5 Favorite Mommy School Items

It’s been a while since I have done a Mommy School post. I have been continuing weekly lessons with AG, unfortunately they haven’t been different daily lessons. I tend to nap when she naps, which means I work when she wakes up from her nap. I usually try to have a few different activities for her to do when she gets up. I have been picking 3-4 a week and rotating them daily. Some of the activities I will sit and do with her, others are more independent.  Nonetheless, it works. She is learning everyday, which is my number one goal with Mommy School.

I decided to share my 5 favorite Mommy School items to have at home. I was going to call them must haves, but you don’t HAVE to have them in order to be successful with Mommy School. For me, they are the most versatile, AG enjoys them the most and they will provide tons of lessons for years to come.

 

1. Fingerpaint. The list for things to do with fingerprint is endless. Which is why I chose it as my number one item. Also because it’s AG’s absolute favorite to play with. We’ve used the fingerpaint we have for so many activities. From potato stamping to mess free coloring (as seen below) to painting with a brush to actual fingerprinting. I draw shapes, letters, numbers and we talk about all of the different colors. This is definitely a supervised activity and absolutely worth the mess it usually makes!

2. Play-Doh. AG loves play-doh but still tries to eat it!  Therefore it won’t be an independent activity for a little longer in our house. I bring out play-doh at least once a week for Mommy School time. I either have her play with it on the floor with a cutting mat underneath or while sitting in her highchair. Both ways make for easy clean up. AG’s favorite thing to do with play-doh right now is taking it out of the container and stuffing it back in. She loves to watch me roll it into balls and attempts to do the same. I also love to take out cookie cutters to use with it. I bought a large box of plastic cookie cutters at Jo Ann Fabrics a while back. The cookie cutters have been great with our theme units and learning shapes.  Stamps are also fun to use with play-doh. If you child is a learning his/her letters, I would suggest using alphabet stamps on play-doh. There are also some fabulous play-doh mats that can be found on Pinterest for older children. Lots of possibilities here as well. I have an entire post coming soon all about play-doh.

3. Books. This really goes without saying but a child can never have too many books. Reading is crucial when it comes to learning. It’s the foundation for a great education. As a former teacher who spent my graduate studies focused on reading, I know how important it is from early on. We have books all over our house, in the car and in my mommy bag. It’s another great independent activity for children as well as something to do daily with your child. With AG, I pick a few special books for Mommy School each day. Could be new, old favorites, or go with a theme. I read them twice to her. Once straight through. The second time, I ask questions. Point to… Where is the… I ask her to turn the pages the second time through. With words that are in her vocabulary, I will read them and ask her to repeat me. After we’ve read it together the second time, I will let her explore on her own. As she gets older, the books will change, my questions will become harder and more specific and her participation will increase. I will try to expose her to as many genres as possible and do everything in my power to cultivate her love of reading.

4. Magnetic Letters & Numbers. This is something that has been more popular recently with AG (at 21 months.) I actually ordered them online a year ago from one of the deal sites and gave them to her for Christmas this past year. Right now she used them the most on the refrigerator. She loves to put them on. We point out all of the letters and numbers. Sometimes I will say “M is for Mommy” others I will has her to repeat the letter after me. After we practice a few letters I will go back to them and ask for her to find them for me. She loves when I mix them up. I also bought a cookie sheet for her to practice on. This works well when I’m working in my craft room. I just bring in the magnets for her and she plays with them. She will put them on the board. I ask her to take them off, move them up or down and show me letters and numbers. These will be great in the years to come when starts making words.

 

5. Puzzles. The great thing about puzzles is (as long as you don’t lost the pieces) they provide a lot of entertainment for the littles and allow them to learn at the same time. Right now, I have a lot of puzzles with shapes, colors, numbers and letters which is what we spend a lot of our time working on. Puzzles can be done with adult supervision and provide for great questioning opportunities. At the same time, they’re a great independent activity. I keep all of AG’s puzzles in a tupperware bin. I take out one or two for her to play with during our Mommy School time. She cleans them up when we’re finished. Sometimes she’ll ask for the bin at other times during the day (of course I let her take them out) but most of the time puzzles are just Mommy School activities (for now.)

What are some of your favorite items to use for learning at home?