Sunday 28 December 2014

New Year's Coloring Party Hats

Whether your kids will be staying up until midnight or not, they can still celebrate the New Year with these fun Coloring Party Hats! Just color, decorate and turn them into party hats. Kids will love this fun and creative way to ring in the New Year!

New Year's Coloring Party Hats: Free Printable

Things you will need:

-Free Printable Party Hats
-Crayons or Markers
-Glitter, pom poms, etc (optional)
-Scissors
-Tape or Glue
-Ribbon, String or Elastic

These Free Printable Party Hats are a perfect easy activity for kids to do while waiting for the New Year. You can print these on regular paper or cardstock for extra durability, then have the kids color and decorate. After they finish their artwork, cut them out, tape or glue where the tab is, and attach a string or elastic. 


Monday 22 December 2014

Christmas Art Skills Printables

Kids love coloring pages, but sometimes they can be a bit... boring (gasp!) so I created these FREE Christmas Art Skills Printables that work on scissor skills, tracing and coloring at the same time!


Free Christmas Art Skills Printables

These FREE Christmas Art Skills Printables include 3 scenes: Santa riding his sleigh above a skyline, Santa next to a Christmas tree, and a nativity scene.

Directions:
-cut paper along the thick gray lines
-assemble the puzzle and glue onto the blank page
-trace along the dotted lines
-color the picture!


(Note: If you have problems printing these, please email me at totschooling@gmail.com) 

If you enjoy these printables, check out 


Monday 15 December 2014

Christmas Tree Learning Activities for Toddlers & PreK

Let's get into the Christmas spirit with some fun, hands-on Christmas Tree Learning activities! These FREE printable activities are designed for toddlers and preschoolers to practice math and literacy skills such as counting, number recognition, number quantity, shapes, alphabet recognition, letter cases, visual discrimination and more!

Christmas Tree Learning Activities

These Christmas Tree Learning activities are available for FREE to all email subscribers. Here is what's included:

Math Activities:

Number Tree Puzzle, including 1-10, 11-20 and 10-100 in both color and black & white.


Roll & Cover Game: Includes 2 difficulty levels. For an easier game, roll 1 die and cover the correct number (1-6) with a candy, pom pom or any other small object. For a more challenging game, use 2 dice, roll and add them up, then cover the correct number (2-12). Keep going until all numbers are covered.


Christmas Tree counting and matching 1-10 with pom poms. Includes both color and black & white, so can also be used for color matching. Printable comes in 2 halves that you tape together. 


Christmas ornament shape matching. Includes 10 shapes. Can be done as a cut & paste activity, or cut out the shapes for your child.


Literacy Activities:

Letter matching, both uppercase and lowercase included. This can be a cut and paste activity or the letter can be glued to bottle caps. Kids can match uppercase letters, lowercase letters, or uppercase and lowercase letters to each other.


Letter Case Sorting. Use the same letters from the previous activity and sort all the uppercase letters on one tree and all the lowercase letters on the other tree.


Visual Discrimination Activities:

Visual Discrimination matching. Print 2 copies of the sheet, leave one copy intact and cut the other one. Match the loose cards to the images on the sheet.


Memory Game. Use the same cards as above. Print 2 copies of the cards, cut them all out, put them face down, and play a classic memory game. Use only a few cards for an easier game.


These Christmas Tree Learning activities are FREE for all Totschooling subscribers!


After entering your email address, you will receive a confirmation email to complete your subscription. You will shortly receive a Welcome email that includes a link to this pack. If you have not received this email, please check your spam folder, or email me at totschooling@gmail.com. Thanks!

What can I expect as a Subscriber?:
-You will receive free printables that are not available for download on the website. This includes holiday and seasonal packs, as well as other themed activity packs.
-You will get access to a growing collection of Board Book Printable Activities.
-You will receive 2-3 emails per week with new posts, freebies, sales and additions to the site.
-You will receive a special subscriber discount for the Online Store.
-Your information will never be shared with anybody else.

Thursday 11 December 2014

Christmas Picture & Word Tracing Printables (Love to Learn Linky #22)

Christmas is approaching quickly and I'm here with another set of printables to celebrate the season! These Free Christmas themed Picture & Word Tracing sheets are perfect for practicing handwriting and fine motor skills. Kids can trace the word, then trace the picture and color it in!

