Nursery Ryhmes

Book Suggestions:

Nursery Rhymes: Touch and Feel by Roger Priddy
Nursery Rhymes by Trace Moroney
A Pop Up Book of Nursery Rhymes by Matthew Reinhart
Favorite Rhymes From Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson
Best Mother Goose Ever by Richard Scarry
Mother Goose illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
Real Mother Goose by Wright
My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie

Activities:

Itsy Bitsy Spider:
Materials: Styrofoam ball, black paint, black pipe cleaners, googly eyes, glue
Description: Read or recite The Itsy Bitsy Spider to your toddler. (Practice throughout the week so that your toddler can learn this nursery rhyme) Your toddler can make their own itsy bitsy spider by painting a Styrofoam ball black. Cut the black pipe cleaners in half and when the paint dries have your toddler stick 8 pipe cleaners into the Styrofoam ball for the spider’s legs. Count the legs with your toddler and talk to your little one about how spiders have 8 legs and insects only have 6. Have your little one glue on the googly eyes to complete their spider.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot nursery rhymes, teach your tot memory skills, teach your tot creativity, teach your tot language development, teach your tot to count

Little Miss Muffett:
Materials: oatmeal, pot, bowl, spoon
Description: Read and recite Little Miss Muffett to your toddler. (Continue to read this nursery rhyme to your toddler throughout the week so that they can learn it) Talk with your toddler about porridge. You and your little one can make curds and whey (oatmeal) together (according to packaging directions). Have your toddler add toppings such as sugar, brown sugar, milk, raisins etc. to their porridge before they eat it. As your toddler eats the curds and whey talk to them about whether they like it or not.
Skills targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot life skill development, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot to develop memory skills

Mary Had a Little Lamb:
Materials: paper, marker, cotton balls, glue
Description: Read and recite Mary Had a Little Lamb with your toddler (continue to read this nursery rhyme to your little one throughout the week so that they learn it). Draw a picture of a lamb onto a piece of paper or print one here. Talk with your toddler about a sheep feels soft. Have them feel a cotton ball and talk about how it feels. Your toddler can glue cotton balls onto the lamb.
Skill targeted: teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot listening skills, teach your to memory skills, teach your tot language development

Old McDonald:
Materials: pictures of farm animals (draw or print from clip art), glue, Popsicle sticks
Description: Sing the nursery rhyme Old McDonald with your toddler (continue this throughout the week so that your little one will learn it). Draw or print pictures of farm animals and cut them out. Glue each animal to a Popsicle stick. Sing Old McDonald again with your toddler and have them hold up each animal as you sing about them. See if your toddler can identify each animal before you sing about it.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot to identify farm animals, teach your tot language development, teach your tot memory skills, teach your tot nursery rhymes

Pat-a-Cake:
Materials: cake mix, icing
Description: Read and recite Pat-a-Cake with your toddler (continue to do this throughout the week). You and your toddler can bake a cake together, just like the nursery rhyme talks about. Have your toddler help you mix the ingredients (on the package) together and bake according to packaging directions. When the cake is baked and cooled, have your little one icing it. Your toddler can write letter B on the cake with their finger (or you can hold their finger and help them write letter B) in the icing.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot life skills, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot language skill development, teach your tot letter recognition, teach your tot writing letters, teach your tot to follow directions

A Fish For You:
There once was a fish.
What more could you wish?
He lived in the sea.
Where else would he be?
He was caught on a line.
Whose line if not mine?
So I brought him to you.
What else should I do?
Materials: construction paper, scissors, paper clips, magnet, string, pencil
Description: Read and recite A Fish for You with your toddler (continue to read it to them throughout the week so that they will learn it). Make a fishing pole by tying a piece of string onto the end of a pencil. Tie the other end of the string onto a magnet (you could also hot glue the string to the magnet). Cut fish shapes from construction paper and attach paper clip to the mouth of each fish. Put all the fish in a pile (pretend it is a pond) and have your toddler use the fishing pole to fish as you recite this nursery rhyme over and over! As your little catches each fish see if they can identify the color. When they have caught all the fish count them together.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot to count, teach your tot memory skills, teach your tot nursery rhymes

