The Alphabet Wall

My home has slowly, over the last 2 years, been taken over by children. However, I think I have reached a whole new level of tackiness with the alphabet wall. It is my wall of glory/shame. It is great for my home daycare, I just can't have adults visit anymore! I guess it is the teacher in me that compelled me to do it. Still, I don't regret it.

There are two long strips of Velcro on a laminated backing, which contain enough space for the complete set of alphabet cards to stick to. The alphabet cards are also laminated and have Velcro on the back.

Truthfully, the kids aren't that into it yet. (A little surprising, since Noah is very into the alphabet. Just not this representation of the alphabet, I guess!). Noah likes to just rip them all down, which is why I usually keep the cards in the closet. I ask them now and then if they want to put the ABC's up. They are into it for about four letters, then tire of it. I am so glad it is up and there for the future though; when they are ready, I am ready!

Noah and Aidas have seen a little bit of the movie "Up" (as much as their attention spans could take). The DVD was a gift from Noah's Nanny. The CD case has been hanging around our living room, and they keep bringing it to me to talk about the "boons" (balloons), the dog, and the little boy pictured on the front. They know that the movie is called "Up", and I show them the letters on the front that spell this. Today I spelled "UP" on the wall with the alphabet cards, and showed the kids how it was the same as the letters on the CD case. They thought that was pretty cool!

Planning a Birthday Party for a 2-year-old

This weekend, Noah got to go to his buddy Hollis's 1st birthday party. Happy birthday, Hollis!

On the left: Not impressed with the singing of "Happy Birthday". On the right: Mommy Hien feeding her boy.

In one more month, Noah will turn 2, and we will throw a little party for him too. I wasn't sure exactly what a party for a 2-year-old should look like, so I looked for some advice on the net. Here are some tidbits of advice from cyberspace that I will be taking into account when planning Noah's party.

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  "By the age of two, guests will appreciate a little goody bag." (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/traditions/2yrpartyguide/) I know from the 3 kids' parties we've been to, that Noah did really enjoy the loot bag. It's nice for all the children to get a little treat, especially after watching their peer open gifts!
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  "Just keep the party short to avoid a house full of cranky toddlers." (http://www.chiff.com/entertain/2-year-old-party.htm) Everyone discussing this topic seems to offer this advice! I think 2 hours is the maximum amount of time a party for a 2-year-old should be. They just get overstimulated after a while, with all the commotion.
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   "Two-year-olds don't have a long attention span, so don't plan too many structured activities," (http://www.momstoday.com/articles/birthday-time/happy-second-birthday-4939/) I was looking at some websites recommending games like 'Pass the Parcel' and 'Simon Says'. Really??!! The two-year-olds I know would not play these games, at least not in the traditional sense. 'Pass the Parcel' would entail one child running down the hall with the parcel, and the other children trying to tear it away from him. There would probably be biting involved. Simon Says would go like this, "Simon says clap your hands. Now stomp your feet. Oops, Simon didn't say to stomp your feet! You're all out." Poor confused children. No, I think the best tip for planning a party for a child this young is: Keep it simple! I see it as a larger, more organized playdate.
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  '"Don't worry if your child has a meltdown, refuses to eat cake or is just generally disinterested in the whole event." Dabek reminds us that toddlers can be unpredictable. "If you relax, have fun and don't set too many expectations for the party, you will have a much happier outcome!"'  (http://www.momstoday.com/articles/birthday-time/happy-second-birthday-4939/3/)  

I have yet to plan this party, so I am still mulling over a lot of ideas. Once I have had the party, I will add my own tips to this list, based on what went well at the party. Stay tuned!

Making Traffic Signs

I decided to make "Stop" and "Go" signs with the kids. They already know their basic colours, and they know from books we read that green means go, and red means stop. They are also noticing stop signs during our walks. I figured this would be a good way to solidify the knowledge they have about traffic signs or lights, and make the print that goes with the signs (or at least the stop sign) more familiar to them. The alphabet must be overwhelming to kids, so if I can find fun, non-threatening ways for them to interact with print, I can lay a positive foundation for later reading.

I cut out of bristleboard two octagon shapes and two circles. I gave them the red paint for the octagons first. They merely dotted their paintbrushes a few times on the shapes, so I 'helped' them paint them in. It went similarly when painting the circles green. They got a little more into painting when I took the shapes away and gave them a few other colours to work with, but it was still a pretty short-lived activity.

When the painted shapes dried I glued large popsicle sticks to them. In front of them, I wrote "STOP" on the two stop signs and "GO" on the two green circles and then gave one of each sign to each of them. They proceeded to go up and down our long hallway holding both signs up at once and yelling "STOP!" (Noah's version of 'stop' is "paaaa." He seems to begin with the last consonant for some words.)

Anyway, I still have to admit they are not crazy about painting. Aidas is definitely more into it than Noah, though. They are still young though, and their tastes seem to change week by week.

Adventures in Kidland

Teething troubles. Noah seems particularly bothered by his brand new molars coming in. When you think about it, it's gotta hurt! Poor guys. Here they are, sucking on teething toys from the fridge.

We went to the "Choo Choo Playground", commonly known as Vine Parkette. It is really a beautiful playground, with an abundance of children's toys (including ride-ons and sand-box toys). The Junction is such a child-friendly neighbourhood that these toys remain at the park. The special feature of this playground is that it is right by the train tracks. It is so exciting for the kids to see the trains go by! In this picture, Noah is watching a train chugging slowly along.

As if seeing 3 trains was not enough excitement, we also saw a tractor. It was there to sweep the baseball diamond.

We watched that tractor intently for a very very long time!

The Hokey Pokey

THE HOKEY POKEY (I simplify it a bit for this age group. Begin by standing in circle.)



You put your one hand in (put one hand in the middle of the circle)
You take your one hand out (put your hand behing you)
You put your one hand in (put the same hand back in)
And you shake it all about (shake your hand)
You do the hokey pokey
And you turn yourself around (turn yourself around until you're facing the middle of the circle again)
And that's what it's all about! (one clap after this line)

Repeat with: one foot, head, whole self

Ring Around the Rosie

RING AROUND THE ROSIE
(I use "husha" instead of "ashes" because the origin of the song kind of creeps me out. Kids LOVE this song and its actions!)



Ring around the rosie
A pocket full of posies (Hold hands and walk around in circle)
Husha! Husha! (Stop walking, but keep holding hands)
We all fall down! (Fall down!)

Old Macdonald - Letter Recognition

OLD MACDONALD (An old favourite! I don't normally encourage the kids to sing while eating, but thought it would be a better way to demonstrate on camera how we are linking letters with sounds in songs.)



Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O (point to each letter as you clearly sing it)
And on his farm he had a cow (show picture of, or toy of)
E-I-E-I-O (point to letters)
With a moo moo here
And a moo moo there
Here a moo, there a moo
Everywhere a moo moo
Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O (point to letters)

For those NOT familiar with the song, you can choose different animals and animal sounds for different verses.