Modifying Activities

Good teachers modify their instruction to meet the individual needs of the students in their class. I realized the other day, I can start doing this more at home with the boys as well.

When S was about 18 months, I had made him this disk insert activity. I got it out for M to begin exploring and realized I could easily update it so that S could still learn from it as well. I simply added numbers to each disk so that they needed to be inserted in order.  Now both boys can benefit from the same activity! 

Themes are also a great way to organize your activities so that children of multiple ages can benefit. 

More Halloween Matching

I printed this ghost matching game yesterday from childcareland.com.  I printed two copies of the first page only (the following pages are more advanced).  One page is to be used as the "mat" and the other I cut up to make "cards".  I was out of cardstock so I backed it with black construction paper and plan to laminate it soon before it takes too much toddler abuse.  S really enjoyed doing it this afternoon.  He hasn't mastered it yet, but caught on to the idea.   The website has a ton of free printables here and I am certain this is not the last activity I take from it.  Thanks, Activity Mom!

Opening and Closing

I plan to introduce this to S later this afternoon.  I will model for him opening each "container" and taking the dino out.  We will also reverse the process and close the dino inside.  This should reinforce "open/closed" and "in/out" and it's good fine motor practice.  I would prefer to use small sports or Halloween objects since we are talking about those two topics this month, but dinos was all I had on hand.

Thanks for the idea, The Wonder Years!

Die Cuts

My mom made these Halloween die cuts for S (if you don't have access to a machine, you can just cut some free hand) and I came up with these two activities over the weekend.  The first is a matching game.  I lay all four cut outs on the floor in front of us, then I hand him one of them and ask him, "Can you find the other ghost?"  He then lays the ghost in his hand on top of the one on the floor.  This is repeated with each one.  I modeled this a few times for him before I let him try and thought aloud, "Hmm?  No, that's a cat.  Oh, look.  There's the ghost!"

The other thing I did with them is make stick puppets.  He likes to "fly" the bat and say "boo" or "meow" with the ghost and cat. 

Disk Insert

Here's another Montessori inspired idea.  I cut a slit in the lid of a coffee can for S to insert disks.  He has learned to open the lid to remove the disks, but you could also cut a hole in the side for removal.  For disks I used the lids that came on the free dog food from Target!  I have lots more, but I need to wait until our dog has eaten the food.  This activity keeps S engaged longer than most.  Thanks to The Wonder Years for the idea!

Spool Stacker

I had this wooden dowel on a base from a weather vane kit in my fourth grade class and I thought of another use.  S has mastered large stackers, so I thought this would help to develop his fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.  I borrowed these wooden spools from a lacing kit at our toy library, but you could use plastic spools or blocks with holes and support a dowel like this.

Fall Cleaning

One of my two "fall resolutions" (I'll blog about the other soon) is to do a better job of staying on top of cleaning.  I keep an organized and tidy house, but it is hard for me to find time to clean.  S is a light/short napper and I always seem to make too much noise when cleaning.  And when he's awake I find it hard to occupy him while I am cleaning. 

So I bought him this cleaning set for him to "help me" when I clean.  It's pretty cheap and plasticky and I would prefer a nicer one, but it was $2 at Tuesday Morning.  As a side note, I recommend Tueday Morning for saving money on toys.  Some visits are a bust, but at times you can find great quality toys for half the price.  I put the set in a caddy so that he could tote it around and the pieces would remain together when stored.  After I bought the set, I thought you could easily make your own with things you may already have: a clean spray bottle, sponge, rag... 

Also, S loves to push around our big broom.  I was going to buy him a child-sized one, but I found a Swiffer with one or two less handle extensions works just as well and it actually cleans the floor! 

Last, this or any other push toy works well in our house as a vacuum cleaner if you don't have a toy one.  Perhaps I should go clean instead of spending time blogging...

Water Transfer with a Sponge

I discovered it was a little early to introduce this to S at 16 months, but I think he will be ready for it in a few more weeks. The idea was inspired by a Montessori activity.  When I share Montessori ideas, please keep in mind I am not Montessori trained, am not following proper Montessori presentation of activities, and am only claiming them as Montessori inspired.

Thanks to Amy at The Wonder Years for the idea (and for many more to come!)