Our Field Trip

My two youngest children, a three-year-old and a two-year-old are happily napping right now, after a fun time on a field trip. I love field trips for little ones. It lets them explore different things as well as socialize. This field trip was sort of spontaneous. We went to a local botanical garden to which we own a membership, and we invited some friends along. There were three moms and a total of four kids, all in the two- to three-year-old range. Our first stop was to explore an elaborate cathedral-like tree house. The kids had fun running up and … Continue reading →

The Power of Finger Paint

If you are looking for a great activity for your toddler or preschooler, consider finger paint. Yes, I know it is messy, but you can’t beat finger paint for a young child when it comes to discovery and development. From the colors to the squishy texture between little fingers, finger paint is an opportunity to learn all sorts of things. Here are a few tips to help you get the most you can from experiencing finger paint with your child. As mentioned about, many parents are put off by the potential mess of finger painting. A little preparation can make … Continue reading →

Signs Your Baby May Be Ready for the Olympics

You know that your little one is special, but did you ever wonder if he or she is the next Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff or Nastia Liukin? Sometimes raw talent can be recognized very early. Here are some tongue-in-cheek ways that you can tell if your baby is headed for the Olympics. He can spit out strained peas farther across the room than any other baby you know, and his accuracy has the dog running for cover. You often find her sitting on top of the refrigerator or kitchen cabinets with no visible means of climbing up there. At bath-time, … Continue reading →

Fun in the Baby Pool

When the heat and humidity start rising, we enjoy getting out the baby pool and using it to cool off. It can be a lot of fun for little ones and even their parents. Here are some ways to have lots of fun with the baby pool. First let’s cover safety. Never ever leave a child alone with the baby pool. Babies and toddlers can drown in just an inch of water, and accidents can happen quickly. Last year, I witnessed my then one-year-old leaned over the side of the baby pool and topple in head first. Luckily I was … Continue reading →

Cooking with Your Toddler

The next meal you make, consider asking your toddler to help. Toddlers can be so much fun to cook with, and the educational value of the activity to high. In a short cooking session, you can introduce your child to language arts, math, science and life skills. And toddlers just love to help out. They get a great sense of accomplishment from doing things on their own, especially when they are “grown up” activities. As I mentioned earlier in a previous post, I love cooking with my toddler, especially in the early morning. I’ll share some of the things I … Continue reading →

Cooking with Your Young Baby

Cooking with a baby can be a lot of fun. Yes, it can be done. As I mentioned earlier, cooking together is a way of spending quality time and introducing your little one to all sorts of new experiences and life lessons. I started cooking with my children almost as soon as they were out of the womb, and you can too. Some people wait for the baby to nap before getting their cooking out of the way, but I always found it nice to be able to cook with your baby. By the way, if you missed the introductory … Continue reading →

Cooking with Kids from Baby through Toddler

One of my favorite things to do is to cook with my kids. When we cook together, we get to spend great quality time while being productive. Cooking together is also sharing in valuable life lessons, and introduces important life skills. You child will be introduced to new smells, new textures and even new vocabulary. There is also a lot of math and science involved with cooking. Although sometimes we all cook together, I find that spending that one-on-one time with each child separately while cooking can be a lot of fun and allow me to focus on the lessons … Continue reading →

Introducing Art to My Little One

Chances are that you are already introducing your baby to art whenever you look at a picture book or name colors and shapes, but why not go a little bit further and expose your toddler to more sophisticated fare. You might be surprised at how much he picks up and understands. I learned this lesson myself earlier today. A new friend invited us to an art program for children at a local museum. The program was geared for children aged three through ten with a parent. My two older children fall within this range and were excited about the prospect … Continue reading →

Bringing Baby to the Library: The Children’s Room

The library can be a rewarding experience for both you and your baby. If you missed the earlier article about this topic, just click here: Bringing Baby to the Library. Now let’s take a look at the children’s room at the library, including what you should look for before making an extended visit. The children’s room is very important, since you will be spending a lot of time in it. You want to find one that is bright, clean and isolated a bit from the rest of the library so you and your baby will be free to explore without … Continue reading →

Could Your Baby Be a Model?

If you have ever looked at your child and wondered if your baby could be a model then you’ll want to keep reading. I’ll talk about some of the things that make it more likely for your baby to have the opportunity to model. Good photos No, don’t run out an get professional photos that cost hundreds of dollars. Your baby will grow so quickly that the expensive photos will soon become useless. Legitimate agencies don’t expect babies just starting out in the modeling world to have professional photos. Instead, take two nice snapshots of your baby, one featuring her … Continue reading →