How I Organize Our Summer
You might not guess it from my posts, but the truth is I am the QUEEN of procrastination. No matter how hard I try there is always a little voice in my head whispering “Why do it now? You have tons of time. Why don’t […]
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FREE Valentine’s Day Cards & Tags
Can you believe it’s already almost Valentine’s Day?? This year the holiday completely snuck up on me and I found myself scrambling at the last minute to come up with the perfect treats for Nugget and Goose to exchange with their friends, classmates and teachers. […]
Preschool Space Activities: Part 3
Our preschool space activities unit is finally wrapping up, but I have a few activities left to share with you. We made nebula slime, planet toast, and I’m even offering my readers a free download of my latest educational eBook for kids! Let’s dive in!
Nebula Slime
This was my first attempt at making slime (I know, I know, ‘what rock have I been hiding under??’) and it wasn’t initially a success but the second attempt was a total win! I was trying to keep my slime recipe a little safer by avoiding Borax. Instead I used StaFlo liquid starch. Honestly I’m not positive it’s that much more ‘natural’ than Borax but I figured if it’s safe enough to spray on clothes that are worn against your body all day then it can’t be too bad. We still made a habit of washing our hands thoroughly after handling just in case. I’ll show you the recipe, and then give you some tips and tricks so that your first batch turns out perfectly!
Recipe:
- 1 5oz bottle Clear Elmer’s Glue
- About 1/2 C. StaFlo Liquid Starch
- Food Coloring
- Glitter
Pour the glue into a glass bowl and add food coloring and glitter until the desired appearance is reached. Once you are satisfied with the color, begin mixing in the StaFlo in small quantities. You can use a spoon initially, but eventually you will need to use your hands to really work it together. It’s a little like making a roux – the slower you combine the ingredients the more easily they mix. Continue adding StaFlo until your slime has reached your desired consistency. I prefer a less sticky slime so I used just over 1/2 C.
Tips:
- Go out and buy clear glue instead of trying to use some white glue you have around the house. The clear has a much more attractive appearance. When I used white glue the end result resembled a pile of intestines – believe me it wasn’t pretty!!
- Store your slime in a jar or sealed bag – it will dry out and develop a weird film on top. Yuck!
- To create the nebula affect in the pictures, I made 2 batches of slime – black with silver glitter, pink with black and silver glitter, and purple with silver and pink glitter. Complete each batch separately and then swirl together.
Planet Toast
Did you ever make milk toast as a kid? It was a favorite treat growing up and proved even more fun now! Best of all, you get to eat your art when you finish! This was an absolute hit with Nugget and Goose and we will definitely be doing it again. We ate our toast with just a bit of butter and jam but I’d love to see this worked into some seriously fancy grilled cheese sandwiches!
Recipe:
- Several slices of bread, preferably white or a light colored wheat bread
- food coloring
- milk
- round cookie cutter
- clean paintbrushes or basting brushes
Instructions:
Use the cookie cutter to slice the bread into circles. Pour a small amount of milk into several small ramekins and add food coloring to reach your desired colors. Now the fun part: use a paintbrush to paint designs on your bread. Once complete toast and enjoy!
What about those extra bread crusts??
Don’t throw your crusts away! That’s just wasteful and you’d be missing out on a seriously awesome recipe. Instead save your bread crusts to make this delicious bread pudding recipe from Rachel at A Mother Far From Home! While you’re there – check out her website. She has some fantastic posts on schedules for babies and toddlers and lots of tasty recipes.
Free Space E-Book for Kids!
I was trying to think of a fun and different printable I could make to go with this unit, and to be honest it felt like so much has already been covered. We have the printable playmats, the nomenclature cards, what else could I make?So I decided to offer my readers a free download of my latest eBook! This is the first book in a new series of educational books for kids called ‘Fast Facts with Nugget & Goose’. The eBook is available on Amazon.com for $2.99 but I have a .PDF copy available for download FREE in my Digital Resource Library! I really hope you’ll check it out, and if you enjoy it please feel free to write a review on Amazon.com.
The 24 page book features beautiful watercolor illustrations and lots of entertaining and educational facts about the planets in our solar system. If you don’t already have your access code for the digital resource library, just sign up below and one will be emailed to you right away. I hope you enjoy!!
I hope you’ve enjoyed all of the fun preschool space activities over the past few weeks. We sure enjoyed experimenting with them! If you missed my other posts you can see part 1, part 2, and a special feature on space themed books for kids by clicking the links. Comment below with any ideas for themes you would like to see in the future!
