Terrific Tuesday

I don’t know how many Tuesdays at Tinytown we will be having from now on out.  It was very fun, but I think we will be taking an extended break from there. 

Now on to Tot School!

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This is a really neat puzzle game for toddlers.  I have the Classic Pooh hide & seek game.  I found it on sale at Target.  I can’t find it on their web site now, but Toys R Us has several different ones including Disney Princesses.  Wiggles really enjoys this.  You can click on the picture to follow a link to Toys R Us and the product.  It is recommended for ages 18 months-3 years.

This picture is actually from the weekend, but I thought I would throw it in.  Wiggles and Big Sisters were coloring on the driveway.

This week:

LHTH-Letter C, Number 3, God Blesses Abraham

Abeka-Letter C, Number 3, Finger play Clap with Me

Baby Signs-Mealtime Signs

I wanted to share our finger play for this week for Abeka.  It is really cute and the little ones genuinely join in pretty quickly.

Clap with Me

Clap with me. 1,2,3

Clap, clap, clap, just like me.

(Clap hands)

Shake with me. 1,2,3

Shake, shake, shake, just like me.

(Shake body)

Roll with me. 1,2,3

Roll, roll, roll, just like me.

(Roll hands one over the other.)

Snap with me. 1,2,3

Snap, snap, snap, just like me.

(Snap fingers)

Fold with me. 1,2,3

Fold, fold, fold, just like me.

(Fold hands and lay them in lap.)

 

First we did our Wiki Stiks for the letter C.  I gave no instruction since this is our 3rd letter and her did pretty good on his own.

We are cutting from our Let’s Cut Paper! Kumon First Steps Workbook.  He had to cut down the middle (still working on cutting skills…he wants to use both hands for the scissors) then match the front to the back of the car.

This was our Cc page for Abeka today.  You had to fingerprint paint the C.  He did really well and we didn’t even get messy!!

Here, he is working on his concept cards for Baby Signs.  I wanted to get a picture of him signing so badly, but every time I would get the camera and snap the picture it would always be just after he was finishing the sign.  Baby signs is really great at building vocabulary and limiting frustrations in a toddler.  I would recommend it to anyone with an infant or toddler. 

Even though he is talking more and more…there are times when his emotions and temperament get in the way of his vocalizing what he wants or needs.  Signs can be such a great benefit to the child and the parent.

Baby Signs

They also have a potty learning program to help train your child.  I can’t recommend this enough.

Baby Signs Potty Training

Wiggles watching the Potty Train video by Baby Signs.  Here he is getting on the Potty Train (choo choo).

We were supposed to color the cups, but Wiggles was having none of it so instead I numbered them and we counted a few times to end our Tot School day.

Marvelous Monday

Okay, I am trying to get back on track with our Little Hands to Heaven work and Abeka work.  We finally finished Unit 2 of LHTH!!  Woo Hoo! 

Here he is playing with the Melissa and Doug animal sounds puzzle.  This is the first time he has really taken the time to match them up and listen for the sound.

We learned about the tower of Babel today.  Our math activity in LHTH was to stack blocks one by one (counting as we went) until they toppled to show how God was unhappy with the people and destroyed their tower.  Not really sure if we got all of that, but we did enjoy stacking blocks.

I tried to do some patterns with the colored blocks but he just wanted to stack and topple so I let it go for now.

We read in a Children’s First Bible for LHTH and it did a nice little overview of the tower of Babel.

 

We also did our sandpaper letters B and our finger play for B.  Then we headed outside to draw B in sidewalk chalk.  I drew the B and then Wiggles “tried” to trace over it.  Since he is just 2, I am not stressing it.

Not to leave the girls out of the blogging, here are some pictures of them on field day…

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Blogging catch up!

Well, it has been a busy week here in our household.  We have done 2 full day field days with 3 different kids in 3 different grades…all while towing a 2 year old along for the fun ride.

We managed to do a little bit of tot school here and there.

 

Wiggle’s is holding up his blue gdiaper.  I was folding diapers and Wiggles wanted to help…so I started calling out colors for him to find from my pile of unfolded ones and then would fold that color.

Here Wiggles is sorting his candied hearts by color on our pooh color wheel placemat.  I really love this mat.  I was needing to get some work done in the house and needed something he could do by himself without getting into a mess.

 

The color mat came from Walmart.

Here Wiggles is working on his transportation puzzle.  He really likes to fly the helicopter to it’s place.

Here Wiggles is playing with his police station and fire truck.  The 2 baskets in the background is all the toys we brought back from our visit at spring break!  I have no idea where I will fit all of this stuff in the kids rooms.  It is time to go through and give to Goodwill again or to the local women’s and children’s shelter here.

You will be seeing more pictures of Wiggles sans pants and just diapers or undies b/c we are going to start seriously potty learning starting next week!!

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Here are some pics from Big Bubba’s field day at school!  He is 6 yrs. old and in kindergarten. 

We are going to do a trial run with all 4 kids at home this summer and see if I can hack it teaching them all. 

Back to Tot School

We got back late Sunday and I chose to keep the biggers out of school Monday.  I have so much to do.  The kids got lots of toys while visiting relatives and more clothes too.  I have to find room for the new stuff.

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These are some pics from before we left.  I was cleaning the girls room and Wiggle Worm was busy checking things out.  I found these great books that I had when the biggers were little hidden on a shelf in the girls room.  They are my shapes book, my numbers book, and my words book.  I am going to have to look up who makes them b/c they are really great.

