Sunday, May 26, 2013

DIY Alphabet Blocks - Hands on ABC learning fun!

 
 
Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE glitter. I found these glitter foam stickers at Walmart and stuck them on small mega blocks. We turned them into alphabet blocks! My son is learning his letters right now so I thought that making ABC blocks would be a fun and inexpensive play idea. We even made these blocks together. After we made them we mixed them up, put them in ABC order, and sang the ABC song. I just love how colorful and exciting the blocks turned out...and so does my son!
 
 
                                    

 We put the blocks in ABC order on the table and on the floor. He was amazed!

           
We even played a letter match game where we used letters from an ABC puzzle and matched them up to the ABC letter blocks.
 

He even had to lay down next to the blocks to look at the letters up close of course!
 
-Deborah

Friday, May 24, 2013

Number Tower - Learn To Count & Order Numbers While Building!



 
I created this activity because my son is starting to learn how to count to ten. I want him to be able to recognize each number as he counts. This activity was so easy and inexpensive to create.

 
Here is what I used... 
We had the block set and I found the glitter foam stickers at Walmart.
 
 
                  
 
           
I set this activity up by lining up the numbered blocks 2-10 on the tray and standing up the block for #1. Since my son is still learning the order and name of numbers, I lined them up in number order to make this activity a little easier. I sat with him and helped him build the number tower. It was so much fun! It was exciting for him to see if the tower was going to fall over as we kept building.
      

      
 
My son loves this activity! He went right to play with it the following day.
Once the tower was up, my son wanted to blow it down!

This is such a fun and engaging learning experience for toddlers. It is super easy to create and it has such a great educational value. Stay tuned for A-Z interlocking blocks in a later blog post!
 
-Deborah

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Letter Recognition Activity - Pick it, Say it, Stuff it!


 
Here is a simple letter recognition/fine motor activity for toddlers. I used plastic play dough letter stamps and an empty wipes box to create this activity. Simply have the child pick a letter from the bowl, say its name, then drop it into the slot of the wipes container. Continue until the bowl of letters is empty or have them take turns with another child (or even better, with you!) My son is really starting to recognize and say his ABC's and this activity has provided him with such a fun, hands-on learning experience.






 
All done! He wanted to dump it and do it again!
 
 
Think twice before throwing out that empty wipes container. There are so many ways to upcycle them. Check out my Toddler Play board on Pinterest or simply search Pinterest for more creative ideas. 
 
-Deborah

 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Sand & Sequin Transferring Activity For Toddlers

 
My son pulled out the sand and sequin sensory bin on this rainy morning. I provided him with a bowl and a cup to practice transferring. He really enjoyed watching the contents up close as he poured it into the bowl. It went everywhere! It was okay with me for him to play messy because I truly believe that messy play is the best way to play!
 







Bubble Water Table Play

We have been really enjoying the beautiful weather lately! Here is one of our favorite outdoor activities...bubble water play. To do this, we simply dumped bubble solution into the water and mixed it around to make bubbles. Here is our bubble water table:



The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book & Quilt

What is better than reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle? Reading it on a matching quilt that Grandma made!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ABC Toddler Tray - Clothespin Letter Match Up

 
Here is yet another simple and inexpensive activity to teach toddlers the ABC's. This is great fine motor practice as well. Simply take a clothespin, see what letter is written on it, find the matching letter in the tray, and make a match! The clothespins can be found in the dollar store. A great extension to this activity is to have the child place letters with attached clothespins in ABC order. This could be a great go-to quiet time activity that will keep little hands (and minds) busy for quite a while.
 
-Deborah


Monday, May 6, 2013

Learning ABC's Using Letter Stickers

Here is a simple letter learning activity for toddlers. We use a sketch pad as a sticker book and letter stickers for learning. The letter stickers are found in the scrapbooking section of any craft store. The ones we used were on clearance! To do the activity, my son peels off a letter and sticks it on the page one by one. He says each letter name or learns the letter on the spot with my help. This is an inexpensive, hands-on learning activity that is fun an easy to do.

-Deborah

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Ice Cube Scooping Toddler Tray

Here is a simple and inexpensive fine motor toddler tray idea. Fill an ice cube tray ($1 - Dollar Tree) with mini white pom poms ($1 - Dollar Tree) and provide a 1/2 teaspoon for scooping. Simply scoop and collect all of the ice cubes (pom poms) into a bowl or container. Have children count while scooping too for an added math lesson. My son plays with this activity everyday! This is great practice for teaching children how to use a spoon to eat as well.


Complete!
-Deborah