Preschool Space Activities : Part 2
So I’ve been dying to ask, “Did you try out any of the Preschool Space Activities introduced on Monday?” I have a dear friend who tried making the planet magnets yesterday and even though they ended up pretty lopsided (she was ready to call them a fail!) her kiddos LOVE them! She called me this morning and couldn’t believe how much fun her little girl was having. She kept asking her the names of the planets and then going around the house looking for things they would stick to.
If you’re having a little trouble remembering the planets yourself, then today is your lucky day! I’ve designed a new set of space themed Nomenclature Cards. I also have a fun new sensory bin and a constellation activity. Let’s jump right in!
Space Themed Nomenclature Cards
If you’ve been hanging out at Nugget & Goose for any amount of time you’re already very familiar with my love of Montessori nomenclature cards. I don’t see myself ever leaving them out of a tot school unit. If you aren’t already familiar with them, this handy post will explain everything you need to know about how to use them and why they are so fantastic.
This set of space nomenclature cards consists of 27 unique images and covers all of the planets in the Safari Ltd Safariology Solar System
I found that this set of nomenclature cards worked really well in conjunction with the clay planet magnets and play mats I mentioned earlier this week. Nugget really enjoyed when I showed him a nomenclature card with a planet, and then he could find the corresponding magnet to hold up. If you really have it together you could use the images on the cards as your guide to make the clay planets. Then they would match quite a bit better than my own 🙂
I have also used the cards with Goose to play several learning games. I allow him to independently match the cards to their corresponding Safari Ltd. pieces which he always enjoys, and then once I feel confident in his vocabulary I ask him to play sorting games where he finds all the cards with a ‘M’ sound etc. He is really on the cusp of reading so phonics games are great at this age! A final game we play is what I call the ‘story game’, he uses the cards as prompts to tell a story. So for example he might have to make up a story about Neptune, a lunar rover and a space chimp. I try to record these when he tells them because they always crack me up!
Would you like to download your own free set of Space nomenclature cards?
Of course you would! Why waste your valuable time making what I already have? This set of cards and many others are all available for free in my Digital Resource Library. All you have to do to get access is join with your email address below.
Space Themed Sensory Bin
Here is another way to use the Safari Ltd. figures I mentioned above, and best of all it’s EASY! All you need is a few tablespoons of black water beads (and a few clear as well if you have them). Pour the beads in a small bin and submerge in water overnight. When you wake up you’ll find a glistening bin of plump black water beads ready for play! I buried all of our Safari Ltd. figures and prompted Nugget and Goose to go on a ‘deep space scavenger hunt’!
I still have to watch Nugget pretty closely with these beads because they look a little too food-like for my comfort. They have a particular tendency to bounce so if one escapes from your bin you may never find it (but I guarantee if there’s a toddler in your house they will find it the minute you turn your back.) … Or is that just Nugget? 🙂
Flashlight Constellations
I feel like so much of what we learn about space can feel very abstract. We tell our children about these far off planets and colorful nebulae but they can’t really see it and experience it themselves. Spending time outside star gazing is a fantastic way to bridge this gap and create a connection for your kids. If you live out in the country you’re absolutely golden (and I’m super jealous!) but for the rest of us there are usually parks or even a planetarium that you can visit to help your child get close to the cosmos.
I created this activity to teach my boys about constellations. It doesn’t require too much preparation and even my nephews who are in 5th grade enjoyed this activity! So gather your supplies and then check back in the comments to let me know how it went.
Supplies:
- 1 basic flashlight (with batteries of course!)
- a few sheets of black construction paper or card stock
- piece of foam or cutting board
- small hammer
- Golf Tees (or for an older child, nails)
- White, Silver or Gold pen
- A Rubber band
Instructions:
- Begin by cutting your construction paper into circles the same size as the end of your flashlight.
- Use your pen to draw dots where the stars should be to form a constellation. Label it, if you wish. You can search google for constellation ideas, or use the ones I’ve provided below.
- Place the stack of constellations, golf tee or nail, and hammer on a tray beside the piece of foam. Invite your child to place a constellation on the foam. Use the hammer and tee to punch holes where the stars are.
- Once your child is finished punching out constellations, attach one to the end of the flashlight and secure with tape or a a piece of cellophane. Turn down the lights and let your child shine the flashlight against the ceiling so the constellation shows up.
Extension Activities:
- Provide some blank pieces of paper and allow your child to draw his or her own constellations to punch out.
- Discuss the shapes and stories behind the constellations, for example you could share the Greek myth of Hercules.
