Easy Early Tot School Color Unit

July 10, 2017

Lately Nugget has really been developing his vocabulary. It seems like I hear a new word several times a day lately, and I love it! He didn’t speak as early as Goose (which I think is quite typical for younger siblings) and all too often I find myself comparing the two. I know that’s a major no-no but it’s so hard not to, when two children are so close in age. Luckily, his new-found interest in vocabulary has resulted in some major interest in tot school activities. So this week I have focused more on Nugget and developed an early tot school color unit.

Of course Goose has known his colors for quite some time, but even he has enjoyed some of the activities I devised. Since he doesn’t require vocabulary building I focused on visual discrimination, sorting, and of course fine motor skills.

Rainbow Colored Sensory Bottles

What, I used Voss water bottles to make a set of sensory bottles for a tot school unit?? You’re shocked I’m sure. This set of sensory bottles was so fun and easy, and best of all I had all the supplies I needed around the house. I actually made these when Goose was little, but pulled them out of storage this week to introduce to Nugget. As you can see in the pictures, the boys have hidden my red bottle so please forgive my incomplete rainbow. Lately hiding things (and themselves!) seems to be a favorite game of theirs.

Supplies:

6 medium Voss water bottles
Super Glue
a WIDE assortment of colored items from around your house (examples below)

Instructions:

Empty your Voss bottles (I water my plants with it because I can’t stand the taste. Great for crafting, awful for drinking!)
Remove labels by warming with a hairdryer to loosen adhesive
Allow bottles to dry thoroughly before proceeding. Even a tiny bit of moisture can cause mildew to form inside your bottles down the road.
Fill your bottles by color until they are mostly full, leaving just enough space for items to shake and move.
Use superglue to secure the lid.
Give them to your kiddos and watch as they stack them, shake them, and turn them into light sabers (or is that just my boys?) and hopefully learn their colors along the way.

Some suggestions on filling your bottles:

This is a great opportunity to clean out that junk drawer, the back of your craft closet, and even that pile of random mismatched toy pieces. You can fill your bottles with ANYTHING. In fact, the more variety the better. Mine include Easter basket grass, beads, sequins, ribbon, pompoms, pipe cleaners, a barrette, cheap plastic toys that we’ve gotten free from the dentist office, baby food pouch lids and more. Seriously – anything goes. You don’t even have to worry about choking hazards since the bottle is glued shut!

Color Discrimination Cards

I designed these color discrimination cards using paint samples from my local home improvement store. They were easy to make and the only cost was a package of clothespins and about 20 min. time. The idea of the cards is to help the child discern between varying shades within a color family. Some of these required a second look for me, so I know this is a challenging activity for kids. Goose really enjoyed matching the colors to each strip, but then took the task one step further by going around our house looking for matching colors. I suspect I will be finding color clips around the house for weeks, but he was learning and having fun so what more could I ask for?

Supplies:

2 sets of paint sample cards from your local home improvement store. I selected a strip in each of the ROYGBIV colors and then grabbed a duplicate set of the same strips.
A package of clothespins
Hot glue gun or other adhesive

Nice to have but not necessary: a square hole punch (about 1″x1″), and a laminator.

Instructions:

Using a square punch or scissors, cut a 1″x1″ square from each color.
If desired, laminate the squares for added durability
Use hot glue to attach one square to the top of each clothespin
Match each color to its color strip and use the clothespin to attach it.

Early Tot School Color Sorting

This activity is so simple I feel like the pictures alone are pretty self-explanatory. All you need are 2 colored bins full of matching ball pit balls or similar, and one eager tot. Dump out the balls and then help your child to sort them by color into the appropriate basket. Depending on your child’s age you could make this more difficult by adding additional colors.

Homemade Wooden Rainbow

OK, how amazing is this wooden rainbow. If I can take a moment to brag, my Dad made this for Goose for his birthday a few years ago after he saw me lusting after the Grimm’s 6-Piece Rainbow Stacker. I would love to give you guys a detailed tutorial on how to make one yourself but honestly, he’s a craftsman and I know absolutely nothing about woodworking. The rainbow was just too pretty not to show though, and has proven to be such a versatile plaything. If you have the money I totally recommend buying one from Grimm’s 6-Piece Rainbow Stacker. If like me, you can’t justify shelling out that kind of cash for wooden blocks here is a tutorial from Shape of a Spoon.

