Shapes Week for Toddlers

Zahavah makes me laugh. She is, what I call, "a girly girl". When trying to teach her shapes this week, I was not surprised to see she already knew "heart" and "star" but not "square" and "circle"! We worked hard though and she started adding more shapes to her vocabulary. Here are a few things that happened last week in Tot School.

Making circles in play doh

By far the favorite activity this week. I helped Z flatten out some play doh and brought a cup stacking toy for her to make imprints with. She quickly got to work and started saying " Circle" every time she made one. She requested this activity again later that week.

Beautiful circles in the play doh

Making a "circle" bracelet

Oh the things you can do with Cheerios! We had some fruity ones on hand (first time I buy the fruity kind and it was well loved...so much sugar though!) so I put some in a small bowl and showed Zahavah how to put the "circles" on a pipe cleaner. When she got tired of threading them, I closed the pipe cleaner and put in on her arm. She quite liked it but eventually took it off and proceeded to eat it! :)

Eating the product of her hard work

Pink Tower

Well...I'm sure you're not used to seeing it built like that but she still was very proud of her job! :) She self-corrected a few times to make it work and that is as good ad it got. I'll bring it out again later and see how she does. We purchased ours from the Montessori Outlet.

Shape pegboard

It's a hit. Z loved placing the shapes in the holes and didn't even get frustrated when some would shift while she was putting another one down. I called the shapes as she put them in the pegboard. Toy is from Learning Resources.

Ah...couldn't resist stacking the shapes!

Placing "circles" on the pegboard

From Alex, a nice button toy. For the sake of this week, the buttons were called "buttons" but referred to as "buttons shaped like a circle". 

I'll be posting more activities in regard to shapes and toddlers very soon so stand by...

Pets Week for Preschoolers - Part 3

Pets Week was a success! I apologize in advance for not including a lot of bird activities. It is totally deliberate. I intend to include an "Angry Birds" unit sometime soon so I am saving the bird activities for that time. 

Math - Fish and their bubbles

First seen on My Montessori Journey. I thought it was such a great idea! I made the fish from felt and wrote the numbers with white fabric glue. Adrian then sequenced the fish from 1 to 10 and distributed the water bubbles (cut-up little beads from a small purse I never used) to match the number on the fish. 

An example of matching numbered fish with the right amount of bubbles

Fine Motor Skills / Practical Life - Scooping "bird seed" aka "rice"

I guess I could have bought bird seeds since I'm planning on it anyway but since I had none at home this week, I used rice and pretended it was bird seed which Adrian had to scoop from one bowl to a smaller bowl. It got harder and harder the less seed there was...

Math -Addition with Goldfish

Adrian is loving adding lately and can do it without props but this math was so cute I couldn't resist. I printed it from 3Dinosaurs  (Ocean Part 2 Pack) and inserted it in a plastic protector so it could be used several times. I put goldfish "in the water" and Adrian would count and add the number cards needed under.

Math - Feeding the dog the right amount of bones

A yummy activity. Printed these cards from a clipart found on CogHillCartooning. Then I printed a bunch of them and wrote a number on each and put some Scooby Snacks in a bowl.  Adrian knew exactly what to do; feed each dog the amount of bones desired...and eat the bones afterwards.

Math - Number puzzles

A puzzle-game made by Ravensburger we bought last year. He enjoys it as a puzzle. Haven't played it as game yet. I pulled out the pets cards and he completed the puzzles...and then proceeded to pull out the farm animals and zoo animals as well! :)

Art - Dog Origami

Wanted to do something different so I looked for simple origami activities for kids and found this dog on Origami with Rachel Katz. It was very easy for me, but Adrian needed assistance with pressure in the folds but overall, he liked it much. Mine is the white dog and his the black dog (we didn't have origami paper but two construction sheets could be glued together. Doing it along is a must.

Art - Making play dough balls for pets to play with

Noticing that Adrian is having  a tough time modeling with dough, I presented this activity to him. Very simple; make balls so the Learning Resources Jumbo Pets have toys to play with. He loved the idea but is still in need of some practice to form balls. He's getting better every time though.

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Today, I'm happily linking up to:

Share it Saturday, Mom's Library, The Sunday Showcase,  123 Homeschool 4 Me, We Made That,

and Sun Scholars's For the Kids Friday.

Pets Week for Preschoolers - Part 2

Adrian knows his pets very well but it's still fun for him to talk about them. Every time, he learns something new. For example, while working with the cat whiskers this week, we discussed how important they are for the kitties. Little facts thrown in here and there make it captivating and educational at the same time.

