Field Trip: Fire Station Tour

 Earlier this week we got to go on an awesome field trip with our friends from our Summer Reading Playgroup. We had all missed a public tour of the fire station earlier in the summer, and we were disappointed not to get to go. I decided to look into it, and found out that all that stood between us all and getting our kids into the fire station was a simple online form. We picked a day, got our form turned in, and we were ready to go!

My kids and I were the first ones to get there, so we goofed around while we waited for the rest of the group to get there.

 We got to tour the living quarters of the station (which that adults thought was interesting), but the real excitement was when we finally got to go out into the engine bay and see the trucks. Oh boy were the kids excited! One of the fire fighters "turned out" in his full gear so the kids could see it all. They got to check out each piece before it got put on, which was really fun.

 It was sure hot out in the engine bay, we were grateful to get to be the ones watching the whole "turn out" process, but not have to do it ourselves. That poor firefighter was sweating up a storm!

Doing a dance, or putting on suspenders...you decide. :)

 The kids were fascinated to watch as the firefighter put his gear on, but once he had the face mask on and the air regulator going they were not so sure about going anywhere near him. It's so good for them to have a chance to see that this is not someone to be scared of in case they are ever in a situation where they need to be rescued. Seeing how scared the kids were made me think this is something we ought to do every year so they get to see it often enough to remember.

 The kids all got fire hats and other trinkets to take home with them, which of course is always a plus!

 What an awesome way to spend a day! I highly recommend reaching out to your local fire station to see if you can do a tour like this!

Bouncing Baby?

When Erik was little, he LOVED to stand on the floor or on our laps and jump up and down. When I saw this idea I thought it would be perfect for Paisley. Surely she'd love it as much as Erik did. What you do is hold your baby's hands/arms while they are sitting on the floor and help them pull up into a standing position. From there, you're supposed to encourage the baby to bounce (or jump as we always said with Erik, though I guess bounce is technically more accurate), which helps build their legs muscles and balance. 

Sorry this pic's a little blurry, my camera is giving me fits lately!

Paisley so far is not interested in bouncing. She loves to stand, but that's it. So basically we just turned this into an activity to practice pulling up. I'd hold her hands while she pulled up, and then after a few minutes I'd sit her back down and we'd start over again. She loved it, but it just wasn't quite what I'd envisioned.
I do want to try this again soon except this time I want to add music and encourage Paisley to move with the music. Maybe that will get her bouncing.

Mountain Climbing

This idea is basically a mini version of this activity that we did with Erik a while back. Now that Paisley is crawling, that opens up a while new world of adventure and exploration for her. I thought it might be fun to give her a new way to work on her gross motor abilities, so I grabbed the pillows off my bed and we had a ball.
 I placed an interesting looking toy on the other side of the pillow from Paisley and then clapped and cheered as she worked her way over the obstacle to get to it.

So close!

I DID IT!

So much joy and excitement over a little string of pearls. 

I actually have to admit that I made the mistake of starting this off a little too hard for Paisley. I used multiple pillows to make a pyramid for her to climb, but it was just too hard and intimidating. She sorta gave it a try but VERY quickly lost interest. I caught on to what she was trying to tell me after a few minutes and removed all but one of the pillows and things got much better from there. Moral of the story: while it is good to challenge your children, if you make it too hard it doesn't do anyone any good. We'll have to work up to a pyramid of pillows, but for now, one is plenty for Paisley.

Full vs. Empty

I started this activity as a way to entertain Paisley, but it didn't take too long before Erik was in on it too. They both really had a ball with it. 

All you need are some cotton balls and a bowl (or two, or three, or however many your kids demand). Remember to watch your little one closely, the cotton balls would stick quite nicely into a little throat. I filled up a bowl with cotton balls and showed it to Paisley, telling her that it was full. We played with the cotton balls until the bowl was empty, at which point I made sure to tell her that it was empty. We did this a few more times, but by then Erik had joined in and I just turned the two of them loose with the cotton balls. 

Empty

Full 

I brought over a few more bowls when Erik joined in so we wouldn't have sharing issues.  

