Tot School: T is for Trains

Jonathan is 34 months
Grace is 14.5 months

Bible 


We've been continuing with our weekly Bible stories and this week we learned about King Josiah. We played games, sang songs and did crafts along with our story. Check in on Wednesday for our Kids in the Word post to see what we've been doing!


Reading & Language Arts 


This week, we focused a lot on trains. Jonathan loves his trains and his train table and even Grace has a lot of fun with them. We've been reading lots of books about trains. Here are some favorites:

Jonathan has a bunch of Kumon workbooks and we recently started working on his tracing book. He's really enjoyed tracing lines on some of the printables that Carisa does over at 1+1+1=1 so I thought this book might be of interest to him. We started doing one worksheet a day and he always asks for more. His pencil grip still needs a lot of work, but he's been having fun with it. You can check out some of his lines here:

Psst. You can also download some tracing worksheets over at SchoolSparks.

Art 


We did a little finger painting with a friend this week and we also pulled out the play dough:

We also did a bit of a picture study, looking at a painting by James Clarke Hook called Blackberry Picking:

We talked about what the people in the picture were doing and compared it to our experience of going to an apple orchard. I got the idea from Language Lessons for Little Ones by Sandi Queen.


Math & Science 


We talked about friction this week after reading about how trains travel on tracks to reduce the amount of friction. To do a simple experiment, we got out some of Jonathan's trains and attempted to roll them on the hardwood floor and then compared how they rolled on a rug. We talked about which trains went the farthest.

We also did a bit of a nature walk and went to the park this week. As we walked we talked about the different colors of leaves we found and tried to find red, orange and yellow leaves. When we got home, we did leaf rubbings and then pressed the leaves between two pieces of contact paper:

Sensory Play 


We walked through leaves and talked about the crunching sound they made. We also pulled out our fall sensory bin and Grace had fun playing with the silk leaves:

Motor Skills 

I threw some balls in our pack & play and this was a great way for the kids to get some energy out:

But the biggest news is Grace is finally standing on her own:

and she's taken three steps. So maybe we'll have a walker soon!

Pretend Play 


Of course, we played with our trains a lot:

and Grace has been enjoying her tea set from Nana:

Practical Life 


We've worked on learning how to get dressed-- this week we've been trying to do snappers:

and as far as potty training... ugh. Jonathan did so well with potty training and initiating going to the bathroom. Then, he just wasn't interested. We started having accidents and he told me he didn't want to stop what he was doing and go potty. So I'd love to hear advice-- what do I do? It isn't that he can't go potty but that he won't. He'll still go if I initiate and he wants to earn stars and get matchbox cars. But he won't stop what he's doing and tell me. Should I move him back to diapers? Keep pressing forward? It's tiring and frustrating to boot!



So, that's been our week. We're all a little under the weather this weekend, so I hope that we'll be up for some of the activities I hope to do next week. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to:

Tot School @ 1+1+1=1

Link n' Learn @ No Time for Flashcards

Sunday Showcase @ Mom to 2 Posh Little Divas & Classified Mom

Read Explore Learn @ J Daniel4's Mom

Preschool Corner @ Homeschool Creations

For the Kids Fridays @ Sun Scholars

Trip to Central Illinois

Last week we went down to central Illinois for Jonathan's great-grandfather's funeral. We spent several days down state visiting with family and it was good to see lots of relatives we haven't seen in a while.

While we were there we went to an apple orchard with Nana and Papa. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from the day:

That's my name! (this is the first year he recognized it!)

Swinging with Papa

Feeding goats was a highlight

As was climbing on the hay maze

Jonathan's first pony ride with Nana supervising

He brought me flowers for the first time! :)

I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S Fans!

Pinterest Tuesday- Thoughts of Autumn

Well, we're still home for right now, but we are ready to head back down to central Illinois at any point. So I expect this week will be a bit lighter for us.

Here are some things I've been pinning this week. Can you tell I've been thinking of Fall? Head on over to Our Country Road to see and submit more pins!

Baby/Apple Activity from Lightening Bug Literacy (can't wait to try this with Grace- they have lots of great resources at this site! I'm thinking of making a Fall sensory bin, so this would be a great extension!)

Source: lightningbuglit.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Apple Cupcakes: 

Source: makeandtakes.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Candy Corn Cookies:

Source: kathiecooks.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Homemade Pumpkins:

Source: crystalscraftspot.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Reading Our Library- Jim Arnosky

Jim Arnosky writes and illustrates books that focus on animals and the natural world.

His books are beautifully illustrated. I learned from Carrie over at Reading My Library that Jim Arnosky uses a camera to photograph wildlife in action and uses this as a basis for his artwork. His illustrations are gorgeous and full of details. I love simply gazing at them and finding "hidden" animals-- animals that are not the focal point of the story, but happen to be part of the illustrations. Sometimes this captures Jonathan's attention as well, but not always.

This is kind of an odd review post. I tried to pick out some books that I thought would be toddler friendly, but only a couple of the books held Jonathan's attention. I'm guessing that most of these books would be more suitable for preschool and up, and I think we'll revisit them as he gets older.

Rabbit & Raindrops

This was our first Jim Arnosky book, as it appeared on a recommended book list for toddlers. It's a perfect book for Spring! In this book, momma rabbit and her babies leave the nest for the first time. It soon begins to rain and the rabbits must rush back to their nest. Jonathan sat through this story and had fun  spotting other animals as I pointed them out (ants, spiders, birds, etc.)

Grandfather Buffalo

This is a touching story about an older buffalo who usually is at the back of the herd. This ends up being a positive thing, because he comes to the aid of a young calf and its mother. The older buffalo helps keep the young calf safe and remains a valuable part of the herd. Jonathan paid attention through this story and I pointed out some of the animals like snakes and skunks that appeared on the different pages.

Every Autumn Comes the Bear

This story tells about a bear that comes near a local farm to hibernate. It follows the bear as he makes his preparations to hibernate for the winter. The illustrations are warm and detailed. It's a perfect story for Autumn or for a unit on bears. Jonathan didn't focus in on this story at 2 years old,  but I think we may try it again in the fall.

Babies in the Bayou

This is probably my favorite, of all the books we read. It shows all the animals living in a Southern swamp- alligators, raccoons, turtles, ducks. All of these animals are shown under the care of their mothers. The artwork is very soft and soothing and the prose is very rhythmic. Jonathan paid attention a little more easily to this one and I think it'll be another one we repeat in the future.



Jim Arnosky has written over 91 books for cihldren and I think any of them would be wonderful additions to  a science or nature study. While Jonathan is too young right now to appreciate these nature-loving books, I think this is one author we will be revisiting in his preschool years.

Library Links 


Babies in the Bayou
Every Autumn Comes the Bear
Grandfather Buffalo
Rabbits & Raindrops