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

Reading Our Library: Byron Barton

Byron Barton has written and illustrated a number of nonfiction books for children. His style typically involves bold outlines and bold cartoon-like illustrations. We've read several books by Barton before this point and most of these have been a hit with Jonathan.

Barton is known for several vehicle-related books. These are simple, informative, and very toddler-friendly. We've reviewed Boats before (linked to review) and Jonathan really enjoyed it. So, we checked out the rest of the books in the series-- and Jonathan loved each one!

Planes

This particular volume introduces different types of airplanes- jet planes, seaplanes, crop dusters, helicopters, etc. Jonathan enjoyed this one equally well, and requested multiple readings.


Trains

Jonathan loves choo-choo trains. We live close to a train track, and he's always so excited to see trains as we are walking about town. This book was definitely his favorite of the bunch! He kept telling me he wanted to "read it himself". It talks about freight trains, passenger trains, electric trains. It's the perfect book for a train loving little boy!



Trucks

This book focuses on different trucks that we encounter in everyday life. There are dump trucks, tow trucks, garbage trucks-- and even an ice cream truck! Jonathan enjoyed pointing out the different trucks in the book as well as while we are on the road.



Some related books we read were:

Airport

This book introduces children to different facets of what goes on at an airport. From passengers arriving to departure, the book follows passengers through the (pre 9-11) check in and boarding process. Barton's pictures show the inside of the jet plane, the control tower and the cockpit. It's a wonderful book that Jonathan requested several times.




Machines at Work

This is another board book, focusing on construction vehicles at work. It goes through a day at the construction site showing bulldozers, steam rollers, cement mixers, cranes and other big heavy equipment. This was another favorite for Jonathan.



We also read a couple of Barton's folk tales:

The Three Bears

This is a perfect first introduction to the familiar folk tale with Barton's simple, childlike illustrations. It was Jonathan's first time hearing the story of the three bears. Jonathan loved this story and enjoyed "reading" (narrating) the story back to me. We also tried The Little Red Hen, but he didn't sit through this one.

Barton has written a number of other books for toddlers and preschoolers. Little boys, especially, will be drawn to his work. If you have a little guy in your life, be sure to check some of Barton's books out the next time you go to your library. Jonathan would heartily recommend them!


See some of our other Barton reviews here:
Boats
I Want to be an Astronaut
My Car
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs

I'm linking this post up to these book-friendly linky parties.