Month: September 2019

Recently, my toddler has started to write her name all by herself. It is not perfect, but she’s quickly improving. She has known how to spell her name for about four months now. Tonight, I’d like to share one of the name activities we have done to help build this skill. This activity is great for young preschoolers but can also be done with toddlers.

**This post contains affiliate links. We may get a small commission, at no additional cost to you, for purchase made from our links. **

Materials We Used

This is an open ended activity and we encourage you to use whatever you have on hand. I’m going to list what we used.

• Two Pieces of Construction Paper
• A Marker
• Glue
• Scissors
• Tissue Paper
• Gems and other small pretty crafty supplies

I started by cutting the first letter of my daughter’s name out of construction paper. If your child is able to use scissors, you can just draw the letter and let them cut it out.

Next, I wrote “S is for _________________” on the other piece of construction paper.

After that, I gave my daughter the tissue paper and other crafting supplies and let her glue things on the S. In addition to letter recognition, this is also great fine motor skill practice!

After she was finished, we let it dry for a bit. Once it was dry, I helped her glue the S onto the other piece of paper.

To finish, I gave her the marker to write her name after I read her the sentence. Because we made this to share with all of you, I did help guide her hand. If your child still is unsure how to spell their name, try writing down their name on a scrap piece of paper for them to copy. This activity was fun at home, but is also easy enough to do in a classroom setting!

Book Suggestions

Little learners love when you pair an activity or craft with a book! Here are some suggestions we have for this activity.

If you like this activity, please share it with a friend!

Right now, kids in preschool and elementary school are likely starting off their school year with some self exploration activities. We have been working on several at home with our toddler. Today, I want to share an activity geared towards children from ages five to seven. My toddler did the activity so I could share it with you all and although she did enjoy it, she didn’t get as much out of it as an early elementary school aged child would.

**This post may contain affiliate links. We may get a small commission, at no additional cost to you, for all purchases made from our links. All opinions expressed are our own**

Materials Needed

• Two Pieces of Construction Paper
• Markers
• Scrap Paper, white board, card stock, etc.
• Scissors
• Glue
• Magazine Clippings (I used food, material items, and words)

Start by drawing a M and an E on one of the pieces of construction paper. Next, give it to your child to cut it out. If you do want to do this activity with a toddler, you’ll probably need to do the cutting.

After that, have your child pick out magazine clippings that they think represents them. If the child can not read yet, read them the words that they have to choose from.

Once both letters are covered in magazine clippings, have your child glue the letters onto the other piece of construction paper.

Finally, write down “All About” on a piece of scrap paper, card stock, white board, or really anywhere that your child can see it. Let them copy it down onto their collage. If you are doing this activity with a toddler, write it down for them. If you are a teacher doing this activity with a class, you can extend the activity by letting the children speak one at a time about what items and words they used in this activity.

Book Recommendations

If you want to pair this activity with a book, we have a few suggestions!

If you like this activity, please share it with a friend!

Over the past few weeks, we have been working on crafts and activities that encourage our toddler to explore her sense of self identity. Recently, we did this craftivity that encouraged creativity and fine motor skills. Since the goal is to encourage creativity, you can use any materials you’d like! I’m going to tell you how we did it, but you can use whatever you have laying around!

**This post may contain affiliate links. We may get a small commission, at not additional cost to you, for products purchased from our links.**

Materials We Used

• Two Pieces of Construction Paper (I used white and then let my daughter pick out the other color from a pack of multicultural construction paper)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eyes
• Markers
• Cut up tissue paper
• Assorted gems and such

I started by drawing the shape of a person and cutting it off. If you can not freehand this, a quick google search will be able to give you something you can print out and trace.

Next, I gave my daughter the person shape to glue onto the white paper.

After that, I gave her markers so that she could draw her person’s face and hair. She is two, so she didn’t give her person much detail, but slightly older children can draw parts of the face. After she was done with that, I helped her glue on googly eyes. Lastly, I gave her the other materials and let her glue them on however she wanted. I offered as little guidance as possible.

This craftivity is perfect for kids aged two to five. It can be done at home or in a classroom setting. It is a perfect way to use up miscellaneous craft supplies you have laying around. The end result will be as unique as your child!

Book Suggestions

Small children learn best when activities or art projects are paired with a good book!

Our toddler had tons of fun dabbling in fashion design and we hope your little one enjoys it as well!