Play School - Farm

This has been a rough week; my little guys are sick again.  I joined a fitness club with a kids' center so it seems we are on a great little routine that goes like this: one week go to the gym, next week home sick, repeat. Awesome.  So far they've just had the typical sniffles and coughs and my guys are healthy little horses so we are going to try and tough it out.  I really think going to the club is beneficial for all of us even if it means some days will be spent wiping snotty noses and watching too much TV.

On that note....we did focus on Farms for Play School this week. Since the guys were sick, particularly Monday, I decided to just let them explore their Play School box at their own pace instead of trying anything more organized.

Here's what is in the box this week.

Books:
Rock-a-Bye Farm by Diane Johnston Hamm
123 by Tucker Slingsby (part of a set)
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
First Book of Baby Farm Animals by Baby Einstein
Horseplay! by Karma Wilson
Fergus to the Rescue by Tony Maddox

Lots of books this week!  The boys are really into books right now.  Alex always has been, but for the last week or so Aaron has shown more interest than usual. Both boys love pointing to all of the pictures in the Baby Einstein animals book, it was a huge hit (from the library).  Barnyard Dance is always a favorite around here along with cute little Fergus. 123 is also very popular right now; Alex is suddenly showing interest in numbers so he really likes any counting books these days.

Activities:
I printed these great farm animal cards from 1+1+1=1 and glued each to a piece of cardstock to make them more sturdy.  I put them into a zip lock baggy inside our school box.  When the boys found the cards we laid them all out on the floor and I asked them to find me the cows, sheep, etc.

I really love this printable (and the blog behind it!), along with the animals shown it also included real animal pictures so you could do some more complex matching.  It would make for a great memory game too.  Lots of possibilities with this one.

Another thing included in the printable was these tractors.  When the boys noticed these I asked them to find the biggest and so forth and was shocked that they got them all right on the first try!  This was our first time doing any focused size sequencing so I was really impressed.  (Note: I think the tractors are actually red in the printable but my printer ink was running out!)

Other activities on hand this week are a farm puzzle and the piggy bank.  The boys are really good at puzzles now.  I am hoping to get some more for Christmas.  The piggy bank was a simple yet engaging activity for the boys.  They really enjoy fitting their coins into the slot and then shaking the piggy to get them all back.  (Our piggy bank is ceramic so I supervised this activity and I'm keeping the piggy out of reach until requested.  It has been requested several times this week, it truly is the little things that toddlers love)

Also in the box:
2 small stuffed animals (horse and dog) for pretend play and various flashcards with farm related items including vegetables and eggs... farms aren't just about animals! :)

That is about it for this week. The boys have played with their school box more than I expected this week and I'm happy to report that everyone is looking and sounding much better already today.  We'll be back to the gym next week.  Maybe it will be our lucky week and no one will bring home any germs!

This post is linked to Artsy Play Wednesday