Toddler Tuesday: Perfect Playdough

My toddlers are big fans of exploring different media with their hands: paint, coffee beans, water, sand. I think their most favorite, though, would have to be good ole fashioned playdough.

Want a great recipe that you can make at home? Ok!!

You will need:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 packages of Kool Aid (any flavor)
3 Tbls of oil
2 cups water

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Bring water and oil to a boil and then combine with dry ingredients!

CAREFUL! It will be really hot, so start mixing with a spoon as best you can until it starts to cool a little....

Then get out your favorite pair of dish washing gloves and knead away....keep those hands safe from the heat!

You will most likely have to add a little more flour once you have given it a good mix....up to 1/2 cup more. But be careful not to add too much, it gets more firm as it cools completely....add just enough to not be sticky!

Ball it up and let it cool! Then stick it in a zip lock bag. Store in the fridge and it should last for a few months! Some fun tools to add to your playdough experience: cookie cutters, kitchen utensils, craft sticks, real sticks (like from the tree outside), stampers!

You can also make this a group experience with your favorite little friend...collecting the ingredients, measuring them out, guessing what color it will be when you add the water to the flour/koolaid, and best of all.....playing with it! Roll up those sleeves and join in on the doughy wonderfulness!

Stylin Saturday- Cute Paper Project

Whenever I travel home to Duluth, my Aunt Sheilagh and I make sure to do a little boutique browsing. We have a planned route of shops that we hit down by the lakefront and always seem to come home with some really cute stuff....

On my last trip home, we once again scored some delightful items:

This lovely find really has nothing to do with this week's post. I just really like my black sequined skirt and wanted you to see how sparkly it is.

Anyway, while we were browsing amongst the racks of overpriced shirts, scarves and costume jewelry I walked past a little decoration hanging on a wall that caught my eye. There were actually several of them hanging around the room......I suspect they were placed there to make me think cute thoughts and consequently tell my mind to buy cute things...well done, little lakefront boutique, well done.

I got my focus back and proceeded to think to myself, 'That IS a really cute idea, I bet I could make that!'.....I snapped a quick pic and got myself outta there before I saw any other lovely things that just had to be mine:

Back at the ranch, I dug out the hot glue gun, an old clothing catalogue and a smattering of other craft materials to try to recreate the cuteness that was this decoration.

I started off by tearing out random pages from a magazine (trying to choose pages that had some color or cool patterns). I folded one end from the middle and continued to fold around:

Once I had a little paper left, I flipped it over to finish the fold in the other direction (below).

Next, I made a whole bunch more of these, choosing magazine pages that looked interesting next to each other and laid them out to see what I had.

Ok, I like what's going on here....I shall continue with this crafting adventure. I cut out a piece of cardboard (any shape will do, pick your favorite) and got the glue gun going. I stuck each folded piece of paper to the cardboard (being careful not to burn myself) until I got all the way around.

Once completed, I felt like more cuteness was definitely called for so I cut out some fabric pieces (felt and tulle) and stuck them together (burned my finger a little bit that time).

Fill in the blank: Cute as a ______.

Correct. A button, I glued on a button.

To finish it off and get it ready for hanging, I flipped it over and added a colorful ribbon:

Done!

This would be a really great (as well as cheap and easy) way to decorate things like baby showers (get some baby themed paper), kids birthdays, wedding receptions, my dining room....other paper options could include old phone book pages, sheet music, dress patterns....the sky's the limit! Give it a try and happy (cute) crafting!

Toddler Tuesday- Taming those TANTRUMS!

Toddlers are known for being good at many things.....exploring their world with total enthusiasm, learning language at an amazing rate, and showering the ones they love with unlimited affection and a huge smile (just to name a few).
But perhaps the most well known (an shall we say notorious) trait that defines our 2 foot little friends is the dreaded TANTRUM!

Since entering the field of early education 10+ years ago, I have seen my fair share of toddler tantrums. They have ranged from minor outbursts easily thwarted by distraction to major 'collapsing to the floor-kicking and screaming-I think I'm gonna get my way if I do this for long enough' full blown meltdowns.

As human beings who have ears, our first instinct is to make that screaming sound quieter as soon as possible....it may seem easy at the time to just give into our cranky little tot when they are persistently committed to screaming until the end of time just to decrease our own internal stress level. And you may find that this method works just dandy for a short time.

You will also find that your toddler will quickly become a master of the tantrum and begin to increase the frequency of this undesirable behavior.

What's that, you say? Well then what the heck are you supposed to do to train your Toddler in the ways of positive emotional interactions? I'm so glad you asked!

There are some basic principles that I can share with you to lead both you and your kiddo to successful interactions and decreased tantrum-like behaviors:
1. Choose a response, prevent a reaction- plan an effective response before a difficult behavior occurs. Be prepared.
2. You cannot force a child to behave- difficult children are immune to attempts to force them into compliant behavior, impervious to punishment, and keenly aware of the limitations of your power to MAKE them do what you want.
3. Behavior is a consequence of feelings and needs. Address the feelings and needs or the behavior will not change- for example you may say, ' I see that you are very mad and feel like screaming. You can choose to scream but it does not change the message that I just gave'. Give them options to remedy their situation and then just walk away for a moment until they choose to respond.
4. If the strategy you choose does not teach a skill, it will not be effective.
5. Tell them what you WANT them to do, not just the negative- a positive spin on a correction can go a long way.
6. They do not have to like it.
7. They do not have to like YOU.
8. If you want respect, be respectful- you must both teach and model the behavior wanted from your child. If you want them to treat you respectfully, treat them respectfully!

