Fun for 5 and under

The Resurrection Story

2011-04-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Tomb Cookies
Here is a recipe for a fun cookie to represent the empty tomb.
http://faithfulprovisions.com/2010/03/29/empty-tomb-cookies-2/

Resurrection Eggs!
We made these at MOPS. This is a great way to get your child involved in the Resurrection Story. Each egg has a symbol with scripture to read that leads up to the Resurrection. Here is a website that an example can be found. http://www.livingonadime.com/recipes/reseggs.html

Crafts about the Cross and Resurrection
Hobby Lobby is a Christian business and have many great crafts that are half off right now.

Coloring sheets that have the story on them make it easier to hold a small child's attention as you talk.
http://www.dltk-bible.com/guides/easter-index.htm

Books- There are many great board books that help to lay out the story.

Handprint crafts

Music at Home

2011-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Research shows numerous benefits for development in young children and music. Babies are stimulated in the womb by music and come out recognizing and being soothed by songs mom sung to them. Music initiates growth in mental pathways in the brain which leads to spatial reasoning skills. These skills are used in subjects like math.

You can take your child to a music class or give them lessons but here are some ideas that can start with items already found in the home.

Tambourines made with beans, hole punch and yarn. Decorate it and shake it up!!

Drums made from old formula cans and paper towel rolls stuffed with paper towels and taped over. He decided to decorate with Bob the Builder stickers.

Shakers made out of plastic containers and beans, cheerios, or rice. Kids can decorate shakers and glue shut.

Homemade guitar with shoebox, different size rubber bands, and paper towel roll. My son loves to pretend to rock out on this and believe it or not, it actually sounds kinda like a guitar. Different size rubber bands make different sounds.

Harmonica made with wax paper, rubber bands and a comb. Put up to lips with picks facing down and slide back and forth while blowing(Can you tell it's been played with?)

Family Fun Dance Night!! Start a night where the whole family gets silly and jams out to different tunes. My son personally loves rock n roll.

Fine Motor Skills

2011-03-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Fine Motor skills are developed through practice and working small muscles in hands. These skills are necessary to work so your child can do things like dress and feed themselves, tie shoes, brush teeth and eventually use scissors and write with a pencil. Some doctors says children today have fine motor weaknesses due to more issues like tv watching. Although, I will argue that some systems like the Wii are helping kids to develop these very skills.

6 months+- you can start letting your child grab at food like puffs to practice "raking" motion and eye/hand coordination.

11 mo+- use egg crate to help child use index finger and thumb "pincer grasp."

Stacking cups and pulling them apart- let them try as soon as they can sit up and start grabbing at objects.

1 yr+- putting clothespin into bottle and dumping back out.

2 yr+- using turkey baster with water, scooping and pouring. Can also be used with uncooked rice or beans.

1 1/2+-large piece puzzles as soon as they become interested in trying to put them in place and don't put in mouth.

Practice with large crayons, chalk, large paintbrushes.

3 yr+- trying out scissors as well as using a fat pencil to trace name.

Edible Playdough with Pudding Paint

2011-03-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

This is very yummy and easy to make! It's made with peanut butter, powdered sugar and honey. There are many variations if you don't like one of those ingredients!!

I mixed it myself because I wasn't quite ready to have it fly onto the ceiling.

Noah had fun rolling the dough out but I recommend using a plastic rolling pin that can't be used as a weapon.

I realized that I "accidentally" left all the paintbrushes at Mimi's house so we improvised. Contrary to what it looks like, those are primary colors.

Noah decided he liked all the colors mixed together. Gotta love a nice shade of browny-green.

I still thought it tasted fabulous with the pudding goop on it!!

The recipe can be found here http://www.makeandtakes.com/edible-playdough-you-will-want-to-eat

The pudding paint is simply instant vanilla pudding with food coloring.

Valentine's Day Activities

2011-02-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day. I really meant to do a post earlier to give ideas for Valentine's but didn't get to it. This is some of the activities that we did.

I focused on the heart shape to Noah this month by letting him trace hearts, color hearts, made heart sandwiches and talked a lot about Jesus in our heart.

I found some door hanger kits at Dollar Tree that he decorated and put together for his teachers.

I made some heart shades for Noah out of pipe cleaners that he kept on for about 3 seconds.

This is a cute little mouse that Noah made at school that says, "This may sound cheesy but I like you."

These make cute class favors. Picture from www.allthingsformom.com

They are so cute!

Sorting and Matching

2011-02-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sorting and Matching skills are important skills to learn for future success in the classroom . This is something you can start early when they turn two. It begins with the child being able to identify a difference in the shapes, colors, and sizes put before them. If you notice what you do in one day as a mom then you will see all the sorting and classifying that you do. Involve your child in your tasks like laundry or putting away silverware, etc. to teach them these skills.

Sorting shapes and colors can be fun when you use an egg carton. I had the different colored lids but you can use all kinds of different objects. Of course, using edible objects makes for easy clean-up.

You can make matching games that interest your child with construction paper or index cards and stickers that they like. I used Toy Story stickers that Noah loves and he was super excited to find the matches.

You can find great cheap matching games with shapes, colors or numbers. This is a Sesame Street beginner's matching game.

Name Recognition

2011-01-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Helping children to recognize and learn their name can be part of everyday tasks. You can start pretty early with talking to them about their name around 12 months. Having the letters of their name on the wall above the changing table has really helped me. Every time I changed Noah's diaper we would look at his name and talk about it. Pretty soon he had the letters memorized(only 4 letters) and now he recognizes his name on paper and we will be work on writing it next. You can make up fun chants to help them remember and let them decorate their name. You can use cheerios, marshmallows, buttons, candy,etc for a fun way to learn their name.

Paper plate crafts

2011-01-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

I love to make crafts with stuff around the house like paper plates. I made a winter snowman with my kids at school and the directions can be found at www.enchantedlearning.com Just type in snowmen into search. This is an awesome website!! I made mine out of two paper plates, pipe cleaners, and fun craft materials from Dollar Tree. I definitely can get in trouble there. Love that place. Get creative with leftover cartons, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls,etc. Kids love to create out of simple things!!

Infant Sensory Play

2011-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

This activity is one that we did at the Parenting Cottage and is good for the 4-6 month range. Infants at this age really start to explore with their mouth and hands. This is called a Pat Mat. Great activity for Tummy Time. Basically it's a ziploc bag filled with different objects and water. I just grabbed some blocks but bright colored toys and even glitter works well. You can double bag and tape top to keep water from leaking.Your child can explore with all their senses. Look with their eyes, feel with their hands, hear the water with their ears, and even pull to their mouth to explore. Once their grip is strong enough to tear bag then they are too old for this.

Different ways to incorporate senses:

Sight- black and white images up to 4 months and bright colors and pictures after that( around 4 months they develop same color vision as adults)

Touch-Provide many different textures, touchy feely books, give common safe objects to grasp around house. Providing your baby with your touch is also very important.

Hear-Provide many different sounds-soft and loud to help refine their hearing. Providing soft noises like whispers are an important way to test hearing informally.

Smell-Their sense of smell is actually the most developed sense at birth but you can provide them with a shirt with your smell to comfort them. Research also says that smells like lavender, vanilla or a cake baking makes your baby happier!!

New Blog!!

2010-12-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to start a blog with ideas for learning and crafts for all those Moms with little ones at home. It's easy to get in the same routine and need new ideas. Working mainly with 3-5 yr olds at my job for the last two years has given me a passion for early learning.

This is something fun for little boys!!! I like to use cheerios, dried beans, or anything they can scoop or pour. Noah prefers Cheerios that he can eat!!