Saturday, May 15, 2010

Stone-Throwing Time

Toddler ages: 27 months, 27 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-a body of water
-stones

Self-explanatory...

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

If you're just in diapers, the neighbors might look at you funny...

Photobucket

...but that won't matter, because if you're lucky, you will see a cow on the way home...

Photobucket

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Webcam Time

Toddler ages: 26 months, 26 months, 3.5 years
Materials you'll need:
-a webcam

The 15-year-old girl came up with this idea and I love her for it. The pictures will explain...

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

And here are some of our favorites...

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Thanks for listening!

Honeysuckle Time

Toddler ages: 26 months, 26 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-a honeysuckle vine

I wish you could smell this...

Photobucket

My mother's entryway is covered with vines of honeysuckle and the 8-year-old girl and I thought it would be fun to teach the twins how to such the honey off the stamens (is that what they're called?).

First, we showed them the plucked honeysuckle...

PhotobucketPhotobucket

Then we showed them how to pull out the stamen with the drop of honey...

PhotobucketPhotobucket

...and suck off the drop of honey...

PhotobucketPhotobucket

Twin B never could quite figure out how to tenderly suck off the honey. He just tried to obliterate the flowers from the stems...

Photobucket

....and expectantly waited for us to give him more...

Photobucket

Sucking honeysuckles is great, but be careful, because all that close contact with pollen can make your nose itch...

Photobucket

Hope your toddlers love this, too!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Pet Shop Time

Toddler ages: 26 months, 26 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-a pet shop

Self-explanatory...

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

I hope there's a pet store near you!

More Gardening Time

Toddler ages: 26 months, 26 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-one small shovel per toddler
-potting soil
-six-packs of transplants

Same activity...different flowers...

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Helping With Lunch Time

Toddler ages: 26 months, 26 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-the ingredients for a simple meal

Cooking with toddlers is something I've posted about before, but it's always nice to have a reminder. The 3-year-old and I made a simple mac 'n' cheese lunch with sweet potatoes on the side. Here's how it went...

One of the things the 3-year-old is best at is stirring, in this case, the macaroni and cheese sauce...

Photobucket

I then opened up the sweet potato cans and he poured them into the pot...

Photobucket

However, the pot we chose was too small, so we had to transfer to a bigger pot...

sweet potatos

Ah, just right.

After the lunch was made, it was clean-up time, and the 3-year-old had so much fun wiping the island, that he sang as he went...

Photobucket

Don't you forget to include your kids in meal preparation, too! It's not always the quickest, easiest, neatest way, but the rewards are worth it. Thanks for listening.