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe:
Materials: index cards, marker
Description: Read and recite One, Two, Buckle My Shoe with your toddler (continue to do this throughout the week). Write the numbers 1-10 on index cards. Turn the number cards face down in order. Read the nursery rhyme again and as you say each number turn the number card over for your toddler to see. Read the nursery rhyme again and have your toddler point to each number as you say it.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot number recognition, teach your tot memory skills

Three Little Kittens:
Materials: construction paper, markers, stickers, scissors
Description: Prior to doing this activity cut several pairs of mittens from construction paper. Decorate each pair of mittens so that they match. Read and recite Three Little Kittens with your toddler (continue to do this throughout the week). Lay all the mittens out in front of your toddler and have your little one find the matching pairs.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to compare and contrast, teach your tot to match items that are the same, teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot memory skills

Polly, Put the Kettle On:
Materials: tea kettle (toy or real), toast or muffins (toy or real), tea cups (toy or real)
Description: Read and recite Polly, Put the Kettle On with your toddler (continue to do this throughout the week). This nursery rhyme is all about a tea party. You and your toddler can have fun having a tea party together just as they do in this nursery rhyme. Whether you use real tea or pretend to have tea, you and your toddler will enjoy this special time together.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tot nursery rhymes, teach your tot memory skills, teach your tot language development

Little Green House:
There was a little green house,
And in the little green house
There was a little brown house,
And in the little brown house
There was a little yellow house
And in the little yellow house
There was a little white house
And in the little white house
There was a little heart.
Materials: green, brown, yellow, white and red construction paper, scissors, glue
Description: Prior to doing this activity, cut out a house shape from green, brown, yellow and white construction paper. The green house should be biggest, then the brown house, then the yellow house and the white house needs to be the smallest. Also cut a small read heart from construction paper. Read and recite Little Green House with your toddler (continue to do this throughout the week). Show your toddler all the paper houses and see if they can identify each color. Talk with your toddler about what house is biggest and what house is smallest. See if your toddler can put the houses in order from biggest to smallest then from smallest to biggest. Recite this nursery rhyme again to your toddler and have them glue the houses on top of each other just as the nursery rhyme says. Last they will glue the heart on top of all the houses.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot pre-reading skills, teach your tottea memory skills, teach your tot to compare and contrast different sizes, teach your tot to understand the difference between biggest and smallest, teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot to follow directions.

Songs and Fingerplays:
All nursery rhymes are great examples of songs and fingerplays for toddlers. Throughout the week, sing or recite a variety of nursery rhymes with your toddler.

Online Fun:

Videos:
Visit www.sesamestreet.org to view nursery rhyme videos

Nursery Rhyme World
Mother Goose Jamboree
Hey Diddle Song
http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-/pgpv/videoplayer/0/8befdd69-155c-11dd-a62f-919b98326687/news_jack_jumps_over

Recipes and Snack Ideas:

Little Miss Muffet: Make oatmeal or porridge with your toddler.

Hot Cross Bun: Make biscuits or buns with your toddler

Crayons

Book Suggestions:

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf
Wax to Crayons by Inez Snyder
The Crayon Counting Book by Pam Munoz Ryan
A Day with no Crayons by Elizabeth Rusch
My Imagination Kit by Jeffrey Fulmer

Activities:

Count Crayons:
Materials: box of crayons
Description: Have your toddler open a box of crayons and count each crayon as they take it out of the box. When they are finished counting have them name each color.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to count, teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot motor skill development

Broken Crayons:
Materials: old broken crayons (paper peeled off), muffin tins
Description: you and your toddler can turn old broken crayons into new ones. Simply divide all your old broken crayons (make sure that you take all the paper off the crayons) into muffin tins. You could do all of one color in each tin or mix the colors. Bake the crayons on about 350 until they look liquidity. Remove the muffin tin and put in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. They crayons should pop out and be ready to use again.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot tot reduce reuse recycle, each your tot motor skill development, teach your tot to sort by color

The Color of Things:
Materials: an 8 box of crayons, pictures of everyday objects
Description: Prior to doing this activity, print or draw pictures of everyday objects for your toddler to color. Show your toddler each picture and have them tell you what color it should be (for example, show them a picture of a tree and see if they can tell you that it should be green. Show them a picture of the sun and see if they can tell you that it should be yellow). Have your little one color each picture the correct colors.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot to understand that different objects are different colors, teach your tot motor skill development (coloring), teach your tot language development

