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Four Ways to Play Connect Four

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connect four

Connect Four is a great game that can be played in so many different ways if you’re willing to think outside the box. Here are four different ways you and your kids can play Connect Four in order to mix things up and promote their development!

1. Use play dough. Push the Connect Four coins into a mound of play dough (or even hide them inside a big ball of home made play dough) so those little fingers really have to pinch and work to pull them out before placing them in the game slots. Great for fine motor strengthening.

2. Use dry rice. You can hide the Connect Four coins in a container filled with dry rice but really any similar dry substance will do, such as dry beans, pasta, or quinoa. This challenges kids’ tactile processing skills as they must use their feelers to locate and secure the pieces. Create an added challenge by doing this one with eyes closed!

3. Use a pattern. This one takes a little more prep but can be a really fun way to allow kids to play Connect Four on their own or create “levels” of challenge for kids who are into that. Arrange Connect Four coins in different patterns and then take a picture of each one (you can print out the pictures or just keep them on your smart phone or digital camera, or you can even draw them on a piece of paper). Kids must then make an exact copy of that pattern in order to pass the level and if you’ve planned it out well, they’ll be able to advance through the levels as they complete patterns that become more and more difficult. This is a great way to work on skills related to math and writing such as pattern recognition and copying a model.

4. Use one hand. For kids who are a little older or who have slightly more advanced hand skills, up the ante by challenging them to hold several Connect Four coins in their hand at one time. Then as they take their turn, they must “slide” one coin up from their palm to their fingertips in order to use it while the rest stay tucked away in their palm. This can be a real challenge and is great for developing hand muscles and in-hand manipulation skills that can help with tasks such as coloring, writing, and buttoning.

So there you have it. Hope you have as much fun playing Connect Four as I do.

What are some other ways you can play Connect Four? 

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A Different Kind of Baby Gate

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Have you seen this kind of baby gate before?

Baby Gate

We first saw something like this a few months ago when we were visiting a friend whose little one is just about the same age as our baby boy. We were so impressed by it that we just had to get our own! Though these plastic linking gates are expensive if you buy them new, we were lucky enough to score this entire set at a used toy store for only twenty bucks. What a steal!

These interlocking baby gates have helped us make the transition from sitting baby to crawling baby who can no longer be contained. Have you ever needed to bring in the groceries or take out the trash or take a shower and thought to yourself, What do I do with the baby?! Yeah, you know you have…or you soon will.

When baby can no longer be placed in a bouncer or exersaucer for a few minutes while you tend to adult matters, these baby gates are a lifesaver. They create a safe space where baby can be both entertained and contained. And look how cute they are!

Baby Gate

So if you care for a little one who will soon be even more difficult to contain than they are now, take note of these baby gates. They are awesome. Maybe you’ll be able to score a used set like we did. And, hey, maybe you’ll even be able to prepare a real meal now, without a wee one pulling on your leg…wouldn’t that be a treat?!

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Fun sensory play with J-E-L-L-O!

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sensory play

Getting messy is a hallmark of childhood, but did you know it’s also really good for kids? Exposing kids to lots of different sensory experiences and textures early in their lives helps develop their tactile system, which is important for the development of body awareness, hand skills, and even healthy eating habits. This means sensory play is both fun and educational! 

We recently had fun during our first wet sensory play experience with some good ol’ fashioned Jello! After several hours of waiting for that gelatinous goodness to solidify, I sat my little one down in the bath tub with a bowl of black cherry Jello and a few spoons and let him go to town.

sensory playSensory PlaySensory PlaySensory play

Here are a few tips for facilitating your own Jello sensory play experience:

1. Because Jello must be refrigerated for several hours before it’s ready, it is REALLY cold when it’s time to play. Give it some time on the counter after it’s hardened so your little one won’t feel like they’re plunging their hand into a bucket of ice water when they’re supposed to be having fun.

2. If your child is hesitant about touching the slimy stuff once it’s available, try giving them a “tool” such as a spoon or other utensil. This will provide some distance between them and the messy medium and will give them time to get comfortable with it.

3. If your child doesn’t warm up to it, that’s fine. Don’t force it. Put the bowl back in the fridge and try again another day.

4. If your child is all about sensory play, then try hiding things or playing with toys in the Jello. It could be bath toys, plastic letters, or other small toys that can be easily washed. Follow your child’s lead and encourage their imagination.

5. DO NOT allow kids to stand up in the tub after they’ve been playing with the Jello. It is super slippery and the last thing you need is a fun-time-turned-accident. Closely supervise during this experience.

6. Maybe try to avoid using Jello that is also the same color as blood. Like I said, I used black cherry flavor, and I didn’t realize how bad the color was until my baby started smearing it all over himself. Yeah. Looked like he was on the set of some sort of slasher movie. Not cool.

7. Wash all surfaces that have been covered in Jello so they aren’t sticky or slimy anymore…including baby!

Sensory playSensory Play

What are some other fun ways you can play with Jello? Please share in the comment box below!

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Fine Motor Fun for Babies and Toddlers

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Fine Motor Play

Fine motor play is one of the most important parts of early childhood, and now that my baby boy is old enough to be interested in it, we are having fun experimenting with all sorts of fun hands-on play. He is currently obsessed (yes, obsessed!) with using his pinchy little fingers to pick up puffy poms and place them in an empty water bottle. At first he’d try and miss, and then try again and miss again, but after a minute or so of practicing his new skill, he was hooked! He seriously attended to this task for at least ten minutes straight…and the child is 12 months old! I’ve never seen a baby so focused on what seems like such a simple task – he LOVED it! And after every few poms, he’d look up at me with a huge pride-filled smile and let out a satisfied sigh. It was so cute.

Fine Motor Play

The great thing about this task is that there are lots of ways to “grade” it to make it easier or more difficult, depending on your child’s age and skill level.

Here are some ways to make it easier for beginners:

  • Use a container with a wider opening, such as a large juice bottle, cup, or bowl
  • Use larger poms (most packs include a variety of sizes)
  • Hold the container steady for baby and tilt it forward for easy access

And here are some ways to increase the challenge for older babies and toddlers:

  • Use a container with a smaller opening
  • Use smaller or thinner items such as shells, beads, coins, or smaller poms
  • Fine Motor Play Visual ScanningSpread the items out around the child so they must visually scan the floor in order to find them
  • Have the child hold the container with one hand while placing items in with the other (gotta learn how to make two hands work together!)
  • Have the child place items with their eyes closed (no peeking!)
  • Fine Motor Play Crossing MidlinePlace the items on the side that’s opposite their favorite hand so they will either have to cross over midline with their favorite hand in order to get it, or so they will use their less-preferred hand to pick it up and develop some skill (in this example, my child’s favorite hand is his left, so he has to reach to his right side)
  • Have the child place items while laying on their tummy (it challenges strength in their trunk and shoulders, which is important for furthering fine motor skills)
  • Encourage the child to try using kitchen tongs to place poms in container (great for pre-scissor and pre-writing hand skills)
  • Challenge the child to see if they can hold a few items in their palm at once and then “slide” one at a time to their fingertips as they place them in the container (these in-hand manipulation skills are also great for developing handwriting muscles)

If your little one is anything like mine, he requires very close supervision because he is still all about putting stuff in his mouth (and he’s lightning fast, too!) so PLEASE be sure to supervise your child during this activity and watch them light up as they discover new ways to use their ever-developing fine motor skills!

Fine Motor Play

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22 Questions to Always Ask a Potential Babysitter {Guest Post}

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I am pleased to welcome Hannah Munson as MamaOT’s newest guest blogger! Because we parents need a break from our kids every once in a while, it’s important to have a good babysitter or two (or three!) lined up. So today Hannah is going to share some of the most important questions to ask a potential babysitter in order to make the best decision about who will watch the munchkin(s) when you need some kid-free time.

. . . . . 

Female Teenager

Hiring a new babysitter can be a daunting task, and since you’re going to be leaving your child with a potential stranger, you definitely don’t want to hire the wrong person! Since there are hundreds of babysitters lurking in your area waiting for a job, you may soon find that you have a handful of applicants in front of you that want to watch your children. Before you hire one, though, it’s important to know how you can choose the best one to put your mind at rest.

To help make the process easier, you need to act like the boss and treat this like a business. By asking the right questions, you’re bound to find the right candidate. With that being said, here are 22 questions to ask a potential babysitter:

#1 What are your hours? How often are you going to be available? It’s always best to find a babysitter that is going to be open to all hours.  That way, if you need them in an emergency, they will be readily available.

#2 How many kids are you comfortable with watching?  How many have you watched in the past? If you have more than three kids, it’s best to find someone that has worked with the amount of kids that you have.

#3 Aside from babysitting, are you comfortable with doing anything else such as cleaning, making dinner and picking them up? The more chores the babysitter is able to do, the less stressed you can be when you get home for the day.

#4 Why should I hire you?  Let me know about your qualifications. Try to hire a babysitter that has CPR training and extensive babysitting experience.

#5 Will you be able to give me with at least three references? Follow up with these references if you can, and always know how these references are related to them.

#6 Are you comfortable with letting me do a background check? Potential babysitters that say no can raise red flags.

#7 Do you have any children? This is a huge plus if they already have children of any age.

#8 What annoys you? Listen to this answer closely, and don’t let them say, “Nothing!”

#9 How would you discipline a child? If they can’t come with an answer, let them know what kind of discipline you believe in.

#10 Explain a difficult situation you have been in before, and how you dealt with it. Every babysitter has been in a difficult situation before, so don’t let them say they haven’t been in one.

#11 Do you like being around pets? Only ask this question if you have household pets of any kind.

#12 How are you going to get here? It’s best to hire someone who has reliable transportation.  If they are under the age of 16, ask them if the person taking them to your house is reliable.

#13 How are we looking long term? If this is going to be a babysitting job that lasts longer than six months, be sure to know what they can do for you in the future.

#14 What are your favorite activities? We know that children love to keep busy, so ask what kind of activities they will do to keep your children entertained.

#15 Are you comfortable with putting children to bed? Parents know how strict a bed time can be.  If your babysitter has to put them in bed, make sure that they are comfortable with it.

#16 Have you ever dealt with an emergency? Remember, if they don’t have transportation, it’s important that they know who to contact.

#17 How are you doing in school?  What classes are you taking? Ask these questions for those who are in school.  Good grades can show a lot of responsibility.

#18 Tell me a bit about the jobs you have had in the past. If they don’t have any experience, it’s up to you if you want to hire them.  One perk is that rookie babysitters can cost less than the professionals.

#19 Do you have any health problems? Ask them about their allergies or about any other health problems to make sure that they are healthy enough to work with your children.

#20 How do you babysit? Try to get an inside look at how they will babysit your children daily.

#21 What will you do if my children won’t get along with you? It’s always great to throw a curve ball in the mix to see how they will react.

#22 How much do you want to be paid? Ask them up front how much they want to paid.  Just make sure that it’s in a reasonable range.

. . . . .

Hannah Munson is the co-founder of the website HowMuchIsIt.org, the ultimate cost helping resource that provides the cost on just about anything. Aside from working on this website, Hannah enjoys playing with her 2-year old son, scrapbooking, walking, biking, reading and enjoying time with her friends and family.

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5 great places to find activity ideas for kids

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arts and craftsOver the course of the past two weeks I have featured five different blogs and websites that I have found to be really helpful when it comes to finding activities to do with kids. Because each site was featured one-by-one, I wanted to be sure to put all five of them together in one post so that you could have them all in once place. Cool? Okay.

So on Monday I featured No Time for Flash Cards (www.notimeforflashcards.com), a blog run by a mom/teacher that is filled with TONS of wonderful activity ideas for babies to preschoolers that are both educational and fun. Read post here.

Then on Tuesday it was all about Productive Parenting (www.productiveparenting.com), a website run by education professionals that features more productive play activities for than you can imagine for kids birth to almost-five and, the best part is, you can sign up to have them email you a “productive parenting activity of the day” for as many days of the week as you want! Read post here.

Wednesday we dove into Growing a Jeweled Rose (www.growingajeweledrose.com), a blog run by a mom who is slightly totally obsessed with engaging her young girls in messy play (the messier the better!) and sharing how they learn and have fun while playing with things that are slimy, goopy, sticky, and downright muddy. Yes, this one is even good for babies! Read post here.

Thursday brought an introduction to hands on : as we grow (www.handsonaswegrow.com), a blog run by a mom whose mission is to not only be the best “hands on” mom she can be, but to also share activity ideas in order to help other parents learn how to be more hands on with their kids, too. Amazing mission. Read post here.

And in the following week I rounded things up with a shout out to good ol’ Pinterest (www.pinterest.com), a crazy amazing website that not only helps you organize “pinboards” of all the ideas you find on the world wide web, but also allows you to follow boards of other people’s ideas and…oh yeah…it has the potential to take over your life! But, really, it’s a great resource. Maybe the best one of them all. Read post here.

Have you had a chance to check any of these sites out?

As you can see, each website offers lots of great activity ideas while placing their own unique spin on things. Don’t get overwhelmed, or feel like you have to stay up-to-date with every single one of them. Just check them out, see which one is the best fit for you, and remember to HAVE FUN!

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Activity Ideas for Kids: Pinterest!

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Last week I introduced you to four fantastic websites that all do a great job of sharing ideas for activities to do with kids:

1. Monday featured No Time for Flash Cards (read post here).
2. Tuesday was all about Productive Parenting (read post here).
3. Wednesday we dove into Growing a Jeweled Rose (read post here).
4. And on Thursday I introduced you to hands on : as we grow (read post here).

I hope you’ve had a chance to check out at least one of these websites and have found something that strikes your (or your little one’s) fancy. Haven’t found what you’re looking for? Can’t get enough of the activity ideas I’ve already given you? Well, have I got the treat for you.

One word: Pinterest.

For those who don’t know, Pinterest is a website where you can organize (or “pin”) all the ideas you and your friends find on the internet by creating virtual “pinboards” for your stuff. You can follow other people’s boards and they can follow yours. WARNING: Pinterest is extremely addicting!!!

Among other things, Pinterest is the perfect place to find and organize activity ideas for kids. While I wouldn’t recommend just going on Pinterest and typing in search terms for activities (that would take waaaayyyy too long), I do think it’s worth investing a bit of your time into finding a few core people/organizations who can provide you with everything you’re looking for in terms of activity ideas.

Here is a short list of three great groups to follow on Pinterest if you’re looking for activity ideas for kids:

1. “Kid Blogger Network Activities & Crafts” : this one will pretty much dominate your home page because it’s a collaborative pinboard, which means lots of specifically selected bloggers can contribute kid-friendly pins…hence, “kid blogger network”.

2. “PediaStaff on Pinterest” : they are a therapy staffing company that supports their therapists in part by creating and organizing hundreds of pinboards related to activities used in pediatric therapy…everything from speech and language development, to fine motor and sensory processing skills, to holiday-themed activities…honored to have a few of MamaOT’s blog posts repinned by PediaStaff!

3. “AOTA Inc – Children: Developmental Activities” : the official pinboard of the American Occupational Therapy Association, so you know it’s gonna be good…very honored that some of MamaOT’s blog posts have made it onto here, too!

And, of course, you can always follow MamaOT on Pinterest for additional actvitiy ideas! I pin resources from the above three sources frequently and also have a handful of other sources that knock my socks off. Click here to see my pins and follow along.

