The Big Book of Exclamation

Today we didn't have an activity. We read books and played without any structured activity time. And that was fun. However, I did want to mention this book that a speech therapist showed me. It is called The Big Book of Exclamation and it is a tool used to develop language. The pictures are awesome and it will be one of Claire's Christmas presents. Here is the website where you can purchase the book:

http://thebigbookofexclamations.com/

Potty Training

We started potty training this week and let me tell you, it is not my favorite parenting activity. However, today I am pleased to report Claire has been accident free and has gone to the bathroom when she has needed to! Hooray for Claire!

Because our days have basically revolved around the bathroom, our activities have not been our main focus. Today we did Play-Doh circles and I am pleased to announce she now can identify a circle. I know this because I looked through different magazines and ads for pictures containing circles. I then showed them to Claire and asked her what the object was in the picture. She knew! Even though I am her mom, I still want to be able to find ways to creatively assess her learning. She got a kick out of looking at ads and I got to see her progress. A win-win situation.

Turkey Color Sort

This is a pretty easy activity to explain. You just match the correct clothespin to the right turkey. The clothespins used to just have only the color word written on it, but I made it easier by also coloring the tip of the pin with the correct color. Pinching the clothespin was tough for Claire so I let her just put the pin on top of the turkey. We will keep working on this though because pinching a clothespin is great fine motor practice! :)

Frog Sorting

Today's little activity is sorting frogs. Sorting fosters good problem solving skills and it also encourages kids to recognize similarities and differences. These frogs were something I bought for my kindergarten classroom years ago. I LOVE them. They are the only toy in our house that is literally played with everyday. They are also the reason Claire learned her colors. You can find these frogs at Lakeshore Learning. Today we are sorting the frogs by colors. I wrote the color words on index cards and Claire was in charge of sorting the bucket. She typically would not want to sort the whole bucket, but because I had her do it standing on a chair at the counter she loved it! Sometimes just a change in scenery allows a simple activity to be exciting. :) If you don't have something to sort like frogs, you could have your child sort crayons and markers into basic colors or even small toys. This was a pretty simple activity for Claire but what I like about things like about it is that it gives her the feeling of success. Sorting objects will get more challenging and this simple sort activity gives her confidence she will need for more difficult tasks.

Name Matching

Last week I made this name card for Claire. My goal is that she begins to become familiar with the letters in her name. I just took a piece of thick card stock and traced the magnetic letters. I laminated it so that it was more durable and so that I could wipe it off. I leave this out only in the morning for Claire. It gives her something to do while I make breakfast. I also know the key to this activity is that I put it away after breakfast. Then it becomes something new and not just another toy on the shelf. :) I leave the letters scattered on the table and then she tries to put the letters on the paper in the right order. She often gets the c, l, i, and r correct but doesn't always differentiate between the a and e.