After too many snowy days spent on Pinterest, a serious case of cabin fever, and a peek into the pantry, I decided to try out a toddler-friendly volcano experiment. 

It's a sign that February is nigh when I start building natural disasters within the (sometimes) natural disaster which I call my home.  Ahem.  These walls close in a little more with each icy-cold day, I think.

As I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago with our lava lamp experiment, The Little Outdoorsman is obsessed with volcanoes right now.  His two-year-old cousin, Matt, is also volcano-crazy.  Time for a volcano party!

On the bright side, this toddler-free volcano, or "BALL-cano," according to Matt, sets up and cleans up quickly and easily.  Also, the ingredients are probably in your pantry already.  On the other hand, it doesn't actually look a ton like a volcano.  We didn't do paper mache or decorate it.  Luckily, that didn't matter to the boys.

I constructed the whole volcano in about 5 minutes on a TV tray.  It is seriously SO easy to do. I have all of the ingredients pictured above: vinegar, baking soda, aluminum foil, food coloring, a plastic cup, and a paper or plastic plate.

Side note: you can definitely use real cups or plates if you need/want to.  The paper stuff just makes clean-up much easier.

To begin, tape the cup to the center of the paper plate.  It won't do to have the volcano toppling over!

Next, cover the cup with a couple of sheets of foil.  Securely tuck the foil underneath the rim of the plate.

The magnetic attraction begins. 
​"Whatcha doin', Becka?"

Next, cut an "x" in the foil with a knife or scissors...

and push the pieces of foil down into the cup.

Add a few spoonfuls of baking soda to the bottom of the cup.

I have the attention of both boys now, and they want to help!

I love it when that happens.

Add some food coloring to the baking soda.  We decided to go with red this time just to make it more realistic.  Other colors would be great, too.

We are ready for the "explosion"!  They were a little nervous and VERY excited.  I placed the volcano inside of a big Tupperware container. 
​No mess... no worries.

Please don't forget this step!

Time to bring in the big guns- vinegar!  Buy the biggest jug.  It's worth it, I promise.  Plus, they're going to want you to make another volcano ASAP.

With a flair, pour the vinegar in the volcano, and watch the magic happen! 

Dude.

Even Oliver wass engrossed in the spectacle!

I live for these moments!

Looks like a volcano to me!

This "experiment" was a huge success!  The boys were involved in the setup and were riveted during the "explosion".  Best of all, the cleanup took literally 30 seconds.

After researching, I decided to use the letter order suggested in How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin:
First set: c  m  a  t 
Second set: s  r  i  p
Third set: b  f  o  g 
Fourth set: h  j  u  l
Fifth set: d  w  e  n
Sixth set: k  q  v  x  y  z
This letter order, along with many other options and the teaching process is explained in great detail on one of my favorite blogs, Living Montessori Now.  When introducing each set of sandpaper letters (that I made myself), I do the following:
1. I sit beside Reed, usually on the ground, with the new letters at my side.
2. I place one of the new letters in front of us.  I slowly trace the letter with my finger (just as I would write it) and say the letter sound (for example, "a" as in "apple" or "b" as in "ball").  I try to make the letter sound as clear and natural as possible, no silly exaggerations or games.  To review, if I was teaching the letter "s", I would : show the letter, trace the letter, make the letter sound (sssss).
3.  Next, I have Reed stick out his pointer finger, and I hold his hand as I trace the letter with him, saying the letter sound clearly as we trace.  I ask him to say the letter sound as well.  I have also found that it works well if we talk about the shape of the letter.  We talk through straight lines, curves, hooks, circles, and other shapes.  He really likes doing this.  Then, we are finished with that letter.

Frequent, no-pressure practice is the key after learning new letter sounds.  After a few, or maybe several, introductions to the new letter, I rephrase my question to say "show me, 'sssss'" to see if he can identify the letter on his own.  And then, after mastering that question, I should eventually be able to hold up the letter "S" and say, what is this?  At that point, Reed has mastered the letter.

We have a couple of sandpaper letter games that have been helpful in mastering the letter sounds as well.  If you have any questions about using sandpaper letters to teach letter sounds, please leave them in the comments!

