Exploring the Night Sky

Explore Night (1)

It can feel funny sometimes to teach a baby about celestial objects – the stars, the moon, planets – because they are rarely awake to see nighttime! Especially here in the summer, Veronika is asleep long before stars come out or the moon shines.

If your child also sleeps before dark, have fun pointing out these night objects in books instead! Today, instead of reading the words, I sang star and moon poems as we turned each page of a favorite book.

Explore Night (3)

When we came to a star, I pointed and sang:

Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are.

And here’s a rhyme to go with the moon page:

I see the moon

And the moon sees me

As is floats so high

Over mommy and me

I see the stars

And the stars see me

As they shine in the sky

Over Daddy and me

Explore Night (4)

You can also point out stars wherever you may have them around the house. Veronika is transfixed by our nightlight.

Explore Night (5)

We tried going outside just before bedtime, but the sky was indeed still light.

Explore Night (6)

But then wouldn’t you know it; an unusually fussy bedtime had Veronika up later than usual, and look what was peeking at us just before she slept.

Explore Night (8)

Meanwhile, we’ll wait for the impending shorter days of autumn and winter, when I can truly take her out to marvel at these wonders of the night sky.

Explore Night (7)

Laundry in the Fast Lane

Laundry Games (1)

It’s getting harder to keep Veronika entertained while I do laundry, so today I upped the ante; instead of seating her next to me with her own laundry center, I put her right in the laundry basket!

Laundry Games (8)

She instantly was intrigued with her new surroundings. To keep her occupied, I dropped in easy, small items – baby socks, washcloths – and soon she was playing happily with them.

Laundry Games (2)

Next I played a game of peekaboo, draping a small hand towel over her head and asking, “where’s Veronika?”

Laundry Games (3)

I lifted the towel for a big reveal: there she is! She loved this one.

Laundry Games (4)

Now it was time to turn the laundry basket into a car.

Laundry Games (7)

I zoomed her around, including back and forth to the dryer to check on a load, and announced “Pit stop!” when we came to a stop. These words got a giggle every time.

Laundry Games (6)

One note of caution: big siblings are going to think this looks so fun that they’ll want a turn! Needless to say, this is one way to take the drudgery out of laundry.

Laundry Games (9)

Baby’s Beef and Barley

Beef and Barley

This quick recipe is a well-balanced combo of protein, grain, and veggie for your little eater.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Gardein beefless tips
  • 1/2 cup cooked barley
  • 4 ounces carrot puree
  1. Saute the beefless tips for about 8 minutes, until lightly browned.
  2. Mince the beef, and combine in a bowl with the barley and carrot. If you prefer, you can run the whole mixture through a food processor for younger babies.

Arrange a Musical Playdate

Musical Playdate (3).jpg

Classic children’s songs are so much fun for babies. Parents will likely know the words and motions from their own childhood, making them favorites to pass down (think Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, or Open Shut Them). When you make it a group event, it’s just that much more fun!

Today, Veronika and I joined a group singing at our local library. She was thrilled to receive props like scarves and puppets as we sang to favorites like Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

Musical Playdate (4)

This is a great way to see other babies in action, too, playing with instruments and moving around. Our group singalong featured an assortment of rattles and shakers.

Musical Playdate (5)

Another fun song for movement is Row Row Row Your Boat. After we rowed our babies’ arms on the classic first verse, the library added some cute new lyrics.

Drive Drive Drive your car (move your baby’s hands like a wheel)…

Chug Chug Chug your train (elbows swinging)…

and

Fly Fly Fly your airplane (arms out)

At home, I made up a few more silly verses. We rowed up a river to see a polar bear shiver, up the stream to see a crocodile and scream, and to the shore to see a lion roar.

You can continue the musical fun long after group time has ended. I’m a Little Teapot is another one that’s great for gross motor movement (and props!).

I’m a little teapot

short and stout

Here is my handle (one hand on hip)

Here is my spout (other arm out straight)

When I get all steamed up

then I shout

Tip me over

and pour me out! (lean over to the side)

The tip gets a giggle very time – mommy is sideways!

Musical Playdate (1)

If your library doesn’t have a musical sing-along for you to attend, consider being the host for a musical playdate. Have a few friends over whose babies are about the same age, and scatter all the instruments in the middle. Parents sing while babies bop and shake along!

Musical Playdate (2)

Create a Sensory Tunnel

Sensory Tunnel (8).JPG

Today, with big brother off to kindergarten (!), I had time for a bigger project than usual with Veronika. Using two old moving boxes from the garage, I opened up all the flaps and then nested them slightly one inside the other to form one long tunnel.

Sensory Tunnel (1)

Hmm, the box was intriguing, but Veronika didn’t head inside just yet.

Sensory Tunnel (2)

Next I poked three holes along the top. I stuffed in three socks, all with different patterns. One sock I left empty, one I stuffed with newspaper for a crinkly effect, and one had a musical rattle inside.

Sensory Tunnel (3)

Interestingly, the empty sock was her favorite. She loved trying to catch it and tug on it.

Sensory Tunnel (4)

She seemed quite determined to pull it all the way from the box, and was amazed every time it sprang back into place (Note: you can knot the socks at the top if needed, to keep them secure).

Sensory Tunnel (5)

I placed a few tantalizing toys inside (balls, cars), and finally that did the trick. In she goes!

