Weekly Learning - Basic Shapes

I know I haven't posted in a while. We have been potty training our little toddler.... so I'll just use that as my excuse for not posting anything for a while. Haha :)

We actually did our Weekly Learning: Shapes, a couple of weeks ago but then things got crazy and I didn't have time to post about what we did. So here ya go!

Day 1: Songs

My daughter loved these 2 YouTube songs. The "I'm a Square" one was stuck in my head all week long!!

I'm a Square..."

Shape Song

Day 2: Activity

I used paper and cut out all the basic shapes.

We just spread them all out on the floor and and practiced them. I would point to one and ask her, "What shape?" and we just kept reviewing them each day and she picked it up really quickly!

Day 3: Get Out

We didn't really do a "Get Out" activity during our week about shapes but we did look for different shapes on objects around our house.

 For example, I pointed out how how her cereal bowl had a circle and how the mirror on our wall was a square, etc... Your toddler will start to pick up on how basic shapes are everywhere and even start to point them out to you!

Day 4: Activity

We made Jello Jigglers and cut them into different shapes and used it to practice reviewing the shapes my toddler learned that week. Then after you practice your toddler can eat and play with the Jello!

Day 5: Library Day

Shapes - Magnetic Book: Magnetic Play & Learn - I want this book!

Away We Go by Chieu Anh Urban - I want this book too!! Maybe we'll get them for our kids for Christmas :)

We also did shape puzzles because we had some already. It was really fun for K to say the shape as she put each piece into the puzzle. Have fun with shapes these week!

Tuesday Treat Day- Homemade Cheddar Crackers

We did actually do this on Tuesday but I haven't found the time to post about it until now :) We've been busy! 

I found the recipe for these Homemade Cheddar Crackers HERE.

They are delicious! 

But as a fair word of warning, they aren't the best thing to make with the help of a toddler. I tried to have my little girl help pour ingredients in and all but the rolling and cutting out part wasn't super fantastic to have toddler help with. I would suggest doing that part by yourself.

I definitely want to try these again when I have more time... like maybe if I ever get both of my kids to take naps at the same time. Haha :)

What you need:

- 2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 

- 4 T. cold butter, cubed

- 1 c. flour

- 3/4 t. salt

- 2T cold water

What you do:

- Pulse everything (except water) together in the food processor until the dough becomes crumbly

- Then add the water, one tablespoon at a time and pulse

- Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 20 minutes.

- Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. 

Roll it pretty thin. The recipe didn't say how thin but I can tell you I didn't get mine thin enough and they turned out a little on the chewy side... but still yummy! And I really want to find mini cookie cutters now... :)

- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crispy

- Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Tuesday Treat Day - Rainbow Jello

I got this idea from my amazing sister-in-law, Stacie. She is the best! And she has 3 of the cutest little kids ever!! When we were visiting them out in Nebraska about 1.5 years ago, she made Rainbow Jello with her little girl.  I thought it was the funnest idea and wanted to try it this week with my little girl! :)

So it's really simple but it takes time. 

You'll need to buy a box of Jello for each color of the rainbow. 

Get a dish of some sort. 

 Make the first box of RED Jello. Pour it into the pan and let it thicken in the fridge.

When it's thickened all the way, make the next box of ORANGE Jello. Pour it over the red layer and put it back in the fridge to thicken.

And then repeat the process with each box of Jello!

YELLOW.

GREEN.

BLUE.

PURPLE 

(for purple I used Black raspberry)

 Like I said, it takes time but is so fun how it turns out! Here is my first layer:



And here is a picture of after all the layers are done:



Also, since I'd never done this before I was wondering if it was even working, since it looked totally black except around the very edges... but don't worry, it works! You just have to cut it to see the colors.

The yellow didn't really show up much but it still looks cool!

Then we cut the Jello into shapes since that's what our "Weekly Learning" topic is for the week. 

I quizzed my toddler on the names of each shape :)  And then she had a ton of fun playing with the Jello with her hands. Yes, after all that work making cool, fun "Rainbow Jello", she spit it out as soon as she tried it. Haha! Oh well, it was still fun.

Weekly Learning - Textures

Day 1: Songs

- Sing the song, "If You're Happy and You Know it".

- Substitute lines that include touching things with different textures like, "Rub the carpet", "Touch the walls", or "Feel your hair", etc. . .

Day 2: Activity

- Paint with Veggies and Fruit!

- Cut different fruits or vegetables in half, dip them in paint and press them onto paper to see what kind of textures each fruit or veggie makes.

Day 3: Get Out

It is finally starting to cool off  a little bit here in Arizona! Which means walks to the park will become so much more pleasant!

Go on a walk or drive to a park and let your toddler FEEL what is all around them.

Day 4: Activity

-Get some crayons and various small objects from around the house such as a safety pin, coins, a paper clip, etc...

-Place the small objects on a table. Then place the piece of paper over the objects. Use your crayons to rub over the top of the paper to reveal the texture onto the paper. Hopefully that made sense. Here's a picture to hopefully help.

(Left: coins. Top: rubberband. Bottom: safety pin.
Right: the side of a textured vase)

Day 5: Library Day

Any touch and feel books - there are SO many! We have some called the "Touch and Feel Box Set" with books called Wild Animals, Cats & Kittens, At the Farm, and Dogs & Puppies.

We also like the DK Baby Touch and Feel books.

Just head over to the library and search for any kind of books with textures! Even pop up books would work (ex: All the Ways I Love You by Julie Downing)

Toddler Activities - Melted Crayons

My mom did activities like this with us kids when we were little. I thought I'd do it with Kimbri using a bunch of old crayons my mom gave me.  

And hey! It could be a fun activity to do when you want to review colors or shapes with your toddler!

What You'll Need:

- Wax paper

- Crayons

- Iron

- Cheese grater (or some other way to shred the crayons)

- Scissors

What You Do:

- Shred your crayons with a cheese grater. 

This takes some time and isn't super exciting for your toddler, but one way I had K help me out was by helping pick out the colors from the bin that we wanted to use.

- Place the crayon bits in between 2 pieces of wax paper 

- And then simply press the iron onto the wax paper to melt the crayons! 

(It only takes a split second for it to melt so be careful not to hold the iron on for too long)

- Then you can cut the melted-crayon-wax-paper into shapes. 

You can tape a string onto them and hang them from the ceiling or tape them to some paper to create a fun picture, etc...

And just as a side thought... this might be fun to do around Christmas time. You can use Christmas colors and help your toddler make their own Christmas ornament to put on the tree by taping a ribbon or string onto the cut-outs.

Toddler Activities - Balloon Experiment

What You Need:

- Baking Soda

- Vinegar

- An empty bottle

- Balloon

What You Do:

- Pour about 1 inch of vinegar into the BOTTLE

- Put 2 teaspoons of baking soda inside the BALLOON

- Stretch the balloon over the top of the bottle.

- When the baking soda in the balloon falls into the vinegar, the gas that forms blows the balloon up.

It's a pretty simple experiment but one that your toddlers will think is pretty neat!