It's Halloween Season, and you've probably attended some parties already. I'm sure you're excited to dress up your kids in scary or cute costumes... Yes, the parents sometimes are the more excited ones than the kids hehe *guilty!*

But here at home, we play dress up most of the time already, and it's like halloween on most days. I've set up a Dress-up Box for my toddlers, and they just love pretend play!

It's more than just wearing different clothes, but the idea that you get to be someone or something else! 

Here are some reasons why you shouldn't pack away those halloween costumes, and start up a dress up box or cabinet too:

1. Having a dress-up box allows them to recreate scenes from everyday life, which is important in a young child's development (Social Studies). My kids love to play with their DIY kitchen and copy me when I cook. They get to be doctors, builders, bakers etc.

2. Pretend play is one of the most magical things in a child's life, and it's wonderful to see what they come up with. It allows them to imagine and create stories, explore and go on adventures... Make Believe! My little boy would often pretend he's an inventor and build "machines" or sometimes he's a superhero with his cape and mask.

3. It fosters independence. They get to choose their clothes, and dress themselves... and most of the time they want to it all by themselves! Yay!

4. It's a great parent-child bonding activity. I love joining in on their pretend plays. It's FUN! And we get to bond over picnics or pillow forts. Besides, I get to be whatever... one minute I'm a queen, and the next minute I'm a big, scary monster, RAWR!

5. It develops their language skills and vocabulary. I am amazed how my 3yo makes up stories and conversations on his own. And he's very committed to his role. One time he pretended to be a detective to solve a "mystery" (yes, he was the one who said he was solving a mystery), with a necktie, hat, magnifying glass and all.

6. Pretend play helps with their emotional development. They get to explore their different personalities and act out expressions. They pretend to cry, act surprised, be scared etc.

Now, how to start setting up a dress-up box? 

Well, just get any big box where to put clothes and accessories in. Ours is just a simple pull-out rattan box than I placed in a low shelf so it's easily accessible for the kids. If you have a big space at home, go ahead and make a whole dress-up corner, set-up a cabinet and fill it with clothes and costumes.

So what do you put in your dress-up box? It's actually pretty easy to fill up a dress-up box. Once you get started, you'll find all sorts of stuff to put in there, trust me...

What to put in your dress up box or cabinet:

• Old costumes (yes, these aren't just for halloween anymore!)
• Hats (Caps, beanies, helmets etc.)
• Masks and play glasses (sun glasses/eye glasses)
• Headbands (ex. Kitty/bunny ears) 
• Scarves and ribbons (they can use this as capes, belts, pretend tails and ropes etc.)

• Accessories: Bow ties, neck ties, belts, gloves, beaded necklaces/bracelets, bags (hand bags, small backpacks etc.)
• Occupation kits (ex. Doctor/Builder kits)
• Props: swords, shield, wands, crowns, boots, buckets/baskets etc.
• Aprons
• Jackets
• Skirts or Tutus

You can add to your dress up box as time goes by. 

Do you have a dress-up box at home? I'd love to hear what's in yours. If you don't have one yet, try it setting one up at home and see how your kids imagination start to unfold!

Hello again!

It's been a while since I posted about our homeschooling journey here. Honestly, we have been skipping most of our lessons, the ones I try to plan every week for us, mainly because we've been yaya-less (no helper/nanny) for 4 months and counting now. It's harder to keep up even with a routine, because I have my 1-year old to look after and breastfeed while also cooking and cleaning around the house. 

Nevertheless, I make sure we do our read alouds and story time before nap time, and we do some worksheets or activities at least 10-20 minutes a day. And the one thing we never forget to do is our arts and crafts time, which we all love. Yes, sometimes my 1-year old joins in, she mostly just copies her kuya, hehe.

I previously shared about our simple approach to the Letter of The Week Curriculum, and how we enjoy doing our Art projects. I have also mentioned this in my article in The Learning Basket: Learning Through Play. I admit, I may have strongly influenced my children in my love for Art as we mostly do drawings and doodles, coloring and painting, and DIY crafts. Why not? It's a lot of fun! And it serves as distraction from my work and chores, hehe...

