A few weeks ago we tried this same activity.... I printed off a block letter and asked Bee to put gems inside the lines. Well he didn't really cooperate. I couldn't figure it out then but now it makes sense to me. Bee is literal, orderly and very practical. Gems are round, they don't fit in boxes. Gems fit into dots. Silly Mom. That's why the Do-A-Dot printables were perfect. He placed the gems exactly in the spaces. I often try and push Bee's boundaries and help him overcome his natural instincts however this activity utilized Bee's strengths. Our goal was letter recognition and we succeeded. We will definitely be doing this again!
Tuesday we colored a picture of a foot. It opened the door for us to talk about feet. We jumped, skipped and counted our toes. If I was organized I would have found the "Foot Book" by Dr. Suess.
Tuesday was also filled with Mr. Potato Head. Another great opportunity to talk about bodies/feet. These are great for imaginary play and good for many ages. Sweets loved them as much as Bee did. She couldn't put the pieces in particular holes but once Bee built the character then she loved to hold them and roll them around.
If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Potato Head toys I will give you a quick explanation. The body is shaped like a potato and there are holes for arms, legs, nose, eyes, hair and feet. You mix and match various parts to create your character. Goofy eyes, high heels, party hat, cat ears, etc. Whatever you like. There are multiple sizes of potatoes and accessories. We mostly have the small ones because I prefer to keep like toys together. Smaller pieces means I can fit more in the designated box.
Bee is great with beading, lacing not quite there yet. It is a similar skill but one step up. Bee gets the lace into the holes easily but switching sides and making a line of stiches is just a bit out of reach still.
Our balcony is one of our favorite places to play. Mostly because it has our fire station, plastic pony and its just off my kitchen. A win for me is a win for the babes too. I love being able to be productive while they play outside. Our backyard is great and fun but the kids are too little to play out there by themselves. If the door into our house was inside the gate it would be a different story. I cant hear them from inside and don't want to leave the gate open in case they make a run for the road. So balcony it is.
Bee spent a lot of his day putting animals (little people) into the bus in the fire station then rescuing them. Sweets spent the day repositioning them. Its good for them.
Sensory bin this week was lentils and the "F" box contents.
Contents of "F" Box
Die Cut Letters
Frog Clip
Foam Flip Flops
Foam Frogs
Foam Fish
Foam Letters
Foam Flags
Foam Football
Foam Fence
Fish Figurine
Frog Figurine
Fly Figurine
*If your wondering where I have found most
of my miscellaneous letter goodies they are from surprise
prize packs at the dollar store.
While Bee played with lentils, Sweets was reading with me. I introduced her to many animals. We talked about their colors, sounds they make and pointed them out individually.
Friday = Food Day. Our food bin is regularly used by both kids. Who doesn't love food? Bee's Auntie taught him a magic trick a few weeks ago. She showed him how to eat a banana and pull it out of someone's ear. You might not catch that right off the bat with this picture. However this is Bee eating the banana prior to pulling it out of Sweet's ear. Not exactly where I was going with this bin but he had a blast.
We also played a lot of farm this week. If the animals weren't stuck in the bus inside the fire station then they were in the field. Logical really. My favorite part was at the end of the night on Friday. It was bedtime so we were rounding the babes up. Bee had a meltdown (not my favorite part), when I finally got him calmed down he told me that the animals needed to sleep. They were all over the floor, that's not where they sleep. He gathered them all up and put them like this. Then he sang them a little tune to help them fall asleep. So adorable and thoughtful. He melts my heart frequently. After that he knew it was his turn and cooperated with our regular nighttime routine.
Our main hurtle this week was toilet training. Ugh! I swear it will never happen. I have almost lost hope. Oy vey. We are struggling. If you have any thoughtful tips blogosphere please help a Mum out! For now just enjoy our diaper/underwear pics. Between the heat and toilet training it is just not worth getting fully dressed.
Before I forget let's get to the fish. My hubby has a rather large fish hobby which came in handy. I'm sure that we will often use fish as part of a study because it opens many doors. This week we focused on saying "Fish" and counting the fish. Previously we have briefly introduced many topics such as the circle of life and patience. Jason has collected fish eggs, separated them into a different tanks and we watched them grow into fry. They are still growing and have not been released into the main tank but they will be ready in a few weeks. During these phases Jason makes sure to tell the kids what is happening and points out changes in the fish. We also have a turtle, Max, who occasionally eats a fish. Obviously we have not taught about predators yet but its an option further down the road. Fish have died of natural causes so we used this as an opportunity to talk to Bee about death. I know he is very little. We feel that if we discuss serious topics now that later on they wont be that big of a deal. Chemistry could also be added into our fish study. Fish waste creates ammonia which "pollutes" the water. To have a healthy tank you have to constantly maintain the various levels. There are many paths that could be pursued which allows you to follow your child's interests.
I know that our fish theme way above tot school level but it was helpful for me since we are still learning and researching various methods of home schooling. This method of learning is similar to unschooling. Unschooling is basically learning all you can about a topic that comes into your life. I am not 100% on board with this method but I can see how you can learn many subjects from one topic/theme. I firmly believe that people will excel when they are self motivated and passionate about a topic. I hope to fuel my kids interests while still helping them become well rounded individuals.
Weekly Booklist: First ABC, Bob Books E/F, The Foot Book
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G/H, Giraffes Can't Dance
, Touch and Learn ABC, Germs! Germs! Germs! 
Our balcony is one of our favorite places to play. Mostly because it has our fire station, plastic pony and its just off my kitchen. A win for me is a win for the babes too. I love being able to be productive while they play outside. Our backyard is great and fun but the kids are too little to play out there by themselves. If the door into our house was inside the gate it would be a different story. I cant hear them from inside and don't want to leave the gate open in case they make a run for the road. So balcony it is.
Before I forget let's get to the fish. My hubby has a rather large fish hobby which came in handy. I'm sure that we will often use fish as part of a study because it opens many doors. This week we focused on saying "Fish" and counting the fish. Previously we have briefly introduced many topics such as the circle of life and patience. Jason has collected fish eggs, separated them into a different tanks and we watched them grow into fry. They are still growing and have not been released into the main tank but they will be ready in a few weeks. During these phases Jason makes sure to tell the kids what is happening and points out changes in the fish. We also have a turtle, Max, who occasionally eats a fish. Obviously we have not taught about predators yet but its an option further down the road. Fish have died of natural causes so we used this as an opportunity to talk to Bee about death. I know he is very little. We feel that if we discuss serious topics now that later on they wont be that big of a deal. Chemistry could also be added into our fish study. Fish waste creates ammonia which "pollutes" the water. To have a healthy tank you have to constantly maintain the various levels. There are many paths that could be pursued which allows you to follow your child's interests. 
