Playdough Letter Press Activity

I have been doing this activity with Zoe for the past couple of months and she shrieks when ever she sees mom with playdough and alphabet cutouts. I took inspiration for this activity from Playdough to Plato

You would need Play-dough, alphabets (magnetic, wooden, plastic any kind of alphabets cutouts), I also use a tray but this is optional. 

Zoe loves playing with her phonics and numbers, she loves play-dough as well so this was a sure-shot hit for her. For Zoe I just use random alphabets and numbers because she is still too young to understand sight words. I add lots of playdough on the tray, I use a lighter colour (as you can see in the picture) so that the letter traced is easily visible. The moment Zoe prints a letter she goes "Momma, look what Zoe made". She can easily stay busy with Letter Press Activity for a few minutes at a go... which is huge for a preschooler.

For older kids, one can use this activity to make them understand sight words.

Alphabet Art-Vowels

When your child is learning phonetics/alphabets at school, doing a little activity built around that particular alphabet can help reinforce their foundation. Help them make something fun that will also make them remember that alphabet better.

Here are a few ideas for vowels that you could work their craft time around.

A for Ant

Have you got a TaleInAMail Yet?

At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book – that string of confused, alien ciphers – shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. - Alberto Manguel

Books... Books... Books. All parents love seeing their kids evolve as readers... but who will tells us...

Which Books do we choose?

How to read books?

What is age appropriate for my child?

I'm too busy, how can I make sure 

my child gets regular supply of books?

Till the time I understand what my child likes

s/he has already outgrown those books...

HELP.... 

Why did I choose a Montessori School for Zoe

Written for MyCity4Kids

Zoe (2.5) has just started going to school and from the time I started my research on various methods adopted by different schools, the Montessori way of education attracted me the most. Why did I pick a school which doesn't believe in teaching my daughter alphabets but phonics... which does not believe in having tables and chairs but has floor mats.... where my child will do many things that a regular school wouldn't allow kids to do.

I visited my daughter's school couple of times before her admission, but I went as an observer once and that's the time when I was sure this is what I wanted for Zoe. Couple of things which I loved about the setup:

Printable - Free Book Label (3 Different Themes)

School has started and a new session means new books/notebooks, new books mean covering them with brown paper and colorful labels... As a kid we always got excited about new books and new name labels. I remember, buying books and covering them was one of the best part of my schooling years.

Review - Fisher Price Grow With Me Kitchen

Zoe loves pretend play, her doctor set, her toy train, her walkie talkie, carpenter set, she loves it all. Her latest obsession is her Fisher Price Grow With Me Kitchen. This was a gift from her dad when Zoe turned 2.5 years last Sunday. I'm someone who doesn't believes in Girl Toys and Boy Toys (if you want you can read my views on this right here). 

Here is our review (along with a video review) of Fisher Price Grow With Me Kitchen.

Top 40 Children's Study Design

I have been wanting to buy a study table for Zoe... not to study yet, but it will be a nice reading corner for her. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of the designs available here. I mean, a study table is a child's own space (they might or might not have a separate room). I remember me and Sadaf had similar study tables hers was a pink table with Donald Duck and mine was smaller blue version of the same with Mickey Mouse. Mom got it custom made for us. That is when I decided to do some research and get a customized study table for Zoe.

So here are a couple of designs I found on Facebook and other websites:

The first table by Kidoz is very colorful and nice. It's not like the run-of-the-mill stuff you get in market these days.

Teaching Children Compassion

Empathy, understanding, compassion is an extremely important trait especially in today’s world & thus needs to be taught to our children who are the future. But can compassion be taught? Can we teach someone to empathize with a fellow human being who is not as fortunate as us in some way? Well, experts say that like language compassion & understanding is something we all are born with in different measures but it can be developed by setting example in front of children. It is something that becomes better when taught & observed.

Communicating With your Little One

This is a chapter from my life and this was 1st published in Parentous 

 

Does communicating with your child means just giving instructions, setting boundaries, telling them what is wrong and what they cannot/should not do? I think it is extremely important to strike a one to one communication with your child.

Prepare your Little One For Big School

Is your child due to start “BIG SCHOOL” anytime soon? 

As a young mother, just the idea of letting go of your little one can be extremely daunting. Since this is as big a challenge for you as it is for your little-big one, you have to keep aside your own worries & prep them for their big milestone. 

Yes, that is the picture of my munchkin, all set to go to Big School.

Keeping children safe around medicine

I had a pretty eventful childhood, and most of the time the reason behind it was me swallowing anything I had access to. One when I was around 3, I drank an entire small bottle of Vitamin C drops which mum used to give us. Thankfully nothing happened to me, but medicines can be really dangerous for kids. Now Zoe is at an age that she loves exploring things and has a habit of keeping things in her mouth. So we as parents have to be extra cautious.

Momster's 25 Picks to Decorate your Child's Room

Designing Zoe’s perfect room has been in my top to-do-list for a long. Now that I’m on mission “Zoe’s room” I keep doing a lot of research about designing the perfect room for my little munchkin. That’s when I decided to share Momsters Top 25 products to Design your baby’s nursery.

