Tot School: A Week For Recap {Letter A to J}

This week's letter & theme was supposed to be K for key and I REALLY, REALLY wish to get this:
Unfortunately, it is priced at RM 150 at Mothercare.


So, I daydream and pretend that I will be able to make this from wendyjanelle.blogspot.com


But I'll probably end up with this:
 Image from google


So, because of my laziness, we are doing a recap week for Letters A to J.

It is also partly due to Tiger's immense interest in phonics right now. These are my observations:

1. He tears his EVA letter mat apart to grab the letters and makes all kinds of letter sounds.

2. He no longer say 'A' for every letter he sees

3. He points and 'reads' every print he sees by making letter sound. Even if it's on my T-shirt, especially if the letter is printed over my boob. Yeah, he's a booby kid :)

4. He tried to say crayon and ended up saying 'keh keh keh' (Letter C sound)

5. During his TW class, he could follow the phonics lesson easily and cooperated in making letter G sound.

6. He adores this song from youtube.
* I couldn't find the Letter Factory by Leap Frog in Malaysia. It cost about RM300 for the boxset in Singapore :(  So, this FREE version is good enough.

Btw, Tiger's said his first colour! And it's purple!!! So, it's Mommy's new favorite colour :)

This is our Tot Tray setup for 'Recap week':


Left shelf from top to bottom:

1. Number rods for 5 & 6

2. Two-piece puzzle for letters A to J

3. ELC foam lowercase: more on these later

Right shelf from top to bottom:

1. Dr Seuss ABC book

    M&D classic alphabet blocks (A to J)

2. M&D stacking/nesting blocks

    Jumbo clothes peg with book box

3. ABC peg puzzle

Halloween Shopping: Part 1

We had a break from Tot School because umm...Mommy's a little exhausted and needed to recharge :)

Quite timely as we are busy with Halloween planning/shopping.

This post is my materialistic purging. Please don't read if you think it is going to hurt your eyes:

On Sunday, we went on a costume hunt. *insert cheerful theme song*

At first, I bought a one-piece toddler tiger suit from Mothercare that cost a ridiculous
RM 128. The stripes weren't too cute but I was desperate. They also have bumblebee, bee, and cow designs.



This is the exact suit.



FYI, Mothercare is having a promotion for their membership. For the advantages of being a Mothercare member, check it out here. You only have to spend RM400 instead of the usual RM800, available for the month of October only. The result of this promotion: 

Not in picture: 2 sets of pajamas

If you have been following my blog or know me personally, you would know that I don't spend my money on clothing items for children, except shoes (they are just too cute!). All of Little Tiger's old clothes fit into ONE medium-sized container.

Educational stuff and toys are in a different category altogether, they fit into a warehouse...LOL. Actually, they don't cause I pass them to my lil'angel, Prettichubbi.

I make an exception on clothing when it comes to Mothercare because I find their designs adorable and their material really last. I was cleaning Little Tiger's closet last night and I gave away most of his discolored pieces. I realized that the Mothercare ones still look almost new. Money well spent.

I'm digressing again. Back to our costume hunt, I found this in Toy R Us!!
 

A pumpkin suit! How apt for our Pumpkin Party!

It also cost less than the tiger suit at RM 69.90. They have a small selection for toddlers: 1. Spider suit. (Fit up till 24 months)
2. Bumblebee suit (Fit up till 24 months)
3. Dracula. Quite dashing (12-18 months)
4. Skeleton suit (12-18 months)
5.Transformer (for older chilren)
6. Accessories for adults: witches, fairies, capes, pirate. etc

I would make one if I could sew but buying seems like a sane option. Also, he would be the only one in this because nobody else is celebrating Halloween except for us crazy folks.

PS: I returned the Tiger suit, and bought the PJs and beginner chalks instead ;)

Free play: Play Dough for Undirected Play

Undirected anything really isn't my style.

However, in view of the enormous benefits of open ended and free play, we have exceptions.

Besides, Mommy's having a chill week and I have not rotated his Tot Trays :p

We are on a break from the monotonous rhythm of school he has been allowed to have way too much freedom.

Last night we sang the Phonics Song for about 10 times, followed by the Shapes Song =.="

Then he played we a mahjong paper roll (I bought for art projects, not gambling) and entertained himself for 30 minutes. That's way longer than anything I put into his tray!! 0.o

1. He dragged it around the house wagon style, the pushed it like a vacumm.

2. He tried to make the roll stand and laughed when it toppled.

3. He whacked Grandma with it.

4. Of course he would whack Mommy too

5. Swung it around

Then he found my Play Dough stash. These are the store bought ones that I intended to keep for use later when he is a little older.

So, I gave him the pacifier for precaution and just chilled out with my trusty Canon:

Trying to open the containers

He tried to stack it and got distracted by his crayons

Then he was back at play when I took them out for him.

We had some cookie cutters out too but he wasn't interested.

He was happily squishing and tearing away

These Imaginarium Clay smelled like medicine

I gave him some jewels to push into the dough

Some golf pegs to train & work those little muscles

I know I said 'undirected play' but adding a little something is second nature now :(

 

 Then he got bored and tried to read 'his' signage

See, learning comes naturally..

I was cleaning up when he noticed and decided to help out

Here he is trying to replace the cap :)

Maybe we should do this more often, with the pacifier on, of course. It's not like he didn't try to eat it. He tried really hard too. He pretended to 'call' the dough cat I made and clucked his tongue, then swiftly made a move to sneak the cat into his mouth! Carnivore!!

Here are some benefits of playing with dough:
1. Excellent fine motor exercise
2. Great for sensory play from different textures especially homemade ones like salt dough.
3. Imaginative play for nurturing creativity
4. Mommy need to be more creative too. Why? Read this excellent article from Rhythm Of The Home

The Play Doh brand has so many different types of plastic variations but Mandy's Tool Kit from the above article puts them to shame. Maybe I should try the road less travelled too.