(Although this is a homeschooling post, these ideas will work for anyone with a toddler or preschooler. It would be great to have pre-prepared activities ready for when you're cooking dinner or when you need a breather after a long day at work.)
I'm not a big one to push little ones into school. I am a big believer in the power of play. For a young child, their play is their work. They are taking in so much information while they play, that we really don't need to force anything on them. Just by having good materials available, my kids mastered all the necessary early learning skills without drilling or workbooks. They were too busy discovering to even realize they were learning.
That being said, I also need to keep my toddler/preschooler happily occupied while I teach my older kids. Right now my other kids are Elementary, upper Middle School and High School aged, so they often need my undivided attention. I mean, have you ever tried to have a meaningful conversation about quantum physics while a toddler is trying to climb on your head? It's really hard. Trust me on this one. (You perfect families probably have toddlers who wouldn't think about doing something so uncivilized as climbing on your head. They are too busy cleaning up the kitchen for you before they put themselves to bed. You will just have to use your imagination to visualize my reality.)
Over the years I have used different methods to keep my little ones busy and help them feel a part of our school. As our needs have changed, so have our methods. I will show you some of the things that I keep coming back to because they just keep working for us.
Activity Bags/Kits:
I make up lots of activity bags with all the necessary items for the given activity. When I need to pull a rabbit out of my proverbial hat, I can just grab a bag. I don't have to run all over the house trying to find the crayons or the cotton balls, because whatever I need is already in there. I will prep the bag with enough supplies to repeat the activity several times. When my stock gets low, I just replenish.
I highly recommend using gallon size freezer bags. The size is nice and the weight of the freezer bag can take more abuse. I also recommend springing for the slider style (shown below) because this style is much easier for little hands to manage.
Two books I highly recommend and personally use for activity bag inspiration:
102 "I-Can-Do-It-Myself" Activities for Preschoolersby Leslie Retchko & Peggy Zorn (I was so sad to find out this had gone out of print. It was a simple book, but had lots of fun activity ideas that used easy to find items. It was great even for the youngest little ones. I used it for all four of my kids. This book is still available for sale used. A google search will turn up several. Sorry, but mine is not for sale. Ever.)
Preschool Activities in a Bag by Paula Reetz & Sherri MacLean (The activities are more educationally geared and better for slightly older little ones. Available at Amazon.)
Daily Boxes:
One of the great methods to reduce boredom for kids! Each day of the week gets its own box of toys and activities. Your child only sees the items in each box once a week so everything always seems exciting and new. They don't have to use all the activities each week, just what seems to work for the day. If something isn't working, put it back and grab something else out of the box. The trick is to make sure you have enough things in each bin to keep them interested.
I have used several different kinds of boxes over the years. My current favorite is the Banker Box. It ain't pretty, but it's sturdy and cheap (I have every intention of getting fancy and covering them. Then they'll be cheap and pretty). The size is great, because it can handle Activity Bags and paper sized items, but it can also handle bulky items like blocks, puzzles and play dough. Besides, it stacks really well.
Laminate:
If you are going to put this much work into your child's activity boxes you should laminate anything you possibly can. By taking the time to laminate, I have been able to reuse many of these activities for multiple kids (this isn't cheating, because the alphabet hasn't changed for a really, really long time.) It was easier to pull things together this time because I already had so much stuff from the other kids.
What I currently have in my boxes:
I will continue to add to these as the year goes. Picture books are available in our home library shelves. Just to clarify, our kids always have toys available to them, but we keep the school boxes for school times. (Wouldn't want anyone to think our kids only get cool stuff once a day....) Please make sure your child doesn't stick things in his mouth before you attempt to use any of the things I list here. Many of them are choking hazards. Even if he doesn't generally put things in his mouth, he should still be carefully supervised. Just saying...
Monday:
Book- Accidental Zucchini: An Unexpected Alphabet (I plan to purchase more special picture books to go in Pickle Mickle's boxes next month. For now, she will continue to read the ones from the bookshelf.)
ABC Puzzle Activity Bag (Print up an ABC master sheet twice. Cut one into cards. The child matches the cards to the other master sheet.)
Make a Snowman Picture Activity Bag (Construction paper for backround, cotton balls for snowman's body, toothpicks for arms, bits of black paper for eyes, mouth and buttons, glue stick for putting it all together.)
Lacing Cards
Sticker Activity Bags (Stickers & Paper. Pretty Basic. Endlessly entertaining. Works on fine motor skills, too.)
Crayons
Kumon Let's Color and More Let's Color Workbooks
Giggles Computer Software -- ABC's & 123's
Pinwheels
Tuesday:
Thistle Blocks (easy for young ones to use)
Wikki Sticks
All Mixed Up Sorting Activity Bag (small cups and lots of trinkets, like coins, craft pom poms, etc. The child can sort by kind, or by color into the cups)
Crayon Rubbing Activity Bag (we have some rubbing plates, but you can use leaves, coins, etc. Just put the item under a piece of paper and rub with the side of a crayon.)
