Month: August 2020

Little Passports: India

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LP India (12)

Travis has Indian heritage on his father’s side, so he was especially excited to receive this package from Little Passports! It was a great chance to learn more about the culture. The booklet was, unfortunately, advanced for a 1st grader, involving tricky patterns to find and solving for missing letters in an Indian menu.

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But he enjoyed monthly activities like adding stickers to his passport and world map, and coloring in India’s flag.

Souvenir:

Luckily, the souvenir hit it out of the park; you can’t go wrong with a stuffed animal! That’s exactly the surprise that was waiting inside, an adorable Bengal tiger to represent India’s national animal.

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Further Activities:

From here, we headed over to the web where there were additional fun activities like a sort of “hidden pictures” image of hennaed hands.

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Travis was so proud to spot the sitar, lotus flower, and more! This was intricate to color in, and a great mommy-son project.

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There was also a recipe for Holi powder. A note of caution: this project was not only messy, but also didn’t work for us. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. The instructions said we should have a thick paste, but we had more of a sticky dough. Add drops of food coloring, use a rolling pin to flatten into a disc, then let dry overnight.

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Because the mixture is so sticky, I added additional flour, which may have been part of the problem. I also tried to contain the sticky mess in plastic wrap, which may have been an additional problem. Needless to say, our “paint powder” didn’t dry out, and we really only had a sticky pile to try and crumble with mortar and pestle the next morning.

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If this works for you, please share in the comments!

Luckily, the final project, this month’s add-on from Little Passports, was a mandala art kit that Travis quite enjoyed.

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He was thrilled watching me demonstrate how to make patterns on the provided circular paper, and then loved making up mandala designs in his own way.

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The kit comes with sparkly gel markers and he adored the colors, following along the lines with them, and then shading in. These make lovely gifts!

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Recipe:

We finished with dessert, a riff on the Indian frozen treat of kulfi. Grind up shelled pistachios in a food processor ahead of time, and then the rest of this recipe will come together in a flash.

Ingredients:

  • 2 (11-ounce) cans sweetened condensed coconut milk
  • 1 cup non-dairy creamer
  • 2 teaspoons cardamom
  • 1/2 cup ground pistachios
  1. Stir together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Pour the mixture into Popsicle molds (or paper cups with craft sticks inserted in the center). Freeze until firm.

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These hadn’t quite frozen all the way for us by dessert, but we spooned into the molds like it was a dish of ice cream – yum!

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Mud Games, Two Ways

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Mud Handprints (3)

It’s no secret that toddlers love getting muddy, so today Veronika and I played with mud in two separate ways. The first was fake mud, and the second time was real!

For the fake version, we really were making ooblek, but I told her it was “mud” which she immediately loved. I dumped a box of cornstarch into a craft tray, then added 2 cups water.

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Mix with your fingers until you have that strange ooblek state of matter that is somewhere between a liquid and a solid. For novelty, we added cars and trucks to the “muddy” construction site!

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Veronika loved zooming cars through it. We also discovered that the tires would stick if you let them sit in one place for a few minutes.

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It was fun to watch the ooblek dribble and drizzle over the vehicles.

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I then added a little food coloring, which she swirled around by driving the truck wheels through it.

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And scooping it up!

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Next it was time for real mud. We mixed up a little potting soil and water on a plastic plate until we had a thick mud.

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Press your little one’s hand into the center of the plate (I recommend having water nearby for a quick rinse), then leave in the sun to dry.

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Obviously these prints are neither permanent nor as apparent as versions in clay or plaster of Paris, but they sure are fun.

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Stop and Go

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Stop and Go (2)

Here’s the perfect game to introduce your toddler to the idea that red means stop and green means go. These two colors represent “stop” and “go” in so many ways, whether traffic rules, figures of speech (“we got the green light”) or alert systems. You can introduce the idea playfully on your next car ride; the only requirement is that your toddler can tell the difference between red and green.

To set up, I cut circles from red and green construction paper and taped them to plastic straws. For older toddlers, you can also add the words STOP and GO as early sight words, You could also make the red shape an octagon instead of a circle, but I kept things on the simplest level for Veronika.

Whenever the car went forward, I asked her to hold up green. “Green means go!” we shouted, and she playfully held up her sign.

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Whenever I came to a red light or stop sign, I asked her to hold up red. “Red light! Red means stop!” I told her. This worked especially well during a long stop at a train crossing.

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Keep these little Stop and Go signs in the car and play often, and soon your toddler will get the idea.

Abstract Couch Art

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If you want to challenge your child to make art but don’t have craft supplies on hand, here’s an alternative: raid the couch and make sculptures!

To help Travis understand the idea, I first challenged him to make a burger.

With a pile of clean laundry on hand, we used two pillows as the buns and then layered in lettuce (a green shirt), carrots (an orange shirt), cheese (a white shirt), and tomato (a red shirt).

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Now it was up to Travis to think of which sculpture he could make next. This time he chose a Star Wars character, and although not the direction I would have gone in, I was proud he came up with the idea on his own.

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Pillows formed the head and body, and he added accessories (a mask, cape, and gloves) to complete the work of art.

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What will your child make from couch pillows? Please share in the comments! 

Baby Pool Games, 3 Ways

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Ball Splash (4)

It’s late in the summer but still hot outside, so it didn’t feel too late to invest in a baby wading pool. Here are three ways Veronika has loved to play in it so far!

First up was a classic toddler fishing game. I had a pack of fish-shaped sponges that were perfect for this, although you can cut normal sponges into fish shapes if you’re feeling crafty.

