***This post may contain affiliate links***

Hey, 2 posts within days! Can you believe it?

This kid right here is officially a 1st grader! What? Her teacher and school have been amazing! Though we missed them the last 9 weeks of school, they gave her everything she needs to be able to move onto 1st grade come Fall.  It’s bittersweet.

Hallie loves learning, and is constantly asking me to do homework! I of course do not want her to lose skill or momentum over summer.  Especially since the reality of what school will look like come Fall is a huge question mark.  So today I am sharing the apps, workbooks and resources we will be using over the summer to keep Hal’s brain sharp, along with some of our favorite imaginative play tools. I am a huge believer that young children learn through play!

Workbooks and More

As far as workbooks go, a friend of mine who has a degree in Elementary Education recommended these 2 (linked below)  and they are working great for us. They both bridge Kinder/1st and have a variety of subject material with the bulk being in Language Arts and Math.  Hallie loves that she can track her progress with stickers, and I love that both books give fitness activities to break things up.

We also love all of the books by National Geographic Kids.  We have a subscription to their magazine and Hallie has several of these Big Books. I will link some of our favorites below, but you can pretty much find one on any subject your child wants to learn about.

Workbook1/Workbook2/NatGeo1/Natgeo2

Flashcards and Apps

Other materials we are using are these flashcards (linked below) , which I like to play Sight Word games with.  There are a few ideas in this post of mine for Dallas Moms as well as a bunch of indoor activities.

Hell might have well frozen over, because this no iPad family had no choice but to give Hallie a tablet to use for distance learning these last 9 weeks.  The apps we have been using (AND LOVE) came straight from Hallie’s School district.  Epic, which has over 40,000 books for kids.  They can search books on their class level or reading level and books based on their interests! Hallie loves the variety of nonfiction books about animals that she can read all by herself! Even if out district didn’t offer a login for this I would shell out the cash for the download! It’s AMAZING!

Another one we use is Teach Your Monster to Read.  It is really good for sight word practice, and it makes it a game so it’s fun for the kids.

Flashcards

Imaginative Play and Artwork

We do a lot of imaginative play and artwork in our house as well.  Hallie and I both have sketchbooks and she enjoys sketching along with me. I make coloring pages (Like the ones here) for her to color and she does the same for me.  We also play the “Squiggle Game”.  We take turns drawing random squiggles for each other to turn into artwork.  It always ends in fits of giggles! Another friend of ours suggested this game, and Hallie loves it: You come up with a silly drawing prompt, and the whole family has to sketch it out.  Examples include: Draw a pizza with 3 silly toppings, sketch what a monster’s birthday party would look like, or draw a dinosaur in a crazy outfit.  I love watching what Hallie’s imagination comes up with!

Sketchbooks

We also love building! I am linking below our favorite building toys! Hallie loves to build barns for her horses and houses for her tiny toys (squinkees, mini boos etc)

Building1/Building2/Building3

Two other fun games we play are Veterinarian and Restaurant.  We have the Vet set linked below as well as a Doc Mcstuffins vet cart that is a hand me down from Hallie’s cousins.  I will link a similar one.  Hallie has trained Elise to bring her the Animals and we call her the “Vet Tech” and Hallie is the “Vet”. She knows so many facts about animals that this game is a way for her to put them to good use!

Vet Set/Vet Cart

For Restaurant we use our play kitchen, and cash register.  Hallie makes a pretend menu and is the chef and waitress while I am the customer.  She could play this game ALL DAY! She counts the money and puts it back in the drawer and doesn’t even realize she is doing math! Win!

Kitchen/Play food/Pots&Pans/Cash Register/Table Settings

I am hopeful I create enough of a balance this Summer for her of fun and learning so that she will be successful going into 1st grade.

What are your favorite learning and play materials for kids?

This poor neglected little blog.  I have goals to resurrect it over the Summer with some useful information, thoughts on life and a gosh darn photo or 2 of Hallie! It slowly became a place for me to dump info on Elise so that I wouldn’t forget it and then 12 months hit and I really just abandoned it all together for a while as I dealt with all of the changes and feelings regarding Covid and having a toddler.

So without further ado, Elise turns 15 months today.  Fastest 15 months of my life.  And yet, the last 3 somehow seemed fast and desperately slow at the same time.  I know other moms can relate.  Here is a little update on sweet Elise:

• Age- 15 months
• Weight-  We go next week for her checkup, so for now I will share her 12 month stats: 14 lb, 10.5 oz (Hallie was 15 lb 1.5 oz, so close, though E might pass her up for the 15 month numbers.
• Length- 27 inches (.5 inches smaller than sister)
• Size- At 12 month we were still rocking the Size 2 Diapers though recently I sized up to 3’s only because she was having leaks at night.  Then again this kid likes to down at least 2 sippy’s of milk right before bed, so I am not sure it’s the diaper…we shall see. I feel with clothes she is all over the place.  Mostly wearing 6 month clothes, but every once in a while can go up or down. Pjs 9-12 month for length
• Eyes- Brown I think
• Hair- She is our little blonde girl!
• Teeth- We currently have 5. She had 2 by 12 months
• Sleeping- She is a night owl and it takes her a while to give up the ghost.  She usually is out by 9, and  sleeps until 7 and we get a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.
• Eating- We successfully made the switch to whole milk and she LOVES it! She still eats everything. Favors cheese, fruit (blueberries), and recently started asking for “coo-kies!”
• Milestones- Talking a ton! Little phrases here and there. She started walking around 14 months, and is now on the go! For a while she liked to sit down if you noticed her trying to walk! So modest! Gives real kisses now and LOVES to show affection. Mimics animals.
•  Memorable outings- Zoo trip, smash cake, 1st birthday party…then Covid hit, and we have just been home.
• Favorite toys/activities- Recently she started coloring and LOVES that. Loves stuffed animals, the princess castle, her violet puppy and puppy from sister, blocks, cups, etc.  She loves her blankets.   Really enjoys books. For her birthday we got her a board book with our family photos and she absolutely adores it! Enjoys playing with Sister’s horses and vet set. She loves music and dancing with Momma. She is starting to dance on her own too!  Loves the baby shark song, pat-a-cake, head and shoulders and I’m a little teapot.  Sister is her favorite person ever and she makes her crack up! She loves Stella and other animals. Elephants are her favorite and she makes Elephant sounds and makes a little trunk with her hand as she does it.  Mommy plays Rolly Polly with her which makes her laugh. Absolutely loves to cuddle and be kissed and hugged.
• Words/sounds- Exclaims “Mo Mail”- No mail every time we check the mail, even if we do have mail. Legitimately sings the songs from Frozen 2, Told my father in law recently “Pop, I colorin!”, Says “Mo! Mmm Mmm” when she doesn’t want or like something.  Asks for “Coo-kies”.  This age is so fun!
• Nicknames-Peanut or Peanut Butter, Chicky, E or E-Claire
• Funny moments- ANYTIME she sees Elsa or anything from Frozen she sings “OOOOhh Oooooh!” In her sleep the other night she started singing it too! So funny!
• Looking forward to- Leaving the house and having experiences with her again! She is just a dolly!

I do not understand how a year can fly by so quickly! We are (Less than) one month away from your 1st birthday sweet Elise and I just don’t know how it happened!

Age- 11 months

• Weight-  We were excused from a weight check this month, but if I were to guess about 14.5
• Length- No check this month
• Size- Size 2 Diapers. I Just pulled out 9 month clothes, so we are wearing a mix of 6 month and 9 month clothes.  6 Month still fits perfectly, but we had a lot of winter 9 month clothing for Hal, so its nice that I didn’t have to buy anything new…poor 2nd kid!
• Eyes- Grey
• Hair- She is our little blonde girl! She is finally getting more hair too!
• Sleeping- 10-11 hours at night, and during the day Starting to give up naps except for in the car.  With Sister I had such a set schedule but this kid just naps on and off all day.  I usually get one solid nap out of her.
• Eating- 22 oz a day, though we are really uninterested in formula. However, girlfriend LOVES solids. She eats and loves everything! Eggs, Peanut butter, yogurt, veggies, meat, fruit, cheese! We did finally find a food she dislikes…beans. Of all things! She eats more than sister!
• Milestones- Mimicking everything we say!  She is cruising a ton and can stand alone for a few seconds at a time.   She still adds new words almost ever day!
•  Memorable outings-First Christmas!
• Favorite toys/activities- She is OBSESSED with looking at photos of her family. Especially ones of sister.  Dolls and stuffed animals. Especially Olaf and her Puppies! LOVES the bath. She likes her walker and  Baby shark. Enjoys the princess castle!  She wants remotes phones and all of sisters toys much to her dismay.  She likes her toy phone and laptop and LOVES being read to.  Especially Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Baby Giggles and animal books!.   She loves music and dancing with Momma. She is starting to dance on her own too! She loves music! “This is Big”. Loves the baby shark song, pat-a-cake, head and shoulders and I’m a little teapot.    Sister is her favorite person ever and she makes her crack up! She loves Stella and other animals.  Mommy plays Rolly Polly with her which makes her laugh. Absolutely loves to cuddle and be kissed and hugged.
• Words/sounds- Momma, Dada, Haha-Hallie, Hi, Hey, Bye Bye, A Dog, more, all done, up, woof, pup, night night, nom nom, stella, good girl, stinky toes, again, no, Oh!, uh oh, eyes-while poking you in the eye, yes, hat, BOO! . She also pretends to sing! She can actually kind of sing to baby shark saing “Doo Doo”
• Nicknames-Peanut or Peanut Butter, Chicky, E or E-Claire, Sweets
• Funny moments- She will grab her head and shake it as if to say “You’re making me crazy!” She has serious FOMO especially with food.  One night she was (I thought) asleep in Christopher’s arms.  I went to open a chocolate kiss and she heard the wrapper, sat straight up opening her mouth wide like a baby bird!  She’s a camera hog! Loves looking at herself in the camera and also pictures of loved ones.  This one is more scary than funny….girlfriend can get out of anything.  One day I had her strapped into her highchair while I was cooking dinner.  I turned to flip the chicken I was cooking and when I turned back around her was sitting on top of the tray with one leg over the side! I almost had a heart attack! That little Houdini now requires 24/7 supervision even when strapped into something!
• Looking forward to- Celebrating her birthday and watching her go to town on her smash cake!

Sweets you are the silliest happiest little girl who loves to laugh and smile.  Though hearing no breaks your little heart and you give me the saddest fat lip I have ever seen! You love your family something fierce and Momma is LOVING watching your little personality shine! 11 months is bittersweet has you transition from babe to toddler.  You’re so loving though and even the busier you get, you are always still up for a cuddle! I love you so!