BONUS: It’s a puzzle AND a game! This has been James’ favorite game so far because he loves puzzles! In order to play this game, you must first put the 50-piece game board together. Then there’s a spinner (an instant favorite for even my 2 year old). It’s the simple things, really.
Pre-School Learning Skills
Fine motor skills (puzzle)
Spacial Awareness (puzzle)
Number recognition (1-10)
Number awareness: relationship between number symbols and counting objects
Taking turns
Early addition
Another BONUS: They also have other Learning Journey Explore and Learn Games!!!
Ages 2+ (according to the box, 8+, but we can adapt)
My husband is not only great at all things math-related, but can easily calculate numbers in his head. He doesn’t credit good study skills or a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering for his number genius, he credits the many hours he spent playing Dominoes with his grandfather. I, on the other hand, played with my dominoes by stacking and building houses and though I use a calculator for even simple math, my creative side dominates. It’s no surprise then that Dominoes is one of my favorite games for helping to develop BOTH sides of the brain.
Ages 2+: Let your child have fun stacking and knocking the dominoes down. There are endless ways to build them (vertical, horizontal, or both). If you get creative enough, you can use play dough balls and create your own 3D Angry Birds game!
Pre-School Learning Skills
Fine motor skill development (turning dominoes around in one hand, stacking and balancing)
Hand-Eye coordination
Imaginary Play
Spacial Awareness
Creative design
Sharing
Ages 3+: Use picture Dominoes to develop matching skills. Disney makes some fun Princess, Handy Manny, Cars (and more) Domino sets where you match characters together, instead of matching dots.
Even at this “big kid” age, keep building! No need to always follow the rules to the game. Let your child’s imagination run wild as he/she builds houses, mazes, bridges and more! Another idea is to line dominoes up to make different patterns (horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical…).
Pre-School Learning Skills
Pre-Math Skills (matching and patterns)
Hand-Eye coordination (balancing)
Fine Motor Skills (stacking and building)
Imaginary Play
Spacial Awareness
Creative design
Sharing
Ages 4+: Introduce Double 6 Dominoes and begin teaching the rules to simple Domino games. Continue to do the same activities as before because, well, it’s still fun!
Pre-School Learning Skills
Counting
Addition and subtraction (depending on the game)
Matching
Number awareness (understanding the relationship between numbers and amount of dots)
I love making my niece’s Christmas gifts because it gives me the chance to make them something they can use for their learning adventures. This year I decided to make personalized clipboards because little ones feel so grown up using a clipboard and it encourages writing practice. My niece’s get so excited about the handmade gifts which makes it so worth my time!
It was as easy as this….I bought a wooden clipboard from walmart:
Bought an alphabet stencil at Hobby Lobby and painted my little niece’s name on the front:
And I painted the entire stencil of abc’s and 123’s on the back:
Finally, I put a little paint on one of my baby’s wet wipes and brushed it over the surface to give it the distressed look I wanted it to have:
Mommy Teaching for the Non-Teacher Mommy by Krista
“There are some mommies lucky enough to have the experience of teaching, some blessed with the gift of teaching, then there’s some who just throw a bunch of ideas at their kids and hope that just one will stick. None are wrong, although some may be easier and work better than others, but when it comes to being a mommy teacher the only rule is to keep kids engaged! When my first son was diagnosed with autism at 18 months we started sending him to therapy from 8-3 five days a week. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn’t expecting this so-called “intensive” therapy to look like playtime. The autistic brain works differently so I had to use some more involved techniques with my son, but the one thing that I took from his therapy that I can apply to all of my children is this, just play. Let them get dirty, let them make messes, let them touch, and feel, and listen, and do! Don’t stifle your children by telling them, “no” and don’t let your fears or discomfort keep your children on the sidelines! But, unlike my teacher, mommy friends I don’t have a portfolio to pull from, I don’t have training or experience. So how can I make sure my children are staying engaged, not getting bored, learning and trying different things each day? There is one thing that changed my non-teacher mommy life: the internet! Here are a few ways to use what others have learned and done to your advantage… Pinterest! Welcome to your own personal portfolio. Get prepared to hear your children say on a pretty regular basis, “You’re the coolest mom ever!” The possibilities are endless. From arts and crafts to bedroom ideas you will always be able to find something that you will love. Making monsters out of tissue boxes, how to make your own sidewalk paint, even artwork your children can help you make for their playroom, you will never run out of things to do! It’s super easy if you don’t have an account to create one. Just go to pinterest and request an invite (or ask a friend who you know has an account to send you an invite through e-mail). Create your boards and start pinning photos from their site, your friends’ boards, or anything else you come across while searching the web. Just be careful it is more addictive than Facebook and a lot more fun! Facebook groups and blogs. Obviously, you’ve already noticed how helpful it is to have the advice of those who have “done” to help you learn how to “do”! It’s amazing the information you can find (good and bad…so make sure you know the source of whatever info you’re looking at!) from other mommies and professionals. One group I found on FB is the Play At Home Mom which gives great ideas for sensory play from therapists and moms. If you have a specific area you need to work on with your child try searching for a group that caters to that specifically i.e. I follow the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation and the Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation so I can keep up easily with news of therapy ideas, new research, events, etc. Blogs are fabulous as well (obviously I think so since I’m a blogger!) But you need to make sure you are not getting overwhelmed with the feelings of insecurity you can get while looking at something that seems to show a “perfect” mom doing the “perfect” things. Remember, all of these “perfect” ideas came with trial, error, and a lot of grace. Luckily, you get to see the finished product, but don’t forget that these moms didn’t get it right the first (or fiftieth) time either. Don’t get overwhelmed with everything you “can” and “should” do, just pick a few and go with it. No pressure!
Don’t feel like you can’t be a mommy teacher just because you’re not a teacher mommy! You know your child better than anyone, and with a little effort and a few resources you can make sure that at least a few of the seemingly random things you throw at your child actually stick. Feel free to share your successes, failures, and mommy teacher ideas! After all, the best way for us to learn is to learn from each other.”
I contacted this mommy teacher who is a mom of two adorable boys, Nasby (4) and Jude (8 months). Nasby goes to preschool three days a week, and his hard working momma works the evening shift as a nurse twice a week. She says that her boys love to learn and soak up every learning opportunity she provides. Well Sheralyn, enjoy your quiet book! 🙂
Thanks so much to Pacific Kid – I love your products and I will certainly be buying them as a mommy teacher myself! Don’t forget mommy teachers….there is a LIMITED TIME discount for mommy teachers on their site….promo code “Mommy10” so order those gifts in time for the holidays 🙂
As a former Early Childhood Teacher I would’ve loved one of their products for my classroom, so maybe you can buy your little one’s teacher a gift for Christmas!
