Recovery and Review

~Bug is 27.5 months old~

We had a few issues with mommy’s back this week so things didn’t go quite as planned. When all else fails, review. So we did. We went through all the letters he learned previously and I wrote them on the white board. He then used his car to drive over them as I called them out.

Bug has taken to try and figure out a different way to stack his stackable toys. He will try anything to make them balance.

He is getting much better at the concept of Alphabet Bingo although the pieces don’t always find their way back to the tray. Thank goodness they are only colored pieces of paper.

A few weeks ago we introduced Bug to discovery bottles and HE LOVE THEM. The only downfall in using Gatorade bottles is that there aren’t enough smooth surfaces for him to use the magnetic bottle. So the current process is to dump out all the pipe cleaners and then pick them up with his magnet stick.

Bug is very much of the electronic age and spends lots of time with his InnoTab and my IPhone. Thanks to 1+1+1=1 we are able to download lots of free educational apps as she posts their availability.

Mom’s Favorite:

Every time we get to the mall Bug likes to go to the book store. Here he is reading a story while we shop around. His shoes are off as he just finished playing in the play area and was obviously tired as he kicked back to relax. We recently began utilizing our local library to increase his availability to books. I can’t believe to tell you how valuable I find that little business card size piece of plastic.

Next week the forecast is rain... so much I might not have enough pieces for our weather board. the good news is I have some new colored rice so me thinks this calls for some sensory bins. So until then…

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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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Gor ri rila and the Color Orange

~Bug is 21 months old~

This week started with some oldies but goodies. Bug enjoyed playing with his butterfly puzzle and we have added saying the color names as we put the puzzle pieces in their place. He also enjoyed playing with this sorter and although we are missing the green ring he is very happy to continue sorting.

Bug is currently in a destructive mood so during our animal identification this week we stacked the animals on top of his cups. We used this multiple ways in that it allowed us to stack but also to see size relations. When I asked for a certain animal Bug would kick down the tower the animal was sitting on and grab it and run it to me. His favorite animal is the “gor ri rila”

Orange was the color of the week and one of the ways we worked with that was to gather all the orange balls in house. We don’t have many so a balloon and a square shape found their way into the pile. There are no pictures of Bug actually gathering these as he would run off with them just as I would get ready to snap the pic.

There is a certain satisfaction with opening and closing things. Here Bug is using his momma’s concentration skills by sticking out his tongue as he concentrates.

In honor of Dr. Seus birthday we put together his new puzzle. Bug still isn’t allowed to read his Seus books on his own (thanks to his destructiveness) but he laughs at the Cat every time we read them.   

For a rare treat we took an excursion with daddy who happened to be off. We went out to lunch and then to a really nice park where Bug played with mommy and daddy for quite some time. That’s where this week’s favorite pictures come from… sorry I couldn’t pick just one.  

Next week we will introduce a few new things… so until then.

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Week 21 - Learning is Fun

~Bug is 20.5 months old~

Had a house full of sickness the last couple of weeks but we still got in some Tot School time. We picked up this really cute rug for our classroom. It has balls (Bugs favorite) and helps with the counting we are working on. It also provides a little warmth on the tushy during the cold months.

We have some really good friends and one of them picked up a gift for Bug. Thanks Ms. Shelba. There was a sorting bucket and stacking/nesting cups. Bug now loves to stack up the cups and then slowly walk into them and watch them fall over. The two gold pieces in his hand are coins that can be dropped into three of the buckets and if they are lined up correctly it will drop all the way through. It’s a little challenging, even for mommy. J

We finally found a tray for Bug to use when he isn’t sitting at his table. It was Cars or Elmo and he picked “vroom” and of course the “boo” (blue) one. Here is putting the tray to good use while he works on his screws. He has gotten very good at putting them together so we have started mixing the bolts up so that it is now also a color sorting game. He quickly learned that only the same color ones can go together.

The Let’s Look book from Baby Einstein’s gets a lot of use these days. The food items Bug can pick out pretty quickly. When he finds what he is looking for he gets so excited. . The difficulty level is a nice range so he will be able to use this for quite some time.

Daddy time is so precious these days. Here Bug and daddy had just finished playing and were taking a time out to rest. Bug loves to watch Veggie Tales on daddy’s iPhone. Truth be told he likes to do anything with daddy’s iPhone. Maybe there will be an iPad in Bugs future as there are so many fantastic learning apps available.  

Can’t wait to see what next week brings… so until then.

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Week 17 - Motor Skills

~Bug is 19 months old~

This week started with the sickies but that didn’t keep Bug from learning. Matter of fact, he didn’t want to leave his classroom on several occasions. Our Tot Trays are working out wonderfully and really helps keep me organized.

We added a threading activity this week with pipe cleaner and pasta. Bug really enjoyed putting the pasta on the pipe cleaner and then taking it off. He preferred it when we both did one and would show me how when I ‘forgot.’

Bug has gotten very good at putting the rings on the correct way although he insists that the orange one always goes on top. He’s also gotten very good at these nuts and bolts from the Target $1 bin. (I love that place) 

Bug wanted to do a lot of reading in his bean bag chair this week. Sometimes he lets me read to him and other times he prefers to read to himself. I was able to get this extra shot of something that he must have found really awesome in that little book of his.

Putting shapes or objects of any sort is one of his favorite activities. He has gotten very good at using this cookie jar he got for Christmas. He has mastered the round, square and triangle cookies. The star he can get with a little concentration but the heart is still a work in progress.

We had a few warm hours one day so we took advantage and went outside. We picked up leaves and swept the sidewalk. Bug even turned the landing of his slide into an activity as he pushed the leaves through the holes. I forgot to bring my camera with me so this is the only shot that I got from our fun but it is my favorite for the week.

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

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