Totschooling - Toddler, Preschool, Kindergarten Educational Printables

Animal activities are always a big hit at our house! This printable matching activity is geared toward toddlers and is great for language and visual development. Find the matching half of each animal to create the whole.

For toddlers I always recommend laminating both sheets, cutting out the pieces on the second page, and using velcro to attach the loose pieces. This gives you a nice reusable activity that your child can do over and over again. For preschoolers, this can be a cut and paste activity.

Click here to Download Free Animal Halves Matching

Here are a few more animal printable activities:

Matching Mother & Baby Animals This activity can be done along side the classic book Are you my Mother?

Animal Sorting/Classifying is a free printable activity I made exclusively for The Happy Housewife.

Visit my co-hosts to see their posts this week!

How I Feed My Child a Sensory Diet with Science from Left Brain Craft Brain
Spider Web String Art & More String Crafts for Kids from A Little Pinch of Perfect
Fun Games for Teaching Preschoolers to Count from One Time Through

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

The Love to Learn Linky is Hosted by:

Totschooling: Viviana is a blogging mom to a toddler and a preschooler, sharing ideas and resources for early education. She specializes in unique, hands-on printable activities that are educational, fun and inspire creativity in young minds.

Left Brain Craft Brain: Anne is an ex-engineer, current stay-at-home mama writing about crafty ways to encourage creativity (and brain power!) in our kids. Each of her projects gives kids the chance to learn about a new subject and do something crafty at the same time.

A Little Pinch of Perfect: Katie combines creativity, play, and learning for the perfect mishmash of fun activities that keep kiddos entertained throughout the day. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of play and feels that all activities naturally provide a fun way to learn.

One Time Through:Sue is an Elementary School Teacher currently on leave to be at home with her preschooler son. She shares ideas for connecting and learning with kids through meaningful, play-based activities that nurture curiosity and creativity.

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Roll & Cover games are my favorite ways to teach numbers and addition! Here is a free printable game perfect for the Fall season and to use up all those candy corn candies!

Candy Corn Roll & Cover Math Game: Free Printable

This Candy Corn Roll & Cover game includes 2 levels of difficulty.

For younger toddlers and children, use the first page with numbers 1-6 and a single die. Roll the die and place a candy corn on top of the correct number. This can be played with multiple players or just one.

Reading a regular die can be hard for young children, so I have included a printable paper die that is larger and easier to count the dots.

The second page is a more advanced version, which is great for learning addition. It includes numbers 2-12 and you roll two dice, add the numbers together, and place a candy corn on top of the correct number.

I have also included a black and white version of the game if you'd like to save on ink, or to be used as a coloring page.

Click here to download your FREE Candy Corn Roll & Cover Game

Visit my co-hosts to see their posts this week!

20+ Ways for Preschoolers to Play in the Dark from Left Brain Craft Brain
Plenty of Pumpkin Fun for Kids from A Little Pinch of Perfect
Tips To Support Kids Experiencing Anxiety from One Time Through

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Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

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My 3 year old daughter loves anything to do with art, so I am always on the look-out for creative and fun art projects to do with her. We recently had the opportunity to review a very interesting new show on Amazon Prime Instant Video, called Creative Galaxy, which inspired us to come up with this fun roll-the-dice art game!

Creative Galaxy is made from the same creators as Blue's Clues and Super Why! which are two of my daughter's favorite shows, so I knew she would love it. Plus, it's all about ART!

This is an interactive art adventure series geared at preschoolers (although I have a feeling older kids would enjoy it as well) featuring the adventures of Arty and Epiphany, as they travel around the galaxy solving problems with art and inspiring creative thinking, learning about art history, famous artists, and even a bit of architecture!

In every episode, Arty and his friends strive to solve a particular problem with art. This is important because it shows how useful art can be in everyday life, how art is basically all around us even if we don't realize it, and how you can fix or solve any problem by being creative. This is a great life lesson that can be extended to all future career paths, even the ones not involving art.

Another really great part about this series is the live-action pieces at the end of each episode which shows real kids re-creating each of Arty's projects. It makes you feel as if you are doing the project along with them, and shows kids and parents the tools and steps they need for each activity.

Needless to say, my daughter absolutely loves Creative Galaxy! And it really inspired us to make some fun art projects. Here is one of the projects we made, based on an episode about art games.

How to Play:

I had some wooden cubes from the craft store that I turned into art dice. I drew numbers 1-6 on one, 6 colors on another, and 6 different craft materials on another. (If you don't have wooden cubes, you can print copies of this blank paper die) Each player takes turns rolling the 3 dice and adds the craft material (the amount and color specified by the dice) to the project. Then the next player rolls the dice and does the same thing, according to what the dice says.

This is a super fun game that encourages creativity and spontaneity!

You can make the game simpler by using two dice instead of 3, maybe just colors & craft material, or just numbers & craft material. Also, you can play with just 3 craft materials instead of 6, and just draw them twice to cover the die.

Materials Needed:

3 to 6 different craft materials. We went crazy and used 6, but you can easily just use 3 and write them twice on the die. The materials we used were pom poms, pipe cleaners, playdough, stickers, craft sticks, and markers.

2 or 3 wooden dice (or print copies of this blank paper die) and draw/write colors, numbers & craft material on each die. You can do 2 dice with just color and craft materials, or just numbers and craft materials. We did all 3.

paper

I took turns with my daughter rolling the dice and adding to the project. We had a blast figuring out what to make with each roll of the dice!

