Survey Says....

Results are in- the survey was very enlightening and made me feel so validated with these current tot concerns. You all are full of wisdom and insights and I thought I would share with you some responses that I think will work best for my daughter. A lot of you gave similar advice as well. (I will attach a pdf of ALL the answers to the end of this post if you are interested in seeing what everyone else wrote- the responses are 100% anonymous) My comments will be in red.

Question 1: When your tot screams "NO" in reference to sharing, how do MAKE them share? Or do you?

• loses the privilege of playing with that toy
  
• I have found in my many years as a preschool teacher and mommy that putting the TOY in time out and the toy can't play cuz your not being nice is sometimes more effective then putting the child! but the toy has to stay in time out ALL day and somewhere visible so they don't just forget! I love this idea- a toy time out! This could really drive the point or make my little one put all her toys in a time out...
  
• Hold both of her hands and explain in simple terms that we are to love others and share.
• I think it is great to encourage your child to share, but also nice to have a few toys that are just hers. Maybe have a share box and a not share box. Or one toy that is all hers. Maybe change the toy every couple of days. Cute idea- at this point my Boo doesn't have any favorites where I would consider this an option yet- plus I want her to know that our friendships have more value than material possessions. If she ever did receive a special gift from a grandparent, for example, I would make sure to implement a strategy like this.
  
• If they had something first then it is their work and I do not make them share it. I do ask the other child to be patient and say that they can play with it when she is done
• model sharing with your tot and use the appropriate sharing language (it's my turn, now it's your turn, etc)
• try redirecting your tot to another toy
• I teach my children to tell the other child, "You can have it when I am done." Then I make sure that the toy is given to the other when they are done.
• use the timer to alleviate sharing issues. One child gets the toy for a certain amount of time (say 5 min.), and when the timer buzzes, the next child gets a turn for the same amount of time.

Question 2: I have been putting my daughter in time out a lot lately- hitting, screaming, kicking the dogs....and it's now becoming more of a game to her- she will ask to sit on her bum. She is ALWAYS complacent after a little time out- but can I be over doing it?

• consistency- I think the key is just being consistent. If she does something wrong, and you put her in time-out every time, eventually it will sink in. She'll realize that she can either be a good girl, or she'll have to sit in time-out.
• she is testing you (yes, i know that now... consistency should help with establishing boundaries)
• Try some positive reinforcement methods. Redirection. Simple 5 step rule chart with pictures and positive wording: use walking feet, use friendly hands and feet, use inside voices, etc. and make sure to repeat those throughout the day.
• Redirect that energy to something constructive. Additionally, timeouts should be voluntary so she is on the right track already.
• Lately I have been trying to do "time-in" When I'm frustrated with him I take a solid 2 minutes and give him big hugs, or tickle him, or chase him around, etc. This is helping us b/c I have a 4 month old too and since having the new baby I felt I was putting him in timeout more not b/c he was necessarily acting worse, but more because I was stressed. So now if he's misbehaving I try time-in and it usually helps to put us both in a better mood. BUT... if he hits or bites it is an automatic time out.
• This may be a attention issue. After all negative attention is still attention. (much truth to that comment- our little one has had my constant attention from the day we brought her into our home and she does like to pull my strings (can I just say that just today she was in fits of laughter pulling my hair during the closing prayer at church?)
• Try a natural consequence. . . if she kicks the dog than she doesn't know how to play with the dog and is not allowed to play with the dog. Make sure she knows that if she is unkind to a dog, the dog might bite her. (actually, the dogs are currently scared of my Boo- they run away from her- but I do worry that other dogs may bite.... and well said about the punishment fitting the crime, thats how it should be)

Question 3: We have been negotiating with our daughter at the dinner table. She will say "all done", we say "one more bite"... she says "treat" we say "three bites of chicken".... is this not a good thing to be doing with our tot? Are we setting ourselves up for a future of negotiations?

