Because Babies Grow Up

Blog Updates

2010-01-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

**UPDATE below**
Because Babies Grow Up is excited to announce a new look for the blog as well as a shift from Blogger to Wordpress. I'm doing this all on my own (with Brent's help) and hope the transition is smooth. I have spent countless hours searching, reading, downloading, uploading and the like to get it right.

As a result, there will be a few changes to look for that may need your attention.

I will be offering an updated button to match the new look! If you have a button, please take a moment to update it to the new button.
Also, I will be changing the feed to a Feedburner feed. If you subscribe to the blog, please re-subscribe using the new feed to continue to receive new posts in your favorite reader. If I've done this correctly, which I think I have!, this is the only time your feed should be interrupted. No matter what else I change or do this feed should work no matter what.

**UPDATE**
This change actually happened several months ago. I have been posting, reviewing and giving away all this time. I'm sorry if you missed out on some of the great things that happened at the end of last year, but 2010 promises to be full of more great things, so come on over and get settled into the new place :) It's cozy there so I hope you'll be comfortable.

In fact, don't miss the giveaway for Roger Day's new album: Why Does Gray Matter? ...and other brainy songs for kids! It's a catchy, clever album you'll not want to miss.

Laptime Songs for Mommies

2009-12-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's finished! And I'm so excited to share my joy with you! My very first eBook is finished and ready for purchase. Laptime Songs for Mommies captures the essence of Musical Development, which is combining the melody of familiar songs with traditional and new variations of lyrics. Music is a great way to bond with your little one as well as a way to keep kids active and engaged. Having the right tools makes your part easier and maximizes the benefits for your little one.

Laptime Songs for Mommies includes

Full-Color, Interactive PDF
Intro to Laptime, including explanations of development and adaptations with little ones
6 Traditional Songs
Over 50 Rhymes
4 Original Rhymes Written Just For This Book
4 Themes or Topics for a Complete Laptime Experience
4 Craft Ideas with 3 Printables

As a bonus, I've also included a printable version of the book that has all the color removed and the graphics minimized to help save on ink. There's also the MP3 version of each song included in the book.

I'm really excited that this project came together so nicely and is finally all the way finished. I'd love to hear what you think of it. Go check it out!

Biggest Loser Week #2

2009-08-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

At the second weigh in this week I lost another almost 2 pounds! That makes a total of 6 pounds so far. I love the accountability of the scale every week and looking my team members in the eye to tell them how I did. Definitely helps when I want to eat the entire batch of No Bake Cookies I made for Brent to celebrate surviving his first test in medical school! We got our T-shirts this week! I love the yellow because it's cheery and energizing.

The meeting this week was interesting, too. One speaker gave information about a study on sleep. They looked at how the body is affected by the amount of sleep we get each night. They found that 30 years ago people got an average of 8 hours a night (wouldn't THAT be heaven!) and 1 in 10 adults were in the obese category. Now the average is 6 hours of sleep a night (that would still be heaven!) and 1 in 3 adults is in the obese category. Wow!

Then a lady spoke who has lost 200 pounds over the last four years. She shared her story focusing on what got her to decide it was worth the work it takes to change. Four years ago she weighed 350 pounds and now she teaches Disco aerobics at a local gym. Amazing!

My goal this week is to step up the intensity of my workouts. I DVR'd an exercise program on FitTV that is 30 minutes long and does warm-up and cool-down with Tai Chi and the intense part is aerobic kickboxing. Super fun! There's also a 3 mile trail (6 miles roundtrip) that I want to walk and then eventually be able to run. Hopefully I'll keep myself so busy I won't have time to poke around the kitchen for snacks.

Snack Time

2009-08-21T05:00:00.001-06:00

The standard education parents get about how much their children should eat goes something like this: "They will eat until they're full." So, based on that I kept giving my oldest food as long as she kept eating. After her third or fourth helping I started to wonder if she'd ever get full! She has also consistently been in the 99th percentile for weight (and, fortunately the 95-98th percentile for height) so I've had to re-evaluate the standard education because my daughter is not standard. She's a bottomless pit!

All day long she asks, "Can I have a snack?" I seriously regret ever using the word snack in the first place. Although I'm sure something else would have taken its place. So I am constantly trying to create ways to lengthen snack time and choose snacks that are filling but lower in calories. Here are some solutions that have worked for us and are quite fun, too!

To lengthen snack time I look for ways to prolong the eating. This gives her tummy a chance to tell her brain she's full. I keep anything that has small sections, like an egg carton. I cut it down so it only has 4 or 6 sections. Then I put a couple of each snack into a compartment. For example, I put 2-3 grapes in one, 2 pretzels in another, her chewable vitamins in a third, 3-4 dried blueberries in the fourth. She gets really excited watching me put the snack tray together. Then we sit down at the table and visit as she eats. I ask her questions and help her remember to swallow before talking. We talk about what she'll choose next, what she likes most, what color the snacks are, how many are in each, how many different snacks, etc.

Sammi's all-time favorite, though, is Easter egg hunting. The Easter eggs from last year have been a regular toy around our house. I fill each egg with just 2 of a snack. Then I hide the eggs around the room, give Sammi a basket and let her find them. If I really want to drag it out, I only let her eat one egg then we hide them all again. We continue hiding/finding until either she's bored or the eggs are all empty. While this is a ton more work and I don't always feel like it, it has been a great way to slow down her eating and get her moving in the meantime.

Here's to fun, healthy snack times everywhere!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Crafts

2009-08-17T05:00:00.001-06:00

I've noticed lots of people searching for crafts to do with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and thought today would be a perfect day to share the ones that have been a huge success at our house.

Star on a Stick Craft
Cut out 2 star shapes from heavy paper.
Have little one decorate the stars: color, glitter, buttons.
Glue one star on each side of a craft stick.

Starry Night Craft
Cut out bits of yellow construction paper. These are the "stars."
Put drops of glue on a piece of dark blue construction paper.
Have little one place yellow "stars" on top of the drops of glue.

Star Mobile Craft
Cut out various sizes of stars from heavy paper.
Have little one decorate stars in different ways.
Punch a hole in the top of each star.
Use plastic department store-style hanger that spins and tie stars to the arms of the hanger.

What are your favorite crafts that accompany Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?

My Chance to Be the Biggest Loser!

2009-08-15T05:00:00.002-06:00

**There are only two reality TV shows I like to watch: The Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance. Last week's season finale of So You Think You Can Dance coincided with the first night of a local church's Biggest Loser competition. I went back and forth about whether I should participate. Then I found out you had to be in teams of at least 4 and I hesitated even more. But, things worked out, I found my team, and I started this journey last week on Thursday.

The first week they took all of our measurements. From weight and inches to fat percentage and blood pressure. We picked a team name (Dedicated DCOM Dieters-since we were all associated somehow with the medical school) and our shirt color (yellow to keep us cheery and motivated!)

I spent the week being more aware of my diet and cutting out bedtime treats and finding ways to include exercise in my day. I ran with Brent, walked/ran with teammates, and found Belly Dancing of FitTV. Overall, I felt pretty good about the seek. Then the night before the weigh in we ate at a pizza joint in town and I felt yucky all night. The food was good, but my body told me it was not healthy. I was so worried I'd killed my goal. I had spent all week chanting "3 pounds, 3 pounds" whenever I wanted to eat a cookie or a bowl of ice cream and I was afraid I'd blown it.

But as it turns out, I was okay! I was by no means the biggest loser of the week (that was 8.34% body weight lost) or the highest number (20 pounds!) but I beat my goal! I lost 4.5 pounds and it felt great! I'm so glad I've committed myself to this competition because I have accountability, teammates and a clear goal. Now I've shared it with you so I'm even more committed to stick with it until I reach my goal! I'll report again next Saturday.

**Brent has such a knack for making me look so short! This is a picture taken over the summer and best represents how I look on a daily basis. Anyone want to nominate me for TLC's What Not To Wear? I'd totally love it!

Physical Friday: Standing Before Walking

2009-08-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

The photo-elusive (took 23 pics to get this one!) Elli has picked up a new trick this week. She has started standing up from a squatted position. Last week she stood up holding on to me and then let go for a few milliseconds, but this week it's entirely about balance!

The first time she stood for a long time she happened to have a pair of child-safety scissors in her hand. I know, I know, I'll have to review my own guidelines for teaching children how to use scissors. I was so excited to see how long she could stand without losing her balance, but I was also worried about hose scissors. In the end I didn't disturb her and just waited for her to sit again before I promptly removed the scissors from her hand. I wasn't about to run for the camera at that point!

This morning we made a stop at the Harrogate City Hall (I'll explain that in a future post) and the two gals that were there thought Elli was just so cute. So to get their attention, Sammi started telling them how Elli is learning to stand. She did a perfect re-enactment that made us all smile. Then Elli caught wind of what was going on so she promptly joined the attention seeking and started to stand up. She did it great the first time. The gals oohed and ahed which encouraged Elli to do it again. She had such a grand time that she kept losing her balance as she giggled and hid her head in the floor. It was performance at its best!

While this is probably the norm (to stand before walking) it's a new development path in this house. When Sammi was about 14 months she started walking. I remember starting to wonder if Sammi would really ever walk. She seemed so old and so heavy! But she did it. The first time we left her with a sitter, no less. But she propelled herself by momentum. If she lost her balance or ran out of steam, she fell right over. She didn't learn how to just stand until she'd been walking for well over a week. However children do it and whenever they decide it's time, they'll get it eventually!

Thinking Thursday: Baby, Toddler, Preschooler

2009-08-13T05:00:00.004-06:00

What distinguishes a baby from a toddler? A toddler from a preschooler? These are the hard-hitting questions on Sammi's mind these days. We have spent hours talking about every child she knows from newborn up to 5 year olds in depth so she can figure out which group they belong to. This has been a challenge for me, too. While it's easy to say that a baby becomes a toddler when they begin to walk, it's much harder to define the cutoff between toddler and preschooler.
It's been a fascinating process, though, watching Sammi come up with all kinds of rules about why some friends are toddlers and other friends are preschoolers and why her sister is a baby. One of my favorites was when she asked if Suede (her 2-year-old gal pal) was a toddler because she's shorter than Sammi. This strikes me as funny because most of the preschoolers she's played with are also shorter than her {she is in the 99th % for height} so it's not a valid guide.
She runs through the categories and her friends over and over again approaching each child and their category from every angle trying to make sure she really understands why this child is in this category. We talk about age, height, diapers vs. underwear, talking.

Category development begins in infants as they associate events and objects with repeated exposure. At first the categories are very simple: animals, cars, people I know, strangers.But as these categories become more established, toddlers are able to ad more detail to the categories and subdivide them into relate groups: animals becomes dogs, cats, cows, birds, fish. Sammi's at a fun stage where she is no longer passively learning the rules for different categories but is pushing the limits and asking questions to find out who fits in which category and why.

Categories help children learn information. As new information is presented, it's easier to process and remember if the child has old info to connect the new info to. The more we talk about these categories, the firmer they become established for our children, building for them a solid framework that will capture, connect and hold new information.

School Prep Reading That's Fun!

2009-08-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

Back to school is my favorite time of year. The weather starts to cool down; I get to buy new boxes of crayons, notebooks of paper and pretty pencils; and school begins. I'm sort of a nerd. I recognize that and have even learned to embrace it. I love school. I love new books; I love learning; and sometimes I even love homework!

Since the girls are still too young to really embrace the back to school frenzy, I do what I can to get them excited about buying crayons and learning about things related to school. That's why I was really excited for the chance to review I'm Your Bus by Marilyn Singer published by Scholastic. Sammi was so excited when it arrived in the mail.

Sammi loves buses. For over a year now she has talked endlessly about when she'll get to ride a bus to school. One day she even went to far as to tell me all the rules of riding on a bus and that she would help the bus driver tell the other kids to follow the rules! When she saw we had a book with a giant school bus on the front, she was ecstatic. She dropped everything she was doing and wanted to read it right away.

I'm happy to say that the book didn't disappoint. It's written in rhyme and introduces all the different times kids ride the bus as well as different aspects of the school day. Sammi loved that it gave names for the children riding the bus. She points to the different kids and asks who is who. She also likes to read the marquee on the buses on the different pages.

I liked the rhyme scheme because it's not your typical four line rhyme. It has three lines in a row that rhyme and then the next two lines are like the chorus ending with "I'm your bus." I've enjoyed reading it with her again and again. It's given us something concrete to hold and look at as we've talked about the unknown that is school.

It's fun to see Sammi get excited about school. She's just aching to go. I finally found a "preschool" program I'm comfortable with here. I can take her just two days a week for about 2 1/2 hours. She's so excited to start and I'm interested to see how she adjusts to spending that kind of time away from home on such a frequent basis.

Tri-State Peak and Pinnacle Overlook

2009-08-11T05:00:00.001-06:00

We've had so much fun exploring the mountain tops of Tennessee! We live right on the edge of Cumberland Gap National Park where there are oodles of trails, overlooks, historical sites and beautiful scenery.

One of our first weekends here we hiked from Cumberland Gap (the historic town) up to the Tri-State Peak where we were able to be in Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky all at once. The trail was decent in difficulty, but Brent definitely won the gold star for pushing the jogging stroller up it with two kids in tow. There is no way I can hike that trail with the girls and not Brent! Along the way we saw The Iron Furnace which produce 3 1/4 ton iron in a day. We also saw a marker indicating we were on the Daniel Boone trail. Now there's an historical figure I'm excited to learn more about!
Then a few Sundays ago we decided to enjoy a beautiful drive up to Pinnacle Overlook where you can see the whole Cumberland Gap valley. While we knew we were going up to a pinnacle, we were surprised by how tight the road curved as it wound its way to the top. Boy was I glad I was driving! {Nothing to do with Brent's driving, I just get ridiculously motion sick unless I'm the one driving.} The view from the overllok was beautiful. We had fun spotting familiar landmarks like Brent's school and the road we drive home on. The whole affair would have been so much more enjoyable if we had remembered the diaper bag to save Elli from that stinky diaper! She was a trooper, though, poor thing.

Last night we decided to join a family back up to Pinnacle Overlook. This time we walked the loop around the parking lot and came across the Cannon at Fort Lyon. This park is full of history just begging to be discovered around every turn and inviting us to climb in and through and feel that history come alive.

We have loved the quick and convenient acces we have to such wonderful trails. I just learned that a trail begins close to our house and continues, paved and through a tunnel!, for 3 miles to the Iron Furnace (mentioned above). My new fitness goal is to be able to walk and then run the entire length of the trail and then back to the car. I walk/ran a mile section of the trail yesterday before we hiked around the Pinnacle Overlook, in 90 degree weather! Hopefully I'll reach this goal by Thanksgiving.

Musical Monday: Grown Ups' Musicians, Children's Music

2009-08-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Do you ever get tired of your children's music? Sammi has two CDs she absolutely loves. They are pretty much the only two she'll listen to. One is Mickey Mouse characters singing songs and the other is a CD of short songs like Three Blind Mice and London Bridges. They are both really fun and I admit that I enjoy them. Most of the time. But every once in a while I long for the days of listening (uninterrupted) to the radio and hearing grown up music.

One day Brent came home from the library with a CD that was the answer to this dilemma. For the Kids is a collection of our favorite musicians performing children's music. Some of it's familiar tunes like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (although this version takes the cake and makes me want to take singing lessons just so I can sing like them!) and others are not the traditional "kids" songs you're used to hearing. Brent and I love listening to this album even when the girls are sleeping in the car!

We've recently introduced Sammi to this CD and she also loves it. Her favorite song is The Hoppity Song by Five For Fighting. My favorite energetic song is Snow Day by Bleu and my favorite lullaby is Willie the King by Dan Wilson, although it is quite sad. Now when Sammi asks to listen to kids' music, I can turn this on and we're both happy.

For the Kids*

1. Mahna Mahna- Cake

2. La La La La Lemon - Barenaked Ladies

3. The Rainbow Connection - Sarah McLachlan

4. I've Got To Be Clean - Guster

5. Wonderwheel - Dan Zanes

6. Have a Little Fun - Glen Phillips

7. The Hoppity Song - Five For Fighting

8. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg & Wilco

9. It's All Right To Cry - Darius Rucker

10. Sing - Ivy

11. Bright Eyes - Remy Zero

12. Willie The King - Dan Wilson

13. Snow Day - Bleu

14. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Chantal/Raine Maida

15. Good Night Children Everywhere - Sixpence None The Richer

16. Bend Down The Branches - Tom Waits

*Clicking on links to individual songs will open iTunes.

Thinking Thursday: I See...

2009-08-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

A favorite game we invented last year we named "I see..." It's a lot like I spy... but without the guessing. I love this game because we can play it anywhere, inside or out, and it has helped to avert many tantrums! It started when I was pushing Sammi in the swings at the park. We were swinging in silence. To break the silence I said to her, barely two at that time, "I see trees" and she responded "I see trees, too!" We proceeded to name all the things in the park.

The next day when we played it she didn't copy what I said, she found her own things to see! After about six months of playing this game, whenever we are driving in the car and it's silent she pipes up "I see ..." We were driving home one day and as we came around the corner onto our street Sammi said, "I see our mailbox!" I'm always impressed with the details she spots out the window that I miss because I'm looking at the road.

This game also helped us a lot as we drove from Utah to Tennessee. We went through lots of different landscapes and it was fun to find new things and familiar things. We also used it as a way to help her identify the country from the cities we passed through.

While this game is a lot of fun and helps time pass more pleasantly, it has some benefits to development as well. "I see..." is a great way to build a young child's vocabulary. You are naming familiar objects for your little one and, in many cases, the child is repeating and thus learning the names of these objects. This game also develops little ones' awareness of the world around them. Developmentally toddlers are fairly self-centered in their awareness. Through this game they start to broaden their view of their world by looking beyond what is within their reach or what is affecting their immediate situation.

What do you see?

Cherish Bound and The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival

2009-08-04T21:21:00.007-06:00

I love to tell stories! Don't we all? I love the build up, the climax, the laughter at the end. It's the greatest. It's one of the reasons I love bogging so much. It's a place to record stories. Here I am with a few other local (in Utah) bloggers.

Last November I had the privileged of meeting Carol Rice, co-founder of Cherish Bound, at a retreat for women entrepreneurs sponsored by Startup Princess. She was lovely to chat with, very approachable and down-to-earth. I never even guessed the size of the company she and Bruce Jensen oversee. So when I was invited to learn more about the company and their commitment to storytelling, I was excited to help out this "small" startup.

Boy was I surprised to find this company is nationally well-known. Although not surprising once I saw the products they offer for capturing family stories. They have everything you need to tell a great story from chat cards and daily journals to story starters and celebrations. Then the icing on the cake! Once you have discovered a story you want to tell, they have the software to record your story with pictures and then publish it into a beautiful book.
As a treat, we were invited to choose a story from our own lives, record it and then publish it. We received story starter books to help us along the way. I received the story starter My Family intended to help children discover an record their stories. So, I decided to interview Sammi and have her write the story. I pulled out the voice recorder and opened the book and talked to her while she was eating. Probably not the easiest to understand her with a mouth full of food, but she was stationary and quite talkative. Since we just moved I thought it would be fun to record some of our memories from our home in Utah as well as her first impressions of Tennessee. These were combined with her own descriptions of our family. About Daddy she said, "Daddy's good at ducks. He just waddles and tries to catch one." We have no idea where this came from! But it'll be fun to laugh about with her when she's older. She also said he's "good at telling stories and singing songs." Which is very true. She and I had a lot of fun talking about different memories and all the members of our family.

