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. 

Activity Sheets with Emergent Writers

I do not rely on activity books to teach S, nor do I give him many, but for me they still serve a supplemental purpose because S enjoys them.  Here are two ways a toddler/young preschooler can still answer "worksheet" questions:

1.  Use dot markers for selecting choices.  It's hard to see in the pic, but S used an orange dot marker to choose the matching pictures instead of circling the answer (this was completed when he was about 24 months, but he started using dot markers around 18 months).



2.  Write answers on small sticky notes and let your toddler or preschooler match the sticky note with the correct answer on the page.  This is a favorite of S's because he loves stickers.  You can also cut large sticky notes to make small ones or cut up white mailing labels to make your own "stickers". 

Qwirkle $14

This is such a great game for kids AND adults and $13.99 is a great price (free shipping if you're signed up for free Amazon Mom or spend $25).  The price could change any minute on Amazon though.  S is too young to play right now, but the pieces can be used by preschoolers to sort by different attributes or a toddler could do simple matching.  They are also fun to dump out of toy dump trucks!

Our First Experiment

I have been meaning to incorporate more science into our activities, so when I ran across this on several blogs, I wanted to try it with S.  I had made these "hot" and "cold" laminated cards when S was about a year old to teach him the difference, but I brought them back out for this activity as a visual.  We filled an ice cube tray with water and food coloring drops (red for Valentine's).  When the water had frozen, I filled a bowl with hot (very warm) water and one with cold water and placed a few ice cubes into each.  S liked to explore the different water temperatures and we talked about how the cubes in the hot water were "small" and the cubes in the cold water stayed "big".  This was also a good activity to introduce the word "melt", which I'm not sure I've really used with S.  Our fun ended when he turned one of the bowls over, but he enjoyed it so much that I think we will do it again to reinforce the concepts. 

Thanks, April Flowers!

Heart Letter Search

I printed this blank heart mat from a site I just discovered (and love) called Prekinders.  Note:  I am adding it to my resource list.  I then added some letters that S is familiar with to create a "letter search".  We used a different color of dot marker to mark each letter.  I modeled this for him to begin (some of the S's) and then had him point to the letters before he marked them himself.  As you can see, his attention span did not last for the entire activity, so next time I will cut the mat in half. 

Thanks, Activity Mom, for the site!

Free Animal Cookies and Circus Train

I tied three animal cookie boxes to make a circus train for S.  I use to love pretending these boxes were circus trains when I was a child. 

You can get 2 boxes for FREE at Walmart with this $2/2 printable coupon. 

New Felt Board

Today I finally got around to making S's new felt board.  The cardboard triangular one didn't hold up too well under toddler usage.  I used a cheap frame from Ikea and put a sheet of white felt inside over the plexiglass.  I have it propped up against the wall of our play room, but you could hang it low as well. 

I also cut out three varying-sized hearts to work on the concept of size (big, medium, small).  We're not quite ready for sequencing them, but this is a start.  S also likes to count the three hearts. 

Anyone have a good Valentine's felt board rhyme? 

Dot Letters

I have been wanting to print and try this activity with S for a long time now.  MakingLearningFun.com has printable letter magnet pages.  You are suppose to use them with little colored dot magnets, but I used them with our dot art markers.  S has completed "S is for school" and "V is for Valentines".  I plan to bind them together in a book when we finish all the letters.  I like that there are several choices per letter and they also have pages to go with Brown Bear, Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

Thanks, 1+1+1+=1!

Baby and Toddler Computer Games

I understand if you are not interested in introducing your tot to the computer yet, but S caught me in a weak moment the other day and now there's no going back.  Babygamer.com has a collection of links to a variety of free baby/toddler internet "games."  They basically all work the same way - there is some type of response when any key on the keyboard is pushed.  I have convinced myself that they are good lessons in cause and effect, but there are some that are more educational (i.e when a key is pushed the next letter of the alphabet comes up). 

Also, we do not own an iPhone, but I have read/heard a lot of people talking about free and inexpensive applications for toddlers.  One of my favorite blogs 1+1+1=1 has a list of a few.

If you know of any others, please feel free to comment. 

Foam Sticker Sorting

This month we are learning about pets and since S has done such a great job with matching, I thought I would try sorting with him.  I found these foam stickers in the dollar bin at Target and placed one of each animal on a cup.  Then he can sort them by animal into the correct cup.  I used all blue stickers on the cup so that he wouldn't think it was color sorting and I only began with two cups when I introduced the activity (the fish and dog since they look very different).  I am keeping the activity on one of my new Oriental Trading Company trays so that S has access to the activity.  (Note:  These trays are so great for art/crafting, food, learning, playdough, setting up activities...)

I plan to follow the below progression with S to support early math concepts, but I came up with this on my own, so if anyone has a different suggestion or addition, please feel free to comment: 

• matching
• sorting
• sequencing (size)
• patterns

The stickers were also great for fine motor practice (peeling and sticking).   

Toddler Scrabble

My mom came across this Alphabet Game from 1972 and it is so great!  It has a precious game board and spinner, but what I love about it is the game cards.

The goal is to spell words on the game cards using big plastic letters, but I love it now for S because he can just match the letters on the cards and there is a picture of the word on the card as well.  It reminds me of this homemade activity, but cuter.  My only complaint is that I am not a fan of using all capital letters. 

