Archive for August 2009
Naptime Creation
I never get tired of butterflies, they are beautiful and fascinating and a great tool to learn about life cycles. This craft came about because I was using this pasta to make dinner last night . Dinner was a hit and I love how this turned out too.You could absolutely do this with younger children I would simply dye the pasta first, and either draw a branch or just skip the branch all together and make a butterfly only 3D collage!
- Gather your materials. You will need 3 pieces of construction paper ( blue, brown and green) large scrap pieces would be great for the brown and green. You will also need bow tie pasta, markers and glue.
- Start by ripping your brown paper to make a branch. Lay it out on the blue paper before you glue it down.Glue it down.
- Rip your green paper into little leaves.
Glue on. 
- Color your pasta with the markers.
I like the challenge of drawing on something so tiny, it’s a great fine motor builder. That said if this is too frustrating dye the pasta before hand or simply leave them plain.
- Add glue to your branch.
- Add your pasta
- Add your antennae with a marker. Let dry.
Posted in Age 3-5 years, Age 5 and older, Bugs, Butterfly, Naptime Creations, Pasta Collages | 
12 Comments »
12 Comments »
Box Hospital !
Learning about what doctors do, what a hospital is and all the reasons why we go see doctors or visit the hospital is best introduced when a child is not ill. Using pretend and role play to learn more about these anxious topics parents can minimize the fear when a child has a check up or is sick. We played doctor a lot before my son had to go for a long visit to the pediatric cardiologist last December, and it was smooth sailing! But even that fairly minor visit left a lasting impression, over 6 months later my son still talks about it. Yesterday we built on that experience by making our own box hospital !
Pretend Play!
It’s all the rage in our house right now. Take a few dolls and have your little doctor give them a check up. I was amazed at how well my son knew the routine procedures, considering he’s normally fidgeting on my lap when he is the patient. Have fun and take times like these to ask questions and calm fears.
“How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon” by Jane Yolen is another favorite. I like the whole series and think this book is a great one to read before doctor appointments especially if you have a child like mine who is never happy to go! I love the details in Mark Teague’s illustrations and never tire of reading this book, even when my son grabs it again and again.
- Gather your materials. You will need a large box, some black, read and white construction paper, scissors, red glitter paint, white paint, a large sponge, and glue.
- Start by cutting the box so that you have one open side. Cut a door or two into it. We made 2 one for the emergency ward and one for the main doors.
- Grab the white paint and sponge and start painting. Do not expect toddlers to stick around to paint the whole thing, encourage yes but don’t force. My son did one side , took a break while I did the others and joined me for the last.
- While the white paint dries write out the word hospital and emergency in uppercase letters. I did this on the cardboard I cut from the box. BAD choice, the cardboard was too think and I have a blister from cutting the letters out. Learn from my oops and use plain construction paper.
- Add red glitter glue and spread it to cover the letters.
- Make some crosses and do the same.
- Cut out some dark colored windows in squares and rectangles.
- Make a helipad if you wish – it was a must for out medical helicopter!
- When the white paint is dry, add glue for the helipad.
- Add the helipad.
- Add the windows and the Emergency ward sign.
- When the glitter is dry cut out the letters for the hospital sign and crosses.
- Add your sign and crosses. Let dry.
- Grab some ambulances and get to playing!
Pretend Play!
It’s all the rage in our house right now. Take a few dolls and have your little doctor give them a check up. I was amazed at how well my son knew the routine procedures, considering he’s normally fidgeting on my lap when he is the patient. Have fun and take times like these to ask questions and calm fears.
Books
“Harry Goes to The Hospital” by Howard J. Bennett MD is a wonderfully informative book. It’s long , I read each page but skipped some of the text while reading it to my 2 year old. Of all the what to expect when you are going to the hospital books I’ve read I think this is the best. What makes me say that is that Harry goes into the ER for dehydration after throwing up, which is a very common reason. He gets and IV , some tests but nothing else is wrong with him. It goes into great detail about everything and is really geared towards 4-5 year olds. Still the pictures and info can easily be used with younger kids.
” When Vera Was Sick” by Vera Rosenberry is a look at the day to day reality of a little girl with the chicken pox. Unlike the previous book this one doesn’t deal with a hospital , just with what to expect when you are sick at home. Trying not to scratch, feeling exhausted but wanting to play and the boredom. My son loved this book, especially the fact Vera was in her PJs for the majority of the book. I like how realistic it is , yet it manages to be interesting and sweet as well.
“How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon” by Jane Yolen is another favorite. I like the whole series and think this book is a great one to read before doctor appointments especially if you have a child like mine who is never happy to go! I love the details in Mark Teague’s illustrations and never tire of reading this book, even when my son grabs it again and again.Puffy Paint Cookies!
