tot school & learning through love - more with yellow & things that go

Noah is 14 months old...as of Monday:)

Being so swamped with things for nursing school, I feel like my "learning" time with Noah is taking a backseat for now:( Which isn't ideal, but I know I don't have to fit in every little activity under the sun to do this "right." I've just always been a major overachiever, so I feel like I have to cram stuff in to be doing a good job. But no worries...I'm working on not feeling like that:)

This week we continued working with things that go (trucks, trains, & tractors) and the color yellow. We also did some non-themed activities.

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Basically, Noah continued doing the same activities as last week with the color yellow and with "things that go." Here, he played with some bristle blocks, working on taking the wheels on/off the axel.

We did a few art projects to go along with the "things that go" theme too. Noah helped me decorate a train made using a toilet paper roll. I saw this craft a long time ago, and thought it would be a perfect time to pull it out of the to-do file:) It was also a good opportunity to use our special color (yellow).

Poor train, though...it never stood a chance with Noah around! Noah did part of the decorating by himself, some we did together, and the words/numbers/face I did for him. I snapped this shot after he had played with it for literally 2 minutes..

He really enjoyed playing with it, but he definitely needs more, umm, sturdy toys:)

Noah also made a picture of different vehicles' tracks. I sat out about 5 or 6 different little cars & trucks and helped him paint their wheels. Then I let him drive them around on the paper (yellow again) however he wanted. He was a little reluctant at first, but after I showed him how it was done, he really enjoyed this activity too!

As you can imagine, though, it was quite messy:) So no pictures in progress...just the finished product!

I had intended on taking a little field trip with Noah this week too. My family owns a concrete company in our area, and I had hoped to take Noah by to see the big trucks, loaders, and such. But we didn't make it:( It's probably just as well, because it can get really messy around there with all the dust and mud flying about.

But in lieu of the concrete plant visit, we did visit a car lot with Daddy last weekend:) He recently bought a new truck, and was getting it detailed, so Noah and I tagged along. The dealership was fairly quiet, so we all wandered around the lot while the truck was being worked on. Noah had a blast seeing all the different cars and trucks. He LOVES looking at the wheels especially...I think he likes their shininess:)

Some other activities Noah did with "things that go" included:

playing with his MegaBloks tractor and dump truck

playing with his beloved Thomas trains:)

doing vehicle/car puzzles

reading the vehicle-themed books we have (see our Shelfari for titles)

Some other activities Noah did with the color yellow included:

playing in his color box (see last weeks post for pictures)

yellow color & fruit/veggie cards from Homeschool Creations

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We also did some non-themed activities this week.

Our yard has been in desperate need for raking, so we made it a family affair:) Noah had a ball crashing, often face first, in the many piles around our yard..

I wanted some pictures without the paci, but we quickly learned that leaves apparently taste pretty yummy to Noah! So the paci stayed in..

We spent almost two hours one afternoon working the yard, and only are about half finished! Which at least is good for Noah, because he'll have more fun to look forward to:)

Noah enjoyed some other old standby activities for him as well. Any time I bring out pompoms he is a happy guy:) So he worked with pompoms in a formula container, ice cube tray, pouring in bowls, etc. I've shown pictures of these before, so nothing new there...Noah just always likes these.

And Noah always loves books, so some of his other favorites from the week included:

Dizzy Dragon by Roger Priddy

John Deere Farm 123 by Parachute Press

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle (his all time favorite!)

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See what others are up to at Tot School...hosted by Carisa at1+1+1=1!

And see how others are Learning Through Love...hosted by Susana at My Family My Forever!

tot school & learning through love - the color yellow & trucks, trains, and tractors

Noah is 13 months old.

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We've had yet another busy busy week around here. I don't really feel like Noah did very much, but I'll still share what I've got. I know quantity isn't important...the quality is what really counts:)

Color Theme: Yellow

Noah has moved on to yellow in his color box. I actually changed it out late last week because he was bored with the last one, so I think I'll be changing these every two weeks now. Anyway, here is what we found on our yellow color hunt!

From the box in no particular order...foam numbers, mega blok pieces, piece of ribbon, pompoms, puzzle piece, fridge magnet puzzle pieces, mini book, Luigi (from cars) bath toy, three Thomas trains (spotlight lorry, cherry picker, and Duncan), railroad crossing sign, fake lemon, giraffe (from little people), plastic ball

Noah really seems to enjoy this activity:) He has especially been playing with the box this time around, exploring it independently throughout the day.

Other than the new color box, though, the color activities haven't been happening this week. He did color with/take the cap off and on a yellow highlighter several times:) But not much else...

Theme: Trucks, Trains, and Tractors

I feel like there aren't very many Thanksgiving activities/crafts for the youngest ones out there to easily do, so I'm waiting a couple of weeks to begin those. So in lieu of a seasonal theme, we'll be focusing on trucks, trains, and tractors (things that go) for the next while.

Again, this week we kept things simple....he enjoyed some of his books.

The ones from this week included (also on my Shelfari):

Go Go Trucks! by Simon Hart

Usborne Touchy Feely Trucks by Fiona Watt & Rachel Well

Bright Baby Trucks by Roger Priddy

Engines All Day by Rev. W. Awdry

Thomas and Friends- Baby Fingers Book by Random House

Touch and Feel Tractor by Parachute Books

Noah played with his MegaBlok dump truck and tractor, with the added activity of shoveling the blocks into the trucks rather than just placing them in. He has been very into shoveling/spooning/stirring lately.

Noah also played with his Fridge Bubble Wash magnet set. He plays with this all the time, but I really focused on him recognizing the different types of vehicles..especially the trucks!

Other activities we did with this theme that I didn't get pictures of included:

--lots of play with his Thomas trains, buildings, and table

--lots of play with his other cars & trucks

--"zooming" on his ride-on Mater truck

--building vehicles (with LOTS of help) out of bristle blocks

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So, my apologies on a skimpy week! This past week was just really hectic all around, and though I had some great plans, I didn't get to everything. But, I do have several new activities to do this upcoming week for both our color theme and our trucks, trains, and tractors theme, including some new art projects and a field trip!

See what others are up to at Tot School...hosted by Carisa at1+1+1=1!

And see how others are Learning Through Love...hosted by Susana atMy Family My Forever!

tot school & learning through love - finishing up with halloween:)

Noah is 13 months old.

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Phew! I am one tired mama today! Sorry to be posting this later than usual...I am absolutely swamped with things for school, but I needed a mental break and decided to post about what we did last week:)

Color Theme: Orange

Noah was pretty much tired of orange by last week. He wasn't very interested in the color box anymore, and he only played a couple of times with the other activities I've been using, like the pompoms in macaroni noodles..

I actually changed his color box halfway through the week, but I'll share about our new color next week.

Seasonal Theme: Halloween

Even though we're all pretty much pumpkin-ed out around here, I tried to make this week before Halloween fun:) We read through our Halloween books for the last few times this week (see those on my Shelfari on the sidebar!).

Noah made a spooky picture with Mickey Mouse scrapbooking stickers..

Again, I am SUPER proud of how well he is doing with stickers now! The only thing I put on this picture was one of the graves to show him that even though these were 3D, they worked just like regular stickers. Here is his finished product:)

Noah also made a picture to go along with the Five Little Pumpkins book. I drew the gate, and then (with assistance, of course!) Noah added his fingerprints to make the pumpkins. Then he helped me color in the moon and the sky and grass. He LOVED used the paint on his fingers!

Finally, we made footprint ghosts. I forget where I first saw these as I have since seen them several places, but I thought it was a super cute art project. Noah, however, did not:) Paint on the feet? NOT his thing! That's why both ghosts are from the same foot.

It still turned out cute though:)

Noah has really enjoyed playing with the Halloween erasers I introduced to him last week! I tried to use them in different ways, though, so he wouldn't get bored with them. Here, Noah had to push the erasers through the small opening of this little beaker (from a Chickfila kids meal!)..

I also tried to introduce tongs this week, but he isn't really ready for them. He tried several times to use them correctly, but mostly just liked to explore these separate from the eraser activity.

Miscellaneous

Noah has shown a very renewed interest in his trains this week. He particularly likes to play with this firehouse. The door opens/closes by turning a knob on the side. It also shoots out a train if one is inside the house. This has been a great cause-and-effect tool!

Noah has also been very into playing with the pots and pans at my mom's house again! I worked with him on matching the pots to the lids several times..

And also let him have free "music" time with them. He LOVES playing these like drums:)

Finally, Noah has begun bringing me books to read to him...that makes me a happy mama:) He definitely has favorites, though....a few of them include:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle

Bennie's Garden and Daisy's Farm by Genny Haines (couldn't find these on amazon..they're pull-the-tab books)

Charlie Monkey by Roger Priddy

My First Read and Learn Bible

Halloween Pictures

I thought I'd finish up by sharing a few Halloween pictures:) We didn't actually go anywhere on Halloween, not even to our church's trunk-or-treat. It was rainy and yucky and cold all day, so we opted to stay in.