Erik found a small cup (it actually came with a bottle of cough syrup I bought, but it fell out of the medicine cupboard and Erik has claimed it as his own) and started experimenting to see how many cotton balls he could fit into it. 

This kept these two busy for much longer than I had anticipated, and they seemed to really enjoy playing together. The main purpose of this activity is to introduce the words "full" and "empty", but there is so much more to it than that. I could list it all here for you but I won't, because you can find all that info in the labels at the bottom of the post.

Paisley lost interest long before Erik did, but that doesn't mean she didn't have fun, she's just younger and has a smaller attention span. 

Working on Standing

Now that Paisley has mastered sitting up independently, her next big hurdles are crawling (which she is SO close to figuring out) and standing. She works pretty hard on crawling all day. We make sure there are tempting toys just out of reach for her to have to work towards, and she does the rest. Standing, on the other hand, is something she cannot yet work on on her own. We practice this in a couple of ways. You can hold her hands or around her waist and help her balance while she stands. You can also help her find other objects to gain support from as she works on this. A good example of a place for her to practice standing would be your couch. Nice and soft in case she falls, a great place to set toys to entertain her with, and a comfy place for you to sit while she plays. Another one that we like lately is to just help her stabilize herself against the wall. It helps that right now we have lots of interesting things stuck to the wall for her to look at. Just make sure you stay close by so when she gets tired or distracted you can help her get down without face planting into your solid wall. 

 There's no way she'd be ready to stand on her own any time soon, but she is working hard at building the muscles and practicing the balance she'll need before striking out on her own.

"Part of One Fine Face"

Okay, if you can tell me where that title comes from *without* using a search engine, than you win the prize. Don't know what the prize is, but you would win it for sure!

Paisley is getting into a stage where she's realizing the power of her fingertips. No, that's not a typo, I did mean of. She has discovered the hand-eye connection; that she can reach for and explore the things she sees with her fingers. This means that she wants to be able to explore all the things she's been looking at for months now and get to know them better. Things like, for example, the faces of those she knows. Whenever you sit down and cuddle her while she drinks her bottle, those little hands of hers start wandering all over your face.

Today's activity is something we did with Erik when he started showing interest in what his hands could do, and now Paisley can get in on the fun. Whenever she reaches out and grabs your nose mouth ear or whatever else she may grab, make sure you tell her what she's got. She seems to have a different favorite facial feature each day, and today's favorite is my nose, so we've be talking a lot about noses all day. Whenever Erik's handy I'll point out his nose to Paisley, and let him point to hers. We make sure we verbally label whose nose we're talking about. "There's Erik's nose" or "Here's Paisley's nose". Before too long Paisley will have all the parts of the face down well enough to start pointing to things when you ask her where they are. It's so much fun to watch these little guys learn and grow!

This seems like such a simple thing, but just making sure you talk about everyday things will help baby's vocabulary explode. It builds their confidence and the bond between the two of you.

Rock 'n' Row

Okay, so not only did I steal the idea for this activity from another website, but I stole their name for it too. It was just too cute and I wasn't feeling clever enough to try to come up with something of my own.
Basically you sit on the floor with your legs in a V. Place the baby sitting up on the floor between your legs facing you. Holding baby's hands, gently pull/push baby forwards and backwards as you sing the song "Row, Row, Row your Boat". Simple, right?

Both Paisley and Erik love this one, it's been a lot of fun (and depending on how far you rock, it can be a good ab workout for mom!). This is a great way to work out those back and tummy muscles that baby (and mom) needs to be able to sit up and become mobile. It's also a good, interactive music activity, which is SO good for your baby. It you didn't see my previous post on the importance of music, read it here.

Trot My Pony

This is a little game that I remember my parents doing with my siblings and I when we were little. Erik has loved it for a long time, and I just introduced it to Paisley recently. She really seems to like it, and it's fun to pass it on to someone new. 

In case you want the words, they are:
Trot my pony,
trot to town.
Watch out pony,
don't fall down!