- Ask your child to create their own myth and design a corresponding constellation
- Take your constellation flashlight outside at night and try to find the constellations that they made (big dipper etc)
Preschool Space Activities
Hello! I’m finally back with another full-length Tot School unit! The past month has been so busy with traveling, getting the kids back to school (school started on July 31st here – it’s insane!), and most importantly Goose turned 4! Needless to say I have had my hands full, but even when I wasn’t here sharing content with you I was still brainstorming ideas and I have some AMAZING stuff in the pipeline for you guys. First, is this awesome tot school unit full of toddler and preschool space activities. This will be a longer than normal unit, so be sure to sign up for my emails so you won’t miss a thing. I’ll never spam you but I WILL send you access to my complete library of free resources. Think worksheets, templates, TONS of nomenclature cards and more!
So, the ‘Great American Eclipse’. Did you watch it? I feel like the whole country went crazy with eclipse fever and of course our house was no exception. We were loaded down with our eclipse themed snacks (Moon Pies, Sun Chips, Capri Sun, & Milky Way Bars of course!) and I even made eclipse pancakes for breakfast. After all the hype I feel like the experience was kind of a letdown. We live close enough to experience 97% totality and if no one had told me we were having an eclipse I probably never would have noticed. The one good thing that came out of it though was a newfound interest in space for Nugget & Goose. Now both boys want to be astronauts and fly to Mars.
I created these preschool space activities and tot school unit at Goose’s direct request, so they are definitely kid tested and kid approved. I can’t wait to hear how your kids like them too – tell me in the comments!
DIY Solar System Magnets
These magnets were so much fun to make and require absolutely no artistic ability whatsoever. Best of all, your shopping list only has 2 items on it! This is definitely a project that you could knock out during nap time while you binge on Netflix, or if you have an older child let them help or even make their own. At (almost) 2 and 4 both of my boys have enjoyed working with these magnets. Nugget enjoys the resistance of lifting the strong magnets off the cookie sheet and matching them to the play mat. Goose is able to name all of the planets and is now working on placing them in their correct order.
Edit: It has now been more than a week since I introduced this activity and Nugget is still requesting it multiple times a day. This may be one of my most successful activities ever!
Supplies:
- Sculpey Clay in Assorted Colors (I like this multipack
)
- 1 package of small Round Ceramic Magnets
- An assortment of round objects from around the house in a variety of sizes to use as stencils. I used jars, lids, cookie cutters, and even a pill bottle. Just about anything will work.
)
Instructions:
- Start by laying out your stencil items and making note of which item you will use for each planet. It may help to remember that the sun is the largest, followed by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Mars, Venus and finally Mercury.
- Decide which planet you want to start with and select the colors that you feel best reflect your planet’s appearance. I used solid colors for Mars, Mercury and Uranus. Earth was just a solid blue circle that I added some tiny green continents to, and the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune were made by swirling multiple colors together.
- You’ll quickly learn that this clay is super easy to work with – if you can roll a ball and smash it flat you can do this.Once you have your planets decorated, flip them over and gently press a magnet into the back to make an indentation – DO NOT LEAVE IT THERE! – Remove the magnet and use a thin snake or tube of clay to make a lip around where the magnet will go. You are trying to create a well in the back of your planet to hold the magnet once you are done. This, combined with some super glue should make it more difficult for little ones to pry the magnets loose.
- Once you have finished decorating your planets and creating your magnet housings on the back you can place them on an aluminum cookie sheet and bake at 275°F for 15 min. DO NOT BAKE YOUR YOUR PLANETS WITH THE MAGNETS INSIDE.
- Allow clay to cool fully before handling your planets, then use Super Glue to adhere your magnets to the back of your planets.
- Pat yourself on the back – you just made something awesome and your kids are going to love it!
Notes:
- I highly recommend using Sculpey brand clay for this project. Fimo is an alternate product but I don’t like working with it. The product is too crumbly and difficult to blend.
- When decorating your planets, an easy technique is to lay a thin strip of accent color across the surface and then use your finger to smooth and smear it. The clay blends really easily and this will create a more natural mottled look.
- If you go to glue in your magnets and one doesn’t quite fit, you can use a craft knife to plane out the edges to make room for your magnet.
- I hate that I have to say this in nearly every post, but as always please use common sense. Magnets and broken pieces of clay are just 2 of the many things your child should not ingest so please use your best judgment on when your child is ready for this activity and always supervise them to ensure their safety.
The Best Part:
OK, you’ve spent an hour of your valuable time making these things – what do you do with them? I have that part covered for you! I designed a set of 3 play mats to use with your solar system magnets. The first play mat features all of the planets in our solar system for easy matching. This is a great starting point, particularly for younger children. After your child becomes more comfortable naming the planets and their order you can progress to the second play mat which shows the sun and lines for each planet’s orbit. Finally the 3rd play mat is an image of space with no planets. This is perfect for free-play or allowing a child to fully recreate our solar system on her own. I recommend laminating your play mats for increased durability and using them on a small baking sheet.