My daughter loved this game and didn't want to stop playing. Here is the finished product:

For tons more art ideas and inspiration, check out Creative Galaxy on Amazon Prime Instant Video. You can watch the first episode for FREE. Happy crafting!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

As an annual Halloween tradition at our house, we always carve a pumpkin. And by we I mean I carve the pumpkin while the kids watch and try to eat the pumpkin parts that I cut out. It's not much of a little kid's activity. So today I am featuring easy, toddler-friendly, no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas that kids can really get involved in.

5 Toddler-friendly ways to decorate a pumpkin

1. Paint the Pumpkin

Pumpkin painting is great for all ages and simple enough for even the youngest of kids.

Tips: Make sure you use tempera paint or any kid's washable paint. To help the paint adhere to the pumpkin, make a 50/50 mixture of school glue and paint. If you don't add glue, the paint will flake off after it dries.

For a fun way to combine pumpkin painting and science, check out this Fizzle pumpkin painting activity from Toddler Approved.

2. Decorate the Pumpkin with Stickers

Stickers are very good for developing fine motor skills, and let's face it, all kids love stickers. I sure challenged my kids with these tiny stickers I bought at the dollar store.

You can make pumpkin decorating into a learning activity with this alphabet pumpkin idea from I can Teach my Child.

Here is another great literacy pumpkin idea from The Imagination Tree using letter and number stickers, plus check out the learning games you can play afterwards!

As an alternative to stickers, here is a neat idea from The Educators' Spin on It using a decorative tape called washi tape.

3. Make a Glitter Pumpkin

Glitter pumpkins look gorgeous, but they are a bit messy, so you might want to do this activity outdoors like we did. Have your child use a paintbrush to spread glue all over the pumpkin, then sprinkle glitter!

You can add even more bling to the pumpkin like in this idea from Domestic Goddesque.

4. Glue Things to the Pumpkin

You can glue almost anything to a pumpkin! Pom poms, googly eyes, scraps of construction paper, tissue paper, buttons, feathers.

Tip: I recommend using tacky glue, craft glue, or glue-all when gluing things to a pumpkin.

Here is a gorgeous idea combining painting, glitter and gluing things on the pumpkin from The Imagination Tree.

It doesn't have to be craft supplies that you glue to the pumpkin. Here is a creative idea from A Little Pinch of Perfect, making a sensory pumpkin!

Go on a nature walk collecting Fall leaves and try out this clever decorating with nature idea from Stir the Wonder.

5. Hammer Things into the Pumpkin

This is one we haven't tried yet, but it sure looks fun!

Pumpkin Fine Motor Activity from My Nearest and Dearest

Cookie Cutter Pumpkins from Modern Parents Messy Kids

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STEAM Bored Jar: 48 Activities That Can Be Prepped in 5 Minutes or Less from Left Brain Craft Brain
50+ Toddler Activities for the Busy Toddler in Your Life from A Little Pinch of Perfect
20+ HAUNTED HOUSE Activities for Kids from One Time Through

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Turkey themed activities are a fun way to learn while getting ready for Thanksgiving. Here is a Free printable number matching game that will get your preschooler to practice number recognition, counting, and number quantity concepts.

This Turkey Feathers number matching game includes numbers 1-10 and 11-20, and kids can match number to number, or number to quantity.

I recommend that you laminate this game so it can be played over and over again. Just print off the pages, laminate, and then cut out the feather pieces on the cut-out pages. You can also use Velcro to attach the pieces.

Here is the laminator and velcro that I use (affiliate links):

Click here to download your Free Turkey Feathers Number Matching Game

Happy Thursday and welcome to the Love to Learn Linky! This week, I am featuring a few of my favorite posts from last week. Here they are:

I use my laminator all the time, so I'm definitely going to try this great idea from Teaching Mama to laminate fall leaves and play various learning games!

I love this fun indoor game that combines letter learning, imaginative play, and gross motor skills from Mom Inspired Life.

This post by Super Mommy Club has a great collection of Thanksgiving activities for toddlers and preschoolers, including crafts, printables, activities for fine and gross motor skills, sensory play and more!

Get a copy of these free emergent reader printables from Stella 123

If you need some inspiration and ideas for teaching your preschooler at home, check out this post from Suzie's Home Education Ideas

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Visit my co-hosts to see all the other features!

20 Quiet Time Activities for When Turkey Makes You Sleepy from Left Brain Craft Brain
Tons of Fun Ideas for Kids from A Little Pinch of Perfect
Kids' Turkey Handprint Multimedia Masterpieces from One Time Through

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

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Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

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Thanksgiving is a perfect time to start teaching your little ones about gratitude and being thankful. One of the best ways I have found to teach this concept is by reading books about thankfulness. Here is a collection of the 10 best Thanksgiving books focused on gratitude that will appeal to toddlers and preschoolers!

10 Gratitude and Thanksgiving Books for Preschoolers

This post contains affiliate links.

The Thankful Book
Todd Parr books are always a hit with young kids because of their bright colors and simple child-like illustrations and stories. This book is a nice reminder of being thankful for all the little, everyday things.

Biscuit is Thankful
Biscuit is a lovable, adorable puppy who talks about all the things he is thankful for.

What is Thanksgiving?
This is a great board book for the little ones with a religious emphasis on the meaning of Thanksgiving.

Bear Says Thanks
Great story about friendship and gratitude between Bear and his friends.

