Making the Old New Again

Do you have any toys that you don't want to get rid of, but have been sitting stationary in your house for a while? Our play kitchen was like that.

The girls seemed to be on a hiatus from playing with this kitchen. One beautiful day, my 3 year old herself had a brilliant idea. "Wouldn't it be fun to take the kitchen outside? I can cook outside, like Daddy does on the grill!" Genius!!! Per her request and to her sister's delight, I loaded her up with some fun "mommy stuff" to cook with...extra flour, some random spices, sprinkles, etc. She had so much fun making a normally not allowed and extremely large mess. :) Oh, how I love cleaning up with a garden hose. Ignore the extension cord...husband was doing some yard work while they played happily.
Atalie was not too fond of Charis's creation, but sampled it multiple times anyways. :) Muffin tins, a washable mess, and happy kiddos.

Take a look around your house today! What toy would be more fun or made new again by just a different environment? Grocery cart? Baby stroller? Tea set? Have a party with stuffed animals? Picnic outside (don't worry, the ants will clean up your crumbs)? Even a doll house or trucks and cars?

Library Day!

It's hot here. Sooooo hot. 95+ degrees for the past few days, humidity above 80% with very little rain. Heat index around 100-110. Is it hot at your house? I don't know about you, but there is only so much outside time I can take with merely a kiddie pool to relieve us.
To help beat the heat without being holed up inside, we've instituted Library Day. After my daughters AM nap, we head off!
If you don't utilize the library in your city/county often, chances are you are missing out! On a grading scale, our library is probably a C, maybe a C+, so it's not as though we have this fabulous resource that would leave you green with jealousy. Even if you live in the country (which is how our part of the city would be described), the library is still a great tool.
The Pros:

• Tons of books that you and your kids likely haven't read
• Free membership!
• Low fees if you keep track of the books (free is a pretty low fee, right?)
• Books you don't have to pay for!
• The possibility of good computer programs you can supervise but don't have to purchase
• A play area, possibly. Ours has a table set up with bins of blocks.
• Usually a separated children's area
• Free videos/DVDs
• A/C! Did I mention it's hot outside?!?!
• The possibility of online "shopping" for your books, or online renewal
• Exposure to lots of new books, genres, and authors

The Cons AND Solutions:

• You need to keep track of your books! Forgetting just that one can end up being an expensive slip of the memory. My solution: Keep all library books in ONE location, separate from other books. We have a special library book bin. I keep the printout list given in the bucket with the # of books circled at the top. That way it's easy to check to make sure all the books are there!
• Not a great selection of books. My solution: Keep digging. I usually check out about 2-3 "duds" each week. But what is a dud to me someone else may love. People donate books to the library weekly, so keep looking! You never know...that retired school teacher with a copy of every Caldecott book may have just donated this week!
• Noisy kids in a quiet library. I've been there. You can hear my daughter's squeaky voice all the way across the library. Even people in the restroom knew my daughter was looking for a Fancy Nancy book. My solution: Practice! If they don't have to use a quiet voice anywhere else, why should we expect them to all of a sudden know how to use one in the library. We practice quiet voices in the car. And if she doesn't listen? It's also important to note if the voice level is simply forgetting (you know, just being a kid) or disobedience to what you've asked them to do. If it's forgetting, I remind her. If it's disobedience, we pack up and leave, not checking out any books. But how you handle it is your decision....you are the mom! I will say that I've found that how I react to her behavior usually determines the tone and behavior of the next library trip. If I let her slide with being loud, she'll probably be loud again next time!
• More than one child to watch makes a trip difficult. This was the challenge for me, too. Sometimes it can be hard to look for books and watch your kids at the same time. You can't exactly handcuff them to the stroller to keep them from pulling off every book they see on the shelves. With that in mind, I have to have a game plan for trip out of the house. Where will they sit? What are the possible behavior issues? How will I handle them? What tips/reminders can I give them before we even get in the library? Is it close to nap or a mealtime?

Here's how I handle it with a 3 year old and a 1 year old:

I use the double stroller. My 3 year old is allowed to walk, provided she holds onto the stroller until I give her instructions to do otherwise. Before we go in, I talk with both girls about using quiet voices and keeping their hands to themselves (we practice this at home). We do a practice run of using quiet voices and what it sounds like. I have snacks packed in the bag because at 1 year, it's rare to find a time of the day that isn't close to a nap or snack/meal. I give myself a time limit. (Ex: We will stay for 30 minutes. If it's your first time, have a goal of checking out one book. Yup. Just one. It'll make it less stressful for you). If my 3 year old abuses the privilege of walking or cannot control her hands, she has to sit in the stroller or in a chair for a while. If you have aisles you have to go up and down, you can sit your child on the floor and give them a book or 2 to look at while you look, too. Or you can pull out a book and involve your child in the decision making process of choosing a few books.