While this isn't exactly a song, it has qualities that it shares with music such as rhyme and rhythm.
Music has been shown to have a huge impact on infants and children and their ability to learn and develop. In the November issue of Parenting magazine, it said "Playfully dancing or singing to your baby could boost his pre-language communication skills and make him easier to soothe, according to research from McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario. In the study, 6-month-olds were assigned to take either an active music class, in which parents played musical games with their infant, or a passive music class, in which parents used blocks or read books with their baby while recorded music played in the background. After six months, the babies in the active class smiled more, were easier to soothe, and showed less distress in new situations than the infants in the passive class. 'There's something about the rhythm and synchrony of music, and engaging in it together, that increases the social bond between a parent and child,' says researcher Laurel J. Trainor, PhD., a professor in the department of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior".
Since reading this little snippet, I've been trying to come up with ways to get Erik and Paisley more involved in music, and I hope to be able to share them with you here.
So, you heard the professor, get out there and dance with your baby!

Paisley's First Sensory Bin

Today Paisley got to play with her first sensory bin. The inspiration for this came from here. I scrounged around the house looking for lots of soft, interesting looking things to fill up a basket with, and then I turned Paisley loose with them all. She really wasn't sure what to do.

Look who's sitting up like a big kid!

 When I couldn't get her interested in playing with the objects in the basket, we dumped them out around her feet to see if maybe she'd go for it then. Still no luck.

 Erik jumped in and starting playing with things, and with a lot of encouragement Paisley finally got involved.

This wasn't as big of a hit as I hoped it would be, but that may have been my fault. I realized that most of the items were boring colors, and some were way to big to pick up comfortably. All of them were unfamiliar and that may have scared her off too. So, next time I need to make sure the objects are easily manipulated, interesting, and at least one or two of them are familiar.

Sit-Ups

Erik was sick last week, so Paisley had to stay home on Friday in an attempt to not catch our germs. Thus, you're not getting this post until today.

Paisley has been working SO hard at crawling and sitting up. She wants to do these things so very badly! We try to spend a few minutes here and there throughout the day helping her build the muscles she'll need to do these skills.
Sitting up is hard work! Paisley is making great progress, but she just needs a little more time and practice before she'll have the strength to do it alone. For now, this is what we've been doing.

Whenever she seems up for a bit of a work out, I surround Paisley with pillows to cushion falls that I know are coming, and help her to sit up. She tends to arch her back, so at first I have to help push her forward until she gets the hang of how hard to tense those little muscles. Once you help her get her feet arranged and her back straight, she can actually support herself for a few seconds in a completely upright position.

  After a short period of time sitting up, Paisley typically goes into what is called the tripod position.

This way she is supporting herself with one or both arms. Being leaned forward like this is NOT a failure. This is actually a skill she will need to develop as she's learning how to reach for and manipulate objects without falling down. It also gives her a break to rest those muscles. Come on, even big strong grown-ups need a break sometimes! Being able to feel that you're falling and process that information quickly enough to catch yourself is actually a critical life skill, and it's awesome that Paisley's got such a good handle on it.
A few things to remember: Keep it fun. Make sure there are interesting toys handy for baby to look at and reach for (reaching is another big milestone a baby should be grasping at this age, why not kill two birds with one stone?) Keep it short. This is a pretty high-intensity work out (for a baby), so don't over do it. If she's tired, stop! The more tired she gets the more she's going to fall down and get frustrated. So don't push it.

If you're interested in learning more about sitting up or other movement milestones baby should be working on at this age, check out this article and this one.

The Amazing Disappearing Toy

Today we tried a new game with Paisley that is kind of a spin off of Peek-a-boo. I most recently saw this idea on Productive Parenting, but it's in just about any list of things to do with infants. 

I started by propping Paisley up with some pillows against the couch (she's so close to sitting independently but is just not quite there yet) and gave her a toy to play with. I wanted to make sure that the toy I'd selected would catch her interest. 

I'd say she looks pretty interested, how about you?

 Next, I covered the toy with a blanket. It was still within reach, but out of sight. As soon as the toy disappeared, Paisley would start looking around her frantically. I couldn't decide if she was looking for the toy we'd been playing with or just something new to do since her toy was gone. She never did try to reach for her toy, or move the blanket.

