Tag: siblings

Decorate A Cereal Bowl for Dad

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Here’s a fantastic gift for dads this Father’s Day, care of Hands On As We Grow, that requires no fancy materials but will easily get daily use: decorate bowls with permanent marker so that every time Dad digs into his morning cereal (or afternoon soup, or evening ice cream, or anything in between!), he’s reminded of the kids.

The project requires Sharpies, which are not food safe, so be sure your children are only decorating the outside and bottom of the bowl. I knew the project would be perfectly safe for my kindergartner, but I supervised Veronika closely since the bowls were breakable and the marker was permanent!

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Luckily she loved scribbling all over the sides and bottom of one bowl, and didn’t do any drawing on her skin, as she’s prone to do.

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Travis, meanwhile, wrote “Dad” and drew a picture, and was so proud of his work. Finally, I wrote Happy Father’s Day on a third bowl.

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Place the bowls in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. (Note: Be sure to check that the bowls you’re using are oven-proof, and check the company’s website for any heating details).

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Let the bowls cool, then wrap and save for the big day!

Ring of Love

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Today was a very different Easter for us, as I’m sure it was for many during Covid-19, just our family of 4 around a small table in the living room. To make it feel special for both siblings, I called everyone over before ourmeal began. We held hands and began to walk in a circle around our coffee table.

Immediately, this delighted Veronika! She no doubt loved taking us all for a “walk”, and the sight of our hands joined together. Travis felt the special nature of the moment, too, and stopped to give her a kiss.

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As we walked around, we each shared a hope for the family: that we are happy, that we are healthy, and so forth. It was a beautiful moment, so much so I might make this a tradition!

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You can even just have siblings join hands and spin each other around and around. Make it more of a game by having them change the way they move (walking, running, hopping), or switching directions. Either way, this one is sure to make everyone in the family feel the love.

Handprint Cookies

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Part baking project and part bonding activity, these sibling handprint cookies are absolutely adorable. I can think of no better way to spend these cozy days of social distancing than creating strong memories for the kids, despite the scary news in the outside world.

So first things first, we needed cookie dough! I knew the dough needed to chill for a while, so whipped up a batch first thing in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
  • 2 Ener-G eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla almond milk
  • 2 and 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  1. Cream together the sugar, butter, Ener-G eggs, and almond milk in a stand mixer. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing at low speed just until combined.
  2. Gather the dough into a ball and chill for at least 3 hours.

When it was time to make the cookies, I sat Veronika in her high chair with one portion of dough, and Travis stood at the counter to help me roll out the rest.

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Press a child’s hand to the dough and trace with a butter knife.

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Travis was able to hold his hand still for a realistic approximation on his cookie. I had to use a little more creative license with wiggly toddler Veronika, as expected! Then we gathered the scraps and re-rolled the dough for heart and star cookie cutter shapes.

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As a sweet touch, they pressed their thumbprints into a few cookies.

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Let the kids decorate them however they want!

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I stepped back and let them choose, which meant our cookies had a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle and Dandies marshmallows in the center.

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Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes, until lightly browned.

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Then half the fun is eating them of course!

Big Brother and Little Sister Shirts

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It’s such an exciting development for my kids that now they can do projects together, as was the case with these brother-and-sister shirts. Obviously you can tailor the shirts to fit your family, whether that means two brothers, three sisters, or even mommy & me shirts!

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I purchased blank white tees at the craft store in the kids’ sizes, and first wrote on the front “I am the little sister” and “I am the big brother” with fabric pens. Note: This is harder than it looks, because the fabric kept pulling!

We then wanted to put Veronika’s footprint on Travis’s shirt. I squirted a little fabric paint onto a sponge and pressed it to her foot, then pressed her foot to the fabric. It didn’t come out completely clear, but Travis loved knowing it’s there! If your big kids want to, have them put handprints on the little sibling’s shirt in the same manner.

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Then the kids loved dabbing the sponge all over the shirts, squirting it first with different colors.

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The fabric markers were running low on ink, but they discovered that they could squirt a little fabric paint onto a shirt and use the tip of the markers as the “paintbrush”.

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They had so much fun making these!

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And they looked adorable wearing them.

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Playing with Cups

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Let’s face it: sometimes a toddler can be in the way. Whether you’re helping an older sibling with a project or trying to get chores done, sometimes those little hands just need to be kept busy!

The easiest hack ever? Give them plastic cups to play with. Do you need to add anything to the cups? Nope, that’s it; just plastic cups!

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I handed Veronika this stack of clear cups when originally she wanted in on a messy project with big brother. But the moment she saw the cups on the floor, she was hooked.

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She sat surrounded by a pile of them and stacked them. Sometimes she stacked them upside down, and sometimes facing up (nesting).

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Sometimes one faced down and one faced up. Then she could topple them over.

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After a while, she had fun kicking and rolling them, and chasing after them. She even discovered that they made neat reflections when held in front of the shiny dishwasher.

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I may just give her cups to play with every day. We’ll have to try some in colored plastic for future variation!

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What’s your favorite toddler toy hack? Please share in the comments!

Nature Collage

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This was Travis and Veronika’s first art project together, a really wonderful milestone for siblings.

