Category Archives: Mommy Approved

Terrific Toy Tuesday: It’s About That Time!

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Quinn with her Talking Clock (March 2016)

“Mommy, what time is it?” My little girl inquires as we start our day. Within the past few months, my soon-to-be three year old has become more and more fascinated with the concept of time. Perhaps it has something to do with her father and I setting time limits with different activities and making a conscious effort to maintain a consistent daily schedule. I did a post in June 2015 shortly after Quinn turned two  entitled, “Telling Time with a Toddler” discussing the technique I use to get Quinn to leave the park or wrap up an activity willingly.

Quinn Playing with the Clock at the Park

Quinn Playing with the Clock at the Park (June 2015)

Now, she will inform me, “Mommy, may I have seven more minutes to use the iPad?” or “Let’s get ready for bath in five minutes.”

Since she wants to know what time it is throughout the course of the day and will even estimate what time it is based on the activity we are doing, my sister purchased her Telly the Teaching Time Clock, which comes in either pink and primary colors, for Christmas. Though she still has some years to go before she masters telling time by using the short and long hands, I love how the toy clock will say what time it is as she repositions the clock hands. It has piqued her interest, and Quinn will ask me, “Can we make the clock say 12 o’clock? That means it’s time for lunch!” The clock comes with a digital display as well and even has a setting to quiz a child on the time which I’m sure my little girl will look forward to using as she gets a little older.

It’s great when a toy can be an educational resource and teach a necessary skill as well. There just might be some adults who could benefit from using this talking clock as too.

All the best,

Tanya

So Much Fun With My Little One: Easter Bunny Hayride at Linvilla Orchards

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Yesterday’s weather was perfect to have some family fun outdoors, and with Easter a couple of weeks away my husband and I decided to take our little girl, along with my mother, to Linvilla Orchards to take a hayride to meet the Easter bunny. What’s great about Linvilla Orchards is that there is no fee to enter, and even if we did not do the hayride, we would have still had a lovely time.

The actual hayride price was nine dollars apiece, which is not too steep, but I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that all of the passengers, including us, simply remained on the hayride upon arriving at the Easter bunny’s house. Based on the advertisement, I assumed that the fee included walking around for a little while and being able to take pictures with the Easter Bunny in front of his house and to take pictures of the other Easter and spring decorations. Despite my minor disappointment, Quinn was very happy as the Easter bunny and his helpers stopped by to deliver a little goodie bag with some jelly beans, lollipops and other candies along with a high-five or bunny hug. Maybe I’m just a big kid, but I was hoping to get a little good bag too. As I said, it was a nine dollar fee for everyone. They did, however, give everybody the opportunity to snap a photo or two as the Easter bunny went around to visit the passengers, which was nice.

What really helped me to not fret to much over my absent goodie bag was being able to see the farm animals, such as chickens, roosters, goats and sheep, with my family. We actually spent a great deal of time feeding the goats and sheep carrots. Linvilla Orchards also has a fabulous park area for children of all ages. It was tough getting my soon-to-be three year old to leave. Even though it would be nice if we were able to get off go the hayride, overall, we had a great time and will certainly return to Linvilla Orchards for future activities.

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: How About A Scoop or Two of Ice Cream?

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Quinn figuring out which scoop to share and which to keep.

“May I have three scoops of ice cream, please?” I inquire. “Yes you may, here’s one, two, three,” my soon-to-be three year old responds. Ice cream can be more than just a tasty treat. I came to this realization after purchasing an educational toy  for my daughter.  She enjoys pretending to work at the ice cream shop…as long as the scoops of ice cream don’t fall to the floor.

This toy, Learning Resources Smart Snack Rainbow Color Cones, comes with two ice cream cones and ten different ice cream flavor scoops. What I like about the color cones is that it promotes imaginative play, and the interaction is never exactly the same. There are times when Quinn will ask, “What flavor would you like, Mommy?” To expand her vocabulary and cognitive development, I will often specify certain flavors she may not be familiar with, and I can see the wheels turning as she takes a moment to figure out which scoop to give me. “I’d like a scoop of strawberry ice cream,” I say. Quinn, without giving it a second thought, will give me a scoop of the pink ice cream. “May I have one more scoop of strawberry ice cream?” I request. “We’re all out of strawberry. How about some banana?” she suggests, reaching for the yellow scoop.

She also loves stacking the scoops of ice cream and then counting how many she has. Just recently she said, “You can have the ice cream cone with one, two, three, four five, six, seven scoops, and I’ll have the cone with three.”

Though we’re still working on her not getting so upset when an ice cream scoop or two fall to the floor after she’s stacked them high, this toy is a fantastic way for my little girl to learn about colors, counting, sharing and even how to deal with the occasional mishap.

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday:Let’s Role Play!

