Tot School

Isaiah is 36 months old

This week was short again, since I had 2 language lessons--this month has been crazy busy!

But I have big news: Isaiah started drawing!

Thomas found this Draw 'n Glow Super Set for Isaiah's birthday, and it was a hit. I didn't know if he would be interested or not, you know he loves coloring so much and all (insert sarcastic tone here). Almost as soon as I put it in front of him, he started scribbling away! I naturally grabbed the camera and started snapping away.

I pulled out the crayons again on the off-chance that he might be more interested in coloring now that he enjoyed the drawing set so much. In fact, for about 2 minutes he tried to color with the crayons before the "hand the crayons to mama" game. That's 2 minutes longer than any other time. I also used that time to start working on the letters in his name.

These cups are probably one of his favorite things to play with. He'll stack them and unstack them and restack them and put things in them and take things out (usually some kind of food). He's getting really good at this! I started asking him to "put the blue cup in the green cup" (for example), and he can do it! He's starting to repeat the color names a lot more, too. Oh! And in his bath he started handing me the colored item that I asked for--correctly!

Aunt Beth, Uncle Jason and Jake gave Isaiah these neat puzzles for his birthday. He really likes the one of the baby face. He'll point to the facial feature on the puzzle and then point to his own face (in the right place!). We're working on putting the puzzles together, but I think that's going to take some time yet, so we'll just keep trying.

Isaiah still really likes his peg board, too, which I think is starting to help his fine motor skills because he's getting a lot better with utensils! He did a great job with some breakfast sausages and a fork, and he was quite proud of himself.

The family album is a hit. He loves looking at the pictures over and over again. He gives them kisses and practices saying the names of the people in the pictures. I just love how loving he is.

So that was our week. It was busier than I thought. This week will be short again because we're heading to Krasnoyarsk, Russia for our missionary field conference. I'm sure that there will be plenty of learning going on there, too! Isaiah will have 3 other little boys to play with, so if you feel the earth shake for no particular reason, it's because Isaiah will be laughing so hard!

Be sure to check out the other Tot School fun at 1+1+1=1.

Tot School--Celebrations!

Isaiah is 36 months old

This week I had two Russian lessons, a doctor's appointment and a birthday party from Wednesday to Friday, so we didn't do a lot of concentrated Tot School, but we enjoyed what we did get to do! Wednesday he got to spend the whole day with Aunt Luda, so he had Russian practice that day, too!

I pulled out the crayons again so that we could work on colors and maybe at least see the number 3, since Isaiah turned 3 on Friday. He seems to enjoy taking the crayons out of the box and setting them to the side. When they're all out, he then wants to hand each one to me to put back in the box so the process can repeat itself. He's still not really interested in drawing. So I just reviewed the colors with him while we did this little game.

I then drew some 3's on the paper and we worked on him saying "I'm 3!", which he did very well. I helped him draw some 3's as well, but he's still not super interested in drawing or writing.

He still loves his Machines book that a friend sent us last year. He loves to point to the different machines, which right now are all "cars". I ask him to point to the different colored cars, and he's getting much better at this activity.

Friday was a big day! We went to see my doctor and "meet" our new baby. Isaiah was a trooper as it took me a while to find the clinic. He talked a lot to everyone around and made lots of new friends at the clinic. After the appointment and a special birthday lunch, we headed home to get ready for the party! We had a couple of other tots and their parents over for a supper of hotdogs and hamburgers. Isaiah received some great Tot School tools like books and drawing tools and even a math game! I made this album for him of all our family members in the States that he will see regularly when we go back for visits. I hope too, when we get to the letters their names start with to use their pictures to help him have even more of an association with certain letters.

We love our 3-year-old!

Saturday was thankfully a little slower. We did actually do some Tot School stuff, though I didn't get pictures. He is really into stacking cups right now, and he's getting really good at it! We also worked on a toy that he received for Christmas but I hadn't pulled out of the box yet (yikes!). It's kind of like a lite-brite (is that what they're even called?), but it's all just plastic, no electricity involved. There's a plastic board with holes in it and different colored plastic pegs to put in the holes to make a picture. It's called a Mosaic Toy here, but it would probably be called something else in the States. I didn't get pictures this week, but he seemed to like it, so I'm sure we'll do it again. It was great for working on his fine motor skills! He also just really liked shaking the bag with the pegs in it, which he did for a long time later that afternoon when he found the box and pulled out the bag.