Related Links:
Sandpaper Letter Games

DIY Sandpaper Letters

Why Teach Letter Sounds with Sandpaper Letters?

Sandpaper letter games are our go-to for learning letter sounds right now.  I want to make literacy as fun as possible for Reed, so we rarely drill or sit down and do "flashcards".  The only practice we do with any regularity is a quick review of 3-5 letters each night before we read at bedtime.

Reed's favorite game is a letter "race".  I scatter several, or sometimes all, of the letters on the carpet around his bedroom. Then I place a basket in the middle of the floor.  Reed runs around the room and picks up each letter, traces it with his finger, says the sound, and places it in the basket.  After he picks up all of the letters, I usually give him a small prize like a sticker or a sucker.
Reed really loves this "game"- the more he gets to move around, the better the game!  Sometimes he will bring his letter box out into the living room and ask to "do his letters".  That always makes me really happy!

The second game we've started to play is an idea I found on my literacy go-to site, Living Montessori Now (link).  This site is a rich resource with tons of ideas about teaching pretty much anything in a hands-on, "fun"  way.  I can't say enough good things about this resource.  For this game, I lay out several letters and we drag out a basket filled with little toys and random, everyday items.  I usually just let Reed dig through the items until he finds one that interests him.  He says the name of the item out loud, and then I say it again, emphasizing the first sound (g-g-g-gorilla).  Then, he searches for the "g" and places the gorilla on top of the sandpaper letter.  He usually makes it through 3-4 items until he gets sidetracked and just wants to play with all the little toys.  Ha.

Our journey with literacy has been a fun one so far, and I hope to keep it that way.  Our next step: writing!  This blog post by White Bear Montessori School is my current food for thought.  Know that I will keep you updated!

Related links:
Why Teach Letter Sounds with Sandpaper Letters?

DIY Sandpaper Letters

How to Teach Letter Sounds Using Sandpaper Letters

Sandpaper Letter Games

Sandpaper letters are a lot of work to DIY, but it is totally worth it!  Sandpaper letters have been very successful for my son- click here for the rationale behind my choice to teach him the letters in this way.  My advice is to prep all of the wood and letters right away, and then sand just a few letters at a time, unless you have some sort of crafty sanding machine or an army of gullible teenagers at your disposal. My arms get tired after about 4 letters.  Or 2. Or 1.

After purchasing the materials you need, begin by cutting the board into 26, 5 x 3.75 inch rectangles.  Use a stencil or Ellison machine to cut out the letters.

Then, carefully sand the edges and corners of each rectangle.  Again, I only sand 3 or 4 at a time because it takes a few minutes to sand each one and my hand gets tired.  Really, I'm a wimp.  Just say it!  But also, I only introduce 3 or 4 letters at a time to Reed, so there's no rush to get the whole set done in one day.

Because Reed only has 6 letters left, I decided to dig deep and knock out the six final letters in one day: v, k, y, x, z, and q (find out more about letter order here).  I sanded the last 6 rectangles, warmed up my glue gun, and glued each letter in the center of a block.  After a few minutes, they are finished and ready to use!

We are so happy with how Reed's letters turned out.  We use them like flashcards sometimes, but our favorite thing to do is play letter games.  They will last us forever, I think, or at least until we are finished having kids and they all know their letter sounds.  It is definitely a worthwhile investment of time and money.

Feel free to leave questions in the comments!

Related links:​
Why Teach Letter Sounds with Sandpaper Letters?

How to Teach Letter Sounds Using Sandpaper Letters

Sandpaper Letter Games

 Right around Reed's second birthday, he started showing interest in the alphabet.  He began singing the ABC song, pointing out letters on TV or in books, and just showing a general interest in literacy.

Now before I go any further, I would like to very firmly and clearly state that I understand every child learns differently and will learn at his/her own pace.  I am not writing this with the intention of supporting a "right way"; I simply want to share what has worked for us (so far, anyway).