Who are some of your favorite people to follow on Pinterest in order to find great activity ideas for kids?

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Activity Ideas for Kids: “hands on : as we grow”

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This week on MamaOT we’ve been featuring various websites and blogs that will give you a creative boost when it comes to coming up with activities to do with the kids in your life. Monday featured “No Time for Flash Cards“, Tuesday was all about “Productive Parenting“, and Wednesday focused on messy play ideas from “Growing a Jeweled Rose“.

Today I am excited to share with you a blog called hands on : as we grow: hands on kids activities for hands on moms. It can be found at www.handsonaswegrow.com.

Hands on : as we grow is run by a stay-at-home mom named Jamie, and she blogs about the activities she does with her two boys (age 2 and age 4). This is a really interactive blog featuring activities that can be searched by the following categories:

My absolute favorite part of hands on : as we grow is Jamie’s challenge to both herself and other parents to learn how to be a “hands on” parent. You absolutely MUST read her post about “How to become hands on with your kids” (click here). It is inspiring, to say the least. She addresses ten hurdles that get in the way of being a hands on parent (like “I’m not crafty” or “I don’t have any of the stuff”) and goes through them one by one to help you get over your fears, insecurities, and excuses about spending quality, hands on time with your kids (and, yes, Pinterest is one of those ways to overcome) — and she does it without an ounce of arrogance or judgment.

Not only does Jamie of hands on : as we grow encourage parents to spend quality hands on time with their kids, she has also issued a challenge called “30 Days to Hands on Play”. As part of this challenge, she asks parents to join her in spending 15 minutes of uninterrupted hands on time with their kids for 30 days straight. And each day, she provides a new idea for how you can spend that time. She also asks parents to do some self-reflection and come up with a simple mission statement about how they want to become more hands on with their kids. It could be as easy as saying, “I want to play with my kids once a day without any distractions for 15 minutes,” or, “I want to learn how to actually enjoy spending time with my kids.” Sounds simple but as a parent, I know, that can be quite a stretch for many of us. Click here to read her introduction to the 30-Day Challenge.

I really can’t say enough good things about hands on : as we grow. I absolutely love Jamie’s heart behind what she does and I would recommend this blog to any parent or caregiver in a heartbeat. If you’re interested in checking out this blog but don’t know where to start, I’d recommend heading over to her “my favorites” page, where she shares a list of some of her fave hands on : as we grow posts (which includes posts related to the 30-Day Challenge). Find her favorites page by clicking here.

I really, REALLY hope you check out hands on : as we grow. To be honest, I haven’t known about this blog for very long and, already, I have been inspired to become more engaged with my baby and avoid interruptions in the precious moments I have with him. I hope it will inspire you, too.

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Activity Ideas for Kids: “Growing a Jeweled Rose”

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If you’ve been following MamaOT this week, then you know we’re working on expanding your kids’ play repertoire by featuring different websites that focus exclusively on fun and educational activities for kids. Monday featured “No Time for Flash Cards” (read post here), Tuesday was all about “Productive Parenting” (read post here), and today we will show you the ropes on how to have fun getting MESSY!

You have absolutely got to check out this blog called Growing a Jeweled Rose: Learning and Loving Through Messy Play, which can be found at www.growingajeweledrose.com.

Growing a Jeweled Rose (GAJR for short) is written by a mom named Crystal who has two girls named “Jewel” and “Rosie” (hence her cleverly titled blog), and she primarily writes about how she and her kids explore and learn through sensory play, which often includes getting really, ridiculously, unbelievably messy! Crystal is the queen of messy play and she also rules the school when it comes to glow-in-the dark fun, especially during bath and water play.

Messy play is a very important part of childhood but I find that many parents are either afraid to let their kids get messy (understandably) or they are okay with it but they just don’t know where to start. I give Crystal major props for having the courage not only to allow her girls to engage in full-body mud baths (oh yes she does!), but also to share her ideas, experiences, and awesome pictures of how to do it all. Additionally, I am in love with the fact that she hosts messy play dates for her kids and their friends!!

