Name Recognition #9

My intention was to work on lowercase letters, but this bunch of cuties preferred to copy the letters.

So, that is what we did.

I found these:

We put them in a BIG pile and then I passed them out. They lined them up on my sheets and wrote the letter under. After they wrote the letter, they got to eat the gummi letter!

This was another fun and quiet activity. We will do it again because gummi letters are awesome!

Name Recognition #8

Magnet Letters!

Cheap Small Cookie Sheets and a Tub of These Foam Letters is all you need.

I chose foam because it is quiet.

First I let them free play. Then we sorted by color.

 Then we spelled our names. I made cards for them to copy the order of their names. We practiced first, middle, and last names. 

Sometimes we use these for Sunday centers. Sometimes we use these for quiet time.

I have even used them for spelling words.

Another fun activity that costs less than $16 for years of playtime.

Another use for these Magnets is match the sound to the letter game.

"This letter says Oooh" 

Name Recognition #7

Tot School/Preschool Activity

Need help recognizing and writing the alphabet? How about your child's name? Here is a perfect activity!

I prewrote the Alphabet (you can write their name) and have the kids paint with Q-Tips each letter.

This is a great activity that is little mess, and it is controlled.

It helps with pencil grip, name recognition, and focusing!

My 2 year old loved this activity as well. There are so many words you could have them paint.

Last name, sight words, spelling words, capitals, lowercases, etc.

Have fun with it and enjoy the quiet focused time with your kiddo! 

Color a Mosaic

I found a few websites that have free printables, and one was a Color by Number 

It resembled a mosaic (for the sake of the theme) so I printed ones that my girls would like and let them at it.

 Some were easier than others. :)

One followed the directions...

One did her own thing...

Both look great on the fridge. :)

Fun Snack : Mosaics 2

So, my sister and I constantly battle over which is better. Goldfish (fishies) or Cheez-Its.

I love Cheeze-Its. Always have. In fact, there isn't a grocery list I have made that hasn't had them on there.

Well, they are $1.00 a box last week and I bought 20 of them.

Yes, 20 of them. It is true, I am obsessed.

For this activity, you only need two or three varieties.

I grabbed some scrap paper, drew a rectangle and let the kids make their own creations in the box.

The kids love to eat art.

  

This is the perfect activity when you need to be on the phone, because there was literally NO talking.

They were so focused on this project.

And, everyone can do it. Except for him. He would try and eat the paper. :)

Perfect activity for when you are watching a friends kid, or when you have time to kill.

Or in my case, when it is snowing and you just don't want to leave.

Sorry Utah friends. :/

Paper Mosaics

Continuing on with the theme, I grabbed my square punches and let the girls "punch" from scrap paper.

I like this Fiskars one because it uses a grip instead of a thumb pointer motion.

Here is the other one.

Peek a Boo!

I showed them an example:

Then let them do it completely by themselves.

I loved what they came up with.

 This kept them so busy, I was able to balance the books without interruption!

It was a perfect thing to do with each age group.

Try it! It is so simple, uses scraps, and uses fine motor skills they need for handwriting.

Edible Mosaics

I just got back from a much needed, and deserved (if I do say so myself) vacation without my kids to New York!  While I was there, we saw several mosaics in the subway stations throughout Manhattan.

It was incredible. I took pictures of each one I saw.

When I got back to my children, I decided to teach them all about Mosaics.

I am not an art expert, but, what a perfect opportunity to showcase something awesome to my children!

We talked about what Mosaics are : a picture or other design constructed from smaller pieces.

I also realized that I have a few of these types of art pieces at my house.

Cool right?

So I grabbed some Graham Crackers, Frosting, Cheerios, Puffs, Marshmallows, Sprinkles, Reeses Pieces, and Mini M&M's and had the kids make their own "edible mosaics"

3 year old and almost 2 year old

yellow shirt 5 year old.

They were so quiet and precise. It was a great activity for all ages, even my 1 year old.

Time to eat!

Blue shirt 6 years old.

Please excuse this display of poor manners. It was my fault. I said "is it good?" and then snapped this as he said yes!

This whole week we will be working on different mosaics.

If you like this type of activity and want more, please leave me a comment and let me know!

If you want something else...tell me!

Also, hi to my new followers from MO!