Wall Art:
Materials: crayons, large piece of paper (butcher paper or a roll of paper would work best)
Description: Crayons are a great tool to enhance your toddler's imagination and creativity. Even if they cannot draw objects that actually look like anything yet. Hang a large piece of paper over a wall in a room in your house and let your toddler's imagination run wild. Have them draw, using crayons, all over the paper, creating a huge mural in your house. As they draw and color ask them about their pictures. Have them tell you what they are drawing and why.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to create, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot language development

Box of Crayons:
Materials: construction paper, glue, Popsicle sticks
Description: Cut out crayons shapes from a variety of different color construction paper. Show each one to your toddler and see if they can tell you what colors they are. Write each color onto each paper crayon. Have your little one help you glue Popsicle sticks onto each crayon. Sing the song Colors in My Crayon Box (found below in Songs and Fingerplay) and hold up each crayon (by the Popsicle stick) as you sing about it. When you have done this several times, have your toddler hold up the different crayons as you both sing about them.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot color/color word association, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot language development

Color Book:
Materials: white paper, crayons, a 4X6 mini album
Description: You and your toddler can make a cute color book together using an 8 count box of crayons and some paper. Cut paper into 4X6 pieces. Have your toddler close their eyes and pick a crayon from the box of crayons. Have your little one tell you what color it is. Have them color one of the pieces of paper using that crayon. Write the color word on the piece of paper also. Continue doing this until all the crayons have been picked. Slide all 8 sheets of paper into a 4X6 album and read the color book over and over to your toddler. (You could use more than just 8 crayons if you want)
Skills Targeted: teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot color/color word association, teach your tot language development

Bathtub Crayons:
Materials: bathtub crayons
Description: Bath time can be a great learning time. Have your toddler get creative drawing all over the bathtub walls using bathtub crayons! As they are doing this, talk about each different color that they use. They can even practice writing their name while getting clean!
Skills Targeted: teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot pre-writing skills, teach your tot language development, teach your tot to create, teach your tot to use their imagination

Sort Crayons:
Materials: a variety of crayons (whole or broken pieces)
Description: Give your toddler a pile of crayons and help them sort them by color. Count each pile of crayon and talk about what color has the most and which one has the least.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to sort by color, teach your tot to count, teach your tot to compare and contrast, teach your tot to understand more and less, teach your tot language development

Songs and Fingerplays:

Colors in my Crayon Box:
Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb

I had a box of crayons,
box of crayons,
box of crayons.
I had a box of crayons,
One of them was blue.

I had a box of crayons,
box of crayons
box of crayons.
I had a box of crayons
One of them was red.

I had a box of crayons,
box of crayons,
box of crayons,
I had a box of crayons
One of them was green.

Continue this song for different colors of your choice.

I see a Box full of Crayons:
sung to the tune of How Much is that Doggy in the Window

I see a box full of crayons.
I see colors green, red and blue
I see a box full of crayons
I love these colors don't you.

I see a pretty blue crayon.
I use it to color the sky.
I see a pretty blue crayon.
I can color a blue bird flying by.

I see a pretty red crayon.
I use it to color a rose.
I see a pretty red crayon.
It is the color I chose.

I see a pretty green crayon.
I use it to color a tree.
I see a pretty green crayon.
There's no other color for me.

I see a pretty yellow crayon.
I use it to color the sun.
I see a pretty yellow crayon.
I will put it back when I'm done.

I see a pretty orange crayon.
I use it to color a carrot.
I see a pretty orange crayon.
I can also color wings on a parrot.

Online Fun:

Coloring:
Check out http://www.coloring.ws/ for a free printable coloring page.

Crayola:
Check out http://www.crayola.com/ for coloring pages, craft ideas, games and more.

Videos:
Visit Sesame Street Online for awesome videos about crayons and more.

