Children love turtles. This turtle paper plate craft is a fun, easy preschool craft project.  To make this craft, you will need:

• Two paper plates
• Brown construction paper
• Green craft paint
• Google eyes
• Scissors
• Glue
• Dried beans (optional)
• Felt tip pen

Your child will need two paper plates to make one turtle.  Have your child use the green paint to paint the bottom side of both paper plates.  Allow to dry.

Next cut out the arms, legs, etc.  Using the scissors and brown construction paper, cut out four small rectangles for legs, a small triangle for the tail, and a circle for the head. You can outline them first with a pen if you wish, but it isn't necessary. I just cut mine out freehand.

Glue the edges of the arms, legs, tail, and head to the top edge of one of the paper plates.

If you wish you can put some dried beans onto the plate so that when you glue the plates together the turtle will rattle when your child shakes it.  This step is optional.

Next glue the second plate to the first plate.  The tops of the plates should be glued together so that the painted sides are facing out.  The arms, legs, etc., should be sticking out between the two plates.

Help your child glue the google eyes on to the head.  Let your child use the felt tip pen to draw on a nose and mouth and to decorate the "shell" of the turtle, if they wish.

If you are doing preschool at home, or even if you are just doing some extra preschool activities with your child from time to time, you probably have a lot of papers and craft supplies taking up space on your countertops and closet shelves.

It was hard for me to get excited about doing preschool activities without being organized first, so I set out to go through all of our supplies and set up an organized storage system that works for me.

Flash Cards and Card Games

I store all of my boys' flash cards and card games in a small plastic storage container.  This container is kept up in a closet where only I can get it down for them.  It only took one time of me putting all the cards back in the boxes to realize they couldn't handle getting into this container on their own!

Art Supplies

Most of our art supplies are stored where my boys can get to them.  I purchased a three drawer plastic storage container that works great for art supplies.  One drawer holds their crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and glue.  The second drawer stores a variety of painting supplies.  The third drawer stores miscellaneous items, such as felt pieces for the felt board and plastic letters for the magnetic board.  This plastic container is kept near the kitchen table where my boys do their art projects. This keeps it within easy reach when they want to color, paint, or do some other art project.

Craft Supplies

I have a separate plastic storage container just for craft supplies.  Most of these supplies aren't used unless we are doing a special craft project, so the kids don't need to get in there every day.  This container stores things like google eyes, pipe cleaners, crepe paper, etc. This is also where I store the ink pads I don't want them getting into by themselves.

Worksheets, Workbooks, and Project Instructions

If you like to collect preschool craft and activity ideas like I do, you probably have a lot of piles of paper that need to be sorted and organized.  I purchased several plastic file folder storage boxes for all these papers, and they have worked great so far.  I sorted my papers into categories like Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring, animals, alphabet, etc.  I combined several categories together in one container, and then labeled each container so I would know exactly what is in it.  I also placed all of our workbooks in these containers.  It's nice to have a place to put all those miscellaneous papers I always seem to run across.  If I cut out an article from somewhere, or photocopy an idea from a book, I have a place to file it away where I can always find it again.  You can put away the containers you don't currently need and just leave out the ones you are currently using.

Preschool Manipulatives and Puzzles

Hopefully your preschooler has a lot of math manipulatives and puzzles to play with.  These items should be set out where they can just pick up when they are bored.  All of our puzzles are stored inside of benches we have around the table in our kitchen.  When our boys want to do a puzzle, they can get them out themselves.  Our math manipulatives are stored on a shelf in our entertainment center.  Again, the kids have easy access to them and often pick them up when they are bored.  We have sewing cards, patterning and sorting activities, and several number, matching, and reading games. I love to see my boys reaching for these great learning activities when they want something to do.

The preschool years are a fun time for you and your child.  Whether you are doing preschool at home or your child attends preschool, make sure you have lots of stimulating activities for your child at home that are organized and ready to use when you need them.

Children love windsocks.  They are fun to make and fun to hang and look at.  This preschool activity is very easy and is suited to any season or holiday.  To make a windsock you will need:

• Construction paper
• Crayons or markers
• Small pictures
• Yarn
• Glue
• Stapler
• Scissors
• Streamers

For the top of the windsock you will need one 8 1/2 x 11 piece of construction paper.  Cut the piece of paper in half lengthwise.

