A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Preschool

I Can Only Imagine for Little Ones

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I Can Only Imagine for Little Ones is a board book based around off the popular song I Can Only Imagine.  The bright colourful images can only help littles who wonder what heaven might be like. 

I can Only Imagine for little ones

I can Only imagine…. can you believe that I have never listened to this song?   Not even once (until I looked it up because this book is based on it). In case you are like me see the video, if interested in the words see here. 

What do you get? 

Sumite Collina does a wonderful job of illustrating the words put together by Bart Millard and Laura Neutzling.  The beauty of the full colour images gives the reader lots of things to talk about with the little ones they are reading the book too.  Being able to point out forts, dogs, birds, the splash of the water and more… it all just adds to the story you know?

I can only imagine for little ones, sample pages

The lyrics rhyme making for an easy to read tome, the words point to how we might spend time in heaven, but the close of the book calls children to how we might spend time with God in the here and now. 

I can only imagine for little ones, rhyme

The illustrations display people from a variety of nationalities, engaged in activities that all types of children enjoy, it was good to see the mix in the people. 

My thoughts: 

I have mixed opinions about this book.  I love the colourful illustrations, the wonderment of a child, and the ease of the lyrics.

You know what I didn’t see?

I didn’t see “will we praise you”, “will we see actual streets of gold”, “will you make us all healthy again’, or any of the other things about heaven that we actually see in the bible. I know it’s hard to put it all together in a single, book, but the very much noticed the lack, not even a single mention of biblical statements about heaven. No more tears or sorrow or pain. I don’t see many rooms, gates, jewels, gold, God (or depictions thereof), no tree of life,or anything like that.  It leaves everything to the fanciful and wonderment and shows no truth. 

I get the questions that kids have, and it’s fun to wonder and dream.  It is.This board book does help children not only see a glimpse of the wonderment about heaven, but also leads them to the things of how God is with them in the here and now. I just, in the end, wanted more truth, and less wonderment. 

I can Only Imagine for little ones, book cover
I can only Imagine for little ones
Bart Millard & Laura Neutzling
Sumiti Collina (illutrator)
Tommy Nelson
Board book, 32 pages,
Faith-based, heaven, preschool
Reviewed for BookLookBloggers

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Go to Sleep, Sheep

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Go To Sleep, Sheep is a board book wonderfully illustrated by Sydney Hanson.   White. woolly sheep and mama needs them to go to bed.   Will those little sheep listen?   Will those little sheep come up with excuses?   Will mama convince her littles that it’s time to go to bed?  Join me in a bright and colourful book about bedtime routines. 

go to sleep sheep review

Sydney Hanson does a wonderful job of bringing five little sheep and their mama to life. Beautiful white coats showcased against a farm background. Our littles one get to see butterflies, cattle, horses, bunnies and a typical red barn with barnyard.  

go to sleep sheep, sample page

I couldn’t figure out who the author was, the verse is in abcb rhyme for the most part, which makes it very easy to read. The repeated refrain Go to Sleep Sheep, helps give your young children confidence as they read along. 

go to sleep sheep, verse

In many ways it’s a sweet little board book, with great images that provide talking points, each page has the young sheep coming up with new ways to stay up just a bit longer. 

go to sleep sheep, sample page

On just one page we have a short mention of God, a prayer thanking God for the day.  It’s a good way to remind children to talk with God before they go to bed. 

My thoughts

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It’s not one I would read more than once to a child, there is just not enough meat of anything in this book.  The story isn’t the most “YAY, let’s read it”.  Might children enjoy it?   Possibly.  I would have more fun pointing out the glasses on one, the necktie on another and so forth. It would be a great book to talk about colours, caring for sheep, farm life and all those wonderful things.  I’d be wanting to make up names for them and having fun with the youngsters under my care. Then I’d talk about how littles need to listen to mama and go to bed when they are told, even if they want a drink or to stay up or… God calls them to be more then what they want. 

go to sleep sheep, book cover

Go to Sleep, Sheep

Sydney Hanson (illustrator)
Tommy Nelson
Board book, 20 pages, preschool to kindergarten
Animals, sleep-time routines, faith-based
Reviewed for BookLookBloggers.