Okay, younger kids. My 1 year old sits in the stroller with a book or toy while I choose a book. Then when I've chosen a few, she can walk around, holding the stroller. Then I give them a few minutes to play with blocks at the table. We clean up together. If she gets antsy (especially due to being hungry) I plop her in the stroller and give her a small, non-messy snack on the tray.

The biggest tip I can give? Don't give up after one hectic, tear-jerking experience at the library. I've had parents tell me that the library is just too stressful. In my mind, and perhaps I'm off-base, the solution is to minimize stress. Well, other than eliminating visits entirely. So instead of rarely going, try going weekly. (Sound crazy?) The library is a safe place to practice some of the skills you've been working on at home with your child. You don't really want to see if they'll stay with you while you walk through a crowded mall. And I don't really like to practice a skill when I'm grocery shopping. That's multi-tasking at it's best (or worst, in some cases). Keep practicing at the library (Remember, you can always leave!) but most importantly for us...practice at home. Teach the the skill ahead of time. Quiet voices, control over hands, waiting patiently, respect for others, sharing, sitting and reading when asked to, and listening to specific verbal commands are a few skills to practice. Don't feel like you have to tackle everything at once, either! As my husband says, "We're just trying to give them tools in their tool belts". If you don't give them the necessary tools ahead of time, it's hard to expect them to pull out the right tool when needed. Yes, even a 1 year old. :)

Have fun! Let the stress free outings begin!

Butterfly Kits

When I taught elementary school, we would order butterfly kits so the students could see most of the life cycle of a butterfly, up close and personal. Butterfly kits usually consist of some kind of housing (net-like), feeders/sugar, eye droppers, instructions and either live or a certificate for live caterpillars. If you want your caterpillars at a later date, go for the certificate.
It's so much fun for kids to see the caterpillars go from one state, to the pupa, to the butterfly. They get to feed them...a perfect temporary pet. :) It's not messy, it doesn't take up a lot of space, and relatively easy. Most of the sites guarantee a certain percentage of the caterpillars turning to butterflies. Can't beat that! If the weather outside is 50 degrees or higher, you can release the butterflies when ready. I've listed two sites below that have butterfly kits for $20-25. There are more expensive options around, but I'm opting for one of these.

http://www.butterfly-gifts.com/live-butterfly-kits.html ($25)





http://www.swallowtailfarms.com/pages/educationalproducts_brk.html ($21-25)

Magnets!

This was a fun way to teach names, recognition of family and friends to my daughter. We have quite a bit of family we don't see often, as well as people at church I wanted my daughters to start to recognize. It helped with my oldest daughter's shyness when seeing people at church and at family gatherings.
I took family/friend photos, as well as photos from our church directory, and laminated them with packing tape. I then stuck a large magnet (using magnetic tape) on the back. That way I didn't worry about a choking hazard as much. :)
We practiced sorting by children and adults, boys/girls men/women, church friends and family friends, members of the family and people that are not members of the family, hair color, daddy's family and mommy's family, etc. There's unlimited ways you can sort them. It also helped us when we got presents or cards in the mail. I could tell them, "This is from aunt ____" and then show them the picture or have them find that person's picture.

Books We Can't Live Without!

I hear a lot of friends say things like, "If I have to read that book one more time..." or "We just need something new to read!"
We make frequent trips to the library just to get some fresh reading material. But every now and then we come across a book that stands the test. You know...the "this is the 19th time I've read this today and I haven't tried to skip any pages yet" test. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. Nineteen times a day for any book would make me skip some pages.
But I thought it might be helpful to recognize a few books that make our Favorite Books Ever list. I'd really be sad if these weren't on my shelf. I would have missed a lot of uncontrollable giggles and a lot of really sweet times when both of us are sad when the book is over. As a bonus, they are have great opportunities for teachable moments, due to content, illustrations, or both!
I included the amazon.com link for you. Some of them are available for less than $1 if you buy it used!
Many of these authors have other great books not listed, so when you are at the library, try to browse more books by them!
So, here's my list...

Me With You by Kristy Dempsey- A sweet rhyming book about a little bear who is most like herself when she's with her grandpa. Beautiful illustrations!

Gossie, Peedie, Boo Boo, and Ollie by Olivier Dunrea- Quick reads! Short stories dealing with goslings, each with a special quirk. Also available in board books. Great books to read with kids with shorter attention spans (like a baby that just wants to walk!)

Duck and Goose by Tad Hills- Hilarious book about a duck and goose that find a ball and mistake it for an egg. Great story about becoming friends and finding commonalities with others that seem very different at first. If you love this (which I'm sure you will!) there are a bunch of Duck and Goose books.

Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton- A funny story about a sheep that can't fall asleep. My 2 year old cracks up at the illustrations. A definite favorite!

Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie (series)- Great stories about two pigs that are completely different and the best of friends. One loves to go on wild adventures and the other loves to stay at home in Woodcock Pocket. I believe a TV show has been made out of these books. Again, if you love them, there's a bunch of Toot and Puddle books!

Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae- A rhyming book. Gerald the giraffe is embarrassed because he can't dance like the other animals.

Wet Dog by Elise Broach (illustrated by David Catrow)- Funny book about a dog trying to cool off on a hot summer day. The illustrations make the book!

The Pout-Pout Fish- (by Debbie Diesen) A favorite in our house! A grumpy fish learns that he doesn't have to be grumpy all the time. My daughter literally laughs out loud when we read this book. The illustrations are great, too.

Over in the Garden by Jennifer Ward- A rhyming and counting book. Hidden numbers, clues to find to determine the next bug, and a great rhythm to the book. My daughters have loved this book from an early age. She also has other books along the same lines (in the desert, ocean, Arctic). We read this so many times the pages fell out.

Too Many Frogs by Sandy Asher- A silly book about a frog that invites himself to story time each night at Rabbit's house. Rabbit learns that sharing a book is better than being alone and Froggie learns some manners! Great discussion book.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn- Great book to read for kids that are going to be away from loved ones for any length of time (babysitters, day care, military deployment, starting school,etc). A little raccoon is nervous about being away from his mom, so his mom gives him a special way to remember her when they are apart.

Listen Buddy by Lynn Munsinger- A story about a rabbit that never listens and ends up learning a very important lesson. A fun read, and very silly!

Karen Katz Lift-the-flap books-Great books for babies and pretoddlers!

Mirror Me- A Baby Einstein book with mirrors on each page. Talks about making faces. My girls both loved this book from infancy through about 18 months. Even at 2.5 my oldest will sit and look at it. There's something about mirrors...

What's your "can't live without it" book? Let me know!

The Doctor's Office

We are right smack in the middle of winter here in Virginia. We've spent some time at the doctor's office in the past month between the two girls. The doctor's office can be tough. Lots of tempting toys to play with that have previously been played with by sick children that day, probably lots of waiting, and the need for mom to have an uninterrupted chat with the doctors and nurses. So what can you do with your child when you are at the doctor's appointment?
Instead of packing toys that could get lost or are too big to fit in the bag, here's how we keep on learning even when we are out of the house.



I pack a special bag of rarely seen/played with items to help! Here's what is rotated in my tote:

1. A mini doctor's kit- Before the doctor gets in the room (and before the nurse, if we have time) we review what the doctor may do. I go through all the possibilities to hopefully prevent the element of surprise. I may pack a small teddy bear for her to practice. Our doctor is great and examines the teddy bear, too. We listen to the chest, practice taking breaths, look in ears and nose, open the mouth and say "aaaahhh," and even practice what to do in case of a shot. We've been doing this since 18 months old.

2. Mini books- These are for her to look at while the doctor and I talk. We have previously practiced Book Time at home (a time where she reads quietly by herself on the couch) so I just tell her that it's Book Time and we can talk after the doctor is finished. My books are Leveled Readers from my teaching days. I have those set aside for the doctor's office because of their size. Small size means easier to transport.

3. Crayons and Coloring book- Great time to color together. We play "Color Call Out", where we take turns calling out a part of the picture (like Cinderella's slippers) and a color (like green). We rotate calling out the items and the color.

4. Shake and Find jar- I took a few empty disposable water bottles and made them into a fun game for the car or doctor's office. Here's how to make it:
*Wash and dry a plastic bottle, such as a water bottle.
*Add some rice to the bottle, then a small object that you want to hide, another layer of rice and another small object. Continue the layers until you only have 1-2 inches of empty space left at the top of the bottle.
*Use super glue and glue the lid to the bottle. Let it dry.
*Make a list (I have a picture list for my toddler) of items to find. I saved the list to Word so I can print one off when we go off and she can actually mark it off.
*Let them find the objects and check them off as they find them.

5. Play toss the sock- Using one of my books in the bag or a magazine from the room, ball your child's sock up. Let them try to throw it and make it land on the magazine, or even just hit the magazine. (Parenting Magazine August 2008)

6. Pack of sticky notes/stickers- Call out body parts and have them stick the papers or stickers to the correct spot. You can also practice positional words ("Put the sticker on top of ___, under ___," etc).

7. Long piece of yarn and large pasta (with holes)- Have them practice stringing the pasta. They could make a necklace for the nurse, or for themselves. You can bring washable markers to have them decorate the pasta too!

8. Pen-Draw faces on fingers/thumbs and pretend play. "Little Bunny Foo-Foo" and "Where is Thumbkin?" are great choices.

9. Pocket Mirror- Breathe onto a pocket mirror and steam it up. Practice drawing shapes or letters. (Parenting Magazine)

10. Old Magazine and Washable Markers- Let them go through an old magazine and use the corresponding color marker to find things that color in the magazine and check them off. If you don't want to use markers, give them an item to find (pets, drinks, squares) and let them circle/mark them out.

11. Small cookie sheet and dry erase marker-- Draw shapes, letters and have them guess. You can also draw items in the room and see if they can find that item. Another option is to bring a small sandwich bag with magnetic letters which can be used on the cookie sheet.

12. Make ahead bingo- Brainstorm some items they may encounter at the doctor's office and find pictures of those things (I use Google Images). Make a bingo board and see if they can find each of the items. Some choices may be a stethoscope, a nurse, cotton balls, a scale, doctor's chair, or tongue depressor.

13. One thing that is fun and helps teach kids about giving and thinking of others is bringing a special gift to the doctors and nurses. This is helpful if you already know you are going (like well visits) and perhaps especially if you have a child who is a bit nervous about going. It can help ease nerves by giving them something to anticipate...giving a gift that's homemade to the staff! We usually bake brownies or chocolate chip cookies. I also have Charis make a card for the staff.

Hope this helps to make future trips to the doctor a bit more enjoyable for everyone!

Shopping

Now that I have 2 kids, one of the tougher jobs on my list is grocery shopping. Well, shopping in general. I have not yet mastered the art of managing two children, one grocery cart, a crowded grocery store, checking off a list, reading labels, and keeping on budget while teetering oh-too-close to either a nap time or meal time. Don't get me wrong--my girls are remarkably well behaved in the store, even with a mom on the brink of a meltdown. You may have seen me out and about...you know, the one answering the thousandth "What's that?" question from a toddler while trying to see which items are on sale and removing the cart strap from the baby's mouth for the umpteenth time. I may or may not be crying. *wink* On a good day you'll see me humming to myself, trying to enter in to my quiet place where I can actually remember what's on my list. Or where I put my list. Anyways...

So is it possible to learn AND shop at the same time? Sure! Here's a few things you can do while you are out shopping to help your toddler or pre-toddler learn, have fun, and possibly allow you to get some shopping done without having to resort to "The Quiet Game." :)
For most of these, it helps to have a Shopping Notebook set aside that you use especially for the store.

1. Stickers-- Peeling stickers is a great fine motor activity. Chances are your child will/does love stickers. They don't have to be expensive, either. Local dollar stores have a pretty good selection generally. If you come prepared, draw lines or shapes in a notebook and have them put the stickers on the lines/shapes you've drawn. (A little hand-eye coordination work).
Another sticker option is to call out body parts and let them stick them on. "Put a sticker on your knee. Put a sticker on your elbow."

2. Pre-printed lists- This takes a little pre-planning, but is totally worth it at our house! Here are 2 options:
*Print off pictures of items needed. I use Google Images, cut and paste. I also put them in order of the aisles at Wal-Mart. For example, I know I start in the back of the store with dairy. So all my dairy items are at the top. You can then ask them "What's next?" "What's first?" "What's last?"
*As you shop, call out items on the list and have your child check them off, or mark through them. It will take them a little while to find them and then mark through them.
For older kids, you won't need to call out anything. Just let them observe and check it off!

3. Coupon sorter: Get your coupons ready and as you get your item, let them look through a stack and see if there is a coupon for that item.

4. I spy: This is a personal game, not one they play with you. Draw or print off a picture of an item and glue it on the top of one page (example: a shirt). Then make a column of colors, like a red shirt, blue shirt, green, etc. As they go through the store they have to see if they can find these things, and then check them off. As you wait in line, help them finish off the list and see how many they've gotten.This is a good chance to work on colors, observation, and tallying.
*For older kids, see if they can find more challenging things, like something sweet, grumpy people, happy people, a kid with a toy, a baby with a bottle, etc.


