Thanksgiving is fast approaching and, though this year has thrown curve balls at every single one of us, we want to shift our focus to everything good in our lives. Now is as good a time as ever to take a breath, step back, and reflect on what we are so blessed to have.
Free Thanksgiving Printable Now Available on aerilynbooks.com
We’ve added a new FREE Thanksgiving activity sheet to our online store so you and your family can think about all you are thankful for, as well. Our little ones have had so much fun making their lists and I was pleasantly surprised by some of their answers! Every day, I learn a little bit more about each of these amazing people they are growing up to be!
Though social distancing is keeping us physically apart from many of our friends and family members, we are still together in heart and in spirit – with many ways to keep in touch – and for that we are thankful. Reach out with a letter, a phone call, an email, a text, or however works best for you, and embrace the true meaning of togetherness this holiday.
Autumn is here! The air is getting crisper, the leaves are changing color, and we are looking forward to all the traditions of the season! Many of those seasonal traditions in our home involve pumpkins – decorating, crafting, painting, eating… we are all about pumpkins!
A favorite activity for my kids is Pumpkin Exploration. It’s a simple activity that is perfect for kids who like to get their hands messy and can easily allow for some additional education like counting and language-learning. We make a trip to our local pumpkin farm, taking our time to enjoy it and have fun (maybe even take a hay ride or pick apples if still in peak season!) and once we get home, we wash up and get ready to explore.
We used a small pie pumpkin for this activity.
What you need: ๐น A small pumpkin ๐น Some newspaper to protect your work surface ๐น A spoon for scooping ๐น A bowl for collecting the seeds
What you do: ๐ธCut the pumpkin in half ๐ธExplore the inside of the pumpkin, with hands or spoon ๐ธCount and remove seeds and place in the bowl ๐ธPlay with, remove, and discard pulp
My preschooler has fun removing the seeds and pulp with a spoon.
Language-Booster: While exploring the pumpkin, talk about what you see: seeds, pulp, and flesh. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce or review vocabulary, discuss how plants grow from seeds, and think about where healthy foods come from.
Math: Count the seeds you find in the pumpkin, compare quantities (how many seeds were in one half? how many in the other half? which number is greater? etc.), and make number groups (groups of 5, 10, 20…).
After exploring, we make diagrams to record what we learned.
Pumpkin Diagram
After my kids are done exploring their pumpkin, we discard the pulp and clean the seeds, and we make our own diagrams to record what we learned. You’re going to want to keep your surface covered in the newspaper for this activity, too.
What you need: ๐น A piece of blank paper ๐น Some orange washable and non-toxic acrylic paint ๐น A paint brush ๐น Cotton balls ๐น Liquid glue ๐น Clean pumpkin seeds
What you do: ๐ธPaint the shape of the pumpkin on paper ๐ธCreate “pulp” by gently stretching out cotton balls, and paint orange ๐ธGlue “pulp” and seeds inside the painted pumpkin shape
My niece had fun gluing seeds on her diagram.
Making a diagram is a great way to retain information and record observations made during the exploration activity, while exercising creativity, and allows your child to look back on the activity at a later date to recall what they learned. It’s a great introduction to the scientific method!
Pumpkin Spice Hotteok
While the glue on the diagrams are drying, we prepare to cook the pumpkin. There are so many wonderful pumpkin recipes out there, so take your pick! This time, we made Pumpkin Spice Hotteok (ํธ๋ฐ ํธ๋ก).
Making pumpkin puree is super easy and can be used to make a variety of delicious foods. Hotteok (ํธ๋ก) is a popular Korean pancake filled with sweet syrup and nuts, perfect for chilly days – and when combined with pumpkin and spices, is a delicious fusion between Korean and American flavors.
To make the pumpkin puree, make sure the outside of the pumpkin is washed well, sprinkle the flesh with some salt, and place cut-side down on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Roast the pumpkin in the oven at 400 degrees F until easily pierced with a fork and the skin pulls away from the flesh (45 to 60 minutes). Once cool enough to handle, process with a food processor or blender until smooth. That’s it! It’s ready to use in your favorite recipe!