Once I had her story, it was easy to pick pictures to illustrate what she said, except for the ducks. Then I went onto Cherish bound's website and logged in to the publishing center to put the book together. The editing software was very easy to use. I figured it all out without ever using the help function. I like that in software! I chose page layouts then added photos and text. When you go through a Cherish Bound consultant you get a personal coach to walk you through all the steps of organizing and compiling. They're wonderful.
Once I finished my book and read through it, I had Brent read it and then I submitted it for publishing. It went so smoothly. My book arrived yesterday and Sammi was so excited to sit down and read her book. She loved the pictures. As I read the questions again, she answered them again. Some answers were different, but most were the same as we had recorded in the book. When Brent came home, she told him about the book first thing then drug him off to her room so he could read it to her. What a great experience for her to have a book she helped write that is about the people and memories she loves best!
Cherish Bound didn't stop here! Their commitment to storytelling led to becoming a sponsor this year of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Utah. This is a great event where storytellers from around the nation come together to entertain, educate and enlighten their audiences. I am so sad we'll miss it. But my friend Rebecka is going and will give us a full report of how she and her family enjoyed it. This year the festival runs September 3-5, 2009.

Knoxville Zoo

2009-08-03T20:39:00.007-06:00

Wow! That is all I can say, "Wow!" The Knoxville Zoo is so huge, we've been there twice and haven't seen the whole thing. The first time we went, we saw the black bears and then headed to the left.

We saw rhinos, a red panda, and the reptile collection. We ran into a zookeeper feeding the rhinos. She was very informative, telling us about their eating and living habits. For instance, rhinos hate the water but they love the mud. The cover themselves with mud to keep away mosquitoes and UV rays. In the reptile collection we talked with a zookeeper about the Tennessee bog turtles. The breed them in captivity and then release them into the wild after a year of care. He picked up a baby turtle for us to see. It was so tiny, easily fitting in the palm of his hand. And he said they don't get much bigger.

While we saw a lot of animals and learned quite a bit from the zookeepers, we weren't really all that impressed. We knew we hadn't seen everything, but we thought we'd seen at least half of the zoo. Our favorite part, the redeeming moment, you could say, was the Wee Play Zoo. Here the girls found costumes, imaginative play areas, live bunnies and carpet to crawl on (prefect for Elli who was SO sick of the stroller). We left feeling very good about the zoo and quite happy that we had a membership since we didn't see the whole zoo.

I took the girls again this last Friday and this time we headed to the right. We walked and walked. We wandered past the elephants, giraffes, and zebras. I figured we were about done and I was ready to head back to the Wee Play Zoo for the girls to stretch their legs before driving the hour or more back to our house. We walked on to what I thought was the end only to find another huge expanse of zoo. We saw gorillas and chimpanzees, ostriches and tigers, a lion and three lionesses. I was getting tired pushing these girls around and ready for a pit stop. I finally gave up seeing everything and headed back to the play area.

Now I am very happy that we have a membership so I don't feel like we have to see the entire zoo in one trip, because we now know that's not feasible for our family. I'm also happy that we have a membership because after just two visits to the zoo, we've saved money over paying for each visit individually. Every trip from here on out is like a Christmas bonus!

Physical Friday:

2009-07-31T00:00:00.001-06:00

The GNO Party this week on Twitter was fantastic. I love living in Eastern time because the girls are sound asleep by the time the party starts. Mom It Forward knows how to throw a party! The topic was Affordable Fun 101: Kids Crafts and Ideas. This was right up my alley so I was honored to be a part of the panel.

A few ideas that received a lot of attention are things we do around here so I thought I'd share. Today's idea involves butcher paper, your child's body and crayons/markers/colored pencils. Easy peasy, right?

Now to get down to business. Have your child lie down on the butcher paper. Then trace around your child with a crayon/marker/colored pencil. After you've traced the whole body, have the child color in clothes, hair, facial features, or Sammi's favorite, finger and toe nails.

Variations/Extensions
Several party-goers offered great ideas on how they adapted this concept with their little ones.

The original idea was brought up by Workingmomma247: "I have had my 5yr old lay down on butcher paper to outline his body and he colored the rest."
From Momof3boys3702 comes this extension: "We are doing Biology this year and I was thinking of doing that and having him draw his organs in correctly."
And Brunette01 came up with this variation with her daughter: "I helped my DD do cut-outs of everyone in the family to add to her bedroom wall. All her idea. It's awesome :)"
We had Sammi trace around Elli and around Daddy. Daddy was a lot more cooperative :)

As you can see, Sammi is turning into a lefty! This fun idea also gives little ones time to practice fine motor skills. Sammi is learning to control her hand better and the pencil as she traces around body parts. Going in between fingers is still hard for her, but when she's done, you can tell which body part she traced! She now loves to trace her own hand. And then "paint" the fingernails.
And to continue, from yesterday, with things to remember about three year olds (and probably all children): Never attempt to do a project, even if it's fun, between bath time and bedtime. Especially if you want pictures that are halfway cute. It's not a pretty picture. I don't recommend doing it!

Thinking Thursday: Repetition

2009-07-29T21:48:00.005-06:00

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't pour sand on your sister's head!" I feel like I'm repeating myself ALL the time. I know she's smart. I know she hears me. I even know she's listening because she can tell me all the rules. But, the bottom line is she's three. Three! Now that we've entered a new stage of development, it's back to the books for me. (In case you're wondering, this is a picture of Elli with baby powder on her head from cleaing up all the sand Sammi dumped on her. Yes, baby powder works to make the sand fall right off!)

Last night I picked up Sixty Second Parent's book The Triumphant Child and turned to the section on three year olds. I found this wise counsel on implementing rules: "Remain calm and Repeat: Expect the worst rebellion from the beginning and learn to perfect the robot response. Consistently replying with the same simple explanation over and over equips parents to control any situation by deflecting their own anger or exasperation when faced with a screaming three year old." I definitely need to perfect the robot response because my anger and exasperation usually get in the way of responding lovingly to Sammi.

It was good to be reminded that repetition is a natural part of the learning process. Children learn everything through repetition: language, routines, rules, even riding a bike. While its frustration to repeat things I know she already knows, it helps when I remember that it's a necessary part of her development.

I'll leave you with this last reminder from The Triumphant Child: "Don't have the expectation that your child should always behave nicely. We all have our bad days!"

Miss Kathy and Pine Lake Pool

2009-07-28T05:00:00.002-06:00

Welcome to a new segment on Because Babies Grow Up that I'm calling Tuesdays in Tennessee. We are having so much fun discovering this beautiful part of the country and I want to share some of the charming experiences we're having. First up is a look at Sammi's swimming lessons.

Close to our house are signs for Pine Lake Pool with a phone number for more info on swimming lessons. Brent and I were intrigued and thought that would be fun for Sammi next year. We happened to be talking with a neighbor who said Miss Kathy teaches all ages, especially little ones. Brent wandered up to her house to get more info but she was busy with a class and had more students congregating for the next class. Brent asked a parent a few questions and came back home. Just a couple days later Miss Kathy stopped by our house and dropped off some info about swim lessons. I love living in a small, close-knit community! That parent mentioned to Miss Kathy that someone had come to find out about swim lessons and said he rented a house just down the road and of course, Miss Kathy knew exactly which house that was!

As it turned out, she had a class started that Monday that was a perfect fit for Sammi. The classes were Mon-Thur for an hour each day. We prepped Sammi for the adventure and she could hardly wait for Monday to come! She was so excited all Monday morning and tried to get me to take her three hours early! Her enthusiasm didn't stop once we got there, either.

Sammi listened so attentively to Miss Kathy and did everything she asked Sammi to do. She wore a bubble on her back (see pics) and poured water on her toes, knees, shoulders and head as Miss Kathy sang the "Sprinkle Song."

I thought that in 4 days Sammi would probably get used to being in the water and maybe figure out how to kick her feet. Boy was I wrong! Miss Kathy taught them how to kick, alright, but she also taught them how to move through the water indepdently with all kinds of floatation devices. By the last day she could swim the length of the pool and back with just her bubble on her back. Wow! And Sammi's kicking evolved from crazed, energetic flailings to measured, purposeful thrusts that propelled her where she wanted to go. What an amazing transformation. I'm hoping we can go swimming this week so she doesn't forget it all.

Sammi's class was small and so she had lots of attention from her teacher. But, Miss Kathy was also very good at setting Sammi to a task so she could work with another student who needed a little extra help. She was the most patient teacher I have ever seen in any teaching situation, ever.

I asked Sammi what Miss Kathy did and she said, "She taught me shopping carts and how to swim." When I asked Sammi her favorite part of swim lessons she said, "The favorite part of my swim lessons, I like to do shopping. I like the shopping part." They pretended a kick board was a shopping cart, extended their arms out straight and kicked their way to the end of the pool where they took pretned items from the side of the pool, put them on their shoping cart and swam back. Sammi LOVED it!

I'm already excited for next summer so that Sammi can have a few weeks' worth of lessons.

Are you on Twitter? I'll be at the #GNO party tonight (@ajpassey). We're talking about affordable kids crafts and ideas. We'll be joined by Crayola and there's a nifty giveaway, too! Come see what the fun's all about.

A Friendly Friday

2009-07-27T00:32:00.005-06:00

We had the sweetest experience on Friday. We went into Knoxville to run some errands. One of the errands was to get our military IDs. Brent was in his ABUs (Air Battle Uniform-camo) and looking rather adorable. Don't you think?

After a long day of driving, shopping and waiting in lines, we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner: Texas Roadhouse. As we were sitting there looking at the menu, our server came to us and told us there was a family that wanted to buy our dinner because Brent was in the service. Gratitude surged through my body, then a little bit of guilt since Brent hasn't actually "served" yet, other than Officer Training. They gave us this sweet note:

A friend of mine, whose husband enlisted in the Air Force earlier this year, had a similar experience buying her groceries at a Costco in Utah. I am pleasantly surprised that there are people who care enough about their country and those who serve it to go out of their way to show appreciation. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to show my love of and appreciation for the United States by supporting Brent as he serves. I look forward to what the years will bring.

Encouraging Baby's Growing Vocabulary

2009-07-23T12:24:00.004-06:00

I just had to share this picture because 1) it's adorable! and 2) it demonstrates the reason babies learn words. Let me explain.

We found Elli and Sammi playing with a marker they had successfully dismantled on the hardwood floor. Elli had the ink stick in her mouth. The first thing out of a parent's mouth? "No, no, no!" Because of a series of such experiences, Elli now knows the word "no!" It was also the first word she produced after mama and dada. The cutest part, she always says it in threes, just like me. So if I try to take away something she shouldn't have, I am also chastised by Elli with her "no, no, no!"

Since, unknowingly, we got her to say "no" by constantly saying it to her, I thought I'd try a little experiment. We've been working on the word "up." Anytime I pick her up, I say the word, "up." I say it several times as I bend down, put my hands under arms and then stand back up. This has been going on for about a week. Yesterday after our usual "up" routine, I handed her to Brent and walked off to do something. As I turned away, I heard her little voice, "up, up, up." Success!

For children to learn new words, they must be exposed to those words over and over and over again. Then, they have to develop two different types of knowledge of the words they're learning: receptive and productive. First children develop an understanding of the word. They learn to recognize it every time it's said as the same word that was said before. Then they attach meaning to the word. Once they understand the word they have receptive knowledge of it. This means they understand it when it's said to them. The next step is to develop productive knowledge. Now the child must learn to produce the word. When they can say the word and use it correctly in context, they have productive knowledge. When both types of knowledge are acquired, the child has fully incorporated that word into their vocabulary. They "own it" so to speak and can start to experiment with it in various situations.

This leads to the second reason the picture of Elli's blue tongue shows how babies learn new words. In order to get Elli to show her tongue, I asked her to "give me kisses." This is a phrase she has recently shown that she understands. She's also at that fantastic stage where kisses are open-mouthed and slobbery. The first time I saw that she understood this phrase was when she picked up a doll. As she was holding the doll I said, "Give the baby a kiss." And she did! Right on top of the baby's plastic head.

In order for babies to learn language, they need lots and lots of exposure. The more we talk to our babies, the more they are able to recognize specific words and attach meaning to them. To go the extra mile with language development, it's important to be extra observant of what words your baby responds to. Figure out what words your children know receptively and then build on that vocabulary to introduce new words or experiences. I have been able to explain complex ideas to Sammi because I can break them down into words she knows. But that's only because I'm paying attention to what she has proven she undertands!

What are some phrases or words you were surprised to discover your baby knew?

Physical Friday: Cake Decorating with USO Conversation Hearts from Sweethearts

2009-07-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

I think I mentioned that Brent joined the Air Force and was at Officer Training for a month before we moved to TN. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did: here, here and here. With that at the front of my thoughts and experiences, I jumped at the news that Sweethearts (my absolute FAVORITE conversation hearts) was releasing a new line called Red, White and You to honor the military and celebrate America's patriotism.

The hearts are red, white and blue with patriotic sayings such as "Miss You," "Proud of You," and "Home Safe." The blue ones are blueberry flavored, which I really enjoyed. We had lots of fun trying to decide what to do with our candy hearts. We shared some of them with friends at the 4th of July cookout. A few of the other medical school students here at LMU-DCOM are also in the Air Force and enjoyed the hearts.

In the end, Sammi and I decided to make and decorate a cake. We made two cakes, an "X" and an "O" to show hugs and kisses for Daddy. Placing the small candy hearts on the cake was good practice for her growing fine motor skills. She was able to place all of the hearts "correctly" the first time, meaning she was pleased with where they went and how it looked. It's fun to see her developing into such a capable child. I hardly had to oversee her in this project. When I get too involved, she's quick to remind me, "I can do it myself, Mommy!" Or if I'm really intruding, "I can do it myself, Amber!"

She was also very careful to place the hearts so the words were showing every single time. I didn't even ask her to make that distinction. She's definitely showing literacy awareness.

The United Service Organizations (USO) offers a great little packet of craft ideas using the Red, White and You candies. You can download the packet here. Also, through the rest of this month you can donate to the USO to sponsor a care package sent to a deployed service man or woman which will include the Red, White and You candies.

And We're Back!

2009-07-16T13:29:00.005-06:00

We've been here in Tennessee for 2 weeks now and FINALLY have the Internet again. I have so missed blogging and socializing. It's good to be back! But, we have found a few ways to keep ourselves entertained during the interim!

First, we unpacked. Or rather, Brent's parent's unpacked for us while we tried to decide where things should be, entertained the girls, and figured out where things are. Brent and his dad put up a fence in the backyard so the girls have a safe place to play away from the train tracks. Brent's mom and I took care of the inside. She managed to do in three days what it would have taken me three years to do! We actually have pictures on the walls.

We checked out the local cuisine by dining at Heavy's BBQ on the river. It was a perfectly southern experience. It was delicious BBQ complete with baked beans and fried okra. While we waited for our food, Sammi and I went down to the river and she swung on the tire swing. We also met the dogs who hang around the place. They were very mild mannered and sweet, but Sammi still didn't want them too close.

We celebrated the Fourth of July and Sammi's birthday. We visited the Knoxville Zoo and hiked to the Tri-State Peak off the Daniel Boone trail. To entertain Sammi I sang Davy Crockett up and down the, uhm, mountain. (I think it'll take several years for me to view the rolling hills in these parts as mountains. Mountains don't grow trees at the peaks! At least not the Rocky Mountains I grew up with!!)

Sammi enjoyed her birthday. She wore her tiara and balloon everywhere we went. I think she was pleased with being three until I told her she couldn't get her ears pierced until she's 12. Now she's obsessed with turning 12. Why do we spend our childhood wishing we were grown up and adulthood longing for our childhood? We never seem to be satisfied, do we?

Hopefully posts will start to be more regular as we get settled and fall back into a routine. Brent starts school July 28 and we'll go through that "settling in" all over again! We hear he'll surface about Thanksgiving so we're enjoying every moment we have with him now!

Posh in Clover Review

2009-06-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of May I had the chance to attend the Utah Valley Women's Expo. This is a great annual event where companies come to showcase their products and services. My birthday also happens to be at the beginning of May. I finagled a day to myself to explore the Expo. Even with a day all to myself, it's hard to take off the Mom hat!

I found myself drawn to children's products at every turn. My first purchase was an adorable tea set for the girls made from recycled milk jugs. It was a big hit. But my next find won my heart as a solution to an endless problem: eczema.

The company is Posh in Clover, which I love because it sounds luxurious but I don't actually know what it means. According to their About page, "All of our products are artistically crafted by hand using the finest natural ingredients. Our art studio, where our products are crafted, is filled with the raw ingredients we use to craft our products. We do not simply buy a base from wholesale companies and add scent to it. We are passionate about creating natural, cruelty-free spa products that are far beyond the ordinary. Every ingredient we use to create our products has been carefully chosen based upon how it will benefit you. We pride ourselves on using luxurious ingredients that make our products stand out from the crowd and leave the least environmental impact."

Posh in Clover carries two lines I was particularly interested in: Mother & Baby and Kids. I decided to get the spa soap, whipped butter cream, and bubbling bath bomb to try on the girls hoping that it would help Sammi's eczema. Let me back up just a bit. When deciding between the spa soap and the wash, I was leery of the soap because it was so big-twice the size of a regular bar of soap. I wasn't sure how to handle such a large bar of soap and not have it get ruined in the shower. I was hesitating and the gal in the booth said she uses a butter knife to cut off a slice of the soap. That way it fits perfectly in a child's hand and helps the soap last longer. Immediately I could sense Sammi's independence rejoicing at having control of the soap as she washed herself. I was sold.

I brought home the new products and endured Brent chuckling at me since I spent my birthday money on things for the girls. I was excited for bath time and that was enough for me! Sammi was intrigued by my cutting the soap with a knife. And, as I had suspected, relished in holding the soap herself. I love the scent of the soap and the way the girls smell after the bath. Then we tried out the whipped butter cream. Sammi has been rather resistant to lotions after the Eucerin stung her skin so badly. But I let her scoop some out of the tub and apply it herself and she was game. The cream smells like an orangesicle in a light, summery kind of way.

What I noticed first thing the next day was that Sammi's skin was so soft. It felt like silky baby skin again. She hasn't had soft baby skin since she was 5 or 6 months old when the eczema started to flare constantly. She still had some rough patches but the overall feel of her skin was soft and smooth. I am happy to see such quick results. I have tried a lot, a lot of products and this is the first that I have seen such a dramatic improvement in such a short time.

The bath bomb was a big hit too with both the girls. It's made of Dead Sea and Peruvian salts along with a host of other natural ingredients that work wonders on the skin. It dissolves into bubbles under running water. Sammi had fun holding it under the tap and feeling the bath bomb dissolve in her hand.

I now use the baby spa soap for myself and always rub a little extra cream into the back of my hands after their baths. My hands feel soft and even look younger. I'm so happy! No more cracked and bleeding knuckles. I love this company and its products.

If you're interested in trying Posh in Clover out for yourself, you can save 15% by entering the code "posh15" at checkout. Enjoy!

Thoughts on Love

2009-06-09T05:00:00.001-06:00

So I've been missing Brent. Brent loves music. On our first date he took me to a concert of one of his favorite local bands, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. It was great bluegrass music followed by a wonderful fireworks show. At the end of the night, I was a fan of Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband and I was a little more in love with Brent.