Fine Motor Skills - Pet Lacing Cards

Beautiful lacing cards with pets (made by Melissa & Doug). Adrian laced a new one every day. We tried these when he was younger (3 years old) and it was very difficult. This time, it was no trouble at all although the "under-over" pattern is something that sometimes causes trouble.

Science - Water, air or land?

I really wanted to make better looking water-air-land cards for this  but Adrian was sick this week and as such, time was mostly spent disinfecting and laundering so his little sister and us wouldn't catch the little bug that upset his stomach. In the end, simple construction paper had to do, along with a Toob of Pets to sort into their right category. We purchased this Toob on Amazon for about $10 a few months ago.

Outdoor Play - Sifting "cat poop" from the "litter box"

As yucky as it can seem, it's kind of a practical life activity if you ask me. If we had a cat, Adrian would now be able to sift through the box to scoop out the pees and poops! :) And being that he is a little boy, anything poopy-related is hilarious. So I cut 2 brownish pipe cleaners, and tried to shape them like cat poopies. I then buried then in the sand and asked Adrian to "clean the litterbox". He loved it and repeated the activity.

The pipe cleaners (aka cat poop) in the sandbox (aka litter box)

Outdoor Play - Doing tricks like dogs can do

The outdoors is where, ideally, Adrian would spend all his time. If it's nice out, I try to do an activity outside. He really liked this one. I put together a quick obstacle course he had to complete and the LOVED it. We discusses how dogs can be trained to do tricks, watched a short video and then, Adrian went though the circuit I prepared. He had to catch the ball, walk across a piece of wood while keeping his balance, jump into the hula hoop, walk in between the ladder steps and finally slide down the slide. I modified the course too to make it different because he kept wanting go through it.

Math - shortest to tallest cat whisker

Yeah...about that one. I think I need to make more "whiskers" next time. This was definitely the easiest activity this week. 

Math - Adding spots to the Dalmatian

A well liked activity. I printed a "spotless" Dalmatian (Color-Your-Own) and then asked Adrian to throw a die so we could get this poor creature some of its famous spots. He then had to draw the number of spots he rolled. He really likes our colorful dice (found at a dollar store) and decided he would throw each one once and do the quantity of spots required by each. This is the final version after rolling each die once.  The most difficult part for for him to draw small circles. He can draw circles but not small ones so I ended up drawing the small circles (he'd count for me) and he filled them in. Staying within the lines is also difficult for him so this was good practice.

Pets Week for Preschoolers

While we aren't lucky enough to own a pet, we are graced almost daily by the visit of Miss Nabburg, the neighbor's cat, who happens to be very friendly (aka comes in the house for "routine inspections" and petting sessions). Both Adrian and Zahavah love animals and I thought "Pet Week" would allow Adrian to learn a bit more about the most common pets and yet feel comfortable within the topic. Here are some of the activities we've accomplished this week.

Outdoor Play - "Digging" for bones in the yard

While we didn't really dig like a dog would to find these bones, I sure thought about planning it that way. "What if I put the homemade felt bones in a small Ziploc bag and hid them in the sand? " But no, I stayed low key...As it turns out, the brown bones were not that easy to find in the grass. Leaves have started falling here and as such, they blended in! So I just asked Adrian to look for the 8 bones in the yard. He loves this type of outdoor activity. I made my bones following the Booda Bones size of bones and made two of each so they could be used for matching and sizing from largest to smallest afterwards.

Math - Matching & Sizing Up

Pictured are the felt bones after Adrian matched them up and then "sized them up" from largest to smallest.

Fine Motor - Cutting fish strips

Using scissors can be challenging for a child. Adrian is working real hard at this lately and loves his improvements in making larger cuts, more precise cuts and faster cuts (I'm loving it too!). These scissors are from Melissa & Doug and are great. I love that they do not cut clothes or fingers because honestly, this week, we'd be missing some some skin I'm afraid. I printed these strips (featuring real fish from Utah lakes) thinking we'd work on one daily and that is what we've been doing. Each day brings us improvements in the scissor holding department. Want your own fish strips? Visit Fish in Utah for your copy.

Cat Breed Matching & Memory Game

A very nice (I think!) cat breed game. Printed from VisualDictionaryOnline on cardstock (print 2 copies), then cut to be in the same size. First Adrian matched the cat breeds together and then we played a memory game with these. Adrian loved finding a pair.

Math - Counting Goldfish

This was one of the quickest activities for Adrian. He loves math AND goldfish so he filled the sheet as quick as possible and then proceeded to eat ALL the counters! :)

Fishing Game

This little fishing game took a while to make and I am glad to say it was worth it. Adrian loved fishing with the magnetic wand.  He counted the fish as he went. If you wish to make your own felt fishes, here is what I used: brightly colored felt, sequins for the scales, thread, goggly eyes, a metal washer and polyester stuffing. To complete the game, use a magnetic wand from a magnetic puzzle if you have one. I cannot remember where I found the pattern but drawing a fish is pretty basic anyway. The idea for the game came from Counting Coconuts by the way.

Math - Counting whiskers

A quick activity (a filler, really) involving cats and math. Found at Kidssoup in their free pages to use.

Art & Fine Motor - Adding scales to a fish

I spent an evening cutting little round construction paper circles for this craft. I really wanted to use hole  punched paper (lazy, you say?) but it would have been too small for Adrian to pick up one by one. At the size of a dime or so, these were just right for a pick up challenge yet not frustrating. We used liquid glue and a paintbrush too as glue sticks are a bit too sticky yet not enough sometimes for Adrian. It worked wonderfully and he loved this craft. Get your own fish at Free Coloring Sheets.

Math - Pattern Sequence of pets with stampers

What child doesn't love stamps? Using Melissa & Doug's Pet Stampers, I proceeded to start a sequence of pattern which Adrian had to complete with the right pet AND ink color. He would have done a lot more than 4 sequences for sure. I wish the grid had more spaces as I felt it may be tough to really determine what came next for Adrian but a smaller grid would have meant no room for the stamps...

As pet week goes on, expect at least another post on this wonderful subject.

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Today, I'm happily linking up to

Living Montessori Now, B-Inspired Mama, I can Teach my Child, No Time for Flashcards, and 123 Homeschool 4 Me.

By the Seashore for Toddlers - Part 2

By the Seashore has been a tremendous success with "baby" Zahavah. She goes in short spurts though and is VERY picky when it comes to choosing an activity. Some don't get her attention as much and that's ok. She may be almost 2 but I'm still getting to know her likings! :) We usually do only 3-4 different "school activities" each day and leave the rest to self-interest play and outdoor fun.

Stacking sand "biscuits"

Mmm. While I loved this idea, she didn't so much. :( She did stack the sand dollars though.

Fishing magnetic fish...or taking a break from it

This little fishing game took a while to make and I thought it would be a big hit but it wasn't so much. I showed her how to use it and she was actually pretty good at it but didn't really like the activity overall. Oh well!  Maybe another day it will be the favorite! :) In the meantime, if you wish to make your own felt fishes, here is what I used: brightly colored felt, sequins for the scales, thread, goggly eyes, a metal washer and polyester stuffing. To complete the game, use a magnetic wand from a magnetic puzzle if you have one. I cannot remember where I found the pattern but drawing a fish is pretty basic anyway. The idea for the game came from Counting Coconuts by the way.

Caught a fish!

It's biting!

Sifting sea glass from sand

Zahavah loves playing the sand so it was no surprise to see her enjoying this activity, done at home in our small sandbox. I must admit the sea glass pieces we have are so small that they took a while to find (even in this small box) but Z's face when she'd find a "gem" was of such pride that  it was still worth hunting them down (although I did give up on finding the last piece for now...). ;)

Collecting seashells "on the beach"

Until we head to the beach for real, the gigantic sandbox located in our local playground served as a pretend one. I scattered 10 big seashells on the surface, gave baby a pail and let her do the picking. We repeated over and over again. Her big brother even joined in.

Sorting seashell pasta by color

Another " bah" activity. She sorted all three colors into the little ramekins but didn't seem to particularly enjoy it. It gave her fingers a good fine motor workout though; not just her math skills were involved.

Sand Combs

An artistic take on playground time. I made these four differently "Teethed" cardboard combs and showed her how they made different "tracks" in the sand. After that, she just had to try it by herself. I stumbled upon this idea on storiesandchildren. Hers were made of plastic lids though but as I did not have any of these lids, I went with box cardboard. It just made the teeth a bit more flimsy at the end (the sand was slightly wet) but once dried, they were as good as new.

Coloring a Crab

As silly as it may be, it was Zahavah's first time coloring with crayons. I always used an aqua doodle before so I wasn't sure how it would go. She did great and loved it. I bought the Crayola Triangular Crayons which are supposed to her develop the right grip (although it never helped Adrian, one can always hope for this little one). I taped the sheet to the floor to avoid frustrating paper movements and tears as well. You can print your own Kawaii crab at HelloKids. 

Last but not pictured was a fun game of beach ball. We threw the ball, practiced catching the ball, kicked it and even rolled on it. It was a blast.

Apple Week for Preschoolers - Part 2

Apple Week has now come an end in our homeschool-preschool and here is a last look at what we had a chance to do during this activity-filled week.

