A is for Apple

Ok.... first day.... I think success.  Gooba and I both learned a lot today! She learned that apple starts with A.  I learned that she is in love with fine motor activities and drawing with dry erase markers.  I also learned that no matter how excited I am about an activity, she's going to play with what she wants, when she wants, and the way she wants to... tis the way of the toddler I guess.  So despite a few bumps in the road, I still think we had a great day.  Here's how we started:


We started strong with coloring the letter A with dry erase markers.

Then she spotted the pom poms on the counter and we played with pom poms.... A LOT!  Then I convinced her to make our apple tree craft with the pom poms... also a big hit.  She was resistant to coloring the tree trunk... oh well!

So after pom pom-a-palooza we discovered that bingo makers are also awesome.  We started off by marking the letter As in the apple .....

Not too bad..... then I thought we'd continue with the bingo markers and mark some shapes... yeah....not as good!  We went bingo marker crazy...she actually could identify all the shapes, which technically was the point...so I'll take it!

Then after a much needed applesauce snack and some Little Einsteins we moved onto fine motor.  A clear winner with Gooba.  First we used our "clapper catcher" or wooden tongs to move apple erasers between different containers and muffin tins.... she probably did this for about 20-30 minutes.  We took turns for a while and then I was no longer invited to take turns ;)

Then we had some lunch and finally got dressed for the day!  We moved onto the lacing card... another big hit.  Not as big as the erasers and "clapper catcher," but still pretty awesome in Gooba's eyes.

After yet another break and about 30 minutes of stroller racing, we decided to go back to markers.  We tried "tracing" some lines.... 

Then you guessed it.... "Mama?  More apples and clapper catcher?"

While we were playing with apple erasers again I managed to get her to complete a sequencing puzzle while she held each card with the clapper catcher... this was not captured on film for various reasons... but here's the puzzle

Finally before nap little Gooba just did not want to color with crayons... so I pulled out one of her most favorite things to do.... PAINT!!!!!  Here's what happened.. not bad!  The one in the middle is my favorite.

All in all, we got a TON of things done before nap!  Also Gooba chose an alphabet book to read before nap and she could recognize the A... awwwwwww :)  I have a few more crafts and marker pages for after nap if she's interested.... we'll see.  Overall I give today's lesson an A!

Printables and puzzles with the exception of the paintings taken from www.1plus1plus1equals1.com