Totally Tots

Treats 4 Your Tot

2012-01-27T06:23:00.000-05:00

Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

All About Reading Level 1…ends 1/27/12
We Choose Virtues…ends 1/30/12
Betty Lukens Felt Set…ends 1/31/12
Kid Basix Drink Container…ends 1/31/12
Learning Resources Smart Snacks Game…ends 2/10/12
My Very Own House…ends 2/11/12
Boca Beth Beginners Set…ends 2/4/12
Thirty-One Gifts $100 Gift Certificate…ends 2/6/12
Baby Bjorn Miracle Carrier…ends 2/6/12
Learning Resources Play Food…ends 2/6/12
Jack and Lily Shoes…ends 2/6/12
Thirty-One Gifts $100 Gift Certificate…ends 2/7/12
Betty Lukens Felt…ends 2/8/12
Just Think Toys Waterblocks…ends 2/9/12

Bolded are items we personally own and love! If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

Once Upon a Book ~ The Gingerbread Man ~ Color Matching Activity

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Each Thursday this month, we’ll be focusing on one area of activities to go along with the book The Gingerbread Man. The ideas are short and simple, but FUN to start the learning with your tot! Be sure to check back each week in January for more fun gingerbread ideas!

This week we’ll be focusing on a color matching activity for little ones.

The Gingerbread Man

Book Summary: An old lady makes a gingerbread for her husband’s lunch. When she opens the oven, he comes to life and runs out the door! Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man! He shouts as he runs from the old lady and her husband, a pig and a horse. Finally at the end of his journey he meets a fox that offers to help him across the river.

Color Matching

For this activity, you’ll need to gather a few items:

Colored construction paper {we used nine different colors}
Copies of the Gingerbread Man Sorting Game from Making Learning Fun ~ print off more copies depending on the abilities of your tot

Once the pieces were cut out, Chubba had to match the gingerbread men with the ‘plate’ that was the same color and the icing.

Don’t miss the other gingerbread theme ideas to go along with The Gingerbread Man!

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s ~ Count and Fill Grid Game

2012-01-24T07:06:00.001-05:00

The girls get very excited to try out new activities, especially when they involve their favorite candies!

When Emily was little we did a Candy Corn Math game that was similar to this, I just changed it up a little bit to play with both girls. This activity is great for teaching counting and 1 to 1 correspondence as well as practicing fine motor skills.

To play, we used our mini muffin tin and one of our large foam dice, then we each got a cup of M&M’s.

We took turns rolling the dice and then matching the M&M’s to the dots on the dice. This really helped Juliette (2.5 years) practice counting and to see how many she needed. For Emily (almost 5 years old) this was great practice in recognizing the amounts shown on the dice, she would say how many she needed and then get them.

Finally, she placed one M&M in each spot in the mini-muffin tin and then the next person took their turn until we filled up the whole tray.

While working together to fill up the tray we did a lot of counting. The girls were excited when we finished and Emily thought it would be a good idea to count each color of M&M’s to see which color we had the most of. This was a great opportunity to extend this for Emily and talk about comparing amounts.

This game can be changed to fit any theme that you are working with, instead of candy you can use mini erasers, buttons, coins, pom poms or any other small items. You can also use ice cube trays or printed grids instead of the mini muffin tin. The PreKinders site has a lot of printable grids available for many different themes.

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s is a bi-monthly feature that focuses on practical and simple ideas that you can do at home to help your tot develop their letter and number skills.

In My Heart ~ Psalm 46:10

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Be Still {Psalm 46:10} is #12 from Seeds of Praise.

Full Page Verse Printable…

Verse Mini Book {which could also be cut into mini flash cards to have kids put the verse in order}…

Copy Work Tracers {print & cursive}

Copy Work Sheets…
Full Verse Coloring Pages…

Seeds Family Worship printables here!

Visit the main Seeds Family Worship Printables page here.

Visit Seeds Family Worship to learn more about their ministry here!

Once Upon a Book ~ The Gingerbread Man Art & Sensory Ideas

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week you’ll need to get your hands on some gingerbread cookie cutters. If you have different sizes, all the more fun!

