Hold the Money Invention
The first activity we did this week was Hold The Money Invention. We attempted to create our very own box to hold our money for the activity, but it did not hold up too well. Boo. But, alas, we had a clear acrylic box that served as our money holder for the "learning" part of this lesson.
I had Wes make a "deposit" of $10 into our money box. We took turns drawing "invention cards" and "withdrawing" the item's cost from our box. Not only did Wes practice counting, but we worked in a simplified discussion of how when we go to the store, each item has a "cost" or price.
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| You can spy "Falco Falcon" still chillin' in our household. We still read the feathers daily! |
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| Making a "withdrawal" |
Tote-Along Toolbox
One of Wes' favorite activities of the week was making his Tote-Along Toolbox. We started by coloring all of our tools.
Wes then painted his tool box.
When the toolbox was dry, we attached our handle and label.
After the toolbox had a chance to dry completely, Wes added his tools (well, and a couple of other things like die-cast cars). He has been toting his toolbox around all week!
Who Invented That
We have referenced the included poster several times in our week. I actually have left it out on the counter for Wes to refer to whenever he feels like it. In this particular activity, I had Wes select a "magnifying glass" and then we found the object on the poster. On the reverse side of the magnifying glasses were facts about inventions, such as who invented the phone and how there is a wheel in almost every machine invented (gears, wheels, dials, etc.)
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| Looking for his wagon |
Building Words
Wes really enjoys Mother Goose Time's word building exercises. This week we worked on "cat", "bat", "car" and "start".
Sticky Designs
We had a lot of fun making our sticky design. I used the enclosed plastic bag to have Wes "design" his glue blob.
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| Don't forget what great fine motor and proprioceptive work squeezing glue can be! |
When he was finished with his designed, I had Wes place his yarn to so that we could hang it afterwards.
We finished the sticky design with sequins and glitter.
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| Everything is better with some glitter, right?! |
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| Finding out by that the glue wasn't dry! |
Book of the Month - Doctor Maisy
The book of the month is Doctor Maisy by Lucy Cousins. And embarrassing fact is that Wes was introduced to the Maisy series through Chick-fil-a and the small books included in their kids meals. After reading the story, we broke out our doctor's kit and role played the storyline.
Que Es?
One thing I really appreciate about Mother Goose Time's curriculum is that they introduce Spanish through very simple and easy to do lessons/activities. I am by no means fluent in Spanish, but being so close to the border, we get a ton of practice with Spanish influenced street names, foods and places. Bonus is that I'm learning right alongside him! On a side note, Mother Goose Time also includes activities that teach and review many words in American Sign Language, too. As a matter of fact, we learned "thank you" this week as well!
This activity introduced Wes to the spanish words for "wheel", "flashlight", "glue" and "telephone". I used the same teaching technique as Nick, Jr. (Thank you Nick Jr. for the informal training!). I simply would prompt, "In English we say "Wheel". In Spanish we say "Llanta". We would repeat it several times and I gradually faded my prompting until he filled in the words himself. I'm definitely making this one a ziploc bag on the go activity.
Sticky Bandage
We are working a lot on teaching empathy, which is not an easy task for a 3 year old. I use anything as a learning opportunity for my young Wes. This activity really used a fun way to teach about empathy, while making it fun and catchy!
We started off by coloring our little boy (still unnamed).
Next, we recited the poem, which basically spoke about how the boy twirled around, scraped his knee, got a band-aid from his daddy and a kiss for his ouchie.
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| Getting little boy a band-aid |
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| Kissing little boy's ouchie |
After we were done adhering our band-aid and giving little boy a kiss on his ouchie, we role played the poem and acted out the parts. Wes loved this so much that he actually reenacted it at his well-child check up at the doctor's office.
What Begins with B & Journal
We practiced writing the letter "Big B" this week. We practiced several pre-writing strokes like "up to down" and making "bumps". I did a tiny hand over hand, but surprisingly Wes is moving along beautifully with independent writing. After he made a "B" he was happy about, we gave it our stamp of approval (which is a monster stamp) and we placed it in our Little Inventor's journal.
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| Selecting the "perfect B" |
Memory
Memory is a fun game to play and pretty versatile to adapt. We have played memory in the past with the cards flipped facing up, matching items, to make it easier to grasp the object of the game. This time, we placed ALL of the cards facing down and gave it a go. Much to my surprise, Wes needed very little help and really enjoyed remembering where he saw the cards. Another ziploc on the go activity!
This week we also made a vacuum with the included cardboard tray, tube and paper bag. Wes painted his vacuum blue because it's his favorite color. I've already caught him trying to vacuum up his cars. You'll notice in the photos that he is STILL playing with the globe beach ball from last month's Little Artist curriculum box!
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| So proud of his "invention" |
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| Just tidying up...if only it was REAL! |
