the diary of j

the construction site

2011-08-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

My child has been interested in tools, heavy machines (here and here) and construction for a long time. It must run in the genes because my husband was in the body and fender trade for 20 years before he became an iron worker.

Anytime we come across construction it's a given that we stop to check out what's going on and what machines and tools are being used.

Today at the park we say a cement truck pouring some concrete. We watched the operator set up the chute from three different parts. We listened as the truck beeped as it backed up trying to get into position.

What you can't see are some orange cones and men with shovels and leveling tools. We talked about those and when daddy came home from work he pulled out the cones for J to make his own construction site.

Nearby is a pile of fine grained gravel (because who doesn't have a pile of that nearby? Ah, the joys of having a 'handy' husband).

J used his gardening shovel and rake to move some gravel around the cones of the construction site.

I love the dramatic play component of learning, don't you?

The end!

J's dramatic play area

2011-08-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

With a few new purchases from the Goodwill, I'm happy enough with J's dramatic play area to share some photos with you. His "kitchenette" is located in a little space in between the dining room and living room.

My parents were kind enough to purchase this marvelous kitchen play set for J when he was about a year and a half (its nicer than my real kitchen, that's for sure):

It came with small plastic plates and cups and stainless steel utensils. Over time I've added stainless steel pitchers and pots from rummage sales, measuring spoons and cups, a small scale and even a tiny plastic potted plant I found at the dollar store. In the cupboards are an empty box of Annie's noodles and an empty container of that nasty processed Parmesan cheese my husband and child adore so much. Shrug. Currently J is sauteing a cluster of googley eyes.

Counterclockwise from the kitchenette against the sofa is his table and chair set, a gift from his Titi (Aunt Katie).

J likes to actually eat snack or dinner a this table from time to time, and I let him depending on how messy it is. He would love for his father and I to join him but alas, we don't fit! I like to let J play with things like the pom poms or large dried noodles or other objects that 'pour' instead of plastic food. I even add a little water to his teapot because it's only a couple ounces and it's easy to clean up if it spills.

On the opposite wall from the kitchenette is one of J's shelves of toys.

My husband (a union iron-worker) looks at me funny when I bring home things like the baby doll, stroller, and cradle but I remind him that J needs to practice being a good dad, too. (P.S. the iron has the cord cut off- J is obsessed with electrical outlets).

Well, J and I hope you enjoyed the tour!

The end.

planting a flag garden

2011-07-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

My mom ordered dozens of these American flags from Oriental Trading Company for the Fourth of July celebration at their lake house. J got a hold of some and decided to plant them in the raised garden bed.

Happy 4th everyone!

Sorting flowers

2011-07-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

I bought this egg holder at a garage sale and thought we'd use it as a sorting tray. So I gathered up different flowers and offered them to J on a plate along with the tray.

He got busy and we talked about the different colors and textures of the flowers as we went.

The end!

bricks and sticks

2011-07-02T10:37:00.001-07:00

This is my first attempt to blog via my mobile and let me tell you, I'm being outsmarted by my smartphone.

Anyhoo, J and I are spending the holiday with my family up at my parent's lake house. It's the perfect opportunity for some activities that involve nature.

After the mega-storm system that ran down Lake Michigan yesterday, the ground was littered with sticks. J was gathering some up so I offered him this brick with holes in it.

He immediately got the idea and began placing the sticks in the holes (very Montessori -ish, no?)

It's a good thing I didn't wait until the end to take a picture because immediately after he placed the last stick he knocked them all down.

Oh well!

Ok I'm about to publish. Lets see if the photos end up in the right spot. I'm not convinced.

blowing out the candle

2011-06-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, this wasn't really J's birthday but he so enjoyed blowing out his candles on his birthday cake (he is really attracted to fire in all shapes and forms) I decided to recreate the event for him with one of Grandma's cupcakes.

At first he wanted to blow the candle out without waiting for me to sing Happy Birthday, which was fine with me.

But after I kept relighting the candle and he was assured he'd get as many turns as he would like he waited until the end of the song. Then he experimented with blowing from different distances (of course in between takes he took a little bite of the cupcake).

Happy 2nd birthday, my little angel!

Touch a Truck

2011-06-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

The other day we took a field trip to our local Touch a Truck event. It's pretty neat. They park a whole bunch of trucks in a parking lot and the children get a hands on feel for the different kinds vehicles. They got to sit in the drivers seat, honk the horns and fiddle with all the buttons. J loves anything with a motor, so this event caused him to be in heaven!
He got to experience a front end loader:

A tractor along with a school bus, a fire engine, a police car, a tow truck, and an ambulance among others:

It was a fantastic day:

rocks in a wooden display case

2011-06-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

I bought this wooden display case at a city-wide garage sale (and wow does it need a dusting).

The owner told me it came with his wife from England when she moved into the area. I wondered why she felt it was so important that she would bring it all the way across the ocean only to later sell it out of the garage, but I didn't ask. Anyway, I was in the market for such a thing, and thought it was good luck I should come across one for $2.

At first J and I used this to sort his vintage cars from his father's old collection. This was in May, right before his 2nd birthday and he showed a brief interest in the activity.

This was about as far as he got, so I snapped a photo but I couldn't help completing the set.
I love to organize things like this and as a child I would have spend hours rearranging some collection or another.

Anyway, I cleaned up and tucked the wooden display case under the couch until yesterday when I wondered if J would like to sort another type of collection so I brought out my jar of black river rocks.

This time he was eager.

He filled up all the spaces as we talked about little, big, long & short, skinny & fat.

When we were done we cleaned up and J enjoyed the sound the rocks made when they clattered to the bottom of the glass vase.

Then he dumped them out so he could feel them under his feet. I love how children learn about the world with their whole bodies.

I had pretty much chalked this activity up as being over when on a whim I set the case upright. J thought the new perspective was pretty cool and began adding rocks again (again I thought I should really dust but I didn't want to stop):

He did't last quite as long this time, but I was happy he was interested at all:

I like how he chose to pile some rocks on top of each other. It was so fun for me to watch this process!

making noodles

2011-04-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

J loves to eat noodles and watches intently when I am cooking them. A small empty pasta box inspired me to create a dramatic play activity for J's kitchen.

I filled the box with dried pasta and put it in J's pantry. It was a perfect fit. I told J there was a surprise in his cabinet and to go and see. He squealed when he saw the pasta box! He said, "Noodles!".

I reviewed the process of cooking noodles with J step by step. First we put the noodles in the pot to boil. J said "Cook."

He spontaneously took a spoon out to stir:

Then I reminded him to strain the noodles in the sink(this photo didn't turn out for some reason). Next we put the noodles on the plate and pretend to eat:

After we cleaned up our kitchen and put the noodles back into the box and on the shelf:

J really enjoyed this activity and has cooked noodles a couple more times since!

The end!

nurturing the babies

2011-03-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I noticed J had lined up his "babies" and covered them with his beloved blanket. Then he gave each of them a bottle or sippy cup:

I provided him an opportunity to extend his dramatic play by giving him a cup and spoon so he could feed his babies:

Then we burped the babies:

J will make a great daddy one day!
The end!

finding hooks

2011-03-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

J has been mentioning hooks a lot lately. He came into my bedroom and when he saw I had hung my sports bra on the dresser knob, he cried, "hook! hook!" He then proceeded to try and hang it on the other dresser knobs.

After a few more hook mentions (he hung is art bib after window painting on my dresser hook too) I realized he was (duh) showing an interest in hooks.

After his nap today I offered J his book bag and asked him if he wanted to find some hooks. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of these photos. I used my camera phone and little J is quite fast and often looks like a blur.

The first hook he found was the one holding up the diaper bag. He couldn't reach and moved on:

Next his changing table knobs:

The bathroom door where we got distracted by his makeshift ball pit:

(We stopped a minute to play)

When he got out he was happy to resume the activity:

When he got to the buffet, he said, "Hook? No." But he gave it a shot anyway:

We were on our way downstairs when he found the door handle worked:

After this he had a tantrum because he couldn't go outside yet. I suspected he was hungry so we stopped to have a snack (another tantrum ensued because he couldn't have chocolate). After he calmed down he happily ate his banana with peanut butter and graham crackers. Then daddy came home from the auto parts store and hanging out with him in the garage fixing the truck became more attractive.

To be continued in the basement!

vinegar and baking soda experinment

2011-03-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

An oldie but goodie. We used a pipette and a salt shaker bottle to transfer vinegar into a tray of baking soda. (I use Colorations liquid watercolors instead of food coloring because it doesn't stain).

J was delighted with the bubbles it made. He said, "bubbles" and "izzy" (fizzy). Eventually we had to refill the vinegar and replace the baking soda (three times). Then we reversed the process and added baking soda to a cup of vinegar. He liked this process better.

The end!

transferring beans

2011-03-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

These beans reminded me of TicTacs. So I thought I'd set out my empty container for a transferring activity.

I poured all the beans into the cup because I wasn't sure how many he'd want to do. Apparently it was too much, or the container I put them in was too tight because he dumped them on the tray either in frustration or for better access, I'm not sure. He hasn't been interested in doing this activity again, so I think it was a bit too much (though he put about 10 beans in).

The end!

window painting

2011-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

I recently set up our basement for messy play. We (well, my husband) repainted it from the Pepto Bismol color it was to something more contemporary and tiled half the floor for easy clean up. But I have yet to utilize this space because the light on our main floor is so brilliant and inviting, especially coming from our sliding glass door. I finally gave in and bought some BioColor paint for some window painting.

Now, J is wearing a smock in this photo because he asked for one. I don't like most smocks because I think they are so bulky. But we had this old bib (that he never used to want to wear) so I put it on him and let him paint away.

As he painted he talked about the colors he was using and named them.

I've never painted on windows before but I highly recommend it. The BioColor washed off like a charm!

The end!

the power of absorbtion (or using a sponge)!

2011-03-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from Melissa from Chasing Cheerios (I love her blog, J and I will be trying out many of her activities).

I set up a tray, a sponge, and a salt shaker of water. I showed J how to sprinkle the water onto the tray and how to wipe it up with the sponge. He was very engaged in this activity wiping and sprinkling over and over.

Ah, sweet sweet concentration! I actually managed to unload and load the dishwasher!

The end!

transferring pom poms

2011-03-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

J loves these Montessori-type activities. I think most children do.

I set him up with a tray, some tongs, a bowl of pom poms and an egg tray. He did the rest!

The end!

J's interest in trains

2011-03-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

J is fascinated by anything with a motor, be it large or small. But he has shown a particular interest in trains. He constantly brings me books with trains to read, and he watches in rapt fascination when we get stopped by one (now I turn off a side road to get closer to one if we are too far away in traffic).

Knowing this, I brought him to a park we don't normally visit because of its nearness to some railroad tracks. First we went and observed the tracks. Then we went to play in the park for a little bit until we heard a whistle blowing in the distance.

The train was so close and SO loud. J turned his head into my neck when the horn blew and missed the conductor waving to him!

After the train went by we investigated the gate. I explained how the gate went down when a train was coming and that it means cars have to stop. (We got closer to the gate than this photo, but I was alone and unable to photograph up close for obvious safety reasons).

J was very interested in the gate: it's lights, it's movements, and its sounds. When we got home he looked at his train book again and again and said, "Gate. Cars stop." He also shared his experiences with his teachers at school. (The school is near some tracks as well and the children can see and hear the train from the playground).

J has a set of wooden train tracks that he builds with daily. I wonder if we could focus a little on creating a gate for it or recreate the movements of the gate and the train using our bodies.

The end!

straws in a containter...in the tub!

2011-03-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Bath time is always a struggle. J likes the bath once he gets in, but getting him in there can be an ordeal. Today I enticed him with a container and straws. We do a lot of Montessori-inspired transferring activities, but have yet to try them in the tub.

At first J struggled with the empty bottle because of it's buoyancy (it tended to flip over) and wanted to stand up. Not wanting him to slip, I opened the cap and filled it with water so it was more stable. I gave J about 30 straws and he patiently put them in one by one, but he could have easily done more.

It seems he wanted to challenge himself so he tried to do a couple at a time, and he did struggle:

Good for you little man!

The end!

"cooking"

2011-03-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

J was playing on the kitchen floor with some of the more benign contents of our silverware drawer when he came upon the garlic press. I offered him a clove of garlic. It proved to be too difficult for him so he gave up and pointed to the counter and said, "cooking."

I lifted him up and offered him a bowl of flour and a spoon and a small jar of thyme. He then said, "milk?" I told him we couldn't play with milk, but offered him some stale iced tea I had in the back of the fridge that I had been meaning to pour out. I put a splash into a measuring cup and set it close by, refilling it when he wanted more:

He poured and sprinkled, and tinkered with the lid of the jar for a little while.

Then I remembered I had some coffee grounds still in the coffee maker, and curious to see what he would do with them, I set them nearby as well. J said "coffee, uck!" and filled up a measuring spoon.

He then dug his hand in and said, "uh oh, mess!" and needed me to clean his hand (he definitely doesn't get this from me!) After cleaning up J decided he was done.

This interaction made me realize that my baby is talking now and I had better start documenting his words!

everything in a row

2011-03-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

I love when children line things up in a row. To me it indicates the beginning of mathematical thinking: intentional organization, categorization and pattern making.

J is interested in lining up almost anything:

Cars:

Books:

Cheese puffs:

Candy hearts (I swear these snacks were initally in a bowl):

Dog treats (that he was supposed to be feeding to the dog. The minute J turned his head the dog lapped it up, lol)

Rocks, cars:

The end!

"tacks" (tracks)

2011-03-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

J loves playing with his "cahs" (cars) and his "tains" (trains). So I thought it might be nice to make tracks in the paint with his cars. While he was playing J pointed and said "tacks" (tracks) and "chachacha choo".

All done:

The end!

pennies in a bunny bank

2011-02-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

I love these Montessori type activities because they work on fine motor and build concentration. Initially I had 10 pennies on the tray. But he burned through them and banked about 15 more.

Please note, pennies,as with all small objects, are choking hazards. I have worked long and hard with J about what kinds of things he can taste and what kinds of things he cannot put in his mouth. If he doesn't know he will look to me for guidance. Still, whenever J works with small objects such as these I keep careful watch over him and the objects he is using.The end!

J experiences snow indoors

2011-02-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

It was too cold to go outside and play so I brought some snow indoors in a tray.
He dug his hands in and said, "cold".

I happened to have a paint roller nearby so he picked it up and began to explore:

He wanted a place to roll it, so I offered him a towel:

The activity ended with a little taste:

The end!

spooning chick peas

2010-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

J had a good time with this Montessori-type activity, using the spoon to transfer chick peas from one container to another. He worked for about 10 minutes, and the bottle didn't seem to get in the way! He knows not to put the chick peas in his mouth (they are choking hazards).

Of course, this activity ended like this:

The end!

cooking, or "kooky" with J

2010-11-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

Little man has been so curious about what I'm doing in the kitchen lately. He knows when I am cooking (he says I'm "kooky") and wants to be lifted up so he can see. This morning while I was making breakfast (whole wheat waffles topped with peach puree, yum!), I gave him a bowl of flour and a spoon and instructed my husband to supervise. My husband is more of the old school sort, so these kinds of activities blow his mind.

At first J wanted to walk around with the bowl, but after a little convincing (and a little crying) he was satisfied sitting on the floor. J immediately started to spoon flour onto the floor so I gave him another bowl for him to fill (children do so love the idea of transferring things).

To spice things up (ha!), I handed him a small jar of oregano. I think there is nothing more irresistible to children than the mysteries of mom's spice rack. In no time at all that little jar was empty so I just refilled it with the flour/oregano mixture from his bowl.

I would say J was pretty content with his first experience with "kooky"

The end!