I recently did this activity with a group of older two year olds and young three year olds. It really went well so I am recommending it for parents or other adults to try with their children.
Materials:
construction paper (any color); paint (color of your choice, just make sure it will show up on construction paper you choose); cotton balls (1 per child); a paper plate to put paint on
Procedure:
First, you want to decide whether or not you want to do one child at a time or a group of children. I decided to do one child at a time because of their age and they had never done this before. After you decide that, give the child a piece of construction paper. Then, give them the cotton ball and let them dip it in the paint (keep in mind if you provide a lot of paint the child(ren) will take a lot of paint so put just enough for each child). Tell them they can rub the cotton ball across their paper or they can pat or dab their paper, let them decide what their picture will look like. Allow each child a couple of minutes to do their picture, if they keep rubbing their paper where the paint is they are liable to rub a whole in it. After each child has completed their picture have them throw away their cotton ball. Set the pictures aside to allow to dry.
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Who knew once your baby started crawling your world would change once again. Now that my son has started crawling he is going everywhere and is into everything. I pick him up and put him in one place, I turn around and he is completely across the room getting into something. I love watching him crawl though. He has this accomplishment look on his face, like he has finally done something big. I am dealing with his knees turning really red since he crawls mainly on carpet. He has little carpet burns on his knees that I am trying to keep from getting any worse. I hate to keep pants on him all the time because it’s the middle of summer and it’s hot. He doesn’t want pants on and I don’t blame him. I put lotion and creams on him everyday and that has seemed to work a little. I put a blanket down to try to help but now he crawls right off of it. If I go in another room you can bet he’s coming right behind me just as quick as he can.
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This activity is great for summer because for those that take a vacation to the beach, you can use some of that sand you brought back with you.
Materials:
regular sand colored with dry tempera; salt shaker or some other type of shaker; thin paste; a brush to spread the paste; paper ( any kind will work)
Procedure:
Spread paste over paper and shake colored sand onto paper.
With this activity wherever the paste is the sand will stick to it and create a beautiful picture once it has dried. After the child has finished shaking the sand onto the paper leave it lying on a flat surface for at least 24 hours to make sure the sand will stick and it has time to dry. When you pick the picture up some excess sand will probably fall off so be aware of that. I hope your children enjoy this activity.
As stated in a previous post when I tried to give my son the rice cereal at four months old it made him very sick. Well, last week I tried him on stage 2 baby food, which most of those are some combination of vegetables and/or meats. I fed him a mixed vegetable with ham, which he liked a lot and ate almost the whole jar. I fed it to him around late afternoon.
Before I fed him I looked at the ingredients and it contained rice flour. I decided to go ahead and try it since it has been a couple of months since the whole rice cereal incidents. He did perfectly fine that evening. He played as usual and took a little nap. He didn’t show any signs of the baby food making him sick. I figured if I past the two hour mark after eating he would be fine and wouldn’t get sick. Well three or four hours had past and he was well. I gave him a bottle that night around 8:00 or so before I got ready to put him down for the night. I was thinking to myself, well maybe it was something in the rice cereal, like the soy, that was making him sick before and not the actual rice itself.
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Most all children love to play with water in type fashion. One way for them to be “playing” with water but also learning about colors is with this eye dropper activity. I would only do this activity with two or three children at a time just so you can watch them and also help them if they need assistance. Read more …
This is a good activity to do in a classroom setting or even with your child at home. It has a science component but your young child will probably not understand this to it’s fullest just yet. They will just think this is fun and cool, for now.
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This activity can be done with 3 year olds or older. An adult needs to supervise just so they can make sure the children are using the straws correctly. This supports fine motor skills by having to hold the straw. Children think this activity is a lot of fun. One child can do this activity or a group of children. I recommend if you try to do this with a group of children to use a long piece of butcher paper or something like it. This gives each child plenty of space to work with.
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IF there ever comes a time when you feel like you are at the end of your rope with your child(ren), there is now a place to turn for help. The Parenting Assistance Line, (PAL) was created to help parents in troubled situations or for parents who just need advice. It was developed on the University of Alabama Campus at the Child Development Resource center. They have parenting resource specialists who are there to serve you. For more information on PAL check out there website at (www.pal.ua.edu) ,or you can give them a call at 1-866-962-3030.
You know when your baby is first born you hold them and look at them and are just in “aw” of them. That doesn’t change as they grow older. I still find myself just staring at my son being in “aw” of him at six months old. As they begin to grow, as a mom, you notice the slightest change. It’s amazing to watch them and just wonder what are they thinking. They look so intently at objects, absorbing all information possible, and their eyes tell a story.
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When a baby is first born you think all they do is eat, sleep, and dirty their diaper. Well, that may be true but it is very important to interact with your baby during this time. You and your baby are forming an attachment which is a big deal in their growth and development. They need to feel that security from the start so they will form a secure attachment with you. Even though your little one is only a few days old you can still, in the short spurts of awake time, interact with them. Of course, one of those things is feeding your baby, but not counting the necessities you still have options such as, singing to your baby (maybe you did this while you were pregnant), reading to your baby (they may not understand the words you are saying, but they are learning the sound of your voice), rock your baby and talk to him/her, and cuddle with your baby.
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