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Compassion

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Treats 4 Your Tot

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Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

Bolded are items we personally own and love!  If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Once Upon A Book ~ H is for Homerun

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Book Summary: With this book, you not only stroll through the alphabet, you also learn about baseball history, technique, and players. This is a book that uses alliteration to teach the alphabet, baseball style. The illustrations are beautiful!

Bible Verse: The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
 
Math:
Baseball Jersey Button Counting: Count buttons to match the numbers on the baseball jersey.
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Baseball Size Sequence: Place the baseballs in order by size.
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Baseball Dot Counting/Number Match: Count the dots on the glove and match it to the corresponding baseball number.
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Baseball Hat Patterns: I used Unifix Cubesto make a pattern. Then, Jonah had to use the baseball hat cards to copy my pattern. (These were extra cards left over from the ABC Baseball Hats that I printed. I couldn't bear to waste them!)
Baseball Hat Patterns


Language:
ABC Baseball Hats: Place the ABC Baseball Hats in ABC order. (I printed two sets and we played a matching game, too.)
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Large Motor Skills:
You can't do a baseball theme without practicing throwing and hitting! We enjoyed some outside time practicing our baseball skills.

Coloring: 
I found a Baseball Printable Coloring Page (link below). There were several to choose from. I let Jonah pick his favorite to print and color. This seemed to help him stay interested in coloring (he's not a big fan of coloring, but it is a skill we need to work on).
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Snack Ideas: 
Make homemade pretzels or eat ice cream from a "hat bowl" saved from a baseball game.
 
Family Fun Night:  
We have a local Minor League team in our town, so we enjoyed a night of baseball, stadium snacks, and fireworks!
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Printable Resources Used:
Sara

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Little Hands-On abc's and 123's - ABC Prewriting Center

little handson Abc 123

My daughter writes a lot of stories.  I have set her up with a writing folder to keep her blank papers and finished stories organized. This made me think about my almost two year old and how I could set up a similar idea for him.

I came up with the ABC prewriting center:
markers, ABC stickers, blank paper, a basket full of foam and magnetic letters, ABC stamps and an ink pad
  It's very simple.
  Yet very engaging.
  It was just a matter of taking things I already had and putting them all at his reach in one place.
 
 

Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s is a bi-monthly feature that focuses on practical and simple ideas that you can do at home to help your tot develop their letter and number skills.



Julie Signature Button

Little Hands-On abc's and 123's - ABC Prewriting Center

little handson Abc 123

My daughter writes a lot of stories.  I have set her up with a writing folder to keep her blank papers and finished stories organized. This made me think about my almost two year old and how I could set up a similar idea for him.

I came up with
the ABC prewriting center:
markers, ABC stickers, blank paper, a basket full of foam and magnetic letters, ABC stamps and an ink pad
   It's very simple.
   Yet very engaging.
   It was just a matter of taking things I already had and putting them all at his reach in one place.
 
 
Little Hands-on ABC’s and 123’s is a bi-monthly feature that focuses on practical and simple ideas that you can do at home to help your tot develop their letter and number skills.

Julie Signature Button

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Play With Me ~ Guidecraft Water & Bead Blocks

Not long ago we shared with you some fun uses for Guidecraft Rainbow Blocks. This month our Play With Me toys are a set of wooden blocks with a colorful twist ~ Crystal Bead Blocks and Shimmering Water Blocks from Guidecraft. collageThe Bead Blocks and the Water Blocks both come in a set of eight blocks per package ~ four rectangle blocks and 4 half circle blocks in the colors of red, yellow, green and blue. They are made from hardwood with acrylic centers. The beads inside are colored plastic and the water blocks have added glitter inside to make them shimmer. 

Other than building, here are some creative ways to play with the Crystal Bead Blocks and Shimmering Water Blocks.

Observe! ~ What does the world through a different colored lens?

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Stack and balance ~ see how tall you can make your block pile grow! Have fun balancing the different block shapes too for an added challenge.

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Try to get all of the beads in a single layer ~ a fun challenge for little ones!

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Have fun measuring different things around the house ~ including your tot!

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Let the animals have some fun ~ Set up some feeding troughs and water holes for your animals and people!

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Sort by color and shape.

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Put together 3 letter words ~ use letters to put together small words inside the rectangles.

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Crystal Bead Blocks and Shimmering Water Blocks can be purchased directly from the Guidecraft website, via their NEW Facebook page, or from Amazon. Be sure to check out their Rainbow Blocks too ~ we LOVE those!!

Much thanks to Guidecraft who provided this toy for us to use and review as a part of the Guidecraft Mom Bloggers team.

Monday, July 25, 2011

What’s in the Tub ~ All About Me

Next month our theme at Totally Tots is All About Me.  Here are some ideas for you to use in a sensory tub with your little one to explore the theme up close and personal.   

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What’s in the Tub?: 

  • blue rice (which is Aiden’s favorite color)
  • wooden tree (a branch from the yard would also work)
  • pictures of family members, with a hole punched at the top and string attached.
  • pictures of our pets
  • alphabet wooden beads
  • our phone number on a piece of laminated paper
  • magnetic numbers to practice making our phone number
  • sea shells with letters written on them
  • a few of Aiden’s favorite things; car, boat, miniature fishing pole, and a small bat and ball

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Aiden’s favorite activity was looking for family members and adding them to our “family tree”.IMG_5681

He worked on spelling out a few family members names ~ of course he picked dad first.

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This was a fun tub to put together and Aiden enjoyed that it was “All About Him”.

What’s in the Tub? is a feature that focuses on fun sensory tub ideas to go along with the monthly theme at Totally Tots.   Click here to see past sensory tub ideas.

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Treats 4 Your Tot

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Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

Bolded are items we personally own and love!  If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!