Yell & Tell

Today I took my two little ones to chick-fil-a for lunch.  I love going to Chick-fil-a because of the friendly atmosphere and they are always so helpful.  The play place is also the perfect size for my two year olds.  Something happened today that I would like to share with other mothers and help encourage you as you watch-over your little ones.

My kids were playing like they always do up in the play area.  There were several other children there a few of them were a older, I would guess around the age of 8 or so.   I could not see my little ones at the time and I heard the words "diaper change".  Honestly I do not know if it was one of the older or younger kids, boy or girl, but my immediate response was to say loudly so everyone could hear me "NO DIAPER CHANGES".   One of the older girls then slide down the slide and her mom asked her who was going to give a diaper change, she said it was the older boy and that he was going to give a diaper change to my daughter.  The mother, sternly questioned the older boy (who was taking care the boy at the time) and took him out of the play area.  I know that nothing happened to my little girl, but it makes me want to be all the more careful, even when I feel like we are in a safe place.  I have thought a little bit about the fast food play areas and some do not seem safe to me, the more tunnels the are the more apprehensive I am.  I have heard terrible stories about children as young as 7 touching, looking, or doing other inappropriate things to younger children.  Please be careful and keep close watch.

There are great children's books for boys and girls by Debi Pearl called "Yell & Tell" that I plan on reading to my little ones when they are a little bit older.  A good friend of mine, who is a licensed counselor, shared with me that parents need to talk to there children about sexuality and inappropriate behaviors around the age of 3.  She told me that by the age of 4 most children are exposed to some form of sexuality.  The statistics are shocking, 1 out of every 4 girls and 1 out of every 6 boys are sexually abused by the age of 18.  We need to teach our children early!

Family Fun - Imagine It! Atlanta Children's Museum

Activity: Children's Museum
Age: 18 months or older

Over the Christmas holiday my husband and I took our twins to Imagine It! Atlanta Children's Museum.  Everyone had a great time!  I would describe the museum as a huge play and learning experience.  A great way to spend a day watching your children explore and discover new things.  I would highly recommend going or finding a children's museum in your area. 

 Making sculptures at the sand table.

 "Cho cho-ing" around the large train table.

 Learning how to use a crane...that's my girl!

 Extra large building block.

We had a blast!  I would for anyone to comment about your experiences at a children's museum or any other ideas for family fun.

Rolling Artwork - staying away from 'the screen'

I asked myself, is artwork really beatifically for my 1 1/2 year olds?  I think we all know that art is beneficial once our children enter the school age years...but what about now?  I read part of an article published by The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development that explained the importance of art education.  The article states that art promotes brain activity, helps aid in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation....I'm not sure how much art actually helps in these areas for a 1 1/2 year old, but maybe a little.

The main reason I like to do art projects with my children is that I enjoy them!  I enjoy planning something new for us to do, setting it up, and watching them enjoy the activity.  I also enjoy anything that keeps them away from the screen (TV, videos, anything that has a screen).  I hate the screen and love it all at the same time.  It's great to have something that keeps the twin's attention for a few minutes but I hate what it could possibly do to them developmentally.  Below is a quote from the American Academy of Pediatrics publication on Media Education.

"Pediatricians should urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years. Although certain television programs may be promoted to this age group, research on early brain development shows that babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant caregivers (eg, child care providers) for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Therefore, exposing such young children to television programs should be discouraged."

So with this reasoning, my answer is YES! Doing artwork is beneficial for all of us.


Rolling Artwork

Project Type: Art Activity
Age Range: 18 months or older

Supplies: Baking pan, white paper, golf balls, paint, plastic wrap and tape.

 

 After gathering together my supplies, I placed the white sheet of paper into the pan, squeezed a couple paint blobs, put the golf balls in the pan, and covered it with plastic wrap.  I tightly taped the edges of the plastic wrap to the pan.  The last thing I wanted was for our artwork to escape and roll all over the house.