I teach high school, so early literacy is just a little off my radar.  I did a ton of research, and although conventionally parents and teachers use the alphabet song, paper worksheets, or sight words to teach early literacy, my research led me in a completely different direction.  And I believe it is the right direction (for us).  At just 2 1/2 years old, Reed knows 22 of the 26 letter sounds, is able to trace the letters, and is beginning to construct words.  I think it is safe to say that this Montessori-style way of teaching letter sounds is working for Reed.

My research led me to understand, first of all, that children should not be taught their letters in order of the alphabet or ABC song.  This seems to be an across-the-board consensus among researchers.  According to an article by educators at Penn State University, it is more important that children understand letter sound than the name of the letter, that letters are introduced lowercase first, and that short-vowel sounds should be introduced before long-vowel sounds.  The order in which to introduce letters is determined by the frequency of use in simple words, separating letters that may look alike, and other factors.  Check out the letter order I chose to use here, along with some more information on beginning to teach letter sounds.  I introduced 2-4 letters at a time over the span of 6 months, not moving to the next set of letters until he had completely mastered the first.

My primary resource for determining letter order, and my go-to for most of my questions, was Living Montessori Now, a website/blog created by an extremely well-educated, former Montessori teacher and school owner.  Reed responded well to many of the strategies and activities recommended on her blog, and I still go to her site quite frequently to teach seasonal and weekly lessons.  I look forward to referencing her site over the years to come- it is just stuffed with ideas for teaching preschoolers.

While exploring letter order, I came across sandpaper letters, apparently a very common Montessori resource.  The letters are durable and can easily be stored or stacked.  I made my own because the wooden ones run about $50 on Amazon.  I am so happy with mine, and they have lasted 6 months now and show no signs of wear and tear.   Here are a few reasons why I chose to use sandpaper letters:
1. They teach letters by sight.  They're like big, wooden flashcards.
2. The child traces the letter with his or her finger, teaching writing at the same time.
3. Because the letters are so durable, they are great for playing games!
4. The letters can be placed next to each other to form words.  Reed has just started synthesizing his own words; he likes to pull out 2-3 letters, place them next to each other, and "sound them out."  For example, this past week, he found the "r" and the "a", placed them together, sounded it out, and ran around the house yelling "RAAA" like a dinosaur.  Little steps!

I'll keep you updated on the research and ideas that seem to be working for Reed.  Be sure to check out what I have so far!

DIY Sandpaper Letters
​
Sandpaper Letter Games

How to Teach Letter Sounds Using Sandpaper Letters

Each night, we kick off Reed's bedtime by reading several books.  Every night, from 7:15-7:45, you will find me curled up in a huge, comfortable recliner reading story after story to our little guy.  This is my favorite time of the day, and we haven't missed a single night in the past year or more.  We've tried skipping our reading time for various reasons, and it always ends up with both Reed and me in tears!  I think because I am a working momma, this bonding time in the evening is essential Soul Food Time.  So at this point, now that he's almost 2 and a half, everyone knows not to mess with the reading time.  Or everyone is crying.

I've been a book-lover my whole life, and this is one trait that I see in Reed as well.  We often find him in the fluffy recliner or on the floor reading early in the morning, during the day, or even in the middle of the night!  Just yesterday, we heard an odd thumping around in his bedroom during naptime.  We opened the door to see him standing in the dark, clutching a book, saying, "I just wanted to read a book!"  
​What do you say to that?

One of my favorite authors, Sally Clarkson, emphasizes the power of "story" in a child's life in her book The Lifegiving Home (read my review here).  She writes,

"Oh how I wish you could hear the deeply felt convictions and beliefs and conversations of our precious children as they share over books read, convictions challenged by others, beliefs cherished and preserved in their lives out in the world..."

Stories provide children with heroes, examples of challenges overcome and courage under pressure.  Stories give children role models, experiences, and help them become successful in school.  But most of all, stories often provide an opportunity to connect and communicate with children about "big idea" issues like character, faith, family, and identity.

