We created our own mail center in our schoolroom and play room because my kids love getting the mail. They love to send letters to friends, teachers, and grandparents. They love to send and receive mail. I made some monster post cards to help us practice writing, addressing, and sending mail. Of course, these aren’t post cards for the US Postal Service: they are for our own homemade mail box!
One of the fun things I have done for my kids this summer to keep track of our summer fun was create a simple summer activity passport for her! It’s a way to keep track of the fun we’ve had this summer as well as encourage the kids to decide which activities we want to make sure to fit in this summer.
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One of the favorite things my kids love to cook is pancakes, of course! I believe it was one of the first things I actively encouraged my kids to take part of in the kitchen, simply because it’s fun to help stir, it’s exciting to watch the pancakes sizzle and flip, and it’s delicious to pile the toppings on. There are many ways to learn with pancakes. Here are some of the great activities we’ve done in the past years.
Here’s something to add to your Christmas sensory activities list for your toddler! Gather the textures of the first nativity in a basket, as based on a favorite Christmas Carol. My daughter loves sensory activities and this Nativity textures activity encourages exploration, as well as developing a growing understanding of the story of the first Nativity. What could be better for the Christmas season?
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From when my second child was a toddler till today, when she is a kindergartner and my third child is a toddler, I keep them busy by setting up busy boxes (also called busy bags or workboxes). With fall comes apple picking season for us. The activities and books below are perfect for an apple themed busy box!
I teach a class at our co-op, and my son is present for one or two other classes as well. This means that my two daughters get to “hang out” a lot each week, sometimes with a different adult to watch her.
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My most recent crafty project was a random one that I thought of as I watched my kids playing: I made some corn on the cob to go in my son’s play kitchen. I’ve mentioned it before, I don’t feel that I am a particularly crafty person. Put me in front of a computer and sure, I can make something. But give me crafting supplies, and I often feel a little lost as to what to do first. Also, one other thing you should know about me: when I was about 7, I burned off a fingernail with a super hot glue gun. So I’ve always avoided those types of crafts. But. I have decided to give craftiness a go. My no sew felt corn creation has been the perfect compliment to our play kitchen, and it is so easy that even the not crafty can do it!
I have seen the rice “I spy” packages before on Pinterest, so since my son has become interested in word searches and daughter has become interested in the “I Spy” books we have, I thought it was time to make an “I Spy” busy box. Some of these activities work for the toddler, others are more appropriate for the older child, and some are games they can both play (albeit, a bit differently with a toddler involved). The look and find busy bag lets the kids search for familiar items in the midst of a few cups of rice. The entire I Spy busy box encourages visual discrimination, an important pre-reading skill. Continue reading
I’m quickly finding that my preschooler needs hands on interactive fun. When she gets home from preschool it’s a little bit before lunch time, so without an activity, she’ll whine until the food is served. This week’s favorite activity was a color mixing fine motor water activity using food coloring and a kid-sized dropper. 
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ABC Stickers + colored paper = sticker tree fun!
We practiced ABC uppercase-lowercase matching with ABC stickers on a simply made tree.
Twelve mini plastic eggs, a marker, and some pennies made a fun game for my preschooler in her beginning effort to understand basic number concepts and numerical values.
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