This week I put in their CD Hey! Hey! Hey! (recently rereleased under the title Dream Big) and have been reliving that magical evening. The chorus of one song really got me thinking the other day. It goes, "Would you love me if it won't hurt you at all?"

I have been contemplating the implications of loving without the risk of getting hurt. I don't think true love exists without the risk of getting hurt.

Inevitably Brent has said or done something that hurt my feelings. We're human and we're different; it's bound to happen. I'm sure I've unintentionally hurt his feelings. Now, to be honest, I could enjoy loving Brent without this kind of hurt. It's usually over superficial things and the hurt passes quickly.

But, as I scrutinized our relationship, I realize there are a whole host of experiences we've shared that have brought us closer together, but have also involved a bit of hurt. I remember the semester we were engaged, Brent failed one of his classes. He agonized over that grade and the effort he had put into the class. I hurt right along side him. I didn't just feel his pain, though, I also felt my own pain at the part I had played in that grade. I could have given him more time to study. I could have helped him study. The list goes on. But, in the end, we learned, together, what he needed in order to do well in a class. I'm happy to say that not only did he never fail another class, his GPA steadily improved and he was accepted to medical school despite that failing grade. We have had so much joy over that accomplishment and we would not have known that together had we not also hurt together.

There have been other disappointments that have come to us individually but that we have endured together. My love for Brent is stronger and deeper because I have been a part of the most vulnerable and painful experiences he has had over the past 5 years. This ability to share and to feel together is what bonds our hearts as one. That to me is true love.

On the other hand, how hard would it be to be the one who promises it won't hurt if you love me? Think of all the things we could never share, all the tears we could never shed, and consequently all the joy in overcoming that we would never experience. My intent is never to cause pain, but I'm so glad I can tell Brent that I'm absolutely miserable without him here at home and know that it may hurt him to know I'm miserable, but it also reaffirms my love for him and the permanent place he has in my heart and life.

I'm not a masochist, but I wouldn't accept the offer to love without getting hurt. The two emotions weave in and around each other creating a rope that binds us together and makes us stronger as a couple.

I love you, Brent. We're halfway done!

Physical Friday: Crawling

2009-06-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

First an explanation and apology: So Brent's been gone about 2 weeks now at training for the Air Force. Before he left I thought it would be great to use the time in the evening after the girls were in bed to blog, catch up on reading and get the house work done. Maybe even some of my sewing projects, too! That was so naive! The truth, I've been completely exhausted and when I sit down, I have the hardest time getting back up again. I've completely lost my stamina and I feel like my brain shuts off at 8:10 when the girls are finally asleep. Ugh. It's been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I apologize for not posting more regularly the last couple of weeks. My goal is to be better! But, we're also moving in three weeks so I'm working on packing up the house.

Just as not all children crawl at the same age, not all children crawl the same way! The standard image of crawling is the baby on hands and knees with belly lifted off the ground. Other forms of crawling include the army crawl where the baby sprawls on the floor and uses arm strength to pull his body along; the scoot where the baby is in a sitting position and scoots her body to her feet then extends the feet out and scoots the body again; the hand-foot crawl where the baby moves along on hands and feet instead of knees. Most babies perfect one or more of these forms of movement before learning to walk.

It's vitally important to note, though, that crawling is NOT a standard developmental milestone. It's perfectly acceptable for babies to bypass the standard image of crawling all together and get right to walking. I have heard tell that babies who don't crawl but go straight to walking are poor readers. From the academic research I found, that information is not supported. I did find some rather interesting stuff, though!

Crawling is a complex system of movement. Babies must learn and master a long list of skills before finally figuring out how to put them all together to crawl. Obviously babies must learn how to hold their head up and how to get up on their hands and knees. But they also must learn how to rock back and forth while on their hands and knees. Finally, they need to learn how to move opposite arms and legs simultaneously, i.e., right arm out with left leg back. This skill is learned and improved as babies learn to reach for objects and begin to realize they can move their whole body in order to reach a desired object.

Once babies learn to sit, they pick up on clues about depth perception in their surrounding environment. When children have been sitting alone for a while, they are able to make good decisions about how far to reach for objects and whether they should reach for objects across an open space. When babies become crawlers, they have to relearn the appropriate clues to depth at this new level. That's why new or inexperienced crawlers will crawl right off the edge of the bed or stairs after an object (or an older sister like Elli did earlier this week!) With practice, though, babies learn what's safe and what's not. The next time Elli approached the stairs she backed up, sat up and looked at me for help! They learn so fast.

Thinking Thursday: Bean Bag Number Game

2009-06-04T05:00:00.001-06:00

This idea comes from Brandy of Some of This and Some of That. She used this bean bag toss game with her school-age daughter, but it could easily be adapted for preschool-age little ones.

In her post, she says, "I am so excited for the Valentine party in my daughters classroom. I am going to have two kids toss a bean bag on two different numbers, and the two of them will have to add the numbers together to get the sum. I just took four big posters and taped them together, cut out a heart and put numbers on the heart.

"I had my daughter test it out just to make sure they would think it was fun (never know!) and she loved it. Her and I played it for a long time and had fun and learned all at the same time."

This would be a great game to introduce numbers to little ones. Simply have them throw the bean bag on the heart (or whatever shape you make!) and then say the number that it lands on. This could be done in a very informal, undemanding way. As your little one becomes more familiar with numbers, you can ask them to identify the number the bean bag lands on. Once they are fairly comfortable with numbers, you could switch the game by having your little one tell YOU a number and you have to land the bean bag on the number.

Physical Friday: Benefits of Rocking

2009-05-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

The opening topic of a junior-level university lecture I attended was "How to Calm a Crying Baby." I chuckled as I recalled all the times my babies have fussed and I'd tried everything I could think of to calm them down. My babies love to be swaddled and to be rocked. Of course both of those were on the list along with diaper changes, feedings, singing, pacifiers, and changing positions of the baby.

I was beginning to wonder if this lecture would be worth my time when the instructor went off on a tangent about rocking. He shared some pretty interesting information that I thought I'd pass along. First, mothers rock their infants at the same rate of speed at which they walk. Since rocking is a familiar motion to babies from their in utero experience, it only makes sense that they would be most calmed by being rocked at the same speed at which their mothers walk. What I find more fascinating is that mothers unknowingly rock their babies as fast (or as slowly) as they walk. And yet, that is precisely the most calming speed for their babies. Which also explains why mothers seem to have "a knack" for calming their babies faster than anyone else. I can't tell you how many times I've refrained from offering to take a crying baby. I'm pretty good with my own kids, usually, but that doesn't mean I'm a super-comforter!

The second tangent about rocking showed how rocking is important and necessary for baby's development. The rocking motion helps a baby organize the vestibular system which controls equilibrium, or balance. As a baby is rocked, the fluids in the inner ear move around which triggers the vestibular system to action. While the baby is calmed and rocked to sleep, this system is hard at work practicing communicating to the brain all the information gathered about the baby's balance. I love this because all the times I've just sat and rocked my babies, ignoring chores, ringing phones, and errands, are completely justified because I was promoting my babies' development. The next time the current baby insists I drop everything and rock her, I will remind myself it's as important as tummy time to help her development.

I recently learned that children between 3 1/2 and 4 years of age go through a major physical development stage which leaves them awkward and clumsy until they get a handle on their new skills by about age 4. I was thinking about that in relation to rocking. It leads me to believe that rocking continues to be a necessary part of how we interact with our little ones. And it's not always the calm, rocking-to-sleep motion; it doesn't always happen in a rocking chair. Often Sammi and I "rock" when we dance together or she bounces on my leg or a variety of other times when we are physically close and moving together.

Emergent Literacy and Beyond

2009-05-28T05:00:00.001-06:00

Today's post on literacy comes from Colleen Felz, the Homeschooling Coach. Find her homeschooling tips & curriculum ideas as well as stories about the joys & trials of home education at her blog, Homeschooling Coach. In her sister blog, Living as a mom, read stories about her life as a Christian wife and mother. Here are her thoughts on literacy...and beyond.

Becoming a literate person is a big undertaking, and the early years are the time to lay a firm foundation. Throughout this series on emergent literacy you have read about some specific skills needed to read and write well and learned that it takes lots of practice to master those skills. In this post I'd like to sum it all up.

The most important thing that you can do to help your child learn to read and write is to simply reading good literature to your child from birth through the teen years. There is so much that you share with your child during those special times spent reading together. Your oral reading helps your child hear the rhythm of the language and the intonation used in reading. You also serve as a model for what expert readers do and how they solve problems when they read. Since your child naturally wants to mimic you in the early years, reading aloud is a great time to inadvertently (or even intentionally) teach your child about reading.

What behaviors are you modeling for your child as an expert reader? Just think of all that you do when you are reading aloud. If you misread a word in a sentence, you correct yourself when you realize that the word did not make sense, and you use the context to figure out the meaning of certain words. You make predictions as you read, too. You even reread excellent books because you get something new from those books each time you read them. The next time you read aloud, think about all that you actually do when you read.

As you model these skills, you can also explicitly share them with your child when you read aloud to him/her. When you and your little one snuggle together and read, talk about the book and ask questions.

"Those words rhyme."

"I love this author (book)."

"I wonder what will happen next."

"Have you ever felt like that?"

I cannot stress enough how important it is to read to your child . The time you invest in reading aloud to your child is time well spent. Enjoy it!

What are some of your favorite books to read with your little ones?

Discovery Gateway Giveaway Winner!

2009-05-27T07:42:00.003-06:00

Thanks to everyone who entered! I had no idea my favorite part of this giveaway would be all the wonderful ideas about sparking the imagination of our little ones. Seriously great ideas! If you didn't have a chance to read all the comments, I strongly encourage you to take the time to do it.

And the winner is...

Alicia who said, "I would love to take my kids to Discovery Gateway. I have heard a lot of wonderful things about it.

"I try to do a lot of different things with my children- go explore nature, different museums, read books on different topics that have to do with the world or people, do different crafts, etc. My son's imagination can turn a piece of string into a fun toy. It is so fun to watch!"

Congratulations, Alicia! Please email me TODAY with your mailing address! If I don't hear from Alicia today then a new winner will be chosen at random and announced tomorrow.

Hopefully all of you get the chance to visit the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. Such a fun place! In fact, we are planning on going up there Monday, June 1. If you're interested in meeting us up there, just leave a comment so we can pick a time! I'd love to meet you and enjoy the museum together!

Musical Monday: Surviving the Road Trip

2009-05-25T05:00:00.001-06:00

Last week we drove from Utah to Colorado (and back) to see my brother graduate from college and to visit with friends. On the way over we drove on I-80 through Wyoming and it took about 9 hours including two long stops, one at a park in Rawlins. On the way home, however, we took 1-70 through the mountains and it took us 13 1/2 hours! We only stopped one more time than on the way over. Those winding mountains really slowed us down.

Toward the end of our visiting in Colorado and especially during that long drive home there were two things that really helped us survive. Both are music oriented so I thought I'd share them here today.

First, musical instruments! I don't even know what inspired me to pack them at the very last moment, but they were a huge hit with both girls! From Melissa & Doug's Band in a Box I brought the maracas, the cymbals, and the clacker. (Read my full review here) It was cute to hear them shake the maracas together. At one point Sammi was so bored and getting really cranky so I pulled out the cymbals. As I gave them to her I promised myself that I wouldn't be annoyed. She banged them together for 20 minutes straight! And I kept my promise. It really helped her get through a difficult moment.

Another time the instruments were really helpful was when we were driving to a friend's house. We were almost there, we thought, and Sammi was starting to doze off. We knew if she fell asleep we wouln't be able to wake her up and then she'd miss playing with the kids. Plus, after that visit we had an hour drive ahead of us to Colorado Springs and we really wanted her to sleep then. So, Brent handed her the maracas and asked her to shake it so we would know she wasn't asleep. Everytime she started to slow down we reminded her to shake them again. It kept her awake the whole time!

The second thing that really helped the trip go more smoothly was her favorite CD. We'd been listening to our favorite songs and occasionally we'd turn on a movie for Sammi, which she had very little attention for so it usually went back off fairly quickly. On the drive home, which was 4 1/2 hours longer than the drive there, she asked for her songs. As soon as we put in her CD (Fun Time Classroom Songs) she started singing along and was completely happy again.

Often experts recommend getting a new toy for a long road trip to surprise you little ones. This can be a good choice for some kids. Sammi didn't play for very long with the new toys we bought her. For her, the best choice was her favorites. They brought her the most comfort and the most joy! This was a good test run for us as we prepare to move across the country at the end of June. I think we're going to broaden her CD selection so we don't listen to the same one for three days straight!

What's your little one's favorite CD?

Physical Friday: Blowing Bubbles

2009-05-22T05:00:00.003-06:00

I love the warm weather and the chance to get outside and play! One of Sammi's favorite outside games from last summer is blowing bubbles. When we first got bubbles, she was content to let us blow them and she'd chase them down and pop them. But very quickly she wanted to be in charge of the bubbles! She worked so hard one day until she was able to blow bubbles out of the bubble wand. Once the cold weather came back, we found a way to bring the bubbles indoors with us. We have a medium-sized rug in the living room that Sammi can blow bubbles on. As soon as she steps off the rug, though, we put the bubbles away. It only took her a few times of not watching where she was going that she figured out how to stay on the rug so she could blow her bubbles.

It takes an awful lot of coordination to actually blow a bubble, successfully! First, little ones need to grasp the wand, put it in the bubble bottle and take it out. That's fairly easy for a child who's 18 months or older. Next they have to figure out how to hold the wand close to their mouth without touching their mouth. This was THE hardest part for Sammi. I kept a damp washcloth with us to wipe her mouth off periodically so she wouldn't have the icky soap flavor on her lips. Finally little ones need to control the shape of their mouth at the same time they are blowing air out. This took lots of modeling for Sammi to get the hang of. It's taken her months to be able to blow air with any force.

With how difficult it is to successfully blow a bubble, I'm surprised that anyone would stick with it! But, the activity itself is so rewarding for little ones that they keep going despite the setbacks. This is learning at it's best!

If that wasn't enough to get you outside blowing bubbles with your little ones, here's an interesting connection between blowing bubbles and language development: In 2006 researchers reported that children who could blow bubbles, lick their lips and pretend tend to have an easier time learning language! Read more about the study here and here. Also, check out these 10 ways to use bubbles for language development.

Have you entered the giveaway for tickets to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum? Click here to learn more and enter! Giveaway ends May 26.

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #6

2009-05-21T05:00:00.001-06:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

I think children are storytellers at heart. Storytelling is a great way for little ones to organize their experiences and thoughts by reliving events. It's also a great way to imagine different scenarios, play out different choices and outcomes and practice expressing thoughts and emotions with words. Storytelling is evident during imaginative play, but it's also a sign of early literacy.

Pre-Reading Skill #6
Narrative Skills
Narrative skills is the ability to tell stories and describe things and events. Many of the books children encounter tell a story. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. As children are able to tell their own stories, they begin to understand the pattern of stories leading to improved reading comprehension. Reading comprehension improves because children are better able to organize the meaning of the words by knowing they are looking for a beginning, a middle and an end.

We can help children practice narrative skills by asking them what comes next when reading a familiar story with them. We can also help them process the story by drawing a picture of some part of it. We can then ask them about the picture and let them use their narrative skills to describe the picture, what came before and what comes next.

But, I think the BEST way to help little ones develop narrative skills is just to listen to their stories. They are constantly telling stories; we don't need to ask for them. Sammi constantly tells me about what happened the last time she was at Grandma's house or what she did with Aunt Maren or what who she played with outside. If I'm quiet and listen, I get the most amazing insights into her life. But if I pry for stories or information, she clams up and I am left wondering about her world.

Little ones figure out that books contain stories. When they know they like stories, they are drawn to books to relive their favorites and discover new stories. As parents, care givers, nurturers we can listen to children's stories and offer our own when the mood is right.

Next week we'll sum up the emergent literacy skills with a guest post by Colleen, the Homeschool Coach.

Have you entered the giveaway for tickets to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum? Click here to learn more and enter! Giveaway ends May 26.

Discovery Gateway Children's Museum Giveaway-CLOSED

2009-05-20T07:21:00.008-06:00

This giveaway is now closed.
The winner is Alicia. Congratulations!
Another Utah giveaway, but it's to one of my FAVORITE places so I just have to do it! Discovery Gateway in no way is sponsoring this giveaway. It's just from ME to YOU because I love this place.

Discovery Gateway is THE best museum for little ones in Utah. They are designed to engage, enthrall, and enlarge the minds of little ones. Seriously, little as in starting at age 1! The entire first floor is dedicated to imaginative play as well as role playing activities. They have a kid-sized village complete with store, home, construction zone, farm, gas station and mail courier system! But Sammi's favorite part was the Water Play area. She has so much fun watching the water move through various funnels, colanders and other contraptions.

Oh, and let's not forget the ball area. Remember the ball pool at Showbiz Pizza (now Chuck E. Cheese) where you could jump in with the plastic balls? Well, this is SO much better. The same balls, but now they go up in a vacuum tube and whirl around along various paths before coming back down, just to be scooped up by little hands into plastic tubs and carried off on another adventure. I think this area might be Sammi's all-time favorite.
I've only mentioned the first floor and only the activities that are designed for the youngest of visitors, but there's a whole host of activities designed for older ones and even things that amuse adults. Upstairs they also have science lab presentations on occasion that are highly engaging and interactive. Discovery Gateway Children's Museum is definitely a must-see for the whole family!

I'm giving away a 4-pack of tickets to Discovery Gateway. Admission begins at age 1, so only tiny ones are free. This family pack of tickets is the ideal way to explore the museum. Bring a lunch and eat out on the helicopter deck off the second floor!

Here's how to enter:
Leave a comment below and tell me how you spark your child's imagination. That's it, just comment! I love to hear from you :)

For additional entries you may do any of the following (please tell me about each one in a separate comment):

Follow this blog
Add the Because Babies Grow Up button to your sidebar
Friend me on Facebook and post about the giveaway on you wall using this link.
Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway using this link
Link to this giveaway in a post on your blog using this link.

This contest runs through May 26. The winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. The winner will be announced Wed, May 27. The tickets are valid through August 31, 2009. Good luck!

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #5

2009-05-14T05:00:00.002-06:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

Here is where my linguistics persona jumps out of hiding and shouts a big hurray! Today we're looking at how children figure out how sounds make up words and how adding different sounds changes the meaning of words. In linguistics-speak children are said to parse the language into smaller meaningful parts. I am fond of the word parse and rarely get to use it so I just had to throw it in!

Pre-Reading Skill #5
Phonological Awareness
It sounds rather intimidating, but phonological awareness simply means that little ones are able to hear and play with the smaller parts that make up words. Children begin by babbling or repeating the same syllable over and over again. Once they master several consonant-vowel repetitions, they begin mixing and matching the syllables together. Already little ones are showing phonological awareness.

We can encourage that awareness by capitalizing on things babies and toddlers love: rhymes and music. Nursery rhymes are perfect for helping little ones get a sense for the feel and rhythm of the language. They also begin to recognize rhyming schemes that show them how sounds are used in the language. Plus, they love our high, sugary-sweet voices that we use when reciting nursery rhymes. Such experiences add to print motivation for little ones in a big way!

Many nursery rhymes are set to melodies that are easy and fun to sing with little ones. Setting words to music is another way to slow down the language and help little ones hear the individual sounds that make up words. Try clapping along while you sing to emphasize syllables so little ones can hear the smaller sounds of words.

When we first started reading books to Sammi she would only let us read nursery rhyme books. She loved the rhythm, the music and the rhymes. It was like she just couldn't get enough of it. Now, she can recite almost any nursery rhyme and can "read" her nursery rhyme books because she knows which one goes with which picture. She's even started adapting lyrics of songs to her present experiences. She makes up a different tooth-brushing song almost every night! I created a list of board books for babies that includes lots of nursery rhyme books.

Next week we finish up the emergent literacy skills by talking about narrative skills. The following week, we have a literacy expert lined up to recap the skills and give us more ideas about preparing our little ones for reading.

In what ways do your little ones show phonological awareness?

Review: Bingo by Eeboo

2009-05-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

We had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday. We spent most of it in Kaysville at my in-laws. I love going there because I always get a nap! Grandma has plenty of toys to entertain Sammi (although she spent at least an hour on Grandpa's hair, spraying it with water and combing it) and there are plenty of people to hold and entertain Elli so I always get a little break. And to me, that was the perfect Mother's Day.

There was one toy, that was worth waking up from my nap to play with Sammi. It was a Bingo game by Eeboo. Each player's card had pictures centered around a theme: nature, animals, clothing. Then, in a bag are little tiles to draw. Each tile matches one picture on one player's card. Whoever fills their card first wins! We passed the bag around and took turns drawing tiles out. Sammi loved the level of participation and I was impressed with how quickly she could find matches among so many choices.

All of the illustrations used in Eeboo toys are original and from beloved children's book illustrators. The game was sturdy and vibrant. A combination I appreciate in toys for little ones. After browsing through all their games and writing accessories I have quite the wish list.

They have some really cool preschool games of matching and dominoes. These types of games are great for preschoolers. They are so engaged in the game while they are expanding their attention span, practicing cognitive skills like attention to detail and memory, and learning how to follow rules. And all while they are having fun and not even aware of the progress they are making in their development!

Musical Monday: Eensy Weensy Spider

2009-05-11T05:00:00.001-06:00

The Eensy Weensy Spider is one of the first songs that Sammi could sing all by herself. It's also one of the favorites at the library. They have a puppet spider that the kids love when we do this song.

Before Elli could sit up, I put her in my lap and did that actions on her, as shown in the video. My favorite part is tickling her under her chin after the spider crawls back up her arm.

There are a couple of ways to do the spider crawling action. First is what I think of as the traditional way: index finger from one hand to thumb of the other crawling over the other thumb-index finger pair. The second is using your fingers on one hand to crawl up the arm of the other hand. Children seem to love both. We often sing it twice and switch the action the second time through.

To All My Mothers

2009-05-10T05:00:00.001-06:00

Here is a tribute to the women in my life I am fortunate enough to call Mom.

To my mom who raised me so lovingly and continues to help me grow up.

To my step-mom who has truly been a mom for me, always loving and supporting me.

To my mother-in-law whose wisdom and generosity know no bounds.

To my grandmothers who are dear friends, not just relatives.

And here's to my two darling girls who, in calling me Mom, melt my heart everyday.

As women we bond, we share, we nurture, we love. We consistently find ourselves connecting with those around us. Today is a day to celebrate those women who nurture, those women who care and those women we love.

Today I'm also grateful for Brent who has worked hard to make today special for me. After I got up this morning he snuck my presents and cards from the girls onto my pillow.
He was also pretty sneaky about the present he got me. He had to talk me out of getting it myself because I was headed down to Goldsmith Jewelers on Friday to pick it up with my birthday money. Fortunately he was able to delay my plans until Monday without raising any suspicion.
I got my two little girls! I fell in love with these charms at the blogger event I attended at the end of April. I'm so happy to have them on my bracelet. Here's my bracelet to-date.

Happy Mother's Day! My hope is that each woman believes the difference she makes in another's life as she serves, befriends and loves. Each act matters. It really matters.

Nature Days and Other Utah Activities

2009-05-09T17:42:00.004-06:00

I attended I Never Grew Up's Nature Day this past Monday. It was held at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake. You may recall from this post that the Peace Gardens are on my to do list before we leave Utah. I was so excited to meet up with other reader's of Vanessa's blog and share an absolutely beautiful day at the gardens.

We traveled the world going from Korean gardens to Finnish to Italian and my personal favorite, the Swiss gardens. The little ones all had a grand time racing from one grassy spot to another. I tried to talk to Sammi about the countries, but she was more interested in the rocks and dirt! Another day:)

Two highlights of the day: 1) I won this adorable tee shirt for Sammi. The tee comes from beleaf, a company that combines organic and recycled fabrics with eco-education. Sammi's shirt says, "I recycled a cardboard box and built a fort today." She loves forts so it's a saying we stand behind 100%. We have already worn and washed the shirt twice this week! 2) Sammi made friends with another little girl among the crowd. The exhibited the Nature Day philosophy to the max. They played in rocks and dirt, with the lilac bushes and in the grass. The took off their shoes and ran through the damp soil then laid down on their stomachs and examined the blades of grass. The we lost in thier own world for nearly an hour before we coaxed them back to us for a little lunch before heading home.

Another activity from my list of things to do in Utah before we leave was to see the Walter Wick exhibit at the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University. Wow! What a creative mind. His photography is fantastic. I'm excited to check out his I Spy! books. Part of the exhibit comes from a Halloween poem and I'm saving that for October.

Physical Friday: Tummy Time

2009-05-08T05:00:00.001-06:00

The buzz word around babies is always tummy time! "Make sure they get their tummy time!" "Are you putting your baby on her tummy?" "How much time does your baby spend on her tummy?" Everyone is so concerned with tummy time! and for good reason, too.

Here's the deal: Babies are born with big heads and weak little muscles. It takes a lot of work to build up the strength in their necks to hold those big heads up. That's why they sleep all the time! They're so tired from working on strengthening those muscles.

Tummy time provides the perfect opportunity to help baby develop neck and head strength. My babies, though, are NOT fans of tummy time. Even now, at 8 months, when Elli rolls to her tummy she fusses until we get her sitting up again. But, there are lots of ways to make tummy time work. You can start by laying your baby across your lap on his tummy. Another way to be more involved in tummy time is to lay on your back or recline and put your baby on your chest so you can look at each other. Since babies love faces, this is a great way to make tummy time interesting.

As your little one gets older and stronger, move tummy time to the floor. At first you want to aim for a combined total of 5 minutes a day of tummy time. Once your baby can do 5 minutes in one session, gradually increase the number of times you do tummy time to several a day. Keep tummy time interesting by getting down on your tummy and talking to your baby. You can also put a toy in front of baby to encourage her to keep her head up.

Eventually little ones learn to hold their chest up off the floor with their arms. Then they learn to move their arms to reach for toys. All these aspects of tummy time help babies get stronger and more coordinated which leads to other milestones like crawling and walking.

How does your little one react to tummy time?

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #4

2009-05-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

We took a break in April from the emergent literacy skills while we waited for the last workshop at the Orem Public Library. It was the last Saturday in April and just as exciting and informative as the first! So now, as promised, we are finishing up the last three skills this month. For a refresher, refer to the list above to check out the skills we've already discussed and for a sneak peek at the ones to come this month! Let's jump right in.

Pre-Reading Skill #4
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is, simply put, knowing the names of things. Little ones build their vocabulary by coming in contact with new words again and again. It takes many encounters with the same word for it to stick in a little ones vocabulary. It's one of the reasons they love repetition so much. Each time they hear the same thing again, they strengthen the connection between word and object. So even though it gets tiresome to read the same book time and time again day after day, just remember, it's making a difference in your little ones' vocabulary!

Other ways to build vocabulary include using nonfiction books to learn about different things. We used books on construction vehicles to learn about all the things happening on our street when they replaced the water lines. It served us well because we moved and the are replacing water lines on our new street now! Sammi is in HEAVEN. And the workers are all impressed with Sammi because she knows what's going on. They let her in their lunch circle on Tuesday. So cute to see her all dressed in pink sitting on the grass with the guys in their reflective jackets and hard hats.

Back to literacy and building vocabulary! Find fun phrases in books and repeat them with your little ones. If you're really brave you can add a melody to the phrase and make it a song. One favorite book that we do this with is Trashy Town. The chorus reads "Dump it in, Smash it down, Drive around the Trashy Town." We even added actions.

You can also choose books that will help your child put words to emotions and experiences. This is a great way to help them deal with feelings like anger, frustration, disappointment and sadness as well as joy, excitement and anticipation. When children can put words to their thoughts and emotions, it's easier to stop or even prevent a meltdown or temper tantrum.

The bottom line is that having a good vocabulary will make it easier for little ones to learn to read down the road.

What do your little ones know about that reflects their unique interests?

Review: Guide to Pirate Parenting

2009-05-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Parenting is hard and full of difficult decisions that will affect our children for the rest of their lives. No one knows this better than Cap'n Billy "the Butcher" MacDougall who shows parents a great alternative in his Guide to Pirate Parenting. Parenting is always best when taken with an extra dose of humor and Tim Bete delivers.

Guide to Pirate Parenting is a quick and witty read. I read it in various public places and got many curious stares as I read it and occasionally laughed out loud. This book has everything you'll ever need to know about raising pirates, from nursery rhymes to converting your minivan to a schooner and then naming it! I laughed my way through this book, which was a welcome release from the tension of having a toddler in the house.

Aside from the humor, I really enjoyed this book because Bete incorporates useful tidbits about kids and parenting in a casual way. I saw a lot of real advice and insightful comments underlying many of the humorous anecdotes.

Well done, Tim. Now I'm off to get my hands on his first parenting book, In The Beginning...There Were No Diapers. If you're antsy for some Pirate Parenting guidance while you wait for your book to arrive, you can follow Cap'n Billy on Twitter or check out the website, Pirate Parenting.

$50 Goldsmith Co Jewelers Giveaway Winner

2009-05-05T09:28:00.005-06:00

I have had so much fun hosting this giveaway! It was fun to read through all the comments about why you wanted new jewelry. Fortunately for me, the winner was chosen by Random.org so I didn't have to decide between all your comments! Whew.

And the winner is ceejay! Please send me an email by midnight tonight so I can send you the gift certificate. You have until Saturday May 9th to redeem your $50 gift certificate. If I don't hear from ceejay by the end of today, a new winner will be chosen and announced tomorrow.

Just because you didn't get the gift certificate doesn't mean you didn't win! You can still print the coupon for your free pearl necklace from Goldsmith Jewelers. You need to bring it to the store to receive your pearls by Saturday May 9th. Happy Mother's Day!
I wanted to share a few more pictures from the red carpet event at Goldsmith Jewelers. I felt like a million bucks that night. The best part of Goldsmith Co. Jewelers is they make every person who walks in their doors feel like a million bucks! Go check out the beautiful Pandora line for yourself, the amazing watches for your honey and all the rest of their sparkly collection. I'm positive you'll find something you love!

Free Pearls and a Giveaway-Contest Closed

2009-05-01T10:11:00.008-06:00

This contest is closed. Congratulations to ceejay who won the giftcard from Goldsmith Jewelers.

This giveaway and pearl offer is for Utah County residents and those who can get to Utah County before May 9. I'm sorry it's location specific, but it's such an amazing offer I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share it.

Goldsmith Co. Jewelers is a family owned business in Provo. They have been serving Utah County for 38 years and live by the philosophy that customers come first and employees come second and that the rest falls into place after that. Because of their service-oriented approach, they have grown tremendously and are now the only location in Utah licensed the sell the hot and trendy Pandora line of jewelry.

Pandora, a company founded in Denmark, is committed to helping women capture the unforgettable moments of life with their jewelry. They specialize in the most unique charm bracelet system I have ever seen, and quite frankly the only one that has actually made me want a charm bracelet! Their charms range from animals and objects to sophisticated designs and colors. The best part is YOU get to personalize your bracelet to fit your fashion style and passion.
I was able to spend an evening at Goldsmith Co. Jewelers discovering the store and the new Pandora line. Everyone, from the owner to the jeweler on staff, were so informative, helpful and personable. We were able to look through all the charms and try on the bracelets. It was a fabulous experience. I came away with a bracelet and a charm, but I am already working on how to get the rest of the charms I want!

Here's the fun part, Goldsmith Co. Jewelers is offering a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Because Babies Grow Up reader! The gift certificate can be used on any item in the store, but I promise the Pandora charm bracelet will capture your heart!

To enter you must be a Utah resident able to get to Goldsmith Co. Jewelers store in Provo by May 9. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address and tell me why you want a new piece of jewelry. The winner will be chosen at random with the help of a random number generator (Random.org) so your answers are just for my benefit! This contest runs through May 4 and the winner will be announced Tuesday morning. I will email the gift certificate to the winner. The gift certificate must be redeemed by May 9 (the day before Mother's Day!)

Additional entries are available for the following actions:
Tweet about it with this link to this post! (1 entry)
Post on Facebook with this link to this post! (1 entry)
Follow this blog (1 entry)
Friend me on Facebook (1 entry)
Blog about this giveaway this link to this post!(5 entries)

Did you think I forgot about the pearls? How could I forget about the pearls! They are gorgeous and FREE! All you need is the coupon below. Present it at Goldsmith Jewelers by May 9 to receive a FREE strand of freshwater pearls. I'm wearing mine right now and they are fabulous! Share this coupon with all your friends who can also get to the store by next Saturday. These are great for women and girls and are just in time for Mother's Day.

Have a great weekend and happy commenting!

Physical Friday: Handedness

2009-05-01T05:00:00.002-06:00

I love the term handedness. It conjures all sorts of ideas in my head: to be with a hand; to have things handed to you; the image of lefties writing; cute, chubby baby hands handling objects.

Handedness is defined as the preference for the use of one hand over the other. Here are some interesting facts about handedness in little ones:

for infants under 1, only about 30-50 % show a preference for the right hand in reaching for objects
for infants under 1, 10-30 % show a preference for the left hand
for infants under 1, the remaining show no preference
the preferred hand may change as they get older
more permanent hand preferences in infants don't occur until the second year of life

Sammi showed an early preference for her left hand. We were certain she would be left-handed. Then shortly after her first birthday she started using her right hand more. We thought maybe she would be right handed after all. But now that she is more independent and opinionated (meaning she doesn't have to exactly imitate us anymore) she has shifted back to a preference for her left hand. She fairly consistently eats with her left hand (she owns left-handed trainer chopsticks, so cute!), draws and writes with her left hand and throws a ball with her left hand. It will be interesting to work with her on writing since I'm not left-handed.

One thing we do that unknowingly influences handedness in our little ones is handing toys or other objects to a specific side of their body (always handing a spoon to the right hand). We can remove this influence (it's not crucial to, but just for fun to observe their handedness) is to always hand objects to the middle of the body. When Sammi started preferring her right hand, I got in the habit of handing everything to the middle so she could choose and because I didn't know what hand it would be this time. I think this also shows acceptance of whatever hand they use, especially if it is a different hand from you.

Does your little one have a hand preference?
Cute, chubby baby hands picture courtesy of Lottie Lou Design.

Thinking Thursday: Countries and Flags

2009-04-30T05:00:00.001-06:00

"Salt Lake"
"California"
"Home"
"Colorado"
"Tennessee"
"Japan"
"Bulgaria"

Name this country

These are just words like "cup" "ball" or "car" except they have no concrete physical existence than can be held or manipulated. I am amazed that Sammi has demonstrated an understanding of these words. She seems to know what is close and what is far from us, why the places are important for one reason or another.

She is particularly fond of California as she and my mom have planned several trips to the beach for when Sammi is bigger. She also talks about Tennessee a lot since we'll be moving there at the end of June. She's not so fond of home! She usually tries to talk me into a trip to the park or one more errand when we're on our way home.

In conjunction with our World Music Premier Playdate, we had a fun craft to introduce the kids to the different countries. We made flags out of consruction paper and cardstock. It was super easy and turned out fabulously! There are so many flags that are made of just strips of colors. I chose a few and cut out strips of red, blue, green and orange. I did some to make horizontal stripes and some to make vertical stripes. From those four colors we were able to make flags for Austria, Russia, India, Ireland, France, and Italy. We glued the strips onto white cardstock since white was a color in each of the flags.

The kids loved this craft because they could use the glue stick and put the stipes on all by themselves. The blue circle for the flag of India was used in almost every flag regardless of the actual country!

National Poetry Month and 31 Cent Ice Cream

2009-04-28T22:41:00.002-06:00

I had good intentions of posting about National Poetry Month but one thing led to another and it's already the end of the month! However, it's not too late to experience some of the celebrations.

My favorite resource, by far, has been the blog Gotta Book's 30 Poets 30 Days. He has arranged to have a children's poet publish a brand new poem every day for the month of April. My two favorites I shared with the little ones at Laptime yesterday. They are Midnight Stray by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Owl by Ann Whitford Paul.

Another resource I enjoyed were the librarians at the Orem Public Library. They helped me find great books of poetry for little ones. They also had a fabulous exhibit for Poetry Month (Put together by Kim, I believe.) The book Sammi loved the most is Pocket Poems. For the Laptime we read the last poem in this book that talks about having a picture in your pocket and a poem in your head. I gave them all a picture of the owl above to remind them of Ann Whitford Paul's poem. In fact, tomorrow, April 30 is Poem in Your Pocket Day. Find your favorite poem and then find a way to share it: on your blog, facebook, twitter, with little ones, friends, co-workers, complete strangers at the grocery store :) The possibilities are endless.

But don't forget today is Baskin Robbins 31 cent ice cream cone day. Here are the details:
Baskin Robbins 31 Cent Scoop Night
Wedensday April 29 5-10 pm
All 2.5 oz scoops just 31 cents!
Plus, Baskin Robbins is donating $100,000 to support the National Junior Firefighter Program.
Enjoy some delicious ice cream at an affordable price and support a good cause. It's a win-win!

Parenting Dilemma: Resentment

2009-04-26T06:34:00.003-06:00

I was not prepared for resentment to be a part of my motherhood experience. Resentment is like Motherhood's dirty little secret lurking in the shadows of unsuspecting places. I knew motherhood would be hard and require sacrifice, but I assumed I'd joyfully sacrifice for my little ones and that they, in this ideal scenario, would quickly and perfectly respond to my efforts to quiet and calm them.

I knew that I would sacrifice sleep as my little ones would wake in the night with needs ranging from hunger and diaper changes to soft, comforting words after a bad dream. I was so unprepared to resent them for stealing my precious sleep from me and then being so uncooperative by not returning immediately to sleep. I was also unprepared for the resentment I'd feel toward my darling husband who can peacefully sleep through just about anything.

I find myself resenting the constant need for attention every detail of my life seems to require. The moment my mind takes a break from even the smallest detail it immediately requires my full and undivided attention. I woke at 5:00 am with a stuffy nose, unable to breath, and heard the heater running. My fuzzy brain seemed to recall seeing the thermostat set high because yesterday was a cold, wet day. But when I went to bed, I didn't think to check the thermostat and reset it for a comfortable night's sleep. I resent the dumb thermostat that is ridiculously difficult to set and therefore requires daily, even hourly, attention during the volatile spring weather we have in Utah.

I didn't realize that I had so many hobbies and interests that are not directly related to caring for my babies. I also didn't realize how little time I would have to devote to them, or even to enjoy them on occasion. I resent that it takes me a month or more to read a book, if I even have the energy to get my hands on a book I want to read. I resent the ordeal associated with trying to sew and that by the time I have everything set up and ready to go, it's time to clean it up and make dinner.

And even though I am choosing to be a stay-at-home mom while my husband works and goes to school to prepare for his career, I resent that he gets to leave the house carefree each day. He has only himself to get ready and then he's off to his responsibilities. Whereas I have three people to get ready in order to leave the house and it's always a production, from missing shoes to dirty diapers to messy clothes to one more trip to the potty. And when we finally find ourselves walking out the door, I look down to discover I am wearing my slippers!

I resent that all this came flooding out of me on a Sunday morning when I would much rather enjoy the peace of the Sabbath day than vent my frustrations. I was not aware that I would find it so difficult to make time for my spiritual self. While getting ready to go to church still fills me with the anticipation of the calm and strength I find there, it is also a busy, chaotic rush to get ready and I miss the quiet time of getting ready by myself that allowed me to also prepare spiritually.

But I would choose it again. Even as I wrote all these moments of resentment, I smiled as I remembered the sweetness of my precious little ones and the kindness of my husband, who, upon returning home, shoos me from the kitchen so I can have a moment to myself while he finishes dinner.

I don't know how this story ends, but I think, I pray I've reached the climax of this chapter.

Physical Friday: Earth Day Craft

2009-04-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

My most faithful commenter, Painting Pink Pajamas, hosted an Earth Day challenge this week. She challenged her readers to celebrate earth day and then blog about their experiences. When I first read her post, I hadn't made any plans in particular to celebrate earth day, but by the end of the week, I found an adorable craft for us to do.

This Egg Carton Ladybug comes from Enchanted Learning. After gathering the supplies to make the ladybug, I realized I also had the colors to make a bumble bee. Then we truly claimed the craft as our own by completing our set of egg carton creatures by making a caterpillar!

To make the bumble bee, we painted the carton yellow then added a black head and two black stripes. Then we poked two holes in the top, one for each wing. The wings are half a length of pipe cleaner looped and threaded through the hole. Then we bent the end over to hold it in place.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but each section of the caterpillar is a different shade of blue-green. We twisted a blue and a green pipe cleaner together to make the antennae and then curled them around a pencil. My favorite is the pink tongue. I'm pretty sure caterpillars don't have tongues, but I added the tongue in memory of the Cooties game where they have a little curly something for the mouth.

In true Earth Day style we did this craft outside on my mom's deck. It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze. While we were crafting away, we discovered a birds nest with 5 eggs in on of her hanging planters. We had an interesting discussion with Sammi about birds hatching from eggs. She loves to crack eggs when we cook so it was hard for her to grasp that these eggs were growing little baby birds.

Thinking Thursday: Hide and Seek

2009-04-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

If your home is like ours, there are empty plastic Easter eggs scattered about, finding their way into hidden corners and under furniture. Once the candy is gone, it's a bit of a let down or maybe we're just crashing after the sugar rush! Either way, Sammi is ready to hunt those eggs again.

Little ones love repetition. They learn so much from doing the exact same thing over and over. They start to understand that consequences are the same for a given action; they are able to improve motor skills; and they are developing confience in their understanding and skills.

Since Sammi has had a hard time letting the Easter eggs disappear back into the holiday box, we've adapted Easter egg hunting and she's having a ball! For snack time I'll grab a few eggs and put her snacks in them. I fill them with dried blueberries, Cheerios, pretzels, and sometimes chocolate chips or other very special treats. Then Sammi hides out in the bathroom while I hide them around the room. Once she finds them all, she gets to choose one egg to open and eat the contents. Then we hide them all again (including the empty one) and she searches once more.

At this point in her development, she loves to find them in the same place again and again. So the second time I'll hide them all in the same place and then after that I'll move one or two to new hiding places. We usually hide them four times. Eventually she offers to hide them for me to find. So I dutifully hide out in the bathroom while she hides the eggs. It's adorable because not only does she hide them in exactly the same places I do, she walks me around the room and shows me where they all are! We still have a bit to learn about hide and seek!

But for now, hunting snack Easter eggs is a great way to relive the glory of the hunt, practice hiding and seeking, prolonging snack time, and gearing up for next year!

Photo courtesy of Century Novelty

Review: Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Pirate Treasure

2009-04-22T05:00:00.000-06:00

The cutest DVD showed up in our mailbox a week or so ago and we have been thoroughly enjoying it. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! is a Nick Jr. cartoon about an adorable Wubbzy and two friends Widget and Walden. I really enjoyed the animation style and the sounds, i.e., voices, sound effects, songs.

The DVD we received features the episode Pirate Treasure. Wubbzy and his friends find a treasure map and decide to follow it to the X. They dress as pirates and Wubbzy assigns everyone a pirate name. They have such an engaging adventure with a fun ending. At the end, there's a cute song that recaps the lesson and theme of the episode.

We invited Sammi's pirate friend over to watch it with us. While Sammi ran around Jack stood mid-step entranced with the whole episode. He is so fascinated with all things pirate and absolutely adored the episode. His mom wasn't sure she could get into the animation but I really like it. It's all made of simple shapes with happy, bright colors.

We also enjoy all the other episodes that are on the DVD. Each episode begins with an introduction from Wubbzy: Wow! Wow! Hi Everbody, My name is Wubbzy. Sammi ran around all afternoon yesterday saying, "Wow! Wow! My name is Sammi!" I love to see her adapt what she sees into her play. It shows me that she understands the content and gets what it means in her own life. What a smartie!

Things To Do, Things To Do...

2009-04-21T09:29:00.005-06:00

After coming back from Tennessee, I realize there are things to do here in Utah before we leave for good! There are so many places, restaurants, parks and such that we love here that I've taken for granted. I want to make sure we love them all up before we head out. Here is my list of things to do in Utah before we move.

Things To Do in Utah

International Peace Gardens
Gardner Village
Museum of Art at BYU (current exhibit: Walter Wick)
Bean Life Science Museum (Home of Shasta the Liger)
BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures (Friday 11 am they have a storytime for toddlers and preschoolers of Stories from Around the World)
Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
Hogle Zoo
Temple Square
See Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building
Liberty Park, 6th East and 9th South, great playground for kids, historical buildings and
Tracy Aviary (at Liberty Park)
Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point (World's Largest Display of Mounted Dinosaurs)
Utah Museum of Natural History
Gossner Dairy Plant
Scera Park Pools
Eat at Texas Roadhouse (although not as desperate since we found two in Knoxville!)
Teddy Bear Picnic in June at Orem Public Library
This is the Place Heritage Park
The City Library in Salt Lake
Bountiful Temple (Where Brent and I were married)

These are mostly our favorites where we go again and again. But a few are things I've wanted to do and we haven't gotten around to them yet. Here we enter crunch time! We only have a month until Brent leaves for COT for a month and then we move 3 days after he returns.

What do you love to do in Utah or in your own area?

Musical Monday: What a Week!

2009-04-20T05:00:00.001-06:00

Well, we finally made it home from our trip to Tennessee. We are moving to a fairly rural part of the country. We'll be right at the crossroads of the Tennessee-Virginia-Kentucky border. Fortunately, they have high-speed Internet there. Unfortunately, our motel did not. I had planned to keep you all (y'all, from here on out!) informed about the trip, but that was not possible.

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite songs: Leavin' on a Jet Plane. I love folk music because it's easy to understand the words; I like the harmonies and I can sing along. We typically focus on traditional kid songs with actions and kid themes. But every once in a while it's great to introduce little ones to other types of music. This broadens their knowledge and appreciation of the art of music.

I chose this particular song because we flew to and from Nashville. On our return flight we were waylaid in Denver overnight due to a ridiculous snowstorm. At one point I really felt the words of the line: "Don't know when I'll be back again." We had just told Sammi that we would see her in a few hours and read her books and tuck her into bed and then they canceled our flight and rebooked us for the following evening. Then that flight was delayed two hours. We didn't know how to talk to her about coming home because we didn't want anymore broken promises. Luckily, she LOVED her time with Grandma and hardly missed us at all. She did squeal with delight when we finally walked through the front door. So that made me feel a bit better :)

I hope you all get into the folksy mood today with your little ones. I'll tell you more about the highlights of the trip another day.

8 Is Enough Tag Game

2009-04-19T23:44:00.003-06:00

I've been tagged by Princess Mommy of Princess with a Half Price Tiara to play "8 is enough" Here you go:

8 Things I am Looking Forward To

Days at the park
Picnic dinners with Daddy
My birthday (just 2 weeks away!)
Summer swimming
Moving to Tennessee (but not to losing Brent to medical school)
Finishing Cap'n Billy "The Butcher" MacDougall's Guide to Pirate Parenting
Getting a Wii Fit (for my birthday, please!)
Living in a house with a yard

8 Things I Did Yesterday

Ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream
Drove to the airport, twice
Visited with a dear friend
Did laundry at said friend's house
Took a nap
Played Mario Kart on Wii
Sat at the airport
Flew home

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

Love to clean
Love to exercise
Have the stamina to grocery shop at several different stores to find the best deals
Acquire a new wardrobe without the hassle of trying on clothes and then paying for them
Play board games with my husband every night and still get everything else done
Get everything done
Get and stay organized
Have a massage and spa day

8 Shows I Watch

The Biggest Loser
Monk
Psych
Numbers
Iron Chef America
Chopped
House Hunters
Hidden Potential

I'm opting out of tagging more people to play along. If you would just love to post your lists of 8, please do and tell us about it. Have a great week!

Review: Baby Einstein World Music

2009-04-15T05:00:00.000-06:00

In another life I am destined to be a globetrotter! I love to travel, to see new places, meet new people, and experience new cultures. With a student-husband and two small children we have not yet traveled as extensively as I hope to someday do.

However, based on the few travel experiences my husband and I have had combined, we enjoy sharing the cultures, foods and languages of Japan, Austria and Bulgaria (and others) with our girls. We are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to introduce them to the various aspects of different lands.

So when the opportunity to host a World Music Premier Playdate presented itself, I could hardly believe our luck. Baby Einstein recently released a new DVD and CD entitled World Music and we had a huge party to enjoy the experience.

The music of the CD exceeds the quality of music I have heard on previous Baby Einstein CDs. I thoroughly enjoyed the familiar melodies along with the new ones. While watching the DVD the little ones really enjoyed all the animals from around the world. We had lions and tigers running around the room; I think I even heard a monkey at one point!

One thing I love about the DVD: It has two modes. One mode is just the music with the video and the other mode has the names of instruments and animals spoken and written on the screen. We showed the girls the DVD in the car on the first mode and it was as enjoyable for us up front as just listening to the CD. I appreciated that!

This was a fun way for us to introduce music from various cultures with our girls. The DVD and CD are also available on Amazon.com.

Musical Monday: If You're Happy and You Know It

2009-04-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

Elli has been clapping her hands for about a month now and has recently started clapping along with the song "If You're Happy and You Know It." She also discovered her pointer finger the other week and during the line "your face will surely show it" she points her finger towards her face. How cute!

We are on our way to Tennessee tomorrow to find a place to live when we move there at the end of June. It's been a busy week with Easter yesterday and leaving tomorrow. Today we present you with Sammi's favorite video of "If You're Happy and You Know It" that we've found on YouTube.

We love to sing this song in the car with actions like
touch your nose,
pat your head,
nod your head

Here's to music, happiness and play!

Physical Friday: Holding Objects

2009-04-10T00:38:00.003-06:00

One day you have a newborn who lays calmly in your arms, smiling contentedly as you go about your business. The next day, however, your baby has turned into an active, curious baby constantly looking for something to grab onto. This is one of my favorite transitions in early childhood because once babies realize they can control their environment, they begin to interact with the things around them.

Sometime between 3-4 months babies begin to show interest in objects other than faces. They look more intently at new objects discovering every detail. They may even begin to reach out toward objects. By 6 months babies usually have mastered holding and turning an object in their hand.

Here comes another of my favorite transitions: Babies then begin to realize they have two hands and can thus hold two objects. During this period I like to play my favorite game. Elli and I have entertained ourselves for quite some time with this engaging game.

I sit on the floor facing Elli with three blocks. I hand her a block; she grabs it in one hand. I hand her the second block; she grabs it in her other hand. I hand her the third block; she drops a block and grabs the third block in the now empty hand. I pick up the recently released block and offer it again. Elli again drops a block to grab the newly offered block. I pick up the discarded block and hand it to her again. She again drops a block and grabs the new block.

You get the picture. This goes on for a very long time! It's so cute to see how excited she is each time a "new" block is handed to her. She is so excited to grab it that she forgets completely about the block she already has in her hand.

If your baby is in this adorable stage, act quickly with this game. Sooner than you think babies wise up and attempt to hold all three blocks at once.

Review: It's Hip Hop, Baby!

2009-04-08T05:00:00.001-06:00

"Hip Hop Simon says, 'Jump! Jump!'" I've said it before and it remains true: Sammi loves to jump! After watching It's Hip Hop Baby!: All Your Child's Favorites, Sammi reenacted the Hip Hop Simon song over and over again. Every time she watched it again, she added another component of the video to her reenactment.

This is the first video she has seen that she has asked to watch again and again. It's the first time I've been able to put a video in for her while I take a shower and have the bathroom all to myself for the entire length of my shower! Thanks, It's Hip Hop, Baby!

Even our 7 month old was enthralled with the video. She clapped along with "If You're Happy and You Know It." She even kicked her feet when they did "stomp your feet!" It was cute to see the two girls sit side by side and enjoy the same thing at the same time.

From a child development standpoint, I loved the amount of repetition in the video. They did the Hip Hop Simon song a few times and each time it engaged the girls and captivated their attention. My favorite song on the video is about animal sounds. I have sung it to Elli as I put her in her car seat or change her diaper and she is all grins and squeals every time.

It's Hip Hop, Baby introduces numbers, letters, colors, animal sounds and directions in a fun and engaging way. The songs and actions live on long after the video is over. I recommend this video as a way to engage children in their interests in a developmentally appropriate way.

You can check out the It's Hip Hop, Baby! website and blog for additional videos and great ideas for encouraging your child's development through music. It's Hip Hop Baby!: All Your Child's Favorites is now available on Amazon.com.

Musical Monday: Silly Pizza Song

2009-04-06T05:00:00.001-06:00

I love the blogging community more and more each week. I had so much fun with the Ultimate Blog Party and all the new blogs I discovered there (and was discovered by!) The reaching out, making connections and sharing ideas matches my social butterfly personality so well.

I mention this because this past week I had the chance to connect with Princess Mommy from Princess With a Half Price Tiara in her quest to re-find THE cutest shape song. We finally found it over at If Only I Had Super Powers. You've got to check out their version of The Silly Pizza Song adapted to practicing shapes. Then go check out Princess Mommy's post with resources for making your own pizza and shapes.

Here's the original song from Signing Time.

Feelin' the Love!

2009-04-04T12:55:00.002-06:00

Here it is, my very first blog award! Thanks so much to The Home Teacher for loving this blog! Check out her awesome blog which has ideas on teaching toddlers.

Thank You!

Here are the rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

I would like to nominate:

Painting Pink Pajamas
Play-Activities.com
Mom's Marbles
The Thoughtful Parent
Some of This and Some of That
Princess With a Half Price Tiara
Rhymes and More

These are all terrific blogs that are definitely worth checking out if you don't already read them!

Physical Friday: Making Letters

2009-04-03T05:00:00.003-06:00

We've been having so much fun finding the S in Sammi's name everywhere! I decided she was ready to make one herself. One thing led to another and after a few days, we had her whole name! I wrote the letter with glue and she placed the objects on herself.

We practiced all the letters' names as we made them. Then just as we were finishing up, m mom stopped by. Sammi loved showing off her letters to my mom along with naming them for her! It was fun to see her remember them all after such a short time. I was also very impressed that she "got" the double M in her name. Usually she ignores the repetition because she doesn't see it as necessary. She already said it once and correctly at that! Why should she have to repeat it? I think making two Ms helped her "get" it.

For materials we used whatever I had around the kitchen. The S is dry black beans. The A is green yarn. The pink M is harvest rice medley. The blue M is penne pasta. The I is Acini di pepe pasta that I tossed with red and yellow food coloring drops for a fancy variegated look. For the rice and Acini di pepe she scooped it up with a spoon and then shook it out over the glue (like you do with glitter) and then I helped shake the paper around so all the glue was covered up. She liked these ones the best. I think she felt so grown-up using the spoon.

What else would be good materials for making letters?

Thinking Thursday: Waiting Games

2009-04-02T05:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Play! PhD in Parenting is sponsoring a Carnival of Play and since we enjoy playing so much at our house, I thought it fitting to join in the fun. No carnival is complete without cotton candy, so as promised, I'm providing some courtesy of Jump for Joy.

I was at the doctor's office this week (I thought I had an ear infection but it was just inflamed) and the wait was quite long. There was a father there with a 2 year old boy and a baby in a car seat. They had been waiting for over an hour! Both the father's and the boy's patience was running thin. I had Elli with me and wanted to help, but my attempts were a bit awkward. Then the lady next to me-of grandmother age-started talking to the boy and the next thing I knew he was leaning on her leg and naming all his body parts.

We spend an awful lot of time waiting places: post office, grocery store, doctor's office, car, oil change place, clothes shopping. The list goes on and on! I've been gathering an arsenal of games to distract, entertain and educate that can be played anywhere with what's on hand.

The Finger Game
Ask child to hold hand up showing all the fingers. Starting with the pinkie, point to each finger and say the child's name. Two syllable names work best. It goes like this: Sammi, Sammi, Sammi, Sammi, woops, Sammi, woops, Sammi, Sammi, Sammi, Sammi. Say woops as you slide down the pointer finger to the thumb, then the name, then woops as you slide back up again.
Variations: We use everyone's name we can think of: Mommy, Daddy, Elli, friends, Grandma, Grandpa.
This game helps teach children the structure of language, specifically syllables and words.

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
Ask child to identify different body parts. If you're brave enough, go ahead and sing the song with your child. This is a great one for the car!
Variations: Ask "What's this?" as you point to a body part, eyes, ears, chin, uvula!
For some reason, this is a hard one for kids to resist. They love knowing the answer to a question.

Go on a Letter Hunt
Look for anything that has words. Ask your child to identify any letters or words they already know. Depending on your child's age and skill, you can say the letter's name and they point to the letter or you can point to a letter and ask for its name.
Variations: This is a great time to introduce new letters. I like to look for letters that go with objects Sammi currently loves or objects that are close at hand. For example, at the grocery store, finding an A when you are buying apples.
Finding a way to make the connection between letter, sound and word helps solidify the concept for your child and gives you something to refer back to the next time you talk about the letter.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Practice animal sounds! You can sing the song, again if you're brave, or just name animals and have your child say the sound. Kids are so cute when they make animal sounds. This game will surely melt the hearts of any who are also waiting near you.

Counting Fun
Practice counting from 1-10 or whatever numbers your child is working on. We sometimes sing the numbers to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Begin again! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10"
Variations: Count objects you see. You can count fingers, toes, cars, trees, houses, magazines, anything!

Sometimes waiting is stressful and it can be hard to think of what to do to entertain your child. Just remember that play can happen anywhere with whatever resources you have on hand. Not only will your children be occupied, but you'll also be distracted and the time will go faster for everyone!

More April Fool's Day Fun!

2009-04-01T08:38:00.003-06:00

Something else you should probably know about me: I'm a linguist. I received a master's in Applied Linguistics from the University of Utah in 2005. (That's not the joke! Wait for it... Wait for it...) This is a little exercise in morphology if any of you are interested! Virtual High 5s and hugs all around for those who get it!

(Now this is the joke)

mato buol "your mother runs"
baku keol "his dog eats"
matil seol "my mother plays"
bua "I run"
bue "you run"
apro buol "your father runs"
see "you play"
bakil seol "my dog plays"
kea "I eat"
apru keol "his father eats"
matu buol "his mother runs"
foa "I walk"
foe "you walk"
bako buol "your dog runs"

How would you say "My father walks"?

Happy April Fool's Day!

2009-04-01T05:00:00.007-06:00

I remember going to school with two different colored socks, a pig tail and a french braid, and mismatching clothes. I'm pretty sure it was April Fool's Day, but it may have just been the 80's! I was never a very good prankster, but found ways to enjoy the holiday, nonetheless.

Here are some books I've found that follow the April Fool's Day theme:
Look Out, It's April Fools' Day

April Foolishness

Michael Le Souffle and the April Fool

How do you celebrate April Fool's Day? What reactions have you had from little ones as you teach them about this holiday?

Today I'm also dispensing advice on how to keep your marbles over at Mom's Marbles. Come toss in your 2 cents, too.

Playdate with Play-Activities.com

2009-03-31T09:06:00.004-06:00

Today we are having a playdate with Melitsa over at her place, Play-Activities. I love her tag line: Parent + Kids = FUN! And on days when you're wondering HOW to make that equation work, just hop over to Play-Activities and have a look around. You're sure to find something to spark your play.

Musical Monday: Herman the Worm

2009-03-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today's song and video come from Allie at No Time For Flashcards. With a background in elementary education and a passion for working with little ones, Allie always has terrific ideas for crafts, games and books that bring learning to life. And she is one animated singer...

Herman the Worm

Sittin' on a fence post chomping on my gum
( chomp chomp chomp)
Playing with my yo yo
woo woo
When along came Herman the worm
And he was THIS big
And I said " Herman WHAT happened?"
And he said " I ate my sister! "

The next 3 verses substitute in brother, mother and father.
The final verse is as follows:

Sittin' on a fence post chomping on my gum
(chomp chomp chomp)
Playing with my yo yo
woo woo
When along came Herman the worm
And he was this tiny
And I said " Herman what happened?"
And he said " I burped."

{Thanks for visiting, Allie! You can find our current favorite song over on Allie's site. Go check it out!}

Physical Friday: Let's Get Baking!

2009-03-27T05:00:00.001-06:00

Today we'll head into the kitchen and mix up a batch of cookies! This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Whenever I talk about cooking with Sammi, I typically hear these responses: It takes so much longer to cook with kids helping; It is so much messier when the kids help; I don't know how my kids can help.

Here are some ideas to combat those potential setbacks:

Set aside extra time to bake. Think of this as any other play activity. Let it take as long as it takes!
Plan for messes. Keep paper towels, washcloths, or sponges close at hand to quickly wipe up the messes. It's so much easier to clean up as you go so it's not so overwhelming when you're done.
Making cooking a play activity takes a little extra prep, but it's worth it!
Give your kids wiggle room. Let them practice pouring, scooping, stirring. You'll never know what they can do until you let them try.

Cooking promotes motor development. Kids are practicing fine and gross motor movements: holding a measuring spoon and pouring it into a bowl, stirring, scooping flour or sugar with a measuring cup. As long as you are standing right there, almost anything you do your child can do also (as long as your willing to deal with a little bit of mess!)

I have to credit my husband with this, but since we started cooking with Sammi, she can now crack an egg, open it and dump the egg into a bowl. To top it off, she rarely gets any egg shells in with the egg. I know that the only reason she can do that at 2 1/2 years is because we trusted her enough to let her try. I cleaned a lot of egg up off the floor, but now she has a lot of confidence in her abilities and loves to cook.

If this is your first experience letting your child cook with you, I caution you to not expect it to go perfectly. It may not even go smoothly! But, if you remember that it's play and the process is the activity, then it can be a lot of fun. Your kids will be so excited to do something they've never done before, especially something they see you do all the time.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Crisco)
3/4 C (cup)Butter flavored Crisco shortening
1 1/4 C firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T (tablespoon) milk
1 T vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1 t (teaspoon) salt
3/4 t baking soda
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Heat oven to 375° F.
Combine shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in bowl. Mix until well blended.
Beat egg into creamed mixture.
Add flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture.
Stir in chocolate chips and pecan pieces.
Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 min. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet 1-2 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheet and place on cooling rack.

Enjoy with a glass of milk! (I give Sammi the beater to eat while I drop the cookies on the baking sheet. Her attention span for this activity is pretty much up once the chocolate chips come out!)
I'm also over at I Never Grew Up today sharing one of our favorite games. Come check it out!

Thinking Thursday: Fostering Language and Literacy

2009-03-26T05:00:00.001-06:00

We are continuing our look at early literacy. We've already looked at three pre-reading skills: print motivation, print awareness, and letter knowledge. We'll cover the last three skills in May. To wrap up March, I've invited my friend, Rebecka Wright, to share some thoughts on encouraging literacy in young children. Rebecka is a student at Utah Valley University (UVU) and was able to attend (and participate in) the Forum on Children's Literature at UVU a few weeks ago. And now, the post!

Hi, my name is Rebecka Wright. I’m a junior in the UVU elementary education program. I’m married to Barry and we have three children; Sammy, 14; Emily 12; and Steven 10. Our children have always been very verbal and in western societies this is a characteristic that is associated with intelligence or being smart. Sometimes people ask us what we do (or have done) to bring this to pass. Usually I’m at a loss, “I don’t know. We were just lucky.” And to some extent this is true, our children are who they are before they come to us. This semester I’m taking literacy methods and I’ve been learning how language and literacy are fostered. There are two specific things that are correlated to future success in school that I want to share today. The first is parent talk, the second is books, books and more books.

Both the quantity and quality of talk parents direct at infants and toddlers is important. The more verbal a family is, the more of a foundation children have to build on. One study shows parents who talk less use their talk mainly to control and guide students. Parents who talk more do this and offer approval, affirmations, descriptions, and explanations. Language is best developed in one on one conversations where children talk with an adult about things that are important to them and experiences they have shared. When I began to learn this in school I thought, “Oh, this is something we did!” Barry and I talked a lot to our children, explaining and eliciting their participation in the conversation.

The number of books children are exposed to in their home is correlated with literacy development and success in school. Parents who are readers often have children who are readers. You probably already know this, I did. What I didn’t know are some of the things my children were learning when we shared a story book. The first things children learn are concepts of print. They learn that a book is upside right when the binding is on the left and the pages on the right. They learn that the title and author are on the front cover, and that the cover gives us clues about what’s in the book. They learn that we read from left to right, and that letters make words and that words contain messages and stories. Most important they learn that reading is enjoyable and useful.

So what can you learn from my reflection?

Talk a lot to your children. Give running commentaries and descriptions, explanations and praise.
Talk with your children. Ask them how they feel, what they saw, what they like, and why, etc.
Fill your house with books and let your children see you reading for fun and for purpose.
Read with your children; encourage them to pretend to read and to recite their favorites. Tell them what you think of what you read together and ask them what they think.

Amber mentioned that I attended the UVU Forum on Children’s Literature. It was a fabulous experience and I met some incredible authors, illustrators and educators. Below are links to some of the speaker’s blogs and websites. I hope you enjoy exploring them.

One of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html
I’ve never had favorite illustrators before but these two gentlemen are my first, Robert Nuebecker and Guy Francis:
http://www.illoz.com/neubecker/
http://kactiguy.blogspot.com/
http://www.guyfrancis.com/

Thanks for letting me visit, Amber.
{Glad to have you, Rebecka! Today I'm posting over at Make and Takes so come check it out!}

Parenting Dilemma: Setting an Example

2009-03-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

I have seen it so often in other families where the older children are coaxed into a certain behavior with the explanation: "You need to set a good example for your younger sibling." I've never been much of a fan of this type of coaxing, but I will tell you, when nothing else has worked, I've been tempted to use it!

It got me thinking, though, about the kind of example I'm setting. I had a great day the other day where two parenting moments where juxtaposed in such a way that I was forced to acknowledge my inconsistency. First, Sammi wasn't listening and not listening and finally I raised my voice and yelled, "Stop grabbing your sister's arm! Please!" Then, not 10 minutes later Sammi yelled "No!" at me and I heard myself say, "Please don't yell. We don't yell in our family." We don't? I forgot to tell myself that same thing just moments earlier!

While contemplating what type of example I was setting for my children, I attended an amazing lunch with Mom It Forward's Jyl and Carissa. We listened to women speak on finding balance in various aspects of our lives. Muffy Mead-Ferro spoke on Balance in Parenting based on her book Confessions of a Slacker Mom. She spoke of the example we set for our children and it completely changed my perspective!

As a writer, Muffy needs time to write. She blocks out time in her day to write and she tells her children that she needs to be left alone so she can write. As she explained this principle, she also shared some of the criticism she's received. Namely, people gasp and ask how she can ignore her children while she writes! Aside from it providing an opportunity for her kids to learn to entertain themselves, she explained the example she was setting for her children by following her passion. By setting aside time for her writing and by enforcing that she be left alone to work, she's showing her children a part of who she is and what's important to her. She's setting an example of how to succeed at something she wants to accomplish.

By focusing on the positive example I want to set for my children, I've found fewer instances of my own bad example. It takes more work, since I have such little ones, to plan how they will be occupied while I pursue interests and hobbies. We've had success, though!

For example, I really wanted to make a vision board which involves a lot of flipping through magazines, cutting and gluing. I knew that Sammi would be all over that and I would find it difficult to stay focused on what I wanted out of the project. First, I did all my flipping and cutting at night when she was sleeping. But once I finished the cutting, I was too excited to put it together to wait for another night. So, I cleared off the table, found three magazines just for Sammi, a pair of Sammi-safe scissors, and a glue stick. I taped a large strip of butcher paper to the table and sat her in her chair. I let her go to town on the cutting and gluing. These are usually heavily supervised activities so she was thrilled to cut and glue as much as she wanted. Then I put my large piece of paper on the other end of the table. I was able to lay out my whole vision board and get all the pictures glued down before Sammi lost interest in her own project!
We were able to work side by side, which is toddlers' favorite form of play (parallel play), and I was able to show her that Mommy does her own projects, too. So often the projects we work on are just for Sammi or she's the only one who has a finished picture or what ever at the end to show for our time. So, I will continue to monitor the example I am setting for my children and try to focus on setting positive examples that encourage independence and creativity.

Musical Monday: Ultimate Blog Party 2009!

2009-03-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hello and Welcome to Because Babies Grow Up. We're excited to have you stop by our party. While it's just me blogging here, I tend to talk in the plural because my two darling girls are in every part of what I do and write. So, while I catch you up on what's going on here, grab yourself a slice of my famous pumpkin bread-turned bundt cake:

I'm Amber (@ajpassey on Twitter), wife of Brent, mother to Sammi (2 2/3) and Elli (6 months). I love Brent and appreciate him more each day. Our girls light up my days (and often my nights!) with their enthusiasm for playing, learning and discovering. While I was preparing for this party, Sammi started walking around the house chanting, "It's a party! It's a party!" She's a social butterfly and always excited to "show-off" for a crowd! Elli is following in the family footsteps of becoming social and talkative. If there's ever a moment of quiet she pipes in with her own squeals and babbles.

Here at Because Babies Grow Up we focus on the under 5 crowd. I studied Human Development in college and then worked with infants doing developmental assessments. I learned lots of interesting things, but the best part is seeing it in action in my own children! I share activities, songs, and anything else that encourages early childhood development.

As an only child I have an image complex: I hate looking stupid or unknowledgeable. But, in the spirit of the party, I have put together a blooper reel from our Musical Monday posts which typically introduce songs that kids love! It's probably time to offer you a drink, so enjoy a tall class of milk, but don't laugh it out your nose!

I hope you'll excuse/understand my fine table linens! With little ones running rampant at this house all my nice Austrian linens I've been storing for 10+ years are still in a box under the stairs. I tried to find them, but it's a bit jumbled under there! Enjoy the video!

Thanks to 5 Minutes for Mom for hosting The Utlimate Blog Party 2009. This is my first year attending the party and I'm lovin' it! I'm also lovin' all the prizes they are giving away! My top picks, should I get the awesome chance to pick, are

#11 Aromatherapy book and a sampler of therapeutic essential oils Provided by: Jennifer at Oils For Wellness
#49 Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love Provided by: Pudget: Losing Weight On A Budget
#9 Child’s Crayon Apron with Crayons Provided by: Kennedy Grace Boutique

I'd also be very happy with #66, #106, #125, INTL #10 and USC #11 or anything baby/toddler friendly or PR related. The prize list is long; happy hunting for your faves!

Getting Ready to Party!

2009-03-21T00:21:00.003-06:00

This is one busy week at Because Babies Grow Up! Check out this line up!

Monday: Ultimate Blog Party 2009 hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. Join in the fun. Check out the details here and the prizes up for grabs here.
Thursday: I'll be posting over at Make and Takes so come visit me there. Here we'll have a guest post by Rebecka who attended the Children's Literacy Conference at Utah Valley University last week.
Friday: I'll be posting over at I Never Grew Up. Don't worry, I'll have a snack idea for you here that will get you in the kitchen with your little ones.

Okay, so it's turning into a busy 30 or so days!

I'll be posting at Mom's Marbles on April 1st (no joke, it'll be good advice on how to take the monotony out of repetition!)
I'll be reviewing It's Hip Hop Baby! a DVD for teaching letters, colors and such to young children through family-friendly hip hop music!
I'm throwing a "real-life" playdate introducing Baby Einstein's new DVD and CD World Music.
We're flying to Tennessee to house hunt!

Yippy Skippy! I better run along to bed, it's going to be an early morning :)

Physical Friday: Shape Sorters

2009-03-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

A shape sorter, to me, represents childhood. It's one of the earliest toys I remember playing with. I like them because they bring together cognitive development as well as motor development. It takes brain power to match the shape with its hole and it takes motor skills to actually put the shape through the hole.

Shape sorters help little ones work on gross and fine motor skills. Picking up the shape and moving it to the sorter requires gross motor skills to move the whole are. Then, once the shape is at its hole, your little one must then rotate and manipulate the shape to get it to fit just right through the hole. This takes fine motor skills.

I feel strongly that every little one should have access to a shape sorter! There are so many companies producing a variety or styles of shape sorters so you're bound to find soemthing in your budget! Check out these shape sorters on Amazon.com.

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #3

2009-03-19T07:00:00.002-06:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

The first two pre-reading skills, print motivation and print awareness, are great for any age from babies on up. As babies grow up they are ready for more challenges and experiences which broaden their understanding and prepare them for what's yet to come. Each stage of development has a past, present and future.

Past: The current stage is the end goal of a previous stage. Holding a fork is the end goal of developing a pincer grip.
Current: Each stage is a skill itself that needs to be mastered. Using a fork to eat food.
Future: Each stage is a predecessor for a stage yet to come. Holding a fork is a precursor to holding a pencil and writing.

Now on to…
Pre-Readng Skill #3
Letter Knowledge
Letter Knowledge means knowing that letters are different from each other, that each letter has a name and that specific sounds go with specific letters. Here are some ideas for introducing letters to your little ones.

Highlight a letter each day or week.
Letters are just complex shapes! Help little ones match the same letter on a page in a book, or a sign. Then look for it everywhere you go.
Begin with the letters in your little ones' names. Use the starting letter first.
Draw pictures our of the letter that start with the letter (I draw the letter S which is the first letter in Sammi's name and turn it into a snake.)
Say the letter and then the sound and an object around the house that starts with that letter/sound. "T, tuh, toilet"
Find Alphabet books at the library. Ask a librarian to help you find them. At our library they are all grouped together so it's easy to choose ones that will work for us and our current interests.

Some Alphabet Books suggested by our librarians:

Going Pink for Saint Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T07:40:00.008-06:00

After two girls, my new favorite color is pink! I'm as drawn to it as my two and a half year old. So, when I decided it was time to look for some new makeup, I'm not surprised that I was drawn to the many shades of pink.

Why would I need new makeup, you ask? Well, it's not because the last time I bought makeup we were still in the 20th century, although that is true. No, it's because one day I was careless with my makeup bag and came upon the following scene: Sammi sitting in a circle of my makeup supplies. There was powder, red blush dusting the carpet, the mascara wand was in the lipstick tube and she was just pulling the lipstick wand out of the mascara tube. Every bit of makeup I owned was open and I could see the results of little curious fingers moving from one item to the next. Lipstick was smeared in the eye shadow, the sponge from the compact had joined forces with blush (hence the not-so-light dusting of blush on the carpet.) It was a sight to behold. And all I could do was kick myself for leaving all of my makeup in one place and that place being within Sammi's reach. Grrr.

Okay, I admit it, this actually happened last November! So why now? Why did I need new makeup this weekend? I went to a Mom It Forward luncheon last Thursday. In my mind I had remembered that I had salvaged something of my makeup. But Thursday morning when I was getting ready for my social outing, I realized I had saved eye shadow that was smeared with lipstick. It was too late to get anything so I went to this luncheon without any makeup. Obviously this is completely new to me! I rarely wear makeup, but I had wanted to make a good impression on the amazing women I was about to meet. And there were some amazing women there. And they all looked so beautiful and I felt so plain. That was a new feeling for me and I decided it was time to take action.

Friday morning I headed to the Clinique counter at Macy's ready to be beautified. A friendly lady named Valerie helped me choose a shade of pink that brought color to my face. Just to be sure, we tried a neutral/brown combination on the other eye. I was shocked at the difference. The brown I made that side of my face drab and uninteresting while the eye with the pink combination brought my skin to life. I was immediately sold.

I was going to opt for a pink shade in a two-color compact, but Valerie stepped up her non-aggressive sales approach and told me about the gift-with-purchase deal coming up. All you have to spend is $21.50 (or more) and you receive the most generous gift: a cosmetics bag and a companion bag, moisturizer with SPF 15, moisturizing lotion, lipstick, mascara, and a blushwear cream stick. Now, the gift doesn't start until March 31, so you haven't missed your chance. I prepurchased my four-shade eyeshadow set (to meet the minimum purchase amount) and now I am anxiously waiting for March 31 to go pick up my eyeshadow and gift! Thanks, Valerie!

Musical Monday: Shape Song

2009-03-16T07:00:00.003-06:00

Basic shapes are the foundation for so many things that little ones learn. For example, a precursor to writing is drawing shapes. Children have to master moving the pencil deliberately to create something before they can fine tune that to make letters. Shapes are a precursor to advanced drawing. If children can see how complex figures are made up of simple shapes, then they can draw them by combining basic shapes into something complex. Recognizing shapes is a precursor to literacy. Letters are just more complicated shapes.

Here's a fun song to introduce shapes and their definitions. You can use objects with your child as you sing the song to show a real-life example of the shape.

Shape Song

from CanTeach Shapes

(to the tune of: "The Farmer in the Dell")

A circle's like a ball,
A circle's like a ball,
Round and round
It never stops.
A circle's like a ball!

A square is like a box,
A square is like a box,
It has four sides,
They are the same.
A square is like a box!

A triangle has 3 sides,
A triangle has 3 sides,
Up the mountain,
Down, and back.
A triangle has 3 sides!

A rectangle has 4 sides,
A rectangle has 4 sides,
Two are long, and
Two are short.
A rectangle has 4 sides!

Fitness Friday: Yoga...Is It Real Exercise??

2009-03-13T08:33:00.003-06:00

As part of the Wii Mommies Blog Swing, I'm excited to introduce today's guest blogger, 3boyzmom, who blogs over at Save Your Money Mama where she tells us all about giveaways, coupons, new products and more to help us stretch our budget. Here's her post...

Yoga…four little letters with a lifetime of fitness results! Most people are familiar with yoga, they know what it is; but that’s where their knowledge ends. Yoga is thought by many to be great for flexibility and for your nerves…but not for real fitness. I mean…how can rolling around on the floor stretching your body in weird poses make you stronger or help you lose weight right? WRONG!

Yoga CAN help you lose weight and get fit! But there are specific types of yoga that are designed to maximize your weight loss! Yes! There are even specific yoga poses that will help you melt your fat away!! AND of course, you still get all of the regular benefits of yoga too, like the relaxation and soothing natural energy. Some refer to it as “Power Yoga”. And many experts agree that its fat and calorie burning can be equal to OR BETTER THAN regular aerobic exercise! And so much more calming and relaxing don’t you think?! (I’m quite biased though…I HATE aerobics of any kind!!! If it wasn’t for Yoga….I’d become a full fledged couch potato!)
What is Power Yoga? Power Yoga is an Americanized version of the traditional Yoga techniques, a spin on traditional yoga that incorporates vigor and whole body fitness. It is inspired by Ashtanga yoga, which means “eight limbs”. It’s Power Yoga that got people thinking that maybe yoga IS a way to lose weight and keep fit! Check out a video introduction to Power Yoga by none other than my Yoga idol…Rodney Yee.

So…how do you DO Power Yoga? Power Yoga is done by flowing through a series of yoga poses and synchronizing your breathing patterns with your movement. It may LOOK soft, light, and free flowing….but you are actually receiving a complete, heart pumping, blood flowing, calorie and fat burning exercise!!

I have gained and lost 60 pounds TWICE (I’m working on my 3rd time currently) And when people asked me HOW I lost the weight….they always looked flabbergasted when I said “Yoga”. But it’s true…..yoga is the ONLY exercise program I was using…and I didn’t even change my eating habits!! Once I started Power Yoga…..the weight just came melting off…literally. Some believe this is because many of the poses massage your thyroid gland, and cause your metabolism to be faster and more efficient. It’s also thought to be so fat burning because of the strength you are getting in your muscles…I’d say it’s a bit of both. Now I’m not trying to say that it’s easy and doesn’t require hard work and dedication…it does. But for me…it’s enjoyable. 20-30 minutes of Power Yoga 5 times a day….you will be shrinking so fast people won’t recognize you!!!

Now….if you are new to Yoga…you want to become familiar with yoga poses and develop some basic strength before attempting Power Yoga. Once you can comfortably do full yoga poses, you are ready to begin!

So next time hubby looks at you while doing your lovely yoga pose and says…”Aren’t you going to do real exercise?” You can say…..I AM!!! DUH!! (Ok..you don’t have to add in the Duh part…but I sure would☺

Don't forget, I'm over at The Good Enough Witch talking about Snack Time. The Good Enough Witch is over at Tree, Root, and Twig talking about A Whole New Mii. The Blog Swing is in full motion. Enjoy!

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #2

2009-03-12T07:00:00.003-06:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

Kindergartners are asked to identify the front and back of a book, the title page, the difference between a letter and a word, right-side up from upside down, among other things. How do they learn all that? Through experience with books!

Pre-Readng Skill #2
Print Awareness
Print Awareness means knowing how a book works and being able to recognize print. There are many things we can do to help our little ones become aware of print. They range from formal instruction to silly games! Here are a few:

Always read the title page! I was surprised this is something kindergartners are expected to know. I did this with one of Sammi's books. Now every time we read The House That Jack Built she adds in "Simms Taback" who is the illustrator.
Use your finger to underline the words you are reading. This helps little ones realize the words you're saying come from the print on the page, not the pictures.
Hold the book upside down and begin to read. It's so fun to see little ones flip out because it's not right! Look for them to turn books right-side up when they are exploring books on their own.
Read anything you come across: cereal boxes, street signs, clothing labels. Point at the words as you read them and talk about them.
Do letter scavenger hunts. We always look for and find the letter "S" because it's the first letter in Sammi's name.

Saint Patrick's Day Streamers

2009-03-11T13:07:00.004-06:00

Along with the shamrock, the rainbow is a symbol of Saint Patrick's Day. The leprechauns are hiding at the end of the rainbow with their pots of gold. Instead of chasing rainbows or, worse, waiting for a rainbow to appear, we made our own rainbows at a recent playgroup. These rainbow streamers are a fun project for even the littlest ones. All you need is a small paper plate and the colors of the rainbow. You can use crepe paper, ribbon or even construction paper cut into strips.

Cut the center out of the paper plate. Cut the crepe paper, ribbon or construction paper strips into lengths ranging from 12-24 inches, whatever suits your supplies. Staple each color to the paper plate. We folded the ribbon over the inside edge of the plate and stapled through both layers of ribbon. Arrange the colors to match the rainbow. Remember Roy G. Biv? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. We omitted blue and only used one purple color. Anything goes!

After we attached the rainbow to the plate, we turned on some music and danced around. You could also have a parade across the yard or down the street. Happy Saint Patrick's Day. We hope it's a lucky one for you.

I'm posting this today instead of Friday because we are having our first guest post on Fitness Friday! We'll be hearing from 3boyzmom from Save Your Money Mama. I'm excited to hear what advice she gives on fitness and health. This is part of the Blog Swing for the Wii Mommies Twitter Party this Saturday. Check it out and register to win a Wii Fit from AceBeach.com

Parenting Dilemma: Spanking

2009-03-10T13:46:00.002-06:00

I know parents, and people in general, have strong, even passionate, opinions about spanking as a form of discipline. I have not been opposed to spanking when used removed from emotion and in conjunction with an explanation. Recent experiences have begun to change my mind, though.

Spanking, if used at all, should only happen when the parent has stepped back from the situation and chooses, rationally to use a spanking to discipline. I recently read in one of my parenting magazines a statistic that astounded me. It said parents who spank are more than 50 % more likely to move on to more severe forms of corporeal punishment. Shortly after reading that I had an insightful conversation with a neighborhood mom.

I mentioned spanking Sammi for some reason and she responded that she did not spank, anymore. She had found that when she spanked her son it was easy to give in to that anger and spank maybe harder or more times than were necessary. Her words resonated with me. I have cut spanking out of my discipline for very similar reasons, especially once Sammi was potty trained and no longer had the protection of a diaper on her bottom.

It's hard to admit that I have a temper and I'm not perfect. But facing that truth head on has changed the dynamics in our home. Sammi still gets in trouble and I still get frustrated. But now we each take a time out and come back together to talk about it. Sometimes I don't think time-outs are very effective, but as I look back on it, neither is spanking. I'm a better mom as I learn to control that anger and not give in to it. Don't get me wrong, I've never gotten to the point where my reaction was abuse, but I could see how easy it would be to fall down that slippery slope and become part of that statistic, being more than 50% more likely to use more severe forms of physical punishment.

So while I may not be opposed to spanking itself, I am wary of the consequences for the parent of spanking. I don't want my children to be afraid of me or my temper and the only way to ensure that is to cut out anything that allows me to give in to my anger. I think the next component of my discipline that needs work is my scowl. I want my children to remember my happy eyes, not my wrinkled-up forehead!

Musical Monday: Rhythm Ribbons

2009-03-09T07:00:00.001-06:00

Rhythm ribbons: doesn't that just sound fun? They are! My daughter loves to jump/run/dance around the room with her ribbon in hand to just about any kind of music. The concept is quite simple: move the ribbon to the music. This is great because it doesn't take any kind of musical genius or even rhythm to have success with rhythm ribbons. It's a chance to connect body movement with the music.

Watch for the crawler at the end who makes a dash for an abandoned ribbon. So cute! Music in the video is At the Bottom of the Sea on For the Kids Too!

I know you're just jumping at the chance to put rhythm ribbons to work in your playtime so here are some resources to get you going. First, you need the ribbons. This project was so incredibly easy to make. In fact, I was able to make them while my toddler crawled all over me trying to get a better look and help any way she could. Second, you need to choose some magical music to get the party started!

Making Rhythm Ribbons
Materials: craft sticks, ribbon, Tacky glue

Directions: Cut ribbon into 3 1/2 foot (42 inches) lengths; Apply glue to one craft stick; Smear glue from first stick onto another craft stick; Place one end of the ribbon on the stick about 1 - 1 1/2 inches. Place the other craft stick (glue side down) on top of the craft stick with the ribbon; Press sticks firmly together; Place on wax paper, cover with wax paper and place a heavy book on top while glue dries.

Once the glue dries, your rhythm ribbons are ready to use! Sammi danced around the table asking if they were dry yet for about 10 minutes. (I was very impressed with her attention span for waiting for the ribbons!) Finally I gave in and checked and they were dry! We turned on some music and started spinning, zigzagging and waving our ribbons around the room.

Choosing Music for Rhythm Ribbons
Since using rhythm ribbons is about moving the ribbons, it's a great way to introduce children to classical music. What would otherwise be boring to just sit and listen to now provides a dynamic, engaging background for exploring rhythm ribbon movements. Once caution on classical music: The songs can get pretty long. If the song is too long children may lose interest in the rhythm ribbons and you may run out of ideas for different ways for them to move the ribbons around. Look for songs that are two to three minutes long to start with and then increase the length of song from there. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Baby Einstein: Traveling Melodies Available on
The Bumble-Bee (from 'The Legend of Tsar Saltan') Available on iTunes
William Tell Overture (Finale) Available on iTunes

Physical Friday: Becoming a Toddler

2009-03-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

A most anticipated motor milestone is walking. We anxiously wait and wait for our little ones to start walking. And then we wish we hadn't wished so hard because that means child-proofing, chasing them when they try to escape, and so on.

Despite all that, I was so excited for Sammi to walk. Now she could follow me from room to room. She was much happier about keeping up with me, too. It was obvious, though, why newly walking children are called toddler! Her balance was inconsistent. Sometimes she could walk across the room and other times she fell over after just a few steps. Even when she was walking, she had the "characteristic gait of the child who has not fully mastered the skill of walking." That does nothing to explain how cute it is to see them waddle like a "duck out for a jog!"

It takes about 6 months from the first step to the coordinated smoothnes of an adult's walking motion. It takes 6 months of practice regardless of the age of the child at the first step! Balance appears to be the factor that affects the smoothness of a walker's motion. As a child practices and improves balance, steps become more symmetrical and there is less hesitation between steps.

Here's a video of Sammi's first full day of walking. What a riot!

The song is Animal Crackers in My Soup by Joanie Bartels' album, Sillytime Magic.

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #1

2009-03-05T07:00:00.003-07:00

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

I've mention it before, and I'll probably say it again in the future: I love the library. It's always been a happy place for me. To pass that along to my little ones, I love to take them to the library. And I must admit, the library makes it easy by providing programs appropriate for little ones.

The other day I had the opportunity to go to the library all by myself to participate in a program appropriate for me! I am a laptime teller at the library. (Laptime is one of the programs for little ones.) Each year the library offers a series of workshops to help us be better tellers. This year the first two workshops are devoted to Emergent Literacy. Literacy is such an important part of growing up and succeeding as an adult so I thought I'd share what we are learning about how to encourage and motivate little ones in their literacy development.

Pre-Readng Skill #1
Print Motivation
Print Motivation means thining that books and reading are pleasant. How do we do that? We make going to the library a pleasant experience. We create a cozy environment for reading with our little ones. We share our own passion for reading. We let our little ones choose their own books from the library.

Some new things I learned about Print Motivation: Use nonfiction books to help children understand the word around them. I've actually done this, unkowingly! Sammi watched construction crews work on our road for days last summer. She asked me "What's that?" a thousand times. She was not satisfied with my answers, "It makes the road flat." "It digs." "It pours the asphalt." She wanted names and she wanted them FAST! So we went to the library and found some books on construction vehicles and learned all their names. Now she has learned (1)books have information and (2)when Mommy doesn't know, go to the library! What great lessons to learn at such a young age.

The goal here is to help little ones have successful experiences with books and other forms of print. They will look forward to spending time with books.

What have you done to create a pleasant experience with books in your family?

Musical Monday: The Grand Old Duke of York

2009-03-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Get ready to get up (and down) and move! This song is just plain energizing and a bit silly. You'll see what I mean in the video. We also love this song because it's easy to adapt with little ones: again, in the video! So take a look and get ready to get movin'

Oh, the Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again
Oh, when you're up you're up
And when you're down you're down
And when you're only halfway up your neither up nor down!

Physical Friday: A Cut Above

2009-02-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Consider your child holding a pair of scissors. What's your first thought: a necessary evil or the ultimate challenge?

Sammi loves scissors. She loves to cut. Just before she turned two she really became aware of scissors and wanted to hold them, cut with them, even walk with them (if I would have let her!) I didn't think she was old enough to have anything to do with scissors, but it seemed every time I turned around she was pulling scissors out of my "secret" hiding spots.

I decided to embrace this advancement and take control of the situation. Education was in order. We talked about when we could use scissors, why we use scissors, what to cut, what NOT to cut, that we only sit when we cut (no walking or running) and so on. I was still apprehensive about her using regular-sized scissors so I found some craft scissors around the house for her to use. They were blunt tipped and the edges weren't as sharp. Then I tore out pages of a magazine and let her have at it.

She cut, seriously, for an hour! I had to vacuum to get up the tiny bits of paper she'd managed to cut. She went through probably only 3 pages of the magazine in that hour. She was so focused on developing that skill. I've since learned that I did a few things "wrong" in helping her use scissors. So you don't make the same mistakes I made, here are some tips I found in teaching children to use scissors:

have your little one cut through play dough first, roll it out into a thin log (about 2 years old)
move from play dough to card stock or manila folders
THEN move to construction and lined paper
move to tissue paper (about 2.5 years old)
once your little one can cut through all of these, practice cutting along a thick line (about 3-3.5 years old)
next practice cutting out a thick-lined circle (about 3.5-4 years old)
finally practice cutting out a square with sharp corners (about 4.5-5 years old)

Check out these great resources for finding scissors and teaching your child to use scissors here and here.

Thinking Thursday: Intentional Actions

2009-02-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our little ones are indeed little when they figure out how to get their point across. Renée from Cutie Booty Cakes shared an experience with her little one that got me thinking.

He wanted to pour his own milk and Renée (bless her heart) was willing to let him do this, but wanted to stay by him. He proceeds to swat her away (like a fly) and then he tells her to sit down! and then he commands her to Run!

I love the creativity and problem solving we see here. He is doing and saying everything he can to make the experience go the way he wants. I started thinking back with Sammi and looking at Elli to see what how they've communicated with me their exact intentions.

I remember once when my mom was over and sat with Sammi while I was in another room trying to get something done. Sammi didn't want my mom. She didn't want anyone but mommy. I think she was about 10 months old. So my mom tried singing Sammi's favorite song to her. We sound alike (my mom and I) so Sammi accepted her offering but only on one condition: Sammi reached her hand up and covered her eyes so she didn't have to look at Grandma! She sat like that the entire length of the song. She got what she wanted and she got it on her terms!

So when do these intentional actions emerge? Sammi was right on track. From about 8 months onward little ones become deliberate in their actions. Their play shifts from random toys and movements to play with an objective in mind. They've already started to associate outcomes with behaviors and now they are purposefully acting to make those outcomes happen.

The cognitive development here is that little ones are able to orchestrate two actions simultaneously in order to achieve a goal. That's a lot to think about t one time! Renée's little one worked on pouring milk and commanding Mommy. Sammi was listening and blocking her vision. Another example I found is of 8 month old Jacqueline. As she grabbed her toy so did her mother. While holding on firmly to her toy, she used her other hand to push her mother's hand away.

Little ones quest for independence begins young with intentional actions and only increases once they are able to add words. Run!

My Favorite Posts so far

2009-02-25T08:57:00.003-07:00

Since this blog is fairly new, any post I include in my list of favorites will seem recent to you. I am really enjoying this blog so it's a hard choice. But there are a few that stand out for me so far. These posts really capture for me the reasons I chose to start this particular blog. Enjoy!

My New Campus is my absolute favorite. It was the first time I was able to capture my epiphany and the emotions of it in words. "I find myself in the pleasant predicament of living in the same area as my Alma mater. From time to time I run over to the campus for one reason or another. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to drop off some German and Bulgarian books (so they could find a better home) and took the girls with me." Read the full post here.
A Slippery Fish has to be in this list as well. This is the first song that I learned after I started attending the library's Laptime program. It was the experience of not being able to remember the tune or all the words when I was home that led to my desire to have a video segment for Musical Mondays. See the video on the post here.
Jumping. "Indoors or out, jumping is a fun activity for toddlers. Many times a day I hear my toddler's voice, 'Mommy, want to see how I can jump?' She's so enthusiastic about it every time that I can't help but join in with her energy and do a little jumping myself!" Read the full post here.
Babbling is another where the purpose of this blog shines. It's not just about what kids learn, or how they develop. Rather it's seeing how the combination of physical changes, development and parent interaction all roll together to produce the little ones we love so much! Read the full post here.
Board Books captures the love of reading so prevalent in our home. Sammi loves to read books with me, to me, to her dolls. She also loves to listen as I read chapter books aloud. Some of my favorite books and resources are in this post.

And the winners are...

2009-02-25T00:00:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the comments and all the blog-love. I really enjoyed reading your blogs. Also, thanks for sharing your thoughts on your favorite brands. Melissa and Doug was mentioned several times. They are one of my personal favorites (see review of Band in a Box).
Another thanks to Random.org for generating the winning commenters. The winners of the two sets of bean bags are

Kelli of Faithful Life and
Cheree who (like me) has several blogs.

Congrats! Please email me (becausebabiesgrowup @ gmail . com) with your addresses and I'll get them in the mail.

Stay tuned for more fun games using bean bags. Also, if your house is bean bag-less, try making some. They are pretty easy! Cut two 4 1/2 inch squares for each bean bag you want to make. Place 2 squares right sides together and sew around the edges leaving about 1 1/2 inches in the middle of one side. Turn squares right side out and fill with beans. I used black beans. Whip stitch the opening closed. Or sew straight across the top with your sewing machine. (It's easier and no one will ever notice!)

Musical Monday: Here is the Beehive

2009-02-23T07:00:00.001-07:00

Click here for the Bean Bag Giveaway!

This is a fun song for babies on up. Little ones love the tickling at the end. Sammi asks for it again and again! I had a really hard time remembering the tune till I realized it was "Rock-a-bye Baby."

Here is the beehive
Where are the bees?
Hidden inside
Where nobody sees.
Watch as the bees
Come out of the hive.
1-2-3-4-5
Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz

Physical Friday: Amazing Facts about Babies

2009-02-20T07:00:00.003-07:00

Click here for the Bean Bag Giveaway!

