The key to successful homeschooling with toddlers is preparedness. Knowing this now, as I do, all the year round I keep an eye out at garage sales, thrift stores, and craft blogs for activities, inexpensive ones, that will keep a toddler’s attention. I don’t spend much money on busy activities for my toddlers, and many of them I’m able to make at home. Part of my being prepared to homeschool with toddlers includes teaching them to be able to sit for five to ten minutes at a time, on a blanket or in a high chair, with their own activities when I need to help an older sibling. Now, let me share some of my favorite activities, which we keep set aside for lesson time, and I’d love to hear yours.

Most toddlers love fine motor activities and beading is such a great toddler activity, whether it’s large wooden beads or pasta or animal shapes with holes. As with all things, use parental wisdom – if your toddler tends to put everything in their mouths, then you might have to wait a year or so on this activity.

I remember watercolor books from my childhood but they seem to be harder to find nowadays. We especially like the ones with little dots of paint all over the picture. They also make watercolor books with the paint palette at the top of the page. I tend to find watercolor books in the most unusual places, like drug stores, and most recently, Joann’s Fabrics. Whenever we’re in the coloring book section of a store, I take a quick peak for them and stock up when I see them.

Our first lacing cards came from a garage sale, vintage ones with shoe laces to thread through. Recently I’ve seen them available on www.amazon.com and in Barnes and Noble, so their popularity is growing. If you’re pinching pennies, you can also laminate some pretty graphics or magazine cut-outs and hole punch around the border. Dollar stores carry shoe laces, which are still our favorites for lacing. We are a crafty family and these are a hit with the toddlers in our home, who get to do their own “sewing.”

Lego Duplos are also kept for lesson time. They come in a large variety of shapes and colors and I don’t have to worry about them being a choking hazard for any babies that may be crawling around.

It may seem simple, but stickers are loved by the toddlers in our home and are a great activity for building those fine motor skills. I ration out a 500 pack of stickers from the dollar store with scrap paper and let our toddlers create a masterpiece.

A metal sheet (you can use a cookie sheet) and magnet sets are also a fun toddler activity. We have animal magnets, firemen magnets, Bible story ones, and the traditional numbers and letters. I sometimes write out words so our toddlers can match their letter magnets to them on the baking sheet and they can play act out their own stories with the people and animal magnets.

Play dough in our home is reserved for lesson time too. We make it at home, add in glitter for sparkles and essential oils for scent. You can color it with coffee, kool-aid, jello, or food coloring. We keep a basket of play dough toys like cookie cutters and a small rolling pin. Here is the recipe we have always used:

In a saucepan, mix two cups of flour and two cups of water. Stir in one tablespoon of oil and one teaspoon of cream of tartar and one cup of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the dough thickens. When it is cool to touch, knead in your colors, scents, and sparkles of choice. We store ours in plastic zip-lock baggies.

I’d love to hear some of your toddler’s favorite activities too – won’t you chime in?

strong>Hannah is a relaxed homeschooling mama of six. Her and her family are big on the outdoors, big on family days, and big on making memories in everyday small ways. She loves handcrafts, iced lattes, re-arranging furniture and counts falling into bed exhausted a sign of a really great day. She and her husband make a home in upstate New York with their energetic children and a menagerie of animals. Hannah blogs at Cultivating Home and you can connect with her on the facebook page, Cultivating Home.

Snowflakes are simply a form of crystalline water ice. They begin as snow crystals and come in a variety of sizes and shapes. As the flake falls through the cloud, tiny changes in temperature and humidity affect the way the water molecules attach to the snowflake. The variety of shapes form as the flake moves through the air. Have you heard that “no two snowflakes are alike”? That is because each flake grows independently and each side of each arm grows independently so they are not completely symmetric, this process of formation makes each one unique.

The largest ever recorded snowflake is listed in the Guinness World Book of Records. It was found in January 1887 at Fort Keogh, Montana and was said to measure 38 cm (15 inches) wide!

Ready to make your own?

The ingredients are simple:

• Borax (2 Tbsp per jar)
• Pipe Cleaners (3 per snowflake, we used green, but I think white might have been a better choice!)
• A pen or pencil to secure the snowflake while it’s crystalizing
• Boiling Water
• Wide mouth glass jars
• Scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Cut your pipe cleaner into 3rds. Lay one section horizontally on your workspace, then lay another one on top of it and twist it into a v shape around the horizontal piece. Lay your 3rd pipe cleaner section on top of that and create a v shape again only going the opposite direction of your first one so you have something similar to the below:

Step 2: Using your 2nd pipe cleaner tie it around the center of your flake, leaving a long tail, you will use this to secure your flake in the crystallization solution.

Step 3: Using the 3rd pipe cleaner, cut six 1.5 inch sections. Tie one around each tip to create your flake detailed edges.

Step 4: Pour 2.5 Tablespoons of Borax per each cup of boiling water to each wide mouth jar. (I used about 2 cups of water per jar, so about 5 T of Borax.) Just make sure you have enough water to cover your snowflakes. Stir the solution until the borax is dissolved.

Step 5: Tie the end of your long pipe cleaner around a pen or pencil and gently place the snowflake end into the solution, making sure it is completely covered by liquid. Wait about an hour sometimes a little longer to see your crystals form on the pipe cleaners! (If crystals are not starting to form, you can add a little more Borax to your solution, just stir to make sure it dissolves.

This flake was created using some twine and a white pipe cleaner:

Erica is a Christian wife, a mom, and a homeschooler. She authors Confessions Of A Homeschooler that offers tons of printables, resources, ideas and homeschool curriculum. She likes to digi-scrap and dabbles in graphic design in her *free* time. Feel free to drop by for a visit anytime! www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

A winter nature walk might seem like a boring (or cold) idea, but don’t be fooled – God’s creation, though less active this time of year, is still ready to excite you!

Of course, snow is an obvious topic of study, but since not everyone receives snow in the winter, I’d like to offer some other fun ideas. January, with its bare trees, dead plants and dull colored landscape, is perfect for discovering treasures that are hidden other times of the year. When most of the flora disappears, it’s way easier to find and observe things like rocks, erosion, tree shapes and details, and plants that don’t die or sleep during the winter.

If it’s really cold and you’d rather not venture outside, set up a nature observatory window. You might choose to place feeders outside the window so birds and other creatures will be close for easy observation and sketching in a nature journal or identifying in a field guide. Winter is also a good time for observing clouds and weather systems as you sit on the warm and cozy side of the window.

On not-so-cold days, one of our favorite winter walks is what we call a “detective walk” as we search for evidence of animals. Even though many animals may have migrated or are hibernating, January is still a great time to look for signs that they have been there. Without as many hiding places and the lack of color variation in the landscape, it’s not hard at all to find animal tracks, feathers, fur, scat, food litter, burrows, and old nests.

Appropriate for all ages and requiring no prep, a detective walk is a simple way to break up the monotony of mid-winter homeschooling days. Grab a blank notebook and pencil for each child (and parent) and head outdoors for some fresh air, a little exercise and a lot of science-related fun. Each person is to be on the hunt for as many signs of animals as possible. When animal evidence is found, note or draw it in the notebook. (If you find a burrow, don’t ever attempt to stick your hand or anything else in it!)

Upon returning home, everyone can compare notes over a cup of hot cocoa. Discuss the evidence and which animals you believe have been in the area. Do you think the animals are currently active, or do you think the evidence was left from previous seasons? A lively discussion is sure to ensue! Fun, productive, educational family time can’t be beat!

The NaturExplorers series offers several topics that are perfect for winter nature/science studies: Snow and Ice, Coping with the Cold, Constant Conifers, Beautiful Birds and Animal Signs. There’s also a new winter-themed study just for preschool and kindergarten students called Nature by the Season!

Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three who loves learning alongside her children. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

Need Supplies:

• Puff balls {aka pompoms}
• Circle magnets (you can buy these at craft store or at Walmart)
• Glue

Directions: Simply glue the magnets to the pompoms and dry overnight. Or, you can speed up the drying process by using a hot glue gun!

There are TONS of ways that your tot can use magnetic puff balls along with a magnetic cookie sheet, which I purchased from the Dollar Tree. Count them, sort them, use them as manipulatives…the ideas are endless!

