Welcome!

This blog is here for you to find fun learning activities to do with your children. We share great ideas we find and love on the Internet, as well as ideas we come up with on our own! We also like to share resources we find helpful.

To find ideas for your child, click on the age range blog label or on the theme/topic you are looking for (on the left side of the page). In each post, we try to list optimal age ranges for the activity, but you must judge for yourself if it is appropriate for your child. When you try an activity out, please comment and let us (and everyone else) know how your child liked it!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Tot School Activity List

I've had difficulty getting my ideas for Tot School into a workable format and really needed a more user-friendly form. So I made this one! Along the left hand column I wrote down several different categories of activities based on the skills practiced. Then I listed 3 separate activities for each category. So if you realize you haven't done pouring in a while and your mind goes blank on activities, it will be easier to reference this list. Click on it and you can see the larger format to read it easier.


I also have a tiny request from anyone reading this blog. Could you state which activities here you have tried and at what age? And then tell me whether your child did it independently, with assistance, or was unable to do it? I'd like to get some more reference points for what the age-range for each activity is so I can make one of these forms for the 12-18 month range, one for the 18-24 month range, and so on. I'll be working my way through these with Tobias but he's only one child and is past the 12-18 month age range already. It would really speed up the process to have other mom's opinions!

Oh, and anyone is welcome to download, print and use this form. I'll hopefully figure out how to get the actual form downloaded in a more share-able format but for now it is simply a picture format and even that took me over an hour to figure out, lol!

5 comments:

Rochelle said...

We started with pouring and opening at 17 months with out assistance, just supervision. She has gotten much better about picking up the loose beans/straws, etc. when she spills...it use to send her into a little tantrum. :0 Also did painting starting around 18 months. This was supervised but done independently. Currently she is matching (21 months) and has been matching for perhaps 2 or 3 months. Coloring with crayons we started at 17 months.

We have tried sorting to no avail. She doesn't care/get it. Umbicare boxes (yogurt containers with hole (we started at 17 months and she does well. We also do pennies in baking powder jar, cut up pieces of straw in water bottle, etc. We have done clothes pins in too, to make a square shape.

She preferred these before shape sorters because it was only one shape at a time. Now she can do our Discovery Toys shape sorter cubes which are much harder (3 cubes, about 12 shapes/animals/numbers).

Love the chart! You are missing a word in the second column, third box from the bottom: "Cardboard boxes with holes and (?)"

Kristy Powers said...

Beading- Had a ring stacker since birth pretty much but he didn't get very interested in that until at least talking age. Loved it at about 2.5 years old but also played imaginatively with it at that point. Melissa and Doug lacing beads from about 2.5 years old and he needed assistance with the animal shapes for about half a year. The circle beads he could do almost immediately.

Cutting - Started using tougher paper with lines on it at 3.5 years old. He needs help at first but then he is able to do it with coaching.

Fine Motor- Playdough from about 2 years old and he was able to do it independently, but I had to monitor where all the pieces ended up so they didn't dry out. Stickers we used from 1.5/2 years old but he needed help getting them off the page until about 3 years old.

Gluing - Glued paper shapes with glue stick at 3.5 years old. He didn't quite get that he had to put paper on top of the glue when he used the glue stick on the base paper.

Gross Motor- Did stork stands yesterday for the first time. He's 3 years 8 months old and did them great.

Pouring - Water from a small pitcher into a cup at a little over 1.5 years old and he was able to do it independently after practice and coaching.

Arts and Crafts - I let him paint with pudding when he was about 9 months old on his booster chair tray. We've done washable finger paints since about 1.5 years old and he's always just painted independently in a secure, cleanable area with a smock or no shirt on. Crayons and paper have been available since 1.5 but he didn't get into coloring until 3.5 years old. Seasonal crafts have been done with help since 2 years old.

Sorting - Got a wooden shape sorter (Melissa and Doug, I think) when he was 3 years old. It was really frustrating for him for a couple weeks. He improved greatly, but we put it away for a while and when we took it back out at 3.5 years, he was able to do it perfectly.

Thanks so much for posting this neat chart. It gives me ideas! My son seems to have done most of these things at a pretty old age but I believe some of it is because I don't give him these opportunities very often. I am a books/reading/imaginative play enthusiast, so he has done all of those things really well at a young age. This chart will help me balance his skills better. :)

Wilson Ramblings said...

Nathan is only 2 but I can try to provide some insight on our experiences... hope this helps.

stacking rings 9-15 months (indep by 14 months)
lacing beads 15-24 months (indep at 17 months)
pipe cleaner and craft beads 17-24 months (indep at 19 months)
counting teddy bears 20 months
cutting we started around 18 months but N still has a lot of trouble with this. He needs hand over hand promting to cut even playdough.

playdough - 16-24 months indep and with help dep on activity

stickers 17 months-24 months can indep put on paper at 18 months.

gluing with glue stick 22-24 months can do indep.

glue dipped in cup 24 months indep

balance beam - 10 months started, could do indep at 16 months, still loves

throw into laundry basket 16-24 months. throws indep around 18 mos, still doesn't aim well.

knob puzzles 10 months - 20 months. indep pick up and match to right hole at 11 months, able to get piece in the hole indep around 15 months.

match colored dino to egg 19 months indep

match socks just started at 24 months and can do indep if different colored socks

pouring - started aroune 18 months, still needs help because he loves to send it flying! not at all motivated to do it correctly

coloring at 14 months but would eat crayons until around 18 months. colored indep at 18 months without eating crayons. still loves at 24 months.

paints with finger paints at 19 months appr for 15 months to 99 years

theme based crafts started around 20 months

yogurt cup with pompoms started at 18 months and quite independent. still loves at 24 mos

cardboard box with holes and pasta started at 16 months. indep at 17 mos. still loves

dry spaghetti in parm can or toothpicks in spice container at 16 mos and indep around 18 months and still loves

shape sorted 10-24 mos, indep at 13 months with 4 shapes, 12 shapes indep around 15 months

2 cups to sort started at 16 mos, indep at 18 months - still do and love

tongs - started at 17 months, indep at 18 months.. we transferred wine corks first as they were easy to pick up. Still has trouble with small items, but we still work on it.

hope that helps!

Rochelle said...

Thanks Wilson ~ Great list! :)

Unknown said...

Great form and ideas, thank you!!

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