Home on the Prairie: Illinois Art and Lesson Plans for Preschoolers.

Clipart by Phillip Martin

Illinois is more than Chicago, corn and cows! Each mile is chock full of history and quirky charm as shown by this Roadside America page and great food such as deep dish pizza (need I say more!). From giant ketchup bottles, Olney's white squirrels to "The Bean, Illinois has enough pizazz to make even Mr. Lincoln smile.

Preschoolers will be squirming in their seats to get their hands on these ill-luminating Illinois crafts and lesson plans.

Illinois Puzzle Pieces 

Uncompleted Illinois State Puzzle 

Completed Illinois State Puzzle 

Math

• Create State Puzzles by tracing a template in the shape of Illinois onto heavy cardboard or craft foam.  Cut into 4 - 8 pieces depending on your preschooler's ability level. Skills: Math: Spacial concepts, parts of a whole, matching shapes. 
• Mr. Lincoln's Hat Math Mat - Help children begin to identify and recognize numeric amounts and practice their counting/1 -1 correspondence skills by rolling a foam die and placeing the correct number of bingo markers on a cardboard cut-out of a stove pipe hat. 
• Develop non-standard form of measurement concepts, by using plastic corn on the cobs. Hunt within your child's play food to find plastic corn on the cobs and "measure" household items. Popcorn is the state snack, so corn is a pretty important crop!

Getting Squirlley! Olney, Illinois White Squirrel Craft

Art

• Superman placemats (Superman was created by Illinois native) Find clipart of superman and glue to blue or red construction paper. 
• Cardinal hand print bird (State Bird) 
• White Squirrel Doily craft (Olney, Illinois is famous for their white squirrels) Use this link go to DLTK's Autumn Squirrel Wreath template . Print the Autumn Squirrel Wreath Template onto heavy white cardstock. Cut out head, hands feet and body from Autumn Squirrel Wreath Template and set aside. Trace a large paper doily around the body section of squirrel and cut out. Find a large heart-shaped doily and trace it around a piece of cardstock (this will be the tail). Cut out. Remember to also keep heart Shaped doily you used as tracing template. Glue previously cut doilies to both the body and tail. Glue the hands and feet to the body doily. Glue the heart tail doily under the body doily and glue face on top of heart doily. 
• Route 66 Sign 

Social Studies/Geography 

• See if you can locate Illinois on a U.S. Map (Geographical location of Illinois on a map)
• Create a feely box with state symbols (cardinal, violet, popped popcorn in a bag, fake prairie grass etc.) (Investigating Illinois symbols and using sense of touch (science)) 
• Locate famous people who shaped Illinois in a famous people scavenger hunt in your room. (Learning about important individuals who developed and brought publicity to the state). 
• If you live in Illinois, research the town where you live. (State history, recognition of you towns social and civic properties) 

Water Table 

• Fill laminated postcards of Chicago for the children to view using magnifying glasses
• Grab the fast food! Illinois is the birthplace of McDonald's. 
• Flower Power! Find flowers and plants that are native to Illinois. (Identifying and recognizing Illinois native flora) 

Language Arts 

• Create a Land of Lincoln bingo game. (visual discrimination and naming of Illinois state objects) 
• Have children describe (adjectives) famous landmarks in Chicago. Ex. Willis Tower: Big, tall etc.
• Have children who have been to the state bring in photos of their vacation and ask them questions about their trip to create a written memory of their trip. (Language concepts: speaking and recording previous memories and math: logical thought accessed through previous experiences.)
• Students can "send" a postcard to students in Illinois as pen pals.

Science 

• Investigate the importance of wind power near farms. 
• Learn about prairie ecosystems. 

Snacks (Allergy alert: Check to make sure your students are not allergic to any items found on the packaging of these foods. Always ask restaurants what ingredients they have uses to make their foods if you have any doubts.)

Now that's deep: Giordano's Deep Dish Pizza 

• Order or make deep dish pizza. 
• Sweet treat. Eat an ice cream cone.The ice cream cone was developed at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. 
• Good to the last pop! Taste some yummy popcorn. 

I'm feeling Disney: Walt Disney 

Miscellaneous

• Watch a Disney movie! Walt Disney was born in Hermosa, Chicago, Illinois.

Illinois Best Book Bets: See my post about fantastic Land of Lincoln literature at my book blog Pump Up the Volumes http://pumpupthevolumes.blogspot.com/2014/05/il-luminating-illinois-books-about.html

Ponderings of a Preschool Teacher: Kiddie Kouture: Kid's Clothing that Screams Preschool Posh

As a preschool teacher, I often wonder why parents obsess over their children's clothing remaining pristine and utterly perfect after a long, hard day of preschool play. While I do feel smocks are adequate to reduce a great number of messy mistakes, I also feel that the childrens' worry over "keeping clean" limits their overall learning experience.

