Teacher Store Finds Part I: Geoboards

Teacher stores are a terrific place to find inexpensive, fun, educational activities. One of my favorites is Geoboards. They are plastic boards with pegs in rows or a circle, and kids use rubber bands to make shapes and designs. This activity will keep a child age 3 or up occupied for a good chunk of time; N at 2 1/2 enjoys playing with them as well, but doesn't stay engaged for quite as long.

For little ones like two-year-old N or 3-year-old G, I just put out the rubber bands and let them go to town. Just like with drawing, they randomly put down designs and then describe what they made.

Older kids like four-year-olds and up can be given challenges of making specific shapes or certain numbers of things (3 squares, 2 triangles, etc.). Or give challenges like, "Make a rocket." "Make a picture using a rectangle, square, and triangle."

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At the end, talk about what you see. Have even the youngest of children identify shapes they see, and point out shapes they might not know. Count the shapes. Talk about the colors. Make new shapes to teach your kids: parallelogram, trapezoid, etc. The possibilities are really endless with this!

If you don't live near a teacher supply store, you can order these at classroomdirect.com. A double-sided geoboard with rows on one side and a circle on the other costs $2.19.

What is your child gaining from this activity?

• shape recognition
• color recognition
• geometry concepts
• relationships between shapes
• spatial awareness
• concentration skills
• vocabulary
• communication

Breakfast Bars

These healthy breakfast bars are the perfect treat to make together with your toddler. If you feel your toddler is steady enough to stand on a chair, they can help you make this in the kitchen. Otherwise, s/he can sit in a highchair or at a table. Your little one will have fun helping measure out the dry ingredients and dumping them into the bowl. If you don't want any spillage, you can help dump ingredients - little ones still feel proud of helping.

Many thanks to my friend Liz for passing along this recipe!

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375; Cook time = 30 minutes; Serves = 14 bars

2 Cups Oats

1.5 Cup Whole wheat flour

.25 Cup Wheat germ

1 Cup Dried fruit (craisins or dried apricots are good choices)

.75 tsp Cinnamon

6 Tbsp Brown sugar

.5 tsp Salt

1 Cup Apple or other juice

.5 Cup Mashed Banana (fat substitute...you could get creative and use pureed pears etc)

Directions: Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick spray. Mix all ingredients, pat thinly on bottom of pan. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and bake. Bake for 25-30 minutes and remove from oven when still a little sticky in center for softer bars. WAIT TO COOL before removing or they will crumble.