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Tagged with 'Fine Motor'

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Holiday Tinker Box

There are so many fun new materials for little hands to explore at this time of year. One of my favorite quick-to-set-up activities is to provide my preschooler with a selection of festive loose parts, a few containers or cups, and some Learning Resources, Fine Motor Tools. The freedom to explore in her way always inspires so much creative play.

Materials needed:

The Set-Up

This couldn’t be any easier to set up; simply put the materials and fine motor tools in the container! I chose to color code the loose parts and containers as an added sorting element to the tinker box. It is worth noting that, of course, if your little one still mouths items, then avoid any small loose parts in your tinker box as they could be a choking hazard. 

How the Activity Works

Tinker boxes or trays are simply an open-ended selection of materials that encourage your child to experiment and explore. There is no expected outcome or a particular way to play with the materials. Instead, the focus is more on your child having the opportunity to use each material however they wish. The really interesting thing is to see how your child combines the materials and uses them to drive their play.

When my 3-year-old opened the box, she gave the cutest little gasp. She was so excited to get her hands on all these loose parts without any restrictions.

Straight away, she set up some of the cups and started transferring materials. Moving the bells from one place to another may not seem like learning, but so many skills are being developed here.

She was working on her fine motor skills each time she moved a bell and used her senses to explore the materials and then develop a vocabulary to express what she was experiencing.

Adding fine motor tools to a setup like this helps extend the play by adding a different element of challenge. My little one experimented with if she could pick up the various loose parts with each tool. This offered an opportunity for some problem-solving. 

For example, the presents were too big to fit inside the Squeezy Tweezers, so she had to switch to using the Jumbo Tweezers. She also realized after a while that she could fit more than one bell inside the Squeezy Tweezers, which made filling the cups with bells much faster!

Due to the fact that the set contained only three colors- red, green, and gold, there was lots of focused color sorting. This led in turn to an excellent opportunity to work on some counting skills.

As she filled the cupcake liners and cups, she would count the items in. She also then spent time comparing the group sizes of each color. This is such a great early numeracy link as phrases like bigger and smaller and more than and less than were often used.

Have you ever tried using a tinker box with your child? It’s so fascinating to see how they use the materials and combine them with their imaginative play ideas. Using Learning Resources fine motor tools is a great way to extend the play and add an extra challenge to transferring the materials. So much open-ended fun!

Holiday Tinker Box

There are so many fun new materials for little hands to explore at this time of year. One of my favorite quick-to-set-up activities is to provide my preschooler with a selection of festive loose parts, a few containers or cups, and some Learning Resources, Fine Motor Tools. The freedom to explore in her way always inspires so much creative play.

Materials needed:

The Set-Up

This couldn’t be any easier to set up; simply put the materials and fine motor tools in the container! I chose to color code the loose parts and containers as an added sorting element to the tinker box. It is worth noting that, of course, if your little one still mouths items, then avoid any small loose parts in your tinker box as they could be a choking hazard. 

How the Activity Works

Tinker boxes or trays are simply an open-ended selection of materials that encourage your child to experiment and explore. There is no expected outcome or a particular way to play with the materials. Instead, the focus is more on your child having the opportunity to use each material however they wish. The really interesting thing is to see how your child combines the materials and uses them to drive their play.

When my 3-year-old opened the box, she gave the cutest little gasp. She was so excited to get her hands on all these loose parts without any restrictions.

Straight away, she set up some of the cups and started transferring materials. Moving the bells from one place to another may not seem like learning, but so many skills are being developed here.

She was working on her fine motor skills each time she moved a bell and used her senses to explore the materials and then develop a vocabulary to express what she was experiencing.

Adding fine motor tools to a setup like this helps extend the play by adding a different element of challenge. My little one experimented with if she could pick up the various loose parts with each tool. This offered an opportunity for some problem-solving. 

For example, the presents were too big to fit inside the Squeezy Tweezers, so she had to switch to using the Jumbo Tweezers. She also realized after a while that she could fit more than one bell inside the Squeezy Tweezers, which made filling the cups with bells much faster!

Due to the fact that the set contained only three colors- red, green, and gold, there was lots of focused color sorting. This led in turn to an excellent opportunity to work on some counting skills.

As she filled the cupcake liners and cups, she would count the items in. She also then spent time comparing the group sizes of each color. This is such a great early numeracy link as phrases like bigger and smaller and more than and less than were often used.

Have you ever tried using a tinker box with your child? It’s so fascinating to see how they use the materials and combine them with their imaginative play ideas. Using Learning Resources fine motor tools is a great way to extend the play and add an extra challenge to transferring the materials. So much open-ended fun!

 READ MORE

Top 10 Smart Stocking Stuffers!

Stuff their stockings with STEM! Give smart this holiday season with Learning Resources. These small-sized stocking stuffers offer up big-time impact. Here are ideas for every little boy and girl on Santa’s list: fun, educational, and creative. Good things come in STEM packages!

Pretend & Play® Tape Measure
Precisely what your budding carpenter needs for their tool belt! This rough-and-tumble tool takes accurate measurements and can withstand the toughest of pretend construction sites. When done, the tape stretches to three feet and rewinds up into its home. Get ready for everything in the house to be sized up! 

Hoot the Fine Motor Owl
Hoot, the Fine Motor Owl, peeks out from over their stocking, ready and willing to strengthen skills for preschool readiness! This fine motor toy is super colorful and comes with five bright, numbered coins. Drop those coins into the slot on top of Hoot’s head –and, using scissor skills–flap the wings. Surprise! The coins come tumbling out! Spin around Hoot’s gear-shaped eyes, or push in Hoot’s nose for a squeak. Kids practice pincer grip, shape recognition, and hand strength with this friendly, wise owl. 

Beaker Creatures® Reactor Pods
Let’s face it, and kids love to collect. And if they are gathering in the name of science? Even better! Beaker Creatures are amazing on so many levels. There are three sets of series of these mysterious marvels to collect and discover. Drop the pod into the water and watch the bubbling reaction to unearth your creature. Each fit-in-a-stocking-sized box features a mini-poster with a real-world STEM experiment. All Beaker Creatures work with Learning Resources’ playsets like the Bubbling Volcano Reactor, Alien Experiment Lab, or the Whirling Wave Reactor. Let’s grab the water and get discovering! 

Three Bear Family® Basic Counter Set
All hail color recognition and sorting with these playful bears, a part of the Three Bear Family Counters. A whopping 102 Baby Bears are in the convenient bucket (which makes for easy cleanup and storage). There’s even a little activity guide. So cute (and smart)! 

Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set™
Build those little hand muscles for the preschool set! Pre-scissor and grasping skills are practiced with the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set, prepping kiddos for writing, cutting, and more. An alligator grabber, a twisty eyedropper, a handy scooper, and squeeze-type tweezers…all useful for flexing those preschool muscles. 

Primary Science® Color Mixer
Awesome! This Color Mixer is constructed in the same sturdy manner you’ve come to know and love from Learning Resources. It’s a flask divided in half. Each side can be filled with a different colored liquid. Now tip upside down…out of the curvy straw comes the new color. Hooray for a little Christmas chemistry! 

Take 10! Shape Finder Cookies
Turn your holiday morning into game time! From the “Take 10!” Series (turn any 10 minutes into quality time) the Shape Finder Cookies builds all sorts of yummy skills. Inside the easy little to-go bin, it comes in. There are game options that include shape and color recognition. Maybe try to sharpen your skills by finding the right shape with your eyes closed. The Shape Finder Cookies is a delicious way to play whatever game you land on. 

Take 10! Color Bug Catchers
Catch these bugs before they scatter away! Quality time and meaningful play take on a crawly twist with this game. This tube fits perfectly into a stocking and is filled with creativity. There are tweezers to help snag the bugs, which helps to develop fine motor skills. Inside are instructions for games for multiple players, and everything takes under 10 minutes to play. Oh, what fun! 

Dual Lens Magnifiers
Drop one of these in every stocking this season! These handy little magnifiers are perfect for making discoveries up close. Easy to hold for little fingers, the magnifiers help kids explore indoors or outdoors with 3x or 6x magnification lenses. Would you look at that!

Top 10 Smart Stocking Stuffers!

Stuff their stockings with STEM! Give smart this holiday season with Learning Resources. These small-sized stocking stuffers offer up big-time impact. Here are ideas for every little boy and girl on Santa’s list: fun, educational, and creative. Good things come in STEM packages!

Pretend & Play® Tape Measure
Precisely what your budding carpenter needs for their tool belt! This rough-and-tumble tool takes accurate measurements and can withstand the toughest of pretend construction sites. When done, the tape stretches to three feet and rewinds up into its home. Get ready for everything in the house to be sized up! 

Hoot the Fine Motor Owl
Hoot, the Fine Motor Owl, peeks out from over their stocking, ready and willing to strengthen skills for preschool readiness! This fine motor toy is super colorful and comes with five bright, numbered coins. Drop those coins into the slot on top of Hoot’s head –and, using scissor skills–flap the wings. Surprise! The coins come tumbling out! Spin around Hoot’s gear-shaped eyes, or push in Hoot’s nose for a squeak. Kids practice pincer grip, shape recognition, and hand strength with this friendly, wise owl. 

Beaker Creatures® Reactor Pods
Let’s face it, and kids love to collect. And if they are gathering in the name of science? Even better! Beaker Creatures are amazing on so many levels. There are three sets of series of these mysterious marvels to collect and discover. Drop the pod into the water and watch the bubbling reaction to unearth your creature. Each fit-in-a-stocking-sized box features a mini-poster with a real-world STEM experiment. All Beaker Creatures work with Learning Resources’ playsets like the Bubbling Volcano Reactor, Alien Experiment Lab, or the Whirling Wave Reactor. Let’s grab the water and get discovering! 

Three Bear Family® Basic Counter Set
All hail color recognition and sorting with these playful bears, a part of the Three Bear Family Counters. A whopping 102 Baby Bears are in the convenient bucket (which makes for easy cleanup and storage). There’s even a little activity guide. So cute (and smart)! 

Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set™
Build those little hand muscles for the preschool set! Pre-scissor and grasping skills are practiced with the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set, prepping kiddos for writing, cutting, and more. An alligator grabber, a twisty eyedropper, a handy scooper, and squeeze-type tweezers…all useful for flexing those preschool muscles. 

Primary Science® Color Mixer
Awesome! This Color Mixer is constructed in the same sturdy manner you’ve come to know and love from Learning Resources. It’s a flask divided in half. Each side can be filled with a different colored liquid. Now tip upside down…out of the curvy straw comes the new color. Hooray for a little Christmas chemistry! 

Take 10! Shape Finder Cookies
Turn your holiday morning into game time! From the “Take 10!” Series (turn any 10 minutes into quality time) the Shape Finder Cookies builds all sorts of yummy skills. Inside the easy little to-go bin, it comes in. There are game options that include shape and color recognition. Maybe try to sharpen your skills by finding the right shape with your eyes closed. The Shape Finder Cookies is a delicious way to play whatever game you land on. 

Take 10! Color Bug Catchers
Catch these bugs before they scatter away! Quality time and meaningful play take on a crawly twist with this game. This tube fits perfectly into a stocking and is filled with creativity. There are tweezers to help snag the bugs, which helps to develop fine motor skills. Inside are instructions for games for multiple players, and everything takes under 10 minutes to play. Oh, what fun! 

Dual Lens Magnifiers
Drop one of these in every stocking this season! These handy little magnifiers are perfect for making discoveries up close. Easy to hold for little fingers, the magnifiers help kids explore indoors or outdoors with 3x or 6x magnification lenses. Would you look at that!

 READ MORE

Apple-tastic Sensory Bins for Preschoolers: Apple Scrub 'n Soup

I love the start of the new school year when apples, acorns, and Fall leaves fill our days of play and learning. Sensory bins are a great way to let preschoolers explore these themes while developing essential skills. In this blog series, I will share three fun and simple sensory bases for apple-themed bins, which are perfect for use in the classroom or at home. These blogs include one of our favorite Learning Resources® products this time of year, the Attribute Apples™! The set includes 27 apples sorted by five attributes, size, color, and physical features (stem, leaf, and worm). Perfect for adding a healthy splash of play and learning to a sensory bin! The second sensory bin in this series uses one of the best sensory bases of all… water! 

What you need:

  • Learning Resources® Apple Attributes 
  • Container (here, you can see us using a small dish bin from Dollar Tree, but under-bed storage containers work great for bigger groups) 
  • Water 
  • Fine motor tools (we loved using the Twisty Dropper™ and Gator Grabber Tweezers™ with this bin, both come in the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set™) 
  • A few small bowls and dishcloths for drying 

The Set-up 
Just add some water to the bin, throw in the apples, put out the tools, bowls, and dishcloth, and you are good to go! 

Serious Scrubbing! 

Any sensory bin involving water always leads to some form of scrubbing for my four-year-old. She studied the different apples and decided that she needed to give the worms inside them an extra good scrub! 

I love how the apples have so many different attributes that can be sorted. This led to lots of hands-on analysis and discussions as the scrubbing was happening with her hands and fingers. The Twisty Dropper was used lots to make little ‘apple showers.’ 

Soup Anyone?

I left this set-up very open-ended and instead of directing my preschooler towards using the materials in a certain way, I just let her choose how to use them. I was not surprised when she said she wanted to start making me some apple soup. She asked me what size bowl I’d like and what type of apples I’d like in my bowl of soup. My little one gave me recommendations and was sure to tell me to avoid the worm soup! 

Her little hands were constantly working hard, which was great for her fine motor development. We also added plenty of early numeracy language, such as numbers and sizes. It was very sweet watching her so carefully transferring the water into my soup bowl and being sure to find all the yellow apples to make it extra sweet and yummy. 

After she had served a few bowls of soup, we started to talk about how much each bowl should cost, which was another numeracy link. Then we gave all the apples a final scrub and dry, before closing the soup kitchen. I love how versatile and durable the Attribute Apples are! Next time, we will add a drop of green food coloring and some dish soap bubbles to the water. 

Writer's bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind, and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind. 

Apple-tastic Sensory Bins for Preschoolers: Apple Scrub 'n Soup

I love the start of the new school year when apples, acorns, and Fall leaves fill our days of play and learning. Sensory bins are a great way to let preschoolers explore these themes while developing essential skills. In this blog series, I will share three fun and simple sensory bases for apple-themed bins, which are perfect for use in the classroom or at home. These blogs include one of our favorite Learning Resources® products this time of year, the Attribute Apples™! The set includes 27 apples sorted by five attributes, size, color, and physical features (stem, leaf, and worm). Perfect for adding a healthy splash of play and learning to a sensory bin! The second sensory bin in this series uses one of the best sensory bases of all… water! 

What you need:

  • Learning Resources® Apple Attributes 
  • Container (here, you can see us using a small dish bin from Dollar Tree, but under-bed storage containers work great for bigger groups) 
  • Water 
  • Fine motor tools (we loved using the Twisty Dropper™ and Gator Grabber Tweezers™ with this bin, both come in the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set™) 
  • A few small bowls and dishcloths for drying 

The Set-up 
Just add some water to the bin, throw in the apples, put out the tools, bowls, and dishcloth, and you are good to go! 

Serious Scrubbing! 

Any sensory bin involving water always leads to some form of scrubbing for my four-year-old. She studied the different apples and decided that she needed to give the worms inside them an extra good scrub! 

I love how the apples have so many different attributes that can be sorted. This led to lots of hands-on analysis and discussions as the scrubbing was happening with her hands and fingers. The Twisty Dropper was used lots to make little ‘apple showers.’ 

Soup Anyone?

I left this set-up very open-ended and instead of directing my preschooler towards using the materials in a certain way, I just let her choose how to use them. I was not surprised when she said she wanted to start making me some apple soup. She asked me what size bowl I’d like and what type of apples I’d like in my bowl of soup. My little one gave me recommendations and was sure to tell me to avoid the worm soup! 

Her little hands were constantly working hard, which was great for her fine motor development. We also added plenty of early numeracy language, such as numbers and sizes. It was very sweet watching her so carefully transferring the water into my soup bowl and being sure to find all the yellow apples to make it extra sweet and yummy. 

After she had served a few bowls of soup, we started to talk about how much each bowl should cost, which was another numeracy link. Then we gave all the apples a final scrub and dry, before closing the soup kitchen. I love how versatile and durable the Attribute Apples are! Next time, we will add a drop of green food coloring and some dish soap bubbles to the water. 

Writer's bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind, and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind. 

 READ MORE
Apple-tastic Sensory Bins for Preschoolers: Digging for Fallen Apples
READ MORE
Fine Motor Friends

Fine Motor Friends for Little Learners!

Learning Resources® does an excellent job of creating products for a wide range of age groups. They focus on fine motor development for the 18 months - 4 years old age group. I have used many of these products for my children and in my preschool classroom (I teach two and 3-year-olds). In this blog, I will be sharing a little more about how I use some of my favorite fine motor Learning Resources products and their benefits to young learners.

Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog®

Spike the Hedgehog was where the fine motor journey for the 18 months plus age group started at Learning Resources. They now have 7 Spike products, ranging in color and design. The original Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog is a firm favorite with my 2s age group. The idea of Spike losing his quills and children having to put them back in his back is just the right level of fun and challenge. The colors are vibrant and lend themselves to color recognition and sorting activities. I also love how numbers are subtly written next to the holes on Spike’s back, as this opens up the opportunity for number recognition and vocabulary development. The shape of the quills enables little hands to grasp them easily, and it is no surprise to hear that toddlers love the idea of pushing the quills in and out of the holes on Spike’s back over and over again!

There is also a range of great spin-off Spike products. The Spike Puzzle Playmate has been a big hit with my preschooler, who is 4, and the two-year-olds at preschool. This one combines the excitement of matching shape pieces with the challenge of matching numbered quills. It can be fun to hide the puzzle pieces in a sensory bin as an added element of play. Another popular item is the Spike the Hedgehog Sensory Treehouse. The great thing about this product is that it naturally encourages open-ended small-world play. Children like to use the little textured hedgehogs as they would do so with small toy animals. They pretend the treehouse is their home, and they go on all sorts of fun adventures. I love seeing the collaborative play and learning that takes place! There are discussions about the shapes, patterns, and textures on the hedgehogs’ backs and numbers shown on each Hedgehog.

Dottie the Fine Motor Cow

Dottie, the Fine Motor Cow, is a fun and colorful fine motor friend who encourages pull-out and pop-in movements with five tactile dots attached to the cow. This gets little hands working hard and exposes toddlers to learning all about colors. The soft surface of the push/pull dots makes this a great starting point for fine motor play, and the fact that the actions can be repeated is also a bonus. This is an excellent option as a travel toy as there are no additional parts which, as we all know, get lost so easily!

Steggy the Fine Motor Dino

Steggy is a bright and colorful dinosaur who needs help getting his ten scales placed in his back. The scales are durable and encourage the pincer grasp to be developed. Our favorite way to extend the learning is to focus on the number order in which the scales are added. Searching for the 1-10 numbers in the correct order and then carefully organizing them on Steggy’s back can take a lot of concentration for a two or 3-year-old! We recently set up a fun ‘Search for Steggy’s Scales’ sensory bin, which involved digging the scales out of a green rice bin and then adding them to Steggy in the correct number order. We have also had some fun using the scales for color sorting activities. It helps that all of Steggy’s scales can be neatly stored inside his body when not in use.

Have you tested out any of the fine motor friends on offer by Learning Resources? Which are your favorite and why? We’d love to hear how you use them at home or in your classroom.

Writer’s Bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind, and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind.

Fine Motor Friends
Fine Motor Friends for Little Learners!

Learning Resources® does an excellent job of creating products for a wide range of age groups. They focus on fine motor development for the 18 months - 4 years old age group. I have used many of these products for my children and in my preschool classroom (I teach two and 3-year-olds). In this blog, I will be sharing a little more about how I use some of my favorite fine motor Learning Resources products and their benefits to young learners.

Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog®

Spike the Hedgehog was where the fine motor journey for the 18 months plus age group started at Learning Resources. They now have 7 Spike products, ranging in color and design. The original Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog is a firm favorite with my 2s age group. The idea of Spike losing his quills and children having to put them back in his back is just the right level of fun and challenge. The colors are vibrant and lend themselves to color recognition and sorting activities. I also love how numbers are subtly written next to the holes on Spike’s back, as this opens up the opportunity for number recognition and vocabulary development. The shape of the quills enables little hands to grasp them easily, and it is no surprise to hear that toddlers love the idea of pushing the quills in and out of the holes on Spike’s back over and over again!

There is also a range of great spin-off Spike products. The Spike Puzzle Playmate has been a big hit with my preschooler, who is 4, and the two-year-olds at preschool. This one combines the excitement of matching shape pieces with the challenge of matching numbered quills. It can be fun to hide the puzzle pieces in a sensory bin as an added element of play. Another popular item is the Spike the Hedgehog Sensory Treehouse. The great thing about this product is that it naturally encourages open-ended small-world play. Children like to use the little textured hedgehogs as they would do so with small toy animals. They pretend the treehouse is their home, and they go on all sorts of fun adventures. I love seeing the collaborative play and learning that takes place! There are discussions about the shapes, patterns, and textures on the hedgehogs’ backs and numbers shown on each Hedgehog.

Dottie the Fine Motor Cow

Dottie, the Fine Motor Cow, is a fun and colorful fine motor friend who encourages pull-out and pop-in movements with five tactile dots attached to the cow. This gets little hands working hard and exposes toddlers to learning all about colors. The soft surface of the push/pull dots makes this a great starting point for fine motor play, and the fact that the actions can be repeated is also a bonus. This is an excellent option as a travel toy as there are no additional parts which, as we all know, get lost so easily!

Steggy the Fine Motor Dino

Steggy is a bright and colorful dinosaur who needs help getting his ten scales placed in his back. The scales are durable and encourage the pincer grasp to be developed. Our favorite way to extend the learning is to focus on the number order in which the scales are added. Searching for the 1-10 numbers in the correct order and then carefully organizing them on Steggy’s back can take a lot of concentration for a two or 3-year-old! We recently set up a fun ‘Search for Steggy’s Scales’ sensory bin, which involved digging the scales out of a green rice bin and then adding them to Steggy in the correct number order. We have also had some fun using the scales for color sorting activities. It helps that all of Steggy’s scales can be neatly stored inside his body when not in use.

Have you tested out any of the fine motor friends on offer by Learning Resources? Which are your favorite and why? We’d love to hear how you use them at home or in your classroom.

Writer’s Bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind, and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind.

 READ MORE

Halloween Treat Alternatives

Need some suggestions for a cavity-free, allergy-free, calorie-free holiday? Get your creative juices flowing with these treat alternatives that are great for trick-or-treaters, classroom parties, special friends, and more!

Keep an eye out

Think outside of the candy aisle and browse all around the stores you visit. Any small, affordable toy, like yo-yos, bouncy balls, and bubbles, will put a smile on kids' faces.

Let the fun continue.

Small costume elements like fake mustaches, vampire teeth, tattoos, and spider rings let kids continue dressing up, and celebrating long after Halloween is just a memory.

Cook up a witch's brew

Offer up your non-food treats with a little dramatic flair! Fill a plastic witch's cauldron with cute and creepy bug toys for trick-or-treaters. For extra eeriness, drop a couple of glow sticks at the bottom of your cauldron and stir it with a skeleton hand. Or make a party game of it by having kids use grabbers to pick up a "nasty" centipede or spider without touching it.

Practical Magic

When the spooktacular night is over, life goes back to normal. But useful items like Halloween-themed pencils, erasers, bookmakers, and other school supplies allow the experience to linger a little longer.

Add lights and sound

Add spooky chills to your party with Buzzers that make all sorts of silly sounds or recordable howls and screeches. Also, consider giving out kazoos, clackers, and glow-in-the-dark bracelets so kids can be seen and heard in the dark!

 

Put out a teal pumpkin

Let trick-or-treaters and their parents know that you have treat alternatives that are safe for kids with food allergies by placing teal-painted pumpkins on your porch or by your front door. Learn more here. Our assortment of counters are an excellent alternative for candy, as well! 

Don't be surprised if your house becomes one of the most popular destinations every year!

 

 

 

Halloween Treat Alternatives

Need some suggestions for a cavity-free, allergy-free, calorie-free holiday? Get your creative juices flowing with these treat alternatives that are great for trick-or-treaters, classroom parties, special friends, and more!

Keep an eye out

Think outside of the candy aisle and browse all around the stores you visit. Any small, affordable toy, like yo-yos, bouncy balls, and bubbles, will put a smile on kids' faces.

Let the fun continue.

Small costume elements like fake mustaches, vampire teeth, tattoos, and spider rings let kids continue dressing up, and celebrating long after Halloween is just a memory.

Cook up a witch's brew

Offer up your non-food treats with a little dramatic flair! Fill a plastic witch's cauldron with cute and creepy bug toys for trick-or-treaters. For extra eeriness, drop a couple of glow sticks at the bottom of your cauldron and stir it with a skeleton hand. Or make a party game of it by having kids use grabbers to pick up a "nasty" centipede or spider without touching it.

Practical Magic

When the spooktacular night is over, life goes back to normal. But useful items like Halloween-themed pencils, erasers, bookmakers, and other school supplies allow the experience to linger a little longer.

Add lights and sound

Add spooky chills to your party with Buzzers that make all sorts of silly sounds or recordable howls and screeches. Also, consider giving out kazoos, clackers, and glow-in-the-dark bracelets so kids can be seen and heard in the dark!

 

Put out a teal pumpkin

Let trick-or-treaters and their parents know that you have treat alternatives that are safe for kids with food allergies by placing teal-painted pumpkins on your porch or by your front door. Learn more here. Our assortment of counters are an excellent alternative for candy, as well! 

Don't be surprised if your house becomes one of the most popular destinations every year!

 

 

 

 READ MORE

Spooky Sorting Trays

Sorting activities are such a great way to develop those all important fine motor skills when Building Someone Amazing. The small muscles in their hands are worked hard when grasping and releasing small manipulatives, and also when using fine motor tools. I love putting together simple sorting trays for my 3 year old. They are easy to set up but keep her engaged, and also provide the opportunity to work on colors, numbers and even literacy too. In this blog we are sharing three fun sorting trays which have a spooky twist ready for Halloween. The trays we use are lunch trays from Dollar Tree, the pumpkins and cauldrons are from Party City, and the erasers are from Target and Dollar Tree.

Big Pumpkin, Little Pumpkin: Sorting by Size

Sorting by size is a great way to start your child with these kinds of activities. We kept things really simple and used a large pumpkin pot and a small pumpkin pot. On the tray there were large pumpkin erasers and small pumpkin erasers. My little one referred to them as Mommy and Baby pumpkins!

I always like to include a fine motor tool with sorting trays but it’s worth mentioning that I never force my daughter to use it. Sometimes she just dives straight in and uses her hands to pick up the manipulatives, other times she will use the tool. Both ways are great for her fine motor skills! Here you can see she attempted to use the Tri-Grip Tongs for the entire activity which was great. This tool is a twist on traditional tongs because it has a third prong and encourages the child to coordinate more muscles to grasp the manipulative.

My little one happily sorted the small pumpkins into the small pot, as well as the big pumpkins into the big pot. Once she was done we took the activity a little further and counted how many of each type we had, as well as how many pumpkins in total there were.

Purple Orange Green, Which Color Have you Seen: Sorting by Color

I added a dot sticker to the handles of our mini cauldrons to create this fun sorting by color activity. My daughter enjoyed all of the different spider and skull erasers, and spent her time carefully picking out the colors.

The Squeezy Tweezers™ are one of our favorite fine motor tools. They are really easy to use and are the perfect combination of a tweezer and scooper. The mini erasers were just the right size to fit inside the scoop! Once my daughter had finished sorting the erasers by color, she emptied each color cauldron and then sorted the type of eraser within each color collection. This was a great way to extend the fine motor fun, as well as sneaking in some numeracy.

Pumpkin or Witch: Sorting by Type

This one required a little more processing which meant there was more challenge in the activity for my 3 year old. She actually ended up liking it the most because she got to talk so much about witches and cats. There were Primary Science Jumbo Tweezers® available for her to use on the tray which was great for encouraging her pincer grasp.

Her task was to sort the erasers into witch themed ones which went in the cauldron pot, and pumpkin themed ones which went in the pumpkin pot. There was lots of conversation about where the cat erasers should go, with my little one making the valid point that maybe cats like to eat pumpkins. Then she remembered that the witch in one of her favorite books, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, had a pet cat. I love when activities prompt in depth discussions like this.

Do you have a favorite way to set up sorting activities? I’ve always found that using a tray of some sort helps to keep the activity area organized and therefore the activity itself a little more structured. These little erasers made for the perfect slightly spooky manipulatives, but sorting can be done with so many things, even everyday items such as buttons, or natural items such as leaves and rocks.

Spooky Sorting Trays

Sorting activities are such a great way to develop those all important fine motor skills when Building Someone Amazing. The small muscles in their hands are worked hard when grasping and releasing small manipulatives, and also when using fine motor tools. I love putting together simple sorting trays for my 3 year old. They are easy to set up but keep her engaged, and also provide the opportunity to work on colors, numbers and even literacy too. In this blog we are sharing three fun sorting trays which have a spooky twist ready for Halloween. The trays we use are lunch trays from Dollar Tree, the pumpkins and cauldrons are from Party City, and the erasers are from Target and Dollar Tree.

Big Pumpkin, Little Pumpkin: Sorting by Size

Sorting by size is a great way to start your child with these kinds of activities. We kept things really simple and used a large pumpkin pot and a small pumpkin pot. On the tray there were large pumpkin erasers and small pumpkin erasers. My little one referred to them as Mommy and Baby pumpkins!

I always like to include a fine motor tool with sorting trays but it’s worth mentioning that I never force my daughter to use it. Sometimes she just dives straight in and uses her hands to pick up the manipulatives, other times she will use the tool. Both ways are great for her fine motor skills! Here you can see she attempted to use the Tri-Grip Tongs for the entire activity which was great. This tool is a twist on traditional tongs because it has a third prong and encourages the child to coordinate more muscles to grasp the manipulative.

My little one happily sorted the small pumpkins into the small pot, as well as the big pumpkins into the big pot. Once she was done we took the activity a little further and counted how many of each type we had, as well as how many pumpkins in total there were.

Purple Orange Green, Which Color Have you Seen: Sorting by Color

I added a dot sticker to the handles of our mini cauldrons to create this fun sorting by color activity. My daughter enjoyed all of the different spider and skull erasers, and spent her time carefully picking out the colors.

The Squeezy Tweezers™ are one of our favorite fine motor tools. They are really easy to use and are the perfect combination of a tweezer and scooper. The mini erasers were just the right size to fit inside the scoop! Once my daughter had finished sorting the erasers by color, she emptied each color cauldron and then sorted the type of eraser within each color collection. This was a great way to extend the fine motor fun, as well as sneaking in some numeracy.

Pumpkin or Witch: Sorting by Type

This one required a little more processing which meant there was more challenge in the activity for my 3 year old. She actually ended up liking it the most because she got to talk so much about witches and cats. There were Primary Science Jumbo Tweezers® available for her to use on the tray which was great for encouraging her pincer grasp.

Her task was to sort the erasers into witch themed ones which went in the cauldron pot, and pumpkin themed ones which went in the pumpkin pot. There was lots of conversation about where the cat erasers should go, with my little one making the valid point that maybe cats like to eat pumpkins. Then she remembered that the witch in one of her favorite books, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, had a pet cat. I love when activities prompt in depth discussions like this.

Do you have a favorite way to set up sorting activities? I’ve always found that using a tray of some sort helps to keep the activity area organized and therefore the activity itself a little more structured. These little erasers made for the perfect slightly spooky manipulatives, but sorting can be done with so many things, even everyday items such as buttons, or natural items such as leaves and rocks.

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5 Homeschooling Favorites

Back to school is looking different for everyone, whether you are fully online, in-person, or a little bit of both. Learning Resources has you covered, we picked some of our favorite products that can help you elevate your student’s learning. This list contains five products that can be used together or separately in the classroom! As you use these products, you and your little ones will continually find new ways to use them.  

Translucent Geometric Shapes  

Using our Translucent Geometric Shapes, there are different exercises from sorting and classifying, identifying the shape, building, fractions, geometry, and more! The different angles of certain pieces allow for introduction an introduction to right, obtuse, and acute angles. This comprehensive geometry set includes fourteen different shapes in seven colors! Relational shapes are perfect for combining small shapes to form larger shapes in multiple ways. This set also features circles in whole, half and quarter increments, which open engaging avenues for fraction exploration. Encourage students to classify and sort the shapes by attribute, such as number of sides, number of angles, straight sides, curved sides, and so on. Have your students 

Shapes Don't Bug Me 

In conjunction with our Translucent Geometric Shapes, the Shapes Don't Bug Me set is bound to be a classroom favorite. Pieces are relational and translucent, so the creative opportunities are endless! Crawling in the garden or buzzing through the park, bold buggy shapes bring geometry out of the dark! Become an artist of geometry with Shapes Don’t Bug Me while learning that math can be as fun as a summer day. The best part about these shapes, is that they can be sanitized in between uses.  

Big Time Student Clock 

The Big Time Student Clock is a great way to help kids grasp time skills. Besides the fact that it is super fun to play with, hands-on, and will get them excited about telling time, it will also help them learn how a clock works, where the numbers are, and what order they go in. Teaching time can also be done in everyday conversations, have your student move the clock handles to 12:30 and explain that lunch is at that time. Telling time can be fun and the Big Time Student Clock is ready to play! 

Lights and Sounds Buzzers 

Kids will light up when they reach for the Lights and Sounds Buzzers. The lights and sounds answer buzzers get little ones giggling and imitating these silly sounds just press to listen add buzzers to any lesson for some extra fun. These buttons are great for teaching patience while waiting for their turn. The buttons include the following sounds: a siren, game-show buzzer, laser and voice saying, "Charge". 

Patterned Hand Pointers 

These engaging hand pointers are the perfect way to liven up any lesson plan-and encourage students to get excited about learning. These pointers draw student attention and interest and provides positive behavioral intervention. Patterned Hand Pointers show up sharply against light-colored surfaces, but works equally as well on pocket charts, word walls and more!  

5 Homeschooling Favorites

Back to school is looking different for everyone, whether you are fully online, in-person, or a little bit of both. Learning Resources has you covered, we picked some of our favorite products that can help you elevate your student’s learning. This list contains five products that can be used together or separately in the classroom! As you use these products, you and your little ones will continually find new ways to use them.  

Translucent Geometric Shapes  

Using our Translucent Geometric Shapes, there are different exercises from sorting and classifying, identifying the shape, building, fractions, geometry, and more! The different angles of certain pieces allow for introduction an introduction to right, obtuse, and acute angles. This comprehensive geometry set includes fourteen different shapes in seven colors! Relational shapes are perfect for combining small shapes to form larger shapes in multiple ways. This set also features circles in whole, half and quarter increments, which open engaging avenues for fraction exploration. Encourage students to classify and sort the shapes by attribute, such as number of sides, number of angles, straight sides, curved sides, and so on. Have your students 

Shapes Don't Bug Me 

In conjunction with our Translucent Geometric Shapes, the Shapes Don't Bug Me set is bound to be a classroom favorite. Pieces are relational and translucent, so the creative opportunities are endless! Crawling in the garden or buzzing through the park, bold buggy shapes bring geometry out of the dark! Become an artist of geometry with Shapes Don’t Bug Me while learning that math can be as fun as a summer day. The best part about these shapes, is that they can be sanitized in between uses.  

Big Time Student Clock 

The Big Time Student Clock is a great way to help kids grasp time skills. Besides the fact that it is super fun to play with, hands-on, and will get them excited about telling time, it will also help them learn how a clock works, where the numbers are, and what order they go in. Teaching time can also be done in everyday conversations, have your student move the clock handles to 12:30 and explain that lunch is at that time. Telling time can be fun and the Big Time Student Clock is ready to play! 

Lights and Sounds Buzzers 

Kids will light up when they reach for the Lights and Sounds Buzzers. The lights and sounds answer buzzers get little ones giggling and imitating these silly sounds just press to listen add buzzers to any lesson for some extra fun. These buttons are great for teaching patience while waiting for their turn. The buttons include the following sounds: a siren, game-show buzzer, laser and voice saying, "Charge". 

Patterned Hand Pointers 

These engaging hand pointers are the perfect way to liven up any lesson plan-and encourage students to get excited about learning. These pointers draw student attention and interest and provides positive behavioral intervention. Patterned Hand Pointers show up sharply against light-colored surfaces, but works equally as well on pocket charts, word walls and more!  

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4 Simple DIY Sorting Activities with Counters

4 Simple DIY Sorting Activities with Counters

Counters are a great way to encourage toddlers and preschoolers to develop their sorting skills. In this blog we are sharing four quick and easy ways to set up sorting activities with just a few basic materials.

  • Set of counters (we used our favorite Learning Resources All About Me Family Counters)
  • A4 white paper or card
  • Markers (black, red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange)
  • Dot markers (red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange)
  • Ruler

 

Why is Sorting Important?

Before we get into the details about the activities, it’s important to point out that sorting activities offer a huge host of learning opportunities for toddlers and preschoolers. They may seem simple, but your little one is developing a range of skills when working with counters. For example, their little hands are constantly moving which is helping their fine motor skills to develop (these skills are key for writing as they get older). They will also have the opportunity to explore counting and use number vocabulary, as well as color recognition and vocabulary development. For my 3 year old, sorting activities often also lead to imaginative play, especially when she uses her family counters. 

How to Set Up the Activities

The great thing about making DIY sorting activities is that they take a matter of minutes to set up. Be sure to prep the sorting sheets before inviting your child to take part or else you risk them losing interest waiting for the activity to be ready. Simply use markers to draw out sorting sheets like the ones in the photo. Carefully consider your child’s passions and try to incorporate them into your sorting sheets. My toddler loves putting the family counters into homes, hence I made the houses sheet. She also really enjoys sorting by color and lining up her toys.  

Activity 1: Walk the Line to Meet a Friend

Whenever my little one plays with these counters she always likes to make them be friends. I drew some dotted lines in black marker and put the same kind of counter at each end of the line. I invited her to walk one of the counters along the line to meet their friend. This was great for her fine motor skills as she had to manipulate the counters around the different shapes of the lines. She also demonstrated color vocabulary, chatting away about how the red cat was walking along to meet the yellow cat. There was lots of imagination creating little personalities for the characters in her play too. 

Activity 2: Family Homes

For this one, I drew six different colored houses and then gave each house a number. My daughter enjoyed sorting the correct number of family counters into the correct colored home. There was an element of problem-solving for this one too because the houses were not big enough to fit too many large counters in. She carefully had to figure out the best combination of counters to fit in the house. I was sure to encourage as much talking as she did to support her vocabulary development. Once she had finished sorting, she then wanted to enjoy sending some of the counters to different houses for playdates. 

Activity 3: Colorful Stepping Stones

Dot markers are a great way to quickly add colorful sorting marks to a piece of paper. Here I added different colored dots to the page and told my toddler that they were colorful stepping stones. She added the correct counters onto the stepping stones (she would make them jump on, with ‘boing’ sound effects of course). I intentionally also worked in some numeracy by adding 1-6 dots instead of all the same number of dots for each color. That way my daughter could count as she placed the family counters on the dots and each time she was reaching a different number.  

Activity 4: Color Lines

This one is super simple but is always enjoyed. Just draw outlines in the different colored markers and invite your little one to line up the counters on the correct color of the line. I didn’t give my daughter specific instructions as I wanted her to have some choice. I thought she would try and line them up standing along the line, but she chose to make them lie down. This was another great way to work on her fine motor skills, as well as getting her to think about the size. She realized that the ‘Mummy and Daddy’ counters were much bigger than the ‘baby’ counters. She started to plan which order she would add them in and enjoyed trying to get them perfectly lined up. 

A Few Tips

I always find that my toddler responds better to activities like these when she has some choice. I presented her with the four sorting sheets and let her choose which order to do them in. I also provided her with all of the counters so that she had the freedom to choose which counters to use. If you are doing these with a younger child try to just focus on one simple aspect when sorting, for example color or size. If working with an older child you can make the activity more challenging by combining several aspects of sorting, for example, color and number, or size and color.My final tip is to encourage your child to also enjoy making their own sorting sheets. I always leave out the art supplies to allow my daughter the opportunity to make her own sorting sheet. This encourages engagement, and also introduces more creativity and fine motor skill work as well. Do you have a favorite way to sort counters? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments! Explore other Learning Resources counting toys and counting ideas as well.

4 Simple DIY Sorting Activities with Counters
4 Simple DIY Sorting Activities with Counters

Counters are a great way to encourage toddlers and preschoolers to develop their sorting skills. In this blog we are sharing four quick and easy ways to set up sorting activities with just a few basic materials.

  • Set of counters (we used our favorite Learning Resources All About Me Family Counters)
  • A4 white paper or card
  • Markers (black, red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange)
  • Dot markers (red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange)
  • Ruler

 

Why is Sorting Important?

Before we get into the details about the activities, it’s important to point out that sorting activities offer a huge host of learning opportunities for toddlers and preschoolers. They may seem simple, but your little one is developing a range of skills when working with counters. For example, their little hands are constantly moving which is helping their fine motor skills to develop (these skills are key for writing as they get older). They will also have the opportunity to explore counting and use number vocabulary, as well as color recognition and vocabulary development. For my 3 year old, sorting activities often also lead to imaginative play, especially when she uses her family counters. 

How to Set Up the Activities

The great thing about making DIY sorting activities is that they take a matter of minutes to set up. Be sure to prep the sorting sheets before inviting your child to take part or else you risk them losing interest waiting for the activity to be ready. Simply use markers to draw out sorting sheets like the ones in the photo. Carefully consider your child’s passions and try to incorporate them into your sorting sheets. My toddler loves putting the family counters into homes, hence I made the houses sheet. She also really enjoys sorting by color and lining up her toys.  

Activity 1: Walk the Line to Meet a Friend

Whenever my little one plays with these counters she always likes to make them be friends. I drew some dotted lines in black marker and put the same kind of counter at each end of the line. I invited her to walk one of the counters along the line to meet their friend. This was great for her fine motor skills as she had to manipulate the counters around the different shapes of the lines. She also demonstrated color vocabulary, chatting away about how the red cat was walking along to meet the yellow cat. There was lots of imagination creating little personalities for the characters in her play too. 

Activity 2: Family Homes

For this one, I drew six different colored houses and then gave each house a number. My daughter enjoyed sorting the correct number of family counters into the correct colored home. There was an element of problem-solving for this one too because the houses were not big enough to fit too many large counters in. She carefully had to figure out the best combination of counters to fit in the house. I was sure to encourage as much talking as she did to support her vocabulary development. Once she had finished sorting, she then wanted to enjoy sending some of the counters to different houses for playdates. 

Activity 3: Colorful Stepping Stones

Dot markers are a great way to quickly add colorful sorting marks to a piece of paper. Here I added different colored dots to the page and told my toddler that they were colorful stepping stones. She added the correct counters onto the stepping stones (she would make them jump on, with ‘boing’ sound effects of course). I intentionally also worked in some numeracy by adding 1-6 dots instead of all the same number of dots for each color. That way my daughter could count as she placed the family counters on the dots and each time she was reaching a different number.  

Activity 4: Color Lines

This one is super simple but is always enjoyed. Just draw outlines in the different colored markers and invite your little one to line up the counters on the correct color of the line. I didn’t give my daughter specific instructions as I wanted her to have some choice. I thought she would try and line them up standing along the line, but she chose to make them lie down. This was another great way to work on her fine motor skills, as well as getting her to think about the size. She realized that the ‘Mummy and Daddy’ counters were much bigger than the ‘baby’ counters. She started to plan which order she would add them in and enjoyed trying to get them perfectly lined up. 

A Few Tips

I always find that my toddler responds better to activities like these when she has some choice. I presented her with the four sorting sheets and let her choose which order to do them in. I also provided her with all of the counters so that she had the freedom to choose which counters to use. If you are doing these with a younger child try to just focus on one simple aspect when sorting, for example color or size. If working with an older child you can make the activity more challenging by combining several aspects of sorting, for example, color and number, or size and color.My final tip is to encourage your child to also enjoy making their own sorting sheets. I always leave out the art supplies to allow my daughter the opportunity to make her own sorting sheet. This encourages engagement, and also introduces more creativity and fine motor skill work as well. Do you have a favorite way to sort counters? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments! Explore other Learning Resources counting toys and counting ideas as well.

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