TOT SCHOOL: GARDENING

"Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together make this world a beautiful garden."

This week was a great extension to our Flower theme we did last week. We incorporated flowers into our activities along with some fruits and vegetables.

Click the photo below to be directed to my YouTube channel to watch the weekly highlights. Please SUBSCRIBE while you are there!! 

GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES

To setup this activity, I added some dirt and soil to a bowl with some gardening tools. About 10 feet away I placed a planter. He used the tools to transfer the dirt into the planter. I had him try to walk quickly, walk backwards, etc. 

FINE MOTOR & ART ACTIVITIES

I used this tray I found at the Dollar Tree for this easy sorting activity. I opened each seed packet and took a few seeds from each one and placed them into each area. Next, I poured out the rest of the seeds into the middle of the tray. I placed the packets under each area of the tray so we could talk about what those seeds looked like as he sorted. Finally, he chose a fine motor tool {he used his tweezers, fingers, kitchen tongs and fine motor scooper} to sort the seeds. 

I found these perfect vegetable and fruit flashcards online {link in plans} from Teddy & Bee and printed them out. I put them in a bin along with some shredded brown paper aka "dirt" and he used his fine motor tools to find the food, tell me the name of it and then sort by color to make a pretty rainbow of foods! 

For this craft, he painted the bottom half of a paper plate brown for the dirt and the top part blue for the sky. Then I printed out some carrots {link for carrots found on my plans}, cut them out, taped them to his area and he painted them. After they dried, he glued them to his plate.

We've recently gotten into some pre-writing practice by using thin Expo markers on sheet protectors. I made this fun little themed Pre-Writing sheet {found on my plans and in my TPT Store } and placed in a sheet protector. Then he had to get the bunny to his fruits and vegetables by using the marker to trace the lines. 

SENSORY ACTIVITIES

Once he was done with the flashcards, we used REAL food! It was a lot of FUN! And I actually had a lot of the foods already! 

Of course we had to do some sort of planting this week! We planted some green beans, sunflowers, kale and marigolds. We're excited to watch them grow! PS - he got in some fine motor practice by using his spray bottle to water his seeds! 

THEMED SNACKS

I put some hummus in a glass and added mini carrots. For the green tops I used some cilantro pieces I had in our refrigerator. 

To start, I added some cream cheese to a ziploc baggie and added food coloring to make the black dots (my son helped with this part). Next, I spread some cream cheese on a cracker and topped with cherry tomato halves. Then, I piped on the black dots and added a black olive for the head. Finally, I added some greens for the antennae.

Here's our plans for the week! Don't forget to tag me on social media @toddler_fundamentals so I can see what you're up to! Click the photo below! 

Thanks for stopping by!

STRENGTHEN FINE MOTOR SKILLS WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

If you’re looking for ways to help strengthen your child’s fine motor skills (those little muscles in their hands, fingers and wrists) and not quite sure where to start? I have good news for you! I bet you have most of these items laying around your house and you can get started today! 

For today's Tot School Tip Tuesday video I am sharing ways to use household items to help strengthen your child's fine motor skills.

Click the photo below to watch. Be sure to subscribe while you are there for new Tot School Tips every Tuesday and weekly Themes every Friday! 

Here are the items I talked about in my video {please know that these are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I make a small commission when you click through a link}.

From the Kitchen:
Kitchen Tongs - they can use tongs to pick up blocks or legos and sort by color

Turkey Baster - they can use this to blow a feather or piece of paper across a table or countertop 

Toothpicks & Empty Spice Container - let them stick toothpicks into play dough or the top of an empty spice container

Chip Clips - they can clip these along the top of an empty container 

Measuring Cups & Spoons - let them scoop and pour dried pasta or water 

Funnel - they will love pouring beans down the funnel (let them hold the funnel with one hand and add beans with the other)

Squirt Bottle/Spray Bottle - use sidewalk chalk to make shapes or letters. They use the spray bottle to erase them!

Cookie Cutters – they can use these in play dough or add some paint to a dish and they can make prints on paper

From the Bathroom:
Tweezers - let them use tweezers to pick up pieces of pasta or dried beans and place them in an empty container 

Eye Dropper - they can use this to transfer colored water to a muffin tin

Medicine Dispenser (syringe) - let them pull up colored water or watered down paint and then slowly press out the liquid and paint a picture on construction paper.

From the Office:

Clothespins - paint them different colors and let them sort by color on to a piece of cardboard with colored circles. You can also write numbers on them and they match to the amount of dots on a piece of cardboard. 

