Pocketful of Posies

Lids + Box = Fun for Baby

2012-05-21T19:11:07Z

Janna is 13 months old and is such an inquisitive little creature. She is so smart, just like her big brothers and sister. Recently, she has been cleaning out the dryer lint trap because she has seen me do it often enough that she knows just what to do.

I try to keep my baby girl entertained the best I can, but sometimes the toys just aren’t interesting enough. This can lead to emptied cabinets or laundry baskets. That’s when non-toy items come into play. For example, Janna was happy for a long time last week with an empty tissue box and some lids.

I gave Janna 4 baby food jar lids which she enjoyed clanking together to make some ~~noise~~ music.

I then showed her how to put the lids into the tissue box and then take them out again.

The plastic on the tissue box made it just challenging enough to keep Janna engaged in the activity. Eventually, she found another box and, on her own, incorporated it into her play.

She made a game of taking the lids out of the tissue box, putting them into the bigger box, and then putting them back into the tissue box. She repeated this process several times.

Obviously, it doesn’t take expensive toys to keep young children entertained. All of my kids have loved playing with cardboard boxes. Right now my 4 year old has turned a small shipping box into a treasure chest by filling it full of all sorts of treasures. Hopefully, there is no food in there. Maybe I better check to make sure what exactly he did put in that box…

Do your kids like playing with boxes?

Money Origami

2012-05-18T14:30:14Z

Last year my husband downloaded a free app called Dollar Origami. My oldest son, who is now 9 1/2, learned to make all sorts of things out of dollar bills. Some of the things he has made have quite a few steps. For example, the ring pictured below had 24 steps.

This activity does require some patience, but if you have an older child it might be something they would enjoy. Maybe you might even have fun making some money origami to give as a gift. My son made a butterfly out of a dollar and we gave it to my niece as part of her first birthday present.

This is our only experience with origami. I need to get some of the special paper and see what else my son can make. Have you ever made origami with your child?

“Turn left, Mommy.”

2012-05-15T14:59:06Z

This morning we had to run a few errands. When we were ready to head home we had a choice to make of either turning left or right. I was going to turn right because that is the faster, more direct route. However, my 4 year old son said, “Turn left, Mommy”.

I could have easily said “no” and turned right. However, I decided there really was no reason why we couldn’t take a different way home. I figured we would eventually get home and, since I am sitting at home writing this post, we did.

I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the area we were driving through and knew we were going to see something Joseph would be excited about. Since there were no vehicles nearby I stopped the truck, opened my window, and snapped a couple of pictures.

This nearby lake looked beautiful this morning. We would have missed it if we had gone our normal way home. This made me think about all of the moments we parents miss when we are so focused on all that we have to do.

Being a parent shouldn’t be so much about getting to a destination (i.e., preparing preschoolers for school, etc.), but about enjoying the view along the way.

What moments have you enjoyed with your children recently?

Foam Mats for Circle Time

2012-05-14T19:42:16Z

I have been working on rearranging things in my basement classroom and recently purchased some foam mats to use for circle time and for my kids to play on.

I enlisted the help my mathematically minded husband and daughter to figure out how to arrange the three packages of mats I ordered.

I loved that they didn’t smell when I opened the packages. My husband has a set of mats under his weight bench that really stunk for several days. These did not.

My kids have all enjoyed sitting, rolling, running, jumping, and playing on the mats.

Each mat is a 24 inch square and will be perfect for circle time. Each child can have their own square.

This post contains an affiliate link. Thanks for supporting this site.

Cloud Dough Recipe

2012-05-09T02:38:23Z

After receiving a comment last week on my sensory table post suggesting that we try making cloud dough, I thought we ought to give it a whirl.

It was easy to make and Joseph absolutely loved it! He even asked me if he could play with it before bed to which I had to reply that he would have to wait until morning.

I found this idea on several blogs, but the original source seems to be Pre-School Play.

To make cloud dough you will only need two ingredients: 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil.

When purchasing baby oil make sure you buy a big enough bottle. The one shown in the picture was only 6 1/2 ounces. Thankfully, I had some shoved in the back of our bathroom closet to make up the difference.

Combine the two ingredients in a bowl or other container. We used a spatula to start with and then had to use our hands.

Eventually, we had the oil and flour well mixed. While cloud dough isn’t really like play dough or other doughs, there really isn’t a better word to describe it.

Cloud dough is unique in that it can be molded and formed, but it also crumbles very easily.

It is silky and smooth, and the baby oil makes it smell really good.

My 4 year old packed it down and then had fun crumbling it up.

He even pretended like he was scooping snow.

This cloud dough kept my son occupied for well over 1/2 an hour. We then took it outside because he was getting a little messy as evidenced by the cloud dough on his face, shirt, arms, pants, table…you get the idea.

We are storing this in a lidded container and will see how long it lasts. I am guessing it will be good for a long time.

If you are making this for a child with Celiac you could try using corn flour (not cornmeal).

I would definitely recommend trying cloud dough with your child. Have you ever made it before?

Reading to Babies and Toddlers

2012-05-07T19:27:43Z

My little Janna is 13 months old today. She is such a sweetie and is learning so much each day. She walks all over the place and says quite a few words such as go, no, what, mama, dad, hi, bye, and look.

Today she added a new word thanks to a little book we have been reading. After looking at a picture of a flower and having me repeat the word over and over Janna said “flower”.

Books are such wonderful tools for learning for everyone from babies to adults. Janna is finally out of the “I want to eat the books not look at them” stage and has really started enjoying being read to. Today she sat on my lap and listened to me read an entire nursery rhymes book. She especially liked the rhymes that I sang to her.

When reading to babies and toddlers try to keep their attention span and interests in mind. They don’t even have to be sitting on your lap to have you read to them. If they are playing while you are reading to them, they can still hear you.

Janna’s favorite books are those that have bright, bold pictures. She is especially fond of a small board book that has pictures of real animals. She will sit and study them for the longest time. She has even said “woof” and “meow” when we read it together.

I did want to share a link to a post written by Vanessa of Silly Eagle Books called “Don’t read to your kids: no good can come of it!”. I love her sense of humor in this post, but don’t let the title fool you. She is a big advocate of reading to your children and gives some great reasons why.

What is your baby or toddlers favorite book? What was your favorite book when you were little? Mine was No, no, Natalie,.

Homemade Sensory Table

2012-05-03T14:33:46Z

I recently asked my husband if he could build a small sensory table that would allow a plastic tote box to fit inside it. I gave him a few rough ideas about height and he got to work. Using only scrap wood, this is what he came up with.

My four year old has been loving our “new” sensory table. While the wood didn’t look great to begin with, thanks to some wood filler and paint I think it looks pretty good now.

I wanted to show you the top of the table. My husband cut out a hole just barely big enough for the tote box I had.

It is tight fit which is great for not allowing the rice and beans to get under the lip of the box.

My husband would have preferred to use 2×4′s, but I told him just to use only wood he had. The table is lightweight, but so far seems like it will be sturdy enough to withstand much use.

The height of the table is 23 inches. There is a small lip around the top so that the rice and beans will stay on to table, unless they are flung with force from the box straight to the floor. (Remind me to put a sheet or something under the table.)

The top of the table is 25 inches by 27 inches, so it isn’t quite a perfect square. The container I used was a Sterlite container that measured 20 inches x 13 inches x 5 inches.

When we aren’t using the table we put the lid on the top of the box. I will keep the beans and rice in it for now, but I can always change either the box or its contents whenever.

Joseph is tall for a 4 year old, but I think the height would be good for younger/shorter children. Janna is 1 year old and the table comes to her neck. That is fine because she is still putting things in her mouth so I am not quite ready to let her play with it yet.

Do you have a sensory table? I think we are going to love ours.

Bookshelf Makeover

2012-05-01T18:51:03Z

I am reorganizing our toys and my preschool supplies to get ready for next school year. I wanted a short bookshelf to go on a specific wall that is small. I looked at the prices of shelving units and decided to take a look through the house first to see what I might be able to use.

I found the perfect bookshelf inside of a closet. It is just the right size and height to hold blocks and puzzles. I think it is super cute, but it didn’t start out that way.

This is what the bookshelf looked like before. I had washed the dust off before putting it into a closet last year, but it still needed work.

I knew that if I was going to paint it I would have to sand and prime it first. So, I looked through some of my supplies and found a roll of white contact paper that I had purchased at a yard sale.

I set to work and I think it turned out pretty well. It was a much quicker project than painting it would have been. If I ever decide to paint it I can just peel off the contact paper.

The trick to using contact paper seems to be to just peel a little bit off at a time and smooth it out. I took my time and am pleased with the results.

I hung my homemade felt board above the bookshelf and then put all of our wooden puzzles, Lincoln Logs, and blocks on the shelves.

The letters on the side of the bookshelf were part of a set of alphabet decals my mom gave me. I will be using more of them on a wall.

I even took pictures of the two different kinds of blocks we have and printed them out with the word “blocks” underneath. Then I laminated them. I cut the pictures out, punched holes in the top, and used yarn to tie them to the boxes.

I am happy with my “new” bookshelf and the fact that the project cost me $0 because I was able to use things I already had in my home. Now all I have to figure out is how to keep my 1 year old from pulling everything off the shelves. Any suggestions?

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this site.

{Baby Learning} The First Year

2012-04-23T15:10:55Z

My baby is one year old and I think it is time to put this Baby Learning series to rest. I had high hopes of posting weekly and sharing lots of creative activities you could do with your baby. However, that didn’t happen.

While I did share a few activities and wrote about a few topics regarding babies and learning, I feel like I didn’t succeed in what I hoped to accomplish.

When I start thinking like that I have to take a step back and try to get a new perspective. Why did I start writing this series? Did I want you to think I was an awesome mom? Was I just wanting a record of my daughter’s development during her first year? Did I think I would gain new followers?

Honestly, it doesn’t even matter. What matters is what kind of a year my daughter had.

I think it was a pretty awesome year if I do say so myself.

My little Janna entered this world last April at 6 pounds 10 ounces and slept away most days. One year later she is a 22 pound, smiling, walking, jabbering, clapping, bundle of energy who brightens our day with her sweet smile.

Is Janna a super baby who can read, talk in complete sentences, and solve algebraic equations? Nope and I am perfectly fine with that.

The first year goes so fast and I believe the single most important thing parents can do to help their babies learn is to interact with them. It doesn’t matter if my baby knows more than someone else’s baby. What matters is how I am meeting my baby’s needs and sharing everyday life with her.

By keeping your baby close, providing appropriate play things, and interacting with her through talking, singing, snuggling, etc. you will be teaching your baby the most important thing she needs to know—that you love her.

If you do that, I promise your baby’s first year, and every year, will be great.

Previous Baby Learning Posts

If you are interested in reading more of what I have had to say on the topic of babies, then check out my Baby Basics series on my other blog.

{Baby Learning} Gross Motor Development

2012-04-04T03:38:22Z

The first year of a child’s life is an amazing time. They change so much, especially in the area of gross motor skills. A baby starts out needing complete care but by the end of the first year she can often walk and feed herself.

I have been blessed to have had firsthand child development experience with five children. They have each been different in their rate of gross motor development. I thought it might be fun to share a few of their stats here.

Crawling

Julia-6 1/2 months
James-6 months
Joshua-6 months
Joseph-6 1/2 months
Janna-8 months

Walking

Julia-10 1/2 months
James-9 1/2 months
Joshua-9 months
Joseph 10 1/2 months
Janna-took 1 step on Monday (11 1/2 months) but no more than that yet.

As you can see Janna has been slower than the other children, but she is completely within normal parameters. While comparing my children’s rate of development is interesting, I don’t ever want Janna to feel like she isn’t as good as the other kids because she was slower with regards to gross motor development.

That being said, I thought you might like to see how much my baby girl has changed during the past year.

Janna was just one month old in this picture. She was able to lift her head for short periods but was still mostly content just to snuggle and sleep.

By five months old she could sit up but still needed support so she didn’t just flop backwards onto the floor.

At 11 months Janna has been standing up without holding on to anything, but she isn’t walking yet. However, she can crawl very quickly and cruises around furniture.

My philosophy on encouraging gross motor development is to keep my baby out of devices as much as possible. By devices I mean swings, exersaucers, play pens, etc. While none of those items are detrimental to a child’s development, overuse of them is.

Also, babies need plenty of tummy time and floor time where they have a chance to move around.

Also, I do not put shoes on my babies until they are good at walking. Being able to grip the floor with their toes is a good thing to help them keep their balance and learn how to walk on different surfaces.

I thought I would share one last thing with you. Janna doesn’t have a push toy because I got rid of ours before I knew I was going to have another baby. Check out how she improvised and made her own push toy recently.

If you are viewing this post in a reader or via email you will have to click over to view the video.

Just for fun, share with us how old your baby was when he or she began to crawl and walk.