Playing with Light and Color Patterns

Snugglepuppy and I have been playing with different apps that allow you to create with light. I will list the ones we have found that we like that are free.

Android:

1. KidsDoodle

This app is lots of fun. You can draw or write with many different brushes including the ones shown in the pic above. You can change the background color, undo and redo brush strokes and the really fun part is you can watch a video of how you made your creation!

2. RotoDoodle

This app is a digital version of a spirograph. It is fun to play with. You can choose the size, color, and pattern. We decided to look for an app like this after buying a spirograph from the dollar store for Snuggle Puppy's prize box and then realizing that it requires a lot of hand strength and hand eye coordination. He's not quite ready for it yet, but this one is much easier to work with.

3.Magic Brush Box (Kaleidoo)

This one is similar to the last spirograph type app. The difference is you can control more of the factors on this one. You can change the type of brush you use and you can draw your own pattern instead of choosing a pattern that will just keep repeating. This app is by the same people as KidsDoodle and you can do the video of how your created your drawing on this one as well.

4. Glow Spin Art

This app is so fun to play with. It spins and you put your finger or stylus on the screen to make spirals out from the center. You can change the speed at which it spins, the size, color, and shape. You can also stop the spinning to take a closer look at it.

Ipad or Iphone

1. Art of Glow

This app is kinda like fireworks. Wherever you touch the screen, shapes explode out everywhere. You can control the shape, color, amount of shapes, size, length of time they last, speed, blink speed, and whether they will renew or burn out. Kids love this one. You can stare at it for hours!

2. Forge of Neon

This is by far my favorite one. You can make patterns in symmetry of 2,4,8,16, or 32. The picture shown above is with 16. Then you can also choose your shape and color. The best part about it, is your pattern is 3-dimensional. You can pinch and zoom, use 2 fingers to move the image on the screen, or use 3 fingers to rotate the image around. It is very interesting to play with.

Hope you found some apps you will try that can be great for teaching math concepts to your kids!

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 5

Day 5:
We had a lot going on today including taking Squeaker to the doctor for her 2 month check-up, the internet installation people came, and I had a few chores to take care of, so we didn't do too much in the way of learning.

Snugglepuppy colored with crayons and then we looked at his Highlights magazine. From it, we cut out an accordian book and folded it up. He also played some of his games on the iPad.

We did make it to the park for a little while and Snugglepuppy made some new older friends. They played "lava monster" with his ball and included him in the play even though he didn't actively participate. They danced with him as well.

When daddy got home, we had our Pizza Pizza Party in the basement. These usually consist of eating pizza and watching TV, playing Wii, or just letting Snugglepuppy play down there.

Snugglepuppy has regressed a little in his potty training over the last couple of days. He has refused to sit on the potty at all, but tonight he wanted to put on the big boy underpants and he stayed in them for quite awhile until it was time to go upstairs for bed. We asked if he had to go and he said yes and at least peed in the potty. He still isn't using it to poop (he wants his diaper on for that) but at least it's something!

Chronicles of Summertime: Day 1

Hello Friends! I know I have been away a LOT recently. I feel I have been so busy that I haven't done anything worthy of blogging about. But, I have decided to chronicle all the things we do this Summer and hopefully somewhere in there will be something that is useful to someone or at least you may enjoy following along with our journey. So, here goes. Me trying to entertain the 2 1/2 year old (Snugglepuppy) and the 2 month old (Squeaker) by myself with a little learning along the way.

Day 1:
Today we went to a local metro park. We decided to play on the playground and visit the nature center. Snugglepuppy had lots of fun looking at the animals and playing with the interactive nature board (see photo below). We also worked a floor puzzle of butterflies and insects. We had to leave there pretty fast as Squeaker had a poop-splosion of epic proportions. It leaked out into the car seat and down through the car seat onto the wagon and everything in it including the umbrella and Snugglepuppy's feet! Ughh, it was pretty gross. Needless to say, that ended our trip.