While still warm, we used our fresh pumpkin puree in our Pumpkin Spice Hotteok recipe, and topped it with whipped cream, maple syrup, and honey butter. They were absolutely delicious and helped to close our day of activities!
The kids enjoyed every last bite of the pumpkin spice hotteok!
Taking the kids through all three activities, from whole pumpkin to tasty dessert, helps them to appreciate that journey from farm to table. They get to be involved in every part of that journey with these exploration activities: picking the pumpkin, exploring the fruit, recording their observations, and even cooking! And along the way they practice math, language, science, and art. It’s a well-rounded educational experience perfect for an autumn Sunday!
I hope you and your kids have fun with these activities, and that they can become a tradition in your home, too. Until next time!
Happy Wednesday! It’s been a little bit crazy over here, trying to get into the virtual-learning groove, but now that we are in week three everything is going much more smoothly. I hope you are all doing well adjusting to this new (and unique) school year!
Now that things have settled down a bit, I wanted to share another DIY project for teaching your child ํ๊ธ (Hangul).
DIY Hangul Blocks Materials
What you need: ๐น Chalkboard Blocks ๐น Chalk Markers (2 or more colors)
What you do: ๐ธ Write Vowels in One Color ๐ธ Write Consonants in Second Color
Write Vowels in One Color and Consonants in the Second Color
I found these cute chalkboard blocks at our local Michaels Arts and Crafts Store on clearance, but you could easily use plain wooden blocks and paint them with matte paint in any color you’d like – I really liked the chalkboard for these for that back-to-school look.
Chalk markers are great for this project, because you can easily wipe them clean if you make a mistake or want to reuse the blocks for other lessons. Feel free to use paint markers if you want something more permanent.
I used pink to write the vowels and white to write consonants, using a total of 16 blocks so I could include double consonants. I had some extra blank sides, which I filled with more frequently used consonants and vowels. In less than five minutes, they were dry and we were able to get to word-building practice!
Word-building Practice with Hangul Blocks
My preschooler had a lot of fun making these with me and using them to build simple words! How will you design your own Hangul Blocks?
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It’s apple season and we’ve put together an educational workbook filled with apple-themed activities! If your kids love apples, they will love these fun activities!
Apple-themed workbook available for download on aerilynbooks.com
The 20 page workbook includes an Apple Investigation activity, where your child will be able to use their senses to explore their own apple (with your help, of course!). They will record their findings on the Apple Investigation sheet – size, color, buoyancy, taste – they will examine their apple from the inside out!
Other activities include labeling the parts of an apple, counting seeds, math, reading and writing practice, shape-tracing, puzzles, and more. Designed with your little bilingual learner in mind, these materials support education in both English and Korean languages, but can be enjoyed by our monolingual friends, as well.
We are always looking for fun ways to merge learning activities with play time and the classic children’s game, “I Spy,” is a perfect opportunity to do just that! “I Spy” is a guessing game where, traditionally, players take turns choosing something in the immediate area and reciting the rhyme “I spy with my little eye, something that is…” and the other players try to guess what the object is based on the singular clue.
One of the great things about this game is its incredible flexibility – you can use colors, shapes, sizes, and other adjectives as clues (or combinations of them); play the game anywhere you happen to be; practice target-language vocabulary… there are so many ways you can tailor it to your own personal needs!
“I Spy” Glasses template available for download on aerilynbooks.com
To make this game even more fun, we added a craft element to it. Our kids love to make things by hand, so this was right up their alley! Plus, it provides the extra benefits of strengthening their pincer grip and exercising their creative skills.
Use our FREE Downloadable Template to make your own looking glasses.
What you need: ๐น FREE Downloadable “I Spy” Glasses Template ๐น Colorful Paper or Cardstock ๐น Kids Scissors ๐น Heat Resistant Acetate Sheets (Optional) ๐น Double Sided Tape (Optional) ๐น Popsicle Stick (Optional)
What you do: ๐ธ Print “I Spy” Glasses Template on Colorful Paper or Cardstock ๐ธ Cut Along Solid Lines to Create “I Spy” Glasses
Optional: ๐น Cut the “Lens” Out of Acetate Sheet and Use Double Sided Tape to Adhere Between the Paper Cut-outs ๐น Use a Popsicle Stick to Create a Stronger Handle, Taping it Between the Paper Cut-outs ๐น Decorate with Stickers or Washi Tape
“I spy with my little eye, something that is…”
Use your newly customized looking glasses to play “I Spy” and practice shapes, colors, and vocabulary – your child will love having their very own “magnifying glass” to search for objects around the house! Try playing in your target language, for some bilingual fun, or even go on a bug-hunt – how many activities can you think of for these looking glasses? We’d love to see your ideas in action – tag us in your pictures on Instagram and we just may feature them on our page!
Something my kids and I enjoy doing every year, is watching caterpillars grow into butterflies. It’s a wonderful activity that lasts for weeks, teaches about the process of metamorphosis, allows close observation of the live insects, presents an opportunity to introduce or review Korean vocabulary, and is absolute fun for everyone!
My daughter holding a painted lady butterfly, while releasing them.
Every Spring, I order a cup (or two) of caterpillars from InsectLore.com, and each cup comes with five caterpillars. If you have never done this activity before, I recommend getting a starter kit that includes the temporary housing and information booklet. (This is not a paid endorsement – Just sharing where I like to get our caterpillars!) The kit comes with everything you need to know about the process and how to take care of the butterflies before you release them. Usually, you will also receive some fun stickers or other paper toys.
Some of the butterflies like to stick around close by (on little hands or in the garden) before flying away, like this beautiful painted lady who took a moment to appreciate our flowers.
This year, I wanted to add some additional educational material to go along with our annual observation, so I created several worksheets and puzzle activities all centered around caterpillars and butterflies – and in addition to the worksheets, I created flash cards and a mini book that can be printed right from your computer!
Example pages from Butterfly Life Cycle Workbook
The Butterfly Life Cycle Workbook is twenty pages and can be found in the Aerilyn Books online store. The mini book teaches your child about the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle, in both English and Korean, and the key vocabulary can be reinforced with the flash cards. Your child will also get to exercise their creative skills while practicing numbers and colors and drawing the different stages from caterpillar to butterfly. Don’t feel comfortable raising caterpillars?No worries! It isn’t necessary to get the educational benefits of the workbook! So head to the online store to get the Butterfly Life Cycle Workbook and have fun learning about metamorphosis!
Emotions are high as we continue to practice social distancing and follow stay-at-home orders, in our best efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of us are experiencing feelings of anxiety, helplessness, frustration, and worry – all as a natural response to the stress involved in our current global circumstances. All these emotions can be difficult to navigate, and especially so for children who are looking to us adults for comfort and security while they continue learning from home and are missing their friends and extended family members. It can be difficult to manage such big emotions!
It got me really thinking about some effective practices for managing stress and the negative emotions that often come with it. I wanted to have some activities ready for a moment when any one of my children might need some extra comfort or help with addressing their fears or worries. Dealing with depression myself, I know the importance of being able to talk about my struggles with someone I trust and to be able to level my emotions so I can more easily manage them. I wanted to be able to use some of these techniques in a child-friendly way while also integrating some bilingual education and simple facial recognition activities.
Sample pages from Emotions Workbook
I created a 20 page workbook that’s all about emotions! I’ve included some of the most common emotions we experience from day-to-day, and created some activities for recognizing, discussing, and managing these emotions in healthy ways. Included are social emotional activity ideas, coloring pages, reading and writing practice, drawing activities, illustrative journal pages, and, of course, bilingual vocabulary practice. You’ll have the opportunity to open up to each other and address the big emotions your children (and you!) may be experiencing – and set in place great emotional health practices for years to come!
You can find the downloadable workbook here in our online store. The material supports bilingual education in English and Korean languages, but can be completed and enjoyed by our monolingual friends, as well!
Being home from work and school is an important public safety measure during our current pandemic, but it can be rough – for all of us. Kids and adults alike are trying their best to transition from their usual school and work environments to working remotely, from the comfort of their homes… where their TV and all their favorite snacks are… where the couch is comfortable and Lego sets beg to be played with. It can be a real struggle to focus!