Making Crayons

Houses

Book Suggestions:

Home by Roger Priddy
My Very First Book of Animal Homes by Eric Carle
Animals at Home by David Lock
Houses and Homes by Ann Morris
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman

Activities:

Shape House:
Materials: construction paper, glue, scissors
Description: Prior to doing this activity, cut a large rectangle or square (for the house), a smaller rectangle (for the door), two small squares (for the windows), and a large triangle (for the roof). Show your toddler all these shapes and have them identify each one and their colors. Help your toddler arrange the shapes to make a house. Glue the pieces together and write the word house under the picture. Have your toddler see if they can name each part of the house. (Door, windows, roof)
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to identify shapes, teach your tot to identify colors, teach your tot to be creative, teach your tot language development, teach your tot to recognize everyday objects

Count the Windows:
Description: Show your toddler one of the windows in your house. Talk about the window. (Windows let light in. You can see through a window etc). Take a walk around your house with your toddler and count each window. You could even carry a piece of paper around with you and write a tally mark each time you see a window. When you are all finished count the tally marks to see how many windows there are in your house. You could do this activity with doors also.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to Count, teach your tot number recognition, teach your tot language development, teach your tot to recognize everyday objects

Trees are homes:
Materials: camera
Description: Take your toddler outside to look at a tree. Explain to your toddler that trees are homes to many different kinds of animals. Sit for awhile by the tree and see if you and you toddler can see any animals that might live in it. If you see any, take pictures of them. (Birds, squirrels, bugs, etc). You could print these pictures or show them to your toddler on the computer and see how many animals they can recognize.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot to recall details or facts, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot sensory development

Water is a home:
Materials: pictures of animals that live in the water, popsicle sticks, glue, a cardboard box, blue paint
Description: Talk to your toddler about animals that live in the water. Explain that the ocean, river, or pond can also be a home to many animals. Cut the tops and bottoms off of a cardboard box and cut one of the long sides off of the box as well. (The box should look like tri-fold). Have your toddler help you paint the box blue for water. Show your toddler the pictures of animals that live in the water (have them color the pictures if necessary). Cut the pictures out and have your toddler help you glue them to Popsicle sticks. Your little one can use these animals on Popsicle sticks as puppets and make them swim across the water(cardboard box).
Skills Targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to be creative, teach your tot to play and use their imagination, teach your tot to recognize animals and where they live

Where do These Objects Belong:
Materials: a variety of different objects found around the house (taken from different rooms)
Descriptions: Talk to your toddler about the house that they live in. See how many different rooms your little one can name (ex. kitchen, bathroom, my room, playroom etc). Gather a variety of different objects from around the house (ex.spoon, cup, food, pillow, toy, your toddler's clothes, toilet paper, toothbrush etc) and lay these objects out in from of your toddler. Have your toddler pick up one object at a time, name the object and tell you what room it belongs in. See if your little one can bring the object to the correct room and maybe even put it in its correct place. Skills Targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot life skills, teach your tot to recognize everyday objects, teach your tot to recall details

Label Objects in Your House:
Materials: index cards, marker, tape
Description: Labeling objects is a great pre-reading skill for toddlers. Talk to your toddler about their house and what kind of things you can find in it. (You could even read the book In A People House by Theo LeSeig) Walk with your little one around the house. As you enter each new room, have your toddler tell you what room they are in and what this room is used for. Point out some well known everyday objects in each room. Have your toddler say the name of each object as you write the word on an index card (you could also print out pictures of each object and hang the picture labels on the objects). Have your toddler tape the index card to the actual object. Leave these labels up, as long as possible, and throughout the week, month and year, read these labels with your toddler as you enter the different rooms in your house.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to recognize everyday objects, teach your tot to develop pre-reading skills, teach your tot to correlate written words to actual objects, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot language development

Different Houses:
Description: Take a walk down your street or through your neighborhood and compare all the different houses. Talk with your toddler about how all the houses are alike and how they are different. See if your toddler can name the color of each different house that you pass. You could count the houses together as well.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot to compare and contrast objects, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to count, teach your tot color recognition

Caves:
Materials: sheets or blankets
Description: Some animals live in caves. Ask your toddler if they know any animals that live in caves. The most common is a bear. Together you and your toddler can build a cave using blankets and sheets draped over furniture. Encourage your toddler to pretend that they were a bear living in a cave.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your to tot to play and use their imagination, teach your tot about animals and their habitats

In and Out:
Description: You can teach your child about the opposites in and out. Take your toddler to one of the doors in your house. Ask your child to tell you what it is and what shape it is. Tell your toddler that you are both "in" the house. Then open the door and walk outside. Now tell your toddler that you are "out" of the house. Repeat this over and over until your toddler can tell you whether they are "in" or "out."
Skills Targeted: teach your tot language development, teach your tot shape recognition, teach your tot to recognize everyday objects, teach your tot to develop an understanding of opposites

