What's on the tray?

Super Tot is 29 months old.

Here's a sneak peak at our Tot Trays for this week:

"Lacing" foam beads onto stick 

(fine motor)

 Clipping like shapes into clothes pins 

(shape matching, fine motor, finger strength)

 Placing correctly colored straws into appropriate holes 

(color matching, fine motor)

 Coloring within each circle with correct crayon color 

(color recognition, fine motor, pre-writing) 

 Tracing the line, dashes or dots to connect like objects 

(fine motor, pre-writing)

 Transferring bunnies with tongs

(fine motor)

File Folder Games

(see below for each game)

AVAILABLE HERE.

 Mitten Match

(matching like objects)

 Whose Home?

(matching animals to type of home/habitat)

 Shape Trains

(matching shapes, size differentiation)

What Color Am I?

(color matching)

 Counting Penguins

(number recognition, counting)

 Find My Mother?

(matching baby animals to the correct mother)

File folder games are available HERE.

To see what other moms are doing with their Tots, click here.

The "Modern" Good Samaritan

The "Modern" Good Samaritan
by Princess

Part 1:

     Grace's heart was pounding.  It was recess for all of the 5th graders, and just like every day since school started last week, the girl with the coolest hair, clothes, backpack and everything, was picking on her.  "Hey Nerdy, what are you reading today?  Some philosophy book by 'Play Clay'?"  Just then, Grace's best friend walked by.  "Phew," Grace said under her breath.  "She'll help me."  But she walked right by and said to Lydia, Tammy's friend, "don't want her to pick on me, instead."  But was that look that Grace saw in Lydia's eye sympathetic?  Grace's thoughts were cut off when she heard the bell calling the kids to lunch.  She reached into her pocket to get her lunch money.  It was empty.  "That Tammy!"

Part 2:

     It was a bright, sunny day.  Grace's mom surprised her by making pumpkin muffins for breakfast - her favorite!  Now, it was lunch time.  She was just about to bite into her sandwich when she heard a familiar voice behind her.  "I'll take that Fig Newton you packed."  "Uh oh," thought Grace, "Tammy."  Grace's brother walked by Tammy just close enough to grab the treat back, but instead, he just shrugged and walked off.  "Why won't anyone help me?" said Grace.  

Part 3.

     Beep!  Grace's alarm clock went off.  She wished she had slept through it.  She didn't want to go to school today.  Was learning worth being bullied daily?  But she had no choice.  She got ready and hopped on the bus.  All morning, Tammy kept giving Grace dirty looks.  When recess began, Tammy was about to begin her insults when Lydia stepped between Grace and Tammy and said, "don't you dare!"  Those three words were the beginning of Grace and Lydia's friendship, and (almost) the end of Tammy's bullying.

What's on the tray?

Super Tot is 28 months old.

I have to confess that Tot School has been a little unorganized and casual the past couple months in our home.  I finally got a bookshelf cleared off this week to display our Tot Trays, and Super Tot was SO excited!  Every time he sees the shelf, he points to it and says, "Tot Trays cool!"  I guess it's safe to say that he likes the new set-up!  

I need to get back into the practice of having my camera on hand during the day.  I didn't get any pictures this week of Super Tot actually using the trays, but I have a few pictures of the trays themselves.  Here are a few of the activities we did this week.

My absolute new favorite Tot Tool is this Lauri Fit-A-Space set.  It includes these little round puzzles for working with shapes & colors, as well as fine motor skills with the puzzles.  You can also use the individual puzzle shape pieces for lacing for additional fine motor work.  The set is available at the Lauri site for $15, but I found it at a used homeschool curriculum sale for $3 (in a bag full of other items, too)!  

We work on transferring often.  This tray actually had 3 palettes (one for each pompom color).

Another new item I found recently was this set of Teachable Touchables.  It is a set of 20 textured bean bags in a bag.  It comes with a sheet describing MANY different ways to use them over a wide spectrum of educational levels.  I could have easily made something similar, but I was happy for the convenience of finding the set.  

Super Tot loves to lace miscellaneous pony beads onto pipe cleaners.

We got this Lakeshore Sort-A-Shape Activity Board last summer.  Super Tot has gotten really good at it and enjoys racing to see how quickly he can put all the pieces on.  

We worked on button sorting by shape this week.  I saw a button sorting set at Lakeshore last year for WAY too much money!  I eventually found these sorting mats online and printed them out.  I cannot recall where I found them, so I apologize for not giving credit to the right person.  If you know where they came from, feel free to leave a comment so I can link back to the correct source.

Our favorite activity this week was making homemade pizzas.  We were short on time, so we used refrigerated pizza dough, but the pizzas turned out wonderfully!  This is a super fun dinner to prepare and way tastier and more economical than delivery.

  Look how tasty it looks!!  And boy was it DELICIOUS!

For lots of other Tot School ideas, click the button below:

365 Things We Love About You

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2015

I AM STILL HAPPY TO SHARE MY LIST OF 365 REASONS, SO BE SURE TO E-MAIL ME AT THE ADDRESS LISTED ON MY "CONTACT ME" PAGE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!