The individual arches have seen use as headbands, bridges, car garages (of course!), and toy animal pins. Mixed with traditional blocks they open up so many new avenues for creative play. Plus they help teach colors!

Touch & Feel Color Cards

If you followed my posts during our Farm themed tot school unit you’re likely already aware of my love for the DK line of touch and feel picture cards. They come in a wide range of themes and so far we have loved every set we order. To help add a tactile element to our color learning activities I brought out our My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards: Colors & Shapes. As you can see in the picture they are large, sturdy enough to withstand a rough toddler and each card features a large tactile surface. The images are bright and compelling – just right for slowing down your busy mover long enough to learn a little. The backs of the cards feature several conversational prompts for you to use with your child, as well as translations to introduce the word in multiple languages. As you’ll see in the picture, the color blue is expressed in Spanish, French, German and Chinese.

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Early Tot School, Montessori

Why Fine Motor Skills are So Important

July 5, 2017

If you have spent much time at all on my blog you’ve heard me talking about fine motor skills. Nearly every tot school activity I introduce focuses on building vocabulary or fine motor skills (and often the activities do both!). If you aren’t already taking an active role in your child’s fine motor development you are missing a critical opportunity to help them reach their full potential.

What are Fine Motor Skills?

Fine Motor Skills (also referred to as dexterity) is the blanket term for activities that require control of small muscles in the hands. If you think of the way that a newborn uses his or her hands, they are clumsy and awkward as they bat at things. Even the simple ability to grasp and release is an acquired skill. Now think of your own dexterity. You and I can perform complex tasks with our hands easily. The development of fine motor skills is the path that a child takes from those early baby days to reaching the skill level that you and I share.

Why are Fine Motor Skills Important?

Many studies suggest that the use of fine motor control is the basis for all intellectual functioning within the first 2 years of a child’s life. This reliance on fine motor control for learning continues throughout childhood. Children naturally learn with their hands, this is why increasing the skill level with which they are able to use their hands is so important.

Development of fine motor skills is vital for developing independence, self- confidence and even social skills. A child with advanced fine motor abilities will stand out amongst his or her peers in a preschool or early elementary setting. This child will be early to dress himself, early to excel with cutting or playing with small toys, and most importantly early to write. Children are cognitively ready to write at a much earlier age, the lack of congruent muscle ability is what delays them.

Sadly the development of fine motor skills has declined dramatically in recent years.Children spend more time watching TV, playing video games, or using an iPad. Consequently they spend less time working the many muscles in their hands. I have spoken to many teachers who lament the decline in their student’s abilities. One friend who teaches kindergarten says that today the majority of incoming students are unable to correctly hold a crayon or pencil. Even 15 years ago she says that most students possessed that skill by 3 or 4 years of age.

It’s my opinion that children today move too little in all aspects of life. They have become so accustomed to electronic stimulation that they are not spending the time playing outside that children did even a generation ago. This impacts their fine and gross motor skills as well as their overall health. Spending one hour each week playing t-ball is not enough activity for a healthy growing child.

What does Montessori Say About Fine Motor Skills?

Maria Montessori was a strong supporter of movement as a means of developing mental acuity. She believed that the physical movements of the young child were directly connected to the child’s learning potential.

“In fact, it is only by movement that the personality can express itself.” Maria Montessori in The Absorbent Mind

“The child has to acquire physical independence by being self-sufficient; he must become of independent will by using in freedom his own power of choice and ability.”

This belief is repeated throughout the Montessori classroom. The use of motor skills is believed to increase the ease with witch a task is learned and understood. For example, the Pink Tower, a classic Montessori material initially appears to be a simple stacking activity. However, as the child stacks each cube he or she is building hand strength, muscle control, and learning about ordering. That very sense of order is vital to later math concepts.

What Can I Do To Help My Child?

There are also numerous activities to build them. Most can be practiced using items you already have around the house. Ultimately any activity that uses the hands and arms is going to be building muscle control. The important thing is for the child to practice a wide variety of activities so all of the muscles are worked equally.

Here are some simple activities to begin with:

Scooping or spooning activities
Pouring a variety of liquids and solids
Working with clay or playdough
Lacing
Stringing beads
Cutting
Coloring
Painting
Picking up small objects
Using tongs
Handling delicate objects

Here are just a few of the many activities I have featured that build fine motor skills.

