Chore Chart

One of the things that I think Angel Girl is ready for is a Chore Chart. Angel Girl loves to help around the house. This will be a way to keep track and also introduce her slowly. I will be introducing 1 chore a month and focus on helping her learn how to do it correctly. The most important thing to me is doing it regularly and together with set expectations for how it will be done. January we will be working on picking up her toys every day. We already do the clean up game but this will be more specific. I do not plan on rewarding her with anything but stickers on the chart.

Jan. Lang. Theme CAP Looking L to R

January's Language Theme is Concepts about Print, Looking left to right. This is introducing children to print and our conventions of print. Until a child is asked to read they can look at the world in any way or order. Then we introduce this concept of reading that includes looking at print from left to right. Many children pick up the conventions of reading just by being read to and some very simple quick activities. This month we will be focusing on introducing looking. This does NOT mean that I expect Angel Girl to understand this concept and I am sure that these activities will be repeated many different times and combined with lots of story reading in our home. The activities shared this month are great ways to introduce looking at print although many of them do not even ask the child to look at words but rather to get use to organized looking.

January Learning Themes

Language: Concepts About Print looking l to r
Writing: Pencil lines

Math: Counting to 5
Shape: Square

Science: Body Parts

Social Studies: Family

Art: Color: White
Process: Glueing

Music: Clapping to the Rythm

Physical: Throwing

Emotional: Please and Thank You

Chore Chart (a new addition): clean up toys

Tick Tock Game

So Sweet Boy loves to play the Tick Tock game. I have him face me and gently rock him back and forth singing this little song:
Tick tock, tick tock, I'm a little cuckoo clock. Tick tock, tick tock. Now it's striking one 'o clock.
We do this until mama is tired or we get to 12.

Hand print Turkey's

Yes I know it is well past Thanksgiving but I want to remember this activity for next year Basically I put paint on both of Angel Girl's hands (which she loved) and then printed them on the paper. After they dried I had her color "feathers". She preferred just coloring but when daddy came home she told him all about how she painted with her hands and was very very proud of her picture.

singing video

So some of the songs that we enjoy are:
Popcorn Popping
Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam
Pop Goes the Weasel
Old MacDonald
ABC's
Twinkle Twinkle
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
Baa Baa Black Sheep

What are some other great Pre-school songs?

Word Families Idea

Found this website here and loved this word families idea. Thought you would too.

Hands on Homeschool

So I found this handsonhomeschool.com and am interested in thoughts....I looks like a good basic program that can be added/changed as needed. What do you think? Remember I work part time so this way I don't have to start from scratch which takes time I don't always have.

Writing Practice

I want Angel Girl to understand how to appropriately use pencils, pens, crayons and markers. Kumon has great workbooks that focus on these basic skills. The one we are working through right now is the tracing book. Angel Girl will grudgingly do the page as long as I let her "color" the rest of the page when she is done. I do try to remind her how to correctly hold the pencil and she seems to do a good job. We do not do this every day, or even every week, just whenever we have a few minutes and Angel Girl wants to.

Ball Activity

Today we decided to focus on rolling a ball. I got out two balls and one cardboard box to start with. Then we took turns trying to roll the ball into the box (this would work with an empty formula can as well). They had fun rolling the ball. Then I let them each have their own box and ball and let them loose to experiment.

They only played with it for like 1 minute after I walked away but hey, at least they had fun.

Spooning Rice

So one activity that Angel Girl enjoys is spooning rice (I am sure there is a real term for it but that is what I call it). For me I have tupperware container that has 3 compartments and then I let her fill and empty the compartments of rice. It can entertain her for 10 to 15 minutes which in AE terms is a LONG time.

December Week 1 Focuses

• New Books: Christmas
• Reading Activity: Identify Favorite Picture - while reading
• Writing: Dear Santa Letter
• Vocabulary: over/under
• Math: Spatial Reasoning - play hide and seek
• Counting: Verbally to 3 (jump)
• Art: Playdoh
• Music: Dance Party Fast/Slow
• Science: Filling and Emptying Water
• Physical: Finger Plays – Eensy Weensy Spider

Schedule

So I changed up my schedule to work a little better for all of us. All times are very tentative but allow for lots of free play time on short activities or lots of time for when she is really interested. This is only pms because of work during the mornings.

