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.

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.... 

Positively Develop Your Child’s Attention Span

How many of us have worried about our kid’s short attention span?  Nothing seems to keep them occupied for a long time thus making it immensely difficult for us parents to device interesting activities for the little ones. To give our readers a brief idea of a child’s attention span-it varies from age to age, approximately about 3-5 minutes for every year of age. So your two year old should be able to hold her attention for around 6-10 minutes & a five year old for about 15-25 minutes. 

Kids with longer attention span are easier to keep occupied & in more cases than one they keep themselves easily entertained. Momsters discusses a few tips on how you could help your child build their attention span.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Compliments Your Kid Needs to Hear

When someone gives you an unexpected compliment, it can make your day. So, why not do the same for your kids?  Observe the little things they do every day and let them feel appreciated. Children do not need to be fussed over and over praised for doing simple things that should be done every day, or told they are geniuses for putting a Sippy cup in the sink. Children do, however, need to be encouraged—DAILY. They DO need a hug and a kiss every day. They need to feel that they are important. One of the ways you can do this is by complementing.

Now the question is do you know how to compliment your child? Strangely enough, many parents don’t. Here are some handy tips that will help you around it.  

Tale of The Traveling Toddler!

'No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow' - Lin Yutang

Traveling for us is like living a book in a practical sense. Since conceiving our baby girl we knew that we would just have to inculcate the passion of travel in her no matter what, as my hubby and I are avid travelers.

We weren't really sure how easy or difficult the travels are going to be with the child in tow. But, believe me, it was a waltz because the baby took to traveling as if it came naturally to her. Having said that, I want to mention, we do pat our backs because we started the practice of using a car seat, pram, high chair et al, early in her life…. and thank heavens for that.

No more monsters under the bed!

Help your child get over their fear of the dark!

 

I remember I used to be so scared of dark, now it does seem funny but back then I spent many sleepless nights fearing that ‘Boogeyman’ will come and eat me up. I am sure a lot of you have kids who are scared of the dark. 

Finger Paint fun with your Toddler

I can not call myself cleanliness freak. I do like a nice clean house but mess makes me go mad and now after living with a kid for more than 2 years I have mastered the art of ignoring the mess. I still try to keep the house as organized as possible. 

I strongly believe not everything messy is bad, some of it is good; like they say "Daag acche hain". When this mess helps your little one learn something new, it sure is VERY GOOD. One such activity is finger painting, I'm a huge fan of finger painting... I started finger painting with Zoe when she was 15 months old, both of us totally love it. We were engrossed in some finger painting over the past weekend and I thought a post on Finger painting would be just right

Precious Moments captured by "TinyLove Photography"

Who does not love a beautifully captured photograph? And when it comes to capturing moments and preserving them as memories, we never miss an opportunity. I remember, my mom going click click all around the house behind us. The difference between now and back then is that, now we don't just have moms and dads clicking but professional photographers have stepped in. The result is amazing shots and beautiful memories. Momsters came to know about TinyLove Photography a few weeks back and we fell in love with what we saw.