Right now grandparents are one of JDaniel’s favorite things. He recently went to visit his GranDan and Nana. Today when he went for his 18 month check-up, he saw an older couple that looked similar to them in the parking lot. He pointed them out and said, “Nana! GranDan!” It is amazing that he associated them with his grandparents. Later in the day we stopped in to see my mom and he gave her a huge hug when we left. I am so thankful that he has all four grandparents living.
Crayola 3-D Sidewalk Chalk Winner!
The winner of the Crayola 3-D Sidewalk Chalk is AngelaR. You will receive an e-mail from me today informing you of your win.
Art Creation Sites- Links 4 Moms
National Gallery of Art- NGA Kids Art Zone
This is a wonderful website for children to explore creating art. I tried the Swatchbox which is a drawing program. Then I went to the 3-D Twirler it allowed me to move the object around, resize it and change its color. The final area I looked at was the Collage Machine. I felt very Matisse as I added elements and moved them around. This site is definitely for school age children.
Something Special
This is a painting activity that lets children illustrate what is happening in a story. The paint tools are a little tricky so, I would practice on my own before having my three to five year old do it.
How to Donate to Charity- Great Tip for Bloggers from Mariann Johansen-Ellis
http://www.hotelscombined.com/Charity.aspx very kindly donate to your charity of choice if you mention their link on your blog…… so let’s all go ahead and do that……
because every dollar for a good cause is a dollar for a good cause!
This was taken from a blog entry on Mariann Johansen-Ellis’ Blog.
Mommyhood Moment- Saying Grace
I was fortunate to get to spend the weekend with my in-laws this past weekend. Last night at dinner everyone reached out to hold hands to say grace even JDaniel. He has never done that before. He has seen us pray before meals all his life and usually chooses to fuss during grace. Last night he put one hand in mine and one in his grandfathers. It was something I will always remember.
Mommyhood Tip- Sharpening a Crayon at Both Ends
You have heard of burning a candle at both ends. (Many of you probably feel that way at one time or another.)This tip calls for sharpening a crayon at both ends. Young children have enough trouble holding a crayon. If you sharpen both ends of the crayon, there isn’t a wrong end for them to color with.
Mommyhood Tips- Teaching Toddlers to Share
I found a great article called 10 Parenting Tips To Help Teach Your Child To Share located on the More 4 Kids website. Here are there tips:
•Tell your toddler that not sharing may mean his friends will not want to share with him either.
•If your toddler doesn’t want to share, explain why it’s important to share.
•Take the toys in question away; if your toddler doesn’t want to share – then no one will play with the toys.
•Never yell at the toddler, but be firm in your reprimands. Yelling rarely gets you anywhere and does not set a good example.
•If your toddler screams and carries on; give the toddler a timeout, or what I like to do is a time in and sit down with your child, talk to him or her and make sure there is not really some other issue that is causing the problem.
•Thank your child for sharing his toys with others.
•Teach your toddler to think of others and how happy it makes them when they share their toys.
•If other toddlers are invited over, ask your toddler to pick out some toys to put away. But also remind him the toys left out can be shared with everyone.
•Teach by example; show your child how you are willing to share something you own.
•Finally, start very young. When my youngest was just a few months old and could sit up we would start playing a game. I would give him a toy and whenever he gave it back I would smile profusely, say ‘thank you’ and give it back to him. Now when we are playing together he routinely shares his toys with me and his big brother.
These tips are just guidelines. I found them very helpful read over and think about how I am teaching JDaniel to share.
Mommyhood Momment- Sharing Food
I have had the opportunity to watch two of JDaniel’s playgroup buddies share food with him. Jake brought over gold fish to JDaniel a few weeks ago. He actually walked over and handed him a gold fish without trying to take it back. He is such a sweetie! Morgyn is another sweetie. She has learned the way to JDaniel’s heart. Morgyn placed two noodles and part of a meatball in his mouth recently at playgroup. He will be her friend for life!
JDaniel is great at sharing the food off his high chair tray that he no longer wants or may not have wanted in the first place. He gathers it up and hands it to me. Maybe that is not really sharing. Maybe it is really clearing the way for food that he would rather have, but it is better than when he throws it on the floor.
Interactive Water Cycle Websites- Links 4 Moms
Droplet and the Watercycle
This is a cool interactive activity on the water cycle for school age children. My student loved to work on it when they finished their other tasks.
US EPA- Thirsten Water Cycle:
This is a wonderful interactive picture of how the water cycle works.
Water Cycle in Action
This would be a great tool for teacher at school or at home. Students could tell the class what they see happening in different parts of the flash picture.
Learning to Enjoy Water at the YMCA- Greenville 4 Moms
We took JDaniel to the YMCA this summer to participate in the infant-parent class. It was only four classes, but he had a lot of fun. We learned activities we can do in the water with him. The instructor was a wonderful lady who reviewed what we learned during previous classes and taught us new activities too. We worked on blowing bubbles, floating, kicking, exiting the pool and more. (He wasn’t eager to exit the pool.) JDaniel seemed to like riding the water noodle and having us sing “Yankee Doodle Rode a Noodle” as we moved around the pool the best.