​Last week, as we were reading, I found myself in tears as I narrated a particular children's book.  You may notice by now that I cry a lot.  I'm a tiny bit of a softie.  My granny would say I have a "good heart".  Whatever!  Everyone near to me is used to it, even Reed.  So keep that in mind.  But anyway, this book was not just a cute tale with charming pictures or cuddly characters.  It had a purpose of teaching kindness, character, and selflessness.  It was direct.  No themes or insinuations- it was honest and truthful.  Of course, the illustrations were breathtaking, too. To my surprise, Reed was riveted.  He began asking questions, big questions, and it opened up a place for me to have a conversation, yes, a conversation, with my two-year-old about abstract ideas that I thought previously were beyond his grasp.  I live for these "teachable moments" as both a parent and an educator, so this was an inspiring moment for me!  I've continued my search over the past few months to find similar books that have appealed to Reed.
I have compiled a small list of some of our favorite books here that inspire character development, and present these ideas in a way that really young children (like preschool age and up) can understand.  Beneath each book, I have included a brief description, the "big ideas" taught within the pages of the book, and a paraphrased Bible verse you can pair with each book to use during your conversations with your kiddos.  I simplified the Bible verses for Reed, but I have included the location of each verse if you would prefer the entire verse.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I have!

If You Plant a Seed is, by far, our favorite of the year.  The story outlines the negative consequences of being selfish and the positive effects of sharing with others.  The illustrations are life-like and very impressive, and I was able to teach Reed the names of several animals and birds as we read, as well as discuss how plants grow.  I actually ended up buying my mom this book for Easter!  I like to get this book out if Reed needs a refresher on sharing or being generous.

Big ideas found in this book:
- Sharing
-Positive and negative consequences
-Selfishness/selflessness
-Building friendships
-Caring for those in need

Teach a Bible Verse:
Do good and be willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV)

This is the book that made me cry.  I seriously might cry again while writing about it!  Honestly, sections of this book are a little mature for a two year old (e.g., discussion of eternity), but it is written in such a way that Reed was still able to grasp the themes of love, gentleness, and compassion. Real Cowboys tackles the topic of what it really means to be "manly", brave, and strong like a cowboy, and the answer is found in gentleness, love, compassion, and peace.  I think boys would get more out of this book, but it is not solely written for boys.  I love the illustrations as well.  They remind me of pictures that we sometimes see in the clouds, stars, or mountains, very natural and dreamy.

Big ideas found in this book:
- Gentleness, love, safety, and compassion
- Eternity
-Caring for animals
-What it means to "be a man"
-Long-distance family relationships

Teach a Bible Verse
Men should be strong and loving.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV)

This book manages to convey a BIG message without using a single word outside of the title.  Children are able to create their own story by simply looking at the pictures.  I think this is the biggest reason why this book is such a conversation-starter, because you can work the big ideas into what the children gather from the pictures on their own.  Reed loved narrating this book in his own way, pointing out details he noticed in the pictures, and talking about ways to be kind to the people we see each day.

Big ideas found in this book:
-Caring for animals
-Sharing
​- Kindness
-Thinking of others
-Family

Teach a Bible Verse:
Be friendly with everyone.
Romans 12:16 (CEV)

Todd Parr is a beloved author in our home.  Reed enjoys the simple, colorful pictures that often have something goofy hidden somewhere (like underwear in the refrigerator, for example).  The Feelings Book is my favorite book by Todd Parr.  The book narrates a variety of feelings, and in the end explains that it is best to share feelings with others.  This book provided an opportunity for Reed to identify a few feelings (something we've really been working on lately) and also realize that everyone has feelings.

Big ideas found in this book:
- Identifying emotions
- Managing emotions
- Self-control
​- Universal emotions

Teach a Bible Verse:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

Everybunny Dance was Reed's favorite book for several weeks.  He was drawn to the animals, onomatopoeia, and instruments at first, but after reading it several, several, several times, we were able to focus on the overall themes found in the book.  Everybunny Dance tackles the big ideas of competition, friendship, and beauty in art that can be shared by "everybunny".  This book is SO cute, and, like the other books on this list, the "big idea" themes are presented directly and honestly.

Big ideas found in this book:
- Appreciating and sharing art with everyone
- Discouraging unhealthy competition
-Getting along with others
-Appreciating others' talents
- Noticing and including those who are left out

Teach a Bible Verse
​Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Luke 6:31 (NIV)