Tot School Week 2 (39 & 18 months)

We did the weather chart and the days of the week activity every day this week. Braedon is really starting to catch on and I am so glad he likes it (again). I guess he was just in a mood a couple of days last week when he didn't want to do it.
I printed Braedon and Kaley's names on paper and hung them on the fridge so we could read them and spell them each morning.
I also cut out the letters of Braedon's name and am having him put them in order each morning. He almost has it down...just getting hung up on the e in the middle!


Table Time:
We had a couple of major successes with activities this week. First, Braedon strung beads onto pipe cleaners. I bought a bag of 400 beads from the dollar store. The day I broke them out, he proceeded to string all 400.

I sat with him for a little while but then he kept going and going and going. I figured I would take advantage of some alone time with Kaley while he continued to string beads. I am pretty sure it was close to 2 hours that he sat there stringing beads. I have to wonder, should I let my 3 year old do anything for two hours? I kept asking him if he wanted to do stickers, dot markers, etc, etc...and he kept saying no he wanted to keep playing beads. I thought I would introduce the idea of making a pattern. So, I modeled for him using just two colors. The dialogue went something like this:
mommy-look Braedon you can make a pattern using the same colors over and over again. See, pink-yellow-pink-yellow-pink-yellow...what comes next Braedon?
Braedon-Ummmmm, Blue!
I tried it a couple of times but it was clear he wasn't catching on so I didn't push it. But, he did start saying "look mommy, I'm making a pattern."
In the meantime, Kaley and I snuggled on the couch watching Hide 'Em In Your Heart Vol 1 & Vol 2.
The second major success was circle stickers on dot marker pages. Braedon kept wanting to play stickers over and over and over again all week long. It didn't keep him quite as busy as the beads but he really enjoyed it. I got these super-cute Christian themed stickers from the dollar store that came with a couple different size circle stickers.


Braedon and Kaley both wanted to color with crayons a bit more than usual this week. Then, I realized that putting the crayons back in the container correctly can be used for motor skill/coordination development too. They are triangular shaped and only fit into the box a certain way.

I tried to get Kaley to sort two colors with pom poms but she would much rather throw them around and rub them on her cheeks and nose. I am not surprised kids like pom poms so much. I like feeling and squeezing them!


I tried to get Braedon to make letters with pom poms but just wanted to watch me do it instead.
I drew Braedon's name in large block letters and showed him how to paint inside the letters with a brush. About a second later it turned into both hands swirling about covering the entire page.
I drew Kaley's name in large block letters and gave her finger paints. She liked it for about 2 minutes.



Braedon did the Dd cut and paste activity from Homeschool Creations. He loved cutting (with quite a bit of help) and pasting. Afterward, we hung up his "work" on the kithen wall as he was very proud of it. He kept pointing to it saying, "look mommy, my work!"


Braedon tried pre-writing skills with the Dd practice pages from Confessions of a Homeschooler. This the second time we tried these pages and he just is not all that interested. So, we will put them away for a while.


Floor Time:
We have these cute little foam letters and numbers.

Braedon and I played with them a bit. He put them all together and lined them all up. Then, I suggested that we sort them with numbers in one pile and letters in another pile. We got about 1/2 way finished and then it turned into acrobatics.



Kaley kept bringing me the Dr's kit and toy ambulance all week. We spent a lot of time playing with them no pictures of it though.
Reading Time:
Braedon's books of choice this week: The Cat in the Hat, Curious George at the Aquarium, Let's Learn Our First Words (letter/word activity) , and Baby Jesus Is Here.
Kaley's books of choice this week: Pooh Adorables Think & Play (a look and find book) and Mirror, Mirror.
Movement:
Braedon and Kaley love jumping on the bed. I love that we have an old one they can jump on. I wish I had some pictures of Kaley jumping but I had to hold onto her so I couldn't take pictures.


Kaley also still loves her jumper, which she asked to get into several times this week. Here she is staringly lovingly at the TV at Hide Em In Your Heart videos. She would sit still and stare like this at the slow songs and then she would start jumping and singing with the faster songs.


Mommmy's favorite:
Kaley walking around in Braedon's very loud yellow crocks and that they actually match her outfit!

See what other moms are doing with their tots at Tot School.