Poking toothpick flags into floral foam requires a strong grasp.
Spooning beads requires a steady hand and good coordination.
Using tongs to transfer objects uses the hand muscles in new ways.
Spooning peas is an easy way to develop hand eye coordination.
Pouring colored rice encourages hand strength and spatial judgement.
Handling tiny objects like corn kernels requires precision and dexterity.
Coloring is a classic children's activity for a reason: it uses many hand and finger muscles while allowing children to express their creativity.

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Crafts, Montessori, Tot School Units

Farm Themed Tot School Unit: Part I

June 19, 2017

Something about Summer just makes me think of life on the farm.

I don’t know if it’s the slower pace or the long days outside in the sun but it always is enough to make farm life appealing. At least it was until last week. Last week we signed up to have farm duty at Goose’s Montessori school. The school has it’s own miniature farm with chickens, ducks, sheep and miniature donkeys. Since there is a new baby donkey I was quick to sign up to take care of the animals for one week of summer break. Little did I know that I was going to be in WAY over my head!

In way over my head …

The first day I showed up with a 3 year old and 1 year old thinking it would be a quick visit. We would hand out a little food, pet the baby donkey and be home in time for naps. Nope! I think the highlight was when the sheep got out of their pen and I spent an hour attempting to chase / bribe them back in. Or trying to corral the chickens into the coop …. or was it when I was hauling buckets of water (PS I think it weighed at least 50 lbs!) and a donkey knocked me over and I spilled the bucket all over myself.

Long story short – I have learned that I am NOT cut out for farm life. That hasn’t kept me from designing a super fun farm themed tot school unit. Please forgive the 3 enormous posts this week – there were so many cute activities I got a little carried away!

Nomenclature Cards

It wouldn’t be a tot school unit without nomenclature cards. If you aren’t familiar with these fantastic learning tools I explain them here. I always like to start any new unit with nomenclature cards because they are such an easy way to introduce the new vocabulary that you will be using throughout the unit. I have designed my own set of farm nomenclature cards that you can download for free from my Digital Resource Library. Don’t have an access code? Just sign up below and one will be emailed to you right away!

One of my favorite games with nomenclature cards is to combine them with one or more Safari Ltd. Toobs. I used the Farm TOOB and Farm Babies TOOB. Then allow your child to match the photographic image on the nomenclature card to the Toob figurine. For us this process often devolves into imaginative play but even then the boys are learning. It usually sounds something like, “The baby horse is driving my Hot Wheels, Mommy!” “The foal is driving the Hot Wheels dear.”

Is it just my house or does every activity ultimately involve Hot Wheels?

Pigs in Mud Sensory Bin

Now this is one FUN sensory bin! Probably because it’s so messy. We used some pigs from our Farm TOOB as well as pigs from the Battat Terra Farm Animals Set , and set them loose in a tub full of chocolate pudding.

I introduced the activity with this video explaining why pigs roll in mud, and we read ‘Hogwash‘ by Karma Wilson.

Goose prefers to keep his hands clean, but even he was willing to dive into the pudding when he figured out how tasty it is. Nugget, of course, can always be counted on to coat himself from head to toe in any substance he gets his hands on.

Fast Craft: Paper Plate Lambs

Making paper plate lambs is easy, fun and the end results are surprisingly adorable! Best of all this is a craft that a preschooler can complete with minimal assistance from Mom. Elmer’s glue scrubs clean from just about every surface, right? *wink*.

Supplies:

1 White Paper or Foam Disposable Plate
White Cotton Balls
One printed copy of the lamb template from my Digital Resource Library.
Elmer’s School Glue
2 Googly Eyes
Scissors

Prep Work: Download my template and cut out the legs, face and ears of the lamb.

**Don’t have an access code for the Digital Resource Library? No problem! Just sign up below and one will me emailed to you right away!

Instructions:

Use Elmer’s Glue to apply the round head to the center of the plate, then glue all 4 legs to the edges.
Glue the eyes on to the face (shocker, I know. Unless you have more of a Picasso-esque lamb in mind …)
Let your child go wild gluing as many cotton balls as they would like to the plate.
When finished tuck the ears into the cotton and glue in place.
Admire your adorable lamb – and maybe give it a name.

Milking a Cow Imaginative Play

Ok, I’m going to level with you. This was a super neat activity that turned out far better than I initially imagined, however it might be difficult to replicate at home. I will show you what I did, and then offer my suggestions for how you could possible put your own spin on the activity using things you already have around the house.

To begin with you need a frame of some sort. We made our own out of this Discovery Kids Construction Fort (which we have used endlessly for fort building!) I think you could use just about anything with 4 legs, maybe even a kitchen chair?

Next, you need a rubber glove and some twine. Fill the glove with water and use the twine to secure it shut at the wrist opening. Then use your frame to suspend the glove so that it dangles in the opening. When your child is ready to begin ‘milking their cow’ use a safety pin to poke 3-4 holes in the tip of 1-2 fingers. The glove will tend to drip so please keep a bucket beneath your milking station.

Like a real cow, we found that our glove gave us the best results when we used a push-pull motion. If you feel particularly ambitious you could even decorate your frame so that it looks like a real cow. If you do that you officially win the Mom-of-the-Year Award and I absolutely want you to send in pictures!

Delicious Haystack Snack Recipe

Nugget and Goose worked up quite the appetite doing all of our farm activities today so I figured it would be a great opportunity to finish the day with a yummy farm-themed snack. These tasty haystack snacks are a sweet and easy treat!

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (or substitute your favorite nut-free butter if your household has allergies)
2-3 Cups Pretzel Sticks, broken into small pieces
1/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips

Optional Additions: Slivered Almonds, Nutella, Chopped Nuts, Mini Marshmallows, Caramel Chips, Heath Bar Crumbles.

Recipe:

Microwave the peanut butter and chocolate chips on high for 1-2 minutes until melted and stir until fully combined.
If you wish to add any of the optional toppings stir them in now.
Stir Broken Pretzels into your melted peanut butter mixture and spoon dollops of it onto a baking sheet covered in a Silpat Mat or wax paper.
Let cool in a refrigerator for about an hour.

There’s way too much sugar to call this snack healthy, but I think it’s just right as a special treat after working hard and learning all morning.

Did you try any of our farm-themed tot school activities?

Which did your kids like best? Are there any other farm-related activities you would like to see later this week?

Check back later this week to see Part II and Part III of our Farm Themed Tot School Unit!

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Early Tot School, Montessori, Tot School Units

How to Make Colored Rice (and What to Do With It!)

May 12, 2017

Colored Rice: The Basics

Colored rice is incredibly easy to make and extremely fun to work with. The color combinations are endless as are the applications. Below is my favorite recipe for how to make your own colored rice, followed by a few easy activities you can use it with.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Uncooked Dry Rice
1/8th Cup White Vinegar
Food Coloring

Instructions:

Begin by pouring the vinegar over your dry rice. Ad 3-5 drops of food coloring in your desired color(s) and stir until well combined. The more food coloring you use, the darker and more vivid your rice will be.

Once the rice is fully combined spread it evenly over a baking sheet. Let sit for 1-2 hours until completely dry, stirring occasionally. Store in a dry, sealed container when not in use.

OK, I’ve Made My Rice – Now What??

Colored Rice is perfect for sensory bins. It works particularly well for smaller children because it doesn’t post a chocking hazard and is non-toxic. Below you can see that I used it in an Ocean sensory bin and a Farm themed sensory bin.

This material also works well in several Montessori activities. I have used it as an introductory pouring medium, as well as for scooping.

Comment below with your favorite colored rice activity!

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Early Tot School, Tot School Units

5 Awesome Activities for Early Tot School

May 11, 2017

6-18 months is a magical age. It’s the time when your baby finally begins to express itself and let his or her personality shine. That’s not to say it’s easy. In fact, I think it can be one of the most difficult ages as they become old enough to get into everything but too young to really understand the rules. This is a fantastic age for introducing some simple early tot school activities. Below I will show you a few basic early tot school activities that you can introduce to your 6-18 month old. All of these can be easily modified to suit your child and most can be made using things you already have around the house. How easy is that?!

1. Fine Motor Skills

Developing fine motor skills is so important at a young age. These skills will form the building blocks of future writing skills. The hardest part of creating fine motor activities for this age group is their tendency to put EVERYTHING in their mouths. So many small items are a choking hazard that its easy to spend all your time keeping small things away from your baby instead of giving them opportunities to handle these items.

