Baby Angels Blog

Thought i’d share these great tips. It was from Practical Parenting Magazine.

Ban cabin fever with our easy, fast and, best of all, cheap ways to keep babies, tots and pre-schoolers happy…

Entertaining your baby
1. Babies are fascinated by faces. Cut out a large photo of someone’s face from a magazine and stick it in a place where your baby can easily see it, but not grab it. You’ll be surprised by how long this will fixate her.

2. Give your baby a massage. Undress her, lie her on a towel in a warm room and then cover your palms in oil (baby lotion or even olive oil will do). Put on some relaxing music and talk to her softly while you gently massage her arms, legs and torso with circular movements.

3. If it’s a warm day, put a bowel of water on the lawn and let your baby splash her hands in the water. Add bubbles for extra fun! But never leave a baby unattended near water.

4. Have a dance. Put your favourite song on, pick your baby up, and move her arms and legs in time to the music.

5. Give her scrunched-up paper to play with (but not newspaper because of the print) - babies love the rustling noise. A shiny, thermal blanket looks great and makes an even better sound (from camping stores or simplehike.co.uk, £3.99).

6. Do finger painting! If it’s a nice day, strip her down to her nappy and move outside for less mess. Try the ELC for finger-paints or add food colouring to custard. Yum!

7. Put some jelly or cooked spaghetti on your baby’s highchair tray for her to play with! Make sure you’ve covered the floor with plastic sheeting. Try small pieces of cereal to keep your baby busy practising her pincer grip!

8. Fill a small, plastic bottle with rice (put the lid on!). She’ll love the noise it makes when shaken.

9. A baby who can sit up will enjoy making music with a pan and wooden spoon.

10. A garden centre with a pet section is a great place to visit. An older baby will love a trip to look at animals.

11. Young babies love lying under trees so they can watch the leaves moving.

12. Sit her in front of a mirror for a few minutes. She’ll be fascinated by the other baby!

13. Babies who can sit unaided will love putting things in and out of containers. Show her what to do first with a tub of blocks.

 Entertaining your toddler

14. Let your tot help with the washing. Show her how to sort the ‘coloureds’ from the ‘whites’, and then let her stuff them into the machine.

15. Give her water and a brush and let her ‘paint’ the patio.

16. Get out her plastic tea-set and a bowl of soapy water and let her wash up.

17. If it’s a cold day, put some sand from the sand-pit in a washing-up bowl and hide mini treasures. A spoon makes a good-sized spade and a sieve’s fun, too.

18. Make some playdough. Give your toddler biscuit cutters and a rolling-pin and show her how to cut out ‘biscuits’. A garlic press is fun for making squiggly bits. In a pan, mix together 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 4 cups of water, 4 tbsp of cooking oil and 1/2 cup of cream of tartar. Cook over a low heat until formed and not too sticky. Knead in some food colouring for interest.

19. Wrap up a few of her favourite toys for her to unwrap. Don’t use too much tape or she’ll need your help. See if she can guess what’s inside.

20. Make a photo album together. Find some family shots and a notebook and help your toddler glue the pictures in.

21. Do some magic painting! Draw a simple design on paper with a white candle or crayon. Make up watery paint in a strong colour and let your tot paint the paper to reveal the lovely designs - she’ll be amazed.

22. Play ‘Follow my leader’. Your toddler has to copy everything you do, jump up and down, pat your tummy, sit down, stand up, walk up stairs, put your slippers on your head? The sillier the better! Once she’s got the idea, let her lead you.

23. Trace a toddler using an old roll of lining wallpaper. Get your child to lie on it and trace her outline! Then let her colour or paint it (if you’re feeling brave!).

24. Put on a lively piece of music and play musical bumps. Tell her she has to sit down as quickly as possible when the music stops.

25. Make a letterbox! Cover an old cereal box in red paint or paper. Cut out a slot for letters and make pretend envelopes. Your child can write on the envelopes, stick on pretend stamps and post them.

26. Dig out your old home videos. She’ll love it if there are people she knows - more fun than watching endless Postman Pats!

27. Go to the park. Take a ball or a ride-along toy. You might find other mums to chat to.

28. Make up thick poster paint, then paint your toddler’s hands. Get her to make handprints all over some paper. When they’re dry you can make a special birthday card with them.

29. Slice some potatoes in half and cut a shape into each flat surface. Dip the potatoes into saucers of poster paint and let your toddler use them for printing.

30. Make a collage. Toddlers like sticking things. Use sweet wrappers, scraps of material, foil, cotton wool -anything really!

31. Make jam tarts. Your toddler will love rolling the pastry.

32. Have a dolls’ tea party. Use a picnic rug and real food.

33. Make a mask. Draw a cat’s face on card and cut holes for eyes. Let her colour it, then attach a straw so she can hold it in front of her.

34. Help her to set out that train set, farm or zoo she got from Santa Claus at Christmas and hasn’t played with yet!

35. Paint your toddler’s face. If you don’t have the real thing, use water colours or make-up.

36. Play traffic lights. You’re the policeman and she’s the car. When you shout ‘red’, she has to stop; ‘green’ means go.

37. Plant a tub with flowers.

38. Have an ice cream ‘factory’. Put a scoop of ice cream in a bowl and let her choose a topping from a variety set out.

39. Play buses. Line up chairs impairs and fill the seats with dolls.

40. Make a tent. Just drape a sheet over a couple of chairs.

Entertaining your pre-schooler

41. Go to the library. An unending supply of books - for free!

42. Settle her down with a story tape or CD or pre-record yourself reading her fave books.

43. Make a hat. Cut a strip of card to fit round your tot’s head, then get her to decorate it.

44. Make a birthday card for someone in your family - get your tot to draw her own picture.

45. Construct a rocket by covering a loo roll in foil. Make a cone shape to attach to one end and add orange streamers to the other.

46. Play skittles. Make some building block towers outside on the patio, then roll a ball to try to knock them down.

47. Do some dusting! Kids really love to copy Mum (just mind those expensive knick-knacks!)

48. Go swimming. Lots of leisure centre run special children’s sessions when they have extra equipment such as floats, balls and little watering cans.

49. Make a playdough sweet shop. Use different colours and shapes to make lollies, chocolate bars, candy bars and fruit drops.

50. Be sleeping lions. Your child must lie still for as long as possible!

51. Play musical statues. When the music stops, they must freeze!

52. Ask a friend over. At this age children love to have a companion and are easier to entertain.

53. Make a paper-bag puppet with buttons for eyes and wool hair.

54. Play hide-and-seek but pretend to be a bit short-sighted when it’s your turn to do the seeking!

55. Play hunt the teddy. Take it in turns to hide it in the house.

56. Go on a bus ride. It doesn’t matter where to - it’s the adventure of the journey that counts!

57. Paint designs onto each other’s hand using watercolours.

58. Thread tubes of pasta on to lengths of string to make some pasta jewellery.

59. Play hospitals with dolls. Provide loo-paper bandages and a few plasters, then line up dolls and toys as patients.

60. Make an alphabet scrapbook. Cut out photos from magazines for each letter of the alphabet.

61. Decorate cakes or plain biscuits with icing and little sweets.

62. Peg boards or ‘Hamma’ beads keep little fingers occupied for ages at this age.

63. Make a home-made obstacle course in the living room or garden. Use chairs to crawl under, ropes to jump over, balls to dribble or throw into a bucket ? use your imagination.

64. Ask your child to cover a piece of paper with colour patterns, then help her fold it to make a fan.

65. Cut out a fish shape from a sheet of newspaper, about 30cm (1ft) long. Make a tube out of the rest of the newspaper. Move the fish along by beating the tube behind its tail.

66. Play dressing-up. Old hats, scarves, shoes, beads, shirts and any other cast-offs will do.

67. Make a garden in a seed tray. Fill it with soil and add plant cut-offs and flowers. A small container lined with foil and filled with water makes a pond.

68. Make magic potions! Fill plastic bottles and pots with water, food colouring, bubble bath, glitter, petals and stir. Remind your child that she shouldn’t taste it.

69. Wash the car together.

70. Go on a bug hunt. Look under stones and leaves.

71. Do crayon rubbings. Coins work well, as does bark.

72. Put on some lively music and tidy her bedroom together.

73. Let your child draw with chalk on your patio or drive.

74. Play going to the seaside! Help her find her swimsuit, sun hat, bucket and spade.

75. Put 20 household objects on a tray. Show them to your child for 2 minutes, then hide them. See how many she can remember.

76. Turn the living room into a cinema! Put dolls and teddies on a row of chairs. Take money for tickets, then show a DVD. An interval with a chance to buy a snack is popular!

CREATE AND PLAY DOUGH!

This project appeals to children of all ages. Kids love helping to mix the ingredients and then playing with the dough once it’s cooled.

1. Homemade Play Dough Recipe:

3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Salt
2 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar
3 Cups Water
3 Tbsp. Oil
Food Coloring (optional)
Extract (optional)
Glitter (optional)

Mix dry ingredients in a non-stick pot. Measure water into a separate container and add food coloring for color or extract for scent. Add water and oil to dry mixture and cook over very low heat until dough becomes solid (this will only take a few minutes). Remove the dough from heat, knead until smooth, and let cool. (Glitter can be added when play-dough is cool.)

2. Lay a plastic tablecloth down and provide the children with accessories for manipulating the dough. You can usually find a lot of fun tools right in your kitchen: plastic cookie cutters, rolling pins, spatulas and muffin tins.

While they’re busy playing with the first batch, consider making another batch in a different color. You can then send a small amount of each color home with each child at the end of the playdate.

MAKE-YOUR-OWN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

This project is fun and easy! Kids will love dancing around to their own beat.

Things you’ll need:

Paper Plates
Rice
Clear Packing Tape
Stapler/Staples
Buttons, sequins, feathers, ribbons and other decorating items
Children’s Scissors
Glue

1. Spread a plastic tablecloth over the kids’ craft table or other work surface.
2. Give each child a minimum of 2 paper plates.
3. Supply the children with art supplies (glue, glitter, markers, construction paper and scissors) for decorating their plates.
4. When they’re done decorating, tape the plates together so that the concave sides of the plates face out. Be sure to leave an open space for pouring in rice.
5. Pour in rice.
6. If necessary, reinforce tape with staples.
7. Staple on ribbon or streamers if available.

Once they finish making their instruments, they’ll want to try out their new creations. Have a parade!

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

Here’s a constructive activity that will occupy budding young actors and actresses for hours! They can dream up tall tales and bring them to life in front of the camera.

1. Help the children pick a story on which to base their movie. They might choose to re-enact a fairytale or a story they’ve read, or they may want to create an original story.

2. Once the children agree on a story, have them tell you what it is. Encourage them to have a beginning, a middle and an end. For example: Beginning (Scene I): The fairy princess is trapped in her castle; Middle (Scene II): The princess is saved by a brave prince; End (Scene III): The princess and the prince get married and live happily ever after.

3. Provide them with butcher paper, poster board or a large piece of cardboard and art supplies so that they can create a backdrop for their movie set. They can even make signs to put up in front of the camera like the name of the movie, the scene, or their names.

4. Give them a bin of dress-up clothes so that they can pick out their costumes.

5. Let them practice a few times, then give them a time when “filming” will begin.

6. Once filming is complete, schedule the big premiere, maybe that’s another playdate project for next time!

 

Playdates are a great way to help your child build social skills and strengthen friendships with other children. Try our playdate pointers to help ensure the visit is a success.

• Keep the playdate short and sweet: a visit of 1-2 hours is ideal.
• Take your child’s personality into account when deciding on a playmate. A shy
   child may do better with a quieter friend, while an active, exuberant child may
   click best with a more energetic playmate.
• Also, keep your child’s schedule in mind when setting up the playdate. Skipping
   a nap in order to play may lead to a cranky child.

• Negotiate ahead of time whether the other parent will stay or drop off her child.
   Younger kids and first-time visitors may take a while to warm up or may feel
   more comfortable with a parent on hand.
• It helps to have a few activities planned, especially for younger children.
   Whether it’s board games, dress-up or cookie decorating, have a few projects
   or toys out and help the kids pick what they’d like to do. See our playdate
   projects for ideas.
• Be close by to intervene if needed, but try to let the kids work things out them-
   selves first.
• Don’t forget the snacks!

• Find out ahead of time whether the host parent expects you to stay or not. If
   you’ll be dropping your child off, make sure your child feels comfortable before
   you leave.
• If this is your child’s first visit, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the
   house and find out what your child will be doing during the playdate.
• Let the other parent know if your child has any food allergies or other issues
   that may be relevant.
• Check in with the host parent afterwards to find out how the playdate went
   and what the kids did.
• Offer to host the next playdate at your house!

Nothing helps kids appreciate the earth like the magic of watching things grow. Fun hours spent experimenting with sun, soil and seeds – plus special memories of family-time in the garden – can lead to a lifelong love for all things green.

Whether indoors or out, a thriving kids’ garden is easy to create. All that’s needed are three simple elements: space to plant, space for gear and good advice about what to grow.

Some of the best gardening projects can take place indoors on a sunny kitchen windowsill. But if you have a little outdoor ground to spare, the best approach is to start small. Create a 3 x 5′ planting area measured out into one-foot sections for each item that you’re growing, or make it a round garden and split it into pie-shaped wedges.

Let your kids know that this is their growing space, and set up a visual boundary that reinforces this idea. Anything from a row of stones to a small wooden fence can help separate this area from the rest of the yard. Indoors, designate your gardening zone by lining up colorful pots in a row, or clustering them together in a flat rattan basket near a window.

What do kids love best about gardening? Getting dirty, of course. Create a kid-friendly work and storage station by choosing durable materials that are easy to clean. A rugged, kid-sized outdoor table can double as a picnic table one day and a potting bench the next. Place a weather-resistant wooden trunk like our Chesapeake Storage Bin nearby to keep trowels, hand forks and other tools corralled. Indoors, a kitchen countertop or utility sink works well for potting, and a canvas tote or handled bucket keeps tools organized and safely out of the way.

As every parent knows, part of what kids love about hands-on projects is getting to say, “I did it myself!” Let your children make the final decision about what to plant, but improve their chances of success by starting them off with some hardy selections to choose from.

Keep your children and their friends occupied by putting their little minds to work with this fun and educational project.

THINGS YOU’LL NEED:

8.5 x 11″ Construction Paper (13 pieces)
Boxboard or similar material
Hole Punch
Yarn or Ribbon
Markers and Crayons
Children’s Scissors
Glue Sticks

LET’S PREPARE!

- For each book, set aside 13 sheets of construction paper. Cut the sheets in half. This will give you one sheet for each letter of the alphabet.

- In the upper right-hand corner of each page, write an upper and lower case version of one letter.

- Cut two pieces of boxboard per book. The boxboard should measure slightly larger than the construction paper pages. These will serve as sturdy front and back covers for each book.

- In the center of the kids’ table, lay out stacks of old magazines, extra construction paper, crayons and markers, children’s scissors and glue sticks.

LET’S CREATE!

- Provide each child with a stack of alphabet pages.

- Encourage kids to draw or find 2 to 3 pictures for each letter. Older children can practice writing words that correspond with the pictures they draw or paste on the page.

- To make covers, give each child two of the boxboard pieces. They can cover the board with construction paper, put their name on the front as the author of the book, plus draw, write and paste whatever they would like on their book cover!

- Fasten each book together using a hole punch and yarn.

HINTS & TIPS

- Before the project begins, create a few sample pages or even a sample book to use as a guide.

- When tying the book together, remember not to tie the yarn too tightly or the pages will rip.

THINGS YOU WILL NEED: • Beading cord, jewelry wire, thin ribbon or leather cord
• Assorted beads from a local bead shop
• Small clasps and bead tips (optional)

1. Measure a length of cord for each child that easily wraps around his or her wrist. Then add about six inches to ease the stringing process. (Note: Some beading cord is elastic enough to slip over a child’s hand easily, and both ribbon and leather cord can be easily knotted. This is easier than using clasps, although clasps will make the bracelet more secure.)

2. Have your child choose and lay out a pattern of beads before stringing them. This helps prevent mistakes and frustration.

3. To begin stringing, tie a firm knot at one end of the cord. (See below for directions on attaching clasps, if you’re using them.) After your child has strung beads along a length of cord that is roughly equivalent to his wrist measurement, knot the two ends of the cord together and cut off the extra cord. If you cut off the excess cord before tying it, it’s harder to make the knot. Paint the knot with glue or nail polish to set it.

CLASPS If you’re going to put clasps on the bracelet, string one bead tip on first and then slide it down the cord until the knot is nestled inside. (A bead tip secures the thread to the clasp). Add the rest of the beads, adding the second bead tip last. Tie a knot at this second end and push it down so it too nestles inside the bead tip. Paint super-glue or clear nail polish on the two knots to set them. When that’s dry, join the clasp loops to the bead tips, and close the loops using pliers.

Pretend play is a very important part of a child’s development at every age and stage. From playing with dolls to dress-up, pretend play activities open up a world of make-believe, creativity and imagination. Even the simplest games help to develop important social skills, like sharing and taking turns. Encourage pretend play by setting up a kid-friendly space with all the right accessories.

First, designate an area for pretend play; it can be an entire room or a corner of a family space. Add a child-sized table and chairs to be used for a tea party, as a grocery store counter or even as a teacher’s desk. Hang a corkboard or chalkboard and add plenty of art supplies, like chalk and construction paper, for your kids to create an elaborate backdrop for each activity. Add a soft rug on the floor where kids can sprawl out and begin to imagine their next adventure.

Next, add props that inspire games of dress-up, role-play and other pretend play activities. Store costumes and hats in a storage trunk that’s easily accessible, and outfit the space with miniature versions of adult-sized appliances, including play kitchens and a kid-sized tool bench. Add smaller accessories to really make their activities come to life, such as play money, puppets, dolls, school supplies and toys.

Finally, encourage your kids’ creativity by giving them plenty of time to play. Keep some of their latest creations in tact for a few days, like a secret fort made of sheets or a grocery store checkout center, and watch their stories take on new shapes each day. When children are ready to move on to the next big adventure, add a few new props to continually spark their imagination.