Teaching can be easy and fun

Why shouldn't you have fun while you teach your kids the abcs, how to count or what animal says moo. I think that kids learn best when they are having fun. I am setting out to teach my one and a half year old. I want to teach him how to be a good friend, how to show love, all the animals that live on a farm and so much more. I am writing this blog not even knowing if anyone will read it but hoping someone will find inspiration to have fun while teaching their toddler.

Friday, October 29, 2010

New site

I have changed stay at home toddler to a different site. 
STAY AT HOME TODDLER
There is now a complete years worth of lesson. Easy to navigate threw and more complete. 
www.stayathometoddler.weebly.com

Friday, October 8, 2010

Colors

Flash cards
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
Purple
Black
Brown
Pink
Maroon
Teal
Turquoise 
Gray


Food
Red- apple, red bell pepper, crasins
Orange- oranges, peaches, dried mango
Yellow- banana, squash, yellow tomato.
Green- zucchini, green beans, broccoli, apple.
Blue- Blue berries.
Purple- Grapes
Pink- Pink pancakes, add raspberry puree to pancake mix.
Brown- Chicken
Black- olives, blackberries.

Coloring pages and crafts
Color wheel coloring page
Rainbow coloring page
Flower with Large peddle
Balloon coloring page 
Robin coloring page
Turkey coloring page
Duck coloring page
Cat coloring page
Blue bird coloring page
Peacock coloring page
Bear coloring page
Spider coloring page
Chick coloring page
Snake coloring page
Frog coloring page
Lizard coloring page
Alligator coloring page
Hand print rainbow


Activities 
Find colors on your walk- talk about the colors of the cars and flowers ect.
Color bingo- Make a bingo flash card on white card stock by cutting squares
out of colored paper. Use stickers to mark the colors. You can play this at the
grocery store, in your house ect.
Color collection- Have a few bags to represent different colors. Go around
the house and collect the different colors and put them in their bags. You can
do one at a time or all at the same time.
Color art- Make different color art pieces. Use paint, markers and crayons to
mark specific color art work.


Blue
Swimming- swim in a blue pool. 
Sky watching- go outside and look at the sky. What do you find in the blue sky?


Green
Green adventure- Make a little map to display where you are going. Ex of
and adventure (march on the green grass, under the green tree, eat the green
jelly bean, to the green fort/tent) You can make the ten with a green blanket, 
sheet or towel. 
Picnic- Have a picnic on the green grass.


Yellow
Yellow flower search- This can be done on a walk around the neighborhood
or in a nursery. If you feel like doing more then searching you can plant one. 


Orange
Make home made orange juice
Orange fish where are you? - go to a pet store and look at the fish. Try to 
find all the orange ones. 


Red
Red car look out- This works well on a semi busy street. Side on the grass 
or side walk and look for the red cars, vans and trucks. Say all the colors that
go by but when you see a red one to a special red car dance. YES you will 
feel like a dork but it is very fun.


Games
Color Jump- Tape or place different color construction paper on the floor.
Then jump around and shout out the colors that you jump onto. You can
mix it up by telling your child what to jump on next.
Color Match- Use the color flash cards and things from around the house.
Ex show the red flash card and then have your child find something red
around the house. Let them do all the looking. Let them choose what they
want to match up. Bring everything together and talk about all the items they
found.
Find that color-  Take turns shouting out a color. Everyone has to go and 
find something that is the color that was shouted. Bring them all together 
and and place them in different color piles. Use fruit, cloths, toys, books etc. 


Animals 
Red- robin, turkey
Orange- duck, cat
Yellow- chick, snake
Green- frog, lizard, alligator 
Blue- bird, peacock
Brown- bear
Black- spider




I would do the color lessons for a week or two. 