One of my favorite early tot school fine motor activity is threading pipe cleaners through holes. I like to use an inverted colander and show baby how to stick the ends of the pipe cleaners through the holes. If you have a little more time and are feeling crafty you could carefully poke holes in the lid of a Pringles can, creating an activity with built-in storage! As your child gets older experiment with stringing pasta or large beads on the pipe cleaners – just remember to always watch them with any small or sharp objects.

2. Sensory Play

It feels like sensory play is such a buzzword these days – what does it even mean? It really is just a fancy way of explaining that kids need opportunities to get their hands dirty and interact with lots of different textures. I have found that rice and beans make excellent sensory bin foundations. Dry rice is easy to color to increase the visual appeal, while beans are a bit easier to clean up.

It’s best to begin with the foundation material alone in the beginning. Let your child explore the texture and run their hands through it. Then introduce a spoon or scoop. From there continue to add bowls and pitchers for pouring, or place objects within the material to be ‘excavated’. For easy clean up, sensory play is ideal for a plastic shower curtain or table cloth.

Click here to see my easy recipe for colored rice!

3. Cotton Ball Painting

Art projects for babies – are you crazy? Aren’t they messy enough already? Don’t worry, I’ve found a few activities that both babies and moms can love. Of course, a smock never hurts. I love to pour a little washable paint like this one; and use clothespins and cotton balls to make simple paint brushes. Little ones love dabbing and it keeps them from getting too messy. Visit my Digital Resource Library to download and print 3 free pages that are perfect for this project! Don’t have the password?? Easy! Just sign up below and it will be emailed to you immediately.

4. Craft Paper Mosaic

This is such a fun craft that works well for little ones and older siblings alike. All that you need is some construction paper, Elmer’s Glue the printable pages available in my Digital Resource Library. Ripping paper is great fun, so let your child tear the construction paper into small pieces. Then make a 50/50 mix of glue and water in a small dish. Have your child dip each piece of paper in the glue and then place on the printed page.

5. Montessori Treasure Baskets

One of my favorite early tot school activities was creating treasure baskets for my little ones. It’s fun to pick a theme and then just walk through your house looking for every day objects that fit it. Shown below is a ‘Red Themed’ treasure basket that I made for Nugget. I even used a red basket and then displayed it on a red blanket. Could this thing get any more red?? Inside is a drink koozie, a flashlight, legos, a glove, large buttons from a threading game and a foam acorn. This stuff is like catnip to babies and it offers so many learning opportunities! Besides the obvious lesson in color, you expose them to lots of new vocabulary words as you introduce each item. Believe me, once you introduce a treasure basket your child will return to it again and again!

Some of my favorite themes for treasure baskets are: colors, shapes, textures and seasons.

Have you tried any of these activities with your early tot schooler? I’d love to hear how it went and if you would like more printables like these. Comment below with your input (or to just say ‘hi’)!

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Early Tot School

Easy Early Tot School Color Unit

Rainbow Colored Sensory Bottles

Supplies:

Instructions:

Color Discrimination Cards

Supplies:

Instructions:

Early Tot School Color Sorting

Homemade Wooden Rainbow

Touch & Feel Color Cards

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Why Fine Motor Skills are So Important

What are Fine Motor Skills?

Why are Fine Motor Skills Important?

What does Montessori Say About Fine Motor Skills?

What Can I Do To Help My Child?

Want to See More Great Activities? Sign Up & Get Access to Our Free Digital Resource Library!

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Farm Themed Tot School Unit: Part I

Something about Summer just makes me think of life on the farm.

In way over my head …

Nomenclature Cards

Is it just my house or does every activity ultimately involve Hot Wheels?

Pigs in Mud Sensory Bin

Fast Craft: Paper Plate Lambs

Supplies:

Instructions:

Milking a Cow Imaginative Play

Delicious Haystack Snack Recipe

Ingredients:

Recipe:

Did you try any of our farm-themed tot school activities?

Check back later this week to see Part II and Part III of our Farm Themed Tot School Unit!

Share this:

Like this:

How to Make Colored Rice (and What to Do With It!)

Colored Rice: The Basics

Ingredients:

Instructions:

OK, I’ve Made My Rice – Now What??

Comment below with your favorite colored rice activity!

Share this:

Like this:

5 Awesome Activities for Early Tot School

1. Fine Motor Skills

2. Sensory Play

3. Cotton Ball Painting

4. Craft Paper Mosaic

5. Montessori Treasure Baskets

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Like this: