travel activity #1

A couple of weeks ago, I had the H pick up a little binder thingy for me at the Exchange Depot, along with a pack of 5x7 cards to fill the pockets. Since then, I have been brainstorming activities for Tonka. As I finish each activity, I'll try to post it. Here's the first.

Directions:
Have 3yo separate the clothespins so each player has one of each color (or just match them up if he's playing on his own).Shake the die and drop it into the container. Find a clothespin that matches the facing color and attach it to the proper square on your game card. Next player's turn.Repeat until all of the clothespins have a home. This can take a half hour if you "do" it right.

When you've finished playing, let the toddler take his time putting the clothespins back into the container. He might want to stir, chew, point, dump, or smack with them instead... but eventually they'll all make it in, especially if you only give him half of the pins to work with in the first place. If he masters this, put the lid on first and open the "pour" side for a smaller opening. (this was formerly a parsley container).

The flip side:
Again with the matching. This particular almost-3-year-old cannot match the ordinals yet, but is surprisingly proficient at the digit matching. The circles are for counting and perhaps cheerios.