Day: June 9, 2019

Animal Diaper Time

Leave a comment

Animal Diaper Time (4)

The days of Veronika lying still during diaper changes are over and my little squirmer is constantly trying to grab at diapers or wipes or roll all around. I needed something to shake things up and keep her entertained!

The answer? Animals! I now have a few ways I include them at diaper time. First, I hung a few animal pictures from magazines on her wall. The bright visuals catch her attention!

Animal Diaper Time (2)

I also glued a few animal pictures onto index cards, favoring familiar farm animals and pets.

Animal Diaper Time (1)

I present these to her at diaper time, name the animal, and make its sound. Look Veronika, pigs! Oink oink.

Animal Diaper Time (3)

Finally, if even that doesn’t do the trick, I have a few plastic animals handy.

Animal Diaper Time (6)

I hand her a horse (or cow, or sheep) and name the animal and its sound, and she is happily distracted during the change.

Animal Diaper Time (7)

If all else fails, keep a favorite stuffed animal on hand, who can swoop in for a hug!

Animal Diaper Time (5)

Advertisement

Special Snack for Pets

Leave a comment

Cat Cake (4)

Summer always brings so many celebrations for people: graduations, birthdays… or just an excuse to get together with good friends in warm weather. Here’s a really cute way to include your animal pals in the fun! After a weekend of human celebrations, Travis proudly helped put together this cat cake for our cat.

In a bowl , we stirred together 2 tablespoons canned tuna, 1 tablespoon shredded cheese, and 1 teaspoon dry oats.

Cat Cake (1)

Press the mixture into a ramekin or muffin tin. Ideally, this will hold its shape when you invert it over a cat bowl. Ours didn’t, but the cat didn’t mind! Decorate with a few cat treats.

Cat Cake (2)

Travis proudly carried it over to where the cat could “celebrate.” He wanted to make sure the cat enjoyed his cake!

Cat Cake (3)

He then needed to eat some shredded cheese of his own (Daiya mozzarella) and pretended to be a cat the rest of the evening.

Cat Cake (5)

Showing affection and caring for animals is always a valuable lesson for kids, teaching them that all species deserve love and care.

Have a dog instead? Highlights magazine suggests mixing together dry dog food with 1 tablespoon peanut butter and 1 tablespoon mashed banana, then decorating with dog treats and banana slices.

Have an animal like a guinea pig or rabbit who eats veggies? Stack a few sliced fruits and veggies into a “cake”, and top with a treat.

Mini Tent Craft Challenge

Leave a comment

Tent Challenge (6).JPG

This month’s craft challenge from Highlights magazine was to make a tent using only 3 materials: craft sticks, cardstock, and yarn. Travis was gamely up for the challenge!

He remembered sleeping in a tent from an adventure last summer, so knew right away that he wanted to fold the cardstock in half to make the canvas frame.

Tent Challenge (1)

I challenged him to think of a way to make this tent more sturdy and stable. The craft sticks!

Since we weren’t allowed to use tape, we poked the sticks through the cardstock to make a hole. Two sticks then created a sort of A-frame.

Tent Challenge (5)

A piece of yarn was a handy way to make it hold together.

Tent Challenge (2)

Travis soon had a few little tents set up, and extra craft sticks made a campfire!

Tent Challenge (3)

You can then have fun populating your campsite with Lego or Duplo figures for a morning of camp play! Thanks for the challenge, Highlights.

Tent Challenge (4)