Our little “peanut” has grown to be a healthy, happy, outgoing two-year-old. He can already sing his ABC’s and we are currently working on phonics. Today mommy created a sensory bin (red bucket) full of apples, a foam and wood “A”, and a letter “A” book with pictures of words that start with A. In addition, we had a magnet board with flashcards and free print-outs for coloring from 1+1+1=1. Peanut had a blast emptying the sensory bin and he especially loved the magnet board where he could move and re-move cards and magnets with the letter “A” on them. He correctly identified the ant, apple and alligator on his coloring sheet, and he learned a new word today, “astronaut.” He repeated it with perfect clarity.
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| This “Mickey Mouse” table and chairs are just the right height. |
Our little man is 29 months old. Here he is coloring in his “blue” apple with a red crayon.
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| He actually did a pretty good job staying within the lines of this apple. |
For the sensory bin and magnet board we used things we already had around the house. It’s a great way to reinforce the alphabet letters and sounds.
To see a video click here:
I think the key to keeping a toddler interested is to make it fun. He spent about an hour today playing with the various items in this set-up. I colored alongside him and spent some time asking him about the various objects. The top three favorites were the apples in the bin, magnets he could organize on his own, and coloring with crayons.
Below are some of the items we used. Most of these items can be found at Walmart or Target. One of my favorites is the Leap Frog magnetic phonics teacher (blue and orange; it’s in the lower left hand-corner). You plug in a letter and it makes the sound that the letter makes. It’s a first step to reading – by knowing the sounds letters make our “Peanut” can sound out words. He is not reading words yet, but I am hoping this will help.
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| These are all things I already had around the house, some are gifts and others are things I’ve purchased in the last year or so. |
We are so proud of our big boy and I’m so thankful to be able to stay at home with him. If you have a toddler at home try pulling some things together and see how much your little one already knows, and maybe teach them some new things too. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know how it went.
I hope these tips are helpful.
In His Grip,
Monica
