Mommy Motivator

We should all want our children to have some degree of hand-eye coordination. However, it is often difficult to teach a young child to swing at a tennis ball or baseball when the ball moves so quickly. Sometimes this type of play ends up causing a young child too much frustration. So mommies, why not try using a balloon to improve your child’s hand eye coordination? A balloon moves slowly through the air and allows your child to make contact. My kids (3 years old and 22 months) love pulling out their tennis rackets and playing balloon ball. They love to try and keep the ball from hitting the floor. Balloon ball, as we like to call it, is a great hand eye coordination game for kids. It is a fun game for moms and dads too! An added bonus to this hand-eye coordination game is that you can play this indoors without fear that the ball (balloon) will break something

(*Parental supervision is recommended in case the balloon would pop and create a choking hazard if swallowed.)

Summer is here and that means many hours at parks, beaches, and your backyard. Young kids love to discover new things so why not encourage their curious nature by making discovery bags. My boys love to find neat rocks, leaves, bird feathers or anything in nature that looks “cool”. They would usually stuff these things in their pockets or fill my backpack. After getting tired of washing rocks I decided we could make some discovery bags to take with us on our outings.

How to make a discovery bag:

Supplies: a large ziploc bag, hole puncher, and some yarn

Just make some holes in the 4 corners of the ziploc bag and make a back/front pack with the yarn. It works great b/c your child can wear the discovery bag and can easily put the things he/she discovers in the bag. It is an added bonus that the bag is see through.

Mommies, get creative and have fun discovering with your kids. My boys like it when I make myself a discovery bag too!

So mommies, the warm weather is here and that means endless hours of fun in the sun for our kids. Our kids all need a bit of sun exposure in order to get enough vitamin D, but it doesn’t take too much time in the sun to get the vitamin D that their bodies need. Most of our children get enough vitamin D from milk and daily activities such as walking the dog or going to the mailbox. It is important for us to remember that too much unprotected sun exposure can lead to skin damage and even cancer. Many studies have shown that childhood sunburns and exposure are a major cause of malignant melanoma(potentially deadly skin cancer). It is our job as mommies to keep our kids safe from the harmful rays of the sun.

In order to protect our precious children from the sun we must be proactive and be prepared for the sun. Research says that the sun’s rays are the most harmful between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Even though it will be hard to keep our children out of the sun during these hours, at least we can be aware that the sun’s rays are strong and be extra cautious.

Sun Safety Tips:

• Choose a sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays.
• Choose a sunscreen with at least SPF 15. I always buy one with SPF 30.
• Make sure you have sunscreen handy - put a bottle in your purse or car.
• Make sure that you do not forget to apply sunscreen to your child’s ears, lips. and tops of hands and feet(if barefoot) You should purchase a chap stick with sunscreen in it and apply to their lips before sun exposure.
• Make sure that you apply sunscreen even on shady days!! The suns rays still penetrate through the clouds and can cause sun damage. Your children can still get sunburned on overcast days.
• Reapply sunscreen periodically and after swimming.
• Dress your children in sun protective clothing.
• Have your child wear a kids sun hat with a wide rim.
• Purchase a pair of kids sun glasses. It may take your child awhile to get used to wearing sunglasses but it will benefit their eyes in the long run.
• If going to the beach or park take a big umbrella or a small pop up tent so your children can eat and take breaks in the shade. The least amount of time in the sun’s peak hours (10-4) the better for your children.

Moms, don’t let your children down and let them get sunburned. Explain to your children that the sun is fun to play in but that it can hurt their skin if they don’t wear sunscreen. I have explained this to my kids and they are always pretty patient when I am applying the cream.

You cannot expect a young child to be responsible in the sun. It is your responslbility to keep them safe!

So moms, if you are not prepared for the sunny weather make a trip to your favorite drugstore/department store and stock up on sunscreen, chapstick with SPF and sun protective gear!

Now go have safe fun in the sun!

Preschool Bug Activities

As moms, I am sure we are all excited that the weather is getting warmer. Warmer weather means more ways to actively engage with our children and at the same time keep our homes clean. Tonight Colbin and Cason (my 3 year-old and 20 month old boys) were so excited that the moths were out. Every window they looked out and at every porch light they could see a moth. Colbin immediately grabbed his bug catching net ( a must for every boy) and started to catch the moths. Cason was trying his best to catch some but at 20 months was not very successful. I think that he was enjoying screaming “I see a moth” just as much as Colbin was enjoying catching them. Read the rest of this entry »

Mommies, make Easter especially memorable for your kids by planning some Easter Day Activities for the entire family. Here are some great ideas to fill your family’s day with laughs and excitement. Read the rest of this entry »

Plant a Jelly Bean Garden  (See Valentine’s Day post)

Mommies, get your kids excited about Easter by planting a jellybean garden. Buy some jellybeans and find an area in your yard to plant the candy garden. Let your children bury the jellybeans and water them daily. On Easter morning you can sneak outside and put lollipops where the jellybeans were planted. Your kids will be truly excited about this activity!

Mommies get ready to start your clothes baskets! Mommies if you have an open room or semi-large space this is a fun activity for your kids and a great work-out for you. Empty one of your clothes baskets ( a plastic one that is low to the ground is needed) and tell your child or children to climb in and hold on. Then push them/race them throughout the house. My kids love this activity and it is a great butt, leg and cardio work-out as well.

Great activity to entertain your kids while burning extra calories and toning your body!

If you have the space there is no excuse that you can’t find the time to exercise and play with the kids. Have fun and get pushing!

I love this time of year when the stores begin bringing our their spring gear. It’s nice to walk into a store to see all the pastel colors that remind you that warmer weather is right around the corner. Yesterday we came across some huge fake bugs at the dollar store. There were bags of beetle bugs, lady bugs, and grasshoppers. You can’t beat a bag of bugs for a dollar when it can potentially provide hours of entertainment for your children! Today we are going on a big bug hunt adventure! Colbin and I created

Read the rest of this entry »

Dancing with Louis Van Amstel

Moms, first of all, I just want to let you know that I’m not going to try to use my blog to promote products all over the place. However, we (my husband & I) have a friend who is involved with a series of videos featuring Louis Van Amstel from Dancing with the Stars. I’m sure that there are a lot of you that follow the show so I thought some of you might want to learn about dancing with Louis!

By the way…Louis will be back next season on Dancing with the Stars!!! For those of you who follow the show, you know how well these people dance. You also know that these dancers are great teachers. Some of these celebrities have come a long way to get where they are today. The videos, entitled Let’s Dance Louis, help you learn how to dance with Louis. Dancing with Louis will help you learn the Salsa, Jive, Samba, Waltz, ChaCha, Tango, and more. Dance like a celebrity; Dance like a PRO!

Ok ladies, there are a few things to look at here:

• These videos give you new activities to do with your husband or significant other…add a little more romance to the mix.
• Can we say…weight loss! (You know I’m a stickler for dancing as a form of exercise)
• Dancing Events - It would definitely be nice to know what you are doing in a wedding, party, etc. Stand out, make yourself known!
• What’s nice about the Dancing with Louis Van Amstel videos is that they are digital, meaning that you download and watch. So, the mobility of these videos is perfect for those who may want to learn to dance in private and impress those around you when you are finished. You can always put them on disk.`
• Finally…come on…the guy looks good!

Anyways, I appreciate you all letting me speak about the dancing with Louis videos. There are different packages you can buy (with a money back guarantee), so check them out! Click here for more information ===> Dancing with Louis

It is obvious if you’re reading this that you have access to a computer. Many of us check our e-mail everyday but forget that the computer can be an excellent learning tool for our children. When the weather is too cold to go outside we, as moms, often find it difficult to fill the hours of the day without giving in to the temptation of turning on the tube every time we need a break. There are literally thousands of educational sources available on the internet that you and your children can enjoy and benefit from watching.

Yesterday Colbin (my 3 year-old) and I visited Alaska. We looked at it on a map and then went to YouTube and watched videos of glaciers, people salmon fishing, and seals playing. Next, we found Florida on the map and viewed videos of SeaWorld and Disney World, the Space Shuttle, and watched sport fisherman out in the Gulf.

Speaking of Disney, we visited Disney Channel Online and found a wealth of interactive material including games, stories, and music. Colbin and Cason especially enjoyed the Little Einsteins page. Here are some other educational sites for children:

• Funbrain.com
• PBSKids.org
• QuizHub.com
• National Geographic for Kids
• Discovery Kids

So mommies, keep motivated and remember that your kids want and need to learn from you everyday!