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Monday, 16 April 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
More Art
We have had the best, most unexpected sunny and warm weather this week!
Since we are hosting Easter this year, I decided C would make the placemats, giving us something fun and arty to do outside. I hauled his high chair and another chair out to the front yard, a bunch of white paper, and his snack (grapes and freshly 'juiced' pineapple juice -he has a cold and pineapple has a lot of vit c).
To make the paint, I took (nearly expired) sour cream and mixed it with a bit of vanilla yogurt (just to increase the amount a bit, the sc on its own would have been fine) and since I only had blue food colouring, I microwaved two bowls - one containing frozen black and blueberries, and the other with strawberries - for about 3 minutes. The resulting juice was poured into the sour cream (which was in three separate bowls) - the strawberries made pink 'paint' and the blue and blackberries made purple. I used the blue food colouring to do the third baby blue colour.
Since we are hosting Easter this year, I decided C would make the placemats, giving us something fun and arty to do outside. I hauled his high chair and another chair out to the front yard, a bunch of white paper, and his snack (grapes and freshly 'juiced' pineapple juice -he has a cold and pineapple has a lot of vit c).
To make the paint, I took (nearly expired) sour cream and mixed it with a bit of vanilla yogurt (just to increase the amount a bit, the sc on its own would have been fine) and since I only had blue food colouring, I microwaved two bowls - one containing frozen black and blueberries, and the other with strawberries - for about 3 minutes. The resulting juice was poured into the sour cream (which was in three separate bowls) - the strawberries made pink 'paint' and the blue and blackberries made purple. I used the blue food colouring to do the third baby blue colour.
I added a little bit of flour to the purple and pink bowls since the juice watered it down quite a bit. The flour allowed me to add as much juice as needed to get the colour correct. It worked really well. I was very pleased with the results.
Because C had to paint 12 of the 'placemats', I put the bowls of paint beside his chair and dabbed a spoonful of each paint colour on the paper for him. He would smoosh it around, rub it off the paper sometimes, and occasionally lift the paper up to crumple the crap out if it. Sometimes I did all three colours, and sometimes only one or two. Near the end though, all the placemats were blue. He was quite verbal about the blue bowl of paint, and so it was used a lot.
When they had dried completely (this took a while, so I just left them overnight) I gave each one a blue border with regular blue computer paper, and laminated them (I am a kindergarten teacher. Laminating is one of my very favourite things, ever). They are beautiful!
Success, and a happy baby.
(Note: He stuck his fingers in his mouth once, to try the paint - was obviously not inpressed with the taste, and did not do it again.)
Friday, 16 March 2012
Art and Crafts for Baby
My little guy loves doing art and crafts. I SCOUR the internet on a regular basis trying to find new ideas. Since he is so young and most everything ends up in his mouth at some point during the activity, one must choose these activities wisely. Here is a list of the things we have done so far:
1. Mixing colours
This can be done a few ways. You can probably come up with a few more based on the items in your home. We have done it twice so far -- once with bottles of water and food colouring, and once with condiments.
Water: We found 6 empty water bottles (500 ml) and filled them half full of water. I added (with C watching, intently) a few drops of food colouring (red) to one bottle, put the lid back on, and handed it to C. First he pointed at it, and watched the swirls, then he shook and played with it for a minute. Then, of course, he eventually bit it. We moved on to the next bottle (blue) and followed the same procedure, and finally yellow (we used a lot of food colouring for this one). When he exhausted all the good times with the three bottles, I took a fourth bottle, poured in half of the red water, then slowly added half of the yellow water and made orange. (If I were to do this again, I would add the red to the yellow instead, much more visual!!) Then yellow and blue to another bottle to make green, and finally blue and red to a sixth to make purple. He loved it. He absolutely LOVES the bottles, and plays with them often. He has always been a fan of empty plastic bottles, maybe because we do not usually have them at our home, so he only sees them occasionally, and they do make lovely noises.