Ready for your FREE Printable Play Mats? Sign up below to get access to our free digital resource library full of fun printables and activities!
Toddler Star Sorting Boxes
Size discrimination is an early math skill that builds the foundation for so much later in life. This activity takes those size discrimination skills a step further by adding a fine motor component. When you do sizing activities with your toddler they develop vocabulary (larger, smaller, medium) and communication skills. Would you ever have guessed before having children that putting objects in boxes could be so educational?!
Supplies:
- 1 package of small wooden stars in assorted sizes
- Gold acrylic paint
- 3 small cardboard boxes with lids
- An Exacto knife or box cutter
Instructions:
- Begin by painting your stars gold on one side. Once they have dried, flip them over and paint the other side. Don’t stress about making it perfect – you’re going to be painting at least 30 of these things. Your toddler will never notice a streaky paint job.
- Measure each size star to determine the maximum width between points and draw a line on your box tops to match each size.
- Carefully cut a slit in the lid of each box to correspond to the size of your stars. You should have one large slot, one medium slot and one small slot.
- File the edges of the slot to ensure that it is smooth (and while you’re at it check for rough spots on your stars and touch those up too).
- <Optional> Decorate your boxes with paint, stickers, etc. I left mine plain since I think I will be recycling this activity at Christmas 🙂
I find that the activities I create draw more attention when I present them in an attractive way. This makes it seem ‘special’ and the child is eager to participate. I recommend placing all 3 boxes on a tray along with a small bowl or basket containing the gold stars. When your child is ready, demonstrate the various sizes of stars and show them how to place a star in the slot. As a Montessori-inspired activity it is self-correcting. This means that the child will only be able to fit the large star into the large slot, thereby correcting the child if he or she attempts to place it in the wrong box. Once all the stars are in the box you can show your child how to open the box to retrieve their stars. This will probably be their favorite part.
Nugget had so much fun with this activity. He isn’t interested in the sorting the stars, but Goose really enjoys helping him with that part. In fact, I assumed this activity would be too easy to attract Goose but he really enjoyed helping to sort the stars and experimenting with how many could fit in one slot. Anything that occupies both boys and has them getting along is a HUGE win in my book!
4th of July Tot School Unit: Part 2
Happy Independence Day! Are you going to celebrate the holiday by watching fireworks? My boys are completely terrified by the loud noise of fireworks, so the entire weekend has been one long cry fest as our neighbors celebrate (over… and over… and over!) Luckily we have had lots of educational 4th of July fun of our own. If you missed all of the patriotic activities I posted about last week, be sure to check out 4th of July Tot School: Part 1!
Montessori Tonging Tray
Tonging is a funny name for a really fun Montessori-inspired activity. As the name implies, children use a set of tongs to transfer objects. Similar to spooning and pouring activities, tonging develops hand strength and muscle control necessary for writing.
For this activity I used a set of star shaped plastic ice cubes that I picked up from Target last year. I found a set of small tongs at Bed, Bath & Beyond, although this set
I also allowed Nugget to handle the frozen stars in a basin of water one day for some patriotic sensory play.
Red, White & Blue Bead Stringing
Our next Tot Tray featured a dish full of red, white and blue pony beads and a selection of pipe cleaners. The task was simple: string the beads on a pipe cleaner to make a bracelet or necklace. The mechanics of stringing alone were complicated enough for Nugget, while I encouraged Goose to design a pattern and stick to it. They both had so much fun with this simple activity and were eager to wear their ‘fancy beads’ at the 4th of July parade.
Independence Day Learning Resources
Our Tot Trays were augmented with a wide selection of historical and geographical learning materials that I have picked up over the years. Some are a bit advanced for Goose but he and Nugget both seemed to enjoy looking at the pictures as I read them different facts. Hopefully they each picked up some of the basics, at least.
- The Story of George Washington
by Patricia Pingry. This book is part of a fantastic series of board books about historical figures. We read the story of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin. The series also includes the story of America’s Birthday, Gettysburg, the Star Spangled Banner, Rosa Parks and more. I hope to add the rest of our collection soon.
- Fandex Family Field Guides: Presidents
. This guide is something I picked up last year at a consignment sale on a whim, and it turned out to be a valuable resource. Each page shows a portrait of the president and offers a brief bio. The stories are short enough that even Goose could follow them, and he delighted in picking the funniest looking presidents so I could read their stories. Even I have a hard time keeping some of the more obscure presidents straight (I’m looking at you John Tyler and Millard Fillmore!) So I don’t know how much Goose will really remember but if nothing else he is learning that history can be fun and that lesson alone is valuable.
- Famous Folks of America (by Reading Discovery) and U.S. Presidents Flashcards: both of these materials along with the dry erase US Map came from the Dollar Spot at Target last year. The book is written at a 3rd grade level, and features short stories telling about key moments in US history. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but the stories proved enjoyable and the kid-friendly illustrations helped keep the boys’ attention. The flashcards have lovely portraits of each president but the facts were dry and my boys just aren’t ready to benefit from them beyond looking at the pictures. Really the flashcards were a little redundant with the Fandex so if you get that, you probably don’t need anything else for a while.
by Patricia Pingry. This book is part of a fantastic series of board books about historical figures. We read the story of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin. The series also includes the story of America’s Birthday, Gettysburg, the Star Spangled Banner, Rosa Parks and more. I hope to add the rest of our collection soon.
. This guide is something I picked up last year at a consignment sale on a whim, and it turned out to be a valuable resource. Each page shows a portrait of the president and offers a brief bio. The stories are short enough that even Goose could follow them, and he delighted in picking the funniest looking presidents so I could read their stories. Even I have a hard time keeping some of the more obscure presidents straight (I’m looking at you John Tyler and Millard Fillmore!) So I don’t know how much Goose will really remember but if nothing else he is learning that history can be fun and that lesson alone is valuable.Montessori Salt Writing Practice
Salt writing is a wonderful way for children to practice early writing skills. All you need is a small wooden tray lined with a piece of brightly colored paper, and a little salt. I have seen people use sugar or sand for this activity but in my experience salt works best at discouraging children from sticking their hands in it.
I let Goose use a chopstick to trace out letters in the salt, and then give the tray a quick shake to clear the writing and start over. (It’s like a primitive etch-a-sketch!) It can be helpful to provide some degree of direction so I like to use our Montessori Cursive Alphabet Flashcards. (Click the link to learn how to get your own free copy!).
Free Do-A-Dot Flag Printable
This free printable is designed for use with Do-A-Dot markers. The download includes 2 versions, one with letters denoting which colors to use, and one with blank circles. This simple activity is a fun and easy way to work on letter recognition, and fine motor skills.
Do I sound like a broken record going on and on about fine motor skills? They really are vital to so many higher level skills that children need. Sadly kids today are losing their fine and gross motor skills at an alarming rate, so these are the types of activities that they need more than ever.
You can get your free American flag Do-A-Dot printable from my Free Digital Resource Library
Simple Punching Activity
My final 4th of July Tot Tray was a punching activity using this old star-shaped scrapbooking punch. I provided strips of red cardstock and a tray to catch the stars and let Goose go wild. The punch requires a good amount of hand strength so this was an ideal way to let him feel like he was playing while still increasing muscle control. We did this activity at Christmas last year using gold paper and I was pleasantly surprised to see how far his hand strength has come in the last 6 months.
Simple punches like this are an easy addition to any tot school unit, because the design makes it difficult (though probably not impossible) for a child to injure himself. Traditional office-style hole punches are a bit more prone to pinching skin so I would save those until you feel confident that your child can handle it safely.
Happy 4th of July!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday full of family and friends! Do you have any secrets for helping your little ones tolerate noisy fireworks? Comment below. I need all the help I can get!
Montessori Cursive Alphabet Cards
A key component of Montessori primary education is that children learn to write in cursive first. I was initially surprised by this since traditional education teaches cursive writing later (if ever!). However once the philosophy behind it was explained, it made perfect sense. If you look at a young child’s scribbles, they usually consist of loops and wavy lines. Their writing flows from one shape to the next without lifting their pencil. Sound familiar?
Pre-writing naturally tends to mimic cursive. This is why the Montessori philosophy teaches cursive first – they believe it comes easier to young children.
Unfortunately I have found that cursive writing materials for preschool aged children are remarkably difficult to find. Most workbooks for this age group focus on printing letters. The few Montessori-endorsed materials I found were often very expensive and had to be ordered online.
When I brought this up with Goose’s teacher she helped me to devise a flashcard system that I could make on my own. After taking the time to create these fabulous flashcards, I just had to share them with you!
I designed my flashcards to fit on standard 3″ x 5″ note cards. Every flashcard features a front with an upper and lower case cursive letter, along with a small inset script letter. On the reverse is a large high resolution photograph of an animal or object that begins with that letter. I have even included an additional blank template in case you wish to replace an image with one of your own. It turned out to be much harder than I expected to come up with what I hoped would be a universally recognizable image for each letter. The last thing I wanted was for children to get confused because they saw ‘yak’ and thought ‘cow’ or saw a ‘yacht’ and thought ‘boat’. (So I went with Yogurt for Y which probably isn’t much better, but it is what it is.)
