Wishlist Wednesday

I could seriously spend hours at Barnes and Noble.  I love bookstores!  I love browsing....something I don't get to do often enough with Gavin in tow.  B&N has an awesome children's area.  Gavin does love going to play with the train table and I love that the activity-type books are right there for me to browse and get ideas from.  There are so many books I've added to my 'wishlist' that I decided to come home and look at reviews for.  If you have used any of these books, I'd love to get your input!

Click on the title to see the book:
Take It To Your Seat Phonics Centers
My First Brain Quest
Get Ready for Pre-K
First Art

Wishlist Wednesday

I'm stealing  borrowing my sister's idea. :)  But, instead of etsy items on my wishlist, I'm going to start keeping a list of things I wish I had that I could use for activities with Gavin.  As I've been adding more and more blogs to my blog list, I'm finding tons of great activities that I could do with him, if I had the right materials.  I decided I need to keep a list of them, because let's face it: my brain doesn't work the way it did pre-baby.  {You know how when you're pregnant people say you have 'baby brain' and that's it's ok that you forget things?  Well, it's not ok, because it never goes away...my baby is 27 months old!}  A ton of ideas I get I could definitely do if I had access to all my teaching stuff, but that's all stored in my parents' garage.  Mental note to self: try to look through that stuff over Thanksgiving. 

1. Bean bags - I saw a cute idea on I Can Teach My Child with a bean bag toss and can think of several ways to use the game, but I need bean bags. 
2. Magnifying glass - Gavin loves investigating things with his flashlight, I know he'd love to look at things with a magnifying glass.
3. Feathers - the different sensory and craft ideas I could do....so exciting!
4. A felt board - I've thought about making one of these....maybe I'll have to keep my eye out for a sale on bulletin boards and felt.  But, I could do so much with a felt board.

See - I already can't think of so many things I once wanted.  Good thing I started this list! 
What are some things you use for crafts and educational activities for your toddler/preschooler?  I'd love to add to my list.  Add your ideas in the comment section!

Making Play Educational

Ok, so it's the teacher in me....what can I say??? I'm always trying to find ways to make what Gavin's doing more educational. Well, recently he climbed up on a chair and got the grilling tongs that I'd just washed off the kitchen counter and was so fascinated by them. I let him play around with them for a little while, but then decided to get into "teacher mode" and showed him how to use the tongs to pick up blocks and drop them in the basket. He was so focused!

After a while, he started to get frustrated. He could get the block in the tongs, but about half of the time he'd drop it before getting to the basket. So, I switched out his tool and gave him a large spoon and he scooped the blocks up for a little while.

So much fun doing something so simple....who would have thought? I'm thinking that in the fall I'll start doing some "preschool homeschooling" type activities with him since we won't be sending him to preschool for another year or so.