Sunday, October 3, 2010

'Z' Lesson

Flash cards
Zoo
Zipper
Zoo
Zucchini


Food
Zucchini


Coloring pages and crafts
Zipper coloring page
Zebra 
Zoo coloring page

Zoo
Lesson- What kinds of animals are at the zoo? As you show them and talk
about them make all their noises. Talk about which ones are really tall and which
are really big. Talk about the colors. Point out all their body parts too. 
Game- Feed the animals. Use stuffed animals, animal figures or puppet crafts. 
Hold the animals and make their noise. Ex broooo brooo I am and elephant do 
you have any peanuts to feed me. You can either make pretend food on paper
or just pretend you have food. Have your kids feed the animals and then put them
to bed. (My 1 1/2  year old loved this game he thought it was funny.)
Activity- Go to a zoo. 
Books- Zoo Do's and Don'ts, Curious George goes to the Zoo, Never Ever 
Shout in the Zoo, Dear Zoo/

'Y' Lesson

Flash cards
Yo yo
Yogurt
Yak
Yellow
Yawn 
Yard
Yummy
Yarn


Coloring pages and craft
Yo yo coloring page
Yarn coloring page
Y coloring page
Yak coloring page
Yo yo coloring page


Food
Yogurt
Yellow food such as, bananas, squash and kix. 


Yellow
Lesson- Colors focusing on yellow. Talk about the color of food you are
eating. Wear yellow. Go out side and name the coloring of the cars, flowers
etc. 
Game- Collecting yellow. Grab a bag or basket and go around the house to 
find all your yellow items. Find yellow in toys, books, cloths etc. 
Craft- Yellow yarn art. Grab some yellow yarn, scissors, construction paper
(Cardboard would work better) and glue. Cut the yarn into different size pieces 
and let your children glue them down how ever they want to . 
Activity- Plant some yellow flowers. Have them help with the whole process. 
You can even plant seeds. 
Books-  Use books you already have and find the yellow things in it. 


Other ideas
Play in the yard. 
Teach them about yaks.
Make their favorite yummy snack. 

Saturday, October 2, 2010

'X' Lesson

Flash Cards
X-ray
Xylophone

Coloring pages and crafts
X-Ray coloring page
Xxylophone coloring page

Xylophone 
Lesson- Music. Talk about different musical instruments and say that the
xylophone is one of them. 
Game- Start a band for a hour. Make sure one of you is playing the 
xylophone. 

Craft- Xylophone craft.

Books- Elmo's Tappin' Tunes, Thomas Xylophone Book. 

X-ray
Lesson- Talk about what happens when you get an x-ray. It lets you see threw
your body. Talk about how you can see your bones. 
Game- Play with your craft.

Craft- X-ray craft. Grab some brown construction paper and trace  your child's arm. 
Then get black construction paper and draw a bone smaller then the arm. Put the
bone behind the arm. If you want to make it bigger then do their whole body.
Books- The X-ray picture book of Amazing Animals. 
  

'W' Lesson

Flash cards
Whale
Water
Watermelon
Winnie the pooh
Walrus
Why
Wash
Warm
Winter


Coloring page and crafts
Watermelon coloring page
Whale coloring page
Water buffalo coloring page
Walrus coloring page
Winnie the pooh coloring page
Whale coloring page
Whale crafts

Food 
Watermelon
Wheat thins

Water
Lesson- What does water feel like? Water can be warm and cold. (fill a 
bowl with warm water and cold water and let them feel the difference.)
Put water in an ice tray with them and then put it in the freezer to let them
see what happens. Talk about what you use water for.
Game- Ice cube slide. Play this game on concrete or water proof floors.
Grab some ice cubs and slide them on the flour. You can do it back and 
forth or set up a target for them to hit. 

Craft- Water painting. Put water in a bucket and use different sized 
paint brush and paint to side walk or a chalk board. 

Activity- Water play. Go outside and play with water guns or water balloon. 
Stay inside and play in the sink or bath tub. Or go to a splash pad or water 
park (if it's summer).

Books- Hands across the water, A Fish out of water, Would You Rather Be
a Pollywog, Super Blue to the Rescue (Paint with water). 


Whale
Lesson- All about whales. Where do they live? What do they eat? Are they
big or small? Whales live in the ocean. What else lives in the ocean?
Craft- Whale craft.
Activity- Go Whale watching, go to an aquarium, go to the beach and talk
about how whales live in the ocean. (The pier is great for this because they 
have a better view.)
Books- Humphrey the Lost Whale, The Wild Whale Watch, Face to Face with
Whales, The snail and the Whale. 
 
  
 

Thursday, September 30, 2010

'V' Lesson

Flash cards
Visit
Villain
Vase
Vine
Vegetables 
Volcano 
Vulture


Coloring pages and crafts
V coloring page
Vegetable coloring page
Volcano coloring page
Vulture coloring page


Food
Vegetable 

Vegetables
Lesson- Why do we eat vegetable? Go threw the colors of different 
vegetables. 
Games- Veggie match. Get some carrots, broccoli, zucchini, bell pepper
etc. Put everything in a bowl and match them up together. 
Craft- Vegetable puppet.
Activity- Vegetable bingo. Go to a farmers market 
Books- Vegetables, What's in my Garden. 


Volcano 
Lesson- What does a volcano do. Is it hot or cold? What does it look like?
What happens when a volcano explodes.
Craft- Make a volcano.
Activity- Explosion time. Make your volcano erupt. This is so fun you can
do it for hours.

Books- The Best Book of Volcanoes, Volcanoes.





'U' Lesson

Flash cards
University
Umbrella
Universe
Under


Coloring pages and crafts
Umbrella coloring page
Universe coloring page
Umbrella crafts


University 
Lesson- A University is a collage. Hey it's not to early to talk about collage.
When I did this with my son we went to USC to visit his uncle and grandma. 
We ran on the track. We also just walk around. 
Game- Pencil count. Get some pencils and use them to count. 
Craft- Pencil stamps. Use the erasers to dip in ink or pant to make a stamp 
art piece. 
Activity- Visit a University. 




Umbrella 
Lesson- What does an umbrella do? Do you use an umbrella in the sunshine 
or do you use it in the rain? 
Game- Umbrella  fun. Put bathing suits on and grab your umbrella. Use the 
hose as rain and let your child play with the umbrella. What happens when 
you put the umbrella over your head? 
Craft- Umbrella. 
Books- The Red Umbrella.


Other Ideas 
Under and over lesson. Ex use a cup. The can is under the cup, now it is 
over the cup. 

'T' Lesson

Flash cards
Truck
Tiger
Tigger
Turtle
Tent
Tomato
Train


Coloring page and crafts
Turtle coloring page
Tiger coloring page
Train coloring page
Thomas the train coloring page
Tree coloring page
Turtle craft 


Tiger
Lesson- Where do tigers live? What color is a tiger? Do tigers
have strips or spots? What do tigers say?
Game- Strips vs spots. Look at all the animal books you have and find
the animals who have strips and fin the ones who have spots. 
Craft- Tiger magnet 
Books- Tiger on a Tree, Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger?, Tiger-Tiger
is it True?.


Train
Lesson- What does a choo choo train say? What is the train riding on?
What is on the front, middle, and back of the train? 
Game- Choo choo express. Be a choo choo train. You can even make a
train with boxes. 
Craft- Train craft.
Activity- Irvine park train, La habra children's museum.  
 Books- My Big Train Book, The Best book of Trains, The Good Night 
Train. Big Book of Trains. 


Other ideas
Set up a tent to play in and to have story time. 

Thursday, September 23, 2010

'S' Lesson

Flash cards
Snake
Shake
S'more
Sandwich
Sailboat
Sun
Summer
Salamander
Snail


Food 
Sandwich
S'more
Shake


Coloring pages and crafts
Snake coloring page
Sun coloring page
Salamander coloring page
S'more coloring page
Sandwich coloring page
Sailboat coloring page
Snail coloring page


Sun
Lesson- What is the sun? What color is it? When does the sun come out?
What happens when the sun goes down?
Game- Rising sun. Pretend like you are a sun. Get down close to the flour
and then rise up slowly with your arms over your head like a circle. Go to 
your tip toes and then set.
Craft- Sun Craft
Activity- Go out side and enjoy a sunny day!
Books- Hello Sun, Sleepy Sun, Fun in the Sun. 