Condiments: I took a large ziploc bag, and squirted some yellow mustard into one corner of it. Then, into the other side of the bag I poured red catalina salad dressing. (The contrast is nice. You can use anything you like.) Sealed it well, and handed it to C. Well, he thought it was the best thing ever. Of course he inspected it with the tip of his index finger first, but was soon squishing and squeezing the goop inside. I think the cold of the condiments made it even more interesting. He played with the bag until the colours were thoroughly mixed (and a horrible, awful brownish orange, perhaps next time we'll use ketchup) or about 15 minutes, when he promptly threw the bag on the floor. Right. Moving on...
Yogurt: I gave C a bit of vanilla yogurt, a piece of paper and a small paint brush. MOST of it went in his mouth. The stuff that ended up on the paper mostly got there from his fingers. Because we do BLW and he recently learned how to use dippers, I think he was a little mislead with the whole exercise. Poor kid. This would probably work well with a child who has not yet had the chance to feed him or herself.
Finger painting: I mixed some plain yogurt with a bit of food colouring, and put it in a very serious looking pot, so C might not be confused by the whole eating thing again. I attached a plate to these amazing plate-suckers-on-to-tables that I got online sometime ago (http://www.lildiner.com), suctioned it to his high chair tray, and drew a picture of a butterfly on the plate with the red yogurt with my finger. C watched me nicely, then promptly and quite aggressively erased my butterfly. I exchanged my plate for a fresh one, and he dabbled nicely with it all for quite some time. Eventually I got bored with the serious pot and dumped the remainder of the paint on his tray.
Finger painting 2: I made some edible paint using this recipe:
http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/crafty-corner/fern%E2%80%99s-fabulous-recipe-for-toddler-safe-paint#.T1lc6lwmkDY.facebook
This time I decided to use paper, and taped a 1/2 piece of white computer paper to the highchair tray. I gave C a small plate (attached to the plate-sucker-on-to-table thingy again) with three splotches of paint on it (red, yellow, blue). He had a blast, and it's very safe to say that the art he created is gift worthy.
So far so good!!
M
1. Mixing colours
This can be done a few ways. You can probably come up with a few more based on the items in your home. We have done it twice so far -- once with bottles of water and food colouring, and once with condiments.
Water: We found 6 empty water bottles (500 ml) and filled them half full of water. I added (with C watching, intently) a few drops of food colouring (red) to one bottle, put the lid back on, and handed it to C. First he pointed at it, and watched the swirls, then he shook and played with it for a minute. Then, of course, he eventually bit it. We moved on to the next bottle (blue) and followed the same procedure, and finally yellow (we used a lot of food colouring for this one). When he exhausted all the good times with the three bottles, I took a fourth bottle, poured in half of the red water, then slowly added half of the yellow water and made orange. (If I were to do this again, I would add the red to the yellow instead, much more visual!!) Then yellow and blue to another bottle to make green, and finally blue and red to a sixth to make purple. He loved it. He absolutely LOVES the bottles, and plays with them often. He has always been a fan of empty plastic bottles, maybe because we do not usually have them at our home, so he only sees them occasionally, and they do make lovely noises.
Condiments: I took a large ziploc bag, and squirted some yellow mustard into one corner of it. Then, into the other side of the bag I poured red catalina salad dressing. (The contrast is nice. You can use anything you like.) Sealed it well, and handed it to C. Well, he thought it was the best thing ever. Of course he inspected it with the tip of his index finger first, but was soon squishing and squeezing the goop inside. I think the cold of the condiments made it even more interesting. He played with the bag until the colours were thoroughly mixed (and a horrible, awful brownish orange, perhaps next time we'll use ketchup) or about 15 minutes, when he promptly threw the bag on the floor. Right. Moving on...
Painting
Painting is the MOST fun. Finger painting especially. Do it sometime. If I were in charge of the world, I would make everyone spend at least ten minutes a day colouring and finger painting. Both are therapeutic and finger painting is honestly one of the best crafts ever.