The Gingerbread Man

Art

Pull out some paper and add some paint to a paper plate. Dip the gingerbread cookie cutters into the paint and have fun stamping onto the paper.

Sensory

Pull out your tubs of playdough and use the gingerbread cookie cutters to make cute little gingerbread men from playdough {and let your little one have fun mixing the colors too ~ it’s ok!

Don’t miss the other gingerbread theme ideas to go along with The Gingerbread Man!

Montessori at Home: A Quick Start

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

There is a pull to purchase new items when it comes to the school room. But I am going to challenge you to stay home. Don’t even think about walking over to your computer to jump on Amazon or Oriental Trading. Your only task after reading this blog post is to create a simple learning moment that is relevant to your child.

Your child.

Not mine. Or your neighbor’s. Or Sally’s son who goes to pre-school.

If you think that you need a bunch of fantastic, bright, wood toys for your Genius, STOP. Your Genius needs your 100% attention and doesn’t need to be dragged to the store for a bunch of items from the same category or stare at a mom zoning at the computer screen.

Today’s task? Create a Montessori Moment at Home. Each time you see this feature, we will focus on an idea found in John Bowman’s book, Montessori at Home!

Now there are two ways you can accomplish this next task,

You can purchase and download the book Montessori at Home! Glance at the Practical Life and Sensorial sections for ideas. or
Brainstorm ideas that would nurture an interest your child already has that would enhance and build upon their current abilities.

For example, Naomi (my 1 year old) has been feeding herself with her hands for several months. Seeing as though she is nearing her 1/2 birthday, I decided that it was time she begin to work on using the proper utensils, such as a spoon. I gathered multiple sizes and colors of spoons, in addition to a variety of bowls, a plate, a cup, and a napkin.

To do what is referred to as an “activity cycle,” it is recommended to have a floor rug or table mat that your child works on. Instantly, my imagination began sewing this beautiful, brightly colored blanket for Miss Naomi to reside upon for our Montessori Moments. Then I discovered that a busy rug or mat will actually serve as a distraction. So, here are some parameters for you:

a good size of rug or blanket is 2 x 3’
stick with something that has a short nap
find a mat that is a solid, light color (beige, green, or gray)
non-skid shelf lining works well
carpet samples

Because I lacked the majority of these items, I had Naomi sit on our wood floor with all other objects removed but what we were working on.

Next time, I hope to begin the “activity cycle” more like Bowman’s suggestion in his book, involving my children more:

Create a work space. Get out a rug, blanket, or table mat.
Unveil the activity by bringing it to the workspace. (You will probably see a lot of our activities on trays.)
Encourage YOUR child to clean up and place the activity where it should be stored.
Put the rug away.

Your child will become used to the habit and know what to expect each time.

What are you waiting for? Go and have a Montessori Moment at Home with your Little!

Now I Know My ABCs ~ Letter B

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

All printables for this unit can be downloaded for free on my website, Animal ABCs.

Letter B ~ Bear

Bb Bear Extras…

Bb Bear in Action…

Have more bear fun…

More Letter Bb Fun…

Brown Bear Tot Pack
Letter B ~ Butterfly craft
Letter b ~ bee craft
Color by Number ~ B Bat
Bb Letter Maze
Tot School Printables: Bb is for Ball
Letter of the Week: Bb is for Butterfly
Letter Bb Fun {from No Time for Flashcards}
Bb is for Bug {from Spell Outloud}
Letter Bb Craft Collection {from The Attached Mama}
Bb is for Bumblebee {from Lawteedah}
Raising Rock Stars Preschool: Letter Bb

All printables for this unit can be downloaded for free on my website, Animal ABCs.

Did you miss…

Letter A~Alligator {Letter A on my blog in action}

Simply Made ~ Using Old Calendars

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

With the beginning of the new year, we always get new calendars in our mailbox from various local organizations. This year, we received 4 different calendars in the mail. Add the new calendars to the old calendars used around our house over the past year, and we ended up with quite a stack!

While we obviously didn't need that many calendars, I just couldn't get rid of them. (Does anyone else have a hard time throwing things away when you might be able to use it for learning activities?) I let them sit on the counter for a week before I got sick of them. Just as I tossed them into the recycling box, I remembered something I used to do in my Kindergarten classroom several years ago. And then, once I really brainstormed, I thought of several more ideas.

Number Writing Practice:
Allow your tot to practice writing numbers in the boxes. If they aren't ready to write numbers on their own yet, use a highlighter to write the numbers and allow them to trace the lines.

Build-a-Number/Number Matching:
Using number stickers or number stamps, have your tot match up numbers or "build" numbers in the boxes. We used some foam stickers we found in the "Dollar Spot" at Target recently.

Cutting/Gluing Practice:
I let Jonah practice cutting on the lines. First, I cut each row apart so it would be smaller for Jonah's little fingers to hold. Using child-safe scissors, he then practiced cutting the squares apart. After all the squares were cut apart, I let Jonah practice finding the numbers on a new month and gluing them down on the corresponding square. (If your child has trouble with scissors or is just learning how to cut, these Pre-School Spring Action Scissors are great!)

Patterns/Odd & Even Numbers:
Using two markers, we worked on coloring a pattern. This can be tricky when they switch rows, so I would consider this a little more advanced in patterning. Another thing to note, is that this can be used for Odd & Even Number learning.

What other things can you think of to do with old calendars? Feel free to share in the comments!

Treats 4 Tots

2012-01-13T14:40:00.001-05:00

Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

Money Saving Mom’s Budget{book}…ends 1/16/12
All About Reading Level 1…ends 1/16/12
Table Talkers eBook…ends 1/21/12
Evenflo Bebek Bottle Set…ends 1/23/12
Boppy Pillow Set…ends 1/23/12
Learning Resources Alpha Pops…ends 1/24/12
Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Light…ends 1/27/12
Alpha Catch…ends 1/31/12
Britax Booster Seat…ends 2/2/12

Bolded are items we personally own and love! If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

Once Upon a Book ~ The Gingerbread Man ~ Rhymes and Puzzles

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week I’m sharing a fun rhyme that you can use on a feltboard and also a number puzzle to work on counting from 1 to 10.

The Gingerbread Man

5 Ginger Cookies Felt Board

For this activity you’ll need:

a felt/flannel board
the flannel board set, 5 Ginger Cookies {we purchased this for $1 via Currclick}

Here’s a look at Chubba doing the rhyme along with me.

Gingerbread Puzzle

For this activity you’ll need to print off the puzzle from the Gingerbread Baby Preschool Pack at Homeschool Creations. Chubba had to put the pieces to the puzzle in order from 1-10 to make the gingerbread man.

Don’t miss the other gingerbread theme ideas to go along with The Gingerbread Man!

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s ~ Eye Spy Letters

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Both of my daughters love Eye Spy and Look and Find Books so I thought that making an Eye Spy Letter activity would be the perfect way to help Juliette to be excited about working with and learning her letters.

This activity was really simple to put together. First, I picked a letter that I wanted to focus on and then looked through magazines for words that included that letter somewhere in the word. Then I just glued the words onto one side of a file folder.

Finally, I added a Magnifying Glass that I found when I was cleaning out a box of my teaching supplies.

I knew both girls would be excited to use it to “Spy” the letter.

To play, I told Juliette that we were looking for the letter “A”. I showed her one and then she found the rest. I had her point to it and then cover it with a wooden pattern block so that she would know that she already found that one. The pattern blocks worked really well, but any type of chip or even buttons would work too. I included words with capital A and lowercase a to increase the difficulty. I did not intend on using both uppercase and lowercase and started with just finding Capital A until Juliette said “Look Mommy, this is "A too.”

You can continue this activity by having them find any other letters that are one the page.

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s is a bi-monthly feature that focuses on practical and simple ideas that you can do at home to help your tot develop their letter and number skills.

Mommy Made Printables ~ Gingerbread

2012-01-10T16:31:00.000-05:00

We are excited to share some Gingerbread printables for you to use with your tots as you explore together!

