Posts Tagged ‘toddlers’

How to Make Graham Cracker Dominoes

Monday, January 23rd, 2017

Graham-cracker-dominoes

Why not make these fun Graham cracker dominoes? You will need a box of Graham crackers, some peanut butter, and a bag of chocolate chips.

Begin by opening the package of Graham crackers and placing one on the table. Open the peanut butter and hand your kid a table knife to spread the peanut butter over the cracker. Then open a package of chocolate chips and pour them into a bowl. Your kids can decide how many chocolate chips to place in each square of the cracker.

This activity is great for toddlers and preschoolers because you can teach them about numbers and counting. You can play a game of dominoes as they munch on their math snack. Plus, it tastes really great!

If you don’t mind making a mess, you can have your kids play a HUGE game of dominoes, using a whole package Graham cracker dominoes! Match the numbers together, and take turns until all the Graham crackers have been used up.

To find more hands-on math activities and games, here is my most popular math post:

Summer Preschool Activities (Top Ten)

Monday, July 9th, 2012

Here are the top ten summer preschool activities:

1. Play in a kiddie pool in the backyard. Okay, this one goes a bit overboard…

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2. Visit a Children’s Museum.

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3.Turn a wheelbarrow upside down and spin the wheel.

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4. Paint on an easel.

5. Ride a real train.

6. Play with clear tubes and connectors.

7. Go to a swimming pool and play in the shallow area with inflated beach balls.

8. Find insects and watch what they do.

9. Paint from a water bucket.

10. Blow gigantic bubbles.

Linked to iHomeschool Network Top Ten TuesdayFamily Connections Summer Blog Hop

A Routine for Young Children

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

routine-for-young-childrenChildren who are young thrive on order. If you have a certain way of doing things every day, your children will squabble less and be more productive. Yes, they will be happier because they feel like they’ve gotten something done.

If your young children are pulling on you all day and complaining because they feel like they have nothing to do, this will wear you out and you will have no energy. Join Susan Evans as she gives you lots of ideas on what to include in a routine for young children.

 

Day Care Substitute

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

day-care-substituteIn the summer between my first and second years of teaching, while I was still single, I decided to get a job as a day care substitute. Each morning I would get a phone call, and I probably saw about 20 different day cares. Some of them were in areas of poverty, and some were in richer areas of town. I saw such a wide variety.

A few of them were so filthy, I didn’t feel like I could start working with the children until I had scrubbed the entire room and organized it. I’m sure that the health department would have been horrified with the condition of some of these day cares. The majority of the children looked so sad as their parents dropped them off.

After making sure the room was clean, I would look around for activities for the children to do. I took out play doh, and we all made animals. Then we would get on the floor in the blocks area and make a castle with blocks. I pretended to be a dragon coming after the children, who were roaring with laughter. I had no problem putting the children to sleep for nap time, because they were very tuckered out. And by the end of the day, the children didn’t want to leave.

Finally one day care booked me for the entire rest of the summer. It’s because I was the only one who could put a violent 3-year-old biter to sleep. (Yes, this boy bit children regularly and drew blood each time. I always wondered why he was allowed to be there.) No matter what I was doing at the nap time hour, someone would come fetch me to put this violent kid to sleep. First I calmly danced around with him in the dark, swaying and singing “Raindrops on Roses” softly, from “The Sound of Music.” Then I placed him on his mat and continued singing, softer and softer, with my eyes drooping closed. Eventually he started snoring.

At a previous daycare during the first month, there was another violent boy who was 2 years old. He cussed and hit everyone who came near, and he disobeyed every command. I knew nothing about parenting back then, since I was single, but I was used to being obeyed as a teacher. So the first time he disobeyed me, I took him and hugged him while he pounded me with his fists. I didn’t care if I got bruised, because for some strange reason, the love of Jesus flowed through me to this kid. There was nothing lovely about him, but I chose to love him and not allow him to injure anyone else. He thrashed about for what seemed like forever, and then he yielded to me. He looked me straight in the eye, and he knew I loved him for real. He obeyed me the rest of the day.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of how this situation was similar to salvation. Christ chose us and loved us when there was nothing lovely about us. We were wallowing in our sin when He opened His arms to us, and then our sin bruised Him as He chose to suffer and die to have a relationship with us. When we finally yielded to Him, the automatic and true response was to walk in obedience. Our relationship to Him caused a change in our behavior.