Do-A-Dot Pages from Homeschool Creations:

Alphabet Pages from Making Learning Fun:

Grid Games from Mama Jenn:

Do-A-Dot pages from various Preschool Packs from Homeschool Creations:

Spelling BINGO from Mama Jenn:

Here are even more ideas/printables to use with your puff ball magnets:

• Number Pages from Making Learning Fun
• Mosaic Pages from Making Learning Fun
• Letter Magnet Pages from COAH’s Letter of the Week Curriculum
• Do-A-Dot Pages from Tot School

Jennifer is a happily married, Christian, homeschooling mama of five little ones (ages 7,5,5,3,3). Yes, two sets of twins! She has a BA degree in Mathematics and holds a masters degree in Education. A former high school math teacher, she now uses all her education to teach her own kids! In her “spare” time she enjoys scrap-booking, though blogging seems to be taking its place. She currently has five blogs. Mama Jenn is her main blog. Education Cubes features customizable learning blocks. The Homeschool Resource List is a collection of free online resources. The “Brown Like Me” Book Review showcases books featuring “brown” characters. The Living Math Book List is a collection of living math books.

Domino Christmas Ornaments – The Homeschool Classroom – If you’re looking for fun, simple Christmas projects for your kids, this post from The Homeschool Classroom, part of a series of posts, will get you started. These ornaments are so cute and will make the perfect addition to your tree or a simple homemade gift project for the kids to give to their grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

In Praise of Free Play – Blogging ‘Bout Boys – In a day and age where the expectation is that kids will be involved in organized, structured activities nearly every minute of every day, this post on Blogging ‘Bout Boys points out the benefits of unstructured free time.

Powerful Words – Raising Homemakers – This post by Jamie (See Jamie Blog) brought tears to my eyes. It’s an intensely powerful reminder of the weight of our words – whether positive or negative. Perhaps more often than we realize, those around us need to hear how much they mean to us.

Toni’s Biggest Homeschooling Mistake: Doubt – Simple Homeschool. It’s an ugly word that clouds every homeschooling parents’ thoughts from time to time. In this encouraging post, Toni cautions us not to doubt our abilities without first making an attempt at those things that strike fear in our hearts.

What Kneeling on a Department Store Floor Taught Me about Gratitude – Conversion Diary – I really appreciated this insightful (and, as usual, amusing) post that points out that gratitude isn’t exactly what we often assume it is.

Training Children to Overlook an Offense – The Better Mom – I only wish I’d read this article a few years ago. One of the scripture references (Proverbs 12:6) has already made its way into our scripture box for memorization.

Five Everyday Items for Toddler Learning – In a Nutshell – With supply costs ranging from free to really cheap, you’ll love these simple, but engaging activity ideas that will keep your toddlers productively occupied while you school your older children – or join your little one for some fun one-on-one time.

10 Days of Language Arts – Jimmie’s Collage – In case you missed it, Jimmie offered ten incredible language arts posts in the recent “10 Days” series. She has provided enough information to effectively design your own personalized language arts curriculum. Don’t miss this series!

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters – From Dates to Diapers – A must-read for dads of daughters.

30 Truths about Homeschooling – The Homeschool Classroom – This post, by yours truly, shares several truths that I’ve learned during my nine years of homeschooling. I hope you’ll be encouraged.

Kris Bales has been married to her incredible husband for 20 years. Together, they’re raising their three Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, who range in age from 10 to 16. Kris is Christian, Southern, and sweet-tea-addicted. She enjoys reading, writing and photography. In addition to blogging about life as a homeschool mom, you can find her at Eclipsed where she chronicles her transformation from a morbidly obese couch potato to a runner in training for her first half-marathon.

Many of us have wrapped up our homeschooling for the year, beginning a Christmas break a little early. Perhaps you just have a few more days to go.

Whenever you decide to take a break, it can be a little bittersweet. The kids are free to do as they please (I know mine enjoy getting up in the morning without a set schedule to follow as soon as breakfast is done), but at times this can lead to something else: Boredom. Boredom is inevitable, especially when the holiday season is approaching and the days seem so very long to little ones.