Free Christmas Picture and Word Tracing

This Free Christmas Tracing pack includes 7 sheets, featuring Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas tree, snowman, gingerbread man, candy cane and Baby Jesus.

If you have any problems printing the dashed lines, email me at totschooling@gmail.com




If you enjoy this set, try our Free Alphabet Picture Tracing Pack and Free Thanksgiving Word & Picture Tracing Pack.


















Visit my co-hosts to see their posts and features!

10 Ways to Light Up Christmas With Kids from Left Brain Craft Brain
10+ Christmas Language and Math Activities for Preschoolers from One Time Through
Free Christmas Printable Pack & Learning Printables from A Little Pinch of Perfect

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY
Love to Learn Linky

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

The Love to Learn Linky is Hosted by:

Totschooling: Viviana is a blogging mom to a toddler and a preschooler, sharing ideas and resources for early education. She specializes in unique, hands-on printable activities that are educational, fun and inspire creativity in young minds.
Left Brain Craft Brain: Anne is an ex-engineer, current stay-at-home mama writing about crafty ways to encourage creativity (and brain power!) in our kids. Each of her projects gives kids the chance to learn about a new subject and do something crafty at the same time.
http://www.alittlepinchofperfect.com/ A Little Pinch of Perfect: Katie combines creativity, play, and learning for the perfect mishmash of fun activities that keep kiddos entertained throughout the day. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of play and feels that all activities naturally provide a fun way to learn.

One Time Through: Sue is an Elementary School Teacher currently on leave to be at home with her preschooler son.  She shares ideas for connecting and learning with kids through meaningful, play-based activities that nurture curiosity and creativity.

Love to Learn Linky Etiquette:

  • Posts should be about educating our kids in any way - science, art, cooking, crafts, behavior, parenting, etc. Please keep them family friendly and please no Etsy shops or giveaways unless they are relevant to the topic.

  • Upload your direct post link to the InLinkz widget. Link up to 3 posts.



  • Post our button on your site.

  • By linking up, you agree to have your images shared with credit.

Link up and grab a button!
Love to Learn Linky





Tuesday 9 December 2014

Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printables

My daughter is a big fan of do-a-dot printables, but every now and then I like to change things up a bit and give her more of a challenge. So I created these Christmas themed Q-tip dot painting printables. She enjoyed painting in a unique way, and I like it because it's great for her fine motor skills!


Free Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printables

These 5 FREE Q-tip painting printables include Santa Claus, Santa Claus riding his sleigh, a Christmas tree, Rudolph the reindeer, and an elf. 

Just print these sheets, grab some q-tips and paint, and you have a quick & fun activity for your preschooler. 




Saturday 6 December 2014

16 Picture Books that Make Great Gifts

I always like to purchase educational gifts for my kids, and find that books are the perfect investment for a long-lasting, brain-building and fun-filled gift.

I try to find unique and interesting books, especially if giving a gift to another family, because they are less likely to own it already. Here is a list of my favorite books that make great gifts for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and beyond!


16 Picture Books that make great Gifts

This post contains affiliate links.


Preschoolers and Up:


This House Needs a Mouse

I received a copy of this book for review and was very impressed with it! My 3 year old daughter was immediately drawn to the fun illustration on the cover and begged me to read it to her as soon as I opened the package. 

I enjoyed the rich language, which is something I look for in books to introduce my daughter to new vocabulary. I had to do a bit of explaining in my own words to her, which is okay because this is one of those books that she will enjoy for many years to come. 

Aimed at 3 to 8 year olds, this book is fun and educational at the same time. Its cute illustrations and unique protagonist kept my daughter engaged, while its rich language makes it a great teaching tool. We both loved the clever plot and surprise ending. This was a great addition to our library!

This House Needs a Mouse is available now on the book's websiteAmazonBarnes and Noble, and Big Tent Books.


The Day the Crayons Quit

A very funny and entertaining book that appeals to a wide range of ages. This witty story is about a boy's crayons brought to life, going on strike and each one writing him a letter about their complaints. The boy then figures out a clever way to make all the crayons happy. 



