Z is for Zebra Mini Tot Pack + Activities

Z is for Zebra Mini Tot Pack + Activities

We’re doing another informal summer tot school with Squeaker this year. Last year’s attempt at Mommy Camp didn’t get too far. But that was also due to poor planning on my part. Lack of interest from Squeaker also contributed. This year we’re taking daily walks (weather permitting), playing outside, having plenty of indoor picnics and tea parties, building with blocks… and just enjoying the moments. Along the way, if she learns something- great. But it’s not the focal point of summer for us. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in an A to Z of Animals series with some amazing kid bloggers. We’re up last with the focus on the letter Z and we chose the Zebra for our animal. Be sure to check…

Fun Things To Do With Your Toddler That Won’t Drive You Crazy

Fun Things To Do With Your Toddler That Won’t Drive You Crazy

While it may be so easy and simple to just hand your toddler an iPad or Kindle, keeping them busy and occupied doesn’t always have to involve a screen. There’s nothing wrong with some screen time, just be sure that it’s in moderation. But how then, do you keep them occupied? Well, aside from some good old fashioned play time indoors, there are plenty of ways to keep your toddler busy. Some things are hands on, and why not? I have just as much fun coloring or playing with playdough as my toddler does. Other things you may need to do with your toddler and that’s okay too. They’re only young once and sometimes we might take for granted the opportunities that we have to…

10 Easy Sun Themed Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers

10 Easy Sun Themed Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Though it’s officially spring, it certainly hasn’t felt like it every day. Sure, sometimes the sun shines brightly but more often than not there’s cloudy skies to be found. We’ve taken it upon ourselves (we being Squeaker and I) to bring a little bit of sunshine indoors. We made our “You Are My Sunshine” craft for Mother’s Day this year and on that same day, we did three more sun themed crafts. Maybe we’ll turn this into a Sun and Moon unit in the future and use some of these sun crafts for preschoolers. For our part, we did the following three: Tissue paper sun (using pink, orange, and yellow tissue paper) hand and footprint sun (with yellow construction paper) Do a Dot marker sun…

N is for Nest: A Mini Tot School Unit

N is for Nest: A Mini Tot School Unit

Squeaker’s interests are all over the place lately, so that means we haven’t done too many themed tot school units. Instead, I leave access to art supplies, books, and manipulatives for her to explore during the day. We also play a lot because I know that she’s learning through play and I think play is incredibly important for her development. With the recent change of seasons, and her ongoing interest in birds, I figured that we could start exploring outdoors and looking for signs of spring. I also wanted to incorporate letter recognition and some fine motor skills into it; so it would be beneficial for both Squeaker and Sweet B. We ended up with a mini tot school unit (that I also carried over…

Simple Science for Toddlers

Simple Science for Toddlers

It seems like forever since I’ve done a School with Squeaker post! Our tot-school this year has been incredibly informal and sporadic. I go off of her lead and her interests but I don’t have set activities or a schedule for her yet. This is based on her age. Yes, her attention span is increasing but she’s also 2. That’s not to say that I don’t do activities or crafts with her or that she doesn’t have access to materials. She does. I just haven’t planned it out exactly and again, I go by her interests. I want to keep it fun for her and I know she’s still absorbing all of the information, just that it happens in unplanned situations. And honestly, that’s how…

Winter Themed Sensory Friendly Activity: Sensory Snow Wonderland

Winter Themed Sensory Friendly Activity: Sensory Snow Wonderland

Has it snowed where you are yet? In Albany, we had our first snow of this season the second weekend of October. It was only flurries and didn’t last for very long, but it was just enough to fascinate Squeaker and capture her attention. Of course, she already has a love of snow and snowmen thanks to Frozen (mostly Olaf) but ever since she actually saw snow; that’s all she’s asked for. However, it has not snowed since but I’m sure it’s on it’s way and will be here before we know it. In the meantime, I put together a sensory snow wonderland for her. Really it was just a sensory snow experiment because I wanted to see what would hold her attention. Next time…