Preschool Playdate: Under the Sea

The inspiration from this theme came from a toy set!  I love the “Toob” toys, and finding this set on sale at a craft store led to a lot of fun on April 16, 2015.

Getting Started:
We start with the same order of circle time activities every week:

— Welcome song in English (emphasizes printed name recognition as Sweet Peas find their card in a line-up and place it on our Name Ledge)
— Welcome song in Spanish (reinforces names as Sweet Peas sing to their peers)
— Discussion of theme
— Storytime
— Unsquiggle activity
— Poem/Song before we break for Centers

STORY TIME
Double story-time again this week.  We started with a Richard Scarry Page to see if the Sweet Peas could identify the plastic boats.

Instead of a traditional story, I marked the pages in our “Encyclopedia of Animals” by DK Readers, that corresponded with the plastic animals in the toy tube.  I started by asking the children to name the animal in English, then I told them the Spanish name, and we read out a fact about each animal.

LITERACY CENTER
Play dough is always a big hit.  THIS is the recipe I use from Imagination Tree.  The children had to find their “fish” hanging on the “fishing line” attached to the activity table.  Then they could work on writing their names using playdough.  There are lots of options here: shape the letter, roll out thin “strings” of dough to “write” the letters, or they could roll out a “clay tablet” and scratch their names into the dough.  That activity in particular led to a discussion about how the earliest writing was similarly recorded in Sumer.

MATH CENTER
Fishing for numbers!! The fish all have a magnet on them.  We are using a Discovery Toys game base, and wooden fish from assorted sets we have collected through the years.  Each of the fish was programmed with a number from 1-5. Sweet Peas would “fish” out a number, and then place it on the corresponding number on their game card.  Most of the cards are also programmed with the correct number of bubbles above the written number.  I thought of that *after* I made the first one.

DISCOVERY TABLE
Water, water, everywhere.  This activity reinforced identifying the animals we read about as they pulled them out of the water.  We also worked on motor skills as they used the tongs or slotted spoons to pull them out.

ARTS & CRAFTS ~ Make & Take
I used a printable from The Mailbox Superbook for today’s craft.  This allowed for a little “painting” as they spread a thin coat of glue on their outling, then fine motor skills as they placed the tissue, and then cutting after the glue dired to make a neat “stained glass” decoration – our Sweet Peas enjoyed seeing the light come through their creations.

We finish our Preschool Playdate with a sharing time: each child that wants to share gets to say what (s)he enjoyed the most about the morning.  We close with a good-bye song where children are welcome to give hugs.  It helps to set a formal end to the time together so that parents have a clear reason to insist that it’s time to go if they have somewhere to be afterwards.  Otherwise, the kiddos and parents that don’t have to leave right away will stay and play until the music teacher for our older Sweet Peas arrives at noon.

Preschool Playdate: How does your garden grow?

We built this theme around spring planting.  The playdate was on April 9, 2015.  We got to watch our seeds grow through the month of April.  As soon as the kiddos arrived, they would go check on the progress of their “garden”.

You will notice that there was a lot of dirt involved in today’s theme!  Drop cloths were the order of the day.  We also needed lots of damp cloth wipes on hand for all the kiddos that don’t necessarily like their hands dirty.

— Welcome song in English (emphasizes printed name recognition as Sweet Peas find their card in a line-up and place it on our Name Ledge)
— Welcome song in Spanish (reinforces names as Sweet Peas sing to their peers)
— Discussion of theme
— Storytime
— Unsquiggle activity
— Poem/Song before we break for Centers

STORY TIME
I feel it is important that children understand where their food comes from. The two books we shared this day emphasize the idea of “farm to table”.  We used the “The story of seeds” by Richard Scarry to start off our discussion of the theme.  During Story Time, I read the Spanish translation of “Growing Vegetable Soup” by Lois Ehlert.

LITERACY CENTER
The children could use the popsicle stick or their fingertips to draw letters in the dirt.  I tried to make mud – didn’t work out so well.  We scaled this from the first letter of their name for beginners; kiddos with more writing skills could write their whole name.  I always lay out all the names so that the Sweet Peas have to find their name, which reinforces name recognition.  It’s amazing how this becomes their first “reading” activity – after several months of finding their own name, they can also recognize their friends’ names.

MATH CENTER
Vegetable counting today! The printouts are free line drawings from the internet.  I printed them on cardstock and laminated them for durability.

Level 1: Parents order the baskets and have the Sweet Peas count out the number of vegetables that match.

Level 2: Children order the baskets and count out the vegetables that match.

Options: Have the child sort vegetables and fill their baskets with only one kind of vegetable, or create a pattern as they place them on the numbered card.

DISCOVERY TABLE
There were two activities today:
Make and Take: planting grass seeds to water and grow at home

Gardening: Playing in the dirt and planting beans

ARTS & CRAFTS ~ Make & Take
This was another free line drawing from the internet; printed on yellow paper.  The Sweet Peas could plant as many sunflower seeds as they wanted to onto their picture.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY: Seed Match
These are tiny containers from the dollar store.  I am addicted to these – so handy for lots of different things, especially making games!  I printed pictures of the mature plant on the lids.  The Sweet Peas could match by lid, by seed if they flipped them over to see the clear side; or you could play by having one half turned up and one half turned over, and then check your matching.

It also allowed the opportunity to talk about the size of the seeds and the size of the grown plant.

We finish our Preschool Playdate with a sharing time: each child that wants to share gets to say what (s)he enjoyed the most about the morning – planting was the big hit on this day.

We close with a good-bye song where children are welcome to give hugs.  It helps to set a formal end to the time together so that parents have a clear reason to insist that it’s time to go if they have somewhere to be afterwards.  Otherwise, the kiddos and parents that don’t have to leave stay and play until the music teacher for our older Sweet Peas arrives.

Every March since World War II, the president of the USA declares March, “Red Cross Month”.  We focused on the Health and Safety aspect of the Red Cross mission:

From their website:
“The Red Cross is the nation’s leading provider of health and safety courses, such as CPR, First Aid and Lifeguard training. Each year, more than 9 million Americans participate in our training programs, including first responders, educators, babysitters, and people who want to be prepared to help others in an emergency.”

Read more about the Red Cross HERE

How we start our play dates:
— Welcome song in English (emphasizes printed name recognition as Sweet Peas find their card in a line-up and place it on our Name Ledge)
— Welcome song in Spanish (reinforces names as Sweet Peas sing to their peers)
— Discussion of theme
— Storytime
— Unsquiggle activity
— Poem/Song before we break for Centers

STORY TIME
This week, I read a Spanish translation of a story from “The Best Storybook Ever” by Richard Scarry.  It focuses on several safety rules that every Sweet Pea should be familiar with.

• Cross the street at the cross walk.
• Do not throw objects at others – you could hurt them.
• Do not push people around – no one likes bullies.
• Do not ever play around deep water – there might not be anyone around to rescue you.
• Do not stick your head out of the window of a moving vehicle.
• Do not chase a ball into the street.
• Play on your sidewalk or your yard – never in the street.
• Do not ever go anywhere with someone you do not know.
• Be on your best behavior when you are a passenger in a car.
• Above all, do not ever take a crocodile home – they might bite you!

Spanish story:

English book:
I believe it’s called “Officer Montey of Monaco” in the English edition.

LITERACY CENTER
The starting point for this activity came out of The Mailbox Superbook.  I printed out their “Alphabet Soup” page on cardstock, and then I put it inside a page protector so that we could reuse the pages.

Option 1:
Trace the letters with a dry erase marker, then erase them with our home-made erasers.  I worked in the cotton balls that we had at the Discovery Table and the Arts&Crafts station in our literacy station, too!

Option 2:
Match the “soup” letters to the letters on the page.  These are alphabet soup pasta letters from Trader Joe’s.

MATH CENTER
For this center, I adjusted the commonly known use of dice to teach counting to fit our theme.  Instead of plastic counters, we used cotton ear swabs into this activity.  This served to reinforce the vocabulary of the items they would see at the Discovery Table and the Arts&Crafts station.