Next have your child color the small pictures to place on the windsock.  Coloring and activity books are great for finding pictures.  You can use a copier to reduce or enlarge the pictures to fit on the windsock.  We cut out four pictures for each of our windsocks.

After coloring the pictures, cut them out and glue them to the two pieces of construction paper.  Next lay the pieces of paper end to end and staple them together.  Bring the two open ends of the paper together to form a circle and staple the two ends together.  This is the top of the windsock.

Next have your child cut the streamers.  These streamers are the same kind of streamers you would hang up for a birthday party. Cut approximately six pieces of streamer to be 18 inches each. Have your child glue the ends of the streamers inside the bottom of the windsock so that they are hanging out of the bottom of the windsock.

Have your child cut a piece of yarn approximately 18 inches long. Staple the ends of the yarn on each side of the top of the windsock.  Your windsock is ready to hang!

These windsocks are very easy to make and look really cute hanging out on your patio.  You can also hang them in your house. They are great seasonal and holiday projects.  You can change the
pictures and colors of the windsocks with the seasons, such as for Easter, Christmas, or Halloween.  You could have flowers for spring, bumblebees for summer, or leaves for fall.  The
possibilities are limitless. My boys are currently interested in insects, so they colored some bugs for their windsocks.

This activity is a great opportunity for your preschooler to practice coloring, cutting, and gluing.  If your preschooler doesn't yet have a long attention span, you might want to pre-cut
some of the pieces ahead of time, like the top of the windsock and the streamers.  My busy boys barely made it past the coloring part, but loved seeing their windsocks blowing in the breeze!

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is “why should I teach my baby sign language when he/she is not deaf?”

Well that is a good question. Even if your child is not deaf, there is scientific research that has been done to show the benefits of sign language for hearing babies.

Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn, founders of Baby Signs program, have spent a lot of time and energy into research before they developed the program Baby Signs. In their research they focused on hearing babies and the benefits of using signs.

They wanted to make sure that if they made a product for hearing babies that they were not going to cause problems for them in the future.

One myth is that using sign language slows down the baby’s ability to speak. If they can communicate using signs then they will never talk, right? No… research actually proves the opposite.

Results of the study were amazing!!!

The tests revealed at 11-30 months signing babies had a three-month advantage over the non-signers. The babies using baby sign language were also putting together significantly longer and more complex sentences. At 36 months, signers were almost a FULL year ahead of their non signing age mates!!!

Test results at 8 years old, showed those who had used sign language as babies scored an average of 12 points higher in IQ tests then their non-signing peers.

Not only does using baby signs with your baby increase their IQ, it also has other benefits as well.

Some other benefits are:

1. Using sign language with your baby can reduce the frustration levels for both baby and mother alike. Have you been in a situation that you could not tell what your child wanted? The only thing that your child could do was drag you to the kitchen, and then point. Well does he want a drink, food, or something on the counter? You could not help him, and after many attempts to figure it out you get frustrated and so is he. Sign language comes in very handy.
2. Using sign language with your baby builds trust between the baby and you. Imagine the above situation again. Your child drags you to the kitchen (actually this would not happen if you were signing with them). You are in the kitchen and your baby signs “drink”. You know exactly how to help them, and you give them a drink. Not only does your child walk away with new confidence about himself, he also walks away with the trust that you know how to help him when he needs you.
3. Using sign language allows babies to share their world to you. Babies are able to communicate at a very young age. But unfortunately their verbal skills fall far behind, and they are not able to communicate things with us. If they know sign language and have the confidence that you understand them, they will show you what they are thinking and looking at, what they want to know more about, what their interests are, what they don’t like, the list goes on and on.
4. Using sign language boosts their positive emotional development, confidence, as well as self esteem. They know what they want, and they have to figure out a way to communicate to us before they can speak. Sign language “bridges” the gap before they can verbalize it to us.

In conclusion, the evidence shows that using sign language with your baby is good for baby as well as for you, the parents. Now you know that signing with your baby increases their IQ throughout their life, decreases the frustration level, builds trust, allows you to share in their world and understand what they are thinking, and boosts confidence and self esteem. The better question to ask would be “Why not use sign language?”

Mandy McCollum has been passionate about sign language since she was young. She is one quarter away from receiving her sign language interpreting degree and has taken classes at the Chicago Deaf Center. She has also taught children sign language as part of a homeschool curriculum.  For more sign language resources visit http://www.hands4sign.com.

Cutting with scissors is a learned activity.  By three years old your child should have no problem holding a pair of child-sized scissors.  It takes them awhile to master this new skill, however, so be patient with them while they begin to show an interest in learning how to do it.

Purchase your child a pair of his own scissors.  If your child is left-handed, make sure the scissors can be used by left- or right-handed children.  Many scissors can be used by both.

Let your child try to cut with the scissors, and encourage him to cut the best he can.  It may take awhile for him to get the hang of it.  My boys were four years old before they could hold a pair of scissors correctly and cut with them.

After your child has learned to cut with his scissors, it's time to practice cutting shapes and lines.  This activity helps your preschooler master his cutting skills so he can move on to cutting out shapes for his own craft projects.

Have your child start cutting lines.  Simply use a ruler to draw several lines on a piece of paper, and then have your child try to cut on the line.  It will probably take awhile for your child to get the hang of it, but after he catches on he will be so proud of his new accomplishment.  After lines, he is ready to move on to wavy lines, then ovals, and, finally, circles.

Preschoolers love this cutting activity.  One of my sons spent at least an hour two days in a row cutting out shapes I had drawn for him.  He was so excited he could cut on the lines that he wanted to cut them out over and over again.

Another skill that can be practiced with this activity is tracing.  Before your child cuts out the shapes, have him first trace them with a pencil.  This is also a skill that takes time to learn and that your child will enjoy trying to master.

Children enjoying learning things.  Open up a whole new world for your child by teaching him something as simple as using a pair of scissors.

Parents start teaching their child the first moment that the baby makes its first cry. The baby is taught that a cry will bring mom and dad to take care of the needs it has. How to get fed and clean diapers are the first lessons we teach our children, during toddlerhood parents teach the child how to walk and talk. All of these skills we teach our child to do without any second thought or thinking we need to bring outside help in. With teaching these life skills tucked underneath our belts, parents should have the confidence that if desired, you will be able to teach academics to your child for it will not be that big of a step from what you are already doing.

Teaching an elementary age child is nothing more then continuing what you have been doing and just adding to it. Before your child becomes close to school age you are probably doing things with them that are educational but the attention is on the fun of doing the activity instead of being concerned about fitting it into a scope and sequence formula. Looking at how an activity is educational is not wrong but stripping the joy out of doing the activity is. Keep the fun and joy in learning and your job will be so much easier over the next twelve years.

Looking at the activities that you might be doing with your child before they start school might help you to see that home schooling will not be that big of a leap for you. Library activities are very popular to do with preschool kids, story time, movie parties and arts and crafts happen in community libraries across the country. Community sports such as pee wee leagues are another popular thing for young kids to be involved in. Believe it or not I just covered a major part of an educational program for your child, now all we need is a fun math game to play and hands on science program.

Would you agree that if  the child covered reading, math, science, arts & music along with physical activity your elementary aged child would be getting a great education. You can also easily introduce history, spelling and English and do all of this very economically by using community and online sources. It takes some of the fear away to realize that there is no magic that happens when the child turns six and heads off to the big school building. In fact, that school has limitations that you will not encounter when educating your child. You can alter and personalize the learning for your individual child that the schools simply can not do.

So remember when it comes to home schooling your elementary aged child all you have to do is continue with the activities that you enjoyed during their preschool years and add some more educational games and activities. You can customize your child’s learning more to fit their learning style and your schedule. Most of all keep “schooling” fun and your child can’t help but to learn.

Have you noticed how nearly every math textbook presents math concepts with perfect elegance? The textbook plan is just to follow the path and you will know the math.

Excuse me, but that's just not how kids learn math. Math is messy. Most of it isn't intuitively obvious. And nearly everyone makes lots of mistakes before gaining understanding and mastery.

A student cannot gain true mastery until mistakes are made, discovered, and corrected by the student. If you're an educator (and if you're a parent or a teacher or even a mentoring fellow student, you are an educator) consider that by giving a student who has made a mistake the correct answer you are hindering that student from gaining true mastery. In fact, by even telling a student that a mistake has been made you are guilty of the same.

OK you ask, then what do you do when your five year old tells you that 1 plus 1 is 3 (or when your 16 year old says that 2x is the derivative of 2x2)? The answer is surprisingly simple: Resist the urge to say no and to give the correct answer.

