Monthly Archives: June 2012

Don’t let your own fears get in the way of your kids’ experiences

Posted on by
2

You don’t realize the extent of your own fears until you have kids.

Here’s a true story:

This morning I took my 10-month-old son to the nearby duckie pond. It’s one of our family’s favorite places and, now that he is old enough to interact with his environment, we love to bring bread with us so we can feed the ducks. Well, it’s mostly us parents who feed the ducks while the baby watches and, when he’s feeling especially courageous, chases after them on hands and knees.

As I lured the ducks near our blanket (and my precious baby) with the promise of free bread, I felt my heart begin to pound in my chest. They closed in on us as they waddled closer and closer and, suddenly, I realized I was a little bit afraid. What?! I thought. They’re just ducks. Yes, they’re just ducks. But they’re also animals. Animals are unpredictable. They are fast and they want my food and they bite…even if they don’t have teeth.

The greatest moment of fear came when my grabby baby pulled an entire piece of bread out of my hand and, doing as babies do, tossed it on the ground next to him. Nooooo! I shouted in my head. The ducks will come after you! Before I knew it, the dominant male of the group swiftly waddled over and prepared to battle my baby for the bread. Eek!

I pulled my crawler back to our blanket and secured the bread so we could continue to share the wealth with the fifty or so other ducks around the pond. They finished off the bread and we played on the grass for a few more minutes before packing up the stroller and heading home for the baby’s morning nap.

Silly story about a crazy mom, right?

Here’s the lesson I’m learning:

Don’t let your own fears and issues get in the way of what you allow your child to experience.

Just because you’re afraid of crowds doesn’t mean you should keep your kids away from places where people congregate.

Just because you don’t like heights doesn’t mean you should forbid your child from riding the Ferris wheel at the fair.

Just because you have sensory issues and don’t like things that are slimy or scratchy or noisy doesn’t mean you should prevent your kid from being able to dig his hands in his spaghetti, bury her feet in the sand, or run around with the barking dogs.

And just because you’re uncomfortable around a swarm of ducks doesn’t mean you should avoid bringing bread to the duckie pond.

Are you getting my drift?

Yes, of course, we are responsible for teaching our kids about safety and strangers and choking hazards and poisonous things. That’s part of our job as parents. But the minute we let our own fears get in the way of allowing our kids to explore and learn and take risks that we may not want to take ourselves…well…that’s when we need to take a step back and assess whether or not that’s really the kind of parent we want to be.

If there are things that really bother or upset you (sounds, smells, motion sickness, social situations, etc.), then allow your kids to experience those things with someone else. It’s okay to delegate. Don’t feel like you have to confront every single one of your fears or aversions just because you’re a parent.

But if you see the world through your child’s eyes and are open to new experiences…

If you put your fears and issues aside and look at it from their perspective…

If you take the lead and guide them through adventures you never thought you’d open yourself up to…

then you might just be surprised at what you find.

You may find that you’re stronger than you thought.

Better than you thought.

Braver than you thought.

You may just find you’re a better parent than you thought.

And it’s all because you brought bread to the duckie pond.

 

BufferShare via email

Fun (and effective!) chew tools for babies

Posted on by
Reply

I am reading this absolutely fantastic book right now by an expert speech and feeding therapist named Diane Bahr. She is teaching me all sorts of things I never knew about babies’ mouths and I am becoming absolutely fascinated with feeding therapy (something I’ve never really been that interested in). I actually borrowed the book from my friend/co-worker — a speech therapist — in an effort to help out my own baby boy. Long story short, he’s an intensely oral baby who seeks tons of input for his mouth and has a bit of catching up to do in the whole drinking-from-sources-other-than-mama department.

This book has led me to discover some really valuable tools that babies can chew on.

The first is called a “Baby Grabber”. Click here to watch a video demonstration and explanation.

The second is called a “Tri-Chew”. 

These chew tools are made out of medical grade materials and can be used to:

  • give additional input to babies’ mouths and jaws for those whose are seekers like my little one.
  • promote discriminatory oral exploration (VERY important for development of feeding and speech skills!).
  • decrease oral sensitivity.
  • strengthen babies’ jaws to help those who struggle to drink from bottles, sippy cups, straws, and open cups due to the fact that they bite down for stability to compensate for jaw weakness.
  • alleviate (and prevent additional) tooth grinding.
  • help with teething and sore gums.
  • help with the transition from puree to solid foods.
  • move the gag reflex farther back on the tongue to assist with learning to eat more solid foods.
  • teach babies to move their tongues side to side, a skill needed in order to advance to eating solid/finger foods.
  • help babies become familiar with textures that simulate those encountered when eating solid foods.
  • improve focus, organization, and help babies calm.

The author of the book was helpful enough to include info about how to use these chew tools and where to get them. Both can be purchased through ARK Therapeutic’s website. The Baby Grabber can be found here and the Tri-Chew can be found here.

If you do decide to purchase any of these, be sure to read all instructions included for use and care, and always ALWAYS supervise baby while using them.

If you feel your little one is struggling more than his or her peers and it is causing either of you distress, talk to their pediatrician about whether they should have an evaluation done to asses their feeding and oral motor skills so you can figure out how to best help them. The evaluation should be done by either a speech therapist or an occupational therapist trained in feeding.

I am oh so glad I have discovered these tools, and I hope they will be helpful to some of you, too!

 

BufferShare via email

[Product Review] Baby Food Dispensing Spoon for Plum Organics

Posted on by
2

After yesterday’s baby food pouch giveaway, our winner informed me there is now a product on the market that makes it even easier to feed babies when you’re out and about.

Say hello to the Boon Baby Food Dispensing Spoon (made for Plum Organics baby food pouches):

As you can see, it comes in a 2-pack and allows you to instantly turn a Plum Organics baby food pouch (which usually has a hard straw on the end) into a spoon-tipped baby food dispenser.

Look at the difference:

Just screw on the spoon attachment and you can then squeeze the food out of the pouch and onto the spoon in order to spoon-feed your traveling baby.

This 2-pack of Boon Dispensing Spoons is sold for anywhere between $3.49 and $3.99 depending on where you buy it. You can find it at Target (right next to the Plum Organics baby food pouches if you go in the store), Diapers.com, or Amazon.com (subscribe & save to get them at lower cost per 2-pack).

Okay, so since this a product review, I want to note a few things I like and don’t like about this product as both a mom and an occupational therapist:

I like…
…that it comes in a case that can easily be clipped on a ring or handle of the diaper bag. Easy storage, minimizes mess after use.

…that it minimizes equipment needed in order to create a travel spoon, unlike other squeezable dispensing spoons.

…that it’s easier to wash than those squeezable dispensing spoons that hold an entire jar’s worth of baby food, because all you have to wash is the spoon tip.

…that it allows you to spoon-feed an out-and-about younger baby who perhaps isn’t quite ready to be fed straight from the straw of the pouch.

…that it’s free of BPA, phthalates, and PVC.

…that it fits on brands other than Plum Organics’ baby food pouches (definitely the Gerber pouches and likely all other brands since the straws tend to all be the same sizes).

I don’t like…
…that the bowl of the spoon is a little too deep. According to feeding therapy expert Diane Bahr, babies should ideally use a spoon that is mostly flat (I like the Gerber rubber-tipped baby spoons). This allows them to close their lips around it and remove the food with their top lip as the spoon is pulled straight out of their mouth (horizontally), as opposed to scraping the puree off with their teeth or gums as the adult swoops the spoon diagonally upward to remove the spoon. That diagonal swoop prevents them from having to close and work their upper lip (which is needed for the development of more complex feeding and speech skills) and is often associated with using a spoon that has a bowl that’s too deep for the baby. It’s only a big deal if you end up using these screw-on spoons all the time, but still something to note.

…that it has the potential to get lost or accidentally thrown away because of how small it is. Feeding baby while traveling can be pretty chaotic, and now you have to remember where you put the mini spoon before you stuffed everything in the diaper bag and headed back home (even if you remember to bring that cute little plastic case).

…that it’s a little redundant. Baby food pouches are already convenient. The spoon attachment seems a little bit like overkill to me.

…that it has the potential to create more mess than if you didn’t use it. Once you put puree on a spoon it has the potential to go flying, thanks to grabby little baby hands. You might actually save yourself a potential mess if you don’t use this product and just feed your baby straight from the pouch.

All in all, I think this is a pretty cool, inexpensive product that may be worth having on-hand for on-the-go babies who are eating stage 1 and stage 2 baby food purees. If you think you and your baby would benefit from using this product, then I’d recommend giving it a try!

What do you think of this product? 

Share your thoughts in the comment box below!

Related articles
BufferShare via email

And the baby food winner is…

Posted on by
2

It’s time to announce the winner of MamaOT’s baby food giveaway!

I had a little help in selecting the big winner, so watch the video below to find out who it is:


Entries:
01. jschmoekel
02. Claire Anderson
03. Haylee Brown
04. Crystal
05. Nicole
06. steisy
07. Courtney
08. bodybyvisuccess
09. Allie
10. anniegroves
11. Darcy
12. Amanda smith

That means the winner is: Haylee Brown. You have won a sampler pack of Gerber organic baby food pouches. Congratulations! You will be receiving an email from MamaOT shortly to work out the details.

A big thank you to all who entered. Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you can be informed of future giveaways…yes, there are more to come!

Best of luck in the future and I hope you have a great week!

BufferShare via email

5 things your child’s teacher wishes you would do this summer {Guest Post}

Posted on by
3

Mama OT is proud to introduce its newest guest blogger, Jenna Schmoekel. Jenna recently completed her third year of elementary school teaching and is super excited for summer! But before she locks her classroom up and takes off for the summer, Jenna has a few things to say about what she (and other teachers like her) wishes you would do with your child this summer.

. . . . .

preschool photoshoot: puzzles

Hi, I’m Mrs. Schmoekel. Nice to meet you. I’m a teacher. Probably not your child’s teacher, but a teacher nonetheless.

As a teacher, I know parents have mixed feelings about summer. Some parents look forward to the extra time they will spend with their children/family and the vacations and adventures summer will bring. Other parents think of summer with…a little apprehension, shall we say? What will I do with my child alllll summmmmer looooong?! Many parents fall somewhere in between – starting out excited for summer, but ending up pretty excited for school to start back up.

I hope you and your child(ren) enjoy your summer, go on adventures, and don’t get on each other’s nerves too much! (I think I speak for teachers everywhere when I say I will be enjoying every minute myself!) As you play, though, keep these suggestions in mind. They might help you have a more productive summer…and they will definitely make your child’s teacher smile in the fall!

1. READ.
I know this seems self explanatory…or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe you don’t realize how important it is for your child to read over the summer. We aren’t kidding when we tell you on those final report card comments to read, read, READ this summer! Most public libraries have summer reading programs that offer rewards for reading a certain number of books or hours. Your child can help you pick books they enjoy and you will be able to tell if they are too easy or too hard for them. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if there are 5 words they don’t know on the first 1-2 pages, then it’s too hard. (You can read that book to your child and let them pick out a different one to read themselves…reading aloud is also great!) Reading over the summer increases fluency and helps children retain all the new letter/sound combinations, sight words, and comprehension tools they have learned throughout the year.

2. Turn off the electronics.
I know. I know what you are thinking: ‘Is she crazy?! What am I supposed to do with my ENERGETIC child(ren) for 3 months without electronics!? There. Is. No. Way.’ Well, no, I’m not (completely) crazy! I don’t mean turn off the electronics all the time. There are many educational things you can do with technology. However, there are so many opportunities that kids miss out on when they are constantly engaged with the TV, Playstation, iPhone, iPad, etc. When children are engaged in technology, they are not having conversations and enhancing their verbal skills. They are not active. They are not engaged in imaginative play.

Talk. Run. Ride bikes. Swim. Build a pillow fort. Finger paint. All I’m saying is, limit the technology use!

3. Give your kids new experiences.
When my students come back in August, most of them have a lot to say about their summers. They went to Disney World. Or Sea World. Or the local amusement park. Or fishing. Or Grandma’s house in Wyoming. Or to the park. Or had a campout in their backyard. It doesn’t matter what they did, how “extravagant” a vacation they had, or who they went with. They love to share their experiences. 

Give them an experience this summer they will remember forever and want to share with their classmates and teachers. It doesn’t have to be expensive and far away. Something local and free is great, as long as you make it an adventure. I had one student who couldn’t stop talking about the night they stayed in a hotel because their air conditioner went out. He had never stayed in a hotel before…it was an adventure.

4. Incorporate math practice.
Yuck. What kid wants to do math over the summer (unless you have a child who loves to play school during their time off!)? I’m definitely not saying to pull out the flashcards and workbooks over the summer, but do incorporate math activities into daily life and make them fun. Math is typically the subject that suffers the most when kids take summers off, so it’s really important that you work together to maintain their skills so they can jump right into the new school year come August or September.

Going to the grocery store? Have your young child count the apples and oranges you are buying to see how many all together. If you have an older child, have them estimate the total cost of the trip as you go. Count down days to a vacation. Keep track of the number of hours (or minutes) they go swimming or how many blocks they ride their bikes. Have them practice telling time as you wait for the time to go to the pool or practice counting money as they save up to go to the water park. It’s the little things with math that keep their minds engaged over the summer, and they really make a difference when they come back to school in the fall. Check out www.mathwire.com for more ideas on how to incorporate math activities into your child’s every day life.

5. Keep routines going and expectations set.
Summer is a time for relaxing, vacations, and fun. Your kids will stay up late and you will go out of town, and your routines and schedules will be all thrown out the window…and that’s okay! Just remember that kids thrive on consistency. Even if it’s a later bedtime, try to keep a bedtime (at least when you’re not on vacation!). Don’t let your kids get away with things just because it’s summer and you’re on vacation. The more you can keep them in the mindset that they still have to follow rules and meet expectations, the easier the transition will be in the fall to get back into the swing of school. Plus, you’ll have a much easier summer when they know what to expect and what is expected of them. Have fun!

. . . . .

Jenna Schmoekel is a graduate of Texas State University who has been teaching elementary school for 3 years (4th grade and 1st grade). She lives in San Marcos, Texas with her awesome husband Brian and her beautiful 2-year-old daughter. She enjoys scrapbooking, running (she’s been featured in Runner’s World magazine!!!), and sharing coffee with friends. 

For more ideas of fun, creative things to do all summer long with your kids, visit www.playcreateexplore.com.

Related articles
BufferShare via email

Create a “yes” space for your baby

Posted on by
Reply

Babies are basically never told “no” until they begin crawling. For four or seven or ten months (or however many months it takes until they learn to crawl), they are allowed to do pretty much anything they want because, well, they can’t go anywhere and can’t really get into much trouble. They are given toys that are allowed to go in their mouths and they are picked up and put down in the appropriate place when they need to move locations. But once they’re crawling — oh man — their world suddenly shifts from being a world of “yes” to a world of “no”.

“No! Don’t grab that!”

“No! Don’t crawl over there!”

“No! Don’t eat Mommy’s shoe!”

“No! Don’t suck on the end of that electrical cord!”

“No! No! NO!”

Wouldn’t you be frustrated if you were them? How are they supposed to learn and explore if practically everything they do is met with a resounding “NO!”?

Create a “yes” space. 

Create a space in your home where you can say “yes” to everything in it. It doesn’t have to be huge. It just has to be safe and accessible for your little explorer.

Consider this example:

The baby can do anything he wants in this space and it’s okay. Nothing is off limits here. Of course, as your baby becomes more adept at overcoming barriers (such as the pillow blocking the toy box and electrical cords at the top left corner of the photo), you will have to change up your space so it is a better match for your child’s skill level. Take it day by day and allow him to show you what sorts of barriers are appropriate for his current level.

Now, I’m not saying you can never say “no” to your baby. That would be absurd. Babies (and children, for that matter) need to learn boundaries and how to follow directions. So go ahead and tell baby “no” or “stop” or “danger” or “uh-oh” or whatever word it is you choose to be your boundary word when baby starts to do something they need to learn not to do (remember those electrical cords and mommy’s shoe?).

But when that little one is in the “yes” space, she can freely explore and crawl and pull to stand and cruise and do whatever her little heart desires. We got this idea from a parent-infant education class and have come to affectionately call this space “the arena”. Our baby wrestles his stuffed animals and manhandles his toys in there. Seems fitting.

A few people I’ve talked to who created “yes” spaces for their babies back in the day (whether they knew they were doing it or not) have commented that their little ones grew to become very good at keeping themselves occupied and entertained as they got older. Not a very scientific method of data collection, I know, but it’s still something to keep in mind!

Please make sure your “yes” space is safe for baby and you can easily supervise when necessary. If you put a mirror in your “yes” space, it makes it much easier to keep an eye on them if you’re, say, in the kitchen washing dishes. You may have to think creatively depending on how your living space is set up. If you have hard floors, you may have to invest in some interlocking foam play mats to prevent hard bonks to the head when your little one inevitably takes a mini tumble while exploring. If your living room isn’t set up in a way that naturally encourages this sort of independence, consider looking into getting some play yard gates that will be big enough to encourage mobility but small enough to not take over your entire living room. Check out discount places like Ross, your local used toy store, or Craigslist/garage sales to find what you need without breaking the bank. Like I said, think creatively, brainstorm with another person, and make it happen.

Be nearby and available for your baby so he or she can “check in” with you (remember Connor’s guest post about attuning to your child?) every so often. You don’t want to ignore them. Rather, you’re giving them space and tools to expand on their growing independence, and they will likely want to visually reference you or come over and give you a quick snuggle before crawling back over to their play area and resuming whatever it was they were doing.

So create a “yes” space for your baby and see what happens when he or she is allowed to explore freely. It’s a win-win for everyone!

BufferShare via email

Baby Food Giveaway!

Posted on by
15

It’s here! MamaOT’s first ever giveaway!

Last week I wrote about my newfound love of on-the-go organic puree baby food pouches. You can read it here. I’m fond of these pouches because of the easy-to-use twist top, the hard plastic straw that allows baby to suck straight from the bag (less mess and good practice!), and the fact that they contain only fruits & veggies (no added sugars, making them WIC eligible).

Watch below for a quick demo:

So, you want some for yourself?…er…I mean…your little one?

No problem! Simply leave a comment at the end of this post telling me which ONE of the following two sampler packs you’d prefer (be sure to enter your email address when prompted — I’m the only one who will see it):

1. Plum Organics


(click on images for larger view of ingredients)

2. Gerber


(click on images for larger view of ingredients)

That’s it. No strings attached!

This giveaway will begin at 12pm PST on Monday, June 11, 2012 (that’s today!) and end at 12pm PST on Sunday, June 17, 2012 (which is Father’s Day). It is open to anyone with a valid mailing address in the lower 48 states.

The winner will be randomly selected and then announced the very next day (Monday, June 18, 2012) at 8am PST right here on MamaOT.com!!!

I will establish contact with the winner via email and we will work out the details from there.

Don’t forget to comment below and tell me which baby food you’d like. Could you be a dear and please tell your friends about it, too, so they have a chance to win?

Best of luck to all you hungry babies out there!

. . . . .

A few disclaimers/things to keep in mind:
1. One entry per person (at least 18 years of age). You know what this means? You can increase your odds of winning by getting your partner or other adults in your household to enter this giveaway. Good stuff!
2. Make sure your baby is able to eat this food, both developmentally and from a nutrition/allergy perspective. If you’re not sure whether your baby is ready for this food, either because of the consistency of it (these are Stage 2 purees for babies who can sit independently) or because of the ingredients, please read this article from BabyCenter.com. It’s best to introduce single-ingredient purees (apples, carrots, pears, etc.) before offering combinations (like apple+carrot) so you can monitor baby’s response to each food. Wait 3 days after offering a new food in order to look for signs of an allergic reaction. Click here to find out more about babies and food allergies.
3. One pouch of baby food is equivalent to two servings of fruits/veggies because a serving of fruit/veggie is only 3 Tbsp. This means if you feed baby the whole pouch in one sitting, she has been given not only two servings of fruits and veggies, but also double the sugar of one serving. Oh that tricky sugar.
4. Read and follow the directions on the labels for appropriate use and storage. No one wants a baby with a tummy ache (or worse) because mom or dad or babysitter forgot to put the half-eaten pouch in the fridge. Don’t microwave the pouch, don’t let baby play with the twist-off cap, and don’t let baby eat from the pouch without proper ADULT (not big sister) supervision.
5. This giveaway is not sponsored by any baby food companies. It is being conducted out of the kindness of my heart and because, hey, who doesn’t like free stuff?

. . . . .

So what are you waiting for??? Make your choice and leave a comment!

 

BufferShare via email

Baby food for babies on the go

Posted on by
6

Feeding a baby when you’re out and about can be quite a challenge, especially if you’re still in the puree stage. I personally feel it’s a pain to pack a glass jar or plastic container in the diaper bag and then deal with the sticky lid afterward…and half the time you forget the spoon.

Well apparently baby food companies have caught wind of the increasingly on-the-go lifestyles of today’s health conscious babies and are now producing squeezable pouches of USDA organic baby food. We’ve been using the Plum Organics pouches for about a month now and, just this morning, I noticed two new brands (also USDA organic) on the baby food shelves of my local Ralph’s grocery store: Gerber and Ella’s Kitchen.

Though a baby should first and foremost learn to eat introductory solids from a spoon (it’s really important for them to learn how to accept the spoon in their little mouths and close their lips around it in order to clear it of solids), I am becoming a big fan of these squeezables for a few reasons:

1. The easy-to-use twist top. It can easily be screwed back on for saving leftovers. No sticky mess, and it stays on securely even when jumbled around an overly full diaper bag and squished to the bottom. Refrigerate after opening and use within 24-48 hours (depending on the brand).

2. The hard plastic straw. Baby can suck the puree straight from the opening. Though novice baby food eaters will likely not benefit from this component, I find it extremely helpful for feeding the baby when there is no spoon, high chair, or bib to be found (which does happen occasionally). It also means you don’t have to bring anything but the baby food pouch when you’re packing your bag to go out.

I have also personally found the straw component of these pouches to be useful in helping my baby learn to suck from an object that is not…well…me. He has never taken a bottle or sippie cup well (he just wants to bite the nipple or spout) but with these pouches, he is forced to close his lips around the hard straw and suck rather than bite. I can help him by giving a little squeeze to the bag and then he can suck to get the rest of the puree. And the fact that it’s puree — rather than a thin liquid — makes it easier to suck just the right amount out and he’s less likely to choke on it if he gets too much in his mouth. It’s really amazing to see him sucking out baby food after 10 months of failure in this department and I have already seen progress in his ability to initiate. They actually start kids out on a hard straw like this in feeding therapy when they have a weak jaw and a tendency to bite down while sucking in order to compensate for the weakness (fun fact, yes?). Yes, I know I am a pediatric OT, but I’m still learning how to intervene in the feeding department, plus I don’t have the therapy resources necessary to help him out on a day-to-day basis. We’re working on it, though. Thanks for the help, baby food companies!

3. It’s just fruits and veggies. No added sugars or colors. Just the good stuff. This also means they’re WIC eligible, which is a huge bonus for many, I know. One downside to these pouches is that, so far, I haven’t been able to find any that are solely veggies. It’s usually either just fruit or it’s a fruit & veggie combo, which is why we don’t use these exclusively as our source of puree. I personally feel it’s important for the baby to learn and accept the flavors of vegetables all by themselves, rather than always masking them with the flavor of apple or mango. I’d probably never want to eat spinach or broccoli either if it was always mixed with a sugary fruit. But the fact that there are no added sugars or flavors makes me okay with using these as a quick, on-the-go meal for baby, whether we go to the park, a restaurant, or over to a friend’s house.

Have you ever tried these with a baby? What have you thought of them? What do you like, and what concerns you?

 

BufferShare via email

How to turn recyclables into art supplies

Posted on by
Reply

During one of my internships as an OT student we did an art project we called “circle art”. It can be done by people of nearly any age and level of physical ability as long as they have the ability to grasp objects and are given the appropriate level of supervision.

All you have to do is gather together household objects that possess any sort of circular shape and use them as stamps. A quick rummage through your recycling bin should yield sufficient results.

In the picture below you’ll see the wide variety of materials we used (the project was originally done with adults with physical and developmental disabilities): gatorade bottle, wine bottle, soda lid, mini soda can, wine corks, paper coffee cups cut into various sizes, plastic cups, screw tops of various sizes, toilet paper rolls, spice bottles, a roll of tape, and more. The variety of materials make for an interestingly diverse selection of designs, especially all the bumps on the bottom of the wine bottle. Make sure you only offer materials you know the kids will be able to work with safely.

Have each child (or group of children) choose one color of paint (or one mixture of two colors) plus the color black. Squirt the paint on a flat dipping surface (like a paper plate or plastic paint dish), mix as needed, and then it’s time to begin stamping!

Some kids will only needed verbal cues to complete the task and try different sizes of stamps. Others will require maximum hand-over-hand assistance. It just depends on how good they are at following directions and how comfortable they are with the paints and stamping materials. The great thing about this project, though, is that every child can engage in it because all they need is the ability to hold onto the stamp and, as an added bonus, the final products all look great!

Here’s a glimpse of some of the finished products from a few years ago:

This group chose to mix blue and green to create a beautiful sea green color.

This group chose to swirl together yellow and orange.

And this group chose to mix yellow and blue to create a nice teal color.

You can make this craft as educational as you want, depending on your objective. Encourage kids to talk about the colors and materials they’re using (“What do you use a ______ for?”). Challenge them to see what happens when they stamp over and over again without re-dipping their stamp. Engage them in conversation about things that are round. Have them make pictures using only the assortment of round items (such as snowman, caterpillar, happy face). Did you know that a circle is the first shape a child should learn to make (after lines and scribbles, but before squares and triangles)? That means this activity is in the ballpark of pre-writing! Bring in some pre-math skills and ask them to make different patterns such as ABAB or AABB. You preschool and Kindergarten teachers know what I’m talking about! Talk about the sound of the letter “O” or words that start with the letter “O”. You can even discuss the value of recycling and begin to teach them what sorts of items are recyclable.

Allow them to get creative with their art and their conversation, and make sure you have plenty of paper towels and sponges on hand so they can help you clean up!

 

BufferShare via email