Showing posts with label Todder Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Todder Learning. Show all posts

Monday, April 11, 2011

Dig Earth, Baby!




Earth Day is almost here and we're celebrating/learning on the days leading up to April 22nd.

We made nature bracelets and a tree bark transfer while on a nature walk. For this, you will need masking tape, construction paper and chalk or crayons.

For the bracelet, wrap a piece of tape around wrist - sticky side out. You can take a walk in your own yard, or hit the trails. As we took our walk, we collected things (flowers, grass, seeds) and stuck them on our bracelets one at a time (yes, mom had one too!). It was fun to talk about each thing and encourage her to find things on her own to add.


For the tree rubbing, tape your construction paper to a tree and make a texture transfer with chalk/crayon. We talked about the bark and it's rough texture, how it protects the tree and how it is part of God's earth given to us to care for.

Later, we taped our bracelets to the tree transfer paper & put them on display in a 'switch-out' cabinet frame. 


Through this walk, I talked about how God created the earth. To serve God, we should take care of  the earth and enjoy what He has created for us!

Cute
Not so cute
Unfortunately, I had to explain this sight to my girl. The reality already present to her, that not every person cares for earth the way they should. Not good to throw trash (or tires) outside in nature. She agreed with a "yucky, time out tire!" Luckily, trail clean up in our neighborhood is this month..so we'll be sure that it's disposed of properly (but...grrr!).

Here are some other things we plan on doing over the next week, to celebrate Earth Day!

FREE Creation coloring pages (creation of the world as told in the Bible). I just love these, one for each of the seven days. Here's Day three.


Reading:
Big World Little Me. We like this book because it's easy to understand and fun. It tells that even one little person can make a big difference. Your local library may have this book (and others like this) in stock.
Read about the creation (Genesis), as told in the Bible (children's bibles with less words and pretty pictures).

Garden, plant flowers, seeds and trees. Get in the dirt together!



Learning how to recycle, sort.  It's never too early to start talking about the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). There are lots of great 'How To's' (just google) that show you how to teach your children in fun/unique ways. One way is to do recycled crafts (see Repurpose Driven Life from my blog for ideas). 

We plan to make a milk carton bird feeder this week! Super easy. Google for your favorite and follow instructions.

And, of course...don't forget the yummy treats! These are cute rice crispy earth treats (click underlined link for details). 

If you want to use natural food coloring, you can use Indian Tree food coloring. It only comes in three colors, so you'll have to mix yellow and blue for green (fun to do with kiddo).

I hope everyone enjoys Earth Day and makes it productive, fun and special!







Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Misfits to Outfits


Those who know me understand my limits with patience. That being said, when I sew, I don't always measure, iron hems or use pins. I never do special seams, zippers, buttons or anything fancy. So, if I ever share a sewing type project (which I'm about to), the super detailed instructions will be missing. I will, however, try to provide helpful links that will make things less murky.

It seems that taking unwanted adult clothing and turning them into toddler clothing is all the rage lately. It's all over Etsy.com. It's now considered boutique (aka:pricey), one-of-a-kind sassy cute and of course, environmentally friendly.  It's too bad that when my mom made my clothing as a child (out of necessity), it was considered 'dorky'...at least that's what all the other kids told me. Okay, moving on...

I had this nautical style shirt that my husband someone accidentally shrunk (in defense of 'someone', there was also an ink stain on the sleeve...I think.).  :)P


 I thought it might make a cute little dress for my girl, especially since our family beach vacation is just around the corner!
 I just put it on her,  marked it, pulled the shoulder seams higher, cut it and sewed it. I used leftover fabric from the dress to make easy hair ties.  This took me less than 2 hours and it was free. I'm sure a professional seamstress would find great fault with this dress, but hey- I made it and it passes for cute!

This didn't turn out to be clothing, but it started that way. We were given this bunny dress. It was a garage sale find and while it was cute, it didn't fit.  


