Gardening Weeks In a Glance - 37 & 16 months

We did 2 weeks of gardening activities.  I wish we had had even more time since this was such a fun unit!

Preschool Skills
We used printables from Itsy Bitsy Learners (we downloaded it for free using a special promotion), Home School Creations, and Our Little Monkeys.

Motor Skills/Practical Life
Michaela worked on flower arranging by placing fake flower stems into the holes of a parmesan shaker.

Crafts
M made tissue paper flowers by crumpling pink tissue paper and wrapping green pipe cleaners around them for stems.  It turned out pretty cute.

Sensory/Messy
I gave the kids some planting containers, soil, fake flowers, garden stakes, trowels and cultivators, and watering can and let them play around.

We also planted some marigolds in a small pot.

Books
We read:















Field Trip
We went to our Botanical Gardens with a friend and her kids.  Ok, it was a few days before we started this unit, but it still counts. :)

Misc.
M has been walking around asking us questions as if she is teaching us.  It is pretty cute.  In this picture she brought her daddy some MegaBlocks and asked him to sort them according to color and size.  Too cute!

That's it for this week!  We will be focusing on Holy Week this week and then will do 2 weeks of Easter activities. :)

We'll be linking up to Preschool Corner as well as Tot School.  Visit their websites to find some more great learning activities!

Around Town Week In a Glance - M is 36 & R is 16 months

We did an "Around Town" unit this week, which included learning about the post office, library, grocery store, and restaurant.  I knew I was going to have a super busy week, so this was the perfect unit because it included a lot of independent pretend play or activities that she could work on while I was doing something else.

Monday - Post Office
We read the pages in Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town  that talk about the post office.
We also read Millie Waits for the Mail, a really cute book about a cow and a mail man.

We sorted mail, using index cards w/ our family and friends' names.  I cut little mailboxes out of paper lunch bags and labeled them A-Z and M sorted based on the first letter of their names.

We put "postage" on envelopes.  I put some fake writing in appropriate places on an envelope and then wrote a number in the upper right corner where a stamp goes.  (We used 11-20 since M still has a hard time recognizing those).  M then had to put that number of stickers as "postage".  Using stickers was great motor skills practice as well!

R was feeling left out so I pulled out our mailbox toy and had him practice putting the letters in.

M decided she wanted to send letters to two of her friends that are sick this week, so I pulled out some cardstock, stamps, and stickers and we made a couple of "Get Well Soon" cards.  Then we addressed, stamped, and put in the mailbox together.

Tuesday - Library
We read some great library themed books.















M sorted some of our books various ways, including by subject, size, color, and at one point even by room (potty books went to the bathroom, princess books went to her room of course).

Wednesday - Grocery Store
We went through our weekly ads and M cut and pasted things we needed to buy on an index card.  We went shopping later and she was able to use her special shopping list.

We read:















Thursday - Restaurant
M worked on a great practical life activity - learning how to set a table.  I took some of her pretend kitchen toys and traced them on a piece of aper.  She  put each item in the correct place and then practiced her water pouring skills.

We read:















That's all for this week!  I'm so excited for our Garden Theme next week!

We'll be linking up to Preschool Corner as well as Tot School.  Visit their websites to find some more great learning activities!