Wednesday 26 November 2014

Snowman Letter Matching Puzzles (Love to Learn Linky #20)

Today was the first day of snow for us this season, so it seems fitting that I write this post about a snowman learning activity! This is a free printable puzzle for preschoolers to practice letter sounds and letter cases! Match these 3 pieces to create a snowman: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and an object that begins with that letter sound.


Snowman Letter Matching Puzzles

The snowman's hat contains an object that begins with each letter of the alphabet. Match the upper and lowercase letter that makes the beginning sound to complete the snowman! This is great activity for practicing letter sounds and letter recognition.


Snowman Letter Matching Puzzles


And now for some more Snowman activities shared at the Love to Learn Linky!

10 Snowman Playdough Activities by Our Little House in the Country
Bubble Wrap Snowman by Crafts on Sea
Easy Snowman Craft for Kids by Spark & Pook
Snowman Light Table Play by Where Imagination Grows
Snow-Dough Snowmen by Multicraftingmummy
Snowman Stained Glass Windows by Our Little House in the Country

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

Five Minute Crafts: Pumpkin Pie Painting from Left Brain Craft Brain
10 Fun Christmas Learning Ideas for Preschoolers from One Time Through
Snow Inspired Fun for Kids: Crafts, Activities and More 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 25 November 2014

20 Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers + $2,000 CASH Giveaway

Are you looking for Christmas craft ideas for your toddler? You've come to the right place! I am featuring a collection of 20 Easy Christmas toddler crafts. These crafts are all very creative and look great hanging up in your home or in the classroom. They use a variety of craft materials including contact paper, foam sheets and clear plastic ornaments, as well as a variety of art techniques such as handprints and tape resist. 

After browsing through these great ideas, stick around for a little while and enter the $2000 Mega Cash Giveaway at the bottom of this post! 


20 Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers


Painting & Mixed Media



Paper Plate Christmas Wreath by Sow Sprout Play
Easy Bubble Wrap Christmas Tree Ornament by Lalymom
Pom Pom Painting Christmas Tree by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Paper Plate Christmas Tree by House of Burke
Button Christmas Trees by Happy Hooligans
Paper Plate Ornament Craft by Crafty Morning



Tape Resist



Tape Resist Glitter Forest by Left Brain Craft Brain
Tape Resist Snowflake by Play Create Explore



Contact Paper



Sticky Christmas Tree by Adventures of Adam
Stained Glass Christmas Tree by Crafts on Sea
Sticky Christmas Trees  by Two Daloo
Stained Glass Wreath by In the Playroom


Handprint



Handprint Christmas Tree by Fun Handprint Art
Handprint Wreath by Sweet and Lovely Crafts


Glitter & Sparkle



Tin Foil Trees Ornament by Happy Hooligans
Sparkly Christmas Tree by At Home with Ali
CD Ornaments by Happy Hooligans



Foam Sheets



Build a Frosty Snowman Kit by Growing a Jeweled Rose
Window Christmas Trees by Hands on: as we grow



Clear Plastic Ornaments



Shaken Paint Christmas Ornament by Simple Fun for Kids
Christmas I Spy Ornaments by Play at Home Mom LLC


And now for the Mega Cash Giveaway!


Win one of FOUR $500 cash prizes directly in your paypal account! This giveaway is open internationally. You must be 18+ years old to enter. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Winners will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen. Please see detailed terms and conditions below the giveaway for more info.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday 24 November 2014

Free Christmas Playdough Mats

Playdough mats are always a hit at our house, so I love creating a set for every season and Holiday. Here is a set of free printable Christmas playdough mats, which includes 10 fun activities: Making Santa's beard, making Rudolph's antlers, decorating a Christmas tree, a wreath, making a snowman, a gingerbread man, candy canes, decorating ornaments, presents and more!

Free Christmas Playdough Mats

I always recommend that you laminate playdough mats, so you they can be used again and again! Here is the laminator that I use (affiliate link):



If you enjoy these mats, try our Fall Playdough Mats, Summer Playdough Mats, and American Flag Playdough Mat too!


Free Christmas Playdough Mats




Thursday 20 November 2014

The ABC's of Sensory Play (Love to Learn Linky #19)

Tactile sensory play is an important part of a preschooler's development. Not only does it help develop fine motor skills, but it has many other benefits such as helping the brain make connections, problem solving, language development, memory, logic and creativity. 

Making a sensory bin or activity doesn't have to be complicated. You can use simple objects and ingredients, literally anything you have on hand and just mix it up in a container and let your child explore. Trust me, your child will love it!

For those of you doing tot school or letter-of-the-week curriculum, or those looking for creative ideas, I have compiled a list of my favorite sensory activities for each letter of the alphabet. I hope they inspire you!


The ABC's of Sensory Play

A is for Apple: Water Beads Fall Apples Sensory Play by Little Bins for Little Hands
A is for Alphabet: Letter Search & Find Rice Sensory Bin by Little Bins for Little Hands
B is for Bubbles: Playing with Bubbles by Hands on: as we grow
B is for Bugs: Bugs and Beans Sensory Bin by Sugar Aunts
C is for Construction Site: Construction Site Sensory Play by Craftulate
C is for Cloud: Build a Cloud Sensory Play by A Little Pinch of Perfect
D is for Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Sensory Bin by Fantastic Fun and Learning

D is for Donuts: Donut Shop Sensory Play by Left Brain Craft Brain
E is for Earth: Earth Day Water Bead Play by Little Bin for Little Hands at B-Inspired Mama
F is for Farm: Old MacDonald Had a Farm Sensory Bin by Wildflower Ramblings
G is for Garden: Garden Sensory Bin by Mess for Less
H is for Hay: November Sensory Tub by Counting Coconuts
I is for Ice: Arctic Ice Sensory Play by No Time for Flash Cards
I is for Ice Cream: Play Dough Ice Cream Sensory Play by A Little Pinch of Perfect

J is for Jello: Frozen Jello Sensory Play by The Imagination Tree
K is for Kinetic Sand: Kinetic Sand Math by Left Brain Craft Brain
L is for Leaves: Fall Leaves Soup by And Next Comes L
L is for Lego: Sensory Play with Lego Bricks by Toddler Approved 
M is for Magnets: Mining for Magnets by No Time for Flash Cards
M is for Money: Money Slime by Still Playing School
N is for Nature: Nature Sensory Board by Laughing Kids Learn
O is for Ocean: Super Simple Ocean Sensory Bin by Fun-a-Day! 
P is for Pirate Treasure: Pirate Treasure Playdough by One Time Through
P is for Peas: Peas Pop Sensory Bag by A Little Pinch of Perfect
Q is for Quicksand: Bubbling Quicksand Sensory Play by Paging Fun Mums
R is for Rainbow: Rainbow Soap Foam by Fun at Home with Kids

S is for Snow: How to make Pretend Snow by A Little Pinch of Perfect
S is for Slime: Sunset Slime by Left Brain Craft Brain
T is for Transportation: Car themed Sensory Bin by Buggy and Buddy
U is for Underwater: Underwater Glitter Sand by In the Playroom
V is for Very Hungry Caterpillar: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sensory Bin by Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes

W is for Watermelon: Watermelon Sensory Play by Little Bins for Little Hands
W is for Winter: Wintry Sensory Bins for Learning by One Time Through
X is for X-ray: X-ray Sensory Bin by Lil' Scholars University
Y is for Yarn: Yellow Yarn Sensory Bins by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Z is for Zoo: Zoo Sensory Box by Pink and Green Mama


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

DIY Christmas Erasers from Left Brain Craft Brain
Christmas Sensory Fun + Free Mix and Match Activities Planner from One Time Through
20 Fine Motor Skill Activities 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





Monday 17 November 2014

Free FROZEN Learning Pack for Toddlers & PreK

It's finally here! My daughters have been obsessing over Disney's FROZEN lately and I have been planning on making this pack for quite some time! I hope you enjoy this FREE Printable Frozen Learning Pack for toddlers and preschoolers, featuring math, literacy, visual discrimination, prewriting, handwriting, scissor skills, puzzles, do-a-dots, lacing cards and more!

Frozen Learning Pack for Toddlers & PreK: Free Printable

This FREE Frozen Learning Pack features 36 activities that will keep your little Frozen fan busy for a long time, while practicing numbers, counting, letters, letter sounds, visual and fine motor skills!



