Quiet Time Boxes - Friday

 

Welcome to the final instalment of our Quiet Time Boxes Series! As an added bonus, I have also dissected the contents of Ava's Quiet Time Tub for you which is geared towards toddlers (Ava is 2 years old) as opposed to the boxes which are aimed at pre-schoolers (Eden is 4 years old). Here is our final pre-schoolers kit, Friday's box...

Theme: Literacy


Contents:

• A sight words file folder activity which I downloaded from Classified: Mom (click here to check out the site and the free printables, and see it in use on my original post featuring these file folder games here)
• Laminated alphabet tracing pages with a dry erase crayon, from the curriculum I purchased from Confessions of a Homeschooler
• A Monsters Inc. book with an audio CD, and my discman to listen to it on
• An A5 notebook
• A little Japanese notebook with gorgeous Harijuku designs which we purchased from a Japanese $2 shop in Doncaster (called Daiso??)
• Foam alphabet blocks for word building
• A 3D spelling puzzle
• Crystal viewer thing
• Bottle cap activity used to teach Eden how to spell her name (see my original post here)
• Envelopes
• Tinkerbell stationary set including a notepad, pencil, eraser and sharpener, $2 from Sam's Warehouse
• Calculator
• Ticket book, 50 cents (pack of 4 for $2 from the Reject Shop)
• Mickey Mouse puzzle, $1 from Sam's Warehouse ($2 for a pack of two)
• Old mobile phone
• Childs ruler
• Big post it notes, and those thin tab-like ones
• Some washable textas
• A single hole punch
• A decorative hole punch, 99 cents from Riot Art and Craft
• A mini stapler $2 from the Reject Shop
• A pencil-shaped pencil case, $2 from a local $2 shop
• Foam alphabet stickers
• Origami paper, for folding (something she is right into now)
• A few sheets of stickers

 

  Total cost was around $11, although a few of those items I was planning on buying anyway, such as the stapler and the pencil case. 

Quiet Time: Ridiculous. I knew Eden would enjoy this box, but she did not want to stop playing with it! I checked on her twice in a two hour period, and she said "you can go now, Mum". Nice.A dismissal from my four-year old. I thought I had another ten years before I had to deal with those! When I got Ava up from her nap I expected Eden to come out from her room to play with Ava, which is the usual routine at our place. She did indeed duck her head out of her room, but only to call Ava to come in and join her. After a grand total of 2 hours and 45 minutes (!!) I insisted they pack up and come outside for fresh air, and they both did so sulkily. Eden even asked if tomorrow could be Friday again, so she could have this box. Needless to say, I am very happy with the reception which Friday's Quiet Time Box received!

 

Now, for those lovely parents who have inquired about a toddler-aged box, here is the Quiet Time box equivalent... introducing, the Busy Tub! Unlike Eden during her quiet time, Ava is not left alone with this tub, mainly because she would hide some of the pieces and I'm sure I would never see them again. I have been pulling it out on the odd days when Ava has not had a nap, which generally happens when we get home too late for naptime. I basically plonk it down and let her go for it, and go for it she does! I felt that calling it a Quiet Time Box was a bit of a misnomer, mainly because Ava is anything but quiet when she plays with it. She is however, fully engaged. So far, she usually gets a full hour of solo play from it. I plan on switching up the contents whenever her interest wanes, which means I'm hoping it gets me at least a month's worth of use.

Here are the contents:

• Humpf touchy feely book
• Set of containers for stacking, filling, etc
• Kaleidoscope
• Mini magnadoodle
• Puzzle
• Some wooden threading beads and laces
• Set of measuring spoons
• A couple of tins
• Peg stacking game
• Pasta spoon utensil
• Pencil shaped pencil case
• Ticket book
• Make up brush
• Plastic measuring jug
• Mobile Phone
• Crystal viewer thingy
• Snap bracelet
• Mint tins
• Monsters Inc. figurines
• Lemon juicer

I love this tub for Ava because it is so open-ended; she can play in any way she likes! She enjoys balancing the peg pieces in the measuring spoons, filling the tins with the wooden beads and shaking them around, and seeing how many of the bits and pieces she can pick up with the pasta spoon. However, all of this pales in comparison to the LEMON JUICER!!!! My little girl goes crazy for this juicer, she stacks and unstacks it, pretends that the juicer part is a cake, the lid is a plate and the jug is her cup of tea. A solid half of her play centres around that juicer - she just loves it!

What will you be putting in your toddlers Busy Tub? Please let me know via the comments or on our Facebook page, I would love to hear what works for your kids!

Don't forget to check out the other Quiet Time Boxes here:
Monday's Box
Tuesday's Box
Wednesday's Box
Thursday's Box

Thanks for reading, happy playing! ~ L.