This morning my son said his first color name! Now, I cannot say that he actually knew which one it was in the box, but it was the name of a color nonetheless! Expanding vocabulary is a big thing in our house right now. I KNOW (in the logical side of my brain) that he is well within the range of normal for vocabulary and he understands FAR more than he is capable of verbalizing....but you know there is that non-logical side of my brain that says but his sisters were talking in complete (and for my oldest, elaborate) sentences by this age. My oldest knew the ABC song, and several shapes and colors....so there is this small part of my brain that says "Hmmmm." So him saying "Blue" while pointing at the box of markers was a BIG moment. Like I said, I don't know that he really meant he wanted the blue one, but I did give him the blue one again (he had already had it).
After he colored for a good long while, the longest amount of time he's ever been interested in coloring (I give credit to the use of markers here....usually I give him those boring old crayons..pffft who wants those things) his hands were covered in marker so I set up a hand washing station (He LOVES this activity.). He washed his hands and then I gave him fresh water and he played in the water with cups, spoons, bottles, and funnels. He also poured from one bowl to the other.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
A couple new works
I can't take credit for this first one, as it hadn't occurred to me. I was at a birthday party on Saturday night, and was talking with the hostess and a mutual friend about trying to entertain the toddlers while schooling the big kids. I mentioned the spooning, and jar lids. And our mutual friend (someone whom I adore BTW, she's just full of fantastic ideas) suggested letting them put things into an empty wipe container. You know the kind with the pop up lid, with the slot to pull one wipe through at a time. She said she remembered doing pom-poms. It was an AHH HAAA moment. Not that long ago, someone on our birth board mentioned that their child loved putting coins in her piggy bank...this is a VERY similar activity, but yet I hadn't thought of it.
This morning I did this activity with Ben. I asked him if he wanted something to do, and he gleefully answered "UH huhhh" (he still doesn't say Yes or N0). So I sat him down at the table (a nice low table) and got out a bowl, the poms, and an empty wipe container (I KNEW there was a reason I had kept that....HA to my husband, my junk DOES have purpose!). I gave the demonstration and them let him get to work. He repeated it with all the poms I had given him 3 times! He would bring it to me and say "more", I'd empty the poms back into the bowl and he'd repeat the activity.
Here's a pic:
This morning I did this activity with Ben. I asked him if he wanted something to do, and he gleefully answered "UH huhhh" (he still doesn't say Yes or N0). So I sat him down at the table (a nice low table) and got out a bowl, the poms, and an empty wipe container (I KNEW there was a reason I had kept that....HA to my husband, my junk DOES have purpose!). I gave the demonstration and them let him get to work. He repeated it with all the poms I had given him 3 times! He would bring it to me and say "more", I'd empty the poms back into the bowl and he'd repeat the activity.
Here's a pic:
I can think of a couple variations for this: poker chips (I have these), and LARGE beans or buttons.
After he tired of this activity, I broke out the pegboard. I didn't snap any pictures of that work but this is the board we have: http://www.drtoy.com/1999_c/dtpeg.htm He likes to fill all the holes and he likes to see how tall he can stack them before they fall over.
Monday, August 18, 2008
More of Toddler Lessons
So, I'm sharing some more of our "school" time. My DS loves to help unload the dishwasher. He brings things and says "Thank You." as he hands it to you, because that's what we always say to him as he gives it to us. It's too cute. The problem with this? Oh, yes there is a problem. When I'm trying to LOAD the dishwasher, he comes running saying "Thank You! Thank You!" Because he wants to UNload the dishwasher. It's a minor problem, and worth the life lessons involved in helping out the family.
Most important of all, imaginative play with the farm (we are learning the signs for farm, and the animals).
And there was just something so very wicked witch of the west about this that I couldn't help but share it.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Transferring Activity
We didn't get to do beans the other afternoon, I realized I only had small beans. While my DS isn't big on putting things in his mouth anymore, it still presented too much of a choking hazard for me to let him play with them..on the off chance he might put them in his mouth. Now, if I had been planning on sitting there with him, that would have been a different story. But, one of my goals is to get him to do more things independently, so I didn't want to sit there. Well, this morning he got out our transferring bowls again, and I was searching for something around the house that he could transfer without me worrying about him. I then found the container of buttons! I knew these would be a HIT as he is ALWAYS asking to play with them, and I've never allowed it before (mostly because they would just be scattered everywhere, and I didn't want to deal with that).
You need two bowls (Montessori methods prefer glass or wood....but I don't have any of those yet, so mine are plastic). A large spoon. And, whatever objects (buttons, large beans, pom poms, dried wagon wheel noodles, or anything else you come up with) you are going to transfer. It's also best to have a workmat, you see that I'm using a placemat as our workmat. It keeps the bowls from sliding around.
You need two bowls (Montessori methods prefer glass or wood....but I don't have any of those yet, so mine are plastic). A large spoon. And, whatever objects (buttons, large beans, pom poms, dried wagon wheel noodles, or anything else you come up with) you are going to transfer. It's also best to have a workmat, you see that I'm using a placemat as our workmat. It keeps the bowls from sliding around.
Here is the setup:
And then I did the presentation, I unscrewed the lid of the jar. I said "Don't touch, watch mama." I poured some of the buttons into the first bowl. I picked up the spoon, I scooped a few buttons up and dumped them into the second bowl. I repeated it three times. Then I asked if he'd like to try. "Uh huh!" (He never says yes or no, uh huh and uh uh.) I handed over the spoon, and he was able to do it successfully. Another 30 minutes!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What We Did Today....
I think I'm mentioned in previous posts about our collection of jars. I have several, although I just found out this morning when my toddler pulled them out that my husband threw out almost all of the lids! So, now I have to start collecting AGAIN, so I can have jars with lids. SIGH. Anyway, we managed to have a very productive morning without them. My son often asks me to open the cabinet that has the jars in it (it's in one of the few baby proofed areas). I almost always oblige. This morning, he got them out (my involvment is usually simply opening the cabinet door..then he chooses how many/which ones he wants and goes on his merry way) and took them to the table. You'll notice he also grabbed the bowls we use for transferring objects. He spent nearly 15 minutes (he is only 19 months old, so that's a good amount of time) playing with the jars alone! He put the smaller ones into the larger ones, and attempted to put the large ones into the small ones. Then he had to work some to get the small ones back out. The jar you see that is painted purple is part of our sound jars set (there are jars with different content and when you shake them they make various sounds, and there is a matching set). After he had lost interest in playing with them alone, I decided to show him how to take the lids off. I took the only two I have with the lids (which is fine for him, because he's small and has a short attention span...but my 4 yr olds student really enjoyed this activity as well, and now he'll have to wait til I have restocked the collection), I cleared the table off and sat the two jars up. I told him not to touch, and to watch Mama. I picked up the large jar, and slowly showed him how I twist my hand to take the lid off (to which he delighted "OFF!"). I sat the jar and the lid back on the table, and picked up the smaller jar and repeated (again to a very delighed "OFF!"). Then I put the lids back on, and asked him if he wanted to take them off. He said "uh huh" (with the best inflection on that huh you've ever heard). The first time he couldn't do it, so I demonstrated again. And, to my surprise, on his second attempt with the large jar he was able to unscrew the lid! The smaller jars lid takes a bit more effort to twist, and he never did successfully get it off, but hey, there was still victory! And, the fantastic pronouncement that it was "OFF!" (Off is currently his favorite word.)
After such success with my jar activity, and a messy snack necessitating the need to wash hands, I decided I could do a second presentation on hand washing. So I set up a towel, a bowl, the soap pump, and a small towel to dry with. I did a presentation on washing hands (another favorite activity btw, although we had never done it this way) and to my surprise he REALLY copied me almost exactly. I was impressed. Then of course, there were cries for "wata" "wata", so I got him some fresh water in his bowl, gave him a second bowl (for pouring you know) and funnels, scoops, large spoons, a baby bottle, a glass jar, and let him play in the water. I showed him how to use the jar to scoop water from the first bowl and pour it into the second. He was relatively successful. My oldest daughter (10) came to play with him while I helped my younger daughter (8) with her language arts activities, and she showed him to just pick up the first bowl and pour it into the second bowl. He loved that. He did that three times before we ended up with the water spilled everywhere. I gave him one more fresh bowl, and he continued to play. This bought me a good, happy 30 minutes!
When he wakes up from his nap, we're going to try another transferring activity. Beans in bowls. :-)
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Blue Squares
Our newest goal is learning the color blue, and the shape square. Here he is coloring with a blue marker.
I drew a square, and we talked about the name of it, and he repeated the name. Then I drew a second square for him to color blue.
Then he figured out it was much more fun to actually just keep taking the lid on and off the marker.
Finished project.
I also made a set (2) of blue felt squares to play with on our felt board. I chose blue for square for continuity. Our shape sorter set has blue squares as well.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Great Toddler Site!
So, this is something I stumbled upon today, and it is my new favorite.
Toddler Activities by Jean Warren
Check it out!
Toddler Activities by Jean Warren
Check it out!
Letter N
(I am several weeks behind, and have lots of letters I need to post, but I'm going to get this up right now while I have the file open!)
Nest: Playdoh nest, or make a nest from various materials, including things from nature (we pressed grass into our playdoh nests). We made eggs as well (to review letter E).
First-School.ws Letter N worksheet and mini book
Number Collage--using the sales flyers from the newspaper (or the financial section would work as well) cut out numbers. The child I teach is visual, and I think he'll appreciate the wider variety of colors and sizes provided by the sales flyers. Glue them on to construction paper. Talk about the numbers as you cut them out.
Decorate N: Glue colored noodles onto a large cutout N shape, you could use construction paper or cardstock, we'll be using a foam N shape because it will hold up to the glue and noodles better. Another good idea would be to glue on cutout pictures of noses to an N shape.