Getting down and dirty with play-doh, paint and glitter are just some of the wonderful things about childhood. These activities teach them about cause and effect, weight, measurement, spacial concepts, the bending of light within the color spectrum (glitter's prismatic effect), color mixing (creating tints, shades, primary, secondary and tertiary colors) and so on.

I say hooray to the Free Play Movement (Be sure to read Effort to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum by Hilary Stout from The New York Times to learn more about this movement). Children deserve to smell the daisies, get a little dirty, and use their good old fashion imagination.

I've compiled a list of quality resale shops in the Chicagoland area that help dissuade the "Clean Clothing Epidemic" that is reaching monumental proportions.

These shops offer clean, slightly worn clothing, that are generally free of rips and tears. The majority of the items look brand new and the prices are so low that no one needs to worry if a dreaded grape juice or paint stain occurs.

I've also selected a few commercial department and discount stores that offer new, never worn merchandise.

Resale Shops

The Hope Chest La Grange, Illinois
See my review on my fashion blog: Inpurse-suit of Happiness

The Carousel Shop La Grange, Illinois

Saver's (Various Locations)

Small Change La Grange, Illinois

Goodwill  (Various location)

Salvation Army Stores  (Various Locations)


Department and Discount Stores 

Tuesday Morning (Various Locations)

T.J. Maxx (Various Locations)

Marshall's (Various Locations)

Target (Various Locations)

Illinois Kiddie Car-Hops: Daytrips: Cantigny Park

Some of the best sites are right in your backyard! Whether it be in Idaho or Kalamazoo, fabulous family fun is right around the corner. Make sure to look at your local paper, t.v. channels, state visitors guides and websites to see all the fun your missing in your own ‘hood. 

In Illinois, I recently visited Cantigny Park, the former home and gardens of Robert McCormick of Tribune Newspaper fame. I was slightly disappointed, that due to a wedding, I was unable to tour his home and the gardens were lackluster because of a horrific winter for horticultural beauty, but all in all the trip was lovely. The weather was warm, the bugs were at bay and park visitors were happily strolling with strollers and tots in tow. Even the on-site war museum was packed with children enthralled by the military uniforms and chillingly life-like creations of landscapes scarred by wartime battles. 

Below you will find some of the photos I had taken of the gardens at Cantigny Park. So go ahead and investigate the local color and sites with your kids this summer. 

For more Illinois excursions, check out my past post Site Seeing: Cheap and Fun Things to Do With Kids in Chicagoland.

The Idea Garden Puts a Smile on Your Face! 

Site Seeing: Cheap and Fun Things to Do With Kids in Chicagoland

School's out and summers in! Time to explore your community through budget-savvy travels!

Has the economic downturn left you feeling "stuck" in a rut? Does it seem like everything fun for kids seems to break the bank? Check out the following Chicagoland gems that will leave your wallet thicker and your kids happier than ever before!

Library Storytimes and Programs: Libraries often offer a wealth of free programs to their patrons from storytimes, lego programs, puppet shows and even foreign language storytimes.  Don't worry  about the shushing of bespectacled librarians which is totally a thing of the past. So go ahead and give your local library a try!

Lincoln Park Zoo: A beautiful zoo nestled in downtown chic and happening Lincoln park that is just a car ride away.

 Historical Societies: Jump into history at local historical societies such as the Du Page County Historical Society in Wheaton. In July, you'll even be able to meet the lovable, mischievous monkey Curious George for free!  Visit: http://www.dupagemuseum.org/ for more details.

Park Districts: Generally most people think of park districts as places for sports and exercise enthusiasts to sweat out it out, but you'd be wrong! Park district's programs are a smorgasbord of kid-friendly programming that won't break your budget. From computer, sports and art programs the park district has you covered!

Forest Preserves: The Little Red Schoolhouse in Willow Springs, Illinois is one of the many fantastic forest preserves found in Cook County which offer a variety of classes for children and adults. Little ecologists will be mesmerized by their upcoming Spittlebug Nature Camp for 5-6 year-olds that costs a measly $25 or go native by creating a Native American Sand Painting. Make sure to take a trek to this naturalist's delight! Take a peek at the Forest Preserve's 2014 Summer Schedule for more enticing programs http://fpdcc.com/events/.

Cantigny (Wheaton, Illinois): Step back into time by visiting newspaper magnate Robert McCormick's estate, gardens and war museum that will leave you and your family breathless with glee! Events for children include a Vintage Baseball Match on June 8th and a bird walk for avid aviary experts 10 and over!  Vist http://www.cantigny.org/ to learn more.

