Idle Time

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One of my biggest regrets with my firstborn was not giving him enough time to do…absolutely nothing! Don’t get me wrong; there are definitely times to be a hands-on parent, but there are also times when it’s important to let baby be “bored”. Because here’s the secret: they won’t actually be bored! Downtime lets your little one learn self-awareness, and take in all the sights, sounds, and smells around them in a way that they otherwise can’t.

By the very nature of being a second child, Veronika gets a lot more time to herself to simply watch, figure things out, and notice. One of the best times is first thing in the morning. After she’s been dressed and nursed, I lay her on her blanket while I get big brother (and the cat!) breakfasted and ready for the day.

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This gives ample time to explore. Her fingers develop fine motor skills as she plays with her toys…

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Or she finds her feet…

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Or gets those feet in soft cat fur – cozy!

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Or discovers that fingers taste yummy…

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Or practices her gross motor skills, whether that’s the first head turn from side-to-side, or later rolling for tummy time.

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I even catch her chatting with her toys!

In sum, these idle “do-nothing” moments are precisely what your baby’s brain needs sometimes, a chance to find fingers and toes, or just turn their head and look side to side and take in the world.

Daily Read

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I remember searching once for a daily newspaper for two-year-olds, back when Travis was a toddler; I couldn’t wait to start him on a life-long love of the news, ha! Well, this adorable little moving picture page is almost like a daily newspaper for infants. Change the pictures up as often as you like. Perhaps a “weekly digest” is the right speed to entertain your little one!

All you need is construction paper, poster putty, and a few old magazines. Look for pictures of common items in the magazines, like shoes, cars, food, books, animals, or other common things your baby will recognize, and cut them out.

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I arranged a few of the pictures around the edges of a piece of construction paper, attaching with the poster putty.

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We put a big picture of Veronika in the middle, then sat down together to go over the “news”!

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As we went over each picture, I named the item, or a feature about it, like its color or shape. A few days later, we repeated with a new set of the clipped pictures. This way, her daily news keeps changing.

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What pictures did you find to post? Please share in the comments!

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Meet the Animals

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I find it funny that we still place such emphasis on farm animals and animal noises with babies; most of us, I would bet, do not live on a farm anymore, and yet somehow this has persisted as one of the earliest things children should know. As a vegan family, I also face a dilemma; I want my children to know and understand animals that have traditionally been farmed, but don’t want to visit places that mistreat the animals.

Enter the sanctuary: These places are fantastic for children to get right up close to animals and learn about them. They’re becoming more common, so do seek one out near you!

First, Veronika spent the morning playing with animal toys and reading some of our favorite animal books.

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Then it was off to meet our animal friends! She loved the chickens.

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And this chicken loved her.

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We took the time to stop and watch each animal, and I described their behavior to her. Have you ever watched a chicken take a dust bath? It’s fantastic! Next we checked out the goats.

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If you’re allowed to feed the animals, it will be fun for babies to watch. They obviously can’t do it themselves yet, but a big sibling or parent can help.

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This adorable sheep was delighted watching Veronika after a taste of fresh grass from us.

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Next we checked on some adorable new pigs. “Oink oink,” I said as we watched them play. For each animal, you can make lots of noises in echo every time the animals do; it will help your little one understand the sounds during playtime at home.

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The last stop was this beautiful big steer.

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Now when you continue the play at home, your child will have a true frame of reference for each animal. Veronika later had fun with her plastic bath animals and we moo-ed, baa-ed, oink-ed, and neigh-ed our way through bathtime.

Decoding Backwards Secret Messages

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Mirror images of words are always fun, even for kids who are only just starting to read. This quick little activity was the latest in a series of ways Travis and I have found to pass along secret messages.

As always for a pre-reader, writing Travis’s name worked best. I carefully wrote the letters backwards, and then held it up to a hand mirror. “What does it say?” I asked.

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After a moment of pondering, he exclaimed, “Travis!” with wonder.

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He immediately wanted to see more “secret” words so I made pages with a few sight words. Adults, you may want to practice a few times first; you’ll note my “c” in cat wasn’t right. This backwards stuff is hard!

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Older kids will have a blast passing real secret messages to each other, and discovering full sentences in the mirror. Travis just loved the reflections even without literacy; he wanted to make scribbles and see how they looked, when presented in reverse form.

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Good sleuthing fun!

One Too Many

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In the past, I worked with Veronika on handing her one toy when she already held another in her grasp; it’s a great way to help little finger muscles practice gripping and letting go. Today, the challenge was harder: what would she do if she was holding two toys and presented with a third?

Use toys that are very similar for the best results (otherwise this becomes more like a game of toy choice). We have small shapes that she can grab on to easily, and which are quite alike, so they worked great for this game.

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She took hold of the circle when I handed it to her first, and it was easy to take the rectangle in her other hand.

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But oh no! What would she do now that triangle came along?

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It took a moment, but then rectangle was dropped.

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Uh oh, here comes rectangle back again! Who would be sacrificed?