• I really try to make sure there is at least something that he DOES like and other items that he may or may not. I figure we all have our 'favorite' food and our not so favorite, so I can't expect him to like everything I like or DH likes...but he is expected to at least try it. :)
• I have my girls take as many bites of each food for how old they are or no treat! but i never make them clean their plate.
• Stop right now. You are the parents. (I have to comment on this response- I grew up with a very small appetite- still have it- and I know what it's like to be sitting at the table completely full and yet forced to try and eat more- yes, i may be the parent, but i want to listen to my daughter's needs as well)
• I would set all the rules and expectations before the meal begins. For example: "you need to eat this much,you may have ____ as a treat when you are done".
• I think many parents end up in this boat. Myself and husband included. I reserve the right to choose the treat however, and sometimes it is just fruit and yogurt or a homemade smoothie. I personally think kids will always negotiate no matter what, it's more a matter of giving them choices within the negotiation.
• Well, I think some negotiation is inevitable. A friend shared this rule with me. Her child MUST eat the number of bites as her age. So, the 3 year old must eat 3 bites, no matter what or no dessert. If the child likes the food and eats more bites then great, but she must have at least 3 bites of everything on her plate.
• healthy diet is really important to me, and learning to like lots of different foods is a priority, so I do require that they "eat their veggies" so to speak. Miss O, especially is sometimes picky, so I usually serve her fruit or veggie first because she likes it less. She must eat at least the majority if not all of it before she will get the other parts of her meal. I don't require an empty plate, but to get "seconds", she must have an empty plate. No seconds on the yummy rice when she snubbed the carrots? We don't do desserts as rewards for finishing because I think that sets a person up for eating when they aren't hungry. If she is going to have a special treat, usually either it's a surprise snack at snack time (with no other eating requirements before hand) or it's something I surprise her with after dinner (that way she isn't asking for it, and I don't have to let her down by not giving it to her if she didn't eat her dinner the way I wanted her to.) If she doesn't eat well, I can just decide not to surprise her with the treat. As for the "all done" issue. I don't force mine to eat it all. If she is truly all done, then I would let her down. If you do that a few times and an hour later she is asking for a snack because she didn't take a full meal, then I would require she eat a little more before getting down, and of course, explain why you want her to eat a few more bites--because last time she didn't eat enough, and was hungry before the next meal time.
• A good book on child feeding is, How to get your kids to eat, but not too much, by Ellyn Satter. http://www.ellynsatter.com/ I used it and recommended it when I taught University nutrition classes.
• I think when she says "all done" take her at her word. She really may be full (though we can all make room for a treat ;) If she asks for more food later, give her the leftovers that she didn't finish. And don't worry, she will not starve. This was one my biggest concerns when my son started doing this but I stood my ground and all is well (of course with the occasional upsets, but that's to be expected). If she's just saying all done so she can get a treat, then let her know that all done means all done, no more, not even a treat.

So there you have it- that was a lot of fun, I will have to post another survey again sometime! Thanks so much for all your thoughts and advice!!! If you want to view all the responses to this survey just click on one of the links below:

question 1
question 2
question 3

Happy Teaching!

Some Mommy Advice Please

After Boo was screaming wildly at a poor baby today because she didn't want to share, I decided to create this online survey to get some of your advice. Please fill out and share ANY ideas you have... they will be much appreciated, believe me! There is just 3 questions...
THANKS SO MUCH!

Just click on the link below and your survey will begin!

Mommy ADVICE survey

Day at the Discovery Museum

Saturday was the kick off day for "Ready, Set, School" at the Discovery Museum in Salt Lake. Ready, Set, School is designed to empower parents to prepare their kids for kindergarten through activities and other resources. Although my daughter isn't close to kindergarten age (she will be 2 in 2 months), she does know (and I mean KNOW) her ABC's. So I thought that there would be some fun activities that she would enjoy. I was right!They had a large room set up with a variety of tables with different kindergarten preparedness activities (can be found online here). I had some of those proud Mommy moments as she impressed all the volunteers with her knowledge and vocabulary. I picked up some great ideas, talked with some impressive vendors, and got my "I miss teaching school" fix for awhile. We also got to pet a baby kangaroo- SO cute and tame. I just keep thinking of all the experiences my daughter has had this summer that have been adding to her budding schema!And did I mention that the museum had discounted prices as well! 3 people got in for the price of one. I love getting good deals like that!!And of course we got to play at the museum! Children's museums are interesting places- where else would you pay to go fake food shopping and find tables and tables of different kinds of magnetic blocks.... I have decided it's a good place to see what toys your child likes before actually buying them! I got some good gift ideas for her birthday while we played!!
Happy Teaching! Are there any fun places you like to visit with your tot? Let me know!