Rather than get rid of it , I cut out the little bunny face from the bottom and used it to make this quirky (but lovable) bunny for my girl . She's had it since she was 6 months old and it's her favorite. Makes me feel great to have made her something she loves so much.



Look at this adorable dress made from a man's dress shirt!
These are from Make it and Love it (check out the awesome list of DIY re purposed clothing projects like this)!


Or how about these little leg warmers made from a sweater (works with scarf too)!

Shirts to skirt and leggings...(all available at Make it Love it blog).

There are also lots of boy and adult clothing ideas on there too. In addition, they have bibs, stuffed animals, pillows, hats... Make it and Love it.

Give your duds a second chance before you toss them!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Peter, Move Your Cotton Tale Aside

What is Easter, besides the mounds of plastic eggs, jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and that blasted plastic grass? My girl is only 2, but she's not too young to learn & celebrate the truth about Easter with us – that is Jesus Christ.
We won't deny her the whimsical and fun events that surround our basic holidays- as we feel this is truly part of being a child & fun/bonding time for family too.
The Easter bunny can play, but he won’t take center stage. We'll decorate eggs, have baskets, do a hunt and enjoy time with family and friends doing the same. I look forward to these events and moments together! However, it's our job and JOY as parents  to make sure everything ‘pretend’ is merely a celebratory accessory to the true meaning.
For fun reading material, I found these great books for children on the real meaning of Easter. I love that this books teaches of the Easter gift, given to us!

At this age, the entire events cannot be fully understood...but the entire message can be told and celebrated in a simple way to begin with. We are planting a seed now, and with nurturing and attention it will become a strong oak tree! This is what I want and pray for- more than anything for my girl.
I love that this book tells the story in a short, illustrated and fun way.
 I know there are likely many great children's books out there that do a great job, these two just happen to be my favorite so far.
There are so many fun games and crafts that are based on the true meaning. Here are a few of my favorites (FREE projects, print outs and more...click links):
DKL . This site is our very favorite, for all kinds of freebie print outs and craft ideas no matter what the occasion. This is the specific link on Christian Easter coloring sheets, games, puzzles and crafts.
Daniell's Place  Love the palm wreath, the Easter garden and the spin game on here!
Christian Preschool I like the resurrection egg craft and they have many great ideas/ free printables too!
 Resurrection Cookies This isn't a craft, but learning as you make cookies. Each ingredient and step matches to events. The oven door is taped shut and kids break open next morning. Here's a detailed pictorial and instructional from a blogger that I liked very much as well (Trina). I plan to play with the ingredients a little, but the learning concept is pretty cool.
For real reading, here’s an accounting of the true events of Easter as documented in the Bible:
Matthew 26:14-75, 27:11-66, 28:1-20
Mark 14:10-72, 15:1-47, 16:1-8
Luke 22:1-71, 23:1-56, 24:1-53
John 11:45-57, 12:12-50
Reading this to a toddler (zzzzzz...Bueller, Bueller...anyone?)...eh, not so much.  However, I like the idea of reading SHORT pieces of this every night (marking where you left off each time), during the weeks leading up to Easter!
What are some of your favorite Easter books, crafts and family traditions?

Monday, March 21, 2011

Let the Music Play!



You don't have to be Barney, KinderMusik or Bono to involve music in your child's life.

I won't re-write a bunch of stuff on how fundamental music is for development ...it's already been thoroughly written about.  If you want to read about it click HERE or HERE or HERE, some great write-ups and helpful tips all over the place.

We have some children's instruments (a floor tom, bongos, wood xylophone, sand blocks...) Our favorite place to purchase professional quality children's instruments  (lasts for years) has been  Groth Music, great prices and great customer service too. For my girls 2nd birthday, we had a jam session with her friends. It was so much fun!

What's even more fun? Here's an economical and FREE way to jam with your tot & learn that other things can make music too!  


Rubber bands and boxes for easily made guitars. This was fun and super easy to do. Here's a tutorial on how to make this easy rubber band guitar. You can use any kind of box really, not just a Kleenex box.