5. I got this idea from Parenting Magazine--
"Honk if you love..." (or quack, whatever) Choose a funny sound and an object. Whenever you see the object (a teddy bear, a circle, a baby) you both have to make the sound. They'll be very focused on looking around and making the funny sounds. It makes shopping fun for us. :)

6. Again, from Parenting---
"Posers in Waiting"--Both of you strike a pose and hold it until the line moves, like making a face, stand on one foot. The person that stays still the longest gets to choose the next pose.

7. Can you find..
*Someone that has the same color shirt on as you?
*Someone with mommy's hair color?
*Someone with something in their cart the same as ours?
*A mommy shopping with 2 kids, like us?

8. Texture talk- As you bag up your produce, ask them questions. "Do you see a food that looks bumpy? How does this feel? Is this soft or hard?" You can even involve them in the process of choosing your food. "I'm looking for bananas that have NO brown on them. Can you find some bananas that don't have any brown?" or "See how this apple has a little spot on it that feels soft. We don't want that one. Check this apple and see if it looks good." "When we pick out a cantaloupe, you can smell this part. If we can smell cantaloupe, it might be a good one. Do you smell anything?"

9. And finally...the Quiet Game. Or the Still Game. Personal favorites of mine when you just need a moment. Pretty simple--see how they can sit perfectly still or perfectly quiet. *Aaaahhh...*

How about for the babies? Talk, talk, talk. Tell them what you are doing, what's on your list, what you see.

Happy Shopping!
Any tricks in your bag? Share!!

Fall Scenery

One of my favorite things to do is to create a huge thematic scene. I used to do it in the classroom during rain forest week, when we studied the ocean, and pretty much any time I could justify making a huge picture as a group.
A few things I always try to have on hand: rolls of brown (or any color) butcher paper, craft glue (like Tacky Glue), glitter, and sheets of foam and/or construction paper. The rest can really be improvised.
Charis and I have made wall hangings when learning about different subjects, and today's theme was Fall.

Materials Needed:(all are optional,this is just my personal list of what I used)

• Large sheet of paper, a plastic tablecloth, or even an old sheet


• Black, green, and orange construction paper and/or foam


• Orange and brown washable paint


• Foam paint brushes


• Baby food jar (1 plastic, lid included)


• Cotton swab


• Leaves (real and/or fake)


• Paper plate(s)


• Craft glue


• Glitter (any color)


• Pipe cleaners
  
• Twisted craft paper


• Wiggly eyes
  

This activity can be done in one day or you can break it up into steps and complete one or two a day.

Prep: Lay out brown paper (I put a plastic table cloth underneath because I knew I'd be using glitter and it's easier to shake out the cloth after).

• Cut out the spider pieces (body, legs), bird pieces (body, beak, and feet)


• Paint a large tree (if desired) on the paper for the bird and/or spiders.
  

Activity:

1. If the time of the year is right, have your child hunt for fall colored leaves. We found some pretty neat ones right in the front yard. Yes, my child is still in her pajamas *gasp*. What can I say? It was one of those kind of days.

2. Paint paper plates, turning them into pumpkins. You can glue leaves and a stem as well. It's a great opportunity to talk about parts of a plant.

3. Make twirly vines out of pipe cleaners. I showed her how to twist them around her finger.






4. Assemble the crows. I showed her some possibilities, but let her apply all the glue (with cotton swab), and position all the body parts where she wanted.







5. Next she assembled the spiders. I gave her the eyes and legs and explained that they have 4 on each side. I let her position them.

6. I stapled the vine down. We positioned the pumpkins while I explained how they grow on vines. I let her choose where to glue the leaves, birds and spiders. She glued them on with the craft glue.
7. Last I made a line of glue to look like the spider was hanging from a web. She sprinkled glitter.



8. We hung her picture in the hall at the house. It makes a very festive decoration!

Teaching Emotions

When Brayden was about two, we started this game I call, "I am going to look..." He absolutely loved it. We started the same game with Kaitlyn around two, and at 2.5 it is still a favorite game for her.

AGE RANGE
Two and up.

SKILLS TAUGHT
This is a great activity to help your child identify feelings. This really helps cut down on tantrums due to communication issues. When your child is upset, you can talk to your child about how he is feeling because he will have a vocabulary for it. It also is a great one-on-one activity for a parent and child.

SUPPLIES

• Parent
• Child

ACTIVITY

1. Sit down and face your child. I have found this to be effective in the child's room on the bed (if it is big enough for both of you). Wherever you do it, just be sure it is somewhere the child is comfortable mentally.
2. Tell your child, "I am going to look..." (pause)..."happy!"
3. Smile and look happy.
4. Tell your child, "I am going to look..." (pause)..."sad."
5. Look sad.
6. Repeat this, alternating through emotions. At some point, your child will likely want to do it too. If not, ask if he wants to try.
7. Another way to involve your child is ask him how he wants you to look.

