Alphabet Bingo

I found this great little game in the $1 bin at Target.  The age range was 5-7, but I modified it a little bit so that it was more of a letter and beginning letter sound recognition for M.  You could easily re-create this by printing letters in a grid on cardstock and using dot markers or math manipulatives as markers.

Theme: Literacy

Materials: bingo style cards with random letters printed in each square, bingo markers (buttons, pebbles, math manipulatives, dot markers, etc)

How to:  You can adjust this to your own child's level.  We started off with me calling out a letter and M putting a marker on that letter.  Then I started saying words and asking her to put the marker on the letter that word began with (e.g. "Which letter does Monkey -mmm mmm monkey- start with?").  For older children you can also ask what letters are missing in a certain word.

Tot School - Week 4

M is 30 months old

Official Tot School
Pipe Cleaners & Parmesan Container
Spooning Activities
Container Counting
Clothespin Color Match
Brushstroke Painting

Extra Learning
We didn't do an official literacy lesson this week but we spent a lot of time talking about letters and even sounded out a few phonetic words!  One day M saw the word "MOM" on one of my shirts and she spent about 10 minutes going through each letter, a word that started with that letter, the sound of each letter, and then I helped her put it all together to sound out "MOM"!  I've noticed that she is so much more interested in letters when I'm not shoving them at her!

We went to Toddler Time at the library this week.  She was a little shy (totally NOT normal!) so instead of singing and dancing, she was content sitting on my lap and watching the other kids.  She seemed to be enjoying herself though and was so happy when they pulled out a ton of puzzles and books at the end.  I didn't get any pictures, but trust me, she was in heaven!

We had another fun field trip this week!  We went to the State Fair and she had a great time looking at all the animals and playing in the kid areas.  Her favorite part was riding a pony all by herself!

We are continuing to love Starfall, but this week she also asked to play with KneeBouncers, which is basically Starfall's little brother. :)  I like it because she can navigate it on her own!

Teacher Lessons
A little break won't hurt anyone.  This was a bit of an off week for me.  I just couldn't get motivated so most of our activities from this week were quick and easy to pull together.  I also joined a gym, but have to go at 4:30am because my husband has to leave for work at 5:30 and between the various nap times during the day and our MOMS Club activities, there's never another time to go.  Needless to say, I've been going to bed as soon as the kids do, so I haven't had a lot of lesson planning time at night.  I was feeling pretty guilty that I wasn't putting as much effort into Tot School as usual, but then I realized that it wouldn't hurt to have a few off days until I got my new schedule figured out.

That's all for this week!  To see what other toddlers are learning this week, check out the official Tot School Website!

Brush Stroke Painting

While M was painting this morning, I decided to have her practice a few common brushstrokes.  She did really well with the circles, lines and dots, but the waves and zig zags were a little bit out of her abilities.  She didn't seem to mind though!  Quick tip: empty egg containers make great paint holders!

Brush Stroke Painting

Theme: Art/Music

Materials: paint (I love the washable Crayola paint!), paintbrush, paper, newspaper to cover your table, painting apron or shirt

How to: Demonstrate each brushstroke to your child and have them practice it.  We practiced circles, lines, dots, waves and zig zags.  Use your imagination!

Clothespin Color Match

When M woke up from her nap today she begged for more "school" so I put this together real quick.  This is a fun little activity that is good for color review and fine motor skills.  I've been noticing for awhile that M uses her left hand more than her right.  This was true today when she couldn't open the clothespins at all with her right, but did well with her left.  She might be a leftie!

Clothespin Color Match

Theme: Preschool Skills
Materials: clothespins, pipe cleaners, markers
How to: Twist the pipe cleaners into little circles and color the ends of the clothespins with the same colors.  Have your child match them together.

Source: I don't remember!  If this is your activity, please let me know so I can give you the credit!

Container Counting

This is our first counting activity and as I expected, M did not do very well.  She kept wanting to put just one manipulative in each container, like we did yesterday with the spooning activity.  That's ok, practice will make perfect!

Container Counting

Theme: Preschool Skills
Materials: Small containers (I used plastic food containers), manipulatives (tea bags, marbles, etc), numbers on pieces of paper that fit into your containers.
How to:  Put a number at the bottom of each container and have your child count and place the correct number of manipulatives in each container
Source: No Time for Flashcards

Spooning Activities

Another great activity for hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. 

