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…

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Week 13 and Week 14 - Wow

~Bug is 18 months old~

Letter:      Pp

Week 13-14 has been combined due to the shortness of both weeks. Week 13 was short due to our vacation to Disney World which was really nice and week 14 was shortened due to the unexpected arrival of Bugs new cousin.

We finally picked up a cookie sheet for Bug to play with his Leapfrog doghouse letters somewhere other than the kitchen. He loves that he can stick the letters to something other than the fridge.

Bug can now sort his eggs almost all the correct way. He still doesn’t understand that the faces are different but he now knows that each egg has its own place in the carton.

We did get in a little work on the letter P. He likes it when I help him trace but still prefers to color with the bottom of the crayon. We are hoping to get some Dry Erase markers for Christmas.

Thankfully Bug really likes for us to read to him but he also likes to read to himself. With all the shuffling back and forth he was content with reading in his car seat to help pass the time.

These colored shapes that I picked up at the Dollar Store have really gotten their money’s worth. Bug plays with these multiple times a day. Although we haven’t really gone over the color yellow (officially) that seems to be the color that he always wants. We are working on saying the colors as he takes them out of the bag but yellow is still a little difficult.

Another Bug favorite is his cube sorter. He concentrates really hard as this toy actually has similar holes but each shape only fits into one hole. He will take a shape and work diligently until he makes it fit the correct one.

With all the craziness of the last two weeks we decided he needed some play time and took him to an indoor play area at the mall. He loved climbing on all the toys and gabbing with the other kids.

Looking forward to a slow week coming up. So until then…

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Week 10 - Ducks and Doodles

~Bug is 17 months old~

Letter:      Dd

Theme:      Ducks and doodles

Tot School was back to normal this week with lots of classroom time. Bug loved every minute of it and even tried getting daddy to take him in a few times.

We tried dot painting for the first time and with a little guidance he was able to get the hang of putting the paint on the paper. He did try to taste the paint a few times but thankfully it came right off with a baby wipe. He also tried tracing the letter Dd but wasn’t as interested in using the crayons.

We worked on using his spoon to transfer his pom poms to the ice tray and used his pincer grasp to take them all back out again. His favorite toy this week was his sorter… but he only wanted to play with the green and blue shapes.

Bug enjoyed playing with his Pepsi and pasta box and still continues to try to reach in the holes to pull the pasta back out. We also added a Pringles and pipe cleaner tool to the mix. He pushes the pipe cleaner into the holes in the Pringles lid.

We got to spend some quality time with daddy and went on a roller coaster simulator. He was watching so intently and then I’m not sure what scared him but he quickly covered his eyes and I was lucky enough to catch it on film.

We have a few new things that we are going to try next week as we take on a new letter and some turkey fun.

So until then…

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Tot School - Brought to you by the Letter M - Week 3

~Bug is 15.5 months old~

Brought to you by the letter M is how we began week 3 of Tot School. M has not been quite as much fun for Bug as the letter B since there are no balls to throw. We did some coloring and he is still way more interested in putting the crayons in and out of the holder than actually coloring with them.

The letter M did bring us to the sweet sound of Momma. Now Bug has been saying momma for several months but as we practiced the sound of M he always followed it with momma. We also had music time this week using all his toys that music. He has drums, a piano, guitar and a tambourine which all made for a fun afternoon.

This week our verse is actually my life verse so it felt especially good to share it with Bug throughout the week.

Bug discovered that not only can he put his weather pieces on the chart… he can also take them off. So our weather chart is rarely correct as he continues to take them on and off the chart.

We graduated from straws to small shapes to put in his creamer container which he seemed to enjoy much more than the straws. I still need to get him some normal straws to use so he can continue to build his skills.

The pom pom sorting tray has become his favorite Tot School item. Every time we go into his classroom that is the first thing he pulls off the shelf. Using the spoon has really helped with him using a fork at dinner time.

Bug had a great opportunity to play with some other kids this week at the mall playground. I won’t share pics of other kids faces but these girls were trying to play a matching game and Bug kept running over and flipping the pieces. They were very nice and let him play along.

We used our Feelings Tot Book this week which is still a little advanced for him but he is beginning to understand that the different faces mean different things. He laughed when I told him mommy was tired and needed some zzzs.

We had a very busy week in Tot School as well as in the mission field as we launched our non-profit for Mason’s Monarchs which you can read about here. Can’t wait to see what next week brings. So until then… love and hugs!

Check out what other tots are doing with their moms here