Tot School- c is for carrots, cows & caterpillars

Jonathan is 26 Months

This week we didn't do "tot school" as heavily. We had family in town at the beginning of the week, but at the end of the week we finished up learning about the lowercase letter c. We're focusing on the hard c sound such as in "caterpillar" and "cow".

Bible 


We continued to review our memory verse this week from the Songs for Saplings CD:

"We will be changed into his likeness" 2 Corinthians 3:18. 

We printed out the memory verse from the Totally Tots printable. Right now, all we personally do is sing the song together and look at the memory verse page.


Books 


We read several books this week about carrots, cows, and caterpillars. Here were some of our favorites- click on the links to see our reviews!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Crunching Munching Caterpillar by Sherdain Cain
Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett
The Cow that Went Oink by Bernard Most
Little Calf by Kim Lewis
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin




Motor Skills 


We're still waiting for Spring to hit Chicago. Towards the end of the week, we had a couple days of almost nice weather (40s), so we played outside a little bit. Jonathan got a new tricycle from his Gram, and he was pretty excited about his "bike". He can do the pedals while we push him, but otherwise he just scoots with his feet:

On one of the colder days the kids found a more creative way to get their energy out. I had put on some '80s music and put Gracie in her bouncer. Jonathan had decided to join her by bouncing on his horse:



(I love that he's trying to boss her around already!)

For fine motor skills, we played with puzzles. Jonathan got a puzzle with the letters of his name for his 1st birthday and I pulled that one out again. He really enjoyed it and told me all the letters as well as their sounds.

Math


We attempted a couple math activities this week, but they didn't go over very well.  Jonathan really didn't want to sit still to do activities this week:

We played the How Many Spots? game from 2 Teaching Mommy's farm unit. In this game, we used black pom poms (they also recommend black beans) and would put the appropriate number of spots on the cow. Jonathan  mostly wanted to throw the pom poms though-- but at least he had fun, right? 


We also did a vegetable pattern file folder game from homeschool share. Overall, this wasn't a hit. Jonathan isn't interested in patterns yet. He did match the vegetable cards with the pictures on the pattern, but that only lasted five minutes.


We talked about sizes, comparing big and small seeds and big and small carrots. 


We also tried to put a caterpillar together in numerical order using a printable from Confessions of a Homeschooler. He really didn't sit still for this at all, though. We may try it again in another unit. 

Art



Jonathan was so not into any projects this week. We attempted a "C is for Caterpillar" do a dot page from Confessions of a Homeschooler, which he did for a couple minutes before moving on to another activity.

We also tried to color a "c is for carrot" coloring page I found over at Twisty Noodle. He wasn't as interested in coloring either.

We also used glue to glue down pictures of produce that begin with the hard C (/k/) sound- cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, and corn. I found that activity at Homeschool Share as well. But even glue sticks didn't hold their allure this week-- oh well! 

Music


We sang the children's song "Arabella Miller" to go along with the book Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar. 

We played with a cowbell and mallet and experimented with tapping the cowbell softly, loudly, quickly and slowly. This was a huge success-- I had to take the cowbell away during Grace's naptime! (You can see the rhyme we did this to over on our C is for Cow post)

Pretend Play


We used puppets to retell the story of The Cow that Went Oink:

and we also used felt board pieces to re-enact The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Food

We had a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" lunch with everything the caterpillar ate from Monday-Friday: apples, pears, plums, strawberries and oranges. (We also did have cheese for some protein). Jonathan loves fruit so even my picky eater enjoyed this lunch!

Practical Life 


Potty training is about the same as last week. Jonathan will use the potty pretty much every time I put him on it. He still won't initiate. But, at least it's something. Less diapers for mommy!


We also planted carrot seeds along with pumpkin, basil and oregano. Jonathan's getting very funny about sensory experiences-- he didn't want to touch the dirt at all. So he helped Nana plant the seeds:

Looking back on the week, we did a lot more than I thought we did. I think both Jonathan and I were feeling a little burnt out by the end of the week. I'm not super mom! I'm still trying to find a way to balance planning activities/spending time with the kiddos/spending time with my husband/taking care of the house/hobbies such as blogging or reading a good book. How do other moms prioritize their time?

Anyways, this upcoming week we're starting on the letter "d" for dinosaurs, dogs, ducks. At least, I hope to. Jonathan's starting to sound like he might be coming down with croup again...

