Tuesday, September 18th - "Bathtime Teacher" - I don't know if it is just the teacher in me (my degree/certification is in elementary ed,) but I find myself frequently looking for a teaching opportunity with Colton. If it has been a busy day without much one-on-one time with the kiddo, I try to squeeze some teaching moments into bathtime or bedtime. Today was a busy day, and so besides our usual walk, I did not have a chance to do an activity until bathtime. I got out some bath foam numbers and letters someone gave us when Colton was born. They stick to the walls of the tub, and although Colton has played with these same toys for months, the playing has evolved. Sometimes I sing the "ABC" song to him while we play, and sometimes we just stack letters and numbers on the side of the tub. Sometimes, I show him a letter, tell him the name of the letter, and then sing a little song I learned from our leapfrog refrigerator toy that helps teach the kids their letters. You put a certain letter magnet on the toy, and it sings a little song. For example, "A says _, and A says _ (the two sounds that the letter "a" make). Every letter makes a sound, and A says _ and _". OK...that looks and sounds really confusing. Basically you familiarize your toddler with the letters by letting them know both the name of the letter and the way you sound out that letter, in song form, of course. Many toddlers love music and learn alot through music. So, with Colton I would sing the letter song, and then ask him to make the letter sounds and copy me. He does really well with it! It's amazing to think that our kids are sponges at this age, with so much capacity to learn!
Wednesday, September 19th - "Footloose" - Colton loves to dance, and so I try to turn on music for a few minutes whenever possible to give him the opportunity to "bust some moves". He usually does a sort of "squat bop", which maybe implies he has watched me do too many workout videos! Sometimes, he twirls, holding out one arm and following it around in circles. It is adorable! One day, I was babysitting Colton's little friend, who is a few months older than him. I played some music, and Colton quickly began twirling. I couldn't help laughing - too bad I didn't get a video of it to embarrass him later on! (JK) Anyway, I turned on some music today and let him choose the station (he kept saying "no", until we found one he liked). Then, he and I both danced, and I made sure to get down on his level and be as silly as possible. Well, that naturally gave him the giggles, seeing mom be silly. We both ended up tired and giggling on the floor. I think one definition of success as a mom could be to make your child laugh. It is fabulous.
*Thursday, September 20th - "A Little Bit of Water Goes a Long Way" - I can't take credit for this activity, I have a teacher friend who came up with it, but it was so entertaining for Colton that I had to star this activity! Basically, all you need for this activity is a few measuring cups and spoons, and a little bit of water in one of the cups. You put your toddler in his/her booster seat, and let him/her go to town playing with the water! I like to first show him possible ways to move the water from one container to another, and then let him try. Honestly, I have been able to fix an entire meal while Colton plays with water like this. What a genius idea! Remind me to thank my friend for reminding me how entertained toddlers are by the simplest things. Here is a pic of Colton, concentrating on his cups of water.
Friday, September 21st - "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" - Have you ever seen that movie? Classic. Anyway, many toddler boys tend to be drawn toward anything with wheels, and it amazes me how they come up with the correct sounds for them as well! So, Colton has a wooden train track with a small magnetic train (Ikea - $10), and he is having a lot of fun with it. He still is too young for it to hold his attention long, but when we put other toys on the track or make additional roads for the train to go on out of blocks, he really gets into playing with the train more. Today, another busy day, Colton and I just played with the train for a few minutes.
Saturday, September 22nd - "Flashlight Scavenger Hunt" - Flexible, flexible, flexible. That is so key to parenting a toddler, as I am reminded frequently. The goal for this activity was to turn flashlights and key chain LED lights with the lights out, and make fun hand signs for Colton. Well, that lasted a whopping minute, so I changed plans. Instead, I gave Colton a light, we turned off most lights in the apartment, and then we went on a scavenger hunt to find items that Colton is familiar with. I really liked this game, and so did Colton. I have tried to play hide-and-seek and find-the-toy games with him before, and I had much more success with this flashlight game. We will definitely play this one again!
Last, but not least, I used Colton's large stuffed monkey to sing nursery rhymes and play peekaboo with him this week. Never underestimate the power of a stuffed animal or puppet in teaching your toddler or calming them down! I need to try using Louie to "tease" Colton out of tantrum! Anyway, I taught in a HeadStart preschool classroom for a year, and we had young boy there who was very aggressive - he responded soo well to my using a puppet to talk to him and calm him down. It was wonderful! Here is a picture of Colton and his buddy, "Ewie", as he calls him.
These are great ideas! I think we were on a similar wavelength because I have been feeling like I want to come up with a structured activity every day for the lag time in the afternoon when I don't know what to do with the girl - especially since winter is on it's way. I'm going to try these and maybe I can send you some things I come up with too if you want.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Jill