How to Easily Teach Your Toddler Daily Topics

Daily Repetition in a Fun Way!

As a parent we are so busy taking care of our children and every day responsibilities that it's hard to keep up with the little things you could be teaching your toddler daily. Until I started Mother Goose Time I never considered teaching my (now 3 year old) toddler what day of the week it was, much less the month. Thanks to Mother Goose Time we now have a daily schedule where I can take an opportunity to teach Bella (naturally) about these daily topics.

Here are some topics we learn about at the beginning of the day:

1) Day of the Week

2) Date Today

3) Month We are In

4) The Weather Outside

 

(Each day we also re-learn about our Monthly Shape, Letter and Number)

While this seems like a simple concept, it can be hard to keep a child interested in learning this DAILY. That's why I love the way Mother Goose Time is set up to be engaging and fun. First, we have a display board! Everything besides the board came in the Welcome Kit that you receive for FREE with your first box! I take out the Display Board when we are about to start school. Bella now recognizes what will happen once I grab the board and looks forward to school time.

 

Monthly you "start over" and introduce the new month. This week we started January. On your board you have space for your Month Name, Calendar, Letters of the Month, Daily Topic Photo, Shape Clouds, Numbered Fish and Weather Icons. I use this putty to hang most items that we change frequently, or these self-adhesive Velcro dots for heavier items that we will use all year. While some items come in your Welcome Kit, each month you receive new letters, shapes and numbers so your child does not get overwhelmed with learning too much new information at a time.

 

The Calendar comes with numbered dates that feature characters that go with that month's theme. This month's theme is Baby Animals. The days easily pop out and are great for the child to remove themselves. I have Bella remove the day and will explain "Today is Friday, January 6th". Then she uses a glue stick and glues the date on the calendar herself.

This helps her motor skills and coordination along with number recognition!

Next we grab her Weather Icons which include a Sun, Cloud, Wind, Snow and Rain. I laminated them and placed self adhesive Velcro on the back and on the board so we can easily hang them daily. We then go outside and discuss what the weather is like. We will talk about the clouds and what we see. She also predicts things like "I think it might rain later".

I use a sheet protector to store my extra calendar days and weather icons and hang it on the back of my board with the self-adhesive Velcro.

 

This is our board on a typical day with all of our daily items attached! When we are done with school I fold it up and slide it behind my bookshelf. It's a very convenient tool and super easy to set up and update. It's the perfect start to school time and Bella knows once the board comes out that school is going to begin and we get to glue and go outside to see the weather! She really enjoys the process and consistency of doing it daily. She now knows her days of the week and we are working on the pattern of which days come after today.

This portion of the Mother Goose Time program is really great and has been able to teach Bella many things I struggled with teaching on my own. I definitely recommend trying a month for yourself. The best part is, there is no commitment! If you're like me you will fall in love with this program (which you won't mind since it's so affordable)! Check out how affordable it is here!

Bella Gluing on the Date

This Month's Adorable Calendar Dates

 

After months of being a paying customer, I received this month's box for free in return for my honest feedback!

 

Mother Goose Time Kit Unboxing - What's Inside January

 

Here is my unboxing of Mother Goose Time's January box! This unboxing is a little longer because I describe into more detail about what comes in each box. This is a monthly homeschool preschool kit that comes with everything you need for 20 days of curriculum & activities PLUS SO MUCH MORE for you and your toddler!

After being a paying customer for months, Mother Goose Time approached me to receive this month's box for free in return for my honest feedback!

Christian Homeschooling Lessons for Toddlers

As you guys know, I use Mother Goose Time for Bella's homeschool preschool curriculum. If you haven't heard of them before, check out my previous post here. While this box comes with EVERYTHING, for an extra $5 a box you can create a Christian Curriculum and add on a package called Experience God - Child Art Packs. This was something I really wanted to do to incorporate God into our daily life with my kiddos. Let me give you a quick breakdown of what came in December's box!

Each pack comes with 4 lessons and activities (one per week). I usually do one each Sunday, but due to Christmas I waited to devote the week of Christmas to teach all about the story of Jesus. True to why I love Mother Goose Time, these packs come with all of your supplies needed for the art project along with instructions and a lesson. I will focus on the art projects in this post, and do a more detailed post later!



Lesson 1

 

Our Completed Art Project from Lesson 1

 

The first lesson we created a Mary puppet, which Bella really enjoyed. I love the creativity of this company!

 



Lesson 2



Our Completed Art Project from Lesson 2

 

The second lesson we created a Donkey in which Bella "rode" to Bethlehem.

 



Lesson 3



Our Completed Art Project from Lesson 3

 

The third lesson (my personal favorite) we created a manger. This project was super fun and I loved the way it turned out. Bella really enjoyed this one as well.

 

Lesson 4



Our Completed Art Project from Lesson 4

 

For our final project we created two Christmas Tree ornaments which are currently hanging on our tree!

Each lesson also includes a coloring sheet on the back! They really waste no space.

 

Here is a breakdown of the three items you can purchase to complete your Experience God curriculum! You can also read about it on their website here! While I received this month's MGT box for free in exchange for me to blog about my personal experience (after months of being a paying customer), I continue to purchase these Experience God packs myself because I love them so much! 

Sick Days - Replaying Mother Goose Time

My house has been run into the ground this week. We all shared a head cold followed by a stomach bug. Let me just tell you that schooling was the last thing on my mind. My 3 year old was not sick (thankfully) when I first was. This left me out of energy and her full of it. For this, I pulled out some  previous Mother Goose Time Curriculum that she really loved!

Since this project was fun enough for her to do multiple days, I thought I should share it with you! Just another reason why I love MGT! It's the gift that keeps on giving!

