Field Trip: Going to See Santa

As part of our Field Trips this month we went to visit Santa at the mall. I was really worried about this because most early toddlers cry when they have to sit on Santa's lap. We took Jacob last year and he was great, sure he was 4 months old but still! This time I was hoping it would be ok because we have read so much about Santa and when he sees Santa in books he gets very excited and always waves and hugs him!
When we got to the mall there was a line so we let Jake run around while we took turns holding our spot in line. He was great! He ran up to where Santa was sitting and pointed at him. He appeared to be very excited.
Finally it was his turn...

He was in great spirits and I think that is key! There were parents not allowing their children to walk around or to get a closer look. Small children did not understand what they were waiting for and were getting very upset. Then when it was their turn they screamed and screamed. Jacob was excited to get up to Santa because we walked up and down the area. He was picked up to look around in the area where Santa was sitting. I also brought a truck that Jake loves. I gave it to him just before he went on Santa's lap and I told Jake to show Santa his truck. That worked perfectly because he was distracted with the truck and just sat and stared at Santa as he drove Jake's truck around on his leg. You can see it in Santa's hand in the picture.

Jake's lip started quivering a little at the very end and I quickly picked him up. I did not want Santa to be a terrifying experience for him! He waved goodbye and the experience stayed positive. It was a fun field trip!

Comments

Play to Write- Week 3

We participating in a Wednesday Play Group called Play to Write over at Cherrios and Lattes . This is week 3- Write/Spell Your Name. We started this week's practice with some name tracing. Cherrios and Lattes provides the printable for some dotted letters. She suggested doing rainbow writing with this sheet. I showed Jacob but he was more interested in writing all the Jacobs. I started by modeling on the first name. Then I held his hand and we did it together. Finally I let him do the last three on his own with only my verbal prompts. He took this very seriously and was very proud of himself! I was surprised at how much he liked doing this activity. He has a long way to go but he did pretty well! One thing I had to repeat was not to go around the o and a more than once. He wanted to go around and around. This is an activity that I think he will want to do again! The next activity was Missing Letter Name Practice. We started by singing a little song I sing for Jak

Name Writing Practice

Jacob did a little name writing practice today. He was asked to trace the dotted lines to write letters for his name. This is good practice with spelling as well. I had him say each letter as he wrote the letter. As you can see he is very choppy and not exactly on the dotted lines. His motor skills are not quite sharp enough yet to be able to hold the crayon and he especially loses control as he works on towards the end. We also did a Missing Letter Name Practice. Both of these ideas came from Cherrios and Lattes ' Play to Write, Write to Read. These are good ways to practice names and writing. He gets very angry if he thinks he made a mistake. See the scribbling. I have to reinforce that it is ok to make a mistake and that everyone makes mistakes but we just keep trying. Practice is the only way to get better. When this happens I cannot help but think of my former students that did the very same thing and proceeded to throw fits and give up. I hope to help Jacob ge

Building Good Readers

"Your boys are such good readers! I wish mine loved to read like yours do! How did you do that?" Can parents build good readers? How do parents build good readers? This might seem like a daunting question, a task too difficult to tackle. But truly, it does not have to be. As our children grow and become readers on their own accord they often feel that they do not need or want parents to read to them. It is very common for this to happen, but as their parents, it is our job to push back. Readers are not born, they are made. We must find times to read to our children. That might mean reading aloud looks different as they get older. Maybe instead of before bed; you are reading at the dinner table, as they are playing, or during snack time. The point is to share books that will pique their interest and hold their attention. You might have to choose books you might not otherwise choose. The key to reading aloud is to m odel reading for them and to show them th

Structured Play

Search This Blog