Name: Review child's name and how it is spelled. Make a name puzzle. Print the child's name on a piece of paper, on a second piece write the name again only this time cut the letters apart and mix them up. Have the child put them in the correct order using the first sheet as a guide. If your child already knows how to spell their name, you wouldn't need the first peice, but they'd probably still enjoy the puzzle activity.
Necklaces: Any variety you can think of! wagon wheel pasta would be a good choice, or any other easily threaded pasta. We painted cheerio's cereal (I have some that has gone stale...so why not use it!), and will thread it through with letter beads spelling the child's name.
Lacing Letter N
N is for Nest Sesame Street Coloring Page: http://pbskids.org/sesame/coloring/n.html
Nest: Playdoh nest, or make a nest from various materials, including things from nature (we pressed grass into our playdoh nests). We made eggs as well (to review letter E).
First-School.ws Letter N worksheet and mini book
Number Collage--using the sales flyers from the newspaper (or the financial section would work as well) cut out numbers. The child I teach is visual, and I think he'll appreciate the wider variety of colors and sizes provided by the sales flyers. Glue them on to construction paper. Talk about the numbers as you cut them out.
Decorate N: Glue colored noodles onto a large cutout N shape, you could use construction paper or cardstock, we'll be using a foam N shape because it will hold up to the glue and noodles better. Another good idea would be to glue on cutout pictures of noses to an N shape.
Name: Review child's name and how it is spelled. Make a name puzzle. Print the child's name on a piece of paper, on a second piece write the name again only this time cut the letters apart and mix them up. Have the child put them in the correct order using the first sheet as a guide. If your child already knows how to spell their name, you wouldn't need the first peice, but they'd probably still enjoy the puzzle activity.
Necklaces: Any variety you can think of! wagon wheel pasta would be a good choice, or any other easily threaded pasta. We painted cheerio's cereal (I have some that has gone stale...so why not use it!), and will thread it through with letter beads spelling the child's name.
Lacing Letter N
N is for Nest Sesame Street Coloring Page: http://pbskids.org/sesame/coloring/n.html
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Letter S
Circle Time:
Alphabet Song
Simple Simon Rhyme
Auditory directions (things like "clap, pat, clap" you could adjust the difficulty of these to the ability of your child)
Simon Says
Gray Squirrel
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Wrinkle up your little nose,
Hold a nut between your toes.
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Math:
Hop, Skip, Touch Your Nose: Math game
Recognizing Numbers-1-4, introduce 5.
Introduce coins: Penny (maybe nickel)
Measuring the length of common snakes (again)—we’ve been seeing lots of snakes lately, so we’re going to repeat this activity.
Fine Motor: Playdoh Snakes (cut them w/scissors after forming letter S with snake);
Gross motor: slither like snakes; skip;
Block Play: Lego's
Learning TIme: letter S (strawberry, snake, shoe)
Make a rattle snake sound shaker;
Letter S mini-book from http://www.first-school.ws/activities/alpha/s/snake.htm
Letter S cutout, cut out a large S from construction paper/poster board and allow the child to cover it with star stickers.
Writing/Penmanship: Tracing straight lines; Tracing Letter S on the sound shaker.
Social Studies/Science:
Animal Habitats: Where do snakes live? A snake is a reptile, and reptiles are cold blooded (meaning they have to get their warmth from the sun). Now we know why we see them laying on the road!
Art: Straw painting
Concept: Rectangle (review oval, square, circle, triangle, heart, STAR and moon) Try drawing a circle/square/triangle;
Alphabet Song
Simple Simon Rhyme
Auditory directions (things like "clap, pat, clap" you could adjust the difficulty of these to the ability of your child)
Simon Says
Gray Squirrel
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Wrinkle up your little nose,
Hold a nut between your toes.
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your fluffy tail.
Math:
Hop, Skip, Touch Your Nose: Math game
Recognizing Numbers-1-4, introduce 5.
Introduce coins: Penny (maybe nickel)
Measuring the length of common snakes (again)—we’ve been seeing lots of snakes lately, so we’re going to repeat this activity.
Fine Motor: Playdoh Snakes (cut them w/scissors after forming letter S with snake);
Gross motor: slither like snakes; skip;
Block Play: Lego's
Learning TIme: letter S (strawberry, snake, shoe)
Make a rattle snake sound shaker;
Letter S mini-book from http://www.first-school.ws/activities/alpha/s/snake.htm
Letter S cutout, cut out a large S from construction paper/poster board and allow the child to cover it with star stickers.
Writing/Penmanship: Tracing straight lines; Tracing Letter S on the sound shaker.
Social Studies/Science:
Animal Habitats: Where do snakes live? A snake is a reptile, and reptiles are cold blooded (meaning they have to get their warmth from the sun). Now we know why we see them laying on the road!
Art: Straw painting
Concept: Rectangle (review oval, square, circle, triangle, heart, STAR and moon) Try drawing a circle/square/triangle;
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Letter R
Books:
Rainbow Fish
What Makes a Rainbow?
Science--Reptiles:
Learn the charachteristics of a reptile, look at pictures of reptiles.
Make a "poisonous frog" poster
Arts and Crafts:
Rainbow Coloring Page
Rainbow painting
Necktie snakes
SnakeTake a large circle, cut a spiral into the circle. Add two eyes and a tongue and hang. It will bounce a little!
Tissue paper rainbow.
Pre-cut tissue paper in rainbow colors (small squares).
Cut a half circle for each student.
Glue squares on the half circle in the order of the rainbow to make the rainbow stick out. Let dry over night and then add long streamers from the bottom and add a yarn hanger at the top to display the rainbows in your class.
Math:
Measuring SnakesMeasure out different kinds of snakes with yarn. The kids will be amazed by how long a boa constrictor really is!
Count the colors in the rainbow.
Review numerals and counting.
Fine Motor:
Play-doh snakes
Snack:
Slippery Salamanders (from jello)
Learning Time:
Letter R mini book from first-school.ws
Game/Gross Motor:
Leap Frog
Sensory:
Discovery bottles of the different colors.
Song:
Lizard Finger play(Use fist of one hand to represent the lizard - have pointer finger move in and out of fist quickly to be the lizard's tongue. 5 fingers of the other hand are the bugs that "disappear" as the lizard's fast tongue "gets" them.)
5 little bugs on the forest floor Along came a sticky tongue lizard ... SLURP!!!
Now there are 4.
4 little bugs on a kapok tree
Along came s sticky tongue lizard ... SLURP!!!
Now there are 3.
3 little bugs without a single clue.....
2 little bugs soaking up the hot sun....
1 little bug knew that he was done.....
Now there are none.
Boa Constrictor Song--
I am being swallowed by a boa constrictor,
I am being swallowed by a boa constrictor.
Oh no, he's swallowed my toes. ( grab toes)
Oh no, he's swallowed my toes.
Oh gee, he is up to my knees. (grab knee)
Oh gee, he is up to my knees.
Oh fiddle, he swallowed my middle.( wrap arms around your middle)
Oh fiddle, he swallowed my middle.
Oh heck, he is up to my neck.( put hand around neck)
Oh heck, he is up to my neck.
Oh dread, he swallowed my...(Gulp very loud)
Oh dread, he swallowed my...gulp
Rainbow Fish
What Makes a Rainbow?
Science--Reptiles:
Learn the charachteristics of a reptile, look at pictures of reptiles.
Make a "poisonous frog" poster
Arts and Crafts:
Rainbow Coloring Page
Rainbow painting
Necktie snakes
SnakeTake a large circle, cut a spiral into the circle. Add two eyes and a tongue and hang. It will bounce a little!
Tissue paper rainbow.
Pre-cut tissue paper in rainbow colors (small squares).
Cut a half circle for each student.
Glue squares on the half circle in the order of the rainbow to make the rainbow stick out. Let dry over night and then add long streamers from the bottom and add a yarn hanger at the top to display the rainbows in your class.
Math:
Measuring SnakesMeasure out different kinds of snakes with yarn. The kids will be amazed by how long a boa constrictor really is!
Count the colors in the rainbow.
Review numerals and counting.
Fine Motor:
Play-doh snakes
Snack:
Slippery Salamanders (from jello)
Learning Time:
Letter R mini book from first-school.ws
Game/Gross Motor:
Leap Frog
Sensory:
Discovery bottles of the different colors.
Song:
Lizard Finger play(Use fist of one hand to represent the lizard - have pointer finger move in and out of fist quickly to be the lizard's tongue. 5 fingers of the other hand are the bugs that "disappear" as the lizard's fast tongue "gets" them.)
5 little bugs on the forest floor Along came a sticky tongue lizard ... SLURP!!!
Now there are 4.
4 little bugs on a kapok tree
Along came s sticky tongue lizard ... SLURP!!!
Now there are 3.
3 little bugs without a single clue.....
2 little bugs soaking up the hot sun....
1 little bug knew that he was done.....
Now there are none.
Boa Constrictor Song--
I am being swallowed by a boa constrictor,
I am being swallowed by a boa constrictor.
Oh no, he's swallowed my toes. ( grab toes)
Oh no, he's swallowed my toes.
Oh gee, he is up to my knees. (grab knee)
Oh gee, he is up to my knees.
Oh fiddle, he swallowed my middle.( wrap arms around your middle)
Oh fiddle, he swallowed my middle.
Oh heck, he is up to my neck.( put hand around neck)
Oh heck, he is up to my neck.
Oh dread, he swallowed my...(Gulp very loud)
Oh dread, he swallowed my...gulp
Letter M
Social Studies:
Manners (focus on good manners and asking for things we want, not demanding)
Review parent's names, and begin learning address.
Science:
magnets
Song:
We think mice are nice.
Oh, we think mice are nice!
Mice have [ noses that twitch and sniff].
We think mice are nice!
Repeat the song using feet that hurry and scurry and then with whiskers that wiggle and jiggle.