Gingerbread Baby Printables {from Homeschool Creations}

As you can see I am a little low on my collection of printables made by moms! Thankfully Jolanthe’s pack is awesome! You can also see my collection of gingerbread ideas here on Pinterest…

Do you have any free Gingerbread printables {free} YOU have created {and share}? If so, leave a link to your blog post in the comments below!

Now I Know My ABCs ~ Letter A

2012-01-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

I am excited to share a new set of ABC activities with you this year, all based around animals! I have created a set of free printables that will be shared one by one every other week throughout this year.

Each printable set will include a large upper case letter to print, a cut and glue craft, flashcards, and a set of fun extras in case your tot is like mine and can’t get enough! I will also recommend books to go along if you want to expand the on the animal for the letter. This is a fun and easy way to bring tons of science fun in for your tot too!

This series was designed for my daughter who will be 3 in April. A younger or older child could easily enjoy these too!

We personally are not moving through the letters on any specific schedule. I will be moving on when she gets bored with a certain letter and introduce a new one. She knows her letters so this set is more for the animal fun and the extra practice on basic skills. You can see more details in my upcoming weekly Tot School posts where I will share more about her in action.

All printables for this unit ~ Letter A ~ can be downloaded for free on my website, Animal ABCs.

Letter A ~ ALLIGATOR

Aa Alligator Extras…

Aa Alligator in Action…

She loves the notebook format, similar to her Tot Time Notebook, so I am putting her “extras” in a notebook for her.

We did the craft all together, her cutting the gray lines with my help, then using watercolors to paint her letter A while I trimmed out the rest of the alligators.

We let it dry {then I cut out the A} and later glued down the alligators on the letter and the letter onto paper.

She absolutely loved the end result and just wanted to hold it and stare at it!

Have more alligator fun…

More Letter Aa Fun…

Letter A ~ Alligator craft
Letter a ~ Apple craft
Color by Number ~ A Ant
Aa Letter Maze
Tot School Printables: Aa is for Apple
Letter of the Week: Aa is for Apple
Letter of the Week: Aa is for Ant
Letter Aa Fun {from No Time for Flashcards}
Aa is for Astronaut {from Spell Outloud}
Letter Aa Craft Collection {from The Attached Mama}
Aa is for Alligator {from Lawteedah}
Raising Rock Stars Preschool: Letter Aa

Download Animal ABCs ~ Letter A ~ for free her

In My Heart ~ Psalm 86:11-13

2012-01-06T20:44:00.001-05:00

Undivided Heart {Psalm 86:11-13 } is #11 from Seeds of Praise.

Full Page Verse Printable…

Verse Mini Book {which could also be cut into mini flash cards to have kids put the verse in order}…

Copy Work Tracers {print & cursive}

Copy Work Sheets…
Full Verse Coloring Pages…

Seeds Family Worship printables here!

Visit the main Seeds Family Worship Printables page here.

Visit Seeds Family Worship to learn more about their ministry here!

Once Upon a Book ~ The Gingerbread Man ~ Bible Verse & Fine Motor Activity Ideas

2012-01-05T13:05:00.001-05:00

This week we will be focusing on a Bible verse to go along with The Gingerbread Man and some fun letter and number magnet pages as well.

The Gingerbread Man

Bible Verse: Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) We talked about how God used the dust to form man just like we used cookie dough to make the gingerbread cookies.

Magnet Pages

Before starting this activity, you’ll need to gather a few items:

a cookie sheet or magnet board
gingerbread magnet pages from Making Learning Fun
pompom magnets ~ you can make some by hot-gluing 1/2” magnets to the back of pompoms {you can also use power magnets or Do-A-Dot markers}.

The magnet pages are wonderful for helping promote 1:1 correspondence and you can also talk about the letter G and the number 2 while working together {or all the fun colors that the pompom magnets are!}.

Don’t miss the other gingerbread theme ideas to go along with The Gingerbread Man!

What's in the Tub? ~ Gingerbread

2012-01-04T06:27:00.000-05:00

Our January theme here at Totally Tots is Gingerbread.

Here are a few ideas of what to include in your bin for your Tot to explore!