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2016-01-10 13.41.15“Let’s go to the kitchen and make some food, Mommy!” My little girl excitedly says. But as she scurries off to towards the kitchen, she stops in her tracks, “First, I need to put on my chef outfit and get my supplies for cooking.”Quinn will be three in May, and she loves playing dress-up and pretend. Then again, most children do. There’s something terrific and just plain fun about playing dress-up. So for Christmas, Santa brought her a chef outfit by Melissa and Doug. This outfit comes with a chef hat and jacket, a name tag, wooden spoon and spatula, measuring spoons and an oven mitten.

Sometimes, she loves playing in her kitchen in the playroom wearing her outfit, but often she enjoys helping me prepare actual meals and special treats. I just love watching her face light up as she puts on her chef hat. I’ve also observed how her vocabulary has expanded. “What ingredients are we going to need, Mommy? Let’s check the recipe. I need my measuring spoons so that it will taste just right! How many teaspoons do we need?” she inquires. Imaginative play tends to become real-life play. Just the other day, we prepared turkey burgers, and she raced to put on her chef outfit. Though it is not the typical toy, she certainly does have fun, and it is giving her skills she will be able to apply for many years to come. I am tempted to purchase her a couple more of the role play sets or might even try to create my own little outfits for her using some of the old clothing and items we have around the house.

All the best,

Tanya

 

Mommy’s Monday Magic: One, Two, Three..Poof! Be Gone Whining and Unbecoming Behaviors

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multicolored numbers

“Do you want me to start counting to three?” I ask in a stern voice.”No, Mommy, please don’t count to three!” “Then I need you to use your in-door voice and to use your words.” I tell my soon to be three year old. Three is already known as a lucky number and often appears in fairy tales and animal fables such as “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”

In my household and probably many others, it’s also known for getting a toddler or pre-schooler to stop, listen and follow directions. For instance, at bedtime, my little girl loves jumping on the bed and wants to play around after her bath pretending to be a ghost with her bath towel and delaying getting her pajamas on and brushing her teeth. No matter how much fun she’s having, more times than not, she’ll come running towards her father or me to get her pajamas on once she hears, “One!” Thus far, we’ve just had a handful of incidents where Quinn challenges the magical countdown to see what will happen if she does not come. This is when our “I Can Do It Reward” star chart comes in handy and occasionally having her take some time out to think about why it is important to listen and how her behavior has upset her father or me is necessary but not often.

On occasion, I imagine using the one, two, three technique in my classroom or even with people who just don’t listen or who are displaying unbecoming behaviors. How great would it be to solve problems and get people to stop, listen and follow directions just by sternly saying, “One, two, three!”

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Let’s Exercise With a Shake Break!

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2016-02-15 11.27.40It’s a rainy day and too stormy to go outside and splash around in a few puddles with my little girl. We’ve played games, build towers with Legos and started doing some Easter decorating, but she’s still full of energy and says, “Can we have a shake break next, Mommy?” No, this is not a milkshake; it’s actually a fun, age-appropriate exercise video for young children that I found on Youtube.

“Pancake Manor” is the name of the organization that put together this video with characters who favor those from Sesame Street. Reggie and his friends get my two and a half year old dancing, singing and learning all at the same time, and her father and I can’t help but join in the fun. Since Quinn was just a couple of months old, we exercised together with “Happy Baby” workouts, and just last year around this time, I posted an entry about how much she enjoys going to The Little Gym. So it pleases me that she still looks forward to exercising and even says, “Exercising is fun, Mommy!”

If you want your child to enjoy exercising or just want him or her to burn off some energy while having fun, I highly suggest this video. What would we do without Pancake Manor for producing such a cool video and Youtube for making their videos accessible?

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: A Civil Engineer in the Making (My Duplo Block Enthusiast)

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“Let’s build something, Mommy,” my little girls excitedly says. Three to four days a week, she puts in a request to build with her Lego Blocks. Well, they’re actually Duplo Blocks by Lego which are a little larger than standard Legos and easier for her to handle for her age. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved constructing my own buildings and looking at pictures of Lego constructions trying to recreate them. Now, Quinn is following in my footsteps.

For Christmas, one of her gifts was a Disney Princess Duplo Princess Collection set. At first, she wanted to recreate the buildings from the pictures. The Cinderella castle was her favorite, then Ariel the Mermaid’s castle and the Snow White’s castle. Within the past month, she has taken it upon herself to intentionally mismatch the pieces with the different castles to build her very own castle creation. “Mommy, this time Snow White is going to have a slide instead of Ariel,” Quinn informs me. I am also pleased that she is starting to build on her own without my assistance, other than asking me if I like her castle.

This is a terrific toy for kids from two to one hundred and two. I’m looking forward to eventually taking my little girl to Legoland or her first Lego exhibition. Who knows, maybe she’ll become a Lego enthusiast or even a civil engineer.

