Cute Tots

Tots sure are cute, aren't they? Be sure to click on the photos to visit the mom bloggers of these cute tots!

Is one of these tots your tot (or has your tot been featured as a Cute Tot in the past)? Grab this button for your blog to share with your readers...

<a href="http://totallytots.blogspot.com/search/label/Cute%20Tots" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Cute Tot" src="http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv250/carisafrank/cutetotfeature150.jpg" /></a>

Want to send in a photo of your Cute Tot? Click Here!

Once Upon A Book~Pet Show!

 

Pet Show! by Ezra Jack Keats 

Book Summary~Everyone is talking about the neighborhood pet show, and Archie can't wait. His friends are bringing dogs and birds, and he is going to enter the cat who lives near by. But when it's time to go, the cat is nowhere to be found. The contest is about to start. What can Archie do?

Bible Verse

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. (Genesis 1:24)

Math

Using our Education Cubes and Animal Counters, we played the Pets Grid Game from PreKinders.

 

We then used the Animal Countersto practice patterns.

Reading

 

I pulled out a Beginning Sounds file folder game from my Kindergarten teaching days and was pleasantly surprised to find out Jonah could do it independently. (The file folder game came from a pack of pre-made games that only required laminating and cutting~bought several years ago. I can't find the exact set this game is from on Amazon, but it is similar to this set.)

 

Field Trip/Vocabulary

Visit the local pet store! This was a fun little outing for Jonah. We looked at the adorable animals, but also walked through the pet care items and introduced a TON of vocabulary!  (For sanity reasons, I set the ground rules before entering about whining when leaving, asking for pets, etc. with the promise that if he did a good job, we would come back in the future.) My favorite part about this little "field trip" was that it was FREE! I only wish I had taken my camera!

 

Once we returned from the pet store, we used our experience to help sort animals into two categories~Pets or Zoo Animals. I used the Pets Theme Cards and the Safari Theme Cards from PreKinders. Later, I found Jonah practicing with his stuffed animals.

Glitter Germs~

 

In the book, Archie can't find the cat when it is time for the Pet Show to begin. He improvises, takes an empty jar and says his pet is a germ. It was a perfect time to do the "Glitter Germs" Activity and talk about germs! (Forgive me for not taking a picture, but glitter and a 4-year-old required lots of mommy supervision!)

 

Tt is for Tools ~Now I Know MyABC’s

Tap, Tap, Bang, Bang by Emma Garcia

Summary: I enjoyed reading this book because of the illustrations! They are so cheery and fun! A great way to introduce young children to the names of various tools.
Theme Ideas:
  I felt a little unprepared for this unit. At one time we had a ton of plastic tools and accessories around the house. I guess I got rid of them after my son grew to big for them. I did find an old tool box that I had picked up at the Dollar Store years ago.

So I filled the tool box up with the only kid-tools I had on hand--- the tools from our Melissa and Doug tool puzzle. I also added various things that were not tools in the box. My daughter separated them into two groups—tools and not tools. I knew this was an easy sorting activity for her, but she loved it. We went over each tool’s name as she placed it back onto the puzzle. After she was done with the activity, I found her carrying around that tool box for the rest of the day.

For an easy size sequencing activity, I pulled out some wrenches.

She put them in order from biggest to smallest and from smallest to biggest. To make it harder, I could have added in a couple more sizes.

Next we pulled out the tape measure and practiced measuring. I had my son help me measure our little tot.

He drew a line marking how tall she was and then I had her line up dominoes on the line. Then we counted the dominoes to see how many it took to equal her height. Besides being a great counting exercise, it also made her concentrate on lining objects up along a line. This was not an easy task but she worked hard at it and did a good job.

Of course we did our tool poem and handwriting page. You can find the download for this page under Letter T. For the actual letter practice, we stuck to some of our normal letter tools:
- rolling a Tt out of playdough
- writing the letter in the salt box
- cutting and pasting letter Tt pictures

There were so many directions I wanted to take this theme, but I just ran out of time! To see some other tool-themed resources, check out my Letter T Pinterest board.
Other ABC Resources
ABC Printables from Homeschool Creations
Letter of the Week Curriculum from COAH
ABC Flashcards and More from 1+1+1=1
ABC Letter Crafts
Songs for Saplings ABC Verses

Little Books for Little Cooks ~ Baby Blue Bird Nest

Baby Blue Bird Nest

Get a little messy making this yummy birdy treat!

The Book Before You Cook…

Baby Bird

by Joyce Dunbar

Summary: Follow along as a determined little birdie flops and falls many times before learning to fly.

When It’s Time to Cook…

You’ll need:

• wax paper
• cookie sheet
• Shredded Wheat cereal (grass)
• chow mein noodles (twigs)
• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (mud)
• 1 c peanut butter
• chocolate eggs

To Make:

1. Cover the cookie sheet with wax paper.
2. Break the Shredded Wheat into small pieces and melt the chocolate and peanut butter on low heat.
3. Mix the “grass”, “twigs”, and “mud” together and then form three mounds of the mixture on the wax paper.
4. Shape the mounds into nests and refrigerate until hardened.
5. Add the chocolate eggs and enjoy!

Little Books for Little Cooks is a monthly feature that focuses on creating some edible fun with your little one.   We will share a fun book to read with your little one along with a cooking activity to do that ties in with the featured book. Sometimes there may be actual cooking involved…and sometimes just fun!

What’s in the Tub ~ Fall Theme

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

What’s in the Tub?: 

• Silk leaves ~ I wrote fall words on some of the leaves with a Sharpie (Fall, acorns, apples, leaves, pumpkins, harvest, rake, yellow, orange, and red) 
• felted acorns ~ these are super easy to make! (Here is a great tutorial)
• decorative apples
• mushrooms (which are drawer pulls that I painted)
• acrylic mini leaves (I got mine from Michaels)
• acrylic mini pumpkins (also from Michaels)
• feline fancy buttons
• Indian corn (from our local farmers market)

So, what fun things did we do with the tub? 

• We counted leaves, pumpkins and apples
• Worked on reading the words written on the leaves
• Pretended we were squirrels and searched for things to eat (acorns, mushrooms, Indian corn, and apples)
• Played I spy
• Worked on sequencing

• Put the acorns in order by size

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.

Cute Tots Coming Soon

It's been awhile since we have shared your Cute Tots, but the day is arriving soon! If you'd like to share your tot & blog with our awesome group of readers here at Totally Tots, please go here and see how!

We are sharing Cute Tots on Friday, September 30!!!

If you’d like your tot to be included please get your email/photo to me ASAP…at least by Wednesday 9/28! If you sent your tot in and your photo has NOT been featured yet, please resend a new photo and blog link!

Looking forward to seeing your Cute Tots and visiting your blogs!

Treats 4 Tots

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!!!!

• Fall Book from Musings of Me…ends 9/28/11
• Boca Beth Spanish…ends 10/8/11
• Weekly Homeschool Planner…ends 10/1/11
• It Couldn't Just Happen…ends 9/26/11
• Preschool Puzzles & Games…ends 9/30/11
• Bumbleride Stroller…ends 9/30/11
• Baby Bjorn Miracle Carrier…ends 10/1/11
• Umi Shoes…ends 10/2/11
• Thomas Train Set…ends 10/3/11
• Scuttle Bug Ride On Toy…ends 10/4/11
• Loopers…ends 10/4/11

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!