Little Time with a Rhyme and Reason

credit: Melinda Marshall Mountaintop Family Childcare

Ever wonder how your child’s scissor development skills are in typical development? Here’s a great guide I saw today! If your child is not comfortable with scissors, sometimes it’s because we as parents are fearful of them using scissors. Afraid they might cut their hair 😘, hurt themselves, or damage something. Scissor use is a skill to be learned and practice helps mastery!

Love this important reminder 🙌

Play with me ❤️

"Any occupational therapist will tell you that the foundation for fine motor skills lies in strength and stability of the core muscles (belly and back), shoulders, and arms. Letting toddlers, preschoolers and early elementary kids have plenty of gross motor play outside is really important for handwriting.

Often that type of play doesn’t feel like it fits with our emphasis on early curriculum but it does and can contribute greatly to fine motor skills and handwriting."

The Unconventional Handwriting Guide (Part II): Less Sports, More Dirt. “Any OT will tell you that the foundation for fine motor skills lies in strength and stability of the core…

Today I had to “think outside the box 📦 “ literally to come up with an activity for Kasey when she asked me to watch a show. Do we watch shows? Absolutely! But I really struggle when I’m just using it because I can’t think of a creative way for her to play. We emptied our kit, pulled out some animals and made a “fishing for letters game.”

1. Cut out letters from index cards and placed them under the clear box
2. Add warm water and food coloring to your kit box
3. Place sandpaper letters on the lid
4. Add animals to cover the letters
5. Call out a letter and have your child find the letter under the animal

*use a dish drying mat under your kit to minimize water 💦 messes

I often watch this with our jungle gym or swinging on our swings. Over time, they learn to go higher on their own, pump their legs, and feel like the are on top of the world.

We love using Learning Without Tears in our classroom! Here is a free resource with printables!

We played cookie bakery last night with our pretend money, cookies, and makeshift oven using a cutting board. We’ve done this for the last seven years as an advent calendar activity. I keep thinking they’ll grow out of it or tire, but instead they amp up their elf names and have expanded our play. This morning my youngest Kasey woke up and “baked” more cookies for us. Dramatic play is such a great tool for teaching counting, taking turns, and writing skills. What are some fun traditions you do each year?