Tot School Tuesday: Puzzles

Zeke has really gotten obsessed with puzzles lately. He has always enjoyed puzzles, but the past few months he has been working puzzles like crazy! I need to get him some new ones soon. Teaching toddlers how to work puzzles is such an important skill - critical thinking, problem solving, visual discrimination, and fine motor just to name a few!

Age 1

When Zeke was a year old, he had several Melissa and Doug puzzles. These puzzles had around three or four pieces, each with chunky handles that he could grip easily. I would help him put the puzzles in the correct slots at first, and eventually he would remember where each piece went. It helps when the puzzles have a picture in the slot of what the puzzle piece looks like - then it's just picture matching! Here are few puzzles that we had and loved:

Age 2

When he was around two years old, we began working harder puzzles. They were still wooden, and mostly Melissa and Doug because their quality is fabulous. There are so many different themes of puzzles - alphabet, numbers, animals, anything you could want. We have tons of puzzles that he loved to work. Again, most of these were picture matching. The manipulation to get the small pieces in the slots is a great fine motor work out! We would use these in many ways, including learning words, numbers, and letters. He still uses his alphabet and number puzzles but has moved on from this style for the most part. Here are a few that we had and loved:

When he was nearing three, I introduced two piece puzzles to him. He loves these puzzles! They were usually matching colors, shapes, numbers, or pictures. At first I would put the two pieces beside each other and he would fit them together. This showed him how the jigsaw puzzles work. He learned how to arrange them so they would go together. Then I started mixing up three or four of these two-piece puzzles for him to figure out which ones went with which. This was great for beginning puzzle skills! Here are a few of the puzzles I bought. I got most of these from TJ Maxx for around $5 a set, but they are also available on Amazon.

Age 3

Now that he is older and the wooden puzzles were no longer a challenge for him, I started buying some 12 and 16 piece puzzles on cardboard boards from the Dollar Store (the only place I can find them). It was more challenging for him to work these puzzles, especially since there is no picture to go by! However, I would help him with it the first several times and then he could do them on his own. Now we have started buying some of the 24 piece puzzles in the boxes, and he can do these puzzles on his own! I always do it with him the first two or three times, and once he gets a grasp on what the picture looks like he doesn't need help. I've tried teaching him about edge and corner pieces to help him get started, and I think he's starting to understand that concept. 

As Zeke gets older, his puzzles will get harder and more advanced. For his birthday this fall, I'm planning to purchase some large floor puzzles that I think he will really enjoy! What sort of puzzles do your children enjoy?

Tot School Tuesdays: Using Trays

We've always used trays in our tot school activities! When Zeke was around 16 months old, we began tot school. I would have one activity per day for him to explore and I always presented these activities on trays. There are several reasons I think using trays is helpful for toddlers and preschoolers.

Presentation

I know you think your child is just a toddler so why would they care about presentation? Trust me - it matters! When Zeke would wake up to a beautiful tray full of an inviting activity, he was more excited to sit and engage with that activity. Interesting presentations always grabbed his attention and spurred on his creativity. 

The first tray I used was from the Dollar General that I purchased for around $5.00. It worked so well that I purchased another! I have also bought some from Amazon and repurposed Melissa and Doug wooden trays from our toys. Some of the Melissa and Doug trays make really great sorting and classifying trays with their different compartments! I've also picked up some plastic trays meant for chips and dip from the Dollar Tree that we have used for sorting.

Containment 

Besides an aesthetic element, the tray does have a helpful purpose. It keeps the activity (mostly) contained to the tray. Instead of being spread all over a table or the floor or both, your child will likely keep all of the pieces inside the tray. When Zeke began using his tot trays, one thing I taught him was that the activity needed to stay on the tray. It didn't take long for him to understand, even though he was a year and half old. This really cut down on the mess and made it easy to put everything back when we were finished.

Availability

Having the activity contained on a tray allows me to leave the activity out for most of the day. Zeke will usually come back to an activity several times a day. When he is finished playing, the pieces to the activity are still on the tray so I can leave it on a table or move it to his shelf. He knows he is able to go back to the activity to play some more whenever he wants to. I don't feel the need to clean up the activity because it's on one tray and I don't have to worry about leaving a mess just so he can repeat an activity at his leisure. 

As we have moved more from tot school into a modified preschool, I still find the trays helpful. I love setting up tray activities for him to do and he loves having the activities on the trays. I usually put several trays on a shelf for him now as opposed to the one tray a day he did when he was younger. I feel like learning how to use a tot tray when he was younger has really helped prepare him for a shelf of activities now that he's a bit older. He knows he is allowed one tray at a time and that he must make sure all of the parts go back on the tray if he takes them off before placing the tray back on the shelf.

Tot trays are so much fun to set up and so helpful for keeping your toddler busy. Do you use tot trays with your child?

Tot School Tuesday - Matching

Matching is similar to sorting, but it's a totally different skill set that can be practiced in many ways. Matching is important for visual discrimination, language building, noticing patterns, and teaching focus.

Zeke loves matching activities. There are so many things you can provide for your child to match:

• colors
• shapes
• animals
• numbers 
• letters
• pictures
• shadows
• sizes
• socks

We do a lot of hands-on matching activities, but I also create plenty of matching worksheets for Zeke to use. He loves cutting and gluing, so I try to incorporate that into his tot school. He loves to match color pictures to their black and white outlines, which is a great visual discrimination skill. We also do shape matching worksheets, color matching worksheets, and shadow matching worksheets. 

Here are few of Zeke's matching activities that he enjoyed.

He is matching farm animals to picture cards I created.

I used a sand sensory tray and some starfish shape cards to make this matching activity.

I used our alphabet flashcards and Learning Resources letters for Zeke to match.

He is matching pom poms to ice cream scoops. This is available in my Etsy shop.

He loves Fruit Loops! He matched the cereal to the same color of the rainbow.

He used dot markers to dot the matching ice cream scoops.

I love these shadow puzzles from Voila! This is a great visual discrimination toy.

He matched his Melissa and Doug wooden cards to flashcards I created.

I love clothespin activities! He matched the clothespins colors to the bear card.

These are just a few of the matching activities Zeke has done. When he was younger, we would do these almost every day. Look around your house for items you can let your child match. Colored bears to pieces of felt? Animals to matching animal print fabric? Cereal to colored paper?

What has your child matched lately? 

Tot School Tuesday - Sorting

It's Tot School Tuesday, and today I'll be talking about sorting activities. These are some of the first activities I introduced to Zeke when he was around 18 months old, and he still enjoys them at 3 years old!

WHAT IS SORTING? 

Sorting is classifying objects based on their attributes. The most common categories of sorting for toddlers and preschooler are sorting by color, shape, and size. 

WHY IS SORTING IMPORTANT?

When your child sorts they are actually working on beginning math skills. Learning to sort objects is important because your child is comparing similarities and differences in the attributes of objects and grouping like objects together.  

This is also a great visual discrimination exercise! Visual discrimination skills are important skills to have when your child begins learning math and reading. It's important for your child to be able to decide which objects belong in sets. 

WHAT SHOULD MY CHILD SORT?

You can literally sort anything! Household objects are great for sorting activities because it brings real-life into play. Sorting laundry, utensils, or canned goods are all easy ways to work on this skill.

I'm also going to list some ideas for each of the three top sorting categories I mentioned above - color, shape, and size.

SORTING BY COLOR

I provided an empty popsicle mold and craft sticks for Zeke to sort.

This is the first sorting activity Zeke did, and I introduced two colors at a time for him to sort. It did take a few tries before he understood what to do, but it wasn't long before he was sorting the six main colors.

Zeke sorted buttons onto these colored pumpkins available in my Etsy shop.

A few ideas for sorting by color:

• counting bears
• linking cubes
• crayons or markers
• pom-poms
• craft sticks
• toy cars
• buttons

I always provided the same-colored bowls or cups for Zeke to sort items into. You could also use colored paper, felt, or foam for sorting mats. Once they master sorting by color, you can provide a sectioned tray for your child to use.

Zeke sorted bugs into colored paper cups.

SORTING BY SIZE

This is an activity I introduced to Zeke once he was 2 years old. Sorting by size takes a little more critical thinking, but it's a great early math activity! I started out with two sizes - big and small. Now Zeke sorts three or more sizes at a time. This is also a great opportunity to learn some vocabulary - small, medium, large.

Zeke sorted dinosaurs by large and small.

A few ideas for sorting by size:

• plastic animals
• pom-poms
• craft sticks
• rocks
• buttons
• fruit 
• blocks

I usually provide a sectioned tray for Zeke to sort by size. I always put one small object in one section and one large object in another. He could usually figure out what to do without any direction from me.

I used this dividing tray for sorting buttons into three sizes.

SORTING BY SHAPE

We didn't start sorting by shape until Zeke was 2 1/2 years old. I did the same thing that I did with colors - I started with two shapes and gradually added more. This is how Zeke learned all of his shape names.

Contact paper and magformers made a fun activity!

A few ideas for sorting shapes:

• Magformer Magnetic blocks (triangle, square, hexagon)
• buttons 
• legos (rectangle, square)
• foam stickers
• felt pieces cut into shapes
• pattern blocks
• plastic gems
• pieces from a shape-sorter

I made this sorting box from an old box and buttons.

Remember to start out with just two or three categories so your child doesn't get overwhelmed. You can eventually add in more and it will be a fun challenge. Zeke can now sort things by type, like coins or different types of animals. What's the neatest thing your child has sorted?

Tot School Tuesdays - Transferring Objects

Tot School Tuesday is when I share tips and ideas for tot school. Zeke is 3 years old so technically he is still considered a toddler. We do some preschool work as well. Today I'm going to talk about transferring and why it's an important skill.

Transferring is exactly what it sounds like - it's transferring objects from one container to another. We have done this is many different ways. There is no right or wrong way to practice this skill!

Transferring is important because it helps build the fine motor muscles in your child's hand needed to do harder tasks later on - cutting with scissors, writing with a pencil, and buttoning their own clothes. It's also an easy way to practice crossing the midline (which is also exactly what it sounds like - crossing from one side of the body to the other).

An invitation for Zeke to transfer plastic bugs with tongs onto bottle caps

You can introduce transferring activities to your child as young as a year old. Zeke began transferring objects with his hands at about that age. The older they get, the bigger variety of transferring tools you can offer. Transferring tools can be as simple as a spoon or as complex as a pair of tweezers. You can find many great tools at your dollar store - mini tongs, large plastic serving spoons, kid's plastic tweezers, magnetic wands, and even salad servers. In fact you may have many of these at home!

Zeke (3) transferring cotton balls with tongs

Zeke (18 months) transferring cotton balls with a spoon

There are so many options for what your child can transfer, too! A few of the things we have transferred are:

• dried beans
• cotton balls
• pom poms
• water
• plastic animals
• glass beads
• wooden eggs
• rice
• rocks and pebbles
• beads
• buttons
• jingle bells
• plastic gems
• small pinecones

To introduce transferring to your toddler, simply gather two small containers, a transferring tool, and objects to transfer! If your child is new to this activity, be sure to begin with something easy. Cotton balls and a spoon work well for the first time. If they resort to using their hands, let them! You want your child to be comfortable with this activity before making it a bit challenging.

Zeke (2.5) transferring colored water with syringes

Even though Zeke has been transferring objects for about two years now, he still enjoys the activity and reaps benefits each time. I've watched him go from using his hands to learning how to manipulate a pair of tongs and move objects! We continue to transfer objects because it's continually building those fine motor muscles! 

Zeke (2) transferring rocks with a spoon

What objects has your toddler transferred?

Tot School Week in Review - "Pizza" by Frank Asch

This week we had another simple week of tot school with Zeke. I'm still busy planning for and preparing our homeschool curriculum for this year. We will be starting homeschool August 9! 

One of Zeke's favorite books is "Pizza" by Frank Asch, so I decided to create a book companion to go along with it! This is available in my Etsy shop for $3.00 as a digital download, or it's free to my existing blog subscribers. Subscribe to my blog to receive exclusive free printable resources!

This week-long unit has a five-day lesson plan, but feel free to use these resources however you wish! Here is an overview of our week, and you'll get to see exactly what you'll be receiving with this download.

Monday:

Today we talked about circles. There is a page in the book that says the moon, the car tires, and the manhole covers reminded Baby Bear of pizza. We discussed how that was because they were circles! 

First we did some circle stamping using different sized plastic lids. Zeke really enjoyed this activity and stamped the entire outside of his paper!

Next he did a cut-and-glue worksheet matching circle-shaped objects to their outlines. This is a great visual discrimination activity that Zeke and I do quite a bit.

Tuesday:

Today we talked about pizza toppings. The bears ordered a cheese pizza, but you can discuss your family's favorite pizza toppings. 

We did another cut-and-glue worksheet matching pepperoni shapes to their outlines. It was a quick way to name shapes Zeke already knows and introduce shapes he isn't familiar with (like the trapezoid).

He also colored his P is for Pizza worksheet, but he wouldn't trace the letters. He loves tracing, so I'm not sure why he refused to do this. Oh well!

He also colored his own placemat like Baby Bear did in the restaurant. This can be laminated and used as a placemat with your supper! We took a trip to our local pizza place in town for lunch. 

Wednesday:

Today we talked about all of the strange toppings the aliens put on their pizzas. Zeke traced the numbers 1-10 (and did an excellent job, may I add!) and then dotted each pepperoni with a red dot marker. He did such a good job and it was a great way to get in some counting practice.

Next he traced the lines from the pizzas to the letters. He can trace so well for a 2 1/2 year old! 

We then worked on scissor skills. He does not have great scissor control yet, but he can snip. Then he finishes off by tearing the paper! A cute little story - he calls cutting "scissoring." 

Thursday:

We combined two days into one day today. First Zeke glued paper cut outs to the pizza template to make his own pizza! He stayed very focused and glued every single piece on his pizza. I told him he didn't have to use all of the pieces and he said, "Yes. I do."

He also made a breakfast foods collage from pictures I cut out out of magazines. Baby Bear doesn't want any of the breakfast options his mom and dad give him because all he wants is pizza! We had fun naming each of these breakfast foods.

Other Activities:

Of course we do tons more activities each week. Zeke loves to do tot school! He loves these two-piece puzzles and put them together several times this week. 

He also enjoys this button art toy, which is a great fine motor and visual discrimination activity. He doesn't pull it out as much as some of his other toys, but I'm always excited when he does.

He also did some water play this week. This was super simple set up, just using an ice cube tray, a syringe, and colored water. I asked him to fill each of the tray compartments with water. He stayed focused for awhile with this activity!

He also played with this busy bag. I put in a six-trayed paint palette along with some cards I created that have different colored circles. Zeke had to use the palette as a sort of grid and match the colors that are on the cards. He did really well with this, although I had to help quite a bit at first. A few more times and he probably won't need any help.

If you'd like to purchase this digital download, click here to go to my Etsy shop! Have you read this book before? Are you familiar with Frank Asch?