So let me share with you our complete Letter of the Week Projects.

You may notice how we tried different media and materials, because I want it to be something new every time we do our projects. We tried:

• Painting: with q-tips, paintbrush, fingers
• Cutting and pasting
• Drawing and Coloring
• Stamping
• Lacing (particularly with letter Y)
• Crafts

Alphabet introduction: finger painting letters

I also introduced his nickname, he had fun using stamps

Letter A involved cutting and pasting

Letter B butterfly and bee

Letter C cat and caterpillar

Our dotted D dinosaurs

Our Eagle on an Egg (made from eggshells) and elephant

Letter F fence (from popsicle sticks), finger-painted frog and a fly

Letter G Garden and grass. The small g grapes made from stamping bottle caps

Letter H house and horse. Kiel had fun with the house, and played for a few minutes with it, just because he was fascinated with the flap-open windows and door

Letter I island and indian. Kiel showed his early drawing skills here, he drew Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Captain Hook

Tried out crafts this time, with our letter J jellyfish and jack-in-the-box

Letter K kite, Kiel, and kangaroo

We gathered leaves and colored over them for letter L.
And made a little lamb craft with crumpling crepe paper

Letter M mountain, moon, mouse, and monkey

Letter N night and nest. Kiel insisted on writing the labels himself, and I just helped him by spelling them out

Letter O octopus and owl

Letter P pirate and penguin

Letter Q queen and quail

Letter R rabbit and rainbow

Letter S spotted snake and seahorse, with seaweed and shells

Our watercolor tree and tiger (outlined by pens)

Letter U umbrella and Up

Letter V vegetables and vase

Letter W watermelon and worm

X is for X-ray. We made a pretend one by tracing his feet and arm, and pasted q-tips as pretend bones

For Y, we tried lacing yarn

Letter Z zebra and zigzag

Art projects help develop fine motor skills in young children, which helps them further to develop the tripod grip (pencil grasp) so they can draw and write properly.

Plus, they also develop creativity and imagination of course! Other than that, I have observed that art projects improved my child's inquisitiveness and perseverance. 

Let me end this post by sharing this beautiful quote, from The Artful Parent's page:

(Source)

Like this post? Bookmark it or Pin it for later:

Follow Lique's board Letter of the week preschool art projects on Pinterest.

Hooray for Art!

I previously shared here how we plan to start our Preschool Homeschool. 

I realized a lot of things from TLB's Workshop. I say "realized" because we weren't taught step-by-step on how to Homeschool, instead, we were enlighted as to how and why we chose or were about to choose to Homeschool our Preschoolers.

If you're thinking of homeschooling too, The Learning Basket holds a number of workshops per year, so that's a good start. Or you can just do it independently, on your own.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I did too when we we're just starting...

What is Homeschooling anyway?
Why do I need to Homeschool my child?
How do I start Homeschooling?

I cannot guarantee you that I can answer all your questions in one post, but I'll try my best...

What is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling is basically teaching your child at home. 

You can start as early as you can. You may not be aware, but you are already homeschooling your child... when you read books together, when you point out body parts, or when you listen to music. I'm sure our parents taught us at home too, since parents are our first teachers after all. It's just recently that the concept has been labelled as "Homeschooling". 

Why do I need to Homeschool my child?

There is no easier way to explain it but through this quote:

"You are your child's first and best teacher" -Mariel, The Learning Basket

I'm sure you've heard the saying that "a child's brain is like a sponge." And it's true! They pick up things easily, especially when mommy or daddy teaches them. Fostering a learning environment at home is a great way for a child to love Learning.

You don't have to have a strict schedule or have a list of lessons... Most of the time, I just play with my kids and try to incorporate lessons as we do or read aloud to them.

