Whether, like me, you are somewhat homebound with a newborn, or you have other reasons that you need to get your kids moving (rain, heat, an injury, etc.). I wanted to share some great movement videos for young children. My kids spend at least half an hour enjoying some of the videos I have shared below.
We only have one TV in our house, but it happens to be one that has “Apps” like Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, etc. This makes our den my all-purpose room for sure.
If you subscribe to any of these channels you will discover LOTS of great educational songs too. Have Fun Teaching has some really fun songs that makes associations with the letter formation of the letters, the sounds, and words that start with that sound. And of course Sesame Street is so great too!
PLEASE share your favorites in a comment so I can add some new playlists 🙂
My kindergarteners loved these videos so don’t rule them out until you put them on for your kids. They are great to coincide with learning about the body to reinforce body parts and the importance of exercise.
Here is a little clip of my little ones and a friend enjoying “Jump” by Patty Shukla. Yes, we let them jump on the couches for this one…. I know some moms are going crazy, but ya know…. To each his own 🙂
We are so excited to welcome little one number three to our family….
Mckenzie Beth
Big brother and big sister are so excited!
As a Mommy Teacher, a lot has been going through my mind, and I wanted to share some of the teachable moments I have been purposing throughout the week with the NEWest addition:
1) I have set some clear boundaries for the older two siblings and I am trying to be as consistent as possible with the follow through for my expectations. They can touch her softly/gently but not on the face. They can hold her with mommy’s supervision, and I have set other similar physical boundaries. The kids also have to find something quietly to do while mommy feeds the new baby (typically, they each feed their own baby dolls during this time). We have also changed the baby dolls diapers EVERY time we have changed Kenzie haha.
2) They are learning so many great life lessons and teaching each other so many things… Sean Patrick is in charge of “reading” to Mckayla when she wants Mommy to hold her but I am rocking Kenzie to sleep.
Sean Patrick’s version of the story…”Oooh Ooh a tiger”
3) We cant get out much right now with a newborn so we are doing LOTS of music and movement (I will write about what we are doing this week) and we are playing in the backyard to get all our energy and wiggles out as well as swimming in the plastic pool, playing backyard sports, singing and dancing, jumping on the trampoline, etc.
4) We are learning about the differences between babies and ourselves (how they eat, sleep, what they can not to that big kids can do like walk, talk, etc.) and we have compared the letters in the kid’s names now that we have a new name to explore (With play dough letter stencils and bath foam letters mostly).
One activity for older kids that I think is SO GREAT and I had to share as an idea for you to keep in your memory bank (or pinterest board) for when someone in your family or a close friend has a new baby is a “Tips for having a new baby” LIST. My creative niece came up with some humorous tips that I should consider now that I have three young kids. Her mommy teacher, my sister, supported her in this writing process and they even re-wrote it to make it more presentable – GREAT handwriting practice. The night she came to visit us, she read it aloud (great presentation for reading, speaking clearly, and practicing “public speaking”). It was REALLY thoughtful and adorable….It is now on my fridge. Read the tips below and enjoy!
Here is her Rough Draft
Here is the re-written list of parenting tips … from a 7 year old’s point of view!
I have been searching for a LONG time to find some cute and affordable playroom labels. I wanted labels that had a coordinating picture with the word for each of the cubbies that I wanted to label in my playroom. Well, I couldn’t find any that I loved so I made my own and love how they turned out!
The black and white polka dot theme toy labels.
I am REALLY excited to launch my newest hobby with something I have wanted to develop for so long!
I made a few different backgrounds and I am selling them for an affordable price:
[Click HERE to become a member – get unlimited access to these playroom labels and ALL The Mommy Teacher Printables including this one!
OR CLICK HERE to purchase this Sets of Playroom Labels individually from my TeachersPayTeachers Store.]
So, I hope they work for you.
I printed the black and white labels on white cardstock.
Cut them to the size of my bin.
Ran them through my Cheap Laminator (that I love!)
and hot glued them to my canvas bins (careful… this will strip the fabric a little if you need to pull them off)
Office depot can print them onto card-stock and laminate them for you if you want to bring your jump drive there because they have paper cutters there you can use, but I like the DIY approach 🙂
I hope you enjoy them, share them, PIN them, and find them useful for years to come.
PS. Let me know if there are any other backgrounds or labels you are interested in with a comment because when I get a chance I can try to add some custom labels just for you 🙂
If you have ever planned a birthday party then you know why it has been so long since Casey and I have posted…. We have been planning birthday parties for our kids 🙂
Well, we survived them and I’d like to share a great resource with you if you need some help planning a party for your little one….
