How I grew to love toddlerhood
In 2005 I homeschooled my eldest daughter as she hated school and wouldn’t cooperate with her teachers. She was a very smart girl and I knew she found school boring. I found she enjoyed listening to and reading books, and so began our learning adventure. We had so much fun following all the topics of a 3rd Grader but continuing our interests as learning opened up a wonderful fun world. For Moms who generally have a hard time enthusiastically doing more than baking cookies and reading a book, this is an adventure into growing the love of learning for your child and watching their interest take leaps and bounds.
The best way to use this website is to find a topic and check your local library for books and videos. Don’t rule out documentaries for young children. They will watch them when there is no Disney distraction. I request my material online so just have to pick it up at the end of the day. From there I print or drawn some colouring and painting pages and read the books throughout the day as my toddler requests so he’s ready to enjoy. Snack time is a perfect opportunity to do something fun and continue to the learning, and there are many more links to activities.
I suggest you take what you find interesting from each lesson, and spend a week on a letter, or just work your way thru the alphabet at your own pace. Using a slightly more structured learning plan will ensure your toddler will have all the basic knowledge when he/she begins school. All areas of learning will be covered during this course, letters, numbers, colours, shapes, feelings, and all about me!!
The best way to use this website is to find a topic and check your local library for books and videos. Don’t rule out documentaries for young children. They will watch them when there is no Disney distraction. I request my material online so just have to pick it up at the end of the day. From there I print or drawn some colouring and painting pages and read the books throughout the day as my toddler requests so he’s ready to enjoy. Snack time is a perfect opportunity to do something fun and continue to the learning, and there are many more links to activities.
I suggest you take what you find interesting from each lesson, and spend a week on a letter, or just work your way thru the alphabet at your own pace. Using a slightly more structured learning plan will ensure your toddler will have all the basic knowledge when he/she begins school. All areas of learning will be covered during this course, letters, numbers, colours, shapes, feelings, and all about me!!
LETTER A
Theme words - apple, alligator, astronaut, alphabet, aquarium, Australia, animals
Videos
The Magic School Bus - Bugs, Bugs, Bugs
The Ant Bully
A Bug's Life
Antz
Books
I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track
All for Pie, Pie for All
One Hundred Hungry Ants
Sing And Read - The Ants Go Marching
Ant, Ant, Ant! An Insect Chant
An Ant's Day Off
Next To An Ant
Dot's Great Big World
Ants, Ants, Ants
Ants in Your Pants
Ants at the Picnic
I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot
The Magic School Bus - Ants in Its Pants
Ten Apples up on Top! by Dr. Seuss
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Alligator Shoes by Arthur Dorros
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Worksheets and Colouring Pages
Enchanted learning Letter A printout
apple tree and seasons printout
alligator prints
apple printouts
airplane printouts
Activities
Flashcards, we made our own
Alphabet song
Make some paper airplanes
Draw some pictures from the 'a' words, paint them
Paper Plate Angel
Cup o' Fish edible aquariam
Memory Box
Paper Family Tree
Family Collage Craft
Take a trip to the local aquarium, airport or apple orchard
Food
Animal crackers .....make some animal sounds
Jello aquarium with gummy fish
Giant Ant Hill
Materials: Large Butcher Paper Black crayon Cut the paper in the shape of an ant hill. Help your child draw tunnels with the crayon and draw ants in the tunnels.
Ants in the Dirt
Materials: Brown and blue construction paper None toxic ink pad Glue Black Marker Have the children tear pieces of the brown construction paper and glue them onto the bottom of the blue paper to represent the dirt and sky. After the glue has dried, have the children place a few fingerprints on the brown paper to represent ants. Add legs and antennae with black marker.
Ants at My Picnic
Materials: Construction paper Paper plates Magazine ads for food Black marker Have your child glue pictures of their favorite foods onto the paper plate, then glue the plate onto the paper as if the paper were the place mat. Then have your child draw the ants on the place mat and plate.
