A Liddle Collection (weensie alert)

Did you know that you're supposed to throw away plastic caps and lids in NYC? Meaning they are not to be included with your plastic bottles and jugs for recycling. Kinda shitty, huh? Every single time I throw a bottle top away I cringe, so I recently started collecting them. And as we've mentioned here before, kids L-O-V-E to collect things too. So, I decided to get the bean in on the collecting. Now, whenever we finish a carton of OJ or a bottle of apple juice, she helps me rinse the cap and we add it to our lil' collection. It's an exciting day when we have a new color or shape to add, like today's "lellow" cap from mommy's summer addiction (Paul Newman's lemonade).

Really any and all lids can be used, as you want as much variety as you can find. You'll also want to have some multiples in the mix. Talk about the different lids with your kiddo as the collection grows: discussing size, color, and shape. You'll be building language and introducing important concepts! Once you’ve gathered a good sized collection, it's time to put your lids to work! Have your kiddo try

• stacking the lids into towers.
  
• counting the lids.
• sorting the lids. Start with the most obvious attributes like color and size. Later on you can try more advanced sorts (i.e. lids that have words on them vs. from lids with no words).
• matching the lids. Place a few lids in front of your child and ask her to find their matches.
• making patterns. Older kiddos can use the lids to make patterns like, "red, blue, red, blue" or patterns by size, "big, big, small, big, big, small".

I love that this "weensie" capitalizes on the interest young children have with collecting and turns it into a great way to practice early math skills like sorting, counting and matching. Plus, we're putting a new use to something you normally throw out. Not bad!