We use homemade food-based paint since everything goes in his mouth. But actually, he does not eat it. It is really just a precaution in case he sucks his fingers etc, while he is painting.
For cleanliness, I cover his high chair tray with a plastic grocery bag. (We have few of these. So when he is finished, I wash the bag and let it dry for use again.) Garbage bags work well too. I either tie or tape the bag to the tray. For baby, in the warm weather he can do this outside, naked. Until then, I use old clothes that are big and comfy and can get painted on. It's great to have a few of these outfits. We use them everytime he does a messy art project, and actually, they are starting to look pretty cool themselves! Another idea is an old t-shirt of dad's or mom's -- you can either cut out the sleeves and up the seam on either side and use it smock-style, or you can leave it as is and, to make it fit nicely, gather the extra material at the baby's back and hold with a ponytail elastic. (Note: for smock-style, I suggest cutting the sleeves into a few strips and tying them together end to end to make a sort of loose belt for holding the smock nicely around baby's waist.)
Yogurt: I gave C a bit of vanilla yogurt, a piece of paper and a small paint brush. MOST of it went in his mouth. The stuff that ended up on the paper mostly got there from his fingers. Because we do BLW and he recently learned how to use dippers, I think he was a little mislead with the whole exercise. Poor kid. This would probably work well with a child who has not yet had the chance to feed him or herself.
Finger painting: I mixed some plain yogurt with a bit of food colouring, and put it in a very serious looking pot, so C might not be confused by the whole eating thing again. I attached a plate to these amazing plate-suckers-on-to-tables that I got online sometime ago (http://www.lildiner.com), suctioned it to his high chair tray, and drew a picture of a butterfly on the plate with the red yogurt with my finger. C watched me nicely, then promptly and quite aggressively erased my butterfly. I exchanged my plate for a fresh one, and he dabbled nicely with it all for quite some time. Eventually I got bored with the serious pot and dumped the remainder of the paint on his tray.
Finger painting 2: I made some edible paint using this recipe:
http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/crafty-corner/fern%E2%80%99s-fabulous-recipe-for-toddler-safe-paint#.T1lc6lwmkDY.facebook
This time I decided to use paper, and taped a 1/2 piece of white computer paper to the highchair tray. I gave C a small plate (attached to the plate-sucker-on-to-table thingy again) with three splotches of paint on it (red, yellow, blue). He had a blast, and it's very safe to say that the art he created is gift worthy.
So far so good!!
M
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Top Ten Baby Toys
This is a list of my 11 month old son's current favourite 'toys'. ('Toys' being the operative word!)
10. A box of tissues
9. A tiny soccer ball
8. A green ball
7. My BlackBerry
6. A small wooden chair
5. A little plastic man
4. A wooden mallet, from his xylophone (like the one on the floor in this pic)
3. A wrench
2. A wooden meter stick
1. A hard cardboard roll (from aluminum foil)
10. Crinkly wrappers
8. The remote control
7. Ribbon
6. A headband (plastic, with the little combs)
5. A soft rattle, in the shape of a 'C' (not the one below, but similar in fabric and colour)
4. A large, heavy glass paperweight
3. Ring stacking toy
2. A metal necklace
1. His toothbrush
The point of sharing this is that time and again I come across parents (and I know you do too!) who buy every piece of crap toy on earth for their child, and everyone knows most of the time the box is more interesting than some of the toys out there. Children love to explore and create, so I would encourage you to be mindful of the items children are given to play with. Imagination is a wonderful thing! Since infants learn through the senses, it interests us that C chooses things that feel fun -- cold metals, warm wooden toys, and soft fabrics. The plastic stuff holds very little weight in his activity choice.
