Week Two- Friday

Today was a light day. I am trying to get my little one on a better schedule so we are having to devote more time to that. We did manage to get some school in though. Again Austin wanted to pour his chocolate sports balls into containers so he did that while I set up our activity. I did try to get him to color and do stickers for an A book but he pushed that away.

Activity - Floor Letter A- My husband had told me awhile ago that when kids walk the shape of letters, it helps them be able to recognize them and eventually write them. I had forgotten about this until last night when I observed Austin following a circle pattern we have on our rug.

All I did was use construction paper and tape together a large A. Right when Austin saw it he screamed A. Such a proud momma I am. Of course I could not find my phone and our camera was dead so I didnt get any pictures until the end when Austin was board of the activity.

I did have Austin walk the letter a few times. He thought this was very fun as he chanted "walk walk". After I showed him how to drive his little car on the letter. This kept him busy long enough for me to find my phone he had hidden and get a quick picture.

Austin was very proud of our A and since I was busy with his brother, I didn't pick it up. I just placed the rug back down. Later that night, Austin proudly pulled the rug up to show his daddy the letter A and how he could walk and drive his car on it. My husband did get some pictures and a video so I will add those soon.

Next week we are going to begin the letter B and color blue. When doing the painting activity the other day, when I asked Austin to dip in blue, he got it right each time, so I am pretty sure he already knows that color. I also asked Austin the other day at the library to find the letter B and he also did that. I am not sure where he is getting this knowledge but its there. He is a little sponge that absorbs EVERYTHING!

Week Two - Thursday

Today was a learning experience for me. I learned that Austin is going to turn everything into a pouring activity and he will only use bingo markers now to "color". I have learned gluing activities hold him attention for about 2 seconds, and when he is done, he will demonstrate that by either tearing something up or throwing everything on the floor. I guess I had a little of Tot School myself today.

Our activities today were....

Activity #1 - A Collage. I had everything pre-cut and ready to go. I spread a bunch of glue on the paper in hopes Austin would want to put the pictures on. He did do a few but was more interested in "patting" them down after I put them on.

Activity #2 - I had Austin identify the A in his name. He did this without hesitation I tried to have him simply color his name but he kept saying "dot dot" which is what we say when we use the bingo markers.

Activity #3 - This activity was supposed to be for next week when we study the letter B but Austin saw it and basically threw himself on the ground, so I brought it out. It actually kept him busy for about 20 minutes. I bought at the dollar store these little chocolate sports balls. My intent was for Austin to count them and he watched and repeated me, but when I asked him to do it, he started pouring them from one container to the next. What can I say, the boy LOVES to pour! I did manage to get him to take one at a time and place it into a water bottle. He liked this and it taught him patience, control, and a little thinking because the footballs had to be turned a certain way to fit.

Activity #4 - Painting a large A. Last week we took a trip out to Ikea and got this great easel for $15. It has a chalk board on one side and dry erase board on the other. It also has a spot for a large roll of paper to paint on.

This is how I presented the paint to Austin. I had an egg carton I was saving and I cut two spaces out.  It worked great and there was no messy paint anywhere. I started introducing blue today and was surprised when I would ask Austin to dip his brush in a certain color, he got it right every time!

Week Two - Tuesday and Wednesday

The last couple of days has been rough. I have had a horrible double ear infection so taking care of the boys was very stressful. We did manage to get some Tot school in but when Austin got frustrated, I did not have the energy to try to keep him there, so Tuesday was a light day.

Activity #1 - Apple Painting

I decided to have Austin paint using an apple as a stamp. I saw on a website to stick a fork in it so it was easier for your tot to hold on to. Austin loved stamping and even did it so much he pushed the fork right through the apple! I plan to cut an apple shape out of the paper but have not gotten around to it yet.

Activity #2 - Sorting

I attempted sorting again with Austin. He either does not get it or has no interest in it. He, like most activities, just wanted to pour. I think my plan is to present this activity to him once a week.

Library Wednesday

Today we went to our wonderful Library. Again Austin had no interest in the books but ran around like a madman playing on all of the toys and making the train go. We discovered the activity center which is basically a huge enclosed playroom with tons of educational toys and puzzles. Austin liked this room very much.

Since I was feeling better this afternoon, I decided to get a little adventurous and let Austin practice pouring water in the living room. My thought was "its only water right?" He actually did very good until the end when he decided to start pouring water on himself. He must have known it was bath night.

My future plans are to finish up the letter A and red this week. I have a couple more projects I hope Austin will do like an A collage and then putting together an A book with some of his crafts he made. The next two weeks are B and Blue. This is going to very fun since he is obsessed with balls. I have so many ideas we might have to take longer the 2 weeks or I will at least post them incase someone else wants to use them.

Week Two - Monday

After a great week, we are continuing with the same theme. As of right now I am going to be doing each letter, color, and verse for two weeks just to make sure Austin really grasps the concepts. 

Today I began a little different. I laid each activity out on the table and let Austin chose which one he wanted to do. Since I don't have "tot trays" yet, this was how I improvised. It seemed to work well but was distracting to my little guy who just wanted to keep moving to the next activity. I think I might just present him one and if he likes it, then we will do it, if not just move on. 

Activity #1 - Dot A. 

I have seen this activity for dot painting but was unable to find a website with all he worksheets so I created this on myself. Austin LOVED it. The kid could not have been happier and kept saying "dot, dot" every time he dotted the paper. I showed him once what to do and I was so happy and surprised when he actually got the concept. He lost interest about halfway through but the dots he did were very good. I used bingo stampers and they worked great!

Activity #2 - Reading our books.

I have not themed our books yet, because I kinds just take Austin's lead. He is very particular with what books he likes at a particular time, so as long as he is enjoying books, we read what he wants. 

Austin's current favorite books are : 

1. No More Diapers 

2. Ernies big Mess

3. Barney goes to the fair

4. Goodnight Moon

5. Barnyard Dance

Activity #3 - Practice Pouring with Rice Crispies

Austin LOVES to pour. He loves to play with water and pour it from one container to the next. The problem with water it it ends up all over everything like my floor and him so I decided to try to get him to use other types of textures to pour. This activity kept him busy for a good amount of time. I just gave him different size containers and he went at it. 

Activity # 4- Alligator A - I found this activity on No Time for Flash Cards. I am working on the concept of gluing and actually leaving it on the paper with Austin. He has not quite gotten it yet and will try to peel it off right away. He did try and even got a few teeth on. My plain is to make a different animal for each letter and them display them all.

Activity #5 - Sorting pompons. I gave Austin a mixture of blue and red ones then placed one in a separate bowl. I showed Austin what to do and he refused so we do not have any pictures. Hopefully we will do this another day.

I have many more activities planned but might make it a light week due to me having another double ear infection. We will see how the week goes.

Praise Report

Today I decided to test Austin out on how well he knew the letter A. I found a few things around the house that had a capital A and asked him to show me the A and to my surprise he got it right every time. I was such a proud mama!