Occupying the Little's: Special Toys/Activities

In this series on Integrating Little One's Into the Learning Journey, I've talked about how we include everyone in our morning start with Circle Time and how we approach most learning with a multi-level/ everyone included kind of mindset.  But sometimes, you need to get things done with the older one's without the constant input or vying for attention from the younger one's...  We need to occupy them and keep them out of trouble.  Boy do I understand this one, especially since I blink and my youngest has usually acquired a sharpie or lipstick and his working his artistic magic.

My ideal way that things work out when I'm teaching my oldest is that the younger two, would engage in independent play.  When the weather is nice, they oftentimes will simply go outside.  We have a sandbox and in warmer weather I fill up their water table and let them dump and pour water to their hearts content, while Xander and I sit just inside and work on his 'skill building' subjects.  Lately, there have been many brave 'knightly' adventures taking place in our backyard.  I've also been known to give them spray bottles and let them play with those outside.  They have fun squirting each other, watering the plants, doing water-drawings on the walls, etc...

When that doesn't work, either because they just want to 'be' with us or when our weather is too hot  (we never have problems with it being too cold here in the Arizona desert) I have special 'toys' or activities that they only do when we are having phonics/spelling or math time.

During Phonics/Spelling time:

They can have paper and colored pencils, special coloring books for only this time or I have two little white boards that I will hand them and let them draw or 'practice' their own writing...  Treyton is so cute when he yells out, 'talk a me,' wanting me to dictate a word to him.  He then proceeds to draw lots and lots of circles or long squiggles! :)

I'm not an advocate of early phonics instruction.  Until the two hemispheres of the brain have connected it is very challenging for most kids to read phonetically instead of merely memorizing words by sight.  In fact, pushing a child to read too early can have detrimental long-term effects.  And I just see no reason in spending years teaching a child their alphabet and simple letter sounds when in a matter of weeks they will be off and writing/reading/etc with the complete set of phonetic sounds if I just wait until they are ready.  That being said, I don't prohibit them from being present and participating as they initiate.  (Curious about my philosophy on early education?  Check out the links on my Cultivated Learning page.)

We usually play phonogram and spelling word BINGO one day a week and Keegan loves to play the phonogram BINGO game with us.  When he is stumped, his older brother just jumps in to help.  Trey has fun playing with the discs and although he insists on having a sheet, has no interest in actually playing the game...

During Math time:

Keegan is usually excited to pull out "his" math during this time. I found a set of Cuisenaire Rods at a used curriculum fair and he enjoys playing around with them.  I know that as he plays, he is getting an understanding of quantity, greater than/less than and strengthening his visual/spacial skills.  Simply by being in the same room with Xander and I, he's also picked up so much of what we work on and I know he will have a huge leg up when we start doing math together!  Sometimes the younger one's will also play with Pattern Blocks and Boards.  I've found free templates for other designs online by doing a quick google search, so they are never at a loss for new designs to try.

When Trey was younger and still putting things in his mouth, I would do math during nap time because I didn't want him to get ahold of any of the manipulative's.  Now that he is older, I like to set him up with a Montessori activity if he wants to sit at the table with us.  They are immensely enjoyable and usually help increase concentration, fine motor skills, pincer grasp, and concepts of quantity. 

Here are two activities he's enjoyed recently.  I love that they simply utilize things I have lying around the house. 

Inserting toothpicks into a spice jar: develops fine motor skills, the pincer grasp, concentration.  It is a self-contained activity.  He unscrews the lid and shakes the toothpicks out and then proceeds to put them back.  Sometimes he counts, other times he will spontaneously sort the toothpicks into piles (you could even color some of them for a color sorting activity) and then finds new and creative ways to put them back.  Today he 'pounded' them in. :)

Clothspin game: more fine motor skill practice, developing hand strength, pincer grasp, etc... He unscrews the lid, dumps them out and sees how many he can pinch around the edge of the bottle before taking them off and putting them back.  Sometimes he branches out and sees what else he can 'pinch'! 

I find lots of inspiration by doing a search over at The Montessori Goldmine.  That is a blog well worth subscribing too as there is tons of neat ideas all collected in one central location.  If there is any interest, I could flesh out more of the activities that we use and enjoy here in our home. 

And of course the few Lauri toys we own are always a hit and only come out during 'school time.  Treyton loves the Shape and Color Sorter and Keegan is kept busy with the Fit-A-Space shape sorter, threading, puzzle activity.  Puzzles are another option and pulling out our beads for some classic sorting always works well too.

What works for 'occupying toddlers' in your home?  I'm always on the look-out for fresh ideas, especially as we are just months away from our mostly 'indoor' time when the heat soars...