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks
Written from a child's point of view so it is very relate-able, this book talks about the many things to be thankful for.

The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks
This book is great for teaching a bit of the history of Thanksgiving, as well as reinforcing the religious aspects of the holiday.

Thanks for Thanksgiving
Beautiful illustrations and meaningful dialogue from the point of view of a child, making it easy for kids to understand and relate to.

Ten Thankful Turkeys
A fun and adorable story of 10 turkeys preparing for a Thanksgiving feast.

Thank you, Thanksgiving
A cute story of a little girl walking to the store and noticing all the things she is thankful for along the way.

The Blessings Jar: A Story About Being Thankful
A heartwarming Christian story about a little girl having a bad day until her grandma brings her a blessings jar to fill up with all the things she is blessed with. A great reminder to be thankful every day.

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Stick around for an exciting Holiday gift giveaway! I've partnered with 30+ fabulous bloggers to bring you a special holiday series packed with crafts, activities, and festive family traditions. We've put together a phenomenal giveaway to help knock out your holiday shopping. From 11/3–11/17, you will have the opportunity to win 1 of 4 prize bundles for men, women, kids, and babies! The 4 prize bundles, valued at over $1,800, include gift certificates, toys, jewelry, and more!

To find out more about all the prizes and sponsors, take a look at the Festive Family Holiday Hop Gift Guide

Enter the giveaway by using the Rafflecopter below:

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Check out these other great Holiday posts:

Sharing the Joy of the Season Post from Festive Family Bloggers

Five Ways to Simplify the Holiday Season from Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Charitable Act: Shoeboxes Filled with Presents from La Cité des Vents

Joyful Christmas Crafts for Kids from Handmade Kids Art

Give a Little Bit from Gypsy Road School

Joy Comes from the Inside… But Not of a Package from A Mother Far from Home

Welcome to the Festive Family Holiday Giveaway from Peace but Not Quiet

Sharing Joy & a Giveaway from P is for Preschooler

Share Some Joy this Holiday Season from Are We There Yet?

Thankful Turkey Wreath Tradition from Mom Inspired Life

Christmas Sensory Play Ideas for Kids from Still Playing School

Unique Kits for Kids that Foster Creativity from Lemon Lime Adventures

Holiday Tradition Ideas for Families from Sugar Aunts

Gratitude Stones: A Thanksgiving Nature Craft for Kids from Fireflies and Mudpies

Montessori Monday - Montessori Inspired Thanksgiving Ideas from Living Montessori Now

Finding Joy in the Holidays Even During Difficult Times from ALLterNATIVElearning

Christmas Shadow Puppets Play from Adventure in a Box

Sharing Joy through a Holiday Giveaway from Kids Yoga Stories

Family Thankfulness Jar from The Realistic Mama

Festive Family Holiday from In the Playroom

Free Nativity Puppets from A Happy & Blessed Home

Follow Becca Eby ~ Bare Feet on the Dashboard's board Festive Family Holiday on Pinterest.

Since the popularity of my Free Alphabet Picture Tracing pack, I decided to create these Thanksgiving themed tracing sheets which include fall & Thanksgiving pictures and words. Kids can trace the word, the picture, and then color it in. Laminate or put in sheet protectors to make them reusable!

This Thanksgiving themed tracing pack includes 10 sheets, including a turkey, a pumpkin, a slice of pie, an ear of corn, a cornucopia, an apple, a leaf, a pilgrim, a ship, and a dinner plate.

Click here to Download your Free Thanksgiving Tracing Pack!

____________________________________

Stick around for an exciting Holiday gift giveaway! I've partnered with 30+ fabulous bloggers to bring you a special holiday series packed with crafts, activities, and festive family traditions. We've put together a phenomenal giveaway to help knock out your holiday shopping. From 11/3–11/17, you will have the opportunity to win 1 of 4 prize bundles for men, women, kids, and babies! The 4 prize bundles, valued at over $1,800, include gift certificates, toys, jewelry, and more!

Sharing the Joy of the Season Post from Festive Family Bloggers

Create a Thankful Tree with Your Kids from Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Thanks Cards as Place Settings from La Cite' des Vents

A Thankful Display from Hand Made Kids Art

Lego Thanksgiving Activities from Gypsy Road School

365 Days of Thanksgiving from Lemon Lime Adventures

Simple Ways to Teach Gratitude and Thankfulness Daily from A Mother Far From Home

20+ Family Gratitude Activities from Bits of Positivity

Creative Ways to Encourage Gratitude from P is for Preschooler

Cooking with Kids on Thanksgiving from Peace But Not Quiet

Thanksgiving Activities to Encourage Gratitude from Are We There Yet?

Thanksgiving Gratitude Activity from Sugar Aunts

Free Printable for Teaching Kids Thankfulness from Happy and Blessed Home

Family Thankfulness Jar from The Realistic Mama

Follow Becca Eby ~ Bare Feet on the Dashboard's board Festive Family Holiday on Pinterest.

This year I have started talking to my daughter about gratitude and being thankful for the good things in her life. This is a difficult concept for little ones to understand, which is why I've been collecting ideas on different activities to help teach kids gratitude. Here are some amazing ideas from my fellow kid bloggers, plus another week of the Love to Learn Linky!

