Scarf Scuffle

July 6, 2020Leave a comment

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Toddler’s love scarves, and of course you can always turn to go-to activities like dancing with them, or tossing them in the air to watch them float down, or crumpling them up into a tiny ball that pops open. But today, we headed outside with scarves to engage Veronika’s imagination a little, too!

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What could she be with her scarf? First up, we were fluttering birds and butterflies. She loved flapping and tweeting as she pranced around the patio this way.

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How about a flower growing? We pretended we were flowers stretching high towards the sun, the scarves rising up above our head. Pretending to be a leaf would work, too, fluttering down instead!

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Her favorite was when I wrapped one around her waist (this girl loves dress-up!), and told her she was a ballerina. She danced…

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…and twirled…

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…and went up on tippy-toe!

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What a wonderful way to imagine and play. Are there any favorite scarf games in your house? Please share in the comments!

Easy Scarf Pull Activity

February 28, 2020Leave a comment

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This gross motor skill activity for toddlers is sure to tantalize!

For set up, attach containers to the wall with painter’s tape. These could be empty paper towel tubes or old bottles or really any container through which you can pull a scarf. For the bottles, you’ll need to cut off the closed end first. Make sure to tape over any sharp or jagged edges. I used two empty juice bottles, but water bottles or even an empty gallon jug would work!

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While Veronika was napping, I secured these to the wall and stuffed a scarf into each with the end dangling out.

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She came wandering over mildly curious. Because she loves draping herself in scarves, I thought she would be so into this.

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Surprisingly, she really only gave each one a single tug through its tunnel, but then lost interest. She showed a bit more interest about the containers themselves, and how they were stuck to the wall.

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Well, at least we got in a little gross motor play as she pulled those scarves. Your kids may want to stuff the scarves back into the containers and play this game over and over.

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Never-Ending Scarves

July 18, 2019Leave a comment

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When she was younger, Veronika loved when I would dangle scarves over her. Now that’s she’s bigger, there’s still more fun to be had with scarves, especially when they become almost… magical!

There are two ways to play this game and she loved them both. For the first, tie a few lightweight scarves together and stuff them into an empty tissue box.

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Show your baby the tantalizing end, and encourage him or her to pull.

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Veronika didn’t hesitate one bit. She looked amazed as more and more fabric came from the box.

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There was the delight of watching it “magically” change color…

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…and of ending up in a pile of fabric!

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For the second version of the game, I stuffed those same scarves into an empty paper towel tube. I showed her just the end and she pulled.

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And pulled…

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And pulled…

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and loved it when she had a huge pile in her lap at the end. This will be a magical moment for babies and grown-ups, in sum!

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When you’re done with all that pulling, just wiggle the scarves around on the floor like a snake.

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Or let your baby have the empty tissue container. Babies always seem to like the boxes best of all.

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One way or another, this game is sure to fill a morning of play.

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Reverse Peekaboo

May 22, 2019Leave a comment

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Today, Veronika and I mixed up our games of peekaboo. Unlike in the past, this time she played peekaboo with me!

Okay, perhaps not really, but this is a super-cute variation. First, to get her comfortable with the idea, I placed a see-through scarf over my head. Where’s mommy?

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Peek-a-boo!

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Now I draped the scarf loosely over her head. She looked a bit confused but delighted.

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Where’s Veronika? Peek-a-boo!

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Needless to say, we played many rounds, with different colored scarves for variation.

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This game was also a reminder what fun these see-through scarves are for tots. Wad it into a ball and hand it to your child, and let the fun begin!

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Colorful Scarf Circle

March 20, 2019Leave a comment

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This activity takes all of two minutes to set up, but your baby will reap great benefits from it. It’s perfect for times when you want to visually stimulate a baby who can’t sit up yet; great for tummy time; and also encourages gross motor development towards rolling or crawling.

Here’s the set-up: lay a soft blanket on the ground, and simply surround it with pretty scarves. Before I draped each one down, I let Veronika see it and grab it if she wanted to, then added it to the circle.

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Now baby goes in the middle! The bright colors immediately caught her eye. Since Veronika isn’t rolling on her own yet, I nudged her gently to her side.

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From here, she could complete the roll, and seemed intent on getting closer to the bold blues and reds. If your baby is already rolling, he or she might enjoy rolling back and forth between these scarves for quite some time!

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Once on her tummy, she had plenty to look at, which was a nice way to shake up tummy time.

Back on her back, she enjoyed running her hands over soft fabrics, or grabbing on to the tassels, leading to great tactile play.

Scarf Play (7) Note: There’s also no need to wait until your baby is rolling for this game. I’ve been setting Veronika up in a similar circle of scarves since she was tiny. The only difference is that now the game is more interactive.

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Floating Scarves

January 3, 2019January 3, 2019Leave a comment

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This cute game is a new way to engage your baby with different fabrics and textures; it’s a step up from the dangling scarf game Veronika and I played at one month old. Now she’s a big two months old, and enjoyed this new version!

Talking to your baby, hold thin scarves a little above him or her, and let float gently to the ground. After the first few times, Veronika was looking up in anticipation.

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