Emma picked out a box of beads from a garage sale last weekend. I had some beads to add to the collection as well and Emma has been playing with them non stop ever since. There are some other shiny things, small pendants and old key chains mixed in there as well and Emma works very hard to classify them. She is always inviting us to see her work, put our hands in the big tub of beads and grab one for her to organize. It has been a great experience to watch how her brain works. I know that my almost three-year-old is learning so much about size, shape, color and purpose and shows an amazing attention to detail in her work with beads (as well as buttons, another favorite activity!).

This morning I introduced some clear stretchy string to try beading. She picked up the activity right away and at the end had a string with twenty one beads. It was a definite success. Then of course they all fell off the string which can easily happen. We lined them up and counted the beads that she was able to string before they fell.