Dot Sticker Coordinates (with free printable)

Big Brother has been interested in board games for quite a while, and it's been really fun to explore different games with him. Lately he's wanted to try playing the game Battleship, but we're still finding it hard to modify that game for him to really be able to play. (It's really meant for older children.)

In the meantime, I created this Dot Sticker game which helps practice reading and using coordinates so he can work towards playing the game and also practice this math and science skill.

Pipe Cleaner Color Sort

One of my goals for this fall is to create more purposeful learning opportunities for Little Brother.

As he gets older we have more skills and concepts to explore. Although we've done activities which involve "dropping" or "pushing" objects into containers, this was the first time I've added a sorting element for Little Brother. Although I knew he was a little young, I wanted this to be an activity he could grow with, so I made it a two color sorting activity.

I was inspired to use pipe cleaners and spice containers together from a toddler activity post over at Teaching Mama. (She used a parmesan container, but it looked a lot like our spice containers.) 

Five Senses Walk (with free printable)

This month's Virtual Book Club for Kids author is Aliki, who has such an amazing collection of books to chose from. We decided to use the book My Five Senses. This book and activity is one I've loved combining over the years. Recently we read the book and did the activity at the preschool nature camp I ran, so we were excited to do it again.

Five Senses Walk

In a clear, easy to understand way Aliki introduces kids to each of the five senses and gives examples of how we use them. Kids connect to the illustrations and how the examples fit their everyday lives. 

Beading With 5 Household Objects

We enjoy beading here. I've loved it since I was a kid, and enjoyed passing on the activity to Big Brother. But not only can we create "beautiful" necklaces and bracelets, it's also a great way to develop fine motor skills.

I've mentioned fine motor skills before; they are small movements made by the smaller muscles in our bodies (like those you find in fingers and toes for example.) Helping kids to develop fine motor skills are important because they need to be able to use these muscles for important everyday activities (like zipping a coat) and academic skills (like writing with a pencil or cutting out a picture.) 

Beading is a great way to work on developing fine motor skills, as it's using repetitive small muscles, it's fun, and you create a finished product (which kids always love.) But you don't always have to use beads, there's plenty of household objects you can use. 

Switching up the object adds variety and interest for kids, but also means they're learning how to hold onto different types of objects. Here are 5 of our favorite household objects you can use below.

Quick Pick and Project of the Week: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bath

It's been a while since we posted a Quick Pick and Project of the Week, and this is one I've wanted to try for a while now.

Several years ago I read in a parenting magazine (unfortunately I don't remember which one) that you can use craft foam to create your own wall sticker bath toys. We've done it a couple times now over the past few years to create different shapes and themes. 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bath

 

This idea, combined with the purchase a while ago of some bath tub letters, inspired me to create a "coconut" tree for the bath tub to go along with the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin. This book has such a great rhyme and rhythm and gives everyone a fun way to practice saying all the letters in the alphabet. 

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

There are a lot of different recipes and opinions out there for how to make a cobbler. Do you put the fruit on the bottom and add the batter on top? Or do you make the batter for the bottom and put the fruit on top? And although we've tried many of them, this quickly became our new favorite go to recipe this summer when we have fresh berries (or cherries) in the house and we want a warm, cobbler treat.

It's fresh blueberry season, which is one of our favorite times of year! We love baking with blueberries,freezing  them for the winter, and of course eat them just in their natural, yummy state.