Curriculum Plans for Upcoming Year

Daddy starts school tomorrow and I am working on my Boo's school plans, too! We will kick off our learning in September with a variety of learning. Basic curriculum consists of:

1. itty bitty bookworm- this will be our most structured learning time of the day. I will be starting in September and can hardly wait! I do know that I will have to modify this curriculum to meet the needs of my little miss smarty pants!
   
2. montessori learning based activities- I am not sure yet how I will implement this.... unfortunately it is taking the back burner until I figure something out.
   
3. religious learning (weekly lesson from Nursery Manual) as well as reading scriptures daily with mommy
   
4. nursery rhymes- maybe have a "rhyme time" every day where we will repeat favorite rhymes, or learn a new one... I will be printing off the Nursery Rhymes I found here and placing them in a binder that my daughter can sit and read whenever! I am thinking about doing these on the days we aren't doing religious teaching...
   
5. theme based learning ideas- such as 5 senses, Feelings, 123's.... I would love to get a schedule for these- but as of right now.... there is none! I think up until Christmas we will just have a lot of the holiday themes (Halloween, thanksgiving, etc) with lessons that she might be needing or that come up through our play.
   

Here is a list of some unstructured learning that we plan to embark on....

1. review of ABC's, Colors, Shapes- just in everyday play. not ready for a letter of the week yet. I will be starting that when she is more comfortable writing. My daughter is obsessed with the alphabet and we spend lots of time during free play singing the ABC song or playing with her Leap Frog Alphabet Magnet Set.
   
2. added large motor skill activities ('cuz thats what she loves)- nothing scheduled (as of yet)- just more a reminder to myself to add these activities throughout the day since I am not a sporty momma! but i want more days at the park, more walks on the nature trail, more visits to the duck pond... that is what childhood is about and I don't want to rob that of my daughter 'cuz I am too giddy for lesson planning.
   
3. music time whether its playing an instrument, singing, or dancing- music is a big part of our family and I want to instill that in my daughter! I would like to work on some basics with her- lots of clapping exercises to give her a good sense of rhythm which will help later on when she starts piano lessons.
   
4. art time- whether open ended or coloring a picture, there can never be too much art!

I don't want more than 1.5 hours of structured learning time per day. So that is going to take some serious scheduling on my part (funny that I am the kind of person that is scheduling for unscheduled time! geez!!!)
One more week.... and then I am forcing myself to have my days organized!
Happy Planning and Teaching!!!

Toddler Tug-o-War

Toddler Tug-o-war
Here's an easy and fun activity that will only require two bibs! Loop the two bibs together and have your tot hold one bib and you hold the other. Then have your tot pull on the bibs. My daughter didn't really get the concept of pulling at first, but it will come quickly with this game.
A great suggestion is to be sure that your tot is sitting down so that when the loops break he doesn't lose balance and fall down. Laugh and clap when the bibs pull apart and talk about which one stayed together and which one opened up. Talk about the colors of the bibs, and any words or pictures on them. For the older toddlers, have them hold the bib in their right hand and then the left hand while pulling each time. Then try to see if he can pull the bibs apart by himself. My daughter thought this game was hilarious and we played it over and over and over.... (you know how it goes!)

Supplies Needed-
- 2 bibs

This activity was taken from TODDLERTODDLER.com- check out this great site!

Toddler Twister

Toddler Twister!-
This is a fun game for the whole family to play! One way to play is to print out a sheet of shapes and then cut them out, but you can use large foam shapes or shapes drawn on an old white sheet. The sheet idea would be easy to pack around anywhere- go play in the backyard! Put the shapes (or shape sheet) on the floor and then have your toddler stand or sit on each shape. Once she has mastered that, then have her put one foot/hand on one shape and the other foot/hand on another shape. Maybe she can touch her nose to a shape! If your shapes are multi-colored, you can discuss each of the colors as your tot hops on and off the shapes.

