How did you fair this winter? I am DONE with winter, DONE I say! It was rough.
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Category: Shapes
Summer of Shapes: Oval & Rectangle
Kent was 25 months old. Since we fell so far behind I started covering two shapes every week. We learned the ASL signs for oval, rectangle, and purple. I don’t have many pictures related to our theme. We used our “A Rectangle Can Be…” cards, the Lauri toys rectangle and stacking pegs, and a beginning pattern block puzzle with rectangles and ovals. I added rectangle and oval buttons to his playdough bin. I didn’t get to it but thought of adding a deodorant dispenser top to the bin for pressing oval shapes in to the dough. He decorated printouts for our shape display. I couldn’t find shapes with the names printed inside of them so I made my own. That way we can cut them out and still have them labeled. If you want my templates let me know and I’ll e-mail them to you. I gave him this sheet from Memorizing the Moments in a page protector so he could erase and redo it. The week was mostly filled with random activities of his choice. We’ve been visiting the library all along but I guess I’ve been forgetting to photograph our favorites.
Continue readingSummer of Shapes: Star
We learned the ASL signs for star, moon, and yellow. We did “circle time” for the first time and he LOVED it! More on that later. I hung a couple more hooks in the kitchen within his reach so he has a place to put his bib if it’s clean enough to use again. This post is linked to: Tot School Gathering Place
Continue readingShape Milk Caps
Kent was 24 months old. We did some Triangle activities the week of June 9-15 but somehow I can’t find any pictures! After that I was consumed with the thought that baby could come any time and Kent was spending a lot of time with his Dad. So, we didn’t do much Tot School for awhile. We eased back in to it the week of July 21. This was something I came up with in a rush on my first day home alone as a mama of two. I wanted to have plenty to keep Kent busy so I had this ready and waiting when he woke up. He played with it for most of an hour off and on. He matched up a few but had more fun stacking them and trying to stack them while they floated. The marker came off the pan with a brillo pad and I saved the caps for another day.
Continue readingSummer of Shapes: Square
Kent was 22 months old. I’d rather get these posts up without links than not at all. If you want more information on any of the toys or printables you see just comment and I’ll try to get back to you. Do you remember learning about shapes as a child? This post is linked to: Tot School Gathering Place Montessori Monday Preschool & Kindergarten Community
Continue readingSummer of Shapes: Circle
Kent was 22 months old. After doing our colors and some fun miscellaneous themes last year we were ready for something else to carry us through the summer months. Why not shapes!? I was a bit skeptical that Kent would actually pick up on the shapes and learn to identify them. However, the same thing that happened with our color themes has been happening with the shape themes. He seems oblivious to what I’m trying to show him, and then weeks later he pipes up with “Triangle!” and I realize that he did get it. Our learning time together is supposed to be a fun, intentional way to expose him to new concepts. That’s it: exposure without expectations. That’s what works. We started with the circle shape. Here are our tot trays: Nesting cups from Green Sprouts. He had a lot of fun with these so we moved them to his toy kitchen where he can always access them. “A Shape Can Be…” circle printable from Making Learning Fun. I laminated them and added velcro dots. This one was a big hit! Here are some action shots for you: This post is linked to: Tot School Gathering Place
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