Okay mommas, I need some help here. Emy and I are in a playtime funk. We (she) does the same thing everyday. She is in the phase where she is learning so much and loves to try new things, but this is not my forte. I feel like I am not fully engaging her or taking advantage of this learning phase. I am not educationally saavy and have no creative ideas. I know that Emy does not need new (different) toys to play with, I just need ideas of things to do with her that are age appropriate.
So mommas, this is where you come in. I would love any ideas of free or cheap games, outings, groups and activities that Emy and I can do together. Or if any of you have any books or articles that give good suggestions, I will take that too.
Here are some new pics.
Thanksgiving at my brother's house. Emy is not so sure about me holding the new baby.
Trying to get a good pic in front of the tree
Posing with Santa and Mrs. Claus
Snack time in front of the tree
And, last but not least, a big Congratulations to Amy and Cory on the birth of sweet Hogan. (You can see him on their blog.) He was born on Friday and it the cutest most precious baby and Amy and Cory are going to make wonderful parents.
4 comments:
This is a GREAT stage for something like Gymboree. You get a free preview class there before you sign up, so you might enjoy trying it out even if you only go once. They also have a music class, so that's two free ones you can attend. A few months of Gymboree would be a great Christmas present for Emy from the relatives. It doesn't take up room in your house and it gives you something to do! The best age to go is between 12-18 months, when they go from crawling to walking. Hope that helps! We absolutely loved it!
Love the pic of Emy eating her snack in front of the tree-- so precious!
We are trying out Little Gym tomorrow. I have heard from a few mommies that they and their kiddos love it. They do music and locomotor and socialization stuff every session. You also get a free preview class with Little Gym. Also, have you checked out the libraries for story time? Sometimes they have them for little ones too. I know these things cost money, but other things are a zoo pass. We have one in Columbia and it is always a great way to get out and an awesome learning time- even if you go over and over and over. Also the Science and History Museum I think it is has a kids place down the in basement portion. You could look online to see what things they have and see if she might be old enough to enjoy. I used to go often in college with kids I babysat and they loved it.
By now, you've probably found a bunch to do and with all the work you're doing, you may not have a lot of time! :) But, we love to go to our public library for story time. There is a toddler time, specifically for kids 12-36 months and it's free! Lots of music, story telling, a parachute, a craft time and lots of toys :) It's a blast. Check your libraries. Now I take my 3 year old to the preschool story time that is for kids a little bit older. They should have specific times geared directly to specific ages and sometimes special holiday events like puppet shows and magic shows. A year long pass to the children's museum or zoo does cost money but more than pays for itself after just a few visits. (and is a great christmas present!)
Barnes and Noble and Mardel bookstores also have areas where kids can read books and play with the big train sets or other things. We do that on really boring days- it's free as long as you don't see too many books you want and feel like you have to buy them!
With the onset of winter in the Midwest, we are indoors alot more and the boys and I were getting into a playtime funk as well. So I have started doing one cooking project and one craft time project with my boys at home each week. Keep in mind that this can be a bit of a challenge in that my oldest is 3 and my youngest is 19 months and there is a palpable difference in their dexterity. Anyway, this has gone over pretty big for all of us.
Also, I find common household chores that they can help me with. They are both so keen on helping that they together unload the dishwaher for me and put the dishes away (with close supervision). My youngest is in love with the vacuum cleaner so I let him clean along the base boards with the attachment wands. My oldest is in charge of making sure the lights are always turned off and on as appropriate and putting the dirty clothes down the laundry shute. Anyway having these little jobs not only 'helps' me but they seem to really like the responsibility of the work and get mad if I usurp it at all. So you might try letting Emy do some simple chores that she naturally gravitates toward 'helping' with. They look at it as playing with mommy. It's great training for later and really entertaining now. Make sure to keep a camera handy.
As far as other out of the house activities go...becareful of signing her up for too much while she is transitioning her nap schedule over to once per day and try to pick things that are morning activities to support the single midday nap idea. Library story times are great for this kind of thing and my oldest loves getting books at the library to supplement his favorites.
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