For more FROZEN fun, try these Free Frozen Alphabet Cards:

For more princess fun, check out the Princess Learning Pack:

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Educational Gift Guide for Preschoolers

The Holiday season is here and I'm sure many of you have already started your Holiday shopping. If you are still looking for ideas, this post is for you! I've put together a list of my favorite educational toys and gifts for preschoolers and young children. All of the products featured in this post are products we own or have been recommended by family and friends. Some of them are on our shopping list this year!

Educational Gift Guide for Preschoolers

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Letter Learning:
Letter Learning Gift Guide

1. Fisher Price Little People A to Z Learning Zoo Playset
An adorable play set with 26 animals, one for each letter of the alphabet, plus an interactive zoo habitat. This toy has many fun features and will get a lot of use! Learn letters & letter sounds, animal names & sounds and more! Capital letters only. 
2. Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD
This movie is a must-have for children learning letter sounds. Each letter is a character with their own unique personality and sound, which makes them very easy to remember. Capital letters only. 
3. Leapfrog Letter Factory Phonic and Numbers
This is a fun, interactive bucket of letter and number tiles that go along with the Letter Factory movie, although you don't need the movie to be able to play with it. Each tile teaches the name and sound of the letter or number.  Capital letters only. 
4. Melissa & Doug Alphabet Sound Puzzle
I am a big fan of wooden puzzles, and this one is unique in that it says the name of the letter and an object starting with that letter. Also has pictures of each object inside the letters. Capital letters only. 
5. Melissa & Doug Upper & Lower Case Alphabet Puzzle
This puzzle does not make any sounds but is unique in the fact that it has both uppercase and lowercase letter pairs! It is quite a large puzzle and will keep kids occupied for a while matching 52 letters.
6. Alphabet Soup Sorters
Love this alphabet sorting set! Teaches both upper and lowercase letters, sounds, words, and builds vocabulary.  Includes 26 cans with lids where kids can sort 7 cards for each letter. This is a great learning tool and there are many ways to use it - includes activity guide.
7. Letter Construction Activity Set
These are just so cool! Kids can actually build large letters by snapping together the different pieces. Both uppercase and lowercase letters. Includes cards for each letter showing how the finished letter looks like and the child figures out how to build it. Great hands-on way to learn letters! 
8. Alphabet Cookies (lowercase)
A fun and yummy way to practice letters and building words! Comes with 4 progressive games that work on letter recognition, letter sounds, building words and early vocabulary. Will grow with your child. Can also be used for pretend play! Lowercase letters only.


Math:
Math Learning Gift Guide

9. Melissa & Doug Numbers 1-20 Sound Puzzle
Just like the alphabet sound puzzle, this one says the number as you place the puzzle piece in. Also has pictures of objects inside the numbers that you can count. 
10. Melissa & Doug Big Button Number Fun
This activity set features large colorful buttons of different shapes that kids place in the correct spots on the wooden boards to complete the pictures. Then count the buttons and place the correct number where it goes. This is great for learning shapes, numbers, counting, and the buttons can be used separately for shape or color sorting!
11. Bead and Pattern Card Set
This set includes colorful beads of different shapes, 2 lacing strings, and cards that shows kids how to make patterns, from simple to advanced. Great for fine motor skills and learning patterns!
12. Tangoes Junior
This is a large Tangram magnetic "tablet" that includes storage of the 7 magnetic pieces and 12 double sided puzzle cards. Comes in 2 difficulty levels so it will grow with your child. Great for spatial thinking, problem solving, math and reasoning skills!
13. Super Sorting Pie
This large "pie" includes 60 colorful fruit pieces that kids can move around using the included jumbo tweezers. There are so many ways to play and learn with these! Great for fine motor skills, counting, sorting, patterning and early math skills.
14. 1-10 Counting Cans
These are 10 large cans, similar to the alphabet soup sorting cans, that includes colorful fruits and veggies that kids can sort in the different containers while practicing counting, numbers and vocabulary.
15. Three Bear Family Sorting Activity
This huge set of 96 adorable bear counters come in 3 sizes and 6 colors, and include 22 math activities such as patterning, sorting by size, color, and more. These bears are so versatile and useful for many learning activities. 