Outdoor Play - Language & Literacy - 

Applesauce ingredients hunt and quiz in the backyard

A well loved activity by Adrian this week was this applesauce ingredients hunting. I hid all four apples in the yard with 1 envelope for each and did the same with the wooden spoon. Adrian had to find the envelopes in order (1-5) and answer the question within the envelope correctly before being allowed to add the applesauce ingredient to his cooking pot. The more good answers, the more applesauce he would make...and eat! :) Questions were as follows:

1. True or False: Apples are vegetables.

2. Can you name 3 different color of apples?

3. True or False: Apples grow on trees.

4. Apples have a stone in their core.

5. Can you name 2 apple products? / 2 things we can make with apples?

Science - Culinary Arts - Making applesauce

Making applesauce is frankly easy when you've made so much of it for your babies. :) Adrian and I ended up using 2 Golden Delicious and one Gala apple. I like to use a variety of apples and only sweet ones as I do not add sugar at all. Adrian took the stickers off the apples, washed them and I then peeled and cored the fruit while he...ate the peelings. :) Once I finished dicing the apples, he put them in the pot, we added about an inch of water to the bottom of the pot and started cooking them. Adrian stirred and we tested with a fork several times until the apples felt tender, at which point, we transferred the apples to the mini food prep for pureeing. Unfortunately, it broke in the midst of the pureeing so the applesauce was a bit chunkier than we like it (can't blame it for breaking after all those years of baby food making). It still tasted great but the texture was a bit off to our palate. ;)

Art - Apple printmaking

Well believe it or not, it was the first time I cut an apple sideways in front of Adrian and he looked so surprised to see a star in the middle of its core! It was like I did magic. So we took the magic to the paper by dipping one half in red paint and the other in green paint (paint was previously poured in two small plates). The trick is to not saturate the apple, otherwise, you don't see the star pattern so much. I really liked the result and would eventually like to take this activity to a blank canvas bag. It'd look so neat for an apple orchard visit.

Math - Patterning with apple cut-outs

Ordered these through an Ebay seller last year.  I figured it was cheaper than buying the colored card stock and punch and I was right. These were $0.99 and $0.50 for shipping. I used them for patterning this year. What you see above is the completed pattern (Adrian added the last apple to my sequence). He did great and loves doing patterns like these (probably because he's so good at it!).

Roll an apple

Here comes the Tadoodles! Yes, I still have these from Adrian's toddler years and yes, they still work just fine! I put fall color ones on the Tadoodle car and brought these out with a die and Apple Picking Time sheet (see Engaging Toddler Activities for your own). I originally had planned on using a red bingo stamper but it has been misplaced during our overseas move and I have had little time to hunt for it. No biggie as Adrian loved seeing the Tadoodles again! :) So to fill in this sheet with dots, Adrian rolled the die and dotted as many circles as the die indicated. He loved alternating colors in between die roll. (idea for this activity was originally taken from somewhere. My Montessori Journey maybe?).

Fine Motor - Apple Tweezing

Well, these are only mini red pompoms but pretending is fun! We used a pair of toast tongs for this activity. Real tweezers would have been a big small and real tongs, a bit too big. These were perfect and Adrian completed the tweezing with no difficulty and in no time. 

Science - Parts of an Apple

We first took a look at the poster and then proceeded to color carefully in our booklet. I found the poster on the University of Illinois's website and the apple for coloring at Color Me Good. (I had to add the leaf though).

Art - Play dough Apples

Aren't these the cutest little apples? With some red play dough, a broken twig and tiny leaves leftover from our bush trimming, you get these adorable creations. Last year, we used cut up aquatic plant leaves for the leaves and it worked much better as they were sturdier but I could not find them in time for this year. Real leaves were a bit difficult to get in the dough as they keep bending but on the other hand, gathering the twig pieces and leaves added to the fun for Adrian. (Idea found on My Montessori Journey)

Language & Literacy - Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins Story Acting

Another activity found on My Montessori Journey. This book had never appealed to me or Adrian when we borrowed it from our local library but I gave the activity a shot anyway and with the props, the book was now loved and cherished to the point where it became part of our own library. Basically, a different farm animal takes an apple on each page spread so I made sure we had the ten animals and farmer (card could be used as they were on MMJ)) and ten apples (apple pattern found on MMJ). Adrian would then make the animal take an apple and set it aside until all the apples were gone. He made sure several times that the amount of apples in the tree matched the ones in our crate. 

All animals and farmer were fed

This is it for apple week, folks! Hope you are enjoying trying some of these in your own home.