More Table Time Activities

...or sprinkle activities ...or floor activities (because the days we did these we were on the floor).

My kids do better when there's some structure.  They certainly have their fair share of free play time, but there are times they need some intervention before the house comes crashing down.  Or, does that only happen in my house?

Here's an old stand-by: Hide puzzle pieces in a bin of dry beans.  Here is an ABC puzzle the kids found the letters to.  (Sorry about the picture quality.  I don't think to take pictures till after I set them up, and they're usually in a bad spot.  Oh well.)

Today, I got out our counting blocks from the Dollar Tree and cut matching colored circles to put in the bottom of a muffin pan.  Sort the blocks according to color!

 Stevie must build towers when blocks come out.

 Rearrange the colored circles in the bottom or make patterns on the floor with the circles and or blocks.

 We must also always include trucks...these are perfect being light weight to lift with his skid steer and put in his wagon.  He can also dump the blocks into the muffin tin. Way more fun than fingers!  If you don't have a skid steer like Stevie, you can use plastic tongs for more fine motor work.  I need to pick up a pair at the dollar store.

More Sprinkle Activities

Ok, this is my last homeschool post until I post something else.  (I have some drafts, but...)

Anyway, Stevie wanted to do school today, bless his little heart.  He asked me.  He wanted to read the apple book again...had to be on the floor and on the blanket.  Then he wanted to do an apple...I think he meant he wanted to color or do a project.  So, we did.  It turned into crazy school because Lydia was not going to miss this (it wasn't naptime yet), and though Stevie wanted to do school, as I suspected, his interest didn't last super long because he just got a little wild with the markers.  The apple and caterpillar were blue of course.  We'll work on the color coordination as time goes on. ;)

At the end, I pulled out our Aquadoodle mat.  I believe I got the thing for 10 cents at a garage sale.  (I got a travel one for 25 cents at another one....good for church and ...travel.).   I really think I should have my own tv show on extreme garage saling...or something because I have scored awesome and amazing deals.  (I mean for real, I got an entire bin of girl's clothes for$10...and that included the Rubbermaid bin!). I'm cheap, and the kids and I went to sales all summer long.  Does such a show exist?  The show following would probably be Hoarders.  Anyway, I love the Aquadoodle more than the kids probably do.  In case you are unfamiliar, it uses water in markers and on paintbrushes to make your pictures or writing practice or whatever.  Completely mess free...just wet!

I had gotten these sponges from...the Dollar Tree (I really should get paid for my advertising), and I was pretty excited.  They were exactly what I wanted for the Aquadoodle and for painting, for sensory bins...whatever!  I snatched the fruit ones too for our unit on the Fruit of the Spirit in the Spring.  These were in their craft section.  So, we used the airplane today on our mat for the letter A.

I forgot to mention, there is a super cute youtube video for kids called Andy's Airplanes, a cartoon boy who flies planes.  He even gets to fly in the Blue Angels.  It's about a half hour and is actually a kids cartoon I can easily tolerate and even enjoy.  Cute music, educational, good story line.  Fits great with the A theme.  I really hope they are able to make more!

I just wanted to make a note of these...to remember myself...because if there's a time I have two in homeschool, which is likely, I will need these extras!  Lydia keeps me hopping!

Gel Bag Aquarium

Oh Pinterest, how I love thee. It's a long and boring story of what took me so long to get on there, but I finally did. I love how it inspires, and therefore, motivates me to do more. I love the fact that I can find so many ideas to fit my budget and my interests. Many of these things I'm already doing, but now I can do them better. And, I love it. Completed projects (some of them) will likely be included in some posts.

