Scooping and Spooning

I decided I needed to force myself to post again.  It's been a month.  Sounds about right for my motivation level!  I thought I'd do a quick post about some fun activities my mom has been doing with B.  He loves anything he can scoop, pour, dump, and repeat.  Here are some of his opportunities to do that!

Here, B is scooping rice.  Easy - 2 big bowls, bag of rice, various scoops, and something to catch fallen rice for easy dumping/vacuuming.

Another option is small bowls with some spoons to practice spooning:

And if you're really brave, you can try this:

An oatmeal table.

The table is a water/sand table from Lakeshore.  The height is adjustable, so it can grow with your child.  This one is at my mom's house, and she has changed out the contents so he can explore different materials.  First, she poured oatmeal in for him to explore.  Next, she filled it with colored rice (shout out to my dad for taking the time to help her dye the rice).  And the latest I saw was (store brand) colored fruity cereal that comes in the big bag.  All of the items are food related and small enough that if he decides to eat it, he won't choke.  So far, though (knock on wood), the only time he tried to eat it was when my husband told him the oatmeal was food.  (He promptly spit it out!)

They do sell a lid for the table, so you can close off the contents.  However, my parents did not buy that right away.  A quick solution?  Cut one of the LARGE sides from the box the table comes in, and it slips over the top like a shoe box lid would fit on a shoe box.  It's not air/bug tight for long term storage, but it worked since my parents usually change out the contents between visits/every few days.

The bonus skills acquired?

1. B very nicely scoops and pours dog food, too!  So he feeds our dog whenever the chance presents itself.  He even picks up any pieces of food he spills out of the bowl.  Bet you didn't think one-and-a-half-year-olds had chores, did you?!

2. B's love of vacuuming and sweeping has grown, so he enjoys trying to sweep his messes up with the big broom or a small broom/dustpan set.  Of course, it usually makes a bigger mess, but it's the process, not the product, that matters!

Have fun!

Water Play

What little kid doesn't enjoy splashing in water?

My mom bought a washing machine pan (meant for catching drips or overflows from a washing machine) with the intent to use it under B for messier activities.  We put a couple bowls of water inside it, gave B some cups, bowls, measuring cups, pitchers, a mini colander, and a magic towel (the ones that expand in water), and let him have at it.  He enjoyed splashing and pouring for a good 20 minutes before moving on to something else.  The drip pan along with a small stack of towels and a non-slip rug to dry his feet as he climbed out kept things pretty dry!  He did "spill" a few times, but it was all contained within the pan, and he wiped it the best he could by himself.

My mom also did sponge squeezing with him a couple weeks ago - another fun water activity, but on a smaller scale.  This idea came from her Montessori days.  A small amount of water in a divided dish (Yes, I do think this is a dog dish) and some small sponge pieces are all you need!  The idea is to soak up water, squeeze it on the other side, and repeat.  When he finished squeezing, adding sponges gained a few more minutes of play AND soaked up all the water for a fast cleanup!

These would be great rainy or cold day indoor activities!

Alphabet Book

I thought I should start this blog off with a project that is not only awesome, but also that appears to have taken A LOT more time than it actually did.  This started off as one of those "to do one day" ideas on Pinterest.  I pinned it just SURE I'd make it sometime soon.  Well, I consider within a year to be very soon!

A good friend recently invited me to a Shutterfly party at her house, at which she handed out codes for free 8x8 hardcover books.  She also reminded me that there was an awesome idea on Pinterest - making an alphabet book customized to your child using your own photographs.  I knew I had pinned it, and I knew this was the time to jump on it!  The expiration date on the code gave me my deadline, which I am proud to say I did not push.  I finished this book in ONE weekend with the help of my loving husband.

I began by brainstorming and searching through the many photographs I have of my adorable son from his almost year-and-a-half long life.  I was able to come up with about 70% of the photos instantly.  About 20% of the ideas came from photos I had taken with my phone that were a bit blurry.  With some quick staging and snapping with our good camera, I upgraded those to book-worthy photos.  And the last few I simply staged for the purpose of the book.  Thank you to my husband who brought some supplies to the park to help me take photos AND who tossed out a couple of the letter ideas.  The party was on Friday night, and by Monday night I had submitted the order to Shutterfly!

I was extremely happy with how B's book turned out, and lots of friends on Facebook had positive comments about the pictures I posted.  B absolutely LOVED his book, so I made him a second book titled "Daddy and Me."  I'm so happy he likes them, and I hope they are treasures we can one day share with his wife and children!

Here are pictures of the finished product:

Please feel free to use my letter ideas, but do not feel free to use any of my photographs.  Thank you!