This Pigeon Needs a Bath!

The latest Mo Willems masterpiece, this is another witty book about a pigeon who refuses to take a bath and comes up with a million excuses not to. A story we can all relate to, with a fun twist at the end. Delightful read!





Press Here

An interactive book where you are prompted to follow a series of instructions on each page. Press the yellow dot, shake the book, tilt the book and see what happens on the next page. A very clever and entertaining concept that will have kids begging to read it again and again. 




Journey

Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon, this is a fabulous wordless picture book with gorgeous watercolor illustrations. The story takes you on a magical adventure that will captivate children of all ages. 



Flashlight

Another superb wordless picture book with beautiful illustrations, a flashlight reveals the magic and mysteries of nature in the dark. This would be a great gift paired with a flashlight!





Have you seen my Dragon?

This is a story of a boy who lost his dragon in NYC and goes all over the city in search for it. Very clever book that combines counting numbers 1-20 with look-and-find where you search for hidden items on each page. The illustrations are amazing and super-detailed, full of recognizable city icons.



ABC and 123: A Sesame Street Treasury of Words and Numbers

This is a perfect gift for Sesame Street fans. Each page features a letter of the alphabet or a number (1-100) and shows a scene full of Sesame street characters along with many words and objects that go with each letter. Great for building vocabulary and learning letters and numbers. 


The Big Picture Story Bible

This is an excellent Bible storybook for young children. It seamlessly ties together all the stories of the Bible in a simple, easy to understand way and focuses on the "big picture". Short chapters make it perfect for daily Bible story time.   





Babies & Toddlers:


Goodnight Songs

We all know and love Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon. Well, Goodnight Songs is a collection of her previously unpublished poems, illustrated by 12 award-winning artists, and turned into beautiful, enchanting lullabies. The CD is included with the book. This is a true masterpiece and a must-have in any child's library!


Little Humans

Kids love to look at pictures of other kids, and that's exactly what this 40-page photo book consists of. Created by a famous NYC street photographer, this collection embraces children's diversity and uniqueness. Adorable and captivating photographs that every child will love!




100 First Words (Lift the Flap Book)

This is currently my toddler's favorite book. She learned a lot of new vocabulary from it, and now she just loves to open each flap and say what each picture is. The flaps are sturdy and also great for fine motor skills.




Pop-up Book of Nursery Rhymes

Why read nursery rhymes any other way? This incredible pop-up book will allow kids to engage with classic nursery rhymes in a whole new way. Includes 6 classic rhymes with pop-ups.



My Big Animal Book

This is a great book for learning animal names, building vocabulary, and encouraging language development. Bright, colorful photographs will keep your toddler happy and engaged.







The Wheels on the Bus

A delightful twist on the classic song, this book features a bus-load of jungle animals who all make their own sounds as the wheels go round and round. This one is sure to be a hit!





Alphablock

This book takes on a different approach to learning the alphabet. The book has thick pages that are cut to form each letter of the alphabet, and kids can interact physically with the letters, and even play peek-a-boo games, revealing an item that begins with that letter sound. One of the most fun alphabet books I've seen.



Looking for more gifts? Check out our Educational Gift Guide for Preschoolers!

Monday 1 December 2014

The Gingerbread Man Pretend Play Printable Activity

This post contains affiliate links.

As part of the Christmas Read & Play Blog Hop, I created a fun activity to go along with the classic story, The Gingerbread Man! This is a pretend play activity where kids can "bake" gingerbread cookies (free printables included) and then bring them alive by decorating them with playdough!


Gingerbread Cookies Pretend Play with Free Printable

We started off by reading the classic children's book The Gingerbread Man, and talking about how the gingerbread man came alive after being baked in the oven.



Then, I printed off and laminated these FREE Gingerbread Cookies printables



The girls played with their awesome and inexpensive Little Tikes Cupcake Kitchen, pretending to bake the cookies in their oven.



Then I gave my 3 year old daughter some playdough and helped her decorate the cookies. Now the cookies are ready to "eat"!


We also stood up the cookies inside playdough to really make them come alive!


I hope you enjoy reading The Gingerbread Man and playing with these pretend cookies. For more fun activities based on Christmas books, check out the Christmas Read & Play Blog Hop.