If you’re the ultimate procrastinator and still have gifts to buy for the holidays or a busy mama like me who dreads going to stores with very energetic toddlers you’ve stumbled upon the perfect post. I’ve made this list of a few items that my boys absolutely love playing with at our house so they all are tried and true! I hope you have the best holiday season! I hope that any gift you give sparks joy in their little hearts. And if you’ve already finished your holiday shopping still stick around and read the post these could be great gift ideas throughout the year too!

1.) Magnetic Tiles: These magnetic tiles we have had to order three more sets. If there is one activity that keeps the boys entertained all day it is these magnetic tiles. They can play with these all day building and knocking down structures. It’s amazing to see how creative their minds can get with the right tools and toys. Great way to teach your toddler their colors!

2.) My Plate Board Game: I found this gem at the Children’s Museum’s gift shop in New York City over the summer and I had hidden it from the boys to open on a rainy day where they would need an exciting activity. We got tons of snow for the past couple of weeks and cabin fever was getting to the boys so we pulled out this board game and played as a family. I think our first board game the four of us played together! This was such a fun game and an amazing concept that taught kids to share, the importance of eating healthy, the different food groups, and best of all it sparked so much excitement for my picky eater to try different foods. So if you struggle with a picky eater, this ones a gem!

3.) Kids Kindle: No matter how much I try its impossible to avoid screen time one hundred percent! Raise your hand if you’re a mama that struggles with this department!! You are not alone, mama!!! I try to avoid giving the kids my phone for multiple reasons but the two main ones are that there’s no parental control and I don’t want the screen to crack. This Kindle Fire for kids with the case is SOLID!! I mean throwing down the stairs solid (note* with the case)! Great for travel too!

4.) LEGO Set: You can never go wrong with these they are the perfect activity. Teaches children patience, great for motor skills (any age), and the process of building and completing a lego project is such a proud feeling of achievement.

5.) Kids Easel: My son got one of these for his birthday and he LOVES it. We practice our writing on here, work on letter recognition and even doodling. It’s a great size and compact so great for small spaces too.

6.) Magnetic Calendar: This calendar is so fun. We have learned to be so observant as we update our calendar everyday. This has been a great activity that has helped teach the kids their days of the week and months of the year. It’s also made them familiar with the seasons and learn to observe the weather. They love it and fight over who gets to switch up the magnets.

7.) Shape Sorting Clock: Although they are still little to be able to tell time I love this clock because it incorporates so much more than just time from colors, shapes, and numbers too. First time Rayyan could identify the numbers 1-10 he showed me on this clock (exciting mommy moment I won’t forget). It keeps my two year old busy for a while too when he gets his hands on it, he’ll sit their and sort out the shapes.

8.) KiwiCo Inc.: I’ve raved about these subscription boxes on my insta-stories if you follow along and they are the best! A personalized box for your child that shows up at your doorstep once a month! A box full of amazing activities based on a theme. This month we had medieval times we created a catapult and castle the kids LOVED! Let me add they enjoyed the catapult more than the castle because they shot pompom’s at their Dad when he got home from work; pretty entertaining if you ask me! haha!

What are some toys your toddlers have loved exploring with? I’d love to know I’m always looking for educational toys/activities especially in the colder seasons when outside time is so limited and the days are shorter!

The post Kid’s Gift Guide Ages 2-4 first appeared on Style With Kitty.

The post Kid’s Gift Guide Ages 2-4 appeared first on Style With Kitty.

Little did we know that separation and stranger anxiety happens in toddlers too and not only babies. Much to my surprise the first week of Montessori school went fantastic little Ray kissed Mama goodbye and jetted off to his classroom leaving ME in tears. As I left the school sobbing, a burst of emotions took over me. How could my baby be all grown up already?! He doesn’t need Mama anymore?! I waited at a local coffee shop for forty-five minutes with the cheerful company of my sister and brother in law. Time just wasn’t going by fast enough. As my countdown to pick-up time came to about 10 minutes to go I rushed back to the Montessori and was one of the first moms there to pick up my little boy and he ran into my arms with excitement to show me his classroom.

And then came week two totally unexpected I walked into the school and Ray had hesitated to let go of my hand. The moment I kneeled down for a kiss and goodbye hug I foresaw a major tantrum about to burst out and, lo and behold, as it happened he started crying “No Mama, Stay!” and my heart melted right there however I controlled my emotions and as the teacher instructed I comforted him and let him know I’ll be back soon and I walked away saying good-bye. He ran towards the school window and I could hear him through the glass window screaming, “No, Mama, Stay!” I have to admit I cried A LOT in the car as I drove off. And this persisted for about another 2 weeks. Ray’s personality at home started to change as well. He began to get nervous that I was leaving him for hours again even if I stepped downstairs for a few minutes or went to the bathroom. Something wasn’t right; suddenly my independent two year old was getting separation anxiety. If we had conversations about his teacher or school he would immediately get anxious and say “No, Mama, me crying” and so I figured I was traumatizing him from the school experience and he wasn’t actually enjoying it. And so after about one month Hubby and I decided to take him out of the Montessori school.

I learned that the Montessori method of learning isn’t exactly right for my child. I loved the concept of independent learning and the freedom for the child to choose the activity or station he would like to work in; especially at the age of two since kids at this age don’t have the attention span to sit through structured activities. Being a stay-at-home mom I have the entire day to keep the boys occupied between naps and meals. And so our activities tend to be structured at home. The goal is to try to have a scheduled and structured day but they’re kids and I’m human so not every day is spent following a schedule to a tee. However, Ray thrives on structured activities.

Here are 4 Structured Educational Activities we love to do with the kids:

1.) Coloring Books/Workbooks: We have coloring books and workbooks we’ll spend at least thirty minutes of our day on just working on identifying and coloring basic shapes, fruits, and pictures.

2.) Easel Activities: He loves to pull his easel out to have me draw different shapes so he can guess which shape and then just doodle. He loves to pick a letter and number of the day from his bucket and we work with that specific letter throughout the day. We’ll spot it in a book or somewhere around us and sound it out. And for the number of the day (usually between 1-9) we’ll use our abacus to learn our number or choose that number of gummy bears to eat. We find ways to incorporate the chosen letter or number in our daily activities. This has helped him sound out many of the letters and somewhat identify them (I know, he’s only 2, but if we can learn and have fun at the same time, Why not!?!).

3.) Painting: Some days we will spend at least forty minutes painting where we learn about our colors.

4.) Read Books: We’ll read books and cuddle (cause cuddles are the best!). While reading I keep Ray engaged and ask him questions about the pictures.  He loves to flip the pages.

Ray gets plenty of hours in the day for free independent play as well with blocks, magnetic building blocks, abacus counting, dinosaur pretend play, home built obstacle courses with cushions and pillows and so much more! But I know that Ray thrives on structured activities and for that reason he didn’t fit as well into the Montessori school. But every child is different and each child has a unique method of learning. I also understand that I may have pushed him too soon for school, but so many kids his age attend daycare and preschool. We will try going to school again in the Fall when he’s closer to turning three- Until then, here’s to more tantrums, potty-training, and madness right here at home!

Xoxo,

Kitty

The post The Preschool Dropout first appeared on Style With Kitty.

The post The Preschool Dropout appeared first on Style With Kitty.