Another answer as to why you need to teach your child is because not all lessons are learned in school. Like how to properly brush their teeth or how to put on a button and tie their shoe laces... Yes, lessons aren't entirely about the ABCs and 123s. Also, instilling Good Values and Proper Manners come mainly from parents and not the teachers.

And finally, childhood is fleeting. Your child won't stay little for long. Cherish every moment you have while he is small :)

How do I start Homeschooling?

You can teach your child even when he is still a baby. I'm sure reading books and listening to music has been part of every parents' routine. 

And you can even learn through play...

Here are some simple things you can try at home with your child - at least this is how we started out too:

1. Read aloud to your child at least 20 minutes a day.
2. Play with Puzzles or Blocks.
3. Count everything! His toys, the buttons on his shirt, candies, rocks etc!
4. Sing along and dance to nursery rhymes.
5. Pretend Play. One day you're kings and queens ruling a castle, the next day you'll be swashbuckling pirates at sea!
6. Play with clay or have Cutting and Pasting activities. Toddlers need to strengthen their hands as practice before they learn how to hold a pen firmly.
7. Color and Paint. Even get messy sometimes with finger paint.
8. Draw. Hand a pencil and paper to a child and you'll be amazed!
9. Go outside and play! Yes, play! And then tell him about the world around him, from the blue sky, up to the green grass.
10. Make him do things by himself. Independence is an important lesson, because you can't do it for him forever!

For my 3-year old, we are following the Letter of the Week Curriculum. But I use it as a guide and improvise with lessons. My toddler likes arts and crafts more so we do those more often. I'm proud to say he has a firm grip with a pencil now and can even draw already. He can work with scissors too.

We dedicate at least 2-4 hours a day of learning activities spread throughout the day. Because even though we try to stick to a routine, it still depends on my 3-year old when he is "in the mood" to do activities. Sometimes, it depends on me too, because I am a Work at Home Mom.

I'll be sharing some of our weekly activities with you in another post :)

As for my 1-year old, we mostly do reading books and playing with blocks and puzzles. She also loves to dance when we listen to music. I'm happy to say that she also knows some baby sign language, aside from "Water" which she learned early on, she now knows "Please", "More", "Thanks You", "Pig", "Horse", "Duck". And she started talking too! Just the basic "Mama", "Dada", and "Papa" among others.

Here are some great Homeschool Resources (updated as of 11.17.15):

Kids Activities Blog - How to Homeschool Preschool and other Activities for Babies and Kids
Letter of the Week - 38 Week Curriculum
The Learning Basket - Books and Parenting Workshops
Teach with Joy - For ages 0-3 and For ages 2-4
Fun at Home with Kids - Crafts and Activities for Children
Fun2write - Printables and Work Sheets
In My World - Preschool Letter of the Week Activities
Preschool Mom - Printables and Work Sheets
Everyday I Learn Through Play - Activities for Infants and Toddlers
The Measured Mom - Tools for Teaching
Babbledabbledo - Engineering and Art for Kids
The Relaxed Homeschool - Homeschool tips and activities
Pre-K Pages - Inspiration for Early Education
Happy Hooligans - Crafts and Activities for toddlers and preschoolers
Montessori on Mars - Montessori techniques and activities
DIY Corporate Mom - Leave-behind play, After-work play and more, for the Working Mom
Teaching Mama - Learning through play activities and free printables
Fun handprint art blog - Arts and Crafts Free Printables
This Reading Mama - Free printables for reading and phonics
Toddler Approved - Crafts, Toddler Activities, and Free Printables
3 Dinosaurs - Free Printables, Gross Motor, Simple Crafts, and more
Itsy Bitsy Fun - Games, Crafts, and Printables
Easy Peasy and Fun - Activities for kids and free printables

Videos:
ABC Mouse - Phonics, Alphabet, and Stories for children
StoryBots - Educational Videos
Mother Goose Club - Nursery Rhymes and Children's Songs
Super Simple Songs - Children's Songs, Alphabet and Phonics and Educational Videos
Little Baby Bum - Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes (cute graphics too!)
Kiboomu Kids Songs - Cute graphics, Children's Songs and Educational Videos
Evan's Nanay - Tagalog Videos (like Abakada, Magbilang Tayo, and Folk Stories)

How about you? I'd love to hear your homeschooling experience!

