Is your Mama a Llama?

If you haven't heard of this book - where have you been? I got the book on CD from the library (the books on CD are a great way to get some variety in reading books, so they don't always
have to hear my boring voice)

Anyways, the llama is looking for his mama, and asks all the other animals, "Is your mama a llama?" They all say no, then descibe (with really good adjectives) what their mama looks like.

After we read the book, we pulled out all the stuffed animals, threw them all on a blanket. Then began sorting.

I would ask who can find a duck? Who can find another? I went through, until all the animals were matched up.

During this, I also asked the kids to describe details about each animal, for example:

What color is the penguins tummy?

What does the duck say?

How many bears are there?

So on and so forth.

And of course they put them ALL away before we finished.

(this activity is very similer to my other animal sort, I just used a book to help)

Paper Plate Feelings

You gotta love paper plates. So many art projects come home from school , made from paper plates.

Well, here's another!

1. Draw some faces with different facial expressions on paper plates. You don't have to be an artist - look at mine.

2. Read a book about feelings. I had this one:

(I wish I had this book : The Way I Feel by Janan Cain, I thought I did, but I didn't)

3. Show the kids each paper plate, and ask what the feeling is, then ask them what makes them feel that way. Have them make their own faces too!

For example: What is something that makes you happy? Her answer: Horses

What is something that makes you sad? Her answer: Time Outs

(My 2 year old just copied everything Ri said, but no worries, she'll get there one day)

4. Then, let them pick a plate and put it on their face, and have them act out the feeling.

We really liked this activity, we all laughed when everyone was making their "feelings faces"

Color bags

Learning colors and learning how to sort objects are pretty important for kids. This activity can accomplish both.

Clearing out toys and having kids keep busy on their own are pretty important to parents. This activity can accomplish both!

Go find random toys that are at the bottom of the toy basket, if you have flash cards, throw some of those in too. Make some "color labels" and throw them all into a Ziploc bag, 2 colors to a bag. Give a bag to your kid, and have them sort away.

My 2 year old only had the attention span to so one bag. My 4 yr old did all 3 in one sitting. They've asked to do it again too!

All About Hands

This takes about 5-10 minutes, and my kids loved it, I was surprised at how attentive they were.

I started by singing a little song we heard at the library:

I have ten little fingers and they all belong to me

I can make them do things, just you watch and see!

I can open them wide, I can shut them up tight

I can put them together, I can make them hide!

I can raise them up high, I can bring them down low

I can fold them together and place them just so. (in their lap)

(you could also do, where is thumbkin)

Then I had them count all their fingers.

Then I asked them questions about what kinds of things they do with their hands. It was really cute to hear their answers!

Next,get into your stash of colored construction paper (if you don't have any, go buy some, in BULK!)

Let them choose a color, trace their hands, then let them color them in.

Don"t forget to have them write their name at the top, or use this opportunity to teach them.

On another day do the same thing, but: All About Feet

I hung them up on the door out to our garage, and they loved putting their hands up on them and talking about who's hands were bigger or smaller.

Flash Cards

Flash cards are great to build vocabulary in toddlers as well as learning colors and shapes. This is the first time I've worked with Chloe on these cards. I tried 2 things:

First, I layed out 3 cards and asked her what they were, I could either ask : Chloe where's the picture of the fish, or I could point to one and ask whats this? (don't have a pic of us doing this activity)

Next, I got 2 cards that labeled just colors, then found 2 other cards that had that color. We then began a "talk and question" conversation about those colors. I talked about the colors, then I asked her to match the colors together. She didn't get it right at first, but after a few times, she'll pick it up. Pictured:

We of course, sang the clean-up song when we were done, and oh yes, I made sure she helped!

I got my cards at the Lakeshore Learning Center (which is pretty pricey sometimes). I got them with the intent to teach colors and shapes. They have lots of different kinds to teach whatever you choose. Target had some great ones this year around September that I got for $1 a box. So, next fall pick some up! My kids love them, and I enjoy watching them learn!

Computer

I started R on computers when she was about 2 yrs old. Teaching her how to use the mouse took quite some time (especially because our mouse gets stuck all the time). I had do help her hand over hand for a long time, until she got the hang of it.

Her favorite website is pbskids.org

She loves Clifford games especially the scavenger hunt, and cliffords big parade

Depending on the age, you can try any of the games that are on here. R will try the Super Why games sometimes, but isn't too successful, but if you happen to have a "super smarty" or a child in preschool, give it a try. If you have a young one, sit her on your lap and go into Sesame Street or Barney and play them with her.

**Some of the games require use of the space bar. I put a little sticker on it, so that she can see it clearly. Imagine all those keys in the eyes of a 2 year old!

I think it is so important these days to teach computer skills to your child, especially because they will begin typing in very early grades and even get graded on their knowledge of computers! (I had to when I taught 1st grade) So get going now!

School

Every time we drive by a school, R asks "Mommy, can I go to school?" I try to explain that she just isn't old enough, but one day! I asked her if she would like to do school with me, and she gave an exited YES!
So I better be a good Mom and do some "school" with my child.


I went to Barnes & Noble to look for some books, and as I was looking through them, I realized that I could make these myself, and gear them more towards what I want her to learn, and what I know she needs to learn to be prepared for kinder. I used to teach 1st grade, before I was an adored Mommy....anyways... I used to make a lot of my own worksheets then too.

I'm starting with 3 things:
Recognizing and writing her name
Recognizing and writing letters
One to one correspondence (which means they can count objects correctly, by touching each one and saying the number)

If there is time, I really like to end our school with reading her a couple of books.

Here is practicing her name, I write it first, say the letters out loud and have her repeat. Then do it again, one letter at a time, and have her copy it one letter at a time. **Draw a line, or else she will write it seriously anywhere she wants on the paper. Then I wrote all our families names and had her circle hers, and she knew it immediately. - YEA!

Today was A day. We practice writing A at the top, then she has to go find and circle the A's on the paper. * Helping her hand over hand when first writing is very helpful!

Give her a treat if she works well (and sometimes she won't) then put it up on the fridge so that she can look at it throughout the week - mostly when she's bored while you're trying to make dinner.

When I taught first Grade, one great piece of advice my principal gave me was that First Graders need to change activities every 15 minutes, because that was their attention threshold. R is 3 yrs, so imagine what her attention time is! This activity took about 5 minutes. With about 5 minutes of prep time (for me) to make the worksheet.

Listening Center

Great Book!

When I used to teach , we always had a book listening center in my room, where the kids would put on head phones and listen to an audio version of a story and follow along in the book. The kids loved it! I thought I would try this with R. I checked them out at the library, and she enjoyed them, and asked to do it over and over again. She figured out quickly to turn the page when the bell rings. I think its nice when Riley can hear other people reading a story other than me too, try it out!

Making a schedule

So first things first, I sat down with an activity book for toddlers (which has given me tons of ideas) and wrote down something to do everyday for this month. I don't plan on being interactive for every activity. Some activities are some very simple independent play items, although the first couple of times I have to teach her HOW to play independently. These ones are great because, sometimes I need to "clean the house/make dinner...", which I also like to call "sitting and watching a show".

So far this week:

Monday: Finger paint (Messy , but loved every second of it!)

Tuesday: Stamps (Big mistake: I didn't teach her how to do it, so the ink got everywhere)

Wednesday: "Tape City" (Check back for pictures)

Thursday: Fun with sheets

Friday: Play do