Toddler Thinks: Fine Motor Skills

All three of these lessons promote the development of fine motor skills.  Although it may seem like it's just play, your child will be exercising their fingers, using strong hand and finger muscle movement, and working on hand-eye coordination.

Toddler Think #1: Pipe Cleaners in a Colander
* In this lesson, all you need is a colander and some pipe cleaners.  Demonstrate how to put a pipe cleaner through one of the holes in the colander.  Then let your child continue the process on their own.  Encourage them to hold the bottom of the pipe cleaner, close to the hole, in order to have better success.  They can do this for a long time!

Toddler Think #2: Cotton Balls in a Water Bottle
* Using an empty water bottle, allow your child to place cotton balls or pom pom balls inside, one at a time.  Let them continue until the bottle is full. Empty the bottle and repeat. (It's a little tricky getting them back out of the bottle :))

Toddler Think #3: Clothespin Pick-Up
* Demonstrate to your child how to hold a clothespin and pinch it to open. Then show them how to pick up a cotton ball with it.  Guide their hands to do this first, then let them try on their own.  This lesson is a little more difficult than the others because figuring out how to use a clothespin is hard for little ones.  Give them time, and eventually they will get the hang of it!

Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: Five Minute Devotionals for Children

Every night before bed, we typically read a story from our Jesus Calling Storybook Bible.  However, we have been through this whole Bible multiple times, and I wanted to find some devotionals to do for the summer nights.  My mom happened to find these amazing devotional books at a book fair and bought them for my son's kindergarten graduation gift.  They are so perfect for my children and discuss topics that every kid needs to learn about.  The authors Pamela Kennedy, Anne Kennedy Brady, and Douglas Kennedy make each story relatable and enjoyable!  I highly recommend these devotionals to do with your family!

Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

Book #4

Totally Technical Tuesday: National Geographic for Kids Website

The National Geographic Kids website is a great place to learn about our environment and the animals that live around the world.  There are videos, pictures, games, and more to captivate your children's minds and encourage them to discover the world around them.  Here are a few pictures of some of the amazing things we looked at today:

Mighty Math Monday: Word Problems

Objectives:
* To understand that math equations can be put in word problem terms
* To use reading skills to read each problem
* To use critical thinking skills to determine the answer to each problem
* To differentiate between addition and subtraction word problems
* To use addition and subtraction skills
* To correlate marks/dots with the numbers to help solve the problem

Materials:
* Word Problem Printable (from me :))
* crayons or pencils
* paper
* scissors

Procedure:
* Print out the printable above and cut out each word problem.

* Let your child read (or help them read) the first word problem.  I think it's best to start with an addition problem.

* Help them determine if they will be adding the numbers or subtracting them.

* Demonstrate on paper how to solve the problem by using marks (we used dots) and counting them to add them all together.  Then let your child do it on his/her own paper.

* Continue this process with each problem.  Here is an example of what to do for a subtraction problem:

* Here are my son's finished problems:

* I will be adding more problems soon.  Feel free to create your own and make them appropriate for your child's grade level.  For younger kids, use coins or counters instead of writing marks.

Thoroughly Thoughtful Thursday: Operation World

About a year ago, I read a book called 10 Who Changed the World with my bible study. It is about 10 incredible missionaries who followed the calling to go and reach the nations for Christ.  During this study, the Lord truly convicted my heart to be more intentional about praying for the nations and teaching my children to do the same.  I decided to make this a daily activity, and here's how I did it:

There is an awesome book called Operation World.  It has every country in the world listed with information about each country and the prayer needs they have.  There is a country to pray for every day of the year. I ordered this book, as well as a globe, and these items are my kitchen table centerpiece, along with a bible, our memory verse book, and our prayer sticks.  This is representative of making Christ, His Word, and His people the center of our lives. 

Each day we look up the country, find it on the globe, read about the ways we can pray for them, and pray.  It's a fantastic way to start your day at breakfast or even as a special activity during dinner.  I long to be on the mission field one day, but for now, the best thing we can do is pray for the hearts of the lost and show our children how to love God's people in this way!

