Once Upon A Book ~ Angelina Ballerina

Welcome to this week’s Once Upon A Book series! This month’s theme is sports, and for a girl I thought Angelina Ballerina “A Dance of Friendship” (ballet) was perfect!

A Dance of Friendship by Katharine Holabird

Summary: A Dance of Friendship is about a sweet pair of mice who are in ballet class together. Their friendship hits a rocky path due to some jealousy, but of course Angelina makes things right again and finds the perfect way to apologize to her best friend.

Verse: I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

Do-A-Dot activity: This game is easy and toddlers love the Do-A-Dot markers! Simply place one dot in each circle. When done, you’ll have a capital and lowercase letter B. (Download for entire tot pack at bottom of post)

Ballerina Cutting Practice: Cutting is such great practice for fine motor skills and hand – eye coordination. You may have to help hold the paper a bit just so they can get a clean cut.

Ballerina Coloring: Coloring is a great fine-motor activity. Make sure to encourage your toddler to color in as much as they can. You’ll notice the Ballerina Pack is about bears and not mice…I liked that B went with Bear and also Ballerina.

Pre-Writing Practice: This is also great for fine-motor and handwriting practice. Encourage your toddler to write on the lines, show them if necessary so they know what is expected. You’ll notice they tend to “color” on the lines instead of write a smooth stroke. Don’t worry, it is a natural progression!

Lacing practice: This is another great fine-motor skill activity, beads also work well. I suggest laminating the lacing cards so that they don’t tear. I also used a shoe-lace so that the end had that hard plastic on it. That helps them get the string through the holes.

Ballerina Magnet Page: For the magnet page, I found this cute little magnetic tray at a used curriculum fair. We use Power Magnets with it, and I direct her to put one magnet on each white dot.  Just keep an eye so that none make it in their mouths, magnets can wreak havoc on tiny bodies.

Letter B practice: These larger letters are great for toddlers, they allow for broad strokes, and you’ll notice she is still coloring over the lines as well.

Number order Puzzle: I had to recruit my preschooler for the number order puzzle, we counted together, but she did the puzzle while the Teeny Tot watched.

Ballerina Puzzle: Puzzles are excellent for building logical thinking skills! We’ve been doing some larger piece puzzles from Alphabet Alley as well so I think that’s helped, plus they are good, thick, and durable perfect for little guys.

Counting Practice: We did 1-5 today with the number cards. Count often with your toddlers, you’ll be surprised at how easily they pick it up! You can also have them add the correct number of cheerios or gold fish to each card, then they can eat their snack when done!

Size Sorting: Guide your toddler to order the pieces from small to large. Make sure to ask things like “Where is the small one? Where is the large one?” if they can’t answer you, point to the small one and say “This one is small, or smallest”. Then point to the large one and say “This one is large/big/biggest” etc. Then ask them again, and see if they can identify them by size. Once you have small and big, make sure to teach them about “medium and middle”

Ballet Letter Matching: For toddlers, point to each letter and say it’s name. Then point to the first one, say it’s name and then have them find the disk that matches. Make sure to show them how to put it on right side up as well.

Basic Pattern Activity: Pattern activities are a great way to get in some pre-math and logical thinking skills. I find it works best to point to each picture, and say something like “Arms up, arms down, arms up, arms down” what’s next? 

Capital Lowercase Sorting: For the Teeny Tot this went better as  a color sorting. We sorted the blue vs pink bears.

Dress Up: I had this cute dress-up bear from my bears post, I let her play with him. This is super easy to make, just cut a large bear shape out of brown cardstock and laminate. Then cut basic clothing shapes from fun colored felt. Add a few velcro dots to the bear and voila’ you’ve got yourself a dress-up bear!

Reading: Of course we read A Dance of Friendship, everyone gathered around for this! I was surprised at how still my tot sat! She tends to grab the books and turn pages, a little impatient, but she sat and listened to the whole thing. Make sure to read to your toddler each day, it’s a wonderful way to build language skills, and a love for reading at the same time! Plus, how often do we get to sit and just enjoy our toddlers?