Sensory Tunnel (7)

She looked absolute thrilled with her surroundings once inside, her own little fort! If you want, you could even make windows, but my boxes were a bit floppy and I skipped that step so that the tunnel didn’t cave in.

Sensory Tunnel (9)

She did also try lying on her back to kick at the socks, but preferred sitting up to play.

Sensory Tunnel (6)

What a fantastic morning of fun!

Pudding Painting

Pudding Paint (6)

Veronika is almost old enough to start making her first works of art, but there’s one problem with this girl: everything goes in her mouth! The solution, if your baby is the same, is edible paint.

Pudding Paint (1)

Today, I whipped up a batch of vanilla pudding (Whole Foods 365 is vegan). Let the pudding chill in the fridge, then add food coloring for “paint” colors.

Pudding Paint (2)

I gave Veronika a paint brush, which instantly made her look so proud; she’s seen big brother paint, and now it was her turn.

Pudding Paint (4)

Turn a little of the pudding paint out onto a highchair tray (or tape down paper, if you prefer) and let your little artist go to town.

Pudding Paint (5)

First she just made a few smears. Then she wanted to focus more on the paintbrush. Once the tip of it got in her mouth and she discovered the pudding was yummy…

Pudding Paint (7)

…her smile was priceless. Then she really got her hands into the mix.

Pudding Paint (11)

I showed her how to make circles and squares, plus a few letters.

Pudding Paint (8)

Soon we had green, where or blue and yellow “paints” had mixed.

Pudding Paint (10)

This was a fantastic foray into the world of art, as she nears 10 months old!

 

Pudding Paint (9)

Solar Energy and Water

Solar Power (1)

This quick experiment seemed like a good way to illustrate the power of the sun for Travis, especially as he learns about how solar energy can power homes and more. Unfortunately our results weren’t spectacular, but perhaps you’ll have a more clear-cut outcome!

Set two cups of water on 2 pieces of paper, one white, and one black, somewhere that receives direct sunlight. Theoretically, the water on the black paper should warm up more quickly, as the black absorbs the sun’s heat, while the white reflects it.

Travis helped test this in two ways.

First, we tried ice cubes, expecting the one on the black paper’s water to melt faster.

Solar Power (2)

But oh no, our ice cubes might not have been the same size, because the white side melted more quickly!

Solar Power (3)

Next we tried a thermometer. We left the two cups of water to heat up in the sun for a few hours, then headed out with a thermometer to check.

Again, sadly, the results weren’t very pronounced. The black water might have been a degree or two warmer, but on our small dial, that was hard for Travis to appreciate.

Solar Power (4)

Either way, at least the experiment got him thinking, and he got a dose of science and a little sunshine in the morning!

Environmental Print

Summer Print (8)

In the final week of summer, Travis undertook a multi-part assignment to search for the print all around us: on food labels, on street signs, on toys, etc. Such words, known as “environmental print” can be great first sight words for pre-readers, and can encourage kids to learn!

So after concentrating on a letter a day for a little while, the idea now was for Travis to spot and notice full words.

Travis made a collection over a few days, pulling labels from food boxes at home and noticing signs around town.

Summer Print (1)

Great early sight words include STOP on a red hexagon, the “One Way” of a black and white arrows, or stores your child knows by name.

Summer Print (3)

Next up, I asked Travis to sort the print we had found. We had two main categories: street signs and food labels. Feel free to add multiple categories though, depending what your child has seen!

Summer Print (5)

A further great exercise was adding them to the pages of his Alphabet Dictionary.

Summer Print (6)

This was great both for recognizing the opening letter of each word and for sounding it out. He rightly noted that Fig Newmans could have gone on the “F” page or the “N” page!

Summer Print (7)

Finally,you can make a few “puzzles” by cutting some of the larger labels into pieces.

Summer Print (9)

If you are able to make copies of photos or have double of certain food labels, you could even turn it into a game of Memory.

Summer Print (10)

How else could your child play with “environmental print? Please share in the comments!

Summer Print (11)

Sight Word Tower

Sight Word Tower (4)

It doesn’t seem possible, but summer is over and school starts tomorrow! That meant it was time to culminate Travis’s summer sight word practice with one final fun activity.

I wrote each word from our index cards onto the top of a paper cup.

Sight Word Tower (1)

I challenged Travis to build the cups into towers – any way he chose! – but as he worked, he had to say the word on that cup.

Sight Word Tower (3)

Not only was this a neat building challenge, but I was able to pinpoint which words still gave him pause.

Sight Word Tower (6)

The activity is so simple but so beneficial, we’ll keep these cups on hand for the school year!

Sight Word Tower (5)

Plus it became a race to see if he could blurt the correct word before the resident menace (baby sister) came over to knock down his towers.

Sight Word Tower (7)

Tube Talk

Tube Talk (4).JPG

Sometimes the best games with babies require only the simplest tools; to wit, this adorable little activity for which you only need an empty toilet paper roll or two!

I spoke through one and called out Veronika’s name, and she eagerly trotted over. This was something she had to come see.

Tube Talk (1)

I held the tube up to her ear and whispered a few words. She turned her head eager to see where the sound was coming from!

Tube Talk (2)

Of course she wanted to hold one immediately. She babbled down into it, which changed the sound of her vocalizations somewhat.

Tube Talk (3)

And of course nibbled on it.

Tube Talk (6)

Finally, I held the tube against the bare skin of her arm and spoke into it, which meant my warm breath reached her skin. There were lots of giggles for that one!

Tube Talk (5)