Prepare. What a scary word for someone like me. I like to prepare as much as possible, but what is the right balance? I mean, do I really want to end up like those people who had cabinets and even cellars full of supplies after Y2K? Ummm. No. I don’t want to live my life in fear of all the unknown, but I, of course, want to prepare within a ‘realm of reasonableness’.
Right now one of my many focuses in the ‘now’ is helping ‘prepare’ my oldest daughter for kindergarten. I’m not doing anything too crazy but I do follow this really informal checklist that I found online and try to find products and activities that center around those competencies. It’s really a no-brainer, but it does take time and effort. I have very little of both, but I try. Thank goodness for places like Get Ready Kids that have some cool products to help Brooke with learning. I heart their Mr. Tree Puppet activity and I am going to tell you why!
The Mr. Tree Puppet Set has this adorable large 20″ tree hand puppet with seasonal ‘accessories’ you can tack on with Velcro. The set includes a really fun and informative booklet that includes four scripts to talk about the four seasons with your child. I love all the fun lessons! Wow! There are so many things I would not have thought of doing without the guide; teaching how seasons as they relate to nature and people, weather, holidays, trees, pollination and the importance of bees. This is a great interactive set for parents and kids with a lot of great ways to learn about nature. I feel that while Brooke had a good general knowledge of the seasons before we got this set, Mr. Tree has definitely given her a more in depth understanding and curiosity on the subject that I don’t think she would have had this quickly. Perfect for the classroom, too!
Tip! Thankfully I have crafter’s glue handy since a few of the tree’s leaf accessories have needed their Velcro backs taken to the doctor. This is a quick fix to the set (just make sure you – umm- your kiddo?- allows enough drying time) and with grabby preschoolers this will probably happen to your Mr. Tree ‘accessories’ at least once, too!
Holy Teacher’s Guide! The included teacher’s guide for Mr. Tree is amazing. My oldest loved when I was Mr. Tree (I did sort of a Treebeard voice to the scripts – slow and low) and had a fantastic time interacting in character about the seasons. The lessons were so smart (I loved talking to Brooke about photosynthesis) and I thought the guide was easy to follow on the spot with Brooke asking questions about nature and the seasons. Very impressed! Plus, it is hard to not love a teacher’s guide that specifically states, ‘A child’s perspective can enlighten adults to things that have not been considered.’ Love.
List Price: $ 35.95
Momma's Bacon 