Carseat Safety..Keep those tots rear-facing!!

I have very passionate about carseat safety, I was one of those who turned my 1 year old FFing (foward facing) because I thought thats just what you did. Since the AAP has now revised their statement and saying tots need to be RFing (rear facing) for as long as possible or ATLEAST 2 years. When my husband and I heard this, we turned our tot back to RFing. She is now back to FFing because her seat was to only 35 pounds (she is 35 or 36 depending on the day) and she was complaining of being uncomfortable. So we went out and got her the Graco Nautilus, which will last her till 100lbs.

I wish people would realize that if your baby/tot is crying RFing it is most likely they arent comfortable in that carseat you purchased & it is most likely need a new seat so please stop thinking its because "they cant see"  and you need to turn them FFing. Dallas had a convertible seat that he wasnt confortable in, so we went to the store and got the Graco MyRide 65, because of all the awesome reviews it had, it RF's till 40 pounds, and FF's till 65 pounds. We installed it right away, and Im proud to say he is completely comfortable in his new carseat. Also safety shouldn't have a budget, so when your out looking at carseats just because you see a "cheaper" seat it doesnt mean it is actually the safest or best bang for your buck!

"The AAP recommends that all infants should ride rear-facing starting with their first ride home from the hospital. All infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Safety Seat until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer."

Please click and read through the links I provided below to keep your baby/tot safe while in their carseats.

Car Safety Seats: Information for Families for 2011

Keep your 1 to 3 year old children in a REAR-FACING car seat for as long as possible.

The RIGHTS & WRONGS of carseat safety!!!



Picture from "Daily Momtra," Keep your tots ERF (Extended Rear-Facing) its for their safety!!!



Self-Motivation

Self-motivation is the key to soar. It is a little piece of hope inside each one of us that allows us to set goals, and eventually moves us to keep reaching higher and higher. It is the reason a person goes on, even when they want to quit. When a person is motivated, nobody can take away their personal power to move foward, remember it comes from the fire inside our hearts to carry on and become unbeatable.

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
-- Hellen Keller

Giving Specific Compliments

When our tot does something good we most likely use general terms such as: you did a good job, thanks for cleaning up, your such a good kid, etc. Let start getting specific when our tots and tell them what they are really doing that we like so much.

"Thank you so much for cleaning up your toys, I love your helping hands."

"You are the BEST at making your bed, look at how nice it looks."

"Look at how clean your teeth look, you are awesome at brushing your teeth."

Kids especially need to hear exactly what you liked about what they did and why, so they can keep up the positive behavior and repeat it.

Lets Get Painting!!

Cali asks almost on a daily basis to paint. I found 9 paint rollers (as seen above) at a thrift shop for $1.91, AWESOME DEAL to say the least! In that same goodie bag came books of stickers and a Disney scrapbooking kit!

We are painting on paper bags for an upcoming activity! Paint a couple of your paper bags and put them to the side until next week. Cali really enjoyed the roller, I think she REALLY REALLY enjoyed it actually. Keep scrolling to see what I mean :o)

I can't even say how I just love her facial expression after seeing her painted hand she made. Have your tot paint their own hand, show them with gesture. Then go on to show them how to use both hands to push the paint onto the paper, and finally pull up to reveal the artwork made!

Cali is always drawing this face, we are definetly framing this artwork!!!

Cali's finished artwork!

And the winner is...

Congrats to our follower Shawna Ades, Cali chose you as the winner of our first free learning set!!

Drawing the winner old style!

Cali mixing up all the names.

Trying to read what it says :o) with her pizza face.

Congrats Shawna Ades!!! (please excuse the pizza face)

Green Link Caterpillar

The supplies that you will need, also a stapler can replace the glue.

Cut out about 10 strips of paper that are about an inch wide, and 6 inches long. Use the scrap piece left to make the face.

Form one of the links and use glue or a stapler to secure it.
Form the next link into a circle connected to the first loop.
Continue until you are satisfied with the link.

Cut a circle from the paper that was left over and made the head for the caterpillar. Use markers and crayons to add eyes and a mouth.

You could also attach some yarn to the caterpillars head and another on his end to make it a puppet!

Lanterns

All the supplies you might want to use.

Cut off one strip off of the short end of the construction paper.

Fold a rectangular piece of construction paper in half, making it long and thin.

Make several cuts along the folded side. let your tot add some artwork. Also dont cut all the way to the edge of the opposite side.

Unfold the paper and bring the short side together. You can use staples, glue, or tape to make it secure.

Staple, glue, or tape the strap on, this will be the lanterns handle.

*Make 3+ and run yarn through the handles and hang up, since we will be moving in August we did not hang ours, but we will make new ones and hang them after we get settled*

Sign Love

Show your tot the international hand sign of "I love you."

Let them "sign" love as you drop them off at their grandparents house, with the babysitter, going to school, etc. Also just simply signing it thoughout the day will help them catch on quickly and you can introduce other "signs" aswell!

To learn more signs, click here!

Best-Ever Books For Tots

Here is a small list of books to find and read with your tot!

"I Like Me" Poster

Sometimes we focus to hard on the things we need to do, or the new skills we are trying to learn, that we lose sight of the great person we have already become. Grab your tot and get the supplies above to make an "I Like Me" poster :o) The idea of this poster is to include things that are all about your tot! Feel free to have your tot write words or even draw pictures!