 

 

Wacky Word Wednesday: Summer Journal

Objectives:
* To use fine motor skills involved with writing and drawing
* To consistently practice writing and drawing skills daily
* To recall events that happened during the day
* To be creative and use imagination to write stories
* To practice writing longer journals and use more details

Materials:
* spiral notebook or journal
* pencil or pen

Procedure:
* Each day have your child write a journal entry.  This can be a recall of what happened during the day or an original story.  Let them draw a picture to represent their story. This is a great daily exercise to practice writing and help them use their imagination and/or memory skills.  My kids do this every day at school, so it's important to continue during the summer in order to maintain these skills.  I love reading what they write each day!

* For younger children: Let them draw a picture and tell you about it.  Then you can write down what they say.  This is called the Language Experience Approach (LEA).  This helps them recognize that what they say can be written down into words.  They will start to correlate the spoken words with the written words which promotes early reading.

* Extension for older children:  Encourage them to write with more detail, describing each aspect of their story with more adjectives and creative phrases.

Totally Technical Tuesday: Heads Up

This is our favorite game to play right now!!!  Heads Up is a great app that you can download and play as a family!  All you have to do is pick a category and choose one person to guess.  That person holds the phone up to their forehead while the others give them clues to guess what the answer on the phone is.  Tilt the phone forward for a correct guess and tilt it backwards to pass.  There are multiple categories to choose from including "Just for Kids," "Animals Gone Wild," and "Food For Thought" that work really well with young kids.  My husband and I even play with each other with the other categories! 

Although this game was made just to have fun, it truly promotes learning!  Children have to read what is on the phone and use critical thinking skills to quickly think of ways to describe each answer.  It is so fun to hear the different ways my kids share clues and how they relate the answers to books we have read or things they have learned in school.  We love it and hope you will, too! 

Heads Up Download

Mighty Math Monday: Coin Graphing

Objectives:
* To identify types of coins
* To sort coins into appropriate categories
* To count each group of coins and graph the number for each category
* To use graphing skills to determine most and least

Materials:
* Printable Graph from Keen on Kindergarten
* Handful of coins
* Crayons

Procedure:
* Have your children sort the coins into groups of the same type.

* Let them count the coins in each group and graph the correct number on their paper.

* Ask your child to determine which group had the most and the least.

* Extension: Have your child add up the monetary amount for each group.  Then they could add all groups together to get the total amount for all of the coins.

Toddler Thinks!

I want to start doing a special post each week specifically geared to toddlers since my baby girl is in this phase!  Toddler Thinks will include lessons designed for ages 1-3 and will range from motor development activities, music lessons, simple games, and very basic academic lessons.  I'm so excited, so let's get started!

Toddler Think #1: Blocks in the Muffin Tin
* This is a very simple one-to-one correspondence lesson that you can do with your toddler with things around your house.  All you need is a muffin tin and 12 of the same kind of object.  We used large Legos but you can use blocks, puzzle pieces, or anything that will fit into the tin.  Demonstrate to your child by placing one object into each cup. Then let them try.  Help them to understand that only one object goes into each cup and not more.  The younger kiddos will need time to figure this out. :) This is a great activity to do off and on during the week. 

Toddler Think #2: Letter Exploration
* As an introduction to the alphabet, you can let your child explore with letters.  We have some magnetic letters, (you can find these at Walmart, Target, or even the dollar store) and I just set out a cookie sheet for Chandler to place the letters on.  As she was playing, (and putting most of them in her mouth:)) I sang the ABC song multiple times.  The repetition will help your child catch on to the song more quickly.  I also have a poster of the alphabet, and as I sang, I would point to each letter.  Then I helped her find the letters that matched the pictures on the poster.  Just the simple task of exposing your children to letters at an early age will help them learn the names and sounds of letters faster and aide in their pre-reading skills.

Toddler Think #3: Ball Pit Fun
* We created a homemade ball pit for Chandler to have at her birthday party.  This is such a fun area for little ones to play, roll around, and explore.  You can purchase a large set of plastic balls at your local toy store or order them online at an inexpensive price.  We used a cheap, round, blow-up swimming pool, but you can use a large box, playpen, or even a gated area to store the balls.  This is a great space for motor development and independent play.  Have fun!