Since I officially started my new activity routine with Colton this past Thursday, I need to write about how my activities have gone these past few days.
- "The Four-Chair Fort" - Thursday, September 13th - I built a fort for Colton using four chairs, backs facing in, and a few large blankets. I threw some comfy pillows inside, and Colton loved lining up his stuffed animals for storytime. This is where read stories before naptime.
- "Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall", "Blanket Ball", and "Magic Carpet Ride" - Friday, September 14th - Colton and I made faces at the bathroom mirror after bathtime, and I let him hold my small, makeup mirror during diaper changes. He often does not like diaper changes, but he cooperated well while playing with the mirror. Also, we went with some friends to a nearby park, and Colton was able to play on the playground. I would say that getting out of the house in the morning to take a walk or go to the park is key for us in our home. Then, I made a little game that I call "Blanket Ball". I take a blanket, tuck one edge into a dresser drawer, and shut the drawer. I hold onto the other edge of the blanket, throw a soft ball onto the blanket, and shake the blanket up and down to bounce the ball off of it. Colton thought this was hilarious, and he loved running to retrieve the ball and throw it back on the blanket. We also tried this game using other soft toys instead of the ball. Finally, I used a blanket to take Colton for a magic carpet ride around the house (he sat or laid on the blanket and I pulled him around the apartment). I think that he could have played this game all day - he loved it when I twisted the blanket back and forth in a zig-zag pattern and made him bounce as we went. Also, he had a great opportunity to balance when he sat up and tried to hold onto the blanket. Finally, this was a good arm workout for me, and although I love to work out, I find that I usually have to sneak exercise in where I can. All in all, it was a busy but fun day!
- "Key Hole Practice" - Saturday, September 15th - Okay, so I realize the title of this game may freak out some mothers. Why in the world would I want my child to know how to unlock a door? That is a good point, so let me explain my reasoning behind this game. Colton loves keys... real keys, that is. He doesn't get too excited about playing with his plastic keys anymore, now that he has discovered how cool real keys are. Well, I am all about tailoring fun to my child's specific interests, but I am also less than thrilled about Colton playing with my keys. My solution: take an empty box, draw doorknobs on it, and cut "keyholes" in them that are large enough for Colton's plastic keys to fit into. Then, let him go to town with his plastic keys, practicing on some fake door knobs instead of keying other surfaces in the home. The result: he liked it for a few minutes, but then he went looking for real keys to put in the holes. Oh well - I tried!
- "Scribble Service" and "Mom's Mag Time" - Sunday, September 16th - For today, I had Colton color (or scribble) on some paper with colored pencils (crayons are much easier for him to use, but we lost ours). Then, I wrote a little "get well" note on the drawing, and we are going to take it to a neighbor of ours who recently had surgery and loves having Colton visit. This activity makes me happy, because not only is Colton developing his fine motor skills through drawing, but he also gets to help make someone else happy today. Also, just a note that I do color with Colton during this activity, and I draw lines every once in awhile and try to get him to copy me. This "copying lines" is a skill listed on my son's eighteen-month-old pediatric survey, so I figure it didn't hurt to practice it sometimes. Finally, I was thinking that these "scribble notes" can be given to a toddler's babysitter, church leaders, etc. I will definitely have to do this activity with him again! So, for my other activity. During "wind-down time" today before Colton's nap, I got sick of reading children's books. I needed to wind down too, and so I decided to skim my "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine with Colton. It's innocent, colorful, has pictures of animals in it, so I thought it might hold his attention. Surprisingly, it did. We talked about the animals, food, and other items we found in the magazine together. It was a quick "read", but it was nice to have Colton enjoy something I enjoy and learn at the same time.
That's all for now! More to come soon, and I'll be posting some pictures as well.
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