DIY Shavuos Flower Manipulatives!!

Wow! Har Sinai was so beautiful… all covered with flowers when Bnei Yisrael received the Torah. For the Shavuos Unit, we use these colorful flower manipulatives. They are extremely inexpensive, super easy to make and endless activities to do.

In order to do it yourself, you need to run to your local dollar store and get a FLOWER shaped swimming noodle. You’ll see they come in various shapes, colors and sizes. I picked up some with the flower shape in assorted colors. When the children are not around, using a knife and cutting board, cut the noodle about one inch apart. With just one noodle, you get so many manipulatives! I have them scattered all around the house… too many!

Here are some activities that you can do with your Little Ones and I’m sure you can come up with so many more!

Classifying - Color Sorting

I placed color tape down on the table making four boxes. I laid a different color flower on each box. Then, I gave my Little One a container full of mix colorful flowers and ask her to sort them according to the color.

Counting

On a piece of paper, I wrote numbers 1-3. Then, right over each number we piled up the corresponding amount of flowers.

Completing a Pattern

I started a pattern using two different color flowers and ask my Little One to complete it. We are just starting with patterns, but if your child is more advance you can use more colors and/or alternations.  

We are going to be using the DIY Shavuos manipulatives to make some crafts too! Come back and visit us to see what we are busy making! Im sure you wouldn’t want to miss out.

Have a Good Shabbos,

Wait! Don't Trow Away Those Macaroon Tins! (Part I)

I must admit we've been eating plenty of Matzah and Macaroons the past few days. When I was younger, we had chocolate and just plain macaroons and you either like them or like them because there wasn't much else that we could eat during Pesach. Well, not anymore! My daughters have the options to chose between Rocky Road Macaroons, Chocolate Chip Macaroons, Coconut Macaroons, Almond Macaroons, Banana Split Macaroons, Mint Macaroons..... Yes, quite a lot! Not I'm left with all these empty tins that are taken over the house! We decided to get working to put them in good use and create educational activities Now, go ahead and get your macaroon tin (I'm sure is somewhere) and get working! Here is Part I of "Wait! Don't Trow Away Those Macaroon Tins!"

Mr. Tzedakah Box

I finally have a Tzedakah Box that is adorable and perfect for a toddler. We want to make sure our kids understand the concept of giving Tzedakah, but don't necessarily have to be in contact with actual money. We removed the macaroon labels from the tin and made a little face using googly eyes, a pompom for a nose and mouth out of foam sheets. We then made two arms and hair out of foam sheets.

Instead of real money, we are using apple juice bottle caps that I grabbed from the bottle caps container I have. Here is my confession. I'm a bottle cap collector. I collect all kinds of caps and keep them in a separate container. We always try to incorporate them in some activity or other. You can hop over to DIY Aleph Bet Manipulatives to get another idea how to use bottle caps. Using a permanent marker, I wrote numbers: one, five, ten and twenty-five.

On the top, I cut out a hole the exact size of the caps. My Little Ones love feeding Mr. Tzedakah Box every morning and they like to sing the Tzedakah song too!

Wishing all of you a great week!

If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah...

This new book arrived to Torah Toy’s shelf just on time for Pesach. “If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah” was written by Rachel Shifra Tal and Illustrated by Carrie Truitt. The story takes place at a little boy’s Seder table on the night of Pesach. It all starts when the the boy gives the frog a piece of Matzah. Once he takes the piece of Matza, the frog wants to hear all about the story behind it! When he hears that he is one of the plagues, he wants to hear about the rest of the plagues as well! The boy goes over the 10 plagues and explains to the frog what happened in each plague. At the end of the story the boy is happy of being Jewish because Hashem saved us from all the plagues.

“If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah,” is a great book to review the 10 plagues in a creative way. The boy interacts in the Seder table with a new found friend, the frog. It’s a wonderful book to keep Little Ones engaged in the story and learn all about the 10 plagues.

Pesach Kosher V’Sameach!

Toothbrush Holder

This a super easy activity and hardly any preparation needed. We made a toothbrush holder out of paper plates. We cut-out all the pictures, toothbrush, toothpaste, cup of water and floss. You can download the pictures from the Healthy Teeth Activity Book (pg. 4) or by clicking right here. I then cut a paper plate in half and stapled it on a to a second paper plate leaving an opening on the top (pocket). My Little One glued on all the pictures on the half paper plate and I wrote on the top “I Brush My Teeth” with a black marker.  When finally placed the little toothbrush in the packet. It looked just precious!

You can also read more about Healthy Teeth and suggested book by following this link. And, there are lots of fun activities to complete in the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. If you haven't done so, hope over to check it out!

Have a great week!

Healthy Teeth Activity Book

We just completed our Healthy Teeth Activity Book ! Wow... was it so much fun! And not only that, but we work on many different skills. My daughter's favorite is the sensory activity, brushing Chaim's teeth with toothpaste and an old toothbrush. I think the toothpaste got all over the place, even on my daughter's hair. She really had a ball!

We also started out Incentive Chart (also part of this Activity Book) and hung it right behind the vanity door. When my daughter wakes up in the morning and brushes her teeth, she sticks on a sticker by the "sun" box. At night, right before going to sleep, she brushes her teeth and sticks on a sticker by the "moon" box on the sticker chart. At the end of the week, when the chart is complete, my daughter gets to pick a small prize from the prize box. I laminated the chart so we can use the same chart over at the end of each week.

You can read more about "Healthy Teeth" and suggested reading material by following this link. You can also download the Healthy Teeth Activity Book by clicking here and get all that fun going!

Healthy Teeth

          We just did our first visit to the dentist and what an experience it was! Teaching our little ones dental hygiene is extremely important – especially at a young age. We want to make sure we keep our teeth healthy and clean to do many Mitzvos and to greet everyone with a nice smile. Before scheduling my daughter’s first appointment, we read together “I Go To The Dentist” by Rikki Benenfeld. It was a wonderful book!  My daughter knew what to expect on her first visit and was actually looking forward!

         As we arrived to the dentist, my daughter felt very welcomed with all the variety of toys and books the dentist had at the waiting room. She didn't seem to mind at all if there was a looong wait… Or if she had to wait there all day long! When her turn came up, the dental hygienist handed her an adorable pink Cinderella toothbrush and a child toothpaste. My daughter was so excited she didn't want to let go of it until we got back home. 

        The dentist was very friendly and explained to my daughter the importance of brushing teeth. As for me, he gave me some essential tips to ensure tooth brushing becomes a routine. Here they are, these tips work great for us and I’m sure it would work for you too!

Modeling:

I find that the best time to reinforce tooth brushing and learning the appropriate way to do it, is during bath time. There is one specific doll we keep under the bathroom sink for bath time. I showed my daughter how to brush her teeth. She looooves the taste of the tooth paste. I believe that she ends up swallowing half of it during the process. Then she talks turns brushing the doll’s “teeth.” We are still trying to spend some more time brushing our own teeth (and less on the doll).

Positive Reinforcement:

 It is EXTREMELY important! We all like to hear nice words, so do the little ones. I alternate between the two types of Positive Reinforcement: directly and indirectly. 

Directly (speaking to the child):

“Great brushing!”

“Keep the good work!”

“I like the way you brush your teeth!”

Indirectly (speaking to a third person in the child's presence):

“You have no idea how well [name] brushes her/his teeth!”

“I didn't even have to remind [name] to brush her/his teeth!”

“I love the way [name] keeps her/his teeth so clean!”

              

Reward System: 

I personally like sticker charts (and so does everyone else). They are so easy to make and to follow. You can find one in the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. We keep the stickers right near the chart so we have a quick access to them. We get a sticker in the morning and one at night right before heading to bed.   

          We then completed together the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. It includes a sensory activity, fine motor activity, rote counting, number recognition, a reward system and much much more! The Healthy Teeth Activity Book is coming very soon!! Please stay tuned!!

         Now, after Purim, is a great time to work on dental hygiene. We all have gotten so much nosh from Mishloach Manos, that we probably have no idea what to do with it… Well one thing for sure, let’s keep it away from the little ones :) 

Hamentashen Shalach Manot

My daughter wanted to make some Shalach Manot to give out to her little friends. She attends a "Mommy and Me" group at the local library and already has formed some friendships. I was looking for something that she is able to make with supplies that we already had at home. I came across once this fabulous shalach Manot idea (I don't recall where...) and we started working right away! Shalach Manot can be very expensive, but this one looks adorable and really economical -1 cent a piece (you can't beat that!).

To make the Hamentashen Shalach Manot you need:

 1 paper plate

 Colorful Tissue Paper or Shredded Paper

  Brown Paint

  Paint Brush

  Stapler

We first painted on one side of the paper plate brown and left it to dry. We then placed all the items we wanted to give for Shalach Manot in the center of the plate. We also included these delicious Hamentashen we baked together. You can hop over to read more about it on "Get Baking Hamentashen... It's Educational" and print the Hamentashen recipe as well. Then, I helped my daughter fold the plate by bringing the three sides in and stapling on the top to make it look like a Hamentashen. She stuffed the center, jelly part, with shredded paper. When we finished, it looked adorable.

                                                                      Happy Purim!