{This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and Peep and the Big Wide World. All opinions are my own.}
Daily moments in life can always be teaching moments when you have pre-schoolers in your life. Whether you are a parent, relative, teacher or child care educator, you are always teaching the little ones in your life lessons that they will remember. As a homeschool family, we are always learning – some times it’s natural in our daily routine but other times, learning comes from structured lesson plans. Those structured lesson plans work best when it’s a play and learn experience.
Our latest learning guided activity came from the recently re-launched bilingual learning website Peep & the Big Wide World. We went on a listening walk.
Peep & the Big Wide World is a series narrated by comedian Joan Cusack, that stars a wide-eyed chicken named Peep, a robin named Chirp, and an irascible, endearing duck named Quack who live in a large urban park—a place of endless wonder, adventure, and mystery – perfect for learning science and math concepts each and every day!
Besides the fun characters, my family enjoys Peep & the Big Wide World because it helps preschoolers develop science inquiry skills in fun and creative ways by observing, making predictions, and problem solving in the world around them. As of November 2014, this website is also available in Spanish. This website is is also tailored specifically for home-based childcare educators, a group typically underserved when it comes to professional development and educational resources, especially for science education.
Because PEEP is a bi-lingual multi-platform project designed to teach kids important science exploration skills, we started with exploring sound. I loved that these one-of-a-kind materials are available in both English and Spanish because we are trying to learn Spanish here, too.
Other benefits that I appreciate about PEEP is that it includes online yearlong curriculum and professional development tools; the mobile-friendly digital hub gets preschoolers engaged using fun activities; it helps parents be ready and confident to facilitate the exploration of math and science with their child.
LISTENING WALK – Listen to Outdoor Sounds
Following the instructions for Guided Activity Walk, I took my son for a listening walk. You can find the full instructions on Peep & the Big Wide World in English and in Spanish. The key concepts were to identify the source of the sounds, describe the volume, identify different objects make different sounds.
1. Gather supplies. Digital recorder, chart paper, pencil and clipboard.
2. Before leaving ask what sound do you think you will hear.
3. Go outside and listen. Observe what you hear, determine what makes the sound, record sounds.
4. Talk about the sounds. Ask questions like: Can they imitate the sound? What do they think is making that sound? What happens to the sound if children cover and then uncover their ears? Why do they think that happens?
5. Write down answers and observations.
6. Return inside and discuss what was heard.
Our results:
We heard our neighbors’ wind chimes and rustling leaves in the wind. We could see the sources of those sounds. We could see the source of the sound that sounded like hammering or cars honking. We discussed which sounds were louder and which were softer. We even observed the differences in sound with wind blowing and when it stopped. Plus, we had fun OUTSIDE!
CONNECT WITH PEEP & BIG WIDE WORLD
There are more exploring activities on Peep & the Big Wide World. Visit the website in English and in Spanish to learn more and get engaged with your little one.
Follow along on social media in English on Facebook; Twitter; YouTube or Pinterest #bigwideworld
Siguirlos en Español en Facebook ; Twitter; YouTube o Pinterest #peepenespanol
