on the shelves - 15 & 16 months (in action!)

stacking trucks

One of Elise's older friends loaned her these trucks when he heard how much she likes to stack rings on posts.  ;)  While she doesn't necessarily put them back together (yet!), she loves pushing them around and taking them apart.

(stacking trucks - Melissa & Doug)

pounding balls with a hammer

We've been using this material for months now, but I just recently introduced Elise to the hammer. 

What's old is new again!

(punch and drop activity - Plan Toys)

peeling clementines

I'm so excited for citrus fruit to be back in season!  Pulling the peel off this juicy snack is a great way to strengthen fine motor control, as-well-as develop organization and problem solving skills.

 sorting and stacking rings

Elise continues to explore this intriguing stacking activity.  While she occasionally rebuilds the cone to its original form, she seems to prefer taking it apart and creating her own combinations!

  (cone sorting activity - Plan Toys)

"bear!"

It's been a signing explosion around here lately! Elise loves reading this book, which features illustrations and photos of children signing familiar words. Bear, wind, book, and all done are some of our favorites!

dropping a cube into a box

I made this imbucare box a few months ago, but Elise has only recently showed an interest in it. 

Now, she thinks it's so great, she hauls it all over the house.  Seriously.  

Oh, how I love this girl!

halloween recap

E's first Halloween experience

as a trick-or-treater

was a HUGE success!  ;)

We mostly people-watched and checked out decorations,

but Elise did some actual trick-or-treating, too.

She figured out the routine pretty quickly:

Find the person with candy.

Take a piece.  Drop it in the bucket.

Repeat.

As it turns out, 

Elise LOVES candy.

Ha!

Here are my tips for making a confusing holiday like Halloween fun for a young toddler:

• Try on costumes with friends and family before Halloween.  I set up a costume corner for Elise a couple weeks before Halloween.  She tried on costumes with friends and family, and had lots of fun. She also went to a Halloween party the day before Halloween, and played with other children wearing costumes.  On Halloween night, Elise didn't seem at all surprised or frightened to see people in costumes.  Occasionally, she squealed in delight when she saw someone whose look really struck her fancy!
• Choose a costume that your child can relate to.  Next year, Elise will choose her own costume, but at 15 months, it was up to me and Hubs.  One of Elise's first animal sounds was a monkey, and she always gets really excited when she sees monkeys in books, so "monkey" seemed like a fairly logical costume choice.  
• Include your child in the costume-making/ buying process.  Elise participated in putting together her costume from start to finish.  She went to the craft store to pick out the pattern and supplies, and she tried on the costume as my mom and I sewed.  If you're buying a costume, invite your child to go shopping with you, and if possible, let them try on costumes in the store to check fit and style. 
• Give your child time to get used to wearing the costume.  As soon as Elise's costume was finished, it was available for her to wear throughout the day for a week or so before Halloween.  By the time the big day rolled around, it was covered in food (!), but she was also really comfortable wearing it.
• Look at Halloween decorations in the daylight.  Not all Halloween decorations are as cute as my owls!  On Halloween morning, Elise and I walked our trick-or-treating route, and watched people putting up decorations.  Many of our neighbors explained to Elise what they were doing, and invited her to come by to trick-or-treat that night.  I was also able to see which houses would be too scary to walk by in the dark (i.e. the house with zombies crawling out of the yard).  
• Take your time packing up the decor.  This applies to all holidays!  As an adult, I'm usually ready to put away the holiday the day after it's done, but I learned as a teacher, it's better for kiddos to do it gradually.  There's so much build-up before a holiday; putting things away over the course of a week can prevent children from feeling totally letdown.  Elise is still playing in her costume corner, and our jack-o-lantern is smiling at us from the nature table in our living room.  

Do you have any Halloween tips?  I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do about all that candy - scary!  It was out-of-sight, out-of-mind this year for Elise, but I have no idea how we'll approach the sugar rush next year...

Happy Halloween!

Happy

Halloween!!!

Hope your day is sweet and spooky!  

"I spy" tub

"I spy with my little eye..."

Halloween treasures hidden in a tub of leaves!

Elise has enjoyed digging through this tub of leaves to discover

ornamental gourds, a rat, a bat, a carnival squash, and a snake.

A few reasons why I think this "I spy" activity is great...

• It offers lots of language opportunities.  Elise is just beginning to say words, so I mostly just name the objects.  As she becomes more confident with the items in the tub, I've been challenging her to "spy" certain items (I never ask her to find something if I'm not completely sure she knows what I'm talking about, though.).  An older child could look for items of a certain color, beginning sound, texture, etc.   
• It provides a sensory experience.  Just digging through the leaves alone activates the senses!  I also tried to select objects with a variety of textures, so they would feel different from the leaves and each other.  Elise has been using her sense of sight to find most of the objects, but an older child might enjoy closing his or her eyes or wearing a blindfold to "see with the hands" instead.
• It reinforces object permanence.  The first time Elise did this activity, she didn't know what she would find in the leaves.  All the times after (oh, there were many more times!), Elise knew that even though the rat was hidden in the leaves, it was still there.  An older child may be able to recall from memory some or all of the items that have yet to be found.   
• Last, but not least - you can count the objects!  Sometimes, after we've taken everything out of the tub, I count the objects aloud.  I also say things like, "I spy one more thing!" as we look through the leaves.  Once an older child knows how many items there are total, he or she will be able to use addition/subtraction to determine how many objects are still hidden.
• Oh, I thought of one more thing!  I'm not sure about this, but it there has to be something to seeing just part of an object and knowing what the whole is.  For instance, in the top photo, only a small part of the snake is showing, but since you know what the objects are now, you know it's the snake.

Happy Halloween week, friends!  ;)  

pumpkin scrubbing

Pumpkin covered in muck and mud?  No problem - just scrub, scrub, scrub!

The weather here has been gorgeous lately -

perfect for scrubbing pumpkins al fresco!

1. Pour warm water from a pitcher into a small dish.
2. Scrub, scrub, scrub!
3. Use the dishcloth to wipe up spills and dry your pumpkin.

The next day we cut our pumpkin open,

and cleaned out the seeds and pulp.

I steamed the flesh and we used it to bake pumpkin bars.

It was fun to do so many things with one little orange squash!

(The bad news?  It looks a lot better than it tastes!  If you want a yummy pumpkin recipe, 

try this Ultimate Pumpkin Bread Recipe - we made it a couple weeks ago, and it was amazing!)

Happy weekend!

spiderweb felt board

A spooky felt board is just right for little fingers in search of some Halloween fun!

materials

• felt or batting (I used batting)
• embroidery floss
• plastic spiders 
• thrifted frame 

First, sew the web onto the batting by making BIG stitches with the embroidery floss - each section of the web should be just one stitch.  Then, wrap the batting around a piece of cardboard, and stick it into the frame.  Finally - the fun part - arrange the spiders on the web.  They will sort of stick by snagging on the batting, but make them more secure by tucking a leg or two into the web.  

I hung our spiderweb felt board up in Elise's costume corner - 

this place is seriously the most popular spot in the house right now! 

Easy, right?  But. are you brave enough to stick the spiders on???  

EEEEK!!!!!!

More Halloween fun here.

the costume corner

As Halloween approaches, I've been trying to think of ways to introduce this kind of crazy holiday to my 15-month-old.  Don't get me wrong, I think Halloween is loads of fun, but it must be pretty confusing to a little person who is just trying to figure out reality.  People dressed as animals?  Masks?  Wigs?  Oh, my...

My solution:  temporarily transform our book nook into a costume corner.  I mean, what better way to explore the idea of wearing a costume than to try on masks and wigs with your friends and family?  In case you can't tell from the above photo, Elise thinks it's great!  ;)

A witch's hat, small masks, wigs, headband ears, and play scarves 

are simple, durable costume accessories for a toddler to experiment with.

Everybody's getting in on the fun!

