Early Childhood Development

Top of the mornin’ to you! If you can’t tell St Patricks Day is another one of my favorite holidays. There are so many activities and hands-on resources to choose from. Holidays allow you to teacher basic learning concepts, in a fun, interactive way. St Patricks Day activities are perfect to introduce or reinforce those tricky math and phonics skills while having fun too.

Pot of Gold

Little ones can practice recognizing and writing their letters with this resources. This is perfect for pre-kindergarten all the way to first grade learners. Students will pull out a pot of gold and then find it on their own sheet. There are five different activity sheets that corresponds with this activity ranging from tracing, matching, and writing the uppercase and lowercase letters. This St Patricks Day activity is perfect for independent work, small groups, whole group, and even centers. It would also make the perfect morning work for St Patricks Day. Grab yours here!

Shamrock Sums

I love looking for any way that I can make math more engaging for my students! This St Patricks Day addition activity will keep students so engaged. This resource provides several different pages of addition problems ranging from 0 – 10 facts. Students will color in the shamrocks to help them solve the addition problem and then write their answer on the line provided. This St. Patrick’s Day activity would be ideal for high preschoolers and kindergarteners. This resource would make the perfect center or checkup to see whether the students have mastered solving addition problems. You will WANT this in your classroom!

Catch the Leprechaun: St Patricks Day Craftivity

I LOVE this Craftivity and that it is perfect for basically any student. However, it is specifically geared more towards Pre-K to first grade students. Students will love getting their hands painted and being able to see the final result. Which is a cute little leprechaun for them to take home. To add a writing component, older students can write the why they are lucky or some wishes they would make if they caught a leprechaun! Like seriously how cute?! And it is so easy with little prep or clean up. You will definitely want to add this to your wish list!

I can’t wait to see all the fun you have with these St Patricks Day Activities! Be sure to let me know which one was your favorite below!

Learning is so sweet this time of the year! Valentine’s Day brings a world of new possibilities for little ones to explore. There are so many activities and hands-on resources to choose from. Holidays allow you to teach basic learning concepts, in a fun, interactive way. Valentine’s Day activities are perfect to introduce and even reinforce math, reading and spelling skills!

Sweet Sounds

Little ones can practice identifying beginning sound words with this beginning sounds worksheet. This is perfect for kindergarten and first grade students. Your students will love coloring the beginning sounds that they hear. Students will look at each picture, say the word and listen to the beginning sound. Then they will color the sound they hear. This Valentine’s activity is perfect for independent work, small groups and even centers. It would also make the perfect morning bell ringer for Valentine’s Day. Grab yours here!

Valentine’s Day Math Mystery

I love looking for any way that I can make math more engaging for my students! This Valentine’s Day sequencing activity will keep students so engaged. Students will find the missing number and essentially “solve the puzzle”. This worksheet provides a number to assist students who may be struggling. This Valentine’s activity would be ideal for high kindergarten students as well as first grade. This worksheet would make the perfect exit ticket to end a math lesson with or use it during independent work. You will WANT this in your classroom!

I love You to Pieces: Valentine’s Craftivity

I LOVE this Craftivity and that it is perfect for basically any student. However, it is specifically geared more towards Pre-K to first grade students. Little hands can enhance their fine motor skills with this activity. Using tissue paper or construction paper, students can tear pieces and glue onto the heart. To add a writing component, older students can write the reasons they love (whoever they are gifting this to) on the pieces of paper before gluing! Like seriously how cute?! And it is so easy with little prep or clean up. You will definitely want to add this to your wish list!

I can’t wait to see all the fun you have with these Valentine’s Day Activities! Be sure to let me know which one was your favorite below!

Does your child know how to write his or her own name? If not, no worries because these 5 name writing practice tips are going to help you get started. Name writing does not have to be painful. In fact, it can be really, really fun for both you and your child. Think back to when you first started writing your name and how awesome and accomplished you felt. Do you want the same for your child? Then, read the tips below.

Why Do We Need to Practice Name Writing?

First things first, your name is what sets you apart from everyone else. It was probably a long time ago when you first learned how to write your name, but I bet you remember how you felt. You watched everyone you cared about write or sign their names on important papers, checks, and notes just to name a few. That’s when you really wanted to learn how to write your name too.

Second, when you child enters Kindergarten if they know how to write their first name they are ahead of the game. Many kids come in not knowing how to write even the first letter of their name (which isn’t a bad thing). However, it helps.

Name Writing Practice Tips

Stickers

Kids LOVE stickers. What better way of getting them to learn their name then through the tactile piece of stickers.

One way you could use them would be to write your child’s name on a piece of construction paper. Then, have your child peel stickers off of a sheet and use them to trace their name.

If your child is older and knows how to use a pencil to trace. You can use stickers like connect the dots. Place the stickers on a piece of paper to serve as an outline for the letters. Then have your child connect the stickers to form their name.

Letters

You child will love this fun game. Write you child’s name on a piece of paper or an index card. Then cut it into strips so that one letter is on one piece. Hide the letters around the house and see if your child can find all of them. Once they find them, work together or have your child place them in the correct order (age depending).

Another fun activity using letter pieces is to put them in a sensory bin. Now, when I say sensory bin I don’t want you to think anything too expensive. It can be as simple as a plastic bin filled with rice and other odds and ends. Throw the letter cards in the mix, stir it around, and have your kid dig around to find the letters. Once they find them all, have them do the same thing as above.

Water

What kid doesn’t like to play in water? When you add a fun aspect, like water, to a learning aspect it is going to be a guarenteed success.

Write your child’s name in chalk on a sidewalk or chalkboard. Then have your child make their name disappear by using a paint brush dipped in water, a water pen, or even a squirt gun. They will be having so much fun, they won’t even realize they’re learning.

Paint

Again, who doesn’t love paint? It is a no brainer.

An activity that is my daughter’s favorite is dot painting. For this activity, you will write out your child’s name. Then you can give your child either dot markers, q-tips, or cotton balls to dip into paint. Have your child dot their name. My daugther asks for this activity again and again. So, I am sure your child will love it too.

Toys

My last name writing practice tip would be to incorporate toys whenever necessary. They now make all types of personalized puzzles, blocks, and games for your child which is a perfect opportunity to practice their name.

We really love our daughter’s personalized name puzzle. We found it on Amazon and love how the easy the pieces can be used.

If you don’t want to purchase any unnecessary toys (because let’s face it our kids have way too many, am I right?) Then, use what you have, friend, If you have blocks lying around, stick some post its on them and have your kiddo place them in the right order to make their name.

Final Thoughts

1. Do not be worried if your child doens’t sseem interested. Like I said in other posts, go off of how they are feeling. If they aren’t into it, don’t force it because you will only make things harder on you and them.
2. Fun, creative activities will always yeild more results. The more you make learning activities fun and engaging, the more likely your child will be willing to do them.
3. Start small. Remember when you first started learning your name, you didn’t know your first, middle, and last in a week. So, don’t expect your child to have those mastered either.
4. Don’t oversimulate your child. One activity at a time and for a long period of time. Don’t swithc activities or try to do one acgtivity a day. Children need time to process new expereinces and this is no different.
5. Relax. It is so easy to get caught up in what you think your child should be doing as their age. Every child is differnet and unique. One thing I can guarentee you is that they will all learn, but they will all learn in a way that is best suited for them.

Peace, love, and learning vides!

If you tried one of these tips, let me know in the comments. I love seeing what you guys are up to.

Have a quesion or what more advice, drop it down below too!

Why would you use wordless picture books in your house or classroom? What benefit could they possibly have? What if I told you that there are many benefits of using wordless picture books? If I’m being honest, they weren’t my favorite when I first started teaching. But, over the years I have come to love them and all the uses that they provide for the classroom and when working with my daughter at home.

Benefits of Wordless Picture Books

There are so many benefits of wordless picture books. Let’s take a look at a few:

1. The kids get to make up their own story. Can anyone say, “Hello creativity?” These books are a fantastic way to engage children in making up their own story. Another benefit to this is that the stories don’t always have to be the same.
2. No fear of being right or wrong! There are no words to worry about so there is much less pressure for your beginning reader. By eliminating that pressure, you are allowing your child or student to feel like an accomplished reader at the very beginning of their reading journey.
3. Teaches them to look at the pictures to figure it out. This is a skill that is encouraged in out Kindergarten kiddos to help them when they are first starting to learn to read. If you preschooler already comes in with that skill, they will be light years ahead.
4. Sequencing skills. Does their story make sense with the pictures? Do they follow a simple story structure? Is there a beginning, middle, and end? Wordless pictures books can help develop all of these sequencing skills plus many more.
5. Predicting. Once they get to know the story’s flow better, they will start being able to tell what is coming next from memory. This is a critical skill for Kindergarteners in order to hit important reading milestones.

Wordless Picture Books for Preschoolers

One of my favorite wordless picture books for this age is, fly! by Mark Teague. This lovely book is all about a baby bird whose mama thinks he is ready to leave the nest. Although the baby bird doesn’t like that plan. This book is so lighthearted and fun, you children would love telling the story again and again.

My daughter loves the silly pages in this book and the illustrations are very well done. I really love the fact that she picks this book up multiple times a week.

Another book that is perfect for this age group is Flashlight by Lizi Boyd. This book takes kids on an adventure in the nighttime using a flashlight. It is also a good way to help them get over their fear of the dark.

This book is a favorite of my daughter’s for sure as each time she looks at it she finds something different in the flashlight beam.

Wordless Books for Kindergarten

I love Chalk by Bill Thomson! In this story, kids find chalk that has been left on the playground. They then come up with all types of drawings but realize there is a special secret about the chalk. The kids then have to use their imagination and drawing skills to get out of a sticky situation.

My students enjoy this book because they love getting a chance to use their imagination as to how they would solve the problem. I love seeing them use their creativity and come back to this book again and again.

This is another one of my favorites, One Little Bag by Henry Cole. A whole hearted tale of how the little bag came to be from the very beginning. Although the tale doesn’t end there. It is super sweet and has an underlying theme of reusing things over and over again.

My students enjoy the pictures and seeing what will happen next. I love the fact that we can tie in the topic of recycling especially in today’s society.

Okay, who doesn’t love Tomie dePaola! Did you know that he made wordless picture books too? One is Pancakes for Breakfast and is it awesome!

First the illustrations are beautiful in true dePaola style. But, then the story line is fantastic too. A little old lady is trying to make pancakes but her mischievous pets make it difficult.

My students love this story because they find the pets hilarious. Also who doesn’t love pancakes?!?! I always use this in conjunction with my following directions activity on the first day of school or when working on sequencing (we put directions for making pancakes in the right order)

It’s no secret, I LOVE wordless pictures books for home and in the classroom. I feel that the add a different element to the classroom as kids are used to looking or reading books with pictures. They do take a little bit of time to get used to because kids can be reluctant at first. However, they will quickly fall in love with them like my students do every year.

Don’t see you favorites here? Drop them in the comments!!

Side note: affiliate links are used. The money earned supports my classroom library.

What could be more fun than playing with toddlers? If you said nothing than you’re right! Now I’m not talking about the toddler playhouses or the toddler playpens. While those are great, I don’t know about you but I don’t have a lot of money lying around. Nor do I desire to fill my home with toys that my toddler will play with once and then that’s it. But how exactly can with play with toddlers? And how can we make sure by playing with toddlers we are giving them the important skills they need later on in life?

In this post, I will be giving you five mom tested and toddler approved activities that focus on the five areas of development. And the best part…they’re FREE! You can also check out my Facebook page where I have 10 Free Virtual Toddler Time videos for you and your little one!

How to Play with Toddlers

Toddlers love when activities are high interest and have simple rules or directions. They also really enjoy activities that incorporate their whole bodies. My toddler loves anything that involves singing, dancing, jumping, really any type of movement.

Toddlers also enjoy “quiet” time activities as well. Quiet activities involve drawing, painting, coloring, writing, reading, anything that can be done with little to no whole body movement.

The number one question I get from parents is that they are not sure how to initiate or start playing with their toddler. They want to do it the “right” way and I think some are appalled when I tell them there isn’t a “right” or “wrong” way. The only right way to play with your toddler is to find something they are interested in and use that.

Some items you can use to play with toddlers are:

• Dolls/Action figures
• Puzzles
• Dress up clothes
• Stuffed animals
• Blankets/Socks/Shirts/etc
• Colored paper/pens/pencils/crayons
• Paint
• Pompoms/clothespins/counters
• Anything you can find around the house

Games to Play with Toddlers

Games are probably a toddlers most favorite type of activity. I have realized that when it comes to playing with my own little one, if I make the activity into a game she buys into it a lot more. This does not have to take a lot of thought. For instance, one of our favorite games is to see who can put her clothes away faster, mommy or her. So an otherwise mundane chore for me is made into a fun game that makes her want to play along and help with the work.

Cognitive

The first area of development in young children is cognitive. Cognitive development is controlled by the brain and deals with all aspects of learning and processing information.

My absolute favorite activity to play with my little one in this area is Sunshine ABCs. You take a paper plate color or paint it yellow, write the ABCs around the rim, write the abcs on clothespins and then have your toddler match the letters together. This activity supports cognitive development by teaching them their letters and how to recognize them.

Fine Motor

The next area of development is fine motor. Fine motor development deals with your child’s fingers. This area helps them hold pencils, crayons, etc and be able to pick up objects with their thumb and pointer finger.

My little one loves picking up and sorting objects based on color. Her absolute favorite activity for this is sorting teddy bear counters into colored cups. Everything you see in the photo cost less than $20.

Although I promised you FREE activities. So, another activity we do for this area is I take different sheets of colored paper and lay them out on the table or floor. Then I take another sheet and tear it into small pieces or crumble them up. Then, my little one has to sort the smaller pieces of paper onto the right color. She loves this activity and the best part is once it is made I just store it in a Ziploc bag to be used again and again.

Gross Motor

Gross motor development is the third area of development. This aids your little one with kicking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping. Basically anything that deals with whole body movement.

This activity is super simple and so much fun for toddlers. Sock throwing! Yup you read that right, sock throwing. What you do is take socks, ball them up, set up a laundry basket, and throw those socks into the basket. This is a game that you will come back to time and time again. Every time my little one helps me with the laundry she always grabs the socks and starts throwing them.

Pretend Play with Toddlers

Pretend play and toddlers are like peanut butter and jelly. They love to pretend they are princesses, doctors, teachers, mommys/daddys, just about anything they can think of. A lot of parents message me about how exactly to join in with their toddler while they are pretending. So, let’s answer that question right now.

It really is as simple as just playing along with them. Wear the crowns, drink the pretend tea, change your voice, etc. In short just be silly with them. No one is watching you, judging you, or recording you to broadcast on the TV or social media so let yourself be a kid again.

I absolutely love playing pretend with my little one because of how wild her imagination is. But, I also know that these moments are fleeting and in a few years I will be looking back and longing remembering the times where she was super happy running around the house in her superhero cape.

Speech/Language

Speech and language development is the area that focuses on your child’s ability to speak and converse with others. This is an area where I have the most difficulty. I am always worried about my little one’s language development because to me this area is the most important.

Pretend play and speech and language go simultaneously together. My little one’s favorite pretend play game is to be princesses and have a tea party. We dress up, sit around the table or on her bedroom floor, and drink pretend tea out of her Peppa Pig tea cups. This is a time for us to laugh, talk about her day, talk about my day, and tell stories. Most of the time we talk about princesses and what they do all day. 

It is so important to make this time as authentic as possible. I have found that my little one responds the best when the interaction is not forced. For instance, if you let your child talk freely, they will be able to gain a deeper level of development in their speech and language.

A simple activity for this area would be pretending to be superheroes. Grab some bath towels, secure them around your necks, and run around and talk about superheroes. Toddlers will love this!

Social-Emotional

This area is SO important! Social-emotional development deals with your child’s emotions towards themselves and others as well as how they interact with other children. This area of development helps them regulate their feelings that often affect how they react to their classmates and teachers in the later years.

The simplest activity for this area would be to play the emotions game with your toddler. My little one absolutely adores this game and wants to play it all the time. You simply say, make a ____ face. Then your child should make a face that matches the emotion said. As your child grows you can then expand the game by asking questions, such as what would make you _______, what is something that makes you happy, etc.

How to Play with Toddler Boy

I get so many questions about what activities to do with a toddler boy. The answer is truly simple. Toddlers boys would definitely enjoy all the activities mentioned above, maybe not the tea party/princess idea, but definitely everything else. 

I find that toddler boys really like activities that involve using lots of gross motor skills. If you can tie any of the other areas of development and make it into a movement game I am sure toddler boys would love it. 

Are you a parent to a kid who is starting Kindergarten? Then you may want to check out my latest post here. You can also check out my Facebook page where I have 10 Free Virtual Toddler Time videos for you and your little one!