This and That

Little guy and his brothers. 

He wasn't so fond of putting on a costume, as usual, but I'm betting that next year won't be an issue.  We didn't have to walk up to any door with him once he realized there was candy involved...and though he wouldn't say Trick 'or' Treat...he did give a resounding "Thank-you" after most houses.  :-)

A few things T. enjoyed recently...

Letter Sort

Tiles in mashed potato flakes.  :-)  A little messy but easy clean up.

He'd dig through with the spoon but not really "shake off" the extra flakes.  That made too much mess for him since he couldn't control the spoons so well...so he ended up digging through with the spoon and when one got on top he'd pick it up and place it on the mat.  Mr. Perfectionist here...time to go outside (his favorite part of the day, of course) but he was missing 2 letters and COULD/would not go outside until someone helped him find them.  LOL

 

I think this little book was a birthday gift and we are just now getting to it. :-P Actually, I had to find time to tear all the pages out of the workbook and put them in plastic sheet protectors...to allow him to do it again and again. :-) I'm fond of the Kumon Tracing workbook. This one is nice also. It's called Fun to Trace the ISBN number is 978-1-60553-648-4.  Beginner lines, shapes, letters, numbers, and more "maze" like lines in the back. He loved it! And...this is the first time he actually did loops!

 

Now, this is a great picture of Mr. T! LOL Wonder what he was saying to me.  T. does not care for playdough. Really?! Yes, really. I can't get him to play with it at all. But, if I create snakes for him to cut, yes, that's okay. Got to love this kid!  :-)

 Should probably think twice about posting this picture.  I know there was quite the controversy over this not too long ago.  Yes, those are thumb tacks.  

I wouldn't say the process of this was his favorite activity.  It worked the muscles in his fingers and it took him 5 days to do (one day per letter) but the great thing about the project was that when he was done...he was very proud of it!  So, that in itself is a good thing to learn young...perseverance!  Anyway...please supervise if you are allowing your children to use thumbtacks.

 

Give him a tub of sand in the pool and will he explore?  Nope.  Give him some sand at the table with a spoon, funnel, bottles and happy as a pea.  :-P

 

If you haven't done this yet...please do!  :-)  Fill a clear jar over 3/4 of the way full, squirt shaving cream into the jar to fill to the top.  Two primary colored containers of water and two eye droppers.  The colors will eventually make it through the shaving cream and mix.

 

Another, "right up his alley" activity.  :-)  I didn't hide the tiles this time.  Just plopped them on a tray.  He loved it and even started singing ABC song.  The stickler...he actually started going from left to right and the pumpkins went in a vine like pattern left to right then right to left.  Messed him up...but it did show me that he's starting to internalize the left to right movements. 

 

He enjoyed the end product of his paper cutting pumpkin. 

I often had him snipping paper and then we'd paste it into a project.

 

 

 

Water Beads are always a hit!  These have been around for quite awhile.  They have even been outside in the garage in hot and freezing temperatures.  No mold (that's what I was afraid of) and did not freeze.  Cool beans! Oh, look at that...you have Tuesday on the left in the digger shirt and Wedneday on the right in the Thomas shirt.  LOL  Have you noticed all the digger and Thomas shirts?  No, these weren't taken on the same days.  :-P  And I promise they are clean...and on the rare occaision we talk him into a red or green striped shirt because the other two are in the laundry...he's not all that happy.  :-) 

 

Mr. T. has moved from 12 piece puzzles to 24 piece puzzles.  Um, well those won't last long either.  Next stop, 63 piece.  One benefit of the larger puzzles is that it gives me a few more minutes!  I particularly like these dollar store nursery rhyme puzzles.  The quality isn't the best but it's nice to reinforce the song.  T. hasn't learned them like the other kids did.  I think they are great for teaching phonological awareness.

 

 

Oh my, not very happy here...blurry pic, sorry.  This was his first "real" cutting project.  I put glue on the border to make it a little harder for him to cross over into the acorn...but it didn't help and heaven help us when he accidentally cut inside the acorn instead of outside.  But, he did pretty well and the next step was to crunch up leaves and paint/glitter the acorn...the really neat thing was that I thought he'd balk at crinkling up the leaves but he didn't!

I wouldn't say the end product was beautiful but the process sure was!  He's proud of his work and that's what counts!
 

And there he is!  Mr. T.  3 years 5 months...even had his first dentist appointment today and though he refused to talk to anyone...he did great.  :-P

I is for ice and igloo and other misc. items!

First off I would like to share our new "keeping healthy" process for outside.  :-) 

This has been floating around Pinterest.  What a great idea!  Have the tissue and trash right there!  Use double sided tape or hot glue to attach two boxes of tissue to each other.  Then rubberband together for additional support.  I created a visual to put on the front for my preschoolers.  I plan on laminating the label and attaching with sticky tac so that it can be reused.  I imagine that the boxes will need to be replaced eventually.  :-)  Someone had the thought of attaching a small bottle of sanitizer...I like that idea also, but I have a large one that needs to be used up.  I might create a little "box" on the side for a small pump bottle sanitizer in the future so that it's all one piece for easy transferring.

I is for Igloo

A great fine motor/scissors activity.  Reinforce upper and lowercase letter I.

I is for Ice Transfer

I loved what I heard from T.- 2.5 yrs old as he was transferring (pic on right).  A few of the crushed ice pieces were too big for that bottle he was using and he'd say "too big".  "Here small one."  Then after a couple of too big ones he started looking in his bowl and saying out loud whether it would fit or not.  This age is great!  They are transitioning from toddler to preschool behaviors.  :-) 

A Word about Puzzles

We had a puzzle day over the weekend.  Recently I found some puzzles on sale...then 2 more boxes on clearance at another store and that same week one of Donnie's coworkers gave him a box of 4-100 piece puzzles for the boys.  So!  :-)  I love puzzles and wish I had a space in my house to keep one up all the time.  A large one at the kitchen table really doesn't work well.  Cuts our workspace for daily activities in half and messes up our supper routine.  :-D  Well, some day maybe I'll have a puzzle table we can keep a puzzle going without getting in our way! 

Anyway...we have a ton of puzzles...from wooden knob puzzles, to foam puzzles to 4 piece+ jigsaws.  One thing we do with jigsaws is to flip them over at the end of the first time putting them together and writing a couple letters or a symbol on each piece to represent the puzzle title.  That way when a piece gets left out on the floor (which it will!) then we better know where they go.  It's wise to label the box with the corresponding symbol.  A word about puzzles and preschoolers...give them a chance!  I have a set of 12 piece alphabet puzzles that we work with frequently but seeing a preschooler capable of a 24 piece jigsaw is not uncommon.  :-)  Here's one we did today...

Color Wheel

Yesterday, we did the 12 piece Letter I puzzle so today I pulled out a 24 piece color wheel puzzle we got at a dollar store (they aren't always the best quality coming from the dollar store but this one wasn't bad!).  This was to reinforce the cool colors vs. warm colors lesson we had yesterday.  They did well working together.  One reminding them that "That can't go there it's has a straight part."  and another reminding "We need to look for the same colors."

Toddler Color Sorting

I find that having "tray work" out for Mr. T. here really helps our morning go successfully.  There are activities he's just not ready for or doesn't spend as much time with so having a variety of trays out for him to work with independently is very beneficial.  And since there is a big possibility we'll be homeschooling next school year...I wish for him to get accustomed to independent tray work.  Use one tray at a time, putting the tray back, etc.  Here I provided a variety of colorful items.  I placed one item in each section of the tray and he sorted the rest of them.  After he got over the fact that it was sort by object vs. sort by color...this activity really appealed to his natural sense of order.  :-)

Puzzles and Toddlers

Since we are on the subject of puzzles and toddlers...

These types of puzzles are great vocabulary builders.  He was manipulating/playing with the puzzle pieces and he'd show me one and I'd sing a little song to go with it.  Kind of like Old MacDonald's Farm.  Oh the simple things like adding a song.  :-P  They love it and it's very beneficial!

Bugs! :-P

For Mother's Day I received a color laser printer!!!!  THANK YOU DONNIE!  :-P  Now we won't have to worry about smearing our ink as much.  I'm so excited!!!

