Easter is only a few days away, so I spent several hours on Pinterest and my favorite blogs earlier this week to create this list of cute Easter art projects for toddlers and preschoolers. Each project includes a link to instructions or photos. I apologize that I don't have many photos for you, but due to copyright issues, I only use the photos that I have taken in my blog posts. I hope that you enjoy this list; I know that I am now inspired to do even more Easter art with my girls!
I love making these lists for you! Now, I am inspired! I think that we will be doing a lot of art projects this week!
Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4). She blogs about homeschooling at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.
After listening to this joke over and over for 20 minutes straight in the car this morning, I was losing my patience (and my mind!) While it is a cute joke, one can only hear it so many times. Then, all of a sudden, I noticed how my girls started giggling each time that they told the joke. They absolutely love the fact that they know a joke and can make others laugh. And I love how happy they were. So, I continued listening to the joke for the next ten minutes until we got to our destination. And, by the time we arrived, I was laughing hard each time that they told the joke.
As the day has gone on and I have thought more and more about this experience, I am constantly reminded of how little children learn. They learn by doing the same thing over and over and over and over. Teaching young children can be very boring and tedious for an adult. But finally, after lots of time and practice, they learn the skill. And it is so cool when young children have a new skill. They are so proud of themselves and it is so much fun to watch them show off what they know. While it can be hard to do the same thing over and over with your child, doing so is totally worth it!
Today, I just want to remind you to be patient with your little children. Remember that they are learning and that your patience is critical for them to learn and grow! Marla is a former special education teacher, current PhD student, university instructor, and stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 2 and 4). She blogs about homeschooling at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.
Our daughter, however, has always been home schooled.
She was three when we began our adventures at home. I quickly learned ways to involve her in our learning process, keep her happy and allow for academic growth at her own pace. I'm sharing a few ideas with you today, they may work for your family as well!
1) Let your preschooler work with the big kids.
Not only does this help them feel a part of your family projects, but it is a great opportunity to teach your older children about inclusivity, patience and consideration for littler ones. There doesn't need to be a goal or expectation of what your preschooler will learn - they just need to have fun!
2) Give them 'big kid' activities as well.
My preschooler loved having worksheets, handwriting assignments, or math work to complete. Many of her color sorting and counting activities were extra fun for her because I presented them like I did for her older brothers. It really didn't matter if she did them correctly or if they were made up - it was great practice for her to trace letters, match colors, or just pretend to be as big as her siblings.
3) Encourage them to watch.
If your preschooler is interested, allow them to learn by osmosis. Try not to save all your schooling for nap time. My older children just love to show off for the littler ones.
4) Give them something to do with their hands.
Each day, give your preschooler an activity to work on during school. This can include any sort of crafty or manipulative activity, just save anything involving glue for bath day. Crafting was always something that helped my little one sit for read alouds.
5) Enjoy being all together; it's one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling.
In this picture, my preschooler asked to practice tying my shoes while her brothers worked on spelling words with sidewalk chalk. I missed my older children while they were away at 'regular' school, and I have treasured being spared the same separation from my youngest.
Some days are tougher than others with preschoolers underfoot, but if you work with the personality of your child and try to focus on their interests, you will have a wonderful year. What works for your family in terms of homeschooling with preschoolers?
I have been eagerly waiting for two years to begin this next year. Up until now, we've focused on reading skills, math, and some basic geography. This fall, my son will be entering first grade, and we will begin our first year of a classical education.
Our core curriculum for this year will be Tapestry of Grace, a classical curriculum that beautifully integrates classical study for multiple ages with a strong foundation in Bible and church history. Eventually, our writing, literature, and art will tie in with the history, geography, Bible, and church history studies. But for right now, just starting out, we'll use Tapestry for history and Bible with a little geography sprinkled in, enjoying the fun projects and read-alouds without adding a lot of pressure to "do it all."
For first grade phonics and spelling, we will be continuing with A Beka, adjusting it as we need to fit our family and our homeschool style. His reading will be a mix of the A Beka readers, saved from the days when I was homeschooled, and some Tapestry books.