Snake 
Lesson- What is a snake? Where do snakes live? How to they move? What
does a snake say? Use fake snakes to count and do math. 
Game-  Slithering snake finding the alphabet. First put letters
up in different places around the house. Then slithering around like a snake
to find them. 
Craft- Snake craft
Activity- Go to a reptile store.
Books- Snake, The Best Book of Snakes, Amazing Snakes.


Summer
Lesson- What do you do during summer? Is it hot or cold? Does it rain a 
lot? Talk about all the fun summer things you do. 
Game- Find the sun. Make a sun and then play hide n seek with it. If you 
want to make it more difficult make multiple  suns. Also hide rain clouds 
and snowflakes. Collect the suns! 
Craft- Porthole craft. Make a summer themed one. 
Activity- Enjoy a summer activity. Even if it is winter. Go to the beach
with warm cloths and build sand castles. Have a picnic inside on a 
rainy day. 
Books- How I Spent My Summer Vacation. 





Friday, September 17, 2010

'R' Lesson

Flash Cards
Raisin
Rainbow
Reindeer
Rabbit
Rose
Rat
Railroad
Rhino
Robot
Rocket
Ring
Red

Raisins
Rainbow fishes
Radish
Red bell pepper
Rainbow pudding(make pudding and separate it into a few bowls. Use
food coloring to make rainbow colors and then add all the pudding
together to make it look like a rainbow.)

Red
Lesson- Colors focusing on red. Wear red, eat red food. Everything red.
Take a walk and look for red flowers and red cars.
Game- Go around the house and look for red stuff. Collect the red stuff
in a basket or a bag. Ex red shirts, bowls, toys etc.
Craft- Red art. Use marker, crayon and paint to make a red art piece.
Book- The Red Book, The Little Red Caboose, Fox in Socks.

Rainbow
Lesson- Colors. Find objects around the house so that you have all the
colors of a rainbow. Ex Red legos, orange oranges, yellow paper, green
cloths, blue bowl, purple shirts. Ask or tell your child what color they
are.
Game- Find that color. Say a color out loud and them run to each room
and find stuff that is that color. Do it over and over with the different
colors.
Book- The rainbow fish, All the colors or the rainbow.

Rabbit
Lesson- What is a Rabbit. What does it look like? What do bunnies
like to eat? How to they move? Talk about how they feel when you
touch them.
Game- Hop hop hop! Use carrot cut outs. Place them i a path
and hop to each one. You can even count along the way.
Activity- Go to a pet store to visit the rabbits.
Book- The tale of Peter Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, mrs rabbit
and mrs elephant.

Rocket
Lesson- What is a rocket? Where does it go? Who flies in them?
Game- Count down! Count down from 10 to lift off. You can lift
off yourself and jump into the air off the couch or you can use
your craft.
Activity- Boysen Park has a cool rocket play area.

'Q' Lesson

Flash cards
Question
Quit
Quilt
Quack


Coloring pages and crafts

Question Day
Lesson- Asking questions helps us learn new things. Make sure
you tell them how much you love them asking you questions. Ask
them if they have any of their own questions to ask you.
Game- Question game. Have a list of questions. Ex. what is your
favorite color? What is your favorite thing to eat? Etc. If you have
a younger child then give them a choice. Have something blue and
something red. Say what is your favorite color blue or red. Have
five or more questions.
Find the question mark game. Hide paper question marks around
the house and find them with your child.
Craft- Question mark art. Cut a question mark out of construction
paper. Use glitter, paint, stickers and markers to decorate it. Do as
many as they want to do. You can use them for a game.
Activity- Spend sometime with a friend or family member and ask
them questions. If you have an older child let them ask their own
questions.
Books- Jo's Big Question, Questions for Kids.

Quack quack quack
Lesson- Animal noises, focusing on ducks.
Game- Quack around in the duck pond. Make a duck pond with a
sheet or blanket and pretend you are a duck. Quack around. Do a
duck jump (jump into the pond).
Activity- Go to a duck park.
Books- What's up Duck?, Five Little Ducks, 10 Little Ducks, Duck and
Goose.