Visual Learning for Toddler Mornings!

This post is sponsored by Cartridges Direct

The toddler twosome have been showing an interest in the types of weather and also in naming the days of the week recently. I think this is in part is due to the extremes of weather we are experiencing here at the moment and also because they keep trying to work out whether it is a playgroup, park or shopping day!

The questions about all of the above begin as soon as they wake up (I can almost see the parents of toddlers nodding their heads in recognition!) so I thought it might be a nice little morning ritual to talk about the day ahead. I also wanted to add in something that could act as a prompt to discuss emotions and feelings as they are really testing those out at the moment unfortunately!!

So I came up with a Good Morning Chart…and so far it has been a huge success and fantastic learning tool. It is presenting so many opportunities for language and social/emotional growth as well as cognitive development as they think about, discuss and name the days of the week, how the weather looks and how they are feeling!

 

 

The chart is very simple and was easy to make with a printer, some cardstock, Velcro dots and printed clipart pictures………..

 

We were very lucky last year to be gifted a laser printer from my Dad as he no longer needed it for his business….the only problem was it was nearly out of toner and I was in for a bit of a shock when I realised how much they would cost to replace! But I was already hooked with the quality of the printing it produced so I had to order more….my preference for these sort of things is to order online because that way I can compare prices and get things delivered without having to drag the toddler twosome around with me….because trust me…the 3 of us do not particularly enjoy shopping together as yet….well maybe they do but I have pretty much already reached breaking point just getting them both safely out of the car and into a shop on my own!!

So you can imagine how pleased I was to be offered the opportunity for a discount on the purchase of ink through Cartridges Direct. All those printing jobs I had been storing up were finally going to happen…this was the kick I needed!

My first job on the list was the Good Morning Chart! Toddlers absolutely love to feel as if they have a little control over their fast changing world and this chart offers an opportunity for them to be involved and really look forward to a morning ritual.

 

If you would like to make something similar here’s how I did it……

• I first typed up the colourful headings and then printed them out…obviously bright colours stand out more but there are no rules here!!
• I also printed out the days of the week in a smaller font…....

• I laminated all the headings….you could also cover them in contact or leave them uncovered (just keep in mind that little toddler hands are often grubby!)
• I glued the headings to the cardstock as you can see in the pictures.

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• I then went searching for some fun free clipart…there are so many options this was what took me the most time!
• I found some fun little pictures to represent a few basic weather types…

And I also found some emotions cards to represent how the girls are feeling when they wake up. I just kept it to the basic Happy, Sad, Angry/Grumpy, and Frightened for now but you could add in as many as you wanted to depending on the age of your child!

Once I had all the headings glued down with enough space left for the weather and emotion cards to be added it was just a simple matter of sticking down a few Velcro dots to the board and the back of the cards….

 

And there you have it…an easy to make weather, days of the week and emotions learning tool disguised as a fun activity to look forward to each morning!

The chart offers an opportunity for the girls to name the days of the week, look at the letters in the days, look at the weather outside and use the cards to label it and also identify their own individual mood and find the corresponding emotion card. They also practise recognising their name as they find it on the chart each morning.

It also offers an opportunity to practice fine motor skills as they line up the Velcro dots and press the cards onto the board to stick!

I am really happy with the chart and with how excited the toddler twosome are to change it each morning…they love the bright colours and we have also been using the weather and emotion picture cards on our feltboard. I do love being able to print again…not sure how I got by without it!

 

I have to say (well I don’t actually but I am because it is how I honestly feel) that I was really pleased with my Cartridges Direct Toner Cartridges . It was a very easy ordering process…I was worried about finding the right toner but the search menus did all the hard work for me…I just needed my printer model number. I was also pleasantly surprised by the fast delivery. If you live in a regional area like me you are used to online items taking quite a while to reach us even though delivery is often touted as being ‘next day’. I promise you I was so excited to receive my package within 2 days of ordering!

I won’t recommend a product or service to you unless I feel it passes my own high standards and expectations….and I can truly say that Cartridges Direct did so…..and I will be ordering again soon as I am pretty sure I am going to run out of toner pretty quickly as I have been madly printing and working on some more printable projects to share with you!

Do you use your printer more for yourself or the kids…or do the teens beat you to it altogether?

No matter who the printing is for, the ink never seems to last as long as you want it to so I am pleased to tell you that Cartridges Direct is offering an exclusive 5% discount on all online orders to Mummy Musings & Mayhem readers! Just enter the following voucher code to claim your discount....X567XC1

Every little bit helps when it comes to buying ink/toner…goodness…what did we do before printers??

Please let me know if you make your own version of a ‘Good Morning Chart’…I’d love to feature it on my Facebook page or pin it to one of my Pinterest Boards!

If this is your first visit to Mummy Musings and Mayhem and you like what you see you can follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for more inspiration, frugal fun and mayhem!

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