Showing posts with label keep kids busy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keep kids busy. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2015
Sight Word Fun With an Easter Egg Hunt
My daughter's Kindergarten teacher asked that we begin a daily review of the sight words they have learned this year. This seems a bit daunting, seeing as how I can barely get her to read 15 minutes per day. So, I have been brain-storming on ways to make it fun for her. I decided to make an egg hunt out of it! I got out the list the teacher game us and wrote the sight words on about 15 small note cards, then put them inside left-over Easter eggs. I hid them while the kids shut their eyes and then they scurried around looking for the eggs, just like it was Easter morning!
After every egg she opened, she shouted out the sight word and was so pleased with herself.
As a bonus, they had so much fun that afterwards they took turns hiding the empty eggs for each other and this kept them busy for almost an hour. As I have noticed so many times in the past, once I put in 20-30 minutes of quality time with them, they will happily find things to do for at least double that time, leaving me free to cook, clean, or read a favorite book (yeah right, like that ever happens!)
For more ideas on engaging your children and keeping them busy, please consider buying my book, The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn
. It is full of ideas on entertaining your toddler while also teaching them about math, science, letters, and nurturing their natural curiosity!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
How I Found Time to Read my Novel While the Kids Did Self-Portraits
, and I couldn't put it down. So, when my daughter asked if she could do a "project" I knew I wanted to come up with something that would keep her busy for awhile so I could sneak in a few pages (Does that make me a bad Mom? Too bad! Haha)
) and I taped two long pieces to our kitchen floor. I told the kids to lay down, and I traced them.
Then we started adding stuff. I helped her draw a dress for her self-portrait. Then she started adding the flowers to the dress and I have to say, that the more we drew, the more things she came up with to add. By the end, her imagination really took over. On her self-portrait, she drew:
- A face
- Hair
- A dress with flowers
- A necklace
- A purse
- She traced herself holding her favorite doll
- A "friendly ghost"
- The sun
- Shoes and socks
- The carpet she was standing on
- A grasshopper on her head (long story. We had pet grasshoppers this summer)
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Montessori Work Stations to Keep the Kids Busy at Home
A MUST read. I've read this book and it has so many great and simple ideas on how to stimulate your children's minds so they will want to play on there own and you will be able to do things around the house or just relax without turning on the TV for the kids.
Feel free to download the first chapter on your Kindle so that you can get a feel for whether you want to spend your money on this!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Fun Bean Ramp Game for Little Brothers
On my daughter's first day of school the kids were sitting at the breakfast table. Usually they pester each other and it can be my most hectic and stressful time of the day, but that day Little Buddy (2.5 years old) reached out his hand to his sister (4 years old) and said, "Don't leave. I'm going to miss you today while you're at school."
He almost had tears in his eyes and was visibly upset. His sweet sister reached across the table, grabbed his hand and said, "Don't worry, Little Buddy. I don't have to leave right away. I can still play with you for a few minutes." They sat there holding hands for a few minutes and I thought my heart would break.
Then I realized the full reality of this situation. Poor little Buddy really was going to miss his sister. A lot. He'd gotten used to have her around for the summer months. They do fight a lot, but they play together too. I decided to try to come up with a few games that he alone would really enjoy. True boy stuff since he so often gets stuck playing dress-up with princess costumes. I came up with a bean ramp.
It was very simple, very cheap, and very easy. My kind of project! I just got out our sensory bin, which has beans and old pasta. Then I taped an old wrapping paper tube to a chair and underneath this, I put a cookie pan. I originally tried this with multiple paper towel holders taped together, but the beans kept getting stuck in there and frustrating Little Buddy, so I was happy to find this wrapping paper holder, which worked much better.
The cookie pan at the bottom was key. He simply took out beans, pasta, etc., and put it in the tube. It flew down and made a loud, "PING" noise when it landed in the cookie pan. The noise was definitely his favorite part and it also contained the mess. He really enjoyed this and even got out his cars and tried to run them down the ramp. Of course, he was still sad about his sister being gone, but at least he got try something new.
If you enjoyed this post, you will love our book! This summer The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble, and Motivated to Learn was released. If you have ever tried to cook dinner while your kid clings to your leg and cries, this is the book for you! We give you hundreds of ideas on keeping your kids busy but also helping them learn. What makes this book unique is that we give you a Mom's point of view and a teacher's point of view, so that you can do activities that not only keep the kids busy, but also keep them motivated to learn and develop their natural curiosity. Kids behave better when they are given challenging projects to work on, which will in turn give you more free time to do the things you really need to do, like washing dishes, paying bills, and relaxing so that you can be a better Mom!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
6 Creative Ways to Keep Kids Busy Using Colored Poms
One of the best things I ever bought was a bag of colored Poms. I had no idea what colored Poms were before I had kids, but now I just love them. If we are ever in a bind for something to do, I know we can always get out the colored Poms and invent a game. So, if you're looking for something to do with your kids and you want to use stuff you already have around the house, here are some ideas:
Sensory bowl: Seriously. Just put them in a bowl and see what your kids do with them. They will probably start making soup or throwing them up the air. You'd be surprised what kids can come up with. Child expert Susan Case says giving kids opportunity to use their imagination and create their own fun is one of the most important things we can do for our kids. I remember one rainy afternoon my kids spent 48 minutes playing happily with Poms, 2 kitchen pans, and 2 spoons. I know because I timed it. Just out of curiosity. I'm weird.
Sorting: Give your kids several bowls and show them where to put the yellows, the greens, the blues, etc. Did you know that when kids sort objects, they are actually practicing early math skills? I didn't know that either, but according to child expert Susan Case,
"When children sort and pattern, they actually learn mathematical skills. Children begin sorting things at an early age. In fact, according to some researchers, young children spend over 40 percent of their time sorting objects into sets, counting objects, or exploring patterns and forms."
Play "Hide the Blueberries": Kids need exercise. What better way to do that than a modified Easter Egg Hunt? Put your kid in one room and tell them to count to 10 or 20 or whatever they are capable or doing. Then you go in the other room and throw the Poms all around, under chairs, in the corner, etc., but make sure to make it easy for them to find or they will get frustrated. Then they can take their bucket around and search for all the "blueberries"! They get the exercise and they also have to practice delayed gratification while they have to wait for you to be finished hiding everything.
The Counting Jar: Use any old jar and put all the Poms inside. Glass jars are preferable because the colors look vibrant and appealing from outside. Then simply ask your child to pull out the Poms and help them count as they go. Your child will likely automatically sort them into her own piles, and again, this reinforces the skills she will need to learn math later in life.
Make a Rainbow: Draw a simple rainbow pattern and show your child which colors go where. Then she can fill in the rest!
Use Tongs to Sort: For some reason, kids love this game. If you are doing this with your Preschooler, make sure to put the Poms on the left side so they have to go from left to right. It is good for them to get in this habit since all reading and writing goes from left to right. Just give them a cookie pan or something to empty the Poms into. This is great for fine motor and muscle strength and even toddlers can enjoy this game!
If you liked this post, you will LOVE my new book (which is currently ranked#4 on Amazon in the category of Motherhood!). If you have ever asked yourself questions like, these, then this is the book for you!
- Why do my kids drive me so crazy sometimes?
- Why do they just want to watch TV all day long?
- How am I ever supposed to get anything done when my kids won't stop pestering me?
In this book, I teamed up with former Kindergarten teacher, Susan Case, and we worked together to give a Mom's point of view and a teacher's point of view, so that we could give you activities that not only keep the kids busy, but also keep them motivated to learn and develop their natural curiosity. Here is what one of the reviews says on Amazon:
"This book seriously saved my sanity. I've read a bunch of parenting books but this is literally the only one that actually gave me real and specific advice and ideas for things to do with my daughter. I'm a stay-at-home mom to a 2-year old and I was at my wits end trying to come up with ideas of fun, easy, creative things to do with her that will keep her busy and occupied and help her learn. I wasn't very good at following through on ideas that I heard about from friends or read in other books or online because they seemed too complicated (aka: messy!) but this book broke it down and made it so simple. I highly recommend it!"
I also want to say THANK YOU!!! I have been so amazed at the amount of support I have seen! I truly love interacting with all of you and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you buying our book and also reading my blog. I feel so honored!!
Did you enjoy my post? Don't forget to vote for me by clicking the banner below. You can also enter your email address below to receive all my updates! I really appreciate your support!!Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Painting rocks and How it Helps Daddy
One Thursday afternoon I had a surprising realization. I hadn't seen Hubby since Monday night...that's three days. It might seem logical that he was out of town but he wasn't. He was living the glorious life of a surgical resident with crazy hours. The poor kids were begging to see him. The problem is, when he does finally walk in the door after being gone for 3 days, the kids go WILD. They run around the house screeching at the top of their lungs. They hit each other and laugh and then fall down, then screech again. Then they hit Daddy and run away, laughing. They hang on his neck and yank his ears. Really, they act just like the dogs. We know they'll be fine after a few minutes, but those first couple of minutes can be excruciating, especially for a poor tired Hubby with a headache. Don't get me wrong. It's cute, but it can be a lot to take.
With that in mind, I decided to come up with a couple of projects that we can be working on when he comes home, so that he can be involved, but their energy will be directed to something positive. I knew Hubby wouldn't be too intrigued with My Little Pony crafts, but I did find one recently that was right up his alley: Painting rocks. My kids adore collecting rocks. This is what Munchkin Girl's bike looks like all the time.
Not only do they love to collect them, they love to throw them in ponds, put them in purses, pretty much anything you can do with a rock is A-Ok with my kids. So, I pulled out the paint and we spent almost an hour one day painting those rocks.
Little Buddy has been painting since he was only an 18 month toddler. I started him off doing it much younger than Munchkin Girl because he saw Big Sis doing painting and I think that's why he's so good at holding the paintbrush. He's only two, and he holds the brush almost better than Big Sis (who is almost four).
If we want to keep these rocks and have them decorate our garden (Ha, like I have time for a garden!), we can just spray them with acrylic to make the paint last.
Now when Hubby comes home tonight, we'll be all ready to welcome him home, with a nice cheap craft, with hopefully very little high-pitched screaming.
One quick note: Will you do me a favor? I am learning more about Google and apparently it helps them if you tell them what you like. That way, when people search for things like crafts for kids, etc., they are more likely to find my posts. Soooo...if you liked this post and think others might like it, click the button below that looks like this. You are basically "recommending" this for Google. It really helps me too!
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Sunday, March 25, 2012
Boost Self-Esteem by Displaying Artwork
I love seeing my daughter's face when she finishes a project that she's worked hard on. Even Little Buddy at 22 months is so proud of his stuff. One time he did some finger painting and when Daddy got home, he was so excited. The second Daddy walked through the door, he grabbed his finger and pulled him over to the window. We couldn't quite figure out what he was saying, but finally realized it was, "Oook ut I did" translated to, "Look What I Did!" He took so much pride in his work and wanted Daddy to see it.
It's important for kids to take pride in their artwork. I am working on a book with Susan Case, author, blogger, and former Kindergarten teacher, and one of the subjects that came up during our writing process was the concept of self-esteem and ways to improve your child's concept of self-worth:
"A self-esteem booster is to proudly display your child’s art or give it as a gift to grandparents who appreciate the thought - perhaps more than the product. But they will never tell your child that. They know it is precious to your little one. Be careful not to stress over your child’s product being perfect or looking exactly as you had envisioned. They are unique individuals who see things differently than you due to a lack of experience. Allowing children to be creative contributes to novel thoughts, problem-solving skills and entrepreneurs. The highest achievers in societies were encouraged, or at least allowed, to think outside the box. If they weren’t, they stole the time to do it anyway, becoming great artists, writers and scientists. The next time you have the impulse to correct their art, think of Mark Zackerberg (Facebook), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple Computers), and Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) or Stephen Spielberg (movie producer)."
That's all well and good, but we can't really have five thousands crafts strewn all about our house. So, here are some ways we have found to display our work:
"A self-esteem booster is to proudly display your child’s art or give it as a gift to grandparents who appreciate the thought - perhaps more than the product. But they will never tell your child that. They know it is precious to your little one. Be careful not to stress over your child’s product being perfect or looking exactly as you had envisioned. They are unique individuals who see things differently than you due to a lack of experience. Allowing children to be creative contributes to novel thoughts, problem-solving skills and entrepreneurs. The highest achievers in societies were encouraged, or at least allowed, to think outside the box. If they weren’t, they stole the time to do it anyway, becoming great artists, writers and scientists. The next time you have the impulse to correct their art, think of Mark Zackerberg (Facebook), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple Computers), and Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) or Stephen Spielberg (movie producer)."
That's all well and good, but we can't really have five thousands crafts strewn all about our house. So, here are some ways we have found to display our work:
1. Create a way to keep the art forever. Take your child to the store with you and let them pick out a small photo album. Take pictures of every single thing your child creates and then print the pics and put them in the album. This way they can show people everything they've done is also great on a rainy day. Let them scroll through and pick a project. Another way to do this is to print the pictures and allow your little one to glue them to some construction paper. Then use a hole-punch and a three ring binder to keep everything together.
2. Display the artwork in the living area. We bought a wall display thing from Pier One and hung it by the table where we usually do our work. After we're finished, we hang everything here. We eventually have to weed things out, but there is always a great display of artwork at any time.3. Find creative ways to display the art in their domain. You could use a piece of string and hang it across the room. Make sure to do this high enough so children can't reach it. Then use clothes pins and pin everything to the string. Or you could help your child make an "art box" that they can keep in their room. Help them decorate it with stickers, markers, feathers, whatever they want. Then help them print their name on the box. If they can't get a good angle on the box, help them print it on a blank name label and then stick that to the front of the box. That way, they know it is their art and they can choose their best items for it.
I can't tell you how much fun it's been ever since I started making artwork special instead of secretly and strategically throwing it away while they napped. That was just plain mean!
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