Tot School

Parker did several toddler crafts and activities last week....and instead of making separate posts....I just thought I'd combine them all into one!

It was a really good week. We had kind of been out of the practice of doing activities for the past few weeks....so it was nice to get back into the groove...and Parker really seemed to enjoy herself.

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So if you'll remember...about a month ago...Parker planted her sunflower seeds. To my surprise...about a week later...we found this.


She looks so enthused, doesn't she??

I was so excited!

Unfortunately...they did not grow much more past this and they were gone.

Good thing is....she didn't really care!

But before they 'disappeared'.....we did do a fun and easy sunflower craft.

You take a paper plate....and fill the center with glue! When I saw the idea for this....I knew she'd love squeezing out all of that glue!!


Then dump out all of the seeds and spread them around.

Then glue on the petals and eyes. (I got the idea and the template for the sunflower petals and mouth here. There was also a template for the eyes....but I liked using these large googly eyes instead.) She did need quite a bit of assistance putting on the petals....mostly because she was already disinterested by this point.

But she enjoyed putting on the eyes.


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We finally did a little something to add to her All About Me book. This is actually one of the activities I was really excited about being in the book....but dreaded because I wasn't sure how Parker would like for me to paint on her hands. She gets funny about that kind of stuff sometimes. (At the playground....she really needs to wear tennis shoes because she cannot stand the rocks and/or dirt in her shoe....to which I can totally relate! Ha!)

But to my surprise....she was really into this and I think she had a lot of fun.

I took a 'before' picture because I knew I would not be able to take any during the process since I would be helping her so much.

I did sneak in one photo of her painted hand.

I am still going to place these papers on individual 12x12 papers with a title that says "My Handprint/Footprint." How fun to look back on this one day!!! We still have a few more pages to go...."I know these shapes," "My Favorite Foods," "My Favorite TV Shows," "My Favorite Animals," and My Favorite Books." I really need to get on this or she'll end up being 3 before we are done!!!


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And in honor of our garden culprit....we decided to make this cotton ball bunny (from No Time For Flash Cards) rabbit (it's the Easter bunny, according to Parker).


I just drew this bunny free-handed and cute it out for her. We haven't tried scissors yet. I have looked for some...and actually found some that I liked for her, but they were out of stock.

She did so well putting the glue on then placing the cottonball on top of it.

She even pointed out the 'holes' and would tell me she needed more glue.


I know this picture doesn't really show it....but she really did have so much fun with this. I think maybe because she didn't really need my help at all.....and....we'd been talking about the {Easter} bunny that's been eating our vegetables.

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After the rabbit....she seemed to still be attentive...so I let her paint this ceramic heart that I bought back before Grace was born when I was nesting.....and I thought she could paint it for Valentine's day.....but I obviously forgot.....so I figured now was as good of a time as any. Funny though.....she still said, "Happy Valentime's Day, Mommy!" as she was painting.




And I just thought it was sweet how she wanted Lovey to watch....so I took this shot. I love this picture because she loves that thing so much!

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And lastly, we did a Beach Sensory Tub (idea from No Time For Flashcards). We had previously done a beans and rice tub.....and right before Easter, we did the bird seed tub with plastic Easter eggs...all of which she has loved! So I couldn't wait for her to try this one out.

I got 2 containers of white sand...and one container of orange-y sand. I guess because it seemed more 'real.' But in the future...I thought it might be more fun for her if I got sand in different colors. For now...she doesn't really know the difference.

I let her pour this in herself.....which may have been her favorite part. She loves to pour!

Then...she dumped all of the shells in. Ok....maybe this was her favorite part. :)

And really- this is almost just exciting for me......just watching her face light up.


Now time for the starfish. She dumped them in. Picked one up. And immediately decided she did not like the starfish in her tub!

So she quickly removed them and put them back into their little basket...


I decided not to give her a shovel and rake like what is used with her sand box because I give her those tools all of the time and she seems to have lost interest in them. But while I was purchasing the sand....they had these mini funnels that are used when making those decorative bottles filled with the colored sand....and she loved them.


And good news.....she ended up putting all of the starfish back in by herself!

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I recently found this great site called 1+1+1=1 and it has so many wonderful toddler activity ideas and support. The writer of this blog, Carissa, started this thing called Tot School (you can go here to read more about it). When I first read the words "Tot School".....I must admit...I didn't exactly know what to think. But as Carissa explains it...it is just "focused time each day on the tot in your family." I really liked this idea and have been trying to do this.

It is a little overwhelming starting out (and it still is) because there are so many great ideas and activities out there that I want to do with Parker....and it gets....just that....."overwhelming."

So I've tried to step back....do things as they come....as the opportunity arises.....and when Parker is in a good mood!!

My goal is to become more organized (a must!!).....get these nifty Tot Trays....and have fun teaching and learning with my kid!

I also wanted to mention that she does this series "Raising Rock Stars" where they have family time and teach stories about the Bible. She provides you with everything that she does (templates, books, etc) and gives permission to use and do whatever she does....which I think is great!

So this is just the beginning. I'm really excited about it. Today I am linking up to her Tot School link.

Every Sunday she posts about her week in Tot School and puts up a Linky Tool so that others who participate in Tot School can share their ideas. I have already looked at so many different sites and have found some really neat ideas!

(And if you have a preschooler.....check this out at Home School Creations).