How to Assemble Your Flashcards
Assembly is very simple for these cards. Simply download and print the flashcards, cut out each card (It will go much faster with a paper cutter like this one from Swingline
Using Your Flashcards
These flashcards have both the cursive letters as well as script letters on the front. The idea is to cover the script letter with your thumb and ask your child what sound the cursive letter shown makes. If your child is struggling, move your thumb to reveal the script letters. We see these so much in our society that many children pick them up naturally. Finally, show your child the object or animal on the back of the card so they link the ‘buh’ sound of the letter B with ‘bear’ etc. It may be helpful to note that in Montessori schools children do not initially learn the names of letters, they are called by the sound they make.
You can also use the flashcards in reverse by showing your child the picture first. Have him name the sound that the image starts with and then turn over the card to reveal the letters that make that sound.
OK, I’m sold. How do I get mine?
This is the best part – the flashcards are free! All you have to do is sign up below. You will then receive a link and password to my Free Digital Resource Library. You will never get spam from me but you WILL get access to an ever-growing library of printables, templates and more. What are you waiting for?
Farm Themed Tot School: Part III
It’s Friday, and that means the end of another fantastic week of Tot School. This is the final post of my Farm themed tot school unit. If you missed the first 2 parts, you can find them here, and here.
“Feed The Chickens” Tot Tray
This is a fantastic Montessori-based activity that focuses on spooning. Spooning is a fantastic way to develop hand strength and muscle control which is vital when children begin learning to write. To present this activity I placed a tray on our learning center with 3 small ceramic ramekins, one larger ceramic ramekin, and a spoon. Inside the larger ramekin I poured about 1/2 Cup dried split peas. The 3 smaller ramekins each contained a chicken figurine from our Battat Farm Animal Set
I then demonstrated for goose how to carefully scoop up one spoonful of peas and pour it into a ramekin. He up the necessary motions quickly and was soon rotating out his chickens so that all of our farm animals could be fed.
It’s important to note that no matter how careful your child is, you will ultimately end up with peas on your floor. However, presenting this activity on a tray does help keep the mess contained.
Animal Sorting Activity
I came up with the idea for this activity when I noticed that Nugget was having a hard time distinguishing between the animals in our Battat Farm Animal Set
I purchased these wooden trays several years ago at Target, but this one is very similar. Inside each tray I adhered a set of 4 Velcro tabs. The opposite side of the Velcro tabs was attached to a laminated image of each type of animal. This provided a great deal of variety in the sorting, because I could group up to 4 types of animal within each ‘fence’.
Once the activity was prepared, I gave a lesson to both Nugget and Goose. I showed them how to sort through the animals to find the ones that match the picture within each tray. For Nugget, I kept the activity very simple. I began with only a single, easily identifiable animal in each pen. Then I gradually increased the difficulty.
For Goose, I focused on the animals that looked the most alike. Then I encouraged him to carefully examine the animals to find characteristics that make them easier to identify. I.e. the goat and the dog figures are very similar so I helped him check for horns to tell the two apart.
Farm Animal Alphabet Clip Cards
I designed this set of clip cards to help children begin to recognize the sound that words start with, and then associate that sound with the corresponding letter. We love to play “the sound game” with Goose when we’re driving in the car. I pick an object and ask him to tell me what sound it starts with. Then we take turns trying to think of other words that start with the same sound. This is particularly great because I often come up with words that Goose isn’t familiar with so he is building vocabulary as I explain what the words mean.
The sound game can easily be adjusted to accommodate older children. Ask them to identify the sound that a word ends with or even a middle sound. As children become more accustomed to this game, you can begin to introduce clip cards like these. The idea is for the child to name the animal shown, then identify the sound that it starts with. Finally, have them point out the letter that makes that sound. They are called ‘clip cards’ because parents often have the child use a clip or clothespin to mark their letter selection.
I like to present the cards on a metal tray or cookie sheet along with a set of small magnets. (As always, keep small magnets away from young children for whom they could present a choking hazard.) To get your free set of printable clip cards sign up below. You will receive your link and access code for my Free Digital Resource Library. Hint: There’s a lot more there than just clip cards!
What do you think? Did you enjoy this week’s farm unit? Let me know how it went, and what unit themes you would like to see next in the comments below.
Farm Themed Tot School: Part II
We are rolling right on through our farm themed tot school unit, and so far we have been having a blast! If you missed Part I, be sure to check it out. There were some really great crafts, recipes and activities for preschool or tot school. Today, our farm unit is going to the birds – literally! All of our crafts and activities revolve around poultry, so we will be feeding poultry, gathering eggs, gluing feathers and much more. Let’s get started!