Noah did go to a little Halloween party Sunday before at my brother's girlfriend's house, but I forgot my camera:( He had fun though! A little shy around all of the kids, but he warmed up eventually. Plus, he got to wear his costume then too!

This year, in honor of Noah's love of Thomas and all things trains, he was out Little Conductor:)

He still showed off his costume on Halloween at my mom's house. These pictures were taken there..

No candy for the little man just yet though! He did enjoy chewing on some malt balls through the wrapper though:)

I hope you all had a fun Halloween!

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See what others are up to at Tot School...hosted by Carisa at 1+1+1=1!

And see how others are Learning Through Love...hosted by Susana at My Family My Forever!

tot school & learning through love - more with orange, fall, & halloween:)

Noah is 13 months old.

I'm excited to be linking up to both Tot School and Learning Through Love this week! I've been doing Tot School for a while now with Carissa, and I think I'll also start participating in Learning Through Love with Susana. I love both of their blogs:)

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We had a fun week this week! I had two days off from my nursing classes because it was fall break on campus:) So I had two full days home with Noah in addition to my regular half days I usually have which was very nice!

Oh how I miss my summer days of staying home with him all the time...I feel conflicted sometimes about staying home versus doing nursing. I have a real passion for both. I'm definitely planning on finishing school and getting my BSN, but I think ideally I'll end up working part time and then staying home/homeschooling Noah the rest of the time. This is something I am seriously in prayer about, so we'll see what God has in store for us:)

Theme: Fall/Halloween

I picked up some Halloween erasers for Noah at Walmart this week. He loved putting them into the ice cube tray...great 1-to-1 correspondence/fine motor work. He still isn't sorting yet, but I still tried. I also hope next week to introduce tongs or a spoon or something to work on transferring them a different way.

Noah also made another pumpkin patch picture this week. Since we already have one for our house, we made one for his Granny. Now it is proudly displayed on the fridge, of course:)
He has improved a lot from the last time we made a picture like this! He put every sticker on by himself this time...I was impressed!

Noah continued to play in his fall sensory box. He also played with bigger fake pumpkins/gourds at his Granny's house. And by playing, I mean he mostly chews on them:)

We also added a couple of new fall/Halloween books to our list:

The Scarecrow and the Spider by Todd Aaron Smith

I'm Not Scared of Halloween Night by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton

Carissa had recommended these, and we just happened to find them on sale at our local Family Christian store! Noah really likes them both, and they've been added to our Shelfari over on the right incase you're interested in them:)

Theme: Orange

We continued with the color orange this week, and Noah kept playing a lot in his color box.

I tried another twist on hide-and-seek bowls....I used uncooked pasta and orange pompoms. Only I didn't have quite enough pasta to cover up the pompoms...but Noah didn't mind, and I just used what I had in the pantry:)
He liked the pasta MUCH better than the rice I tried before. He didn't really do much with the pompoms, but he did have LOTS of fun messing in the pasta, transferring it between the containers, digging around, and such.

We also read quite a few color books, especially concentrating on the sections/pages about orange.

Noah wanted to play with his foam number tiles many times this week, so I pulled out the orange ones and reinforced the color as he played.

Additional Stuff

This is more of a life skill that real tot school, but I thought I'd include it. Noah ate with a fork independently for the first time this week! He was quite proud of himself and thought it was hilarious to spear the food on the fork.

In other life skill-esque things, Noah added two new words to his vocabulary this week! He said "play" and "dance." If you've been reading here for any length of time, you know that these are probably Noah's two favorite activities, especially dancing! It is so exciting to hear new words from Noah...he is very proud of himself when he accomplishes stuff like that:)

He played with his Fridge Farm & Bubble Wash a ton this week! He is finally playing with it correctly too, and is able to make matched on his own. He also knows which magnets go where.
He actually was playing in his color box one day and found the orange horse magnets that go to the farm and took them back into the kitchen so he could put it where it belonged...funny boy:)

He played with his puzzles a few times....he still has trouble getting the pieces to fit into the slots, but he can match the pieces to the correct area.

He also played more with pompoms in his old formula container. He really enjoys this fine motor activity! I try to reinforce colors with this too..

Finally, Noah has seriously been enjoying the Brainy Baby Animals dvd we won from Carissa's 1000 Subscribers giveaways. He especially loves to dance to the songs:) I'm so excited we won that particular giveaway...I'm planning on adding more Brainy Baby products to our stash soon!

That's what we've been up to this week! See what others are doing for Tot School and share you own ideas and experiences at 1+1+1=1!