Happy Halloween! Use your leftover pumpkin seeds from jack-o-lantern making to make these pumpkin seed puzzles. This is great for number recognition and one-to-one correspondence. Here’s what you’ll need: Â orange construction paper, scissors, glue, marker, and pumpkin seeds…
Bats can be seen a lot this time of year in Halloween decorations and costumes….but they certainly don’t have to be scary (as they are sometimes portrayed)! The endearing book, Stellaluna, helps children see fruit bats as harmless and beloved creatures. This…
This festive Autumn Tree with Leaf Sprinkles craft was simple and fun for both of my boys…and it definitely highlighted their own unique personalities! Big Brother had the added bonus of some fine motor practice by tearing the leaves in…
I haven’t really pushed Little Brother to learn his letters yet. Big Brother had already shown a great interest in language long before he turned 3, so he was well on his way to knowing many of his letters by…
This fun Puffy Pumpkin Lacing combines a fun fall craft with a little fine motor practice! We had lots of fun with this activity today–even Little Brother painted his own bag! That was all he wanted to do…but Big Brother was more…
The making of these Pine Cone Creatures was a very open-ended activity that captured the attention of both my 4-year old and my 2-year old equally! All you need are some pine cones, glue, googly eyes and whatever odds and…
When we went to the Open House at my son’s preschool, the P.E. teacher had these awesome little boards where the child launches a bean bag by stomping on the opposite end and then attempts to catch it. After a…
This was one of those ideas that I had on a whim that ended up being a HUGE success (as far as engaging the boys, anyway). Big Brother worked on pounding golf tees into a pumpkin for OVER AN…
*This was originally posted 2 years ago, when Big Brother was the same age as Little Brother is now! Little Brother and I have been enjoying our “learning walks” whenever Big Brother is at preschool. I’ve peppered in a few…
Tomorrow is officially the first day of fall and the weather has certainly been fall-like around here! Here are 13 fall crafts and activities for toddlers and preschoolers to get you and your little ones in the mood for fall!…
It’s amazing how much fun can be had with “old technology”! :) Â Our sweet neighbor is the middle school librarian in our school district and she graciously gave us one of the many overhead projectors the district was getting rid…
In my post on Apps for Preschoolers, I admitted that I have really fought against my kids using the iPad/iPhone. I finally conceded for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I want to use technology as a tool for…
Use a few simple materials to have some sticky learning time! Adding the element of a vertical surface can completely transform skills such as patterning and sorting! It was a cool, rainy day yesterday (perfect for this activity)…and it was…
A little masking tape and objects around the house can turn into a fun learning game for toddlers! This GIANT shape sort activity is perfect for teaching shape recognition…with the little cognitive development skill of sorting on the side! This…
I love activities that can be easily differentiated for the content/level of multiple children. Our “Name and Sight Word Smash” did just that–we worked on a few simple sight words with Big Brother and the letters in Little Brother’s name….
Have fun creating some alphabet art that is super easy and lots of fun! Little Brother and I set sail on our maiden voyage of crafting together…it started off wonderfully and ended up with a screaming fit (it was obviously…
As parents of babies and toddlers, we are constantly evaluating our child to see whether he/she is developing “normally.” What we quickly find out, however, is that there really is no “normal” as every child seems to develop at a…
If you want to include a little learning in your gross motor play, try making (and playing with) some of these Stretchy Bands. They are super easy to make and can be used for a variety of purposes! I found…
