Getting toddlers to overcome Fears (Nursery)

• Get a few clips of whatever your child fears.
• Come up with a simple song or rhyme that talks about what it is, what to expect, and that it is safe.
• Put them together using something like imovie.
• And allow your child to view in an environment they are comfortable in.

 I did this to help my daughter get used to the idea of going to nursery and it was amazing!!! It took only two weeks till she was requesting to go to nursery! Now I plan on doing this for other obstacles we are facing.

Ladybug has always been overstimulated easily. She gets very anxious in new situations so as she approached 18 months (when she would be old enough for nursery during church) I thought I would go in and help her get used to it. Even with me no suggesting that I leave her, she held on for dear life.  And 6 months later she still was very scared about the whole thing.

Ok so this is what my degree is all about... So I put on my thinking cap and pondered and prayed, how can I help her feel calm and safe in nursery.  I thought well she loves anything she sees on Signing Time maybe I'll call up Rachel Coleman and ask her to do an episode about nursery (and knowing that wasn't possible). So I thought I could do it on my own. I'll ask the nursery leaders to record a few clips of it so she is familiar with it and come up with a song that helps her understand what to expect, and that she will be safe even if her mom isn't there. I know Rachel would have done a better job especially when it comes to the singing... but I also know that it didn't matter to Ladybug if I had the best voice in the world.

So we started watching this video and the first week I gave her the option if she wanted to go to nursery or sit with mom in her class. She did choose to sit with me in class, but when my responsibilities were over we went into nursery and she was excited and started singing the Nursery song. 

The next week she went right in and when we were done the leaders were so surprised they asked what we did. Well, just followed the signing time format of learning and now she feels like it is great! She even asks for nursery during the week.

Nursery is a special place. It's a place we play with friends.
We play with toys and we all take turns, until play time ends.
We play with puzzles, and eat some food, and sing songs together.
Our leaders teach us and keep us safe. And that's why nursery is special!


I did mention that the idea came from seeing how well she learns from Signing Time and I just wanted to put a little plug in for them. They are not paying me to say any of this: I just have been so blessed by it. My almost 2 year old talks soooo much. She has hundreds of books and songs memorized (minus filler words). She knows all her letters (signs, uppercase, and lowercase), and what sound they make. She can count to 20. She knows dozens of animals, and objects, and verbs. ...It is cute and I am amazed at how smart she is, but I appreciate it more because she can tell me what she is thinking and wanting and when she is hurting.

The makers of signing time are starting a new show for older children Rachel and the Treeschoolers. I am so excited about it and am super thrilled that they are asking for backers to help them fund this amazing series. And if you help them they reward you with a copy of the episodes or more (depending on how much you contribute).  If you have young children you really should check it out!

Routine Songs

I make up songs all the time to narrate what we are doing. Ladybug seems to do better with limits when it is in a song. It changes it from a power struggle to an activity or dancing to her. ...And sometimes a song is just what I need to help herd the children to the next place. :)

Most of the time my songs have too many syllables for the tune and they don't rhyme...  But sometimes it magically works and I just hope that I can remember how I sang it. Yesterday while Ladybug was having a HARD time remembering to sit on the sofa we found a song that seemed to work and she even was asking for it again. I pulled out my phone and recorded the tune so the next time we needed the reminder. I also thought if we watched the video it would help set in stone the fact that we sit on the sofa. :)

So since I recorded that one and people have asked me to teach them some of my songs, I figured I would record some of the others. I am sure you'll recognize the clean up song... that is not original. ...and I learned the first part of Rub Rub Rub while working at a Child Development Center... but added the second verse. 

If you have any questions please let me know. ...and if you know of some more routine songs PLEASE  let me know! :)

TIME TO CHANGE YOUR SHORTS (diaper):
It's time to change your shorts. 
It's time to change your shorts.
Hi ho the dario.
It's time to change your shorts. 

SIT ON THE SOFA:
Sit. Sit. Sit on the Sofa.
Sit. Sit. Sit on the Sofa.
Sit. Sit. Sit on the Sofa.
Stand on the ground

RUB RUB RUB:
Rub rub rub.  Scrub scrub scrub.
Round about.  In and out.
Watch those bubbles go down the spout.

Wash your face.  Here it goes.
Wash you cheeks and chin and nose.

