Theme for the Week - Mountains
Sir Edmund Hillary was born July 20th, 1919. Hillary, a New Zealander/Kiwi, was the first "westerner" to climb Mount Everest which sits between Tibet and Nepal. The Nepalese call the mountain Sargarmatha which means "goddess of the sky," according to this website about Everest. Last year's theme this week was Man on the Moon because of the anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. Check out the Man on the Moon page here.
Some of us are fortunate enough to live in a state with these majestic beauties in close proximity. Even if you don't, you can enjoy pictures from the internet or books from the library to show your toddler what mountains look like.
Letter of the Week: X - We've recently done M, E, and H so we picked X because we've never done it. Show them a picture of both a capital X and a lower case x. Draw an X on paper, or use their finger to draw it in the sandbox or dirt.
Use bath tub or refrigerator letters to show them this letter as well. For this letter, use sticks and make an X or show them how they can make an X with their arms (my 2-year-old loves that trick).
Number of the Week: 19 - When you show your child anything say "19 sticks" and show them a picture of the number 19. Write the number 19 on paper. Show them 19 things at a time and count them - "one, two, three..." - so your child gets used to the pattern. Don't be afraid of 2-digit numbers. Right now, they're just listening to the words.
Songs of the Week: The Bear Went Over The Mountain - from Songs for Teaching. This link has a video of the song and all the words, which we didn't know. You might do a search for this song in Spanish too.
Story of the Week: Mountains by Seymour Simon - This is a great book to look for at the library because it has beautiful photographs of real mountains. It would give your toddler a good idea of what a mountain looks like if he or she hasn't seen one yet.
Snack of the Week: Toddler-Appropriate Trail Mix - Here is a simple snack you and your child can assemble together, from yummytoddlerfood.com. You measure the ingredients and your toddler can pour it all into a bowl and stir. Make sure you use ingredients he/she can handle.
Spanish Words of the Week: mountain - la montaña, elevation - la elevación, mountain range - la sierra, altitude - la altitud
Do-It-Myself Activity: Trail Mix in a bag - Trail mix is great for when you are hiking in the mountains. It has energy-packing ingredients to keep you going. Have your toddler put the snack you made above into plastic sandwich bags or small plastic containers for your daily adventure (even if you're not off to climb a mountain).
Craft of the Week: Decorate a Mountain - Cut out a triangle from brown or purple construction paper. After you cut it out, let your little one decorate it - crayons, markers, glitter. You could even cut out circular rocks and small rectangles and green triangles for trees. Be sure you talk about the shapes and show your child other things that are triangles, rectangles and circles so he/she will understand you are discussing shapes.
Yoga Pose: Mountain from Yoga Journal - this seems like a very simple pose but it is the beginning of almost every yoga series so this video gives you a good background on how to maximize this pose, instead of just standing there, as it appears that's all the pose is.
Sign Language Sign of the Week: Mountain, Tree, Rock from SigningSavvy.com - If your toddler is still learning how to talk, sign language can be a great way for them to communicate.
Most of all - give your little one a hug and say "I love you" as many times a day as you can think of! You can never give them enough love.
