Natural Materials Workshop

Last weekend, Rachel and I went to a Natural Materials Workshop that was presented by Little Owl Preschool. Little Owl is a Reggio-inspired preschool that will be opening up soon. I will admit, Reggio is new to me, but I'm very excited to learn about this philosophy! It centers on the interests of the child, with the teachers as co-learner and collaborator and the environment as another teacher. Very neat!
We participated in some really cool projects, and I was excited to give Rachel the chance to interact with other students.
We got Rachel's ever-present-she-can't-live-without backpack and went exploring! They had several stations set up with different activities and projects for the kids to do.

Sensory Tubs

Three sensory tubs were set out for the kids to explore. A couple had some small seeds inside and another had soft, cool white sand. The kids could dig inside, feel around and even play with some little toy animals. There was also a bowl nearby for them to use to explore the seeds and sand.


Natural Materials Collage

 At this table, the kids took a piece of a board and made a collage. I loved the way they had baby food jars full of glue and paint brushes to put the glue on! There were tons of materials to use--sand, seeds, lavendar, sea glass, acorns, dried flowers, shells, etc. It was very free flowing and child directed!

Sun Painting on Silk
The kids could choose a piece of framed silk and then painted on some colors. Next, they were able to choose objects to put onto their silk, including starfish, shapes, animal shapes, shells, buttons, etc. Then they put it in the sun to dry. Once dried, they took the objects off and it was so cool to see how the outline of the object appeared!

Flower Prints
Rachel got to put on some cool pink goggles and play with a hammer. She was set! The kids put some fresh flowers between 2 pieces of cloth and hit it with a hammer or mallet. They pretty much knocked the moisture out of the plants which left beautiful colored prints of the plants. Unfortunately, Rachel grew bored quickly and went off to the next station. I thought it was cool! So much so that I even tried to do this activity in my classroom...but it didn't work! Oh well!

Nature Baskets

They put out several baskets full of natural materials for the kids to explore, including sticks, sea glass, seeds, yarn, rocks, shells, etc. Rachel had a blast carrying around a basket...and dumping the contents all over the place.

Here are Rachel's collage and sun painting

And here are Rachel's favorite activities from the whole afternoon

Those were taken before her epic tantrum of the afternoon...

We had a really great time and I'm enjoying watching Rachel explore and learn, and I'm looking forward to learning more!!
.

Snappy Ducks From Discovery Toys

Rachel, my 2 year old little girl, has a new favorite toy! It's Snappy Ducks from Discovery Toys!

Snappy Ducks are available now from Discovery Toys and are perfect for your toddler! You will get a set of 24 sturdy ducks in a variety of colors that snap together super easily. Take them any where you want to play--they can even be used in the bath, which is good because Bathtime Bugs weren't helping us have a cry-free bath anymore (that's ok! they still rock...everyone needs variety!). Snappy Ducks come in a long box, but I prefer keeping them in a storage box for easy access.

There are so many things you can learn with your Snappy Ducks!
Pre-math skills-
Count your ducks!! Your child may be able to count to 100, but it's also important to count with 1:1 correspondence. (I expect my 3 year old students to count with 1:1 correspondence to 5 and my 4 year old students to 10).

Sort your ducks!! Put the blue ducks together, your orange ducks together, your yellow ducks together and your green ducks together. Sorting is an important skill for your toddler and preschooler--you need to sort objects before you can add them (you know--2 green ducks plus 1 orange duck equals 3 ducks!)

Make patterns with your ducks!! AB patterning is a precursor skill to learning math as well as a pre-reading skill. So, find your pattern--blue-red-blue-red.

Fine Motor Skills
Your Snappy Ducks are great for developing little hands. At first, it took a while for Rachel to be able to grasp the ducks appropriately to be able to get those ducks to snap. But, she's finally got it! The ducks also help with hand-eye coordination because it takes some precise movements to snap the ducks together.

Speech and Language Skills
Descriptive concepts, like long and short. Encourage your child to make some long rows and some short rows. Make sure to talk about the different sizes, including big, bigger, biggest.

Spatial concepts- Different concepts you can help teach are first, last, middle. When you snap the ducks together, have your child point out the first duck, last duck, etc. These concepts are also precursors to story telling...just remember, when you're putting pictures together for stories, go from left to right!

Articulation- Do you know any kids who leave of the /s/ sound? Well, when you are playing wiht your child, make sure you over emphasize the /s/ and say /ssssssssssnap/ as you snap your ducks together. Start out by modeling the sound, then see if your child can make it. Don't worry if she can't at first and says "nap"--just keep trying!

Some of the fun sentences I've heard Rachel say include:
"let's put the ducks together," "where's mommy duck?," "I have 2 ducks."

It's also just really fun to watch her think and learn!Now, in the photo, you can also see that she's put her duck in her Hammer Away! I don't recommend that...

Be sure to contact me if you have any questions about Snappy Ducks or any other Discovery Toys product!!

Happy Snapping!!
~Marcy

A Special Discovery Toys Offer from FoxToyBox!

It's been such a crazy few weeks! The regular school year has wound down and summer school has started. Plus, I've been getting ready for my daughter, Rachel's 2nd birthday. Today is her day!! I can't believe my little preemie is 2!!

Now, I'd like you to celebrate her birthday with me with a special deal only available from *me* :). (oh, if you get my newsletter, you would already know this ;)).

For the month of July
up until the anniversary of the day
Rachel came home from the hospital (August 11),
send me an e-mail (foxtoybox@gmail.com)
with the subject line "Rachel's Special"
that includes your order,
payment information,
mailing address
and phone number and you will enjoy a
10% savings.

***Please note: this offer is ONLY available via e-mail and will NOT be available on my website. Please use the website ONLY to choose your items!!**

Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy your savings! :)

~Marcy

Castle Marbleworks!

Y'know, you don't really know exactly what a child can learn from a toy until you watch them play with it, or until you see it for yourself. Rachel and I just spent quite a while playing with her brand new CASTLE MARBLEWORKS (with brief interruptions for kisses and dancing with Salt N Pepa--VH1 was in the background).

By the way, I got the CASTLE MARBLEWORKS for 50% off, just like any other customer can during the month of May. Ask me how!!


Here are some cool things I heard while playing with Rachel's CASTLE MARBLEWORKS :
"More balls"
"Mama find it"
"Woah, balls!"
"Watch the balls"
"Top"
"Round and round"
"Thank you"

Top? Wow--I didn't know she knew that!

So, some cool concepts that can be taught using CASTLE MARBLEWORKS:
in, out, down, open, close (the door moves!), top, bottom, colors, counting to 3

Rachel also showed me how it is a problem solving activity when she tried and tried to make it so the balls wouldn't come out. It's also a motor activity when she moved her body all around trying to get the balls back out!
And, you know, even the jingly balls are fun to listen to as they move down the tracks, for some great auditory stimulation. :D

So, don't forget--during the month of May, you too can get a CASTLE MARBLEWORKS for 50% off! Ask me how.

Happy playing!
Marcy
www.discoverytoyslink.com/foxtoybox
foxtoybox@gmail.com