(How many times have you already heard, “How many more days ’til Christmas, Mommy?” I know, in our home, this question begin popping up as soon as we entered the month of November!)

We have a Christmas countdown every year, and this helps to fill our days. This, too, can prove to be stressful and hectic if overdone. In the past I’ve had so many projects and crafts slated that we grow tired of activities way before the 25th rolls around! The past year or so, however, I’ve leaned down our activity calendar and focused on those activities we’ll truly enjoy. I’ve also not planned a set activity for every single day; many days’ surprise within the paper cones I’ve constructed is simply a fun Christmas joke or a piece of gum per child.

Whether you have a calendar to fill or just want some fuss-free activity ideas to fill the time, here are a few of the fun things we’ve done in years past and will be doing this year!

• Paint Christmas pictures with watercolors or tempera paints.
• Make a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls; eat half and surprise some friends with the other half.
• Find a drive-through or walk-through Nativity in your town and visit.
• Have a family board game night.
• Make holiday popcorn balls.
• Write a letter to a sponsored child, a soldier stationed overseas, or a grandparent. Be sure to decorate the envelope with stickers!
• Make a book about Christmas.
• Write a story from the perspective of one of Santa’s elves.
• Have a family movie night — watch a holiday movie, of course.
• Drive around to view Christmas lights; vote on your favorite spots.
• Make a snow scene indoors on a tray using shaving cream and action figures.
• Go star gazing; stars look so much brighter on a cold, clear night!
• Paint everyone’s toenails in Christmas colors and designs.
• Make peppermint cream to stir into coffee and hot chocolate.
• Do a jigsaw puzzle together; place it somewhere where it can be worked on the next day in case you don’t finish.
• Put on The Nutcracker CD and dance!
• Bake a birthday cake for Jesus!
• Make paper snowflakes; tape into windowpanes all over the house.

Meg Wilson is a devoted wife to her husband, Ken, of 10 years, and mom and homeschooling teacher to her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. When she’s not writing or creating something, Meg loves to cook for, host and entertain friends and family. She also enjoys reading, the outdoors, eclectic music, yoga, and studying history. You can read all about her adventures (and misadventures) at her blog, Muses of Megret and read her product reviews at Electric City Academy.

Most kids count down the days each year until they are able to go on holiday break. But time away from school means that kids will need other activities to keep them occupied. There are a number of ways to keep kids engaged, though, especially during the holiday season.

Volunteer

Certainly one great way to keep kids engaged during their time off from school is to get them involved in volunteering to help out those in need. In fact, showing kids the value of volunteering can instill in them a positive sense of service that will likely stay with them throughout their lives.

For some ways to show kids just how much of an impact volunteering makes, you could have them go with a group to deliver donated items to needy families, or to help out serving food at a local shelter for the poor.

Feed Animals in Need

People aren’t the only ones who may need a hand – especially when the weather turns cold. When the ground turns hard and ponds ice over, it becomes much more difficult for animals to obtain food and water.

Some ways to help out here include leaving treats out for wildlife in the area, making sure that bird feeders are filled with food, and keeping sources of water available. One fun twist to engage kids even more is to have them decorate an outdoor tree with edible treats for the animals.

Engage in Some Holiday Reading

The holidays are a time of reflection – and what better way to do that than to catch up on reading some great holiday classics like The Night Before Christmas or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. To really keep kids engaged, have each child read a portion of the book out loud to other family members. This is sure to keep everyone involved.

Learn to Bake

The holidays are also a time of eating – so, coupled with that comes baking. For years, parents have kept their children engaged in the holiday spirit by teaching them how to make Christmas cookies and other tasty goodies. This not only is a great way to take part in a fun activity, but it will also help to create some wonderful family memories.

Decorate

Holiday decorations are a staple of the season, and many kids will enjoy putting up lights and doing other types of holiday decorating. Having kids create their own decorations will keep them even more engaged, as they will need to use some of their own creativity when deciding what to make and how to create it.

Creating a Family Tree

Creating a “family tree” is an excellent way to get kids engaged in the season that will also strengthen family bonds. One way to do this is to have kids pick out a number of family pictures to photocopy and then create ornaments with.

This can be done by attaching the photos to felt or other materials and then even putting glitter or other decorative accents around them. When complete, you will have custom made ornaments for the family to hang on the tree – truly making it a one-of-a-kind family tree.

Written by guest author Sandra Harris

Glass jars can easily be turned into an inexpensive Christmas gift. I like to use the 8 oz pickle jars, as long as you wash it well, the smell will go away. I usually just rinse it and turn it over in the drain board to dry and have never had a problem. If you are using it to put food items in I suggest putting through the dish washer or soaking well with water and dish soap.

The great thing about gift jars is that there is so much you can do with them. One Christmas, finances were really bad and I made a variety of gift jars for my family. For my niece and nephews I took their interests and decorated the jars with images I retrieved from Google. I cut them out and used Modge Podge to put them on the jar. I did paint some of the jars with acrylic paints and others I left, depending on the theme. I found a recipe on line for homemade hot chocolate mix that cost very little to make and was easy. I put that in the jar with some festive plastic wrap on the top, tied it with holiday ribbon, and stuck a candy cane in the ribbon. I figured once the contents were gone they could use them to hold pencils and pens on their desks at home.

I also made my pastor’s wife a jar. She loves snowman and I happen to have some glitter Modge Podge, so all I needed were some snowman images. I purchased those at Hobby Lobby. For the snowman I used white acrylic paint, placed the stickers around the jar and then with a paint brush applied the glitter Modge Podge. To tell you the truth I do not remember what I put inside of hers, but you can put potpourri or even candy.

Here are the items I like to keep on hand for this craft: stickers and scrapbooking paper for images, gloss Modge Podge, various colors of acrylics, different size paint brushes, tissue paper, ribbon and embellishments. For embellishments I have used beads, scrapbooking items and little Christmas ornaments. I use a hot glue gun to put on the ribbon around the rim, which you can leave plain if you want. You may also want to use the glue gun to attach beads or other embellishments. While I love tacky glue I have not been able to successfully use it with this craft. I have also used clear bead ‘n stretch for adding embellishments like the one shown with the utensils in it. I also want to add that I have tried to use the self adhesive ribbon with this project but was not successful. With this is the type of craft you can really be creative and let your imagination fly as far as what you are using to decorate.

Be sure to plan out your theme before you start and be sure you have all materials on hand. If you have never used acrylic paints before beware that while they are water soluble and very forgiving to work with, they will stain materials. One of the nice things about acrylics is that they dry fast, so when you need to add a second coat, which you most likely will, you do not have to wait long. The Modge Podge is also water soluble and for this reason you should inform your recipients that they are strictly for decorations and cannot be washed. I recommend just dusting them off with a dry cloth.

I have saved the best gift jar for last, after receiving a Bali jar with potpourri and Christmas lights in it my daughter came up with this wonderful idea. When you plug in the lights it heats the potpourri and fills your room with a wonderful scent and no flames. You will need the following items for this project: pastel tissue paper, potpourri, Modge Podge, a paint brush and a strand of mini lights, I have used various counts such as 50 and 70 which work fine. You should also have a 24 oz jar, the ones from applesauce work best. Remove the label and any access paper and glue from the jar and wash.

Once the jar is completely dry you are ready to begin.  First, choose which colors of tissue paper you will use. Tear off a piece of the tissue paper and using the Modge Podge adhere it to the jar. The more jagged and random the shapes the better.  Place some Modge Podge on the jar where you want to place the paper and than put a coat of Modge Podge over that continuing to add paper. Overlapping the pieces will give it a stain glass effect after you plug in the lights. This is why it is important to use only pastels for this project. Do this to the whole jar.  You can choose to do the rim or decorate it with ribbon or something else such as raffia. If you have any creases you have some options: try to straighten them out gently by using the paint brush or tooth pick, remove that area, or cover over it. In the past we have never had to remove an area. Once the jar is covered look over the jar carefully for any empty areas.