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Review: This Way Watson!

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Are you wanting to teach your children how to read a map and follow directions?   This way, Watson is a delightful book to amuse and help your children learn some map reading skills. (and have fun while doing so).

Written on a heavier paper but not the type you find in a board book, this oversized story book should stand up to lots of handling.  The larger print is easy to read and hold up for reading,marking it so easy to share with a group of children as well as delighting an individual child.  Let me tell you all about it.

Watson is a young dog who has a friend named Scout and they can hardly wait to run around town together.   They have a handy dandy map that clearly spells out all their favourite places.

Simple rhyme lets us follow Watson and Scout around town. 

I liked how the main word was in bigger letters, helping children to hone in on the vocabulary.   We get to follow Watson and Scout up, down, left, right, in and out and all over town.  Fun in the park and so much more.

By the end of the book we get to help Watson and Scout find their way home!

It’s a great little book that does a great job of introducing younger children to the basics of map reading and directions.

I loved the bright colourful pages and the way the words just flowed off the pages, and oh…those cakes and treats… I could almost smell them, they looked so good.  🙂

This Way, Watson!  A map and directions primer.
Author/Illustrator: Claudia Pearson
Gibbs Smith
32 pages
Type: Children’s primer
ages 2-5 years

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Where can you find it?
Amazon.ca.    or   Amazon.com.

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Art Series: The Painting-In Book

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Today I have a NEAT book.  It’s  one of those use it up type books, but could easily, be adapted for a classroom setting.

It’s called the Painting-In Book, it’s written by Anna Rumsby, and it is just a fun book… meant to teach young children about paint and how to use it.

Book Synopsis: 
Can you give the gorilla a jungle to hide in? Can you create some
honeycomb for the bees? And can you mix up some delicious flavors of ice
cream?

Create paint masterpieces with nothing more than your
poster paints and Anna Rumsby’s entertaining activity pages. A great big
book of painting fun!

Also contains an introduction to mixing colors and simple, easy-to-copy painting techniques. 

My thoughts:
This is such a neat little book.  64 pages filled with one sided sheets to help young children express themselves with paint, learning to mix colours, and use differing paint techniques.

Can you give a dog some long hair?

Can you help this boy have fun with the elephant?

The instructions on each page are written clearly and simply.
I am not sure if it is the copy that I received, but the pages pull out very easily.  This makes it easy to pull individual pages out in order to let your little artist create, and later display.

Recommendation:
If you have young children, and want to let them show their artistic side and learn a few things while doing so, this book will work for you.   If you KNOW someone with young children this would make a great gift, along with some washable paints.

The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities
By: Anna Rumsby
Pages: 64
Geared for ages 3-5
Published by: Laurence King
Size: 14.56 x 10.29
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Amazon.ca: The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities

Amazon.com: The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities

I Linked up at the Virtual Fridge this week. Good place to go to for Art Inspiration!

Love is the air… Love is found in picture books

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Ah…just think… February 14 is JUST around the corner.
People planning ways to have a special time with their loved ones.

It’s also a time of year when it is SO much fun to grab up a new picture book and share them with your littles…and if they are seasonal…..so much more the fun!  🙂

Today I would like to introduce you two delightful little books, given to me by Raincoast Books, for you to introduce to your littlest ones.

Love Is…
This delightful picture book by Diane Adams walks us through what love looks….using a young girl and her duckling.

The text is clear and simple, the illustrations so fitting.  It would be so much fun to sit with a young one and point out all the things that happen, to look for the duck, to see how this young one find a way to care for her charge.

