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My 5 year old was given the book Mrs Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley when he was 3 years old. He loved it from the first moment we read it to him and it has continued to be a favorite over the last 2 years. When he started kindergarten, he was so excited when within the first week his kindergarten teacher pulled out a large board book version to read to the class. Imagine his surprise at seeing his favorite New Zealand written book, here in the United States.
His kindergarten teacher invited us in for a literacy party just before Christmas. We got a chance to look at our child’s writing, and to see how they’d progressed in the first 3 months. As a special treat for the kids, they got to create Mrs Wishy-Washy’s mud and dunk the animals around in it. The mud of course was chocolate pudding, and the animals were animal crackers. Now why hadn’t I thought of that? Such a neat way to bring a children’s book to life.
I saw 5 avocados at the store for $3 the other day and it made me think of how I could make this chocolate pudding treat with a twist. Instead of making a traditional sugary pudding, I decided to make a chocomole – a raw chocolate pudding made mainly with avocado and natural sweeteners. I used to make raw chocolate and puddings quite regularly, but hadn’t made this in awhile. I had all the ingredients at home except for the animal crackers.
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Written on
December 14, 2012 in
Toddler
My little dude has been playing with the iPhone since he was about 3. He has a solid 2 years of playing games, and he knows what he likes! We recently got to try out the new Cypher Kids Club Interactive cards and he instantly loved playing with them. So what is Cypher Kids Club? They are 3D Flashcards that bring learning to life on the iPod, iPhone and iPad. You can purchase the cards at Target, then simply download the free iTunes app that relates to the cards you bought – Wild Animal Adventures, Numbers or Letters. My son loved them all but had a preference to the Animals.
Imagine being able to make a Great White Shark go for a swim in your living room and even watch it take a swipe at your little sister’s head? How cool is that. Not only are the cards fun, but they are also educational. As you load up each card, it narrates interesting facts.
Looking at the Great White Shark through an iPhone
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I had the chance to try out a Green Kid Crafts Discovery Box and the first thing that got my attention when I opened it was just how much was included. I received the November Discovery Box, and their was not only 1 or 2 projects, but 4! Truth be told we’ve had the box for well over a month and haven’t completed everything yet. Two of the crafts include growing organic basil and alfalfa sprout gardens – we planted our basil and my son marvels at it everyday, watering it very carefully. We also created the fish game (from recycled felt) which has provided endless hours of fun. We’ve decided to hold off on making the rainbow tile coasters as this will be a perfect craft to do at Christmas time.
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My husband helps me balance work and life
I’ve tried different work scenarios in my adult life. The balance between work and life is that much more of a challenge when you add a husband and kids to the mix. I now have 2 kids, and in that time I have run my own business (with my husband!), chased contracts as a freelancer, and taken on long term contracts as a consultant.
Each of these work situations has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and roll with it. Like everything else in life, I’ve had to make adjustments around everything from school hours, to the need for more “me” time, wanting to spend kid-free time with friends and my husband as well as job needs.
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Over the holidays, our family will be traveling by bus to my parents. One of our tricks for keeping the kids happy and entertained is to load up the iPad with new games and fun things to do for both Mr 5 years old and now even little sister at 1 years old is getting in on the act!
I recently had the chance to review cuddly plush Webkinz toys and its accompanying online world, so I was interested when I heard they now have a free iPad app. The iPad is by far the device that my kids prefer playing on. It is also my preference as it is the most sturdy. They can poke, and swipe quite easily and I don’t have to cringe as they bang it with their little fingers. We have house rules on how to treat all devices “nicely”, but sometimes their manual dexterity can’t keep up with what is required of a game especially on the computer.
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Written on
November 30, 2012 in
Toddler
My son has always been into brushing his teeth. He hasn’t always been the most efficient, but he has at least always ran to the sink when I’ve said it is time to brush his teeth. I remember his dentist saying that I should do it for him til he was at least 2 and continue to monitor him til he was at least 3. It didn’t take long for him to get the hang of brushing his teeth – brush the top, the bottom, on the inside and his tongue. But what seems hard for him to grasp is just how long he should brush. I can understand that for him 2 minutes seems like an eternity when he has so many fun and important things to do!
The Twooth Timer is an inventive timer that kids turn on themselves and that will time the 2 minutes for them. Shaped like a twooth, you screw the top part and the timer starts. At about 20 seconds left, the timer sounds letting you know to finish up! The timer gets my son giving his teeth a final scrub everywhere, making sure he hasn’t missed anywhere. He now proclaims that he has done a “good job” because he feels assured that he has brushed as much as he was supposed to, for as long as he was supposed to. And for me I feel good knowing that he has brushed the dentist recommended amount of time.
The Twooth Timer is easy to use, requires NO batteries to operate and helps improve your child’s dental hygiene habits overall.
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