Our Christmas/ Cum am petrecut noi Craciunul

How did we spend our Christmas time? We took it easy, it was a very welcome break that we needed!
Cum am petrecut noi Craciunul?
Ne-am odihnit, ne-am adunat puterile, gandurile si sufletul pentru aceasta mare sarbatoare. Aveam cu totii mare nevoie de o pauza, de liniste si armonie!

We decorated the tree rather late, on Christmas Eve (lots of people do that here in Romania, and we keep it until mid-January). We went carol singing and my daughter was thrilled to received nuts and sweets in return for singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Away in a Manger.
Am ornat bradul impreuna in seara de Ajun, cantand colinzi. Am fost si la colindat in vecini, I. a fost tare incantata sa primeasca nuci ca rasplata pentru colindat!

Of course, Santa came - late on Christmas Eve - this is how we do it here :)
Bineinteles, a venit si Mos Craciun, cu multe daruri frumos impachetate sub pom si cu daruri frumoase de la prieteni dragi! I. a fost mirata, iar apoi bucuroasa foc sa desfaca pachetele.

She received lots of gifts - Peppa pig toys, a Dora game, a puzzle, books and more!
Ce a primit I. de la Mos Craciun? Jucarii - un set cu figurine Peppa Pig, cu vaporasul lui Granpa Pig. Un joc interactiv cu Dora, bilingv (engl-spaniola). Un ursulet povestitori - se vede sub brad - care spune o poveste de Craciun in limba engleza - de departe cadoul preferat al I-nei.

A mai primit un puzzle si bineinteles, carti! Si a mai primit si altele... uf, nu imi mai amintesc :)
Cu aceasta ocazie ne inscriem la concursul Gradinitei Fluturasilor Talentati.

On the next days we went to the Christmas Market downtown - yes she's pretty bundled up, it was cold!
In zilele urmatoare, am fost prin centru, la Targul de Craciun.

She painted at the crafts center downtown and liked it a lot.
Am pictat figurine de lut, in casuta special amenajata pentru astfel de activitati.

We visited friends, sang carols again, we had a great time!
Am fost in vizita, am colindat, ne-am simtit bine.

We read Christmas books....
Am citit carti de Craciun:

One of our favorite books and carols - Away in a Manger. You can listen to it below.


Am invatat o colinda noua, care mie imi place tare mult. Se numeste Away in a Manger - o puteti asculta in video-ul de mai jos. Am aflat prima data despre acest colind din carticica Away in a Manger (in poza mai sus) pe care am primit-o in dar de la Raluca - multumim mult!

You can listen to my daughter singing 'Away in a Manger' below :)
Iar mai jos o puteti asculta pe I. cantand 'Away in a Manger' - a reusit sa invete aproape tot colindul :)

I hope you all had a great Christmas!
Sper ca si voi ati petrecut frumos Craciunul, va doresc mult spor la pregatirile de Revelion!

May You All Have a Merry Christmas/ Craciun Fericit Tuturor!

Sa aveti un Craciun minunat, cu veselia in casa, pace in suflete si gandul la Mantuitorul care s-a nascut in aceasta noapte sfanta!
May you all have a blessed Christmas, filled with peace and laughter, too!

Va imbratisam, Adina & I.!
Merry Christmas to all!

We've just begun decorating the tree!! Tocmai am inceput sa decoram bradul....:)

Primiti colinda? / Carol singing time!

Here is my 4 year old, singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

Un cantecel - colind in engleza - Rudolph, renul cu nasu' rosu!

Voi? Sunteti gata cu pregatirile de Craciun? Noi inca nu! :) Va dorim mult spor, si multa veselie!

The Velveteen Rabbit

"When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real" --The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams.

Am primit cartea The Velveteen Rabbit ca parte a unui set de 8 povesti, de la Raluca - Caiet pentru Casa Mea (multumim mult, Raluca, I. iubeste aceste carti!). Povestile sunt superbe, fiecare cu multe invataminte - nu contin textul initial, sunt rescrise pentru a fi mai accesibile celor mici.

Am avut emotii cand am inceput sa citim din aceste carti, pentru ca textul e mai lung decat ceea ce am citit noi pana acum - nu eram sigura daca I. va avea rabdare sa asculte - dar se pare ca a mai crescut, a avut rabdare, ba chiar a cerut sa mai citim inca una din set!

The boy finds a velveteen rabbit in his stocking on Christmas morning and soon it becomes his favorite toy. And one day, the rabbit wonders .... how do you become real? But .... why don't you read the entire story here for free! 

 

Despre ce e povestea? Un baietel primeste de Craciun, printre multe alte cadouri, si un iepuras de catifea. In curand, cei doi vor deveni nedespartiti. Dar mai bine cititi mai multe pe site-ul Editurii Cartea Copiilor, unde gasiti Iepurasul de catifea in limba romana. Textul intreg, in limba engleza, se poate citi aici.

I have found several videos made from this book on Youtube. The one below is told by Christopher Plummer.

Pe Youtube gasiti mai multe ecranizari a acestei povesti. Aceasta e o varianta lecturata de actorul Christopher Plummer:

And you can also listen to my 4 year old daughter telling the story below :) You can't see her, I apologize for that, but the light was dim, it was bedtime.
Iar aceasta este I., povestind din carte. E doar de auzit, imi cer scuze, nu se vede, eram, inainte de culcare :)

Our week in pictures - Nativity Theme

Here are some of the activities we did last week. We had the Nativity theme, using printables from Over The Big Moon's Nativity Pre-K Pack.

Counting activities:

Choosing the correct beginning sound:

Putting together the puzzles:

Matching pictures to beginning sounds:

Sorting activity: gluing people and animals in the corresponding area:

Which one is different worksheet:

Ordering by size activity: I printed the pink tower from the Helpful Garden. It was easy for her, but a good practice, though.

One evening she got a pine tree branch, so she organized a Christmas decor all by herself. Decorated the small tree, gathered toys and put together the Nativity scene, too. Pretty neat, huh?

We had the first snow last week, but it snowed way too much, enough to keep us confined to the house.We got the sled out in the now each day, but my daughter played with it inside the house. Here, she tied the reindeers to the sled, so she could be Santa:)

And then she pulled Tom cat around the house.....

I hope you've had a fun week, we certainly did!

Spanish Learning - Salsa TV and a song

I've learned about Salsa TV while browsing through the BrillKids forum. If you have not yet read through this forum, I strongly advise you to have a look. You'll find lots of interesting and innovative information on early education, parents interested in giving their small children a strong educational start, and small kids capable of amazing things!
Going back to Salsa TV, we gave it a try this week, and we're really happy with it! This is a FREE program with a collection of videos (in a Sesame Street manner) that are meant to introduce Spanish language to children. They start with basic notions that are repeated a lot (colors, numbers, basic vocabulary). The immersion method is used, that is, only Spanish is spoken, but the child will understand for sure what's going on.
There are lots of episodes, with well-known stories, such as the first episode - Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Each episode has a pdf transcript with the words/sentences contained, so you can very well reinforce the vocabulary from each episode with your child.
Oh, and did I mention it is FREE?  And here's my 4 year old singing a little song she learned from Speekee - another online program that we reviewed and liked a lot - more details in this post.  

 

Despre Salsa TV am aflat de pe forumul BrillKids. Eu va sfatuiesc sa aruncati o privire pe acest forum, veti gasi lucruri f interesante, impartasite de alti parinti preocupati de educatia timpurie, lucruri pe care nu veti intalni in alte parti...Eu am fost mereu fascinata de fiecare data cand am inceput sa citesc pe forum ce anume lucreaza alti parinti cu copiii lor, si cate invata copiii mici astfel. 

Dar sa revin. Saptamana aceasta am incercat Salsa TV  si am fost foarte multumiti! E un program de invatare a spaniolei pentru copii, care contine multe episoade in stil teatru de papusi - de fapt in stil Sesame Street - intercalate cu video scurte cu copii sau alte personaje care repeta notiunile invatate. Se pune accent pe invatarea cuvintelor de baza, vocabularul e simplu si repetitiv. I.-nei i-a placut mult, repeta ce vedea acolo.
Episooadele sunt in ordine, primul este Goldilocks and The Three Bears iar urmatoarele episoade reiau notiunile invatate in primele. Se ofera si transcript-ul pdf cu tot ce contine fiecare episod in parte, ceea ce e de folos daca vreti sa repetati notiunile invatate impreuna cu copilul.
A, si am spus ca este Gratuit? 
In incheiere, va las cu un cantecel pe care I. l-a invatat de la Speekee, un al program in limba spaniola pe care noi l-am testat si despre care am mai povestit in aceasta postare.