Oh, we had fun this morning.  :-)  They really got into the the "dramatics" of finding bugs   We had all sorts of squeals going on.  Makes for a fun sorting activity! 

I'm big on verbal language and really try to get children to describe, predict, "analyze" what they do.  One of our goals on our assessment is to be able to sort by at least one characteristic and then describe why they sorted that way.  The easiest characteristic to sort by is color and most of them can do that on their own but sometimes can't label that they are sorting by color.  After they are able to sort by one characteristic easily, we take it a step further.  These bugs from the Target dollar section are perfect for taking it a step further.   We can easily sort by color but then we can sort by type of bug within that color.  So we'll be doing that this week also.  (These are stretchy bugs...and though I can't put them in a wet sensory like I wanted to...they add their own sensory component.)

Buzzin' to the Beat

This was an idea from a Mailbox publication...and the patterns were from there also.  You could easily adapt any animal/theme.  I placed a large sheet of paper vertical on the wall for each child.  It went above their heads to the floor.  Just add a little variation to our typical horizontal, cooperative work.  They didn't spend a lot of time here but they sure got into it.  I'll be leaving it up throughout the day so if they want to go back to it they can.  I used a CD I created that had all fast classical music.  We got complete different reactions to the music.  It's so neat to see!

Bugs in the Flower Garden

This is a VERY simple activity but they really took to it!

  I was going to glue googly eyes on the pom poms but decided against it.  I thought they'd grab at the edge of the bug container...so we left them plain.  I used the dollar store plate as the "flower garden" and the children "caught" all the bugs.  Then as they put them back in the "garden" for the next child we counted them, talked about their color and size (big, medium, and small).  I'm sure this is one that will get left out also as they enjoyed it.  Wish I had space to leave activities out more often but...oh well, we work with what we have!

Since I blogged about puzzles recently, maybe I'll share one that we did together as a group.  This was an "inherited" puzzle set.  Not sure who I got it from but it's so nice.  Will need to look and see if they have something similar to it on Amazon or elsewhere.  I haven't seen anything like it lately.  If you are aware where I could purchase a set like this, please let me know!

Color review, logical thinking, and  turn taking.  The spinner added a nice component also.  Interesting to see who could actually "flick" the spinner.  We actually played this "game" after reading The Color Bugs reader from http://prekinders.com/bugs-theme/ (free printable).

When we read this book, we went from child to child and they told us what color the bug was and where the color word was in the sentence.  The 3-5 year olds repeated the color emphasizing the beginning sound for most of the words, all on their own.  One child had a black bug but the wings were a little blue.  So she said "blue" and I said, "Let's look at this word again."  She sounded it out!!!  Black!  Wow...what a big smile that caused for me and the child.  I laminated these pages and we used dry erase marker to underline the color word...if you choose to use this book you may wish to have your child underline the color with a corresponding crayon.  Provide a pointer and this book is perfect for a preschooler to practice "reading".  They are only 3 words and they are very predictable.  A color bug.  Having them "read" these books build confidence as well as reinforces some important literacy concepts such as left to write, letters make a word, words make sentences, etc.

Puzzles

Trent enjoys puzzles...he's left handed...oh, what does that have to do with anything?  LOL  Hmmm....another blog!  L. tends to think he "can't" do puzzles over 12 pieces.  :-P  But with a little encouragement...voila!  All by himself.  He was so proud of himself!  Now onto a 24 piece!  K. is retelling Little Red Riding Hood! I don't think she even knew I took a picture.  It was completely all on her own! LOVE IT!!!

