Tot School: Beginning the New Year

This post is covering the past 3 weeks, since the New Year.  I didn’t do a great deal with Gabriela during this time for 3 reasons:  1)  She was sick the first week.  2)  I was sick the second week.  3)  I’ve struggled to find the time to organize activities, so I’ve ended up just grabbing stuff to put in front of her.  It hasn’t helped that while she was sick she watched her new Dora the Explorer DVD over and over and over and over….. (she’s been going around quoting Dora the past few weeks).   So when she was feeling better, I wanted her to do Tot School…and guess what?  All she wanted to do was watch Dora!  It’s been a bit tough finding stuff to interest her…but like I said before I haven’t had much planning/organizing time.  Once I get back to normal, hopefully I can put more thought into my time with her and find activities that are fun and meaningful for her.  So here’s what I “grabbed” for Gabriela the past 3 weeks:

1.  Farm set.  This belongs to Isaac and was purchased at ELC (Early Learning Centre) here in England some years ago.  They no longer carry this exact set.

2.  Tap a Shape (ELC).  I got this at a charity shop before Christmas.  Because it involves tacks, I had to monitor her, but she really enjoyed it.

   

3.  Pair Bears game (ELC)—This was one of Gabriela’s Christmas gifts.  You match the colors on the bottom of the bears and find the pairs before the timer runs out and the board pops up.  I do not like this toy (and I actually picked it out).  I’ve never liked toys with noisy timers and unexpectedly loud pops…not even when I was a child myself.  Anyway, Gabriela likes it and insisted on having the timer on.  I’d prefer to just have her match the pairs and forget the timer! 

4.  Geometrical Peg Board—I found this an an antique mall when we were back home in the States.  It was missing 3 blocks, but my sweet dad made me some.  I just need to paint them the right colors.

5.  Dress-up Rabbit puzzle (yes, another charity shop bargain)—This is one of her favorites.

6.  We went on a church weekend-away to the Lake District here in England, and we took a lovely walk to Elter Water, near the village of Elterwater.  : )

7.  Octons—Another charity shop bargain

8.  Play-dough.  This is the same play-dough I used before Christmas.  I ran out of salt, so I haven’t had a chance yet to make my new play-dough.  I let Gabriela cut shapes out of it for a shapes review.

9.  Cutting Pizza set.  She decorated it, cut it, put on plates and served it to Moriah and me.

10.  Popping Polly—Another Christmas gift (ELC).

11.  Traffic 3D Domino Set—This was yet another charity shop bargain.  Gabriela enjoyed matching up the vehicles.

12.  Hi-C—I got this game at a yard sale in Iowa when we were back home.  I bought it for the older 2 to play, as it’s a good thinking-skills game.  However, I thought Gabriela would enjoy taking the pegs in and out of the peg holes.

13.  Pop it in the Post game (from ELC)—a British-style mailbox with plastic letters, stamps, and envelopes to match up and post in the box.  Gabriela got this for her 2nd birthday and still enjoys playing with it.

14.  Mind Your Step game—I got this at a charity shop some years ago.  Although it's for older kids than Gabriela, I thought she would enjoy just playing with it by herself, and I was right.  She begged for it every day!  It’s good for fine motor skills anyway.
   

15.  Tweezer Work—I wasn’t sure if Gabriela could manage regular tweezers, but she did just fine.  Of course I made it easy for her and used large pompoms.  We’ll progress to smaller objects as time goes on.  I first had her put the pompoms in a paint tray.  The next day I had her do the same thing, only she had to match color pairs.  While cleaning out a closet last weekend, I found an old baby wipes container with a button you push to open the top.  So I used it of course!  I had Gabriela use tweezers to transfer pompoms from the bowl to the wipes container.  The bottom of the container comes off, so I can easily remove the pompoms when she’s finished.

16.  Pyramid game—I’ve had these since I was little.  I’ve lost the original packaging and instructions, and I don’t even remember what it’s called.  I think it’s played similarly to Connect 4, laying your pyramids and trying to get 4 in a row…or something like that.  Anyway, I used them for sorting, stacking, and making patterns with Gabriela.  The only bad thing is that a few of them have had pieces broken off the bottoms.

17.  LeapFrog Fridge Wash Magnetic Vehicle Set—This was a Christmas gift when Gabriela was only 1, and she hasn’t really played with it much…until a few days ago.  Suddenly she LOVES it!  She’s been playing with it all week and carries it around with her. 

18. Airport set—I found this last year at a church fund-raiser sale.  Gabriela plays with this a lot.  She’s been into planes for the past year and was enthralled by our plane trip to America and back, so she loves this set. 

I feel like I’ve been an advertisement for ELC and charity shops with this post.  You can easily see where I do all my shopping!

For more Tot School posts, visit 1+1+1=1!