Math:
Counting to three
Recognizing numerals 1, 2, and 3
CENTER: Moose Muffin game
Fine Motor:
Muffin cups: scraps of paper with the numbers 1-3 on them, using small tongs, move the correct number of pom-pom's into the cup with the matching number;
Art:
Moose Magnets http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/MooserefrigeratorRecipeHolder.htm
Mouse craft: http://www.first-school.ws/t/craft/hearts_mousebw.html
May Day baskets
Learning Time:
M Mini Book: http://www.first-school.ws
Snack: Muffins
Manners (focus on good manners and asking for things we want, not demanding)
Review parent's names, and begin learning address.
Science:
magnets
Song:
We think mice are nice.
Oh, we think mice are nice!
Mice have [ noses that twitch and sniff].
We think mice are nice!
Repeat the song using feet that hurry and scurry and then with whiskers that wiggle and jiggle.
Math:
Counting to three
Recognizing numerals 1, 2, and 3
CENTER: Moose Muffin game
Fine Motor:
Muffin cups: scraps of paper with the numbers 1-3 on them, using small tongs, move the correct number of pom-pom's into the cup with the matching number;
Art:
Moose Magnets http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/MooserefrigeratorRecipeHolder.htm
Mouse craft: http://www.first-school.ws/t/craft/hearts_mousebw.html
May Day baskets
Learning Time:
M Mini Book: http://www.first-school.ws
Snack: Muffins
Monday, April 21, 2008
Update
Just to update things, I will be posting a lesson for this week, but probably not until Wednesday. We are spending all day tomorrow at the zoo, and then on Thursday we'll be doing a review of all the letters/numbers/shapes/colors/concepts we've learned so far (since we will only be having sit down school one day this week). I'm also going to use this week to attempt to plan further in advance....we'll see.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A great link
http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-downloads-veggie-cards.html
This is another blog, and it has some great stuff in general, but these free downloads (there are more than just the veggie cards) are GREAT!
Enjoy.
This is another blog, and it has some great stuff in general, but these free downloads (there are more than just the veggie cards) are GREAT!
Enjoy.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Letter F
Math:
Fractions: 1/2 using fraction circles
Counting, recognizing numbers, and number correspondence
Concept:
On top of, underneath: using blocks (put the red one on top of the blue one; now the blue one is underneath the red one)
Music:
The Farmer in the Dell
Old McDonald Had a Farm
Growing Flowers (Fingerplay)
Little flowers in the ground (wiggle fingers on the floor),
Watch the wind blow you round and round (move fingers in circular motion)
Grow up to the sky so tall (wiggle fingers slowly upward),
If I don't water you, you will fall (quickly move fingers back to ground).
Science:
Flowers: basic flower parts, and what flowers need to grow;
Plant some flower seeds.
File Folder game labeling the basic parts (stem, leaf, roots, petals)
Social Studies:
Fireman
Life on the Farm and a trip to the Farmer's Market;
Visit a farm
Game: Printout of a barn and printouts of several animals (both farm animals and non-farm animals), have child match all the animals that belong with the barn.
Sensory:
Smells and touching the animals at the farm; Smells at the Farmer's martket;
Reading:
The Rainbow Fish
I want to be a Firefighter
Art:
Flag (create your own)
Trace childs hand onto yellow construction paper, twice each hand. Have student cut out hands. Take round black circle from construction paper and glue all hands to back of (this is the center of the sunflower) finish by adding a green stem.
Use a cutout of a sheep and glue onto a paper plate. Spread glue onto the sheep's body and let the children put on the "wool" using dry oatmeal.
Milk Carton Barns
Dramatic Play:
Play with farm (little people farm house) and farm magnets (Melissa and Doug Farm Magnets in a Box is what I have).
Firefighters (dress up and pretend to be fireman rushing to an emergency in the truck with the siren going, put out the fire) and of course play with firetrucks!
Fine Motor:
Accordion Folding
Gross motor:
Tossing a football
Tossing a frisbee
Snack:
Flower shaped sugar cookies
Fruit
Shape: Oval
Fractions: 1/2 using fraction circles
Counting, recognizing numbers, and number correspondence
Concept:
On top of, underneath: using blocks (put the red one on top of the blue one; now the blue one is underneath the red one)
Music:
The Farmer in the Dell
Old McDonald Had a Farm
Growing Flowers (Fingerplay)
Little flowers in the ground (wiggle fingers on the floor),
Watch the wind blow you round and round (move fingers in circular motion)
Grow up to the sky so tall (wiggle fingers slowly upward),
If I don't water you, you will fall (quickly move fingers back to ground).
Science:
Flowers: basic flower parts, and what flowers need to grow;
Plant some flower seeds.
File Folder game labeling the basic parts (stem, leaf, roots, petals)
Social Studies:
Fireman
Life on the Farm and a trip to the Farmer's Market;
Visit a farm
Game: Printout of a barn and printouts of several animals (both farm animals and non-farm animals), have child match all the animals that belong with the barn.
Sensory:
Smells and touching the animals at the farm; Smells at the Farmer's martket;
Reading:
The Rainbow Fish
I want to be a Firefighter
Art:
Flag (create your own)
Trace childs hand onto yellow construction paper, twice each hand. Have student cut out hands. Take round black circle from construction paper and glue all hands to back of (this is the center of the sunflower) finish by adding a green stem.
Use a cutout of a sheep and glue onto a paper plate. Spread glue onto the sheep's body and let the children put on the "wool" using dry oatmeal.
Milk Carton Barns
Dramatic Play:
Play with farm (little people farm house) and farm magnets (Melissa and Doug Farm Magnets in a Box is what I have).
Firefighters (dress up and pretend to be fireman rushing to an emergency in the truck with the siren going, put out the fire) and of course play with firetrucks!
Fine Motor:
Accordion Folding
Gross motor:
Tossing a football
Tossing a frisbee
Snack:
Flower shaped sugar cookies
Fruit
Shape: Oval
Monday, April 7, 2008
Twister! and why EVERY home should have this game
Twister is such an EXCELLENT learning tool!
You can use it to teach colors (blue, red, green, yellow).
It teaches right and left!
It teaches body parts--hand and foot anyway. (this is the way in which we'll be using it with my toddler this week).
You can tape letters/numbers onto the dots and then call things like "Put your left foot on a red R."
You can use it to teach ordinals. "Put your right hand on the third blue dot."
You can use it to teach addition/multiplication, tape the numbers into place. Spin the spinner twice. Have child do the math operation. "Add your left foot and your right hand."
You can use it for geography! Tape the names of states, countries, capitals, continents, etc to the dots. Spin the spinner. Have the child name the capital of the state/country they are on, have them identify the bordering countries, or bodies of water, etc.
Don't let your own imagination stop here! I'm telling you Twister can be used for just about anything!
You can use it to teach colors (blue, red, green, yellow).
It teaches right and left!
It teaches body parts--hand and foot anyway. (this is the way in which we'll be using it with my toddler this week).
You can tape letters/numbers onto the dots and then call things like "Put your left foot on a red R."
You can use it to teach ordinals. "Put your right hand on the third blue dot."
You can use it to teach addition/multiplication, tape the numbers into place. Spin the spinner twice. Have child do the math operation. "Add your left foot and your right hand."
You can use it for geography! Tape the names of states, countries, capitals, continents, etc to the dots. Spin the spinner. Have the child name the capital of the state/country they are on, have them identify the bordering countries, or bodies of water, etc.
Don't let your own imagination stop here! I'm telling you Twister can be used for just about anything!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Our Schedule
We do school 2 mornings a week, for 2 1/2 hours each time. I thought some of you might like to see exactly how I schedule that time.
9-9:10--Free Time
9:10-9:30--Circle Time
Finger Play/Felt Board Rhyme
Active Activity (Parachute Play, Obstacle Course, Musical Instruments)
Weather Watcher
Story
Song
Material Preview (what's on board for today??)
9:30-9:45--Learning Time
9:45-10--Arts and Crafts
10-10:15—Block/Building play
10:15-10:30--Snack
10:30-10:45--Math/Fine Motor
10-45-11--Concept/Gross Motor
11-11:15--Sensory Activity/Dramatic Play
11:15-11:20--Learning Time (review)
11:20-11:25--Story
11:25-11:30--Free Time
"Material Preview"--I have a chalkboard where I put the letter we are working on, as well as draw pictures (with my limited ability) of things that begin with that letter. I also put up the shape we are working on. And anything else that comes to mind that works up there.
"Learning Time"--We focus on the letter of the week on the chalkboard, writing it with his finger, then erasing it with both a dry and a wet cloth (small piece of tissue paper, and a small piece of cut sponge).
"Weather Watcher"--One of the kids goes to the window and looks out and the others ask questions: "Is it sunny??" "Is it rainy??" etc. until we've decided what the weather is.
Sometimes the free time doesn't happen because our activities run longer than the time allotted for them...and all times are approximate! :-) I TRY to keep on schedule because I try to pack our time full of FUN FUN learning activity, but sometimes he gets very into the activity and it extends. Usually though, something else will be shorter than I planned and it all works out.
That's the dish.
9-9:10--Free Time
9:10-9:30--Circle Time
Finger Play/Felt Board Rhyme
Active Activity (Parachute Play, Obstacle Course, Musical Instruments)
Weather Watcher
Story
Song
Material Preview (what's on board for today??)
9:30-9:45--Learning Time
9:45-10--Arts and Crafts
10-10:15—Block/Building play
10:15-10:30--Snack
10:30-10:45--Math/Fine Motor
10-45-11--Concept/Gross Motor
11-11:15--Sensory Activity/Dramatic Play
11:15-11:20--Learning Time (review)
11:20-11:25--Story
11:25-11:30--Free Time
"Material Preview"--I have a chalkboard where I put the letter we are working on, as well as draw pictures (with my limited ability) of things that begin with that letter. I also put up the shape we are working on. And anything else that comes to mind that works up there.
