Baby Play Date

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Since I hosted a play date for the 2 year olds in our mom group (our messy play date), I figured I should also host a play date for the under 1 kids.  I wanted to keep it pretty simple but also give them some fun stuff to do.  The weather was perfect that week so I knew I wanted to let the little ones play outside.  I decided on setting up 3 stations.  First, I laid out some blankets and put out 2 different infant treasure baskets and a little wagon full of other baby toys.  The babies loved the treasure baskets!  They spent so much time investigating and exploring all the goodies inside them.  I put out our all things shiny basket and our all things wooden basket (I added a couple more things to each one so there would be plenty for everyone).

Next, we set up 2 little kiddie pools.  One had some pool toys thrown in and the other didn't.  One of the little girls spent pretty much the whole time crawling back and forth between the two pools.  It was really cute!  Parker loved it, too!  She wasn't really interested in the toys, mostly splashing and watching the other babies kept her occupied!

Last, Eric and I made a redneck waterbed for the babies to lay on and/or crawl on.  I had seen this idea on Pinterest and had been wanting to make one for a while so this was the perfect excuse  I used a clear plastic sheet (painters' tarp) that was 25' by 10' and 6 mil thick.  We folded the tarp in half and sealed it shut with duct tape (leaving a small hole in one corner for filling).  We put 3 pieces of duct tape on each side.  The first sealing the 2 sides together and then another one on the top and one on the bottom.  It worked really well and I only had one corner that I had to patch.  This one had mixed reviews from the babies, some loved it and some hated it!  Parker loved it!  Her favorite thing was when Avery would run across it or jump on it and the waves would rock her up and down.  She would just laugh and laugh!

We will definitely be getting it out again this summer!  


I'd say the under 1 play date was a success!  All of the babies found a least one activity they enjoyed.  And it was a great way for the babies to stay cool and have fun while the mommas got to hang out and chat!

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It's Playtime 

Tot School and Tiny Tot School

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Avery is 31 months old and Parker is 8.5 months old

TOT SCHOOL
We didn't really have a theme for this week but we still had a lot of fun with Tot School. 

Monday we started Tot School by making some play dough.  Avery helped me do all the measuring and pouring (no pictures, it was a little too involved to have a chance to take any).  Then, while we waited for the play dough to cool, we decorated some clothespins for a project I am working on (I want to make an area for Avery's artwork to hang and/or dry).  I painted the clothespins over the weekend and then Avery glued on different things to decorate them.  I let her choose what she wanted to use (feathers, jewels, sequins, and foam shapes) and they turned out really cute! I can't wait to see how the project comes together!

Of course we had to spend a little time just playing with and checking out the clothespins

The finished product

When we were done with the clothespins, it was time to play with the play dough. I let Avery raid my Tot School supplies and choose some materials to use with the play dough.  She decided on marbles, jewels (they are the flattened marbles but Avery has always called them jewels), stones, shells, and some plastic fruit shaped ice cubes.  She had a lot of fun sticking the different objects in the play dough.  I had hoped that the objects would make cool impressions in the play dough but it was a little too gooey for that to work.  Avery even ended up renaming our play dough, instead of play dough it was gooey dough.  It stuck to everything!  Although it wasn't what I had intended, it was still a really cool sensory experience that Avery loved!

What a mess! But it gave me an idea for a work on Wednesday. She loved the table washing work we did last week so much, I figured we could do another washing work, this time a dish washing work with the objects from our gooey dough playtime instead of dishes.  

We started by adding some dish soap to the water and Avery whisked it until the bowl was full of bubbles.

Then she got to work washing

and rinsing.

After that we read a couple books and played with the Wedgits for a while.  My dad came over Friday morning so we didn't get to Tot School that day.


TINY TOT SCHOOL
When Avery goes down for her nap, Parker is up for about an hour before she is ready for her afternoon nap.  So, we have started using this time for Tiny Tot School.  


We played with a balloon!

We also played with our new ball treasure basket.  Check out the post on our first 2 treasure baskets here.  When Avery was 17 months old, we did this work.  My mom made the pompom and Avery would practice throwing the balls in the basket.  Well, it has always been a favorite so we have kept it out all this time (plus I love having balls in the house that are soft enough that they won't cause any damage if they hit someone or something).  Over the last few months Parker has really gotten into it.  Then for Easter she got some really cool sensory balls that we just threw into the basket with the pompom balls.  Over the weekend I decided to go around the house and find all the balls that I could and add them to the basket, thus creating our ball treasure basket.  Since I took this picture we've added a couple more balls too (Avery loves helping us find more).  

Like the other treasure baskets, she loves it and it keeps her attention for so long!

Sometimes the basket is just as much fun to play with as the balls  : )

She also loves to practice closing this toy.

She spent a lot of time trying to learn to crawl, which she started doing on Saturday.  And a lot of time practicing pulling up and standing on her own.

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 1+1+1=1
No Time For Flashcards

Infant Treasure Baskets

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Avery loves her sensory tubs so much I decided we needed to do something similar for Parker.  While looking around the web I learned about infant treasure baskets.  It was exactly what I was looking for!  


Treasure baskets are usually geared toward 6 to 18 month old babies.  The objects should be small enough for them to pick up but large enough to not be a choking hazard (however, I still make sure that we only play with ours when an adult is watching and keeping an eye on her).  Objects in the basket can be random or based on a theme or category.  Treasure baskets are great for promoting independence and curiosity while also developing focus and concentration.  They also allow the infant to use there senses to learn about new objects.


So far we have done 2 different treasure baskets for Parker.  The first one we did was things that were shiny!  She loved it!  The first time I put her down with it she played with it for 40 minutes straight and then she only stopped because it was time to eat and I put it away!  We kept it out for about 3 weeks and it always did a great job at keeping her interest!

It contains:  measuring spoons, shiny tissue paper, scoop, CD, mirror, napkin rings, bead necklace, toy metal pot, metal desk organizer cup, and tea infuser

Our newest one contains things that are made from wood.

It contains: a wooden bowl, a couple massagers, a wooden bracelet with ribbons attached, a giant clothes pin, a picture frame, a block, a puzzle piece, and a bracelet of wooden beads




If you are looking for more great ideas for infant treasure baskets, take a look at these posts:

From How We Montessori

From The Imagination Tree

And another from The Imagination Tree

From Confessions of a Montessori Mom

From Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks

From The Learning Ark

From Sew Liberated

From Chasing Cheerios


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No Time For Flashcards