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…

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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…

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One day at a time....

~Bug is 21.5 months old~

A combination of Spring Break travel and a pretty nasty fall the last couple of weeks have been more casual play than Tot School time. We had great intentions and packed a whole bucket of travel Tot School items. Bug enjoyed his color puzzle and is getting better at identifying colors other than his favorite “beu.”

During our travels we got to spend some time in the pool (for obvious reasons there are no pictures) and we taught Bug how to kick to propel him forward. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more… us or the older couple watching from the deck.

Bug enjoyed this shape sorting lap book. The only shape he is having a hard time with is the triangle. He did get bored really quickly with this but was able to move through it pretty fast so it may be time to move on to something a little harder.

We enjoyed spending some quiet reading time together. Bug gets excited when I tell him it’s story time and will gladly climb up next to me in anticipation.

We also correctly identified the letter 'O' this week. Albeit to correct mommy who was trying to retrieve the letter 'Q' from Bug's hand. Each time I asked him to give me the letter 'Q' that he was holding. He just looked at me and squealed ohhh. After a few times of this he finally handed me the letter he was holding and it was the 'O' - oops mommy was just a tad embarrased but "Ohh' so proud. :)

PIC OF THE WEEK

This week’s favorite picture came from our tip to see Veggie Tales Live. Here is Bob (aka Daddy) and Larry Boy all prepared for curtain time. Bug really enjoyed sharing this experience with his daddy.

We are all doing much better and are excited to get things back to normal next week. 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 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.

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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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