Build a House:
Materials: blocks or legos
Description: Help your toddler build a house using blocks or legos. As you create the house, talk to you toddler about the different parts of a house.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot language development, teach your tot to recognize everyday objects

Animals Live in Trees:
Materials: pictures of animals, large piece of paper, scissors, glue
Description: Draw a picture of a tree on the large piece of paper before doing this activity. Talk to your toddler about animals that live in trees. You could show your toddler the pictures that you took of animals in trees from the above activity. Show your toddler the pictures of animals that you have prepared for them. See if your toddler can name these animals. You or your toddler can cut these animals out. Have your toddler glue each animal in the tree.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot about animals and their habitats, teach your tot to recall facts and details, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot to recognize animals

Songs and Fingerplays:

I live in a little house:
Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb

I live in a little house
Little house
Little house
I live in a little house
On a little street.

I have a little room
Little room
Little room
I have a little room
In my little house.

I have a kitchen too
Kitchen too
Kitchen too
I have a kitchen too
In my little house.

I have a bathroom too
Bathroom too
Bathroom too
I have a bathroom too
In my little house.

I live in a house:
Sung to the tune of Happy Birthday

I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many windows
Windows are in my house

I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many doors
Doors are in my house

I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has many rooms
Rooms are in my house.

I live in a house
I live in a house
My house has lots of furniture
Furniture is in my house.

Online Fun:

Coloring Pages:
Check out http://www.coloring.ws/homes.htm for free printable coloring pages of houses.

Videos:
check out www.sesamestreet.org for videos about houses:

Homes Around the World
Copycat: Building Houses
Animals Houses


Recipes and Snacks:

Gingerbread Houses:
Ingredients: graham crackers, frosting, jellybeans, M&M's, sprinkles, gum drops, cheese-its
Directions: Break the graham crackers into several squares. (Ask your toddler to identify the shapes). Use the frosting to "glue" the graham cracker squares together to make a house box or house shape. Use two graham cracker squares to create the roof, using frosting to hold the crackers together. Have your toddler use frosting to glue on cheez-its for the windows and the door. Your little one can decorate the house using jellybeans, M&M's, sprinkles, gum drops, etc.

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Legos

Book Suggestions:

Learn with Legos: Numbers by Lego
Learn with Legos: Colors by Lego
Learn with Legos: Trains by Lego
On the Farm by DK Publishing
Rescue by DK Publishing
Farm by DK Publishing
Lego Modelers: Amazing Animals by DK Publishing

Activities:

Sort Colors:
Materials: a variety of legos
Description: Place a variety of legos on the floor in front of your toddler. Have your toddler identify all the different colors in the group of legos. Help your toddler sort all the legos by color. Stack all the reds together, all the greens together, and all the blues together, etc. Have your toddler count the number of legos in each group when they are finished. Talk about what group has the most and the least.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to count, teach your tot to sort by color, teach your tot color identification, teach your tot to compare and contrast, teach your tot to understand the concept of most and least, teach your tot language development, teach your tot motor skill development

Sort by Shape:
Materials: a variety of legos
Description: Legos vary in size and shape. Place a variety of square and rectangle legos in front of your toddler. Show them a square lego and have them identify the shape. Show them a rectangle lego and have them identify the shape. Help your toddler sort the legos by shape. Stack all the squares together and stack all the rectangles together. Have your toddler count the number of legos in each stack when they are finished. Talk with your toddler about what group has more and which has less.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to compare and contrast shape and size, teach your tot to count, teach your tot to develop an understanding of more and less, teach your tot shape identification, teach your tot to sort shape, teach your to language development, teach your tot motor skill development

Lego Stamps:
Materials: legos ( of different sizes), paint, paper
Description: Your toddler will enjoy painting with legos. Pour several color paints onto a paper plate. Have your toddler dip a lego into one color paint and stamp it onto a piece of paper. Ask your toddler what shape they see from the lego stamp. Continue doing this with different color paint and different size legos. Have your toddler count the circles from each lego stamp.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot to enhance creativity, teach your tot shape recognition, teach your tot to count, teach your tot color recognition