Last month's theme was Community Helpers and Bella learned about all kinds of different careers. One day was Mail Carrier and it was so creative!

Each child was given a Mail Bag, postcards and corresponding posters. Like a mail carrier, the child decides which postcard goes to the corresponding poster. To make it even more fun I set up paper cups as "mailboxes" and hung them throughout the house on the wall with mess free putty.

She matched the Dalmatian on the postcard to the Dalmatian in the Poster

While it was fun, it taught my toddler a lot of different skills like problem solving and recognition. It also helped her motor skills a lot by teaching her to open the bag, shuffle through the post cards and place them in the "mailboxes". I would have NEVER thought of such an amazing idea on my own. I am constantly in awe of the ideas and projects presented in each month's kit!

She had a blast even when I couldn't give her 100% of my energy. I love being able to watch her learn so much about the world that I wouldn't think of teaching her. If you are interested, definitely check out their website! It is affordable and worth every penny.

Look at this smile!

*I paid for the November (Community Helpers) box myself but received this month's box for free in exchange for my personal opinion of these products!

Projects with a Toddler Made Easy

I am a mom of two girls ages 1 & 3. I'm married. I work a full-time job. We like to travel.

I have no time.

One of my biggest priorities when I start my day is to spend one-on-one time with my daughters. My 3 year old struggles when we don't have some direct time together. I've tried doing it all myself. I've tried creating projects. I've tried spending $80 at a craft store but still having to struggle with what I will create.

THIS HAS FINALLY STOPPED!

Once a month, I get a box delivered to my door. I open it and inside lies 20 days worth of pre-bagged activities and projects I can do with my daughters. 20 days of learning. 20 days of ITEMS that I don't need to buy. I don't need to scrounge, stress out, or prep. My life has literally changed.

Mother Goose Time has made the biggest impact on my family in the best way!

I didn't plan on homeschooling my toddler. I was simply looking for something a little extra to do with her every day and this kit is perfect! You can combine days, spread them out, or do it a day at a time. There is no one to answer to but yourself, and a full kit delivered to your door that will help you and your child learn new things every day.

I am constantly impressed with the items received in this kit. For example: this week we learned about Pine Trees and Pinecones. I combined the days because, due to a crazy schedule, sometimes we have to miss a day of "class". These are straight-out-of-Pinterest, amazingly fun projects! THESE KITS COME WITH EVERYTHING!!!!

Bella and I were so excited to make this Invitation to Create Bird Feeder! This is something I have seen around since I was a child, but never had the supplies to create myself. First off, I don't have bird seeds (ever) and I don't live near pinecones. I opened our daily bag to two full-size Pinecones, bird seed and string (along with tons and tons of other items FOR ONE DAY). Look at this face!

Not only does it come with everything you need, it comes with an explanation on how to use the items and teach your child something new. It is fool-proof.

Our bird feeders came out perfectly and we also learned about the life cycle of Pine Trees! Bella uses so many skills thanks to this Preschool Program. These are things I could never do on my own. I'm grateful for this company! Check out the photos below of us creating our awesome project thanks to Mother Goose Time!

 

 

*After months of being a paying customer, I was approached by Mother Goose Time to receive this month's box for free in exchange for my honest feedback!

 

Video Unboxing of December Mother Goose Time Kit

Here is the live video the girls and I did on December 1st! This is the unboxing of Mother Goose Time's December box - Winter in the Woods. From this video you will understand why I do everything productive while my kids are asleep ;)







*After months of being a paying customer, I was approached by Mother Goose Time to receive this month's box for free in exchange for my honest feedback!

Homeschooling With Mother Goose Time - Teaching a Toddler Numbers

Learning Numbers Has Never Been More Fun!

Since it is the 1st, Bella and I unboxed our December Mother Goose Time box! If you aren't familiar, check them out! I have also posted a video in my previous post here. This is the program I found in a desperate search for an easier way to teach my 3 year old daughter from home! I wanted something that we could do every day together for fun, that would also help her learn.

This month's theme is Winter in the Woods and is filled with tons of winter projects. Since there is a holiday this month (Christmas, of course) there was also a fun extra bundle that was Santa themed!

After our lesson, Bella begged to do the Santa Game she saw during our unboxing. Since we decorated for Christmas yesterday (and my 1 year old was asleep) I thought it would be a great idea!

As a parent of a newly turned 3 year old, I sometimes struggle with teaching her new things. I don't quite know what she is capable of and I struggle with creative teaching when it comes to numbers and letters especially. I can Pinterest topics and ideas all day, but numbers and letters constantly feel mind-numbingly repetitive. Mother Goose Time has COMPLETELY changed the way of teaching your child and that's why I absolutely love it. The creative ways they help your child learn is priceless. I'm constantly impressed with the way they give your child a gentle nudge into learning new topics and ideas.

Example: this Santa game included for free in this month's box! Synopsis: flip a number card, match the number to the number on Santa's beard, add a cotton ball to the matching number. There is also a villain who can take away cotton balls.

My training with Bella on numbers is lacking to say the least. She gets bored very easily when it comes to memorization and I haven't found something that clicked. Well today, it clicked! You have to watch this video because I am absolutely amazed. Bella could not recognize number a few weeks ago and she blew me away today! I am constantly reminded with this program of how capable Bella is, even if she seems like my baby.

 

 

 

She recognized numbers, counted the cotton balls, and subtracted cotton balls that the villain took away. My three year old did subtraction today! I'm serious you guys, I don't know what I would do without this program!

You can even download everything in the Santa's Workshop Celebration Kit for FREE through Mother Goose Time here! Merry Christmas!

*After months of being a paying customer, I was approached by Mother Goose Time to receive this month's box for free in exchange for my honest feedback!