Morning Well Spent

We've been busy getting Zilla into his new school routine which often has left Mega craving attention. She truly misses playing with him before/after school. I've been trying to be more intentional about setting aside time to play following her lead. Today she decided we'd build. There are so many lessons that can be learned from a morning spent playing with Legos. Fine motor skills, creativity, math skills... It is a classic activity for a reason!

Stencil Era

Zilla is 4 years old

A couple of weeks ago Zilla leaped into an era of loving stencils.  He found the couple that I had sitting in the art drawers and from his excitement you'd think he found gold!

One problem he quickly discovered is that stencils move when you are using them.  While you can use your hand to hold them in place, he thought that tape would work better.  However, tape would rip the paper so we settled on using blue tack / poster putty.  It worked out rather well!

After seeing he was really ready for them I pulled out the set I've been saving for this day.  It is an inexpensive one from Oriental Trading but with careful handling it works very well!

After a bit of using the stencils to create the intended designs he figured out that he can parts of various stencils combined together to make an original design.  He also discovered that markers, particularly thin ones, work better than crayons.

Heartfully Busy

There is a Japanglish/Engrish word - heartfully - which I have taken a liking to.  I think the English translation would be something like "full of heart/passion/feeling" but with these kinds of words it is hard to know for sure!
Over the past couple of weeks life has been busy so our schedule fell apart completely.  Part of it is my fault because I've been too tired to care.  It is easier to let the kids play freely than to make sure things are picked up, the activity shelf is organized and we stick to a routine.  Even in the midst of the chaos we've managed to "learn" some things!

A Valentin's Day snack/activity

"iChat" with...??? I think they started with "talking" to the grandparents and then  switched to various other relatives and friends!

Watching something on TV... most likely a couple of Valentine's Day specials (they were on DVD, not TV).

My grand plan was to have the kids make cards.  The kids had about 30 minutes of interest and then they were so over it!  Next time I'll have them make 1 card and then copy it to send to everyone.  The other problem is that I haven't sent any of the cards yet! Oops...

Zilla's new book of mazes.  The geographic theme goes well with the world map on the wall.

Their first "kids only" movie time - Whinnie the Pooh - and popcorn!

 Amazingly the pencils in the pringles can is still a popular activity!

Mega love to pour things.  Here she is pouring pompoms from a plastic bottle into a bowl. 

The train is always a favorite.  It seems like each month they get a little closer to being able to play with it together with minimal fighting.  Right now the biggest challenge is helping Mega to be aware of where her body is and how it can break apart the track!

Pencils and Dominos

Miss Mega is 1 year 2 months old

Zilla is 4 years 0 months old

Both kids have recently found new hobbies.  Zilla's came in the form of a birthday gift - a set of dominos.  These are not the playing kind, though you could probably use them for the game.

We learned pretty quickly that this is an activity best done while Mega is napping!


Here is a quick video of the first domino arrangement we made.

Miss Mega's new hobby is putting (unsharpened) pencils through small holes in the lid of a Pringles can.  To make this simple toy use a hole punch to put about 3 holes in the lid of a Pringles can.  If the hole is a bit small for your pencils you can stretch it our by pushing a pen through the hole.


She see is hard at work.  This has been on the activity shelf for nearly a month now and she still spends 15-20 minutes a day with it. This video was taken when she was just starting out, now has figured out how to open and close the lid on her own too.
In this video Mega signs "please" (flat hand making a circle on her chest) as well as "thank you" (flat hand going from her mouth down) as she tries to share with us what she is thinking.

Cutting and Time

Miss Mega is 1 year 1 month old

Zilla is 3 years 11 months old

Two of the things which Zilla has really enjoyed working on this week are his cutting activities and practicing with the clock to learn about time.

Each day there is one cutting activity from the Kumon Cutting book in his drawer.   I could print up and prepare my own things for him but this book has better variety and the order of progression is well thought out.  In this picture above Zilla is working on cutting out a mobile.  Mega of course does not want to be left out so with a play dough plastic scissors and origami paper she works quietly by his side.

