Noah has just turned 22 months old and Shion is 9.5 months.
We had some autumn themed activities the past couple of weeks and we will continue on with some activities we haven`t done yet as well as some Halloween themed activities over the next week or two as well. We already had our halloween party for English playgroup which was a ton of fun. Shion was fine in his costume but Noah hated his as you will see at the end of this post.
Art & Craft
We did some painting with apples. I definitely should of looked for some smaller apples!
Noah made two apple trees with stickers on two different days. He liked it some much the first time I had another one ready to go for another time.
Since Noah peels the stickers off himself now this is also a great fine motor skills activity.
He did some general sticker work too. He would play with stickers everyday if he could!
I got this from The Princess & The Tot and he loved it. I will have to print out another one for him to have another go. I didn`t think he would get it but surprisingly he did very well with it.
Noah did a ton of drawing with markers and crayons and has started to draw circles with dots and a line to indicate a face- at least that is what I think he is trying to do. He still loves me to write his name on everything and he points to the letters for me to say their names. Amazingly he will point out N`s, o`s, a`s and h`s in his story books or in Shion`s name is I write it to indicate that they are the same and that he recognizes them. He also did some autumn themed colouring sheets but I don`t have any pictures- some leaves, some apples etc. Noah prefers to free draw though and doesn`t like to colour in pictures so much. He will usually just flip them over to the blank side to draw his own thing.
I can`t wait til Shion stops trying to eat the crayons so that he can also have a go at drawing and also so that I can leave the paper and crayons down again freely.
Practical Life & Fine Motor Skills
No photos but we baked some apple and cinnamon muffins. It is extremely difficult to try and bake with a toddler with a baby under foot and try and take photos at the same time. Noah helped with the mixing and the taste testing 
Still loving to help mum around the house. As well as do pretend play with the broom!
I should mention that he loves to sweep outside too at the in-laws house and he used the broom to sweep up some leaves for us recently {I piled them near him} as we did not have a rake for him to try. He loved this and signed “more more more” over and over again wanting to do it again. He is finally saying “more” now as well which is great!
Heart stoppers in a container- a big hit!
Playing in the pots and pans cupboard is a regular play time happening. Here he is “tasting” his goods, so to speak. Both of these photos are more pretend play than fine motor or practical life.
Making music is also fun especially when Shion is involved it seems!!
I bought out a “tonging” activity again as last time it was unsuccessful. Noah showed much more interest this time and I told him he was tonging apples! He couldn`t quite get it himself but used his hands to put them in the tongs and went from there. I think I need different tongs for him but I have tried two different types without luck…
Math & Sensory
We continued with doing lots of counting and some numbers songs and he still enjoyed flicking through and reading some of the number books we read a lot of during the numbers Tot School weeks. Outside I tried to get him to count things like leaves and rocks and he will count on his fingers with me if I prompt him {not actually saying the words though}
I don`t have any photos but we went on a bit of a leaf hunt. We go for a daily walk almost everyday around the neighbourhood especially if we have no plans to go out. On one of the days I encouraged Noah to find lots of leaves and put them in a bag I had. He liked doing this and when we got home I laid them on the ground outside so he cold look at them some more.
We also had an autumn sensory bin- I had some autumn themed cards printed {I think they are from Homeschool creations or 1+1+1=1} and I cut up one set and left the other sheet in tact and he tried to find them and match them up.
We played with these block again.
We also did this puzzle which Noah got quite good at quite fast. He loved it when i pointed out that it was green like his sweater.
Also played lego with daddy a couple of times.
I went to the kitchen one day and Noah & Shion were playing with wooden blocks and I came back and found this. This book had been on the floor as we had read it not long before this and I guess Noah saw an opportunity to do some colour matching! This was completely unprompted!
Language
We are still concerned about Noah`s lack of words- he communicates his needs just fine through signing and gestures and he has a handful of words he uses frequently. He will copy some things we say when prompted but he is still fairly non verbal. When he turns 2 we will have him assessed if his language has not started to take off more before then. My family and Shun`s family is not concerned and said he is still young and has had a bit of a traumatic year but I still can`t help feeling it may be something else.
We didn`t have many Autumn themed books but the couple we did read a couple of times included “There was an old lady who swallowed some leaves”, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” {features apples and a leaf!}, “Frederick”, “Winnie the Pooh and the blustery day”. We also read other books everyday!
I did another letter box with Noah. This time I introduced A {and he copied the “ah” sound. Here he is exploring it. He also did some colouring sheets from it and then later on in the week he did an A sheet with stickers.
Also here are some photos from our Halloween playgroup party. Noah did not like his elmo hat and tried to take it off a lot…..and then he made a run for it! Shion was the happiest of all the kids in his costume!
Oh & who could forget some Baby School- Here Shion puts some blocks in a hole in a box then picks the box up to try and find them again!
And joining in with us with our alphabet discovery box! A is for APPLE!
Linking up to 1+1+1=1 and to Montessori Monday held here & here. Also since I was asked {quite chuffed!} I am linking up to Living Life Intentionally as well and she even has a cute button.
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
Love the creative play going on there!
I hope his language gets tyhere
I hope so too! He seems to pick up a word or two now and then and will attempt to repeat words I say. His new word is “Uh oh”
Great photo’s Laura, Noah’s hair is getting quite curly isn’t it?
Thanks mama. Yes it is quite curly {no sign of curls on Shion though} but still quite thin. He really needs a haircut though!
Leilah loves stickers too – but I’m not sure if she can peel them off herself or not yet. I find it really frustrating though so they are only brought out occasionally!!
Both boys looked super cute in their halloween costumes. It’s a shame Noah didn’t like his though. Maybe next year he will be more into it?
