Halloween Activity Bins

I wanted to give "Baby" O some Halloween activities, but finding things for a 1 year old can be a little tough.  Then I thought back to when I create her sensory bowl, which she stills plays with.  I looked through my Halloween bin from when I taught Pre-K and found lots of things that I could use in one way or another. 

This is the main idea of what items I used to create fun, entertaining and educational activities for"Baby" O.

First, I added a 2 sets of Halloween cups.  We stack them and knock them down, put items into the cup and nest the cups.

The second activity was a pumpkin basket filled with spiders and a scoop.  We scoop the spiders, put them into the cups or the basket, count them and so on.

Of course "Baby" O is never without books.  We have both board books (pictured) and what we call "Mommy's Books" which are paper back and she is not aloud to play with yet since she has ripped a few already.  She loves to just sit and look at the books and sometimes reads them to us.

Another activity was a little felt basket filled with cookie cutters in Halloween shapes.  We talk aboutthe different shapes, sort them, stack them, make patterns and so on.

This activity was another pumpkin basket filled with mini stuffed pumpkins.  The pumpkins are 2 different sizes so we sort them by size, make patterns, stack or attempt to stack them, throw them into the basket and so on.

There is not much, but this is the start of our Halloween dress up stuff. We will have to add to this activity over the years.

This is just a large furry spider that we play with.  It's legs are bendable so we create different positions for him.

Our last activity is Halloween stuffed animals.  We don't do much with these as far as sorting or anything, but we make them talk and dance.

"Baby" O has enjoyed all of her Halloween activities.  Sometimes I let her choose which she wants to play with or I give her a single basket for more quiet individual play.  Something that I did not take a picture of are her musical balloons.  I filled orange balloons with things such as beads, rice, pasta and so on.  After I blew them up I drew faces of them to make jack-o-lanterns and strung them up with green ribbon.  When she hits them they make different noises and she has a blast with these. 

With Halloween here in just a few days I need to come up with some fall/Thanksgiving activities for "Baby" O.  I gave away a bunch of items for Thanksgiving last year that I am know wishing I didn't because she could play with them, but oh well.  We can just start from scratch. 

Happy Halloween!! 

Introducing Colors to Young Toddlers

Well "Baby" O is a litle over a year now and even more interested in everything than before.  I know that she is young, but I want to begin working on colors with her.  I think that I am going to spend about a week or two on each color.  I'm not going to do any crazy colors right now like turquoise or magenta, but instead start with the basic red, blue, yellow and more on to still basic colors from there.

 Choosing the colors was the easy part, but deciding what activities is a little bit harder.  Some of the simpler activities that I am thinking about doing are:

- jello jigglers in the color we are talking about

- wearing a piece of clothing in the color

- playing with that color Playdough

- playing 'hide & seek' with some beanbags of the color

- sorting items of that color such as our ball pit balls 

 

I am going to try being ambitious with some activities.  I know that they might not work or may need a lot of assistance from me, but we are going to give it a try.  These possibly harder activities are:

 - ripping paper of the color

- putting stickers of the color onto paper ("Baby" O loves stickers)

- finger painting

- decorating colored paper shirts

- something with pom-poms

- something with paint swatches

 

I know some or all of these items may not work, but we can at least try.  When the time comes for me to begin my color weeks I will post about all of the exact individual that we try.  I am going to continue looking for new activities and ideas are always welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sensory Bowl for Babies

I have seen so many great ideas for sensory bins which of course I am going to do, but Baby O is still a little too young since they usually contain small parts.  Lately she has been really studying items - how they feel, look and yes, taste.  Because of this curiosity I decided that I wanted to make a baby friendly sensory bin.  While at Target I looked through the dollar bin for items with various textures and shapes.  I noticed after a few items that I kept grabbing pink so I decided to make everything in this bin have at least some pink.  I usually try not to make things gender specific, but I guess one all pink thing is ok.  Anyway, I ended up getting a bowl from the dollar bin as well.  When I got home I took the tags off of everything and took any safety precautions needed for any items.  Everything in the bowl looked so cute and I was excited to let Baby O try it out.

In her sensory bowl I included a foam drink cozie (did I spell that correctly?), flower loufa, bumpy squishy ball, microfiber towel, long cotton polka dot fabric ribbon, slinky (the ends are clipped down so no worries about being poked), plastic/rubber necklace, compact flower mirror which I kept open, curled ribbon attachment for presents (I took the tags used to attach it off and then put masking tape over the staple).