Monday: 12:00 – 12:45 Play time
• 12:45 – 1:00 Story time
• 1:00 – 3:00 Nap time
• 3:00 – 3:30 Reading Lesson
• 3:300 – 5:30 DACC
• 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner Daddy
• 6:30 Bedtime

Tuesday: 12:00 - 12:45 Play time
• 12:45 – 1:00 Story time
• 1:00 – 3:00 Nap time
• 3:00 – 3:30 Writing Lesson
• 3:30 – 4:00 Snack Time
• 4:00 - 4:30 Math Lesson 1
• 4:30 – 5:00 Play time
• 5:00 – 5:30 TV time
• 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner Daddy
• 6:30 Bedtime

Wednesday 12:00 – 12:45 Play time
• 12:45 – 1:00 Story time
• 1:00 – 3:00 Nap time
• 3:00 – 3:30 Art Project
• 3:30 – 4:00 Snack time
• 4:00 - 4:30 Social Studies/Science Activity
• 4:30 – 5:00 Play time
• 5:00 – 5:30 TV time
• 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner Daddy
• 6:30 Bedtime

Thursday 12:00 – 12:45 Play time
• 12:45 – 1:00 Story time
• 1:00 – 3:00 Nap time
• 3:00 – 3:30 Math Lesson 2
• 3:30 – 4:00 Snack time
• 4:00 – 4:30 Music Activity
• 4:30 – 5:00 Play time
• 5:00 – 5:30 TV time
• 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner Daddy
• 6:30 Bedtime

Friday 12:00 – 12:45 Play time
• 12:45 – 1:00 Story time
• 1:00 – 3:00 Nap time
• 3:00 - 3:30 Gross Motor Activity
• 3:30 – 4:00 Snack time
• 4:00 – 4:30 Vocabulary Lesson
• 4:30 – 5:00 Play time
• 5:00 – 5:30 TV time
• 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner Daddy
• 6:30 Bedtime

Our Activity

Our activity today was based on the concept of sorting. All of the toys were in one big pile in the corner of the room. Typically I would be fighting with the boy trying to keep them from dumping out the toys I just put away. Today I decided to have them help me. I got out two of the toy baskets and put a few cars in one and a few animals in the other. I then handed them either a car or an animal and asked them if it was a car or animal and had them put it in the right basket. They got it right most of the time but they were still having trouble. I thought maybe it was because there were too many concepts. So, after we finished putting the cars and animals away (Thing 2 even put the car basket back on the shelf!) I decided to try using only one concept. So, I put a few pieces from the boys Train into a basket and started picking up a toy saying "Is this a choo choo train?" and then saying "Yes!" if it was and "no" if it wasn't. Thing 1 really picked up on this. He would pick up a toy and say in a high pitched voice mimicking mine "Id dis a choo choo tain?" then say 'no ' and shake his head if it wasn't and if it was he would get excited and say "DES!". It was so cute and really got us working together to clean up while making it a learning activity for all of us :)

Week 3 November 09

So here are this week's goals...of course because of life we probably will not get to them...but that is ok because I am sure we will revisit many of these items through out the next year anyway.

• Language – story book turning pages l to r
• Music – Dance Party (focusing on movement that matches the music)
• Number Sense – add 1 take 1 away (with toys)
• Science – what happens when I drop something
• Physical Education – Kicking a ball

Playdoh

So yesterday Angel Girl and I made play doh. We used this recipe:
3cups four
1/3 cup salt
2tbsp oil (veg)
1cup water
7 drops food coloring.

mix dry ingredients with oil. add food coloring to water and mix together. add water to flour/salt/oil mixture slowly~about 1/4 cup at a time and mix together with a spoon. once you've added all the water, knead the dough with your hands.

It worked out pretty well...Angel Girl loved being able to help me make it and then play with it. It was even sticky enough to play with to day. Now I just need more playdoh toys.

November Week 2

Monday - we will be focusing on writing. I plan to have Angel Girl tell me a story and I will help her "write" it down and she can draw a picture. The purpose of this activity is to start teaching her about writing.

Tuesday - we will be playing with play doh. The purpose of this is to introduce play doh to Angel Girl because sadly we haven't really played with it a lot.

Wednesday - we will be playing Hide and Seek with toys. The purpose is object permance which I am sure Angel Girl knows but I still think it will be fun.

Thursday - we will be reading about Thanksgiving.

