Welcome to What’s in the Box Wednesday where I’ll be sharing my Teeny Tot boxes!
One common question I get is people asking me what I do with my Teeny Tot while we do school. Well, here’s my answer…workboxes of course! I found my Teeny Tot climbing on the older kids desks and pulling open their drawers and stealing worksheets, so I finally just gave her some boxes of her own with lots of fun colorful and SAFE stuff to get into.
I don’t refill her boxes daily, I try to change them out weekly just because I’m lazy and also she doesn’t always get into them all. But if she’s being particularly pesky I’ll grab a drawer she hasn’t done yet and give it to her.
So with that said, here’s what I put in for this week…
Go fish game: She can use the suction fishing pole to grab the fish and place them into the boat trays. All good motor skill stuff! If you have time you can say the color of each fish she grabs.
Number Peg Cards: These cards are foam and the pegs stack on top of each other and in the cards, another good motor skill game and you can count with them as they put in each peg.
Alphabet Beads and mini-ice cube tray: I found this tray at Bed Bath and Beyond and knew I could use it for something school related! Anyway, these little square beads fit nicely in each hole don’t they? (The links are to Amazon so you can see them, but I found the beads at JoAnn’s for a couple bucks and the tray at BB&B; for about $5)
Large Lacing Buttons: These are great for Teeny Tot lacing because the buttons are large enough to grab and thin enough for them to get the little shoelace string through!
Leapfrog Fridge Phonics: Okay, this one annoys me because it’s so loud, but hey, no time like the present to start learning those sounds eh?
Colorful Counting Keys: I found these keys at Lakeshore Learning, they can be sorted by type, color, size, or useful for creating patterns. The Teeny Tot just tries to get them on the keyring.
Wooden Alphabet Puzzle: She doesn’t typically put the letters in the correct spots here, but it’s a good exercise in fitting the pieces in and for whatever reason she absolutely LOVES to do this! (Sorry, I couldn’t find the exact link to this, but I’m fairly sure I picked it up at Target in the Parents Toy Section)
Color sorting bears: Everyone should have these cute little guys! They can be sorted by colors, can be used to make patterns, and for counting. My Teeny Tot just tries to sort them by color while I’m helping. On her own she just drops them into the cups and pours them back out.
Felt Strawberries: I forgot the kids chopsticks in this drawer, see is why I blog, keeps me organized LOL! Anyway, the goal is to put one strawberry in each little cup using the chopsticks, you can also use tongs which can be easier for little ones. Ps: The colorful little bowls are from Target’s kitchen section.
Dry erase board: this box also has a coloring book and a couple crayons in it. My Teeny Tot likes to pretend to write like the big kids.
Puzzle box: This drawer contains a Wooden Number Puzzle and a Melissa & Doug Magnetic Fishing Game. (Both from Target) Both good for working on motor skills and logical thinking!
Large Lacing Beads: I found these fun beads, they’re great for patterning and for the Teeny Tot they’re just plain fun and good for fine-motor skill practice. She giggles every time she gets a bead laced!
Do you have any boxes to share this week? Link up below so we can see!
i just found your blog through another blog and i love it! our little son is only 5 months old but we plan on homeschooling so I am so glad I found your blog! I love the teeny tot idea!
Thanks for all of the ideas! I'll have to get out the lacing buttons again to see of the little miss is interested now, I haven't tried them in a while.
Tip on the LeapFrog toy: Put some tape over the speaker. It tones the sound down even more than the lowest setting. If she is like my 2 girls, it's always set on the loudest setting!
Great ideas! Our 2 year old is getting a little weary of her toys but she has been enjoying just gluing pumpkins on paper for a while so that helps!
I love your idea of having all these things so well organized and am thinking I'd like to do something similar for my three year old while I homeschool my two boys. Just wondering, though, how you keep your daughter from taking out a bunch of drawers at once and mixing everything up? Do you just give her one box at a time and she's not allowed to open them herself or do you have a one drawer rule and you've just trained her to obey it even when you're not giving her your full attention? I could imagine everything being all mixed up at the end of the day and feeling a bit frustrated by needing to reorganize it all again when homeschooling time was over. 🙂
Renee: I have to laugh because sometimes she DOES pull out more than one thing and mix it all together, she's like a little walking tornado! But if she's being crazy, I'll pull out 1 box and sit with her on the floor to get her going, then I can get up and help others.She's getting the hang of doing 1 box at a time, but let's face it she's a toddler, she's a mess waiting to happen :o)At the end of each day we clean our room, everyone's responsible for their own desk area and I do the teeny tots desk, she helps clean when everyone else is doing it.
My cousin is homeschooling her kids, and she brought your website to my attention. I am a former middle school teacher who is now staying home with my two-year old and newborn daughters. I know I am going to need activities this winter to occupy (and challenge) my two-year old! You have some great ideas that I will be able to use. I “pinned” your page on my board on Pinterest so that I can refer back as needed. It links directly back to you. I am inspired, excited, and impressed by what I have seen of your work. Blessings on a new school year!
How old is your teeny tot here? I’ve been looking through your teeny tot stuff for ideas for my son and would love to know her age in these different posts.
I would also love to know how old she is in the various posts. I only have 2 kids, and my little girl, almost 3 REALLY wants to do school with her brother. He finished preschool this year, and will start Kindergarten next month. I want to include her, but I have trouble with it.