Even resist the urge to explain the process by which to get the right answer. Instead do what business school professors do so well: Lead your children down the path to contradiction so they can discover the error of their ways on their own terms.  Aha, so 1 plus 1 is 3? Interesting! OK, if 1 plus 1 is 3, then what is 2 plus 1? Or, what is 1 plus 1 plus 1? And for our budding calculus student: So 2x is the derivative of 2x2? Then what is the derivative of x2?

As an educator, lead students down the path of their choosing. They'll soon develop an internal compass that will lead them onto the right path - one of their own choosing, not some textbook publisher's - to math success.

It has been said that parents are the first educators. And, whether parents elect to traditionally educate their children or dedicate a significant portion of their own time, effort, and resources to homeschool their children, the fact remains that parents can, should, and do begin educating their children long before any sort of formal education begins.

Many parents, especially new and homeschooling parents, hesitate to "push" a child into reading before they are "ready." However, reading is merely a visual representation of the spoken word. And, just as we teach our children to talk and the appropriate words for objects and people, we can begin early to teach our children how letters (i.e., symbols) represent certain sounds, and when those letter symbols are grouped, they form words. This natural education process is less "pushing" than it is simple language acquisition. Some educators and experts refer to this process as pre-reading.

Pre-reading Leads to Reading Success

Pre-reading activities begin early and most parents aren't even aware they are preparing their young children to read. Parents might sing the alphabet song to help a cranky baby get to sleep. A child's nursery might be adorned with an ABC border. Colorful magnetic letters might litter the refrigerator waiting for parent and child to make words. These seemingly obtuse activities are what prepare children to learn to read.

The point is that pre-reading is all about exposure to language, both spoken and written. Parents can set their children up for success without pushing by making sure that they have the maximum exposure to these activities. Technology has even given children a new opportunity for early learning called syllabics. Syllabics, which focuses on the sounds associated with all letters, or phonics, which deals mainly with the sounds associated with the consonants, can be easily learned with readily available preschool computer software.

Pre-reading, Games, and Conversation

Even before children learn to talk, parents naturally set them up for verbal communication. How many times have we all witnessed parents who talk to their children while dressing them? That parent might say something like "Here's your pretty pink dress!" or "Do you want to wear the blue shirt or the brown one?" Parents who converse with their children long before those children can hold their own end of the conversation, are, without even trying, teaching their children pre-reading skills.

Another way young children learn pre-reading skills is through exposure to those well-recognized early reader board books. These books, made from thick cardboard and easy for less-than-nimble fingers to manipulate have simple, colorful pictures and short, basic words. They help pre-readers learn to associate words with objects and people in a different way than they were learning when they held an object in their hands while mom or dad told them what that object was or when they began learning that people had names and titles.

Measuring Pre-reading Success

The success of a parent's pre-reading instruction can actually be measured. In general, children who have had lots of pre-reading activity exposure begin speaking earlier than children who have not. For instance, parents who speak to their children frequently generally have children that start speaking earlier. Parents who limit how much they speak to their very young children might notice that those children are "late" talkers.

Children learn quickly and naturally, given the opportunity. And, although parents might be hesitant to push their children into learning, they must also understand that it is their responsibility to give their children the tools they need to develop the proper pre-reading skills. Providing children with fun and interesting ways to develop language skills is very different from requiring a minimum number of formal teaching hours for pre-reading children. One scenario can be identified as learning fun. The second might be more along the lines of the "pushing" that parents are trying to avoid. Knowing the difference between the two can set the stage for reading success.

Michael Levy has published more than 250 articles and books on learning and memory. Recently, he developed Reading Buddy 2.0 to teach children to learn to read English using a remarkably easy and effective syllabics method. Would you like a free copy of this innovative computer program to teach your child to read using this modern method? Claim your free copy of Reading Buddy 2.0.

If your child needs help with handwriting, STOP having him practice writing letters sheet after sheet. Let’s go back to the underlying cause, which is more than likely weakened muscles in your child's hand and arm. Counteract this weakness with strengthening of your child’s hand and arm muscles.

Believe it or not, having your child play with play dough is one of the best ways I have seen to improve penmanship. I even worked with a teacher who would practice “handwriting” every Friday by passing out play dough. Most children love playing with play dough. In fact, my two little ones are in the other room playing with it right now as I type this. (I am slightly scared of the mess, but it is worth it.)

