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!

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 »

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 »

As moms, we all know that it is important to keep our child’s teeth brushed and to limit juice and other sugary foods. Did you know that eating cheese can also help prevent cavities? At Colbin’s last dental visit the dentist recommended that Colbin snack on cheese to keep his teeth healthy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Getting your family to eat a healthy diet can be one of the most challenging tasks a mommy faces each day. Some of you may be too busy with your day to day schedules that you think you don’t have time to prepare a healthy meal and some of you may be trying to figure out a healthy meal that your entire family will actually eat. My family loves pasta. It is quick to fix and can be a really healthy meal for all of us. I buy the new pasta by Ronzoni called Smart Pasta. It has 3 times the amount of fiber as regular white pasta and as much calcium as an 8 oz. glass of milk. Read the rest of this entry »

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!

Yep, we did it! We have finally succeeded in weaning Colbin. My plan was to stop breastfeeding him when he turned 2 years old but he quickly disregarded the plan. We tried several times with too many tears for me to stay strong. I knew he was not ready. When he turned 3 in January we thought we would try again and try to be consistent. It worked! We just spoke to him and told him that Read the rest of this entry »

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 »