It took Noah awhile to learn to peel them off. I used to put them on his arms and legs and he would just peel them off himself. I love stickers for him- it is usually a quiet and not very messy activity. Even if they do sometimes end up other places {at the moment Shun`s sandles have two stickers on each sole for example!}
I am not too worried that Noah didn`t like his costume. I figured he would try and take it off. We never celebrated Halloween in Australia {did you?} so he might never really get into it but if he wants to dress up in the years to come I will help him with costumes.
Nice activites! I especially like the matching color objects to the picture. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by! Yes the colour blocks to picture was all his idea. Big surprise to me!
Dylan still LOVES stickers, and he’s four. Actually, come to think of it, my pre-elementary kids also love stickers. I guess they are the sort of thing are fun for all ages! Dylan won’t take them off the sheet himself though because he usually has sort of delicate shapes, like dinosaurs with thin necks (brilliant idea for a sticker, right?) and he gets really sad if they tear ,lol.
Haha, I don`t give Noah many that are delicate! Even the circles annoy him sometimes if they fold inwards. What about Annika? They are a great activity for littlies. I have stickers and paper in my handbag for when we are out and about or on the train too. ALthough mainly his mini magnadoodle gets the most workout if we are out and about.
Geez Lulu, you are AMAZING! Tot School is tooooooons of work, and you do so much! It was impressive when it was just Noah, but now you’ve got Shion underfoot, AND you’re doing Baby School! Good for you mama!
And that escaping Elmo pic again, easily the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages! I laugh just thinking about it. Think I’m gonna print out a small copy to keep at work for times when I need a laugh. It’s hilarious!
Feel free to print and post it near your desk. It makes me smile too!!
Oh and baby school is just me snapping pictures of Shion while I do stuff with Noah. hehe! Hard to do some of our Tot School activities when Shion is awake though….I wish we had more space too. A little art table for Noah would be great and then Shion could join in when he is a bit older {and not trying to eat everything}
Love the Halloween costume pictures! My two-year-old is going through a major cleaning/sweeping phase as well. If only it would last….
I know right? How do we encourage them that sweeping, dusting and folding washing is fun forever???!! Thanks for stopping by!
More amazing and very well rounded activities for Noah. I love that Noah actually sticks the stickers on the paper. I end up finding stickers in all sorts of crazy places and some of them are super hard to peel off. You know I don’t think any of my kids have ever played with the pots and pans. I think I need to rectify that. Not bashing some saucepans lids and banging on pots with a wooden spoon – can’t grow up without doing that.
Am loving Noah’s curls. They’re beautiful. Almost as gorgeous as that little pea brother of his. Fricken adorable.
xxx
Oh he doesn`t ALWAYS stick them on the paper. I do find the odd one somewhere else….or in his hair/clothes/shoes or on Shion!
Noah plays with pots and pans EVERYDAY. It is a favourite activity for both boys but can be very noisy and unfortunately sometimes Noah throws things and of course they are heavy so when they hit Shion there is tears. Your kids are a bit older and while Ryu is the youngest I am sure he could hold his own
Cute activities. Loved the apple sticker tree – great for younger kids without the mess of painting! And playing with the pots & pans looks like great fun!
I would love for you to link up at Living Life Intentionally’s Linky party – http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/search/label/Linkey%20Parties ~Beth
Hi Beth, thanks for stopping by. I have linked up to your most recent linky party! I also thought about doing the apple tree with glue and red or green puffballs OR with dot markers but we didn`t get to it. Noah loves the stickers anyway!!
I think the boys playing with the real pots and pans more than their mini set from Ikea although last night before bed they played with the food and pans in their set for 30 minutes or so and seem to enjoy it. My younger one just likes to suck on everything though!
Great activities!!
I would assume that you are a bilingual family. I believe that I read that children of bilingual families have an initial delay in communications, but then take off at much faster rate than their monolingual peers. I am not sure if that helps you at all. It appears that you are doing a great job in your home.
Best wishes!!
Kerri
Yes sometimes people say bilingualism can cause a bit of delay at first although I am not sure that is it. I think it is more that he is a boy but also he has had a very crazy year with a new sibling, moving around between our old apartment and the in-laws house, back to our apartment then moving to a new apartment as well as the stress the earthquake caused earlier in the year. His understanding is quite good so I am hoping his language will pick up with time. Almost all of his words so far are English!
Thanks for the wishes!
So many great activities! I love sticker activities (your apple tree is TOO CUTE) for toddlers. They’re so much fun and great for eye-hand coordination. And I LOVE Noah’s extension of book and blue blocks. That’s a great activity and that he thought of it himself is awesome! I love all the photos and adorable expressions, too! Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow.
Thanks Deb! Not all of my activities are montessori inspired but a couple are so I linked up- glad that it was okay. I have Montessori at Home now and hope to do more and more montessori themed extension activities with the boys as they grow.
Wow! Your son did do well with the color stampers. I’ll have to see if Mini is ready for it, too!
Oh how old is mini? I was surprised Noah did okay with it. I demonstrated with the red but the rest was all him. Colours and shapes seem to be a strong point for him at the moment even if he can`t really say any of their names.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mini Cooper is 26 mo old, so I think I’ll give it a try here soon.
cute! Even my little ones could do a sticker tree. Why didn’t I think of that?!?! I found you blog on Living Life Intentionally LInky Party =-)
Plus the circle stickers are super cheap for a lot of them!!! The apples I had I bought at the 100yen shop here too- they are actually page markers but I just used them as normal stickers! Glad you found something that you can do with your little ones.
Hopping over from Living Life Intentionally Linky Party. Love this. My 2 year old could do this. THanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope your 2 year old enjoys some of the activities!
I LOVE IT! These “Works” are amazing and you can see the joy in your sons faces! Montessori based activities are so beautiful and fun.. keep up the blog! I look forward to reading more
Megan