(Please note: none of these photos are mine. If you are interested in who owns/took the photo please message me and I will send you the info of the rightful owners)
10. A box of tissues
9. A tiny soccer ball
8. A green ball
7. My BlackBerry
6. A small wooden chair
5. A little plastic man
4. A wooden mallet, from his xylophone (like the one on the floor in this pic)
3. A wrench
2. A wooden meter stick
1. A hard cardboard roll (from aluminum foil)
At six months, his top ten favourite 'toys' were:
10. Crinkly wrappers
9. A metal bracelet
8. The remote control
7. Ribbon
6. A headband (plastic, with the little combs)
5. A soft rattle, in the shape of a 'C' (not the one below, but similar in fabric and colour)
4. A large, heavy glass paperweight
3. Ring stacking toy
2. A metal necklace
1. His toothbrush
The point of sharing this is that time and again I come across parents (and I know you do too!) who buy every piece of crap toy on earth for their child, and everyone knows most of the time the box is more interesting than some of the toys out there. Children love to explore and create, so I would encourage you to be mindful of the items children are given to play with. Imagination is a wonderful thing! Since infants learn through the senses, it interests us that C chooses things that feel fun -- cold metals, warm wooden toys, and soft fabrics. The plastic stuff holds very little weight in his activity choice.
(Please note: none of these photos are mine. If you are interested in who owns/took the photo please message me and I will send you the info of the rightful owners)
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Montessori Books
People often ask me if I can recommend any Montessori books. Here they are:
Infant/Montessori at home:
1. How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - Tim Seldin
2. Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three - Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen
3. The Absorbent Mind - Maria Montessori
4. Teaching Montessori in the Home - the Preschool Years
- the School Years - both by Elizabeth Hainstock
Montessori theory books:
1. The Montessori Method - Maria Montessori
2. The Discovery of the Child - Maria Montessori
3. The Secret of Childhood - Maria Montessori
Infant/Montessori at home:
1. How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - Tim Seldin
2. Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three - Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen
3. The Absorbent Mind - Maria Montessori
4. Teaching Montessori in the Home - the Preschool Years
- the School Years - both by Elizabeth Hainstock
Montessori theory books:
1. The Montessori Method - Maria Montessori
2. The Discovery of the Child - Maria Montessori
3. The Secret of Childhood - Maria Montessori
Gift Receiving Made Light
We are a super lucky family and have the best support system ever. When I was pregnant with C I did not want to have a baby shower -- mostly because I did not want people to have to buy me things, and I had also been to a few really bad showers -- and would have rather had a celebration of his birth so he could meet all the special people in our lives. But I ended up succumbing to the pressure from my side and hubby's side and figured, if it makes them happy then all will be well. And it was. The baby shower they threw was so beautiful and thoughful. It was wonderful to see most of the females I love all together, and there is something really energizing about a bunch of women and no men in one space. Of course people brought gifts, and I was thoroughly touched by the thoughfulness of the things C received that day. Everything had a purpose, and the toys and such were beautiful -- mostly wooden, or organic, and essentially, all very Montessori-esque. It was very special to me that my friends and family cared about my beliefs in terms of children's toys. It means they listen to me!
Fast forward five years, and it makes me wonder what will happen as C gets older and desires the inevitable birthday parties (shudder). What will happen then? You know - you've been there!! The piles and piles of beautifully wrapped gifts, too much sugar, a gazillion dollar party palace rental, and a bunch of 5 year olds that will not calm down for three days post birthday bash. I am assuming I will be able to convince C to do something different, like take a few close friends to a clay-making shop? But will this suffice for years? Won't he at some point be desperate to have 30 of his closest friends eat pizza and drink Coke in my living room with a bouncy castle in the backyard? And then, what will happen with all the gifts??
I am fairly certain that there is another way of doing these things. Gifts are great, I loved them as a child, and still do. I would never begrudge C of that joy. But too much is too much, and there MUST be a way of including charity or something in the giving of gifts without telling people what to do with their money. ANY IDEAS???
Fast forward five years, and it makes me wonder what will happen as C gets older and desires the inevitable birthday parties (shudder). What will happen then? You know - you've been there!! The piles and piles of beautifully wrapped gifts, too much sugar, a gazillion dollar party palace rental, and a bunch of 5 year olds that will not calm down for three days post birthday bash. I am assuming I will be able to convince C to do something different, like take a few close friends to a clay-making shop? But will this suffice for years? Won't he at some point be desperate to have 30 of his closest friends eat pizza and drink Coke in my living room with a bouncy castle in the backyard? And then, what will happen with all the gifts??
