Rainbow oat dough

Playdoh is a classic and beloved toy that has been used for generations to promote creativity, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. However, many traditional playdoh products contain synthetic ingredients and preservatives that may be harmful to children or have negative environmental impact.

An alternative to traditional playdoh is homemade playdoh made out of oats. Oat playdoh is an all-natural, non-toxic and eco-friendly option that provides many benefits for children and their families.

One of the main benefits of oat playdoh is that it is safe for children to use. Since it is made from all-natural ingredients, there is no risk of harmful chemicals or synthetic materials coming into contact with children's skin or mouths. Additionally, oats are known to be hypoallergenic, making it a great option for children with sensitive skin or allergies.

Another benefit of oat playdoh is that it is easy to make and can be customized to suit individual preferences. Oat playdoh can be made with ingredients found in most kitchens, such as oats, flour, salt, and water. It can also be flavored with natural extracts, such as vanilla or peppermint, to make it more appealing to children.

In addition, oat playdoh is an eco-friendly option, as it is made from sustainable and biodegradable materials. Unlike traditional playdoh, which can end up in landfills after being used, oat playdoh can be composted or even eaten.

Oat playdoh also promotes learning and development in children. Using it can help develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and dexterity, as well as encouraging creativity and imaginative play. Children can use it to create different shapes, models, and patterns, helping to develop their problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills.

In conclusion, oat playdoh is a safe, eco-friendly, and versatile alternative to traditional playdoh. Not only it is easy to make and customize, but it also promotes learning and development in children. It is a great option for families looking for a natural and sustainable play option for their kids.

Lesson Plan: Learning Colors of the Rainbow with Playdoh (For Toddlers)

Monday:

• Introduction to the colors of the rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

• Show flashcards of each color and have the children identify them.

• Introduce the playdoh, and have each child take a small piece of the natural playdoh in different colors, and let them explore the texture and color.

Tuesday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow and their associated names.

• Show a picture of the rainbow and have the children identify the colors in order.

• Small group activity: Have the children work in pairs to create different shapes and patterns using the playdoh in the colors of the rainbow.

Wednesday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow and their order.

• Introduce the concept of mixing colors to make new colors.

• Have the children mix different colors of playdoh together to create new colors and discuss the results.

Thursday:

• Review of the colors of the rainbow, their order, and the concept of mixing colors.

• Hands-on activity: Have the children create a rainbow using the playdoh in the correct order of colors.

• Encourage the children to use their creativity and imagination to create different designs and patterns within the rainbow.

Friday:

• Review of the week's lesson on the colors of the rainbow.

• Have the children share their rainbow creations with the class.

• End the week with a class discussion on how understanding the colors of the rainbow can help children in their daily lives, such as recognizing different colors of fruits, clothes, and traffic lights.

Note: Each day's activities should be adjusted based on the children's age and development level. Also, activities should be adapted to include different modalities such as visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and tactile to make it more engaging for kids. Use of natural playdoh is recommended as it is non-toxic, safe and easy to clean up.

Phonics Cheat Sheet for Toddlers

When I started to teach Sofie her letter sounds, I thought it would be super simple. But as I began, I realized each letter makes so many sounds it was hard to keep track. And I couldn’t find any simple materials that spelled it all out.

• How many sounds does each letter make?

• How do you write out phonetic spellings of sounds?

• How many sounds are there in the English language?

So I decided to add this Letter Sounds kit to the collection. It includes a pack of 26 cards each with the letter and the corresponding sounds as well as examples.

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Why Phonics is the Key to Unlocking a Love of Reading for Toddlers

As a parent, you want nothing more than to give your child the best start in life. One of the most important skills you can help your child develop is the ability to read. And while teaching a toddler to read may seem daunting, the key to success is starting with the basics: phonics.

Phonics is the systematic approach to teaching children the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. By learning to recognize and manipulate the sounds that make up words, toddlers are better equipped to decode and read words on their own. This is the foundation for reading fluency and comprehension.

But how do you go about teaching phonics to a toddler? One of the most effective tools you can use are letter sound flash cards. These cards, featuring colorful illustrations and clear lettering, help children associate the shape of a letter with the sound it makes. This makes the learning process fun and interactive, encouraging children to take an active role in their own education.

Our letter sound flash cards, for example, are designed to make learning phonics easy and fun for toddlers. The set includes 52 cards, one for each letter of the alphabet, and is color-coded to help children easily identify vowels and consonants. Additionally, each card features a related word and picture to help children make real-world connections between the letter and its sound.

But flash cards are just the beginning. Once children have a solid foundation in letter sounds, they can start to put those sounds together to form words. This is when the real magic happens, as children begin to see the connections between the letters and the words they see around them.

Don't wait for your child to start school to start teaching them the basics of reading. Give them a head start by introducing them to phonics and letter sound flash cards at an early age. With a strong foundation in phonics, your child will be well on their way to reading success. And our letter sound flash cards are a great tool to help you achieve that.

In conclusion, investing in letter sound flash cards for your toddler is an investment in their future. By teaching them the basics of phonics early on, you are setting them up for success in reading and beyond.

Phonics Lesson Plan

Monday:

• Introduction to the alphabet: Show the toddlers the alphabet chart and point out the different letters to them. Go through the letters one by one, saying the name and the sound of each letter.

