Cooking Pizza With A Toddler!
After writing my last post all about wanting pizza, my little guy got hungry. And guess what he said? “Make pizza? With some cheese?” Well, more like he sing-said the line from our Zumbini® class song. So we had a cooking adventure making pizza together! This was the perfect opportunity to do some cooking with my little singing chef! We decided to make pizza for dinner using most of the steps from our song as we went along. (This was already close to dinner time so we used Naan bread rather than making dough from scratch.) He was so excited to spread the sauce, shake the spices, toss the cheese,…
Why Do Our Brains Remember So Much Music? NPR Story, Brain Facts, & Your Little One’s Early Learning !
This week I was slightly late for an appointment because I couldn’t stop listening to this story that ran on NPR. (It’s not a super long clip, just was bad timing for me!) The title was as capturing as the information that followed: Why Do Our Brains Remember So Much Music? Here are some of my favorite learning moments and quotes: “…There are a few reasons we remember music so well. Some of it has to do with how our brains are hardwired to latch on to repetition and rhythm. ““There’s also a small element of muscle memory…When you sing along to a song enough times, muscle memory between your…
Trucks + Markers = Moving Art!
Recently I realized that my house contains more cars and trucks than an interstate at rush hour! It all started with one USPS mail truck, then a UPS, and now a fleet of delivery type trucks all working side by side with bunches of construction trucks, service vehicles, and “Mama’s blue car.” While I love following his lead for more in-depth learning, I realized that we are not as well rounded with visual arts. We love reading books, being outside, taking care of the animals, and talking talking talking.We spend lots of time singing, dancing, moving, making music, and having a ton of fun together in Zumbini®. But he is…
The Pizza Song & Topping Silliness! Learning In Zumbini®!
“I wanna Pizza! I wanna pizza! Spread the sauce! With some cheese!”If you have taken Zumbini® with me during the “Hili and The Dance” music collection, then you know the Pizza Song! One of our class favorites is a delicious song all about making pizza together. The kids love to move along while they sing about a yummy pizza they help to design. While we make the motions of mixing the dough by rolling our arms around and around or chop up the invisible toppings to be added on top, kids are learning so much by connecting their words to motions. The kids practice new vocabulary words while they sing…
Math With Pizza!
Whoever believes you shouldn’t play with your food should not eat at our house. Check out what stacking, balancing, and STEM concepts we learned with pizza!! At first he was super excited to have two pizza pieces stack up. Then he tried to add a third piece. Fell over. Tried again. Fell over. You get the idea. In this game of stacking, I could see his brain processing what happens when he tried a new technique. He tried dropping the piece from a lower height or gently placed the piece right onto the the stack. He tried moving the piece a little to the left and to the right. What…
Learning With Water
One of my favorite things to do this summer has been watching my son’s fascination with one of our most basic elements: water. This kid has had a bath every night since he was born (essential in our sleep routine), but experiencing water in new ways outdoors was amazing! After the last few weeks, I knew this had to be a post because my teacher brain was on excitement overload! Having water play in early childhood classrooms is essential, seeing water play on a larger outdoor scale was incredible! We know children learn through play, but can you always figure out what they’re leaning? His first time at the splash…
Worry When They’re Quiet
Sheer joy, tons of excitement, and all thanks to a tissue. Well, a box of tissues. This is just a snapshot, scroll for the real deal. While I cooked dinner one night, my son had moved from playing in the living room (in my line of sight), to playing in his room (out of my line of sight), but still in earshot. Then it got quiet. Too quiet. He wasn’t doing any self-talk or singing like usual and not as much banging of toys as usual either. He wasn’t silent, just too quiet. Enter the concerned mama. My worst fears were relieved as I saw him moving and breathing regularly.…