Click here to download the Ballerina Activity Pack

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)?

Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Now I Know My ABC’s ~ Nn is for Nap

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

Summary: Grandma, little child and the family pets are all napping peacefully until the tiny flea wakes them all up. A fun, cumulative story that begs to be read again and again.
Letter Activities:

After reading The Napping House we talked about what time of day we usually sleep (the night). Is the sun out at night? (no) What is out at night? (moon, stars, owls, bats etc.) Then we reviewed some of the things we learned about the moon from the last letter lesson. Next I gave my girls a flashlight and had them go on a hunt for the letter Nn. (I had written the letters on paper and hung them in a dark room).

They shone their flashlights around the room until they found a letter. When they found the letter they had to make the letter sound in order to take the card off the wall. They also discovered they could make shadows and had fun coming up with various shadow creations.

We went over our letter N poem and handwriting sheet. My daughter usually traces the letters with her finger first and then traces with either a crayon or a big chunky pencil. 
Theme Activities:

I printed out the characters from The Napping House and we retold the story in the correct sequence.

Next we talked about animals that sleep during the day and animals that sleep at night. Animals that are awake at night are called nocturnal animals. Animals that are awake during the day are called diurnal animals.

Then we practiced matching the correct animals onto the right mat. After we had done that activity several times (over a course of a couple days) we sorted the whole collection of animal counters on the day/night mat. You can find the downloads for this activity on my ABC page under the Letter N printables.

Shannon wrote about a daytime/nighttime animal cut-n-paste sheet in a previous Totally Tots article. This would be a nice additional activity to include in this unit too.
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

Crafty Corner ~ Sports

 

Paint and Stuff Football from No Time for Flashcards

 

Bat & Ball from No Time for Flashcards

 

B is for Bat and Ball from Welcome to Our Wonderland

 

Sports Themed Picture Frame from the Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM

 

Super Bowl Trophy from No Time for Flashcards

 

Balloon Ball from Welcome to Our Wonderland

 

Do you share tot-friendly crafts on your blog? If so, please read here first and then email me (JennAtTotallyTots@gmail (dot) com)! I would love to add you to the "search" list for future posts! Do you have a sports themed craft on your blog that is not already linked here? Please feel free to share your craft by leaving the link to it in a comment!

 

Tots On A Mission to…Zimbabwe!

Are you ready for a new Tots On A Mission adventure? Today we are headed to Zimbabwe! Isn’t that fun to say?

The Setting

Zimbabwe is located in southern Africa and is completely surrounded by land. Zimbabwe lies on a high plateau, and its terrain consists primarily of grasslands bordered on the east by mountains. The northeastern border of the country is marked by the mighty Zambezi River, along which is located the beautiful Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba. The Zambezi has become one of the world's best water adventure travel destinations where whitewater rafting ,canoeing and kayaking are popular.

Family Life

The family is the foundation of Zimbabwean society. Marriage is an important rite of passage and a sacred practice. Through marriages the living are connected with their ancestors. Gender roles are defined within the family. Most ethnic groups have patriarchal (male-headed) families. In these, women play a subordinate role. They are expected to serve their husbands, work for them, and bear them children. However, women do have certain rights.

A typical family today is made up of a husband and wife and at least two children. Traditional families are big, including five or more children, plus grandparents and the children of relatives. Some men have more than one wife. It is not unusual to find a man with ten wives. Zimbabwean families, especially in the rural parts of the country, keep animals. Most animals are not just pets but serve other purposes. For instance, cats are kept to kill pests such as mice and rats. Dogs are used for protection and for hunting.

Zimbabwe is one of the very fortunate countries in southern Africa to have basic education, especially for young people. While there are still some people who cannot read or write, most people have at least three years of elementary education. Education is seen as valuable since it can be the way to a good job. Parents are usually willing to spend money on the education of their children as an investment in the future. Children are a form of social security system; they are expected to look after their parents in old age.

