SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Drop your email below to stay up to date on what's going on with the Confessions of a Tiny Teacher!

Toddler School: Apples, Apples, Apples

We love apples around here! I'm pretty sure I could fill an entire month with apple activities. I had a really hard time narrowing down the activities I wanted to do for this week, but I decided to do a balance of favorites and new activities!

If you're new around here, here's the run down on how I toddler school:
- I do weekly themes with my little ones
- All activities are adaptable to meet your kiddos wherever they are
- Each activity is play-based and focuses on the development areas of your little one
- I do one activity a day (usually) that lasts around 20-30 minutes

I'm not going to lie - this week has been a challenge to get everything done! Between coming off of the flu, Cohen starting preschool and Avery getting his 2 year molars it has been a tricky balancing act for sure. 

Here's what we did this week:

You can get my blank thematic planner here.

Books:

I did not take a picture of our bookshelf this week - oops! But here are a few of our faves!

Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship

by Edward Hemingway

Up, Up, Up! IT’s Apple Picking TIme

by Jody Fickes Shapiro and Kitty Harvill

Ten Apples Up on Top

by Theo LeSieg

Apples, Apples, Apples

by Elizabeth Wallace

Apple Picking Day!

by Candice Ransom and Erika Meza

Activities:

Apple Pie Sensory:

This sensory table smells AH-mazing! Dry oats, apple/cinnamon potpourri (for smell of course), measuring cups, apples (fake or real) and pie tins! We made lots of apple pie this week!

For added skill practice I would ask for specific pies: only red apples or 1 red and 2 yellow. You get the idea! Make it fun and educational at the same time!

ABC Apple Sticker Tree:

Stickers - a crowd favorite for sure! I made 2 different trees to accommodate both the boys skills and abilities.

Avery (2): Letter matching. For him I just did capital letters so they were an exact match. He has about 90% of his uppercase letters down now so I will start introducing the corresponding lowercase letter soon! Avery was not a fan of the stickers. Every time it got stuck on his head he would say "no". It cracked me up! He had me put the stickers on and he pointed to where the matching letter was. 🤣

Note: If you follow my IG stories, you know that I always say the letter name AND sound together to start forging that connection. So when I say he knows his letter names, he is also learning the sounds simultaneously.

Cohen (4): To extend the activity for Cohen we did -all words! He changed out the beginning sound with stickers to create new -all words. He is a really strong reader but doesn't have a strong grasp on rhyming yet so I am working on rhyming and word families with him.

Indoor Apple Picking:

This activity was a big hit! To set up: Tape off a tree on the floor and add apples (paper, plastic, real - it doesn't matter!) Call out an apple for your little one to "pick". (Ex. Pick a green apple. Pick a small apple. Pick an apple with a worm in it.)

To make it extra cute you could even provide them with an apple picking basket to collect their apples in!

Homemade Applesauce:

We went real apple picking too! However our favorite u-pick had closed for the season so we couldn't actually pick anything - bummer! But we did grab some fresh apples while we were there! So we used those to make some homemade applesauce.

I love getting my little ones involved in the kitchen and food prep whenever possible. I think it is a really important skill that is often overlooked these days (in my childhood included). This recipe is super simple and your kiddos get to do all the work fun!

Here's how to make it:

1. Peel and boil apples ahead of time until soft

2. Place apples in a ziploc bag

3. Add 1 tsp. lemon for every 2 apples

4. Add cinnamon to taste (optional)

5. Let your little one squish the apples in the bag! Shake. Squeeze. Stomp. Anything goes!

6. Scoop out and enjoy!

It really is that easy and my boys loved it!

Apple Sorting:

I am a big fan of sorting activities and I like to incorporate them into most of my themes! I just love all the skills they use for this simple activity! For this one I hid our apples around the house so the boys had to seek them out first and then they got to sort. 

For Avery (2): We sorted by color

For Cohen (4): We sorted by rhyming words

The best part? Just re-hide and replay as many times as you'd like!

STEM Apple Tree:

We busted out our building and problem solving skills with this fun STEM activity. I'm going to be honest with you, we don't do nearly as many STEM activities and I wish we did. I'm going to try to incorporate 1 a week from now on, but we will see how that goes.

Materials:

TP roll

Green Popsicle Sticks

Red Poms

For this one the challenge was easy: build an apple tree that could hold all 6 apples. It was really cute (and impressive) watching the boys problem solve as they learned about balancing and weigh distribution. I was really impressed to see the many different trees they created!

That's a wrap! No printables this week!

Up next week: Fall Leaves 🍂🍁

Toddler School: Football Theme!

Toddler school is back! And in true #momlife fashion this is the week that both of my kiddos get the flu! Go figure. 😅 Needless to say we didn't get everything done that I wanted to but such is life. We are just rolling with it!

 It feels so weird good to be blogging again. And I am so excited to kick it off (see what I did there!?) with a fun football theme! 🏈

If you're new around here, here's the run down on how I toddler school:
- I do weekly themes with my little ones
- All activities are adaptable to meet your kiddos wherever they are
- Each activity is play-based and focuses on the development areas of your little one
- I do one activity a day (usually) that lasts around 20-30 minutes

Here's what we did this week:

You can get my blank thematic planner here.

