Tot School: B is for Ball (Outside Play)

Sophie is 26 months old.

Letter of the Week: Bb

Object and Theme:  Ball/Outside Play

- Memory Verse:  Ephesians 4:32.  "Be kind to one another."  We used the printable ABC Bible Verses from Homeschool Creations.  I put the card in my Bible as a bookmark in Ephesians and let Sophie open to that page when we were going to say our memory verse.  I want her to see that the words she is learning are coming from the Bible!

- Books: The main book we read with this theme was Stop that Ball by Mike McClintock.  This was one of Clay's favorite books as a child, so he enjoyed getting to read it with her as well!  I was impressed with her attention span, as this book is a bit longer than our usual choices.  Other books included:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin
• Pete the Cat and the Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• Balls by Melanie Davis
• Biscuit Plays Ball by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
• Duck and Goose by Tad Hills

Sensory Fun

This week's sensory play was a bit messier than what I usually try, but Sophie had an absolute blast!  I got some water beads from the Dollar Tree and put them in a container with some foam letters and other small balls of different materials.  Using our handy dandy kiddie pool in the living room, Sophie played for almost an hour, pouring and smooshing the balls.  She was soaked and a mess when it was all over, but it was definitely worth it.  I'm working on not being so afraid of messy play...

I also had a bucket of assorted balls for Sophie to play with and explore.  

What's on the Shelf?

1.  Color Matching with Counting Bears.  I printed off a "B" do-a-dot and colored in the dots myself in colors that matched our counting bears.  Then I put it in a page protector and let Sophie line the bears up on the correct dots.  She could do this really well, but she wasn't very impressed.

2.  Colors Printable.  I used the colors printable from the Tot School Printables a little differently this week and it went over much better than last time!  I cut the pieces apart and laid out just three at a time with the appropriate color crayons.  She could color each individual ball, and when they were all finished we glued them to construction paper while we talked about the colors again.  This went over much better than coloring the sheet whole, and you know how my girl loves gluing.

3.  Big and Little Block Sort.  We used this for Squares week a while ago and Sophie was even better at identifying big and little this time.

4.  Ping Pong Ball Transfer.  I found these great little tongs at Walmart and they were the perfect size for Sophie's little hands.  I was very impressed at how quickly she got the hang of transferring using the tongs instead of her hands.  

5.  Beach Ball Sewing Card.  (not pictured) This was our first attempt at a sewing card and it wasn't very well received.  She did it a few times and then just wanted Momma to do it. 

Other Activities

Our whole alphabet activity this week was lots of fun!  It was lots of gross motor fun as well as pressure-free exposure to all the letters of the alphabet.  I shared the full details over at The Activity Mom.

One of the favorite books for this week was Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  I think we read this every single day after nap - such a fun book!  We did a counting "buttons" sticker activity using dot stickers that I made look like buttons.  I was really surprised how well she placed the buttons in the circles I had drawn for her.

So many yummy foods start with B!  This week we made brownies and bread together and I intentionally served bananas, beans, broccoli, and blueberries.

Fun with Printables

We using the themes from 1+1+1=1 Tot School Printables as a guide for our letter exploration.  I put some in page protectors to reuse all week with dry-erase markers, and others we used as a one-time activity.  We didn't do all that are available, but we will branch out more as we continue.  She really liked the shapes and color pages this week.  She especially enjoyed using our shape puzzle pieces to match up to the shapes on the printable.

Arts and Crafts

Our main art project this week was painting with balls.  I printed out a block letter B and put it and several small balls in a cardboard box lid.  Then I squirted some paints and we made the balls roll across the paint onto the paper. Sophie really enjoyed this and we ended up doing it several times.

She also enjoyed painting with a brush.  She told me that this picture was "crab - Sebastian." It was the first time she's told me she was making something specific!

Little Man

Miles is growing like crazy!  I cannot believe how fast he is getting big - it seems so much quicker than Sophie!  He turned three months old this month and has absolutely brightened our home with his sweet smiles.  Soon enough he'll get his own activity posts, but for now, just enjoy his sweet blue eyes, adorable grin, and multiple chins! ;)

For tons more ideas be sure to visit these sites I might link to this week!

Tot School Gathering Place at 1+1+1=1 

Tuesday Tots at Rainy Day Mum
Link and Learn at No Time for Flashcards
Show and Share Saturday Link Up at I Can Teach My Child

Tender Moments with Toddlers and Preschoolers at The Chaos and the Clutter 
Sunday Showcase at Learn Play Imagine
TGIF at 123Homeschool4Me
For the Kids Fridays at Sun Scholars