Archive for the ‘Physical Development’ Category

…An indoor play area NOT part of a fast food restaurant.

I’ve noticed a trend in blog posts, Facebook status updates and conversations during these long winter months. That topic? How to keep from going crazy couped up inside when it’s too cold to play outside. Fast food has not been an acceptable option for me when it comes to feeding my girls. Even as recent as last month I turned down a lunch invite to McDonald’s because I didn’t want to buy that food for my girls. But, one late nap and a very wired three year old had me singing a very different tune.

When trying to find ways for Sammi to get some physical play when she woke up from a nap at 6 pm I was in a bit of a dilemma. How on earth was I supposed to get her tired enough to go to bed when it was already dark and it was very cold and snowy? I finally caved and we went to Old McDonald’s(as she calls it) so she could climb, slide and crawl to her heart’s content. Since that fateful day, we have gone to McDonald’s four or five more times. It kills me! I just want a place to play without the obligation to purchase food.

Another option is the play areas at the mall. We’re fortunate enough that the malls that are close to us all have pretty fun play areas. They provide opportunities for climbing and sliding and, as an added bonus, a bit of imaginative play. But the closest mall to us is 45 minutes away, not exactly a viable option for an evening outing. And not all malls have play areas. I was shocked when a mall in Utah removed its wonderful play area because of lack of funding to maintain it. Seriously?

So, I propose a community indoor play area that is not associated with food, that is not associated shopping, that is just a place focused on play. I want it to be on neutral ground where any family would feel comfortable using the indoor play area.  Just as they would to play at the city park.

What do you want for every community?

While at Blissdom last week I picked up a few of ice cream bowls from Blue Bunny, one of the sponsors. The bowls change colors when they get cold. They turn blue, of course! Well, I had some ice cream last night and left my bowl on the table. When I woke up this morning, it was still blue! I get I keep the heat pretty low (it’s set at 55 pretty much constantly!)

On a side note, they were handing out samples of Double Strawberry Aspen® Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars. They were so yummy and the girls gobbled their up in a flash. I think I’ll get more of these with the coupon they gave us!

40 Amazing Facts About Babies

I wanted to share an article with you that I found to be rather interesting. 40 Truly Amazing Facts About Babies contains all kinds of nuggets about babies’ amazing bodies. Here are a few of the facts included in the list:

No Kneecaps : On birth, babies do not have kneecaps. Rather they have a structure of cartilage that resembles kneecaps. They usually don’t develop them fully until after six months. Most seen on babies who “army crawl” instead of doing it on all fours.

What A Load : The heaviest baby ever born was a boy who weighed 22 pounds, eight ounces. He was born in Italy in 1955. To summarize, it isn’t highly unusual for a one year old baby to weigh 22 pounds.

Triple Take : At the end of the first year, your baby’s weight will have tripled. That means if they were born at ten pounds, at their first year they will weight around 30, give or take.

Motherhood Makes You Smarter : Pregnancy can take a toll on a woman’s body, but it can also help. A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter discusses her findings on how women improve perception, efficiency, resiliency, motivation, and emotional intelligence. The detailed article has more.

What amazes you most about your little one?

We talked about making a snowman and other ways to enjoy the snow on Wednesday so I thought today we could bring that inside and make some snow-themed crafts. The snowflake craft is loosely based on a craft idea I saw in an Oriental Trading Company catalog. The snowman craft evolved from some snowman foam stickers we bought around Christmas time.

Snowflake Craft

I was trying to think of a way to help Sammi make a snowflake. The two problems I saw were 1)the paper couldn’t be folded too many times or she couldn’t cut through it and 2)the design couldn’t be very complicated. So, I folded the square just two times and then I drew some straight lines with a pink marker for her to follow. I was impressed that she actually stayed pretty close to the lines and in the end, it looked like a snowflake!

Then we traced her hands on pink paper with a pink marker, of course it had to be pink! Then I sprayed the back of the snowflake and hands with spray adhesive. I positioned the snowflake and hands on the blue paper myself, but these are things an older toddler or preschooler would love to do. Then I copied this poem onto the hands.

My hand is like a snowflake-
Unique in every way.
Please keep it close to your heart,
For I’ll be grown someday.

Here are two patterns you can print out for your little ones to try cutting their own snowflakes:

1. To print, click on the image to enlarge it.
2. Print from the browser’s print option.
3. It should print the width of an 8.5×11 piece of paper.
4. Fold on the dotted lines leaving the pink marking showing for your child to use as guides when cutting.

Snowman Crafts

I made these postcard size, but you could easily leave them as cards so little ones can write a letter on the inside and send them of to someone. All you need is paper, we used cardstock for its thickness and texture for water coloring, water colors (I recommend Crayola because the colors are so bright and it washes out nicely), brushes, spray adhesive, wax or parchment paper.