Whoa, where'd it go?

I found it!

Again, notice she's moving in this one. The instant the toy was out of sight she'd start looking all over the place. 

I just loved how excited she was to see her toy every time I uncovered it!

The biggest thing this activity helps with is the development of object permanence. Eventually the idea that the toy is still there will stick and Paisley will start trying to get to the toy under the blanket. I think she must be pretty close to that point since she does act like she's looking for something when it's gone.

Imitation, revisited...

I was playing with Paisley yesterday, trying to do an activity for a blog post (which you now have to wait until next week to see) and she was a little distracted. So I started clicking my tongue on the roof of my mouth to get her attention. Next thing I know, she's clicking away too. Needless to say, all other play stopped, and we just sat and copied each other for several minutes.

Babies come pre-programmed to want to do everything that other humans are doing. They have a special instinct to seek human faces to look at and prefer a human face over everything else (at least while they're little, I'm pretty sure Erik's outgrown this phase!) Imitation is a great way for a baby to learn new skills and to feel like she's part of the group. This particular skill (tongue clicking) will help to strengthen the muscles that she will need to talk someday. And more than anything else, it's just super cute!

Bubbles!

Paisley was feeling a little bored this afternoon, but she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. She wasn't quite tired enough for a nap, but she wasn't really up for any grand adventures either. I started looking around for something that would engage her attention without being too overstimulating. Enter the bubbles...

She really wasn't so sure about this idea at first. Especially when one popped somewhat close to her face. 

The bubbles definitely caught her attention and she tracked them with her eyes as they floated around the room. Occasionally I'd catch one on the bubble wand and hold it close enough for her to touch it. She actually wasn't a huge fan of that, because she didn't like it when they popped. 

Don't worry, she did eventually warm up to the idea, and I think it's one we'll be repeating. 

Bubbles are a fun new way to exercise those eye muscles. As the bubbles flit around the room on different air currents, the baby is fascinated and will follow them as long as they're within sight. They are also a great way to learn about cause and effect, since they have a very distinct and consistent reaction to any interaction. And, they're darn fun too!

Creeping and Crawling

Paisley is SO close to crawling, it's driving her crazy. It's like she knows what to do but can't quite get her body to go along with her. The funny thing is she somehow manages to move all over the place anyways, but none of the adults in her life have caught her in the act. You put her down to play on the floor, step out of the room for a minute, and when you come back she's several feet away from where she started. This only happens when nobody's looking however, so we don't know exactly how she does it. My theory is teleportation :)

We are all anxious to catch Paisley in the act of doing whatever it is she's doing, so to that end today I was trying everything I could think of to induce her to move. I put her on her tummy on the floor and arranged interesting looking toys just out of reach. She'd stretch and wiggle and try really hard, but she never did go for it. 

That doesn't mean that this activity was a flop though. Just having tummy time encourages Paisley to work those muscles that she's going to need to crawl and sit up unsupported successfully. Providing her with interesting things to look at encourages visual development. I was on my tummy on the floor nearby trying to draw Paisley's attention to the different toys, so she was getting some good social interaction. All in all, we managed to squeeze a fair amount of "work" into a few minutes unplanned playing on the floor.

Paisley + Puppets, Take 2

You may remember what happened last time I tried to get Paisley to play with a puppet. Let's just say it didn't go real well. I was sitting on the couch with her today trying to decide what to do with a few minutes of one on one time together and saw the puppet on the top of they toy box. It's been a few months, so I decided to give it another shot. 

 She had so much fun this time! She was smiling and squealing and just eating the whole thing up, sometimes literally!

She went back and forth between flirting with the puppet, to trying to grab it and eat it.

 I wish I had a better shot of her squealing at the teddy, but every time she'd get excited, she started thrashing around, so this is as good as it gets.

 

If you need a reminder of the benefits of playing with puppets, click on the link towards the top of this post, or go here.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

This post contains affiliate links.

