Visual schedule

One of the things we are working on with Alligator is transitions. They are just really hard for him. So it was suggested that a visual schedule may help.

Wow, what a lot of work.

 

I found 2 great sights that had some cards premade.

http://printable.tipjunkie.com/daily-schedule-pictures/

http://www.communication4all.co.uk/Early%20Years%20Themes%202/DAily%20Routine%20Cards.pdf

I also made some of my own, like the ones with our pictures on them.

So the idea is that I will have the schedule up in the morning. Then Alligator and I can talk about it, and what our day looks like. As we complete items, he gets to take the cards down, and place them in a basket.

Some that need some explanation.

Mommy Time- This will be time that Alligator will spend with me, we might to a gross motor activity, we might do a game, or a printable. But it will be time specifically that I have devoted with him.

Room Time- This will be about 15 minutes (for now) that Alex will play in his room. I will bring up an activity bin, or he can read. But it is time for him to play by himself in his room. I will check on him occasionally, but mainly he will be playing independently.

Home Work- This is time both Alligator and Monkey will work on activities at the table. I will help them both but it is table work time.

Bucket Time- This is a time when I will set out 3 different buckets of toys. We have so many toys, and so few of them are played with. So he will have the option of playing with these toys. Things that he might not choose himself, but will enjoy being re-introduced to. This is a little more independent time. I will get him started, then do a bit of housework, then check on him here and there to  help guide play.

So far this is really helping. We have a lot less tantrums, since he knows what is coming next.

We’ll see, how next week goes.

TotSchool- Halloween themed

Alligator is now 2 years and 9 months old. So hard to believe. He is still in love with anything ABC’s it boggles my mind what he can do!

Here he is working on a Time For Tots Activity. Where you place a button on the letters in the alphabet. He wanted to go in alphabetical order. This activity was a great fine motor activity too, because he had to pick up the small buttons and place them on the right spot. Look how proud he is when he accomplished it. He did both sides lowercase, and capital.

Here he is working on spooning the pompoms out of the pumpkin tray. I had to use m&ms to bribe him to try not to use his hands, (also a time for tots activity)

I created a Pumpkin do-a-dot printable. You can see my post and download it free here.

Here he is using some of the printables from 1+1+1=1’s monster pack.

     

Our last activity that I have pictures for is when Alligator and I were trying to make a painted pumpkin. I was trying to get him to paint. I offered him a plate with paint on it and a brush. But he wouldn’t touch it. So then I got myself a fork and a spoon and tried to show him how you don’t have to touch the paint. He enjoyed watching, but would not try it himself.

So in the end he ended up coloring his plate with a marker and a crayon. We will keep trying though.

   

Thanks for reading. There should be more to come next week!

Linking up to TotSchool

At home car racing game

The other night, Monkey and I were trying to think of something fun to do. He said he had an idea for a game. This game was completely his idea, and I thought it was really fun, so I decided to share.

The first thing you need is a starting point and ending point. Ours was fairly long, it went from our entry way, down our hall, and around the corner to our living room. I would say (just estimating) a good 15-20 feet.

Then you need a car (like a matchbox car) for each player.

You also need a dice.

Basic play is you roll the dice.

Whatever number it lands on that is how many little pushed you give your car; with the goal being to be the first to the finish line.

Monkey decided that one of the numbers (in our case 4) should be a pirate. If you roll the pirate, then you crash your car into another car, and that car has to start back from wherever you hit him, but your car goes back to where it was at the beginning of you turn.

   

First one to the finish wins!!!!!

It was really fun, and very creative!

Scissors sticking, quick tip

I just wanted to pass on a quick tip, that I just discovered.

Have you ever had a pair of scissors that started sticking, making it very difficult to open and close them while cutting?

Spray a little WD-40 on the hinge, then open and close them a few times, and they will get so much better. Make sure to dry them real well before using them, otherwise your next project might be covered in WD-40. You don’t want that!

Home Routine App

This post is completely my own, I was not compensated in any way!
I am totally in love with an App for my new i-phone. I totally love it.
You can check it out here! http://www.homeroutines.com/
There are many different sections, as you can see from the picture below. This really helps me remember things to do, and also to really get my home in order. I am totally loving it.
This is the main screen.

MORNING ROUTINE
Here is my morning routine. After taking Monkey to school, I come home and do this before we do anything else. The only thing I might put off till later is the 15 minutes in a focus zone.

EVENING ROUTINE
It has a setting for evening routines. Again you can easily adapt it to fit your lifestyle!
Here is mine.

TO DO LIST
You can add things to your to do list for today, this week, and later. Again you earn stars as you do them. You can add things quite easily or move or delete them.

ZONES
One of the sections it has is zones. If you have ever read anything by Flylady, zones will be familiar to you. Originally I used the app to break my house down into weekly zones. But then I realized you can work on one zone each day. You can choose to take the weekends off, or use the option for 7 zones, for me the weekends are spent between cleaning out my car, and yard work.
If you were to click on a zone you would see a list of things to do in that area. As you complete them, you earn a gold star…LOVE IT!

Favorite Post of the Week

My favorite post for this week come from 2 Teaching Mommies. They have created a wonderful and timely monster unit. I will be sure to print it and use it with my boys. Pictures to come!
You can find it here.

Read and Enjoy!

Do-a-Dot Pumpkin Printable

I have created another Do-a Dot printable, these are otherwise known as Bingo Marker pages.
I thought I would create some Halloween pages.
I created 2 versions of this same page. One is for students to create their own face on the pumpkin, the other has a face already marked in. This one would probably be good for the younger kids.
You can download the pages below, for FREE!

If you download, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear that they are being used!