Nice to Meet You!

My daughter, who tends to be on the shy side, was having trouble speaking to people when introduced or when prompted. I don't mean talking to strangers. I mean the people you'll encounter more regularly (at church, neighbors, family that comes to visit every few months, etc). At 2 I don't expect her to carry on a full conversation, but we are teaching her to say hello and answer brief questions (How are you _____? I like your dress! Aren't your sparkly shoes pretty!!) when asked.
So we tried playing what I call the Nice to Meet You game.
Materials: dress up clothes (any will do!)

Activity: I dressed up and tell her that we are at church/store/etc and she's will her mommy. I then say hello and compliment her. The conversation goes something like this:
Elderly lady at church: Hello! How are you this morning?
Daughter: Good! How are you?
Lady: Fine, thank you. I like your pretty dress!
Daughter: Thank you!

Then I change clothes, and we try it again! It's that simple! Sometimes I close her door to her room and knock, or we use her grocery cart and pretend we're at church. We've talked about how when someone says "I like your ____" it's a compliment and she's to say thank you.

For older children, this is a good way to role play encounters with strangers/semi-strangers. It's a good time to talk about a code word for your family and things to do and never to do.
At 2 we haven't gone there yet because of lack of understanding. At her age, however, she is not out of my sight except when I specifically drop her off at her Sunday school class with her teacher. For your particular situation, be aware of the situations your child will be in and use your discernment.

Learning Colors

You don't always need to do an official "activity" to teach about colors. I think a fun and simple thing to do is to incorporate it into your day. I started this with Kaitlyn when she was about 18 months old, and I was shocked at how quickly she grasped it and how well she understood what I was teaching her. Doing these things are great for the little pre-toddlers, and it is still fun for the older preschoolers.

Color Hunt
Start the day off with a color hunt. As I type this, St. Patrick's Day is approaching, so let's use green as our sample color. You tell your child, "Today, we are learning about the color green." Then hold up something green, "This is green. Can you see anything else in the room that is green?"

Then go on a hunt through the house looking for green items. You might have pictures, pillows, paint, plants...you will be surprised at how much you have. You can take your hunt outside...if you live somewhere with green outside right now. Boo.

Color Fashion
I always have the whole family wear our color we are learning about that day if possible. Wear green shirts, socks, underwear...be sure to point out as your child is getting dressed everything with green on it.

Color Food
I also like to try to eat food that is the color of the day. So for green, we might have broccoli, a salad, or celery. If you like to dye food, you could have pancakes colored green. You could make cupcakes and dye them green and/or dye the frosting. Dye your milk green and make green cookies. Have green Jell-O and green pudding.

The point here is to point out to your child that the color of the day/week is all around her. Show lots of excitement about it, and she will to!

Animal Toss

My girls are about 19 months apart, so it's really nice to find activities that they can do together. This idea is from The Sibling Busy Book and was really fun for both girls (2 and 11 months when we first started playing).

Materials:

• laundry basket (or some sort of large basket)
• crib or bed, depending on what is safe for your kids
• stuffed animals

Activity:

1. Put child(ren) in the crib or bed (or couch, etc).
2. Show them how to toss the animal and try to get it in the basket.
3. Start the basket close to the bed/couch/crib and gradually move the basket farther away.

I filled the crib with stuffed animals. They had a blast doing this! (And I got the added benefit of contained, happy children while I put laundry away). This activity eventually ended with both of them rolling around giggling hysterically. Love it!

Shamrock Potato Print

Kids love paint. It is fun to paint in various mediums. I was thinking about St. Patrick's Day, which led me to think about potatoes, which led me to decide to do a potato print picture with Kaitlyn for St Patrick's Day.

AGE RANGE
I would say 18 months and up. 18 month old children can have fun with this, but don't expect them to make an actual picture. Just let them have fun with the paint and potato. Prints are an easy art project.

SUPPLIES

• 
  
  Green Paint
• 
  
  Potato--washed and cut in half
• 
  
  Construction paper
• 
  
  Plate for paint

ACTIVITY

1. 
   
   Have your child dip the potato in the paint
2. 
   
   Have your child press the potato on the paper. Have them press lightly

Take note that I just had Kaitlyn (2.5) have fun doing art. I didn't have her make a Shamrock. She giggled. She laughed. She exclaimed, "This is fun!"

Texture Bags

Super easy and fun! Great for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Materials:
Double zipper sandwich bag
Hair gel, pudding, applesauce, yogurt, washable paint....basically anything gooey. :)
Glitter (optional)

Activity:
Put 1/4 - 1/2 cup of gel/pudding in a sandwich bag and zip tightly, removing most of the air. Flatten bag so that it's a drawing surface.
Let your child play!

Ideas:
Babies will enjoy just squishing. I have to keep an eye on my baby because she's a fan of chewing on these bags.
Toddlers: Play guess the shape/letter, let them try to draw with their fingers, decorate the bag, make dots and have them count them. Hand prints were a winner with my girls. She even figured out how to do a face print. :)
Preschoolers: Great for practice writing letters and drawing shapes. Bigger bags seemed to be more fun...larger drawing/writing surface. You can also make a letter sound and have them draw the appropriate letter, call out a word and they can try to write the beginning consonant, etc. Be creative!
You can also mix colors of paint for a swirl effect in the bag. It's also a good change to talk about what happens when you mix colors like blue and yellow!
If using pudding, yogurt, applesauce or some kind of food, I would really recommend hanging on to the bag for long. If you choose paint or gel, the bags are good for some time! I keep a few bags stored in my activity cabinet.

Let's Cut Paper!

Not everything we do around here is something we put together ourselves--either from my head or from a book. Sometimes, I pull out a workbook. I love this Kumon Workbook for fun activities to build up paper cutting skills. It is for ages 2 and up. It is full of paper cutting activities designed to slowly build up your child's muscles, coordination, and cutting abilitly. It starts with simple, one-stroke cuts and works its way up to zig-zags and curves.

But you don't need to have the Kumon Workbook (or any other workbook) to do cutting activities. You can simply draw lines on paper for your child to cut. All you need are some child-safe scissors, a marker, and a piece of paper. Start with short, straight lines. Gradually make them longer. Move on to diagonal lines, zigs, zags, and curves.

Marshmallow Sculptures

Looking for something do do with all those leftover marshmallows besides make 100 cups of hot chocolate or rice crispy treats?



Materials:

Marshmallows (large and/or small) OR gumdrops

Toothpicks and/or straws



I think the gumdrops work better for tall structures. For ease of use, marshmallows are good.



Activity: See what kind of structures you both can build together using the materials you chose. Can you build something tall, like a castle? Letters? Numbers? Shapes?



This is a fun way to let them be creative and let their imaginations run wild. It's also fun to knock over. :)

*Helpful hint for those with children that will eat themselves sick (Raises hand!): Fill a small bowl up with the amount of treats they are allowed to eat while they build. It's not so much fun if you know you can't sample! We call ours the "Tasting Bowl." (Genius, I know.)

Egg Carton Caterpillar

Ages: 18 months +

Materials:

• styrofoam or cardboard egg carton
• finger paints
• paint brush
• newspaper/roll of paper for drop cloth
• pipe cleaners
• sharpie
• art apron

Preparation:

1. Cut egg carton in half (top and bottom).
2. Prep child with art apron/smock. We love this one from IKEA, it's $2.99, which honestly can't be beat, and it covers all the way down the arms. (*warning, does not keep curious toddlers from putting paint in their mouths, see below picture for example)
3. Lay out newspaper or a roll of plain paper as a drop cloth. We have this from IKEA, which comes on this holder, perfect for table-top cabinets. Normally I like to make due with stuff already at home, but these art supplies were a worthwhile investment and make a great, inexpensive gift set.

Activity:

1. Squeeze paint out onto paper. I chose to limit us to 2 colors, one of which was our color for this week--yellow. For moms who value 'pretty' projects, this is a simple way to keep an art project from turning into a brown and black mess of colors.
2. Help your child paint the egg carton (to be the caterpillar body) with the paintbrushes. Have fun, stop when your child loses interest or begins eating the paint, whichever comes first.
3. Set egg carton aside to dry.
4. Carry child with arms out away from your body to the nearest bathtub and run water. Rinse and repeat ;) (for ease of clean up I rinsed the art smock in the bathtub with Tobias and hung it over the shower head. When he was back to his normal color his clothes were still clean because of the smock, hooray!
5. After a nap (or the next day) cut the egg carton in half long-wise and take a sharpie to draw eyes and a mouth for the caterpillar.
6. Poke small holes in each division for legs on either side of the body. Cut pipe cleaners in half and thread each one through the body so there is a little leg sticking out on both ends. Repeat this for the antennae on the head. Allow your child to choose the color or ask them to find a particular color for you. This is a good way to informally test your child's color knowledge.

and later when we were all cleaned up and the caterpillar was ready for some legs and antennae. Notice that look of concentration :) He's such a firstborn.

Cleaning Coins

When I first read this idea in The Preschooler's Busy Book, I thought it would be fun. As the time drew closer to do it, however, I started to have my doubts. Cleaning coins? Wa-hoo.

Never-the-less, I pressed forward with the idea, and it was a hit! Both Brayden (4.5) and Kaitlyn (2.5) loved it and talked about how fun it was. I loved it because it was a great activity to do while I made dinner that didn't require more than my voice to control the situation.

We did this activity in honor of President's Day (Presidents are on coins you see). You could do it as a fine motor activity, a lesson on money values, or even a science lesson if you put salt and vinegar in the water to remove tarnish.

AGE RANGE
Old enough to not put the coin in the mouth (but supervise all ages). I would say 18 months and older can do this.

SUPPLIES

• Coins
• Toothbrush
• Towel for drying
• Dish with water and soap

PREP

• Gather supplies

ACTIVITY
Simply have your child clean the coins. As we did this, we talked about the President on the coin. I don't know why, but the kids loved it :)

Magnets!

This was a fun way to teach names, recognition of family and friends to my daughter. We have quite a bit of family we don't see often, as well as people at church I wanted my daughters to start to recognize. It helped with my oldest daughter's shyness when seeing people at church and at family gatherings.
I took family/friend photos, as well as photos from our church directory, and laminated them with packing tape. I then stuck a large magnet (using magnetic tape) on the back. That way I didn't worry about a choking hazard as much. :)
We practiced sorting by children and adults, boys/girls men/women, church friends and family friends, members of the family and people that are not members of the family, hair color, daddy's family and mommy's family, etc. There's unlimited ways you can sort them. It also helped us when we got presents or cards in the mail. I could tell them, "This is from aunt ____" and then show them the picture or have them find that person's picture.

Nutter Butter Snow Man

My mother-in-law randomly gave us some Nutter Butter cookies. As I looked at them, I thought, "snowman!" So we took our best shot at creating a snowman out of our Nutter Butters. I think they kind of ended up looking more like ghosts than snowmen...but we had fun and the kids enjoyed eating them.

AGE RANGE
Old enough to be able to decorate the snowman. Kaitlyn is 2.5 and spread the frosting and decorated herself. If your child is too young for spreading frosting, you could spread for her and let her decorate.

SUPPLIES

• Nutter Butter cookies
• Chocolate chips or other candy for eyes and buttons (like raisins--thanks Kristy!)
• Pretzels, Tootsie rolls, or some other candy for the arms
• White frosting
• Knife for spreading frosting

ACTIVITY

1. Spread or have your child spread frosting on the Nutter Butter.
2. Decorate as desired.
3. Eat!

Books We Can't Live Without!

I hear a lot of friends say things like, "If I have to read that book one more time..." or "We just need something new to read!"
We make frequent trips to the library just to get some fresh reading material. But every now and then we come across a book that stands the test. You know...the "this is the 19th time I've read this today and I haven't tried to skip any pages yet" test. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. Nineteen times a day for any book would make me skip some pages.
But I thought it might be helpful to recognize a few books that make our Favorite Books Ever list. I'd really be sad if these weren't on my shelf. I would have missed a lot of uncontrollable giggles and a lot of really sweet times when both of us are sad when the book is over. As a bonus, they are have great opportunities for teachable moments, due to content, illustrations, or both!
I included the amazon.com link for you. Some of them are available for less than $1 if you buy it used!
Many of these authors have other great books not listed, so when you are at the library, try to browse more books by them!
So, here's my list...

Me With You by Kristy Dempsey- A sweet rhyming book about a little bear who is most like herself when she's with her grandpa. Beautiful illustrations!

Gossie, Peedie, Boo Boo, and Ollie by Olivier Dunrea- Quick reads! Short stories dealing with goslings, each with a special quirk. Also available in board books. Great books to read with kids with shorter attention spans (like a baby that just wants to walk!)

Duck and Goose by Tad Hills- Hilarious book about a duck and goose that find a ball and mistake it for an egg. Great story about becoming friends and finding commonalities with others that seem very different at first. If you love this (which I'm sure you will!) there are a bunch of Duck and Goose books.

Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton- A funny story about a sheep that can't fall asleep. My 2 year old cracks up at the illustrations. A definite favorite!

Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie (series)- Great stories about two pigs that are completely different and the best of friends. One loves to go on wild adventures and the other loves to stay at home in Woodcock Pocket. I believe a TV show has been made out of these books. Again, if you love them, there's a bunch of Toot and Puddle books!

Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae- A rhyming book. Gerald the giraffe is embarrassed because he can't dance like the other animals.

Wet Dog by Elise Broach (illustrated by David Catrow)- Funny book about a dog trying to cool off on a hot summer day. The illustrations make the book!

The Pout-Pout Fish- (by Debbie Diesen) A favorite in our house! A grumpy fish learns that he doesn't have to be grumpy all the time. My daughter literally laughs out loud when we read this book. The illustrations are great, too.

Over in the Garden by Jennifer Ward- A rhyming and counting book. Hidden numbers, clues to find to determine the next bug, and a great rhythm to the book. My daughters have loved this book from an early age. She also has other books along the same lines (in the desert, ocean, Arctic). We read this so many times the pages fell out.

Too Many Frogs by Sandy Asher- A silly book about a frog that invites himself to story time each night at Rabbit's house. Rabbit learns that sharing a book is better than being alone and Froggie learns some manners! Great discussion book.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn- Great book to read for kids that are going to be away from loved ones for any length of time (babysitters, day care, military deployment, starting school,etc). A little raccoon is nervous about being away from his mom, so his mom gives him a special way to remember her when they are apart.

Listen Buddy by Lynn Munsinger- A story about a rabbit that never listens and ends up learning a very important lesson. A fun read, and very silly!

Karen Katz Lift-the-flap books-Great books for babies and pretoddlers!

Mirror Me- A Baby Einstein book with mirrors on each page. Talks about making faces. My girls both loved this book from infancy through about 18 months. Even at 2.5 my oldest will sit and look at it. There's something about mirrors...

What's your "can't live without it" book? Let me know!

Marshmallow Snowmen

Materials: Large marshmallows, pretzel sticks (or toothpicks), mini chocolate chips or raisins, craisins (something for the nose), fruit leather/fruit roll-up/pull-and-peel licorice for the scarf, marshmallow fluff (for "glue").

Directions: I built one first to show my daughter how to do it. Take one marshmallow and stick a pretzel in it. Some of the pretzel will still be sticking out. Take another marshmallow and stick it on the pretzel piece sticking up. You now have 2 marshmallows stacked. Stick another pretzel stick in the 2nd marshmallow and add the 3rd marshmallow on top.

Add 2 pretzel sticks for arms.

Twist around whatever you decided to use for the scarf. They'll need help with this!

I let my daughter use a pretzel stick to smear on some marshmallow fluff (we used ricemallow creme) on the face or on the individual chips. The chocolate chips/raisins/craisins will all stick to it and you won't be able to see the fluff since it's also white. :)

Ta-da!

Then eat! Yum.

Skills: fine motor, hand-eye coordination, hand strength, building and stacking, self-control not to eat :)

Circles and O's

This is a simple activity you can do to learn about several different things. You can talk about colors, the shape circle, or the letter O. I also thought you could turn this into an Olympic rings on the flag activity. Brayden did this (pictured) at preshool.

AGE RANGE

Toddler and up. You might find this appropriate for some pre-toddlers, also.

SUPPLIES

• Paper
• Paint
• Paper Cup
• Plate to put paint on

PREP

• Gather supplies
• Prep work area (tablecloth or whatever you use to protect your work space)
• Prep child (aprons or whatever you do to protect clothing)
• Pour paint onto plates (one color per plate)

ACTIVITY

• Have your child dip the paper cup into the end (open end down)
• Have your child stamp the paper with the cup

EXTENSIONS
You could do this with a variety of items, including cookie cutters.

Defrosty the Snowman

Snow melting? Ours is! Instead of mourning, we're celebrating! Everyday Fun magazine had this cute idea last winter, and I thought I'd share it with you!

What you'll need:
-White candy melts (one 14-ounce package makes 16 snowmen)
-Miniature chocolate chips
-Light cocoa candy melts
-Rolos
-Candy corn (I used a piece of a real carrot for lack of candy corn)

Here's the directions they give:

For each snowman, you'll need 6 mini chocolate chips, a light cocoa candy melt, and a Rolo. To make the nose, cut the orange section from a candy corn, then slice it in half lengthwise. Roll the piece between your fingers to form a carrot shape.
To assemble your snowman, melt the white candy in a bowl according to the package instructions, then scoop a rounded tablespoon onto a sheet of wax paper. With the back of a spoon, smear the candy into a puddle. Working quickly, stick on the light cocoa candy melt, add a dot of white melted candy, then place the Rolo on top. Finally, add the candy corn nose and mini chocolate chip eyes and mouth.

Have fun!