Fingerprint Ants
What do Ants Eat?
Divide a paper plate into sections with a black marker. Place various food items on the plate (i.e. crackers, sugar, lettuce).Set the plate outside on a nice warm day, in a low traffic shaded area where you have seen ants. Check back after 1 hour to see what has happened. Check back in 2 hours. What foods have the ants taken? Which is their favorite? Ask your child what foods they like the best.
Ants in the Grass
Peel the outside of a green apple, make the peels long and skinny. These peels will represent the grass. Cut the apple in half and core the apple. Place one half on the apple on a plate (this is the ant hill) and sprinkle half of the peels around the apple. Sprinkle raisins (the ants) on top of the hill and the grass.
Ants in Dirt
Supply each child with three mini marshmallows and three pretzels. They can connect three marshmallows with a dab of peanut butter to form the body and head. Break each pretzel in half and use them for the legs.
Links
Crafts
Alphabet Book
preschool activities
All About Me
Ant theme unit
Preschool ant theme
Videos
The Magic School Bus - Bugs, Bugs, Bugs
The Ant Bully
A Bug's Life
Antz
Books
I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track
All for Pie, Pie for All
One Hundred Hungry Ants
Sing And Read - The Ants Go Marching
Ant, Ant, Ant! An Insect Chant
An Ant's Day Off
Next To An Ant
Dot's Great Big World
Ants, Ants, Ants
Ants in Your Pants
Ants at the Picnic
I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot
The Magic School Bus - Ants in Its Pants
Ten Apples up on Top! by Dr. Seuss
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Alligator Shoes by Arthur Dorros
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Worksheets and Colouring Pages
Enchanted learning Letter A printout
apple tree and seasons printout
alligator prints
apple printouts
airplane printouts
Activities
Flashcards, we made our own
Alphabet song
Make some paper airplanes
Draw some pictures from the 'a' words, paint them
Paper Plate Angel
Cup o' Fish edible aquariam
Memory Box
Paper Family Tree
Family Collage Craft
Take a trip to the local aquarium, airport or apple orchard
Food
Animal crackers .....make some animal sounds
Jello aquarium with gummy fish
Giant Ant Hill
Materials: Large Butcher Paper Black crayon Cut the paper in the shape of an ant hill. Help your child draw tunnels with the crayon and draw ants in the tunnels.
Ants in the Dirt
Materials: Brown and blue construction paper None toxic ink pad Glue Black Marker Have the children tear pieces of the brown construction paper and glue them onto the bottom of the blue paper to represent the dirt and sky. After the glue has dried, have the children place a few fingerprints on the brown paper to represent ants. Add legs and antennae with black marker.
Ants at My Picnic
Materials: Construction paper Paper plates Magazine ads for food Black marker Have your child glue pictures of their favorite foods onto the paper plate, then glue the plate onto the paper as if the paper were the place mat. Then have your child draw the ants on the place mat and plate.
Fingerprint Ants
What do Ants Eat?
Divide a paper plate into sections with a black marker. Place various food items on the plate (i.e. crackers, sugar, lettuce).Set the plate outside on a nice warm day, in a low traffic shaded area where you have seen ants. Check back after 1 hour to see what has happened. Check back in 2 hours. What foods have the ants taken? Which is their favorite? Ask your child what foods they like the best.
Ants in the Grass
Peel the outside of a green apple, make the peels long and skinny. These peels will represent the grass. Cut the apple in half and core the apple. Place one half on the apple on a plate (this is the ant hill) and sprinkle half of the peels around the apple. Sprinkle raisins (the ants) on top of the hill and the grass.
Ants in Dirt
Supply each child with three mini marshmallows and three pretzels. They can connect three marshmallows with a dab of peanut butter to form the body and head. Break each pretzel in half and use them for the legs.
Links
Crafts
Alphabet Book
preschool activities
All About Me
Ant theme unit
Preschool ant theme
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