(tiny) tot school - mixed theme

12 months

This week our theme was a bit of a mixed one, combining three different countries celebrations.  We nearly always enjoy a Chinese meal for the start of Chinese New Year, and have haggis, neeps and tatties for Burns Night.  It was also Australia Day this week.

Learning Basket (it changed over the week)

Dragon (It's the year of the Dragon)

Burns/Scottish

Australia

Activity File

Red discovery Tub

While looking for red objects for a child touchable table display for Chinese New Year, I found quite a few things and it reminded me of memorizing the moments colour weeks.  I put a few of Luath's red toys and a few household objects in a tub.  It was more a discovery/exploration tub than a sensory bin.  We were able to do lots of different activities with the objects and they kept us entertain all week. Luath loved the musical instruments the best

Transferring pandas

In December two giant pandas (Tian Tian (sweetie) and Yang Guang (sunshine/sunlight) )arrived in Scotland, on loan from China.  I thought this would be a fun tie in between two of our celebrations this week.  I initially tried putting two pandas in one container but that didn't work.  I then put each panda into a tin, and Luath practised taking them in and out, or taking one out, handing the panda and tin to me and putting the lid onto the other tin that still has a lid on. The tins have a clear lid and she really loved looking at the pandas inside the tin.  Over the last couple of weeks she has been enjoying puckering up and kissing us and her toys, so often the panda would come out and she would bring it to me to kiss and then give it a kiss before putting it back in the tin.  By the end of the week we could ask her where was "Sunshine" or " Sweetie" and she would go bring us one of the tins.  Can't wait until we can go see the pandas for real.

Removing cookie cutters

When I was looking for red objects I found a muffin tray and some cookie cutters, I decided to use them as an (very!) initial one to one correspondence game.  I set it up with the cutters each in a muffin hole and then let her take a cookie cutter out one at a time.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes she tipped the whole lot over and sometimes she was so interested in the one she took out that she played with it.

Craft

we made a kangaroo game together out of two cereal boxes and a printout of a big kangaroo and a few smaller ones.   It was very much about the process and not the outcome! Sellotape lessons Luath learnt this week - it can make a scary noise as it is pulled from the roll.  It is sticky and difficult to get off fingers.You can make it all stick together.  You can get it on your sock and your foot gets slightly stuck.  And you can help mummy stick it to some boxes to make a odd looking kangaroo's pouch.

The game was to put the smaller kangaroos into the mummy kangaroo's pouch.

Music

we listened to something for China, Scotland and Australia on the sing up site

We sang Auld Lang Syne and listened to some songs the Corries (see Burns night post for link)

Poetry

We read some Rabbie Burns poems and some other Scottish poems that I had liked as a child (and still do).  The puddock.  The Sair FInger. The boy on the train.  I've linked to them on my Burns night post.

Unexpected toy of the week

One of the objects that we all had the most fun with and played with for the longest was the lid of the discovery tub!  Rolling it, sometimes it goes straight, most of the time in a spiral.  Balancing something on it.  Putting something on it and bouncing that object.  Putting it on your head.  Hiding behind it (it is opaque).  Putting it on and off the tub.

Find out what others were up to this week at 1+1+1=1