I'm linking up to:

Link & Learn @ No Time for Flashcards

Tot School @ 1+1+1=1

What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Learns, Mouse Grows

c is for caterpillar

Sign Language 


We reviewed the sign for caterpillar. We watched the Signing Time Episode "The Great Outdoors" which covers caterpillar and other outdoorsy signs. It also has a cute song about caterpillars.

Books 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

How can you learn about Caterpillars and not read this classic children's book? This book has been a big hit around our house. Jonathan used to love sticking his fingers through the holes in the pages-- now Grace is discovering the holes! It's a great story for counting and reviewing the days of the week as well. I printed out and laminated felt board pieces from over at Making Learning Fun and he had fun acting out the story as I read it aloud.

The Crunching Munching Caterpillar by Sheridan Cain

This is a cute story about a caterpillar who wishes he could fly like his friends bee, bird, and butterfly. The story, like Eric Carle's book, follows the caterpillar through the life cycle of making a cocoon and becoming a butterfly. It isn't highly original in that regard, but Jonathan found it very entertaining nonetheless. I think he was drawn to the bold illustrations.

Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett

I picked up this book because I was familiar with the children's song about Arabella Miller. This book elaborates on the song and tells the story of a little girl (Arabella) who finds a caterpillar and brings him home. She carefully takes care of the caterpillar and observes his transformation into a butterfly. The book is in the same rhyme/meter as the children's song, so I sang most of it to Jonathan. This drew him into the story even more and he seemed to enjoy it.


Music 


We sang Arabella Miller which is just a silly children's song. :)


Art 


We did a "C is for Caterpillar" do-a-dot page from Confessions of a Homeschooler. Jonathan did the page, but he hasn't enjoyed arts and crafts as much this week.

Snack 


We had a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" lunch-- apples, pears, plums, strawberries and oranges. My picky eater tried everything-- although he favored the strawberries and oranges.



Library Links 


The Crunching Munching Caterpillar by Sheridan Cain
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Arabella Miller's Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett


Web Resources 


The Very Hungry Caterpillar tot pack @ 1+1+1=1
The Very Hungry Caterpillar printables @ Making Learning Fun
C is for Caterpillar @ Confessions of the Homeschooler
C is for Caterpillar (a very Hungry One) @ Delightful Learning

c is for cow

Sign Language & Vocabulary


We reviewed the sign for cow. We also talked about how baby cows are called calves.


Books & Poetry 

The Cow that Went Oink by Bernard Most


This is a simple story about a cow that cannot say "moo" but says "oink" instead. The cow is laughed at by other cows and feels sad until she meets a pig that cannot say "oink" but says "moo". The two animals help each other learn how to say the proper sound. It is such a silly story, that Jonathan picked up on the humor of a cow saying oink right away. He also liked the sounds the other animals would make in laughing- such as "baa-ha". We used the story to talk about being nice to those who are different from us.

Little Calf by Kim Lewis

This is a sweet story about a little girl who lives on a farm. Together with her daddy, she watches a little calf be born and take its first steps. It's a short quick read with beautiful realistic pictures. We talked about "calves" being baby cows. Jonathan seemed to enjoy this simple story, although it wasn't one he wanted to return to.


The Cow by Robert Louis Stevenson


Pretend Play 


We acted out the story The Cow that Went Oink with our puppets. Here's Jonathan showing off his puppets-- this is the first time he really engaged with our puppets:

Math


We played the How Many Spots? game from 2 Teaching Mommy's farm unit. In this game, we used black pom poms (they also recommend black beans) and would put the appropriate number of spots on the cow. Jonathan didn't get too into this activity- he wanted to throw around the pom poms. Oh well! He had fun, I guess. :)


Music 


We played with a cowbell and mallet and experimented with tapping the cowbell softly, loudly, quickly and slowly. This was part of a musical literacy kit that we got from the library.

My old cow is singing loudly
Moo, Moo, moo-ing all day long.
Then she moos so very softly
Moo-ing 'til the day is done. 


Moo-ing loudly, moo-ing loudly,
Moo-ing loudly all day long.
Moo-ing softly, moo-ing softly,
Softly 'til the day is done. 


In the kit it said to tap the cowbell loudly and softly as indicated in the song. Then, you can substitute hitting the cowbell quickly and slowly. Jonathan loved experimenting with the cowbell.

Library Links 


Little Calf
The Cow that Went Oink 




Web Resources 


C is for Cow @ First School
Cow Progressive Printable Puzzle @ First School
Cows Lesson @ Letter of the Week Preparatory Page

c is for carrot

Sign Language 


We reviewed the sign for carrot.


Books 

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

This classic book was a great read for both Jonathan and Grace. It is short story about a little boy who plants a carrot seed and carefully takes care of it. His family tells him that the seed won't grow but the boy is persistent and is rewarded in the end with a huge carrot. Jonathan read this book with his papa this week and enjoyed reading it again with Mama and Grace.

The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin

This is a book based on a Russian folk tale. Two rabbits find an enormous carrot growing in their garden. When its time to harvest the carrot, they cannot pull the carrot out. They pull and pull, but "the carrot stayed put. It wouldn't come out." One by one their friends join them "but the carrot stayed put. It wouldn't come out." That is, until the smallest friend of all joins them- and then all the friends enjoy a carrot feast. Jonathan really got into this story-- he would repeat the refrain and try to "pull" his carrot out of the dirt. It's a great lesson on working together and asking for help- something my independent toddler needs to remember at times!


Math


We used our carrot books to talk about sizes. I printed out the Carrot Sizes tri-fold book from Homeschool Share and we talked about which carrots were big-medium-small. We also compared the size of carrot seeds and pumpkin seeds when we did our planting activity. Jonathan has gotten the concepts of big and small before, but medium was a new concept for him. We also talked about the word enormous meaning something really big.

We also did a vegetable pattern file folder game from homeschool share. Overall, this wasn't a hit. Jonathan isn't interested in patterns yet. He did match the vegetable cards with the pictures on the pattern, but that only lasted five minutes.


Art 


We colored a "c is for carrot" coloring page I found over at Twisty Noodle. He wasn't as interested in coloring today either.

We also used glue to glue down pictures of produce that begin with the hard C (/k/) sound- cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, and corn. I found that activity at Homeschool Share as well.


Practical Life 


We planted seeds with Nana. We planted carrot seeds and pumpkin seeds. Jonathan wasn't overly enthusiastic, but he still helped Nana pat the dirt and sprinkle the seeds. He didn't really want to touch the dirt though. He doesn't like getting very messy, so he insisted that a washcloth be right next to him.

We talked about how the carrot seeds were small and the pumpkin seeds were big.


If we do "c is for carrot" again, I think I'd love to make a carrot cake with the kids. And maybe use raw carrots to do some carrot stamp painting... so many great ideas, so little time!


Library Links 


The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Enormous Carrot by Vladimir Vagin


Web Resources 


The Carrot Seed lapbook & resources @ Homeschool Share
C is for Carrot @ Walking by the Way

Tot School- c is for car and cat (26 Months)

Jonathan is 26 Months

This week we started learning about the lowercase letter c. We're focusing on the hard c sound such as in "cat" and "car".

Bible 


We have a new memory verse this week from the Songs for Saplings CD:

"We will be changed into his likeness" 2 Corinthians 3:18. 

We printed out the memory verse from the Totally Tots printable. Right now, all we personally do is sing the song together and look at the memory verse page.


Books 


We read lots of books this week about cars and cats. Here were some of our favorites- click on the links to see our reviews!

My Car by Byron Barton
Have You Seen my Cat? by Eric Carle
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Cool Cars by Tony Mitton
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

Motor Skills 


We started out with nice weather this week, but ended up being in the 20s and 30s by the end of the week. I think this is the longest winter I can remember. I can't wait for Spring.

Still, we got to play outside at the beginning of the week. Jonathan used his new crazy coupe car:

We also tried to move and stretch like cats on one of the colder days. And we played with our basketball hoop quite a bit.

For fine motor skills, we did a lot of work on puzzles. We did some chunky puzzles by Melissa & Doug which featured cars and cats. These puzzles are too easy for him now, but he still enjoys putting the pieces in:

We also did a three piece cat puzzle that Carisa over at 1+1+1=1 provided as part of her new tot school printables page. It took him a couple tries, but he figured out how to put the pieces together to make the cat picture. We also used her cat lacing card and he really enjoyed that activity too.

Math


We did a couple math activities this week. I downloaded some printables to go along with the Cars movie from 1+1+1=1. We used her Counting with Cars activity and counted how many cars were on each card. This gave us good practice of counting 1-10. Jonathan has the sequence of 1-10 down, but he doesn't always keep track of which items he's counted. So this was a great activity to give us practice counting.


We also have been using the Parking Lot Game printable from Happy Brown House to line up Jonathan's new matchbox cars and count them. He puts one car in each space, which helps him visualize and count the cars.

Pre-Writing 


We've been driving Jonathan's matchbox cars on some Highway Letter Cards from Making Learning Fun. He loves driving his cars on the roads and it's great practice for getting the motion of the letters down:

We also did some "C is for Cat" printables from 1+1+1=1. I laminated a few of her "C is for Cat" pages and gave Jonathan a dry erase marker. We did the "Find the Cats" page where he tried to connect all the cats by making lines on the page.

We also did the Connect the Cats page where he traced the dotted lines. He actually did surprising well at this one. While the lines weren't perfectly straight, he got the concept down pretty well!

Art


We played with paint, by rolling his toy cars through paint and then onto paper. We also used a car cookie cutter and stamped cars onto the paper using the paint.

We used our Do-a dot markers to find uppercase and lowercase Cs on another one of Carisa's C is for Cat printables. We also used her printables to color cats different colors.

And we played with yellow playdough using a Cc Playdough mat from Homeschool Creations. We used our car and cat cookie cutters.

Videos 


We had Cars movie night(s) last weekend, where we watched the Disney/Pixar movie. Jonathan was really enthralled with the story. He liked Lightning McQueen!

We also watched "Millions of Cats" on a Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVD.


Music


Jonathan's favorite song this week was the "Car Car" Song by Woody Guthrie. We listed to a version of the song on a Kimbo CD.

Games


We used another one of Carisa's printables to play a Memory game. I printed out two sets of the cat shapes printable from 1+1+1=1 and we played a memory-style matching game with them. He already can name the shapes, so we worked on finding "matches". First we matched the shapes with all the shapes facing up. Then we attempted the "memory" style game with the shapes facing down. That was a little harder of a concept for Jonathan to grasp- the taking turns and turning one set of cards over at a time. But, he still had fun and got the concept of matching.


Baking 


We made cupcakes to go along with our "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" story. Jonathan had fun helping me ice the cupcakes:

and eating them too!

Practical Life 


Jonathan made a big step in potty training this week-- he's at least using the potty every time I ask him if he needs to go. He was holding it in until after he got his diaper back on.

I realized he kept leaving the room when he needed to go potty, so this time I started closing the door partway when he would sit on the potty. I think having the privacy has helped him! He isn't initiating going potty, but it's a big step forward! We've been using M&Ms as rewards and he loves picking out what colors he wants.



So we've had a busy week

I'm linking up to:

Link & Learn @ No Time for Flashcards

Tot School @ 1+1+1=1

What My Child is Reading @ Mouse Learns, Mouse Grows

c is for cat

Image Source

We had fun talking about cats for a couple days. I even pulled out a beanie baby cat I had and he named it "Reilly" after the his nana's dog. He had fun toting it around for a couple days.


Sign Language 


We reviewed the sign for cat.

Books 

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

This book is consistently referenced on lists of best picture books. Written in 1928, it was awarded a Newberry Honor Award in 1929 (one of very few picture books to do so). It's a simple story about an older couple who wish to adopt a cat. The man sets out to find his wife a cat, and ends up bringing home "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" because he can't decide which one to bring home. The cats fight over which one is the most beautiful until only one is left. It's a great story for discussing pride and humility. Jonathan, however, wasn't as drawn in to the black and white illustrations. Watching the video (see below) made him appreciate the story more, but I think it may be more suitable for older children.

Have You Seen My Cat? By Eric Carle

In this story, a little boy has lost his cat and begins to look for her. His search takes him around the world, encountering many different types of cats. The text is very simple and repetitive, but it engaged Jonathan and he would participate in the story. It also helped his vocabulary as we encountered lions, bob cats, pumas, jaguars, etc. He would name each animal as we would see Carle's vivid illustration. This was a story he wanted to read over again- it was a definite hit!

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

This is a cute story, similar in style to the other "If You Give" books. However, I really didn't enjoy it as much as the other stories (particularly If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). The story didn't flow very smoothly to me. Jonathan, however, did like the story and kept saying that the cat was silly.




Videos 


We watched Millions of Cats, part of one of the Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVDs.


Pre-Writing 


Carisa at 1+1+1=1 has just this week launched some free Tot School printables for each letter of the alphabet. I was very excited to make use of some of her resources. I laminated a few of her "C is for Cat" pages and gave Jonathan a dry erase marker. We did the "Find the Cats" page where he tried to connect all the cats by making lines on the page.

We also did the Connect the Cats page where he traced the dotted lines. He actually did surprising well at this one. While the lines weren't perfectly straight, he got the concept down pretty well!

Motor Skills 


By the end of this week, the weather turned cold again- we were in the 20s and 30s and there was no hope of going outside. So we pretended to stretch and move like a cat to get a little bit of his energy out.

We also did some work on puzzles. We used our Melissa & Doug chunky pets puzzle which, at this point, is too easy for him. He still had fun with it though.