• Letter matching game: Cut out different letters from a magazine and have the toddlers match them to the corresponding letter on the alphabet chart.

Tuesday:

• Beginning sounds: Show the toddlers pictures of different objects and have them identify the beginning sound of each word. For example, "What's the beginning sound of apple? /a/."

• Sound sorting: Give the toddlers a set of pictures and have them sort them into groups based on the beginning sound.

Wednesday:

• Middle sounds: Introduce the concept of middle sounds by using words with a single middle sound and have them identify the middle sound. For example, "What's the middle sound of rabbit? /b/."

• Sound blending: Give the toddlers a set of sounds and have them blend them to make a word. For example, /c/ /a/ /t/ = cat.

Thursday:

• End sounds: Introduce the concept of end sounds by using words with a single end sound and have them identify the end sound. For example, "What's the end sound of dog? /g/."

• Sound segmenting: Give the toddlers a word and have them identify and say the individual sounds that make up the word. For example, "What sounds do you hear in the word map? /m/ /a/ /p/."

Friday:

• Review and assessment: Review the concepts and skills taught throughout the week and assess the toddlers' understanding through a series of activities and games.

• Letter sound song: Sing the alphabet song and have the toddlers repeat the sounds and letters after you.

Note It's important to keep the lesson interactive, hands-on, and fun for the toddlers. It's also essential to provide lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement throughout the week.

5 Steps to a Beautiful Rainbow Toddler Closet

Today I finally got around to organizing Sofie’s closet. I’m a total sucker for a good rainbow theme these days so organizing her closet by color was so much fun. The main colors are bright pastel primaries which really bring the rainbow look to life. Sofie loves to shop from small mom owned brands and some of our absolute favorites are featured here:

• Eighth Day Creations

• Little Nugget Knits

• Kyte Baby

• Little Sleepies

• Tilli Rose Designs

Getting rid of old baby clothes and things she’s outgrown is so incredibly hard for me. Every little outfit is so full of memories. But when it is time to purge I love sending gently used items to ThredUP ( P.S. You can use this code to get $10 free /www.thredup.com/r/QYRWFV) because I hope they get a second lifetime.

step 1: Choose a color palette

it sounds so simple when you think about it — if you want a Pinterest perfect closet you need to plan a color scheme in advance. But most people accumulate items they love as they go and so the whole closet is a hodge pudge of various tones. Rainbow is a great theme for a kids closet because you really get the breadth of all of the fun kids colors. When Sofie was an infant though I did a completely monochromatic closet with some baby pink accents.
Okay so you’re probably thinking there’s no way you could stick to a strict pallet. There’s no way you could give up your son’s favorite red shirt or your daughters crazy purple birthday dress. Well the good news is you don’t have to! For those must have items that don’t fit into the closet color scheme, simply tuck them away in some stylish bins. This keeps the overall look uniform.

step 2: design your seasons

Another great way out of narrowing down the color palette is to pick two schemes. One for fall and winter and one for spring and summer. For fall I simply can’t resist natural muted earth tones and all of the brown, maroons, and dark mustard colors. But for spring and summer in all about the pastel bright rainbows. The key is just don’t mix and match. If you have two sides of the closet use one for each season. Or if not tuck away the past season in boxes — and if your kiddo is a toddler they’ve l likely outgrown last season anyway.

step 3: arrange your shelves

Sofie had a lot of Toddler Jammie’s and tops so I chose to hang those and use the shelves in between for leggings and shorts. But now that she’s old enough to pick out her own outfits, I recommend hanging matching bottoms and tops together so that they can easily choose something semi coordinated.

step 4: arrange by color

This is wear the rainbow magic begins! Start with red and darks moving to lighter shades and into the next color. You’ll have so much fun seeing the rainbow come to life. If you do a squint test and something sticks out, it’s probably the wrong color family or tone.

Okay so you’re probably thinking that’s great for solids but what about patterns and multi colors? We’ll as you can see in my photo Sofie def has some floral prints that I just love. I tend to tuck them strategically in between other items do they don’t stand out too much. But you can also gather then all at one end or the other or fuck them away in boxes. To get the overall effect you just have to make sure you don’t have too many outliers.

step 5: purchase items to fill in the gaps

It probably sounds crazy to shop for new items based on your closet color palette instead of what your kid really needs right now. But here’s the thing — adding this constraint into the equation made me a much better shopper. Instead of just buying the first thing you see that meets that cold morning need, it’ll force you to think about what color or pattern you need, what bottoms will match, and what place does it serve in the overall wardrobe. Doing this really helped me ensure I wasn’t just buying more to have more but actually making a thoughtful choice.

Oh and it works the other way too! The best excuse I had not to buy one more coral shirt, or that bright red valentines print was knowing that either that color spot was already taken or that bright red would mess up my whole aesthetic.

So it’s a brand new year and spring cleaning will be just around the corner. So don’t forget these five tips for a more organized and Pinterest-worthy closet as you start your annual organization efforts!

Rainbow Pancakes

So some good friends of mine recommended I branch out from the usual eggs for breakfast. So on a whim I decided to make some rainbow pancakes this morning. I literally decided to do it and whipped them ago all within a matter of 30 minutes. And the outcome was so fun! Look at these adorable rainbows and clouds! I will definitely be doing more pancakes in the future.

• Pancake Mix

• Water or Milk

• Canola Oil

• Food Coloring

• Piping bags