Supplies Needed-
- shapes (can be made out of paper, or if you have foam or material shapes they would work as well)
- masking tape
- floor space

taken from TODDLERTODDLER.com- great resource for tot games!

Happy Playing!

Awards and I have 100 followers! :)

I just want to take a sec and thank all of you who have blessed with me with awards for my blog. I have gone to each of your sites and read your generous comments, bookmarked the posts and hope to eventually create a cute slide show of them.... check out Kristi's slideshow at Orange Juice (located in her side bar)- SO cute and takes up minimal space!
So Thank YOU:

Shafer Family
Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns
My Two Happy Homeschoolers
Handmade Beginnings
5 Silly Frogs

I have been checking my Google Followers regularly- anticipating when we would reach the big 100- and alas, we have made it! Hooray!!!
Happy Teaching!

Halloween Costumes.... my WISH list

So I am distracted from cleaning and organizing by thinking about what my daughter should be this upcoming Halloween. This is a special day for us because it's her birthday! I never liked Halloween before, but now I really look forward to making this a very special day for her and celebrating in style (so fun!). On a budget (not so fun).
So I have my dream team of costumes that, if money were no option, my daughter would be for Halloween this year. (Click on the pic to see who is selling the costume)
First, a cupcake! I adore this costume! It is big, soft, and the best looking cupcake costume around! I find a cupcake costume very fitting since it is her birthday.... The price? Just a mere $120...!!!!!
Second, a witch- which one, I can't decide... I like the froffy tulle skirts, the big black hat... but do I want my little one to be a witch??

Last, this cute little black cat tutu... it's just SO cute!
What are your Halloween costume plans? Anyone know a great place to buy costumes that are reasonably priced? (especially a cupcake one?) Or any other cute costumes for my Birthday Boo?

Kinda Decluttered, Sorta Organized, and Now It's time for a Schedule!

I have spent a huge amount of time cleaning. I have really tried to stick to my original goals of decluttering and organizing the past two weeks... and, well, for the most part have done OK. We took a huge load to the Salvation Army Saturday with clothes, old toys, and a lot of VHS tapes. It felt great to get rid of so much stuff! Although in my opinion we need to get rid of more! (I love that hotel feeling- really simple and clean with NO knick-knacks. I like that "Does anyone really live here" look. Not that our house actually looks like that- in fact, it looks quite the opposite! Just look at the dishwasher box-house in our living room!
I have also organized a few things- I organized our bedroom closets, my computer desktop, put some labels on my rubbermaid drawers, and straightened up our DVD collection. I also put all my little Boo's movies in one central location that she can access (not that she watches them a lot- I am just trying to give her more independence and choices in her cute little daily life). I need to organize my starred items in my google reader- SO many cute ideas that I don't want to forget!
And now it on to the organization of our daily schedule. I am deciding if I want to use a daily docket- it just seems like a lot of printing....maybe I should pull out my franklin planner... ANY IDEAS????
I am creating a list of things that MUST be included on our daily schedule- brush teeth, nutritious meals/snacks, important things to do for the day, Mommys helper time, errands time, tot school time, free time, more of a morning routine (like nighttime) and more set times to be out of the house (otherwise we just seem to stay inside a lot)........ AUGH i am SO SO SO making this harder than it needs to be! I think if I can just get down a morning routine I will be feeling great....
MORE TO COME!

Meet Me At the Corner Review

I was recently asked to review a new website called Meet Me At the Corner which posts a series of virtual field trips through a child's perspective. Each episode includes a child host as the tour guide, a suggested reading list, and a Learning Corner of some follow up activities geared to kiddos ages 8 to 12.

As I watched several of the videos I was really impressed with the quality. The kid anchors really know their parts well and ask some great, intriguing questions to people they interview along the way. They have some amazing field trip videos that are ready to be watched with the option of uploading your own virtual field trips!