After cleaning all that mess up, we ate lunch and I put Snugglepuppy down for his nap (which he actually took!) Meanwhile, the free iPad arrived in the mail! We are currently searching for awesome free apps for kids. Leave a comment if you know of any. We took a walk later on that evening. Snugglepuppy made another attempt at riding his tricycle, but once he got started pedaling, he forgot to steer and ended up in the grass. Oh well, just needs more practice.

We made it through day 1, thank goodness! Mommy was exhausted after putting the kids to bed and then working on my cake pops and chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. Finally got to bed after 1 am. Hope tomorrow's more relaxing.

Wishlist Wednesday: Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After

This week's guest blogger is Vicky from Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After. You should definitely stop by and check out her creative ideas and all her awesome freebies and give-aways! Don't forget to become a follower and leave some comments while you're there :)

Hi there everyone ~ I'm Vicky from Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After. I was thrilled and honored when Lori asked me to do Wishlist Wednesday for her over here. I have been teaching for...gulp - 18 years and have seen a lot of changes in education over that time. I teach at a wonderful school in southern California just north of San Diego. I could come up with SEVERAL ideas for my wishlist but after doing a little research and talking to my principal I would have to say iPad(s) for the classroom. I found this photo/link from Pinterest - it has lots of great ideas on how to use iPads in the classroom.

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We share our campus with a special needs preschool and each of the preschool teachers got 3 --- yes you read that correctly 3 iPads for their classrooms about a month ago with special ed funds. They came with these super cool, thick, spongy protectors so there would be no damage even if dropped. The possibilities are endless with an iPad as far as classroom use. But after researching about the use of them I discovered that there is strong evidence that digital technology in the classroom ( such as iPad's ) has been proven to have very positive effects on the learners. It has shown to
* improve confidence levels
* improve attitudes towards learning
* improve student engagement
and even improve student attendance
Now what teacher wouldn't want those benefits on top of just the fun and wonderful opportunity of having the iPads in the classroom...it would be so great! Well I appreciate the invitation to come on over and be a guest blogger. I do wish I had a magic genie or wealthy donor's choose benefactor here to help me out and grant me my wish -- LOL Thanks again Lori! ~~ Vicky

Wishlist Wednesday: Teachy Marie

This week's guest blogger, Katie, is very new to blogging, but has wonderful ideas! Please support her by becoming a follower on her blog and leaving some comments! You can check out Teachy Marie by clicking below:

Hello there!! I am the proud author of the new teaching blog Teachy Marie!  I’m just getting started with my blogging and was so surprised and excited to be asked to write a guest post for Cachey Mama’s Classroom!  I feel so very honored to help Lori out!  I love her ideas and she is such a great “sharer” with all her lessons!

I am new this year to PreKinders, so I have a very extensive wish list for my seemingly bare classroom!  Our school has Smart Boards on rollers that we can check out from the Library, however we don’t have enough projectors or laptops to hook up to them.  So most of our Smart Boards are collecting dust in the storage room.  Even when we can check one out, we have at least four cords that are up to 30 feet long, 25 kids ducked down on the floor so the projector that’s sitting on a desk can project over their heads to the smart board.  Heaven forbid someone accidentally knock the desk or Smart Board and require reformatting!

So now that you know where I’m coming from, I can tell you what my number one item is on my classroom wish list!

You guessed it… the new iPad 2.  I would love to be able to show my kiddos interactive stories and videos, on a screen big enough for everyone to see, while still able to hold it in my hand during our circle time!  My kids love watching/listening to songs/nursery rhymes on my computer, however my computer is about 10 years out of date, and usually cannot run very long without shutting itself down.  I think the iPad would help improve all aspects of my lessons as well as allowing me to teach in the 21^st century!  The possibilities are truly endless!

Huge thanks to Lori for asking me to be her guest for today!  I’m always looking for new followers, so please stop by for some center ideas at Teachy Marie!