So it looks like Tooky Toy wooden play sets have reformed my tech crazy boys…
Aidan and Caleb don’t spend the whole day stuck to the TV or their tablets, they get out, they play in the dirt and cause a whole lot of trouble. However, when it comes to their toys, only buttons and batteries need apply… Until now
Aidan received the Tooky Toy Pattern Pegs and The Construction Builder Set from Baby Womb World to review and it was love at first sight (and naturally he needed to share with his cousin)… His obsession with these wooden toys are a pleasant surprise from the kid who wants to shove batteries in his plush toys so they can “do something”.
Today I’m adding Koosh Toosh to the prize bag, you’re welcome. For those who don’t know what they are thankful for, allow me to introduce you to a local(Port Elizabeth based) kids decor/accessories company that is already making waves despite only being in business for a few months.
What nonsense am I speaking about? Do I really think my child is no longer cute? Well yes
And no… He is my child he is the most attractive kid ever since ever. He has the curliest hair and biggest eyes and most perfect skin(we all think our kids are beautiful it’s ingrained in our subconscious. We are in awe of them – then sometimes we see photos of them when they were younger and realise we were wearing “mom goggles” – so you would be hard pressed to find a parent who didn’t think their kid was beautiful. In fact your mom probably still thinks your grownup self is sooo beautiful) . But this isn’t about attractiveness NOPE this is about that Awwww factor babies have and let’s face it my child is no longer cute….
Today’s craft is super easy – like ridiculously so- but also super useful
Colourful “pebbles” which can be used for counting, tracing letters and shapes, playing tic-tac-toe and sorting (anything really).
I first came up with the idea when I noticed Aidan playing with the decorative stones in a candle holder I have at home.
In all honesty actual reading isn’t on top of my priority list at the moment, well not for Aidan at least.
He will be three soon and I don’t expect him to be reciting sonnets, but I do want him to love books and reading. There is something so special/magical/uplifting about being able to immerse yourself in the written word. Also you can then use sentences like “immerse yourself in the written word” quite successfully-hehe.
Right now I’m working on helping Aidan recognise letters of the alphabet, he is pretty much only interested in the letter A because A is for Aidan.
Here are 6 tips/games I’m using to get Aidan more interested in the other letters…
– I let him trace the letters using colourful stones or beads
– We play a treasure hunting game where we collect pictures (he loves taking pics) of objects that start with a specific letter… ants, apples, antelope (we don’t have antelope or artichokes) he suggested a picture of himself and of this blonde haired Aidan he met once.
– I let him go through my old magazines with a highlighter looking for specific letters
– I let him colour/paint/collage (you know this means tear off paper and haphazardly glue onto letter right?) the letter of the week
– I use things like scabble or bananagram tiles and have him pick out the letter of the week
– At the end of the week I want to give him a felt letter signaling that he knows that letter now (just thought of that now-don’t you just hate me… we are heading to C now so I better get working on that)
We also read pretty regularly, very regularly. The Kid’sBookClub means we are building quite the collection. The service gives you the chance to build up a library that grows with your kid at the steal of R145 per month. That is two books and two magazines which is AWESOME.
Any more tips on raising a reader???? DO SHARE!
