Toddler Teaching Tools: Lids

I am always looking for cheap, hands-on items to use with my toddlers. Once I figure out a couple of ways to use that item, I make sure I always have that item stocked in my teaching toolbox (ok, it’s really a closet.) That way if I need an activity—I can quickly grab and go! One everyday item that I save and reuse for teaching my toddlers are plastic lids. I even have friends saving plastic lids for me now! Plastic lids are a  perfect teaching tool because they are:

• affordable
• assorted (different sizes, colors, shapes, thickness)
• everywhere
  

 
So I sat down and brainstormed different ways to use lids with toddlers. Here are some ideas:

1. Color sorting. I buy a pack of 5.5 x 8.5 craft foam in various colors. I use these as sorting mats for many different types of activities.

2.  Magnetic robots.

3. Pattern activities.

4. Graphing activities.

5. Sorting by size.

6. Sorting by attributes. (Thick/thin, logo/no-logo, big/small)
 
7. Pretend play.

8. Sensory box component. Childhood 101 has a great idea on using lids in a matching textures game.

 9.  Games.  The photo above is from a tic-tac-toe game I created with lids. Toddlers could flip these over and play like a memory game.  Check out the Sticky Hand game we did for Letter H for another game idea.

10. Game pawns. We can’t be the only ones who lose game pieces!

11. Fill and dump. This is a perfect activity for the tiniest tots. A cup, bowl, or wet-wipe container and large lids will keep them occupied for awhile. They are working on grasping and coordination skills as they place the items in and out of the container. See how The Adventures of Bear did this activity with her tots.

12. Stack and knock down. Using the chunky-size lids, students stack them as high as they can before they fall over.

13. ABC manipulatives. Use them as you sing your ABC’s and introduce letter sounds.

14. Counting and early math practice.

15. Crafts. Mama Jenn has a post on bottle-top bugs and creating your own foam stamps.

Don’t have toddlers? Check out how From Kindergarten With Love used lids in her classroom.

Can you think of any other ways to recycle plastic lids for learning?

You might also be interested in:
The Art of Winging-It: The Preschool Edition
My Top 10 ABC Materials to Have on Hand
Egg-Carton Smash Game

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. I do receive a small commission if you order through the links. Thank you in advance for using them and supporting this site.

Our Family Routines

Routines. You would think that once we got them down-pat we wouldn’t have to work on them again. At our house, we are always working on sticking with our routines and schedules. Our routines change with each season, with each new activity added to the schedule, and with each new child that was added to the family. What worked one month ago might not work right now. My goal is to make sure my kids are in the routine of following a routine. :) Here’s our set-up for this year:

Daily Meeting—aka Breakfast

Melt in Your Mouth Muffins

Our day starts so much better when we all eat breakfast together. Since I have a captive audience, I go over our job chart, any school-related  items not on their daily school schedule, and Bible.

This is my view at breakfast. I purposely created this “command central” wall this year. It helps me remember what’s going on, who has to do what, and what I need to do first. It might not be the prettiest kitchen decor, but I needed something that was functional. The black organizer was purchased from Hobby Lobby on clearance, the 2 clipboards I’ve had forever, and I moved one of our dry erase boards from the school room into the kitchen.

See the cute cards in the middle? I just added those today! We’ll be going over a virtue each week during breakfast. I’ll be posting more about We Choose Virtues very soon!

The Chore Chart

We’ve tried many different types of chore charts over the years. We had good success with Accountable Kids until the 4th kid entered the mix and my older kids got older. I thought I had a good web-based chore chart system, but after using it for several moths, I realized it just doesn’t work for our family. We tried chore lists where each child was responsible for a specific job, but the kids got burnt out on their jobs fast. In addition, certain kids weren’t learning how to do specific jobs because those jobs weren’t on their list. Finally I remembered a simple chore chart Smockity Frocks posted.  I was desperate for something to work this year, so I made our own circle chart version (see her post for step-by-step directions.) I figured if it worked for her big family, then maybe it would work for mine.

My outer plate is divided into 4 main sections which are sub-divided into three job segments. I color-coded the job segments- blue section, purple section, green section, and red section. I did this to make it easier to see which jobs each person had to accomplish, and I also created detailed chart (below) that listed more details about the job.

The inner plate has my name plus my three older kids’ names (Someone  moved the circle before I took this picture so everything is not lining up perfectly.) Then I added a tiny circle with my 2 preschoolers’ names. The preschoolers get two big helpers to help them. The big helpers make sure the little girls do their morning routines each day. The little girls also get to help the big helpers with some age-appropriate tasks (i.e. folding wash clothes, help with setting table etc.)

On the kitchen door I wrote out the job expectations for each chore. This picture shows what the “green” person is in charge of for the week. I have each color’s job listed on cards so that my kids have no excuse for not knowing what I expect. This also helps break up the job into manageable steps for the week.