School Wrap-Up - Beginning of December

We have been pretty sick over the last 2 weeks, with different colds and coughs. We did just a bit of school, we read a lot (Christmas stories and not only), listening to audio stories, watched Christmas videos on Youtube. Below are some printables that we worked on (from 1+1+1=1's Preschool Nativity Pack and Over The Big Moon's Nativity Pre-K Pack ).
Am fost cam raciti in ultimele doua saptamani. Pe rand, cate unul, si acum parca toti deodata, mai avem de tras cate un pic. 'Scoala' am facut doar un pic, in rest am citit mult (povesti despre Craciun si nu numai), am ascultat povesti audio, ne-am uitat la filmulete de Craciun pe youtube si bineinteles, ne-am jucat.
Cateva fise pe care le-am pregatit, am folosit fise din pachetele de Craciun despre care am scris.

Since she can easily read 2-3 letter words with phonics, I've decided to give a try and start the next step in the Montessori reading series. We have completed the Pink Reading series (the first stage) and now we started the Blue Reading Series, offered for free by the The Helpful Garden blog. I chose only a few of the words, to see how she does -- it went well, with a bit of help.
Deoarece I. citeste bine cuvintele formate din 2 sau 3 litere, am zis sa incercam sa citim si cuvinte un pic mai complicate, formate din 4 si 5 litere. Pentru aceasta, am inceput seria de citire albastra in stil Montessori, urmatoarea dupa citirea roz - si anume - Blue Reading Series, oferita gratuit pe blogul The Helpful Garden. Am ales cateva dintre cuvinte si imaginile aferente, mai multe pentru a testa daca I. este pregatita sau nu pentru seria de citire albastra. Cam jumatate din ele le-a citit singura, fara ajutor, restul le-am citit impreuna. Vom continua cu acest material, cred ca prezinta o doza buna de 'challenge' pentru I., pentru a merge mai departe.
Aceste materiale pot fi folosite ca si un jos de potrivire de catre copiiii mai maricei care invata engleza.

I've also showed her the 'ch' sound, using the word flip book I've introduced here.
Am introdus sunetul 'ch' - folosind carnetelul nostru pe care l-am prezentat aici.

I've pulled out some words from the Blue Reading Series and wrote them on paper, in bigger letters. It seemed she found them easier to read like that.
Tot din lista de cuvinte de la Blue Reading Series, pentru a mai varia, am scris o parte dintre ele pe biletele. Fiind scrisul mai mare, parca le-a citit cu mai multa usurinta.

I've also taught her that when she sees double l, you just read l, and practiced the '-ill' word family.
De asemenea, am invatat-o ca 'll' se citeste 'l', si am scris cateva cuvinte care se termina in 'ill'. Sub forma aceasta, de familie de cuvinte care se termina in '-ill', le-a prins foarte repede.

We read daily in French - magazines, stories etc - some of them are below.
Limba franceza face parte din viata noastra zilnica. I. alege sa citeasca indeosebi in franceza la culcare, asa ca  am citit in franceza carti, reviste, povesti de Craciun si de toate. O parte dintre ele, mai jos.

I've found a CD with the fairy tales at the French Cultural Center and she just loved listening to them at bedtime, especially when she was ill.
Si am ascultat povestile clasice pe CD in franceza. Am avut noroc sa gasesc la CC Fr un CD cu povestile cunoscute deja de noi - Bucle Aurii, Cei 3 porcusori, Alba-ca-Zapada etc, pe care I. le-a ascultat si re-ascultat in fiecare seara la culcare, in serile cand era mai racita, povestile o linisteau. Iar ziua ascultam cate o poveste si, in timp ce ascultam, ii dadeam viata povestii cu jucariile pe care le aveam la indemana.

One day, she asked me for some Spanish lessons, so I had her watch Little Pim Spanish. Can you tell she loves it? :)
Intr-una din zile a cerut sa-i pun ceva in spaniola, asa ca i-am pus Little Pim pe laptop. Se vede cat e de incantata? :)

What else she did? She played with our 3 cats that patiently endure her play ideas... Below, she's taking Cezar for a pillow.
Ce a mai facut? Ah, s-a jucat cu pisicile, bineinteles. Avem 3 pisici care rabda, atat cat pot ele, joaca I-nei.
L-a folosit pe Cezar drept perna.