Imagination:
Materials: legos
Description: Encourage your child to imagine something that they want to build out of legos. Help your toddler build their fantasy. Pretend and imagine being part of their lego land.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to enhance creativity and imagination, teach your tot language development

Counting:
Materials: 10 or 20 large legos, permanent marker
Description: Have your toddler stack 10 or 20 legos (depending how high they can count) on top of each other. Counting as they put each lego on the top. When they have stacked all the legos, write numbers 1-10 or 1-20 on the legos (one number on each lego). Count the legos again with your toddler looking at the numbers while counting. Take apart the legos and put them back together in the correct number order.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to count, teach your tot number recognition, teach your tot one to one number correspondence, teach your tot to develop motor skills

Small, Medium, Large:
Materials: three legos of different sizes
Description: Lay the legos in front of your toddler. Have your toddler pick the smallest lego, then the medium lego and last the largest lego. Help your toddler put them in order from smallest to largest and from largest to smallest. Ask your toddler to name the shapes and colors of the legos too.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to compare and contrast sizes, teach your tot to develop an understanding of small, teach your tot medium and large, teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot shape recognition, teach your tot language development

Where is the Lego:
Materials: three large containers (not see threw), legos.
Description: Turn the three containers open side down. Place the lego under one of the containers and move them around so that your toddler does not know where the lego is. Ask your toddler to guess here the lego is. Keep guessing until they get it right. Have them name the color and shape of the lego when they find it. Continue this game, changing the lego each time.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot color recognition, teach your tot shape recognition, teach your tot to develop guessing and process of elimination skills, teach your tot language development

Life Size Legos:
Materials: diaper boxes, paint, glue, large yogurt containers
Description: You and your toddler can create life size legos together. Hot glue four yogurt containers to the side of a diaper box (or other large box). Do not let your toddler handle the hot glue. You and your toddler can choose a color to paint the lego. Paint the entire box and yogurt containers. You could make a smaller version of this by using shoe boxes and small yogurt containers.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to develop motor skills, teach your tot to enhance creativity

Letters and Numbers:
Materials: legos
Description: Most of the time when we build things with legos, we stack them together. However, we could use legos in different ways, placing them side by side to make letters and numbers. Together with your toddler build a letter and have your toddler identify it. Continue to do this with different letters or numbers. You could show your toddler a picture of a letter or number and see if they can build it.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot letter recognition, teach your tot number recognition, teach your tot to enhance creativity, teach your tot to develop motor skills

Simple Lego Patterns:
Materials: legos (several of two different colors)
Description: Place several red legos and several blue legos in front of your toddler. Tell your toddler that they are going to make a pattern. Have your toddler identify the two colors that they see. Help your toddler start the pattern by placing one read, one blue, one red, and one blue lego in a line. See if your toddler can tell you what comes next. Have your toddler continue to help you build the pattern. Have your toddler count the legos in the line. Mix all the legos up again and see if your toddler can build a simple pattern.
You could extend this activity for you toddler by drawing legos shapes onto a piece of paper (all in a row) and have your toddler color them in a pattern. Have your toddler count the legos on the paper also.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to understand simple patterns, teach your tot to build a simple pattern, teach your tot to count, teach your tot color recognition

Songs and Fingerplays:

Lego’s, Lego’s:
sung to the tune of Brother John

Lego’s, Lego’s
Lego’s, Lego’s
rectangle and square
rectangle and square
They are different colors
They are different sizes,
Lego’s everywhere
Lego’s everywhere

Lego’s are fun:
sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb

Lego’s are fun to build and play
build and play
build and play
Lego’s are fun to build and play
I could play all day.

Lego’s are fun to stack and count
stack and count
stack and count
Lego’s are fun to stack and count
Count them 1,2,3

Lego’s are fun to sort by color
sort by color
sort by color
Lego’s are fun to sort by color
Blue, yellow, green, and red

10 Little Lego’s:
sung to the tune of 10 Little Indians

1 little 2 little 3 little legos
4 little 5 little 6 little legos
7 little 8 little 9 little legos
10 little legos stacked together

Lego Color Song:
sung to the tune of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow

I see a lego, I see a lego,
I see a lego,
And it is blue.
And it is blue, and it is blue
B-l-u-e, b-l-u-e, b-l-u-e
The lego is blue

I see a lego, I see a lego
I see a lego
And it is red
And it is read, and it is red
R-e-d, R-e-d, R-e-d
The lego is red.