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Down goes circle!

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She delighted in the game, and I could almost see her brain processing what to do each time. And of course there was the good fun of simply handling and gnawing on the shapes, as well.

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I Spy Books

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Here’s a homemade take on classic I Spy books! Although not nearly as detailed or tricky as the real thing, it’s a fun project to put together, and you can involve your child in the process from start to finish.

First, we needed to create a few tableau that would later be cut apart to make our I Spy pictures. Travis liked setting the stage on a big piece of white poster board.

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We chose three categories: his superheroes for the first; his cars for the second; and miscellaneous toys that he has collected for the third.

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I had the pictures printed while he was at school for a surprise when he came home!

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Next, we needed to cut them up so we could shuffle things around a bit. This was mostly a grown-up step, but big kids might want to decide what items should go on which page.

Once we cut and pasted, I slipped the pieces of paper into the sleeves of a small photo album.

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For the facing page, I typed up a list of things to find in each section. Travis was intrigued trying to guess what numbers matched which words!

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Now it was time to sit down for a challenge! Could he find three green cars?

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Two members of the royal family?

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This project was cute and engaging, a definite hit!

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Fingerprint Kit

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Following up on some recent secret agent fun, today Travis got to delve into real forensics! We’ve already talked about how everyone’s fingerprints are unique, and how real detectives use this fact to find “bad guys.” With a few simple tools, we could play detective, too.

First, make sure you have a few sharp pencils on hand, and rub on sandpaper.

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The graphite will flake off, which Travis thought was neat. As we made piles of it, we dumped it into a small plastic jar until we had a nice amount.

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Now invite your suspects (family members or friends, that is!) to press their finger against a piece of glass. We used a baby-safe mirror, but in retrospect I wish we’d used a window pane, as the imprint of a finger would last longer.

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Dip an old make-up brush into the graphite, and then swirl over each print. The black will adhere to the fingerprints.

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Press a piece of tape over the print, and transfer to paper. You can make circles on the paper in advance and label each with “suspect’s” name, if your child wants to!

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Once the prints were on paper, we could examine them with a magnifying glass, too. Hmm, what case would Travis solve?

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Overall, Travis thought the project was neat, but was most into the brush. This then became a forensic tool to dust all about the house. Let the imagination go wild from here!

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Pelvic Lifts with Baby on Board

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I just love it when activities are mutual beneficial, don’t you? In this easy little move, mama gets to tone up and feel strong, and baby gets a fun ride – a win-win!

To do the move, I lay down comfortably on an exercise mat, with my knees bent. Veronika sat on my tummy, her back resting against my thighs, and I held her securely around the middle.

Now raise your pelvis off the floor, so your torso and hips form a straight line. Exhale on each lift, and inhale on the way back down, repeating 10 times.

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Of course for me this was exercise, but for Veronika, it was pure fun! She absolutely adored the ride. Many thanks to big brother Travis who captured the beaming smile on her face.

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She loved it so much that we repeat several times throughout the day now; it’s a surefire way to get her to giggle and laugh. Mama gets toned, and baby gets happy!

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Bubble Bottle

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This little sensory bottle is the infant version of a soapy bottle I made for Travis as a toddler, incidentally one of the very first posts on this blog!

For a baby version, fill a small water bottle halfway with water. Add just a few drops of liquid dish soap and a couple drops of food coloring. Don’t shake it together yet!

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Screw the lid on very tightly. If you’re worried about it coming off (especially if your little one tends to put things in his or her mouth) you could even glue it on and let dry completely.

I sat down with Veronika and tilted the bottle so the color dispersed and the bubbles bubbled up. She loved looking right away!

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You can roll it on the ground for your little one.

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Or shake it overhead while they are lying down.

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Veronika immediately wanted to grab hold!

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As a bonus, the bottle will make plastic crinkling sounds as your little one grabs hold.

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It also works during tummy time, where Veronika reached out and tried rolling it back and forth by herself. Easy to put together, and I liked that it engaged multiple senses!

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“Fix That Doodle!” Game

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All you need for this game is paper and markers – that’s it! It literally doesn’t get simpler, but pull out those two things and watch the fun begin.

There are two ways to play, which may depend on your child’s age, or just which they prefer. For the first version, the adult can draw a doodle, and the child turns it into a picture.

Whops, I thought, after making a first looping doodle for Travis: did I make it too hard?

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But Travis didn’t miss a beat before drawing a smile and declaring, “This is a snail.”

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Then he wanted to do the second version: he drew “scribble scrabbles” and asked me to turn them into pictures of something. This red scribble…

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…became hair on a head!

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A very detailed silly scribble…

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…turned into a caterpillar on a tree branch.

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Pretty soon, he was off and running, not even needing me but just enjoying his own scribbles, including this creature with 6 eyes.

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This game works equally well on napkins with markers…which makes it perfect for times you’re waiting in a restaurant, or otherwise on the go! In sum, if you have a little time to while away, it’s the ideal activity.