Feed the Chickens Counting Mats
I think counting mats are such a fun way to combine fine motor skill development with early math skills. Plus, they make counting just a little more fun. I designed these mats for counting up to 20, although you could easily use only the first 10 to match your child’s skill level. On each card I have featured one or more bird from the farm, and these birds are hungry! I recommend using dry corn kernels but you can use any dry beans or small counter that you have at home. As always, any small object (such as corn kernels) can post a choking hazard to small children so use your own best judgement.
While Goose enjoyed working his way through all 20 counting mats, Nugget had fun helping by trying to name what type of birds were on each card. It’s always great when a learning activity can include both an older and younger sibling!
Visit my Digital Resource Library to download and print your free copy of my Feed the Chickens Counting Mats. Don’t have an access code? Easy! Just sign up below and one will be emailed to you right away!
Fruit & Veggie Search Sensory Bin
I wish I could take credit for this activity but all the credit for this one goes to Kim at Life Over C’s. Definitely check out her site for some fantastic learning activities and to download the printables for this fun activity.
This activity features a printable mat showing a wide assortment of fruits and veggies, along with a matching set of fruit and veggie cards. A quick pass through the laminator and a few Velcro tabs later and you have a fun and educational sensory bin search! I used Popsicle sticks and card stock to make garden signs that I adhered inside our sensory bin with a hot glue gun. This was definitely one of our cuter activities, and digging through the beans to find each fruit or vegetable kept Goose occupied for quite a while.
When we began I figured this would be one of those short-lived activities that wasn’t challenging enough for Goose but was a bit advanced for Nugget, boy was I wrong! It turns out that Goose’s fruit and veggie vocabulary isn’t quite as advanced as I thought and he learned a lot as he dug out each card and then let Nugget help him find the match.
Of course, soon the tractor was digging out the vegetables, and I had to watch Nugget like a hawk to be sure he didn’t try to eat the black beans, but overall I would call this one a win!
Decorate Your Own Rooster Craft
For this project we decided to create our own pet roosters! Goose named his ‘Captain Picklepuss’, which is of course a very respectable name for a rooster. We decorated our roosters using glue, feathers, crayons, and pretty much anything else Goose dug out of our craft closet. The end result was a rooster that would be the talk of any barnyard, I’m sure.
Visit my Digital Resource Library to download and print your free Rooster Printable. Don’t have an access code? Easy! Just sign up below and one will be emailed to you right away!
Egg Gathering Imaginative Play
My boys have very active imaginations and adore pretend play. I think that the creative thinking skills developed during imaginative play are vital to future success, so we put a lot of emphasis on it in our house. When shopping for toys I always avoid what Alton Brown calls ‘Unitaskers’. These toys that can only be played with in one specific way just seem limiting and are rarely the toys that see repeated play.
For this activity I made nests out of paper bags (instructions below) and then filled each nest with a few plastic Easter eggs. We were a little short on stuffed chickens so our nests included a variety of feathered occupants. After staging the nests, I also laid out a cowboy hat for costuming, and an egg carton for additional sorting practice. I gave each boy a basket and encouraged them to gather eggs and just have fun. Not surprisingly, Nugget decided to fill his basket with poultry and lovingly carry them throughout the house, carefully clucking and quacking at each one. This is such a sweet age! Goose took the task a little more seriously and was very intent on gathering all of the eggs, and opening each one in search of leftover Easter candy. As if candy would last that long in our house!
They returned to this activity several times this week, and each time they found new ways to interact with the nests. My favorite was when I walked into the room to find Nugget sitting very carefully on a plastic egg. Evidently his brother told him if he sat still long enough it would hatch! Oh how I hated to burst that bubble!
Supplies:
- Several Brown Paper Lunch Bags
- Scissors
- Glue
- Plastic eggs
Instructions:
- Begin by cutting off the top 2/3 of your lunch bags. You will need 2 bags per nest. (Don’t throw away the tops – I will be showing you next week how to use them for a fun craft!)
- Cut thin slices from the open edge of your bag down to the fold (see images). Don’t worry about making it perfect, messy is great for this project!
- Open your bag and then crinkle it in to a ball. The wrinklier the better!
- Repeat steps 1-3 on your second lunch bag, then open both wrinkled bags.
- Place one bag inside the other and using a rolling / scrunching motion to create a nest shape.
- Fill with plastic eggs, candy, or whatever else your little heart desires.