Children have their own forms of entertainment and hobbies. They watch television and listen to "top forty" radio. Most of the television programs, videotapes, and films come from Great Britain and the United States. As a result, young people dress like musicians and actors from these two countries and try to imitate their lifestyles. They also listen to local and regional pop artists, especially those from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Religion

History has altered traditional African life. Because of colonization, most Zimbabwean families live in two worlds: the African and the European (or Western). However, in their daily lives, Zimbabweans blend these two. So, while ancestor worship is the most common religious practice, Christianity and Islam are also observed. In fact, about 75 percent of the population observes either Christianity or Islam.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Zimbabweans.html#ixzz1O8dxU8bs

Prayers for Zimbabwe

You can thank God for:

*every Christian in Zimbabwe

*Christians who help the poor and care for those who are sick, unemployed or orphans

You can ask God:

*that He will be with missionaries, evangelists and church workers as they tell others the good news about Jesus

*that Christians will reach out to the many orphans, giving them love, care and hope in Jesus

*to give Christians hope and courage to trust Him even when they are sick, homeless or have no money

*to use Christian books, leaflets, radio and TV programs to help the people of Zimbabwe learn more about Jesus

Get Involved!

Find out more about:

~ Zimbabwe

~ Sponsor a child with World Vision

We’ve put together a printable about Zimbabwe for you all to use with your little ones as you pray for the country. Color in the flag, see where the country is located, and spell out the name of the country too. Keep it handy because it also has the things to thank God for about the country as well as prayer reminders.

See the rest of the countries that we've prayed for and download printables on the Tots on a Mission page.

There are so many ways to impact the world for the kingdom of God! Find out more in the book Window on the World!

Hope you enjoyed our short trip to Zimbabwe!

Treats 4 Your Tot

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!!!!

• MadeOn Hard Lotion…ends 7/10/11
• Montessori At Home…ends 7/3/11
• Kidzikoo…ends 7/5/11
• Prince Lionheart Balance Bike…ends 7/9/11
• DinkleDooz Cloth Diaper…ends 7/10/11
• Step 2 Soccer Goal…ends 7/11/11
• Little Looster…ends 7/11/11
• Chuggington Laptop…ends 7/11/11
• Zing Toys…ends 7/12/11
• Kidorable Towel…ends 7/13/11

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!

Get Real with God ~ Go Wash Your Hands!

Do you find yourself saying this as much as I do? When my children come in from playing outside they always want to come talk to me right away. They want to tattle or they want to tell me a funny story or they want to complain about a “buzzing sound” or some swing set injustice. Whatever it is, I find myself telling them to go wash their hands-FIRST. It’s almost like I can’t even hear them without clean hands. They aren’t thinking about all the dirt or sand or mud they are leaving on my walls and railings, they just want to be able to instantly tell me what’s on their mind.

The more I’ve heard myself saying this, the more the Holy Spirit has reminded me of this scripture in Psalms:

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his Salvation.”

Psalm 24: 3-5

How many times have I come to throne room, ready to tell the Lord what’s on my mind and I just walk in there and have at it. Blah Blah Blah Just like my children when they come in the house. But the Lord requires something more.

He is holy.

When we pray we are entering a Holy Place. We’ve got to wash the dirt of our day and of our minds off, before we start talking to Him.

For me this happens with confession. I am constantly aware of my shortcomings and my sins. Oh how I must disappoint the Lord sometimes. So I confess it all, and I repent. Then, before I make any requests, I praise Him. God is so good. He is so worthy to be praised! Praise pushes all of the “self” out of me, it cleans my heart and makes it pure.

Confession + Praise = Clean hands and pure heart

Now I’m ready to enter in. I’m ready to talk to the Lord, to tell Him what’s on my mind and in my heart and more importantly, He’s ready to hear me. And you know what happens, in the time it takes me to confess and pray, I usually forgot whatever the “urgent” thing was, because that urgent thing became so dim in the light of God’s presence in that throne room. Just like my children, who come in ready to tattle or complain, but the action of washing their hands makes them completely forget about it and instead they come to me smiling. Happy.

So next time you tell your children to go wash their hands, remember what scripture says:

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…”

Then take some time to get clean before you pray, the outcome will far out-weight the effort:

“He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his Salvation.”