November's Seasonal/Holiday Theme: Turkeys

I plan to focus on this theme on the weekends of November.

Vocabulary/Sign Language (Click on the link beside the word.)
turkey http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/TURKEY/5317/1

Song
Albequerque Turkey (sung to the tune of "Oh My Darlin")
Albequerque is a turkey,
and he's feathered and he's fine,
And he wobbles, and he gobbles, and he's absolutely mine.
He's the best pet that you can get
Better than a dog or cat.
He's me Albequerque Turkey
And I'm mighty proud of that!

Books

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
Turkey Surprise by Peggy Archer
Beauty and the Beaks: A Turkey's Cautionary Tale by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
A Plum and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman

Activity
Take your toddler to a farm or animal park that has turkeys.

November's Main Theme: Daily Routine

I will be focusing on this theme Monday-Friday throughout the month.

Vocabulary/Sign Language (click on the link beside each word)
eat http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?search=eat&find=1&submitSearch.x=25&submitSearch.y=24
more http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/MORE/272/1
all done http://www.signingsavvy.com/search.php?search=all+done&find=1
drink http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/DRINK/119/1
diaper http://www.signingsavvy.com/wordlist/13/DIAPER/248
bath http://www.signingsavvy.com/wordlist/13/BATH/234
sleep http://www.signingsavvy.com/wordlist/13/SLEEP/295

Song
This is the way we... (Sung to tune of Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we eat our breakfast/lunch/dinner
So early in the morning/afternoon/evening.
This is the way we change our diaper
So early in the morning/afternoon/evening.
This is the way we take a bath
So early in the evening.
This is the way we go to sleep
So early in the evening.
(Be sure to use your signs while singing.)

Book Suggestions

I plan to read the mealtime books during meals, bath books during bath time, and so on.

Mealtime Books
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Gobble It Up! by Jim Arnosky
Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson
Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise! by Leo Landry
Foodie Babies Wear Bibs by Michelle Sinclair Colman
One Hungry Monster by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe
Yum Yum Baby Bundt by Jamie Harper
Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli
Eating Well by Liz Gogerly
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Harry Hungry! by Steven Salerno

Bath Time Books
Splish, Splash Baby Bundt by Jamie Harper
Caillou: Bath Time by Joceline Sanschagrin
Bathtime for Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
The Treasure Bath by Dan Andreasan
The Bath by Terri Dougherty
Henry's Bath by Margaret Perversi
Does An Elephant Take a Bath? by Fred Ehrlich
Bath Time by Jane Gerver

Bedtime Books
Night, Night Baby Bundt by Jamier Harper
The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra
Little Quack's Bedtime by Lauren Thompson
Bertie at Bedtime by Marcus Pfister
Bedtime Peekaboo! by Dawn Sirett
Day is Done by Peter Yarrow
Say Goodnight by Helen Oxenbury
When the World is Ready for Bed by Gillian Shields

Activities
Let your toddler practice feeding him/herself with toddler friendly forks and spoons.
Practice the sign language as you do these daily routines, read the books, and sing the song.

Monthly Progress

Yay! Owen is starting to point to his body parts when prompted: head, nose, ear, belly button, etc. I'm still planning to review these. I think we will try to sing "Head & Shoulders" while we are changing his diaper and after bath time when we are drying him off. He also seems to recognize the word pumpkin.
Leave a comment if you want to share anything your toddler has recently learned. (doesn't have to be just body parts)

October's Little Lunch Recipe

SuperMac & Cheese with Pumpkin (9 months and up)
Did you know that pumpkin is considered a superfood? You really can't taste the pumpkin in this recipe. It's just added for nutritional value.
http://www.nurturebaby.com/index.php?mact=Products,cntnt01,details,0&cntnt01category=9-12%20Months&cntnt01productid=19&cntnt01returnid=71

Pumpkin yogurt-add 1 tablespoon of canned pumpkin to 1/4 cup of whole milk plain yogurt. You can also add mashed banana, a dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg.
This is a link to many more pumpkin baby food recipes.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/pumpkin-babyfood-recipes.htm

October's Seasonal/Holiday Theme: Pumpkins

I plan to focus on this theme on the weekends of October, just to change things up a bit.
Vocabulary/Sign Language (click on the link to see the sign language video)
pumpkin http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/PUMPKIN/4226/1

Song
Have you ever seen a pumpkin? (Tune: Have you ever seen a Lassie?)
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin?
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?
A round one, a short one, a tall one, a fat one.
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?
Leave me a comment if you know of another song that goes well with this theme.
Books
The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown
The Pumpkin Blanket by Deborah Turney Zagwyn
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Leave me a comment if you know of any other good books to go with this theme.
Activities
Visit a pumpkin patch. :)
Be sure to point out any pumpkins you may see while running errands.
Leave me a comment if you think of any other activities to go with this theme.

October's Main Theme: Body Parts

I will be focusing on this theme Monday-Friday throughout the month of October.

Vocabulary/Sign Language (click the links to see the sign language video)

Most of these are pretty obvious when it comes to sign language.

head http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/HEAD/1464/1

hair http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/HAIR/1444/1

shoulder http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/SHOULDER/2490/1

fingers http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/FINGERS/6009/1

knee http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/KNEE/5211/1

toe http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/TOE/5998/1

eye http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/EYE/1307/1

ear http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/EAR/1253/1

mouth http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/MOUTH/1877/1

teeth http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/TEETH/2720/1

nose http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/NOSE/3967/1

Songs

Copy and paste these songs to a word document. Print them out and hang on your refrigerator. You could also create a playlist of these songs on I-tunes.

Head and shoulders
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

Eyes and ears, a mouth and a nose.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

Hokey Pokey
You put your right arm in.
You put your right arm out.
You put your right arm in,

and you shake it all about.

You do the hokey pokey,

and you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about!

(continue with other body parts)

Dem Bones (Dem Dry Bones)
Dem bones, Dem bones, Dem dry bones,

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,

Now hear the word of the Lord!

Your toe bone connected to your foot bone,

Your foot bone connected to your ankle bone,

Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone,

Your leg bone connected to your knee bone,

Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone,

Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone,

Your hip bone connected to our back bone,

Your back bone connected to your shoulder bone,

I hear the word of the Lord!

Leave me a comment if you know of any other good songs relating to this theme.

Book suggestions

Copy and paste this list in a word document. Print it out and take it to the library with you.

Head to Toe by Eric Carle

All of Me! A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang

Armpits to Zits: The Body from A to Z by Colleen Dolphin

My Mouth by Lloyd G. Douglas

Baby Nose to Baby Toes by Vicky Ceelen

This is Me by Richard Scarry

Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim

Whose Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim

My Hands by Aliki

My Feet by Aliki

Parts by Ted Arnold

The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss

The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss

Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz

Toes, Ears, and Nose by Karen Katz

Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes by Judy Hindley

My First Body Board Book by DK Publishing

I know there are tons of books for this topic, so leave me a comment if you find another good one that I left off.

Activities

Read a book and sing a song everyday. Be sure to point out the vocabulary words in the pictures of your books.

Go over various body parts everyday. Start with the head and work your way down. Use sayings like: our head thinks, our eyes blink, our nose smells, our ears hear, our mouths speak, our hands clap, our feet stomp, etc.

Draw a face on a paper plate. Be sure to include hair and teeth. Point and say the parts. Hang it on the refrigerator or a place where you will see it often.

Leave me a comment if you think of any other activities relating to this theme.