Today, while I did dishes and tried to straighten my house…Wiggle Worm kind of did Tot School…

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We really just took it easy today.  Wiggle Worm did the tiny pom poms through the straw hole.  He also spent so much time dressing the elephant!  He really liked that one.  I wish I had more clothes for him than just the 2 outfits.  He also did some tongs and pom poms in color bowls for color matching.  I tried to do a pouring exercise with him and it was a fiasco.  I used water to see if he was ready for liquid.  Nope!  He poured the water once from the pitcher to the bowl and back again…then…he decided the water would be better on the tray!  What a mess!  We cleaned it up together and I decided back to beans and rice for a little while longer.

We won’t be doing LHTH this week b/c the biggers have field day on Thursday and Friday all day.  So I guess our Tot School will be on a field trip.  I do have one lesson left in Lesson 2 so I will probably do it tomorrow then the rest of the week will be hands on field trip experiences.

Wiggle Worm was so excited to be back home and with his things.  He toted his trucks around (almost all of them in both arms).  It was almost like he had to touch it all to believe it was here still.  He slept so much better too.  He was awful at my Mom’s over spring break.  He would not go to sleep at all there.  I would have to hold him on my chest and get him to sleep in the “big” chair.  I was kind of nervous that it would carry over when we got home, but nope he went straight to his big boy bed and went to bed no problem.

Tot School hiatus

We are on a hiatus from Tot School this week and next. We have a horrible virus that is running through our family and now Mommy has caught the crud. Wiggle Worm and Big Sis have been fighting it since last week.

Next week is Spring Break and we are taking a little vacation. So Tot School is on hiatus until after Spring Break.

Hopefully, by then we will all be well.

Fabulous Fridays

Well, it has definitely been a fabulous Friday for me. I got to have lunch with my good friend. Then Wiggle Worm and I picked up the biggers.

I also picked up an Acer Aspire One Notebook for myself. I am typing this blog on it now. I love it. It isn’t a regular size laptop. It is a mini-laptop. It doesn’t have a cd/dvd rom but I plan to get an external one to attach. Right now I will use flash drives. It does have wireless internet, 160 gb hard drive, lots of usb ports, a card reader that supports almost any type of picture card, a web cam…pretty much everything you need in a nice, neat little package and for only $298 it can’t be beat. I am putting a link for anyone interested. I am quite pleased with it. It is heaven for on the go internet and blogging. I just have to get used to the keyboard.

Acer Aspire Mini Laptop

Throw away Thursdays

My house is a disaster area. Literally, it is a pig sty. I let Wiggle Worm work on several things while I did dishes. I still have to sweep and mop, but plan to wait until tonight when no little ones will dirty it right back up.

Okay, I just had to put this old pic of big brother Bubba doing this same exercise when he was 3…he is 6 now. They are 3 part cards for colors.

Here is Wiggle Worm being introduced to them for the first time! He did really well. I think I will start out with just the primary colors next time though. We got confused with orange and red and blue and purple. So we might start out with just three and work up.

This is an up close so you can see the exercise. The one card has the color and name of the color. The tot then matches the color to the color/name card.

I originally downloaded this file from childcareland.com. I can't find it in the free printables anymore. I am going to email and see if I can get a link to post here if anyone else wants to use this file too. I laminate mine. This exercise grows also b/c I have a set of cards that has a blank part at the top with the word for the color at the bottom and the child matches the color part to the word (showing they can read the color name and match it with the color without the control). I will take a picture of it soon. I will have my 6 year old do this as color words are part of his sight words.

I borrowed this idea from 1+1+1=1. I used a Cane’s kid’s drink cup and Wiggle Worm put those tiny pom poms through the straw hole. This lasted a while.

Close up of him pushing the pom pom through the hole.

This is big Bubba (at 3) doing his Melissa and Doug stacker. Alas, this stacker did not survive to be passed on to Wiggle Worm. I did buy a M&D round rainbow stacker the other day and wanted to get a pic of Wiggle Worm doing it to put with this pic in the post, but Wiggle Worm would not oblige me. Maybe I will get the pic and edit this post.

I am going to go through big Bubba’s pics from toddlerhood and glean ideas from them (insert evil laugh here). I had made so many Montessori style 3 part cards and have most of them laminated. I think it is time I pull them out and Wiggle Worm is introduced to them.

Wacky Wednesdays

We had a pretty decent Wednesday.  We did our LHTH today and it went really well after I found some masking tape.  I bought some yesterday when I bought the construction paper.  The house had eaten the first tape I used with the A.  Well, today I couldn’t find the new tape and after searching like crazy…I found the first missing tape but not the new tape…Oh well, at least I have tape.

We put blocks all around our B.

Gluing our rainbow.

Our finished rainbow.

Abeka 2 Worksheet.

Coloring.

Our new Melissa and Doug triangle crayons in their case.  I love these crayons.  They have a great case with built in flip top lid.  They are sturdier than the crayola triangle crayons too.  Our crayola ones didn’t survive the day before Wiggle Worm had broken half of them.  The M&D ones are very sturdy and hold up to a toddler’s grip and use. 

We learned about when the flood ended and Noah came off the ark with the animals.  We learned that God gave us rainbows as a sign that he would never cover the earth with water again. 

We made a rainbow with torn up colored construction paper that we glued onto a piece of black construction paper.  We are now using Elmer’s disappearing purple school glue sticks.  I love these.  It is so much easier and Wiggle Worm can actually do the glue!  Regular glue in a bottle was too hard for him right now and too much of a battle to accomplish anything.

We continued our exploration of the letter B.  I love the masking tape on the floor with the letters.  Although B was a bit tricky for me to make well.  B will stay on the floor until next week when C is introduced.

We reenacted Noah coming off the boat and it was fun.  I pretended to be animals and tried to encourage Wiggle Worm to do the same.  Alas, Wiggle Worm wanted to ride piggy back on all the animals.  It was a fun and energetic exercise.

We counted to 2 with our Abeka worksheet.  Wiggle Worm colored with his new crayons.