Love is … all the ways that we care for each other… even to the point of missing our loved ones when they are gone, and the joy we have at their return.  Love is messiness and maturity, snuggles and loneliness.  Love is just so very much.  🙂

Love is all around Canada.
Ah…but love is INDEED found in Canada!!!   🙂

It is found in national parks, and provinces, caught sidling up to families having picnics, in bears held tight, and in listening to lonely friends.  Love is found in the smiles and helps that others offer.  Love is found everywhere you look in Canada… and as you know…. you can never have too much love.

An easy reading rhyme flows from beginning to end with many Canada attractions mentioned.

I love how this book points out all the ways and places love can be found.   The work that the illustrator did is simply marvellous, so many things to point out to a wondering, learning child.

Recommendation:

I would happily recommend both of these books.
Love is… it’s a cute story of a girl with her duck, and it parallels so well the love of a family for their child. 
Love is all around Canada: the delightful rhyme, the pictures, the Canadian content… it works.

The illustrators have done a fabulous job with both books, the writers in showing the importance of love and family.   It is what Valentine’s Day is all about right?   The love shown in families that broadens to the community around us.

 Amazon.ca: Love Is
Amazon.com: Love Is 
 Love Is
by Diane Adams
Illustrator: Claire Keane
Chronicle Books

9.58 x 7.67
32 pages
Ages 3-5

Amazon.ca: Love Is All Around Canada
Amazon.com: Love Is All Around Canada
Love is all around Canada
By Wendi Silvano
Illustrator: Joanna Czernichowska
Sourcebooks
11.08 x 8.75 
32 pages
Ages 4-10

Consonants

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Here’s a sheet to print off for finding the consonants vs. vowels. 🙂 and another by the same folks.

From TLSbooks comes Consonants worksheet and this one too.

Check out this website for free phonics materials which includes learning the consonants!

Kidzone has this page.

Phonicsworld has all kinds of pages.

Free Kindergarten worksheets.

Fun Fonix.

Free printable phonics worksheets, free printable activities, printable workbooks, and phonics worksheet makers from Fun Fonix.com.

Fun Fonix Intro: hard consonants and short vowels with writing practice for each letter

School Express this site has tons of stuff. Will take a while to go through it all.

File Folder Games

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Have I ever told you to go the The Old Schoolhouse and get on their email newsletter lists? Well, go do it! Free homeschool goodies and oodles of ideas await you!

File Folder games is one such letter they sent out.

In a nutshell…you take a file folder, you put stuff inside it, keeps everything compact and you have a game or activity that your child can do.

I got the preschool set from the teacher’s book bag. Our son LOVES the games (most of them). The one I got seems to focus on alphabet stuff…he thinks the honey pot game is just too much fun. 🙂 But he likes the others as well. I don’t use file folders as that would have cost more dollars…and I have oodles of card stock because I scrap book! So tape, cardstock, worksheets and voila! I can make a file folder type game/activity for him.

Here are Jamin’s freebies on File-folder games. She has more on her page so make sure you go there as well. 🙂

File Folder Fun offers free file folders for preschool through second grade. You will find file folders for science, language arts, math and more! You can browse by subject or grade level. The more you click the more you find at this website!

Looking for phonics games? Check these out!

Adding and rhyming? Click here.

Simple addition, telling time, and counting money. Click here.

For preschool file folders, click here. (There are 22 to chose from on the yellow sidebar on the left.)

For more preschool file folder games click here. You will find them mixed in with a lot of other free printables for little ones.

and the following list is ones that I’ve found as well. See…I just love how one list inspires people to look further! 🙂

File Folder Games and Other Games
Activity Village
Essortment: Preschools educational file folder game
My File Folder games
File Folder game – opposites
bellaonline
Childcareland
GigglyGames
File Folder heaven has purchase options as well as free options.

Things to Try with File Folders
File Folder Games for teachers
come up with themes: seasons, months, alphabet books, and such like. Basically whatever you want, you can do if you just think about it.
Come up with different ways to do things: cut outs, hideaway, pop-ups and such like.
MakePlayDough.com
Ezine articles

This one I think does more that file folder games but it looked intriguing.
Printables for your classroom.