Learning to Read

Well hello there folks! It's good to be back. Lately, I have been doing a lot of work with my eldest daughter Miss Eden, following a general curriculum (see here for more on the curriculum) and supplementing with plenty of activities and experiences of our own. This has certainly kept her and I very busy - and Ava too, who does her own 18 month old versions of our 'work'. Until this week, it seemed that Eden had settled into a comfortable learning rhythm.
Until this week.

Where it all began... the first of Classified: Mom's packs,
which Eden decided was the best thing IN THE WORLD!!!

On Monday, Eden informed me in her very grown-up voice, that she wanted to learn to read.

Free Printables: Looking For Things To Do With Your Kids?

I am a bit excited.

I have been invited to share with some wonderful women at a MOPS group (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) in Skye tomorrow! In preparation for this, I have compiled lists of ideas of games and activities* you could do with your children - especially for those times when you draw a mental blank.

There are 50 ideas for indoor play, given that it is heading into Winter here in Australia, 50 ideas to do for free, and 20 ideas for baby play (under 18 months).

Stuffed Jacket Potatoes: yummy yummy!

We are in the throes of Autumn here in Australia, and the air is getting chill. It's the perfect time of year to make Stuffed Jacket Potatoes to keep you warm!

 

This recipe is a fave in our household 'cause it ticks all the right boxes: Tasty? Check. Simple? Check. Kids love it? Check!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Wonderful, Splendid, Fantastic, Incredible, Amazing Mums/Moms out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! (For tomorrow...)


In honour of Mother's Day, here's a freebie for you!

Peg Matching Game

I'm a bit excited about this one! I made a wheel with some basic images on it, drew a few lines across it to portion off each image, stuck it to cardboard and cut it out. Then I got some wooden pegs, drew the same images onto little stickers and stuck (and sticky-taped) them to the pegs. I made the images very basic so that they would be easy to draw.

The game is that your child has to attach the peg to the board so that the pictures on the board and on the peg correspond. I put the pegs and the 'board' into a ziplock bag and plan to take it with us when we go out tonight. Eden really enjoyed playing this game, it required enough concentration to keep her stimulated but not so much that she lost focus and moved on to something else.
If you like this idea, you can download it from our Happy Little Munchkins Printables site, where there is also a version with the letters 'A, B, C, D' and the numbers '1, 2, 3, 4' on it.
Happy Matching!

Picture Eye Spy

I read about this activity a while ago online but I can't remember which site I saw it on, if you know, please tell me - credit where credit is due.
Open up a Word document (or Mac equivalent) and all you do is add various pictures from clip art. I found most of mine through Google (search "clip art outline apple" for example), and paste them onto your document. Resize to allow as many pictures as you think appropriate for your child's developmental level. Print off a sheet, hand your little one a crayon, and you're ready to go. Or, you can download my version here.
I would say to Eden, "I spy with my little eye, something wooly that says 'baaa'", Eden would say "Sheep!" and then try to find the picture of the sheep. When she found it, she coloured it in.

If this is a little tricky for your tot, just say the name of the picture instead of giving clues.
After a while, I changed my clues to be less specific, such as "I spy with my little eye, something to eat" and she could choose which image fit that description - the apple, the pear, the bananas, etc.
This activity encourages your child to focus on a task, develops observational skills and comprehension skills (if you use clues to direct your child), and - best of all - will keep older kids occupied for ages. Younger toddlers would find this activity too overwhelming, so I would keep the number of images on a page limited to around eight to ten.


Variations:

• If so inclined, you could prepare a couple of pages with two themes to a page. For example, one sheet of paper may only have animals and food on it. You could then ask your child to colour in the animals blue and the food red.
• Instead of colouring in the page, your tot could use counters, coins, or pom poms, etc, to place over the image as they find it.
• You may want to laminate a sheet and give them a washable marker, so you can re-use it.
• You could make up a page with everyday items and give it to them with a crayon when you go out. As she finds items, she can colour them in. Eg: clouds, a tree, a car, houses, etc.