As your child gets used to this game, you can alternate. Expect that in the beginning, he won't remember how to look for different emotions. This is building a new vocabulary for him. When you first start this, use simple emotions such as "happy," "sad," "scared," etc. As your child grows, you can add more complex emotions that build on the basic ones such as "confident" and "anxious"
EMOTION CHART

Letter Recognition

Learning the alphabet is such an exciting accomplishment for kids. Letters and words in the environment are starting to have meaning and children are at one of the beginning stages of learning how to read.

However, sometimes the crossover from the alphabet they learn at home and recognizing those same letters and words in other places can prove difficult for some children.
That's where this activity can help. Have you noticed that more books are published in different fonts? Letters and numbers are presented in many different ways in real life. Not every book is published in "Times New Roman," nor are advertisements, signs, magazines, or websites. Take these examples:

Your child may know the alphabet, but would they recognize the alphabet if it was presented a new way?

Ages: As soon as they begin recognizing letters!

Prep: Print the letters that they are learning in different fonts. I went to my Word program and typed the letter 10 times and then printed it off in 10 different fonts. Print them out as large as possible. I also printed them off in small squares (approximately 24 point font).

Activity: Here are a few activities:

• Hide different letters (in the different fonts) around the house or around the room. Go on a hunt!
• Hide the letters and let them hunt, but this time give clues. Call out the letters as they search. "Find all Ys that you can!" "Can you find a capital T?" "I see a letter that makes the /p/ sound. Can you find it?" "I see a letter that is only made of curvy lines (S,O,C)."
• If you are using the entire alphabet, have them put the alphabet in order after they find the letters.
• Fold a large piece of construction paper in half (or thirds, depending if you want to work with 2 or 3 letters). Have them sort two different letters into piles (for example, M vs. R). Glue on paper according to the letter. You could also have them do the same letter, but sort capital and lower case. This works really well when you are working on letters that are similar, like M and N or P and R.
• Play ABC Relay.
• Play Find the Letter.
  
  

Matching and Sorting

I made Matching and Sorting cards for my 2 year old. You can change the words to fit your needs. When we did a unit on the ocean, I made pictures of things you can find in the ocean. Again, I "laminated" the cards with packing tape. Then we made an ocean scene using the cards and correctly placed the items (seaweed on the bottom, crabs on the bottom, boat at the top, fish swimming, etc).



For Young Toddlers (12-18 months)

1. Have them find animals ("Can you find the dog?" "Where is the tiger?")


2. Locate animals by sounds. (Which animal says meow? Which animal says moo?)


3. Find fruit. (Where is the apple?)


4. If your child knows colors, ask them to locate pictures by color. (Point to the red fruit.)

For 2+:

1. Match pairs of items. Put in piles.


2. Sort (Put all farm animals together, zoo animals, ocean animals, insects, etc)


3. Match animals and their coverings (fur, feather,scales)

Older/more advanced:

1. Play Memory.
2. Use dry erase marker to write the beginning sound/letter, ending sound/letter, or try to spell the word. If you laminate with packing tape, it will wipe off. (You can use dry erase or Vis-a-vis markers).
3. Discuss adjectives and verbs, and try and think of as many as they can for each picture. Again, a great way to use the 5 senses (what would it smell like? feel like? sound like?)
4. Use the cards to make up a sentence. For example, ifthey have a bear and a fish: The fuzzy brown bear tries to capture the slippery fish for dinner.
5. More difficult sorting (mammals, reptiles, categories of food like meat, grains, and dairy, herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores, etc).

Being Thankful:Fall and Winter Fun

I saw this activity in the Disney's Family Fun magazine (November 2008). (Great investment, by the way!) I'm going to give credit where credit is due, so thank you Zeppo Family from St. Charles, Missouri!

This family decided to keep a Thankful Box out all year. Throughout the year, they write down things they are grateful for and drop them into the box. On Thanksgiving Day, they open the container and read the blessings out loud. Then they use the strips of paper to make a paper chain to hang on the Christmas Tree.

*If you start now and each family member does one a day, you'll have plenty for a paper chain for the tree! We are starting this week!

Materials Needed:

• Oatmeal canister, shoe box, or some container to put the strips of paper in


• Pen/pencil


• strips of paper

1. Decorate your container.


2. Cut a slot in the top to put the paper in once written on.


3. Keep a stack of paper handy.


4. Write one thing per family member each night. We chose after dinner, so we can sit and chat as a family. I'm sure we can come up with one blessing a night!

