Toddler Fun, Week 10: Letter H, Number 10, Brown and Horses

Horses.  Horses are wonderful!  One of my favorite memories from growing up, is when we went to Sweden.  The area we visited (Dalarna) is famous for their painted horses, which has always stood out as one of the coolest things ever.  I'm so glad we got to spend a whole week on horses.  Come along with us, and lets learn about these beautiful animals together...

Week 10

Letter: H

Number: 10

Color: Brown

Animal: Horse

Activities

1. Visiting a Local Farm

 Some of our friends from our old church recently bought a new house with lots of acreage.  So, now they have some farm animals, one of which was a miniature horse, named Yasmin. 
We went over there one day, and it just so happened to be the day the farrier (a person who specializes in hoof care) came by.  We fed sweet Yasmin 

carrots, petted her, and watched her get her hooves maintained (cleaned out and clipped down).  We had a wonderful day!  Our friends also had goats, rabbits, geese, chickens and roosters for us to see and feed. 

 

2. Pumpkin Patch

 This is the perfect time of year to learn about farm animals!  So many pumpkin patches have petting zoos or carriages, etc.  This year we went to Rype and Readi Farm Market.  Technically they didn't have any horses, but they had donkeys.  Close enough for me! :)

We had a wonderful time, Aidan loved his pumpkin, we got to go on the hayride, sample locally grown produce... a perfect day!






3. Letter Horseshoe Practicing

For this game, I cut out cardboard horseshoes, and wrote the letters he was struggling with on them.  Next, I took a paper towel roll and a red solo cup, cut an X on the bottom, stuck the roll through it for a base.  I ended up having to duct tape it down a little.  Next, I handed Aidan the horseshoes, and each time we said what letter was on it, and he "threw" it on the roll.  It was fun!  Didn't last super long, but that's okay!

4. Running!!!

Okay, clearly I didn't invent running.  BUT, I put different letters on the fence panels, then I'd say... "run to the H wall" or "run to the M wall"!  It was perfect, because it tired him out right before nap time!

Snacks

1. Horse Cookies

Well, these adorable cookies are almost too cute to eat.  Thankfully, toddlers don't feel that way.  For these, I used Milano cookies, fruit leather, peanuts, melted chocolate (mane, nostrils and smiles), and candy eyes! :)

2. Horse Sandwich #1

This one didn't turn out so great, but I used buns, black olives and lunchmeat chicken.  The buns were kinda dry... I don't know.  

3. Horse Sandwich #2

This one, though is super cute.  For this one I used a sandwich, mango spears, black olives and raspberries.  Also, Aidan ate every single thing on the plate!

Crafts

1. H is for Horse

Adding to our Alphabet book, H is for horse!  For this one, I cut out a brown H, head and ears, black mane and tail, and a googley eye.  Aidan assembled it all, and there you have it!

2. Dala Horse Decorating

Like I said, we visited Dalarna when we were kids.  They are known for these gorgeous painted wooden horses.  We went to where they make them, and saw the smallest one, which was sitting on a pinhead.  They are so iconic!  Also, my mom loves them (and I'm secretly jealous of the one she has).  So, I decided to help Aidan make one for her (and me, of course).  For this craft, I found a data horse outline online.  I cut that out, then traced it on a cheerios box.

I cut those out, and then helped Aidan paint them red.  Once they dried, he painted white, blue and green squiggles on them.  When it all tried, I punched a hole in the top, and voila!  It can be a Christmas tree ornament, or just a regular decoration, either way, I know his grandma will love it! :)

Books and Media

What We Read:

1. Kissimmee Pete, Cracker Cow Hunter by Jan Day

This books is super cute!  I chose this one because a) Florida cracker cow hunters, b) we've been to a lot of the places mentioned.  Also, the author is local, from Okeechobee.  It's a cute tall tale about a cracker cow hunter.  It also has a creative use of adjectives!

2. Everything But the Horse by Holly Hobbie

Stories about girls on farms always make me think of my mom.  This is a sweet autobiographical story by Holly Hobbie, about when she and her family moved to a farm.  The one thing she wanted most in the world is a horse.  And then on her birthday...

3. They're Off: The Story of the Pony Express by Cheryl Harness

This book is for kids 7-10, so it was a bit over Aidan's head, but the illustrations were great! We just kind of talked about what was on each page.  I really enjoyed it, and I think older kids would too!

What we Watched:

1. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

I saw this movie when it came out in the theatre.  It's not fast-paced, or cluttered with humor, or third like that.  It's purely the journey of the horse whose spirit could not be broken in the 19th century American West.  You can rent it on iTunes, for $3.99.

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