We'll be using A Beka first grade math as well, but this year, I'm armed with materials to supplement when we get stuck or when A Beka moves too quickly. Math Mammoth has been the perfect solution for us to supplement A Beka. I love how smoothly the material presents each concept and progresses through the drills. The curriculum is a download program, which makes it extremely affordable and very convenient for use as a supplement. It also provides a number of games suggestions and internet resources for each concept being introduced. I love this curriculum! (Math Mammoth also offers a ton of free samples on the website.)
These are our priorities, our everyday subjects. I also intend to add science and art appreciation into our school year, but more as activities than as a complete subject. I ran across the idea of "one more thing" in the afternoon that is perfect for what I want to do with these activities. For science, I'm putting together some unit studies on anatomy and nutrition using a mix of resources from our own library of Usborne books and some internet resources and notebooking pages.
For art, we usually pick one artist and one composer to study sporadically throughout the year. This summer, for instance, we will be learning about Monet and Mendelssohn. I haven't yet decided which artist we'll be using in the fall. For our art study, I usually use the material from Harmony Fine Arts first grade curriculum (this is my second year to use this one year's worth of curriculum; it's immense!).
My daughter is starting K4; and instead of buying new books for her, I'm collating the papers we did not use from A Beka's ABC-123 book and A Beka's K5 book. We'll have more than enough when I supplement with Letter of the Week K4 and School Sparks downloads. So, essentially, I'm getting by with a free year of school for her. She'll also be tagging along in our other subjects as much as she wants to.
That's our year, in as much detail as I've planned out so far. We've had so much fun these last two years that I absolutely cannot wait to begin this next stage of our journey.
Tracy is a pastor's wife and homeschool mom of three. She herself was homeschooled from 1st grade to graduation and, after college, had the opportunity to write and edit for the Christian textbook publisher A Beka Book. Tracy loves a rainy day, a cup of coffee (lots of cream and sugar), and Rachmaninoff. She blogs at Growing In Grace.
Today I'm going to show you some of our Montessori-style activities. I keep a big tub in a closet and when I come across interesting boottles, boxes, jars, corks, boucy balls, beads, spools... you get the idea- I toss them in there. Then, when I have a chance, maybe once or twice a year, I go through and put together a few new activities.
There are many books about Montessori and the Montessori method. Many are stuffy and want to make sure that you walk away feeling that only a professionally trained individual can successfully teach Montessori-style. But many are good. I can't really begin to make recommendations here, though, or this post would never end.
Here's what's important with these activities:
-the child can do them on her own after being shown how;
-the activity has natural control-of-error (i.e. yellow botton in red basket: child sees mistake, or, circle lid doesn't fit on heart box, etc.)
-easily set up and put away by child.
Here's what's important with mom:
-DO NOT interrupt child to point out her mistakes, let her find them herself;
-be willing to help clean up.
These first are from "Do Touch," referred to earlier:
Jumbo craft sticks. Pics 1 & 2 are just matching 2 sticks with same patterns. Pic 3 is a simple puzzle.
Also from "Do Touch," sponge sey cut up. One left whole as a control. These are actually quite difficult to put back together!
Button sorting. 3 peanut butter lids with colored paper glued in, heart container with lid to store buttons in the activity's bag.
Flower beads to sort. Three sizes of flower beads (found these on ebay for $1 and knew Rose would love them), 3 peanut lids, tweezers to pick up the beads for fun, pouch to store beads, all in a baby shoe box.
John Paul at work!
These little number puzzles are part of a huge, overwhelming set and were a gift. I rotate a few at a time into a bag with "jewels" to place on the completed puzzles. The jewels make the puzzles much more fun to do.
Letter puzzles. Were also a gift. 26 puzzles are too much for most preschoolers all at once. So a few with objects to match get rotated for this bag. I love that tiny ball of yarn!
Fruit bead sorting, tweezers missing. Sigh. This idea was stolen from the Montessori-n-Such catalog. Fabric covered cardboard, Cezanne picture glued on, jar lids glued on. I like these beads but this tray isn't used very often. I'd really like to replace it with the M-n-S set, but it's definitely a want and not a need!