It started with a nature walk! On a gorgeous spring-like day, we took Veronika out to stretch her legs, and although she has come along on nature hikes, this was the first time she walked on her own two feet.

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Travis was a great help along the trail, pointing out the names of objects. “Log!” he told her proudly, and also pointed out grass, acorns, pine cones, sticks, pebbles, and dirt.

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Of course dirt had to be explored.

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When Veronika saw that big brother had a walking stick, she needed one too!

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As we hiked, the kids added treasures to a brown paper bag. Because it is late winter, there wasn’t a whole lot of color, but there was beauty to be found in dried brown leaves, curiously-shaped sticks, and bristly pine needles.

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Once home, I asked Travis what shape we should draw on construction paper. He chose a butterfly, but anything else from nature – a flower, a favorite animal – would be fun.

Working together, we dripped on glue and applied bits of our nature finds into a collage. Travis loved using an acorn for a big eye and pine needles for antennae. Veronika loved pressing down pieces of leaf on the wings. Something for everyone!

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She even loved squeezing the glue bottle.

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This project helped shape an absolutely beautiful afternoon, and I hope you find the project equally magical.

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Crawl Space Race

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Big brother’s toys are so tempting to Veronika, but I usually keep her in a safe playroom filled only with baby toys. When she manages to break free into the hallway, she looks immensely satisfied with herself. Today, I indulged her desire for freedom and turned it into a little game. Here comes trouble…

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Definitely only play this game with toys that are safe for a baby even if they belong to a big sibling. We set up a few large superheroes as the grand prize. You can cover them with a blanket or basket for extra excitement.

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Travis knelt down next to Veronika until I gave the green light. And they’re off!

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She had no idea she was having a race, of course, she was just having a blast! Meanwhile, Travis had the thrill of a chase and the satisfaction of winning.

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Now it was Veronika versus mommy! I crawled along at her pace to her absolute delight, and we reached the toys together.

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You can also deliberately let your baby crawl ahead of you, which gives you the chance to tickle little toes.

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There are lots of variations on this game. Introduce silly concepts like “The last one there is a rotten egg!” or have the race be to a person instead of a toy.

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What games do you play with your little crawler? Please share in the comments!

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Can You Move Like Baby?

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Travis is so excited at the ways Veronika is changing these days, more deliberate with her movements and much more vocal. I dare say I can step back and watch the two of them play now (!), which is mainly him being silly around her and trying to make her laugh. But today, it was Veronika’s turn to be the leader, and Travis’s turn to follow.

I challenged him to move in the same ways she did, and pretty soon we had lots of giggles and attempts to copy her little body.

First, he got under the playmat to bat at a toy next to her.

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Quality sibling time!

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We moved Veronika over to a blanket, where she was reaching for her socks and grabbing for her feet. Travis held on to his toes.

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She also gives lots of little kicks and arm wiggles these days, and it was hilarious to watch Travis imitate these motions.

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If your baby is rolling, older sibs can copy that, too. Meanwhile, catching the two of them doing tymmy time together was one of their most precious sibling moments yet.

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In sum, this is a great activity for older siblings or big cousins who are still wondering how they can interact with a new baby. It’s sure to produce lots of giggles in everyone. Thanks to Hands on As We Grow for the idea!

Calm Big Sibling Jealousy

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I’m two and a half months into life with two, so it was time to take stock: how was the big sibling faring when it came to jealousy?

Taking my cue from a fantastic post at Hands on As we Grow, I assessed myself on a list of five tips to curb jealousy. Here’s my run down of what’s worked well for us:

First: Use of a feeding time activity basket. This was a huge hit when Veronika was first home from the hospital, instantly making Travis feel special. But quite honestly, Travis lost interest quickly. He’s old enough to play his own games (and she is a “snacker”, nursing for very short periods, which helps!). But if your child needs direction and you have a baby who nurses in marathon sessions, I highly recommend this fix.

Second: Wear a baby carrier. I honestly didn’t babywear much with Travis, but I’ve found it to be a life-saver with baby #2. When we grocery shop, Travis can help scan all the items and feel like we’re having one-on-one time, as Veronika snoozes away oblivious in the carrier. I even chaperoned for Travis’s school field trip – he felt so special to have his mom there, and people hardly noticed the little baby sleeping away in the carrier!

Third: Use a baby monitor. This is useful in a couple of ways. First, Travis just loves the technology, and can be the big helper moving the camera with the arrow buttons. It also means I don’t have to tell him to be quiet as often, if she is napping in another room instead of the middle of the living room!

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Fourth: Involve big siblings in taking care of the baby. This can be everything from snuggling up for a story, or getting them a toy, or helping at diaper changes. Travis loves handing over a burp cloth whenever I need one, and he’s an expert at rearranging her blanket in the back seat of the car if it rides up.

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Finally, for siblings who still nap, Hands On recommends scheduling naps at different times. I couldn’t agree more, as one-on-one time is key! But Travis has dropped his nap, so my self-appointed task was to make sure I made time for him during Veronika’s nap. Naptime for her is when I get in there with Travis: playing, doing a craft, or exploring something together – something you have to be a big kid to do, no babies allowed!

In sum, all five of these are useful tips, and thanks to Hands On for the original post!