(info from GOOD KIDS, DIFFICULT BEHVIORS- Joyce Divinyi)

And most importantly, you must remain calm and consistent! A calm voice and manner coupled with an unwavering consistency will make your response to tantrums predictable for your child- and they will learn that their negative behavior has no benefit to them getting what they want.

Good luck in your tantrum taming adventures! You can do it!!!

Stylin' Saturday- Just do it.

This morning, I'd like to give you a little pep talk on accessorizing your daily wardrobe. Here we go: just do it.

I feel like I have had many a conversation with my lady pals that goes a little something like this:

Them:
Well, yeah I have a few necklaces and bracelets that I think are really cute and WANT to wear them more often but, I don't know, I'm not sure if I am the kind of girl that can pull it off if i'm not going somewhere fancy or something.
Me:
Why don't you just put them on and wear them?
Them: Yeah, I guess I could maybe give that a try...

Here's the thing. If you don't put them on, then you are not wearing them. I know......right?

My encouragement to you is to just do it....take out a few of those beaded necklaces, bracelets, cute earrings that you really love but have only worn once because you are not sure if you can pull them off (YOU CAN....put them on!!!) and put them in a place where you can see them every day. Remind yourself that it's ok to feel a little fancy even if it's just for a trip to the grocery store....and just do it!

Once you take the first step to put that necklace on, then you are wearing it! Good job, now keep it on and leave the house!

I too was once a girl with lots if fun little jewels stashed in a box with no memory of what I had and no time to dig it out. To help myself feel fancy, I did a little organizing to remind myself to 'Just do it' and be intentional about wearing some if the things that I already owned:

I found one if those metal picture holders on a clearance rack at some discount home store and bent the little rings where you stick a photo in to make holders for my necklaces. I added a few hooks at the top for rings and bracelets and I was ready for some daily accessorizing! Now when I get ready for work, I grab a little something and PUT IT ON! Ok, now I am wearing it...Good job me!

So dear friend: It's ok to feel a little fancy every day....no matter what the day holds, just do it!

Toddler Tuesday - BIG HEADS

I can think of nothing more that my Toddlers like than looking at pictures of themselves and the people that they know. A bunch of years back, we were brainstorming fun ways to display photos of our Tods in the classroom and came up with.....BIG HEADS!!

Here's the idea: take close up photos first of your child and then also all the people they know and love ( this could include grandparents, siblings, parents, cousins, playmates etc... ). It may take a bit to gather these pics depending on how often you see each person, but don't hesitate to ask long distance pals to email you a photo of their face if that is easier!

Once you have your photos gathered, cut the face out in a circle, mount to cardstock and laminate with either clear contact paper or a laminator ( if you happen to have one ). Mount on a craft stick using a little duct tape and write the person's name on the stick. Toss them all in a basket and you are ready for fun! Your toddler will love to carry them around and talk about the people they know...you can practice letter recognition and what each person's name starts with as well for a little pre-reading development:)

Stylin' Saturday- Collections

I think adding a few collections of things that make you smile can be a quick way to bring some decorating style to your dwelling! Since moving to my apartment some years ago, I have slowly been decorating and designing my living space to reflect my style. My first collection started with a white wire bird that I found at (of all places) Target on a clearance rack. I thought, "this is cute, and cheap. Maybe I can do something with it...". A few months later, another bird crossed my path....hey little birdy, you are made of wire too!! And the criteria for my collection was born- wire legs. Now when I travel around and happen to meet a little bird with wire legs, it just might be the newest member of my little birdy family:

The next is my 'Wall of D's". I like the letter D. It's the best letter of all the letters in my opinion. It started in my parents basement with some old signage my dad had from a sign company he worked for when I was a kid. From there, I applied the same plan as my other collection.....when I ran into a 'D' while out in the world I asked myself, "Does this fit the criteria for my collection"? Well, it's the letter 'D'...so yeah.

So, in a nutshell, having a few collections in your home can add style and also remind you of a place or time in life when you found that new addition....just remember to collect in moderation! Nobody wants to be known as the crazy lady with a room full of porcelain cat figurines:)

Hello.

Hey friends,
Today begins the fist day of my blog! Not exactly sure what it will become, but i welcome you to join me on the journey. I am a girl who likes a little structure in my life (except when it comes do doing my dishes and making my bed, blah) so i will have a few weekly features to share....Toddler Tuesdays will bring activity ideas, projects you can do with your Tot, discipline and challenging behavior solutions and oodles of fun! Stylin' Saturdays will give me a chance to share about projects that i have done to spruce up my dwelling, crafty ideas that you could try at home, and anything else beautiful that catches my eye!
The rest of the week....i will just see what each day brings! Enjoy! and if there are things you want to see or read about, let me know...i love suggestions!