Crayon Rubbings: Explore with different textures by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing the crayon on the paper. Sand Painting: Spread glue on a piece of paper. Drop the sand onto the glue, shake off extra sand. Large Block building: See how tall your child can get the blocks to go before they tip over. Bean bag toss: Throw the bean bags … Continue reading Gross Motor Activities
This is a great activity for a toddler who loves to sort and pick things up and put them in a container. It will help your child with gross motor skills, following directions, fine motor skills and the concept of “in” and “out”. You can color the clothespins with markers, or paint. Then use different color buckets for your child to match the colors. Don’t … Continue reading Clothespins and the Basket
When my son turned a year old, we started to noticed that he would wake up in the middle of the night and scream at the top of his lungs. We didn’t know what was going on until I started to research nightmares and night terrors. There is a difference between a nightmare and a night terror. A nightmare happens in the REM phase of … Continue reading Nightmares and Night Terrors
Do you think that fathers sit around and gloat about whether or not their child is breast fed or formula fed? Do you think that they are commenting to each other whether they let their child cry-it-out or not? Or what about how they disciple their child? Most likely not. So why do mothers sit around and judge one another about how they raise their … Continue reading Mom vs. Mom
Last week was about the importance of reading to children. This is my experience with reading as a child and adult. Gosh, I love to read now as an adult! I can pick up a book and finish it just a few hours later. I love getting into a story and seeing where it takes me. I can say all this now, but I don’t … Continue reading My Experiences with Reading
There is nothing like hearing your husband read to your children your favorite book. Seeing your husband dancing with your infant daughter to no music at all is precious! Ashley Continue reading Heartwarmer
I can only imagine how many different pieces of artwork each child does in their life time. For me, I think where am I going to store it all? Here are some ideas to repurpose them without throwing them away! Use it for wrapping paper. Frame it- You can even change the picture from time to time. Turn them into greeting cards. Turn them all … Continue reading Repurpose Children’s Artwork
Infants, toddlers, and children learn using all 5 senses. They have a very short attention span, so when preparing an activity it needs to be stimulating. They love to use more than one sense, so create an activity that will use 2-3 senses. Children love to get involved and interact, make sure it is something that they can participate in. Create it based off of your child’s … Continue reading Tips on Preparing a Stimulating Activity
As a mother, I always want to guide my children in a positive way. There are various ways to guide your children in a positive way. Below are some strategies for guiding your child’s behavior in positive ways as you help them learn to manage their feelings and behavior. Give the big rule and the little rule. This strategies involves state one of your main rules … Continue reading Positive Guidance Strategies
We all know that children love stuffed animals and usually have a collection of them. How about having a stuff animal circus? Make a tent (drap a sheet over a table) where the animals can perform circus acts. You can even use a pillowcase at the doorway to create a “curtain”. Use the stuffed animals for story telling. Have them help act out a story that … Continue reading Toddler Play Ideas: Stuffed Animals
ART with Angela DiCicco, The Italian Grandmama's Guide 