 
I'll start by sharing a little blurb from another's blog.  You can read the whole article at
http://hubpages.com/hub/Educational-Toys-for-Kids-The-Benefits-of-Puzzles

Here are some of the skills that are enhanced by playing with puzzles:

1. Cognitive skills: Puzzles improve a child's problem solving and reasoning skills. It helps them to see whole-part relationships, increases their visual spacial awareness and depending on the subject matter can teach them a variety of topics like the Alphabet, Numbers, Color recognition, shape recognition, categories like pets or transportation vehicles, and more.
2. Fine motor skills: Puzzles are fun way to improve fine motor skills. From the time a baby can start eating solid food parents give their children cheerios to help a child with their pincher grasp. Fine motor manipulation is key for writing but but children start learning this skill long before they can hold a crayon or a pencil. Various types of puzzles like peg puzzles and chunky can help teach little ones to pick up and grasp pieces and they aid in the development of the pincher grasp.
3. Hand-eye coordination: As a child places each piece in the puzzle they are manipulating it so see if it fits. Their hand eye coordination is enhanced through this trial and error process.
4. Social skills: Puzzles can be done alone but are also a great tool for fostering cooperative play. As kids ask for a piece to be passed to them, or discuss where a piece should go they are sharing the task and learning to cooperate. It can also help a child learn how to handle frustration when a piece does not fit.

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I agree with what this individual has posted.  It's good to think about the reasons why certain toys/manipulatives are beneficial.   There are so many different types of puzzles.  They vary in number pieces, material it's made out of, peg/no peg, large/small peg, jigsaw etc.  What I have on the assessment I use is that a child, at the end of their preschool years, is able to complete a 12 piece jigsaw puzzle.  That is actually "harder" then what many preschool assessments state.  Usually I see a 6-8 piece puzzle.  But, like with anything, when a child works with something and has been taught how to do it...they advance.  I find that my students often leave with the ability to do up to a 24 piece puzzle.  My own boys did 63-100 piece before Kindergarten.  Part of it has to do with their personality and natural ability for logical thinking but most of all it's experience. 

The logical thinking that is working in the background as they try to do a puzzle will eventually help them be able to think about larger problems and solve them.  We definitely want that.  Also, I find that many children just don't notice details and so I find that puzzle activities helps them in this regard.  Noticing details will help them with writing letters/numbers, drawing, patterning and more!

The small pegs are great for encouraging the tripod grasp. 

The complete article might be beneficial for you.

http://www.drawyourworld.com/grip.html

Well, what do you do if your child is past these peg puzzles but still could use the fine motor experience of them?  That's very often the case, I find.  They consider the peg puzzles "baby puzzles".  Well, breathe some new life into them.  :-)

*  If you are missing pieces...use the others for stamping.  Most are a basic shape and will print nicely on a paper.

*  Remove the puzzle pieces and place them into a sensory tub of rice, lentils, or other "clean" sensory.  Then they can find them and put them back in the board.

*  Hide them around the room...better yet, have them hide them for you and you bring them back for the child to put back in the board.

*  And my favorite...use them for creating or retelling stories.  Peg puzzles can be great story starters.  And often you can find classic story puzzles at the dollar store that work GREAT for retelling/sequencing.

This past school year I found that puzzles got put on "the back shelf".  I very seldom noticed the children getting out the puzzles.  Hmmm.  Not good, at least from my perspective.  :-)  Part of it is interest...I hadn't really worked on creating an interest with them.  Part of it was that we had to move our main shelf and though the puzzles were kept under the shelf, just like the old one...however, they weren't as noticeable.  So, I started putting one puzzle out on one of the desks in the kitchen. That really helped!  It was like ..."oh yeah, Ms. Amber always puts out puzzles."  Now I see them pulling them out more frequently.  I rotate my puzzles every 1-2 weeks and provide a variety of types.  Large floor puzzles are perfect for getting the children to work together!  I also find that putting an older child with a younger child is great too.  In those cases I observe the older child pointing out and verbalizing about the details.   My favorite was when a child was doing one of our 12 piece alphabet puzzle and another was watching and the child was trying to put a non edge piece on the edge.  The observer said, "No, that's not right. See the perimeter is pink. There's no pink on yours."   Wouldn't that put a smile on your face?  It did mine.  Yes, I think the word "perimeter" is brought up in conversation almost every day....we use it with gluing, in math, with puzzles, during large motor and so on.  So when they hit 2nd grade and they are starting to learn about perimeter (like the work my son brought home from school yesterday)...it will be easy for them.  :-P

I'd like to have a set puzzle time and I may just work it in one of these days.  :-)  There is just not enough time in the day!!!  Be sure to encourage your child to pull out a puzzle today!  :-P