B is for Blocks

I know every parent feels this way, but I think our little man is so smart! He has an incredible vocabulary and truly grasps the meaning of so many words. It’s wonderful to be able to communicate with him. This week, I created a learning center around the letter “B” and I plan to do a new letter every few days. The set-up included a sensory basket full of toys that start with the letter “B” and a magnet board with flashcards and our ever-favorite Leap Frog phonic sounds learning tool.

This time the blocks were the biggest hit. Peanut wanted to build a tower. Once built he would tear it down and start all over. It was great fun watching him play with the blocks.

The basket itself was a big hit too. He enjoyed emptying out the contents of the basket and climbing inside. He was so cute I just had to snap a picture.

We also printed out some coloring sheets from the free printables offered at 1plus1plus1equals1. He loves to color and paint. He connected the lines of several beach balls in a a dot-to-dot sort of way – pure genius right? 🙂

In addition, I have a butterfly illustration that my dad drew while he was here for our little man to color. If I figure out how to do it, I hope to one day offer it as a free printable from my blog. My dad also drew some other illustrations that I’d love to share but first I need to learn how to do that on a blog. Once I do I’ll be sure to blog about it.

I video taped Peanut playing and towards the end you can hear where I ask him about the sound the letter “B” makes. You can hear my other little guy making noises in the background.

Video:

If you’re reading this blog via a reader, you can click here: B is for Blocks to watch the video on YouTube.

So my toddler’s favorites from the letter “B” were the blocks, basket and coloring. All of these things were items I already had around the house. It’s fun to be creative and find ways to make everything a game or something fun to play with.

I also created a slideshow using photos I’ve taken of some common items from around the house to help teach our little guy to look for words, how they are spelled, and how words are tied to objects. I sat him in my lap today and walked him through the slides. He recognized every object and could say it; but I hope to teach him how to spell it too. Of course, I love holding him so having in my lap while we looked at pictures was a high point in my day.

Just remember “B” is for blocks. Building blocks for learning. What a blessing and a privilege it is to be home with my boys.

In His Grip,

Monica