"Learning Time"--We focus on the letter of the week on the chalkboard, writing it with his finger, then erasing it with both a dry and a wet cloth (small piece of tissue paper, and a small piece of cut sponge).
"Weather Watcher"--One of the kids goes to the window and looks out and the others ask questions: "Is it sunny??" "Is it rainy??" etc. until we've decided what the weather is.
Sometimes the free time doesn't happen because our activities run longer than the time allotted for them...and all times are approximate! :-) I TRY to keep on schedule because I try to pack our time full of FUN FUN learning activity, but sometimes he gets very into the activity and it extends. Usually though, something else will be shorter than I planned and it all works out.
That's the dish.
Letter B
Crafts:
Finger Paint Balloons! Fill paint cups with 5 different colors of paint. Have child dip one finger in each color and use them to make ballloons on white paper. After paint has dried, add lines (ribbons) to the balloons.
Binoculars: Use empty toilet paper (or paper towel if you have them, we don't use paper towels in our home so I'll use tp) rolls. Glue the rolls together. Punch holes in the outside of the rolls on one end to tie a string around. Decorate the rolls.
Bird feeder: Use peanut butter spread on tp rolls or pine cones rolled in birdseed. Hang outside.
Fingerbugs: using ink pads make finger bugs on paper; give them antennae and legs.
Bubble painting! Best used as an outside activity probably. Mix paint and bubble solution. Lay out a large piece of paper (you could put it inside a box if doing it inside). Dip the bubble wand into the mixture, and blow bubbles onto the paper. When they pop they leave different colored bubble prints.
Glue Beans onto the letter B
Social Studies:
This week we're going to work on learning parents names and possibly phone number.
Math:
Counting blueberries. Draw (or print) a picture of a pail. Draw (or print) pictures of blueberries, number the blueberries according to how many you are learning to count (or which numerals you are learning to recognize). Make a blueberry bush, and have the blueberries "growing" on the bush. Give the child a number: "Pick 6 blueberries" and have them add the correct number of blueberries to their pail. Glue/tape them into the pail.
Numberal recognition: I put the numbers on an index card, along with stickers for the appropriate numbers. I show a card, and he jumps the appropriate number of times after telling me what number is on the card.
Sorting buttons
Below: we do this with stickers in the number book: Put the stickers BELOW the number. Then we'll move to ABOVE, and beside.
Review number book, add a number if the child is ready.
Shape: Review of Square and Triangle and Circle. Will sort the buttons into categories by these shapes.
Reading:
Little Boy Blue
Blueberries for Sal
Concepts:
Same and different (I have some worksheets that go along with this). Also, point out how things are the same, and different. Example: Blue beanbag and red beanbag. They are both square (same) but they are different colors.
Colors: Play twister! If your child is ready to learn left/right this is a great game for that as well. We'll just be playing it with a "put ANY foot/hand on..." whatever color way to reinforce the colors red, yellow, green and blue. I'm going to make an entire post dedicated to the ways you can teach with Twister!
Dramatic Play:
take care of babies (give the baby dolls a bath, dress them, feed them, etc)
Building/Block Play:
Just with regular blocks this week (last week we used castle blocks to build castles for the king!)
Fine motor:
Lacing beads. lace large wooden/plastic beads onto a string.
Lacing the Letter B
moving beans from one bowl to another using small tongs (from a bug kits I got a $Tree).
Sensory:
Beans! playing in beans is suprisingly relaxing. My big kids still love to do this. We'll put cars in there too and run them around.
Science:
Birds. We are lucky enough to have a birds nest right on our front porch. We'll continue to observe her as she sits on her nest (which we can't see into, but are assuming there are eggs in). We'll talk about how all birds are similar (all have wings and a beak) and how they are different (not all birds can fly). We'll look at pictures of birds, and listen to some bird calls (I have a friend who has a CD set of bird calls from all over the world).
Gross Motor:
Bounce balls
balance bean bags on your head
walk on a balance beam
Bowling (we have a small set great for inside), but you could make a set really easy with empty water bottles (or on a larger scale 2 liter bottles).
Walking backwards
Nursery Rhyme:
Baa Baa Black Sheep and/or Little Boy Blue
Music:
Bubbles (tune: twinkle twinkle)
Bubbles floating all around (pretend to catch the bubbles)
Bubbles fat and bubbles round (make a big circle with arms)
Bubbles on my toes and nose (point to toes and nose)
Blow a bubble...up it goes! (pretend to blow bubbles; point up)
bubbles floating all around (pretend to catch the bubbles)
Bub...bles fall...ing to...the...ground (sing slowly and sink to the ground)
Little Bunny Foo Foo (this is only the first two verses, google if you want more)
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head
Down came the good fairy and she said
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head.
I'll give you three chances,
And if you don't behave
I'll turn you into a goon!"
Have a Band!
Snack:
banana splits!
blueberry banana bread
make your own butter (easy...whipping cream and a touch of salt in a glass jar and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE)
Make brown cows (root bear floats)
Toddler Time:
Life Skills: filling and emptying
Art: finger paint
Color: Colors Book
Vocabulary building: The colors book that I have is a great vocabulary book. It has great pictures and we'll be talking about and naming all of the objects in it.
Fine Motor: Stacking blocks
Song: Little Bunny Foo Foo
Spanish: Music CD
Outside Play: Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles
Sign Language: Ball and Bath
Gross Motor: Bowling and blowing
Materials Needed:
Paint (in 5 different colors)
Paint cups
White paper
Crayon
Empty Toilet Paper/paper towel tubes
Stickers
Markers
Birdseed
Ribbon
Peanut Butter
Plastic knife
Pinecone
Ink pads
bubble solution (or make your own)
beans (you can buy a wide selection for very little money)
glue
buttons
blocks
lacing beads/letters
small tongs
bowls (for sorting)--I actually use empty plastic fruit cups (they are a great size) or yogurt cups
pictures of birds
bowling set
pictures of birds
baby doll
small wash cloth
bowl of water
baby doll clothes
baby doll food
building blocks
balls
musical instruments
ingredients for whatever snacks you choose
Finger Paint Balloons! Fill paint cups with 5 different colors of paint. Have child dip one finger in each color and use them to make ballloons on white paper. After paint has dried, add lines (ribbons) to the balloons.
Binoculars: Use empty toilet paper (or paper towel if you have them, we don't use paper towels in our home so I'll use tp) rolls. Glue the rolls together. Punch holes in the outside of the rolls on one end to tie a string around. Decorate the rolls.
Bird feeder: Use peanut butter spread on tp rolls or pine cones rolled in birdseed. Hang outside.
Fingerbugs: using ink pads make finger bugs on paper; give them antennae and legs.
Bubble painting! Best used as an outside activity probably. Mix paint and bubble solution. Lay out a large piece of paper (you could put it inside a box if doing it inside). Dip the bubble wand into the mixture, and blow bubbles onto the paper. When they pop they leave different colored bubble prints.
Glue Beans onto the letter B
Social Studies:
This week we're going to work on learning parents names and possibly phone number.
Math:
Counting blueberries. Draw (or print) a picture of a pail. Draw (or print) pictures of blueberries, number the blueberries according to how many you are learning to count (or which numerals you are learning to recognize). Make a blueberry bush, and have the blueberries "growing" on the bush. Give the child a number: "Pick 6 blueberries" and have them add the correct number of blueberries to their pail. Glue/tape them into the pail.
Numberal recognition: I put the numbers on an index card, along with stickers for the appropriate numbers. I show a card, and he jumps the appropriate number of times after telling me what number is on the card.
Sorting buttons
Below: we do this with stickers in the number book: Put the stickers BELOW the number. Then we'll move to ABOVE, and beside.
Review number book, add a number if the child is ready.
Shape: Review of Square and Triangle and Circle. Will sort the buttons into categories by these shapes.
Reading:
Little Boy Blue
Blueberries for Sal
Concepts:
Same and different (I have some worksheets that go along with this). Also, point out how things are the same, and different. Example: Blue beanbag and red beanbag. They are both square (same) but they are different colors.
Colors: Play twister! If your child is ready to learn left/right this is a great game for that as well. We'll just be playing it with a "put ANY foot/hand on..." whatever color way to reinforce the colors red, yellow, green and blue. I'm going to make an entire post dedicated to the ways you can teach with Twister!
Dramatic Play:
take care of babies (give the baby dolls a bath, dress them, feed them, etc)
Building/Block Play:
Just with regular blocks this week (last week we used castle blocks to build castles for the king!)
Fine motor:
Lacing beads. lace large wooden/plastic beads onto a string.
Lacing the Letter B
moving beans from one bowl to another using small tongs (from a bug kits I got a $Tree).
Sensory:
Beans! playing in beans is suprisingly relaxing. My big kids still love to do this. We'll put cars in there too and run them around.
Science:
Birds. We are lucky enough to have a birds nest right on our front porch. We'll continue to observe her as she sits on her nest (which we can't see into, but are assuming there are eggs in). We'll talk about how all birds are similar (all have wings and a beak) and how they are different (not all birds can fly). We'll look at pictures of birds, and listen to some bird calls (I have a friend who has a CD set of bird calls from all over the world).
Gross Motor:
Bounce balls
balance bean bags on your head
walk on a balance beam
Bowling (we have a small set great for inside), but you could make a set really easy with empty water bottles (or on a larger scale 2 liter bottles).
Walking backwards
Nursery Rhyme:
Baa Baa Black Sheep and/or Little Boy Blue
Music:
Bubbles (tune: twinkle twinkle)
Bubbles floating all around (pretend to catch the bubbles)
Bubbles fat and bubbles round (make a big circle with arms)
Bubbles on my toes and nose (point to toes and nose)
Blow a bubble...up it goes! (pretend to blow bubbles; point up)
bubbles floating all around (pretend to catch the bubbles)
Bub...bles fall...ing to...the...ground (sing slowly and sink to the ground)
Little Bunny Foo Foo (this is only the first two verses, google if you want more)
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head
Down came the good fairy and she said
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head.