Our Favorite Farm Themed Books
We had so many farm themed books in our collection, that this was one tot school unit that hardly required a trip to the library. Here are a few of our favorites:
Dk Tractor Shaped Board Book
This is a book that I picked up a few years ago at a consignment sale, and it has been a favorite of ours ever since. It’s pretty short, but the novelty lies in the fact that it places you inside the tractor. It’s a fun short read perfect for a toddler who is just getting into tractors.
Otis by Loren Long
This is the original Otis book, although there are now several in the series. It tells the tale of a sweet tractor and his friendship with a lonely calf. The illustrations are striking and the plot is well-written enough that parents and children should both enjoy this story.
The Grumpy Morning by Pamela Duncan Edwards
This is a cute book about the morning that the farmer overslept. I like the fact that the farmer is a woman, since too many farm books only feature male farmers. It also has a nice rhythm that makes reading it aloud pleasurable.
Moo by Matthew Van Fleet
Matthew Van Fleet is famous for his beautifully photographed and highly interactive children’s books. Each page features tactile stimulation and moving parts, sure to hold even the youngest child’s attention.
Cock-a-Doodle-Doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo by Giles Andreae
Giles Andreae is back again with this tour through the barnyard. Each page features a different animal and a short rhyme. The illustrations are fun and bright and the rhymes are playful. It’s definitely worth adding to your bookshelf.
Lift the Flap Farm by Hinkler Books
This book can be a little tough to find, but it’s worth the effort. It’s chock full of photographs of farm animals, equipment and even produce. My boys love lifting the flaps, and I love the extra questions at the bottom of each page to encourage critical thinking or find hidden extras.
Pass It On! by Marilyn Sadler
This is a fun and silly story about how a message can be distorted as it gets passed from person to person (or animal to animal as it were). It’s great for an older preschooler who can understand the concept of pass it on, but the humor might be lost on younger children.
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
I love love love Karma Wilson. Her books never disappoint, and always include an attractive rhyming structure along with a playful plot. If you buy one fiction book from this list – buy this one. It’s just plain fun to read!
Have you enjoyed our Farm themed tot school unit so far? Comment below!
Be sure to check back later this week to see the final portion of our farm unit. Some of the best is still yet to come!
Ocean Themed Tot School Unit: Part 3
All good things must come to an end, and so too must my Ocean themed Tot School unit. I have had so much fun with my boys as we learned about aquatic life, and tried out some fantastic games and crafts. Today I’m going to show you the rest of what we tried out, and give you my final verdict on what to try (and what to stay away from!).
Underwater Chalk Art
This was a really unique activity that turned out to be a lot of fun – even for Mommy! The supplies are minimal and the results are striking. Best of all – this is a activity that covers a wide range of ages so everyone can participate together.
Supplies:
- Dark Colored Construction Paper
- Chalk
- Sponges
- A Shallow Dish of Water
How To:
Use your dish of water to wet the sponge and apply it to both sides of your construction paper. Let it get good and wet! Then use the chalk to draw on the wet paper. As the paper dries your chalk art will become bright and vivid. See? I told you it was crazy easy!
For the littlest tots the sensory experience of handling a sponge and wet paper will be fun enough. This is a very tactile art project that can create some really fun looking art.
Animal Activity Cards
I designed this free printable to encourage kids to get up and get moving. Each card features a cute ocean creature and an action for your child to perform. They can ‘Wiggle like a jellyfish’ or ‘Squawk like a Seagull’. It didn’t take long for this to turn into a game of ‘who can be sillier?’ at our house. After sitting still for an art project it’s great to get moving, so this was a perfect follow-up to our underwater chalk art.To download yours just sign up below and you’ll be sent an access code for my Free Digital Resource Library!
Colored Rice Sensory Bin
As I mentioned in Part I, Safari Limited Ocean Toobs played a huge part in our Ocean themed tot school unit. They worked very well in our water bead bin, but they’re also perfect in a dish of blue colored rice. Rice is always a safe bet if you feel that your little ones aren’t quite ready to be trusted with water beads.
If you haven’t made colored rice you can see how we do it here.
Our Favorite Ocean Themed Books
I LOVE to read, and I try my hardest to instill that love in my boys. I think the most important thing is to read as often as possible, so I always go out of my way to find books that go with our tot school themes. Here are a few of the books we enjoyed the most:
DK Eyewitness Books: Ocean
Commotion in the Ocean
Clark the Shark
The Pout-Pout Fish
The Rainbow Fish
Wrap-Up
Our ocean unit was a ton of fun! I feel like my boys learned a lot and I will definitely pull out some of these activities again as Nugget gets older and is ready to participate more. The biggest hit was the ice-cavating activity and the least successful was the jellyfish bottle.
Which activities did you try?
Comment below with your own hits and misses, and let me know if there is a tot school theme you would like to see soon.