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Fun Brushing Teeth

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Brushing with the Magic Timer App
Brushing with the Magic Timer App
Brushing with the Magic Timer App
Brushing with the Magic Timer App

Immediately after breakfast and right before bed, my little girl will say, “Mommy, let’s go to the bathroom so I can brush my teeth!” I love hearing the excitement in her voice and seeing her willingness to brush her teeth like a big girl.  “Today, I want to brush my teeth with Rapunzel…No, I want to brush them with Doc McStuffins!” my two and a half year old informs me.  She is not imagining that these different characters are visiting her. They actually are interacting with her through my iPad.

Shortly after Quinn turned two, I went from purchasing the training toothpaste to Oral B’s Stages 2+ toothpaste, and I noticed a free downloadable Magic Timer App. This is an awesome app that plays a little music as the time counts down from two minutes with the toothbrush scrubbing the screen to reveal a picture of a Disney character or two. The toothbrush actually moves from each quadrant on the screen every 30 seconds to let the child know it is time to brush a different section of teeth. Then, at the end, the child earns a star on the calendar along with a sticker in a Disney book. There is also a parent feature and a section for entering rewards when the child visits the dentist and has no cavities.

Of course, Oral B had to find a way to make some money from the free app, so in order to get new sticker books a new toothpaste or toothbrush product must be scanned. The default sticker book is Mickey Mouse. So far, we’ve purchased Minnie Mouse, Doc McStuffins, Disney Princesses and Cars toothpaste to collect different sticker books, Needless to say, we have enough toothpaste to last her for a year or so, but it’s worth it since my little girl is so excited to brush her teeth.

This app is perfect not just for young children but any child or even adult who needs a little motivation when it comes to brushing his or her teeth. It helps to develop good habits and holds the “brusher” accountable as the stars fill up on the calendar and the stickers fill up in the digital albums. It is probably one of the reasons my little girl did so well at her first dental appointment.

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: Tea for Two Anyone?

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2016-01-08 13.24.17“May I have two spoons of sugar please?” I ask. “Yes, you may.” My little girl says as she uses her little spoon and scoops the imaginary sugar into my teacup. I just loved having tea parties when I was a little girl, and now I get to enjoy them with my little girl.  It’s such a wonderful way to not only interact with one another but to improve her vocabulary, ability to follow directions and expand her imagination. Initially, she would just ask if I wanted some tea. Now, she will say, “What would you like with your tea? Do you want a heart shaped cookie or a round cookie?”

This activity enables her to practice counting and decision-making skills too. She sets up her  Fisher Price Magical Tea for Two Set on her serving tray all by herself, and says, “It’s time for tea!” Since the set only comes with two cookies, when she is serving her father, me and herself tea, she’ll inform me, “You had a cookie last time, Mommy. Now, Daddy gets a cookie.”

When we have our tea parties, I sometimes feel like I am holding up a mirror as my two and a half year old utters statements she has heard me say  or way in which she says these statements to demonstrate her good manners. One time, she commented on my sugar intake telling me, “I don’t think you need anymore sugar, Mommy. You already had three spoons! How about some milk or cream instead?” I can tell that she likes being in control and asserting herself. What I like is that she does it in a playful and respectful way.

Here’s to more tea parties with my little girl!

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Thanks for Everything Daniel Tiger

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Daniel TigerIt’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood when my two and a half year old listens, follows directions, says please and thank you, shares, takes turns and is just an overall pleasure to be around. While her father and I would love to take all of the credit for how well-behaved and mannerly our little girl can be, we most certainly couldn’t do it without our neighborhood friends, Daniel Tiger, his family and friends.

cover170x170Each morning, since Quinn was a baby, I’ve been playing a little mood music while we eat breakfast and get started with the day. About a month ago, I purchased Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Life’s Little Lessons from iTunes since she enjoys watching the show from time to time. This is one of the best purchases I’ve made for her because she will not only request that we play Daniel Tiger music, but she will sing along with the songs and even apply some of the principles mentioned in the songs.

When we are playing together or she’s playing with other children, she’ll say, “We have to share and play together! That’s what Daniel Tiger says.” Then she will follow through and share with whoever she’s playing with. Or when she needs to go to the bathroom, even in stores, she sings, “When you have to go potty, stop and go right away!” Then we are off to the restroom. I’ve even got her to try a few new foods as a result of listening to the song, “Try a New Food. It Might Taste Good.” Also, if I’m being honest, many of the songs address issues not just children but adults too, like anger issues. “When you’re feeling mad, and you want to roar, take a deep breath, and count to four!” Every once in a while, I find myself counting to four to relax, and it works!

What would we do without Daniel Tiger? He’s always welcome in our neighborhood!

All the best,

Tanya