Friday - we will watch signing time #4 because it has a section about feelings. We will then practice the signs for the feelings. This is an area that Angel Girl needs more help in expressing her expression (which I know is totally common at this age but I would like to try and help).

Cause and Effect

So for science today we went to the local museum. Where we threw pennies on the gravity hole to see how the fall and spin. We rode in a dinosaur car to discover that when we turned the wheel the movie changed. We also learned about sharing and turn taking. It was a great science day activity :)

Dance Party

So today for our arts activity we had a dance party. The focus was noticing moods in music. For this activity I just turned Itunes and had is shuffle the music. Then we started dancing. It was interesting to watch Angel Girl try to copy my moves and how I moved. When I picked up baby boy she picked up her baby doll to dance with. The first time we had a dance party was hard because I worried about looking funny but really my kids don't care how I look they just love to groove to the beat. Its also a great rainy day activity!

November Mommy School Focuses

November

Language
Reading - Book Orientation - the main part of this is having her hold the books and turn the pages when we have reading time, this introduces basic concepts about print
Writing - Write a Story - for this Angel Girl will have a pencil and will get to "write" a story, this introduces the idea that what I say I can write

Arts
Music – musical moods - this is done in a dance party, this is to introduce creative dancing and expression of emotions through movement
Art – Play Doh - this is to introduce more textures into our art exploration

Math
Number Sense - Adding 1+ 1 = 2 - this will just be using real objects to add to 1, this introduces beginning concepts of number sense that adding means more
Geometry – Object Permance - Hide and go seek with objects, this is something I think Angel Girl understands but I think it will be fun to play

Science/Social Studies
Science – Cause and Effect - mostly exploring what happens if we do something, haven't really thought of good things for this yet
Social Studies - Thanksgiving - reading about, getting dinner ready, preparing for the holiday

Physical Education
Physical - Kicking/Rolling - this is with a ball and working on controlling where the ball ends up
Social/Emotional - Emotions - giving Angel Girl words and signs to express her emotions more effectively

Now its your turn! Post what activities you will be doing in mommy school, you can use my focuses or make up your own.

Learning Goals for October

Month Oct. Focuses

• Language
o Read Books Daily
o ABC’s
• Math
o Sequencing
o Counting to 5
• Art
o Scissors
o Art Projects
• Music
o Dancing
o Rhythm Rocking
• Science/Social Studies/Other
o Handwashing
o Pumpkins
• Physical Education
o Balance on 1 foot

Itty-Bitty Bookworm

Itty-Bitty Bookworm is a biblical preschool program that looks super cute.

Another LDS Site

This is another LDS based site. It looks like it has a lot of great ideas for FHE and Primary. It also has a section on Emergency Preparedness.

Teaching Tiny Tots

This is one of my favorite blogs. It has great ideas for activities to do with little ones. I will add it to the blog roll!

Hatch Patch

Hatch Patch has the CUTEST family home evening packets. Maybe a few of us can get together to buy some for a cheaper price.

Fisher Price

Fisher Price has a website of ideas for things to do as a family based on ages.

Wondertime

Wondertime is a website for parenting toddlers. The topics including fun things to do, yummy things to eat, and parenting articles.

Yoga For Kids

Yoga for Kids has some ideas for doing yoga with children. They have descriptions of easy poses and how to do them. I think it would be fun to do sometimes, like before bed or nap time to relax.

Munchkins and Music

Munchkins and Music is a blog that talks about doing music with children. It looks like it has some great ideas for music with toddlers.

Montessori Albums

These Montessori Albums are a collection of activities done but Jenny Yen. They are divided by area of learning and have very specific directions. Many of the activities incorporate Montessori learning materials that can be bought or made.

Montessori Training

Montessori Training is a blog about Montessori education. It has good information about teaching montessori methods.

Montessori World

Montessori World has lots of information about the Montessori method which I have found very good for early childhood activities. Check out the handwork section there are craft ideas for young children. Or the Beginning Reading section has ideas for activities that promote early reading. I think it is a great resource specifically for hands on early childhood education.

Making Books

Making books with Kids is a blog with ideas of different kinds of books to make with kids. A lot of the ideas are based on thematic units but the over all ideas can be used for anything.

Art Projects for Kids

Art Projects for Kids is a blog that teaches how to do different art projects with children. The tags divide it by age so you can search by grade or our you can search by medium.