 I later added a few of the balls from Baby O's ball pit.  They were red not pink, but close enough.  The balls allow for even more opportunities to learn and explore.  She can put all the balls (we can take more from the ball pit if needed) into the bowl.  Baby O can also put 1-2 balls in the cozie and then dump them out.

While playing with the items I realized that Baby O can beat on the upside down bowl like a drum.  She also put the bowl on her head like a hat.  I was actually surprised at how much Baby O seemed to like her sensory bowl and the items in it.  She played for quite some time and we got it out a few times during the evening.

Everything in Baby O's sensory is either items from the dollar bin at Target or things that we already had at home.  So for $10 we have multiple items that she can explore and occupy her attention for some time.  As I find other items I will add to her sensory bowl and eventually make it a bin for all of the additional items.  I would definitely recommend creating something like this if you have a baby.  It is fun and educational for them, plus all of the items can grow with them to be used separately.

Product Review - Mama May i

I have gotten Baby O  some toys, both handmade and store bought, that I feel are top toys.  Since these toys are so awesome I decided to do some product reviews about the toys we have and ones that I am planning for the future.

The first toys come from the Etsy shop Mama May i.  I wanted to fill Baby O's Easter basket with good educational toys that would help her to explore and work on fine motor skills.  I came across this shop on Etsy one day.  After spending at least a week deciding what I might want to get her, I contacted the creator Jessica to inquire about a custom order.  I knew what I wanted, but wanted them in rainbow colors.  The colors would be great to get an early start of the 6 main colors and they would be unisex so if the next baby is a boy he could use them too.  Jessica was very helpful and friendly.  She gave detailed response to me messages and was very honest about any time issues.  I ended up purchasing 4 items from her and could not have been happier.  They arrived very quickly and are well made.

The Tiny Tickler was one of the first items I wanted to get.  Baby O loves to laugh and pretty much anything will make her laugh so this item was a must.  We had her cracking up on Easter in front of everyone just brushing this over parts of her body.  I still use it on her - before and after a bath, diaper changes and anytime she gets dressed.

The Grab it Gadget was the first item I wanted.  I thought it would be a nice toy to have, especially for in the car.  WIth Baby O about to start teething, the think fabric seemed like a nice alternative to chew on.  There is usually only 5 "tabs", but Jessica made one for me with 6 "tabs" - one for each color.  It is so well made and a nice size too.  I absolutely love this toy!

The third item I got was a major custom order.  I always look through people's feedback on Etsy.  This is not only to see what reviews the items I want got, but also to see items that the seller used to have.  I found the Sound Gizmo is the feedback section, it was not even an item for sell in her shop.  Jessica was so awesome and made one for me and again, in my rainbow colors.  Baby O really likes this item, especially the purple and yellow sections.  The purple one makes a rattle sound when hit and the yellow makes a squeak sound like her Sofie (a later review).  This is another great car toy.

The last item I got which was literally the last item I decided to get is the Rainbow Ribbon Lovey.  This item was already in rainbow colors so no custom order needed.  Baby O has been showing a lot of interest in this lately, she really like the Mama May i tag, haha.  The blanket is a really nice size, Baby O is almost 8 months and it can still cover her.  The strip of solid colors is of various textured fabric.  All of the ribbons are different materials as well. 

My experience with Mama May i has been wonderful.  I am planning another order within the next month (another review) and I have gifts picked out for her birthday, Christmas and Easter.  This is a shop worth checking out and the products are well made and a Baby O approved.

The Wet Towel

So my dad, aka Pappy, was off of work yesterday and he wanted some Baby O time.  I dropped her off for a few hours so I could go get some stuff done.  When I got back to their house I fed her carrots for lunch and then after wiping off her hands and face I left the wet towel of the high chair tray.  Baby O was not sure what to do with it at first, but after about a minute or two it became this wonderful and interesting new toy.  She started by feeling it.  By then the water on the towel had become a little cold.

And then of course we had to taste it.

Then since we were tasting it why not go ahead and give it a bite.

Well after feeling and tasting and biting, we had to do some major inspecting of this item.

But the towel was wet and it wasn't until quite a few minutes into playing and exploring this new item that Baby O began to wonder - 'Why is my shirt wet?'

Later that night while we were playing she grabbed a towel out of my hand and began doing all the same things again.  This towel was dry though so I'm thinking it may not have been as fun to play with.

First Zoo Trip!!

So yesterday my husband and I took Baby O to the Pittsburgh Zoo.  Of course we missed all of the fun Earth Day activities they have going on, but it was still enjoyable.  Th first couple of exhibits did not have animals.  We were starting to think if it was worth coming and Baby O seemed to think we were just on a walk.  Then finally when we got to the African Safari area we found animals.  Baby O stared at the water with all the big orange fish for awhile.  I don't know exactly what it is, but she loves water!  Then we went to show her the elephants.  She watched them for a little, but when we posed her to take a picture she found the fish in the water again.

After the elephants we went to the giraffes.  She loves her Sofie toy so we thought for sure that she would like the giraffes.  It was the same as the elephants, she watched the giraffes for a few until she saw the small waterfall.

 So far it seemed like the water features at the exhibits were a bigger hit.  The Rainforest area came next which mommy and daddy were really excited about.  One of the gorillas had a baby not long ago!

How cute is that baby!!  Baby O liked seeing something smaller.  She actually really seemed to like the gorillas in general.  And guess what, no water features!  That meant the gorillas had her full attention.

Next we were off to the bears, but not without stopping to take a short break.  Baby O sat and drank more juice and ate her puffs and melts while daddy got something to drink.  She was surprised by the big peacock walking around the area.  After our little pit stop we got to the bear area.  It looked like we were not going to see any until we got to the last section.  One huge bear was sleeping, but a not so huge bear came out and walked around for us.  We think he was trying to earn his steak, haha.  Baby O liked to watch the bear and again, no water feature.  Coincidence?  I think not!

Now lets recap.  Elephants and giraffes - check!  Gorillas - check!  Snack time - check!  Bears - check!  What's left?  The PPG Aquarium!  Judging from the way Baby O reacted to the earlier water features and fish we were pretty sure she would like this part.  With the little waterfalls out front we were off to a good start. 

Baby O liked watching the fish swim around and even did a little dance for them.  They weren't too big or scary for her.

Ooops, spoke too soon!  This fish was a little too big and scary for her.

Baby O LOVED the manta rays (I think that is what they were).  They would swim in front of her then go and hide and come back again.  It was her own little game of hide and seek.  She also liked their wiggly bodies.  When she saw them wiggle, she began to wiggle too.  When they went away she stopped and when they came wiggling back she wiggled with them.

Next was an area where you could touch a ray is you wanted.  Daddy didn't let Baby O put her hand in the water because of the germs, but she just looked all around and studied everything.

Baby O also enjoyed all of the plants that were around.  There were bright flowers and huge leafs.  Some leafs were bigger then her and of course she had to feel and study them all.

Lastly, we made it to Kids Kingdom!  Baby O got to look at the sea lions, but about 5 minutes in she was out.  The zoo had worn her out as with pretty much every other baby we saw.

The zoo was a fun experience and I'm pretty sure we will be back for round 2 or 3 or 4.  My future little marine biologist or botanist needs more studying!

And so it begins!

Hi! I’m Kelly a semi stay at home mom of a beautiful daughter (Baby O). Through my teaching experiences and my own research, I have realized that the best time to teach children is when they are younger. The younger the better!  Young children are so observant to the world around them.  Everything is new and I love the look of wonder they get.  It seems like Baby O is always discovering something new, even if it is a toy she has played with several times before.  That toy may look different from a new angle or make a sound she didn't know about.  Because I love the look she gets when I just let her explore, I have decided to look into the Montessori method of teaching.  I began researching the Montessori method of teaching and am going to implement so many of its aspects into my daughter's life. Not everyone in my family understands these concepts or thinks they are necessary which is why I am being this blog. I want to share various learning and teaching concepts and ideas that I found to incorporate into her life. I am also planning on including party tips since we have one about every month as well as fun crafts for both you and your children (again most of my family thinks I'm nuts for putting so much thought and effort into such simple things, I love it what can I say). I am trying to supply the best for my family whether that is natural toys, organic and healthy food or just my time and love. So keep in touch and follow me on my journey of creating a healthy, happy and educated family.