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!

Today, instead of reading or telling your child a story on the couch or at your favorite reading spot, why not change things up a bit and read the story in the dark with a flashlight. Read the rest of this entry »

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

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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!

Mommies, Valentines Day 2008 is around the corner so it is time to get in touch with your creative side and create a day worth remembering! Let your kids enjoy being kids and get them excited about Cupid’s arrival. As a kid, my mom always bought me a Valentines Day gift but never established any Valentine’s Day traditions. We had Christmas and Easter traditions, but nothing for Valentine’s Day. This year I want to start a Valentine’s Day tradition that my kids will love and will hopefully do with their kids one day.

Why not plant a Valentine’s Day Garden

• Go and buy those small heart candies or a candy of your choice that will serve as seeds.

• Have your children find Read the rest of this entry »

I recently purchased a leap frog puzzle map for my children. I thought that it would be fun to teach my 3 year old where “G-Ma” and “G-Pa” live, Nana and Pops, etc. In the process of talking to him about these places, Colbin began asking questions about the other states. I have always been terrible at geography and figured I could teach myself while teaching him. Taking Colbins lead I decided we could travel (make believe style) through different states and discover new things. We were going on a Journey!

We started our journey Read the rest of this entry »

Hello Mommies!

In order to keep up with our kids and our many roles as a mother we need to take a little time to focus on ourselves and get healthy! The other night while I was up trying to rock Colbin (our oldest) back to sleep, who was struggling with a belly ache, I fell victim to a middle of the night infomercial. I lied, I wasn’t a victim…I love those things!!! After watching this health focused infomercial I came to the realization that Read the rest of this entry »

Every mother should love when a fun learning experience is just handed right to them without any work at all. I exaggerated a bit in my title, but we did get 1/2 inch. Still quite a bit for a girl born and bred in Miami. My oldest son, Colbin, woke up asking “Did it snow?, Did it snow?” When he looked out the window his eyes just glowed with excitement knowing that his day would be filled with snow ball fights and possibly a sled ride. My youngest son, Cason, just started his routine run around the family room anticipating that something fun was about to happen.

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