This week it helped immensely to have a plan! If I have activities planned out for my littles, I am more likely to stick with them instead of turning on the television. Ideally, I would love to create an environment that is conducive to learning and growing and playing happily … that is in the works and will be another week’s goal most certainly. I want to fill their little minds with boat loads of happy thoughts, experiments and possibilities … that is childhood after all, no?
One site that I love and visit often is Tot School. Carisa is a fantastic lady with a background in early childhood education and three darling children. She has fun and educational ideas for the toddler years and each week other blogs link up with their ideas as well. I highly recommend it! We link up often.
Without further adieu …. here are some of the activities we loved and learned from this week.
It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American writer
1803-1882
And play we did! We spent many hours outside in the rain and sunshine this week. Lily helped me plant squash, zucchini, and daisy seeds. She loves to dig. As I work, she skips, runs, jumps, twirls from one side of the yard to the other. And this darling little boy just peacefully sits and drinks it all in.
Lily cherishes her outside time, her time to just be. One thing I hope to engender in my children is an intimacy with nature. Spending time in nature whether it is watching the clouds roll by, listening to the wind in the trees, or counting petals on a freshly bloomed flower – all these activities seem to soothe our souls and help us slow down. There is something simple and elemental about being in nature so I am glad our week included it!
This momma loves a deal! I was able to get discount tickets to Discovery Gateway, a delightful children’s musuem downtown. It was a bit too crowded for my taste at first, but later in the afternoon it calmed down. My Lily loved learning about air and wind at the above exhibit. She would place a colorful ball in the tube and then shut it and watch in awe as it shot up the tube and across the way. Each time she would shout, “where are you going?” She did this for at least a half hour. I love the air blowing through her hair.
My little man knows just what to do with flowers. For him it is all about texture. Often it is the softer the better!
I love the tenderness of little mommy Lily. She adores baby dolls. She feeds them, rocks them to sleep, takes them on walks, and loves them all over. Here is she putting five babies to bed while her daddy watches. It’s lovely how the ability to mother is so innate and present in the littlest of ladies.
Yep, Cort loves textures. He was in heaven with in this cork sandbox with mommy making sure none made it to his mouth. Scooping, dropping, feeling.
And we cannot forget the balls. Every little boy loves balls and must have one for each hand.
Spontaniety was a good less for this week as well. We were out looking at homes and drove by a dinosaur museum. Lily shrieked with joy and asked if we could go? Why not!
This was a good opportunity for me to practice letting her know the rules of the museum and then letting her explore and have fun within those parameters. Sometimes I think I am too quick to tell her what she should be playing or how she should do something. It was fun to watch what she was interested in and make it a fun experience for her.
And have I mentioned that my almost three year old is a budding artist! She loves anything to do with creating so I am try to provide her with more opportunities. I recently bought this fun bingo daubers which she is loving.
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