New domain name

So I decided to change the domain name of my blog to make it more secure.  The new blog address is:
atgproverbs22-6.blogspot.com


Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.  

Playing to learn...What it's all about

So the twins just turned 1!!!! I feel like we are starting to get to a place where we can really do some learning times with them now.  Also we are starting to cut down/get rid of their morning nap (which is when I would do our school time with Bella)  

So the days are becoming more interesting and we are all trying to adjust to cranky babies who want to sleep but can't, not having as much one-on-one time with Bella, and the twins wanting to do EVERYTHING Bella does :)  So my Tot School posts are going to look a little different for a little while during this time of adjustment!

But my blog is supposed to be about how everyday play experience can be used as learning experiences if you use them that way!  It means you can't just throw them in the basement and let them play by themselves - which I do sometimes - well maybe not the throwing part :)  It means you have to sit and play with them.  Creating hard things for them to figure out - with your help, by themselves, with the help of a sibling.  You talk to them, explaining EVERYTHING, in some times pain staking detail :)

So we play with puzzles a lot.  I let them do some exploring on their own, and Bella sometimes has a hard time letting the twins play their way and not the "correct" way.  So that is usually when I step in and instead of just referring, I teach.  This is what I would try to teach during this time:

-I help Bella learn how to teach them

-I help the twins figure out the way the pieces feel, the color, letter/number

-I also review with Bella what the letters/color/numbers are and have her tell it to the twins also to help her remember

Another toy I set up for play experiences is our Melissa and Doug beading toy.  It has suction cups so I place in different places to create interest.  

 This toy is a great toy to teach Bella to take turns and to love others first.

It is also a great toy to work on fine motor skills.

Then sometimes things come up during the week that we don't plan on but are great fun and also learning experiences even though I don't actively plan/do anything.

Our friends came to visit and brought us big boxes to play with.  Here they learn gross motor skills, social play, cause and effect, object permanence and many other things :)

The twins got a pool for their Birthday, and this is a great sensory activity.  They loved the pool and navigated it really well.  I was quite surprised!

 I think Ada had the most fun.  She loved being sprayed with the hose also.

Then because the twins are 1, we will be getting rid of the bottles soon.  So these pictures are gonna be some of the last ones of them with their bottles.

Planting Shapes...

~Bella is 30 months~

 Ok so maybe we didn't plant shapes and did more of planting AND shape work :) But anyway, onto the planting...

Bella got this book for Easter so we read this book a lot and decided to do our own bean plant.

So first she put the bean in a wet paper towel and then put it into a clear plastic cup.

After sitting in the window for a couple of days, it started taking root and the skin started to come off.  So I had Bella plant it in some dirt.

She was really good about being gentle with the bean.  

I saw this at walmart and my "i love my bella so much, she would love this" kicked into full swing, and there was no way I was leaving with out it :)

So she also got to plant flowers.

The seeds came with soil discs that had to soak in water.  After it was done soaking she had to rake it to mix it...

Then she filled each pot half way...

Then she put 2 seeds in each pot and fill it to the top with dirt...

She then got to place them in the window sill.

 Since the potting of the plants, the bean plant is growing great.  The flowers however have not made any appearances yet lol.


Instead of focusing on letters, we did shapes this week.  So for our first activity, she had flashcards that had pictures of different items and she had to figure out what shape the items were.

I love her thinking face :)

Then I used our shape cards and she got to put play-dough on the shapes.  She actually did more with this than she has in the past.  She now rolls the play-dough like a snake to lay on the shapes.



















She also got to practice her cutting skills...

Then I used some of my cuisenart counting blocks that she could then place on the outlines of the shapes.  This was either tricky for her, or she just wanted to do it her own way, or me do it for her...

Resources:
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPrintablesShapes.html

http://shared.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/math/shapemat.pdf

Get Wisdom - Kindness

~Bella is 30 months~

So if you have the book I am using, you will notice I am not following her order.  I have decided that as I teach Bella, I am going to teach according to her need and skill level.  I felt as if the next one Ruth Younts had in her book should wait until she gets a little older.  So I decided we would work on Kindness!

We started with reading from the book, looking over the memory verse and talking about what the picture had to do with being kind.  We then worked on what some examples of kind and not kind actions are in her day.

Next we discussed the story Jesus is kind to the children, Mark 10:13-16.  What was nice about this is this was her Sunday School lesson at church also!  So we mainly just reviewed this story.

Next I saw this idea on the website that I have been using to get help with extra ideas for each lesson:
Kindness germ

At an early age, kids learn to be germ-aware. Parents regularly mention concerns about hand washing, nose blowing, nose picking, nail biting and covering mouths when coughing or sneezing. Begin by reviewing basic hygiene rules and expand your discussion to tell your children that there is one germ that they are welcome to spread all over the place: the kindness germ!

Kindness is as contagious as the common cold. Explain that when we are kind to each other, it softens our hearts and makes us want to be kind to others as well.

Discuss ways you can spread “kindness germs” everywhere! Throughout the course of your study, whenever your children wash their hands, cough, sneeze or blow their noses, it can be a reminder to ask God to wash away any unkindness and to ask Him to help you spread kindness germs instead.

This was a fun one we kept up throughout the days we talked about kindness.  Everytime a germ would be spread, we would see if we could spread a Kindness germ also!  If nothing physical could be done a simple word of kindness - I love you, I like your hair, etc. - would be done instead.

Then we also talked about the story of how Ruth was kind to her Mother-in-law.

For our activity, we made Mother's day cards for the Grandmas and Aunt.

The twins were a little curious

More Get Wisdom Work

Resources:

"Get Wisdom" by Ruth Younts

http://kidsofintegrity.com/kindness

Playing to learn

So what have the twins been learning lately?  How to feed themselves with a spoon...

With our sister's help sometimes...

But sometimes we forgot to use our spoons....

Ada has been working on climbing...

And walking...

They have both been learning to dig in the sand, and not eat it :)

Then Momma has gotten out some structured learning toys...

I have saved a bunch of different types of lids and put them into an old wipe box.  They got to explore open/shut, size/color of the lids, staking the lids, and putting them in the box.  They loved this activity.

And of course Bella wanted to join them.