For our Tot School time, we have been learning to sign with Baby Signing Time. We use lots of real life examples to reinforce what we are learning (and I do mean "we").
They love to ride the bus with Pop.
Elli is signing the word for "bus" in the left bottom picture. This is their special time with daddy once a week. (The boys go to P.E. and the younger two ride with Luke to pick up the after school kids).
We have been working on signing opposites recently. While we drive, she signs "stop" at every stop sign and red light. And "go" at the green. Between Mali and Elli, there is never a quiet moment in the car. Of course, they have to yell out stop and go while they sign. They are catching on to kinesthetic learning real well, lol. You say, you do, you hear. It clicks!
Other opposites include:
- up/down
- dirty/clean
- happy/sad
- hot/cold
- yes/no
But, let's not stop there. Every time she can think of an opposite to something, she will. She is very creative trying to think up her own too.
Signs we are learning from Volume 3: New, Day, Outside, Wind, Rain, Snow, Sun, Cloud, Sky, Tree, Grass, Flower, Leaf, Stop, Wait, Again, Go, Bug, Up, Down, Star, Moon, Good, Night.
Signs from Volume 4: Friend, Play, Share, Nice, Feel, Happy, Laugh, Sad, Cry, Hot, Cold, Yes, No, Me, You, Dirty, Clean, Apple, Pear, Carrot, Peach, Juice, Bubble, Balloon, Telephone, Music, Game.
I did manage to squeeze in one "tot school" activity ~ Jordan took apart the ceiling fan in his room and I found the hardware on the floor. I told him to put it back together (right after we use them for a small motor skill activity).
I had her screw the nuts on the bolts, but next time I will do that for her and let her unscrew them all. It was a challenge for her to thread it.
By the way, she thinks of that dress as her "official" tot school dress. It is, however, a summer dress. Which means I need to finish all the sewing I was hoping to do and make her a few new ones.
The rest of our time together this week was spent reading the books of her choosing. I can't name them all - we read several each day. My favorite ones have been Little Fur Family, by Margaret Wise Brown and My Creation Bible: Teaching Kids to Trust the Bible from the Very First Verse
, by Ken Ham.