Shapes - Diamond

Shape Themes

Xander is 19 Months

Theme:  Bee Theme

Shape: Diamond

 We are currently working on shapes, devoting one week to each while also reviewing those already learned.   The themes just add a fun element to the shapes lessons, plus some extra vocabulary. I added a page to gather all of the Shape Posts and Printables to make them easier to find.  For our overall Tot School goals for our shape units, see my Goals post.

Shape Activities

This was the second week of our Bee Theme and the shape of the week was the diamond.  I went back and forth on whether to call it a diamond or a rhombus.  I ended up settling for diamond since that is what he will see on most puzzles, games, books etc.  However, I did make a pocket chart phrase that said a diamond can also be called a rhombus.  I used our Montessori style 3 part shape cards (for anyone who has downloaded them already, I added the diamond card).  We also used some pocket chart phrases from our Diamond Printables.  The concepts on these cards are pretty advanced, but he has been exposed to all of them on his Your Baby Can Discover movies. I believe the vocabulary and and reading practice certainly can't hurt.

As usual, I made a tracing page (in the Diamond Printables ).  We use all of his tracing materials in either page protectors or his Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center.  He is no where near ready to trace on his own, but I have him hold the marker and I hold his hand.  We trace together and I talk about what we're doing.  Some days he does a great job tracing with me, other days he insists on doing it himself... which usually results in just scribbles.

Done with Mommy

He started off coloring the correct colors for his diamond coloring page (also in the Diamond Printables), then he just wanted to color randomly.  It is fine with me.  I want him to enjoy our "school time" and he gets pre-writing practice either way.

Doing our shapes puzzle (which actually calls the diamond a rhombus)

Making play dough snakes on his diamond highway from Making Learning Fun.

Shape cookie cutters.

One morning I got out a bunch of the highway shapes from Making Learning Fun and our shape bean bags to have Xander match them up.  For the shapes we didn't have bean bags for I used plastic shapes from our Tupperware Shape Ball.

A while back I bought some pattern block cards to go with his magnetic pattern blocks.  He hadn't seen them before and I was curious to see how he would do.  Turns out he needed a lot of help, but absolutely loved it.  When he was done and off playing with something else, he got upset when he noticed I was putting them away.

Bee Theme Activities

We still used the cards from his Bee Tot Pack.  I flashed them like I mentioned trying in the last Tot School post, and put them in the pocket chart for him to find.  He still absolutely loves this activity.  He knows that I keep the cards on a shelf up out of his reach and will often go over to it and point letting me know he wants them.  Other times he will just drag the whole pocket chart over to me.  I couldn't be happier that he enjoys these activities.

He wanted to do his cards while sitting on the potty.  Who am I to stop him?

Bee stencil with side walk paint.

Bee tracing (with Mommy's help)

While we had the play dough out one day, I showed him out to press the bee from his Toob into the dough to make an impression.

    Reading and Math:

We are still using Little Reader to work on reading skills and Little Math for math skills.  My goal is two Little Reader lessons and one Little Math lesson daily.  He absolutely loves Little Reader, but only likes Little Math on some days.

This Week's Books:

  

   

Check back on Wednesday to see this week's  Tot Trays!

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