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Thank you so much for being an extended part of our homeschool family! We can't wait for you to visit our new home!

Blessings,
Lara

Teaching Toddlers Manners: The Napkin Game

Today's topic is how to use a napkin. You can click the picture below for a printable copy of our Napkin Game.

The instructions for the Napkin Game:

Help your toddler by playing silly with the napkin. Put it on his head, the table, the floor and have fun asking “is that where the napkin goes? If you need to say “no” because your toddler doesn’t quite grasp it yet, that’s fine.

When your toddler has a good grasp on the game, play it with them at the table during snack time. They will love it!

How to use a napkin:

After you sit down, wait for everyone else to sit down then pick up your napkin and place it on your lap. You can find your napkin either to the left of the forks, under the forks, or on the plate. In a restaurant, the napkin may be folded in a fancy way and placed on the plate or in a glass.

You don’t have to open really big napkins all the way, they are the right size when they are folded in half. Smaller napkins like you might use at lunch or tea time can be opened all the way. Don’t tuck your napkin into your shirt like a bib, this isn’t considered polite. And when you open your napkin, do it gently so it isn’t waving around like a flag. To use your napkin, gently dab it around your mouth.

If you need to be excused from the table, put your napkin in your chair, not on the table and you do not have to fold it. Don’t blow your nose in your napkin, either!

 This is part of the iHomeschool Networks Autumn Hopscotch. Visit our other Toddler Manners Posts here.

Weekly Wrap Up: Homeschool when Mom's Down

Our homeschool this week: Mom's back is out so I've been playing with photo filters and I love seeing how black and white can really change the feel of an image. I did manage to take Mr. T to see The Velveteen Rabbit at the CPVA in Newnan. It was a great show and he sat through (minus one potty break) all 50 minutes! He even waved bye bye to the bunnies.

This is major progress and for you moms with 2-3 year olds, bite the bullet and start them early WITHOUT technology. If you want your kiddos to learn how to sit still and use their big kid manners, teach them from the beginning. If you provide an iPhone at 2 and 3, at 13 you will wonder why they can't get through a church service without "entertainment". Do the hard (and sometimes embarrassing) work when they are little. If you have to get up and leave after 20 minutes, celebrate the 20 minutes and shoot for 30 next time. It will pay off!

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LEGO's! They are wonderful For speech practice, for encouraging reading, and for keeping little minds occupied while riding in the car. The creativity that these blocks bring out in children is wonderful. The DUPLO Read and Build sets are so cute and lots of fun as the story shows your little one how to build the characters!

Brothers: We have had a huge amount of sibling bonding. I would love some tips to encourage this to continue.

Family: We had family portraits made by the lovely Katie Snyder, Atlanta Photographer. Mr. F fell asleep on the way there. It was the first real family portraits we've had made since I was 7 weeks pregnant with Mr. F. They were a tad overdue. While we can't afford professional portraits all the time, I do want to be more intentional about making sure the 4 of us are photographed together more. Is there something you are trying to be more intentional about?

Phonics apps are wonderful and we got this one when it was on sale, but it is totally worth the $19.99! Phonics and Reading with McGuffey is one of Mr. T's favorite things to do on the iPad. Another great homeschool investment. There are so many great apps, I really believe it pays for itself in the workbooks and toner and paper it saves.

Mr. F is enjoying lots of fun sensory play and Montessori activities. He loves our Melissa and Doug puzzles. And playing peek a boo. Our read aloud time currently include Raggedy Andy Stories . They are so sweet and I just love reading them. The boys play quietly and I think they like the time together.

Gluten Free: We found Glutino Toaster Pasteries. GF pop tarts. Oh my! I was so exited and Mr. T loves them! Yay for a new treat!

What fun things did you do in your homeschool this week?

