Play and Learn Every Day

Making Glow Stick Valentines

19:33

Today we had a play date with a friend, so we decided to make a Valentine to bring him (as we won't be seeing him next week). We wanted something a little different, and I knew that I had seen a teacher that I used to work with use glow sticks in Valentine's Day cards before, so it seemed like a great option for us to try.

What you'll need:

construction paper or card in Valentine's Day colours
crayons, colouring pencils, heart stampers
scissors
thin glow sticks (bracelets)

I cut some heart shapes out of construction paper then let Ethan decorate them however he liked. Ethan enjoyed trying out the stamper and colouring the Valentines with crayons. I cut a couple of slits in the heart for Ethan to put the glow sticks through, which is great for his fine motor control trying to thread them through. Then I wrote on a message for his friend that would suit the theme, so I went for 'You make my heart glow'.

Ethan was able to enrich his Creative Development by decorating the hearts however he liked, and he really had fun being able to decorate them freely without any restrictions.

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16 months old

Sliding!

19:33

Today we went to one of our favourite places, Gymboree :) We went for an open gym session today, and we brought Daddy! Ethan enjoyed showing off his incredible climbing skills, and having two of us there with him meant that I could be more brave and we could teach Ethan to slide on his own.

We play on the slide often, but I always hold onto Ethan's hands. Today we expanded Ethan's Physical Development but teaching him how to go down the slide on his own! With support at the top and bottom of the slide it didn't take long for Ethan to pick it up and was soon whizzing down all by himself. Proud Mommy moment :)

16 months old

Playing with Cereal Boxes

19:32

One of Ethan's favourite things to play with are boxes, so today I decided to make a game of it, and play with cereal boxes. We happened to finish up some Rice Krispies with finger puppets on the back of the box, so we started there.

Ethan and I sat and coloured the finger puppets together for a little while, and then he started playing with the boxes, putting things in them and taking things out. A real Creative Development activity as we came up with ways to use the boxes in many different ways.

16 months old

Tidying Up

19:31

I've been thinking a bit about tidying up, and at a play group yesterday was a bit shocked when some parents left about 5 minutes before the group was due to finish without having their children help to tidy up. I have always sort of encouraged Ethan to tidy up but thought that he was too young to really do anything, until now!

At play group for the past few weeks we've walked around together with a toy shopping trolley at the end, collecting up the play food and putting it into the trolley and then into the box. We made sort of a game of it, and now we're doing the same at home. It's a great activity for sorting and organising as a part of Ethan's Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy development. I also think it's a part of his Personal, Social and Emotional Development to learn about doing his part and helping out.

16 months old

Valentine's Sensory Box

08:54

Today we started our Valentine's celebrations with a simple sensory box for Ethan to explore. It's amazing how quickly you can put something together by just searching through boxes and cupboards to make a fun and simple sensory bin.

In our Valentine's Sensory Box:

wooden hearts (from shape sorting toys)
red tea cups
red and pink link toys
red spoons
red balls
a pink boat toy
red heart foam confetti

Ethan always loves to explore a new sensory box, he pulls things out individually and dumps the whole box on the floor. It was nice for us to have a 'non-messy' sensory box this time, so that he can go back to it any time he likes and I don't have to hover with the dustpan and brush. This gives him great freedom to explore all of the items, use all of his senses (I even scented the hearts with rose water) and expand his Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

For more Valentine's Day fun take a look at our Pinterest board:

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16 months old

Counting Fingers and Toes

19:29

I'll tell you the truth, my little Ethan doesn't like wearing clothes! Getting him dressed is often a bit of a struggle, as he'd be much happier just running around naked. I started thinking that I need to come up with fun ways to get him dressed (I would love any other suggestions as well). So today we started playing peekaboo with hands and feet and then counting fingers and toes as they popped out the other side.

Ethan loved this! It really made him giggle and distracted him from the fact that he was then wearing clothes! We even sang some number songs, excellent for his Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy as we counted his fingers and toes.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
Once I caught a fish alive,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so,
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.

16 months old

First Words

10:45

Recently Ethan has been mimicking a lot of sounds and saying a few new words. I really want to encourage this, so today we spent some time looking at first words books.

Ethan is really sweetly bringing books to me and sitting in my lap to read them together. We have a few word books and word card sets that we looked at together today, Ethan happily turned the pages as I read the words to him. Sometimes we went through them with me just saying the words, and other times I described the item and how we use it or made the sound that the animal makes. Ethan was really listening intently, differently to when I read him a story book. He made a couple of sounds after me, but mostly he just listened today. I am hoping that this will help with his Communication, Language and Literacy as he begins to say more words.

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Making Glow Stick Valentines

Sliding!

Playing with Cereal Boxes

Tidying Up

Valentine's Sensory Box

Counting Fingers and Toes

First Words

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