October: Dinosaur Month

October is Dinosaur month....who knew!

Ideas to celebrate Dinosaur Month:

Dinosaur coloring pages here and here

Visit the Saint Louis Science Center and see a life-sized animated Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops in the Ecology and Environment Galleries

Go to your local libary and check out books about dinosaurs. My favorite: Danny and the Dinosaur.

http://www.kidsdinos.com/

http://www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/dinosaurs.htm

I'd love to hear any other ideas you have, post them under the comments section.

toddler art project

We were lucky enough to have a large piece of corrugated cardboard in a box we have. it is maybe 1 yard square. well it it the perfect surface for coloring. I just lay it on the floor and give my son some crayons. he sits on it or lays and colors. The crayons make a cool sound running over the ridges in the cardboard and it seems to hold his attention a little more the regular coloring does. It's so large that he's been able to color on it several times and we're not done yet. This has definitely been the most coloring I've been able to get out of my kid. Maybe yours would think this is fun too.

Do you have a little helper?

If your toddler is like mine he loves to help. My son is great about putting his dirty clothes in the hamper. I'll often hand him items like bibs out of the washer to throw into the dryer. Now I've found a way to include him in other aspects of laundry. I put his folded clothes into a small clean shopping bag (one I had from old navy) for him to carry to his room. Much easier for him to navigate than a basket. And it really does help me out as my hands are free to carry my own clothes. And he looks pretty cute with his bag slung over his shoulder like mommy. He's very proud to be mommy's helper and when he is involved it is so much easier to get what I need to get done done.

Free Infant Eye Exams

For babies ages 6-12 months.
visit infantsee.org to find a provider
we did this when my son was about 9 months old. they did dilate his eyes at that time so if you have an infant pair of sunglasses bring them along (they gave us something there, but he didn't really keep it on). The exam was easy and my son sat on my lap the whole time. Not at all tramatic.

Quick Tip: learning to walk

Is your little one learning to walk? If so keep those feet bear as much as you can. They can really use their feet better that way, receive the sensory feedback they need from the ground, and feet are naturally non-slip. (would you want to learn to write your name with thick gloves on?) Of course if you're going to a park or someplace with potential hazards they will need protection, but otherwise let the feet be free. Heck, they are so cute anyway who'd want to cover them up?

Barnes and Noble Gift Card Offer

You can score a free Barnes and Noble Gift card with $15 in purchases of Hain Celestial Group Natural and Organic Products (Earth's Best Sesame Street, Health Valley, Garden of Eaten, and others). You will receive a $5 gift card for $15 in purchases or $10 gift card for $25 in purchases. Submit by 10/7/09. See details here.

Leap Frog Tag: Save $10

Finally got to flip through my Parents magazine and found this.
To download a coupon for $10 off Tag or Tag Junior reading system visit leapfrog.com/tag
I know nothing about this system. I do know Leap Frog is a good company, their toys have the correct phonics for letters, others companies don't always have things exactly right.

Sign Language

At a birthday party today and another mama was asking about baby signs. My 18 month old has approximately 30 sign now (still learning more all the time) and almost as many spoken words. I started signing with him very young, with only the 3 most important things to him (nursing, eat, and water). Once he learned these we were able to add many more. bath, outside, book, milk, dog, cheese, cracker, up, shoes. . . . Of course we might be the only ones who understands some of his sings, but his being able to communicate with us is huge. I used the Baby Signs book by Linda P. Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, Douglas Abrams as a reference tool (available from amazon or your favorite book store). I signed when he pointed to things he wanted and signed when I gave him those things and eventually he started signing back to me (I think I only showed him "cheese" three times before he did it....he just loves cheese). I am very glad I taught him to sign and do feel the effort is paying off in terms of his language development.