I'll give you three chances,
And if you don't behave
I'll turn you into a goon!"
Have a Band!
Snack:
banana splits!
blueberry banana bread
make your own butter (easy...whipping cream and a touch of salt in a glass jar and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE)
Make brown cows (root bear floats)
Toddler Time:
Life Skills: filling and emptying
Art: finger paint
Color: Colors Book
Vocabulary building: The colors book that I have is a great vocabulary book. It has great pictures and we'll be talking about and naming all of the objects in it.
Fine Motor: Stacking blocks
Song: Little Bunny Foo Foo
Spanish: Music CD
Outside Play: Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles
Sign Language: Ball and Bath
Gross Motor: Bowling and blowing
Materials Needed:
Paint (in 5 different colors)
Paint cups
White paper
Crayon
Empty Toilet Paper/paper towel tubes
Stickers
Markers
Birdseed
Ribbon
Peanut Butter
Plastic knife
Pinecone
Ink pads
bubble solution (or make your own)
beans (you can buy a wide selection for very little money)
glue
buttons
blocks
lacing beads/letters
small tongs
bowls (for sorting)--I actually use empty plastic fruit cups (they are a great size) or yogurt cups
pictures of birds
bowling set
pictures of birds
baby doll
small wash cloth
bowl of water
baby doll clothes
baby doll food
building blocks
balls
musical instruments
ingredients for whatever snacks you choose
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Letter K
Social Studies: King Tut (we saw a play on this last week) we're just going to talk a little more about him.
Crafts:
Make a Kings crown! Using construction paper, scissors, glue, pom-poms, sequins, ribbons, any other decorations.
Decorate paper kites. Cut a diamond out of construction paper, add stickers, and decorate with markers/crayons. Add a yarn tail. "Fly" your kites around the room.
Keys--trace an old key onto paper. Add glue and glitter to the outline. Draw a picture of what you think this key might go to!
Print out a Kangaroo and a joey, cut out a construction paper pouch. Glue the pouch on the kangaroo, and put the joey in the pouch.
Use squares to make a castle for the king. Use q-tips to paint on glue, and sprinkle with sand.
Cut out a basic Kitten head shape and glue on whiskers ripped from black paper (rip out the number of whiskers that matches the number you are working on). Count as you are gluing.
Fine Motor:
Puzzles
Play-Doh--rolling it out into snakes
Tracing a Kite shape.
Sensory:
Sand
Science:
Kangaroo's! Discuss how Kangaroo's carry their babies around in pouches and how Kangaroo's are different from other mammals.
Gross Motor Skills:
Kicking a ball
Hop like kangaroo's!
Make our bodies into K's and try to balance!
Math:
Counting: Make a counting book
Using construction paper, fold in half write the numeral on each half a sheet. Add one sticker to the one sheet. And so forth, depending on how many your child knows.
Make index cards with the numberals on them, add stickers to them. Have the child cover each sticker with a bean and count how many there are.
Shape: (still working on square)
Explore the shape of a square, using the square puzzle piece.
Trace a square.
Find squares in the home.
Nursery Rhyme/Song:
Three Little Kittens
Music:
This is a project we did a couple years ago and my big kids still like them. Now, gloves are on sale REALLY cheap in my area as it is the beginning of spring. So, now is a great time to make these....and it goes along with the nursery rhyme this week. You need gloves, buttons and either a needle and thread, or hot glue. Take the gloves, and add a button (large ones work best) to each fingertip using the needle and thread or simply hot glue them on. When they are dried/done, you slide your hands in the gloves, and tap your fingers together to make beautiful music. You can also tap them ON things to see how they sound different when tapped against different circumstances. I will be making 2 more pairs of these today as we don't have enough. :-)
Kitten Song (I'll make felt kittens to go along with this)
Five little kittens napping by the door
one woke up and then there were four;
Four little kittens napping next to me
one woke up and then there were three;
Three little kittens napping next to you
one woke up and then there were two;
Two little kittens napping in the sun
one woke up and then there was one;
One little kitten napping on a shelf
he(she) woke up and was all by himself!!!!!
Oh, I'm a Kangaroo!
(sung to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
Oh I'm a Kangaroo
I live at the zoo
I like to hop around a lot
How bout you??
Oh I'm a Kangaroo
I live at the zoo
I carry my baby in a pouch,
How bout you??
Snack:
Kabobs (fruit/cheese kabobs)
Toddler Time:
Life Skills: I'm sure there will be more rearranging.
Art: Coloring with triangle crayons.
Color: Bean bag pass, talking about the color of the beanbags (I may use the foam blocks again, unless I can find my beanbags!)
Vocabulary buidling: I have a set of vocab cards that is ever growing. I use them for classification with the preschooler, but for the toddler we just look at the pictures and talk about what the object is, what color/shape, etc. ; Comparisons: bigger/smaller, wet/dry
Fine Motor: Stacking blocks
Song: Row Row Row your boat!
Spanish: Listen to our spanish songs CD
Outside play: Watch things blowing in the wind (we've been having windy weather lately), pinwheels!
Sign Language: Thank You.
Gross Motor: Kicking and Hopping (like a Kangaroo)
Materials Needed:
construction paper
black paper
cat head outline
small stickers (for adding to the counting book, and index cards activity)
large beans
index cards
scissors
glue
glue stick
crayons
markers
bean bags
pom-poms
sequins
ribbons
any other decorations for the crown you have lying around
Crafts:
Make a Kings crown! Using construction paper, scissors, glue, pom-poms, sequins, ribbons, any other decorations.
Decorate paper kites. Cut a diamond out of construction paper, add stickers, and decorate with markers/crayons. Add a yarn tail. "Fly" your kites around the room.
Keys--trace an old key onto paper. Add glue and glitter to the outline. Draw a picture of what you think this key might go to!
Print out a Kangaroo and a joey, cut out a construction paper pouch. Glue the pouch on the kangaroo, and put the joey in the pouch.
Use squares to make a castle for the king. Use q-tips to paint on glue, and sprinkle with sand.
Cut out a basic Kitten head shape and glue on whiskers ripped from black paper (rip out the number of whiskers that matches the number you are working on). Count as you are gluing.
Fine Motor:
Puzzles
Play-Doh--rolling it out into snakes
Tracing a Kite shape.
Sensory:
Sand
Science:
Kangaroo's! Discuss how Kangaroo's carry their babies around in pouches and how Kangaroo's are different from other mammals.
Gross Motor Skills:
Kicking a ball
Hop like kangaroo's!
Make our bodies into K's and try to balance!
Math:
Counting: Make a counting book
Using construction paper, fold in half write the numeral on each half a sheet. Add one sticker to the one sheet. And so forth, depending on how many your child knows.
Make index cards with the numberals on them, add stickers to them. Have the child cover each sticker with a bean and count how many there are.
Shape: (still working on square)
Explore the shape of a square, using the square puzzle piece.
Trace a square.
Find squares in the home.
Nursery Rhyme/Song:
Three Little Kittens
Music:
This is a project we did a couple years ago and my big kids still like them. Now, gloves are on sale REALLY cheap in my area as it is the beginning of spring. So, now is a great time to make these....and it goes along with the nursery rhyme this week. You need gloves, buttons and either a needle and thread, or hot glue. Take the gloves, and add a button (large ones work best) to each fingertip using the needle and thread or simply hot glue them on. When they are dried/done, you slide your hands in the gloves, and tap your fingers together to make beautiful music. You can also tap them ON things to see how they sound different when tapped against different circumstances. I will be making 2 more pairs of these today as we don't have enough. :-)
Kitten Song (I'll make felt kittens to go along with this)
Five little kittens napping by the door
one woke up and then there were four;
Four little kittens napping next to me
one woke up and then there were three;
Three little kittens napping next to you
one woke up and then there were two;
Two little kittens napping in the sun
one woke up and then there was one;
One little kitten napping on a shelf
he(she) woke up and was all by himself!!!!!
Oh, I'm a Kangaroo!
(sung to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell)
Oh I'm a Kangaroo
I live at the zoo
I like to hop around a lot
How bout you??
Oh I'm a Kangaroo
I live at the zoo
I carry my baby in a pouch,
How bout you??
Snack:
Kabobs (fruit/cheese kabobs)
Toddler Time:
Life Skills: I'm sure there will be more rearranging.
Art: Coloring with triangle crayons.
Color: Bean bag pass, talking about the color of the beanbags (I may use the foam blocks again, unless I can find my beanbags!)
Vocabulary buidling: I have a set of vocab cards that is ever growing. I use them for classification with the preschooler, but for the toddler we just look at the pictures and talk about what the object is, what color/shape, etc. ; Comparisons: bigger/smaller, wet/dry
Fine Motor: Stacking blocks
Song: Row Row Row your boat!
Spanish: Listen to our spanish songs CD
Outside play: Watch things blowing in the wind (we've been having windy weather lately), pinwheels!
Sign Language: Thank You.
Gross Motor: Kicking and Hopping (like a Kangaroo)
Materials Needed:
construction paper
black paper
cat head outline
small stickers (for adding to the counting book, and index cards activity)
large beans
index cards
scissors
glue
glue stick
crayons
markers
bean bags
pom-poms
sequins
ribbons
any other decorations for the crown you have lying around
Toddler Time!
You might have been wondering why there weren't any new plans posted for last week. Or maybe you weren't, but I'm going to explain anyway. We had a period of almost 2 weeks where my kids were sick, I mean, 105 fever for DAYS sick. So...we didn't do any preschool as I was busy wiping down foreheads with cool cloths and dosing out medicine. When school finally did resume this past week, we used the U lesson plan that we hadn't had a chance to use yet, so I didn't do any new plans. I will be planning for the coming week today, and will post those *hopefully* this afternoon.
It has come to my attention that some of the moms from my birth board (a message board for people with babies born the same time my DS was) have been checking out this blog. I know some of them are coming and taking ideas for their preschool aged kids, and that is great! I'm very excited to be able to help jump start their own creative juices. I also wanted to tell you about a couple activities that my toddler has been VERY interested in lately.
The Umbrella Toss game that I talk about in the letter U lesson plan was a BIG hit. I ended up using foam alphabet blocks instead of bean bags (because somehow all my beanbags have disappeared...except for one red one), but that worked out well for my preschool student as I was able to find blocks with the letters he's already learned and have him identify the letter before he threw them. What I was suprised about was how much my almost 15 month old LOVED this activity. Sometimes he threw them, and sometimes he merely took the blocks from their container and moved them to the umbrella. He has asked to do this again!
In the spirit of moving things....his other favorite activity at the moment is rearranging things in the kitchen cabinets. Now, there are some things I don't want him to rearrange (you're all probably thinking that too) so what I did was moved my collection of empty glass jars (I have a good collection, of varying sizes, I recommend this sort of collection to you all!) to a cabinet and allowed him to rearrange them and move them from the cabinet where I put them into the lazy susan cabinet (which is his favorite one of course!). Honestly, this kept him occupied for quite some time.
He also really likes to rearrange the shoes! We have a shoe rack behind our front door, there are 5 of us, so we have lots of shoes. He likes to pull the shoe's off the rack and bring them into the living room/kitchen floors. Instead of trying to stop him from rearranging the shoes (although, honestly I wish he'd stop touching them so much...they're shoes afterall), I decided to let him at it. When he's over there, and he's pulling them all out into places where they don't belong, I simply go pull them ALL off the rack. Then he of course wants them all ON the rack! They aren't usually in order, with matching pairs or anything (but I'm sure that will come with time), but they all get put back and we're both happy (he gets to move the shoes still, but I don't have to pick them up from all the wrong places to put them back).
Have some fun with your little ones!
It has come to my attention that some of the moms from my birth board (a message board for people with babies born the same time my DS was) have been checking out this blog. I know some of them are coming and taking ideas for their preschool aged kids, and that is great! I'm very excited to be able to help jump start their own creative juices. I also wanted to tell you about a couple activities that my toddler has been VERY interested in lately.
The Umbrella Toss game that I talk about in the letter U lesson plan was a BIG hit. I ended up using foam alphabet blocks instead of bean bags (because somehow all my beanbags have disappeared...except for one red one), but that worked out well for my preschool student as I was able to find blocks with the letters he's already learned and have him identify the letter before he threw them. What I was suprised about was how much my almost 15 month old LOVED this activity. Sometimes he threw them, and sometimes he merely took the blocks from their container and moved them to the umbrella. He has asked to do this again!
In the spirit of moving things....his other favorite activity at the moment is rearranging things in the kitchen cabinets. Now, there are some things I don't want him to rearrange (you're all probably thinking that too) so what I did was moved my collection of empty glass jars (I have a good collection, of varying sizes, I recommend this sort of collection to you all!) to a cabinet and allowed him to rearrange them and move them from the cabinet where I put them into the lazy susan cabinet (which is his favorite one of course!). Honestly, this kept him occupied for quite some time.
He also really likes to rearrange the shoes! We have a shoe rack behind our front door, there are 5 of us, so we have lots of shoes. He likes to pull the shoe's off the rack and bring them into the living room/kitchen floors. Instead of trying to stop him from rearranging the shoes (although, honestly I wish he'd stop touching them so much...they're shoes afterall), I decided to let him at it. When he's over there, and he's pulling them all out into places where they don't belong, I simply go pull them ALL off the rack. Then he of course wants them all ON the rack! They aren't usually in order, with matching pairs or anything (but I'm sure that will come with time), but they all get put back and we're both happy (he gets to move the shoes still, but I don't have to pick them up from all the wrong places to put them back).
Have some fun with your little ones!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Ahhhh, Easter!
I meant to put this up earlier this week, my sincere apologies. My littlest one was sick in the first part of the week, and then time just slipped away with me. Be sure to check out the Egg-citing Science ideas on the other blog! It may be harder to read, but I don't have time right this second to edit it, I just copied and pasted from my word doc. Sorry about that, hopefully in the next day or so I'll come back and edit it so the formatting is better.
Draw an Easter egg. Mark the different sections on the egg with decorative lines, in these six sections of the egg put the numbers 1 to 6. Make a copy of the egg for each of the players. Get a dice. The children throw in turn. When they have thrown a number they can put a counter or mark on that section, obviously if they have already thrown the number 2 they do not want it again. The first player to cover their egg with a counter in each section is the winner.
Have an adult hold the basket, or place it on the floor. Give each child a few plastic eggs. Mark a line for each child to stand (don't make too difficult)....Each child will then try to throw eggs into basket.
Draw a rabbit outline (or print the one linked below) on paper, glue on cottonballs.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shininghours.com/images/bunbig.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.shininghours.com/creating/bunny_outline.htm&h=870&w=706&sz=42&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=YV6FKPn9FEIIyM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbunny%2Boutline%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
Draw a large rabbit outline on poster board, use one of the LARGE cotton balls (or a BIG pom-pom) and play pin the tail on the bunny. (I love this idea, but I don't have everything we need for it on hand, but I'm sharing for others.)
Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, Where's Your Egg?
Make a colorful Easter egg shape and covered it with contact paper. Then play "Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, where's your egg?" It's played like the familiar game "Doggie, Doggie where's your bone?" The group sits in a circle and one child sits in the middle as the "bunny". The bunny hides their eyes as one person is chosen to sit on the egg picture. Then the group yells out "Easter bunny, Easter bunny, where's your egg? Somebody stole it from your home!" The Easter bunny then has three guesses to find the child who is sitting on it. That child then becomes the new bunny in the middle.
Easter Egg Matching Game:
Cut out egg shapes, all the same color paper, then decorate the fronts differently, making matching pairs. Turn them all face down and play like memory.
Use a recycled egg carton and place twelve plastic Easter eggs (the ones you can open in the middle) in it. I wrote the numbers 1-12 on the holes in the carton and wrote the numbers 1-12 on each egg--both parts. The children not only had to match the eggs to the number in the carton, but they had to put all of the plastic eggs back together first! (I'll be doing this as a 1/2 egg carton, as he's not ready for 1-12 yet.)
Bunny Hop! Play the music, and do the Bunny Hop!
This could be made easily into a File Folder game! Draw a picture of a chick, and a picture of a cracked open egg (or print the one I linked below, several times). Write a letter (or number) on each chick, and the same number on each cracked open egg. The child has to match up which egg the chick cracked out of. You could also do this with one lower case and one upper case letter, or sums and problems (which I will do for my big kids).
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/clip_art/animals/
Make a bunny ear headband. Use construction paper to make a band for around the childs head. Cut out ear shapes of cardstock (so they stand up better), and cut out a smaller ear shape from pink construction paper. Decorate the ears in any way you choose! Then staple the ears to the headband.
SONGS
5 Little Bunnies at Easter Time
Went to the carrot patch far away
Mummy bunny called them all right back.
But only 4 of her little baby bunnies came back.
Repeat to 3,2,1 bunny come back. Then sing the song again and all the bunnies come back.
Kids love this because they get to be able to take on a role in the song. Enjoy.
Bunny Baby bunny bounces high (jump high) Baby bunny bounces low; (jump low) Baby bunny blinks his eyes; (blink eyes) Baby bunny waves good-bye. (wave good-bye)
Draw an Easter egg. Mark the different sections on the egg with decorative lines, in these six sections of the egg put the numbers 1 to 6. Make a copy of the egg for each of the players. Get a dice. The children throw in turn. When they have thrown a number they can put a counter or mark on that section, obviously if they have already thrown the number 2 they do not want it again. The first player to cover their egg with a counter in each section is the winner.
Have an adult hold the basket, or place it on the floor. Give each child a few plastic eggs. Mark a line for each child to stand (don't make too difficult)....Each child will then try to throw eggs into basket.
Draw a rabbit outline (or print the one linked below) on paper, glue on cottonballs.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shininghours.com/images/bunbig.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.shininghours.com/creating/bunny_outline.htm&h=870&w=706&sz=42&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=YV6FKPn9FEIIyM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbunny%2Boutline%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
Draw a large rabbit outline on poster board, use one of the LARGE cotton balls (or a BIG pom-pom) and play pin the tail on the bunny. (I love this idea, but I don't have everything we need for it on hand, but I'm sharing for others.)
Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, Where's Your Egg?
Make a colorful Easter egg shape and covered it with contact paper. Then play "Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny, where's your egg?" It's played like the familiar game "Doggie, Doggie where's your bone?" The group sits in a circle and one child sits in the middle as the "bunny". The bunny hides their eyes as one person is chosen to sit on the egg picture. Then the group yells out "Easter bunny, Easter bunny, where's your egg? Somebody stole it from your home!" The Easter bunny then has three guesses to find the child who is sitting on it. That child then becomes the new bunny in the middle.
Easter Egg Matching Game:
Cut out egg shapes, all the same color paper, then decorate the fronts differently, making matching pairs. Turn them all face down and play like memory.
Use a recycled egg carton and place twelve plastic Easter eggs (the ones you can open in the middle) in it. I wrote the numbers 1-12 on the holes in the carton and wrote the numbers 1-12 on each egg--both parts. The children not only had to match the eggs to the number in the carton, but they had to put all of the plastic eggs back together first! (I'll be doing this as a 1/2 egg carton, as he's not ready for 1-12 yet.)
Bunny Hop! Play the music, and do the Bunny Hop!