So those are the few things that we did this week. Check out 1+1+1=1 for other Tot School activities.

Oh! And Carisa at 1+1+1=1 has also started a blog with some other moms that's designed specifically for moms and their tots. Be sure to check out, Totally Tots for some really great ideas and to meet some other cute tots!

Tot School

So, we've been doing some Tot School stuff, but with getting ready to travel and actually traveling, posting about Tot School hasn't been a priority. I have enjoyed reading other moms' posts, though!

Before we left for Camp Babochka, I needed some help getting ready for the craft that I was supposed to help lead.

First we gathered the stuff we needed--crepe paper, candle holder, glue, water, paint brushes, some extra containers. I watered down the glue. Isaiah helped me brush it onto the candle holder. Then we tore the crepe paper, which incidentally comes in big, 11" (or so) wide rolls in Russia. Next we put the paper on the candle holder. It was super easy, and lots of fun!

Happy with our finished product, which I later used for an example to the campers at Camp Babochka a few days later. Oh, and isn't this chair and table GREAT! We were able to get them at IKEA for a good price, and most importantly Isaiah is able to sit in this chair without any help!

I found these great stacking cups at IKEA for cheap (are you sensing a trend here?)! They don't get stuck to each other like the drinking cups that I was using, and the colors are much brighter. Isaiah has a much easier time stacking these since they are different sizes, too.

And this I'm very excited to show off! Isaiah has started pulling up lots more, even resting on his knees; so we're doing a little more work to develop those hip muscles!

Check out the other Tot Schools around the world at 1+1+1=1!

Tot School--C Week

C is for Camera, Calculator, Cat in the Hat, Counting and CARS!

So that's what went into Isaiah's Discovery Cabinet this week. He seems to really enjoy being able open it up and pull out whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

C is for CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

Isaiah really likes our new cookie sheets. I like the fact that they are bright green and bright blue on the outside. That doesn't make the cookies taste any better, but it's just fun.

We searched and searched and searched for cookie cutters. Finally Thomas made us some!

Isaiah even decorated a cookie with some sprinkles. The sprinkles were really hard to pick up, even for me, so we gave him another project:

He did a great job moving the coconut from the yellow bowl to the green bowl! He kept showing me his green bowl and how much fuller it was, which of course brought great praise.

C is for Color

We tried painting with brushes this week. Isaiah seemed to like it better than crayons. I had further plans for this project, but well, I was wiped out, so the "C" has been glued to another piece of paper and awaits further fun.

I think that Isaiah was just as interested in the little containers that the paint is in, but that starts with C, too; which I'm sure he realizes.

One of our favorite books is Corduroy thanks to our friends the Notts who sent us a copy. Here's Isaiah reading. I must confess that I love this picture, the way that he's concentrating. I tried to get a picture of more of his face, but then he started posing.

Check out the other Tot Schools at 1+1+1=1. And Merry Christmas!


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Tot School--B Week

As I looked through the pictures from this week, I realized that we had accomplished more than I remembered!

B is for Bows

As I was decorating some packages that we received in the mail, I suddenly realized that we could sort the bows by color, so we did! Then I saw the same idea, but much better planned on this site.

B is for Books, Boxes, Bottles, Balls, Bears, Big Bird, Bead

On the same site, I had previously read about making a discovery box. We modified the idea a bit by having a discovery cabinet. Isaiah already enjoys opening this cabinet and pulling out a sewing book that I have. So to add to the fun, I filled the bottom shelf with all kinds of things that start with B.

B is for Books about Bears

Or any book, really. Isaiah LOVES to read books by himself or with anyone who will read with him. Somehow we've collected several books about bears, which worked well for our focus on B.

B is for Bumble Bee

In one of our bear books I Love You, Daddy, Little Bear gathers honey with Daddy Bear. At first Little Bear is frightened by the buzzing of the bees, but then Daddy Bear reminds him that the bees can't hurt him because of his thick fur. This is one of Isaiah's favorite books, and mine, too! We attempted paints for the first time in order to try to make a Bumble Bee, of sorts.

Patting down the letter B after I glued it on our new paper (which for some reason didn't come with black paper, oh well, at least brown starts with a B, too)!

