Toddler Tuesday

Wow, I can't believe that it took almost an entire week to do so few activities!  Pita Pocket definately doesn't have a very long attention span yet, and I have to be careful to catch him in just the right mood, otherwise he's more interested in doing his own thing than participating in a mini lesson.  No, he's not headstrong or anything.  ;)

Last week Pita Pocket really enjoyed working with some new foam stickers I bought.  I (of course) had to peel off the backs for him, but he loved sticking them to his paper and then pounding them with his little fist:

He also loved climbing on the table - big suprise there!

 
Working with a matryoshka was a good exercise in opening and closing.  Boba gave me this Santa matryoshka for Christmas a few years ago:

Pita Pocket worked with the two smallest pieces for quite some time.  Besides just fitting them inside one another, he would fit them together and then shake them so he could hear the smaller one rattling inside.  Then he'd take the smaller one out, put the bigger one back together and shake it again.  So neat to watch him experiment with sound!  The matryoshka also gave us an opportunity to talk about "big" and "little":

One lesson that *both* of the littles enjoyed greatly was sponge squeezing.  So easy, and a good strengthening exercise for little hands.  I just cut a sponge in half and set out a bowl with some water.  I used the sponge to soak up some of the water, then showed Pita Pocket how to squeeze the water back out:

This actually ended up being a good practical life exercise on more than one count.  Pita kept forgetting to hold his sponge over the bowl as he squeezed the water out, so he had multiple puddles to wipe up!

 

We also worked for a bit with a large-knobbed puzzle:

 
And worked on colors using our people mover:

I would take one of the colors, hold it up and say the color name, then ask Pita to find me the matching color.  We got through about half the colors, but then someone decided that he was more interested in saying "eeeee" (cheese) and getting his picture taken:

Lastly, we dropped clothespins into a large glass bowl.  Pita Pocket started out standing, but then decided to turn it into a pouring sort of lesson.  No matter - it kept him happy and engaged for about twenty minutes:

 
 
 

(and yes - look at all those legos and ping pong balls scattered in the background!)

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[Mari-Ann]

Looks like Pita Pocket had lots of fun! The sponge activity is a huge hit around these parts as well. Anything with water, right?!
Every time I see your header I pause to stare at your nature tray. I LOVE it and wish I could find something similar. We have two cats who enjoy eating anything from outside, so a tray - something that can be removed - would be perfect. Also love love love your Mother Earth. I *just* started needle felting... any chance you'll share how you made her?

[Zonnah]

Thanks for these posts, they help give me ideas for my little one :)

[Arwen]

It makes me feel bad when I take pictures for blogging, then notice all the stuff all over the floor. It makes me feel better to see it on someone else's blog. ;)

[hiking mama]

I love your Santa matryoshka! Any activity with water is HUGE hit here too.
The people mover looks like fun. I love how at this age anything can be turned into a learning experience. Seeing the boys work together is a good reminder how some of the activities we do with little ones are still developmental appropriate and important as they grow. It is the same thing with toys, I am always wanting to buy the next level of toys, when my son could be challenged to find new ways (extensions) to play with the ones he has from when he was younger.

[One hook wonder]

Mari-Ann, I bought the tray at Target; I'm sure you could find something similar very easily. We started using the tray to keep our nature items safe from Pita Pocket! I think we're almost ready to go back to using a small table since Pita Pocket climbs on top of the kitchen table anyway!

[One hook wonder]

Thanks Zonnah! I love how blogging makes sharing info so easy. :)

[One hook wonder]

LOL!! Sometimes I am very thankful that Short Pants' lessons take place downstairs in the basement simply because the only time our living room is clean is from around 8:00pm on - after the littles are in bed!

[One hook wonder]

Yes, I've actually been sort of surprised by how interested Short Pants is in Pita's "lessons" - I can only assume that they hold value for him as well. It is definately a good reminder!