Month: March 2019

Etiquette Around the World

Leave a comment

Etiquette (4)

Travis and I have been working on table manners lately; he’s old enough now that his behavior matters more when we go out to dinner, or even just dine as a family. No elbows on the table and staying in your seat are big rules in our house!

But I wanted to stop feeling like a broken record reminding him of these manners, so we did some investigation into etiquette around the world to make things more fun! This overlapped nicely with a home-school lesson to go with our Eggplant Parmesan from Raddish Kids.

Start off with some giggles, with a recitation of ‘The Goops.’ I remember this poem from my own childhood!

The Goops they lick their fingers.

The Goops they lick their knives.

They spill their broth on the tablecloth,

Oh they lead disgusting lives.

The Goops they talk while eating,

And loud and fast they chew; 

And that’s why I’m glad that I 

Am not a Goop – are you?

You can plainly see the giggles this elicited!

Etiquette (2)

I asked Travis what the poem was about, and he caught on right away that it was about manners.

Next we watched a clip of strange etiquette rules around the world. Travis was more interested than I would have guessed. “Mom, in one part of the world you can’t eat with your left hand,” he came rushing up to tell me, for example.

Etiquette (1)

Because he’s only 4, we parsed the video closely so it made more sense. I printed flags from 7 of the 12 countries (the full 12 seemed overwhelming) and printed pictures depicting the bad manner to go along with each. We colored them in (a nice geography lesson, too!) and then glued each flag to the appropriate etiquette picture.

Etiquette (3)

For some final silly fun, we read ‘The Goops’ again, and this time Travis got a kick out of acting out some of the bad manners – elbows on the table and fork licking!

Etiquette (5)

Big kids can make this into a proper skit, and delight their family or friends with their bad manners. What’s a big no-no in your house? Please share in the comments!

 

Playback

Leave a comment

Playback (4)

I’ve encouraged anyone following along on my baby game journey to record their baby and capture special moments. Today’s homework is not just to capture the audio of your little one, but to let them hear the playback, too!

Veronika is all gurgles and coos these days, and of course any parent would want to capture the moment.

Playback (1)

To encourage some talking, we had quality facetime on her playmat. If you need to get your baby talking, try tickling their little toes!

Playback (2)

As we “chatted”, I set a video recorder going. This will be a sweet memento for me, of course, but now for the real fun part: I let her see the playback!

Playback (5)

She was utterly fascinated by the baby in the video, even though she doesn’t quite yet know she’s watching herself. Babies love watching other babies, and seeing the playback encouraged her to talk up another cooing storm.

Playback (3)

Here’s a quick clip we caught!

The Grand Old Duke of York

Leave a comment

Grand Old Duke (6)

On the heels of Humpty Dumpty, I was looking for more fun movement rhymes to play with Veronika. I remember doing this particular one every time Travis and I attended a class at Gymboree when he was little, and realized I hadn’t yet done so with Veronika. Time to amend that!

Lie on your back, with your child facing you, and holding them securely.

Grand Old Duke (2)

Now recite the words:

Oh the Grand Old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men.

He marched them up to the top of the hill

And he marched them down again.

And when they were up, they were up.

And when they were down, they were down.

And when they were only halfway up,

They were neither up nor down.

On every up, your child goes up…

Grand Old Duke (5)

…and on every down they go down.

Grand Old Duke (2)

And then of course quick up and downs on that last fun line.

Grand Old Duke (1)

It’s a shame that I had to enlist family members to take pictures, because her smile at me was absolutely beatific, but the camera never quite caught it. Either way, it felt great to make her giggle with glee, and we’ll be doing this one often!

Grand Old Duke (7)

Apricot-Gingerbread Oatmeal

1 Comment

Apricot Oatmeal.JPG

We woke up to snow this morning! Which meant it was the perfect morning for a loaded bowl of oatmeal to warm us up.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups oat milk
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Combine the milk, oats, apricots, walnuts, cinnamon, and ginger in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses and vanilla.

Serve warm and be cozy!

Snow Skeeball

Leave a comment

Snow Skeeball (7).JPG

Finally! It took until March for us to receive our first real snowfall of the season, and we were so ready to play. Last weekend we were indoors at an arcade, so today we decided to replicate one of our favorite games in snowy form.

I fashioned a ramp out of the snow, making it lower at the bottom, and higher up top – good thing we had perfectly packable snow.

Snow Skeeball (2)

We wedged three buckets into the snow at intervals, and then I handed Travis a few golf balls.