I color-coded my kids this year, so each child has a specific color book pocket. The white index cards are “infraction cards” aka “home blessing” cards aka extra jobs. The kids have figured out various ways of earning these :) The stop-light color sticks are for my little girls. We are working on a few specific things with them so if they are on task, the green stick stays in front. If they get a warning, the yellow is in front, and if are warned again, the red stick is in front, which means there will be some sort of consequence. Right now loosing iPad time is a good incentive. The purple sticks are reward sticks. I place them in the pocket and they can be redeemed for extra privileges.

We’ve been using this chore-chart system for 3-weeks now and it is working great. The kids like that they only have to endure their jobs for a week and then they get switched. It is easy to keep track of who has to do what, and each child can easily see what is expected of them.

Do you have a family chore chart? What have you found  works best for you?

Part 1: Do Toddlers and Well-Ordered Days Mix?

The Students at Spell Academy

This week for the Not-Back-t0-School Blog hop the topic is back to school photos. I thought I’d combine photos with my students’ possible course of study this year since I missed that week of the hop (yes, I’m still working on the details—lol!) And if you are new here---WELCOME! I share homeschool curriculum reviews, early-childhood activities, free printables and more. I even have some giveaways planned for this week,  so you might consider subscribing to this blog to keep up with all the happenings on Spell Outloud.

2011-2012 School Year

13yr. old DD

Bible/Devotional: Grapevine Studies (we do together as a family); Read through the New Testament; Read Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Science: Apologia General Science
Writing: Finish IEW Level B
Literature: Maybe Lightning Literature?  Sonlight? Still looking at options.
Grammar: Easy Grammar Plus
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
History: She would like to do World History (Sonlight Core W?)—looking at options.
Logic: The Fallacy Detective
Art:  Artistic Pursuits

DS 11.5

Bible/Devotional: Grapevine Studies (we do together as a family); Read through the New Testament; Read Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Science: Apologia General Science
Writing: Finish IEW Level B
Literature: Sonlight
Grammar: Easy Grammar 6 ?
Spelling: ?
Spanish: Rosetta Stone
History:  American History based on Sonlight Core 3/4
Logic: The Fallacy Detective
Art:  Artistic Pursuits

9yr. old DD

Bible/Devotional: Grapevine Studies (we do together as a family); Read through the New Testament with mom; virtue studies (hopefully this one)
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Science: Apologia Exploring Creation: Anatomy
Writing: Jump In
Literature: Sonlight
Grammar: Easy Grammar?
Spelling:  All About Spelling
Spanish: Speekee
History:  American History based on Sonlight Core 3/4 (probably a new letter name now-lol)
Art:  Artistic Pursuits

4.5 yr. old DD

Bible/Devotional: Grapevine Studies (we do together as a family); SEEDS Family Worship songs and printables ; virtues study
Math: no formal program yet. Will be doing hands-on games.
Reading:  All About Reading; Lots of Read-alouds with mom, some BFIAR/FIAR.
Phonics: Get Set for the Code/ Go for the Code (we finished book 1 last year)
Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears
Spanish: Speekee

3 yr. old DD

Bible/Devotional: Grapevine Studies (we do together as a family); SEEDS Family Worship songs and printables ; virtues study
Math: no formal program yet. Will be doing hands-on games.
Reading:  All About Reading; Lots of Read-alouds with mom, some BFIAR/FIAR.
Spanish: Speekee

almost 10mo. DD 

Keeping up with her siblings! Will be trying to do activities from Active Baby, Healthy Brain.

We won’t be in full-school mode until September. Right now we are working on getting back into a routine. We are adding a new subject each week to our schedule which allows us to ease into our school-year and still be able to enjoy the nice weather.

Related Posts: When Your Curriculum Plan Seems More Like a Wish-List

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post. I do receive a small commission if you order through the links. Thank you in advance for using them and supporting this site.

Curriculum Plans Part 2

I’m continuing my thoughts on what to do when your curriculum plan seems more like a wish-list. Yesterday I shared part of how I confront this challenge in my homeschool. I’m continuing today with my additional thoughts.

4. Ask to borrow materials.

I will admit that this is something I do only if necessary. I have 6 kids and I’ve seen what they can do---lol! I prefer to own the item especially if I’m using it for a whole year or for multiple children. Sometimes though, God uses this method to humble me. If a friend offers, I try to work out a win-win deal.

5. Utilize free resources on the internet.

I feel so blessed to homeschool in an era where information is shared and easily accessible. There are many free or very cheap materials on the internet. This is a whole other post, but here are a few links to get you started:

freelyeducate.com
free homeschool resources
list of free resources compiled by Successful Homeschooling

 6. Use the library.

For some families (like ours) the library is not a free resource. It is however, much cheaper to purchase a card than to purchase books. So this is one expense I count on each year. This year the bulk of our history and reading materials will be checked out of the library. I also get many books from Paperback Swap and from using my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards (both are affiliate/referral links).

*Sonlight Families—My friend Connie has a wonderful post on how to use the library to build your Sonlight curriculum on a budget.

7. Search For Sale boards.

This is something I do continually through the year as resources are available. Here are some of my go-to sites:

Hip Homeschool Moms
Homeschool Classifieds
The Well-Trained Mind For Sale Board

8.  Revise plans when needed.

If I can’t get what I think is the “perfect choice” curriculum or product, then I review my plans again. Was this curriculum something that just made things easier for me? What about the curriculum/product impressed me? Is there a similar product that I could consider? Is this something I could use at a later date and save up for instead?

9. Be thankful for the resources I do have.

Looking around and taking inventory of the things I do have helps keep things in perspective for me. Thank you God for supplying my every need.

10. Get creative.

Photo from an Alpaca Farm Field Trip

You might not consider yourself creative, but you were made in the image of a very creative God, so there has to be a couple of those genes in you. :) For me, being creative might mean using Photoshop to create materials for our homeschool. My friend Julia is creative in another way. She creates learning opportunities for her kids  via field trips—and thankfully she invites me too. She is well-connected with local community resources and isn’t afraid to ask a business if they would be open to sharing with homeschoolers. Sometimes it takes thinking outside of the “curriculum” box to complete your curriculum.

Do you have any other cost-saving curriculum/planning ideas? Please share them in the comments. :)

Later this week I’ll share  our current 2011-2011 curriculum plans.

Be sure to check out all the other “If Homeschool Walls Could Talk” posts.

The Series:

When Your Curriculum Plan Seems More Like a Wish-List Part 1

When Your Curriculum Plan Seems More Like a Wish-List Part 1

If you follow any homeschooling blogs, you'll notice that it is the season for sharing curriculum plans. I enjoy looking at those lists because I've found options I might not have considered before from seeing their course of study. But what happens when the list you plan out for your own homeschool seems like a big wish-list? What do you do when there is little to no school budget for the year? If Homeschool Walls Could Talk they’d tell you that there will be years where it’s easy to pull everything together and years where it will be a struggle (I’ll admit—I’m struggling this year). Here’s my strategy for staying on track and avoiding the discouragement trap:

1. Pray that God will give you the right materials, educational activities and opportunities that your children need for this year.

 H20 molecule using Magic Nuudles

A recent example of seeing God take care of our educational needs encourages me to trust Him with the rest of our year. This summer I felt my older children needed to do some introductory chemistry before continuing General Science for this upcoming year. After reading reviews and searching the internet, I found the book I wanted to use with them this summer. I only had a gift card to use to obtain the book, and wouldn’t you know it--- the book was not available at the gift card store. I was so discouraged. I knew though, that they needed to learn basic chemistry. So I headed to the library in order to pull together a unit on my own (which I wasn’t looking forward to doing because I know nothing about chemistry and it is time-intensive to plan a unit.) I came home with a bag of books and sat down to start planning.

Written by Michelle Eichhorn
(I can’t find the link! If anyone knows, please leave a comment)

While checking my email while planning (my way of procrastinating,) I came across a link for a free download of a chapter from a science book by Treasure Box Press—and it was the chemistry chapter! It had a student and teacher section and the student section was a text/workbook. It was just what I needed—sitting right in my inbox! Using these materials plus the books from the library, I easily put together a month-long independent study for my two older children. It was exactly what I needed but not what I had planned at the beginning. It was even better than what I expected! I know this was a God-thing.

2. Make a plan.

Write down objectives, goals, and possible curriculum choices. Then start planning one month at a time with the resources you do have on hand. This is hard for me because I like to know I have everything in order and ready for the entire year. Sometimes I only have what I need a week in advance. So I plan that. It sounds so easy-but for some reason this is one of my biggest hurdles when I know I have to be pulling together units on my own. It seems so overwhelming—which is why I try to break it down into smaller time-frames.

3. Stick to the basics.

I try to make sure I have the basics covered first: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. I figure that’s what they concentrated on in those old one-room schoolhouses I watched-er read about on Little House on the Prairie. If my kids are proficient in these areas, I know they will have a good educational foundation.

Continue to Part 2 …

If Homeschool Walls Could Talk…

This post is part of a link up with some other awesome homeschooling mamas. Make sure you take a few moments to visit them and check out the things they are sharing from behind their homeschooling walls.

