I don’t know if I have ever gone over one of the most important lessons on handwriting that you can have with your little one, but if I have, here is a refresher…
Teaching your little one the proper pencil grip is so important for their writing development. Using the tripod grasp must be learned and practiced over and over before the fine motor skills and coordination are developed and it becomes habitual. So, because I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, I am going to point you to simple resources where you can read about AND watch a little instructional video on HOW to teach your little one to hold a pencil properly. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Some children have no problem going to town on a meal, while others are more selective about what and how often they eat. Once your little one is old enough to communicate with you about these things, it is important to be clear and consistent at dinner time.
Dinner time can be super frustrating if you have a little one who is very stubborn when it comes to eating what you have prepared. This post is NOT the end all – be all for what works and what doesn’t because you definitely have to INDIVIDUALIZE when it comes to meal plans. Some children are over-eating and you have to help them with portion control, while others are not getting enough nutritional value in their day.
Here are a few of MY tips:
1. If you plan to eat dinner at 6, don’t let your little one snack later than 3:00…Come on, I am rarely hungry at 6:00 if I have been munching prior to dinner time.
2. Allow them to choose: would you like to take 4 bites of green beans and 5 bites of chicken or 5 bites of green beans and 4 bites of chicken? It sounds meticulous but just by their ownership of their caloric intake you might have slightly less of a battle.
3. Make a little placemat – laminate it and put it under their plate as a constant reminder….each night put a star next to each food group they ate, or a star next to how “happy” their plate was, or whatever incentive plan you choose (maybe dessert).
4.   Provide a little variety for the food groups they dislike, don’t completely cater to their taste buds, but find out what veggies your little one actually likes by varying your side dishes.
5. Be clear and consistent when it comes to the promise or loss of privilege of dessert. If they have to eat a certain amount of bites before dessert, don’t give in when everyone else is enjoying their dessert – stick to your consequence.
6. Make you or your spouse out to be a champion “Daddy has big muscles because he eats his chicken!” or “Mommy is so healthy because she eats her green beans!”
7. Bring some reality in to the picture: “I would hate for you to have to go to the doctor because you didn’t give your body what it needs. We need to take care of the bodies that God has given us.”
8. Come up with a fun family incentive, “Let’s eat all our dinner in the next 10 minutes so that we can clear the table and play a game!”
If you don’t agree with these tips or they don’t apply to you then try new modes of motivation, but stick to what works! Try to make dinner a positive experience so that family dinners are a special event rather than a dreaded occasion.
Thank you SO much for everyone who participated in the giveaway! I really loved reading all your great feedback and comments as well as appreciated everyone who shared my site 🙂 I will be doing another giveaway somewhat soon so if you didn’t win, keep up with me and keep trying!
There were close to 100 entries but when I plugged all the names into a list randomizer from random.org the name that appeared at the top of the list was…..
……………Sandi W.!!! Congratulations Sandi!!! When I clicked on her name to learn about my winner I found her blog called homeschool endeavors….which I thought was really cute, and maybe a blog that my mommy and daddy teachers might like as well.
Hi Mommy Teachers! It’s Casey stopping over from Kidspired Creations! As a former Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher, and a current stay-at-home mommy, I always try to think of different ways I can approach play time to make it a great learning experience too!
Today, we invited Mr. Potato Head to join in on our fun. My boys and I were all sitting around MPH and adding different parts to his head. He looked like a monster with an arm sticking out of his eye socket, eyes where his feet should go and a nose in each ear. As I watched my boys, James (turning 4 next week), was holding MPH and bossing Leyson (20 months) about what he should do with the nose in his hand.
I then turned this into a learning opportunity about sharing. I took all of the parts off of MPH and then told the boys that they can only put one body part in at a time and then it was Brother’s turn. An eye in for James, a nose in for Leyson, then back to James. See what kind of a cool monster we can make together!
This reminded me of a time that I subbed for a 2nd grade classroom. I had the students all participate in creating a monster that I drew on the board based on their descriptions. They each told me one thing to describe what the monster looked like and I added that to our drawing. I then had each student write a paper describing in complete detail what the monster looked like so that anyone who had not seen the monster that I drew could draw the same monster on their own. (What? The teacher didn’t leave a lesson plan for me and I taught the wee little ones… no clue what to do with 2nd graders).
So I asked James to describe the monster to me: “MPH has a huge blue muscles on his arm that is sticking out where his nose should be.”
Then, I got to thinking… how else can we learn with Mr. Potato Head? Here are my top 10 ways that you can join in on the fun!
1. SHARING
2. DESCRIBING / USING DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE
3. STORYTELLING
(We made up a story about Mr. Potato Head’s adventures as a Firefighter)
4. 5 SENSES
Mommy: “If MPH is a firefighter, what is he going to use to smell if there is smoke?”
Child: “Nose!”
Mommy: “Great! What is he going to use to hear if people need his help?”
5. HAND-EYE COORDINATION
(My little one was having trouble putting the parts into the little holes, but after a few tries, he became a pro!)
6. BODY PARTS
(Placement and Name Recognition)
Easy: “Where is the nose?” (baby points)
Harder: “Is this a nose?” (baby says “yes” or “no”…or nods or shakes)
Even Harder: “Is this a nose or mouth?” (baby says “nose”)
Hardest: “What is this body part?” (baby says “nose”)
7. RIDDLES
Mommy: “This part helps keep his head warm when it’s cold.”
Child: “A hat!”
8. RHYMING
Mommy: “This next body part rhymes with ‘south.'”
Child: “Mouth!”
9. SORTING
10. MYSTERY BODY PART
Place 1 pair of eyes, 1 nose, 2 ears, 2 arms, 1 mouth, 1 hat, 1 mustache and 1 pair of shoes in a bag. Have your child reach his/her hand in the bag without looking and grab one body part. They must then guess which part they have in their hand.
Now, if you don’t have a Mr. Potato Head, he’s everywhere… in fact, he pretty much has his own website where you can search for all of the different Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head kits available. ENJOY!!!
A special THANK YOU to the ultimate Mommy Teacher, Jessica, for allowing me to share my playtime experiences with every one!
Alright! It’s time for a giveaway, and at the request of my Mommy Teachers I am giving away a $25 Hobby Lobby Gift Card, shipped FREE to your front door no matter how you plan to use it.
