Rain. Yogurt. A Rat. And The Last Gasp.

 

 

It's amazing how some Sunlight can lift your Spirits. Last week, there wasn't much Sun around these parts and I was struggling through each day. It took a lot of effort to drag myself (and my two girlies) outside for some daily fresh air (in the rain). Once outside, I felt better.

 

Today I felt even better. With the beautiful Morning light coming through the window, I was inspired to bake with Nye-Nye. This was our 5th Yogurt Cake together. Twelve hours later, it's almost gone...it was that good.

 

This Afternoon, it got so hot that I dragged the pool to the front yard and Nye-Nye got to do one of her favorite things...splash around in the water. I threw in some acrylic mirrors and glass stones, along with some pipe-cleaners she had played with all Morning and it was PARTY TIME.

 

I am so very grateful for every ray of Sun that hit my face today. Glorious.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reggio: Mirrors and Glass Stones

 

 

 

I first heard about Reggio Emilia Approach to Education when my Mother was back in school studying to be an Art Teacher, many moons ago. I vaguely remember her telling me about the "100 Languages of Children."

 

I stumbled across an interesting-sounding Reggio Playgroup for children 6 months-30 months that is held at Glen Echo Park. Unfortunately, Nye-Nye is now too old to join.

 

I started doing a little research and quickly discovered Kate's gorgeous and inspiring blog "An Everyday Story." She has a little girl close in age to Nye-Nye, so her blog has given me TONS of ideas of future activities.

 

Here is our first Reggio-inspired Provocation.

 

Mirrors and Glass Stones and Sunlight.

 

I spent $2 each on two bags of Glass Stones and $7 on a Mirror from a local Thrift Store. Hours of fun for $11. Not bad.

 

Nye-Nye is NOT wanting to be photographed these days, so I was only able to snap one photo of her in action when I first introduced the Glass Stones. She also really wanted me to sit next to her and join in all the fun. Making patterns with the Glass Stones turned out to be very meditative. I highly recommend it!

 

An Everyday Story is chocked full of Reggio-inspired activities and has inspired me to start using high-quality Art Supplies with my Toddler. I will be sharing our experiences over the next few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hair Conditioner + Cornstarch = Heavenly Smelling Play-Dough

 

 

 

 

My 28-month old's current favorite Play-dough is so simple to make. And it SMELLS lovely.

All it consists of is some squirts of Hair Conditioner, a little Cornstarch and a bit of Food Coloring. It takes about 15 minutes of mushing and kneading and adding more Cornstarch to get it the perfect consistency.

I store it in some small Mason Jars.

Nye-Nye has been adding tooth-picks to her play and she will happily be engaged in this activity for at least 20 minutes. I've been bringing it out after Dinner and before Bed-time, when she needs something calming to do.

If you make some of this Play-dough, make sure your child isn't still putting things in their mouth. I am so glad she is FINALLY out of that stage.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Children's Museum at National Harbor

 

 

 

We finally made it to the "National Children's Museum" at National Harbor. It's been on my To-Do List for a long time. And, because we are members of Port Discovery, tickets were half off.

 

It was a decent Children's Museum, not as spectacular as Port Discovery, but there was plenty for my two-year old to explore. They have a 3 and Under Area that she adored (she loved playing with the cash register and driving the bus). But, her favorite was definitely Bob's Taxi (in the main room).

 

The place opens at 10 am, but we didn't arrive until 12:30 pm. That seemed an ideal time, crowd-wise. It wasn't too overwhelming crowded like how Port Discovery often gets. There was enough for Nye-Nye to explore, but it wasn't too overwhelming following her around. It was just we needed on a super-hot Summer day. Looking forward to go back!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rainy Day Toddler Activity: Doing Dishes Video

 

 

Here is one of my "go-to" activities for my toddler on a Rainy (or Snowy day). She's 25 months and has been interested in doing dishes since she was about 16 months old. Lots of  "Water Play" is so important for toddlers. (In the video below, she was 23 months old).

 

I make sure to put in a few different types of brushes, cups (since she loves pouring) and a ladle or two. I try not to put in too many dishes because then she doesn't have as much room to work.

 

It's been a terrific activity, especially when she has already spent an 1 1/2 hr playing and painting in the bath-tub (I've been trying to be careful about how much bath-time she gets since she started developing very dry skin this Winter).

 

It's the simple things that bring us so much Joy, right?

 



 

Making Valentines With An Older Baby

This was the first real Art Project I attempted with my daughter. (She was 11 months old at the time). She painted hearts that I had cut out of some of my old prints and taped to small pieces of card-board.

I use the word "painted" lightly. Mostly, she had fun dumping the bowls all over herself and the card-board. It was an awesome sensory experience for her.

I made the paint out of corn starch, water and food dye, which meant is was safe for her to put in her mouth. Just make sure you stir cold water and cornstarch vigourously together immediately to prevent lumps. I got the recipe from First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos

When the paint dried it cracked and crumbled a lot on the paper and fell off in spots. I ended up making copies of the original hearts and sent those out instead.

Doing this project in the bath-tub is key. It makes clean-up, so much easier! Enjoy!