We made this puffy paint moon a few months ago and I had a reader email me to tell me that she used the recipe for making cookies. I thought it was an amazing idea and couldn’t wait to do it. When my son’s god parents sent me home from Chicago with this awesome shape cookie set I knew it was time . We made the craft, played bakery and read the story for a true cookie themed day.
Shape Sorting Bakery
Book!
- Gather your materials. You will need some white glue , plain shaving cream, brown paint, a spoon, a bowl, a paper plate, some brown paper, and a circle paper punch or scissors.
- Start by mixing your puffy paint. Put 3/4 cup of shaving cream and 1/4 cup of white glue into a bowl and mix. I let my son explore freely with it. A little too freely- ours ended up on the walls. It washes off easily.
- Add in some brown paint. There is a spoon in there, it’s just under a lot of shaving cream.
- Mix well.
- Glop it on the paper plate, taking your time to feel it in all it’s goopiness.
- While your child is playing / painting the plate cut out some “chocolate chips” from the paper.
- Add them to the cookie, no need for extra glue.
- Let dry.
Shape Sorting Bakery
- Gather your materials. You will need a table or low surface, a tray or pillow case, some play money and a set of cookie shapes. We are using a toy set of cookies but tracing cookie cutter shapes and cutting them out would be an easy alternative.
- Play! I had my son sort the cookies first, then we set the prices and with the play money I bought cookies. We had so much fun our bakery is still set up in the playroom.
Book!
“Mr. Cookie Baker” by Monica Wellington was an instant hit at our house. The book is about who else, Mr. Cookie Baker and it shows the reader how he makes cookies from scratch, ices them and sells them. It’s a great book to explain baking and bakeries. My son loves the part where Mr. Cookie Baker eats a cookie after a long hard day and then says goodnight. I like the illustrations, they are bold and detailed without being cluttered and can almost tell the story all by themselves. Be warned though reading this will almost definitely make you crave a cookie or two.
Posted in Age 2-3 years, Age 3-5 years, Age Under 2 years, Cookies, Crafts, Pretend Play, Puffy Paint | 18 Comments »
18 Comments »
Envelope E !
We are nearing the end of our letter of the week for uppercase letters, soon we will embark on the little guys of the alphabet to mix things up and keep building on the learning we’ve already done. Before we do that though here is another E project. This letter of the week turned out to be way cuter than I expected and my son really enjoyed the addition of letters to put inside the envelopes.
- Gather your materials. You will need 4 letter sized envelopes, a large sheet of construction paper, some scrap paper in different colors, a paper punch or scissor, markers and glue.
- Start by coloring your envelopes. I took the opportunity to ask my son what we put in envelopes, we talked about the post office too.
- While he was coloring or rather picking out which markers to use ( this took longer than coloring did) I cut out some circles and added the letters onto them.
- Next add your glue.
I added it so that my son could see he letter. Normally I draw out the letter as the first step but there was no need today, so instead I snuck it in here. - Pop the envelopes on the glue.
- Add your letters.
This was by far my son’s favorite part. He was in a goofy mood this morning and kept saying ” Hello baby e, you go right here with your mama”as he popped the letters in. To make it more challenging for more advanced children you could put all different letters on the circles and have the child sort out only the letter e. Let dry.
Alphabet Books
Here are some of our favorite alphabet books from previous posts.
“Alphabet Soup: A Feast of Letters” by Scott Gustafson is a treat! I read a lot of alphabet books and this one stands out for so many reasons. Otter is hosting a potluck and his animal friends are all bringing something to share. Each page is devoted to an animal with a coordinating food item and more. This book is reminiscent of Graham Base’s Animalia but mush more toddler friendly. Where Animalia is great for older children because it’s so full of detail, this book brings it down a notch but still enchants you with stunning illustrations and fantastic coordinating text.
” T is for Touchdown : A Football Alphabet” by Brad Herzog is a beautiful book that will delight even those of us who are never happy to see football season start. I admit even being an anti fan this book was fun and really full of information that even a football scrooge like myself can appreciate. Also it’s easy to read simply the letters and look at the pictures for little ones and has genuinely interesting blurbs for each page for older children.
” Alphabet City” by Stephen T. Johnson is a fascinating take on an alphabet book. The alphabet is found in different places in the city, like a fire escape, and the rose window of a church. Children love trying to find the letters and adults will too! The most amazing part of this book is that the pictures are actually illustrations, they look crisp and clear like photographs but aren’t. Awesome , Amazing and definitely worth checking out!
“Chicka Chicka abc“ by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is a favorite. A lot of parents are familiar with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom but not this shorter board book version that is perfect for young toddlers . I started my son with this one and moved on to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom at about 2. The colors are so bright even the youngest of babies will like it and the rhythm of the text will keep toddlers going too!The Spotlight is on…
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