B is for Bug

~Bug is 24.5 months old~

We had so much fun with the letter B this week and boy was I happy when we posted the letter B to our calendar board and Bug proudly shouted out B. B was one of the first letters we ever attempted in Tot School and I was a proud momma to know that he remembered.

When we revamped our Tot School room we decided to add a few more decorations and kid friendly/fun to keep Bug interested. That room is a combination of Tot School, my home office and storage for Mason’s Monarchs, our non-profit. We were given these really cute butterfly stickers that work perfectly on his wall. They served a multipurpose this week as they are Butterflies and they represent each of his Brothers. (you can read our story at www.masonsmonarchs.org)

Bug is getting pretty good at maneuvering the tweezers and loves to take his pom poms out and replace them again. This toy is currently a favorite in Tot School.

Another favorite is this number puzzle. We have started to incorporate numbers into our weekly lessons. He likes to put the numbers in as I count them out. So far he prefers to only say the numbers 1 and 2. But that works since this week’s lesson was the number 2.

We have this great little play dough set that has number stamps and that has helped so much in keeping him interested in the numbers and keeping them on the mat. We also made letters and numbers with the play dough. No pictures since play dough and Bug requires a lot of attention to ensure that the play dough doesn’t get jammed into the carpet. We did discover that Bug can correctly identify the letters A-B-C-R and O. He might be able to do more but he always gets silly when we get to the O. I’ll have to trick him next time and not do O.

We have yet to go to the library to borrow books as I am so nervous that Bug will take that opportunity to yell and scream. So we used what we had for B week and what better option is there than to include his Bible.

Mom’s Favorite this week:

Bug got to view an early showing of fireworks that one of our local malls did in anticipation of July 4^th. It was his first experience with fireworks and he was so excited. Here is daddy and him watching just as one explodes. It melts my heart to see these two together. He is certainly a daddy’s boy.  

Next week has a holiday right in the middle. Hoping to squeeze in some cute things for July 4^th. So until then…

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here

World of Nations

~Bug is 23 months old~

We celebrated many different countries this week as we attended Bug’s 2^nd World of Nations. All the costumes and decorations provide an opportunity to discuss the different traditions from that part of the world. Bug’s favorite country was Mexico. Of course this may have something to do with the huge cup of watermelon he was able to get there.

We have continued to practice counting to five as well as reviewing our letters that we have already learned. Bug can correctly identify all the letters of his name. And for the majority of the time he can do it in the correct order. He can also almost pronounce his name and when he gets frustrated trying he just says baby.

Reading is still an important part of our Tot School time and something that I treasure as it allows us to have quiet one on one time.

Working on some new things for the upcoming weeks. So until then…

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here

A says Ahh

~Bug is 22.5 months old~

Momma’s been slacking a little with getting things posted to the blog but boy have we been busy. Bug has learned a few more letters and can correctly identify the A and O with no problem. When I ask him to say ‘A’ he says ‘Ahh’… which is what his leapfrog taught him. We have gone all the way through the alphabet a few times but he usually gets distracted when we get to the letter G. Then he goes off on a tangent about GiGi, our dog, whom he loves so much.

We did some art and science projects over the last few weeks. Here we made a wreath out of Bug’s handprints. We used pastel colors for Easter and then cut out circles and glued them together. The wreath got to hang on our new display wall for all of Bug’s projects.

We found these little grow in water animals and I couldn’t resist trying them out. Bug picked a green pill and we put it in the water and watched it grow. There were only a few instances of him trying to assist the animal out of the water. This one happened to be a rhinoceros which got a lot of attention throughout the day. The cutest part was Bug showing daddy when he came home. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.

Bug is learning to count and we had the perfect opportunity to see if he was comprehending the process while visiting the fair. He had a chance to win a prize by choosing three different ducks. So as he pulled them out we counted and on the third one he gave me this look like “now what?” BTW he won a stuffed monkey.

Reading is always a big part of Tot School for us. Not only do I read aloud to Bug he likes to ‘read’ to himself. His children’s Bible is never too far away. 

This year’s Easter basket included a few different books with learning options. Here Bug is reading his book on shapes. He can correctly identify the circle and almost always the triangle. The square and rectangle are a little confusing to him still.

Mommy’s favorite picture over the last few weeks has to be this one of us right before Easter services. Bug is all dressed up in his little suit. We opted for the Miami Vice look since he wouldn't leave the tie alone.  

Excited to see what happens next week as we continue to grow and learn through play . So until then…

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here

Taking every opportunity!

~Bug is 21 months old~

Bug was a trooper this week as we worked on a variety of unstructured and not very well thought out Tot School activities. We were very busy working on the non-profit this week and the planned activities went to the wayside for just the things that Bug wanted to do himself.

Bug loves stacking his cups and is getting so good at placing them on top of each other in the order that they should go. As we work in his Look and Find book and has begun saying the item as he finds it on the page.

Cookie Monster has been helping us learn to count. Bug has been placing the cookies as Cookie Monster and I count and he is finally starting to say the numbers himself. It might help that after this particular activity we always have a snack with cookies. 

For St. Patrick’s Day we made some puffy paint (thanks to No Time for Flashcards) and painted a shamrock. It took Bug a minute or so to realize that the paint was staying on his fingers. He prefers to have clean hands so immediately afterward we had to go clean up. It now has a place of honor in our new wall of artwork. 

Bath time is never part of Tot School but we had a really good opportunity that Bug initiated on his own with sorting his bath toys. So we took advantage of this and sorted his ducks, gators and puffer fish accordingly. He was so proud of his accomplishment that mommy got a little bath herself.

Cleaning up is a game we like to play right before daddy comes home. This week’s favorite picture comes from Bug deciding he didn't want anything but himself in the basket.

Next week will be exciting as we go outside and explore some new places and try some new skills.

So until then…

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here

Week 22 - Busy little bees

~Bug is 20.5 months old~

Busy… busy… busy. That is the only way to describe our home this week. Bug got his first Cat in the Hat set and loves to carry it around in the little tote that came with the order. It also came with matching cards and a nice little puzzle, both of which have been put up until we pass this destruction stage he is currently pursuing.

We actually had a few reading opportunities where Bug didn’t feel the need to flip through the pages. I think he was very interested in the rhyming in the book. It might have helped a little that mommy used different voices too.

Bug’s stacking pegs are of great interest these days. We are using them for multiple purposes since he is so interested in them. We have been counting on a daily basis up to the number five. Here we stacked the pegs with color and height and Bug pulled them away as I said the number. 

We also used the pegs as a color sorting option. His favorite color is still blue and will bring me things that are blue as he says “boo” so that I know he understands.

This week we also worked on his animal sounds… not really something that you can capture in photographs, especially when Bug will grab his animals and take off running with them. We have the Little Peoples Zoo and he has several of the animals. We’ve been hiding them around the house and asking him to find them. He will bring us the animal and either makes its sound or try to say its name. He can say gorilla, bear, and gator and although we know he can say lion he prefers to growl.

Music is always a part of our home. We sing in the car and at bedtime and play our instruments whenever the opportunity arises. The instrument that received the most attention this week was his xylophone. It came into play during laundry time and dinner time and even during potty time. 

 We got to spend some time at daddy’s work during their big career day and someone snapped this week’s favorite picture. Not sure if Bug wasn’t impressed that he was getting his picture taken or just not sure if mommy could hold him much longer.

Looking forward to what the future holds… so until then.

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here