K is for Keys of the Kingdom Movement Exploration

Movement education activities are a perfect way to foster creativity and develop both fine and gross motor skills in young children. It builds self esteem as well because there are no wrong responses. In this activity we feature the letter K. It's a super way to introduce or reinforce phonics in the home or at school. Why not follow up with some kicking games?

Movements are indicated in BOLD. Put on some Regal sounding trumpet music and read the story slowly. Remember to give time between sentences for children to explore their movements.

Kevin the king was a kindergarten kid with nothing to do. He kept a key hidden in his kilt. What would the key unlock?

Use the key to unlock this big box. There’s kelp to eat. There's a kettle of tea to drink.  Kerplunk!  A klutzy kitten falls out of the box and cries.  Kiss the kitten and tell him, “It’s alright.”

Let’s use our key to open the door to the zoo! A kooky kangaroo is kickboxing. Let’s kick high. Now kick to the side. The kind koala bear is playing the kazoo. Keep in line and play with him.  Jump into the kayak and paddle down the river.

The key opens the kitchen door too! Karl, my kin, is making kebob. Yum!  Let’s put some ketchup on our kebob.  Eat it all up. Now turn on the karaoke machine and sing and dance with me!

It’s time to turn our key in the playground gate.  Let’s play kickball. Kick the ball far and run around the bases.  King Kevin sees a king snake in the outfield.” Run and hide. It can kill you,” he says.  “Just kidding. It won’t hurt you.”

Use the key to open the kite kit. Let’s make a kite! Tie the sticks together and glue the paper on.  Add the string. Run and let the wind carry the kite up into the sky. Let’s make believe we are kites. Float on the wind.  Dip down and make a circle.  Duck down. Watch out for that kiwi vine.  Now soar up high!

There’s a kazillion things to do in the king’s kingdom!

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965# http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285

Put Down the Controller: 15 Ideas to Get Your Child to Play Outside

I recently found this post and thought you might be interested!

1. Go for a nature walk. Kids seldom know much about nature, outside of the basics they learn in science class. Take your kids to explore the outdoors by taking them on a nature walk. Don’t worry if there’s no national park nearby, you can go down a trail at your local park or in the neighborhood and spot bits of nature as they turn up. Check out birds and collect neat leaves and flowers along the way. It teaches kids to appreciate and respect nature and gets them in tune with the great outdoors.
2. Share old school games with your kids. Today’s typical six year old may not know what Red Rover is. It’s too bad since the game is a blast! Share old school games with your kids that will make them want to get outside and start Red Rover games with their friends and neighbors. This is a great game to play at a kid’s birthday party too, since there are usually plenty of kids around.
3. Hit the beach. Appreciating nature comes with seeing the many parts of it. Showing your kids the beach will expose them to the sun and sand and you can incorporate a few lessons on erosion if the crowd is interested. Of course, if your kids are swimming the day away in the water, that’s fine too. Collect seashells and walk along the shore spotting crabs along the way.
4. Go to the park. This one seems basic, but once upon a time, the park was where most families spent their weekends. Now we tend to spend the weekends running errands or at the modern day park, the mall (insert shudder here). Take your kids to the park and let them do what they want. This is a great place to let them run wild because it gives them an opportunity to interact with other kids and play on things they may not have a chance to play with otherwise, like the jungle gym or see-saw.
5. Visit a public pool. If your kids don’t regularly get an opportunity to swim, taking them to a public pool one or two weekends a month during the summer will shake up their outdoor routine. Playing in the background can grow tedious, even for the creative bunch who love the outdoors, so get your kids in the pool swimming. Most public pools are free, so pack a lunch and go early and stay late.
6. Go camping. This one is a little tricky because depending on where you live and whether or not you own a vehicle, it becomes more or less accessible. If you can go camping with your kids, take them! You’ll appreciate seeing them in new territory (and vice-versa) and it makes for a great bonding experience. Don’t forget to pack the camera, so you can take photos of the family fishing or swimming in the lake.
7. Play baseball. Gather up a few kids from around the neighborhood (or invite school friends or cousins) and set up a game of baseball at a local diamond. It’s fun, cheap and many kids will want to play again and again. This one isn’t exclusively for kids either. Teams can be comprised of both adults and kids for a fun dynamic.
8. Start a garden. This is one surefire way to get kids outside, day after day. Starting a small garden will teach kids responsibility and how to get friendly with nature. Your kids will watch their plant or fruit or vegetable grow and appreciate the process and hands-on activity that requires time in the sun, almost daily.

To read the rest of these great tips click on the following link: http://www.howtobecomeapharmacist.org/put-down-the-controller-15-ideas-to-get-your-child-to-play-outside

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html http://kathystemke.weebly.com/ Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile

EBOOK: MOVING THROUGH ALL SEVEN DAYS

Kathy Stemke’s book, Moving Through All Seven Days, uses movement activities to teach the days of the week. The lyrical rhymes also teach them how to spell each day! The 14 pages of activities at the end of the book are designed to reinforce the concepts as well as give impetus to movement exploration.

Find it on lulu by clicking on this link: http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#

Here are some other fun activities that you can do with your children.

DINNER BELL
String seven bells on a string with the each day of the week spelled out. Add a picture of the foods mentioned in the rhyme below. Great for jump rope chants:

Monday, meatball, start the week,
Tuesday, tunafish, what a treat.
Wednesday, watermelon, red and cool,
Thursday, turkey, that’s the rule,
Friday, French fries, eat them hot,
Saturday, slurpees, thanks a lot,
Sunday, spaghetti, sun or rain,
Then start the week all over again!

PIN THE DAY ON THE CALENDAR
Make a poster of seven empty boxes.
Using tacky the kids put the days of the week in order from Sunday to Saturday.
For fun you can blindfold each child, spin them three times, and see how close to the right spot they can place their day on the boxes.

SUITCASE RELAY RACE
In each suitcase there is a piece of clothing for each day of the week.
On Monday we wear mittens.
On Tuesday we wear a tee shirt.
On Wednesday we wear a wig.
On Thursday we wear a tank top.
On Friday we wear a feather boa.
On Saturday we wear socks.
On Sunday we wear sneakers.

On command, one child runs to the suitcase says, “Monday” as they put on the mittens. He runs back and sits down. They next child says, “Tuesday” as he puts on the T-shirt. Etc. The first team to be finished and seated wins!

SYLLABLE SPELLING THE DAYS OF THE WEEK
Make a poster with all seven days of the week printed out.
Cut each day into their syllables.

Sun/day
Mon/day
Tues/day
Wed/nes/day
Thurs/day
Fri/day
Sa/tur/day

Give the cards to the children. Call three children at a time to make words until all the days are spelled out and in order.

Kathy's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlhttp://kathystemke.weebly.comFollow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemkeFollow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile