Teachers with Toddlers at Home

Teacher mode is never turned off. This year for birthdays and Christmas (both girls birthdays are close to Christmas), I wanted to make sure that most of their gifts were learning toys. I also love toys that help with their imaginations and pretending.

At 2 and 4, they spend a lot of time playing baby dolls, reading books, cooking, and coloring! This year was a big Melissa and Doug year! I loved all of the products that I found and suggested to others! In case you don't already know, Melissa and Doug create products that are VERY high quality! Receiving all of these learning items in the mail made me want to teach preschool or Kindergarten. How awesome would it be to have high quality puzzles, games, and learning resources like these in a classroom?

Here are some of my favorites that the girls received this year and I think they are such high quality and worthwhile that I'm sharing. Watch for Melissa and Doug sales on Amazon! That's how I ordered them on Black Friday! Some of the toys listed below are not Melissa and Doug. I would also suggest looking up Learning Resources on Amazon and The Learning Journey.

Pretending Toys

Learning Toys

On My Wishlist for Learning at Home:

I have also created a few things for teaching at home! (Of course!)

I had so much fun making the dinosaur cards!

Snow Day Learning {Toddler Time}

Well, we recently had a five day weekend with our snow days. By day 5, I was ready to stop being lazy and have some fun learning time. TV off and time to learn. The girls had a blast. I have had a blast making these fun activities for my own kids! I know just what kids their age like and I love knowing that I can sit down and create something to help them learn! 

Counting strips. Kelsey counts the monsters, then matches the strip up to the correct number. She has been working on number recognition at school and she loved this! 

   

Here is how I organize my games. I laminate the envelope and paper together in one laminating pouch. (even an envelope with a metal clasp!) Then I use the top of scissors to carefully slice open the envelope, without going through all of the layers. This is how I store all of my games that I create in my classroom too! 

Lilly is LOVING puzzles lately. This is her favorite, she literally will do it 12 times in a row once she gets started. She loves it! I really think this is great for her brain! (Lilly just turned 2.)

Kelsey has her colors mastered, but she was trying to "teach" her little sister (2) with these "I Know My Colors" cards. They had fun sorting them and matching them. 

Here are some of the other preschool activities that I finished, laminated, and cut out for the girls! We are going to be having fun all winter!! 

Don't worry, I'm not always a teacher-mom, we did go outside and enjoy our snow day too! 

 

Teacher Tuesday: Orphan Train

I thought I'd share another of my favorite books that I read recently. Love, love, loved Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Like I mentioned in my last post about a book that I read, I didn't know I liked these historical fiction type of books, but I loved it! 

I'm including the summary FROM AMAZON here!

From Amazon:

Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be.

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse...

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

When I just looked up the description to include here, I noticed that Amazon has a pretty good price on it! Check it out below for your Kindle or "real book" version. :) Do yourself a favor, slow down, and read a book!