She decorated Natalia the cat .....
Pe Natalia a impodobit-o ca pe un pom de Craciun ;)

And here is Thomas, the newest and most loving of our cats!
Iata-l si pe Thomas, cel mai nou, dar si cel mai iubitor motan al nostru!

How about you? Getting ready for Christmas?
Voi? Sanatosi, voiosi? Va pregatiti de sarbatori?

Ne pregatim de Craciun

Cum ne pregatim de Craciun? Citim multe carti de Craciun, povestim despre semnificatia adevarata a Craciunului, ascultam colinzi, si ... ne jucam.

Avem un set al Nasterii Domnului cu care I. alege de multe ori sa se joace si in timpul anului. Am folosit figurinele din set; am construit staulul animalelor din piese din lemn Steku si am adaugat animalele.

Iata magii care vin sa se inchine si sa aduca daruri de aur, smirna si tamaie Pruncului Iisus.

Pastorii si Magii vin spre inchinare

In dreapta se vad pastorii care au grija de animale (deh, nu am avut destule oi in recuzita, am adugat si alte animale in completare), iar personajul roz il inchipuie pe ingerul de vine sa anunte vestea cea buna a Nasterii Mantuitorului.

Si pastorii vin sa se inchine Pruncului Iisus.

Cu aceasta ocazie dorim sa ne inscriem la frumosul concurs organizat de Ursuletii Nazdravani!

Cateva desene animate de Craciun / Christmas episodes on Youtube

Here are a few cartoons that we watched over Youtube ... Do you know other nice ones - leave me a comment please!
Cateva desene animate de Craciun care ne plac noua pe Youtube. Stiti si altele? Spuneti-ne si noua:)

English:

• Noddy's Christmas

• Franklin's Christmas Gift

• Barbie - A Christmas Carol 

• Octonauts Christmas Episode

• Caillou's Holiday Movie

• Walt Disney - The Night Before Christmas

French:

• Leo et Popi - Leo Decore Le Sapin,

•  Un petit cadeau

• Le matin de Noel.

 

• Bali - C'est Noel!

Cartile noastre de Craciun si o Provocare la Citit!

Inainte de a va arata cateva din cartile noastre de Craciun, vreau sa incep cu provocarea Andrei la citit! Ea ne invita sa citim copiilor nostri 1000 de carti pe parcursul anului care vine. Ne da mai multe detalii despre beneficiile cititului, dar, mai bine mergeti pe blogul ei, si vedeti despre ce e vorba. Si Raluca participa la provocare!

Iata si o buna parte din cartile noastre de Craciun, in limba engleza (mai avem si altele, inca ascunse pentru ca le va primi I. cadou, precum si altele in romana si in franceza, pe care nu am apucat sa le fotografiez). Pe majoritatea celor de mai jos le-am cumparat iarna trecuta, pe altele acum, recent.

Cele din poza de mai jos le-am luat de la cei care vand online pe picasa - gasiti lista celor ce vand in aceasta postare a Ursuletilor Nazdravani.

Stories of Snowmen si Stories of Santa - editura USBORNE - luate recent de la Carti Copii. Ii puteti contacta la adresa cartienglezacopii@gmail.com, ei sunt distribuitori ai editurii USBORNE, veti afla multe carti in engleza pentru copii.

Cartea cu Peppa's Christmas am luat-o anul trecut de la Libraria Nautilus online. 

Doua carti cu sunete si o alta carte superba - The Christmas Unicorn - e minunata!

Si doua carticele Little Golden Books pe care le avem imprumutate de la biblioteca de unde luam noi carti in engleza .

Va las, in incheiere, continutul cartii The Animals Christmas Eve de mai sus - este o poezie superba, o preiau de aici:

In the barn on Christmas Eve,
After all the people leave,
The animals, in voices low
Remember Christmas long ago

One small hen, upon her nest,
Softly clucks to all the rest:
"Little chicks, come, gather near.
A wondrous story you will hear."