Cheers,

When you have children, the saying "time flies fast" is an understatement. Now, I have an almost 3 year old toddler and a 1 year old little girl. Where did my babies go? I can still remember them as newborns crying for mommy all the time, ah, but time is frisky don't you think so?

My son is now a talkative, playful little tyke. And my baby girl has just mastered going down the bed and pretty soon she'll be walking around the house too.

And because we have growing toddlers already, my husband and I have talked about their schooling. Yes, they go to Kindermusik one to two times a week ever since they were about 6 months old. And their development has been outstanding. They have a liking for Music and Books, and Pretend Play among others. We love our Kindermusik classes, especially Teacher Suzette!

But what about Preschool? 

By definition, Preschool is "relating to the time in a child's life when the child is old enough to talk and walk but is not ready to go to school (Merriam-Webster)."

Either the child is not ready or the parent is (Haha. Guilty as charged).

I am a Stay-at-Home-Mom and consequently I would be my child's first teacher, right? One of my primary reasons to Stay at Home was to "be there" for my children, teach them, watch them grow...

My husband and I have been talking about Preschool over again. Thinking about the options nowadays, such as Traditional, Montessori, and the Progressive Types of Schools. Too much to think about if you ask me. In the end, you will ask about how much the tuition will be or more importantly, what will they teach my child?

ABCs? 123? Nursery Rhymes? Among other things...

(Thinking Out Loud) "Hey, I can teach my child these things!" 

That's Right! We've thought about Homeschooling our Toddler.

Actually, I believe I've already been homeschooling unconsciously.

Here are just some of my Toddler's Activities.

1. Nurture his Imagination.

I say, "Wow is that a train? Where is it going to?".
He loves to play with blocks and creates towers or trucks
or whatever he pleases, and I challenge him to do some more.

He also loves playdough. This is also great for motor skills and
gripping - an exercise for when he is ready to hold a pen.

Encourage pretend Play. In this picture, he arranged the chairs
to be his train (he just loves trains!) and his toys are passengers.

Do a little DIY. I made this "sandbox" (Rice, Oats, and Flour)
to keep him busy. Messy but it keeps him still :)
Great Sensory Activity.

 2. Foster Creativity. 

He loves painting. He learns about colors and shapes here.

Learning colors of the rainbow.

I still encourage him to use coloring books instead of the tablet or
watching TV. Still doesn't know hoe to color inside the lines
but I let him enjoy :) Keeps him busy too.

We also tried this Kahone Activity Box. It has Arts and Crafts Activities good for a month and it has a theme for the month. Know more about them HERE. Kiel enjoys Arts and Crafts :)

3. Encourage Independence.

I let him wash the dishes. He said he wanted to and
he was good the first time :)

Our little sweeper, feeling all grown up.

4. Learning through Play
As much as possible, I make it appear as if we're playing everytime I think of an activity to do. FUN makes him more engaged in the activity :)

I'm still a newbie at this, so I want to learn more about Preschool Homeschooling, so I am attending this workshop by The Learning Basket. You can go HERE to Learn about Full Details about the workshop.

I have been a follower of Mariel and Sanne's Blog and I am inspired to homeschool my kids, even just for Preschool. I expect to learn a lot of things during the workshop. They will also be having Homeschool materials for purchase such as Books and T-Mato Toys among others.

The Workshop will be on November 22, 2014 Saturday, 1:00 to 3:30 PM at Best For Families Inc., 29 1st Street New Manila, QC (Near Robinson's Magnolia).

I hope you're encouraged to homeschool your toddler too! Or do share some Homeschooling tips and experience, I'd love to hear them.

Cheers,