Honey @ Sunflower Schoolhouse

Jimmie @ Jimmie’s Collage

Tiffany @ Sweet Phenomena

Lisa @ The Army Chap’s Wife

Megan @ Half Pint House

Reesa @ Suburban Tree Hugger

Laura @ Day by Day In Our World

Jasmine @ Ponder The Path

Lee @ Homeschool Canada

What would your homeschool walls say if they could speak?
Link up a new post or a previous one and come join the party.

The Art of Winging It: The Preschool Edition

I have been told by several of my friends that I am a master at winging it. I have a knack for seemingly preparing things on the fly and having them (usually) turn out well. While I don't wing everything all the time, I find that I do go through seasons where I'm more prone to plan this way. I think I've developed this skill out of necessity since every two years we tend to add a newborn to the family mix (which is the current season I am in again).

Wing It: Informal to accomplish or perform something without full preparation or knowledge; improvise

While thinking about this recently, I came to the conclusion that it's not that I don't have a plan or am not prepared, but actually that I'm over-prepared and ready to be flexible. Let me explain using my current preschool planning as an example.

My Preschool Planning:

Every year I print off schedule sheets for my tot and preschooler with the best intentions of actually filling them out. I might fill it out for the first week, but for some reason I can't keep up with it. I know that we still need to do activities but I often struggle with weekly formal planning because:

1. My kids don't like the scheduled activity and it is a flop.

2. We end up doing 7 other things in addition to what I had planned.

3. My kids end up falling apart, are crabby and aren't in the mood to do anything formal.

4. I end up falling apart, am crabby and am not in the mood to do anything formal ;)

5. I just get tired from actually planning the older kids' work that I don't get around to the little ones' plans. (Ok, this is the main reason)

Because I don't have a written lesson plan, others can easily assume that I am winging it. What they don't know is that there was advance preparation done that enables my "winging it" to be successful (most of the time. )

Here's my secret:

 1. I've thought about what I want my 2yr. old and 3yr. old to accomplish for the year. I actually typed out a general year outline for my 3 (almost 4 year old.) Even though I may never look at it again, I have an over-all idea of the direction I would like to go with her schooling for the year.

2.  Once I decided the general direction, I started pooling together resources. I knew that I was going to do Letter of the Week activities this year, so I started a binder and printed out materials ahead of time.

 For each letter I have printed:
a. Letter cut-and-paste page from Homeschool Creations
b. Letter cards from the Members section at 1+1+1=1
c. Do-a-Dot pages from Childcareland

Next I started a file folder for each letter where I have printed and laminated many of the ABC activities from the Letter of the Week curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I usually print 1-2 activities from Erica's curriculum for each letter and also print out craft and game ideas. Most of the letter craft ideas come from Totally Tots.

I also have a pretty good amount of educational games, puzzles, and manipulatives that I can add to the day.

In addition to all of this, I try to have a well-stocked craft stash. You can see how I've organized our craft supplies in my Craft Stash post.


3. We have one activity that we do every day that helps structure our learning time. This is key. My girls expect it and if I forget, they are the first ones to remind me to do it. This is the signal to start our learning time. This year the activity is our calendar time.

 We don't do anything fancy with our calendar time. We sing the Days of the Week song, add the new number, count the numbers and then sing the Months of the Year (sung to the tune of 10 Little Indians). Next we say/sing our Bible verse and go over what our new letter for the week will be. (I have our Bible verse and letter card on a small tri-fold board on the bookcase so I'll remember what we're suppose to be doing--lol).

What Winging-It Looks Like:

Remember, I'm 9mo. pregnant at the time of this writing, and not getting good sleep. So my preschool day looks like this:

1. I'm still in my pajamas while two little kids are ready to get started for the day. My brain hasn't fully turned on yet, but I walk into the homeschool room.

2.  I see the calendar board and I go through the motions while my brain clears up and I am thinking again. Oh, today's letter is....

3.  I go to the binder and pull out an activity or two. If the girls are still interested, we move on to a game from the file folder. If they are still wanting to do things we add an activity from the game closet. If they could care less about an activity, I can easily switch it up by adding or changing resources. If I have time I can search for more ideas on the web or make something myself. But if I don't, I still feel like we have accomplished something.

Successful Winging It in Action!

School Planning Time

I was wondering for those of you who homeschool, do you have a set time in your week (or day) for school planning/grading? No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get it all done. There is really no time without interruptions in my house until after 10:00pm, and by that time I'm pretty worn out to be able to think coherently. I'm having the hardest time planning out our week. And when the school week isn't planned well, the day just doesn't go as smoothly.

This is what happened yesterday while I was trying to get DD#2's Winter Unit set-up. Yep, DD#4 was messing with the flour again. If it's not one big mess it's 1,000 interruptions or questions from everyone else. I find that I'm easily side-tracked by all the other issues and can't get my job done. I'd love to hear some ideas on how families w/ young children are able to get some thinking time/school planning time in their week.