Level 1:
Roll 1 die, count out cotton swabs to match the dots on the die.

Level 2:
Roll 2 dice, count out the cotton swabs to match the sum.  Parents reinforce addition by saying the sums out loud.

DISCOVERY TABLE
We put out all manner of play animals and medical supplies to let the children explore, learn and use vocabulary, and be doctors and/or veterinarians – which ever role they identified with.

• Antiseptic cream
• Bandage
• Bulb
• Cotton balls
• Cotton swabs
• Gauze
• Gloves
• Patient
• Prescription
• Otoscope (to look in ears)
• Stethoscope
• Syringe
• Thermometer
• Vial

ARTS & CRAFTS ~ Make & Take
The Sweet Peas got to make a First Aid Kit to take home and continue the play after our play date.  This idea came from The Toddler Calendar.

We finish our Preschool Playdate with a sharing time: each child that wants to share gets to say what (s)he enjoyed the most about the morning.  We close with a good-bye song where children are welcome to give hugs.  It helps to set a formal end to the time together so that parents have a clear reason to insist that it’s time to go if they have somewhere to be afterwards.  Otherwise, the kiddos and parents that don’t have to leave stay and play until the music teacher for our older Sweet Peas arrives.

I hope you enjoyed the tour through our Red Cross Day.  The biggest hit, if you can believe it, was erasing with the clothespin-cotton ball eraser!

I became aware of the breadth and depth of postpartum depression when I started attending ICAN meetings four years ago.  Since then, I have learned that it is not exclusive to cesarean mothers, and have decided that part of my purpose in life is to break the silence around postpartum depression and encourage mothers to find a path towards healing.

Some people are helped by inspiring words as part of the journey towards healing.  One of our SPB mamas was kind enough to shared this amazing article that really helped her articulate how she feels about her planned-homebirth-turned-cesarean-birth.

HERE is one link to the article on the internet – it has been reprinted many times.  Since I am having a hard time finding a link that I can “pin” it for future mamas to find easily, I am reprinting it here.  If anyone can PLEASE tell me how to contact the author to request permission, please do. (I did find one link with suggestions and I think I’m covered, but it doesn’t cut it for me – I really would like to make it official.)

This is one of those inventions that is so simple it’s brilliant.  Better yet, it’s a small business that is keeping at least the sewing part of production local, creating jobs right here in Arizona.  Shop small, shop local and a brilliant gadget that improves car travel for all of us – it sounds like a winner!!

The invention is called “The Noggle”.  Two Arizona dads figured out how to help their little ones beat the heat while riding in the car…a very hot place if you are sitting in the back seat without any direct air flow.  Conversely, I remember freezing in the back seat during the winter-time when I was growing up in Upstate New York.  This gadget comes in handy whether it’s hot or cold in your part of the world!! It can redirect whatever temperature air you are using and direct it towards your Sweet Peas.

Forward facing child – you can hang the noggle™ from a seat or let them hold the hose and direct the air flow themselves.

Using the noggle™ with a rear-facing child – it can direct air down their back, where AZ Sweet Peas tend to be the sweatiest!

From the “About Us” section of their website, www.nogglenation.com:

The heat of an Arizona Summer can be merciless. Shortly after putting my son, Hunter in the car he would begin to sweat and quickly become irritated waiting for the air conditioning to reach him in the backseat. This made travel very difficult trying to comfort a fussy child while staying focused driving the vehicle. One afternoon, my good friend Chris and I began looking for a way to beat the heat in the backseat. We worked with various parts and instruments to find a simple system that would allow A/C to be redirected to blow on both Hunter and Chris’s children. After a couple of weeks and many failed designs, we were able to create an effective design that would become the Noggle. Hunter loved it and I was thrilled! No more sweaty and uncomfortable car rides for him and no more dangerous distracted driving for me.