Zilla's other main interest (and by association Mega's too) is working with the clocks.  We have a Sesame Street Flip-and-Learn chart which includes pages such as counting, seasons, days of the week and this particular page.  Here we see what happens at different times of the day.  Each picture includes a clock so Zilla is going from morning to night matching the times to his clock. On nice thing about this clock is that it winds like a real clock.  It also has a window beneath the dial where you can see the time in digital-style numbers.  This can be used to check and see if the hands have been moved to the correct place.
Hopefully in the next week or so we will be able to put together our own chart, complete with clocks, showing a "normal" day at our house!

Crinkly Fun

Babes love noise, texture and challenges.  Here is an activity with plastic-like origami paper in an old tissue box.  This is something which Miss Mega essentially created on her own from items we have within her reach.

Boredom Buster

This week has been very stressful and it is only Tuesday.  Some of the stress is a carry-over from Saturday when we had an "everything that can go wrong, will" kind of day.

The main reason for the stress is toddler boredom.  The main reason for the boredom seems to be that the Little Guy has mastered all of the activities I have on hand.  Until I have time to make/get some new ones I'm pulling out a few of the classics to keep him occupied.

balance moon game

This is great because you can play it by yourself or with a group.

magnifying match

I saw this on another blog but can't remember where.  The idea is to use to magnifying glass to look at a small picture and them match it to the corresponding large picture.

pattern practice - using colored spools to follow a pattern on the card and the recreate it on a b/w card (this counts as preschool math... I wish algebra had been this much fun!)

Having something new to do made such a huge difference in the way we started our day.  It set the tone and pace for a nice, productive day!

Painting with Watercolors

It's been hot outside, too hot to play on most days so we've been enjoying some inside activities. One of the Little Guy's favorite is painting.

These paints came with a Care Bear painting book from Grandma and Grandpa. We don't have an art corner set up right now so art activities are usually on request at the table after supper. The Little Guy can see where some of the art supplies are kept so he is very comfortable asking for them. Eventually I hope to get a full art area arranged.

Lacing Cards

Thanks to a heat wave we've been spending more time indoors this week than normal. While the Little Guy can manage staying indoors his brain needs extra stimulation to make up for the lack of physical movement.

This is an activity that I was saving for after the baby is born but we needed something new at the end of yesterday so I brought it out a little early.

These cards came in a set with the lacing strings from Trend. I believe they are an older version of the current product that that Trend sells.

I love that the cards are strong cardboard. They won't bend unless mistreated. Also, the strings are plenty long and have ends like shoe laces to prevent fraying and make it easier for little hands to thread through holes.
The Little Guy surprised me when we first got them out by requesting a blue string to go with the red dog. When I asked why he pointed at the cover of the box. Keep in mind this is a new activity for him and he had only seen the box in passing. His memory for detail is becoming pretty impressive!

After "sewing" for a while he then strung together 3 of the animals, also like the cover on the box, and declared them to be a kite. Tonight he asked for the activity again after supper so he could show Daddy how to do the lacing.

I think we have discovered a new favorite activity!

Shodo

Since we have unpacked but not everything has found a home yet the Little Guy is finding new things to try that I wouldn't normally think of giving to a 2.5 yr old!

This is a mini shodo (Japanese calligraphy) set that I got from a Scholastic order a few years back. It is rather realistic in that you have to grind the ash stick and add water to make the ink. I have things for regular shodo but this is better fitted to little hands.
Once we got everything set up and the ink made the drawing fun began! WE started out with careful attention being paid to style and procedure. After about five minutes though the writing turned into free painting.

I think this is a new favorite activity because at least twice today I was asked about doing it again. Perhaps tomorrow?

New Shelves

The Little Guy took a long nap today and I had a short one which meant I had time to get some cleaning and organizing done without his assistance.

This is a color matching activity that has been waiting to be assembled. These are little clothes pins from the 100 yen shop ($1 store) with flowers of various colors on the end.

The activity is set up with 1 clothes pin of each color on a piece or cardboard and the corresponding color in a little cup. The goal is to place matching clothes pin on the other end of the cardboard.

