“I have a banana, a lemon, corn, a yellow apple and yellow pepper,” my three year old informs me as she takes fruits and veggies from her basket. When she was just over a year, I purchased the learning resources farmers market color sorting set to help her learn colors, but they do so much more than that. Now that she is proficient with all of her basic colors, she likes to sort and identify the items based on what is a fruit and what is a vegetable. What’s great is that she has realized that apples come in multiple colors, such as red, yellow and green. The same goes for grapes and peppers.
Quinn likes to count up the items too. This is great because when it is time to put them away she will occasionally count them and say, “There’s supposed to be six purple fruits and vegetables, but there are only five. We’re missing one, Mommy!”
My little girl even wants to use them when we play in her kitchen or sit down for a meal she prepared. “Would you like a tomato and carrot, Mommy?” she will ask. Now if only we could get beyond pretending to eat healthy veggies and get her to try them in real life!
All the best,
Tanya
It’s official! My daughter and I attended our last parent and child class at the Little Gym last week. Now that she’s three, my big girl will be in class all by herself this upcoming Monday. I remember starting class with her when she was just six months old and just crawling around, giggling and babbling. Now she’s jumping, running and climbing and able to verbalize how she feels and what she’s thinking.
When I asked her what type of class she would like to do for the summer, she excitedly said, “I want to do a dance class, Mommy!” While my little girl loves to dance around the house, makes up her own little fancy moves and is very eager to wear her little tap and ballet shoes, I’m not too sure if she understands that I will not be in the class with her tomorrow. It does, however, it please me to know that she is already familiar with the teacher and really enjoys going to The Little Gym.
“Mommy, may I have my laptop? I need to send some emails to my friends.” my three old requested. No, she doesn’t have a real laptop, but it’s just perfect for her. The 
Since my husband works from home a couple of days a week and I teach a combination of online courses and in-class courses during the fall and spring, she often observes us at some point or another using our laptops. In these instances, she will often ask for her laptop so that we can all work together. Another feature I really love about this toy is that it is associated with Violet, the Leapfrog puppy Quinn also has, and she will receive an email or two from Violet, which she really enjoys. There is a version with Scout, the boy puppy as well. It comes in green. I would recommend this toy for anyone whose child is into technology or just wants a fun way to reinforce learning letters and even new words too.
“Straps go on the outside!”my three year old exclaims as she reassures herself that she’s putting her sneakers on the correct feet. Those velcro straps come in handy with helping her remember which one goes on which foot. Her Crocs, however, are a different story. She loves wearing them around the house; nevertheless, more times than not, they’re on the wrong feet. Her father or I will tell her, “You need to swap your shoes and put them on the right feet.” To which she typically responds, “They feel fine to me! I love them this way.” She’s even asked, “If they are on the wrong feet, how come I can still walk in them?” Sometimes, I just let her keep them on the wrong feet as long as she’s not tripping around, but it got me thinking about how everyone has their own shoes to fill, even my three year old. Sometimes what everyone knows to be correct may not feel right to her, and what is considered the standard way may not be “the way” for her, especially as she gets older and continues to become her own person. Perhaps this is an example of her ability to “march” to her own tune or even lead the metaphorical marching band rather than follow. I know she will eventually master her right shoe from her left. But the true challenge will be her ability to master right from wrong as she goes through life even if the majority of her friends are headed down the wrong path. Though there is no way of knowing what path she will choose, it gives me comfort knowing that her father and I will be there along the way offering guidance and providing her with some footsteps in which to follow.
