Grab and Go

 

A cruising baby is ALWAYS on the move and Kz is no exception. He sometimes ventures out to conquer new terrain but his most favorite route is the cruiser-friendly perimeter of his play space. He travels from one end of the couch to the other, continues to the ottoman (which is currently moved to block passage out of the living space) and from there he reaches for the armchair before slowly lowering himself to the ground and crawling back to the start.

Not much else provides Kz with such joy, except... the remote control.

Of all the fun things we do, and all the fun toys he has, Kz is most excited when the remote control is in sight. He screeches with glee and makes his way towards it, hoping that we've carelessly left it close enough to the edge of the couch for him to grab.

One rainy afternoon, we decided to combine Kz's two loves. We took his beloved remote control and  placed it on a reachable surface not too far away. He excitedly cruised his way over to retrieve it.

Got it!

Once he grabbed it, he held it up proudly for us to see. We played again, and Kz watched closely as I placed the remote control on the ottoman nearby. He immediately made his way over, giggling as he went. 

There it is, I see it! 

We kept the game going, making a point to place the remote control on opposite sides of the room and hiding it a bit to make it more challenging for Kz. This activity helped to develop gross motor muscle coordination, motor planning and problem solving skills. 

Try this at home with any of your child's favorite toys!

Triumphant!

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Play Space: Mini Centers

My last post about putting the entire bin of toys out for Kz to explore on his own sparked a thought about what my play space looks like on a typical day. If I don't have a special activity set up for Kz, I still like to put some thought into how his toys are presented. I've noticed that when toys are strewn about, Kz is more likely to ignore them. Keeping the play space interesting, fresh and inviting affords Kz the opportunity to get excited about his toys, even if they are the same ones he plays with each day.

I've found that it helps to divide the space into mini centers. This provides a clear space for Kz to crawl through and neat, exciting areas for him to explore. I may sort Kz's toys by shape or color and display them in a transparent container so he can better see their common attributes. Or stack them up so when he reaches for one, they topple over, making him giggle. Anything to entice Kz to crawl on over and get engaged!

When making centers, I like to think about some of the skills that Kz is currently working on. He's recently been pulling up and cruising, so on this day I made sure to make his favorite push toy accessible. I also was careful not to crowd is favorite places to pull up (like the couch) with toys.

On this particular day, I created 7 centers, which is a lot! I find that depending on the types of toys or materials I'm using, I can create more or less accordingly. Recycled, open-ended and real materials get the most play time. Familiar toys get the least. The best tip is to get in the habit of rotating your toys. Have those familiar toys take a two week vacation. This way, when they are reintroduced they feel like new again! If you hide them for longer, you'll find that your child plays with them in an entirely different way since developmentally he or she has grown.

 Kz loves taking apart his play mat. This is one of those things that I know I should encourage but it actually drives me nuts. Piecing the mat back together after he's gleefully disassembled the entire thing is irritating and time consuming. I briefly considered gluing this mat together but the truth is, its a great puzzle for Kz and he loves to tote the little circles around in his mouth while he crawls. To keep me sane, I take a few pieces off the mat and create a center.

Sometimes, taking toys out of context makes them feel brand new! Kz's bath toys are usually only explored during his short baths. For this center, I've taken them out and put them in a basket for him to get a closer look. Some still had a bit of water that surprised him when he squeezed! Besides being hilarious for me, I like to think this reminded him of where he is used to seeing them.

Sometimes I think that Kz's most colorful toys get lost on the bright colored mats or busy rugs we have. Placing a solid blanket underneath makes them pop.

I always like to reserve a space for recycled materials and homemade toys. These sensory bottles have provided endless fun for Kz since he was about 5 months old. Now, at 9 months, he likes to shake them to feel their different weights and hear their unique sounds.

It's important to provide some challenges for your child. Just a little something they can work towards mastering. I have been working with Kz on posting. He is way more interested in dumping things out. Is this a boy trait? Anyway, I have been providing a center for him to explore shape and color while encouraging him to put pieces IN instead of just taking them OUT.

Last but not least, books! I dream about having a place to store books that allows Kz to go and get them as he pleases. Until then, I like to choose a few of his current faves and prop them up in a snuggly corner for him to read. For older children, provide pillows and proper lighting to make this library nook even more inviting.

How do you set up your play space?

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Shredded Paper Party

 

I've seen a lot of pins on shredded paper play for toddlers. This is one of those activities that is so awesome, you say you're doing it for your child, but really... you're doing it for you. Most of the ideas for shredded paper are great because they are made with recycled paper that you've machine shredded from home like here, at the Tinkerlab. Organization AND reusable materials for play; What could be better?

Unfortunately, I don't own a shredder. I thought about showing up at the local UPS store with a trash bag, begging for abandoned shreds- but that felt wrong. I dunno, something about people's private papers and the UPS clerk picturing me sitting at home piecing these documents together shred by shred...it just felt weird. Sooooo, I made my own shreds! They actually turned out to be super easy to make and worked well for Kz who would have eaten those tiny machine-made shreds in seconds. These inch-thick, lanky shreds weren't nearly as appetizing.

I had some leftover packing paper from our recent move and decided it would be perfect. It's thin and flowy and not the type of paper that would give you paper cuts (Ahh, even the thought of it makes me shiver). I took a fairly large stack and cut down the shorter edge. Cutting through a large quantity of sheets proved to be pretty easy and in a matter of minutes, I had enough shreds. I threw them in a large basket and excitedly waited for Kz to wake from his nap. I briefly considered adding more materials to the basket but decided to start with bare bones shreds to allow Kz to get acquainted with the activity first.

It was a good thing I did because when I plopped him inside, he was totally freaked out. He humored me by examining the shreds, touching them, stretching them, and acting excited before looking for the quickest way out of this thing.

"Here ya go, Mommy. I'm soooo excited. Snap your photo and save me immediately." 

Maybe surrounding Kz by the shreds while being contained in a basket was a little aggressive on my part?? After rescuing Kz, I reevaluated my strategy and tried again. I tipped the basket, allowing the shreds to cascade onto the floor. This was much more inviting and Kz could approach it at his own pace.

I noticed he was staying on the periphery and not really diving into the material, so I tried another provocation. A bird's nest!

This little red bird chirps, and Kz was happy to trudge through the shreds to get to it. He was probably like, "Ugh, she just did the same thing to me.  Don't worry, Red Bird. I'll save you!"

I resolved to leave the shreds out for him to explore on his own time. But not before doing this...

And this...

 Come on, I had to! He forgave me, see?

I left the basket o' shreds out for a few days, using some different materials to spice it up. One day, I threw in some sensory balls. The next day was rubber duckie day. The last day, I added a bunch of familiar, small toys which ended up turning into a great game of treasure hunting! The  toys would sink into the shreds, peeking through just enough for Kz to spot.  My hubby had the great idea of burying his ipod in the shreds while playing Kz's favorite Elmo song. He suspiciously searched the basket for Elmo, uncovering many other treasures along the way. Genius!

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Nesting and Stacking Blocks

Kz received these great nesting and stacking blocks as a gift and he loves them. The hole on one side makes them easier to grip and the vibrant colors and patterns pique Kz's interest as soon as I bring them out. Kz is a bit young to actually stack or nest these blocks so I have been helping to create interesting structures for him to deconstruct and practice grabbing and reaching at different heights.

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 As I began making towers for Kz to explore, he was a bit skeptical.

 The tallest tower rose high above his head and he looked at it cautiously. Eventually, he got excited and began flailing his arms...

 Uh oh! Again, Mommy!

We also use these blocks to play "Where is it?" We started by placing one toy beneath a large block and asked, "Where is it?" At first he was stumped, but then Kz began removing the block to discover the toy underneath. Now we use  the same small toy but place it under one of three larger blocks. This game is great for building memory and motor skills.