The Tone Ranger!
Fill glasses up with different levels of water for an assortment of tones. If you do this one, you have to really teach your tot to strike gently, it's a great skill to practice together. My girl loved this one...now she tries it at the dinner table on our glasses of milk (ruh-roh). :)




We made this rain stick/shaker from an egg carton. Just put buttons or dried beans inside  and tape it shut (make sure you use a strong tape, like packing tape or duct tape). My girl is interested in how the buttons fall between each slot and she likes to watch them all collect at the bottom (after lots of shaking, of course). So in this case, a clear egg carton works well. Just about any container will do for making a great shaker.

And let's not forget the classic pots and pans for drums!

Check out this great site/ link for a list and easy instructions on different kinds of DIY instruments.  http://www.nancymusic.com/PRINThomemade.htm

We really like Kindermusik, but the classes are pricey. So, we found some Kindermusik CD's and books on Ebay and Craigslist & we use them at home with friends (we also pass them back and forth between  us). The library is a GREAT resource for free  music program books & CD's too. I like this format because they incorporate a story, the music/lyrics, the action/movement instruction, and often a coordinating craft as well.

It's easy to make a music time/class slot at home - together once a week or more if your time allows (doesn't take much time at all!). I think the benefits are pretty big, plus it's great for bonding/ creating fun memories together!

We also listen to a lot of music at home as well (aside from banging on pots and pans)... in the background at home or in the car. Not just kid music, but mom and dad music too!

One of our favorite children's albums is Ziggy Marley's Family Time, and we love the entire  World Playground series of music . We also love Cedarmont Kids Toddler Bible Songs. Lots of variety is a good thing and there are so many great children's albums out now (that are liked by parents too...not cringe worthy).


Happy music making!

















Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Time for a Book?



A while back, I grabbed this book for $1 at a local thrift store. A vintage large scale board book for teaching time, with a play clock on the cover. It had some minor damage to a few pages (just age related), so I didn't feel bad for what I was about to do to it.

Turn it into a real working clock for my girls room.

Total project cost around $7. It took me under an hour.
Super easy. I wouldn't lie to you.

I picked up clock hardware at a local craft store for $6, here's the before picture. Check the bottom of my post for inspiration on other books you can use for clocks. You can do this to ANY book (doesn't have to be a children's book).


Tools I used: Box cutter, needle nose pliers and a screwdriver. I used some paint for the new clock hardware because I didn't like the bright gold it came with (I brushed the hour, minute and second hand with green and purple acrylic paint).


I used the screwdriver & needle nose to pop out the old clock hands. I then used the box cutter to cut a square opening for the battery insert. I went a few pages deep. Once cut, I just inserted the hardware per the instructions & popped in the battery. That easy.


Since I plan to display this propped opened on a shelf,
 I left it just like this.

If you want to make one that hangs on the wall, you can put the insert through the very back of the book. Depending on how thick the book is, you may have to remove some pages and glue the book shut.




Here are some other book clocks I found online:
The Chocolate Rabbit, from Etsy Shop (BookClock)
Check out their store for many different kids of book clocks!



Here's one courtesy of LifeHacker.com They used stick-on numbers for the face of the book.



How cool are these three by Hilda Grahhnat?!
A lot of books at your local thrift store are fairly attractive (like these) after you remove the dust cover.

Here's one from Flavorwire.com


Here's another cute one. You can skip using numbers all together, use sticker/decal numbers, paint them on by hand or buy small wooden numbers at your local craft store. 

You can even save a few pages from the book and frame them as accessories to go with the clock. They make great personalized/unique gifts too!



