Tot School – Feb. 28, 2010

We took it very easy with school this past week.  I just brought out some random things that were easy for me to put together for M.  He is very into elaborate pretend play now and I’m trying to give him plenty of time for that.  If he’s involved in something like that during the only time I have free for a little school, well then no school.  I’m totally ok with that, although I have to work hard not to compare myself with other mommies out there.

So, in no particular order this week, here’s what we did (no action shots)…

A corkboard and push pins to outline the little pictures with.  I had several of these left over from the last time this activity was out.  He really enjoys this one!

 

Our newest puzzle from our toy lending libary:

 

Pegboard game with shapes, also from the toy library:

 

A new puzzle from mama (I’ve got scads of these stashed around the house; he just loves a new puzzle challenge).

 

The good old Lite Brite, which is always fun.  He likes to pull the shades in his room, close the door and get it as dark as possible when he plays with this:

 

Our foam puzzles – numbers and ABCs.  He still likes to hammer these guys in with his little wooden hammer!

 

The first thing he goes for every week is his letter cutting/collage page.  He did S this week:

 

The sand tray and his soft pipecleaner letters. 

 

And, he checks his little sprouts every single morning.  It’s looking like we are going to have lots of shamrocks and forget-me-nots.  We’ve been counting them and he’s so good about taking care of them.  I really need to thin them out, but they are like his babies, so I’m not sure exactly how to go about doing that. :)

 

I know we’ve done a lot more than this, but if I don’t take a picture of it I just can’t remember anything.   Actually, that’s true about a lot of things, not just tot school! :)

Go here to see other tot-schooling mamas.

Have a beautiful day! )

Books of the Week – Feb. 27, 2010

We recently went to a church festival and one of the activities was a book fair. We found so many great books, most of them written in the 30’s, 40’s, and 60’s. I felt like I won the jackpot! :) I just love the look of older books!

My Box and String, by Betty Woods was written in 1963. This is such a cute book, written in rhyme, about a boy who makes a *thing* with a box and some string and then doesn’t want anyone else to play with it. Yet, he isn’t sure what to do with it himself. Finally, with the help of a little girl’s wise words, he realizes the fun was in creating his box and string. This is a great little book about the fun a child can have with simple, everyday objects. And it is a great book about using one’s imagination too, since several animals, as well as a boy and girl, come up with all kinds of creative uses for the box and string creation. We all love this book!

Another great find was Everyday Animals, by Gertrude E. Allen. This book was written in 1961 and is a non-fiction chapter book. It has wonderful black and white illustrations and each chapter talks about a different animal… rabbits, chipmunks, mice, skunks, porcupines, and gray squirrels… animals a child knows and probably has seen. The text is great and the author did a great job of writing about things that small children will truly find interesting. For instance, this part from the rabbit section:

“When Mother Rabbit is expecting babies she finds a spot under some tree roots or bushes or in tall grass. She digs a hole and lines it with grass and bits of fur. She makes a blanket from grass and fur and tucks it over the babies when she leaves the nest.”

Or from the chipmunk chapter:

“Chipmunks look odd when they swim. They hold their tails straight up in the air!”

Ok, obviously I love this book and so does M despite it’s length. We’ve been reading one chapter at a time, and he has really enjoyed learning all the little things about these animals.
Click on the button at the top of the page to see more reviews on great kids’ books!
Have a beautiful day! :)