Snowman Sticker Craft

We had friends over and everyone water colored their own card. This photo is of the water coloring done by a 5 year old. I loved how she made a rainbow! After the paint dried, we added the snowman and snowflake stickers. Easy to do but has depth to it making it look more complex. Very impressive

Snowman Craft Using Wax Paper

For this card, I cut two snowmen out of wax paper. Then I used a temporary spray adhesive on the back and positioned them onto the card. The we water colored over the top of it. Once the paint dried, we removed the wax paper and it was perfectly white underneath. Then I went back and added embellishments with water color.

This post is part of the Winter Wonderland Blog Carnival. You can enter to win prizes donated by the Winter Wonderland sponsors by visit the first post in the carnival here. You can also earn an extra entry by commenting on this post, too!

What winter crafts do you like to do with your little ones?

I love the first snow of winter! I love the first morning we wake up and there is frost covering the grass. The novelty of winter is exciting. But, come January, I’m feeling a little blah with the cold and often inconvenient weather. I’ve noticed, though, that the girls see the snow with new eyes every time. They rarely tire of going out to play. Most of the time I don’t want to hassle with it, but when I embrace their enthusiasm for the outdoors we have a fantastic time. Here are some ideas for outside activities in the snow and when there’s no snow.

Enjoying the Snow

Build a snowman! We get excited about building a snowman by singing Once There Was a Snowman while we gather winter clothes for the snowman. When we lived in Utah and had lots of snow, we would also make chairs out of snow and the girls loved climbing in them.

Make a snow angel! When Sammi was just 7 months old we had a pretty good snowfall. I bundled her up in her pink snow outfit and plopped her in the snow on our back porch. It was THE cutest snow angel to date that I’ve ever seen. The pic doesn’t do justice, but I couldn’t just leave her in the snow to take a picture! (She could have moved and ruined the snow angel!)

Sledding! The first time Brent took Sammi sledding was last year around Christmas. She was hesitant at first, but Brent wrapped her securely in his lap and down a little hill they went. She loved it and wanted to go again and again. Brent’s fondest winter memories are when his mom would drop him and some of his siblings off at the park and they would sled for a couple of hours at a time.

Enjoying the Lack of Snow

Watch your breath! On a cold morning, bundle up and head out. We have been fascinated by seeing our breath. Sammi and Elli both have noticed the cloud of air on a cold morning. We talk about how it comes from inside our mouth or nose and that makes it warm. In the cold winter air, the warm air from us looks like a cloud. Sammi got the idea that she was making the cloud appear. It was a great little science lesson.

Go for a walk! I love to wrap the girls up in blankets in the stroller and walk around the streets surrounding our house. They love being outside and getting the fresh air, but they are still warm under the blankets. I appreciate getting out and moving as much as they do. We usually talk about how things look different in the winter: trees, grass, animals (winter coats), etc.

Relish the sunshine! Even in Utah we had sunny days in the middle of January or February. Here we have them a bit more often. So when it’s sunny, even if it’s still a bit chilly, we dress appropriately and head outside to soak in the sun. We’ve had fun kicking or throwing balls around in the backyard. We’ve also gone to the park and played on any equipment that wasn’t wet or muddy.

No matter what you do, it’s terrific to get outside in the winter. It’s good to experience the cold, briefly, and let little ones understand first hand why gloves, hats, scarves and coats are important. For us, that has reduced a lot of fighting over getting bundled up. We went to the park yesterday. And while it was wet and Elli somehow managed to plant her dirty shoes right on my chest, spending time outside, being active was just what the girls, and I, needed.

It is recommended that children of all ages get at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. I know this winter has seen a drastic decline in the girls physical activity and I don’t know that we’re hitting that target. A lot of our activities are sedentary: reading books, crafts at the table, cooking meals, etc. I’m so glad for the great music we’ve discovered recently because that has really helped us get moving when we are indoors. Here are some additional ideas (year round) for indoors and outdoors activities to fill that 60 minute goal.

Comments on this post count as extra entries into the Winter Wonderland Carnival’s giveaways: Everyone Loves To Dance by Aaron Nigel Smith, Personalized Gummi Labels by Sippy Stuff, This Is Me Journal and a Dress-Up Cape from BBGU! Make sure you read about all the ways to enter the Winter Wonderland Carnival!

What are some of your favorite winter outside memories either from your life or your children’s lives?

We’ve looked at using music for quiet time and using music to build emergent literacy skills, but today we’re going to look at making music the center of play. Using music to engage your little one in play is the main message of Laptime Songs for Mommies. The energy in an upbeat song is contagious, not just for our little ones, but for us as well!

It’s easy to get up and move around to songs like “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes ” or “Dance All Day” or “See Me Run” or “Here We Go Looby-Loo” because the words to the songs describe the actions we should do. When looking for a surefire hit, you want to make sure the lyrics are easy to understand with a lot of repetition. Bari Koral’s Clap It! Is a great example of this. It repeats the same action to the point where I wonder if it can go on any longer, but what I’ve noticed is it’s about this time that the girls have figured out the action, know that it’s coming again and are actually able to do the action with the song. That kind of timing is magical for little ones!

Another way to incorporate music into play is to use songs to help you teach games to your little ones. We had a fantastic experience this week with this. We listened to Aaron Nigel Smith’s Simon Says. Then we talked about the rules (again) with Sammi. Brent was Simon for a while. Then Sammi had a turn to be Simon. Then I had a turn to be Simon. After playing this for at least 15 minutes, I said, “Freeze!” and Sammi hesitated then said, “You didn’t say ‘Simon says’ so I’m still dancing!” Yep, she finally figured it out. But the song was a great introduction to the game. It provided to reason to play, an example of what the game was like, and some really fun ideas for what Simon could say.

What music do you turn on when it’s time to play? A comment on today’s post is an extra entry in this week’s giveaway!

I was at the health department last month and picked up an information card highlighting milestones of child development for little ones birth through 4 years old. I thought it fitting to share with you as it has great things to look for in your little ones as they change month to month.

The purpose of the CDC’c campaign “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” is to help parents and healthcare providers catch the signs of developmental delays and disorders early so resources and treatments can begin as early as possible thus allowing children the maximum benefit from those resources and treatments.

I’ve been blessed with two healthy little ones so I love this information from a “oh ya, she does that now!” perspective. But my best friend from high school just told me that her second child was recently diagnosed with high functioning autism. A label to the behavior somehow seems to change the whole experience. Sometimes it’s in a good way because now real information and solutions become available. But sometimes it’s in a negative way when there’s denial or an uncooperative attitude from a parent or teacher. I think information is the key to understanding. That coupled with the love we have for our little ones will get us and them far in this life.

I thought I’d get these up yesterday, but Brent has a test this week so I’ve been extra exhausted at the end of each day. Ah, the test is tomorrow and I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening. Back to turkey crafts!

Handprint Turkeys by Sammi and Elli

This turkey handprint craft we made at the library. The template can be downloaded from Family Fun.

Supplies:

• colorful feathers
• googly eyes
• orange beak from foam sheet
• red gobbler from foam sheet
• crayon or marker for tracing child’s hand
• glue dots for quick and easy attachment

Sammi hung her turkey on HER fridge.

The idea for this turkey craft came from Make and Takes Turkey Countdown. We modified the face a bit by using foam sheets for depth and googly eyes for fun. Sammi loves BIG googly eyes! Here’s another one of her posing with her babies by her turkey.

Sammi and I made these fun fall leaf wreaths during Elli’s nap. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny fall day at the end of last week. We went outside with a big bowl and picked up leaves that had fallen from our tree. We gathered big leaves, small leaves and in-between leaves.

We brought them in, gathered our supplies and got to work.

We sorted the leaves by size onto three piles. That inspired us to make three wreaths. We sprayed the glue adhesive on the plates and started sticking. We found, after many leaves fell off, that the leaves stick better if you also spray the back of the leaves and then stick them together. I think the best solution would be to use a sturdy paper plate and then paint white glue on and then stick the leaves.

Sammi had a lot of fun with this craft. She placed the leaves on all three without getting bored. We hung them in the dining room on our large blank, boring wall. I love the way they look.

Happy Fall!

Sammi has long been fascinated with stickers. I love it when places like banks, the grocery store or the doctor’s office offer children stickers instead of suckers. Sammi thinks it’s a great treat to get a sticker from someone. And I love that she’s not being offered more sugar. Sugar is not the only treat! There’s some residual Halloween-candy-consumption-control irritation here. Please forgive!

Elli has recently discovered stickers. In one day she went from oblivious to their existence to acknowledgment, ability to remove the sticker from the page, and ability to place the sticker on a piece of paper. She made a beautiful collage of Sesame Street stickers. She was so intrigued by the experience that she focused on making her picture for about a half an hour. Pretty good for a 13 month old!

Sammi got in on the fun and enjoyed handing stickers to Elli. That presented a new challenge in how to get the sticker from Sammi’s finger and then manipulate it so she could get it to stick to her paper. She loved it. This was great practice in fine motor skill and teamwork. I really appreciate when the girls can share their interest in a common activity instead of fighting over who gets to do it. They did a good job of playing together on this one.

Stickers are a great thing to have on hand to distract and entertain your little ones.

Fine Motor Skills

Elli had fun learning how to control her finger and thumb to get them to work together. She needed this skill to remove the sticker from the page and then change how she was holding it so she could make the sticker stick to the new paper.

Happy Halloween!

Here’s one last Halloween craft you can do with all that candy you’ll get Trick-or-Treating!

We have enjoyed Make and Takes Monster Mania eBook. It is full of fun ideas that inspire creativity and problem solving skills. I love the projects because most of them use things I have on hand anyway. It makes it easy to pick and project and do it right away. For the Spooky Monster House, though, I spent some time preparing. I thought the prepping was half the fun and definitely worth it. I used the frosting recipe I found here.

Sammi's Spooky Monster House

Mommy's Spooky Monster House

Daddy's Spooky Monster House