Lauri crepe rubber toys. Top pic is puzzles that go in a bag together. Bottom is a sorting toy I found for $1 at a thrift store. Lauri toys are great! They are safe, non-toxic, and your toddler can hurl one across the room and it sticks together! They make some cool, inexpensive puzzles for older kids, too. Most of their toys are available on Amazon.
Feel 'n find. A traditional Montssori game. There are 10 objects in bag 1 and their matches in bag 2. Birthday candles, big screws, marbles, thimbles, small spoons, plastic flowers, you get the idea. Make sure the blindfold is easy to get on and off. I actually did buy this one from Montessori services beacause it was cheap and I was feeling lazy, and it is a really nice blindfold!
More bead sorting. We're kinda heavy on bead sorting these days!
Butterfly toss. Just a target and some plastic butterflies. Less dangerous to your breakables than a bean-bag toss.
Bendaroos shape making. I need a laminator, see my bent control card? This is much tougher than it looks.
Boxes and lids. Really fun for 2 year olds. These boxes are usually $1 each, but stock up when Hobby Lobby puts them 50% off.
Hands down favorite! Opening and closing activity. Random assortment of containers, each requiring a different skill to open. Usually each one has a frog or lizard who lives inside, but I'm down to 2 frogs at the moment. JP gets this out at least 3 times a week, and so did my older kids from about ages 14 months to 3 years. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT put child=proof pill bottles in here. They will figure them out quickly and then you'll have a serious problem on your hands.
Transferring activity. Jars of different objects (with tight screw-on lid!), variety of tongs and spoons to use, 2 pails to transfer to and fro. John Paul likes to pour, which is ok, too.
Some of Rosie's activities in a deep basket which sits on a shelf in the dining room.
OK, friends, I am too tired to photograph my science kits. But you can see them at either catalog website mentioned above. We have a sink or float set and a magnetic/ non-magnetic set, plus a rice play box.
I hope this peek into a selection of our Montessori-style activities inspires you!
"It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself."
~Joyce Maynard
"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."
~Robert Fulghum
Like many homeschooling moms, I have a small child (Charlotte is 14 months old) in addition to my homeschooled preschooler. Because she wants to be just like her older sister, she also wants to "do school". Most mornings, when I tell Abigail that it is time for preschool, Charlotte also heads to the table. Because she is so excited about learning, I plan activities for her. I started my career as a toddler teacher and have found that experience very beneficial in knowing how to "teach" Charlotte!
I include Charlotte in our circle time, so she listens to stories, songs, and the bible lesson. We also use several materials that I have purchased, such as 3-piece puzzles, stacking toys, a bead maze, and toddler crayons. Additionally, I have created a few tasks for Charlotte to work on and would like to share them with you. All of these activities work on improving her fine motor and motor planning skills and were created with items that I already had around the house. Because she is small, Charlotte needs to be supervised when doing any of these tasks.
Task One:
I have given her this bucket of plastic Easter eggs and she puts them in and takes them back out. This week, I made this task even harder by giving her two containers and having her move the eggs back and forth between the two. When doing this activity, Charlotte often also spends time opening up the eggs and then trying to close them.
Task Two:
I placed some of Charlotte's favorite small toys inside an old wipes container. She pulls them out and puts them back in. This is one of her favorite activities and it is now permanently in her playroom; she does this during free play time multiple times each day!
Task Three:
I give Charlotte a handful of dry beans and a paint cup. She drops the beans into the top of the cup. When she does this game, Charlotte often giggles at the sound the beans make as they drop into the cup.
Task Four:
Charlotte drops unsharpened pencils into a water bottle (I have also used an empty milk jug for this task). Then, she turns the bottle over to get them out. This is the hardest of the four tasks, but she has quickly figured out how to do it.
In addition to her special tasks during our preschool time, I also do several sensory activities (jello, playdough, cool whip, cooked noodles, paint, etc.) with Charlotte each week.
Because she is very young, I never force Charlotte to participate in preschool and always let her decide which (if any) of the activities I have planned she wants to do. Charlotte's learning is completely child-led. I have been very impressed by her progress in her fine motor skills and her desire to learn. I hope that by including Charlotte in our homeschool and creating specialized activities for her, I am helping to develop her love of learning and her desire to be a lifelong learner!
The options for activities that can be made at home for toddlers are limitless. Almost every day, I see something in my house that gives me an idea for another task to make for Charlotte (but I never seem to have time to make them all). How do you incorporate your toddler into your homeschool?
Her obsession started with a book that I found at our consignment store for $1.00 - and grew from 12 pieces of wooden track to the mountain that we now own today.
When I started to work with Sophie on colors, letters & numbers she was not interested. No many how many cute animal themes, or princess themes, or color themes I tried - nothing drew her attention away from the trains.
After banging my head against the wall for a few weeks I realized that I needed to relax and use a subject that I knew she liked. I threw all my carefully chosen learning tools out and started over with basic items that we already owned.
We work on colors {how many engines are green; putting all the same colors together}
We work on numbers {finding the number on each engine and putting them in order}
We work on motor skills {putting tracks together in different configurations}
We work on patterns {different track pieces and colors}
We go to the library and we have checked out every Thomas book they have.
We take field trips to the local train station to watch trains go by, and talk about the different parts of the track.
Sophie is doing great! She knows all her colors, numbers through 20, and her alphabet. She has amazing spacial recognition skills and can build any track configuration without issue. She can name most parts of a train, can tell you the difference between a diesel engine and a steam engine, and explain what a switch is and how it works on the tracks.
Could I have been successful if I'd stuck to my original plan and made it work?
Yes, I believe so.
BUT.....
I believe that she is engaged because it's fun! By listening to her and using her interests she is less aware that we're doing *school* and more interested in learning about the world around her.
I would encourage you to tailor your approach and materials to each individual child. If you feel like you are hitting a brick wall, take a step back and re-evaluate. Ask someone to observe and/or look over your materials. You don't have to start at the beginning, just tweak your program a bit and see what happens!
Is there anything that you are struggling with right now?
There are many ways to ensure success when educating your child in your home. One of those ways is to create a learning environment. Children are like sponges, absorbing everything they come in contact with, so create a place that will help them learn naturally. Decide what you want them to learn and then plan accordingly.
When creating a learning environment you can do five things:
1.) Make sure there are materials accessible for learning.
Those materials might include books, blocks, videos, paper and crayons, markers, pencils etc. You might have to monitor use of some of the writing materials with young children lest you have colored walls! If finances are an issue check out the local library for books and go to yard sales to find new toys.
2.) Make everyday activities a learning experience.
When cooking breakfast you might have your child count with you as you crack open the eggs. One egg, two eggs, and so forth. Read the cereal box to your children pointing out letters and spelling some of the words. Buy paper plates with the alphabet on them. Get creative!
3.) As a parent, become an avid learner yourself. One thing we have done in my home is to learn American Sign Language together. I use the video series Signing Time with my children on a daily basis. I have gone on to take further sign language classes online to facilitate my own knowledge, and have even gotten my certification as a Signing Time Instructor. I am so thankful for Signing Time because the videos have been an invaluable resource for our family in developing communication and increasing speech.
4.) Play with your kids. When you as a parent interact with your child, you make connections with them, and that can facilitate your role as educator. I have often heard people say that they have to send their children to school because they will learn better from somebody else and that is just not true. God gave your children to you and told you to train them up (See Proverbs 22:6). You don’t send them to someone else to train them, so it is also possible for you be their teacher for educational purposes.
5.) Model Model whatever you want your kids to imitate. One good example of something you can model for your children is reading. If you want them to develop a passion for reading, then you read too. Read in front of them. Read to them and with them, everyday.
This list is by no means all-inclusive. There are many more creative ideas you can come up with. I just wanted to encourage you today that you can create a successful learning environment in your home and daily lives. Remember to think of the needs of the whole child, spirit, soul, and body when you are planning. I believe you can become a confident educator of your children and have a successful school from home.
Giveaway-Today I am giving away a copy of the Signing Time DVD The Zoo Train! Simply comment below to be entered to win. The giveaway will end at 12:00 a.m. EST on July 7th. A winner will be drawn and announced on July 8th. Please check back to see if you are the winner! If I am unable to connect with the winner, a new winner will be drawn and announced on July 11th. Many blessings to you as you continue to teach your children!
, and another is 
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