Immunization Schedule

It seems like there are several sick bugs going around, which is always a good reminder to check up on your immunizations and your child's immunizations.

Here is a current chart from the Health Department.  I thought this was a good chart that was easy to understand! 

For more information visits, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/easy-to-read/child.html 

Where do Animals Live?

FARM, JUNGLE, DESERT, OCEAN, FOREST

Our playgroups last week learned (and most of them knew already) where we can find specific animals.  A cow usually lives on a farm, where as a monkey we would find in a jungle.  We read an amazing pop-up book called The Very Busy Bee by Jack Tickle which has great illustrations that the children loved.

"Bee is buzzing busily, His friend is buzzing too, But when they sniff the flowers It makes them sneeze - ATCHOO!"

We also had a mystery box where the children could pick out an animal and say what animal it is, what sound it makes, and where it lives.

Making a mystery box is really easy.  All you need is:

• 1 medium sized box that is wrapped. You can use either construction paper or wrapping paper
• For animals, you can either use small plastic animals (can find some at the dollar store) or I just used CriCut cut-out animals.

The children knew what types of animals they would find in a zoo, and what kinds of animals they would find on a farm.  We sang "Old McDonald on a Farm" and had hand puppets to go with the song...and the children LOVED it!  Hand puppets are always a hit with children, because it almost brings that animal to life.

Our activity was to sort out stickers into two groups: farm animals and zoo animals.  Its amazing to see that even the youngest children knew where they could find animals, and where they live!

From our Springville playgroup

From our Franklin Community Center playgroup

A great activity for the summer is going to the zoo. The Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City has a children's story time this Saturday, June 2 that is interactive with the children. Each class includes a story, a craft, and a special animal encounter. This program is geared towards younger learners but will be enjoyed by children of all ages.

Zoo Storytime

Start: Saturday, June 2, 2012
End: Saturday, June 2, 2012
Times: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Join us for Storytime

$5 per child over two years old: adults free

Book Review: NO, David!

This fun new author, David Shannon captures childhood in his series of No, David books.  Writing from his own childhood experiences, he makes his books humorous, lighthearted and perhaps helps parents to relax!  Raising children can certainly be difficult at times, but this helps me to put things into perspective.  Children are adventurous and curious, but if you are worried about behavioral issues, here are a few things that might help (remember to be age appropriate!)  Don't forget to look for his white dog Fergus in each of his books!

•  Music (these songs can help reinforce to your children, appropriate behavior) If You're Happy and You Know It...Clap Your Hands or Do As I'm Doing

•  Active games- these games can help your child practice following directions Simon Says, Red Light-Green Light, Duck, Duck, Goose or musical chairs.  If a child can 'stop' doing a certain behavior in a game setting they can learn to 'stop' doing other unwanted behaviors as well.  When a child is misbehaving, try saying, "Remember when we were playing the game and you could stop running?  Can you stop hitting?"  It will take some practice, but your child will start to learn how to control themselves and their emotions.

• Make “I Can” outdoor and indoor activity cans.  Save soup or vegetable cans and clean them out. Make a label to cover the cans.  Help your child draw pictures of thing they “CAN” do inside and outside of the home.  Draw pictures such as playing ball, running, swimming, reading, coloring, playing blocks, etc.  Put the pictures in the appropriate can.  Next time your child wants to do an activity, ask them to get their can and see if the activity is in that can.  If it is not, help them pick an activity that is appropriate. 

• No is a word that parents frequently use to teach their children about rules, proper behavior, and to protect them from harm.  The overuse of the word NO will have the opposite effect that you want and many times children will not listen to you. Try these alternate techniques that emphasize saying what you mean but phrasing it in a positive way. 

Say	DO NOT SAY
Sit on the swing please	No…don’t stand on the swing
Talk in a quiet voice please	No…don’t shout
Please turn the pages carefully, like this	No…don’t tear the book
Please sit on the chair	No…don’t rock on the chair
Drink your milk	Do you want your milk?

Wipes-in-a-box!

