The other day I attended an online discussion on how to occupy your toddlers while teaching the older ones. I went in the hope that I could gleam something new for them to do. It turned out to be mostly things I had heard before. Then I thought I should share some of the things I do with my tots to occupy them during the school day. Some are kind of messy but at least I get some uninterrupted time to teach. This is stuff that only comes out during school hours to make it more special.
- Activity bags – These are basically things you put together that they can do independently and stored in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Here are some of the ones I have for them.
a) A geoboard with rubber bands and shape cards. They get the board out and use the rubber bands to try and copy the shape on the card.
b) 2 sets of index cards with stickers on them. Each card will have a certain number of stickers and they try to find the other card that has the same number of stickers. Ex. If they pick the card with 3 stickers from one set they then try to find the card with 3 stickers from the other set.
c) Magnetic foam shapes and paper patterns – I took the shapes and drew some patterns by tracing on thin sheets of paper. They then take the paper pattern out and tack it to the fridge and then take the magnetic foam shapes and try to make the pattern. I have one with alphabet magnets too.
d) Coloring book pages and watercolors, paint brush, cup, and small rag – I think this one is pretty self explanatory.
e) Simple coloring pages and lots of stickers – I find things like a picture of a tree or shapes and have them fill in the shape with the stickers. You can get a pack of 600 stickers from Big Lots for $0.88. They’re small but that will keep them busy longer.
f) Different colored legos and colored cups – I have them sort the legos into the same colored cup.
g) Glue, construction paper, and images – I find coloring page images cut them out and cut them up like a puzzle. I usually cut them into 3 or 4 pieces. They then glue the pieces back together to make the picture.
h) A homemade spinner, bingo cards, and large buttons or poker chips. I made simple bingo cards by drawing different shapes in a 3 x 3 grid. I then made a spinner by sectioning it off into 8 places and drawing the shapes one to a space. For the spinner I used a brass fastener and a Popsicle stick cut in half with a hole DH drilled into it. They spin the spinner and whatever shape it lands on is what they cover on the board with their buttons. The middle space is free. 3 in a row wins.
i) Cut and paste pictures, glue, scissors, and construction paper – I print off some cut and paste pictures and stick them in the bag. I have to refill this a lot because it is Peanut’s favorite.
j) Foam shapes, string – I made some shapes out of foam and them hole punched holes along the edge about ½ inch in. They then take the string and lace it through the holes.
k) Beans and cups – I used a small amount of several obviously different beans and put enough cups to match the number of beans. They then sort the beans into the cups.
l) Large beads and string – I made some bead patterns on some sections of string and put them in the bag. I then cut sections of string and tied a knot on one end and placed beads that matched what I used in the bag. They pull out a bead pattern and a piece of string and try to copy my pattern.
m) Pieces of blank paper, stamps, and washable ink – They use the stamps to create pictures.
n) Stencils, pencils, paper - I have alphabet stencils they use to trace letters onto sheets of paper. I also have one that has washable paint, paint brush, water cup, and animal stencils for them.
o) Images from a magazine, and colored cards – I used index cards and put a different color on each. I then cut various things out of a magazine that matched the colors. I glued each image on an index card. They then match the images to the right color card.
p) Story books with audio tapes
- A play dough bin – has various colors of play dough with lots of different play dough accessories like rolling pins, cookie cutters, and other things. This is one of the things that only come out during school.
- A tote with rice, bowls, measuring cups, and spoons – they just have fun pretending they are cooking. I also have a small sauce pan in their. This does make a mess but it is pretty easy to clean up.
- No spill bubbles – Yes I let them blow bubbles in the house. It cleans up pretty easily.
- Paint, paper plates, and sponges stored in a tote. I’ll squeeze some paint on to the paper plate and wet the sponges. They then dip the sponges into the paint and make some really cool art work on large pieces of construction paper.
- A bucket with different size bouncy balls. They try to bounce the ball into the bucket. Warning this is only a good activity if you have a playroom.
- A bucket of mega blocks is always a good distraction.
- A tote of different shape wooden blocks.
- Putting an old sheet over the kitchen table and giving them some blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. They sit there and pretend they are camping or whatever is going through their little minds.
I also try and find ways to include them in what we are doing. If we are doing a Science project or History project I try to come up with a way for them to do it too. When we do some experiments they just can’t help but most times they can. Like when we did our Egyptian study they made what I believe was amulets out of clay with us along with various other things. It just takes a little more patience to include them.
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Posted by Anonymous 
Posted by 
Jan. 21, 2007 - Great List!!
Blogger Friends School is fun -- I am sure you'd like it. Here's the link:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TrainingHearts/212504/
Blessings, Beckie :o)