Check out a News Clip from a local television station HERE

We have a couple of SPB mamas who got these for their Sweet Peas – Jennifer was kind enough to share a review for your consideration:

We live in Phoenix. It is hot. In summer, it gets very hot. We have a baby. And a Honda Civic. Our civic has 4 air conditioning vents; all in the front of the passenger compartment.  This all adds up to a backseat in the car  that gets uncomfortably *hot*. My Sweet Pea is still rear-facing and spent all of last summer stewing in her car seat in a pool of her own sweat. As a result, I spent most of last summer hiding out at home with a baby.

Now she’s a toddler and she likes going places. I didn’t want to deny her the chance to get out and do things.  She also drives with me to and from work, so I had to figure out a solution. A new car wasn’t an option so I decided to try the noggle™.

My husband wasn’t sold on the idea of the noggle™.  We found them to be bit pricey. However, he finally agreed we should give it a shot this summer. The very first time we tried it, an evening in mid-May, made him a believer. “She’s cold!” he exclaimed as we pulled her out of the car.

Now a couple months and 114F later, when we pull her out of her car seat, she’s generally a bit sweaty. But then again, so am I – it can’t be helped in the desert.  I think that she would be less sweaty if I could direct the noggle™ so that it actually blew air in her direction.  This is not a design flaw on the part of the noggle™ manufacturer.  She’s just afraid of wind, so we face the air nozzle away from her.

What are some things I like? It works! Also, I like how it connects to the vent. It also easily twists off if I have a passenger in the front but no baby in the back. 

What don’t I like? We have an 8-foot noggle™ based off the recommendations on their website; but it is a bit long for my car. We are looking to get an SUV in the near future so this may turn out to be a good thing since it will fit well in an SUV. (Plus, the easy twist off feature mentioned above, will make it easy to switch the noggle™ between cars.) For now, the length is a bit annoying. Also, the price. The noggle™ is basically a fancy, pretty-patterned vacuum hose. In fact, a friend made her own noggle-hack from a vacuum hose for about $10. That being said, I would have paid much more to make sure my baby was safe and as comfortable as possible. And frankly, I knew I have no MacGyver tendencies so I wouldn’t be fashioning one out of a straw, some string, and duct tape; and since my husband wasn’t a believer he would have continually bumped it to the bottom of his honey – do list…so it was either go without or pay up. At the end of the day, I can say that I am glad I paid for a device that securely attaches to the vent and near our Sweet Pea so that we can drive worry-free.

All in all, the noggle™ is something I would definitely recommend to any parent in a warm climate.

Jennifer also wanted to pass along a suggestion that reminds her when her Sweet Pea is with her in the car.  We have all heard those heart-breaking stories of good parents who forget about the child in the car seat, and then go back to the car and find unspeakable tragedy.  She only connects her noggle™ hose to the vent when her Sweet Pea is in the car with her.  She is in the habit of disconnecting the noggle™ when they arrive at their destination, which serves as a reminder to take her Sweet Pea out of the car .

So we have some great news for our readers – the folks at the noggle™ have been very generous.  They provided us with a coupon code to share with you to make this more affordable for our Sweet Pea Families… thank you so much, the noggle™ crew!!

Coupon Code for 15% off:
sweetpea

Our readers can enter the code “sweetpea” at checkout to get the 15% off.  I am so excited for you because they normally only offer 10% off.  Take advantage of the bonus while it lasts!

What do you think? Will you be getting a noggle™ for your family?

(photo credit: KSBW.com)

I saw THIS news story posted on Twitter.  The tweet, composed by @ConsciousBirths on their another social media page, asked, “Controversial restaurant sign! What are your thoughts? Would you be offended by this or be happy to go to a child free restaurant?”

I used to be one of “those” people who believed we should have child-free restaurants, airplanes (I had a whole business plan around a child-free airline!), shopping experiences.  Who in their right mind wants to be around screaming children??

My mind was expanded when we welcomed our first child.  So much miracle in one little body – I was not leaving her alone.  Ever.  She went with me everywhere…including work.  I could not imagine leaving her for a second, especially since I was breastfeeding and babywearing…there was not a single place we couldn’t go together.