Hole Puncher - prepare a piece of construction paper with letters or numbers around the edge. Tell them they are a caterpillar and they have to munch the letters/numbers.

Stapler - give them a piece of construction paper or card stock and let them add staples

Rubber Bands - set out a few cans of food and let them add and remove the rubber bands. They can also add them to the bottom of a muffin tin

I hope this list has encouraged you to look a little differently at your ordinary household items and see the potential for some fine motor fun!  

Thanks for stopping by! 

TOT SCHOOL: FLOWERS

This weeks theme is FLOWERS! We have lots of fun fine motor activities, art projects and a science experiment planned for the week. Click the photos below to grab your weekly plans and materials list.

Check out my short video on the highlights from this week! Click the photo below to be directed to my YouTube channel. (PS - Subscribe while you are there!). 

GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES

I found this FREE printable over at Thirty Handmade Days (link on plans) and added it to a clipboard and let him choose a colored pencil. We went for a walk around our neighborhood and he checked off (or colored in the boxes) as we found the flowers. 

I used chalk to draw different colored flowers on the sidewalk. I called out a flower and he hopped or jumped to each one. 

FINE MOTOR & ART ACTIVITIES

I found this FREE planter and flower garden over at TotSchooling.net (link in plans) and cut out the flowers according to the number of letters in his name. I used a marker to write the letters and then glued the planter to a piece of blue construction paper to make it easier for gluing. He had to find the hidden letters around the house and then match to the planter. When he was done, we reviewed the letters and he spelled his name.

SENSORY PLAY

I taped down two pieces of white card stock to his area. He used a thin and thick brush as well as his fingers to paint the pieces of paper. When they dried, I cut them into the shape of a flower and he added popsicle sticks to the back. 

This was a big hit this week! He LOVES to hit things with his hammer, so of course I knew he would love this activity. Check out my video (click photo at the beginning of the post) on YouTube to hear how I set up this activity! 

Super simple, old school, flower experiment (I loved this one as a kid!). I bought some white carnations and then cut the stems about halfway. He helped add some food coloring to the cups of water (also filled halfway) and we added the carnations. After about 5-6 hours they started to change colors, by the 5th day, they were all pretty much fully colored. He loved checking on them throughout the week! 

THEMED SNACKS

I spread cream cheese on a few Ritz crackers. Added a raspberry in the middle and purple grape halves as the flower petals.

I planned to use mini waffles but I couldn't find those so I used two large ones and a small glass to cut out circles. I added raspberries to one and strawberry slices to the other. Check out my video to hear how I set this up!

That wraps up our Flower Themed Week! Come follow us on Instagram @toddler_fundamentals! And, if you happen to do any of the activities from our plans, please tag me so I can see what you're up to! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

TOT SCHOOL WEEKLY PREP

For today's Tot School Tip Tuesday video I am sharing how I plan and organize for our weekly themes. Click the photo below to be directed to my YouTube channel where you can watch a quick video. 

Please let me know any other ideas you have for organizing your weeks and share any questions you have, I'd love to help you get started! 

Come follow me on Instagram for daily tot schooling activities and Subscribe to my YouTube channel for Tot School Tips every Tuesday and new weekly themes every Friday. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

TODDLERS IN THE KITCHEN

"Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity." -Guy Fieri

For today's Tot School Tip Tuesday video I am talking about the benefits of cooking with your child in the kitchen! I am also sharing some of my favorite tools for those little hands. 

This video is the last in the 5-part series I did on all of the areas of development I include in my weekly Tot School plans. The other videos are on fine motor and gross motor skills, sensory activities and art projects. You can check out those videos at the end of the post. 

Click the photo below for today's video.

Here's the links to some of my favorite kitchen tools for toddlers {please know that these are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I make a small commission when you click through a link}.

Learning Tower - This is the one we bought from Etsy and painted it gray. It is such a game changer!! We LOVE ours!! 

Curious Chef Knife Set  

Curious Chef Measure & Prep Kit 

That wraps up today's tip! I’ve shared 6 benefits and some tools to get you started. Remember that working in the kitchen together is a great opportunity to connect and educate their little minds. They will love spending the time with you! And a little mess goes a long way, so have fun and enjoy the learning process!

Be sure to check out my friend, Annalisa, over at Baking to Bloom!  She has an amazing Instagram account for ways to include your toddler in the kitchen! 

You might want to check out a few of my other Tot School Tip Tuesday videos.

Share some of your favorite recipes in the comments! I love to hear new ideas and connect with you!