Toddler Box 6: Counting Ducks

Hi friends!

Abbey and I have been playing along with the Readathon at MeMeTales. It is so much fun! MeMeTales is a children's e-book app that is available for iPhone, iPod and most e-readers. The app gives you access to tons of books, some for free, and some available for purchase at great prices!
During the readathon you get to "borrow" books each week that fit a certain theme. Every week, new books become available.
This week's theme was animals. Abbey's favorite!! We read The Donkey and The Wolf, The Lion and The Mouse, and 5 Little Ducklings. Abbey was having so much fun counting the ducks that it inspired another Toddler Box!

This one takes a bit more prep work than the other boxes, but I think it's worth it.
I started with some yellow foam, and a duckling outline I found through Google Images.

I cut out the ducks, decorated them with a little fabric paint, and added dots from 1-5. Then I cut out some numbers and glued them onto clothes pins.

This game works in the same way as the Paint Chip Matching Game. Find a match, clip it on!

Abbey loves counting, and this game lets her practice that while working on her fine motor skills. It's simple, and she get's to say "I did it!" all the time while she plays.

I plan on adding 5 more ducks and making the game go up to 10, but I didn't have enough foam for that, so I'll have to pick up some more.

Be Blessed!

Heather

I'm linking up, come play!

Toddler Box 5: Matching

Hi friends!

I have a new Toddler Box for you today! Not gonna lie, this one was pretty much an accident, but it's one of Abbey's favorites!

I know matching games are nothing new. Between real life games, phones and ipads we have approximately 213981346123678 of them. Abbey loves them!

I had originally just planned to keep all of her card games in this box. Simple storage. Then we pulled out a matching game one day...

We spread the cards all over the floor, and on a fluke, when Abbey found a match, I stuck them in the box instead of just making a pile on the floor.

They fit perfectly! I mean, I couldn't have planned it if I tried. Seriously. So, the matching Toddler Box was born.

Abbey can play this game completely on her own at this point. Sometimes she needs help getting the cards spread out, but after that, she's good to go!
My favorite part of this game...it cleans itself up! I'm serious. The whole point of the game is to put the cards back in the box! Win!

Right now, our favorite game is this one, from Dollar Tree:

I liked that it gave me 2 different options for matching. I love things that get harder as Abbey is ready for it. Right now she matches the split pictures. We haven't tried the flip side yet. We'll try soon!

Another one I just found in the $1 section at Target (love!) is this one:

We've just started working on rhyming with Abbey, so I think she'll like this one.

Really, any matching game would work. Use whatever your little one is ready for!

Be blessed!

Heather

p.s. Make sure you check out the Kids Co-Op party down below, and link up any fun things you've been up to! There are some great ideas in there!

I'm linking up here, come join me!

Toddler Box 4: Cutting

Wow, guys! I posted 1LW Wednesday yesterday, and totally forgot that it was actually Thursday! Yikes. This is what happens when I go to work on a different day of the week.

Now that I know what day of the week it is...

It's Toddler Box time!

This one is so easy, and has so many different options for kids at all levels. I had a box like this in my classroom last year, and one of my kiddos loved it! It's great for fine-motor work, and pre-school skill building.

I started out with craft foam.

 I bought a pack of half sheet craft foam at Hobby Lobby for $6. It's going to last us forever! Cut your foam pieces down so they fit into your Toddler Box. Add in some (child safe) scissors, and you're all set!

Get to cutting!

This was Abbey's first time using scissors, so she had a hard time getting the hang of it. She'll figure it out soon! She kept wanting to use the scissors to pull on the foam and tear it, rather than cutting through it.

Getting there...

If your little one is having a hard time maneuvering classic scissors, try some loop scissors. They will help them master the motion of cutting without having to do as much work. 

Why foam and not paper? A few reasons. It's sturdier than paper, which is nice. Abbey can't squish it while she's concentrating on cutting. It also stands up while she holds it, instead of flopping over. It also gives her a bit more resistance than paper would.

Have kids that are already cutting? Make things a bit trickier! This is also a great way to work on cutting/tracing!

Add some lines to your foam and you instantly have a new cutting activity! 

My favorite part of this crafty Toddler Box? No waste! 

All those little pieces that you end up with are perfect for all sorts of fun and games! Use them for mosaics, or sorting, or whatever your little one can come up with!

Learning and recycling? Sweet!

Now, it's Kids Co-op time! Yay!

Welcome to this special outdoor, earth friendly, kid adventure, non-stop projects, and ideas editionof The Kid's Co-op! 

Each week we get together we'll ask YOU to share your favorite kid's activities. We'd love to see a plethora of ideas geared for toddlers to pre-teens. We are looking for activities that are family oriented, fun, unique and educational. Please share your favorite project or blog post below. We will be sharing our favorite post from our own blogs too! {Co-hosted by: The Kid's Co-op Group, Let's Lasso the Moon& Nurture Store}

PS: By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on our group Pinterest Board. Are following the Kid's Co-op on Facebook? Let's connect!

Be Blessed!

Heather

Toddler Box 3: Pom Poms

Hi friends!

Toddler boxes are back! Yay! The one I have for you today is a go-to in our house. It is so versatile!

Super simple. Pom Poms and pinchers. Pom Poms are available in all sorts of colors at craft stores, and I found the oversize tweezers at my local teaching supply store.

Abbey likes to fill up her tea cups with pom poms, so those usually live in the box, too.

Sometimes we fill them up by color. Sometimes we fill up the cups and use the pinchers to put them back in the box.

Would you like some "punch"?

Another thing Abbey likes to do with these is glue them to paper. It is a great chance for her to work on multi-step projects. She's still working on getting enough glue onto her paper to get them to really stick, but we're getting there.

If your little one is up for more of a challenge, you can have them fill in the circles on bingo-dauber worksheets. 

I find a lot of great ones HERE.

Have any of you made any Toddler Boxes yet? I would love to see them! Link me up in the comments!

Now, it's time for the Kids Co-Op Linky Party!  I am amazed every week at the fantastic ideas in there. Make sure you check them out!

This post is linked up. Come play with me!

Toddler Box 2: Beads

Hi everyone! 

I'm here with another Toddler Box for you, and then on to some Kids Co-Op linky goodness!

I am having so much fun putting these boxes together, and Abbey is having so much fun playing with them (which is, after all, the point!) I can't wait to share more of them!

Here is this weeks addition:

Bead stringing! I love this activity because you can do so much with it, and it can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. It addresses all sorts of skills, and is SO easy to put together. A big tub of beads (I used maybe a third of it) and some pipe cleaners and you are set. 

NOTE: If you have any reason to believe that this activity poses a safety concern to your child, please don't do it, k? Thanks!

Why pipe cleaners you ask? Why not string? I like using pipe cleaners because you don't have to worry about the beads falling off the end! No knots. no nothing!

Abbey loves playing with her beads!

This game is especially fun to play while rocking some serious bed-head, and some new Dora jammers. If you haven't done it, I highly recommend it.

If you can believe it, this is the toned-down version of this morning's bed-head. It was epic.

You can do so many things with this box.

You can work on plain ol' fine motor skills:

You can match colors:

You can match patterns:

This is a new one for Abbey, so I think we'll be working on this one quite a bit.

Or, you can make "snails".

and take them swimming.

It's your choice, really!

Now it's time for Kids Co-Op fun! 

If you're new to the Kids Co-Op linky party, let me explain it a bit to you. This isn't your typical link up. Anything you link up here, will also appear at all of our co-hosts blogs. How cool is that? This week we have almost 60 co-hosts! That's your idea, at almost 60 different sites, with one little link up! Sweet deal.

Make sure to check out some of the awesome activities that get linked up. There is some fantastic stuff in there every week!

Toddler Box 1: Buttons

Hi everyone!

This was originally posted over at Mess For Less last week as a guest post, but I wanted to post it over here for anyone that missed it! I've got a whole series of these coming up...get excited! Make sure you check out some of the co-hosts of the Kids Co-op this week, as well.

I've recently started putting together something for Abbey that I have named Toddler Boxes. They are simple, self-contained activities that Abbey can, for the most part, complete by herself. I'm sharing my first one here with you today!

First of all, I found some great little tote boxes with snap-on lids at Hobby Lobby. They are the perfect size for Abbey, and the stack together perfectly so we can store them where she can reach them. Honestly, finding those boxes was the springboard for the whole Toddler Box idea!

I also found these buttons at Hobby Lobby for $5! Woohoo! 

Much better than trying to collect buttons from the sewing section, and they are nice and chunky with nice, big holes. Yes, I realize it says age 4 and up. If you have any reason to believe that your child would put these in their mouth, maybe wait a while before you try out this activity.

The S'getti String was $3 for 50 yards! Seriously, I have no idea what I'm going to do with all of it! I liked it for this activity because it is narrow and flexible enough to fit through the button holes, but it is sturdy, and doesn't fray.

This picture is sideways and I can't fix it...sorry! Blame Blogger!

Abbey loves her buttons!

The first time we played this, she had a hard time and I heard a lot of  "I can't!", but now she's a pro!

How's that for focus?? Haha!

She is so good about keeping the buttons in the box, or picking them back up if they come out. This box is a LIFESAVER at dinner time!

Now...on to the linky party! Check out our co-hosts, they've got a ton of great stuff today! 

Imprints from Tricia No Time For Flash Cards Train Up a Child Caution! Twins at play Creative Family Fun mamascout Share With A Kid Scribble Doodle and Draw

One Perfect Day Ways2Play Mum of Twins a Toddler and a Teenager Carrots Are Orange Small Types Rainy Day Mum Smiling like Sunshine Dirt and Boogers RainbowsWithinReach

The Mommies Made Me Do It It's A Long Story Reading Confetti B.Inspired, Mama! The Good Long Road PlayDrMom ToddlerApproved Growing A Jeweled Rose

This post is linked up. Come play!