I see a lego, I see a lego
I see a lego
And it is green
And it is green, and it is green
G-r-e-e-n, g-r-e-e-n, g-r-e-e-n,
The lego is green

I see a lego, I see a lego
I see a lego
and it is yellow
And it is yellow, and it is yellow
y-e-l-l-o-w, y-e-l-l-o-w, y-e-l-l-o-w
The lego is yellow

You can continue this song using different colors. This would be a great song to use your homemade felt board. Make legos out of different color felt and place each felt lego on the board as you sing about it.

Online Fun:

Lego online
You toddler will love playing Creative Builder at http://creative.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx

You and your toddler can get inspiration and ideas to build new lego creations at Lego.com

Check out these fun family activities on Lego’s website.

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone!!!
I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday celebrating with the ones you love!

The New Year is always a time for fresh starts, new opportunities and sometimes change! Look forward to new changes coming to Teach Your Tot this year!

There is no new theme this week, due to the holidays! Next week's theme will be posted on Friday!

Music

Book Suggestions:
The Story of the Orchestra by Robert T. Levine
Can You Hear It by William Lach
Meet The Orchestra by Ann Hayes
Tolee's Rhyme Time by Catherine Lukas
Tubby the Tuba by Paul Trip
Sesame Street Music Player by Farrah McDoogle
Mole Music by David McPhail
Let's Sing Together by Peter Yarrow

Activities:

Listen to Different Kinds of Music:
Materials: radio, computer or tv
Description: Throughout the week, play different types of music for you and your toddler to listen and dance to. Tell them whether it is classical, country, rock and roll, pop, etc. See what kind of music they like the best. It is fun to have dance parties with our little! ;-)
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to become familiar with different types of music, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to enhance motor skills and movement through dance

Clap to the beat:
Materials: rhythm sticks, music
Description: Teach your child how to safely beat two rhythm sticks together. (if your don't have rhythm sticks, simply clap) You clap while your toddler beats the sticks together. See if your little one can hit the sticks at the same time that you clap. Next, turn on a simple songs and help your toddler hit the sticks or clap to the rhythm. Practice this throughout the week to different songs and tunes.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to clap to a beat, teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot sensory development

Shakers:
Materials: empty water bottles, sand, rice, rocks etc.
Description: You and your toddler can use the shakers that you made during "ears/hearing" week or make new ones this week. Together, you and your child can fill several different water bottles with rocks, rice, sand etc. Your toddler can use these to make music or shake to the rhythm of a song. Have your toddler shake each different shaker that you make and see if they sound alike or different. Does one shaker sound louder than the others?
Skills Targeted: teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to develop an understanding of rhythm, teach your tot to compare and contrast, teach your tot language development

Musical Shapes:
Materials: sidewalk chalk, music
Description: Before playing this game, with sidewalk chalk draw shapes on the ground to form a ring of shapes. Turn on some music and have your toddler run or jump from shape to shape. Have your toddler stop when the music stops and tell you the name of the shape that they land on.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to stop and go, teach your tot listening skills, teach your tot to follow directions

Hop, Skip, Jump:
Materials: a variety of different music (fast and slow)
Description: Play different songs for your toddler. Depending on the how fast or slow the song is, have your child run, walk, skip, jump, gallop, skate etc. to the beat. If it is a fast song you might want to have the run. If it a slow song have them walk. You could even ask your toddler what movement they would like to do for each new tune!
Skills Targeted: teach your tot motor skill development, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot listening skills, teach your tot to follow directions

Sing Songs:
Materials: ABC pictures, Farm Animal Pictures, glue Popsicle sticks
Description: Create visual props for your toddler as your sing some of your favorite songs together. For example, draw or print letters A-Z, cut them out and glue them to Popsicle sticks. As you sing the ABC's together, hold up each letter. You could even have your toddler pick up each letter or point to each letter as they sing.
Draw or Print pictures of different farm animals and glue them to Popsicle sticks. Hold up each farm animal as you sing Old McDonald. Your toddler could also choose an animal, hold it up and sing the song.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot word/picture association, teach your tot letter/picture association, teach your tot to recall songs,

Drums:
Materials: coffee can (or other kind of tin can) with lid, construction paper, markers, tape or glue, scissors
Description: measure and cut a piece (or two if one doesn't fit) of construction paper to fit around a tin can such as a coffee can. Give the construction paper to your toddler to decorate. They could use crayons, markers, paint etc. to decorate their drum. Glue (hot glue might work best) or tape the construction paper to fit around the can. Place the lid on and your toddler can use this as a hand drum. They could also use wooden spoons as drum sticks to play their drum.
Try some of these activities with your toddler and their drum:
Have your toddler hit the drum to the beat of a song
Have your toddler hit the drums as they say the alphabet. Hit it once for each letter.
Have your toddler count as high as they can and hit the drum once for each number.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to develop an understanding of rhythm and tapping to a beat, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot language development, letter development, counting, number development,

Tambourine:
Materials: cardboard, hole punch, yarn, jingle bells
Description: Trace a bowl or other Circle object onto a piece of cardboard. Cut out the circle and punch holes around the entire edge of the circle. Tie a piece of yarn through each hole and attach a jingle bells to each piece of yarn. Tie the bells close to the cardboard circle. Your toddler could also decorate the cardboard with markers and paint.
Try these activities with your toddler and their tambourine:
Have your toddler tap their tambourine to the beat of a song.
Have your toddler tap their tambourine as they sing the ABC's (tap once for each letter).
Have your toddler count and tap their tambourine once for each number.
Skills Targeted: teach your tot letter development, teach your tot to count, teach your tot sensory development, teach your tot to develop an understanding of rhythm and tapping to the beat, teach your tot language development

Instrument Book:
Materials: Draw or print pictures of different instruments, hole punch, construction paper, glue
Description: Print or draw pictures of different instruments. Show each picture to your toddler and see if your little one can name the instrument. Write the instruments' names on their pictures. Have your toddler decorate a cover for their instrument book. Put all the pages together and punch holes in them. Tie the holes together with yarn to create an instrument book. Read this homemade book over and over to your toddler throughout the week. (You could also use a small 4X6 photo album and cut the instrument pictures to fit in the photo slips to create your book.)
Skills Targeted: teach your tot to develop and understanding of musical instruments, teach your tot language development, teach your tot pre-reading skills

Songs and Fingerplays:

Instruments:
(sung to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)

The drum in the orchestra goes
rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat
The drum in the orchestra goes rat-a-tat-tat,
hear it's sound.

The cymbals in the orchestra goes
Clash-clash-clash, clash-clash-clash, clash-clash-clash,
The cymbals in orchestra goes clash-clash-clash
hear it's sound.

The trumpet in the orchestra goes
toot-toot-toot, toot-toot-toot, toot-toot-toot
The trumpet in the orchestra goes toot-toot-toot
Hear it's sound.

The triangle in the orchestra goes
Clang-clang-clang, clang-clang-clang, clang-clang-clang
The triangle in the orchestra goes clang-clang-clang
Hear it's sound.

You and your toddler can continue this song by brainstorming different instruments and the sounds that they make.

Music:
(sung to the tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb)

The sound of music makes me dance,
makes me dance, makes me dance.
The sound of music makes me dance,
All around the room. (dance with your toddler)

The beat of music makes me clap,
makes me clap, makes me clap.
The beat of music makes me clap.
Clap to the beat (clap with your toddler).

The tempo of music can be fast or slow,
fast or slow, fast or slow.
The tempo of music can be fast or slow.
Fast or slow.

I can Sing:
(sung to the tune of The Bear Went Over the Mountain)

I can sing a lot of songs,
I can sing a lot of songs,
I can sing a lot of songs,
Can you sing along?

I can sing my ABC's
I can sing my ABC's
I can sing my ABC's
Can you sing with me?

I can sing Old McDonald too.
I can sing Old McDonald too.
I can sing Old McDonald too.
What about you?

What is your favorite song?
What is your favorite song?
What is your favorite song?
I'd like to sing along.

Online Fun:
Coloring Pages:

Visit Coloring.ws for a variety of free printable coloring pages all about music.

Videos:
Check out Sesame Street for some fun music videos

Whoopi and Elmo: come and play
Abby and Miri play the violin
Color Tunes