What’s in the Tub?

cotton balls
jingle bells
5 pine trees
10 large gingerbread men
4 small stuffed gingerbread men
candy cane decorations
hard candy decorations
gum drop decorations
gingerbread men decorations
1 gingerbread house

Lydia, my resident Tot, is 28 months and loved decorating and un-decorating this gingerbread house. The handy-dandy tin was quickly turned into a (loud) musical instrument by shaking the jingle bells inside. And the stuffed gingerbread men (she called her babies) took many naps in the gingerbread house.

We’ve been working on number recognition and counting with her so I added the felt numbers to the back the large gingerbread men. Aaron, 4 years old, couldn't help joining in the fun.

Other possible activities with this tub:

sorting by color
sorting by shape
making patterns with the felt decorations
counting

I borrowed the pine trees and used cotton balls I had on hand. All other items I found at JoAnn’s. This is an easy Tub to put together with just a little puffy paint, some hot glue, and the quiet of afternoon nap time. The gingerbread house was made from a box I found at the store and some peel-and-stick sheets of felt and foam board for the peaked roof. (How-to photos can be found on my blog: Simply Sarah.)

What's in the Tub? is a monthly feature that focuses on fun sensory tub ideas to go along with the monthly theme at Totally Tots. Click here to see past sensory tub ideas.

Now I Know My ABCs ~ A New Year!

2012-01-03T06:41:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to begin writing for this feature! When I took on the “job” I honestly had no clue what I was going to do, but as usual, God dumped a new idea in my lap! I have a brand new set of printables that will be released specifically for this feature, taking you through the alphabet in a new way this year!

Stay tuned, letter A is coming soon!

Crafty Corner ~ Gingerbread

2012-01-02T09:54:00.001-05:00

Felt Gingerbread Man Cookies from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Gingerbread Playdough People from No Time for Flashcards

Gingerbread Man from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

Foam Gingerbread Man from Homeschool Creations

Gingerbread Playdough from Peace, Love and Rainbows

Gingerbread Cards from A Mommy’s Adventures

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses from Mama Jenn

Cinnamon Applesauce Gingerbread Men from Naturally Educational

Foam Gingerbread Man from Spell Outloud

Gingerbread People & Pirates from Along the Way

Do you share tot-friendly crafts on your blog? If so, please read here first and then email me (JennAtTotallyTots@gmail (dot) com)! I would love to add you to the "search" list for future posts! Do you have a GINGERBREAD themed craft on your blog that is not already linked here? Please feel free to share your craft by leaving the link to it in a comment!

Introducing ~ LaToya

2011-12-30T13:04:00.000-05:00

I'm a single, homeschooling mom of two bouncing boys {Bubba and Chubba}. I'm also a grad student. I graduated from law school in May 2011 and am currently working on a Master's Degree in Social Work so that I can open up my own God-centered adoption and pregnancy center. I'm also a Sunday School teacher for the little ones at my church.

In my spare time (haha) I love to read novels, write, listen to music and watch old movies. I live for the quiet moments of the day which are few and far between with my rambunctious young men running around the house. I'm going to contribute to Once Upon a Book here at Totally Tots and I'm so excited to be a part of this great team of ladies. I blog about my life at Christian Momma.

Introducing ~ Michelle

2011-12-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

I am an Elementary School teacher turned stay at home mom. I really enjoyed teaching 1st and 4th grade and am so excited to share my love of teaching and learning with my two daughters, Emily (4 1/2 year old) and Juliette (2 year old) and my wonderful husband Michael who is always there to support me on my different projects and ideas. Our family loves books, puzzles, cooking, crafts, music and most of all God. We are always looking for new and fun ideas
for learning about the world God created for us.

I am looking forward to being a part of Totally Tots and sharing some great hands on learning activities in the Totally Tots feature: Little Hands on ABC's and 123's. You can also find me on my blog A Mommy's Adventures where I host stART a weekly book and activity link-up.

Introducing ~ Sarah

2011-12-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

I’m striving to glorify God in all I do and live in the world and not of it. Supporting my husband and raising our children to glorify God is my ministry. We enjoy living as natural as possible. It’s been 5+ years down our organic-lifestyle road, and I’m constantly learning more and trying new things. My crunchy and green journey started when I was pregnant with Aaron, we took the Bradley Method class and I also began to make my own household cleaners. Since then, I think my friends and family might say I’m pretty weird in my homebirthing, babywearing, kefir & kombucha growing, grain soaking, Young Living oils wearing ways. But I’m okay with that.

Here at Totally Tots I will be writing for the What’s in the Tub? feature. Away from Totally Tots, you can find me blogging at Simply Sarah or networking on Twitter. In my (limited amount of) free time, I enjoy photographing our life with my Nikon and reading great literature with my book club. If I happen to be blessed with more time beyond that I paint. Mostly abstract. I love color and have many future paintings brewing in my head.

Once Upon A Book~ A Christmas Prayer

2011-12-29T11:44:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Prayer

Book Summary: A precious little child wanders through the house on a snowy Christmas night offering a prayer of thanks and blessing. The child finishes with thanks to God for the greatest Gift of all. Noting all the characters in the Nativity, this lovable little nighttime prayer book has interactive dialogue and soothing rhyme for a child to repeat as they look around their world at Christmastime.

I'm not sure about you, but the month of December is super crazy at our house! Add a very colicky new baby to the mix, and normal school activities just about didn't happen for us this month. When we did find a few spare moments for school activities, we chose to make memories and focus on Jesus.

Art:
We did Truth in the Tinsel for Advent. Since we were crafting every day, this counted as our art and then some! Jonah loved them all and he learned so much! His favorite part was having his very own tree in his room that held all of his Truth in the Tinsel ornaments.

Retelling/Imaginative Play:

Jonah loved playing with our Wooden Nativity Puzzle Playset to retell the Nativity story. (This Nativity Puzzle was a gift several years ago. I can't find the exact puzzle online to link to, but this Wooden Framed Puzzle - NATIVITY SCENE SET - Colored Components is the closest thing I can find on Amazon. Our puzzle is from Peaceful Joinings Puzzle Co.) On occasion, I would find extra characters and cars at the Nativity.

Letters, Numbers, & Writing:

Jonah enjoyed the Nativity Preschool Pack from 1+1+1=1. He was especially proud that he wrote the beginning letters all by himself and didn't want to erase it until Daddy saw his writing.

Fine Motor/Caring for Others:

Jonah helped me make some Christmas goodies for his Sunday School teachers. Unwrapping the Hershey's Kisses was perfect work for his little hands! (Photo from my Instagram stream)

I hope your CHRISTmas was full of memories and Jesus, too! Blessings for the New Year!

New and Updated Features for 2012!!

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Over the last two months we’ve been working behind the scenes to tweak a few of our features and planning a fun new one for you all! Our new schedule and team of writers will start on the 1st of January, but we wanted to give you a little ‘heads up’ to get you excited about what is coming!!!

Ready for a little sneak peek into the 2012 Totally Tots year??

We are so excited to introduce a new feature called Montessori at Home! This once a month post will be written by Jodi and featuring ideas that are talked about in John Bowman’s ebook, Montessori at Home. John has also been writing monthly guest posts called the Montessori Minute over at 1+1+1=1.

While we are saying a goodbye to a few of our features {for now} and also a few of our writers from this past year, we do have many that will be staying with us and continuing on during the upcoming year as well!

Continuing Features and Writers…

In addition to the new features above, we also have some writers that will be switching around behind the scenes and taking over some of our current features. Here’s a quick look at the list of monthly features and the writers behind the posts.

~ Crafty Corner….Mama Jenn will continue to write this feature.

~ In My Heart…Val will continue to write this feature.

~ Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s ~ Michelle will be taking over this feature.

~ Mommy Made Printables…Carisa will continue to write this feature.

~ Now I Know My ABC’s…Carisa will be writing this feature.

~ Once Upon a Book…Maureen, LaToya, and Sara will be writing for this feature.

~ Play With Me…Jolanthe will continue to write this feature.

~ Simply Made….Sara will continue to write this feature.

~ Treats 4 Your Tot…Carisa will write this feature.

~ What’s in the Tub?…Sarah will be writing this feature.

Stay tuned over the next few days to meet the new writers that will be joining the 2012 Totally Tots Team! We’re excited to have some AMAZING ladies on our new team!

Now I Know My ABC’s ` Zz is for Zoo

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall

Summary: A nice twist on a zoo book, Michael Hall pairs animals with various emotions. The artwork is designed to incorporate several heart shapes in each colorful animal. It is simple yet so captivating! The simple rhymes and bold pictures wonderfully illustrate how love can be many different things, such as eager as a beaver, steady as a yak or silly as a seal.

Theme Ideas:

I first read this book with my current 5 yr. old last year. I loved it! The book is so simple yet there are so many things to discuss! We like to count how many hearts make up each animal on each page. It is so fun to see how all the animals are made out of hearts! (This book would also make a nice Valentine’s Day book.)

You cannot read this book without trying to make some of the animals! :) You can find the instructions plus printable patterns for the seal and the frog at Spell Outloud.

Since I knew we would be talking about animals, I purchased a package of zoo animal foam stickers. The first activity we did was sort the stickers by animal (or plant—there were trees included). I used an old party platter for this activity. While sorting, we named the animals and went over the first sound of each animal’s name.

Next we played a counting game. I took a 12x12 piece of paper and folded it into fourths. Then I wrote the name of each animal in its “cage” aka square. My daughter rolled the dice to see how many of that animal needed to go in the cage.

For some reason she rolled a 5 most of the time :) There were additional stickers on the back of the page too.

She asked to do her own zoo picture with the stickers. This was her final result. She concentrated so hard peeling off the sticker backing on the animals. That was a great way to practice fine motor skills.

We went over our poem/handwriting and coloring page. You can find the download under the Letter Z.

We pulled out our Target Dollar Spot puzzles and worked on them again.

The girls gathered up their stuffed animals and played zoo.

We originally did this activity while studying plants, but it would be fun to do while talking about zoo animals too! Fill Zoo Pal cups with planting soil. Sprinkle grass seed and cover with a little more dirt. Lightly spray with water and watch the animals grow hair!

Check out the following themes for more animal ideas:

Gg is for gorilla
Jj is for jungle
Ll is for lion
Pp is for panda

Other ABC Resources

ABC Printables from Homeschool Creations
Letter of the Week Curriculum from COAH
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Simply Made: DIY Chopstick Tongs

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

A favorite tool around our house to work on the pincer grasp, transferring objects, and concentration are tongs/tweezers. We use them for all sorts of fine motor fun!

I really like the Easy Grip Tweezers from Learning Resources. They are great for chubby little hands! But recently, my son lost interest in practicing transferring objects using them. He said he was getting "too big" for them and that it was "too easy." If I'm being honest, he was right about the easy part. I decided it was time to make it a little harder and add the novelty of a new tool into the mix.

My inspiration came from our favorite Japanese restaurant. While eating there, they brought my son a pair of kid chopsticks and he thought they were the coolest thing ever. On our way out, I asked if we could have an extra set of chopsticks to use at home. When we got home, I got right down to making a set of tongs/tweezers with a little more difficulty involved.

Materials:

Clean pair of chopsticks
strip of paper (about 1 inch wide)
tape
rubber band
scissors

Directions:
Cut a strip of paper about 1 inch wide. Starting on the small end, tightly roll the strip of paper. Secure the end with tape.

Place the rolled up paper in between the chopsticks and twist the rubber band around--you'll need to go above and below the paper to secure it. I used trial and error (and some simple machine knowledge from elementary school) to figure out the best placement for the paper. You will need to leave some space at the top and move the paper down toward the middle. Play around with the placement and the thickness of the paper roll.

Once your Chopstick Tongs are working, it's time to start playing! Have your tot transfer pom-poms, cotton balls, etc. to work on their pincer grasp (handwriting muscles).

Since it is the beginning of Winter, my son transferred "snowballs" AKA cotton balls (you could use white pom-poms, too). The Chopstick Tongs are a little more difficult to control and was just the change that my little guy needed to grab his attention again.

Want some more fine motor inspiration? Check out my Fine Motor Fun board on Pinteres t!