Teaching Toddlers: Joseph's Coat

**We are still having computer issues, so I apologize for the look of this post.**

Joseph’s Coat

18+ Months

Subject	Focus	Time	Activity
Bible	The childhood story of Joseph (Genesis 37)	During breakfast	Read the story of Joseph’s childhood 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	I could not find a song focusing on Joseph that I liked for toddlers.  I did find a link to many songs related to colors, so I hope you can find a song or two your child would enjoy on this site.
Letter Awareness	To recognize the capital letters	Morning, before nap	ABC Sponge Painting Gather washable paint (you can make edible finger paint if you wish), construction or cardstock paper, and sponges shaped as the letters.  Show your child how to dip the sponge in the paint and then gently press it onto the paper.  Talk about each letter and continue until your child shows signs of disinterest.  Hang the artwork in a place where your child can see it and review the letters often (I am going to cut out each letter individually.) **You  may want to focus on one letter each day.  We are working on A, B, C, D, E, I, O, U, and W (she likes W and I love the way she says it!). If your child is older, here is a great letter dominoes activity or a tutorial on how to make wooden alphabet disks that could be used with numerous activities!
Math	Continue practicing counting	Any time of the day	Colors and Counting Sorting Activity Gather 4 jars.  On each jar tape a colored piece of paper (see pictures below).  Have your child gather single-colored objects and place each object in the correctly colored container.  As your child puts the objects into the containers, count each object and say the color.  Once the jar is full, dump out the objects and count them one by one as your child puts them back into the correctly colored container.  Continue this game until your toddler shows signs of becoming uninterested.
Play time with a  purpose	To learn through play	Afternoon	Addison is LOVING puzzles right now.  Check out these awesome homemade puzzle ideas (some of which would be best for older children)!! -fabric puzzle blocks -painted block puzzle -pizza puzzle -cereal box puzzle -popsicle stick puzzle -popsicle stick photo puzzle -foam shape puzzle
Following Directions/ Obeying	To learn to recognize Mommy’s voice and obey what she says	Any time of the day	Listen to Mommy and Obey Say, “Look at Mommy. Listen to Mommy and obey. RUN!!” Then both of you run. Say, “Listen to Mommy and obey. STOP!” Continue this game by having your child do various tasks such as, crawl, walk backwards, get a certain toy, etc.
Art	To express oneself creatively	Afternoon	Coat of Many Colors Cut out an outline of a coat on heavy cardstock paper.  Tear strips of multi-colored tissue paper.  Show your child how to crumple the tissue paper.  Allow your toddler to put glue onto the coat and then put the tissue paper on the coat (we used a glue stick).  Talk about the different colors and the story of Joseph as you make the colorful coat.
Story time	To snuggle and read together in preparation for going to sleep	Before bed	Re-read the story of Joseph’s childhood (maybe from a different toddler Bible)

Additional resources:
http://daniellesplace.com/html/rrpreschoolsamplejoseph.html

A few pictures from our week...