Winter Unit Study Week 2: Snowmen

1) Calan playing in our Winter Sensory Bin. 2) Calan and Maisie playing with Cloud Dough, next time we will do that in the bath tub or outside. 3) The crafts we made. 4) Maisie drawing with an ice cube on her travel Aquadoodle. 5) Our goal board on our refrigerator. 

Our first week was pretty successful We got through almost everything and the kids enjoyed almost everything I had planned. Calan is starting to count objects. He knows how to count, but tends to just count quickly and not get to how many they are. This week he has started to count small amounts of things. It was definitely a break through for me. Maisie is really starting to develop her stacking and sorting skills. She really enjoyed sorting cotton balls in an egg carton with tweezers.

This week we are continuing winter with Snowmen activities. Here's the plan:

Goals

• Color: Blue
• Number: 3
• Shape: Circle
• Letter: S
• Books: 1) "S is for Snowman" - Wonderful alphabet book celebrating all of winter's blessings. 2) "The Stranger in the Woods" - A photographic journey of winter animals discovering a snowman in the woods after a snow fall.
• Characteristic: Kindness
• Bible Verse: 

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

• Luke 6:31•

Jan. 14

Dress a Snowman and Snowman Sequencing

Source: allfreekidscrafts.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Jan. 15

Snowman in a bag and Snowman Craft stick puzzle

Source: dollarstoremom.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Jan. 16

Snowman and Letter S coloring pages and play with our winter sensory bin.

Jan. 17

If there is snow, I'll bring some inside for us to play with and build mini snowmen. If not, we will play with Cloud Dough again.

Jan. 18

Play musical freeze. I'll play music and top it when we should freeze like snowmen. Also, we will play snowball toss again, where I line up baskets with numbers on them and we toss rolled up socks into the bins counting them. . 

Winter Unit Study

During the month of January Calan, Maisie and myself will be learning about different aspects of winter. I am not sure how structured learning is going to go in my household, but we are going to try again. I am keeping everything pretty simple and repeatative, so if we don't get to something, no big deal. I have set some goals for us to learn, but again, it is just about us keeping our days filled and engaging.

So here is the plan:

Goals

• Color: White
• Number: 3
• Letter: W
• Books: 1) "The First Day of Winter" - A rhyming play off of the 12 days of Christmas, but instead the 10 days of Winter bring all the special things needed to build a snowman. 2) "The Snow Bear" - A little cub gets help from friends while he waits patiently for his mother to find him.
• Characteristic: Patience
• Bible Verse: 

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him.

• Psalm 37:7 •

Jan. 7

Making Popsicle Stick Snowflakes and W is for winter coloring pages. (Hosting my monthly craft playdate with our good friends)

Source: mrskarensclass.blogspot.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Jan. 8

Sorting cotton balls with tweezers in egg carton with Maisie and placing cotton balls on the number 3 and letter W with Calan. As well as, playing in our snow sensory bin. (Attending a Mom's Club playdate in the morning)
Found these great artic animals online for our sensory bin. There were $12 after shipping.

Source: secure.thebigzoo.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Jan. 9

Painting with ice cubes on their Aquadoodle mat. (Continuing our Playaway class on Wednesday mornings.)

Jan. 10

Playing with Cloud Dough (8 cups flour mixed with 1 cup baby oil). 

Source: funfamilycrafts.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Jan. 11

Having a snowball toss. I'll set up baskets and bins around the room and the kids will be able to toss rolled up white socks into them. 

C for Caterpillar

When trying to decide what I wanted to teach Calan this month, I decided that his name was a good place to start. He of course knows his name and I know that he somewhat knows how to spell it, but he for some reason refuses to spell it for me when asked. (I hear him spelling it when not prompted.) 

So over the next month, I'll be going over his the letters of his name and working with shapes and colors and numbers that go along with it. 

Here was this weeks lesson plans:

Telling the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar helped
to keep Calan engaged.

Goals:

• Recognize the letter C
• Recognizing numbers 1-5
• Picking out colors Red and Green
• Following directions



Our decorated C is for Caterpillar craft.

• Repeating parts of weekly bible verse: "The old has gone, the new has come" 2 Corinthians 5:17

  

  Tot Book Pack from 1+1+1=1 

Activities:

• Reading the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" with felt pieces.
• Coloring number Caterpillar pages
• Using 1+1+1=1 Tot Book activities to sort colors and sequencing.
• Create a C caterpillar craft
• Reading the story of John the Baptist

Calan did pretty good for our first week of activities. I tried to keep everything to under 30 minutes. He liked reading the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" with the felt pieces that I made. He helped me count all the fruit the caterpillar ate. He loves butterflies, so he liked it when the caterpillar becomes the butterfly. We have read the story many times before, but using the felt pieces helped bring it to life for him.

Coloring pages that we worked on each day
counting and coloring the fruit.

I was impressed with how much Calan wanted to color. In the past, it has been a quick activity that he had little patience for. I colored right along with him. We would trace inside the numbers. He liked it when I held his hand while doing this.

Calan did well at picking out his colors. He did OK at counting just to 5. He seems to always want to end with 8,9,10. He is starting to recognize his numbers, but isn't quite there yet. He did great at picking out the letter C and was even connecting C to Calan, which I knew he knew. We did not get a chance to work on shapes like I had planned. I was suppose to make a circle caterpillar that we were going to put together on the wall. We just never got around to it. I'll save the idea for a rainy day.

Next week will be A for Ant. 

Starting School?

Our trip is nearing its sad end. We will head home tomorrow afternoon. My escape from reality is over and the harsh real world awaits me back home.

Once we get home we have a week till most public schools start around us. I've been thinking again on how I need to get back into a routine. My days need to again have goals and focus.

I am beginning to make some lesson plans for Calan. But how do I really teach my 2-year-old who has the focus of a gnat?

The fact is I can only do so much. I will continue to plan short lessons that hopefully he gains something out of. I do not have a teaching background, but I do know my son, so I will try to focus things around things that he is interested in.

It is going to be a shock to his system for sure. Our summer has been full of activities and relaxation. There has been little structure and our routine has been non-existent. That has been totally my fault and laziness.

I need to do better. Maisie and Calan deserve better.

My children deserve an engaging mother who helps them to learn about the world around them.

My children are by no means "behind," but I know that I can be doing more. I want to do more.

I am just famous for sticking with anything for 3 weeks and then giving up. I need to stay consistent. I need to stay on top. I am hoping to use this blog as a little accountability by sharing with you my lesson plans for each week.

I am hoping that Calan and Maisie will actually get something out of it.

I am hoping a lot of things, but the reality is that with a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, you get what you get and all I can do is try.

I am getting geeked about it though. I have our first two weeks planned. I am excited to see what works and what doesn't. I am excited to see if I can actually teach them something.

I am a mom with lots of good intentions, but little follow through. I am praying that my inconsistency stays at bay and my children and I have fun.

So one week till school starts for us. Will I pass or fail?

How do you teach your toddlers? What advice do you have for this novice teacher-wanna-be?