The latest episode is entitled An American Cowboy: Interview with Bob Norris, at T Cross Ranch in Pueblo, Colorado. Allison, a student anchor, interviews Cowboy Norris about quarter horses, ranch life and what it's like to be a cowboy. There are links on this page below the video to The National Cowboy, Western Heritage Museum, The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, How to Make Cowboy Jerky, and How to Draw a Horse. Fun stuff!

Although this is geared for upper elementary kids, I know that any age group could benefit from watching these clips. My almost 2 year old LOVES airplanes so this episode entitled Airplane Builder would be perfect for her! Never underestimate the learning potential of your little one!

As a former second grade teacher, I KNOW my kids would love to watch these. Whether you are learning about anything from bird watching to trout fishing consider adding one of these Meet Me at the Corner clips into your curriculum.

Food Group Fun

There are some simple, easy resources to teach your little one about the 5 food groups! I struggled at first to come up with some ideas- but I think I have come up with a well-rounded list:

1. see 'em. Why not see where the fruits and vegetables come from by visiting a garden? It will make a lot more sense when trying to explain that vegetables grow in the ground and fruit grows in the trees if they have seen it with their own two eyes.
2. serve 'em. Make sure, if possible, that you have a variety of foods (in the food group you are learning about) available at home for your little one to try. Eating food can be just the ticket to make the food groups fun!
3. read about 'em. There are tons of great books out there that will teach your kiddos about the food groups and proper nutrition.
4. sing 'em. There are a couple sites with some food group songs: Food Guide Pyramid and CanTeach
5. wear 'em. I am not talking about a food fight. How fun would it be to have 6 little kiddos wearing paper bag vests filled with a variety of foods from the food group (cut from grocery ads) that they glued themselves? Or have one kid be the veggies, one be the fruit,etc. Just an idea!
6. sort 'em. Take out your plastic food and put them to use by doing a food sort. I used these cards and they worked great (see the do it yourself section down below to download). If you don't have plastic foods, just print pics of the foods or download a second set of cards to match.

Here are the sorting cards for the food groups from this great site. They have some great downloads.

cafefruit.pdf
cafegrain.pdf
cafemeat.pdf
cafemilk.pdf
cafeveg.pdf
cafeothers.pdf

There are some food pyramid coloring sheets from the Produce for Better Health Foundation. There are some arts and crafts ideas using the food groups from Everything Preschool. Check out the nutrition page on our site's wiki for more ideas!

Happy Teaching!

Swinging

Swinging
What kid doesn't like to swing? If your little one seems ready, you can start showing them how they move their legs to pump in the swings. It may take awhile to pick up, but if they are trying they are making the swing more of an exercise than a ride!

Supplies Needed--swing

My daughter could sit on a swing for hours. Literally. I am excited to make this a more active game for her and I know she'll have fun! And thats what its all about! :)

Hula Hoop

Hula Hoop
Grab a hula hoop and you and your tot can have lots of fun! There are many different games you can play with one of these simple toys. You can have a hula hoop contest to see who can keep it up the longest (without holding it of course), you can roll them, you can use them as giant sorting rings to sort (if you have 5 hoops sort plastic food by the food groups OR if you have 2 sort by opposites like things you use at night/day and hot/cold- possibilities are endless!) You can also toss the hoops and see who can throw them the farthest!

Supplies Needed-- at least one hula hoop!

Picnic Talk- Writing (Some Ideas for Second Graders)

Today the ABC picnic talk is all about WRITING. I have not started writing with my little one yet- but I have some cool resources from my second grade years that might benefit some of you out there!
The first set of ideas goes along with a program called "Step Up to Writing". This is a step by step approach to teaching children to write in an organized manner- teaching topic sentences, supporting the main idea, and restating the topic sentence at the end of the paragraph. It helps student to stay on track with their writing thoughts.
Here is some ideas that I used with this program:

1. This is a great online outine to help with the Step Up to Writing Process... simply fill in the blanks with information, then print. You can also reset the form if you change your mind!
2. This is one of the GREATEST websites I have seen on Step Up to Writing... I love the graphics, the explanations, and at the bottom of the page you can click on a pencil for a step up prompt. AMAZING!!!!
3. i knowmany things about.pdf
4. i know many things about st version.pdf

I also liked to teach the creative writing process. This includes prewriting/drafting, revising, editing,and publishing both original and assigned writing pieces. The concept of authorship is valued in second grade. Each child is believed to be an author/writer with a story to tell.One of the things I would do with my second graders is teach the editing marks (we called them writer's secrets-
Lastly, here is a link to some writing websites that I used with my second grade students- its been a couple years since I used them- so if the links are broken I'm sorry! There are 12 online student activities that range from capitalization to periods! And some grammar inbetween!
Happy Teaching! :)

Toddler Twister

Activity copied directly from TODDLERTODDLER.COM
Toddler Twister
"This is a fun game for the whole family to play! Print out the sheet of shapes and then cut them out. Tape them to the floor in a small group and then have your toddler stand or sit on each shape. Once she has mastered that, then have her put one foot/hand on one shape and the other foot/hand on another shape. Maybe she can touch her nose to a shape! She might have to think about what to do next with her body? Or she might turn in circles to try. You'll enjoy watching her and she'll have fun with all the shapes.

Supplies Needed- - Printer to print out the shapes----
( or use construction paper)
- masking tape
- floor space

Tips/Suggestions-
- Ask your toddler to jump on each shape, then jump off to review "on" and "off"

- Talk about the colors of the shapes while trying to put a hand/foot on each one.

-Show by example...see how twisted up you can get and your toddler will get a chuckle seeing you try and then falling down. "

I am really excited to try this out with my daughter! Our good camera is in the shop getting repaired (thank heavens we purchased the extended warranty) so if I take pics I will update this post.

Happy Teaching and have lots of fun!

Twitterfeed is FABULOUS!

I love learning about the latest and greatest technology news... and was happy to come across twitterfeed.com. What is so amazing about this site? You can have your latest blog posts (or any other RSS feeds) published to twitter! So no more typing a separate tweet after you blog! This is just pretty cool!!

Dance

Dance
All you need is a good beat and dancing seems to come naturally! This is a good time for our little ones to show some freedom of expression with their movements and to just have a good time. We dance at least once every day-not only is it good exercise, but my daughter really enjoys moving (and I am happy to see her release some of that energy!)

Supplies Needed-- music (CD, piano, guitar, other instruments, singing, musical toys, etc)
ribbon sticks add a little pizazz to the dance but are not necessary for fun!

Movement Cards

Movement Cards Print a set of cards and you have an instant variety of fun activities! There are some sets to download (see the do it yourself section at the end of this post). You can play these cards in a variety of ways- from just drawing one card at a time and doing the activity, to having a race to see how many cards you can complete in a given amount of time, to setting the cards in a circle and doing the activities as you walk around.... there are many more!

Supplies Needed-- a set of cards (see below to download)Downloads: There are 3 different sets of movement cards. One is a very simple set I made for my daughter when she was about 1. The second set came about when I read this great blog post on the ABC's of movement- we worked together and came up with a set of movement cards. The third set is much like the second but there are cute clipart graphics- this came from Homeschool share. Anyway you choose to go, these movement cards will keep your tots busy!
Set One
Set Two
Set Three
Happy Teaching!

ABC's of Church

I just wanted to write a quick post on a coloring book I have been working on for my daughter- It will go in her ABC quiet kit, and since this kit is for church- I thought it fitting to make her the ABC's of church- ranging from A is for Amen, B is for Bishop to Y is for Yummy treats and Z is for Zipper (zip up those wiggles!)

Here is a PDF that you can download and enjoy! Just click on the A is for Amen coloring page below to download the entire A-Z alphabet book!!

Happy Teaching!!

Yoga for Kids

Yoga
Don't be intimidated by the word- your toddler CAN do yoga! And more than likely he/she will enjoy doing the different poses! Just pick two or three at first- not to be too overwhelming. Go through each of the steps of the poses- modeling it for your tot- and be sure to not get frustrated if your tot has their own yoga technique. Remember that the goal of yoga is to relax and energize your mind and body- not leave you stressed out! I recommend purchasing a yoga for kids program to help simplify the pose steps and make this a FUN activity as well- I use the Yoga Pretzel cards and LOVE them!! My wiggly daughter loves the rock pose- who knew she would want to be so still!

Supplies Needed-
- yoga mat or towel to perform the different poses on
- a knowledge of yoga or a learning tool (book, video, activity cards)

Play Catch

Play Catch!
This is a simple game that requires nothing more than a willing toddler and a soft ball! Your tot might not be able to catch the ball mid-air, but will have tons of fun grabbing the ball and throwing it back to you! This game is also fun with balloons (my daughter preferred that method to balls- they came down slower so she had time to grab the balloon before it fell to the ground)

Supplies Needed-
- soft ball or balloon

Working on our Healthy Menu

I searched and searched for a good nutritious toddler menu that would require little cooking! I was happy to come across this site that offered a very simple meal idea.

For breakfast:

• 1/3 cup cooked cereal


• 1/2 banana


• 1/2 slice toast with 1/2 teaspoon butter


• 4 ounces whole milk

For a morning snack:

• 2 graham crackers


• 4 ounces fruit juice

For lunch:

• 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich


• 2 tablespoons cooked broccoli


• 1/4 cup melon


• 4 ounces whole milk

For an afternoon snack:

• 1/2 cup yogurt


• 1/4 muffin

For dinner:

• 1-1/2 ounces chopped chicken


• 2 tablespoons peas


• 2 tablespoons baked potato with 2 teaspoons butter


• 1/2 slice whole wheat bread


• 4 ounces whole milk

For a snack:

• 1/2 cup canned fruit


• 1/2 ounce cheese


• 2 or 3 whole grain crackers

We tried it out yesterday and today (as best as we could spending the day at a campsite with family) and I am very pleased with it! It is simple, something I could tweak here and there, but it gives me that meal planning framework. My daughter won't eat ALL of that food yet- but I am offering it to her and have already noticed a small increase in how much she is eating at the scheduled times and I am not being begged for crackers all day. I know she appreciates the wider variety of foods she gets during meal time. I want to write a weekly schedule similar to this one that offers that variety and yet can give me a shopping list every week!
Let's hope this plan lasts! :)
Happy Teaching!

Crib Sheet Parachute

ACTIVITY TAKEN FROM TODDLERTODDLER.COM
Crib Sheet Parachute Fun!
"You know the fun games that you played with that big parachute in gym class!! Here's a chance to have some fun with your toddler and a simple fitted crib sheet. Let your toddler hold one side and you hold the other. Now flap the sheet in the air, and both of you go under it. Or have your toddler hold on while you raise it "up" in the air and "down" to the floor. Teach him "up" and "down"! You can go around in circles or in and out. Your toddler may have some ideas of what to do also!! Laugh a lot and have some real fun.

Supplies Needed:
- fitted crib sheet"

This was a fun (short lived though) activity for my Boo. It was easy since I was changing her sheets anyway! If I were to do it again I think I would add some soft balls to the center of the sheet while flapping it in the air.... it would have been easier, too if there were more people. Important thing is that my little one had a great 5 minutes of fun playing with her Momma!

Happy Playing!

Cell Phone Hide and Seek

ACTIVITY TAKEN FROM TODDLERTODDLER.COM
Cell Phone Hide-&-Seek!
"Do you have a cell phone with a fun ringer? Hide your cell phone under a pillow and then call it from your home phone. Let your toddler find the ringing cell phone! You can even put it in a different room! Each time you play, change the ringer. It's a fun way to teach your toddler to listen and follow a sound! (Just be sure to put the keyguard on so that your toddler doesn't make any calls!) This is also a great activity if you are somewhere waiting and you have two cell phones!

Supplies Needed-
- cell phone
- another phone"

My daughter had SO much fun with this activity. We played it at least 15 times and would have played more if we had more time! Best part of the activity- it is easy and yet very engaging because the phone is not always in the same place. Definately a must try game for all you moms and dads of tots!

Happy Playing!