Cooking

Cooking is great for fine motor, math, science, sensory, and fun. Here we were making "everything cookies". It is a basic cookie mix and then you add as many things as possible. We decided to add an additional step to work on fine motor more specifically.

We bought pecans in their shells.

Growing up, my great-grandmother had a giant pecan tree in her backyard. We would go over there and pick pecans, open them, and eat them on the spot. It was great. You really appreciate them so much more when you have to take them out of the shell.

There's the inside!

This is what they had after 30 minutes of work. Then I helped to get enough for the recipe.

Here the kids are rolling the dough to make cookies. We ate these quickly so no after photos.

Jack-o-lanterns

It's time to carve our annual jack-o-lantern! From the time they were babies they have been feeling the seeds and "slime" inside and now they aren't even squeamish about it.

Cleaning out the pumpkin

Here are some seeds

Helping with carving

Our pumpkin faces!

Scooters

My kids loved riding on scooters at a P.E. class they took, so when I saw a sale on these, I knew we should get them. These are great for gross motor and core development, but more importantly they are fun.

The kids started by sitting on them and holding the handles, just like they did in class. 

Then they switched to the stomach method using both their hands and feet to push. 

Eventually we brought the scooters inside, which is where they still are a year later. The scooters fit nicely under the learning tower, so they are out of the way when not being used. The kids use them in many different ways, but this was one of Wonderful Husband's ideas. We hooked up a tow rope to the bottom of a chair and let the kids pull themselves across the room.

Hot Air Balloon

So after our experience at the balloon festival, this post may surprise you. We had the opportunity go to up in a hot air balloon (tethered to the ground) and decided to try. This was literally behind our house. It was so much fun. There was too much to look at in such a brief ride. Sweet Daughter and I were watching as we lifted off the ground. I looked over and the boys were both watching the fire. I had to tell them we were already up, they had neither one noticed lift off. It was so smooth (except when we reached the end of the tether, that was a bit rough) and offered a great view of our neighborhood.

Inflating the balloons 

Sunset 

Yes, it was cold. At least by our standards. :) 

Inside the balloon looking up. 

In our backyard after our ride. 

Switched the camera to night mode and took the same photo.

Crash Pad

My kids like to run and crash into things. This has caused many injuries and yet they still continue. After doing some research (shocking, I know), I decided to make them a crash pad. Essentially this is just a large pad they can safely crash into. I read about many different ways to make one. Then I used my problem solving skills to do it the lazy way.

This is an old duvet cover that has a couple of holes in it. It is filled with old pillows. You know when pillows get so flat they aren't comfortable any more? Well I couldn't throw them away because that seemed wasteful, so we had an entire collection.

As we have found more pillows it has just gotten bigger and softer. A year later and we still use this daily. Usually for running and jumping on top of - sometimes for sleeping, getting wrapped up like a taco, or hiding under. We have yet to have a single injury on this!

This Summer I saw they are now selling something called a crash pad in the store. It was $45 and only about a 1/2" thick. This was cheaper and better. The only downside is it takes up a lot of space and doesn't look great when it is out. A pretty good trade off for something that was free, gets used daily, and my kids haven't gotten hurt on or broken.

More Gross Motor Activities

As I mentioned in this post, we are often looking for ways to use energy inside the house. Here are more of our solutions.

Standing on the balance board and reaching to color.

This is a great game that specifically works out the shoulders and upper back. The toy is made for playing in the pool, but it's fun even without the water. See the video below for exactly how it works.

Clearly they aren't having any fun at all...

Of course, then we had to increase the difficulty. In these photos you can see Sweet Son sitting on the IKEA ladybug. Because it is rounded, it uses core muscles to stay balanced while sitting on. Sweet Daughter is standing on the balance board. This makes the entire activity much more difficult and requires them working together.

We also found this awesome swing at IKEA. You are supposed to attach it to the ceiling, however we found a cheap stand on craigslist so went with that instead. Spinning is great for developing the vestibular system. Also since the seat is curved, it requires more control just to get in and out than a typical swing.

Pumpkin Carving

Every year we carve a pumpkin. Every year we let the kids do more and more of the work. When they were 1 they got to pull out the seeds. When they were 2 they got to pull out the seeds, clean them off and cook them. Now they are 3. We decided to let them use the pumpkin carving tools and see what they could do. They were VERY closely supervised.

They quickly realized it's not as easy as it looks.  They didn't start with a plan, just sort of jabbing it in.

Then they realized they could cut out chunks. Wonderful Husband finished the pumpkin and they proudly showed everyone the pumpkin they carved.

Inside Gross Motor

One of the great things about Wonderful Husband is that I can show him a picture or draw something and he can usually build it. I wanted a couple of things to help the kids with their gross motor skills. Things that are fun and the kids would never know they were exercising while using.

Homemade Balance Board

The first project was a balance board. It's rounded on the bottom and flat on the top. I've seen these called boats, rockers, and a few other things, but I've always called them balance boards. After this photo was taken we did add some anti-slip stickies (the kind you put on the bottom of the bathtub) to keep the kids from sliding off. We play catch while standing on this. The kids will sometimes pull this over to the easel and stand on it while they are coloring or painting. They use it for a step stool (usually for getting into things I don't want them to) and really do use this a lot. Wonderful Husband made it from scrap wood in very little time.

This one is much more complicated to use. There are two holes in the end and you put a foam ball on one or the other. There is a small rectangle on the middle bottom of the shape you can see. So it is actually on a small angle. When you step on the other end, the ball flies into the air. In theory you can then catch it. This is much more difficult than it sounds. Turns out this was way too difficult for the kids, but the adults had fun playing with it. The kids mostly just used it to send the balls flying across the room. I can see this being used more as they get older.

Playground and Balance

Most kids are uncoordinated at this age. One fun way to work on balance is to walk and climb on things that aren't stable. Here are some photos from a local playground with great opportunities to work on these specific skills.

More Sculpture Center

After visiting the awesome Neto exhibit that I posted about on Tuesday, we continued to explore the permanent exhibits at the sculpture center. Clearly based on the huge smiles, we all enjoyed being there.

My kids loved walking inside the "tunnel."

One of my favorite pieces is closed due to a dispute with another off property building, but these trees make for a great sensory experience. We talked about how you could use almost all of your senses (we didn't taste them) and see art in the nature around us.

A rare photo of me. My kids said this sculpture looks like me. What do you think?

The importance of working memory

As I mentioned in the executive function post, working memory is extremely important. Working memory is the best predictor of school success. It is both academic and social. So, what else do we know about working memory?

High IQ does not equal high working memory. The opposite is also true, high working memory doesn't equal high IQ. While most IQ tests are sensitive to socioeconomic status (SES), working memory is not. For example, one section of most IQ tests for children is on general knowledge. If you ask a child "What is a police officer?" the correct answer would be something along the lines of "someone who helps people." An incorrect answer would be "someone who takes my Daddy away." Clearly this is measuring experience, not intelligence.


There are ways to improve working memory. It all starts with diet and exercise. I've address the importance of exercise on the brain already. So which foods are best to include in your diet? Dairy, berries, herbs, and foods with omega3 and dha have all been proven beneficial specifically for working memory. Foods that will have a negative impact are processed and contain high amounts of sugar, fat, and chemicals. One Organic Mama was kind enough to write a guest post for me on healthy living.

Once you have addressed the diet and exercise components, the other way to improve working memory is through proprioception training. In fact, proprioception training for just one day shows and increase in working memory by 50% and it lasts many months. As with anything, the more you do it the better the results. Proprioception is the ability to sense the position, location, orientation, and movement of the body and its parts. Proprioception training is all about balance and body awareness. It includes things like walking on a balance beam with your eyes closed, jumping to a target with your eyes closed, crawling on a balance beam, and running.

Sand and Water

It's getting warm outside and we love playing outside. The kids have been begging to play in the sand and water.

It starts of simply enough. Sweet daughter digging in the sand, sweet son pouring water everywhere. 

Then they trade places. (Clearly this was a school day for Sweet Son and a Mommy Day for Sweet Daughter, based on their clothes.)

They were playing so nicely and ask politely if I would open up the big sand box. (Former baby pool)

Within 3 minutes, this is what sweet son looked like. You can't see the sand in his hair, but I assure you it is covered as well.

They never sat in the sand box or laid down in it, yet somehow they end up fully covered in sand.

It's more difficult to see on Sweet Daughter, but she is also covered. We ended up taking their clothes off outside, leaving the clothes to dry, and going straight for a shower. I remember why we don't do this more often.

Cooking with Kids

With the addition of the kitchen tower, we are able to cook many more meals together. Cooking together offers opportunities for fine and gross motor skills, Math, Science, nutrition, and of course great conversations.

 This is a small, but traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner. The kids helped with the salad and the borsch.

Here the kids are helping make turkey salad after Christmas. Mixing is great for building those arm muscles. 

One of my favorite Christmas presents was this mixer. I found a great deal online during Black Friday and told my husband he was buying it for me. haha

Kneading bread should be required of every kid. They love seeing and feeling it change consistency. It's also fun to come back later and see that it has magically grown under the towel!

Inside Fun

I've already written the post on outside fun, but of course we also spend time inside having fun. Here are some of the favorites from December.

Puppets are always fun and sweet son has the best laugh I've ever heard.

 Sweet daughter is playing a game of pretend with her doll.

 They love puzzles and I love when they work together. This is one of their favorite floor puzzles and yes, they do ride around the kitchen on it once it is complete.

Sweet son is reading a fire truck book to the snowman and Santa.

When it doesn't snow where we live, we make snow. This is called Insta Snow. You just add water and it stays cool and fresh for at least a month.

Playing in the Insta Snow

Frosty the Snowman

Dinosaurs and Nature

Like most kids, my kids love dinosaurs. So when a local wildlife sanctuary had a life size dinosaur exhibit, we went to visit. It was also cool enough to wear light jackets in December.

The kids loved walking along the trail to see the different dinosaurs.

Many were decorated with wreaths and other things. A little strange, but festive none the less. 

This was one of the few dinosaurs they could go up and touch. Sweet daughter liked petting it like a large dog while sweet son liked sticking his head in the mouth to see if it had a throat.

I was also impressed with how many of the dinosaurs sweet son could name. We read a lot of dinosaur books, but I didn't realize how much he had retained. I love when kids impress me with their knowledge.

These weren't just statues. Most of them moved and made noises and one even sprayed water. While sweet son loved it, sweet daughter mostly just ran past them saying "I'm not scared" until she made it to my arms.

After walking the trail with the dinosaurs we went inside the museum to see some of the animals/exhibits. 

Sweet daughter wanted to bring these guys home. We are not getting a snake. EVER

The kids didn't want to go home, they wanted to go hiking. We took off on one of the other trails. It looked easy enough for toddlers.

It did get more difficult fun. There were small inclines, tree roots to step over, and even natural steps to walk down.

The best part of the day wasn't seeing the dinosaurs, animals, or hiking. The best part was getting out in nature and talking. We talked about the different trees, seasons, the sounds we could hear, and everything else that strikes the fancy of two year olds. The second best part of the day? After hiking for 2 hours (not including the time in the museum) the kids took a great nap.