CRAFTS:

Thankful Turkey Box from I Heart Crafty Things

Thankful Tree from Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Gratitude Garland from Mosswood Connections

Thankful Turkey from The Well Nourished Nest

Gratitude Stones from Fireflies and Mud Pies

PRINTABLES:

Thankful Turkey Wreath from Mom Inspired Life

30 Days of Giving Thanks from 3 Dinosaurs

Thankful Print & Jar from Mama Miss

& MORE:

10 Gratitude & Thanksgiving Books for Preschoolers from Totschooling

5 Keys to Raising Grateful Kids from One Time Through

If you were featured, grab a button!

Visit my co-hosts to see all the other features!

The Science of Thanksgiving Dinner - 12 Ways to Learn & Play from Left Brain Craft Brain
35 Ways to Teach Kids About Money from One Time Through
The Ultimate List of Thanksgiving Turkey Ideas for Kids from A Little Pinch of Perfect

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

The Love to Learn Linky is Hosted by:

Love to Learn Linky Etiquette:

Posts should be about educating our kids in any way - science, art, cooking, crafts, behavior, parenting, etc. Please keep them family friendly and please no Etsy shops or giveaways unless they are relevant to the topic.

Upload your direct post link to the InLinkz widget. Link up to 3 posts.

Like the hosts on Facebook: Totschooling, A Little Pinch of Perfect, Left Brain Craft Brain and One Time Through.

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Get ready for Thanksgiving with this fun turkey themed math and literacy pack for preschoolers. This FREE printable pack is designed for preschoolers to practice math and literacy skills such as counting, number recognition, number quantity, shapes, alphabet recognition, letter sounds, letter cases and more!

Free Thanksgiving Math & Literacy Pack for PreK

This Thanksgiving themed Math & Literacy Pack features 23 hands-on activities, and it is available for FREE to all email subscribers. Here is what's included:

Literacy Activities:

-Alphabet matching

-Letter case matching

-Letter Sound Matching

-Sight Word Matching

-Tracing words

-Letter Sorting

-Word puzzle

Math Activities:

-Numbers 1-10 Puzzle

-Counting

-Cut & Paste the Correct Number

-Number Matching

-Quantity Matching

-Shape Matching

-Cut & Paste Missing Number

-Color by Number

This Thanksgiving Printable Pack is FREE for all Totschooling subscribers!

After entering your email address, you will receive a confirmation email to complete your subscription. You will shortly receive a Welcome email that includes a link to this pack. If you have not received this email, please check your spam folder, or email me at totschooling@gmail.com. Thanks!

What can I expect as a Subscriber?:

-You will receive free printables that are not available for download on the website. This includes holiday and seasonal packs, as well as other themed activity packs.

-You will get access to a growing collection of Board Book Printable Activities.

-You will receive 2-3 emails per week with new posts, freebies, sales and additions to the site.

-You will receive a special subscriber discount for the Online Store.

-Your information will never be shared with anybody else.

The Holiday season is here and I'm sure many of you have already started your Holiday shopping. If you are still looking for ideas, this post is for you! I've put together a list of my favorite educational toys and gifts for preschoolers and young children. All of the products featured in this post are products we own or have been recommended by family and friends. Some of them are on our shopping list this year!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Letter Learning:

1. Fisher Price Little People A to Z Learning Zoo Playset
An adorable play set with 26 animals, one for each letter of the alphabet, plus an interactive zoo habitat. This toy has many fun features and will get a lot of use! Learn letters & letter sounds, animal names & sounds and more! Capital letters only.
2. Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD
This movie is a must-have for children learning letter sounds. Each letter is a character with their own unique personality and sound, which makes them very easy to remember. Capital letters only.
3. Leapfrog Letter Factory Phonic and Numbers
This is a fun, interactive bucket of letter and number tiles that go along with the Letter Factory movie, although you don't need the movie to be able to play with it. Each tile teaches the name and sound of the letter or number. Capital letters only.
4. Melissa & Doug Alphabet Sound Puzzle
I am a big fan of wooden puzzles, and this one is unique in that it says the name of the letter and an object starting with that letter. Also has pictures of each object inside the letters. Capital letters only.
5. Melissa & Doug Upper & Lower Case Alphabet Puzzle
This puzzle does not make any sounds but is unique in the fact that it has both uppercase and lowercase letter pairs! It is quite a large puzzle and will keep kids occupied for a while matching 52 letters.
6. Alphabet Soup Sorters
Love this alphabet sorting set! Teaches both upper and lowercase letters, sounds, words, and builds vocabulary. Includes 26 cans with lids where kids can sort 7 cards for each letter. This is a great learning tool and there are many ways to use it - includes activity guide.
7. Letter Construction Activity Set
These are just so cool! Kids can actually build large letters by snapping together the different pieces. Both uppercase and lowercase letters. Includes cards for each letter showing how the finished letter looks like and the child figures out how to build it. Great hands-on way to learn letters!
8. Alphabet Cookies (lowercase)
A fun and yummy way to practice letters and building words! Comes with 4 progressive games that work on letter recognition, letter sounds, building words and early vocabulary. Will grow with your child. Can also be used for pretend play! Lowercase letters only.

Math:

9. Melissa & Doug Numbers 1-20 Sound Puzzle
Just like the alphabet sound puzzle, this one says the number as you place the puzzle piece in. Also has pictures of objects inside the numbers that you can count.
10. Melissa & Doug Big Button Number Fun
This activity set features large colorful buttons of different shapes that kids place in the correct spots on the wooden boards to complete the pictures. Then count the buttons and place the correct number where it goes. This is great for learning shapes, numbers, counting, and the buttons can be used separately for shape or color sorting!
11. Bead and Pattern Card Set
This set includes colorful beads of different shapes, 2 lacing strings, and cards that shows kids how to make patterns, from simple to advanced. Great for fine motor skills and learning patterns!
12. Tangoes Junior
This is a large Tangram magnetic "tablet" that includes storage of the 7 magnetic pieces and 12 double sided puzzle cards. Comes in 2 difficulty levels so it will grow with your child. Great for spatial thinking, problem solving, math and reasoning skills!
13. Super Sorting Pie
This large "pie" includes 60 colorful fruit pieces that kids can move around using the included jumbo tweezers. There are so many ways to play and learn with these! Great for fine motor skills, counting, sorting, patterning and early math skills.
14. 1-10 Counting Cans
These are 10 large cans, similar to the alphabet soup sorting cans, that includes colorful fruits and veggies that kids can sort in the different containers while practicing counting, numbers and vocabulary.
15. Three Bear Family Sorting Activity
This huge set of 96 adorable bear counters come in 3 sizes and 6 colors, and include 22 math activities such as patterning, sorting by size, color, and more. These bears are so versatile and useful for many learning activities.

Geography:

16. Big World Map
It's never too early to get started on learning geography and the world around us! This large felt map is beautiful and includes 60 removable felt pieces such as world animals and labeling pieces.
17. Leapfrog Interactive World Map
For those of you that own the Leapfrog Leapreader, this is a large interactive map that speaks over 300 things, such as countries, continents, landmarks, fun facts and even different languages.
18. Montessori USA Wooden Puzzle
Large, hands-on wooden puzzle with small knobs to learn the US states. Also includes labeled and unlabeled control maps.
19. Hug-a-Planet
This is a large huggable, lovable plush planet that kids will love to play and learn with!
20. Safari Toob Around the World
Learn and play with world landmarks! Includes 10 famous structures: Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Arch of Triumph, Statue of Liberty, Temple of Inscriptions, Pyramids of Giza, Empire State Building, Big Ben, and the Parthenon. The name of each landmark is printed at the bottom of each piece.
21. Safari Toob World Landmarks

Another set of 7 world landmarks, including Mount Rushmore, Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, Buddha of Lantau, Easter Island, Sphinx and Colosseum. The name of each landmark is printed at the bottom of each piece.

Architecture & Construction:

22. Picasso Tiles
I have heard amazing things about these magnetic tiles and will be buying some this year for sure! Picasso tiles are the same as Magna-tiles but a little cheaper, that's why I have them listed here. Kids can easily build beautiful, amazing structures. Encourages creativity, geometric and spatial thinking and learning about magnetic polars.
23. Lauri Pegs Building Set
Build structures out of pegs and platforms in this set that includes 100 pegs, a pegboard, and 17 different shaped platforms. Great for fine motor skills too!
24. Bristle Blocks
A great alternative to traditional blocks or legos, these bristle blocks are chunky, flexible pieces of different shapes and sizes that connect together by their bristles. Some bristle blocks actually move or spin to create vehicles, robots and other objects with moving parts.
25. Gears! Gears! Gears!
Another highly recommended product! Kids can create moving mechanical structures in this 95 piece set. Includes pillars, connectors and cranks. Great for many ages!

For tons of more gift ideas, visit the annual Gift Guides for Kids where you will find all the kid blogger gift guides sorted by category!

Also check out our collaborate Pinterest board:

Follow Erica • What Do We Do All Day?'s board Gift Guides for Kids on Pinterest.

It's finally here! My daughters have been obsessing over Disney's FROZEN lately and I have been planning on making this pack for quite some time! I hope you enjoy this FREE Printable Frozen Learning Pack for toddlers and preschoolers, featuring math, literacy, visual discrimination, prewriting, handwriting, scissor skills, puzzles, do-a-dots, lacing cards and more!

Frozen Learning Pack for Toddlers & PreK: Free Printable

This FREE Frozen Learning Pack features 36 activities that will keep your little Frozen fan busy for a long time, while practicing numbers, counting, letters, letter sounds, visual and fine motor skills!

Click here to Download your FREE Frozen Learning Pack!

For more princess fun, check out the Princess Learning Pack:

Tactile sensory play is an important part of a preschooler's development. Not only does it help develop fine motor skills, but it has many other benefits such as helping the brain make connections, problem solving, language development, memory, logic and creativity.

Making a sensory bin or activity doesn't have to be complicated. You can use simple objects and ingredients, literally anything you have on hand and just mix it up in a container and let your child explore. Trust me, your child will love it!

For those of you doing tot school or letter-of-the-week curriculum, or those looking for creative ideas, I have compiled a list of my favorite sensory activities for each letter of the alphabet. I hope they inspire you!

A is for Apple: Water Beads Fall Apples Sensory Play by Little Bins for Little Hands
A is for Alphabet: Letter Search & Find Rice Sensory Bin by Little Bins for Little Hands
B is for Bubbles: Playing with Bubbles by Hands on: as we grow
B is for Bugs: Bugs and Beans Sensory Bin by Sugar Aunts
C is for Construction Site: Construction Site Sensory Play by Craftulate
C is for Cloud: Build a Cloud Sensory Play by A Little Pinch of Perfect
D is for Dinosaurs: Dinosaur Sensory Bin by Fantastic Fun and Learning

D is for Donuts: Donut Shop Sensory Play by Left Brain Craft Brain
E is for Earth: Earth Day Water Bead Play by Little Bin for Little Hands at B-Inspired Mama
F is for Farm: Old MacDonald Had a Farm Sensory Bin by Wildflower Ramblings
G is for Garden: Garden Sensory Bin by Mess for Less
H is for Hay: November Sensory Tub by Counting Coconuts
I is for Ice: Arctic Ice Sensory Play by No Time for Flash Cards
I is for Ice Cream: Play Dough Ice Cream Sensory Play by A Little Pinch of Perfect

J is for Jello: Frozen Jello Sensory Play by The Imagination Tree
K is for Kinetic Sand: Kinetic Sand Math by Left Brain Craft Brain
L is for Leaves: Fall Leaves Soup by And Next Comes L
L is for Lego: Sensory Play with Lego Bricks by Toddler Approved
M is for Magnets: Mining for Magnets by No Time for Flash Cards
M is for Money:Money Slime by Still Playing School
N is for Nature: Nature Sensory Board by Laughing Kids Learn
O is for Ocean: Super Simple Ocean Sensory Bin by Fun-a-Day!
P is for Pirate Treasure: Pirate Treasure Playdough by One Time Through
P is for Peas: Peas Pop Sensory Bag by A Little Pinch of Perfect
Q is for Quicksand: Bubbling Quicksand Sensory Play by Paging Fun Mums
R is for Rainbow: Rainbow Soap Foam by Fun at Home with Kids

S is for Snow: How to make Pretend Snow by A Little Pinch of Perfect
S is for Slime: Sunset Slime by Left Brain Craft Brain
T is for Transportation: Car themed Sensory Bin by Buggy and Buddy
U is for Underwater: Underwater Glitter Sand by In the Playroom
V is for Very Hungry Caterpillar: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sensory Bin by Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes

W is for Watermelon: Watermelon Sensory Play by Little Bins for Little Hands
W is for Winter: Wintry Sensory Bins for Learning by One Time Through
X is for X-ray: X-ray Sensory Bin by Lil' Scholars University
Y is for Yarn: Yellow Yarn Sensory Bins by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Z is for Zoo: Zoo Sensory Box by Pink and Green Mama

Visit my co-hosts to see their posts and features!

DIY Christmas Erasers from Left Brain Craft Brain
Christmas Sensory Fun + Free Mix and Match Activities Planner from One Time Through
20 Fine Motor Skill Activities from A Little Pinch of Perfect

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

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Playdough mats are always a hit at our house, so I love creating a set for every season and Holiday. Here is a set of free printable Christmas playdough mats, which includes 10 fun activities: Making Santa's beard, making Rudolph's antlers, decorating a Christmas tree, a wreath, making a snowman, a gingerbread man, candy canes, decorating ornaments, presents and more!

I always recommend that you laminate playdough mats, so you they can be used again and again! Here is the laminator that I use (affiliate link):

Click here to download your FREE Christmas Playdough Mats!

If you enjoy these mats, try our Fall Playdough Mats, Summer Playdough Mats, and American Flag Playdough Mat too!

Are you looking for Christmas craft ideas for your toddler? You've come to the right place! I am featuring a collection of 20 Easy Christmas toddler crafts. These crafts are all very creative and look great hanging up in your home or in the classroom. They use a variety of craft materials including contact paper, foam sheets and clear plastic ornaments, as well as a variety of art techniques such as handprints and tape resist.

After browsing through these great ideas, stick around for a little while and enter the $2000 Mega Cash Giveaway at the bottom of this post!

Painting & Mixed Media

Paper Plate Christmas Wreath by Sow Sprout Play
Easy Bubble Wrap Christmas Tree Ornament by Lalymom
Pom Pom Painting Christmas Tree by Fantastic Fun and Learning
Paper Plate Christmas Tree by House of Burke
Button Christmas Trees by Happy Hooligans
Paper Plate Ornament Craft by Crafty Morning

Tape Resist

Tape Resist Glitter Forest by Left Brain Craft Brain
Tape Resist Snowflake by Play Create Explore

Contact Paper

Sticky Christmas Tree by Adventures of Adam
Stained Glass Christmas Tree by Crafts on Sea
Sticky Christmas Trees by Two Daloo
Stained Glass Wreath by In the Playroom

Handprint

Handprint Christmas Tree by Fun Handprint Art
Handprint Wreath by Sweet and Lovely Crafts

Glitter & Sparkle

Tin Foil Trees Ornament by Happy Hooligans
Sparkly Christmas Tree by At Home with Ali
CD Ornaments by Happy Hooligans

Foam Sheets

Build a Frosty Snowman Kit by Growing a Jeweled Rose
Window Christmas Trees by Hands on: as we grow

Clear Plastic Ornaments

Shaken Paint Christmas Ornament by Simple Fun for Kids
Christmas I Spy Ornaments by Play at Home Mom LLC

And now for the Mega Cash Giveaway!

Win one of FOUR $500 cash prizes directly in your paypal account! This giveaway is open internationally. You must be 18+ years old to enter. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Winners will be notified via email and have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen. Please see detailed terms and conditions below the giveaway for more info.

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Today was the first day of snow for us this season, so it seems fitting that I write this post about a snowman learning activity! This is a free printable puzzle for preschoolers to practice letter sounds and letter cases! Match these 3 pieces to create a snowman: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter and an object that begins with that letter sound.

The snowman's hat contains an object that begins with each letter of the alphabet. Match the upper and lowercase letter that makes the beginning sound to complete the snowman! This is great activity for practicing letter sounds and letter recognition.

Click here to download your Free Snowman Letter Matching Puzzles

And now for some more Snowman activities shared at the Love to Learn Linky!

10 Snowman Playdough Activities by Our Little House in the Country
Bubble Wrap Snowman by Crafts on Sea
Easy Snowman Craft for Kids by Spark & Pook
Snowman Light Table Play by Where Imagination Grows
Snow-Dough Snowmen by Multicraftingmummy
Snowman Stained Glass Windows by Our Little House in the Country

Visit my co-hosts to see their posts and features!

Five Minute Crafts: Pumpkin Pie Painting from Left Brain Craft Brain
10 Fun Christmas Learning Ideas for Preschoolers from One Time Through
Snow Inspired Fun for Kids: Crafts, Activities and More from A Little Pinch of Perfect

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

The Love to Learn Linky is Hosted by:

Love to Learn Linky Etiquette:

Posts should be about educating our kids in any way - science, art, cooking, crafts, behavior, parenting, etc. Please keep them family friendly and please no Etsy shops or giveaways unless they are relevant to the topic.

Upload your direct post link to the InLinkz widget. Link up to 3 posts.

Like the hosts on Facebook: Totschooling, A Little Pinch of Perfect, Left Brain Craft Brain and One Time Through.

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This post contains affiliate links.

As part of the Christmas Read & Play Blog Hop, I created a fun activity to go along with the classic story, The Gingerbread Man! This is a pretend play activity where kids can "bake" gingerbread cookies (free printables included) and then bring them alive by decorating them with playdough!

Gingerbread Cookies Pretend Play with Free Printable

We started off by reading the classic children's book The Gingerbread Man, and talking about how the gingerbread man came alive after being baked in the oven.

Then, I printed off and laminated these FREE Gingerbread Cookies printables.

The girls played with their awesome and inexpensive Little Tikes Cupcake Kitchen, pretending to bake the cookies in their oven.

Then I gave my 3 year old daughter some playdough and helped her decorate the cookies. Now the cookies are ready to "eat"!

We also stood up the cookies inside playdough to really make them come alive!

I hope you enjoy reading The Gingerbread Man and playing with these pretend cookies. For more fun activities based on Christmas books, check out the Christmas Read & Play Blog Hop.

I always like to purchase educational gifts for my kids, and find that books are the perfect investment for a long-lasting, brain-building and fun-filled gift.

I try to find unique and interesting books, especially if giving a gift to another family, because they are less likely to own it already. Here is a list of my favorite books that make great gifts for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and beyond!

This post contains affiliate links.

Preschoolers and Up:

This House Needs a Mouse

I received a copy of this book for review and was very impressed with it! My 3 year old daughter was immediately drawn to the fun illustration on the cover and begged me to read it to her as soon as I opened the package.

I enjoyed the rich language, which is something I look for in books to introduce my daughter to new vocabulary. I had to do a bit of explaining in my own words to her, which is okay because this is one of those books that she will enjoy for many years to come.

Aimed at 3 to 8 year olds, this book is fun and educational at the same time. Its cute illustrations and unique protagonist kept my daughter engaged, while its rich language makes it a great teaching tool. We both loved the clever plot and surprise ending. This was a great addition to our library!

This House Needs a Mouse is available now on the book's website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Big Tent Books.

The Day the Crayons Quit

A very funny and entertaining book that appeals to a wide range of ages. This witty story is about a boy's crayons brought to life, going on strike and each one writing him a letter about their complaints. The boy then figures out a clever way to make all the crayons happy.

This Pigeon Needs a Bath!

The latest Mo Willems masterpiece, this is another witty book about a pigeon who refuses to take a bath and comes up with a million excuses not to. A story we can all relate to, with a fun twist at the end. Delightful read!

Press Here

An interactive book where you are prompted to follow a series of instructions on each page. Press the yellow dot, shake the book, tilt the book and see what happens on the next page. A very clever and entertaining concept that will have kids begging to read it again and again.

Journey

Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon, this is a fabulous wordless picture book with gorgeous watercolor illustrations. The story takes you on a magical adventure that will captivate children of all ages.

Flashlight

Another superb wordless picture book with beautiful illustrations, a flashlight reveals the magic and mysteries of nature in the dark. This would be a great gift paired with a flashlight!

Have you seen my Dragon?

This is a story of a boy who lost his dragon in NYC and goes all over the city in search for it. Very clever book that combines counting numbers 1-20 with look-and-find where you search for hidden items on each page. The illustrations are amazing and super-detailed, full of recognizable city icons.

ABC and 123: A Sesame Street Treasury of Words and Numbers

This is a perfect gift for Sesame Street fans. Each page features a letter of the alphabet or a number (1-100) and shows a scene full of Sesame street characters along with many words and objects that go with each letter. Great for building vocabulary and learning letters and numbers.

The Big Picture Story Bible

This is an excellent Bible storybook for young children. It seamlessly ties together all the stories of the Bible in a simple, easy to understand way and focuses on the "big picture". Short chapters make it perfect for daily Bible story time.

Babies & Toddlers:

Goodnight Songs

We all know and love Margaret Wise Brown's classic Goodnight Moon. Well, Goodnight Songs is a collection of her previously unpublished poems, illustrated by 12 award-winning artists, and turned into beautiful, enchanting lullabies. The CD is included with the book. This is a true masterpiece and a must-have in any child's library!

Little Humans

Kids love to look at pictures of other kids, and that's exactly what this 40-page photo book consists of. Created by a famous NYC street photographer, this collection embraces children's diversity and uniqueness. Adorable and captivating photographs that every child will love!

100 First Words (Lift the Flap Book)

This is currently my toddler's favorite book. She learned a lot of new vocabulary from it, and now she just loves to open each flap and say what each picture is. The flaps are sturdy and also great for fine motor skills.

Pop-up Book of Nursery Rhymes

Why read nursery rhymes any other way? This incredible pop-up book will allow kids to engage with classic nursery rhymes in a whole new way. Includes 6 classic rhymes with pop-ups.

My Big Animal Book

This is a great book for learning animal names, building vocabulary, and encouraging language development. Bright, colorful photographs will keep your toddler happy and engaged.

The Wheels on the Bus

A delightful twist on the classic song, this book features a bus-load of jungle animals who all make their own sounds as the wheels go round and round. This one is sure to be a hit!

Alphablock

This book takes on a different approach to learning the alphabet. The book has thick pages that are cut to form each letter of the alphabet, and kids can interact physically with the letters, and even play peek-a-boo games, revealing an item that begins with that letter sound. One of the most fun alphabet books I've seen.

Looking for more gifts? Check out our Educational Gift Guide for Preschoolers!

My daughter is a big fan of do-a-dot printables, but every now and then I like to change things up a bit and give her more of a challenge. So I created these Christmas themed Q-tip dot painting printables. She enjoyed painting in a unique way, and I like it because it's great for her fine motor skills!

Free Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printables

These 5 FREE Q-tip painting printables include Santa Claus, Santa Claus riding his sleigh, a Christmas tree, Rudolph the reindeer, and an elf.

Just print these sheets, grab some q-tips and paint, and you have a quick & fun activity for your preschooler.

Click here to Download your Free Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printables!

For more Christmas fun, check out these Christmas themed Playdough Mats!

Christmas is approaching quickly and I'm here with another set of printables to celebrate the season! These Free Christmas themed Picture & Word Tracing sheets are perfect for practicing handwriting and fine motor skills. Kids can trace the word, then trace the picture and color it in!

This Free Christmas Tracing pack includes 7 sheets, featuring Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas tree, snowman, gingerbread man, candy cane and Baby Jesus.

If you have any problems printing the dashed lines, email me at totschooling@gmail.com

Click here to Download your Free Christmas Picture & Word Tracing Printables

If you enjoy this set, try our Free Alphabet Picture Tracing Pack and Free Thanksgiving Word & Picture Tracing Pack.

Visit my co-hosts to see their posts and features!

10 Ways to Light Up Christmas With Kids from Left Brain Craft Brain
10+ Christmas Language and Math Activities for Preschoolers from One Time Through
Free Christmas Printable Pack & Learning Printables from A Little Pinch of Perfect

LOVE TO LEARN LINKY

Now it's time for some more links! I hope you'll join me and a couple of friends for a brand new linky party!

Bloggers, link up your posts every Thursday and watch as we round them up and share them all over the place.

Almost anything goes, we're just hoping your activities teach kids (or us!) something. (science, art, cooking, behavior, crafting, parenting, etc...)

The Love to Learn Linky is Hosted by:

Love to Learn Linky Etiquette:

Posts should be about educating our kids in any way - science, art, cooking, crafts, behavior, parenting, etc. Please keep them family friendly and please no Etsy shops or giveaways unless they are relevant to the topic.

Upload your direct post link to the InLinkz widget. Link up to 3 posts.

Like the hosts on Facebook: Totschooling, A Little Pinch of Perfect, Left Brain Craft Brain and One Time Through.

Or follow the hosts on Pinterest: A Little Pinch of Perfect, Left Brain Craft Brain, Totschooling and One Time Through.

Post our button on your site.

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Link up and grab a button!

An InLinkz Link-up

Matching Animal Halves Printable Activity (Love to Learn Linky #13)

Candy Corn Roll & Cover Math Game (Love to Learn Linky #14)

Roll the Dice Art Game Inspired by #CreativeGalaxy #AmazonKids

5 Toddler-Friendly Ways to Decorate a Pumpkin (Love to Learn Linky #15)

1. Paint the Pumpkin

2. Decorate the Pumpkin with Stickers

3. Make a Glitter Pumpkin

4. Glue Things to the Pumpkin

5. Hammer Things into the Pumpkin

Turkey Feathers Number Matching Game

Love to Learn Linky #16

10 Gratitude and Thanksgiving Books for Preschoolers

Thanksgiving Picture & Word Tracing Printables

Fun Ways to Teach Kids Gratitude (Love to Learn Linky #17)

Free Thanksgiving Math & Literacy Printable Pack for PreK

Educational Gift Guide for Preschoolers

Free FROZEN Learning Pack for Toddlers & PreK

The ABC's of Sensory Play (Love to Learn Linky #19)

Free Christmas Playdough Mats

20 Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers + $2,000 CASH Giveaway

Snowman Letter Matching Puzzles (Love to Learn Linky #20)

The Gingerbread Man Pretend Play Printable Activity

16 Picture Books that Make Great Gifts

Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printables

Christmas Picture & Word Tracing Printables (Love to Learn Linky #22)