This could be made easily into a File Folder game! Draw a picture of a chick, and a picture of a cracked open egg (or print the one I linked below, several times). Write a letter (or number) on each chick, and the same number on each cracked open egg. The child has to match up which egg the chick cracked out of. You could also do this with one lower case and one upper case letter, or sums and problems (which I will do for my big kids).
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/clip_art/animals/
Make a bunny ear headband. Use construction paper to make a band for around the childs head. Cut out ear shapes of cardstock (so they stand up better), and cut out a smaller ear shape from pink construction paper. Decorate the ears in any way you choose! Then staple the ears to the headband.
SONGS
5 Little Bunnies at Easter Time
Went to the carrot patch far away
Mummy bunny called them all right back.
But only 4 of her little baby bunnies came back.
Repeat to 3,2,1 bunny come back. Then sing the song again and all the bunnies come back.
Kids love this because they get to be able to take on a role in the song. Enjoy.
Bunny Baby bunny bounces high (jump high) Baby bunny bounces low; (jump low) Baby bunny blinks his eyes; (blink eyes) Baby bunny waves good-bye. (wave good-bye)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Letter U
Color: Blue
- Blue scavenger hunt for things around the house
- Wear blue!
Shape: Square
- Squares scavenger hunt
- Square collage--cut out various size square pictures, make a collage on blue construction paper.
- Square "Shape Shop" file folder game
Math:
- Use felt umbrella's with rain drops to count (1 raindrop on this umbrella, 2 raindrops on this umbrella, so on)
Nursery Rhyme:
- Rain Rain Go Away
Songs: (from www.preschooleducation.com)
Rain on my Umbrella added 8-7-97 Original Author Unknown
Sung to: "Frere Jacques"
Drip, drip, drop, drop,
Drip, drip, drop, drop,
Drip, drip, drop,Drip, drip, drop.
Rain on my Umbrella,Rain on my umbrella,
Never stops.
Drip, drip, drop.
Umbrellas Go Up and Down added 7-19-02 Original Author Unknown
Umbrellas go up,
Umbrellas go down, (Point up and down.)
When rain clouds are dark
All over the town.
One raindrop and two, (hold up on finger at a time)
Two raindrops and three,
My up and down umbrella
Is up over me. (fingertips touching over head.)
Four raindrops and five, (hold up one finger at a time)
Six raindrops and seven,
Raindrops are tumbling (raise arms and let fingers fall slowly)
Down from the heaven.
Drip, drip, drip, drip!
I am dry as can be,
My up and down umbrella
Is up over me (fingertips touching over head.)
Umbrellas Fingerplay added 3-23-00 Original Author Unknown--the song was incomplete as taken from the website, so I made up some of my own lyrics; (Use fingers or make umbrella puppets)
Five umbrellas stood by the back door,
The red one went outside, then there were four.
Four umbrellas pretty as can be,
The blue one went outside, then there were three.
Three umbrellas with nothing to do,
The green one went outside, then there was two.
Two umbrellas with no games to play,
The pink one went outside and shouted Hooray!
Just one umbrella alone in the hall,
The purple one went outside, and that was all!
Science:
- Water cycle: Rain comes down, sun heats it up, it goes back up into the clouds, cools down and falls again as rain (VERY simplified)
Craft:
- Making an umbrella. Take a paper towel and cut it into an umbrella shape. Then have the children paint by using water colors. ( food coloring and water works great for water colors) Then have a precut handle for the bottom of the umbrella and glue it on.
- Cut out umbrella's, have child paste on to a 9x12 blue construction paper. Have child brush on spots of glue around umbrella and give child some white rice to place of glue for rain
Social Studies:
- Unicorns (mythical one horned horses);
- Play pin the horn on the unicorn (drawn onto poster board with horns cut from paper).
Reading:
- A Great Day for Up by Dr.Seuss
- Uncle Rebus rhymes
Games:
- Open up a large umbrella and let the children throw in balls or bean bags.
- Caves (we have to do this again because he asks EVERY day, it doesn't have anything to do with U though...maybe our bears can encounter a Unicorn while they're forraging for berries lol). We're going to hunt berries, and be hibernating bears in caves. This one made a big impression, from what I hear he's even talked his granddaddy into playing this with him when they were visiting! Who knew!
Sensory:
- Water play (inside, in tubs on the kitchen floor...we're in a drought). If we weren't in a drought though....I'd do outside play (it's supposed to be pretty nice this week) with the hose and umbrella's.
Concept:
- Over/Under (try to get under things...like umbrella's!)
Snack:
- Blueberries;
- Square crackers with cheese;
- blue jello
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Letter P
Lots of these ideas came from Perpetual Preschool
Color: Yellow (cheese, popcorn kernels)
Shape: Triangle (pizza slices)
Math:
Nursery Rhyme:
Science:
Social Studies:
Reading:
Snack:
Craft:
Gross Motor:
Sensory:
Toddler:
I'll let him paint his tray with pizza sauce!
Color: Yellow (cheese, popcorn kernels)
Shape: Triangle (pizza slices)
Math:
- Counting pepperoni pieces on felt pizza's; Attempt putting them in order (1-6)
- discussion of fractions (1/2); Use large pizza shape (red paper plate) cut in half.
Nursery Rhyme:
- Pussycat, Pussycat, Where have you been?
Science:
- Cooking! What do you mix together for pizza crust? How does pizza dough rise?
Social Studies:
- Presidents! A general overview of what presidents do, and who chooses them.
Reading:
Snack:
- Ritz crackers pizza: Ritz crackers, shredded cheese, pepperoni, pizza sauce. Make a poster for sequencing of making this project. Cracker, sauce, pepperoni, cheese. Put in toaster oven until cheese melts. Yummy!
- Popcorn
Craft:
- The children take a round paper plate and color it red for sauce. Then they are free to create any type of pizza by adding shredded yellow and white paper for cheese, pink triangles for ham, yellow triangles for pineapple, red circles for pepperoni, brown circles for sausage, etc. It is a great time with glue and creating
- Popcorn Art- Cut out popcorn shapes from white paper. Give the children glop of yellow and white finger paint and let them have fun. Couldn't keep up with the requests to make another. When dried, hole punch and string around bulletin board, or hang in window.
- Make a paper bag puppet.
- Visit a puppet show.
- Decorate a round piece of cardboard to look like a pizza with markers or construction paper. Cut the pizza into "slices", using irregular cutting lines to form a puzzle.
- Opposites Puzzles
- Lacing--Porpoise
Gross Motor:
- Pop like popcorn!!! to this chant, then have snack:
Pop Goes The Popcorn (Sung to the tune: Davy Crocket)
Pop goes the popcornCan't you see!It is jumping Just like me!I can't wait until it's doneThen I get to eat it, oh what fun!Popcorn, oh popcorn!You make my tummy hum! - Pizza Sequence: outline a large piece of pizza on the floor, add pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, peppers, onions (whatever you choose). Have child hop from one thing to another in a sequence: pepperoni, cheese, mushroom. pepper, pepperoni, onion. for example
- Pizza toss: Cut out shapes of pizza toppings from magazines or print from your computer. Then glue onto cardboard. Optional to last longer laminate them (clear contact paper works for laminating if a machine is not available). Place a pizza pan onto the floor and have the children stand a ways away from the pan. have them try to throw the pizza shapes onto the pan to make a pizza. It is also neat if you cover the pan in orange paper to act as the sauce/cheese. Once topping made it you covered the pizza. It may be a little challenging, but it is also very fun for them.
- To the tune of "BINGO"
There is a pizza that I like, and it is very yummy. P-I-Z-Z-A, P-I-Z-Z-A, etc.
On my pizza I like _____________ and it is very yummy. P-I-Z-Z-A, etc. - I have a fun pizza song and flannel board activity. There is a flannel board song about a Donut Shop, I changed it to Pizza Shop. I made slices of pizza with pepperoni on top. Use different numbers of pepperoni and you also have a counting activity,
"Down around the corner in the pizza shop" "There were lots of pieces of pizza with pepperoni on top" "Along came (insert child's name) all aloneHe/she bought one that had (how many pepperoni there are on that slice) pepperoni" "And took it home"
Repeat until all slices of pizza are gone.
Concept:
- Please and Thank You!
Games:
- parachute play with yellow/white paper balled up like popcorn; pop all the popcorn out
Sensory:
- popcorn kernels;
Toddler:
I'll let him paint his tray with pizza sauce!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Week 2 Letter L, Red and Circle
Color:
- red
- Scavenger Hunt (try to find red things)
Shape:
- circle
- Scavenger Hunt (try to find circles!)
Math:
- counting (felt ladybugs);
- sorting
Nursery Rhyme:
- Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home
- Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home coloing page
Science:
- Ladybugs!
Learn about parts of a ladybug and how ladybugs are helpful;
Social Studies:
- President Lincoln
Reading:
- Ladybug, ladybug fly away home by Jan Brett;
- Tawny Scrawny Lion by Kathering Jackson;
- The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle;
- Ladybug, Ladybug by Ruth Brown;
- Little Red Riding Hood;
- Clifford books
- (use felt ladybugs while singing)
Five little ladybugs sitting in a tree The first one said," I'm glad I'm me" The second one said, "I feel great too" The third one said," How about you?" The fourth one said," It's time to fly away" The fifth one said," We'll talk another day" - If Your Clothes Have Any Red - sung to "If You're Happy and You Know It"
If your clothes have any red, any red,If your clothes have any red, any red,If your clothes have any red,Put your finger on your head,If your clothes have any red, any red.
Crafts: - penny rubbing;
- lincoln hat;
- paint a rock to look like a ladybug;
- red collage: look through newspaper ads, and magazines for red items. Cut out and glue onto paper.
- Red ice painting
- Have child rip up pieces of green paper to look like grass. Have the children dip there fingertips in red paint and press them on their grass, when dried dot a black marker on the red spots and viola you have fingerprint ladybugs!