I am fairly certain that there is another way of doing these things. Gifts are great, I loved them as a child, and still do. I would never begrudge C of that joy. But too much is too much, and there MUST be a way of including charity or something in the giving of gifts without telling people what to do with their money. ANY IDEAS???
Saturday, 26 November 2011
NO MORE PLASTIC TOYS!!!!
One of the other important ideas I came across in a book I have by Tim Seldin called "How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way" is what I fondly refer to as the magic box. We are lucky enough to have a calm and easy going baby who has, since the day we brought him home from the hospital, played nicely by himself for 20 or 30 minute sessions several times a day. In fact, when I was pregnant I made him a stationary mobile with a dowling cut in half and glued together to make an X and 10 4-inch soccer balls hanging from it with fishing line at different lengths. (Most mobiles for infants are too colourful - useless - and too fast for their little eyes to track. The soccer ball idea was NOT a gender-based one but because babies see best in shades of black and white when they are tiny. I looked for orcas but to no avail. In fact, C is still quite taken by black and white patterns.) Anyway, he would stare at this mobile for EVER and very quickly learned how to bat the ball with his fist. (He was very young, maybe 6 or 8 weeks old, and it was clear he wasn't sure HOW he made the ball move, but if he got riled up enough it surely would. This was amazing to witness -- how he (and I read this somewhere) would literally CHANGE HIS WORLD by moving the ball. Pretty cool!!) If one of us were so presumptuous as to assume he was bored or finished playing with the mobile and picked him up to complete some mundane task...oh, say, changing his diaper, he would fuss to be put back in his little cosleeper to continue his very important work, which clearly he was not yet finished.
In any case, I read in the aforementioned book about getting a basket and gathering 50-100 household objects and letting the baby (of sitting up age and beyond, even toddlers) investigate the basket and its contents. So I did, and he did!! Our basket (actually a nice fabric covered box, with a lid) currently contains things like a toothbrush (new), an old wallet, a glass apple I received as a gift from a student, a piece of tulle, a nailfile (clean, wooden), a hairband, a spoon, a hockey puck, a little clear glass bottle with black-eyed peas inside, a glass coaster thing that you put under the legs of dressers to not make marks in the carpet, a bandanna, a baby hairbrush and a clothespin. Other things too, but they have escaped me at this time. The point is to find things that are of different textures. The glass is cold to the touch, and hard and smooth, and so on. He LOVES this activity. He will play with the contents, then the box itself, FOREVER. The toothbrush is by far his current favourite.
It makes this MontessoriMom a happy one, since the box is neither plastic or electronic. It doesn't make noise, and it doesn't mindlessly entertain my baby while he sits there. He learns and explores of his own VOLITION. It is a magic box.
In any case, I read in the aforementioned book about getting a basket and gathering 50-100 household objects and letting the baby (of sitting up age and beyond, even toddlers) investigate the basket and its contents. So I did, and he did!! Our basket (actually a nice fabric covered box, with a lid) currently contains things like a toothbrush (new), an old wallet, a glass apple I received as a gift from a student, a piece of tulle, a nailfile (clean, wooden), a hairband, a spoon, a hockey puck, a little clear glass bottle with black-eyed peas inside, a glass coaster thing that you put under the legs of dressers to not make marks in the carpet, a bandanna, a baby hairbrush and a clothespin. Other things too, but they have escaped me at this time. The point is to find things that are of different textures. The glass is cold to the touch, and hard and smooth, and so on. He LOVES this activity. He will play with the contents, then the box itself, FOREVER. The toothbrush is by far his current favourite.
It makes this MontessoriMom a happy one, since the box is neither plastic or electronic. It doesn't make noise, and it doesn't mindlessly entertain my baby while he sits there. He learns and explores of his own VOLITION. It is a magic box.
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