This week in tot school, we combined two weeks. It was extremely hectic around here and we got behind! (Imagine that!) So we decided that lids and fasteners would make a fun week of learning and exploration and we wouldn’t worry about splitting the two weeks. PLUS, I didn’t have a book for fasteners, so that made it easier . 😉
This week was fun for us because having a 16 month old means that dexterity and the pincer grasp are fairly developed and she is definitely wanting to truly get into things and explore. Hence open condiment bottles in the fridge and other fun shenanigans!
Supplies for to Learn About Lids and Fasteners
This week is pretty easy in terms of gathering supplies. Just start collecting lots of options from around the house for reuse while learning.
Lids
- milk jug lids
- flip lids from condiment bottles
- shaker lids (like from Parmesan cheese)
- squeeze lids like on peri bottles and some water bottles
- metal bottle caps
- pouch caps
- lids from pots and pans
- and more! Get creative and find the most interesting lids you can find.
Fasteners
- carabiners
- stapler
- tape
- glue
- thread and needle
- binder clips
- paper clips
- chip clips
- hair pins
- Binder rings
- Lacing games
- etc..
We also took advantage of this week to talk about the toilet seat lid. If you are like us, we are starting to explore using the toilet a little more. While we have participated in Elimination Communication , we are now actively trying to transition to the toilet. This means it was the perfect time to start reading books about it. And now, “Lift the Lid, Use the Potty! 
We also found another great books for this unit, it is called Covers (Little Celebrations) and is a beautiful early reader book. It’s one of my favorite Little Celebrations books that they produced.
Activities for to Learn About Lids and Fasteners
One of the great things about this week is that there is so much opportunity for open ended play. We did what I called “Lid Lab” several time through the week. I would pull out about 5 different containers and their matching lids each time and let her play with them, finding which lid matched which container. Each day I would mix up the containers and lids given to her.
You can also find 25+ Lid activities and games to use this week at The Educator’s Spin On It.
We played a lot with lacing games by lacing beads or using lace and trace boards in our busy bags.
We also worked a lot on motor skills this week (both gross and fine). We did this by playing with zip ties, twisting to open lids, filling containers with pom-poms, filling bottle with sticks, and more.
Check out my post on “Fine Motor Skills To-Go” to see how we used lids for travel play!
We even loved playing with metal bottle caps to explore letters and numbers. They make for fun lid play because they are magnetic, and easily stack.
This week’s Bible Verses:
- Psalm 147:8 “He covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.”
- Ephesians 4:3 “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”
Find more information on themes we have already completed and download the calendar & planner to start any time! There are more theme posts each week with lots of fun ideas all the time.
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 4 children living in Boston, MA and believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience. She has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development and is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
Yuliya
Oooh! These are so fun! My son is obsessed with lids. I ended up getting out the bottles that we bought for me to pump milk into that we never actually used. Kiddo loves finding the lids for all of the different bottles and I love that I feel like I didn’t really waste money buying them. We also got out our tupperware for him to match the lids, which he loved, as well.
Kara Carrero
We use pump bottles too! My daughter definitely loves doing lid lab which is one of the main reasons I chose to an entire week on it. Tupperware is a great idea too!