This is something that Erik really loved to do when he was little. I don't remember where I originally found the idea, but if it came from somewhere it was probably my What to Expect; The First Year book. I recently was reminded of this activity on Productive Parenting. 

I got Paisley all set up in the Bumbo seat and propped a mirror against the wall. It took her a second to figure out why I had her pointed towards the corner, but once she did she loved it! 

What are you looking at?

Playing with a mirror like this is really good for a baby. It gives them someone else to talk to and socialize with. It helps them become self aware, and as they do become self aware, it helps them learn the results of their motions. Here's a little blurb about the "magic" in a mirror.

Paisley really loved talking to herself in the mirror. It was super cute!

*Diedre Mower is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 

Roller Coaster

This post contains affiliate links.

The idea for this activity came from a couple of different places. This is something I did as part of our daily occupational therapy routine for one of the special needs students I used to work with, and I also saw the idea HERE as I was looking around for ideas. The link I posted has great details about how and why to do this activity if you're interested.

Let's gather our supplies:
-As you can see, I used a large exercise ball for this little game, and it works really well. It's a comfortable height for me to sit in a chair and have the ball positioned between my knees.

If you've never done this before, make sure you are holding the ball firmly between your knees as you place the baby on it. Make sure you always have a firm hold on the baby, both so they are safe and so they feel secure and comfortable enough to have fun. You can either place the baby laying down on the ball with your hands holding firmly on either side of the baby's chest, or (this can be a little trickier, so maybe work up to this one) hold the baby in an upright sitting position, with your hands placed on either side of the baby's waist or hips (how high up the baby's torso you hold them will depend on how well they sit up alone. The lower your hold the more work baby has to do) Let baby just sit and get used to feeling the ball under her for a minute before you start moving it slowly around. Rock it back and forth or side to side, or even bounce the baby gently up and down. Remember to always watch your baby, and when she is done don't push it, just let her be done!

The benefits of this activity are amazing. Having to balance on the ball helps to strengthen baby's neck and back, making sitting up and rolling over easier in the future. When you are holding your baby in a sitting position and rocking the ball, you are helping them to learn to lean to one side or the other to help keep their body balanced and avoid falling over (a handy thing to know how to do as baby is sitting, crawling, and walking). Babies crave rhythm, so using a gentle bouncing motion can help soothe a cranky or upset baby. You are also helping your child learn about their surroundings in a new way as they get a new point of view from the different angles presented by the moving ball.

*Diedre Mower is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 

Peek-A-Boo Song

In my first Peek-A-Boo post, I posted a link at the bottom to a cute little peek-a-boo song that I'd found. We've been singing that song any time we play peek-a-boo, and Paisley really loves it! Just thought I'd share a video of our fun.  

The music helps to keep her attention, and just adds a whole new dimension to the fun. She was pretty distracted by the camera, so you don't get to see how she normally reacts. She often laughs out loud while we're singing this song, she just loves it! Try it with your little one and see what they think.

A Walk in the Park

Paisley LOVES to be outside. She loves the sunshine, and a breeze in her face, and watching the world go by. We try to get outside fairly often; sometimes it's just a quick trip to the mail box, but we do try to get to the park at least once a week (although I've yet to remember to bring my camera).

All ready to walk to the mail box. 

Sometimes it's nice to have a change of scene and society. When we go to the park Paisley loves to lay on a blanket and look at the leaf covered tree branches waving away above her. All the other kids in our play group love to come over and tell her hello, and I think she's started to enjoy the extra attention.
Getting outside is really good for little ones, even when they're tiny. The sunshine (though you have to be EXTREMELY careful about limiting sun exposure) prompts your body to make vitamin D and the fresh air just makes you feel so good! Playing outside is a GREAT sensory experience. The baby gets to see, hear, smell, and touch so many new things. You can help draw the baby's attention to a particular stimulus and tell them what they are experiencing (Do you hear the fire truck? Do you see the bird? What does this rock feel like?) so they can start to put names to things. There are so many great learning and growing opportunities when you go outside! Want to learn more of the surprising benefits of outdoor play? Here's an interesting article I found today.