One of the things Brandon and I really wanted to be better about with Gemma was proactively teaching her new things. She loves music and dancing. But she has a hard time sitting still long enough to get through an activity unless she's getting quick results/rewards. I spent a ton of time reading reviews on these products and I'm so happy with what they've helped her achieve. They're also not terribly hideous which is so nice when you live in a small space!
Gemma is bonkers over the little tweezers included with this set. She also loves the big foam dice! You can use this for color sorting or basic math skills. Gemma uses the tweezers to match the muffins to the right spot in the tin. Sometimes I roll the dice and ask her to find whatever color was rolled and put that muffin in the correct spot. She likes the satisfaction and the praise she gets. She also loves using the muffins and the tin to "make bwekfast Mom" Which is pretty adorable.
2. Mudpuppy Flash Cards & Wooden Fridge Letters
The patterns on these magnets are so cute. We put a blanket on the floor in front of the fridge so we'll be comfy and I show Gemma a card and ask her to find the letter that matches. She's really impressed me so far and I think we'll start adding numbers soon. Both of which are available in these same sets. Here & Here. Mudpuppy has the prettiest little toys, I want these finger puppets for myself actually.
We bought this for Gemma on Valentines Day last year and at the time she was using the letters more for teething purposes than learning purposes. As a result we're missing a few letters but this this still one of her favorite toys. We sing ABC's and point to the right letters or use the flash cards in the same way as the magnets with this. I've learned that the more we change it up the more she learns.
4. Fruit Loop Color Sorting Activity
This is something I found on Pinterest! I just colored circles on a blank sheet of paper and asked her to put the fruit loops into the right circles. This was a great place to start because it's just basic colors and it showed me where she was confused. She was putting all of the blue and green fruit loops in the blue circle so on our next go around I put the blue and the green on different sheets of paper. Soon she realized the difference! When we're finished she eats all of the fruit loops by color of course...
I know this time alone with her is so valuable to us both, the countdown is on for a new needy baby and I'm really hoping to give her as much as I can before we start considering preschool and things like that. I always enjoyed learning things when I was a kid. I actually looked forward to doing my history homework. what a dweeb. Education can be so rewarding and even fun too and I'd really love for her to look forward to it.
XOXO
Miranda
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