Thanks, Mom!

Happy (Almost) New Year!

S received a Do-a-Dot set for Christmas and we put it to use this week.  I opened a paper party hat so that it was flat and had S cover the reverse (non-shiny) side in dots.  I then refastened it inside out.  S likes to put it on and shout "Happy New Near!"

Let it Snow!

Well, I had planned to post this a long time ago, but the holidays kept getting in the way.  If you live in a climate where it snows, it's still applicable.  Since we do not get (much) snow where we live, we made "pretend snow" from packing peanuts (free with holiday shipments!).  I let S play with it in the sensory tub.  He loved throwing  it up in the air and shouting, "It's snowing!"

We also made a snow scene on black paper.  I put a dabs of glue on the paper and S placed pieces of "snow" on top.

Another snow related activity we did was to use white Floam to make a snowman.

I had planned to also do a felt snowman that S could dress, but never got around to it.  I have a new idea for a felt board as ours has been enjoyed too many times.  I'll keep you posted...

Save Your Christmas Cards

Be sure to save your Christmas cards because you can make simple puzzles from them (see above).  S is a bit too young for them now, but I will save them for next year.  Also, I only cut the above card in three pieces, but once he's mastered it, I can cut it into more.  This can be done for any holiday greeting card as well. 

Thanks, Chasing Cheerios!

Learning Tower Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Last week we made some yummy peanut butter oatmeal cookies.  I wanted to share the recipe and our new love...the Learning Tower.  While they are pricey, I think we will get years of great quality time usage from it.  S loves to make his lunch with me and "cook" in the (unplugged) toaster oven. 

OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
(The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno)

1 2/3 cups all-natural peanut butter
1 cup olive oil-based margarine
2 cups Sucanat or raw sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg white
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp best-quality vanilla
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup dark raisins (optional)
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream the peanut butter, margarine, sugar and eggs together in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the honey, vanilla and sea salt.
3. Use a large wooden spatula or your clean hands to work in the flour and oats until well combined. Add raisins, walnuts and dates, if desired. Mix well.
4. Shape the dough into large balls and press into flat cookies. Place them on the baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes.
5. Cool on wire racks.

Christmas Bugs

Our December theme is "Bugs" though it is predictably getting lost in the holiday shuffle, so I combined the two today with an activity.  We decorated a Christmas Tree with "bug ornaments" (tiny dot stickers with various insects).  My goal is for S to learn spider, butterfly, bee, ladybug, worm, grasshopper, and ant; most of which he already knows. 

While we were working on the tree, it reminded me of The 12 Bugs of Christmas, which I plan to get a copy of because S is really into "counting" and it ties together bugs and Christmas. 

If you have any bug activity/art ideas or book suggestions, please let me know in the comments. 

Vinyl Clings

While they may not be the most attractive of holiday decor, S loves playing with vinyl clings.  They are fun to take off and reapply and they have really helped build S's "Christmas vocabulary".  S also likes to experiment to see what they will/will not stick to (windows, dishwasher, his shirt...).  I somehow acquired ours long ago, but I frequently see them in store dollar bins or on sale after holidays.

Highchair Stickers

I usually shower in the morning before my husband leaves for work, but he was out of town a few weeks ago and I needed a way to contain and occupy S while I showered.  I brought his highchair into the bathroom and gave him some stickers and paper.  He still has a lot of trouble removing stickers from the backing, so I peeled each one off and placed a corner of each one along the perimeter of the highchair tray.  He was able to easily remove each one to stick to the paper and I was able to shower!  Feel free to leave your shower-occupying tips in the comments. 

Thanksgiving Megapost

I thought I would just list a bunch of Thanksgiving activity ideas since I'm behind on posts: 

• Feather color matching:  See above photo.
• Place setting vocabulary and matching:  I printed this place setting from Nick Jr. and placed it inside a clear sheet protector.  We have been naming and matching the parts of the place setting and we will use it as a placemat during Thanksgiving dinner. 
• Food photographs:  I have been cutting out photographs of traditional Thanksgiving foods from catalogs, ads, and foodie magazines and gluing them down on a paper plate to help S learn turkey, corn, sweet potatoes, squash, pie...
• Thanksgiving coloring book:  I printed several Thanksgiving coloring pages from here, added a cover page and stapled them all together to make a Thanksgiving coloring book.  The original purpose was just to keep S busy, but it has been a good visual to learn Pilgrim, boat, turkey...
• Painting with feathers:  Simply use feathers as your paintbrush.
• Turkey hand prints:  An oldie, but goodie.
• Corn sensory tub:  Be sure to use dried corn!  Add various containers, funnels, and scoops to the tub as well.

Thanks, Activity Mom and April Flowers!

Note:  I did end up getting my free contact solution.  Thanks, Christy!

Counting Mittens

Since we have been talking about weather this month, we have also read/talked about clothing words (coat, hat, umbrella, mittens...).  I had these mitten stickers and thought I would make a "counting strip" because S is now saying "choo, choo, tree" (translation: one, two, three) as he points. 

Then yesterday during our toy library visit we ran across this activity pack:

The book is about a farmer searching for lost mittens for himself and the animals.  The "mittens" the kit came with are not the most attractive, but you could easily cut out paper or felt mittens to retell the story.  This book is also great for older children because it teachers odd (not a pair) and even (a pair) numbers.