10 more days 'till Halloween...

eee-hee-hee-hee-heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Click here to check out some of my favorite Halloween activity posts from the past!

e in the kitchen

At 15 months, there are lots of things Elise can do in the kitchen.  Here are a few of her favorites!

peeling - Onions, garlic, bananas, and clementines are all perfect for small hands.  (more inspiration here) 

scrubbing - Before preparing root veggies, I always invite Elise to wash them.  (more inspiration here)

measuring - Elise loves to add the ingredients - most make it into the bowl!  (get the recipe here)

mixing - As soon as I get out the whisk, Elise is ready to take over  (get the recipe here)
eating! - A view from the other side!  ;)  Elise and Nana love sharing snacks.  (Yes, that is Elise's Halloween costume!  It's a work in progress...)

Happy weekend!

    

naming the parts of the face

eyes,

ears,

mouth,

and nose...

Elise loves pointing to these features on her face, as-well-as looking for them on the faces of others.  To follow her interest, I put together three simple vocabulary-building activities on her language shelf - aka the bottom shelf of the bookcase in our living room.

felt board face

This is Elise's first time working with a felt board - also, her first time using a favorite classroom material from my teaching days!  ;)  She's not able to put the face together yet, but she loves taking it apart.  We've had lots of fun talking about the parts of the face, and playing little games with the pieces.  

small mirror

Of the three activities, this one is probably Elise's favorite.  We have a larger mirror at her height in our living room, but this one is just right for getting a close-up look at her face.  Elise thinks it's just perfect for giving herself kisses!  We've also been using it in combination with the felt board face.  

books of faces

Neither of these books is actually about the parts of the face, but I really like their realistic portraits of children.  Elise and I have enjoyed looking through them together, talking about the parts of each child's face.  I know there are books out there that focus more on the parts of the face, so if you have any favorites in your home, please share!  

If your toddler is a little older, or you like to plan ahead, here are two great posts full of face and body part activities:

• {Toddler Explorations} Faces - Part 1  (A Life Sustained)

• It's All About Me - For Toddlers  (Sorting Sprinkles)

a little tour: e's coat rack

Help me to do it all by myself!  One of the first principals I learned in my Montessori training was to picture these words written across the forehead of each child.  Although this was easy for me as a teacher, it's much harder for me to remember these words as a mama.  It's clear how satisfying it is for my 15-month old to do things all by herself, but I continually catch myself doing things for her.

"Everyone knows that it requires much more time and patience to teach a child how to eat, wash, and clothe himself than it does to feed, bathe, and clothe him by oneself.  The one who does the former is an educator, the latter performs the lower office of a servant."  Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child

I admit that one of the reasons I do things for Elise is because it's easier and faster, but it's also because she's my baby and I like doing things for her! Keeping all this in mind, I've been trying to put my energy and love into creating more spaces like the one pictured above for Elise.  A row of hooks hung at her height and a low stool create a perfect spot by the backdoor to practice getting dressed to go outside.  It also shows Elise that she is an important part of the family, and that someday soon she will be doing this task independently!

How do you support your child's independence?  Please share in the comments!

an autumn nature table

I love the idea of a nature table:  a special place to display natural treasures found outdoors.  The objects on the table change with the seasons, reflecting and celebrating the rhythm of the year.  Some nature tables I've seen are more whimsical than others, but either way, they instill a sense of wonder in children and adults alike.

When Elise woke up from her nap to find the leaves, seeds, and pebbles we collected on our morning walk carefully arranged, she was so excited and fascinated!  She spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the nature table with all of her senses.  I wasn't sure if any of the leaves or seeds were edible, so I did have to place some limit on her sense of taste!

I actually decided not to get out the camera because I didn't want to interrupt Elise's experience, so I'll close with a photo from our walk instead...

^The Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states, 

and we're lucky enough to live just a few minutes away!^  

Here's to a weekend full of adventure!

Have you set up a nature table?  I'd love to pick up some tips and inspiration for next time!  Please share your experience in the comments, or if you've posted about it, share your link!   

e's first "bank"

I made this simple activity by cutting a slit into the lid of a baking soda container.  Elise still puts things in her mouth, so I opted for large washers rather than real coins.  The satisfying "clink" they make when they land at the bottom of the container is definitely a big point of interest.  After all the washers are in the container, Elise usually gives it a shake or two before taking the lid off to retrieve them - an additional fine motor challenge!

I love watching Elise's mind work as she tries to figure out which way to orient the washer to make it fit through the slot.  I also kind of envy her casual flexibility - really, who sits like that?  ;)