Thursday, August 9, 2012

Fun with Learning: What Works for This Mom of Two Under Two

Levi began recognizing some of his colors several months ago.  So, as he showed interest I began having slightly structured learning time. (Think: Sitting down with his colorful blocks and teaching him to recognize one color at a time.) He loved it and, so far, can't get enough of "school." After breakfast he usually beats me to the punch and stands by our "school" cabinets, pointing and saying, "Levi's...School...Shapes...ABCBs!"
Each day Most days we work on:
  • Color Recognition: We review colors in a variety of ways. Sometimes using our Peter Rabbit book or Little People farm book. Sometimes we use the colored blocks I mentioned. But doing too much color naming was getting boring (for Levi and me). Some interactive color recognition activities Levi enjoys are his Color Gear Caterpillar, and a clothes pin/flash card match up. For the clothes pin game, I used flash cards I purchased at Wal-Mart, and colored the ends of some clothes pins to match. Levi chose a colored clothes pin, found the matching flash card, and clipped it on. This is a great fine motor activity as well.


He successfully matched up all of the colors!

  • Number Recognition/Counting: Levi really enjoys counting the numbers on the calendar. I help him point to each number, up to ten, and he counts as we point. This seems to be working well because he is beginning to recognize the number 3. We also count using his 1-10 nesting boxes and sometimes count items on our flash cards, in our Little People farm book, or our Peter Rabbit book.  And usually at least once a week, we count objects that he can step/jump on...hangers are a favorite! Sometimes we work counting into our day in other practical ways if there are many other things to accomplish throughout the house. For example, today, I gave him some "Gummies" for a snack and before he ate them we counted how many there were.

  • Shape Recognition: This is a BIG hit right now! I cut out different shapes, each has a small, medium, and large size, and each group of shapes is the same color. (The small, medium and large circles are all blue, etc.) I chose to laminate mine because of wear and tear. When he masters recognition of a shape I add it to the ones he has already mastered and scatter them all on the floor. I give the following commands (not all at once;) - "Jump on the big circle. Jump on the medium square. Jump on something yellow. Jump on the little star." We also use this as a "practicing obedience" game. He sometimes will stack the shapes from largest to smallest and soon we will begin sorting the shapes by size...all of the big shapes in one stack, all medium shapes in another, and all small shapes in another. The Little People farm book is also useful for shape recognition. The page with shapes is set at a farmers market. He finds a shape-item (for example, the watermelon is an oval) and then lifts the flap to see the shape drawn beneath the item. He enjoys shape puzzles of all sorts and loves to point out shapes we incounter each day (the oven looks like a square).

  • ABC's, recognizing one at a time for however many days/weeks it takes, making sure that as we go he still remembers the preceding letters. Nana gave Levi a book called, "A is for Apple," which has grooved letters that are perfect for tracing. We also love the book, "Corduroy's Alphabet Hunt." On each page we are asked to help Corduroy find items and then say what letter each item begins with. In the back there are textured flash cards that we use to practice recognizing the letters we have learned. Sometimes we flip through the rest of our flash cards, naming the letter and sound of each, and some days we just sing alphabet songs.

  • Etiquette: Numerous times a day we work on etiquette. After all, love is not rude, but kind, and etiquette is a way to teach children how to consider others before themselves. I keep this posted on my refrigerator.
  • Little Man Jobs: Each day, Levi is expected to put his toys where they belong, put napkins on the tables before meals, throw away his diapers (and sometimes Lyla's) in the Diaper Champ, throw away his trash, and put away the dish cloths and towels. We keep this posted as a reminder and he sometimes puts stickers by his jobs to check them off.  He also helps me switch the laundry over and put non-breakable dishes away. When Daddy grills it is Levi's job to hand him what he needs. Sometimes he "helps" sweep the floor, using his little broom.
Little Man Jobs Checklist

  • Scripture: This is by far the most important part of our learning because it is only from the Bible that we can gain true knowledge and wisdom. Each time we move on to a new letter, we memorize a verse that begins with that letter. In addition to those scriptures, we daily review Colossians 3:20 and Ephesians 2:8. It is amazing to see how he memorizes the scriptures, as long as Mama is there to fill in the articles :)! We also love to listed to Seeds Family Worship CD's. You can listen online here. You can also find printables to go along with the songs here.
We use this book for A to Z scripture. Each verse accompanies a short story. Levi loves to "retell" the stories!
In addition to these basics, I like to do a fun, creative project at least every two weeks! (I know it doesn't seem like much but with a 20-month-old and a 3-month-old creative projects can take more time!) We also like to learn on the go, making learning a part of life. When we go for a walk, we talk about street safety, fast and slow, stop signs, birds, bunnies, and whatever else we see. I know this post is long, but believe me, nothing on this list is extremely time consuming. Remember I usually pick one activity per section per day. It's just what has been working for us! In September or October we may begin to do some thematic units as Levi nears the age of two, and as we incorporate other foods into Lyla's diet, meaning we'll have a bit more times between feedings.
Lyla enjoying some tummy time while Levi practices with colors!


I'd love to hear how you incorporate learning into your toddler's day! Any tips on fun activities to do with an infant would be welcome as well!!!