Why is it that no matter how many toys you have (complicated, brightly colored, expensive, noisy toys), babies always seem to love the things that you DON'T want them to play with?  For example: the brand new box of baby wipes.  It's just so fun to pull out wipe after wipe with the added bonus of getting a great reaction out of mommy when she realizes what you've done!!

I don't know if this has ever happened at your house, but it seems like it's been a fairly regular scenario in all my years of baby care.  Luckily, I have found a wonderful solution! So if this has ever happened to you (or if you just want a cool new toy for baby), this post is for you!!

I found this lovely blog post with an amazing sanity saving idea!  I have dubbed it the "wipes-in-a-box".  All you have to do is take an old wipes container (if you have a baby, then most likely you have a few of these hanging around!) and fill it with colorful fabric pieces for your "wipes" and voila, an entertaining alternative to wipe destruction!

What you'll need for this project:

• 1 empty baby wipes container

• Fabric (you can cut up old t-shirts/clothes for this)

It's a short list and most likely you can find it all in your own home (I love projects like that!!)

Step one: find your box and, if needed, make it pretty!  Most baby wipe boxes have a cute little button on top that pops the lid open, which is perfect for babies to play with and learn cause and effect!  I like to use a brand that has a fairly large rubbery opening for making this toy, just because it's gentler for little hands!  Also, some brands have boxes that already have cute patterns, but if yours doesn't and you want to make it prettier, you can decorate it with some nice looking contact paper.  If you don't mind, and I'm sure baby won't, you can also just leave the box how it is!  Just make sure your box is empty and dry, and you're all set!

This box is already super cute!

This box has a great opening for little hands, but it's not so cute... It just needs a little decoration!

Step two: make your "wipes".  To do this, take your fabric (or old t-shirt) and cut it into pieces that are 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches (or about the size of a DVD case).  You can hem the edges if you'd like, but if you don't have a sewing machine (or the time or energy!) you can leave the edges raw :)  I love to use fabrics with lots of patterns and colors, just because it's fun and stimulating for baby!  Another great idea from the original post was to applique numbers and letters to each "wipe" for an added educational element!

I made my wipes out of some extra flannel I had lying around :)

Step three: put your wipes in the box and let baby have at it! If you want you can try folding them in on one another (like the wipes come when you buy them) so the next one will pop up when you pull a wipe out, or you can just smoosh them all in!
  
I love letting baby "discover" this toy, it's very cute ;)

Final product!

Baby loves it!!

Hope you find this as fun as we have, and maybe it'll ease a headache or two for all you mommies out there!!

Yellow and Blue make what????

GREEN!!

Many things come in the color green; broccoli, trees, four-leaf clovers, grass, Kermit the Frog, my face on a roller coaster....

Our playgroups this week learned about colors and how colors are made. We read the book little blue and little yellow by Leo Lionni which is such a cute book about two friends; blue and yellow.  The are separated but when they see each other again, they hug and turn GREEN!  They have to figure out how to get back to the original colors they once were.

 We learned that primary colors are RED, YELLOW, and BLUE.

www.science.hq.nasa.gov

These three colors are mixed to make secondary colors.  Primary colors are used in different combinations to make ALL the other colors that we see in this world. The colors of the rainbow are all made from red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary colors are made from primary colors.  They are: PURPLE, ORANGE, and GREEN.  

Our friends got to see for themselves that yellow and blue make green, and yellow & red make orange, and red & blue make purple.  We used clear jars, water, and food coloring.  When we stirred up the first color then added the second color, the second color made a "water tornado"which the kids loved.

Here are all three secondary colors that we made...

With our craft/snack we combined the two. We had yellow cupcakes already made, then we made different colored frosting out of white vanilla frosting, and food coloring.

The children loved making new colors and eating them too!!

Children love to help mom bake! Letting them add ingredients like sugar, flour, eggs, etc. is an excellent way to get them involved.  Frosting is the best part, and let them choose which colors to make.  Ask them "If I want to make orange frosting, which colors would I need?" Always find teaching opportunities within your home because being an Everyday Learner promotes child development, autonomy, and creativity.