Mommy Idea~Colors

What...
Teaching your child color words using things they love!

I started teaching my little guy colors by naming the color of things he loves like cars, trucks and trains.  Being a typical boy, he loves looking at anything with wheels, so I decided to take advantage of the time we spend looking at these things and turn it into a learning opportunity.

How...
Name the color of the object each time you talk about it and repeat, repeat, repeat!  I am constantly saying things like, "Look at the blue train." or "Here comes a white truck!"  He loves being outside watching cars and trucks go by our house and every time something passes, I tell him what color it is.  And even though he is not even two, he knows his colors.  Of course he gets them mixed up sometimes, but for the most part, he knows them and I am absolutely amazed!

Repeat color words over and over and over again...learn some colors!

Mommy Idea~Letters

Wha..

Teaching your little one the alphabet...one letter at a time.

How...

A few months ago, I started introducing letters to my little guy.  I am lucky to have lots of materials from my Kindergarten classroom that I am now using with my little guy.  Most of the things I have are easy to find or make, if you are creative.  Get lots of alphabet sets...magnetic, wooden, blocks with letters, foam, alphabet puzzles, alphabet stickers...you get the idea.   I started with the letters of his name, focusing only on one letter at a time.  Once he knew one letter, I added the next.  I used all of the different kinds of letters at once, so he could see different colors, shapes and sizes.  For example, if you are doing the letter E, get all of the Es you have and show them to your little one.  Once they recognize E, add the next letter.

Ideas...

Keep each alphabet set in a Ziplock bag and take out only the letter or letters you are working on.  If you see the letter you are currently working on somewhere out in the world, point it out.  For example, if you are working on the letter S and you see a stop sign, show it to your little guy so he will learn that letters exist outside of his school space.  It won't be long before he will start pointing out letters to you!

Get some alphabet sets...learn some letters!

Mommy Idea~Alphabet Books

What...
Baby Einstein Alphabooks

I love, love, love these books!! They are sooooo simple.  I do not like alphabet books that have a hundred pictures of things beginning with that letter.  They are overwhelming for me so I know they are for little ones, too. Four words and four pictures...that's it.  A few more reasons why I love these books...they are board books, they are small squares that fit perfectly in their hands, they have a combination of real photographs and illustrations, and they come in a handy little carrying case.  Did I mention I love these books?

How...
I use these along with the letter we are learning.  If we are learning the letter E, we read the E book over and over and over... :)  I point to the letter in the word so he can see that letters do not usually stand alone.

Ideas...
When you have mastered a few letters, you can let your little one find a book for you to read. You could say, "Find the E book." and he has to know what the E looks like in order to get the book for you.  You can also have your little one read the books to you.  They will look at the picture and say the word, which is READING!!!! Yay for babies who can read!

Buy these books...learn some letters!

Mommy Idea~Bible For Me

What...
Bible for Me Quiet Time by: Andy Holmes

How...
We have a couple of different Bible Story books, but this one is our favorite for this age.  It has one verse, just a few words to explain the verse and then something the child can do to practice doing what the verse says.  And the illustrations are absolutely adorable!  We read a Bible Story with our little one every night because we want him to get into the habit of reading the Bible now.  Even though he has no idea right now what the Bible means, he knows it is something we read every night.  We talk about each little story and then we pray.  We are teaching him about God and teaching him how to pray everyday, which are two of the most important things he will ever learn.

Find a Bible for little ones...read it everyday!

Mommy Idea~Picture Cards

What...
Flash cards with a picture of something on one side...mine have the word written on the other.

These are picture cards that I use to teach my little guy new words.  I have some that I used at school, but you can find them anywhere.  I have even seen some in the Dollar Spot at Target.  The dollar ones aren't very durable, but they still get the job done.  I have been using these with my little guy for a long time now and he has learned countless new words using these.

How...
I choose a few cards and introduce them to my little guy by showing him the card and telling him what it is.  Then I display them somewhere he can see them.  I have three different spots I use.  I have a memory board above his changing table, a memory board in the kitchen, and, of course, the refrigerator.  I usually have about three cards in each spot at one time.  Every time we see the cards, we look at them and talk about them. I leave them there for a couple of weeks until he learns them.

Tips...
I like to choose like things for each spot.  For example, in the diaper changing area, I might have pictures of things in his room, such as a lamp, blanket, and crib.  In another spot, I might have a group of pictures of animals or pictures of different kinds of foods.  This is a great way to introduce new words that they might not otherwise have exposure to.

Get some picture cards...learn some words!

Mommy Idea~Shape Book

What...

Magnetic Play and Learn Shapes book

I found this shape book at Marshalls and we love it!  There are other books in this series, but I have yet to find them...I am still looking.  The shape book is (obviously) a book that teaches shapes.  But the great thing about this book is that it actually has magnets that are different shapes.  It engages the little one in hands on learning, which is a much better way to teach them.  

How...
The little one puts the magnets on the pages of the book to make different pictures.  In this picture, this little guy is using the magnets to make a house and a car.  His favorite is the tractor, but I don't have a picture of that.  There is also a space in the back where they can create their own masterpiece.  This book has really helped my little guy learn some shape words.  This book is perfect for him because it has a car, train, rocket and tractor so he is having so much fun creating these objects, he doesn't even know how much he is learning.

Ideas...
Since the shapes are different colors, you can use this book to teach color words while you are teaching shapes.  Love it!

Get a shape book...making learning shapes fun!

Mommy Idea~Sticker book

What...
It is a sticker activity book that we purchased at Marshall's for $6 dollars and I absolutely love it! Half of the pages have just the outline of the objects and the other half is the actual stickers. The idea is to peel off a sticker and find where is belongs in the book. When I bought it, I thought it would be too advanced for my little guy so I was thinking we could just use it just for the stickers.  It has hundreds of stickers, so I thought we could use it to learn names of different objects. As it turns out, he uses it exactly the way it was designed, with lots of help from Mommy, of course.

How...
I let him choose any sticker and he holds it while I find the page where it belongs.  When I find the right page, I let him match the sticker to the outline.  He loves it! This particular books has lots of trucks, which is why I picked it. It also has animals, colors, shapes, numbers, letters...and so much more.  It has so many fun stickers that provide so many wonderful teaching opportunities.

Tips...
Before you peel a sticker off, look at the name beneath it.  It will be much easier to find the space where it goes.  Some of the outlines look alike and it can take forever to figure out where it goes.  By that time, your little guy has put the sticker on another page, on the table, or on himself.  But the good news is, the stickers peel right off again...awesome!

Get a sticker book...start sticking!