Terrific Tot Tasks

School is out (has been for a few weeks now) and we have been relaxing, sleeping in, watching a little TV, but now it is time to get back into a routine and entertain the kids! We will be doing one "lesson" and one fun summer craft each day. I have two girls - one just turned 3, the other almost 5 years old. They are very similar in what they like to do, so that does make it easier in deciding what's on the schedule. Here is our Terrific Tot Tasks for this week:

MONDAY:

Lesson Plan: Bible Study
We have a Toddler Bible Devotion book. We will pick one of our devotions from last week to look at in more detail. We LOVE this book - the girls never go to sleep unless they have read their devotion for the day - I LOVE that :)

Craft: Sponge Water Bombs
I originally found this craft at the House of Hepworths - you can go to their site and check out more detailed instructions with photos.
These sponge water bombs are really easy to make and fun to play with. I bought my sponges from WalMart, but also try Dollar General for even cheaper fun. Cut sponges length-wise into 4 even strips. Tie 4 different colors together around the middle with fishing line or twine. Now they are ready to use - go outside and fill bucket full of water, drop sponges in and let the wars begin!

My kids played forever outside with these - great value!

TUESDAY:

Lesson Plan: Math/ Numbers 1-10
My 3 year old can count to 20, my 5 year old to 100, so we will be looking at different things for each girl. For my 3yr old I am going to try to get her to practice counting some more and start writing them down, or doing something with objects and getting her to count them (within the 1-10 range). For my 5yr old we will concentrate on some addition and subtraction. My 5yr old is a great reader but we need to concentrate more on Math this summer, so she will be ready for Kindergarten (OH NO - sniff, sniff).

Craft: Marble Race
I found this at Serving Pink Lemonade - you can go check them out for further instructions.
We don't have any marbles but had little balls that works perfectly too. Both girls LOVED this and it literally cost about $2! (not counting the balls which I think they got for free from somewhere like the Doctor's office). We haven't even got round to making up the finish line yet - they couldn't wait!

Clever girl taped them together so she could play by herself, when the little one went for her nap.

*** When you cut the pool noodle use a serrated knife NOT scissors, so you get an even cut. Believe, I know this first hand ;)

WEDNESDAY:

Lesson Plan: Reading/ Letters
We have an awesome Dick and Jane book that has lots of chapters in it - they progress from easy to more difficult. So my 5yr old will continue to read this book today (she does so great - so proud of her!). For my 3yr old we will concentrate on the letters A-E.

Craft: Paper-towel Butterflies
These come from Make It and Love It - I love her photos - very nicely done! So check it out over there - it's much better looking than mine. LOL! But here are our photos too:

THURSDAY:

Lesson Plan: Music
Turn on a CD, get out the sticks, egg shakers and shake it all away! So much fun!

Craft: Magic Spell Jar
The Magic Spell Jar comes from Pinterest - it looks like the original blog for the post has been disconnected. Let your kids use their imagination to decide what to put into their magic spell jar, and what the magic spell is for. Make up a cool label and Wella! One potent magic spell jar has been created - hope all the spells are good spells :)

Source: maisondeslilas.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

FRIDAY:

Lesson Plan: Geography
We will look at my home country - Australia. We have a few books, and, of course, the girls know the shape of the country (from a map). Always good to learn more about where their Mama is from :)

Craft: Thumb-print art - thank you cards
Found lots of really cute fingerprint art, on google search, to draw inspiration from. I want us to make thank you cards for birthday presents - I think the personalization of the cards will be cute. Here are some examples I found:

Source: crafty-crafted.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

SATURDAY:

Lesson Plan: Vehicles
Looking at bikes today - might even head to the park to ride ours.

Craft: 4th July Hat
From Family Fun - their Firecracker Crown. The girls are really looking forward to seeing the fireworks again this year. We go up to our lake place and head down to the lake to watch them over the water - so pretty! We usually shoot a few too (over the water) - hopefully there won't be a fire ban.

SUNDAY:

Lesson Plan: P.E. - intend to get out there early this morning, before the heat, and kick the soccer ball around.

Craft: Page Corner Bookmarks
From I Could Make That - cute bookmarks - perfect for our summer reading!

WOW! Hope that keeps them occupied! It is so rewarding to spend time with the kids, and it also brings out the kid in me when I get down there with them and join in on all these great things. It also makes their day when you spend quality time with them - they are worth it!