Lauren Haddox Designs Etsy shop and her facebook page will have you in awe of all the beautiful themes and graphic designs that are perfect for all you pinterest peeps. She has sooo many great packages & files of DIY printables for parties. I loved her train theme that I used for my 3 year old’s party yesterday and she took some great shots of her design in action. I want to share and I’m hoping super-mom AkA Casey will share her pics from her party here soon too.
Getting ready for the party was fun too. Sean Patrick helped me paint cardboard boxes the primary colors which was great teaching him how to paint on something that would be used at his party. We cut black circles for the wheels and used the cute play on words “chew chew” to decorate each cart.
My 8 month pregnant self having a paint party with my birthday boy before his big day.
I got to teach him more about environmental print when we made the railroad crossing signs. Making kids aware of “writing” on signs is a great pre-reading reference and geometry lesson too as you observe the shapes all around.
The Party favors: Sean Patrick loves my school whistle that I wear on my lanyard so I got whistles for the kids that I wrote their names on with a sharpie and passed out as soon as the kids got to the party.
And the highlight of the party: the train!!! The kids had so much fun riding on the trackless train that Sean Patrick has been telling everyone about his “super-fast” train at his party. Adding an expense like that can make a party overwhelming unless, like me, you let all family members know that if they want to chip in a little for the train in lieu of presents then it makes it more affordable (and then you don’t end up with lots of extra plastic in your house ).
Please comment with a link to your blogs if you have cute kid parties to share because I love the inspiration now that I have been converted by my friend Lauren to a party-planning mom… which is a small miracle because I avoided it like the plague for so long 😉
I remember when spring break used to be a week at the beach, party cups, and friends for days.
Now, my spring break (as you are going to see) still includes friends, but it revolves around my kids and not my suntan…. But who needs a suntan anyway right? …. Well, since you asked….I do. But, I am 7 months pregnant and it was actually a chilly week so, that wouldn’t have happened anyway.
I have to admit, ever since I went back to working full time … I miss my kids so much that I SAVOR my time with them even more.
With a week of just me and my angels, I took the liberty of jumping on board of EVERY playdate adventure I caught wind of, and here is what my crazy-busy, awesome week looked like:
Monday – Zoo DAY
Packed the wagon, clipboards, zoo checklist, and lunches…
After nap time, we even made it to the neighborhood school playground and nearby park too… we really made the most of our day outside!
Tuesday – Exporing Downtown Baton Rouge
We packed our lunches, umbrella strollers, and blankets and headed to a trolley stop in Downtown Baton Rouge. We started singing “The Wheels on the Trolley…” when my baby started crying it was perfect timing for “The Baby on the trolley goes wah wah wah” haha
We took a little stair-step picture of the kids from tallest to shortest in front of the State Capitol…
After venturing to the top of the State Capitol, we had a picnic out front as we waited for the trolley to swing back around…
Wednesday – Fire Station Tour and Easter Egg Hunt Party
My friend set up a local Fire Station Tour where we maxed out the place with the youngest crew possible…
Sean Patrick was intrigued, and then scared, when the firefighter did his suit-up demonstration…
The Easter Egg Hunt Party we went to was way too fun for a simple, last-minute thing my friend threw together….
The LASM in downtown Baton Rouge has a great little discovery depot that was so developmentally appropriate for my under 3 year olds. It has so many age-appropriate learning stations for them to explore…
Friday – Bass Pro Shop and Sunrise Assisted Living
We made our way to Bass Pro Shop in Denham Springs, La to take pictures with the Easter bunny…. only to get the memo a little late that we would miss the bunny all-together (live and learn!) We found plenty to do…
After “Driving” the stationary truck out front Sean Patrick “Rode” the statue of a horse too…
Right before he picked out a fishing pole (that he uses every day!)
Then, we went to visit my mom (who has Alzheimers) and decided to take a picture with the Bunny Decor at the Assisted Living Residence since we missed the bunny at bass pro…
Weekend Fun – Crawfish Boils and Easter Celebration at the Camp
Finally, we wrapped up the weekend with two crawfish boils (dont be alarmed…below is a fake, plastic crawfish)…
Took a family pic (minus smiles) …
And went fishin in the lakefront (in the closest thing to a swimsuit) with the pole from bass pro…
And I wouldn’t trade ONE minute of it…. for my old Spring Break tan 😉
I hope that if you are on Spring Break right now with your kids off of school that you are able to join forces with your friends and come up with some play dates… it makes for such memorable moments!
