Tricking My Toddler into Using Fine Motor Skills

There was a short time ago that my little buddy would do any project I wanted him to do.  But then he became a quintessential boy, meaning that he now wants to spend all his time playing football, chasing the dog, and pestering his big sister.  Unfortunately I've noticed that he could really use some help with his fine motor skills.  He holds his crayon in a fist, which is exactly what big sister did until I worked with her.  She is totally cured now though, and I attribute it all to our little "projects".  
So, I've decided I needed to get even more creative with fine motor action.  I found an old coffee can and told him we were going to make animals.  He chose to make a green bird (his favorite color), which he had a great time creating.

After he was done, I then gave him a bunch of poms and asked him to "feed" his bird.  He happily agreed and started out with the tongs.  I know for certain that if he didn't get to feed a bird, he would have just walked away to find his football, but I tricked him into working on his fine motor control, so I was thrilled!

He even got bored with the tongs and we graduated to tweezers, which is the first time he has been able to make that happen.  Just look at those little hands working their magic!

For more ideas on improving fine motor skills with your preschoolers and toddlers, please check out 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.  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 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!

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An Experiment for Picky Eaters and Fed-Up Moms

I have many talents, but cooking isn't one of them.  I can't tell you how many times I will make dinner, try to feed it to them, and then inevitably about 10 minutes after we're done they will say, "Mommy, I'm hungry!  Can I have some cereal?"

My kids have always been picky eaters but lately things started to get really out of control.  Here are some of our bad habits:

• They snacked often throughout the day, and I let them, as long as it was healthy like cheese, fruit, or yogurt.   
• Since I'm not a great cook, I knew they wouldn't want to eat what I made.  Instead, I often just made them chicken nuggets or frozen lasagna.  Plus, they often had to eat before Daddy got home since he got home late, so I would just wait and eat with Daddy too
• They often wouldn't even try what I made if it looked bad
• I didn't exactly make them eat enough vegetables.  Fruits?  Yep!  Vegetables?  Not so much

I won't get into too much detail, but it's totally worth reading and the book basically talks about how French kids don't snack.  Period.  They get breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner.  Nothing in between.  She says that it's much more peaceful, knowing that all day long isn't an opportunity to eat.  Amen, sister!  I hate having to stop what I'm doing to pour out a bowl of healthy cereal at 9:45, one hour after breakfast.  The French have a totally radical view on food that is completely different than ours.  They let them help cook, even from a very young age.  I mean, they really let them.  There is a story in the book about a four year old ladling out the muffin mix into the pan.  The beauty of this is that kids are more invested in what is prepared so they are more likely to try new things and actually like them.

I kept thinking:  She hasn't met my kids though.  I'm sure they won't want to help me cook, and plus I kind of hate the idea of their hands in my food and them making a mess.  But, I decided I would embrace this concept and see what happened, because first of all they hardly eat any real meals, and second of all, I detest cooking, so I thought if I could make the whole thing more fun, my life might improve.

The results were so extraordinary that I am going to have to break this into several different posts.  But here is the result of my first day:

First, we made spaghetti.  I allowed my daughter (age 4.5) to get up on a stool and help me stir the raw hamburger meat.  At first, she was reluctant to help, but I kept telling her what a good Mommy she would make one day if she could learn how to cook and she quickly got on board:


Then she helped me pour the sauce into the pan with the meat and she stirred it all up for me.  As the French do, I advised her to smell the different smells and really appreciate the process.  I explained everything to her along the way and she was fascinated.  Then she helped me clean up and even thought that was really fun.


After we got the dinner all ready, we decided to make blueberry muffins for dessert.  I decided to really go the distance.  I allowed her to actually spoon the batter into the cups, just like it says in the book.  I was amazed.  It took her a long time and she did make a little bit of a mess, but she was meticulous and she did every single one:


So, when it was time to eat, I held my breath.  Sure enough, she ate a ton of spaghetti, which she usually refuses to even try.  My little guy ate all of his spaghetti too and then they got to have muffins for dessert!  And best of all, I had a great time.  The afternoon was fun and cooking dinner was enjoyable for once!  So, day one of my experiment was a huge success.  Now it's time to move on to the 2nd part of the experiment...snack time...stay tuned!


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5 Fun Indoor Games to Burn Energy

If you never see another post from me again, it's because I've gone crazy and I'm locked away in an insane asylum.  Seriously, is this winter even going to end?!?  I just want to go to the pool with a cold lemonade (or adult beverage) and some pool toys, is that too much to ask?  I do find though, that if I just give in and try to have fun with the kids, time goes much faster, especially in the evenings.  So we do try to make our fun, even if it inside, and here is a list of our favorite indoor games to pass the time and burn energy:

1. Hide the Blueberries....sounds strange but the kids sure enjoy it....
2. Ring around the rosy:  I find this to be a rather morbid game, because did you know that the kids during the plague used to sing it, and it actually about all the people dying?  They would put a pocket full of posies around them to help with the smell...and the ashes were related to the fact that they burned people to try to decontaminate and stop the plague.  But of course, the kids don't know that!! :-)  They are happy to do this over and over again and they giggle hysterically every time we "fall down".
3. The Monster Mash: I don't know why, but my kids adore this song.  We turn it on and they dance around and beg me to dance with them.  Sometimes I put it on repeat and they do four or five songs in a row!
4. Jumping on a Mattress:  Nothing gets energy out like jumping on a mattress, or as we call it, a trampoline.  We put an old one in the basement and it gets used a lot.
5. Hotter, Colder: Hide something while the kids have their eyes closed and then they try to find it.  Tell them when they're getting "hotter" and when they are getting "colder".  I loved this game when I was a kid and I bet if you add up all the time I spent playing this in life I could have gotten an undergrad degree in it.
6. Hide and Seek:  It's interesting because one year ago, this is how my daughter hid when she played  this game.  She was three then and she shrieked and giggled the whole time, making it quite easy to find her.  We played it again last night and I swear it took me several minutes to find her.  It turned out she was hiding under my office, behind a chair and didn't make a sound.  She's really growing up!

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Proof that Super-Mom is a Figment of Our Imaginations

The other day my BFF, Dani, sent me a funny article about SuperMoms.  This article defined it as someone who wakes up early to work out, who has a job but still takes care of the kids, and who tries make the kids eat healthy.  There were some other funny ideals, but basically on paper, my friend said this was me.
I wanted to believe her.  It is true that I wake up early to exercise.  But mainly because I'm too cheap to buy new clothes and I'm barely fitting into my current ones.  And yes, I try not to give my kids sweets.  But again, it's selfish.  It's because I don't want them begging me for sweets all the time so it's just easier to avoid the topic all together.  And yes, I do have a full-time job and manage to keep it all together.  But it's a struggle and it sure ain't pretty.
But one day recently, I was having a Super-Mom kind of day.  I woke up early, knocked out a bunch of emails, had a great work-out, and showered, all before my kids woke up.  Then I had a morning where I didn't have to yell at anyone.  I went on to work all day, then I took my kids to the park and did my husband's laundry so he'd be ready for his next trip.
Lastly, I started to make dinner and was really feeling good about myself.  What a day!  I checked the timer on my home-made meal and I yelled (sweetly for once) to my kids that dinner was almost ready (hubby wasn't home yet of course).  I opened the oven door and was thoroughly confused when I was greeted with cold air.  What the heck???
Turns out that "Super-Mom" set the timer, but forgot to actually turn on the oven.  My lovely casserole had been sitting in the cold oven for 40 minutes.  The kids started fighting about some stupid toy and my perfect day was over.  Oh well, I gave it a good run.  I laughed and pulled out the chicken nuggets and canned peaches.  Super-Mom theory debunked.  It turns out we're all human.  I slept in the next day and relished every second my extra sleep.
Thanks again for visiting and commenting!  Work has been crazy and I'm sorry the blog has been lame lately!  Thanks for sticking with me!!  

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