Spooning Activities

Theme: Practical Life/Motor Skills

Materials:  egg container (or any container with divisions, eg. muffin tins, pill box, etc), spoon, manipulatives to spoon (I used glass water beads)

How to:  Have your child spoon one manipulative into each section of your container, one at a time.

Pipe Cleaners & Parmesan Container

This is a great activity to help with concentration and hand-eye coordination.  This really held M's attention, and she even asked for it again after she woke up from her nap in the afternoon.

Pipe Cleaners & Parmesan Container

Theme: Practical Life/Motor Skills
Materials: pipe cleaners, Parmesan container
How to: Have your child fit a pipe cleaner into each hole.

Tot School - Week 3

M is 30 months old.

Official Tot School
Apple Printing
Beginning Letter Sound Match
Parking Lot Number Recognition
Dry Pouring

Extra Learning
M got quite a bit of use out of her playdough set this weekend.  I brought it out on Friday for a little bit of messy play, and she spent most of the rest of that day, as well as most of Saturday playing with it.

After I realized that she needed much more exposure to beginning letter sounds, we started using Starfall this week.  Unlike some of the other toddler sites that Michaela likes, she can't navigate through the pages on her own so her daddy or I have to help out.  It was good though because I was able to assess which letters she was having problems with so that we can focus more on those ones.

We took a field trip this week!  We went to the local botanic gardens with some good friends of ours and spent the morning letting the kids run around and explore.

Teacher Lessons

Be patient.  It was really hard for me this week to see that M wasn't doing well with beginning letter sounds.  She basically taught herself her ABC's and she was doing so well, I thought for sure it would just click with her.  I had to keep reminding myself not to force the issue and to let learning happen on it's own.  We'll be working alot with exposure to letter sounds this week, but I have to remember to do it in a fun, encouraging way.

That's all for this week!  To see what other toddlers are learning this week, check out the official Tot School Website!

Library Corner

Every other week we go to the library and fill our big library bag with as many books as can fit. There's no rhyme or reason to what books we pick, we just make sure to grab some that look relatively age appropriate. Enjoy our reviews of our favorites from each trip!

The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez- This is such a fun book! There are no words; the idea is that you look at the illustrations and make up the story as you go along. The first time we read this the story was a bit sparse, but each new time it gets better and better. What a good workout for my mommy brain!

Fancy Nancy at the Museum by Jane O'Connor- What can I say, the Fancy Nancy books are guaranteed hits with M and this one was no exception!

How do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague- We've read another in this series before and we really enjoy them. Not only do they teach manners and good behavior in a fun way, they help fuel M's love for all thing dinosaur!

Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds- Hilarious! Inspired by a cooking show he watches through the farmhouse window, the Rooster helps the chickens break away from their boring dinner routine of chicken feed. The rest of the farm animals want in on the action and soon the spicy smells of salsa, guacamole, and nachos fill the barnyard. Such a fun read, and I love that it included recipes at the end!

My New Baby by Rachel Fuller - While this would have been great right after R was born, 9 months later it's still great. This is so realistic as it shows the little girl getting used to having her baby brother around. M loved it because it mirrored our own days. I also have to give props for them showing the mommy breastfeeding!

Pete's a Pizza by William Steig- This books shows a dad improvising a unique way to cheer up his grumpy son. The silliness appealed to M, while I completely related to the situation.

A Birthday for Cow by Jan Thomas- This book was...odd. The storyline basically follows a pig and mouse who are trying to make a cake for Cow's birthday but keep getting interrupted by Duck, who insists that a turnip is a key ingredient for the cake. The illustrations are bright and expressive and the storyline is simple and silly. I would keep finding M "reading" this to herself, so I know she really enjoyed it!

Some other library books we enjoyed reading this week:




























This post is being linked up to What My Child is Reading at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

Disclosure: The links for the books are connected through Amazon Associates and I may earn a small revenue if you click through and purchase any book listed.

Dry Pouring

A lot of my activities are inspired by Montessori ideas. Dry pouring is an important skill to master, not only because it enhances a child's ability to control their movements, but also because it assists in developing responsibility and independence. If you are looking for more, My Montessori Journey has tons of great variations on the dry pouring activity. By the way, M loved this activity. She seriously spent a good 45 minutes working on this before she got bored!

Dry Pouring

Theme: Practical Life/Motor Skills

Materials: small pitcher, several containers with increasingly smaller openings, lentils (or beans or rice)

How to: Fill the pitcher with your dry materials and have your child practice pouring them into the containers and back again with as little spilling as possible. This is a skill that needs lots of practice before perfected!