Good morning, friends!
We heard that community members hoped to have more activities geared towards infants and toddlers. We have gone back through all of our previous posts on this blog and added notes about how infants/toddlers can participate in each of the activities.
We will make sure to explicitly note how younger children can participate in these bundles.
Have fun today!
NO BAKE BAR RECIPE
(Recipe from Sam)
Time to get a little messy and a lot delicious.
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
1 ½ cups cheerios or rice crispy
⅓cup honey or maple syrup
6 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A little brown sugar if you want
Add chocolate chips if you want
Sometimes we add sun butter ( peanut butter, almond butter) a spoonful
Mix all ingredients in bowl.
Press in pan or cookie sheet and flatten out.
Children of all ages can smell, touch and taste the ingredients as you go along. Older children can help measure, count and stir.
Chill, eat and enjoy!
FORT BUILDING
(From Melissa)
Many of us remember blanket forts as kids. A favorite of children of all ages. There is magic in creating a special space to explore and go about our daily lives.
Supplies
Blankets, sheets, or quilts—and for added versatility, include a couple of fitted sheets
Pillows
Chairs
Laundry baskets
Tables, a sofa, or a bed—something as a main anchor
Clothespins or tape
Prep work and safety:
Prepare the space for construction.
Look for a large space close to large furniture or a bed to use as a main anchor point.
Remove any breakable or valuable objects
Hint: Stay away from small pieces of furniture that could fall over
Process:
Spread a large sheet over the anchor piece of furniture, like the back of a sofa or the top of a table.
Hint: If using a sofa as an anchor use a fitted sheet.
Drape the sheet or blanket over additional pieces of furniture.
Attach additional blankets or sheets to the fort with clothespins or strong tape on furniture
Add height by stringing clothesline high across the room and draping lightweight sheets.
Hint: Forts for infants and toddlers can be very simple. Sheet over the dining room table or draped over two very sturdy pieces of furniture.
Older children can help build the fort while younger children will likely just play in the fort.
Ready for play:
Stock it with necessary supplies. This will include whatever age-appropriate toys or items your kids want: stuffed animals, sleeping bags, flashlights.
Ideas for fort play:
Snuggle time
Read/tell stories
Have a snack or tea party with your lovies
Play a game
Have a great time!
“LITTLE BEAR” EPISODES
(From Lauren)
Lauren loved watching Little Bear when she was younger so this is a perfect media suggestion for even the youngest children. Lauren’s mom said she loved this show because she thought it “taught feelings, manners, friendship, and gave play examples.”
Please don’t watch this entire 5-hour marathon in one sitting 😉
ICE EXPLORATION
There are many ways to explore and learn with ice and snow. All of these ideas can be used with infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
Ice/Snow Painting:
Mix colors (food coloring, watercolor, maybe even spices for natural dyes) into water and put any type of stick into it before you freeze them.
Once frozen you can use these to paint on paper.
You can also paint directly on uncolored ice or snow.
Hidden Treasure:
Hide small items into water before you freeze it.
You can use cars for a Car Rescue activity
Dinosaurs to make Dinosaur Eggs
Beads, string, pipe cleaners, pom poms, etc to see what is easiest/hardest to get out
Use hammers (with adult supervision!), salt, water, spoons, and other tools to try and get the items out of the ice once it is completely frozen.
STEM Melting Activity:
Collect materials you might want to experiment with.
Suggestions:
water
sugar
salt
vinegar
oil
bowls for each different thing
timer (could just be your phone)
Make predictions about which combinations will melt the ice the fastest or the slowest. Write this down if you want.
Set your timer and observe the ice melting.
Does it melt faster if you touch it?
Were your predictions right?
How long did each combination take?
What melted the fastest? The slowest?
Why do you think that happened?
“CAVE DADA” READ ALOUD
Read by the author himself, Brandon Reese. An entertaining story about a cave dwelling dad doing everything he can to take care of his baby who just isn’t having it.
See you all tomorrow!
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