Winter Garden

Gardens can only be this green in Winter

Blocks, Blocks and Building

Hammer Blocks (How We Montessori)

Lego Juniors, Fire Truck & Waste Truck (Kmart)

Cars and Construction Vehicles(Siku, Matchbox)

Haba Technics Lg Vechicle Blocks + Lg Builders pack (Send a toy)

Personal Designs Record Book (contains Photo's of previous projects)

Green Inspirations Folder

Little Tree has required quite a bit of encouragement to really get into blocks and building.  

When he was younger I kept presenting block options and having them ignored.  When he was somewhere between 2.5 and 3yrs I found Haba Vechicle blocks.  With a quite a bit of time at introduction to help him replicate the designs in the included inspirations book he was off.  

In many ways these Haba  blocks have been great for his ongoing development.  Getting the wheels and block clips on and off the blocks  has built hand strength along with hand eye co-ordination and using the "trailer brackets" initially required quite a bit of patience on his behalf as the connections are firm but reasonably small. Connecting the block clips also starts to build the concept of force and that somethings are stronger in certain directions than others and this is a concept that he is starting to take in

He still doesn't do a lot of architectural type "buildings" that is something I am hoping to find a way to encourage in the next 6 months.  Most of his building right now is roads, cars and robots but whatever the gateway to inspiration it's always wonderful to find his constructions  and see he is practicing lots of great skills.

High Rotation Reads - Aug 15th through 21st

Now as with many families we're avid readers. 

Given a choice Little Tree tends to read books within an inch of their life for a while.  He then walks away, often only to look through them occasionally and interacts with them more in the manner of someone conjuring a fond memory rather than seeking any specific information.

With that little explanation here's what's being requested this week

 

Aunty M went exploring for dinosaur fossils up North and sent Little Tree this wonderful book. 

He loves it all. Right now though he is absolutely enamored with the description of the finding and recovery of Sue, who is the most complete T-Rex fossil found to date.

 

 This ABC has beautiful and appealing artwork but I will say the prose does leave something to be desired considering it's aimed firmly at young children.  It rhymes sometimes, other times it doesn't and I don't know for anyone else but I personally find that a bit disconcerting.  I think he does too as interest in this one really seems to come and go in a way that is not common for him

 Really aimed at infants and young toddlers but because penguins are sky high in the interest stakes he chose this one, at the library, and had me read it 6 nights running before bed.  Honestly what 3 yr old can walk past splashing, dashing and pooping penguins without a smile.

 This one is new today but I can tell it's going to be a favorite.  Beautiful Collage style illustration, which has been a favourite of his for a while, and wonderful rhyming prose all giving snippets of factual information.  Backed up by an animal glossary at the back with a bit more detail on the animals mentioned and a little blurb about Charles Darwin explaining why the Galapagos is so important in science.  

 A story about a Peregrine Falcon pair that leave the wild after a bushfire and nest on a city  skyscraper.  Based on a true story, in Brisbane, it shows the adaptability of wildlife in their quest to survive and thrive.  For those that might be disturbed the main story thread once they relocate is the male falcon hunting and bringing back food to the female, with a nice life affirming twist at the end.

We love the I Wonder Why series over here.  

I first made the mistake of trying to read entire pages only to have him zone out with information overload.  Our deal is now that I just read what he points to on a specific page then leave it at that.

I am personally not sold on some of the cartoonish illustration but the facts are interesting and catch attention.  Thankfully enough of the pictures are realistic that I can survive :-)

Looking for the Sun

-Waiting to put those seeds in the ground-

Spring's coming we'll just have to be patient in the mean time

Little Tree's Activity Shelves -

 Top : Found Objects & Loose Parts

Far Left : Auditory Matching (How We Montessori)

Middle : Life Cycle of a Lady Bird (Free: Montessori Print Shop)

Far Right : Hammer, Screw and Nails Activity - Linked to pre-drilled holes outside

Where I live: Dalmeny Surf Beach

Where I live: Sunrise

Golf Course

Surf Beach