Books:

One of my favorite things about setting up a new theme is getting all the cute books that go along with it! Here are some of our favorite football themed books:

Austin Plays Fair

by Tony Dungy

Dino-Football

by Lisa Wheeler
**Cohen (4) is dinosaur obsessed (like many 4 year olds are amiright?)
so this one was by far his favorite**

Goodnight Football

by Michael Dahl

My First Book of Football

by Beth Bugler

My Football Book

by Gail Gibbons

NFL 1-2-3
**Avery (almost 2) LOVED this one in particular. It was so cute
hearing him read the numbers for me**

T is for Touchdown

by Brad Herzog

Activities:

Football Sensory Table:

This is a super cute and easy to set up sensory table! We just used our green rice, mini footballs, mini helmets, mini trophies and goal posts. Anytime I'm working on a new theme I always take a trip to dollar tree first! You can find all kinds of fun themed things there to toss into any sensory table 👌

Encourage your little one to explore the sensory table! Use helmets and trophies to scoop. Flick footballs through the field goal posts. Just have fun with it!

** In the beginning little ones will need supervision and help learning the boundaries and rules associated with sensory play **

Touchdown Letters:

Using yellow construction paper create goal posts onto butcher paper. Print out the letters included and glue onto butcher paper. Practice calling out letters and having your little one find them!

Don't want to create a giant field goal? You can get a small printable version here! Fo' freesies!

Football Drop:

Prep football drop box by coloring a shoe box green and adding goal posts. Cut slits into the box and label with shapes! Print and cut out football shapes (you can get these in the activity pack below!) Work with your little one to identify the shapes and drop into the right goal post!

Football Cubes:

Print and assemble cube. Let your little one roll the cube and identify the number shown. 

To add in a little gross motor fun: once your little one identifies the number have them do that many jumps, laps, etc.

Football Art:

Football Kicker:

Truthfully we did not get to this activity this week due to all the sickness but it is super easy to set up! Using plain 'ol paper write numbers 1 through 5 (1 number per page) and lay on the floor in a line - think like a football field. Let your little one kick a football and call out the number they get!

Want any of this week's printables?  You can grab them here!

Up next week: 1st Day of Preschool 🏫

How to Build the Perfect Sensory Bin!

Fall is right around the corner! 

I am really excited for this fall for a number of reasons:

1. I love fall and everything about it! The cooler weather, the boots, the PSL (it comes back on the 28th, don't worry, I asked. You're welcome), everything!

2. Cohen starts preschool this fall and we are a bag of mixed emotions over here. He will be going 3 days a week from 9-12. It will be a crazy adjustment but I think he's going to rock it!

3. Fall also means back to our routines and toddler school! We always take a break in the summer due to all the craziness with travel, good weather and the general overheated laziness that overtakes our family. By August though, we are all feeling it and ready to get back into our normal routines.

4. Since big brother will be in school part time that means mama will get some much needed (and wanted) one on one time with Avery. I can't wait to do all the toddler school activities with him that I got to do with big brother when he was younger. I am really looking forward to this special time with my baby and I can't wait to watch his love of learning grow just like brother. 💙

With the new school year starting here at Confessions I wanted to share how we do sensory tables! We use sensory table religiously. I swap ours out every week to fit our changing themes and we love them. If you're new to sensory tables or don't know where to begin - don't get overwhelmed and just have fun with it! Also remember Rome wasn't built in a day and in that same breath your toddler won't be responsible with the table right off the bat, it takes learning! Our first few sensory tables ended up ALL over my couch/carpet. 

Whether you're a seasoned expert when it comes to sensory tables or brand new, I'm going to share some of my favorite tips and tricks for building the perfect sensory table. 

The Basics

First things first, you need a place to contain all those fun sensory learning experiences. You can buy one on amazon, make your own or totally just use a plastic bin! Whatever works for you! Personally I built one! I wanted to have a dedicated table the boys could stand at and explore. It also breaks down for travel AND has a lid. We've also added decals to the lid to make a play stove top, turned it upside down and filled with Christmas lights to make a light box and even taken it outside to double as our water table! I love how versatile it is! We made ours 4 years ago and it's still going strong!

Now I know that sounds like it's probably super fancy, but trust me when I say that me building anything is laughable so if I can do it, so can you. It took less that 10 minutes and cost about $30. 

You can find the DIY link here!

The Filler

The filler is the base of any sensory table! It's the thing that takes up the bulk of the space. Think small items you can buy in bulk. Some of our favorites are:

* Rice

* Noodles (cooked or dry)

* Sand

* Oats

* Sticks/twigs

* Cotton balls

* Shredded paper 

* Corn kernels

* Dry beans (there are so many color and size/shape options here)

* Water Beads

* Ice (when it's hot outside)

You see where I'm going here! Another fun tip is that a lot of these things can be DYED to make it more fun and engaging!

