Tag Archives: Mommy’s Baby Steps

Say Word?! Learning Can Be Fun! Lessons with My Little Girl

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She paused for a few second and looked up to the ceiling with her head slanted. Then she said with certainty, “Word!” I proudly said, “You got another word right, sweetheart!” Even though my daughter already knew some words here and there, since she started kindergarten, we’ve been making a conscious effort to reinforce what she is learning in school and to even enhance that experience. Last week, in my blog entry, I wrote about the reward system I created to demonstrate positive reinforcement for my five year old’s eagerness to learn. Doing basic flash cards is one of the lessons we do together.

I purchased sight word cards with pictures and some without, and either way Quinn is able to recognize several words after a few sessions. I am impressed that she immediately distinguishes the differences between words with similar spellings such as then and than considering that some adults still mix these two up. Often when I ask her what reading activity she would like to do, if it is not leafing through one of her books, it is doing flash cards.

Yes, technology is wonderful, and we use some of those resources as well. But good old-fashion flash cards are still perfect for helping a child learn how to read. They are a cheap resource that you can purchase at the local dollar store, or you can even create them yourself. Give them a try if you don’t already use them with your child.

All the best,

Tanya

Autumn “Leaves” Fun Chores for My Little Girl!

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“This is the best chore of the day, Mommy,” my five year old excitedly told me. It’s that time of the year where autumn is in full swing. Trees display beautiful leaves in hues of red, yellow and orange that we all gaze at and admire. Unfortunately, those very leaves eventually fall to the ground leaving behind that dreaded chore for many adults to continuously rake them all up for the next month or longer, depending on how many of these beautiful trees surround their homes.

I actually don’t mind it so much because I often daydream about when I was younger jumping in the leaves or just making that crunchy sound as I walked down the street stepping on leaves. My daughter has the same love for nature that I have. This morning, after getting home from my kickboxing workout, the sun was shining, and the leaves covered most of our grass and portions of our sidewalk, so I figured that I’d get a little more exercise by raking the leaves.

Automatically, Quinn said, “I want to help too, Mommy! I love raking the leaves!” My sweet girl has been helping since she was just one years old, and each year, she gets better and better. We made it a family activity along with her dad and spent about an hour outside clearing the colorful leaves. She even wanted to hold onto some of the leaves so that she could identify what trees they came from.

I love how we can have fun doing chores and truly enjoy each other’s company. These are the colorful moments we share together, and I will always cherish them.

All the best,

Tanya

What Do You Call a Fairy & and Mermaid? Mommy and Daughter Halloween Fun!

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Carousel Fun and the Please Touch Museum’s Monster Mash

Halloween is such a fun time of year not just for my daughter but for me too. What makes it extra fun is the strengthening of our mommy/daughter bond. Since she was two, she began picking out a costume not just for herself but for me too. She’s been Doc McStuffins, and I’ve been Lambie. When she was three, she was an astronaut, and I was her rocket. Last year, she was Snow White, and I was the Evil Queen. This year, she decided to be a fairy and asked me to be a mermaid with a similar color scheme: purple as her favorite color and blue as my favorite color. I thought to myself, what a great idea! She’s already thinking about next year wanting to be a princess so that I can be her unicorn, and I love it!

I feel like dressing up together, going to parties, special events and trick or treating brings out the best in us both and brings us closer together. Sometimes, life just gets so hectic, and work even gets stressful, so I thank my daughter for allowing me to just have fun and enjoy life as different characters. Here’s to a happy fun-filled Halloween. Time with my daughter is the ultimate treat!

My Little Girl Has Character Strengths! How About You?

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“Hmmm,” my daughter said as she closed her eyes and thought deeply  prior to answering the question, “What are your character strengths?” As her eyes widened a smile came on her face, she said, “Kindness, creativity, aaaaannd, bravery, I guess!” I smiled back at her and said, “Those are wonderful strengths, Quinn! You truly are creative, kind and brave.”

Last week, one of the assignments for her kindergarten class was to discuss the importance of character strengths and to help Quinn identify three of her own strengths. This was a fun and thought-provoking activity because it made me think about my own strengths as well. It also made me think about how I must help my daughter to not only recognize her many strengths but to help her see why they are strengths and how they will benefit her and others throughout the course of her life.

As she matures, I hope she will continue to be creative, kind and brave. I also hope that I can be a shining example of a creative, kind and brave mother, family member, friend and person in her life and the lives o those with whom I come in contact.

What are your character strengths?

All the best,

Tanya

Teaching My Daughter the Ropes to Jumping

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“I did it! I did it,” my five year old screamed out with a big smile on her face.  Last week, we started working on her learning to jump rope. The first few times she pouted as her legs got caught up in the rope or the rope caught on to her ponytails as she whipped it around her head, but with a little encouragement, she kept on trying.

As I watched her continue to try, I was taken back to years ago when I first learned how to jump rope and remembered that a big part of it was developing a rhythm and being prepared to jump a second or two right before the rope got to my feet. I showed Quinn the technique I used; she watched intently and got it! While she’s not quite jumping rope like a pro, she’s so excited to jump over the rope two or three times in a row.

With her rope in her hand, she smiled and said, “Mommy, if I keep practicing, I’ll get better and better. I’ll be jumping rope like you before I know it!” Showing my little girl how to jump rope makes me think about teaching her the “ropes of life.” Sometimes it’s difficult, and the sting of the rope might hurt her legs, or her legs might get caught up in the rope causing her to trip and fall. Other times, she might have a good rhythm going, and be able to jump or skip rope like a master. Either way, I’ll be right there with my rope in hand ready to model how to jump and will show her that sometimes the rope gets tangled up on my legs too, but I can always start over again and keep jumping.

All the best,

Tanya

Kindergarten Here “We” Come! Well, Here “She” Comes!

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For the past week, I’ve been a combination of nervous and excited. I’ve had sleepless nights, reoccurring dreams and a bit of anxiety. Tomorrow is the big day: the first day of school, kindergarten that is! On Friday, my daughter’s preschool teachers thoughtfully gave her a sweet letter with several treats. She was concerned about when she can eat the candy, and I was concerned about how I’m going to hold it together on Monday. On Saturday, Quinn received a lovely kindergarten card in the mail from my sister, nephew and niece wishing her a terrific first day. Then later on, my husband came home and surprised Quinn with a cake wishing her “Good Luck” in kindergarten.

How can I not get emotional? My blog is called Mommy’s Baby Steps, and this truly is one of the steps I am struggling to take. It’s a new school, all new children, all new teachers, a major milestone in her life. I’m so anxious and have to remind myself that it’s really “we” but a “she” is going to kindergarten. Thank goodness her school allows parents to come into the classroom for the first hour tomorrow and even has a kiss and cry for parents who need a little support in parting ways with their children.

While I am confident she’ll be just fine, knowing that I’ll have to dash off to the college for my first day of teaching (a day on which I still get butterflies) immediately after the “kiss and cry” has my stomach in knots. Wish me luck, and send “strong mommy vibes” my way please. I want to be brave for my little girl and focus on how great this milestone is and how wonderful of a year it’ll be!

All the best,

Tanya

The Amusement of Life: My Little Girl Knows How to Enjoy the Ride!

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With her arms swaying in the air and a smile on her face, my little girl squealed and cheered for more as the ride took her around once again. One of my five year old daughter’s favorite outings this summer has been amusement parks; she lives for the rides. Now, at about 47 inches, which is tall for her age, she’s able to get on the some of the rides she longed for last year but just didn’t measure up.

This summer, she was ready to prove that she’s absolutely fearless while I held on for dear life on roller coasters and other rides whipping us around so quickly that I could barely contain my lunch. Thank goodness for her father because I’m just not able to handle most amusement park rides like used to.

But seeing how happy and excited she is to get on some rides over and over again makes me think about life and how amusing it can be. There was one roller coaster ride that I got on with her just once, but she got on with my husband seven times and was still ready for more. Each time Quinn whizzed by on the roller coaster, I could see that beautiful smile and hear that infectious squeal-like laughter. She’d raise her arms in preparation for the drop and feel so exhilarated upon departing the ride ready to run back in line to board it again.

It is my hope that Quinn treats life this way, ready to enjoy the ride, eager to take on adventure and willing to hop off one ride and get on the next as life dictates.

All the best,

Tanya

There’s Something Fun & Magical About Face Paint: Just Ask My Five Year Old!

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“It looks beautiful!” my five year old remarked as the make-up artist held up the mirror to let my daughter see her face all made up. This last weekend makes about the sixth or seventh time I watched Quinn’s face transform into something magical. Whether it’s a butterfly, swan, kitty or a unicorn, as she had her heart set on getting this time, she always has a smile on her face afterwards. She is so careful about preserving her look as long as possible by asking if we may have our lunch before she gets her face painted so that she doesn’t mess it up.

In my lifetime, I’ve provably only had my face painted three times, and there are times when I would love to hop in the seat after Quinn gets her face done to have my transformation of the day as a tiger, butterfly or even a peacock. It’s a totally different experience than wearing make-up for a night on the town or to go to work. It’s just about having fun and becoming the masque I wear for just one day. Perhaps that’s why Quinn and I both enjoy Halloween so much.

Who knows, maybe the next time the opportunity presents itself, I’ll allow the kid in me to come out and get my face painted right alongside Quinn. There’s just something so fun and magical about it.

All the best,

Tanya

 

Preparing Patriotic Punch: A Knock-out with My Little Girl

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“This is actually tasty,” my five year old exclaimed as she twiddled her straw slurping up some more of the beverage she helped to make.  With July 4th comes barbecues, spending time with family and friends, parades, fireworks, you name it! So I thought a fun project while celebrating America’s independence would be to prepare a patriotic drink (non-alcoholic of course) with my little girl.

After heading to my favorite go-to app, Pinterest, I came across several samples and decided to go with the drink containing, red punch, sprite, and a blue gatorade. Come to find out, it was actually like a science project because after filling the glass with ice, the different color beverages were able to sit on top of each other without blending because of the grams of sugar. Indeed, we would not regularly have a drink with that much sugar, but it was a nice treat and a great way to not only spend time with my daughter but to have her think critically questioning why the colors did not merge.

If you haven’t done anything like this, give it a try with your child(red). It’ll be a big hit, I’m sure!

All the best,

Tanya

Happy Daughter, Happy Daddy, Happy Family!

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“Guess what I got you, Daddy!” my daughter urged her father as she handed him a gift bag. “A puppy!?” he asked jokingly. Quinn then laughed saying, “No, it’s not a puppy, silly daddy!” My husband looked inside the bag and pulled out a picture cube with each side displaying photos of him and his special girl. After thanking her and getting a big hug, she excitedly presented him with a cake from his favorite bakery for father’s day. “No cake for breakfast though, Daddy!” she told him as his eyes lit up eager to get a slice.

Beyond favoring each other, my husband and daughter have such a special bond and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. I am grateful that my husband is physically, emotionally and intellectually present as a father. He loves playing games, reading stories or just watching cartoons with our daughter. He doesn’t mind answering her many questions, having tea parties and an endless range of activities with her. There is no doubt that he makes her feel special and loved.

Seeing how happy they both make each other makes me that much more happy. I am grateful for the closeness and love within our family. On this father’s day, I hope my husband feels a little more love and a little more appreciation because he absolutely deserves it.

Here’s to all of the stand-up, wonderful fathers around the world.

All the best,

Tanya