Here is a list of 7 Things You Didn't Know About Your Baby that I read in Parents magazine December 2008. This list comes from the new book Amazing Baby by Desmond Morris.

During the nine months between conception and birth, a baby's weight increases 3,000 million times.
Between birth and age 2, an infant will quadruple in size.
At birth, a baby's brain is 1- percent of her total body weight (an adult's is 2 percent).
Within 45 hours of birth, a newborn knows her own mother by smell. (And a blindfolded mom can identify her own child from a host of other babies by scent alone.)
At birth, babies have the ability to swim.
Human babies are the only primates to smile at their parents.
A newborn has feet that are one third of their adult length. By age one, they are nearly half of their adult size.

Parents magazine is currently offering 2 FREE years with a one year subscription. You can get 3 years for $12. What a steal.

I Never Grew Up's Birthday Giveaway Party

2009-02-19T21:41:00.002-07:00

I Never Grew Up is celebrating one year of blogging by offering over $1200 in giveaways. Check out Vanessa's favorite companies who are all contributing to the birthday party.

I hope I win #7, a baby wrap from Lovey Duds. Such cute fabrics and a great design.

Thinking Thursday: Babbling

2009-02-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

Elli has begun babbling over the last few weeks. It's so fun to watch her get excited about her own voice. In my house we all love to talk so it's fun to see Elli developing this same trait.

Click here for the Bean Bag Giveaway!

I'd originally thought I'd just share some info about babbling today, but after reading up on this stage of language development, I have some pretty interesting stuff to tell you about.

First, I've always been fascinated by how babies can breathe, suck and swallow all at the same time and while lying down. If we try that trick we choke, so how do babies do it? Young babies are physically different from adults! They have a larger tongue and their epiglottis (which covers the air's pathway from mouth to lungs) is longer and is actually in contact with the palate completely covering the air's pathway. This helps babies not choke on or inhale their food as they lie and breathe and suck and swallow! It also means babies can't breathe through their mouths and why it's so important to keep their noses clear and unstuffy. I knew my babies preferred to breathe through their noses; I didn't realize they couldn't breathe through their mouths.

So starting about 4 months babies mouths and throats undergo some drastic changes that affect speech development. First, the oral cavity (mouth) gets bigger so the tongue doesn't take up as much space in their as it did. Also, the epiglottis begins to separate so air begins to flow through the mouth. The vocal tract also lengthens. With more room to move their tongues around and some air to move along the vocal tract, babies beging to vocalize.

The first stage of babbling is called expansion babbling. Babies start with vowel sounds, raspberries, squeals and growls. This usually lasts while the baby is 4-6 months old. Between seven and ten months babies move into the second stage of babbling called canonical babbling. Here is where they begin putting vowels and consonants together. They begin to say the same syllables over and over, "bababa" "dadada" and so on.

While babies' babbling sounds a lot like speech in the intonation and rhythm of the language, research shows that babies are not trying to communicate at this stage. They are making sounds for the sake of making sounds. They are exploring how they can manipulate their voice just like they practice manipulating toys or objects with their hands. Research shows that the intonation patterns of babies reflect the intonation patterns of the language(s) they hear at home. The actual consonant-vowel sounds they make, according to research, though, are not yet language specific.

Some ways we can capitalize on this stage of language development:

Repeat your babies sounds showing that you are paying attention and find important the things your baby says. This helps babies develop an understanding of the communicative nature of language and also to trust that you will listen.
Offer some new sounds for your baby to try. Babies love imitation. They will watch the way you make a sound and try to do it too. Actually, this is true for children in all stages of language development. Sammi still imitates our sounds and watch for how to make difficult sounds or words.
Associate a silly action with a specific sound. Everytime your baby squeals, clap your hands; everytime your baby blows a raspberry, touch her nose. This helps babies develop the concept of cause and effect and see that they can be initiators in causing an action to happen. This is a really fun game and babies love games.

Bean Bag Giveaway--CLOSED

2009-02-18T07:00:00.005-07:00

We had so much fun with the bean bags over the Valentine's Day weekend that I decided to make some to give away. Aren't they cute! They were a super fast and fun project. If you don't win one of the sets, I encourage you to make your own* :)

While they were in production, I found Sammi playing with them. So clever! She turned them into arm floaties and was swimming with her baby doll on the blue rug.The purple necklace is the baby doll's swim suit. Her imagination just never quits!

Okay, to enter the giveaway, please do the following:

1) Follow this blog

2) Leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite brand of toys?/Which brand do you seem to gravitate towards? Why? Please include your email address or link to your blog so I can inform you if you are the winner.

Additional entries:

1) Tweet about this giveaway! (1 extra entry)

2) Blog about this giveaway! (5 extra entries)

Please leave one additional comment linking to either your tweet or your blog post or both.

This giveaway ends Tuesday, Feb 24. Two winners will be chosen at random. The winners will be announced Wednesday, Feb 25. Good luck!

Look for more ways to use bean bags with your children in future posts. They are such a versatile resource to have on hand. Instant fun!!

*Cut two 4 1/2 inch squares for each bean bag you want to make. Place 2 squares right sides together and sew around the edges leaving about 1 1/2 inches in the middle of one side. Turn squares right side out and fill with beans. I used black beans. Whip stitch the opening closed. Or sew straight across the top with your sewing machine. (It's easier and no one will ever notice!)

The Unplugged Report

2009-02-17T07:00:00.002-07:00

I felt a little guilty turning on my computer, but Oh MAN, does it feel good to be back! I've been slowly working through the inbox: lots of Twitter emails, newsletters, sale promotions and bills; very few personal emails!

So, the burning question: Was it worth it?

First, my goals for going offline were 1) stop compulsively checking my email, 2) give more attention to my household's needs, 3) develop some much needed healthy habits.

Day 1 I wanted to check my email 9 times! Every time I walked in my room (which houses the computer) I wanted to turn on the computer. Every time the baby was asleep I wanted to get on the computer. Every time my toddler was contentedly playing on her own, I wanted to check my email. But, I harnessed all that energy and cleaned off my messy messy desk! Surprisingly, it stayed about this clean the whole two weeks, until I did taxes and now there are papers that need to be filed again!

Before I went offline I tried REALLY hard to get all my posts done and ready to publish. But, it didn't happen. So Sunday night I actually cheated and got on the computer to get Monday's post ready. I was strict with myself though and didn't check my email. So Monday was the first day I spent entirely offline. I focused on laundry. Mounds and mounds of laundry! I got all the laundry washed and folded. It usually takes about three days to get all the clean clothes folded so I was really excited. Oh, and Elli rolled over for the first time, which I caught on the video camera, and didn't get to blog about it!

Now, I admit, I'm a procrastinator. I still needed one more day to get the second week's posts completely finished and ready to go up. So Tuesday I spent about three hours on the computer. I was so focused on working quickly. Brent had the girls all morning and I was amazed at how much I accomplished. As a treat, I checked my email! The experience reminded me of this quote:

"In my 20s I was worried about what everyone said about me. In my 30s I learned not to care. In my 40s I realized no one was talking about me to begin with."

I had a bunch of Twitter emails, but nothing personal. Either everyone was giving me space since I was offline OR no one cared! In that moment I realized some things about myself: I work harder than I realized at connecting and communicating with people and I was compulsively checking my email for no good reason! While cheating is BAD, in this case it made the rest of my time offline a lot easier. Every time I wanted to get online or check my email I reminded myself that I wasn't missing anything.

I started to evaluate the nature of my need to be online. One need is to be connected, to my family and friends, to online friends, to the community of moms whose blogs I love to read and which so inspire me. Another need is to escape my physical surroundings in the virtual world of the Internet. Another need is to blog and provide a resource for moms to play and sing with their children. The last need I discovered is to take care of bills and finances. I learned that the hard way when I called Brent at work so he could pay the car payment and the visa bill! Again with the procrastinating! I totally forgot to prepare for that.

Back to my goals. I have managed to get the housework under control. I've developed a pretty good pattern for getting things done each day. I also started exercising. I'm doing yoga with Bob from The Biggest Loser. I'm still working on making this a regular part of my day. But so far the results have been fantastic! I'm not so ache-y and my pants even fit a little better. Another healthy habit I wanted to develop is for my mental and spiritual health. I have renewed my commitment to read and study the scriptures daily and I already have more patience with myself and the little ones. I also feel a lot more peace about the busy and strenuous demands on my time and energy and the demands on Brent and how that affects our precious time together as a family.

So was it worth it? YES! I am ready (halfway through February) to start, or rather continue, 2009 in a positive, healthy way.

I'm moving forward and finding balance between my online world and my offline life. I find joy in both places. Each fills a need and is an integral part of making me whole and complete. I will stop escaping from my life by staring mindlessly at an unchanging inbox and I will start focusing on the essentials. What will you do in 2009?

Also, check back tomorrow for a giveaway of a cute little something I made with all that time I had from not being lost in front of the computer!

Musical Monday: Once There Was a Snowman

2009-02-16T07:00:00.002-07:00

We have had the lion's share of snow this winter! We've had lots of fun playing in the snow, making snow angels and a large snowman. When I don't want to go outside or when there's no snow or just to celebrate the snow, we sing Once There Was a Snowman.

Once There Was a Snowman
Once there was a snowman snowman snowman
Once there was a snowman tall tall tall

In the sun he melted melted melted
In the sun he melted small small small

Physical Friday: Bean Bag Toss Valentine Special

2009-02-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sammi loves to throw things! I think it came from another episode of the Sesame Street Podcast: Basketball. She shows me how to throw the ball just like in the video. It's so fun.

In keeping with the Valentine's Day theme, since it IS tomorrow, I thought I'd introduce you to a classic game of bean bag toss, Valentine-style. I made these bags (they actually have rice, not beans) out of this cute, soft, pink fabric I found in my stash. Then I found this fun, already-decorated, very pink box and voila, instant Valentine fun!
There are so many variations for throwing the bags into the box. You can see how far your little one can throw. Move the box (or your child) a little each time the bag goes in the box. You can see how high they can throw it and have it land in the box. Try tossing it underhand or overhand. Try standing right next to the box, hold the bag to your nose and drop it in. The box is just a target, something that motivates the action. The bag doesn't really need to land in the box every time. Help your child experiment with throwing the bean bag.

It takes a lot of fine motor skills to open your fingers to let go, especially when your arm is already moving. Children need to practice letting go just like they need to practice picking things up. Both help develop muscle control in the fingers which is essential for using utensils or writing.

Find as much pink or red as you can today to turn everyday play into Valentine's Day play! If you are not finding a lot of already-pink things, cut out some pink hearts and decorate a box or bucket so it becomes a special Valentine's Day toy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thinking Thursday: Nesting Hearts Valentine Special

2009-02-12T07:00:00.002-07:00

Nesting hearts are a great way to talk about size with your little one. You can use different size cookie cutters or cut out the different sized hearts and talk about which ones are big which ones are small. You can even compare and ask you child to find the bigger heart or the smaller heart.

Toddlers are just beginning to classify objects, meaning they can separate one type object from another but only based on one difference between the two categories (dinosaur toys versus car toys). Their understanding of size and color, though, are still quite limited. It's fun to talk about color and size with little ones, but they may not be ready to permanently know that information. Toddler minds are bursting with so much new information everyday that it takes a very long time to sort out all that information and make sense of it. That's the job of toddlerhood! For that reason, it's good to plant the seeds of what they need to know (everything!) and wait for those seeds to take root and grow. While we're waiting, we keep playing the same games again and again.

Back to the hearts! These fun hearts can also be turned into Valentine's Day decorations. Layer the hearts from biggest to smallest and glue them together. You can further decorate them with ribbon, glitter, cardboard cutouts, anything you have on hand. To give some depth I used foam squares. Then I attached string and/or ribbon to hang them up with. You could also use yarn. I hung them between the kitchen and living room where the ceiling drops down.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Musical Monday Tuesday: Valentine Special

2009-02-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Tony Chestnut (Toe Knee Chest Nut) is a cute song that helps you say I love you to your little one!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Musical Monday: Goin' On A Bear Hunt

2009-02-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

This is the perfect song to encourage pretend play. In Going on a Bear Hunt children envision the path you lay out for them. They pretend to swish through a field of grass, swim through a river, climb a tree or mountain, and enter a cave where they find a BEAR!

In the initial stages of pretend play children benefit from incorporating as much reality into their play as possible. Sammi loved to change diapers. Initially she insisted on using actual diapers and wipe on her babies. We went through a lot of diapers and wipes. One afternoon I counted 15 rolled diapers on the floor that she had used on her baby! Slowly she transitioned into using pretend wipes and finally pretend diapers.

The same principle applies here with Going on a Bear Hunt. You lead the adventure and model the actions that accompany each part of the song. Your child then sees a slice of the reality and is able to envision the pretend adventure of hunting for bears.

Going on a Bear Hunt
We're going on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one
But we're not scared!
Oh no, a large field of grass.
We can't go over it
We can't go under it
We'll have to go through it
Swish swish swish

We're going on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one
But we're not scared!
Oh no, a river.
We can't go under it
We can't go around it
We'll have to swim through it
Swim swim swim

We're going on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one
But we're not scared!
Oh no, a tree (or mountain)
We can't go around it
We can't go through it
We'll have to climb up it
Climb climb climb
Down down down

We're going on a bear hunt
We're gonna catch a big one
But we're not scared!
Oh no, a cave.
We can't go over it
We can't go under it
We'll have to go in it
Tiptoe tiptoe

I see a shiny nose and two eyes
It's a bear!
Run out of the cave
Run run run
Climb up the tree (mountain)
Climb down the tree (mountain)
Run run run
Swim through the river
Run run run
Run through the grass
Run run run
Open the door
Shut the door
Run upstairs and
Jump in bed
We're safe!

We received this adorable board book for Christmas that tells the story of a family going on a bear hunt and making it safely home. I love the illustrations and the additional verses.

Physical Friday: Binoculars

2009-02-06T07:00:00.003-07:00

Today we continue this week's short series on pretend play.
This project is fun and addresses physical development on two different levels! First, the fine motor skills needed to decorate the binoculars and second the ability to look through the binoculars to the world beyond. These binoculars are perfect for toddlers because the size just perfectly matches the distance between their eyes.

Making Binoculars
Materials Needed:

toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls cut down
decorative paper
decorative details (pom poms, glitter, feathers, foam shapes, buttons, brads, stickers, anything you already have on hand)
glue
fat paintbrush
glue dots

Directions:

Cut the decorative paper into rectangles measuring about 4.5" by 6" (some rolls were shorter)
Pour glue onto a plate and add a small amount of water; mix together using a fat paintbrush
Paint glue onto backside of decorative paper; affix to roll
Attach two rolls together using glue dots or another type of instant adhesive
Cut strip of decorative paper about 2" by 11" (measure around both rolls to make sure strip is long enough)
Wrap strip around both rolls and secure ends with glue or tape
Decorate binoculars with pom poms, glitter, feathers, foam shapes, buttons, brads, stickers, or anything you already have on hand

Once binoculars are dry (or at least mostly dry) go out and explore the world! Look through your binoculars and describe what you see. Ask your child to do the same. You can pretend you are in the jungle and describe the trees and animals you might see there. Or you can be at the zoo or in the ocean. Let the binoculars transport you to a different place or even a new world!

With very young children (less than 18 months) it's difficult for them to see through the binoculars. They get hung up on looking at the binoculars. Practice by putting your eye at one end and holding it up to their eye and talk about seeing the other eye. Gradually move away from the end and help your child to see your face. Once they "get" it, the binoculars are a new way to look at the world!

Thinking Thursday: Dress Up

2009-02-05T07:00:00.003-07:00

Sammi is in the throes of pretend play. She loves to imagine we are riding her tricycle to California, or that we are going grocery shopping, or, her all-time favorite, that she is changing baby diapers (for hours on end!)

Today is kicking off a short series on pretend play. I'm positive we will have more weeks focused entirely on pretend play, so this is just the beginning.

Pretend play takes a lot of imagination. We can encourage that imagination by offering some physical items to spark our children's creativity. We have a dress-up box. It started out as a few items randomly scattered throughout Sammi's toys. One day I decided to formalize the dress-up box. As I wandered around gathering items I was surprised by how much we actually had. I was so excited to put it all in one place and introduce Sammi to it. She was about 18 months when I first played dress-up with her. She loved the hats but wasn't really interested in the rest. Every week or so I'd pull it out and introduce her to something new. It took a while, but one day I opened the lid and she went to town! She didn't wait for me to pull anything out. She dove right in and brought items to me to put on her.

Here are some suggestions for a Dress Up Box:

hats
purses
necklaces/bracelets
cowboy boots
capes
belts
tutus
scarves
bandanas
costumes

Something interesting I learned about pretend play is that there are two styles of pretend play: patterners and dramatists. Patterners pay more attention to the properties of objects, shape and form. Dramatists are more focused on storytelling, imagination and social interactions. When given the exact set of objects and told to group like objects together, patterners will put people together, animals together and blocks together. Dramatists, on the other hand, will group ones together that make a story.

Both styles are pretend play and a natural part of the way children discover the world around them. Sammi is definitely a dramatist! She is a storyteller extraordinaire. It is so fun to see her sit all her babies down and read them a book and have them sing songs with her. What style of pretend play do you have at your house?

Tuesday Review: Band in a Box

2009-02-03T07:00:00.003-07:00

This is, by far, my favorite set of musical instruments for young children. We were given this band in a box as a gift. I have loved every minute of owning this set!

Melissa & Doug produce top-notch quality products. The Band in a Box is made of wood and painted in bright colors. There are 6 different instruments each the perfect size and shape for toddler hands to hold and manipulate. The set includes a tambourine, a clacker, a triangle, mini-cymbals, maracas, and tone blocks.

Sammi loves the clacker, the cymbals and the maracas. She wants to love the triangle, but has a hard time getting a good ring out of it. Probably the least used instrument is the tone block. It's not as intuitive or loud as the others. We turn on some upbeat, catchy music, choose an instrument and march around the room. It's a great way to burn some energy and learn about rhythm.

I had been looking for quite some time for a set of instruments. I am so pleased with our Melissa & Doug Band in a Box.

Musical Monday: Find A Drum

2009-02-02T07:00:00.002-07:00

Hopefully you've found Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb over the weekend and already enjoyed reading it with your drums from Friday. Today we'll talk about some other ways to use drums to encourage your child's rhythmic development.

I noticed the other day that my little Elli had discovered her belly's potential for use as a drum. She has moved from randomly flailing her arms to more purposeful swinging which usually lands her hands on her belly with a loud, echo-y thump. She wiggles with excitement and swings her arms again.

From that stage children learn they can bang on something other than their bodies and create different sounds. If you don't have formal drums, many household items work great: plastic or metal bowls turned upside down, boxes, or empty food canisters (oatmeal or coffee). Children can use their hands or other instruments such as wooden spoons or plastic utensils.

Letting your child explore the different sounds made by different combinations of drum and drum sticks allows them to learn more about cause and effect as well as the properties of different materials.

Now for the drumming! A strong beat is the basis for most songs. The ability to identify the beat and then keep it could be considered the basis of rhythmic development! Turn on some energetic music and start drumming to the beat. Invite your child to join you (though I'm sure they won't need much invitation.) Try to follow the volume of the song. Beat louder during loud parts and quieter during quiet parts. Switch up the style of song for a variety of beats.

To get you started, our favorite song to drum to is Mahna Mahna by Cake on For the Kids