Theme of the Day: Circle
Age: 20 months
Circle Hop
I had seen similar activities, where the child walks onto various textures placed across the floor. So I incorporated the idea into our circle unit. I found six images of common circular items, and glued them onto paper plates. "What do all of these pictures have in common," I asked her. "What shape are they?" She answered correctly, and we named what was in each picture: sun, cookie, clock, wheel, M&M and ball. "Jump on the M&M!" I'd say, and she'd run over to it and jump. "Jump on the wheel!" and so the game continued.
Originally, we did this activity in her carpeted room, and the plates slipped all over the floor. Although she fell down almost every time, she had so much fun! When we returned to it later in the day, I taped the plates onto the hardwood floor. This was definitely better, and she didn't fall down once. That is, until, we changed the game to the following: "Spin in circles on the cookie!" (See last game of the day.) She loved this game, and it was a great energy buster. I may alter it for other themes in the future.
Do-A-Dot
This seems to be a very popular activity with young children. I created my own circles in Photoshop Elements, and added white circles within each one for Honey Pot to daub with the markers. Trying to be frugal, I had her use my Bingo markers instead of buying a set of washable Do-A-Dot markers. So in her natural curious state, she tapped the top and stained her fingers. Point taken. They've been added to my Amazon wishlist. I was impressed though that she was able to daub with the markers, instead of drag them across the page as she had last time I introduced these to her. A job well done! But we'll have to work on doing it inside the white holes. :)
Does It Fit?
Remembering something I found on Pinterest, I pulled this activity together impromptu. I gathered circular items from around the house, as well as an empty toilet paper tube which, I guess I've been keeping in my craft supplies "just in case". We reviewed big and small as Honey Pot tried to drop various items into the tube. She had fun with this, and eventually created her very own Chinese Hand Trap out of it. She wore it as a bracelet too, which is actually a nice craft idea for another day!
Stacking Cheerios
The classic toddler snack is in the shape of a circle, so we had to work this into today's circle theme. I found this activity on Pinterest and thought we'd give it a try. After having Honey Pot identify which shape the Cheerios are, I had her stack them onto the spaghetti noodles. She did fine for a while, but of course they are much more fun to eat. So snack-time it became!
Spinning in Circles
What circle day would be complete without doing more of this? "Whooooa, I'm dizzyyyy!"
