Noah is 16 months old.
Our theme of the week was trains...specifically of the Thomas variety. If you read here at all, you are surely well aware of Noah's dear love for all things Thomas. So most of these activities are much less "planned" than usual. I opted instead to take things he loves to do already and make them a little more learning-focused. And for once, nearly every activity was thoroughly enjoyed....go figure:)
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What would a week be in this house without some Thomas videos? Noah knows exactly where the Thomas video stash is kept (in the drawer under the TV) and often takes it upon himself to rummage through the drawer, excitedly wave the chosen video in our face, then take us to the TV because HE WANTS SOME THOMAS RIGHT NOW! so he can dance a little:) Probably his favorite video right now is Hero of the Rails. He also really enjoys listening to his Train Yard Tracks cd. Seriously, Noah is a little dancing maching:)
Want to know a secret? That's not even Thomas on the tv haha! It's some Playhouse Disney show Noah watched for exactly 5 seconds (long enough for me to catch this mid-dance shot) before he lost interest. I'm quite happy to say that Noah rarely sits still long enough for a full TV show or video. The only exceptions are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Thomas. And he still is usually up dancing around or playing with something while watching. I'm so thankful he doesn't sit and watch like a zombie like some kids do! Still, I try to limit his tv time to one Thomas video and one Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode a day.
On to the activities...I saw an activity similar to this last week, but I forget where. Honestly, I had planned it before I saw the post though....great minds like alike, though, whoever it was:) Noah had to match the train to its corresponding color "station."
He did it pretty well, and really seemed to enjoy it. I also added in a little gross motor work by moving the trains to the other side of the room...he had to run and match the trains up. He liked that, as he likes anything that involves running:)
Another color matching activity...I set out several trains that have coal tenders and Noah had to match them up. Again he did pretty well...much better than I anticipated!
The coal tender matching prompted an easy lesson in magnets. Though he's seen this a million times, the fact that the trains stick together still amazes Noah:)
We talked about lining up the trains, discussing long and short. I also tried to reinforce colors a bit more. Noah really loved this activity because battery-powered Thomas was in the front and he was able to chase around the long line. He is still working on getting the concept of lining them up end-to-end.
We also discussed big and little...but I wish they made more trains in the big size besides just Thomas because Noah really enjoys the two sizes.
Noah had fun making a sticker collage...
He also enjoyed doing a pompom picture...
I helped him match the correct colors, but he did most of the gluing on his own. I just moved them all a bit closer together after he was finished. He also had fun making little dots and swirls in the black spaces....I just really need to get some dot markers!
Otherwise, Noah worked on the train color book from the 1+1+1=1 Thomas tot book, but I didn't get a picture of it, and Noah didn't finish it. Honestly, Noah doesn't like to color. Crayons seem to frustrate him for some reason.
I also made my own version of the Thomas mini book from 1+1+1=1, and Noah enjoyed looking at that. I decided to make my own version so that I could put some of his other favorite trains in it (like Hiro, Stanley, and Victor). I also hoped that I could do some matching/name identification, but Noah wasn't interested, so I don't have pictures of it either. It looks very similar to the one of 1+1+1=1, but if you'd like to use any of the other pages I created, I'd be happy to send you the file!
Noah did a lot of free play with his train toys this week. Besides his Thomas trains, he loves his Little People zoo train and spent a lot of time with it. You can also see his other Little People train/blocks/shape sorter toy in the picture, which he enjoyed as well. He has gotten quite good at shape sorters now:)
Of course, Noah enjoyed many books this week. Though he literally went through every. single. book. in his book basket at least six times this week, I did try to set apart his Thomas books. They include:
All in a Day's Work (couldn't find a link...it is a sound board book)
and a set of four I found in our antique mall...Thomas the Tank Engine Shapes and Sizes, Colors, Counts to Ten, & Coming and Going (no link again...I think they're out of print)
So, that about wraps up our week! I had planned on doing some other art projects with Noah, so I may do them next week. Otherwise, I think we'll be focusing on animals and animal sounds...Noah has been SUPER interested in that lately.
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See what others are doing for Tot School and share your own ideas at1+1+1=1!
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5 comments:
We did a Thomas thing this week too! My little one loves Thomas!
Very cute theme! :) Nice selection of activities!
I know someone who would love to play along ;)
What fun!
My daughter loves loves loves trains! But the funny thing is that she has no interest in Thomas the Train videos. There was a Barney episode that talked about trains that she liked. And she likes the Azul train character on Dora. You can see some of the train activities that I did with her on my blog under the Transportation category. That's good that your son is good at matching colors. My daughter seems oblivious to colors. She is more into letters and shapes. I want to try the color station idea that you have! Great idea to expose to colors with something they like!
Sophie has developed a sudden very urgent obsession with Thomas and I knew you had done a week with N on it. I of course am lifting a few ideas. I was wondering if you could send me the file that you made the mini book from? And where did you find Thomas stickers? Can you tell I am new to the whole Thomas thing?
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