Two white doves, on rafters high,
Coo a quiet lullaby:
"Long ago in manger hay,
The little baby Jesus lay.

Three wise men from far away
Came to visit him one day,
For he was born," the doves recall,
"To be the greatest king of all!"


Four brown horses in their stalls,
Snug within the stable walls,
Tell of his birth: "'Twas long foretold
By chosen men in days of old."

Five gray donkeys speak with pride,
Remembering one who gave a ride:
"Our brother donkey went with them
From Nazareth to Bethlehem."

Six spotted calves now nibble hay
Like that on which the baby lay.
"They put him in a manger bed
So he could rest his sleepy head."

Seven goats, all black and white,
Describe the sky that holy night:
"A star appeared at early morn
To mark the place where he was born."

Eight nestling kitten lick their fur.
They nod their heads and softly purr.
"And he was wrapped in swaddling clothes
To keep him warm from head to toes."

Nine wooly sheep down from the hill,
On Christmas Eve remember still:
"Shepherds heard the angels sing
Praises to the newborn king."

Ten soft lambs say Jesus' name.
"He was the Lamb of God who came.
He was the greatest gift of love
Sent from his Father, God, above."

Eleven puppies listen well,
In hopes that they, in turn, can tell
The Christmas story another year
For all the animals to hear

Twelve chimes ring out from far away-
The lovely bells of Christmas Day.
And every beast bows low its head
For one small babe in a manger bed.

Gale Wiersum

 

Free Online Christmas Books, Activity Packs and Printables

I've decided to put together a list of free Christmas books, activities, printables etc that I've liked best and will most likely going to use in our homeschool. I'll update the list as I find more and will also share them over our Facebook page.

Free Christmas Books Online

• Here is the list of free Christmas books on www.wegivebooks.org, a website where you can read for free lots of excellent children books. You need to sign up for an account first, free of charge. There is also a Nativity Book there, No Room at The Inn.
• The Snowman story - on Oxford Owl.
• The Polar Express book, read-aloud on Barnes and Noble's Online Storytime - You will find this story if you look on the small list under the story screen and scroll till the end. (Let me know if you have troubles locating it.). For this book, there is a free activity pack over at 3 Dinosaurs and another Polar Express Pack at Living Live Intentionally.

Christmas Activity Packs and Printables

1. Nativity Theme

• Over The Big Moon - Nativity Pre-K Pack 
• 3 Dinosaurs: Nativity Pack
• 2 Teaching Mommies - Nativity Pack
• 1+1+1=1 - Preschool Nativity Pack  

2. Santa Theme

• This Reading Mama - Christmas Pre-K Pack
• Royal Baloo - Reindeer Pack
• Blessed Beyond Doubt has also put together a great list of Christmas Worksheets and Coloring Pages

Please feel free to leave me a comment if you know other good Christmas resources, for preschoolers mainly.

What Have We Done All Week? (School Wrap-Up)

I. is now 4 yrs and 2 months old.
I. are acum 4 ani si 2 luni.

We've been trying to spend more time outdoors, while the good autumn weather still lasts. It is not too cold yet, so we've been going on walks in the parks and that was well appreciated by my daughter. She loves being out in nature, to explore new places, to look for sticks, leaves, pebbles or whatever she stumbles across.

Peek-a-boo!

What else we did?

• Worked on a few printables from the Shelf Elf Pack from 3Dinosaurs.com.

We used small playdough balls to press into the circles, instead of our Dot Markers - a very good fine motor practice!

• Played with our Melissa and Doug See & Spell set and then completed a worksheet using the wooden letters from the set.

•  Practiced reading on the iPad. This is the free Bitsboard app from GrasshopperApps. It's an incredible tool, with lots of options, free flashcards sets, very useful for us! As you can see at the beginning of the video, she sometimes tends to rush and 'guess' the ending of a word -but when she reads again, she'll say it right :)

•  Read lots of books everyday, in English and in French. She's been asking me to record her while she 'reads' books to herself (reading from memory and looking at the pictures, that is), so here she is - reading 'Doctor Dora' in English.

And in French, a story called 'Nina au Musee', from 'Histoires pour les Petits' - a story about a little girl, Nina, who goes visit a museum for the first time, with her parents.

We did other stuff, of course, but that's all I managed to capture on camera.
How was your week?

Some great collections I may be linking to: