Teaching Toddlers: Baby Moses

(Note: You will probably notice that we really aren't going in any order other than sticking to the Old Testament at this point.  Addison loves the story of Adam and Eve so much because she can loudly proclaim "No, no, Eve!  No, no Adam!" as they eat the fruit.  She can pretty much finish each sentence in the rhyming Bible we've read it so many times.  I was afraid that she wouldn't want to move onto another story, so I chose the story of baby Moses because she adores babies.  She has really enjoyed learning about baby Moses, but we still have to re-read the story of Adam and Eve at each meal!)

Baby Moses

18+ Months

(Note: The following activities are intended to be repeated each day for an entire week.)

Subject	Focus	Time	Activity
Bible	The story of baby Moses (Exodus 2)	During breakfast	Read the story of baby Moses in a toddler’s Bible.   (One of our favorite children's Bibles.  It also comes in a toddler version which I'm sure is great too!)  If your child is a bit older, we highly recommend   The Jesus Storybook Bible.
Music	Reinforce Bible story through music.	Soon after breakfast	"Itty Bitty Moses"
Letter Awareness	To recognize the capital letters	Morning, before nap	If your child enjoys coloring, here are some great alphabet coloring pages. LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD - We do not have cable and we rarely watch movies.  But as I was doing some research on teaching children letter recognition, this DVD came up time and time again.  Moms and teachers were raving about it.  Does anyone have it?  Do you agree that it is a great way for children to learn the letters??  I'm curious.
Math	To review a circle, square, and triangle and continue counting	Any time of the day	Collecting Objects Outside While you are outside one day, draw a square, triangle, and a circle on the driveway with chalk.  Write “1” above one shape, “2” above another shape, and “3” above the final shape.  Collect 1 object (maybe a rock) and place it in the shape labeled “1”.  Find two objects and place inside the shape labeled “2”.  Continue this process until each shape is filled with the correct number of objects.  You can add more numbers if your toddler is ready.  **See the pictures below.
Play time with a  purpose	To learn through play	Afternoon	Baby Moses Allow your toddler to act out the story of baby Moses by getting a baby doll, wrapping it in a blanket, placing it in a basket, and pretending to float it down a river (a blue sheet).  Talk about how God was with Moses even when he was a baby and connect that truth to your child’s life. Sorting Objects Gather solid colored blocks or objects and 4-5 glass containers.  Place one colored object in each container so all the containers hold one color (different from the others).  Mix up the remaining objects.  Show your child how to place the yellow block in the container with the other yellow block.  Focus on the colors as your child sorts the object.  As you are going along, count the objects in each container.  Once all the objects are sorted, you can dump each container and count the objects.  **See the pictures below. If your child is older, you could encourage him or her to make groups of objects based on their categories – farm animals, jungle animals, letters, numbers, rough objects, smooth objects, heavy objects, light objects, etc.
Following Directions/ Obeying	To learn to recognize Mommy’s voice and obey what she says	Any time of the day	Watch and Repeat This game encourages your toddler to actively watch, listen, and repeat what he or she saw.  Tell your child to watch Mommy.  Clap once.  Encourage your toddler to repeat what you just did and clap once.  Clap twice.  Have your child clap twice.  Scream.  Your child should then scream.  Continue this “copy cat” game until your toddler shows signs that he or she is ready to move on to a new activity.
Art	To express oneself creatively	Afternoon	Baby Moses Handprint Craft (coloring page found here)  Baby Moses in a Basket Craft
Story time	To snuggle and read together in preparation for going to sleep	Before bed	Re-read the story of Baby Moses (maybe from a different toddler Bible)

A few pictures from our week: