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
Do you remember the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland? He was always singA very merry unbirthday to you, to me! A very merry unbirthday to you, to me!. What a wonderful idea to do. Host a unbirthday party for you and all your friends. You can make your own unbirthday hats with construction paper rolled into a cone shape. Draw a picture for pin-the-tail-on game. (ex: Draw … Continue reading UnBirthday Party
Rook No. 17 has a great Halloween Scavenger Hunt Eighteen25 has a free printable of 31 activities and a Halloween countdown. Clever Classroom has a free Halloween Vocabulary printable. (you will need to create a free account.) Like a Pretty Petunia has a tutorial on how to make these! Better Homes and Garden has 25 different crafts for Halloween. Craft Interrupted has many printables for decorations. … Continue reading Halloween Activities and Crafts!
Babies start learning from the minute they are born. Over the course of their first year they learn so much, there are a lot of activities that you can do with infants to help with development. Below are a few activities for ages 6-9 months: The Napkin Game: Place a dinner napkin partially covering your face. Take the napkin off and say “Peek-a-boo”. Do this several times before trying … Continue reading Activities for Babies: 6-9 Months
Babies start learning from the minute they are born. Over the course of their first year they learn so much, there are a lot of activities that you can do with infants to help with development. Below are a few activities for ages 3-6 months: What’s Cooking?: Whenever you are in the kitchen, talk about each thing you do. Let your baby play with kitchen utensils, bowls, pots and … Continue reading Activities for Babies: 3-6 Months
We are cleaning Becca’s room and she finds an aspirator and asks “What’s this?”. Remember like daddy did when you had a stuffy nose, it is to clean your nose. She replied “I use my finger.” As she demonstrated her technique. Angela DiCicco, written in Feb 1991 Continue reading Heartwarmer
Fall has long been a season of celebration. Harvest parties have been in existence for centuries. Why not have a party this year using suggestions from “The Penny Whistle Halloween Book” by Meredith Brokaw and Annie Gilbar? We’ve excerpted a few of our favorite ideas. PUMPKIN DECORATIONS Hollow out and fill with dried flowers, leaves, and branches. Make a “family” by using pumpkins of different sizes. As … Continue reading Kids Korner: Harvest Time
Learning about the 5 senses can be a lot of fun. Below are some suggestions for ways to teach the 5 different senses Sound Wind: Pinwheel, windsocks Running water: ponds, bridge over a wet spot Instruments: Bottle to blow through, windchimes, birdhouses & feeders to attract song birds, dry leaves, sticks in paper bags Piping taped sounds outdoors Songs which encourage making nature noises Play … Continue reading Creating a Sensory Environment
The real evil of materialism is not the pursuit or things. It is, rather, seeing and treating other people as things and therefore putting things ahead of people. Youngsters with a habit of thinking and acting this way are headed toward trouble later in life: substance abuse, professional problems, marital break-up, a life dominated by impulse and unrestrained egoism. What can parents do with their young … Continue reading Born to Serve, Not to Shop
ART with Angela DiCicco, The Italian Grandmama's Guide 