Now it is time to insert the string of lights and potpourris, and this is where things get kind of tricky. Make sure you have the lights on so you can see how it will look when you are done. Starting at the bottom of the jar put some potpourri into the jar and then put in some of the string of lights. You will need to continue with this process adjusting the lights and potpourri as you go along. Do not worry if you add to much just continue adding the lights and arranging them until you achieve the look you want. This is why the applesauce jar works best, it has a big enough opening to get your hand in. If you are unable to get your hand in, use the end of the paint brush or another item to aid in the arranging process.

I hope the images have helped you to understand this project, if you have any ideas for gift jars we would love for you to share them with our other readers.

Joyce Wheeler is the mother of three and has been homeschooling since 1997. She has one daughter, already graduated, a son she is homeschooling through high school, and the other is a junior high student. Currently she is re-organizing her nonprofit organization, Education Jump-Off. Her mission is to aid in the education of the world’s greatest natural resource, the children, and “never stop learning” is her personal motto. A blogger and free lance writer you can find her at Homeschooling High School and Baton Rouge Homeschool Examiner.

I’m not one who goes all out in decorating for Christmas under normal circumstances, but some years decorating is more difficult than others.  Last year we were traveling over Christmas and had a newborn.  This year we have a toddler who definitely can’t be trusted to leave a Christmas tree alone and money is tight.  I don’t know about you, but those things make me feel even less like elaborately decorating for Christmas than usual.

So, how do you decorate for Christmas under these conditions?  How about a homemade Christmas tree?  No need to water and taking down the tree will be a breeze this year!

Materials Needed:

• A length of paper from a roll
• Paint and paintbrushes
• Colored construction paper or cardstock
• Paper punches or scissors
• Glue stick

Step 1 – Paint Tree

Cut a length of paper from your roll.  Ours was about four and a half feet.  Make it as tall as you want your tree to be.

Paint a trunk for your tree with your brown paint.  Paint your child’s hand with the green paint and use it as a stamp for the “needles” of your tree.  Be as creative as you want with the shape and placement of the stamped handprints.

Set your tree aside to dry completely.

Step 2 – Make Ornaments

Use paper punches or scissors to make ornaments with the colored paper.  Decorate ornaments if desired with markers or glitter or other embellishments.  Don’t forget to make a tree topper!

Step 3 – Decorate Your Tree

Apply glue to the back of your ornaments and stick them on your tree.  (Hint: This is a great place to involve Dad!)

Feel free to get creative and add your own special touches.  When you’re done, hang your completed tree on the wall for all to see!  And don’t forget to take the obligatory kids in front of the tree photo.

Merry Christmas from The Pelsers!

Amanda is a former church communications director turned homeschooling mom. She’s now using her BA in Bible and MA in Old Testament Studies to nurture and disciple her two boys with the help and support of her high school sweetheart and husband, Josh. She’s venturing into the world of Kindergarten with her oldest son this year using Sonlight as her base curriculum. She blogs about life, motherhood, homeschooling, technology, faith, books, and more at ThePelsers.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @apelser.

Either your first language or your second language is learnt by exposure. So you need to expose your children to the new language whenever you can as much as you can, through different learning aids, taking into account your children’s interests.

What can be more interesting for your children than counting to Christmas in December?

My goals for this lesson:

• To review numbers 1 to 4 in Spanish
• To introduce and practise numbers 5 to 12 in Spanish
• To relate numbers in their oral and written form

It was time to trim the tree and I got 12 ornaments. I added a number from 1 to 12 in each of them and placed them in a box. I invite children to count the ornaments. Then I guided them with some questions such as:

“How many ornaments can you see?” “Can you place the ornaments in numerical order from 1 to 12?”

Then I used the ornaments to teach the Spanish form of the number. I asked them pick up an ornament and said the number.

To practice and consolidate the new numbers I made this file folder for you.

Teachable moments are there waiting for you! Happy teaching!

Analia Capurro is the designer and owner of Ingles360.net® and the author of all the educational resources sold in her website. After 20 years of teaching children she found that the only way children love learning is if teachers love learning and teaching, too. Promoting a learning environment where laugh, fun and friendship and companionship are as important as any language structure, are the things she had in mind while designed her bilingual resources.