Halloween Counting Cards

These are just a cute Halloween activity idea!

Playful Learning

Playful Learning says that it is learning experiences that promote positive family interactions. The activities are divided by subject area and seem to be good for multiple ages.

Geography Help

World Atlas is a website that has link to Geography information. If you want to know something about a country or place check it out at World Atlas.

TLS Books

TLS Books is a collection of printables for preschool through 5th grade. The lessons are divided by grade level. They also have divided by holidays, crafts and handwriting. All the worksheets are FREE.

The Teacher's Corner

The Teacher's Corner is a collection of things for teachers. It has lesson plans, units, bulletin board ideas, and FREE printables. It looks like it has some great ideas to use to supplement your child's education or when homeschooling.

Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers is a listing of sites that cater to teachers. Including sites have free printables.

Lanternfish

Lanternfish is a website with teaching resources for ESL. But many of them are appropriate for all children. Its got great vocabulary ideas for all children.

Christian Preschool Printables

Christian Preschool Printables is an online collection of printable activities based on christian beliefs. There are some cute things based on the New and Old Testament. It is not the most user friendly site though...so there will be some culling to see what applies for the concepts being taught.

Food Storage and St. Patricks FHE

St. Patrick's Day ideas
It has some really great ideas and recipes for use with food storage. Also, it has a cute FHE activity for St. Patricks Day. Use the link bar on bottom left of website and click on FHE to locate it :)

A to Z Teacher Stuff

It is A to Z Teacher Stuff...enough said...anything and everything...one of my favorite teacher sites.

Lapbooks

Lapbooks look like a fun learning idea for all ages. As the site says

A lapbook is a project book or file folder, laid out in a creative manner, that fits in the child’s lap.

“Using creative means to display unit studies, topics, or projects
- by computer or by hand - for most ages.
* Fold a card folder into a shutter;
* Use mini-books and various folds
to ‘package’ the information and visuals
(photos, graphics, pictures)
Interactive, hands-on, addictive! “

The blog has more ideas on using, making ect.

Tot School

Tot School is a collection of links of blogs about teaching tots.

Universal Preschool

Universal Preschool is a collection of research about preschoolers, thoughts for parents, and ideas to do with preschoolers. It has a section for FREE curriculum too.

A Bit of This and a Bit of That

A Bit of This and A Bit of That is a montessori mama blog. It gives ideas of activities to do when teaching little ones using the montessori method.

Artful Parent

Artful Parent is a blog about doing art with children. It has tried and true activities for parents to do with their children.

Just Preschool Themes

Just Preschool Themes is a collection of activities based on themes just for preschoolers...go figure just as the name says...looks like a great resource.

Perpetual Preschool

Perpetual Preschool is just another site full of ideas for preschool aged children. Most of the ideas are set up by theme. It also has research articles for parents to help them as they work with their young children.

Preschool Express

Preschool Express is specifically for parents to use with their preschool age children. It is divided into sections including numbers, alphabet, art, and holidays. It is FREE and has a lot of great options.

Rhythmic Movement for Children

Rhythmic Movement for Children is a list of activities to do toddlers to help them learn rhythm. It is a looks like a great way to prepare for music lessons, dance or any other activity where rhythm may be important...like swimming or football :)

Songs with Actions

Laugh, Learn, Love has a list of songs that have actions. Angel Girl is really getting interested in songs with actions...especially eensy, weensy, spider and popcorn popping.

Laugh, Learn, Love Games

Laugh, Learn, Love is a blog all about activities for children. This is the link straight to a list of games that would be fun play with children. There are a combination of outdoor games and in the car games.

Martha Steward Kids

What can go wrong when its Martha! So here is the link to Martha Stewart Kids. It has crafts for kids. Ideas for cooking with kids and ideas for birthday parties. So check it out!

Making Learning Fun

Making Learning Fun is a website of free early childhood education materials. The site is divided by individual activities and theme. It has cute ideas for books too.

Kid Builders

Kid Builders created by the Orange County Commission of Children and families is PDF's on different topics including health, body, mind, safety, relationship and words. They are divided by age for infant to 5 years. It looks like a great resource to download and use with our children when they are pre school age.

Paso Partners

Paso Partners has free lessons for learning science and math in grade k - 3. It is specifically for English Language Learners but the activities can be used for any child with success. I also think that the lessons can be altered to younger children.

