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.
Mommyhood Tip- Letting Your Children Help Do Household Chores
JDaniel is doing what we do and saying what we say more and more each day. Earlier in the summer I got him a watering can at Target in the dollar area. He loves to water the plants along with me. My husband planted a small tree for his 6 month birthday. JDaniel loves to toddle across the yard and take care of his tree. We are trying to let him help and do big people things when he is interested.
That is the tip. Let your little ones help vacuum if they want to help push the vacuum. (Yes, it takes a lot longer.) Let them help fold clothes. JDaniel now snaps the towels to straighten them before folding them. Let them help clean the tub. I do the cleaning and he dumps water into it with a giant plastic glass to clear out the cleanser. He just started dusting yesterday. I had a dust rag out and he wanted to do it too. There are now low areas in the house that have been dusted that I probably would have missed.
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Thanks for stopping in. Please enter both the giveaways that are running.
The winner of the personalized print gets to choose the print of their choice. It could be “In the Swim” or any of the others of the PinkPawsArt Etsy site of equal or lesser value.
The necklace is beautiful and would be a great addition to any one’s jewelry box.
If you are not interested in one of the giveaways, please leave a message on any other blog entries. I plan on stopping by all your sites and entering your giveaways.
Subscribes and visitors I hope you will take a moment to visit one of the other giveaways too.
Ocean Learning Sites- Links 4 Moms
Here are some great sites to take your children to learn about water:
Enchanted Learning: Oceans
I love all the materials on this site and have used it for years with children K-2 as a safe place to research.
BBC: Blue Planet
Great Site for Preschoolers and Maybe Toddlers
Water Fun Activities
This site is another favorite. It has great articles, lesson plans based on themes, and so much more.
Discovery Island Water Park- Greenville 4 Moms
It can get hot and steamy in South Carolina in the summer. JDaniel, my husband and I have done various things to keep cool.
Discovery Island Water Park
We have enjoyed the Discovery Island Water Park in Simpsonville three times this summer. It is a little expensive, but children under two are free. (JDaniel under two so he has been a great deal. )When we had family visiting this summer it was a great place to take my niece and nephews. They can play hard, get wet, and find a water activity that is age appropriate for them.
The park has the following:
-Two water slides (one that you ride tubes on and one that you body slide)
-A lazy river
-A wave ride (My nephews loved riding the boogie board on the wave.)
-A playground of water buckets, spray nozzles, and more that get the children on the equipment wet and the passerbys.
Discovery Island is only open on weekends now that school has started until Labor Day.
The Fountains under the Hampton Inn
In fountains under the Hampton Inn or should I say beside it are a lot of fun. There are spray nozzles in the sidewalk where the Hampton Inn meets the Reedy River in downtown Greenville. We have had a great time running around in them. The nozzles or fountains go off at different times so it fun to watch and play in the water as it pops up. There is great parking at the Hampton Inn that isn’t expensive or you can find parking along the road in front of the Hampton Inn.
Play Idea- Water Tub Instead of Table
I really wanted a water table this summer for JDaniel. I searched for deals. I looked at Craig’s List for used ones. I just couldn’t bring myself to pay the price at the store or wasn’t fast enough for the Craig’s List deals. Finally I settled on using a plastic tub I already had and put some sand toys, kitchen utensils, a fancy straw to blow bubbles with and a water bottle with it. JDaniel loves to play with it outside on nice days and in the kitchen on rainy days.
This play idea is portable and can easily be used inside and out. We have used it out on our deck and in the kitchen on the floor. It could easily be placed a table top if you want to get your children off the floor. We tended to stay on the floor so I could easily clean up the water or sand that spills out of the tub.
We have had a few accidents with the tub being knocked over. It is easy to wipe up the water though. JDaniel has taken longer to change into dry clothes then it has taken to clean this up.
This play idea has been great to pull out as I am making dinner. It has also worked well on rainy days when we need to play, but can’t get outdoors.
It is important to keep close to your young children if they are playing with water in a the tub. Even a small amount of water could be trouble for them. I try to keep my son close to me when he is playing a sensory tub. When he gets older, I will be able to work a little further away from him, but for now I will be sticking close by.
Mommyhood Moment-Pushing the Envelope or the Chair
JDaniel is working on keeping his sippy cup in the kitchen and not carrying it around the house. I have taken to putting it on a kitchen chair so that he doesn’t have to bend down to reach it. This is what I found when I turned around after hearing a chair scrapping across the kitchen floor.
Mommyhood Tip- Keeping track of things that need to go up or down
One of the Mentor Moms at church shared this tip with me last winter and it has been a lifesaver. She said to get plastic baskets for your children. Each child gets two baskets of their assigned color. Put one in their room and one on the stairs. All day put the things that need to go downstairs in the basket in their room and things that need to go up in their basket on the stairs. The basket on the stairs goes up at night and its contents are put away. The basket in their room comes down in the morning and things are placed where they belong.
It works well for me. My little one doesn’t need a hamper. I just put his dirty clothes in the basket that will be coming downstairs in the morning, along with some diapers, his shoes, and anything else we need for the day that I don’t want to have to keep going upstairs to get. I put all the little toys he insists on bringing downstairs the basket on the stairs along with small purchases I made that day like diaper cream, and take it up at night.
If you have older children, they can bring the baskets up and down by themselves. My son is 16 months old and can’t do it yet.
Traveling with a Toddler
We are heading to a family reunion and to visit friends ten hours from where we live. JDaniel has never been in the car for more than two and half hours for over a year. Back then he was four months old and slept most of the way. Needless to say I have been trying to plan out what we will need to make the trip successful.
The first thing I did was search the web for advice. I found the following sites helpful:
Baby Center- Packing Checklist for Traveling with Toddlers
Traveling with a Toddler
Toddler Travel
The second thing I did was assess what we already had that could entertain him and what I needed to get to help him stay happy while we traveled..
I have decided to take:
- a way to watch the Elemo and Curious George videos I checked out from the library. Thankfully a neighbor lent us their portable DVD player.
- a toy laptop that I found at a great consignment shop. (He loves computers.)
- puppets
- many, many books
- an I Spy bag that I got off the internet at Etsy.com
- crayons and paper
- a magnetic puzzle book
- the PeaPodz teether (He likes to play with the peas.)
- snacks
- an insulated sippy cup
- bubbles to blow at rest stops
- a ball to play with at rest stops
- my digital camera (If all else fails, he loves to view pictures on himself.)
The last thing I did was send out an e-mail asking for people to pray for our car ride. When you are traveling with a toddler, prayers are a good thing.
Thank goodness my mom is going with us. She will be able to rotate in to help entertain Daniel in the backseat. My mom is probably the most important thing we are taking with us.
What are your must haves when traveling with a toddler?