Saturday, February 5, 2011

Read with Caution

Be careful little eyes what you see.
Be careful little ears what you hear.
Baby board books…numbers, colors, letters, animals, textures – they’re all pretty much no- brainers when it comes to selection.  Now that we’ve entered the toddler phase, the ante ups. A whole new type of reading and comprehension is before us.
I won’t bore you with a heap of developmental statistics, I’ll just say ‘the first 5 years last forever’ in terms of behavioral/emotional development (at least that’s what the pros say).
I realize that getting off to a great start is key and there are many things under that umbrella, but one of my focuses recently has been on children’s literature.
I’m often irritated by many of the books I see today. Magic, fairy and princess overload,  children acting disrespectful under a disguise of ‘being funny’, empty stories that lack compassion and moral integrity....zero educational worth. It has probably always been this way, but now it's right under my nose... and it stinks.
J to the UNK.
P to the OOP.
What you put in, is what you get out. 
This led me to wanting to find a resource listing for books that are up to the standards I want to instill (without having to pre read them all, or trust reviews posted by strangers).  I talked with a few librarians (one being a very special Aunt) and got some scoop.
There are many awards given to children's books, based on specific criteria. This is a good way to search for books, then order them via your library or purchase them. This free online database called DAWCL (Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature) is AMAZING. http://www.dawcl.com/search.asp


It has more than 7,477 entries of award-winning children's books under 99 different literature award categories. You can search according to pretty specific criteria too (age of reader, gender, key words, historical period, topic...you get the idea).

The website also has specific information on the awards and criteria.
Here’s an example of an award under The Christophers (they give only 5 awards per year to children’s books):  “To affirm the highest values of the human spirit” and "winners encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature and motivate artists and the general public to use their best instincts on behalf of others”.

Ahh, that smells better- doesn't it?

So, we are big fans of God and Jesus Christ around here. We read many books in this category as well. A great resource is Christian Bookstore.com. We love the Happy Day series and of course, we are gearing up for Veggie Tales.

When searching for children's bibles, I kept running across some that were very wordy with uninteresting illustrations & that just doesn't pair well with 'toddler'.

One we LOVE and read daily is The Jesus Storybook Bible. The stories are short (very key), easy to understand, colorful and they keep the attention of my tot.


This is another one we like, the Pray and Play Bible. I love that it gives the story and incorporates an activity with it -  really helps the comprehension and enforces the value. It's just plain fun too. I like that she specifically requests to "pray play".

 
We have many favorite books in the non religious category too. Recently, it's been 'Snowy Day' by Ezra Jack Keats (Caldecott award). There are some days when I'm asked to read it 5 times or more.



What are some of your favorite books/authors and why?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Phonic-Aholic

Now that we know our alphabet by sight (and song), it’s time to learn the sound each letter makes.
Here’s an easy way to make learning phonics fun with your tot. I have seen different basket versions of some in the Montessori style (class setting) that use cards, wooden letters and even small toys. Here's our inexpensive and easy phonics kit in a box.



I purchased this box from a craft store for about $10. I’m sure any craft store (or even Wal-Mart or Target) would have one. It's a small hardware box or jewelry making/bead box. It has 30 mini drawers (more than we need), and the inside of each drawer is about 3” long and 2” deep.
I printed upper and lowercase alphabet letters, cut them out and used clear packing tape to adhere them to the face of each drawer.
I filled each drawer with the corresponding letter (cheap plastic magnet letters) and toys/ figurines that begin with the corresponding letter/sound.  

For instance, the P drawer has:  
One plastic letter P, a small  parrot, pineapple, penguin, panther, pin and phone.

I scooped up grab bags from a local thrift store that contained 100+ small toys/ figurines and asked family and friends to help me fill the drawers I was missing items for ($3 and free).
Before placing them in action, I washed and sanitized each one.  You can wipe, boil, scrub or toss them in the germinator...whatever you do, I highly recommend you sanitize if you've purchased second hand.
Lastly, we use a square piece of felt as a mat (50 cents at craft store), to work on. Each day we choose a new letter, lay it on the mat and make our sounds.


You can take all the letters out and ask your tot to put each one back in the correct drawer, and  do the same thing with the items in each drawer. There are many ways you can use this phonics box and it will be relevant for several years.
This is a learning tool at our house, not a toy.  Due to small parts, we keep it out of reach when we aren't working on it together. 

Have Phun!