Snow Skeeball (3)

Time to toss! We decided the first bucket was worth 1 point, the second was 2 points, and the third was 3. We even had tickets to use from a pretend-play carnival game!

Snow Skeeball (6)

The game was admittedly hard – next time we’d use bigger buckets. (Note: we’d also use colored balls, for rather obvious reasons!).

Snow Skeeball (5)

So here’s hoping for one more storm before spring. We’ll be out there playing skeeball… or should I say “ski ball”?

Snow Skeeball (4)

 

Textured Painted Fish

Leave a comment

 

Textured Fish (12)

Travis and I haven’t played with clay in some time, so he was really excited when I pulled out a fresh pack of it this morning. Pretty soon, we came up with great under-the-sea fun, and added texture in two unique ways.

Textured Fish (1)

First, we shaped the clay into little fish. Travis needed some help with this, but sort of got the hang of shaping an oval body and pinching the back to form a tail.

Textured Fish (4)

More so, though, he made his own variations on sea creatures, which was just great to watch; he thought this looked like a perfect seahorse!

Textured Fish (3)

Next we painted the fish, and he loved mixing colors to help them “camouflage.”

Textured Fish (5)

Now for the texture fun. I pulled out a mesh bag, and we placed it on the wet clay. Cover with a rag (to avoid dirty hands!) and press down.

Textured Fish (6)

Now our fish had scales!

Textured Fish (7)

Travis loved it! Some glitter paint was the final shimmery touch for the fish, but Travis wasn’t done yet, so added “coral reefs” (which got lots more glittery glue).

Textured Fish (8)

Finally, our fish needed an ocean to swim in. We painted a piece of poster board blue, and added texture in another fun way – by running a comb over it for ocean waves and currants.

Textured Fish (2)

In sum, this was a great art project, with lots of fun elements, new ways to make texture, and opportunity for creativity.

Textured Fish (10)

Humpty Dumpty

Leave a comment

Humpty Dumpty (5).JPG

Veronika and I are moving beyond fingerplays, since she’s old enough now to get her whole body in on the fun for action rhymes. “Humpty Dumpty” is a great one to play with your little one, because the more you do it, the more he or she will anticipate the moment of the “fall.”

First, I simply recited the rhyme to her, to familiarize her with the rhythm and words. As a reminder, here’s how it goes:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

A Mother Goose book made for a great visual!

Humpty Dumpty (4)

Later, I sat her on my lap, with a soft mat behind her. Hold your baby securely under the armpits and recite the words.

Humpty Dumpty (1)

On “fall” we went back with a little tickle, then lifted her back up to a sit for a repeat.

Humpty Dumpty (3)

She soon was very into the motions and game! This activity will strengthen muscles, give your baby a good grasp of language, and teach emotional cues, since your smile and happy eyes will confirm that the game is all in good fun.

Humpty Dumpty (2)

 

Paper Cup Drums

Leave a comment

Paper Cup Drums (8).JPG

A kitchen band never gets old; everyone loves clanging on pots, tapping together spoons, and banging on old pans, from toddlers to big kids. But sometimes I don’t want to clean out all the pots after the kids have played with them… and that’s where these clever paper cup drums come in, this month’s craft from High Five magazine. Travis got to use kitchen items for his instruments and I had no pots to wash – a win-win! You’ll also get to teach a little science, thanks to the different tones the drums make.

Paper Cup Drums (1)

First, set out 2 large paper cups and 2 small ones. Cut one large cup and one small cup in half, leaving the others whole – great scissor practice!

Paper Cup Drums (2)

Travis decorated the cups next, using marker on the outside and then coloring inside them, too, which I wouldn’t have thought of!

Paper Cup Drums (4)

We glued down our drums as a “drum set” on a piece of cardboard, then waited for the glue to set.

Paper Cup Drums (3)

Once dry, it was time to play! Use a spoon to tap on the “drums” – first we just enjoyed the sounds.

Paper Cup Drums (5)

But to be more educational about it, I asked Travis what difference he noticed between the big cups and small ones. Tapping first one, then the other, he could hear the difference – a low tone, then a high tone.

Paper Cup Drums (6)

I challenged him to guess how the medium cups would compare. Lower or higher than the big? He initially guessed lower, but then amended his guess once we played the tone. Interestingly, your intact small cup and cut-in-half big cup should now be nearly the same size, and thus sound quite alike.

Paper Cup Drums (7)

Note: We originally tried using a metal spoon, but found that the difference in cup size/tones was much more apparent when tapping with a plastic spoon.

Paper Cup Drums alt.JPG

Thanks for the musical play, High Five!