Geography:
Geography Learning Gift Guide

16. Big World Map

It's never too early to get started on learning geography and the world around us! This large felt map is beautiful and includes 60 removable felt pieces such as world animals and labeling pieces. 
17. Leapfrog Interactive World Map
For those of you that own the Leapfrog Leapreader, this is a large interactive map that speaks over 300 things, such as countries, continents, landmarks, fun facts and even different languages.
18. Montessori USA Wooden Puzzle
Large, hands-on wooden puzzle with small knobs to learn the US states. Also includes labeled and unlabeled control maps. 
19. Hug-a-Planet
This is a large huggable, lovable plush planet that kids will love to play and learn with!
20. Safari Toob Around the World
Learn and play with world landmarks! Includes 10 famous structures: Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Arch of Triumph, Statue of Liberty, Temple of Inscriptions, Pyramids of Giza, Empire State Building, Big Ben, and the Parthenon. The name of each landmark is printed at the bottom of each piece. 
21. Safari Toob World Landmarks
Another set of 7 world landmarks, including Mount Rushmore, Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, Buddha of Lantau, Easter Island, Sphinx and Colosseum. The name of each landmark is printed at the bottom of each piece. 


Architecture & Construction:

Architecture & Construction Gift Guide

22. Picasso Tiles

I have heard amazing things about these magnetic tiles and will be buying some this year for sure! Picasso tiles are the same as Magna-tiles but a little cheaper, that's why I have them listed here. Kids can easily build beautiful, amazing structures. Encourages creativity, geometric and spatial thinking and learning about magnetic polars.
23. Lauri Pegs Building Set
Build structures out of pegs and platforms in this set that includes 100 pegs, a pegboard, and 17 different shaped platforms. Great for fine motor skills too!
24. Bristle Blocks
A great alternative to traditional blocks or legos, these bristle blocks are chunky, flexible pieces of different shapes and sizes that connect together by their bristles. Some bristle blocks actually move or spin to create vehicles, robots and other objects with moving parts.
25. Gears! Gears! Gears!
Another highly recommended product! Kids can create moving mechanical structures in this 95 piece set. Includes pillars, connectors and cranks. Great for many ages!


For tons of more gift ideas, visit the annual Gift Guides for Kids where you will find all the kid blogger gift guides sorted by category!

Also check out our collaborate Pinterest board:

Follow Erica • What Do We Do All Day?'s board Gift Guides for Kids on Pinterest.

Saturday 8 November 2014

Free Thanksgiving Math & Literacy Printable Pack for PreK

Get ready for Thanksgiving with this fun turkey themed math and literacy pack for preschoolers. This FREE printable pack is designed for preschoolers to practice math and literacy skills such as counting, number recognition, number quantity, shapes, alphabet recognition, letter sounds, letter cases and more!

Free Thanksgiving Math & Literacy Pack for PreK

This Thanksgiving themed Math & Literacy Pack features 23 hands-on activities, and it is available for FREE to all email subscribers. Here is what's included:

Literacy Activities:
-Alphabet matching
-Letter case matching
-Letter Sound Matching
-Sight Word Matching
-Tracing words
-Letter Sorting
-Word puzzle

Math Activities:
-Numbers 1-10 Puzzle
-Counting
-Cut & Paste the Correct Number
-Number Matching
-Quantity Matching
-Shape Matching
-Cut & Paste Missing Number
-Color by Number

This Thanksgiving Printable Pack is 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.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Fun Ways to Teach Kids Gratitude (Love to Learn Linky #17)

This year I have started talking to my daughter about gratitude and being thankful for the good things in her life. This is a difficult concept for little ones to understand, which is why I've been collecting ideas on different activities to help teach kids gratitude. Here are some amazing ideas from my fellow kid bloggers, plus another week of the Love to Learn Linky!

CRAFTS:

Thankful Turkey Box from I Heart Crafty Things

Thankful Tree from Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Gratitude Garland from Mosswood Connections

Thankful Turkey from The Well Nourished Nest

Gratitude Stones from Fireflies and Mud Pies


PRINTABLES:


Thankful Turkey Wreath from Mom Inspired Life

30 Days of Giving Thanks from 3 Dinosaurs

Thankful Print & Jar from Mama Miss


& MORE:


5 Keys to Raising Grateful Kids from One Time Through



If you were featured, grab a button!

Love to Learn Linky


Visit my co-hosts to see all the other features!

The Science of Thanksgiving Dinner - 12 Ways to Learn & Play from Left Brain Craft Brain
35 Ways to Teach Kids About Money from One Time Through
The Ultimate List of Thanksgiving Turkey Ideas for Kids 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