Other Spellbinding Sites: 

Oak Lawn Children's Museum: http://cmoaklawn.org/

Naper Settlement: http://www.napersettlement.museum/ (Living History Museum in Naperville, Illinois)

*All Images from museum and zoo websites*

Zoo Cool to Be True: A Trip to the Cosley Zoo!

The Cosley Zoo is an adorable oasis nestled in a residential section of Wheaton, Illinois. Children and grown-ups alike clamor to this zoo for their incredible collection of domestic and exotic species including chickens, miniature donkeys, bobcats, bunnies, Nubian Goats and hedgies (hedgehogs) too!

To celebrate the Week of the Young Child (April 6th - 12th) and to enjoy this springtime weather, my mother and I took a car trip to see this lesser-known cousin of the Brookfield Zoo to area residents.

It was so refreshing to know that Wheaton residents (who have a special park district pass) are able to enter the park free and my entrance fee was a measly five dollars, which is unheard of in these trying economic times!

I was amazed at the beauty and cleanliness of both the animals and the park grounds. Ducks quacked happily on a grassy knoll, goats lazed on a wooden dais created for their enjoyment, and bobcats perused their habitat in a happy-go-lucky fashion.

The highlight of my trip, was when I was able to pet a very handsome and prickly young fellow in Cosley's education center. The African Pygmy Hedgehog was an absolutely quill-essential sight to any animal lover big or small and made my day!

As I meandered through the zoo, I found the laughter of the children, the chatter of the grown-ups and the sweetness of the animals become a symphony to my ears on a lazy springtime afternoon.

*The previous video was made before the bobcat exhibit opened. The bobcat exhibit is now open*

Time Out for Teacher: Best Salon in Illinois: Wesley James Salon

Spring break is in full swing this week at my daycare, so vacation time beckoned on my work schedule. What better way to put a "spring" in my step by removing the winter doldrums of dry, staticy and brassy hair then getting a new hair cut and style!

I skedaddled my way to a local salon with an elegant moniker, Wesley James Salon, and have to say I am overjoyed with their hair-roic results. Goodbye flat, lackluster color, Hello gorgeous!

Below you will find a review I posted on Yelp.com describing the glorious events which followed upon entering this upscale, low-brow salon with more charm than a dimpled smile.

This salon gives you knockout style without the pompous attitude of their downtown cousins! The staff gave me some of the most shear-ly phenomenal service I have ever had in my many, many, many hair -rowing encounters. 

My stylist, Kelly, is a hair genius who expertly applied subtle shades of natural blond highlights and erased some very coppery tones from my hair, to create a shimmering mane full of vanilla and carmel decadence! I also received a precision haircut that even the most persnickety client would be drooling over.

If Hollywood knew of her beauty talents, the stars would be breaking down the doors of this quaint and secluded salon located in the adorable town of Clarendon Hills. 

Another point I would like to make about the staff is their dedication to client satisfaction. Since Kelly had another client waiting, another stylist, Jaclyn, asked if she could blow-dry my hair so Kelly could attend to her next client. Talk about a teamwork! 

Jaclyn is a blow-dry goddess. I have thick, curly hair that sends most stylists into full blown panic attack mode, but Jaclyn wielded her mighty round brush and proclaimed victory over my unruly locks in no time flat! 

I left the salon glowing and feeling like I had just won the hair lottery! Thank you Wesley James Salon! 

One Tree-mendous Treat: A Visit to the Morton Arboretum

Ladybug 

Spider 

Dragonfly 

Grasshopper 

Bee

Ant 

Old-Fashioned Water Pump

Windmill 

On the weekends, I like to recharge my batteries after a week of daycare dilemmas. This Sunday, I visited the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. It was quite a delightful and educational day of buggy encounters, beautiful blooms, and warm and windy breezes.

One of the most fantastic sculptures I have ever seen were the gigantic insects painstakingly carved from numerous woods that were scattered across the stunningly beautiful grounds.

Flowers of every variety dotted the landscape and I explored a cute-as-a-button wonderland in the children's garden. This garden included three shopping carts loaded with a delicious bounty of gorgeous flowers and a fully functional water pump!

An adorable gift shop held a wide variety of woodsy and botanical inspired jewelry, books and clothing that were perfect for everyone. Their children's nook was filled with glorious picture books, t-shirts and much more.

As a preschool teacher this is a must-see site for young children interested in nature and fun. Remember, a walk through an arboretum today may result in a future botanist, horticulturist or arborist of tomorrow.