Making Tire Tracks in Tempera Paint

tire

Materials

Tempera Paint
Gallon Zip-loc Baggies
Various small toy cars (construction vehicles are great!)
Hard flat surface

Directions

Place 1-2 tablespoon of tempera paint into a gallon Zip-loc bag.  Close bag and tape all four sides to a table or hard surface.  Invite your child to drive the cars through the paint.  Observe the different tracks that various cars and vehicles make.

Mirror Game

mirror

Materials

Unbreakable mirror
Small square scarf or cloth

Directions

Mount an unbreakable mirror low on the wall so that you infant can see herself when she is on the floor or in a low seat. Play peek-a-boo in front of the mirror with baby by placing a small cloth over her head, making baby “disappear”.  Remove the cloth and say, “Peek-a-boo!” Talk to your baby while she is looking in the mirror, showing her her eyes, nose, mouth, and so on. Use your child’s name and point to the image so that she knows the reflection is her.

Here’s a rhyme you can say:

Here are your fingers; here are your toes.

Here is your chin; and here is your nose.

A Good Start for Babies

by Mildred E. Cawlfield

When new babies arrive, they usually already know how to eat and sleep. They let us know when they’re hungry and when they are full. Parents learn to listen to know when the cry means hunger or some other need. They gradually help the baby get into a predictable schedule. A new baby will often go to sleep soon after starting a feeding. In that case, the parent can try to waken the baby by gently washing his face with cool water on a soft cloth or cotton swab. 

Eating problems can start after the first couple of months if the parent tries to get the baby to take a little more after he is full, by jiggling the nipple in his mouth or by moving him around and trying to burp him frequently. If a bottle-fed baby is taking only two or three ounces every two hours, there is a need to lengthen the time between feedings and increase the amount of formula. If the baby drains a four-ounce bottle, more should be offered at the feeding and the times between feedings will lengthen. 

A nursing baby as he grows and gets hungrier will increase the amount of mother’s milk by having days of wanting to eat more frequently. If the mother understands this and feeds him more frequently, the supply is increased and the baby goes back to longer stretches between feedings. 

The parent shouldn’t take away from the child the major responsibility for eating, by trying to get him to eat more than he wants. If the child turns his head away or indicates he doesn’t want to eat, he shouldn’t be forced or tricked into eating. This leads to resistance and lack of trust. 

Sleeping problems can start if the parents take away from the baby the responsibility for going to sleep by making themselves a part of the going-to-sleep process. If a child is accustomed to having the parent give a bottle or nurse, rock, or put a pacifier in his mouth in order to get to sleep, then he may be unable to return to sleep on his own when he awakens in the night. 

An older baby is capable of getting enough food during the day. Awakening in the night for food to get back to sleep is merely a habit. 

If parents have already made themselves part of the going-to-sleep process, and a baby of six or seven months or older is awakening in the night, it will take some fortitude to help the child learn to go to sleep alone, but it can be accomplished in less than a week. Put the baby down after a little routine, such as a song or prayer, and gently pat him down. Then leave the room. If he cries, which he will probably do, return after a few minutes and put him down again with a reassuring pat, and leave again. Lengthen the time of returning up to fifteen minutes between visits, but be sure not to stay with the baby until he falls asleep. If you give in and hold or feed the baby until he is asleep, you will have to start the learning process again. You can support the process with your prayers, and be assured that the crying periods will quickly shorten. The baby will soon learn how to get to sleep alone, and you will no longer be needed in the night to get him back to sleep. He will happily exercise his responsibility in that area. 

Regular toilet training doesn’t start until a child is around two years old. However, a parent may put a baby on a little potty seat on the toilet for bowel movements from as early as ten or eleven months, if the child is regular and shows some indication when starting to have a movement. This can be easier than changing a diaper, and if the baby is not pressured it can be a happy lead-in to regular toilet training. The parent should stay with a child when he is on the potty, talk or read books, and acknowledge when elimination occurs. No disappointment or indication of failure should be voiced if the movements are missed. This procedure may need to be dropped for periods when there seems to be no regularity, but can be picked up again when regularity returns. The responsibility will be the parents until the child is around two and ready for urine training. But if these daily potty stops are a time of enjoyable attention from the parent and are successful, cooperation is more likely and natural later for regular toilet training. 

These tips can prevent later problems in the areas of eating, sleeping, and toilet training. An important consideration, however, is to maintain a calm, matter-of-fact attitude about natural functions. 

It is necessary to demand that the will of Principle, not person, be done, and to see that all training tends in this direction. (E.A.P. p. 14)

Giant Bubble Recipe

Ingredients

Liquid Dawn Detergent
Glycerin
Gallon Container

Directions

Measure 6 cups of water into one container, then pour 1 cup of Dawn dish soap into the water and slowly stir it until the soap is mixed in. Try not to let foam or bubbles form while you stir. Measure 1 tablespoon of glycerin and add it to the container. Stir the solution until it is mixed together.

Use various bubble blowing instruments for blowing large bubbles (e.g. plastic funnels, pool noodles, large bubble wands)

Contact Paper Collage

Materials

Clear contact paper
Variety of materials for collage – tissue paper, feathers, foam pieces, construction paper,
Tape

Instructions

Cut of a large piece of clear contact paper. Peel the paper of the back side.  Tape contact paper to the table or window, sticky side up.  Provide various materials to stick onto contact paper to make an interesting collage.  Once completed, place sticky side of contact paper against a window and note how light shines through the collage.

How to Make Really Good Play Dough

Spring colors and spring cookie cutters!

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar (alum works well, too)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
food coloring (use icing gels for more vibrant colors)

Instructions

  1. Heat water, oil, and food coloring in saucepan until boiling.
  2. Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar and add to heated water mixture, mixing until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not let mixutre stick to the pot. 
  3. Dump the mixture onto a cookie sheet or tray and let it cool slightly.
  4. Knead, knead, and knead! The secret to great play dough is in the kneading. Knead until soft and smooth. When it’s cool enough, children can help with this part.

Play dough will keep in a tightly lidded container for a few months.

Painting with Sensory Balls

Materials

Large box
Construction paper
2-4 sensory balls
Tempera paint 
Cereal bowls or containers for paint
1 large spoon for each color of paint
Glitter (optional)

Directions

Pour paint into the bowls. Place 1-2 sensory balls in each bowl of paint. Lay a piece of construction paper on the bottom of the box. Using a spoon, drop 1-2 sensory balls from the paint into the box. Invite your child to shake and tilt the box. Observe.  Place the balls back in the paint. Continue the process until your child is satisfied with the painting.
Optional: While the paint is wet, sprinkle a little glitter on the painting to give it some sparkle!

Toddler Art: It’s the Process, Not the Product

Art for young children is a learning experience when children are discovering what is stimulating, interesting, and engaging.  They are most interested in experimenting and doing art rather than making a finished product.  During the process, the children experience the joy of exploration, the delight of creating, and sometimes the frustration of challenges.

The art process can be sensory, such as feeling slippery cool paint on bare fingers.  Other times it is a mysterious surprise as colors blend unexpectedly.  The adult’s job is simply to allow this process to happen!  Provide interesting materials, offer help with materials that may be challenging to use, but it is best not to make art samples to copy, as this tends to limit the possibilities of the process and may hinder the world of discovery and creativity.

When communicating to children about their artwork, it is helpful to use open-ended comments that continue to encourage children to explore.  Examples include:
  •  Tell me about your artwork (painting, drawing, playdough)
  •  I see you’ve used many colors!
  •  How does the paint feel?
  •  Tell me about the _____ part.
 
Suggested Art Materials:
  •  Varieties of paper
  •  Glue, paste, tapes
  •  Paints, chalk
  •  Fabric, yarn
  •  Scissors
  •  Natural materials
  •  Recycled materials (cardboard tubes, plastic milk jugs, junk mail)
  •  Various writing instruments (crayons, markers, colored pencils)

“Donut” Printing

Materials

Pool noodle cut in 2-3 inch segments
Large paper
Tempera paint
Paper plate

Directions

Pour a small amount of tempera paint on a paper plate. Invite your child to gently press the end of the pool noodle segment into the paint and then press it onto the paper.  The noodle makes fun donut-shaped prints. Dry completely and display.

Cupcake Flannel Board Play

Materials

Various colors of felt
Sharpie
Scissors

Directions

Using a Sharpie marker, draw bottoms of cupcakes (cupcake papers) on various colors of felt. Cut out bottoms.  Draw cupcake tops using various felt colors. Cut out cupcake tops.  Using scraps of felt, cut out various shapes for decorations (e.g. cherries, sprinkles, candles, hearts, etc.) Using a board covered with flannel or a carpeted area, invite your child to create various cupcakes. Your child will enjoy creating and recreating many kinds of cupcakes.  Have fun!