We’ve been trying to keep our kids on track with their virtual classrooms, while also entertaining them in quiet times between classwork. The balancing act between parent, employee, home-school teacher, and chef is leaving most of us feeling… well, unbalanced. Fortunately, I’ve found some activities that have successfully entertained (and educated) my younger kids – and it isn’t over in a mere five minutes!
Every Spring, we tend to our vegetable garden. The kids love to help me clean out old dead plants, turn the soil, look for worms – all of it. But this year, our weather hasn’t exactly been cooperative. It’s the middle of April and we still have snow – YIKES! We haven’t been able to shake off our desire to get planting, though, so we started some seeds indoors. This has been great for teaching our sons how plants grow, observing the parts of a plant, and using a small magnifying glass to take a close look at roots and germinating seeds. And it doesn’t stop there!
Sample sheets from How Plants Grow Workbook
I’ve put together a 20 page workbook to go along with this activity. The workbook includes coloring sheets, bilingual vocabulary practice, a Plant Growth Process wheel, cut-and-paste charts, matching games… enough to last a week or so. You’ll be able to teach your child about the parts of a plant, about the growth process, practice reading and writing, solve puzzles, and play games – all while watching it happen in front of them! It’s a hands-on learning experience that is sure to fill in some of the gaps of their remote learning!
You can find the downloadable workbook here in our online store. The material supports bilingual education in English and Korean languages, but can be completed and enjoyed by our monolingual friends, as well!
Stay safe and healthy, friends! We are in this together!
Create your own Korean alphabet set with Perler beads
DIY Perler Hangul Set
Are your kids creative? Are you looking for a Korean alphabet set? Make your own colorful set together with Perler beads! If you’ve never used Perler beads before, they are plastic beads that you can fuse together with an iron to create all sorts of fun things! An adult will definitely have to do the ironing, but the kids have fun creating the letters.
What you need: ๐น Perler Beads ๐น Heat-safe Paper ๐น Perler Pegboard ๐น Iron
Play: ๐ธ Pick up beads ๐ธ Sort by color ๐ธ Name each color ๐ธ Build shapes or make pictures
Make: ๐น Build letters on pegboard ๐น Cover in heat-safe paper ๐น Iron for a few seconds to fuse (both sides) ๐น Let cool before handling
Language Booster: Practice naming colors and shapes in your target languages, while building and creating fun trinkets! Teach your child the Korean alphabet and the letter sounds as you create them together. When you are done, you have a complete set of alphabet toys to use in future activities – we turned ours into magnets for our fridge!
Our kids are big fans of Perler beads! They love to create their favorite Pokemon and video game characters, so they are very familiar with the process. Before making our Hangul set, we played with the beads and created fun designs. The kids were able to exercise their creativity while also squeezing in some language education!
Here is a great activity that will keep your kids busy for HOURS! It’s a bead-sorting game… with a twist! This activity strengthens your child’s pincer grip, teaches them colors and shapes, can be a great opportunity to boost language-learning, and of course teaches them to sort objects into groups. You can start out simple and build up the challenges as your child gets better at the activity – even my 6 year old loves it!
What you need: ๐น Colorful plastic beads ๐น A container for sorting (could be a muffin tin, paper cups, etc) ๐น Kid’s chopsticks (or even just their fingers!)
What you do: ๐ธPick up one bead at a time ๐ธSort by color, shape, or size ๐ธName each color or shape as you play
Language-Booster: You can play this game in any language with your child, and in as many as you’d like – it won’t feel like learning, because they are having fun and focusing on the task of moving beads from one container to another. They will want to play over and over again!
When first introducing this activity to my 3-year-old son and niece, we started out simple, only concentrating on how to use the chopsticks and letting them move the beads to whichever cup they wanted. As they got the hang of that, we started sorting the beads by color, naming each out loud in both English and Korean languages. The great thing about this activity: you can add to the challenges, change the sorting criteria, and use with any language you are teaching your child! The possibilities are endless!