We also used the cat  puzzle printable that Carisa provided at 1+1+1=1. This was a three piece picture that he had to put together and he did a great job! It took a couple tries, but he got it.

We also did the lacing card from Carisa's printable as well. He really enjoyed poking the lace through the holes- I think he was pretty proud of himself. He also enjoyed dragging the cat card behind him as he walked. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten a picture of that one.

Art 


We used more of Carisa's printables- I printed out the dot painting page and we dot-painted the upper-case C and lower case C's. We also used the Colored Cats page. I told Jonathan what color to color each cat and then he picked up the appropriate marker and colored on each one. It was a very simple activity, but one that he seemed to enjoy. He knows his colors, so I was mostly working with him on following directions. He did a pretty good job and had fun using markers.

Games


I printed out two sets of the cat shapes printable from 1+1+1=1 and we played a memory-style matching game with them. He already can name the shapes, so we worked on finding "matches". First we matched the shapes with all the shapes facing up. Then we attempted the "memory" style game with the shapes facing down. That was a little harder of a concept for Jonathan to grasp- the taking turns and turning one set of cards over at a time. But, he still had fun and got the concept of matching.


Baking 


We made cupcakes after reading If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. Jonathan had fun trying to help me ice the cupcakes.

He wanted to eat the cupcake upside down though!

Library Links 


Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag


Web Resources 


Shape Cat Art Project @ A Mommy's Adventures
C is for Cupcake @ Totally Tots
C is for Cat printables @ 1+1+1=1
Cat puppets @ No Time for Flashcards

c is for car

Image Source
(I am in love with this Etsy store!)

Sign Language


We reviewed the sign for car. 


Books 

My Car by Byron Barton

Jonathan has really liked Byron Barton's books with their bold illustrations, and this one was no exception. This book is about Sam, a guy who loves his car and takes good care of it. The book explains how Sam drives his car, checks the oil and the gas, and obeys the laws as he drives. Jonathan loved this book and kept asking to read it again. It's the perfect book for the car-loving child!

The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca

This is a very imaginative book that goes through the alphabet with alliterative words related to car racing. The detailed watercolor illustrations depict 100 years of history, featuring racecars of differing decades. The 26 cars race and zoom around the track in an exciting race. This is such a fun book but the details were still a little above Jonathan's head. I think it's one that we will appreciate even more as Jonathan gets older.

If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

This is such an imaginative book! In this book, a little boy tells his father about the fancy car he would build- complete with swimming pool and the ability to fly and go underwater. The story is told in a rhyme that is reminiscent of Dr. Seuss and the illustrations are fun and detailed. Jonathan enjoyed this book a lot and wanted it read over again- the highest praise from my 2 year old!

Cool Cars by Tony Mitton

This is our second book from Tony Mitton's Amazing Machines series. The book shows animals riding in different types of cars. The illustrations are vibrant and the rhyming text describes what cars do. It's a fun, informative read and it was probably among my favorites for the week.



Motor Skills 


I found a Crazy Coupe at a local consignment sale. We were blessed with some nice Spring weather at the beginning of the week, so we were able to play outside:

He loves his new car! 

Movie Night 


We watched Cars of course-- this was Jonathan's first feature length animated movie and he was really drawn in. We broke it down into two nights, and he seemed to really enjoy it.

Math 


We downloaded some Cars printables from 1+1+1=1. We used the Counting with Cars printable the most, to practice counting 1-10.

Jonathan got some new little cars last week for giving up his pacis and he absolutely loves playing with them. So we also have been using the Parking Lot Game printable from Happy Brown House. Instead of using the dice, we've been using the game boards in two different ways- the numbers board to help him count how many cars he has. And the colors board to help him sort his cars by color. He loves parking his cars!

Pre-Writing 


I printed out some Highway Letter Cards (A-C) from Making Learning Fun and Jonathan's enjoyed moving his cars along the "roads". It's great practice for learning the motions of writing letters someday.

Art 


We played with paint by rolling our cars through red and blue paint. We also used a car cookie cutter to stamp cars onto our painting:

Music 


We listened to a rendition of Woody Guthrie's "Car Song".



We had a lot of fun with this-- Jonathan loves cars!

Library Links 


Cool Cars
If I Built a Car
My Car
The Racecar Alphabet

Web Resources 


C is for Car @ First School
Cars Tot Pack @ 1+1+1=1
Racecar Activities & Printables @ Making Learning Fun
Parking Lot Game @ Happy Brown House
Cars @ No Time For Flashcards