Bare Books

Bare Books are blank writing books, crayons and other things that can be used for writing. There are wonderful blank board books that I would love to use to make books for AE. The books are very cheap but they have a minimum order requirement.

Sunbeams

I am teaching sunbeams (yeah...ummm...exactly 3 years olds...). For teaching them I am using the Primary 1 book. This also has great ideas for FHE.

Kid's Crafts

DLTK is a collection of crafts for kids. It has coloring pages along with fun crafty activities. It is a divided by sections including holidays and cultural activities.

Ambleside Online

Ambleside is a free online homeschooling curriculum. It is based on the teachings of Charlotte Mason. It covers kindergarten through 11th grade currently. The best part for a non-homeschooling mama is the booklists. I love having ideas of good literature to read to, with and by my child.

Playful Learning

Playful Learning is a site that encourages learning through play. They have activities based on subject. Great for homeschooling families. Go check it out!

Games to Play with Your Toddler

From an article at babycentre uk.

12 to 16 months

• Coming to life
Pretend your baby's favorite teddy or doll is real -- make her walk, go to bed, jump across the room. Include her in everyday activities -- sitting her at the table for tea, for example, and putting a bib on her. Talking about what you are doing will help her understand language. Act out happy and sad times, too, so she can learn about feelings and emotions as well as developing her imagination.

• Push me, pull you
If your baby is pulling herself on to two feet and trying to walk, help her practice with a pushing and pulling game. Use a moveable object such as a child-size chair or plastic stacking box filled with soft toys. While she holds the edges for support you can hold the other side and keep it steady. Then slowly pull the box towards you side to encourage her to step forward. Soon she'll start to push while you gently pull. This will build her confidence ready for when she starts walking on her own.

• Clap happy
By now your baby will be able to hold her hands open, but it may be a while before she claps independently. For now, clap them together with her, or let her hold your hands and pat them together. Sit her facing you on the floor, or on your lap, and sing clapping songs together like 'Pat-a-cake, pat-a cake'. These will boost her language skills as well as her hand-eye co-ordination.

• Who's hiding here?
Just as she loved peek-a-boo as a baby, your toddler will love to play simple games of hide and seek. First thing in the morning take it in turns to hide under the bed sheets; at bath time, use a big towel to hide under, instead. For extra fun and giggles you can gently prod her as she hides, 'Is this a leg? Or is it an arm?' and so on. Games like this help teach your toddler that, just because she can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there. For a change, while she's wrapped up in the towel, carry her into another room. She'll be delighted when she's unveiled to discover she's moved location!

16 to 20 months

• Tea party
On a sunny day take a child-sized plastic tea set outdoors and fill a large plastic bowl with water. Pretend you've 'come to tea' and encourage your toddler to fill the teapot and pour out the tea. This fun game will challenge your baby's co-ordination skills and help her learn about the properties of water -- for example, that it always flows down, not up.

• Brick patterns
This requires a bit of concentration so is best played when your toddler's feeling refreshed. Use her building blocks to make simple patterns, such as three in a row or 'two up, two down' to make a square. Encourage her to use other blocks so she can copy your pattern. Then let her have a go at making her own pattern, which you have to copy. Sorting objects like this into shapes will help encourage your toddler's problem-solving skills.

• Roll it to me
Balls are popular toys for one-year-olds. Bouncy balls are best kept outside, but soft, foam balls make great indoor toys. The best ball game to start playing with your toddler is this easy version of 'catch'. Both of you sit on the ground facing each other with your legs apart and toes touching. You can now roll the ball backwards and forwards to each other without it going out of bounds. Fun for building arm muscles and hand-eye co-ordination.

• Young collector
Go for a walk together and take a bucket with you. Collect small objects that interest your toddler -- stones, leaves, pine cones. Your toddler will want to carry the bucket, but don't be surprised if she also dumps its contents and starts again. Toddlers at this age love to fill containers just so then can empty them again! Meanwhile, she's practising her hand movements and developing dexterity.

20-24 months

• Let's dance!
Play favourite bits of music that lend themselves to particular actions -- something with a big, loud beat so your child can stamp like an elephant or that's quiet so she can pretend that she's tiptoeing past a sleeping lion, trying not to wake it up. Marching to music is also great fun and easy enough for most toddlers to manage. These games will stretch her imagination and develop her sense of rhythm.

