Letter J and Teeny Tots

~Bella is 31 months~

~Twins are 13 months~

So we managed to get in some letter work this week.  Not as much as I would have liked, but it will do.  It is the summer time right?  So we are on letter J now.  We did "J" for Jelly Bean.

Here she did her little and big "J" sorting...

Then we did some Dot art...

Patterns with Jelly Beans...

Then she matched colors and shapes...

For numbers, the jelly beans had dots on one side that she had to count and find the matching number...

Then we did some of the beloved Play dough!

TEENY TOT SCHOOL

For the twins we first worked with counting bears and cut up toilet paper tubes.  They really liked this activity.  They would stack the tubes, put the bears in the tubes, watch the bears fall out of the tubes...

Next we used popsicle sticks.  My original idea was to have them put them into an ice cube tray I have that are cylindrical.  This was NOT interesting to them...

So I revamped the activity and gave them old formula cans with holes pocked in the lids.  They LOVED this activity.  They in fact could not get enough of it!

Bella even enjoyed doing this activity with her brother and sister...

However, Bella thought the pretzels from her snack would be a better choice to put in the ice cube trays :)

We also did some pre-writing work (really its just drawing lol)

For the first time, I taped a huge piece of paper to the table and gave everyone some crayons to work with.  This was an O.K. activity.  The twins just always wanna eat the crayons! lol

So the next way we tried drawing was with dry erase markers.  "SHE GAVE THEM MARKERS?!?!?!"  lol yes I did :) 

And you know what they did MUCH better with the markers then the crayons!  I have no clue why.  But they hardly every put them in their mouths!

Then we got out the dollhouse.  We haven't played with this for a while, as the twins were always frustrating Bella with it.  But this time they all played very nicely.

And the girls played like typical girls.....

And Caiden???

Well he was typical boy :)

And a little Fourth of July cuteness for you :)

Resources:

http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/05/j-is-for-jelly-bean-alternative.html

Monsters and Pom poms

~Bella is 31 months~

~Twins are 13 months~

 Before we get into tot school.... Just a little parenting advice, make sure the gate is always up- don't just assume :)

Ok so anyway :)  Bella has started to show emotions of fear and nightmares.  So one thing she has been talking about is monsters, so I deviated from our normal letter work to a monster pack.  My thoughts were to make it a silly, funny thing in hopes to relieve some of the fears.  We have been doing other things, so this was just one aspect of our work to help her in her new struggles with fear. (I am aware this is a normal and "healthy" development in her growing)

So she did some dot art for "M for Monsters"

 Then she counted the monsters on the card and would put a counting bear on the corresponding number.  She got all of these correct! That is growth! As of a couple weeks ago, this was a more difficult task.







Next she did a matching game.  One set had pictures of monsters on it with a shape on their belly's.  The other set were the shapes that she had to match.  She did this one very well also.






Then we worked on puzzles.  She was just putting the strips in the correct order to make monsters.








Then she did some shadow matching...

 Color by number...

Onto Teeny Tot School for the week.  I got a package in the mail this week and it had bubble wrap in it.  Most of the time when we get packages it is stuffed with that air packed cylinders.  So I let the kiddos have at it.  They loved it.  Caiden did however prefer the box. 

Next we played with pom poms.  The twins LOVED this!!! I could not believe how long this kept them seated and occupied.

I also gave them scoops from our formula that were the perfect size for the pom poms.

This picture is from Saturday.  I was so excited about our new table that we did some more pom pom play time.  We used ice cube trays this time and some big fluffy ones too.  Once again a huge hit :)

Can't wait to use the table for some Teeny Tot School fun!

Resources:

http://mamasmonkeys.blogspot.com/p/printables-for-tots.html

When Daddy's Away...

So this is in lieu of a tot school post.  Daddy went away on a business trip and Momma thought it would be a great opportunity to go visit Aunt Kimma and Uncle Jerry in Pittsburgh.

So I took the 5 HOUR drive by myself with the kiddos.  It actually went REALLY well!  One thing I did learn, is that while traveling by yourself with three kids, you better make sure to use the bathroom BEFORE you leave.  Because there is really no way to go with 3 kids, of which 2 need to be held.... 

Anyway....

So Bella once again got her nails painted by Aunt Kimma

Then we went to the mall that had an indoor play area.  The kids enjoyed the cars they could climb in.

~EEk! Melts my heart these too~

Ada, learning about her colors with Aunt Kimma.

 Then of course there was the snuggle times...

I love my Brother and Sister.  Miss them already....

Sensory Fun Week!

~Bella is 30 months~

~Twins are 13 months~

So this was a paper free, worksheet free, all sensory play week :)  And the kids had a blast!!!

So for our first experience we played with those air packs that you get with packages from Amazon.

Then the box that they came in is also very interesting...

Bella enjoyed tearing them apart.

Caiden thought it was fun to fling them around...

And Ada like to stuff a bunch of them underneath her...

These are pictures of Bella trying to pop them :)

The next activity we did was using a muffin tin and cut up toilet paper rolls.  The kids really enjoyed squishing them, putting them in and out of the tins, Bella counted and would stuff them into a wipe box.  Caiden did try to eat a couple, so adult supervision is required with this activity :)

Next, Bella has a color with water book that I thought would be a great way to let the twin paint with their big sister.  So I wet sponge paint brushes for the twins and let them paint that way.  They all really enjoyed this.

Bella worked on the iPad a bit...

We did some reading together...

We got out her Tot Time Notebook.  She hasn't worked on this in a while.  When I first used it, she wasn't too into it.  But this time she was more interested.

So if you are my friend on Facebook, you will remember that picture I posted of those "beads."  Well here is that activity.  They are called water beads are supposed to be used for floral arrangements.  Well who says you have to use everything with the purpose it was initially set out for?  

So the beads start out really tiny (the hand in the pictures is Bella's).  Then you add 4.5 quarts of water and let them grow over 4-6 hours!

So after lunch we put the beads in the water....

Then after nap, we began to explore!!!

Daddy came home and insisted that was a silly investment on my part.  But after Bella convince him to play with her, he couldn't get enough of them :)

The last activity we did, was we had a bin filled with soapy water.  We took it outside and I let the kiddos go at it!

I provided all kinds of utensils, cups, balls, toys for them to explore with...

Caiden was apparently thirsty, because I could NOT get him to stop drinking the soapy water, YUCK!

And eventually he ended up in the bin :)