Help with Educational and Fun Activities for My 3 1/2 Year Old

Hello S.. Just some random ideas and tips. Hope it helps sorry if I repeat any, I didn't read the others replies.

-puzzles (target has some great ones on the $1 isle right now, just got 2 this morning :)
-lacing- you can buy premade shapes/string, shoes strings with beads or dyed pasta, cheerios, etc
- playdough with cookie cutters
-make a homemade recipes for playdough, finger paint there are tons of stuff
-put wax paper down and "fingerpaint" with the white shaving cream, not as messy as it sounds :) smells great
-The $1 tree and dollar store have some great work books with letters, numbers, even biblical based, etc for table time
-start having her practice writing her name, letters and numbers
-v motion smile video game. Cute games that are educational based. My son loves it.
-read a book and then do a project that relates
-stock a cabinet with all sorts of stuff and the possiblites for arts and crafts will be endless:
yarn, ribbon, buttons, glue (stick and white), scissors, different papers, glitter, sand, stickers, feathers, pipecleaners, double sided tape, tissue paper, paper bags, popcycle sticks, old magazines (good for practicing with scissors), googly eyes, chalk, markers, crayons, watercolor paint, paper plates cups and bowls, clothes pins, tp and pt rolls

A few web sites that I use:
www.busybeekidscrafts.com
www.pbskids.org
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.preschooleducation.com/
http://www.noggin.com/printables
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/printables.html TONS OF SITES IN 1!

I have a blog designed specifically for toddlers 1 - 4yrs. I update every weekday with a new craft project or activity. My aim for each project is quick and cheap! I was also looking for things to do with my kids (a 1yr old and 3yr old) and didn't really find any good websites out there, so I made my own! Hope it helps - http://toddlerplaylearn.blogspot.com/

Check out the website www.starfall.com It's all about letter sounds and reading. We found it when my son was about to turn 3 and within a month and a half, he knew all the letters and how they sound and now that he's 4, he knows some sight words and is trying to sound out others. Hope this helps!

The your baby can read program is awesome!!!It is a little pricey but well worth it.Each section comes with a dvd,a book,ans a set of flash cards.You get all theses sets:starter,1,2,3,4,and the review.The flash cars are really cool the slide out.Aside from all the sets it comes with a parental guide and a my first words book and a game.My little boy just turned two we have done the program for a couple of months and not consistantly at all and he has started reading 3 words and gets a couple of more but not every time.You are supposed to do it several times a day but we have done it like once a week.So I can only imagine what it would be like if we did it right.I definitly comes with a lot of stuff so you wont be dissapointed.I think it was like $200 but no regerets on my part at all!

Don't know exactly the time constraints your jobe places on you...but have you ever thought about a self-styled home-pre-school? While you are working she can be working on little projects you have custom designed for her educational needs. And, like all homeschools, you will know exactly what she is being taught and how. You can compensate for any of her weaknesses and enhance her strengths. lol And she can feel she is "working" right alongside you. Just an idea...

S.:
Are you a member of cafemom (kind of like facebook, but only for mothers)? If not, JOIN!!!!! Besides it being a great resource simular to mamasource, it has groups you can join and I am a member of the "homeschool for pre-school" group where I such a wealth of info that I could run a pre-K off of it! I use it to supplement my toddlers whom stay at home with their papa while I work!

IT IS AWESOME!!!! AND MY OPINION COMES FROM ONE WHO WORKS IN THE EDUCATION FIELD WITH EDUCATORS (mostly grade-school and lower elementary) ALL AROUND ME!

I highly recommend you check out amblesideonline.org

They have resources of books and activities that are awesome!

There is so much out there. I do not remember the sites by heart, but there is one called dltk-kids.com. Others just do a search online. Wood puzzles are good. You can teach her how to use the internet and put her on nickjr.com, stafall.com, sesamestreet.com. Legos, lincoln logs, of course coloring books, you could also let her play in her room.

F. Decker
http://www.safe4myfamily.com
LETS GO GREEN!

I think it is awesome what you are doing, but I hope I can offer an opinion without offending? I just want to give you something to think about. I work part-time from home in a pretty demanding "office" job. I have two girls, 6 1/2 and 2. It is my humble opinion that you will LOSE your sanity if she is home with you full-time while you work full-time. The best thing I did was enroll my girls in 2-days a week, 5 hrs a day, Mother's Day Out (and last year my 6 yr old started kindergarten). This offers them the opportunity to interact with other kids while giving me a chance to truly focus on the more demanding aspects of my job. I know you'll be blessed with more time with your daughter but I've learned that I am more blessed with the time mine are here when I have a little time with them gone so I can focus on work as well. Feel free to "mommy" mail me if you want to chat. I'd be happy to share some of my experiences and reasons for my opinion, etc with you. Good luck with whatever happens, I'm happy you've got this opportunity!

Hi S.. I have taught preschool age for awhile as well as nannied for this age. Three years old is my favorite. I have found that shaving cream is great for this age. They can get messy and draw things in it and it rubs in eventually so there isn't a HUGE mess to clean up. Also getting tubs and putting rice, foam peanuts, beans, etc in it and hiding little toys inside or putting a shovel in it is great too. Great for their sensory learning. This would probably be an outside activity or if u ha hardwood so u can sweep it up. I also love anything dry erase because they love erasing it and they can learn to write their name, letters, numbers, shapes etc. It hold their attention. I tuaght my whole preschool class to write their name this way. Also you can google "preschool crafts" and find great and very easy crafts that u can do spur of the moment at home.
Dress up is always good and little girls LOVE stringing beads(of course u would need larger sized bead since you have a really little one).
Hope that helps a little : ) I might have more on my website. Feel free to check it out: www.tapperfamilydaycare.webs.com
~A.