• Balloon fun
Balloons are great for indoor play. They move slowly enough to be chased and are relatively easy to catch. Blow one up -- watching this is half the fun -- and pat it up into the air. Count how long it takes to float down to the ground or let your toddler try to catch it. A good game for counting skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

• What can you hear?
Take a big towel or blanket out into the garden and lie down on it together. Ask your toddler to close her eyes and listen carefully. After a minute or so ask her what she could hear, and tell her what you heard: the wind in the trees, bird song, a car going past. This is a great game for helping your toddler develop her listening skills.

• Catch me if you can
Toddlers love to be chased -- and parents usually love chasing their toddlers! The object of this game is to be caught -- especially if your child knows he gets a big bear hug and slobbery kiss every time you manage to catch him. For variety, pretend to be different types of animals -- a roaring lion or a scuttling mouse. When your toddler catches you let him have a go, too. A great game for building up your toddler's stamina -- and yours, too!

Crafts for Kids

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/
This is a website that has educational crafts for kids. I thought it had some cute things in it. Check it out!!!

Article: Your One-Year Old and Play

This is from the an article called Your One-Year Old and Play...I thought it had some great ideas for teaching your littlest one.

• Teach your baby the right way the first time around. For instance, when baby is learning how to pick up a spoon or a rattle, take the time to show her the correct way to hold it.

• To encourage your baby to move and be physical, keep her favorite things out of arm's reach.

• Hand-eye coordination simply means getting your baby's hands and eyes to work together. A great example is shaped blocks that fit into proper holes. The baby will learn that his hands manipulate the objects he sees. The more objects like this that you give him, the better.

• When you sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to your baby, use your fingers to twinkle. And then see if baby tries to twinkle her fingers and sing when you are not around.

• Music has a way of changing a person's mood from left to right, so keep that in mind.

• Visit a playground or park once a day if only for fifteen minutes. It will challenge your baby, wear her out, and revitalize you both.

• Learning to walk is an activity! When baby is getting ready to take her first steps, she needs your support! It's a bit scary for her. How would you feel about trying a back handspring right now for the first time?

• If your baby is attached to a special toy, stuffed animal, or blanket, try to get your hands on an exact duplicate and never let the second one leave the house. If you forget or lose the original, you can pull out the reliable second one to save the day...or the night.

• Keep items that your baby is attached to in her crib—for example, a blanket or a stuffed animal. Baby will wake up to see them and these items will comfort her.

• Make sure you give your child the right toys for the right age. Toys and games usually have age-specific labels on them. Follow the age recommendation, for a couple of reasons. First of all, small pieces are choking hazards. And secondly, the right toy builds dexterity. A baby who receives a toy that is too old for her may get frustrated because she can't use it properly, and then she'll remember it as a bad experience rather than a positive one.

• Occupy your baby in a play yard (formerly called playpen) with safe things that he sees you using around the house. Plastic pots, pans, spoons, strainers, and toothbrushes are usually winners with babies this age.

• Put your baby into the play yard at the same time each night, perhaps while you're cooking dinner. You'll see how quickly this becomes his routine. It's great for both of you!

• If you buy your baby a ticket to any event at this age, be sure the performance lasts no longer than three minutes from beginning to end.

• While you are naming pictures and reading to your baby, don't forget to identify the alphabet letters and numbers while you're at it.

• If you take time now to instill a love for reading, puzzles, crayons, and painting with water, you will be able to keep your baby occupied for hours and hours in the future.

• Balls, balls, balls...as well as plush toys (soft stuffed animals and the like) are perfect for babies this age. Get as many as you can, because they are safe, entertaining, and encourage development.

• Babies this age need bigger toys because they are just learning how to coordinate and hold objects. Little toys are choking hazards, so keep them far from baby, and keep older children and their toys away from baby.

• No balloons! Balloons are great to look at, but they become choking hazards when they pop.
• 
  
• Garage sales are fantastic for picking up toys, even brand-new ones that have never been opened! Just know that the best toys usually sell out by 8:00 a.m. Learn to be an "early bird" and get there first.

• Good old open-ended boxes make great tunnels for busy babies on the go.