Checking out the q-tip covered with paint

And our finished project, with almost as much paint that was on Isaiah :)

And we continued to read our Advent Scriptures and sing the songs that Thomas has picked out for us. The stars are finally low enough that Isaiah can help us cover them up! We had to be on a step-stool before, and I wasn't brave enough to hold him and try to put up a star. He's such a good helper!

There will be more posts about lots of learning on 1+1+1=1, if you'd like to see some other ideas!

Tot School--A Week

For Tot School this week, I decided to continue with A and Red, since last week was short with Thanksgiving and all.

Monday, however, was Russian day. Isaiah's nanny Julia was able to come again at last! She doesn't speak English, and we're hoping that Isaiah is picking up his Russian from her and our other Russian friends so that he doesn't learn our mistakes or our accents! I joined them for snack time after their walk (this gives me some great practice, too!), and I was excited to see them interacting so well. Julia would tell Isaiah to do something very specific, and he would obey perfectly! What a smart boy I have--already becoming bilingual!

Tuesday we again combined therapy and school. We (I) named things with "A". Isaiah liked the pictures that I had prepared for him to color, he pointed to them and said "all done" very clearly after he wore them as hats.

He still likes to color on his clothes more than any paper, so thankfully the crayons wash out very well. :)

We tried something new to help work on his fine motor skills since coloring isn't too interesting, apparently. We have some colorful plastic cups that are great for stacking, or for talking into to make your voice sound funny, which is obviously the more important thing to do!

Wednesday we had a shopping date! We bought Daddy a Christmas present, and Isaiah was a big help as we wheeled through the store. He helped soften up the cashiers so that they were nicer to me. We strolled through IKEA (gotta love it!) and pointed out all the "A" things like alligators and armchairs and art supplies and some other things that I forget now. But, we scored a major find--the closest thing to construction paper that I've seen in Russia! Woohoo! Pretty colors and everything! I snatched that package of paper up in my hands as if it were a bag of gold!

Never one to be put off quickly (just a nice way of saying that I can be pretty stubborn), we tried coloring again after his nap. He had been using a mandarin like a crayon, so I asked him if he wanted to color. He said, "Uh-huh" (which he says to everything like other toddlers say "no" to everything). He did actually color on paper a little bit--progress, perhaps? Then I decided that we needed to practice for opening up Christmas presents, so we ripped and ripped and ripped paper--finally something he was much more interested in! But I was so busy "helping" him that I forgot to get some pictures.

Thursday was my Russian lesson day (and a migraine, sadly), so no Tot School really took place that I remember.

Friday we had fun preparing for friends to come and play. Isaiah had a blast playing with his little friend Slava who can crawl now. Isaiah was so excited that he didn't even want to eat his pizza! As soon as Slava was done, Isaiah quickly declared "all done" so that he could go and play. I think Isaiah learned pretty quickly that he could roll a ball for Slava to chase! Lots of laughter and good Russian practice for me with Slava's patient mother Oksana.

I'm so pumped about starting B next week because I have some fun ideas for ways to use my new colorful paper! I even found some glue!

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Tot School--Thanksgiving Week

This week was crazy busy as we prepared for Thanksgiving. Isaiah and I still did Tot School, though, as I'm realizing how I can incorporate more and more into every day activities! Being so busy, I didn't get that many pictures, however.

Monday we did lots of shopping (my eyes were bigger than my hands and backpack and stroller!). Isaiah was a great helper. We named every item in English and Russian. He did a great job repeating the names in both languages! I handed him the unbreakable ones, and he put them in the basket for me.

That evening we worked on the letter A and the color red. He colored an "A" and an apple, well sort of. He likes coloring his shirt more than the paper.

For snack he had dried fruit, some of which was red and green. He did a great job picking out the red pieces when asked, and even the green!

Here he is picking out a red piece (I promise, it was red, just as he was asked!).

Since it was Thanksgiving week, we talked a lot about the Pilgrims. I had printed out some free coloring sheets for him to work on, but again, he was way more into coloring his shirt than the paper. (The coloring pages came from here and here.) I have a picture of a red car that he really likes to wear as a hat, too.

I also made a color wheel for him to use. He doesn't seem to understand the matching aspect of this, but he does a great job pointing to the different colors!

Check out what some other really creative moms are up to with their little people here!