The matching part was easy but the little guy had to think a bit about how to get the flowers to face the same direction. He decided at one point that they look better on the white side of the cardboard so he had to change them all to match!

During the long nap I was able to finally get our shelves set up. It only took 2 months since we moved... but hey, it is ready now, right?

The work shelves are in the kitchen/dining area. The art supplies will also go someplace near by. Today while we were making supper the Little guy happily worked on his things. He also did one activity after eating before heading off to the other room for some free play.

I think this new arrangement will work well!

Puzzle Time

Last week the Little Guy was recovering from a bad stomach bug. Since he was into doing things that didn't include running around we were able to have some nice, quiet puzzle time!

These were his first puzzles. I can remember him really having to think about how they matched. This time it took him about 1 minute to do them all!

He's becoming more and more aware of the alphabet and recognizing a few of the letters. This puzzle has been waiting in the closet for the past year. He can only handle one line at a time right now. It is good to see him actually have to work to solve a puzzle!

This is how I store the puzzles. They are each in a case of some kind to the pieces don't get lost when they are put in the closet drawer.
This shape puzzle was a challenge a few months ago but now it's simple as can be. The next step will probably be working on learning the names of the shapes and matching them in various activities.

This is the "too advanced" category. I got a couple of puzzles from the 100 yen shop which have great pictures and content but way too many pieces for now. The Little Guy very energetically took the puzzle apart but just couldn't muster the focus to put it together again. Maybe in another half year or so?

Shape Matching

One of the fun parts of moving is rediscovering old activities. Here is one that we picked up last summer when the Little Guy was too little to really enjoy it. I knew that some day he would understand what to do and it seems that the day has come!

This is the 3D Feel and Find from Guide Craft. エド・インターに似ているの物あります。

The set comes with durable, wooden pieces which each have a matching plate with a cut-out of the shape.

Here you can see the Little Guy reaching into the bag to take out a piece.

He then matches the piece to the plate on the table. To add a little more challenge we then worked together to separate the pieces into living and non-living categories. In the Little Guys's mind it was "shapes" and "zoo things" since you can see animals, trees and people at the zoo.

When he finished sorting the stacking blocks came out. Hmm... what's up?

Aparently after sorting the shapes they needed to disappear! In my mind that would include putting them bag in the bag and into the closet. In his mind that meant covering them up!

New Sorting Activity

As I've mentioned in previous posts we moved recently so since I've been busy taking care of various things the Little Guy has been busy creating his own activities. Here is the one from this morning...

It's our Chinese Checkers board game set (which he calls "the balls") and 6 little plastic containers that have yet to find a permanent use. He started out by sorting the colors and ended by making color mixes.

My contribution was to put down a sticky mat to help prevent the balls rolling away. You'd be amazed at the places we found some of the balls during our move!!!

Buckel Practice

One of the Montessori items that I've wanted to buy but maybe could make is the dressing frames. Here is a Japanese page with the frames pictured at the bottom.

When I was a kid we had "quiet books" and a stuffed bus with buttons, zipper, etc. These items served the same purpose as the dressing frame but in a less obvious way.

During the past few weeks the Little Guy has become Daddy's personal dressing assistant. He really loves belts. I guess he beat me to the dressing frames!

One of the biggest benefits to the dressing frames is practicing fine motor skills. Unless you've had some sort of rehabilitation as an adult you probably don't realize how tough things like buttons and zippers really are!

Also, when the child masters a frame the sense of accomplishment is huge! Dressing skills are something they will use daily. Plus parents will enjoy the benefits that the added independence brings!

Fine Motor Skills 細かい運動のスキル

Recently the little guy has been showing interest in refining his fine motor skills. Here are a couple of activities that he's been working on.

This is actually a peg game that I've had sitting around. On the activity shelf the pegs are in the green dish with the triangle board next to it.

The point is to place all of the pegs in the holes on the board. Once the board is filled the pegs should go back into the green dish.
Another favorite activity is the wooden ring stacking "light house" from Ikea. In addition to stacking, the pieces can be rolled on their sides or spun in circles.

The little guy has found so many new ways to play with this toy!