COLOR ON THE PAPER (window):
Color on the paper.
The paper. The paper.
Color on the paper.
That's where it's pretty.

ONE MORE MINUTE:
One more minute.
One more minute to play.

CLEAN UP:
Clean up. Clean up
Everybody. Everywhere.
Clean up. Clean up
Everybody do your share.

UP THE STAIRS:
Up, up, up the Stairs.
Up the stairs we go.
Climbing. Climbing.
That's the way we know.

DOWN  THE  STAIRS:
Down, down, down the Stairs.
Down the stairs we go.
Crawling backwards.
That's the way we know.

Puff Paint

Puff paint is so fun! It will dry fluffy. It is perfect to paint cookie shapes and look like frosting (sprinkles will stick on it), paint circles to look like snow, or to just paint!

1 part Elmer's glue
1 part shaving cream
(food coloring)
Hair spray

Mix glue, shaving cream, and coloring together. After it is dry a little hair spray will help it not flake off if bumped.

The Best Teether!

We have been dealing with a lot of teething pain around here. After I gave the last dose of Tylenol I let my baby chew on the top of the bottle. She was able to hold this and chew on it better than any of her other teethers... So I decided to keep the bottle. I washed it out, added some craft paper, and put a few popcorn kernels inside so it was a rattle too. My girl loves this!

Infant Sensory

After we had so much fun with the bubble foam blowers,
I decided to make an effort to have discovery time. I found a list of 107 things to put in a sensory table from The Crafty Teacher here.

Here are just a few that caught my eye:

4. Rice - which can be colored with food coloring if desired
5. Pasta - one kind or a mix; can also be colored
6. Snow
10. Sod
11. Homemade silly putty
12. Jello - make a few large pans of it and dump it in
13. Cereal
14. Sugar or salt
16. Easter grass
18. Ice cubes or crushed ice, or a large block of ice
19. Shredded documents - from a regular or cross-cut shredder
31. Feathers
32. Applesauce
33. Cotton balls
34. Strips of bubble wrap - you can buy it in large rolls
37. Cooked spaghetti - add a little oil to keep it from sticking
38. Curling ribbon
41. Confetti
44. "Oobleck" - equal parts cornstarch and water
49. Potato flakes (dehydrated)
 
(Not all of them are safe for young children. I tend to let my child play with things that are "choking hazards" if I am right there guiding her to play with her hands only. You decide what is safe for your child.)

You really should check out the link! We have had so much fun. :)

Homemade Finger Paint

1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups water
food coloring
containers

Over medium heat mix cornstarch and water until it becomes smooth and thick (almost like Vaseline). Separate into containers, add food coloring, and mix.

I used up&up baby food containers. I used to save the Gerber containers, but they don't seal well enough to hold liquid or seal air tight for storing something like paint.

We have also painted with corn syrup, or sweetened condensed milk (colored with food coloring) The corn syrup is mostly clear, and the condensed milk has a iridescent sort of look.

Green sweetened condensed milk & pink (cornstarch) finger paint

Ladybug Collage

We had fun making a ladybug...

I used our floor mat as a stencil by taking out one of the circles and placing contact paper behind it. Then I had some red scraps that we played with. (That got me thinking that if I had a mat that had letters, it could be a great literacy activity.)

When we were done playing with it, I took it off of the mat and used another piece of contact paper to hold everything in. I then simply drew a lady bug outline and then it hit me that next time I'll put some black circles in the mix of scraps so she ca make the spots on the ladybug.

I think she had just as much fun playing with our finished project on the fridge.

Sensory Book

I decided that Ladybug (my baby) was ready for some activities. I though about art porjects, or sensory bottles and then I decided that since she love books we could make a sensory book. She seemed to enjoy it more than anything that she got for Christmas this year, and she looked at it with me for half an hour.

(I guess my video was too long for blogger so I had to just pick some clips of us looking at it.)

I put the ingredients in freezer bags, glued them shut, and then taped the bags together using duct tape. 

Blue: vegetable oil, water, food coloring

Green: soap, food coloring

Yellow: cornstarch, water, yellow food coloring

Orange: ???soy extract oil stuff that my mom gave us???

Red: coconut cream, coconut oil, food coloring

Purple: fruit loop dust, sprinkles

Bubble Foam Blower

I went to visit my friends at the Child Development Center I used to work at and they were having a training. I listened in to a few of the ideas and got excited to think my angel-bug would have some fun experiences.

To make this I cut off the end of a water bottle. covered the hole with a paper towel and used a rubber band to hold it in place. I put a little bit of baby wash and water on a plate to dip the it in. Then I just blew in it.

I am sure she will enjoy making the bubbles when she is a bit older. :)

Shaving Cream Bags

This is a fun activity to learn colors. The children get just as excited about this as they do with messy activities... but it's clean. :)

• Fill a zip lock bag half way with shaving cream (If it is too full, it will pop open).
• Put a few drops of two different colors of food coloring in the bag (like: blue and yellow).
• Push the air out of the bag and close it. (You can add tape or an extra bag if you think your child will try and open the bag.)
• Encourage the child to manipulate the bag and discover the colors.
• As the child gets excited about the colors appearing and changing, reflect back their words and add labels for the colors. (An older child will learn the science behind primary and secondary colors.)
  

Drumming and Learning

This is a great activity to get the active child involved in learning color, or shape. It could even be adapted to teach letters or anything else by printing it out on paper. We used shapes.

Cut large shapes out of card stock.
Attach shapes on carpet with pro tect for carpets.
Go over the proper way to use drum sticks and then hand out drum sticks (Click here for how to make drum sticks).
Play music (My favorite song to drum to is Trashin' the Camp from Tarzan) and allow the children to find the shapes around the room to drum on. --For the children that don't know shapes yet, describe what they have chosen to drum on. For those that know them fairly well call out what shape they need to find and drum on.--

All of our children loved this activity! ...hope you do too.

This idea was featured:

Streamers

These homemade streamers were a favorite toy in our class! All you need are some cheep shower curtain rings, and ribbon.


Cut ribbon twice the length that you want the streamers. Attach by folding the ribbon in half, wrapping the loop around the ring, and pulling the ends through.

Name Recognition

I LiNk uP hERe...

Pom-pom Bottle Fun

When I had a class ranging from 12-20 months, we played with pom-poms and bottles for a problem solving activity. The young children learned to put the pom-poms in the bottle, and the older were able to dump/ pull out the pom-pom.


clean empty bottles
assorted craft pom poms
large container


Fill container with pom poms and a few empty bottles. Make sure children keep pom poms out of their mouth. Let the children play as they choose. Children will use problem solving skills to turn the bottle over when they want the pom poms out.

I LiNk uP hERe...

Nature Walk Collage

clear contact paper
tape


Go on a nature walk and have children collect leaves. Cut out two pieces of contact paper. Tape one on the table sticky side up. Have children place leaves on the contact paper. When they are done put the second piece of contact paper as a backing. These are great to hang in the window where the light will come through.

I LiNk uP hERe...

Cardboard Truck

While we were doing a "Community Helpers" theme at work, we had the children make cardboard trucks.  We used the same box for both trucks. The children had fun painting the box and loved playing in it during the week!!

You'll need:
sponges
paint
cardboard box
packing tape
chair


Set the box out with paint and sponges. Have the children paint the box and let it dry. Cut down along two corners of the front (about half way). Fold the front in at a 45-60 degree angle. Cut the sides so they will connect with the folded front and tape it together. Cut the door by cutting strait down a side (closer to the back) and at the bottom. Place a chair inside for the seat.

To make it a mail truk, we added blue and red masking tape and a mail envelope.

To make a a fire engin paint red.

This idea was featured:

Halloween Recipes

I just found this great website. I found some great dinner ideas and some cute ideas for Halloween. like this:Click here for to link to Picky-Plate

MEMORY NAME GAME

cardstock cut into squares
photo of each person (optional)

clear contact paper (optional)



make one set of cards with names written on them, and another with pictures glued on them. Lay the cards face down and play memory to match up the pictures with the names.

MATCHING SOX

sox (having a wide verity of sox works best)

Lay out the sox unmatched and have children match them. This activity is good for individuals or taking turns in a group. This activity helps develop one to one correspondence.

ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE

One-to-one correspondence is fundamental to counting. When we count out a deck of cards, we say, 1, 2, 3, ... , 52, and as we say each number we lay down a card. Each number corresponds to a card.Before learning to count a child needs to understand 'one to one correspondence'. This is being able to match one object to one other object or person. Children practice this skill any time they pass one item out to each person, or match items up.