Sensory Bottle Fun

Mr. F is getting into everything! So I decided it was time to make him some toys of his own. I have been drinking lots of Hint water lately and the bottles are the perfect size for sensory bottles! I picked up some bells and pom poms at the craft store and gathered some clothes pins and rice at home and made him 4 sensory bottles. It cost about $2.50 not including the water, but gosh it's good water!

Mr. T is strong and curious and loves to unscrew water bottles so I added a strip of glue to the bottles before I closed them up. I don't want to clean dry rice up off the floor!

Mr. F was having so much fun! He loved them. And he played with them for a pretty good while before he moved on to other fun things like pulling himself up on the chairs, etc.

The bells were his favorite. They still are! But they do make a nice sound when he's playing with the bottles. Mr. T, however, can make them REALLY loud. If you have a toddler around, you may want to pick quieter bits to go inside your bottles.

And here Mr. F has moved on to climbing up the chair. Do you like our mat? It is supposed to face the other direction, but Mr. T prefers the face to talk to him before he goes outside :)

We are linked up here:

DIY Montessori Dusting Mitt

Mr. T loves to help Mommy clean. So I thought an easy way for him to help would be to make him his own little felt dusting mitt. I traced his hand and enlarged the outline and used that for a pattern. Next time, though, I will cut the mitten out on the fold of the fabric so it's more like an oven mitt. This one was made from odd felt scraps.

 I stitched around the outside at 1/4 inch with a blanket stitch to limit fraying when I wash it and folded up the bottom and stitched a little hem. It turned out super cute! But I forgot to get pics of Mr. T using it. Mommy has had a lot going this week, so I'll try and get some later.

The finished and adorable dusting mitt. If you make one, too, please post a link :) Enjoy!

We are linked up here:

 

Painting with Toddlers : Birdhouse Fun!

We decided to put in a butterfly garden this year. But we've started it from seed so I won't be posting pictures for a while. I got a little humming bird feeder to put out there, so what better than a bird house to finish off our little scenic area outside our living room window? I bought a birdhouse at Michael's and painted it with a pretty heavy coat of white and let that dry.

I gave Mr. T 2 brushes, 4 paint colors and free reign, with occasional help turning the birdhouse so he could get to all sides. I cannot tell you how impressed I was that my little man sat there, concentrating so diligently, for such a long time. He painted for 30 minutes, and even made the inside pretty for the birdies that decide to make this their home.

I love that he decided to use a brush in each hand instead of using separate brushes for different colors. He really got into mixing the colors on his plate, too. He was very interested in how the colors changed.

Can you see the concentration wrinkles? ;)

Telling Mommy all about the method he is using to paint. And informing me he had no desire to have his fingers cleaned. Not that that came as a surprise. He likes being messy.

Interiors must be just as pretty as exteriors. These are some lucky little birds. I couldn't get a picture of the inside, but it looks great!

Almost done! Our birdhouse is totally dry now and is so beautiful. Daddy is going to seal it for us so we can put it outside. I can't wait to show you all our butterfly and bird sanctuary when it's all grown. We are linked up here:

Water Play!

There isn't much to say about water play except that it is a lot of fun for mom and baby. Mr. T loves getting to pour, transfer, use the big ladle (we have to get a new one as he decided to share the one pictured with our lab), and cool off during the heat by sitting in the tub of water. We've had a lot of fun with this the last two weeks!

Table Setting Tray

So that place mat I made forever ago finally got pulled out to practice table setting! We got a band set for Christmas and the wooden crate it came in was a perfect fit for the mat, and I can carry the supplies we need for practicing on it no problem. We decided that since Mr. T can reach his activity table better than the kitchen table, we'd practice here first. 

Mr. T really likes puzzles so this was right up his alley! He had a ton of fun figuring out what went over which shape and then moving things around and taking everything off and starting again. I had a blast just watching him concentrate (quietly) for such a long time :)

And once everything was all put away, Mr. T decided it was time to take a ride in the tray. My little ham. What do you use to help teach your little ones how to help out around the house?

We are linked up here: