Modifying Schoolwork for the Eager Toddler

Some toddlers are satisfied with playing with toys while their older siblings work hard on schoolwork.  Not MBug (currently 27 months).  From an early age, she let me know that she was willing to do anything her brothers did.

And when I forgot to prepare schoolwork for her, she was there (holding onto my legs, whining the entire time) to let me know she was ready to work as well.

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Lately, she’s especially been drawn to the new PreK reading curriculum I’m writing for my 3 year old called Reading the Alphabet. So I thought I’d show how I’m modifying it (and pulling in other great resources) for her.

As we’re doing these activities, she hears me talking with NJoy about letter names and sounds. Plus, she’s gaining literacy vocabulary with our read alouds and other activities.

Coloring, Coloring, and More Coloring

This little girl LOVES to color.

So, I print off the black and white version of the book, letter cards, & cut and pattern cards whenever I can.

She goes to town coloring.

I also print off two of the tracer pages from my lessons, slide them into plastic sleeve protectors, and she colors with our new WASHABLE Crayola dry erase markers (these were a God-send).  Or I use one of Erica’s Letter of the Week tracing pages (like the F one above).  She keeps her pages in her Handwriting Notebook, just like big brother.

Adapting Printables

Both NJoy and MBug enjoy the sight word poke pages, so I give her a toothpick or large pushpin and she pokes her holes, too (so will ALuv).

While NJoy does his Number do-a-dot pages with 11-20, I either give her my 1-10 page, also on each download, or I print off one of Erica’s Letter of the Week do-a-dot pages (like you’ll find here).

As NJoy glues down his rhyming pictures onto his mat, I print off Jolanthe’s Cut and Paste letter sheets and she does these.

NJoy works on his sight word mazes and MBug does Carisa’s letter maze for the letter we’re working on.

This particular week, she used pom poms to cover the p’s. Then she colored all over it with pink marker.

Pocket Chart Fun

The pocket chart is one area I haven’t figured out with her quite, yet. She wants to help, but her “help” isn’t taken too well by a certain older brother.  Lately, I’ve given her the iPad while NJoy and I build his sentences. But after we’re done, all is fair in homeschool pocket chart manipulatives.  She goes at them. Sometimes, I’ll switch them out for her ABC Pocket Chart Inserts, but she enjoys “reading” and messing up the work her big brother has done.

Letter-Themed Manipulatives

Each week, I pull manipluatives and toys to correspond with the letter of the week.  NJoy has 4 activities a day. I usually give him a break after the first two and before the next two.  He “plays” with these manipulatives and she will sit and do these, too.

For example, for the letter P, I pulled out the piggy bank with pennies, various puzzles, and sorting pom-poms into the ice trays. All of these manipulatives are from Target’s $1 bin…I raid it almost every time I go!  The $1 store is another great place to go.

Letter-Themed Read Alouds

I also pull books from our home “library” each week that match the letter in some way.  The public library is also a good place to find these (I’m ashamed to admit I don’t use ours as often as I should).  She likes looking through these with NJoy, especially after I’ve read them aloud.  The ones in the picture are the books I pulled for the letter M (will post tomorrow).

You can also view all the posts and printables I made for NJoy to go with each letter of the week when he was 2-3 years old here.

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~Becky