Einstein Time--Using what you have

During a recent brainstorming session for Tot School, I was thinking through some of LB's toys and trying to come up with new ways to use them for educational purposes--Use what you have, right?

LB has long been enamored of anything Baby Einstein--particularly the videos. They are the only TV she watches--I'm not a mom who only limits TV to 30 min. on Saturday, but I definitely limit content. I love the Einstein videos. They are simple, age appropriate, and each video follows a theme--Shapes, Colors, Body Parts, Numbers, World Animals, Neighborhood Animals, etc. This is not meant to be a commercial for Baby Einstein, but I can't tell you how much she responds to them. At 15 months she knows signs and sounds to 8-10 different animals, knows 8-10 everyday communication signs, knows basic body parts and will point to them on command--I could go on. But I think it's due in part to the interactive and creative platform of the Einstein videos. I usually watch them with her, do the signs with her, talk about the animals and make the sounds, etc.

So now we are stepping it up a level. I'm now pulling toys that we already have that correspond to a video's theme, and using them to reinforce the concepts and help her learn to associate. For example: Baby Noah. I pull her safari puzzle, ocean animals puzzle, Little People Noah's Ark, and a stuffed Monkey, etc.

 

 I try to get more than one of each animal--if I have it.

I had to do it for her at first, but now SHE gets the appropriate animal to match the one on the screen, and makes any signs and sounds she associates with that animal. She loves it! Especially if I'm doing it with her.

 Getting the Zebra

 Signing "Elephant"

My plan is to make up a list of the videos she has and the toys that correspond with those videos. It will be a great resource to have on hand for her sitters as well, and I love the idea of having something structured yet easy for a sitter to do with her that she loves.