Magnetic Fishing Activity Bag (I used foam fish from Hobby Lobby, and attached a paper clip to each fish's nose. Tie a string to a unsharpened pencil. Attach a small magnet to the other end of the string. Use a piece of blue construction paper for the "pond" -- I cut mine to look like a small pond. Scatter the fish onto the pond. The child tries to catch the fish with the magnet on her pole. Tip: it's easier with a shorter string, so if your tyke is having trouble, just shorten the string.)
Can You Remember Memory Activity Bag (A deck of memory cards would work for this, or you could make your own.)
Cardboard Learning Puzzles
Necklace Activity Bag (A stash of play necklaces provides lots of fun. They can play dress up, toss them on the floor and see what the shapes remind you of, or use a necklace to purposely make shape "drawings".)
Play Scarf Activity Box (Fill an empty kleenex box with scarves. The child can have fun pulling them out and stuffing them back in -- you'd be surprised how much fun they can have with that -- or use the scarves for dress up. They make a great hero cape, shawl, or even princess hair...)
Wednesday:
Clock Learning Activity (Even if they aren't quite ready for learning to tell time, they have fun playing with the hands on a clock. I have a couple different styles.)
Kumon Let's Sticker & Paste,Let's Sticker & Paste Amazing Animals, and More Let's Sticker & Paste Workbooks
Felt Play Book (the book is a felt house and features a family made of felt with all the fixings. The child can play dress up with them or tell stories, etc)
Giggles Computer Software Animal Friends
Punchy Punchy hole punch Activity Bag (So simple. Colorful paper and a hole punch. They like making the little holes, and spreading the dots all over the house. While they're busy making a mess, they are refining their motor skills.)
Tissue Paper Collage Activity Bag (use bits of tissue paper and glue to make a collage)
Letter Recognition "b or d?" Activity Bag (a matching game using "b" and "d" to give practice for these often confused letters.)
Mailbox Activity Box (A shoe box with a slit cut either on the top or on the side, envelope or junk mail and "stamp" stickers.)
I-spy Activity Bottle (an empty water bottle, white rice and little trinkets. Mix the rice and trinkets and pour into the bottle. Don't pack it so tight that your child can't shake it around. They have fun looking for the different surprises hiding in the rice. If your child is prone to taking lids off (mine is), I recommend gluing the lid down.
Thursday:
Watercolor Paints Activity Bag (watercolors, brushes, water cups and paper)
Color Wonder Mess Free Finger Paints
Kumon Let's Cut Paper and Let's Fold Workbooks
Blunt tip scissors
Construction Paper
Paper Bag Puppets Activity Bag (paper lunch bags, and whatever you want to use to decorate them. When you're done, you can host your own paper bag puppet show over the back of the sofa.
Cups & Ball Catchers Activity Bag (poke a small hole in the bottom of a plastic cup. Stick a piece of yarn 6-12 inches long through the hole and tie and good sized knot on the outside bottom. Tie a large craft pom-pom to the other end of the string. The child can hold the cup and try to catch the pom-pom ball.)
Toothpick House Pictures Activity Bag (Use toothpicks and glue to make house pictures on construction paper)
Trace the Shapes Activity Bag (Use crayons or pencils to trace around cookie cutters and other shapes)
Friday: Play dough Chalk Picture Activity Bag (Use chalk to draw pictures on black construction paper. You can use hairspray as a fixative if you want to preserve their work.) Bead Stringing Activity Bag (Pony beads and shoestrings. It is easier for young children if you tie a knot in one end. There's nothing more frustrating that stringing beads on one end only to have them fall off the other end.) Cut & Collage Activity Bag (Draw shapes on colored papers -- try lightening bolts, triangles, circles, etc. Your child can cut them out and make collage pictures with their efforts. Don't worry about making them look good -- they are learning motor skills, not entering an art show.) Color Clip the Square Activity Bag (cut out rectangles in different colors. Have your child clip matching colored paperclips to the rectangles -- blue paper clips to blue rectangle, etc) Chalkboard Activity Bag (slate board -- available at Hobby Lobby, and chalk. They will know what to do.) Melissa & Doug Wooden Puzzles Building Blocks Water bottle Bowling Activity Bag (Fill emptied water bottles with enough rice to make them bottom heavy - about an inch or so. Glue the lids if you need to. Use a ball to try to knock down the "pins". I only use five pins, because more than that seems a little overwhelming. It's hard for a small child to knock them all down and have to set them all back up each time if you have too many. If it's too hard, have the child stand closer to the pins.
As our needs change or boredom sets in, I will add to or change the bins. As much as we are able, we also incorporate our little one into whatever school activity we are doing. We also read to our little ones -- a lot. And we cook together. That's our preschool curriculum -- lots of hands on activities, lots of reading and lots of cuddles. It is all they have ever needed to excel.
There you have it. That's plenty to get us started for the year. Hopefully some of you will find a few helpful ideas to smooth the way a little bit. Have a great day!
