Month: May 2020 (Page 2 of 2)

Dear parents/grandparents,

A couple of you asked about suggestions for things to do with your older baby.

Being in the moment with your baby, and toddler too, holding, gently rocking and singing or humming your favourite tune will show your love to your baby but will calm you as well. Love grows brains! Now we know you can never love your baby too much or “spoil” them by showing your love and responding to their needs.

Answer your baby’s noises and babbles, mirror your baby’s attempts to communicate by saying it back,  include some sound imitation for your toddlers as well (clock: tick-tock, vacuum “brrrrmmmm” etc.). And don’t forget a real mirror, baby’s love seeing their own faces as well and making silly sounds with you and baby in front of the mirror will bring delight.

Talk as you go about your day, as you change, feed, bath your baby (talk about what you are doing, looking lovingly into her/his eyes). Talk when you are inside or outside about what you see.

Babies learn about the world around them through their senses. Letting your baby touch  and feel silky flowers, bumpy bark, smooth rocks; hang the things that move in a window where there is a breeze (ribbons, balloons, old CD that reflects the light). Baby and toddlers will love watching the movement. Let them explore everyday objects (spoons, clean containers, put scarves or socks into empty tissue box and let them pull it out).

• Vary your game of Peek a boo with many different objects, silky scarves, plushy blankets, bristly towel, prickly bamboo place mat and let your baby explore later the texture too.  You can put a small blanket over your head and have your child lift it to find you. For walking baby, you can hide behind a tree and pop -up and surprise them.
• With you and your older baby/toddler sit close on the floor facing each other with both of your legs apart in a “V “shape – roll the ball, ball of yarn, empty container of Lysol wipes or an empty plastic bottle to each other.
• Use anything (safe) to make noise with your baby, several spoons make a great clinking, metallic sound, banging on the empty coffee container will give you muffled, rhythmic sound etc.
• Older babies/toddlers  practice taking things in and out , provide one container with soft animals/toys and one one on the other side of the room. You can show them how to take the toy out, hugging it and walking with it and dropping it into empty box.
• Read together, babies are never too young for books.

Click here if you want to download a wonderful resource MOVE: Move with me from birth to three. It will take you to  DECODA Literacy Now website.

Hello StrongStart friends,

Thanks to all the artists and makers who had sent me the pictures of their creations. Keep sending me the pictures of the ways you play, tell a story, explore sensory invitations, enjoy the nature, create and have fun together!

What a lovely colorful rock garden! You must have joy mixing the colours, making patterns and painting. I loved that you involved the older artist too!

I loved the puppets,to go with the song.

Learning letters in a creative ways  and using LEGO to create from an image in your head. I am sure it was exciting and delightful running with the pinwheel in your hand watching it twirl.

Keep on playing, discovering, exploring, enjoying and creating! Remember, this is OUR blog.

Ms. Lillian

Dear StrongStart mothers and my dear grandmothers, aunts and caregivers,

Happy Mother’s Day! This year everything is different and I am sure your Mother’s day would be celebrated in a different way too, but it does not make it less special.

As a mom and caregiver you you are very important person in your child’s life. You provide endless love, an unfailing comfort, warm care and support. You are their first teacher and their role model! You are teaching them when you talk to them, when you play together, read and sing, when you pray together, you teach them about your family history and about who you are, where they come from and about your values and what are your family believes.

On this Mother’s day I want to tell you how much I appreciate you, my StrongStart moms! You also need to be kind to yourself and give yourself a credit for all that you do and I have seen it in our StrongStart. Your family and your children are blessed to have you in their lives!

It is too early to smell the lovely roses, but here is a bunch of lilacs from one mom to all of you!  Happy Mother’s Day!

Lillian

Hi my StrongStart friends,

Sunny and warmer weather is almost here. It is time to take out the bubble solution and have some fun! Everyone loves bubbles. Babies love floating, glistening bubbles, what a joy to watch their faces as bubbles shimmer in the sun.  The bubbles will  help build their eye-hand coordination as they will want to reach them and touch them! What a wonderful sensory discovery. What happens when you touch a bubble? How does it feel? Show your toddler how blow gently and slowly, show them how to pop bubbles by clapping them between your hands. What a delight and endless fun as they will be chasing after the bubbles to do it again, and again! Good for their physical development too. By adding songs you will enrich their experience. I was inspired to learn a few new ones from the book Bubble Play published by Key Porter Books  (scroll down to watch a video).

By talking about different actions and textures you will help children grow their vocabulary as well.

For older children we can try to count the bubbles, catch them with your hand or your spoon or in a plastic cup. We can chase them,  pop them on your nose, on your neck, dodge them, float them by waving a leaf or a hand to make a motion. Bubbles help us wash our hands, we can wash our dog, we can wash our dolls or toys with a bit of soapy water.

If you do not have a ready bubble solution, you can make your own.

Home Made Bubble Solution Using Sugar

Mix 2 Tbsp of dish soap (Joy and Dawn seems to work the best), 1 cup of water and 1 Tsp of sugar. Stir gently until sugar is dissolved. Pour the  solution into a container and use bubble wands to blow huge bubbles. There are many other recipes, but most require glycerin.

I made some wands from objects I found at home: zip ties, twisted pipe cleaners, a long piece of aluminum foil which I twisted tight, a cut-out lid attached to a  chopstick with a piece of duck tape. I made a cone out of cut-out milk jug with a 6-7 cm at one end, secured again with a duck tape (that one made the best bubbles!).

You can paint with bubbles (by adding a tiny bit of paint in the solution in a tray and then blow them and catch them with a paper.

B is for bubble (To the tune of “C is for Cookie”)

B is for bubble, that’s good enough for me(repeat 3 times). Oh, bubble, bubble, bubble starts with B.

P is for pop ’em, that’s good enough for me (repeat 3 times).

Oh, pop ’em, pop ’em, pop ’em starts with P.

Click here to watch Ms. Lillian sing bubble songs.

Tiny bubbles (To the tune of “Where is Thumbkin”)

Tiny bubbles, tiny bubbles, yours and mine, yours and mine.

Make us all feel happy, make us all fell happy, make us feel fine, make us feel fine!!!

Enjoy and please send me the pictures via e-mail of the delightful play your child had with bubbles.

Ms. Lillian