 

My two enjoyed watching the balls roll around in the pan and the noise the balls made on the metal pan.  You could also try using other objects to roll around.  Here are the results...

Teaching Stop and Go

Project Type: Learning Activity
Age Range: 18 months or older

I decided that it would be a good thing to teach Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya the meaning of stop and go.  My parents house has stairs that are not easily baby proofed.  I needed to teach them not to go up the stairs unless they were told by an adult that they could do so.  It is not easy to teach a 1 1/2 year old that they are allowed to so something sometimes but not at other times.  I knew I needed to use some creativity!

First I made a stop sign out of a cereal box, construction paper and some tape.  On the opposite side I made a go sign.

At breakfast I demonstrated to Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya the meaning of stop and go.  I said "GO" while holding up the sign and walked around the table in front of them and dance, then I said "STOP" turning the sign so it said stop and stood still.  I did this several times, they seemed rather amused by my spectacular demonstration.  One thing I love about being a mom...I am the coolest person on the planet to my children.  The goofier I am, the more they love it!

Freeze Dance!
Then we played a game I call "Freeze Dance!"  I played some fun toddler music and said "GO" holding up the go sign and encouraged Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya to dance while I danced around the room with them.  Then I paused the music and yelled "STOP" and then froze.  Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya starred at me...most of the time they stopped moving too.  We did this several times until it seemed like they were not interested any more.

Then I hung the stop sign on the stairs and showed them.  I told them that they were not allowed to go up the stairs when they see the stop sign hanging.  

Later on, when I allowed them to go up the stairs, I changed the sign to "go" and moved it over to the side. 

Now, instead of Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya always attempting to go up the stairs and having to say "NO.  Then, seeing their confused looks because sometimes they are allowed to crawl up, but other times they are not, now they have a constant reminder that lets them know.

Coloring Activity
That afternoon we did a coloring activity of a red stop sign (download by clicking here ).  We are continuing to work on learning our colors.  I have realized that it is much harder for my two to learn colors than it has been for words, body parts, and animal sounds.  The main thing I try to do is talk in colors, for instance I might say...look at the red ball, you are wearing a blue shirt today, or here is a green leaf.

Stroller Ride
The next day on our stroller ride I pointed out all the stop signs.  I explained the purpose of stop signs and how we need to stop and look both ways before we cross the street.  I played stop and go with them through out the walk, I gave the command "STOP" at different points and stopped the stroller, then I would say "GO" and we would continue on our walk.

I plan on continuing to play "Freeze Dance!" and play games to reinforce the meanings of stop and go.  It's been fun and I hope sharing these ideas can help you too!

No Mess Painting Activity

Project Type: Art Activity
Age Range: 14 months or older

While visiting my parents I knew I needed some fun activities for Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya.  I always enjoy trying something new with the twins...I think they enjoy it too!  This art activity worked great because there was no mess and no clean-up.  I did not have to worry about paint getting all over everyone and everything.

Supplies: Paint, paper, sponge, scissors,  tape, gallon-size plastic bag and a paper plate

Set up:  I placed a piece of white paper inside the plastic plastic bag and put a few paint blobs on a paper plate.  Cut the sponge into small squares and dipped them into the paint and put them in the bags.  After Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya started playing with the plastic bags I quickly realized that I need to have them sealed better with tape.  Tape is a must or might have a mess!

 

They had a good time playing with the sponges, swishing, trying to make them move around and shaking the bags.  Afterward, I pulled out the papers and showed them their masterpieces and threw the plastic bags and paper plates away.  No mess, no clean-up, Yay!  I placed the pictures on a paper towel to let them dry.  Now they are hanging on my parent's refrigerator!

Finger Painting with Bubble Wrap

Project Type: Art Activity
Age Range: One year or older

I have tried to finger paint several times with Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya.  I learned a few things from our first two failures and final success.

1)  I would suggest wait until your child is one or older.  When Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya were 10 months old we tried to make some homemade wrapping paper.  I tried to dip their little fingers in finger paint...immediately they began to cry, I do not think they liked the feel of the paint.   Lets just say the project was miserable for all of us.

2)  Put the paint directly on what your child will be painting.  I tried putting paint on a paper plate beside the paper I was hoping they would paint on...Nope, all the paint stayed on the plate and none ended up on the paper.

3)  Diaper only.  It just makes things easier. 

4)  It worked great letting the twins paint in their highchairs.  A little paint may ended up on the highchairs but it was much easier having them confined in one space.

5)  You do not have to buy special finger paint, just make sure it is washable paint.

I got this idea of finger painting with bubble wrap from one of my friends blog, Altogether Beautiful. Thanks for the great idea!!

 

Materials: Paper (thick paper if you have it, such as card stock), bubble wrap, tape, and paint. 

First I taped the bubble wrap to the highchair, then I put two blobs of primary colored paint directly on the wrap.  Bro-Bro and Ya-Ya enjoyed the texture of the bubble wrap and the different colors.  I am looking forward to doing this activity again while I teach them colors.

 

When they were finished, I took the card stock paper and pressed it down onto the bubble wrap.  I loved the outcome!  

This is my favorite artwork yet!

Hanging Handpainted Wall Letters

Project Type: Nursery Wall Decoration

This project was submitted by one of my college roommates and good friend, Lindsey. Lindsey painted the twins letters which now hang over their cribs.  I absolutely LOVE them! Thank you Lindsey!!



Words of Wisdom:
Painting letters for a baby's room, whether for your own child or as a gift for another person, is an easy way to "monogram" their wall, add color to the room, and a great way to make very personal art for them. It is also a great way, depending on what you paint, to speak blessing over them.  Funny, I always feel like I have "cuter" ideas for baby shower gifts than for my own children, probably because of something I once learned from the movie "An Affair to Remember".  The main character loved to paint as a child but very few of his paintings "survived" his criticism.  According to his grandmother while the artist in him would create the perfectionist in him would destroy. That said, my favorite quote when it comes to art is "resist the urge to be perfect".  A lot of times in our attempt to make a thing "perfect" we take away from its character or even worse, make it look too made up. You do not have to be a great artist to make something that will be special to the recipient as long as you avoid getting too complicated with the design you choose and whatever you do with love in your heart.

 Important Tips:
Some important things to remember when designing letters like these: try to think of things that are "special" to the person they are for (or for their parents) and use simple designs to create a memorable scene or pattern, choose complementary background and foreground colors (use a lighter background if you are using primarily darker background colors or vice versa), get "free" from feeling like it has to be perfect or that it has to turn out right the first time around (if you start and hate it you can paint over it), and allow yourself to enjoy the project, let it be therapeutic instead of something that adds stress to your life--you can't force creativity, so if you don't have a good idea wait on the idea or start with what you know, like what you want the background color to be, for instance.

I purchase my letters at Hobby Lobby and since Hobby Lobby puts them on 50% off nearly every other week I think they usually only cost me about $1.50 per letter.  You can purchase similar letters at
Michaels as well.  They are precut and primed so all you have to do is take them home and start painting.  It is best to spray paint the background color (I recommend Krylon paint and use a CLOTH mat to paint on--you can buy at any paint store or for about $5 at Babies R Us you can buy a very durable yard blanket that has little weights in the edges so that unless it is high winds it won't fly up while you are painting).

How to:
Lay the letters flat and shake the can while you are spraying.  I recommend going over the tops of the letters once and then spraying around all the edges and letting them dry for an hour or so before you paint.  Then use acrylic paints to add your design. Acrylics are great because they are very forgiving.  If you mess up any of the lines with them they will wipe off the background surface if removed when still fresh.  However, know that you will need to go over them a few times to keep the background from bleeding through. This can be a little time consuming so expect to give yourself a couple of days to complete a project or plan on taking breaks to let one coat dry before adding another.  After you are through with your design use a staple gun to add two ribbons in colors or patterns that match or complement your design to the back of each letter and tie in a bow for girls or knot for boys.