Fine Motor: - ripping paper;
- drawing lines (straight, try curvy)
- drawing a circles;
- playdoh
- leap frog,
- long jump
- homemade playdoh (bury small objects in it, and have him dig them out);
- "hot potato" with red beanbag
- Big/Little (through discussion) "Is it big? Is it little?"
- Red apple ladybugs (using apples, peanut butter and raisins/chocolate chips for ladybug spots…count them!);
- Strawberry smoothie.
- Red Rover Red Rover
Math:
- sorting different colored pasta
Materials Needed:
Felt ladybugs
Diagram of a ladybug
Ladybug coloring page
Oil
Flour
Salt
Patterns for Lincoln hat
Pasta dyed different colors
Apples
Peanut butter
Raisins/Chocolate chips
Red food coloring
Glue
Scissors
Red paint
Red ink pad
Black marker
Green paper
Water
Newspaper ads
Magazines
Rock
Pennies
White paper
Red Crayon
Red beanbag
Week 1 Letter A
Our first week's focus was on letter A. Here are the preschool activities that we did:
- Letter A
Ants and Alligators and Apples, oh my!
Crafts: - Egg carton ants
- Ant prints—cut out large letter A, use ink pad to make “ant prints” all over the A.
- Sing: The ants go marching
- Alligator clothespin magnets
- Alligator animal puppets
- Sing: Alligators and Monkeys
Math: - Use felt apples to count
- Use felt apples to do beginning addition
- Read 10 Apples Up On Top
- P’s alligator ate _____ pieces of meat. I printed out a picture of an alligator, and cut it out. At the top of a piece of paper I wrote "P's alligator ate ____ pieces of meat." Then I cut up small pieces and numbered them 1-10 (you could use higher numbers if your child needed). I put them in a small box, and allowed him to pick a number. Then he ripped a piece of red paper (meat) into as many pieces as the numbered paper said. He glued the alligator, his numbered paper, and the correct number of pieces of meat onto the paper. If you were working on writing numbers, you could have the child fill in the blank, since he's not ready for that he just glued the numbered piece into the blank.
Fine Motor Skills: - Accordion folding paper
- Lacing apple shape (I used a plastic lid--from oatmeal or grits container--and cut out an apple shape, then used a hole puncher to punch holes and had him lace through the holes)
- Animal puzzles
- Brown Bear Brown Bear Puzzles
- Cutting straight lines
Social Studies: - Johnny Appleseed
Science: - Animals that Hibernate: bears, frogs, snakes, turtles (use pillows to make a den for hibernating while reading brown bear brown bear)
Gross Motor Skills: - Animal Walks
- “Swamp Game”-lay down blue tablecloth, put plastic alligator on the cloth, chant “I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking through the swamp. I hope that alligator doesn’t go CHOMP!” swimming, jumping, tip-toeing, marching, etc.
Sensory: - Shaving cream (like snow) in cookie sheet, practice drawing letter A; then allow for play with cars/etc in shaving cream.
- Oatmeal--dried oatmeal in a tray, practiced drawing letter A;
Snacks: - Ants on a log
- Animal crackers
Games: - Animal Bingo
- Funny Farm Animal matching file folder game
BOOKS: - 10 Apples Up On Top (as I read, we counted the felt apples and stacked them on his head)
- Brown Bear Brown Bear
Materials needed:
Felt apples
Animal crackers
Pretzel rods
egg carton
paint : green and brown
google eyes
pipecleaners
large A cut out
ink pads
clothespins
string
paint
magnet
paper bags
green construction paper
Alphabet stickers
Alligator stickers
Ant stickers
Apple stickers
Blue tablecloth
Piece of paper labeled for math activity
Small cut out alligator
red paper to tear
numbers 1-10 on small paper for picking how many pieces of meat the alligator ate
glue stick
brown bear brown bear puzzle tiles
animal bingo game
Letter A theme bag
File folder game
Puzzles
Prep work:
Cut out felt apples (10)
Cut out large A from construction paper
Cut egg cartons into 3 cup pieces
Cut out alligator shape
Make small numbered pieces 1-10
Label piece of paper for math activity
Draw straight lines on a piece of paper for cutting
Toddler Activities:
- Hide and Seek with the apple! Hide most (or just part if that's what your child is ready for) of the apple under something or behind something and have the child look for it. My son LOVES this game.
- Instead of the shaving cream mentioned above, I let the toddler have a big glob of yogurt on his high chair tray to make an ooey gooey mess with. He liked it, and since he likes to still put his fingers in his mouth yogurt was the way to go (it looked what the bigger kids were doing, so it was a hit).
- We're working on learning body parts, so we are working on hand (he already knows head, tummy and toes). We work on this by just talking about it: "Where's your hand??" "Here's your hand!" and I touch his hand.
- Sing "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands"!
- Sing "ants go marching"...he attempted to march (it was too cute)
- Animal walks (he tried to play along)
- Den building (he loved crawling on the pillows, and laying under the pillows)
- Animal books: We read all the titles that we have about animals, and he learned to make the sound for dog "woof woof". We have two touchy feely animal books, and those are his favorite! I highly recommend those.
- BOOKS in general! It was a great week because my son finally got interested in books!! My MIL picked up a touchy feely book (mentioned above) at a thrift store when she was here last month, and it was a big hit, so I went last week and bought another one. He loves it too, but the best part is that it seems to have peaked his interest in ALL books! He's bringing me books to read all the time now....now, he usually only makes it through a few pages of the book (except those touchy feely ones), but it's a start down the right road. Before this week, he wouldn't sit to be read to (except that touchy feely book...did I mention I HIGHLY recommend those??) and would snatch the book from me if I tried to read to him while he was playing. My son, very against literacy.
- Sign for STOP. My son doesn't do many signs, in fact, he only does 2. All done, and more. (He's big into food...what can I say.) BUT, he understands many more. Up. Drink. Milk. Eat. Sit. Ball. Light. My mind went blank, but there are others. So, this week I introduced the sign for STOP. The others we've been working on for months, and this is a new one. He doesn't get it yet, either that or he's just a defiant little booger (tongue in cheek...I don't think one year olds can be defiant personally!).
- Counting. I count all the time. When I'm changing his diaper, it's often the only thing that keeps him still!! I do it in a big grand voice, or a slow deep voice, or a high squeaky voice, but always counting to 10 (I can change a diaper, FAST!). I also use it when I'm trying to get him dressed, again it will usually keep him still. "Three buttons. One. Two. Three. There you go, all done!" "Ten snaps. One. Two. Three." (you get the picture)
- Colors, we just talk about colors all day as well. "Do you have the red ball? Mommy has the yellow ball." "See the pretty red apples." Etc.
Of course, he's around for all the learning, and probably picks up on more than I think.
Evolution
So, my plan for this blog has evolved. I agreed to take on preschooling my 4 yr old neighbor. So, now this blog will be two fold, and possibly more relevant for many families with both a preschooler and a toddler.
We've completed our first successful week. Originally, I had planned on doing letter of the week type of stuff (I love their site) and adding in my own ideas that went a long with the letter. BUT, I quickly found out that he needs to learn more than letters, so this week's game plan changed to include other skills that he clearly needed work on. I was under the impression that the main focus of our time together would be on learning the alphabet, letter sounds, and working on writing. While we'll still be working on all those things, I found that he also needs to know how to count (he can sometimes successfully get to 5, other times not), he doesn't consistently recognize colors, and he doesn't have a good grasp on concepts like "big/little" "over/under" "top/bottom", so I've included those things in the upcoming week's plan. That's what I get for assuming!!
He'll probably be doing preschool with me until the end of the year, at the beginning of next year he'll probably move to a standard preschool, in preparation for public school kindergarten (I can teach him lots of things, but now how to act with 15 other 5 year olds).
Now I am teaching 4th grade, 3rd grade, preschool, AND trying to keep a very active toddler happy.
I'm REALLY going to try to keep this blog updated (as well as my other one), but time is so limited I may have to do it in big chunks! :-)
Ahh, evolution.
We've completed our first successful week. Originally, I had planned on doing letter of the week type of stuff (I love their site) and adding in my own ideas that went a long with the letter. BUT, I quickly found out that he needs to learn more than letters, so this week's game plan changed to include other skills that he clearly needed work on. I was under the impression that the main focus of our time together would be on learning the alphabet, letter sounds, and working on writing. While we'll still be working on all those things, I found that he also needs to know how to count (he can sometimes successfully get to 5, other times not), he doesn't consistently recognize colors, and he doesn't have a good grasp on concepts like "big/little" "over/under" "top/bottom", so I've included those things in the upcoming week's plan. That's what I get for assuming!!
He'll probably be doing preschool with me until the end of the year, at the beginning of next year he'll probably move to a standard preschool, in preparation for public school kindergarten (I can teach him lots of things, but now how to act with 15 other 5 year olds).
Now I am teaching 4th grade, 3rd grade, preschool, AND trying to keep a very active toddler happy.
I'm REALLY going to try to keep this blog updated (as well as my other one), but time is so limited I may have to do it in big chunks! :-)
Ahh, evolution.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Toys that I recommend
For whatever my recommendations mean...here are some toys that are big hits in our house with the one year old!
Melissa and Doug Rainbow Stacker
Melissa and Doug 18 pc wooden stacking train
Mega Blocks
Haba Sardina
Haba Discovery Blocks
Haba Pyramis
There are a few more I wanted to share, but alas, my baby is fussing at my leg and ppp-uuuu does he smell. So, I must go! If you have toys that are LOVED at your house, please post a comment and share!
Melissa and Doug Rainbow Stacker
Melissa and Doug 18 pc wooden stacking train
Mega Blocks
Haba Sardina
Haba Discovery Blocks
Haba Pyramis
There are a few more I wanted to share, but alas, my baby is fussing at my leg and ppp-uuuu does he smell. So, I must go! If you have toys that are LOVED at your house, please post a comment and share!
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