Section the paper into 6 equal parts..write "I Like Me" anywhere you please, in the other boxes cut from magazines, drawing pictures or write words that describe your tot.

Cali's finished "I Like Me" poster!! She found eggs, Muzzy, Mac n Cheese or "Rowni-Cheese" as she calls it! Also a look-a-like portrait of herself, a fish & a chicken.

The Feel Good Notebook

Buy a big notebook with plenty of paper. I scored this one on clearance at Target for $1.48! After dinner each night while everyone is just hanging out, have each person in your family say or write down what the liked best about this day. This idea is to only focus on the positive experiences twe have hroughout the day since so often the bad or worrisome experiences is remembered and the simple yet funny saying your tot said goes unnoticed. If your child is too young, which most of our tots are, asking them what they best liked and drawing a picture about it can help them dictate it in their own eyes to others!

Make your family one that spends each day searching for, and finding the positives out of life.

Our Mother's Day Craft

Instead of going out and buying cards for all the lovely mother's in your life, why not sit with your tot and hand-make each card. I of course did all the tracing and cutting, Cali was in charge of the glue :o)

We decided to make a single flower and then add a quote having to-do with mother's. I didn't really follow any type of pattern, I just knew what I wanted our flower to look like and drew it out a couple times to get the perfect pattern.

Since we also used solid colors, this is a great way to introduce or talk about colors with your tot. Cali loves purple and blue, and she can distinguish between those so far, aswell as red.

A New Twist on Simon Says...

Tots love this game in English so why not put a twist on it and say it in Spanish instead--or any language other than their pimary language for that matter :o) Cali enjoys Spanish & Flemish. The rules are still the same but try these sayings instead:

Simon dice (see-mon dee-say) = Simon says

toque su (toe-kah soo) = touch your

nariz (nah-ris) = nose

ojo (o-ho) = eye

oreja (oh-ray-hah) = ear

boca (bow-kah) = mouth

mejilla (may-hee-yah) = cheek

mano (mah-no) = hand

estomango (es-toe-mah-go) = stomach

rodilla (row-dee-yah) = knee

codo (co-dough) = elbow

dedo (day-dough) = finger

zapato (sa-pa-toe) = shoe

Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem begins to form very early, and continues on a daily basis. Self-esteem comes from learning to accept ourselves as we are and our so-called flaws, and still choosing to like ourselves. Every childs self-esteem grows with each positive and negative experiences, using gentle loving words in both situations can help them. Self-esteem depends on accomplishing the small daily tasks that they believe they can get done and handle well, therefore it doesnt depend on huge accomplishments every so-often.

"We are the hero of our own story."

- Mary McCarthy

ABC's File Style

I had this brilliant idea of using files and the alphabet. On each file I placed a single letter uppercase and lower case of the alphabet,  as well as a few stickers to make it more interesting :o)

Then on the inside I placed 5 pictures of that started with that corresponding letter.

A is for Apron, Apple, Alligator, Ant, and Acorn.

B is for Banana, Butterfly, Belt, Beach Ball, and Boat.

C is for Cat, Car, Cross (we also say Christ & Church), Cake, and Clock.

In each file I have put various worksheets such as learning how to trace the letter and again pictures that correspond to that letter :o)

Where to find worksheets? The dollar store has to the BEST and MOST AFFORDABLE worksheets booklets. I know there are various "dollar" stores, try finding a "Dollar Tree," because everything in the store is just $1.

I wanted to make sure that I had a place for these files where they would stay organized for the most part. I scored this awesome and most perfect space saver for this project. I got it 50% off at Target for only $4.99!



Before placing the files in the organizer/space saver.



All A-Z files :o)



Flash Cards

I got 4 packs of learning flash cards at Target for less than $2 each, and the pack includes 55 cards in each pack in various shapes, numbers, colors, foreign language, etc. I got a Spanish set that includes the Spanish phrases, animals, colors, numbers and all the English translations. I then walked over to the photo album section and scored 3, 4 x 6 albums on clearance for $1 each. I placed the cards in the albums for safe keeping and a fun way to learn, as it acts as a mini-book :o) (I love it because it keeps the cards all organized and in one place)Cali LOVES the Spanish album and says all the words and phrases so well!

Quick, Easy and Fun Homemade Play Dough

This is a no cook play dough recipe that takes anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes with small helping hands :o)

Ingredients:
2 cups plain white flour
1 cup of salt
1 tablespoon of oil (veggie,olive, etc doesn't matter)
1/2 to 1+ cup of water
Food coloring

Directions:
Combine flour and salt.
Add water and oil.
Knead well.
If consistency is it wet, add more flour.

Once you have made your batch of play dough seperate dough into equal parts (I did 4) and add food coloring to the dough.

Ingredients show 1/2 to 1+ cup of water as this recipe uses much more flour than I measured out.




Our yellow, blue, purple, and green homemade play dough :o)



MUZZY!!

As my husband and I talked more and more about foreign languages we decided it would be beneficial to invest in a program for Cali that would help her learn a new language in a new way. Muzzy was the first thing that came to our mind because we both knew it was a cartoon type of show and it had lots of repetition. I am proud to say that when Muzzy arrived on April 14, 2011 Cali was more than thrilled to get it going on the television. We haven't even had it a month and she already speaks & copies the show. I highly recommend investing in Muzzy!