Monday, January 27, 2014

Dinosaur...ROAR!!

So I haven't really been doing Mommy School with the boys this school year.  Teagan is in preschool three days a week and I feel with the extra running to drop him off and get him we are busier than usual.  I have been trying to do a little bit of whatever his theme at school is here at home just to reinforce it, either by having books out about the theme or introducing some toys they haven't played with that go along with the theme.
Since Christmas, it has been bitterly cold here!  Teagan has had no school a couple of days because of the cold.  I decided to be a little more deliberate in planning activities so that we don't all go crazy!
Last week the theme was DINOSAUR's and this is what we did:

We had a sensory bin with small rocks, dinosaurs, trees, and the letters D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R.

Teagan even took the rocks out and made a dinosaur nest.  The white rocks were the eggs.
 
Making dinosaur footprints/imprints in play-dough.

Teagan had the idea to separate the dinosaurs into those that walk on land, those that live in water, and those that fly.

Teagan followed picture instructions on how to draw a stegosaurus.

Eli had a dinosaur with the alphabet on it.  I would show him a letter, ask him what it was, and then he had to find it on his page and put a dot on it.  It helped me know what letters he knew and if he could match them.

We also have a giant dinosaur floor puzzle we did together and they watched The Land Before Time.

For me it helps our days go a little smoother if I plan a few activities for the day in advance.  Sometimes they play so good that we don't use them but then I just save them for a rainy day. :)

What do you do to help have a smoother day?