• Notice if your baby has a particular character that she likes—for example, Elmo. If she likes Elmo, buy an Elmo book, an Elmo rattle, an Elmo plush toy, an Elmo crib toy, an Elmo stroller toy, and an Elmo car-seat toy. You may notice how the familiar character keeps your baby calmer and less distracted.

• Sometimes baby is more interested in people than in things. During these moments, spend quality time together and remember that less is more.

• This is a great time to start playing homemade games with baby...winking and a kiss, Peek-a-Boo, and Patty Cake. Babies this age usually like to do things with people who follow a specific pattern. This is great when you're stuck in line at the grocery store or someplace else without a toy.

• Babies this age start to really enjoy stacking toys.

• Babies like to imitate you for play. Toys like pretend telephones entertain babies this age because they can act just like you.

• Babies who can stand up in their crib often start hurling their stuffed animals and toys out of their crib. Don't worry, it usually doesn't mean baby is ready to climb out. It's just another activity. If baby does this often, get a few toys that can be secured to the side of the crib (like activity centers), so they can play with them but not throw them overboard. This will buy you a lot of time!

• If you want to experience something natural, watch your baby try to climb up a few stairs. Climbing up is usually fun, but coming down is usually harder and scary to a baby. It takes time and then they usually surf down. What a thrill! It's hilarious!

• New toys and activities may frighten your baby at first because she is unsure of it. Teach your baby to enjoy these things by introducing them at a slow, comfortable pace over and over again.

• It's also common for baby to suddenly develop a fear of her favorite toys. This is normal. It just means she's starting to think more. Give her time and don't push the toy back on her. Let her do it on her own.

• Babies usually enjoy playing with bright objects and things that respond and interact with them. Push and sound toys are great because they teach cause-and-effect lessons. When I push this button, that happens...it's so much fun!

• When you go to another person's home, bring along something your baby is familiar with, such as an activity gym. This way, if she gets cranky, you can give her a familiar, soothing object until she calms down.

• Babies get bored quickly, but there is an upside: you can use the play center for fifteen minutes and then use it again fifteen minutes later, and baby will think it's a new activity!

• You could be better off leaving the first year birthday party gifts wrapped if other children are around. Young babies haven't learned the art of sharing yet.

• If your baby receives two of the same toy for her birthday, thank your lucky stars and treat them like gold. Keep them both and put them away until you have another baby over. This is a perfect solution until baby learns to share.

• Try not to give your baby his first piece of birthday cake on his actual birthday. He could get sick and he probably won't like it. Instead, give him a small piece a week earlier and get him used to it. By the time his party rolls around, he will really enjoy his birthday cake!

• Be sure to get a picture of baby when she tries her first birthday cake, especially if she hasn't tasted anything like it before. Just keep in mind that baby needs to develop a taste for sweets, too.

• If you suspect that a surprise party is planned for you, tell your spouse to make sure you are not carrying a sleeping baby through the door at the moment everyone yells, "SURPRISE!" Otherwise, the party will be fun for everyone else, but not for you.

*Free* Stuff 4 Kids

Free Stuff 4 Kids is just that...FREE!!! I like free things. Its got stuff to print, make, win, and click. Check it out.

Brightly Beaming Resources

Brightly Beaming Resources has homeschooling curriculums from 3 months to 11 years. It focuses on the Letter of the Week. It also has Christian/Biblical instruction ideas. I have used some of this for LO when she was a baby and really liked it.

First School

First School has all sorts of fun things for preschoolers. Pretty much everything you could ever want for little ones learning.

Hubbard's Cupboard

Hubbard's Cupboard has all sorts of things for preschool and kindergarten. Ideas are also divided by literacy and math. They also have Christian activities including a countdown to christmas.

Child Care Land

ChildCareLand has a whole bunch of early childhood learning activities...including file folder games. It is super cute and FREE.

Carl's Corner

Carl's Corner is a website by a retired language arts specialist...There are lots of PDF files for all sorts of different reading topics...This website can be used for preschool up to grade school which is great...enjoy!

Everything Preschool

Everything Preschool is a site with lots of FREE preschool activities, worksheets, games, ect. It can be searched by theme, holiday or through their tabs. Fun for little ones.

Sugar Doodle

Sugar Doodle is an LDS site dedicated to ideas for different aspects of church. Great place to find fun family home evening ideas or primary activities.

Link List Added

I am adding a link list that lets us list any fun links to family/child friendly fun sites...enjoy