The Tools

This can be as simple as cups for sorting, tweezers for grabbing, magnifying glasses, water droppers, you name it! Whatever you want to add in to help your kiddos explore!  

I don't always add tools to mine but it is a nice addition sometimes!

The Add-Ons

Now this is where the magic happens! The add-ons are the fun things you hide in the sensory bin! Here's where the theme comes into play generally! Our favorite things to add:

* Toobs (these are little tubes of animals/vehicles/etc) - we have a bajillion of these for a variety of different themes

* Mini erasers 

* Picture cards - can have letters, numbers, animals, words, whatever!

* Gold coins

Get Creative here! This is really the fun part!

    

Clean Up/Storage

This can often be the most intimidating part of sensory tables - what do you do with it when you're done playing? The nice thing is that most of these items store and last FOREVER. Just toss anything that can't be reused and store the rest or easy pull out next time!

I buy these little dollar tree storage bins and store everything so I can bust it out at a moments notice! Here's a little peek into my storage - I apologize for the quality of the photo my toddler storage room is rather dark so this is as good as it gets. 🤷

I hope you've gotten some new ideas from this post! I can't wait to see what you come up with! 

Do you have any favorite sensory activities!?

Building Water Confidence in Toddlers Through Bath Play!

Around the time my oldest turned 3 he suddenly became afraid of water. He went from 0 to 100 real quick. And with no explanation. He used to love all things water. He would spend hours in the bath if we let him, loved splash pads and shower time with mama. Then all of a sudden he hated water. I'm talking if a single drop of water touched his skin or clothes he would go into full on meltdown mode.  It was as if a switch flipped over night!

So when a local swim school reached out about collaborating on an article about building water confidence through bath play I just had to jump on it! I sat down with Kristin, owner of Farber Swim School in Portland, OR. If you are local and haven't heard of Farber Swim School I would highly recommend it! They have a really great open swim for little ones that allows parents to get in the pool with their kiddos which as you can imagine is a big deal given our current relationship with water! Bonus: the water is nice and warm (90degrees)! 👌

Below are some tips for building water confidence (and safety!) at home!

Ears all in OR all out:
Apparently it is a common misconception that covering a kids ears with water can lead to ear infection. As long as they are fully submerged they will be fine (it's the half in/half out that's the culprit)! Keep in mind they did spend 9 months in water before they were born 😜

Flutter kicks: 
This is an important one to practice because it is an essential skill needed for swimming. Little ones can practice this in bath or even in a kiddie pool! Making it fun and engaging is key. We played Making Waves! We practiced using our flutter kicks to make waves for our boats!

Blowing bubbles:
Being able to blow bubbles into water is one of the first skills taught in traditional swim classes. However if your little one is like mine they don't understand the difference between blow, spit and drink. I won't tell you which child I'm talking about, that would be embarrassing 🤪Ease into this skill with straws! What kid doesn't love blowing bubbles into their drinks, cereal, soup, spit...!? Introduce blowing bubbles in standing water (like bath!)

We turned this into a fun game as well! Duck Races I gave both boys a straw and a rubber ducky and they had to blow bubbles to race their ducks across the tub! The trick was not to drink the water while we played...Still working on this one!

Reaching for toys under water:
This one may seem silly or unimportant but reaching for toys under water is an important skill for little ones to practice as well. It helps with depth perception and just confidence in the water. Making water play fun is the first step to water confidence!

Goggles:
We haven't practiced this one yet but Kristin mentioned getting your little ones used to goggles early would also be helpful! The 2 brands Farber Swim recommends are Speedo Skoogles and Swimple TYR. They're relatively inexpensive and have cute kid friendly prints!

Pouring water over head:
We're still building to this one!


Other ideas to help make water play fun and engaging:

Glow baths: 
Throw glow sticks in the bath, turn out the lights and have fun! Even our new kitty got in on this one 🤣

Rainbow baths:
This is a favorite of ours! Pick a different color each night. Dye the bath water (we use these!) and add matching colored items from around the house! Easy, educational and fun! Not to mention pretty!

Popsicle baths:
Do you see a pattern here!? We usually do this on sick days (or really really hot days!) We take our popsicles into the bath! It's a great way to shake up bath time AND makes for easy clean up!

Water beads:
Add some water beads to the tub and it's a whole new game! They're also perfectly safe to go down the drain! 👌
Tip: If you haven't used bath beads before they take about 24hrs to expand in size so soak ahead of time!

Wash away games:
If you've been following us for awhile we love wash away games! All you do is draw a picture, letter, number, shape, etc and let your little one erase it! You can erase with washcloths, pouring water, squirt guns, you name it! The possibilities are endless! We do a lot of different adaptations to these kinds of activities and bath is a perfect place for it!

Letter Squirt:
I'm sure by now you've figured out that foam letters stick to the sides of the bath tub/wall so why not put that to good use!? We took squirt guns into bath and practiced squirting off the letters!


What are you favorite bath play activities!?