Fall Tree Craft

This idea has been showing up all over!  I first saw it here, though.   I love when an idea can be guided a bit for a young child, and yet it still allows their own creativity.  We made our own autumn tree-despite the green leaves hanging on around here.

This was also an easy project to complete with two children (nearly 3 and nearly 5) at the same time.  Sometimes I don't pick the best projects for two children.

First, I traced each of the children's hands with a brown crayon.  Then the children colored their "tree trunk."  I chose to use crayon for the less-messy factor for my son's sake my own sanity.  However, if I were to do this again, I think markers or paint would be better.  You could even paint the child's palm and arm and "print" it to make the tree.

 After coloring was complete, the children were given one color at a time.  We used the colors yellow, red, and green.  My children no longer need to be encouraged to say words, but I still modeled for my son "Dot, dot, dot" with each fingerprint to the paper.  He said dot with each fingerprint, too!  This may be especially helpful for young children when they may want to use their fingers to smear the paint instead of making dots.  However, it IS their project!

 The paint palette (for less than $1 at Walmart) was perfect for this.  I also gave each child a napkin to clean their fingers in between colors.  My daughter quickly remembered that she could mix red and yellow to create orange.  Her colors/dots were spaced enough that it didn't happen "naturally."

 You can see below my daughter chose to add grass to her picture.  My son's picture may be after a windstorm, but it's still HIS fall tree project!

Mounting these on colored construction paper prior to display adds a very nice touch and makes the children feel extra-proud.

Our big fall book that we've enjoyed from the library recently is Poppleton in the Fall.  We just love Poppleton!

Next, I think we'll be making a fall wreath since M asked to replace our summer wreath craft (that I never posted about).  We'll use our coffee filter technique, I think...they love that!

ABC Speech Picture Book

About a year and a half ago, it became very clear to us that our daughter, then 2, was more than just a late talker.  At 27 months she was diagnosed with a speech disorder, apraxia.  (You can read our apraxia story by clicking the link.  We praise God for her leaps and bounds developmentally!)  

Knowing M would not outgrow this, but she could overcome it definitely motivated me to do what I could with her.  My husband and I learned a lot from M's speech therapist, but I also made sure that we played purposefully as much as possible.  M loved to complete crafts with me, and the ABC Speech Book is just one of the projects we had fun doing together.  

First, I cut all the letters of the alphabet as large as possible, of the alphabet.  (I just eyeballed the letters as I cut them.)

Please read the newly updated directions and suggestions for the ABC Speech Book at my new blog.

Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes

Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes by Judy Hindley (illustrated by Brita Granstrom) is a rhyming book that is just plain fun!  I borrowed it from the library knowing both my 3 and 1 year old would enjoy it!  The rhymes are cute, but the illustrations are even more adorable!

"A nose is to blow.

A nose is to sniff.

A nose has holes

for sniffing with."

A natural follow-up activity for a 1 year old is just to find or identify body parts and play with Mr. Potato Head!  It's definitely one of E's favorite toys, especially for independent play.  Mr. Potato Head is excellent for promoting speech, too!  Not only can a child mimic body parts' names, but you can have them choose which color eyes, what type/color of shoes, and more, as well as, practice words like "push," "on, " and "off."  Remember, your child is learning these words long before he or she can actually say them!   

Can I share one last thought with you?  It's perfectly okay for a child to put the parts in the wrong holes!  I also think that part of the learning process is to occasionally guide a child to place the parts in the correct hole, without moving it from the "wrong" area.  The goal is to have fun!

Alphabet Practice

We used this puzzle just for fun before M was even 2 years old. Now that she knows the alphabet, we pop the letters out of the puzzle and put them in order. Notice she still flips some, but that is still developmentally normal. It is fun to say the sounds the letters make after they are in the lines. Of course we put the letters back in the puzzle for storage.

Last year when M was still learning to talk, we taught her to say "pop" each time a letter came out. She still does it out of habit if she doesn't say the letter name.

Name Game

It's important for children to recognize their name as an early reader. I know M isn't even three years old yet, but I made a little word game for us to play.

I printed a picture of each of our family members, and typed our names four times using four fonts.

Since this can be used when E is older, I laminated the pictures and the name cards.

To play, at this point, I tell M what each word is and she matches it to the right picture and say it. I also emphasize M for Mmm-ommy I'm sure at some point she will begin recognizing the names herself.

For smaller families, you could even include pets, as Mama Mel suggested in the comments.

(Should I tell you that picture of me is from last summer when I was pregnant?! It was the only decent picture I could find! How pathetic!)

This later became our Family Name Game in a file folder.  (Click link for more info.)