your students how the Electoral College decides who wins the Presidency and why citizens still vote. How many electors does each state get and how is the number decided upon? Read a list of states showing the number of electors. This can lead to discussion about the number of representatives and senators each state has. How is the process fair to all Americans? Now is a prime time for students of all ages to learn how U.S. elections are run, how a President is chosen, and why the vote of every citizen is important. Try holding a classroom election to teach some of the basics. For loads of ideas for teaching the process read Learning About Elections. My latest article, Electing the President, lists some of the qualifications a person needs to run for the office. It explains the job of the President. It also contains a list of the total electors by state. I hope you will be able to use this infomation and these ideas to raise an interest in the American process of elections. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hello parents, teachers and students, As we wade through tons of election news, on television and in the media, what better time to help students understand the election process? Many of the terms they hear almost daily may yet have no meaning for them. Studying elections is a great opportunity to acquaint them and ourselves with campaign lingo, debating terms, election process, voting procedures, and the rights afforded voters in America. This study, Learning About Elections, is designed to help the students learn facts and think about the whys and wherefores of an election, so that they will better understand their role as citizens in politics. The study can include debate and speech making, discussions of voters rights, graphic arts (designing and producing posters, signs and campaign logos and buttons). This active type of learning will make an impression on the student, which the flat print in a textbook cannot. When the student walks through a process, he is able to assimilate information into his own situation more fully. So, try my project for learning about elections and share with me your own ideas for teaching the subject. What worked best with your students and how did you alter portions to fit student's ages and learning styles and your teaching situation? Want to understand Electoral College and how electors decide on a President? Read a new article about electors called Electing the President. Need a project for elementary students for President's Day? Try building log cabins. ~Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Valentine's Day is coming soon and children want cards to pass out to friends and classmates. Here are some ideas that a student can use to make his own cards with just a few simple supplies. Kids might want to make cards that turn into paper airplanes with dotted lines and some folds already made. Kids love these. Cards with candies attached and cards that are made with cutout hearts are fun too! Included in this latest article you will find some suggestions for card messages-- some for family members, most simple friendship messages or Bible verses.Other ideas include cards that can live again as bookmarks. Many of the cards manufactured these days are tiny -- merely little scraps that advertise cartoons and movies, rather than expressions of love and friendship. There was a day when people fashioned their Valentines carefully and made them true works of art. When premade cards first came on the market, most were clever and sweet. Now the cards are not nearly as much fun. I think that students learn from the practice at cutting, gluing, writing the messages, and even from signing their names. With the pre-made cards, signing is a chore for kids. Since the cards weren't created by them, why sign them? So change things up! Help your students make their own cards and see how much fun it can be. ~ Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Hi Moms, Dads and Grandparents, Want to start some seeds indoors for spring planting? Need a project to teach your children how plants grow? Do you need a new ideas for window gardening? Are you wanting to bring a little color and beauty and excitement to dreary winter days? Begin by reading new windowsill garden ideas. These ideas are easy to implement and can be a simple low cost project that brings big results in the satisfaction department. The three projects suggested are suitable for children or adults, homeschool, or classroom use. One project uses water and pop bottles. One uses strawberry and vegetable boxes from the grocery store. Try growing a pinecone fir tree in the third project. Growing plants is fun and easy but takes some patience after the planting so choose seeds that sprout fastest for the younger ones like beans and peas and some flowers. For your pop bottle terrarium you can start with a bit of ivy or a succulent so that the project has a more interesting show till the seeds sprout. Have fun! Elece Posted by Elece Hollis Parents, Grandparents, and Faithful Readers, Print this list off and post it on the bulletin board or fridge for easy reference in case the worst happens and a winter storm robs you of electic power. There are ideas for indoor play and outdoor fun for all ages and types of children. All the ideas are for activities that require no electricity. Tell stories, jokes, riddles. Play games and make the time less stressful for everyone-a time to enjoy and relax. Make the most of the situation. Find ways to relish famly togetherness and a disrupted schedule. This new list of fun cold weather activities that don't require electricity may be a godsend for your family. Find links with this article to three other great lists: Outdoor winter activities for children, family night activities without t.v. , and winter day indoor activities. I hope you enjoy the ideas! Try some snow and ice experiments with your students. ~Elece |
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