Here are some of my favorites from Growing a Jeweled Rose (click on title for link):

I am seriously thinking about starting to host messy play dates myself and if you and I live in the same town…watch out…things are about to get messy.

Head on over to Growing a Jeweled Rose and join in on the goopy, muddy, slimy, messy fun!

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Activity Ideas for Kids: “Productive Parenting”

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This week on MamaOT we are focusing on expanding your activity repertoire so you can stock up on great ideas for how to play with the kids in your life!

Yesterday I introduced you all to a great kids’ activity blog called No Time for Flash Cards: Learning and Play for Babies, Toddlers, and Kids, which can be found at www.notimeforflashcards.com.

Today I want to introduce you to another site filled with hundreds and maybe even THOUSANDS of educational activity ideas for you do with your minis. It’s called Productive Parenting and can be found at www.productiveparenting.com.

Productive Parenting is a website (not a blog) filled with activity suggestions that have been submitted by professionals with Masters’ Degrees in Education, so you know they are developmentally appropriate activities that are, indeed, productive. You can search activities based on:

  • AGE — early/middle/late infant, early/middle/late one-year-old, early/middle/late two-year old, early/middle/late three-year-old, early/middle/late four-year-old
  • CATEGORY — daily living skills, exploring our world, fun with numbers, language/pre-reading, science adventures, sensory experiences
  • SKILLS LEARNED – attention span, balance, bilateral coordination, body awareness, cause and effect, classifying, concept development, coordination, counting concepts, creative expression, creative movement, emotional development, eye foot coordination, eye hand coordination, fine motor, grasp and release, gross motor, imagination, language development, listening, lower body strength, matching, object permanence, patterning, pre-writing, problem solving, rhythm exploration, role play, self concept, sensory development, sequencing, size and shape discrimination, smelling discrimination, social development, sorting, sound discrimination, spatial awareness, tactile stimulation, trust, upper body strength, visual development, visual discrimination, visual stimulation, visual tracking, vocabulary enrichment

Whew!

The unique thing about this website is that you can sign up to have them email you a “productive parenting” activity as many days of the week as you’d like, so you can start off your day with a bit more inspiration than that over-sized cup of coffee can give you. Very cool!

I do have two words of caution about using this website:

  1. Though all of the activities are educationally sound, I’ve found many can come across as “drill-like” (something that yesterday’s website really tries to avoid). While you shouldn’t drill your eleven-month-old on whether the stuffed bear is sitting “on top”, “next to”, or “under” the chair (a suggestion I received in my inbox the other day), those are certainly good concepts to incorporate into and emphasize in your everyday interactions with your sponge-like baby. My advice: keep the activity suggestions in the back of your mind and don’t take them so literally that you end up making learning un-fun for your little one.
  2. In the “pre-writing” skill area, there is an activity for middle one-year-olds called “Holding Crayons”. In it, they recommend giving the child thick crayons and then encouraging them to scribble while using a pincer grasp (pinching with thumb and index finger while resting crayon on middle finger). First of all, DON’T PUT THICK CRAYONS IN LITTLE HANDS! Thick crayons prevent little hands from developing the small muscles in the hands necessary for strong writing and fine motor skills. Secondly, DON’T MAKE A ONE-YEAR-OLD HOLD A CRAYON WITH A PINCER GRASP. It’s fine — actually, it’s expected — for a one-year-old to hold a crayon with a fisted grasp. Click here for an easy-to-understand image of the progression of handwriting grasp. Give kids regular crayons, trianglular crayons, or short crayons/crayons that have been broken in half (click here to read why).

Overall, Productive Parenting is a really helpful website for anyone looking for an easily accessible list of educational activities for kids under age five. It’s a great resource to help you find some favorite activities, and the fact that they can email you ideas on a daily basis is a huge plus. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Check back tomorrow to learn about a great kids’ activity blog that’s all about getting MESSY!!

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