This past Christmas, we wanted to make a special gift for Super Daddy, so we decided to make him a jar full of things we love about him - 365 reasons, to be exact!  It was a super easy and fun gift to make, and he enjoys it every single day.  He says it is the best gift he's ever gotten!  

With Father's Day coming up, I thought I would share the idea with you.  Obviously, this could be adapted for any parent, child, spouse or other loved one.

This is an inexpensive and precious gift, as well as environmentally friendly!  

Supplies:

Empty Jar - clean, no lid necessary

Construction paper cut down to 8 1/2" x 11"

Computer & Printer

Fabric scrap

Ponytail holder or rubber band

Label

Scissors or paper cutter

Start by making a list of 365 things you love about the person.  Think outside the box and be creative!!  I created mine on the computer and used automatic numbering so I would know when I had 365 items.  Then, I removed the number formatting so it was just the list without numbers.  Be sure to double space your list.  

Next, print the list onto the construction paper.  The construction paper fits right into the paper tray and prints well.  

 Once the list is printed, use a paper cutter or scissors to cut the items into individual slips of paper.  

 I folded each slip in half, and then in half again.  As I folded them, I placed them into the jar, so I mixed up the colors as I went.  They were REALLY smashed down tight to make them all fit.  

 Once the slips were all in the jar, I used a ponytail holder to "seal" the jar with a piece of scrap fabric.  

Lastly, I printed off a label that said, "365 Things We Love About You!" and affixed it to the front of the jar.  

Super Daddy takes one slip out to read each morning.  He actually put a second jar next to this one on his dresser, and puts the slips in the new jar once he reads them.  When I asked him why, he said he wanted to save them so he could do it again next year!!  

I know this simple gift is something that is a daily reminder to my husband of how much we love him.  It truly lifts his spirits and starts each day out with a smile!


I have been asked by several people to share my list.  I am happy to do so, but cannot post it on my blog because my husband hasn't gone through all the slips in his jar yet.  I would hate for it to be ruined for him by even accidentally seeing the list!  Please click the contact me link above and send me an e-mail if you would like a copy of my list to assist you in coming up with 365 items.  You could also do a "100 Things We Love About You" jar, should you still have trouble coming up with enough items.

Check out these other awesome blogs I am linking to:

Sun Scholars

Be Different Act Normal

It's a Hodge Podge Life

Pinkapotamus

A Crafty Soiree

Check Me Out Saturday

Sundae Scoop Link Party

Saturday Night Special

Along for the Ride

Shindig Saturday

Saturday Swagger

Homemaker in Heels
Sunday Showcase Party
Sister Sister Sunday Takes the Cake
Think Pink Sunday
LambAround
Petite Hermine
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Motivate Me Monday
Me Making Do
Making the World Cuter
Boogieboard Cottage
The Girl Creative
Debbiedoos
Between Naps on the Porch
Three or More Tuesday
Made by You Monday
Made by Little Hands
Mad Skills Tutorial Link Party
Making Monday Marvelous
Take a Look Tuesday
Toot Your Horn Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Get Your Craft On
Noted Show & Tell Blog Hop
Trash to Treasure
Handmade Tuesdays
Wow Us Wednesdays
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Hoo's Got Talent?
A Creative Princess
Inspiration Friday
Fridays Unfolded
Feature Yourself Friday
Craft Goodies
Feature Your Sassy Site

Summer Reading

Our family LOVES books!  Princess would rather read than do just about anything else.  Super Tot isn't reading yet, but he loves to be read to and to just look at books.  That being said, we have no problem with getting in lots of summer reading.  

While we don't need any incentives to get our children reading, I always enjoy having a summer reading program, just for fun.  Ever since Princess was in Kindergarten, I have been doing Summer Reading Bingo with her.  I have used this Summer Reading Bingo incentive with various homeschool and church groups, as well as just at home.  It has always been a big hit with kids of all ages.  If you have younger children who are not yet reading, you can read to them!

I use the BINGO sheet shown below and have Princess fill it out with the book title and author as she finishes a book.  I have various levels of prize options, but she always fills out the whole card.  You can click on the BINGO card below and print it out to use with your own children.  I always print it out on a brightly colored piece of cardstock, so that it will last all summer.

Prize Examples:  

One horizontal, vertical or diagonal line = 1st level prize

Outer Border = 2nd level prize

Blackout = 3rd level prize

I like to keep the prizes simple, as I feel that reading all those books is the true prize.  Some of our past prizes have included an ice cream cone, movie tickets, a pizza date, a book store gift card and various special outings.  You can do whatever works best for your family!

Here are links to some corporate Summer Reading Programs available this year:

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Half Price Books

Chuck E Cheese

Pizza Hut

Build-A-Bear Workshop is supposed to be having a Summer Reading Program, but it is not up on their website yet.

Also, check your local library, as they always have fun Summer Reading Programs available.

I'm sure there are additional programs available in your local area, so be sure to check!  

Most of all, have fun reading over the summer!

Linking to: