What's on the Tray? Aug. 15-19

Super Tot is "almost" 31 months old!

Last week's trays were a big hit!  I know we will be doing each of those again, but I have new ones planned for this week.

Alphabet Match

Place both uppercase & lowercase Wooden Alphabet Disk onto correct Alphabet Card.
~letter recognition, matching~

Color Match Car Parking

Park each car in the correctly colored parking space.  

I was cutting out construction paper rectangles and laying them on my desk when I realized they looked like a little parking lot.  I was immediately inspired and made this mat.  Later, I  saw a similar one on Pinterest.  Great minds think alike!  Either that or I had seen the other one before and had it burned in my subconscious.  Either way, Super Tot is going to LOVE this activity!!

~color recognition, matching, gross motor~

Counting Beads / Homemade Abacus

Place correct number of pony beads onto each pipe cleaner (attached to number bead).  I used all one color pipe cleaner & beads to avoid confusion.
~counting, number recognition, fine motor~

Shape Matching

Place each wooden shape onto corresponding shape on mat.

~shape recognition, matching~

Clothes Hanging

Place clothing items onto hanger and hang on bar (not shown).

~life skills, gross motor~

Can / Cannot Fly Sticker Sort

Place each sticker on the correct side of the construction paper mat (cannot fly or can fly).

~categorizing, fine motor~

Open / Close Containers

Practice opening and closing various types of containers.

~fine motor, gross motor, life skills~

Linking to:

1+1+1=1

Sun Scholars

Montessori Monday

No Time for Flashcards

Mom to 2 Posh Little Divas

Our Country Road

Princess's First Quilt!

Princess just finished sewing her first quilt, and I think it is BEAUTIFUL!

 She did a fantastic job, and it was a project we enjoyed doing together.  She did most of the sewing herself, with a little help from me.  I assisted her with the logistics as well, but she did most of the actual work.  I am so proud of her!

This is a great Real Life Math project, in addition to Home Economics.  Sewing is a fantastic skill and I am so happy that she was excited about learning.  It looks like she loves it as much as I do!

What's on the Tray? Aug. 8-12

Super Tot is 30 months old.

We have some fun trays planned for this week!

Popsicle Stick Sorting

Sort popsicle sticks by color (sorter made from toilet paper rolls & construction paper).

~colors recognition, sorting~

Glass Bead Counting

Place correct number of glass beads into cup.

~counting, number recognition~

Alphabet Disk Matching

Place Wooden Alphabet Disk onto matching letter.

~letter recognition, matching~

Line Tracing, Drawing

Either trace dashed lines, or draw a line from one object to another.  I printed these from various sources many months ago and don't remember where they all came from.  The animal one is Super Tot's favorite and it is available here.

~pre-writing, fine motor~

Lacing Cards

Thread lace through holes in plastic lacing cards.

~fine motor~

Folding Washcloths

Fold washcloths (available here) in half, and then in half again, making squares.

~practical life skills~

Complete Puzzle

Using own creativity, put puzzle (available here) together.

~problem solving, fine motor~

 

Coin Sorting
Sort coins by type (quarter, dime, nickel, penny).
~sorting, early math~

As always, Super Tot will have lots of other learning opportunities through our everyday play!  

To see what other moms are doing with their tots, check out these blogs:

1+1+1=1

Montessori Monday

Sun Scholars

No Time for Flashcards

Mom to 2 Posh Little Divas

Our Country Road

Wooden Alphabet Disks

If you read my most recent Tot School post, you know that I am preparing to start working on the alphabet with Super Tot.  I wanted to get some letter tiles, but couldn't find any that I liked. I'm growing less and less fond of plastic, but couldn't find an affordable "natural" alternative that I liked.  I had accepted the fact that I was going to be stuck getting these:

When Princess and I went to purchase them, she asked me why I don't just make some out of wooden disks.  I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before!!  We already had most of the supplies, so this was perfect! 


I didn't have enough wooden disks on hand to make a complete Uppercase & Lowercase set, so I headed to the craft store.  I love these particular disks because they have rounded edges.  They are $2.99 for a package of 22 disks. 

I also found a cute round box to store the letters in.  It was in the unfinished wood section at the craft store for $3.49!  The only other supplies I used were alphabet stamps and ink.  I have acrylic stamps at home and generally prefer those to rubber stamps, but you could use either.  You could even paint or write the letters on the tiles, if you don't have stamps.  

Because letters will be a new concept for Super Tot, I wanted to make the difference between uppercase and lowercase very obvious.  I chose to use black ink for the uppercase letters and red ink for the lowercase ones.  I love how they turned out!  

 

Once Super Tot is a little older, I plan to change out the vowels with a different color and to make additional letters to use these as a Moveable Alphabet.  At that time I will find a different storage solution that will separate each letter, but I love the box for now!

I cannot wait to start using these, and Super Tot is very excited about them, too!  I am sure you will see many posts with various examples of how they will be used in our school for many years to come!

Additionally, you could glue magnets on the backs and use them in place of those horrible plastic letter magnets that I personally dislike so much!  I just might have to make a set of the magnets to replace our plastic ones!  These would also make a great gift for anyone with a toddler or preschooler!


Yay for Princess thinking outside the box!


Sharing at:
It's Playtime
Handmade Tuesdays
Montessori Monday
For the Kids Friday
Preschool Corner
1+1+1=1
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
No Time for Flashcards
What DID we do all day?
Our Country Road

Princess saves the day!!!!!!

I am SOOOOO proud of "SUPER" Princess!

Last evening, we were on our way to the grocery store and she spotted a lot of smoke coming from a neighbor's backyard.  No one else seemed to notice.  We turned the car around and drove to the house where the smoke was, and there was a huge fire in the backyard.  We got a neighbor to call 911 (I somehow managed to leave home without my cellphone), and with the help of several neighbors, we were able to get the fire out before the house caught fire.  

It turns out that the homeowner had accidentally left a gas BBQ grill on and left his home.  The grill was completely engulfed in huge flames, and the fence had started to catch fire.  It was dangerously close to the house and was spreading quickly.  In a matter of minutes, the fire would have been completely out of control.  

I am praising God that Princess had such a keen eye to spot the smoke and recognize that it was thick and black - not just BBQ smoke from cooking.  She usually has her nose buried in a book while we are in the car, so her seeing it at all was nothing short of a miracle!  I am also thankful that no one was injured, and that we were able to contain the fire so quickly.  Super Daddy pointed out last night that he is thankful that the propane tank didn't explode.  I hadn't thought of that at the time, but it was right in the middle of the flames and could have easily exploded at any time.  Praise God that didn't happen!  

Turns out the "Super" goes to Princess this time!