Anyway, I pinned a gel bag idea for writing, squishing, and playing. Stevie isn't quite ready to doodle with it yet, but I thought it would be fun to make a blue bag and toss some little fish (toys) in there. He is so into fish...mostly, Nemo, and turtles these days. It's also a good thing to squish for my sensory boy. I bought the hair gel at the dollar store (used half of it...so I can do this again after the bag gets nasty), used a quart sized freezer bag, squirted in a couple drops of gel food coloring I had, tossed in a few random beads I had around the house, and picked up some sea animals from the Dollar Tree. (I seriously could spend hours in that store. Almost anything I need for Table Time comes from there or dollar bins at Target and Walmart.) Oh, I also added duct tape for some reinforcement. Stevie has to open everything...and of course, he kept telling me it was stuck. :)





Stevie really liked the bag. I tried to get more pictures of him, but he's not so into the camera these days...and he ended up running around the house with his new toy. See?



Lydia thought it was cool too...but she thought it was a teething toy. After playing with it for awhile, Stevie asked to put on Nemo, and he sat with his fish on his lap, while he watched some of the movie. That boy is the cutest ever.



I'm not sure how long it will last, but it's been enjoyed. I'm hoping I can wash off the fish and turtle after it's well-loved to re-use for another one down the road. If that doesn't work out, I still have several sea animals left.

Table Time

I mentioned in an earlier post I've been doing what we call, "Table Time" with Stevie most weekday mornings. It's usually during Lydia's morning nap. Here is a list of things we've been doing. I take out his little art caddy I got in those dollar bins at Target, and inside are 2 or 3 "options" (unless it's a baking project, water time, or oats and trucks...he only needs that "one" option). He can do one of them or all of them...his choice.

*Oats in a pan with construction trucks, cups, spoons, etc. He would do this one every day if I let him! (I definitely use this one on days I want to try to get something accomplished!)


*Coloring books/pages, crayons, and markers.

*Bingo Markers and paper or coloring pages for "dot" art. Stevie likes this one, but it's messy. The dot markers aren't as easy to wash off him.

*Magnetic letters and a tin.

*Tonka mini cars and trucks and a road play mat.

*Can with pipe cleaners. (He does have a tear line on his face...sometimes, he gets frustrated, but this kind of activity is really up his alley.)


*Pom-pom container with holes.
Several of these ideas came from this blog...she has SUPER ideas!

*Animal cards and oatmeal container with slit to put the cards in and take them out.

*Water tub and water toys, cups, etc.

*Play doh and accessories.

*Crafts: Crayola's website has some good ones. We often are making trucks and trains...go figure. This fall, we made a finger leaf tree (and I did this with my 1 year old Sunday School class too, so cute!): http://sbcreatively.blogspot.com/2010/10/handprint-fall-colors-tree.html Today I have a little painting project to do, so I'm giving him a wooden ornament (left over from ones we did in Children's Church last year) to paint while I paint.

*Oh, yes, he has a pocket chart! I love it. It's a very small one...from once again, the Target bins at the beginning of the school year. He has a verse on there (we hope to change up once he's able to memorize and share), pictures of his family members and names, and usually Thomas trains to move around. Now, he has a nativity scene he helped make. He mostly did the gluing because glue sticks are his thing. Of course, he decided he still needed a Thomas train up...so Percy or whoever is behind the stable.

*Baking...he helps with brownies or cookies, and then I often give him another little bowl of some flour to play in with measuring cups and spoons.

*Magnetic pen and balls (This was like a dollar from the Christmas Tree Shops...a favorite store!)


*Curlers...not to put in his hair, hehe. He can take the sponges on and off the plastic holder...eventually, he can do more of the snapping closed too.

*When there are 2 or 3 options in the bin, there is usually one of the activities listed above and then often a coloring page, a book, or some matchbox cars reserved for Table Time. This way, we don't go through the "fun" activities or "different" activities as quickly and there are several days before repeating. We also start with snack, which takes care of that, and adds a little more time.

I'm sure there are others, so I'll do a post again in the future with new things. If you have a toddler, go ahead and try some of these. They really have been wonderful in our house. We now have a cupboard in the kitchen reserved for Table Time activities. Stevie gets a little time with me or on his own that is a bit more structured, and when he's busy working on his own, I can get some dishes done.