Introducing New Things

Vada and I have been working on counting the numbers one through ten and more specifically in the pictures below, one through five, since we've started homeschooling. After a couple of days of doing the same things, I change our counting routine but only slightly. I want Vada to learn that numbers come in many forms so I am teaching her that way.

Today, I added 3-D Numerals by Touch Math with the corresponding Texture cards. When introducing the 3-D Numerals it's important to teach one numeral at a time. You teach the numerals by teaching to count the 3-D dots in a specific counting order. Vada was attentive for numerals one and two but showed no interest after that so we continued with our normal one through five counting routine and left the remaining 3-D numerals and cards out of the equation.

We've begun to focus on body parts. I have realized that many of Vada's peers who are younger than her know their body parts, whereas Vada knows only a couple of her body parts. That's where Sesame Streets Shake a Leg and Elmo Says board books come into play. These books are awesome! Shake a Leg is a book of the monsters moving in different fun says and Elmo says is a book version of the childhood game Simon Says. Lots of Feelings is another book that Vada and I have been reading and talking about. This book is full of real life photos of children expressing themselves in one way or another. Since Vada is a girl of little words I do most of the talking! I talk about how the child in a certain photo looks, hat the book says he or she is feeling and what could make me feel that way. I ill then imitate that same expression and sign. Vada is very good at imitating the expressions and signs as well!

To go along with the "theme" of learning body parts I brought out the game "Where is Howie's Owies?" It is really cute but Vada wasn't interested in it today so we put it up for another time.

I brought out one of her dolls instead. That worked! 

We looked at his eyes and ears. His mouth and nose. His hair and hands and with each body part of his we also looked at her matching body part as well as mine.

We took some time to play with Hexie-Snaps, to talk about colors and to work on some fine motor skills.

And then I brought out the Numicon. 

Right now, I am only introducing the Numicon pieces in various ways to Vada. Once she becomes familiar with the pieces and I become familiar with the Numicon program I will then begin to teach her to count using the Numicon pieces. 

I have recently found out that GiGi's Playhouse's use Numicon and the 3-D Numerals (as well as a number of other things) a a part of their math program, which makes me feel even more confident in the choices that I have made for ours here at home.

Another fun toy that I have been trying to get Vada to play with me with is the VTech Alphabet Food Fridge.

I have a like/dislike feeling towards this toy. It had a door on it, like a fridge. That's what I don't like. Vada likes to close it. All. of. the. time. and that is not beneficial to the learning or playing side of things because once you close the door, your done. And let me tell you, it doesn't feel very good on the fingers either!

Everything else, I like. You get different foods that begin with a letter of the alphabet and you can play on different levels. 1. By letter. 2. By color or 3.I can't remember and I don't have it with me but there is a third option, which you got to love!

This is an old toy. It's not being made anymore. It's a hit or miss item on Ebay or Amazon and a treasure to be found at a yard sale!

We aren't huge fans of watching the television here. We don't have cable anymore or even the regular public channels. We do however, have Netflix and Dvd's and specifically for Vada, we like to have her watching Signing Time, Leap Frog and Sesame Street. Another set of Dvd's that we have gotten into is the "Meet the" Series. We have started with the Shapes and Colors but also have the Numbers, Letters, as well as the Sight Words Dvd set. I'm interested to see if anything comes from them and curious if anyone out there has had their children watch them and noticed any extra retention possibly because of the videos?