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Attach a paper clip to each fish so it will be magnetic, then tie or glue a kitchen magnet onto a string and attach the string to a stick or dowel. I showed Veronika how to go angling for the little fishies!

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It turned out that the sponges were hard to lift once saturated with water, so next time we might play this while the pool is dry.

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After the fishing fun, it was time to make a splash! Simple grab a bouncy ball and toss it into a baby pool filled with a little water. This was fun from outside the pool…

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…or inside it! And it was equally fun whether with a small bouncy ball or larger beach ball.

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“Splash!” Veronika cried out happily each time.

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For extra ball fun, we didn’t just use one ball; I poured in our whole bag of soft play balls.

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This made for lots of extra splashing, sitting on, tossing, and otherwise playing with the balls in the pool.

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One thing is for sure: this girl is keeping cool in the pool!

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Outside Summer Learning

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Outside Summer (3)

If you want to squeeze in a little learning even on vacation, here are three quick ways to hone observational or STEM skills, in the guise of simply having fun!

I was actually excited to wake up one vacation morning to a rainy day because I wanted Travis to observe… raindrops! Stand someplace protected with your child and watch them fall down. I asked Travis his guess as to what shape the droplets would make.

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His hypothesis was an oval, so I played devil’s advocate and guessed a circle. We decided they were more circular but some were larger in diameter than others. They also made neat beads on the screen doors. Throughout the day, we watched them make big puddles on the car sunroof, or diagonal streaks on the patio when the wind whipped harder.

If your budding scientist wants to, record any findings in a notebook using words or pictures!

The next day we had sunshine and squeezed in a quick mapping exercise, in the guise of a treasure hunt. Travis decorated a bag with seashell stickers (you could also use an old shoebox) and hid a few pieces of “pirate treasure” inside.

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Travis hid the treasure to be guarded by a sleepy gnome. Now, his job was to direct a family member to the booty using only three clues. I was so proud he devised these on his own: there was a dirt path, there were steps, and someone was sleeping nearby!

Finally, we returned to a classic sort of color hunt, but this time Travis had to spot five colors from inside the house first, and then find those same five colors outside. A huge art kit full of crayons was the inspiration. Outdoors he matched beige to a mushroom…

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…and vivid reds and purples to the flowers.

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There’s nothing like the palette of a vacation spot to inspire some learning!

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Toddler Beach Day

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1st Vacay (3)

It might seem daunting to take a toddler to the beach, but here are a few tips I’ve found that make it easy, even during the summer of coronavirus.

First up, of course, are the essentials. Definitely pack a kid-formulated sunscreen in SPF 50 or higher, plus a sun hat. If your toddler hates having cream formulas rubbed in, consider an easy spray.

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Veronika has a tendency to pull her hat right off, though, so for added security, I bring shade: an umbrella that is. I find that an umbrella is plenty, without having to lug along a pop-up crib or tent.

Now for the activities! We have a dedicated bag of sand toys they can be played with right at the edge of the blanket…

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…or brought down to wetter sand at the water’s edge when she wants to cool off.

When it comes to snacks, think ones that won’t get sandy. Applesauce pouches are ideal, but I also stash granola bars, juice boxes or water bottles, and easy chips like veggie stix.

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Veronika stayed safe, entertained, hydrated and fed. And it was as easy as a day at the beach!

 

Beach Day Sun Clock

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Should you find yourself on the beach for a full day, or even just a span of a few hours, there’s no lovelier way to mark the passage of time than to make a sun clock!

To start, Travis needed to find a stick that we could poke in the center of our dial. But the beach was short on sticks! A sturdy piece of sea grass did the trick instead.

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We took note of the first shadow (around 1 pm) and marked the line with stones and shells. It was neat to see how quickly the shadow “ticked” along, already a new line we could mark at the next quarter hour.

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It turned into a fun game, too, to protect the sun clock (soon dubbed the ‘Castle of the Sun’) from waves, using moats and mounds of sand.

You can continue the fun with additional rocks and shells for as long as you stay at the beach, marking each new hour or half hour shadow as it appears. And at the end of the day, take the collection of rocks and shells home!

First Cutting Activity: Play Dough

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Cutting Practice Scissors (1)

There’s a reason that cutting projects are a go-to at nursery schools and preschools; scissors are fantastic for honing fine motor skills. So today it seemed time for Veronika’s first cutting activity, using the safest material I could think of: play dough!

First, I simply set out new play dough for play, but I focused on making shapes that could easily be cut later. That meant rolling up lots of “snakes” and “hot dogs”.

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I gave her a “hot dog” and a pair of safety scissors, and showed her where to put her fingers in the holes so the scissors would open and close. Obviously she’s young for this, so it turned into more of stabbing at the pieces. But she was so proud.

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“I’m cutting!” she reported. Whenever big brother Travis took a turn with the scissors, she immediately asked for them back, very aware that this was the task she wanted to tackle.

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It helped if I placed the scissors upright over one of our “snakes”, and then all she had to do was squeeze them shut.

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Mostly, I sat back and let her experiment. More precise cutting will come with time, and no doubt we’ll try out another material for cutting practice soon.

 

Make a Mini Troll

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Troll Statue (5)

After reading in Highlights magazine about an artist who makes troll sculptures from wood and recycled materials, Travis was eager to make his own. A walk to a nearby beach was the perfect opportunity to collect pieces of bark, branches, and wood shavings on the ground.

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We returned with a plastic bag full of pieces and now needed to design the troll! Travis loved setting this out, initially with the troll lying down.

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He carefully arranged arms, legs, and a head.

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I then used hot glue to make his creation stand up in 3D. We even added a little orange peel as a hat!

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What a ferocious little troll it was, and a neat concept to boot.