Summer Care for your Child

The harsh Indian summer is here & most part of the country gets engulfed in terrible heat. Along with many other concerns, parents of little ones are also worried about how to take care of their child… how to keep them cool as well as safe from the scorching sun.

Indoor Summer Fun - Top Picks

Summer Vacations have started in many parts of the country, and in the other parts it’s just less than a month away. We as parents try to keep summer holidays fun and action packed, we dread our kids uttering those words “Mommy, I’m bored”. Trips, summer camps and activities unfortunately do not last for 2 long months. Stepping out of the comforts of your house is not always possible, playing in the park or garden is restricted to early morning or couple of hours in the evening. Obviously you don’t want the kid sitting in front of the idiot box or the laptop, day in and day out. Zoe hasn’t started school yet (she starts in June 2013) but I have already started my research on what kind of indoor activities I can involve Zoe in when she has her holidays.

Choosing The Right Paediatrician

Like new mommies or mommies-to-be didn’t have enough on their minds, that the exercise of finding the right paediatrician for their precious little ones comes daunting in their faces. 

Looking for a doctor for your baby can be an anxiety inducing job. Momsters understands how difficult it is & therefore we have put together a few pointers that will make your HUNT a little easy. These tips come from our own personal experiences, tips from old-timers & some research. Here goes:

Picking Kid's Health Drink

Picky Eaters… it is not just a phrase, it gives parents nightmares. I have heard so many parents out there say “My kid doesn’t eat ANYTHING”. I know how it is; Zoe has been on a no-food diet forever. We all keep on worrying about the right diet, nutrition, et al. And when we see so many advertisements on Television, boosting “Just 2 glasses are enough for your child’s daily nutrition…" You have no option but believe what they claim. You start feeling happy that you are raising stronger, healthier, sharper, brighter kids. 

Health drinks are not at all necessary, if your child is an extremely fussy eater, then you might want to opt for one of the health drinks available. Dr. Rachna Sethi, a nutritionist says, “These health drinks like Horlicks, Complan, Bournvita, more than anything else have malt in it which gives taste and flavor to milk. Other than that, these drinks are fortified with minerals like iron and vitamin C which milk lacks hence these drinks do add to the nutrition.” Another renowned nutritionist Dr. Shweta Iyengar believes “Nutritional drinks are not indispensible; these are required today because kids have become fussy about what they eat and drink. If you think your child is not getting the required nutrition for his age, these options are necessary.”

Music and your Little One!

When we are really in a bad state of mind, music has the ability to make our mood better instantly. Children are no different… Infants and toddlers enjoy and benefit from music as much as adults do. Research suggests ‘Exposing young children to music for few years help improve their adult brain. Introducing some form of music in childhood goes a long way in improving how the brain functions in adulthood when it comes to listening and the complex processing of sound’ according to a new Northwestern University study.

Music tends to have a positive effect on children… their entire learning … like comprehension, expression, vocabulary, listening ability. Music also has an amazing effect on your child’s social and emotional development, besides others.

Ready to be Potty Trained?

A mommy friend & I were having a chat the other day & the conversation drifted to the Oh-So-Dreaded topic of Potty training.  Just uttering that five-letter word seems to be giving her the willies.

She said she knew she is supposed to enjoy every minute with her son but she’d really, REALLY like to fast-forward through the toilet-training stage, which is about to descend on her household and disturb the diaper-clad peace.

Kukucrate – “REVIEW“

 

All those who have been following Momsters know that we are very particular about engaging our kids in age-appropriate activities. Weekends give us all the more reason to indulge in some activity as a family that Zoe/Zefan will benefit from. Zoe loves colors and she loves helping her mom and dad in whatever craft activities we do. She does end up messing the project and herself up, but I strongly believe it’s all worth it.

When Charu Agarwal (the person behind Kukucrate) contacted Momsters to do a review for their product, I was super excited. Their boxes offer theme based, hands-on learning projects designed for kids between 3-8 years. Though Zoe is just 2.3 years old but I wanted to see her reaction, and boy… did she have fun or what. It was more work on her parents part and less on hers but she loved being with us, inspecting what we did. 

Easter Bunny Pancakes

I remember Falak being super excited around Easter, her school in Lucknow used to sell these super amazing sweet filled Easter eggs and she used to get them home. They used to come in all sizes and colors. Since then Easter means a lot of memories. Since Zefan became a toddler, I made these amazing pancakes which always bring a big smile on my little one’s face. Our Easter mornings start with some yummy Bunny Pancakes for breakfast.  I love making these colorful pancakes as an Easter morning surprise.  Actually, you don't need a special occasion to make fun pancakes.  Just get out the food coloring and a few plastic Squirt bottles and you're ready to roll.

I saw these amazing pancakes on Jenni Price illustration, a few years back.

These Bunny Pancakes are perfect for Easter brunch or Easter breakfast.  Give it a try!  Be sure to try some other fun things, like flowers, birds, even lacy designs.