“no moo” - that’s so cute! I can almost picture him. I’ll definitely check out those Spanish links once I have a handle on our reading programme.
Great success to report today - my DD read some words independently from the flashcards I made to go with the YBCR starter dvd and from the books I made from the LR slides. I’m also using DadDude’s cards and she read some of them herself and also said some words based on me sounding them out. Her articulation has also greatly improved, which I feel is solely down to me sounding out words. I’m so thrilled!
Seastar and Mybabyian
My daughter is OBSESSED with the moon as well…we have actually made it part of our bedtime routine to get into PJs and go out into the back garden to say goodnight to the moon…
Anyway,when we where in England at Xmas we found this fantastic RC moon that hangs on the wall. This is no ordinary nightlight, although I guess you could use it as such…it is about a foot in diameter, is 3-d, with the surface a topographical relief of the moons surface…even better, you can set it so that it changes to teach the phases of the moon, even mimic a partial eclipse…
Comes with an instructional booklet with tons of great info that we have managed to slip into bedtime talks…(mommy and Daddy love you ALL the way to the moon! Do you know how FAR that is?! lol )
If you are looking for a fantastic teaching gift that moon lovers will adore, I am including the info below…
Website is
WWW. Brainstormltd.co.UK. (Eureka Toys RC Illuminated Moon)
Is is rated 6+, but the only reason I can see for this is that some of the material in the booklet is quite complicated, and a small kid might decide that the remote is edible?
Saying goodnight to the moon outside - very sweet. You’re daughter is a lucky girl! I just open the curtains. Ha ha. Sometimes we go outside. I should do it more consistently; I think he would like it.
Thank you for all the tips and advice so far. We have settled into a nice routine and I can see progress already. On top of that, my DD seems much happier and more excited about life in general!
I am posting our general schedule for the day. Apologies in advance for the length of the post but I tried to include everything as I have benefited greatly from reading the schedules of other parents. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please feel free to comment!
Literacy
LR morning and evening - she adores it!
YBCR DVD once
Phonics: Starfall phonics, Leapfrog phonics letter fridge magnets, letter jigsaw, looking for letters she knows in environmental print, emphasising starting sound of particular words etc
Reading Bear - one section (5 words)
Lots and lots of reading aloud with me pointing out the words - mainly fiction with a little bit of poetry. Her new obsession is the Oscar the Cat learn about science books.
Leapfrog Letter Factory or Talking Words Factory DVD
Storytime, bookshop or library visit once a week
Lots of writing words on her magnetic board - we bring this everywhere!
Find the name game where she picks out her name & the names of family members from a group of words. I’ll expand this soon.
Maths:
LM twice a day
lots of practicing counting throughout the day to work on one-to-one correspondence
working on shapes - making shapes with our hands, drawing shapes on the magnetic board, looking for shapes in the environment, shape puzzles as a precursor to tangrams
Vocabulary development
General conversation, planning or reviewing our day
Working on opposites at the moment
Baby signing time or signing time DVD once, with lots of practice in naturally occurring situations throughout the day
Physical development
Swimming once a week
Hoping to start yoga with her soon - I have the yoga kids DVD and I have ordered a book
Music
Listening to classical music every morning while cuddling in bed, then throughout the day while playing
Listening to educational songs on youtube, e.g. abc, science, maths - I especially love Super Simple Songs and Peter Weatherall (I have ordered the maths and science Peter Weatherall DVDs - a total bargain at $15 for 5 DVDs with free international delivery)
Weekly music and movement class (just started today)
In the coming week, I plan to develop our art activities & begin to work languages into our schedule.
I am also deliberating purchasing Tweedlewink & Soft Mozart…
thank you for your kind feedback and most especially for directing me to your blog - I love it and I’m only on the second page. I hadn’t even heard of Tot School. I am mega impressed with your schedule - how do you fit all that into 1 hour? Good planning?
Hi, I think it’d be great to start your child with words with flashcards first cause i read up on flashcards, it is still very useful for a 22 months old. And also listening to songs is an effective method too cause most children like music. So perhaps songs can help to learn abit of language.
I know of a program that actually has most of the language that you’re interested in.
It’s called:
they produce flashcards DvDs and have languages like English, German, Spanish French, etc. and they use very big words with beautiful colours and pictures. according to the producer, colours help children to learn 25% faster. it’s very interesting as my daughter likes it alot and she’s 20 months old now! Here’s one sample video i manage to find on youtube! =)