For my 2 year old, I'll let her draw what she's thankful for during the day and she can share it with the family at night. Then I'll "translate" on the bottom of the paper. :) I'll write new things that the baby can do too, since I'm sure she's thankful for things like new teeth and mobility.

Pompom Fun

This is by far one of my children's favorite activities to do. I often have them do this activity at the kitchen table while I make dinner.

AGE RANGE
12 months and up. This is for toddlers and older. You child just needs to be able to tell two different colors apart and be able to sort them. She doesn't need to be able to say the name of the colors, just recognize that they are different.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

• Sorting
• Colors

SUPPLIES

• Pompoms in various colors. For the young toddler, use no more than three.
• Containers to put the pom poms in (one for each color and one to hold them all). I just use tupperwear.

PREP

1. Gather your pompoms.
2. Gather your containers.
3. Gather your children.

ACTIVITY

1. Put the pompoms for your child to sort into a container, all mixed together.
2. For younger toddlers, put one pompom into each container. For examle, if you were doing red, blue, and yellow, you would put on red into one container, one blue into another, and one yellow into another. For older children, you can let them start it out of you want.
3. Have your child sort the remaining pompoms into the containers.

VARIATION

• Use pompoms the same color and have your child sort by size.
• Once your child is good at colors, use shades of the same color (light purple and dark purple).

PHOTOS

Here are the pompoms ready to be sorted for Brayden and Kaitlyn.

Brayden working on his sorting

Kaitlyn working on her sorting

I used to store the pompoms in a bag. This wsa good for storage, but it took a long time to sort everything out in the beginning.



Now I keep them in little bags inside the big bag. At the end of the activity, everything is sorted, so it is easy to keep the pompoms stored this way.

TIPS

• Don't use too many pompoms. When you first start this activity, use just a few of each color. Add more as your child's attention span increases. What I show here for Brayden and Kaitlyn would be too many to start out with at first.

CREDIT

I got this idea from The Toddler's Busy Book (see Book Review: The Toddler's Busy Book for more on this book).

Countdown Chain

If your preschooler is like mine, he just can't wait until XYZ happens. You might find yourself avoiding telling him about something exciting that is coming up because you know you will hear, "How many more days until XYZ?...But that's a long time!" over and over each day. Your preschooler is starting to understand time, which isn't always a good thing :)

If your toddler is like mine, she has no idea XYZ is going to happen. You want her to be able to enjoy the anticipation of something fun coming up. Anticipation is half the fun! (unless you have a preschooler asking you how much longer over and over).

The countdown chain is your answer to both issues. It gives the preschooler something tangible to look at. It also helps him more concretely understand time. It gives the toddler a reminder that there is something to be excited about.

You can use the countdown chain for anything: birthdays, holidays, start of school, the next visit to grandma's...whatever you want to countdown to.

Last fall, my mother-in-law made a countdown chain with Brayden (then 3) for Halloween. She made it in black and orange. On the orange strips, she wrote things like "Hug your mom" and "tell your dad you love him." Over the weekend, Brayden and I made a countdown chain for Halloween, and I decided to take that concept one step further.

AGE RANGE
My guess is that your child needs to be at least 18 months old to enjoy this. Kaitlyn was 18 months old last year for Halloween and just didn't care. Even now at 2.5, she isn't terribly excited over it, so don't feel bad if your child isn't as excited as you envisioned. At 3, Brayden liked it and at 4, he absolutely loves it.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

• Colors
• Sorting
• Chores
• Fine motor skills (if you let your child create the chains--you could also let your child cut out the strips of paper)
• Time concept

SUPPLIES

• Paper (whatever colors you want)
• Pen
• Scissors (or some other tool for cutting)
• Stapler (or glue)

PREP

• Cut pieces of paper one inch wide by about 6 inches long. Cut one strip of paper for each day there is until your main event (what you are counting down to).
• Gather supplies

ACTIVITY

1. Sort your paper into colors (I had Brayden sort them).
2. Decide on a category for each color of paper for an activity. We did "fun chores" for Red, "Halloween activities" for Yellow, "loving acts" for Brown, and we left Green blank so we could decide something fun that day. Since we keep Sundays for worship in our family, I put green on each Sunday.
3. Have your child help you decide things to do for each piece of paper. Write the activity on the piece of paper.
4. Arrange your papers in the order you want them in.
5. Staple or glue your first piece of paper into a circle.
6. Hook your second piece of paper through your first circle and staple or glue it closed.
7. Continue making this chain until you are done.
8. Each day, have your child remove one chain. Perform the activity listed on the paper. This is a great way for your child to count down to an activity. You can channel the excited energy into chores :)

PHOTOS

Papers sorted into color categories

Daily activities written out

Up close of daily activities

First link done

Completed chain

Quick and Easy Number Books

This activity literally took all of 5 minutes to make and complete, tops!






















Ages: 18 months+ (This is the age Charis started learning to recognize numbers)

Materials:

• Paper (I used computer paper and cut it in half)
• Marker
• Do-A-Dot markers or stickers
• Stapler

Prep:

• Decide what numbers you are interested in teaching. We started with 1-10. Looking back, I could have done 0-10.
• Label the cover as ____'s Number Book.
• Label each page with a number.
• Staple together. I included a back page for her to decorate, too.

Activity:

1. Practice counting 1-10, or whatever you decided.
2. You can start with hand clapping, snapping, tapping, jumping, etc. to illustrate that the number means a specific number of times/things. Gather 1 stuffed animal, clap 2 times, jump 3 times...whatever you decide to physically illustrate the point.
3. Then go through each page and add a sticker/dot for each number.

Comments:

With Charis, we made 2 books. The first book we made and I physically helped her dot one time, dot 2 times, etc. It was such a new concept for her. The second book was "hands-off" for me. Instead we looked at the number, and I would say, "This is the number ___" or "What number is this?" and then we'd clap how many times she would stamp. Then I would let her do it.

You can also build slowly with this activity. It would be great to use with Val's Number Squares activity as you are teaching numbers. Add a page every few days, one a week, etc.

I leave one number book hanging on the fridge and put the other in her stack of books to look at during her reading time. She loves to look at the book she made, and it's a great way to practice.

Color Scavenger Hunt

All credit for this activity goes to the awesome author of 1+1+1=1 blog, the home of Tot School. This is a fantastic way to reinforce colors with any age child and to allow older and younger siblings in on the fun. I did this with a 5 year old and a 3 year old.



Materials:
-sheets of paper with each color word written on it in crayon
-camera

Preparation:
-write the color words on each sheet of paper in the appropriate color of crayon

Activity:
-Explain that we're going to do a scavenger hunt for colors.
-Tell the child(ren) to search all over the house for things that are blue. If you want you can set a timer for 2 minutes so they search more quickly.
-Collect all of the objects and place them around the paper with the word BLUE written on it.
-Take a picture of the items all together. If your children are responsible enough you can allow them to each take a picture of the items. The kids I did this with loved the idea of using the camera :)
-Repeat with all colors. You can even spread this out over several days or weeks if you'd like to do a more in-depth color theme.

Extension:
Create a Color Book out of the pictures. The kids will enjoy being able to see their favorite blue, yellow, or red toys in the pictures and can practice recognizing both the colors and words. This can work as a good quiet activity for church or the car, especially if the pictures are put into a scrapbook so the pages can't be bent easily.

Fall Craft: Apples & Thankfulness

I was looking for a way to help emphasize being thankful with my toddler. There's such a natural sense of me, me, me that toddlers have, and I want to help Charis learn how it feels and what it looks like to be thankful for the wonderful people in our lives. Here's what we came up with around here.

Materials Needed:

*Washable paint

*Apples (1-3)
*Paintbrushes or sponge brushes
*Blank cards with envelopes

Ages: 2+

Prep:
*Put down paper on the table to keep paint from getting everywhere.

*Cut the apples. One needs to be cut in half, so it keeps it's pretty "apple" shape.

The other apple(s) I cut in half horizontally, so that the shape of the core makes a star. Then I cut the apple around the star, to make an easy to hold square (like a stamper).

*I put paint in individual jars, for easy access for the brushes.

*Lay note cards out flat.

Activity:

1. Show your toddler how to paint the sliced apples. It works better to paint the slices rather than dip them.

2. Show them how to press the apples on the card. It's okay if they wiggle, it's their creation...a piece of them.

3. After they dry, draw (or if your child is old enough, let them) apple seeds and stems on the apples.

4. Keep the note cards handy. It's a good idea to write a thank you or "I appreciate you" note right then. Explain that when you care about someone, appreciate someone, or want to say thank you, it makes their day brighter to get a card.

We keep the cards in plain sight so I can grab one when the opportunity presents itself.

It's never too early to set the example of being grateful. Make sure you do the same, and tell your child when you send a card or call someone to say thank you, I miss you, Happy Birthday, or whatever you decide.