Your child will exercise many muscles in his hands, which strengthen his fine motor skills. Have your child use his hands, fingers, knuckles, nails, palms, and wrists while he molds his play dough. You can also have your child use play dough to make the letters in his spelling words. Here are some homemade play dough recipes and some links for Play-Doh products.

Homemade Play Dough Recipe

1 cup salt
2 cups plain flour
2 cups water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
4 teaspoons of cream of tartar

Place all ingredients in a pan, stir, and heat gently until it forms a lump and leaves the sides of the pan. You can add a few drops of food coloring and scented oils for variety. Allow to cool thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.

Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe

Here is my children's favorite kind of play dough- the kind you eat. We make this at our home every couple of months. Yummy!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white corn syrup
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (10x sugar)
1 1/4 cups dry milk powder

Mix peanut butter, corn syrup, and powdered sugar together. Add powdered milk and knead until smooth. (It gets very thick and must be kneaded with your child's hands for awhile, which is a great workout for your child's hands.) Your child can mold any shape he likes then eat it. We usually have a lot left over, so my children get to play with and eat peanut butter play dough for several days.

For a variation, have your child work with Floam and clay. I find Floam is much easier and quicker to clean up than play dough. If your child works with clay, there are some types that can be baked, so your child can keep his creation forever. I like to integrate my children's clay projects with what they are learning in school. For example, my sons were learning about volcanoes, and they created erupting volcanoes with clay.

Tamara Chilver is an elementary teacher, home educator, speaker, author of Homeschooling with TLC in the Elementary Grades and Tutoring Your Elementary Child with TLC, and creator of the television program Flip Your Family. Tamara’s approach gives parents teaching tools to enhance their children's education and empowers them with confidence. For more teaching tips, visit TeachingWithTLC.com.

Getting a toddler to sit still can be a near-impossible feat. They're constantly exploring the world around them. That's a good thing, but sometimes they need some creative downtime. That's where toddler crafts come in.

Crafting is great for toddlers for a number of reasons. It can help them develop longer attention spans. Most crafts help develop hand-eye coordination. And young children can benefit from learning how to follow simple instructions. Here are some craft ideas that your toddler can do (with supervision).

Craft Stick Puppets

Puppets are fascinating to toddlers. Creating their own puppets is easy, and it's lots of fun. All you really need are some craft or popsicle sticks, construction paper, safety scissors, markers and glue.

Help your toddler cut animal shapes out of construction paper. He can draw faces and other details with washable markers. Glue the stick to the back of the shape, let dry, and he's ready to put on a puppet show. If you want to make more elaborate puppets, try cutting shapes out of foam. Glue on a pom pom for the nose, and add some googly eyes.

Paint with Pudding

Kids love to fingerpaint, but it's so messy. And there's also the concern about them eating the paint. Even if the paints are nontoxic, it can make cautious parents uneasy. The solution? Let them paint with pudding!

You don't need different flavors to make different colors. Just use one serving of plain vanilla pudding, divide it up into small portions, and add food coloring to create various shades. Give your child a paper plate to use as a canvas for his masterpiece. When he's done, he can eat it with no worries.

Design a T-Shirt

If your toddler sees you sewing or painting clothes with fabric paint, she may want to try her hand at designing clothes. But needles are small and sharp, and fabric paint is messy. What to do? Break out the markers!

Kids can have a blast decorating a plain white t-shirt with colorful markers. If you use washable ones, they can create a design, wear it, and start over after you wash the shirt. If a permanent design is desired, however, you'll have to let him use non-washable markers. You can avoid a mess by covering the work area with newspaper and putting a smock on your toddler.

Placemats

Making placemats out of contact paper is very easy. Have your toddler cut shapes out of construction paper and glue them onto a whole piece with a glue stick. He can add detail with markers or embellish with stickers. When he's done, place the artwork on a piece of contact paper, sticky side up. Place another sheet of contact paper on top, sticky side down.

Most toddlers will only have the patience to make one placemat at a time. But he can make another one tomorrow, continuing until there are enough for the whole table. He'll be so proud to know that everyone sees his artwork at every meal!

Crafting can help your toddler learn important skills while keeping him quietly occupied. Whether it's a rainy day or he's just feeling creative, seize the opportunity to let him channel his imagination into something you can both admire.