By the time she was a year old, she had already flown ten times (five round-trips).  I saw the dreaded looks from other passengers – I recognized the look of disbelief and dismay when we got on the plane and took our seats.  Without fail, every flight we heard, “She is such a good baby!”, or, “We were scared when you sat next to us – what a nice surprise!”

Why? Are we some kind of baby-whisperer? Or did I put bourbon in her bottle with breastmilk?  (Since we had a car seat in a plane seat for her, the “rule” was that she had to be strapped in for take-off and landing, so I would give her a bottle to help with ear pressure since I couldn’t nurse her in my arms.) NO!

No.  We treated her with love and respect.  We talked her through the experience.  We pointed out all the different features on the plane.  She had her breastmilk, liquid love, from the start through the end of the flight, since I could take her out to nurse while the “fasten seat belt” sign was off at cruising altitude.  She was a miniature, darling, little travel companion.

Along the lines of treating your child with love and respect, comes the part where you pay attention to their needs.  We booked flights around the times when she would naturally be sleepy so that it would be less stressful for her.  Since she nursed to sleep, we would both arrive rested at our destination.

Extend that concept of parenting with love and respect to dining out of your home.  A phrase that I learned early on when I was in management was to, “set yourself up for success.”  There are a lot of different scenarios where it can be applied, and it definitely drives the way I approach any excursions with our Sweet Peas.

You want to go out to eat with at a restaurant? Plan for it!

• Pick a day when you do not have a whole lot scheduled so that even if you haven’t been able to get a nap in, your Sweet Pea isn’t over-stimulated before you even head out the door.  Call ahead, confirm the menu is suitable for you, and for your little one if they are eating solids (to be safe, we still brought our own snacks just in case!).  While you’re at it, ask the staff when the off-peak times are, and plan to eat there during the down-time.
• Start small and start teaching your children etiquette from the beginning.  Go to a local diner or drive-in where it doesn’t matter if your Sweet Pea has a melt-down because the dining area is already operating at a dull roar.  Use all the same tools you would use at home and they are familiar with (we use the suggestions from Dr. Harvey Karp’s “Happiest Toddler on the Block”).  And if they really cannot pull it together, love on them even more, and tell them it’s okay to go home – we can try again another day.
• Bring your own entertainment.  We do not rely on restaurants to have coloring pages and crayons.  We would bring books to read, our own coloring books, and now that our kiddos are older, we bring our Busy Books.  We take turns walking around with them when the entertainment is no longer engaging and they are getting restless before the food arrives. Once the food is served, we eat, pay, and leave according to our children’s frame of mind.  If they are rested and patient, we dine.  If we are at the end of a long day, we eat at the speed of lightning, pay, and go, leaving a cartoon streak behind us.

If all else fails, we ask for our dine-in to turn into take-out, we call it a day and go home.  There is no reason to stress ourselves or our children out.  Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and being okay with that is honoring and respecting your child.  It has nothing to do with fussy restaurant owners – my children’s needs will always come before anyone else’s opinion.

We are also good at asking people, “Today is not a good eating out day for us – can we do take-out at our place or your place?”  We adjust our expectations according to our children’s needs and abilities in that moment, and hence, we get the, “Your children are so well-behaved!” every time we do go out to eat.  Of course! Because we do our best to take rested, “respected for their humanity” children out to dinner.

What if you are out of options? Like the parents in this news story, what if you are traveling and there is no “home” to go home to?  Use the tools you have at hand to set yourself up for success.  There are so many great search sites or smart phone apps out there that can help you find family-friendly dining.  Another idea is to ask the employees at the hotel where they like to eat with their families, off the beaten path.  You’ll find yourselves at a place that wants your business, and is probably less expensive than the tourist-driven restaurants.

When your children are at an age where they understand restaurant etiquette and like eating out, take them out for a fine-dining experience.  While you’re at it, take them to a place that has high chairs.  Although white linen service doesn’t necessarily cater to families with small children, by all means give your business to an establishment that recognizes that children at any age are people, too.

To the restaurant owner in Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey: We will not be asking for a high chair, nor will we be eating at your restaurant with our awesome and “well-behaved” children – thanks, anyway.