2012 Curriculum

I hate to say that I have a curriculum for my 2 1/2 year old, but I do. Being a former teacher, I have to have everything organized and thought out if I want it to get done. So this is what I have been/will be using with Laken:

• Tot School Printables We've already completed these, but will go back if needed.
• Raising Rock Stars Preschool We've just started doing some of this, but won't be doing all of the copy work and higher level stuff.
• Letter of the Week I just got this and have started printing off some activities. Laken's favorites so far are the large letter tracers.
• Kumon: I have the first 4 of these and this. Laken LOVES them!!
• Tot Time Notebook He loves having his own binder and I love that he can color over and over again with the Expo markers!
• Theme Notebook This is what his theme notebook looks like for now, but it will change with each theme we do.
• Tot Packs and Preschool Packs A lot of these will go into his Theme Notebook.
• Boca Beth (Spanish)
• Family Time Activities We recently got this book and we've been waiting for Laken to get a bit older before starting.
  
• Puggles (Awana) Laken loves his Awana group and we love doing the family activities
• We Choose Virtues We just started this character development curriculum and really like its simplicity and Biblical base!
  
• And lots of learning toys and books!

Wow, now that I've written it out, it's a lot! Obviously we don't do everything every day, but it's nice to have options of things he likes. We'll be adding in more art projects and learning games/toys with Lacy-Kate in the next couple of months as well, so I'll be posting about that as it comes!

Little Einsteins and Truth in the Tinsel

I'm just going to do a quick update on our week so that you can see what we've done!

Laken LOVED the Little Einsteins Tot Pack from 1plus1plus1! I think he did some great work for only being 2 1/2!

I put up a new book shelf in the play room (from IKEA) and he spent a lot of time finding his favorite books and reading on his couch. Here he is enjoying his Bible book!

Here's Mary from our Truth in the Tinsel!

Working on the color book from the Little Einsteins Pack.

Here's Zechariah from Truth in the Tinsel. He had hair and a nose, but they fell off! :-)

Mary and Elizabeth from Truth in the Tinsel!

Laken LOVES to do puzzles!

He did a fabulous job coloring his keys!

Our Angel Gabriel from Truth in the Tinsel!

We had a super busy, but great week! I hope you did too!

Zhu Zhu Pets

I think these little things are hilarious! Laken and his little friend Kiley spent an afternoon chasing them once, so I thought Lacy-Kate would really like playing with one. I found them on sale at Target, so I got Laken a little raccoon one (he's into raccoons right now) and I got Lacy-Kate a pink one (anything pink or sparkly makes her happy)! At first she wasn't sure about it, but once she saw how much fun Laken was having, she didn't disappoint! Here are a few pictures of her and her Zhu Zhu Pet, Sweetie.

Toy Storage

I'm always on the lookout for the best way to organize our growing number of toys. We've been trying to get rid of novelty toys and keep more of the longer-lasting, educational toys. The problem is that a lot of those have lots of pieces! (ie. Lego's, Pegs and Peg Boards, Bristle Blocks, etc.) I had them all in their own Rubbermaid bins, but that presented the problem of where to store them in our tiny space. I tried to rotate them in and out of the basement, but it just wasn't working well. I saw online that someone kept theirs in gallon ziploc bags, but I just don't think those are sturdy enough for two little ones, so I came up with a better idea! I'm storing those toys in lingerie washing bags!! These are GREAT! They are large, sturdy, and they have a zipper! The best part is that we can keep them in the storage ottomans we have and they are easily accessible and we can fit so many more in there!

Here is our Advent Calendar!! Thanks to Mama Jenn! I put her printables in a Hundreds Pocket Chart and Laken just loves it!

Here's Day 2. We were supposed to use a toilet paper roll to make a crown representing that Jesus is our King. Well, I must be the only Early Childhood Educator who doesn't keep toilet paper or paper towel rolls! Oh well, we improvised and Laken finger painted cardboard from a Mac and Cheese box! He didn't know any different and he loved it!

Day 1: Truth in the Tinsel

So today we did our first day of Truth in the Tinsel and it went great! Considering that it had been a long day (trip to Target, Laken's Early Intervention Playgroup aka "school," short naps, Christmas Tree Lighting at the Base Chapel, and a long dinner), it went great! Laken wasn't terribly interested in listening to the scripture, but because I was reading it on the iPad, his eyes were glued to it! He had so much fun making his craft and Micah and I had a wonderful time explaining to him that Jesus is the Light of the World! Lacy-Kate participated by eating that tissues paper :-) I think she'll get more into next year!

Here's a look at what we did!

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 and a picture and description of our Advent calendar!

It's not too late for you to start this as well! There are abbreviated schedules or you can just double up on crafts one day! Click here to buy the ebook!