Category Archives: Teaching a Toddler

When You Give a Toddler a Kitten

When you give a toddler a kitten, cuteness abounds. Even if you feel a little sorry for said kitten because she is definitely taking a fair amount of abuse all for the sake of teaching a small child how to treat her.

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“Here kitty, kitty, kitty…”

The sweet savor of victory! Even if Luxe resorts to pulling them out by one leg…or their throat. Whatever works!

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This is the girls’ little female kitten. Her name is Pippa.

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It appears that Pippa’s attempts to run at this point are futile. You shoulda’ tried that beFORE she caught you, honey.

And then there were two! Pounce is Pippa’s brother. He’s a glutton for punishment. He comes running anytime anyone comes outside. You would think he’d go running as soon as he saw who it was outside, but no… He’s obviously starving for love no matter what he has to endure to get it.

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I think Luxe has figured out that she can basically paralyze him with this style of choke-hold. I’ll be submitting this to Webster’s Dictionary when they need a visual representation of the word “mischievous. Pounce says, “Haaaaalllppp!!!” and Pippa’s look clearly says, “I hate my life.”

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But, just look at that little face. Such love and glee.

Thank you, Pounce and Pippa, for being so patient with a baby. Certain animals just seem to know.

Teaching a Toddler

Today, I wanted to share with you one (ok, maybe 2) of my favorite things for teaching a toddler. Peanut is 19 months old, but thinks and talks more like a 2 and 1/2 year old. I’m the kind of mom that is prone to push this by realizing her potential to learn. In my opinion, it’s never too early to start educating your children as long as you don’t expect things from them that they are not able to do. I would never want to set Peanut up for failure. When my toddler started recognizing and remembering letters that I would just tell her, I knew it was time to take it to the next level. Enter this little gem:

I bought it based on ratings from other parents and it has not disappointed. It’s a really cute video that teaches all the letters of the alphabet (mainly in the upper case)  and the sounds they make in a very entertaining, creative way. Peanut can now recognize all but 4 letters (we’re still working on D, G, X and Z) and tell us the sounds they make. It’s astounding! And I’m not bragging. I just want to tell you what it can do! The video is also entertaining enough that she begs to watch it.

I also bought this because she loves magnets:

It goes really well with the DVD because it sings the same song every time you put letters in the little slot. She likes playing with it a lot. We started working on letters at 18 months and she’s come a long way. This stuff has been my top tool. Now, she starting to point out numbers, so I’m on the look out for teaching tools that have to do with numbers. I’m pretty sure this kid is smarter than me. (The farmer says it’s all him…)

I wudn’t tell ya if it wudn’t true! What have been some of your favorite teaching tools for toddlers?

Leap Frog lover,

The Dairymaid

Leap Frog does not pay me to say such nice things. They have no earthly idea who I am. I’m just a fan.