DIY American Flag Shirt

Taking inspiration from Memorial day, and preparing for Independence Day, I decided to do a little DIY activity with my son. I love this T-Shirt design because it is fun for kids of all ages, easy set up and cleanup, and is incredibly cute. Not to mention it helps develop those fine motor skills. Click on over and I will show you step by step how it is done!

Imagination Play: Abracadabra

Recently my 3 year old nephew came to visit.  He had a magic wand that he wanted me to play with with him. I'm pretty sure if we had the time, he would have spent hours with me playing with it.  His favorite was to turn me into a kitty and then back into myself while chasing me around the house.  How fun it is to see the imagination of young children. 

Encouraging Kids to Play Outside

It can be hard to get kids excited to play outside, especially with all the fun toys and screens we have indoors for them to play with. Previous generations spent their playtime almost exclusively outdoors, but that has changed dramatically in recent years. Today, only 1 in 4 kids plays outside on a daily basis, compared to 3 in 4 children one generation ago1. There are significant benefits to playing outside, so encouraging your kids to get outdoors can be a great way to support their development!

How to Conquer Monsters Under the Bed

As I child I remember being afraid of monsters under my bed. I was afraid that if even my toe leaned out over the bed, a monster would snatch it! I never mentioned my fears to my family and I did eventually get over them. On the bright side I think this taught me to be a very still sleeper, but I wonder if it would have made a difference if I had talked about it with my parents.

If you aren’t sure if your child is afraid of the dark or of monsters then just ask! You can also look for signs like anxiety at bedtime and clinginess before you turn out the lights. Talking about their fears will help them to understand their fears better and overcome them more easily. Just remember to take them seriously! To them monsters are real, so avoid disregarding comments or chuckling. They’ll know that you care if you listen and help them to come up with ideas to chase those monsters away!

When Will My Child Learn Colors?

I often get questions from parents wondering if their child is colorblind. This concern arises when their child cannot seem to identify a correct color. 

Why the concern? Often our only benchmark of knowing when children should be able to do something is by comparing her to the neighbor child! It is natural to be concerned when the neighbor kid can consistently identify his colors, count to 10, and know his shapes before your child can. 

Summer Activity Guide

Summer is right around the corner! Do you need more ideas to keep the kids busy all summer long? Luckily Care About Childcare has you covered with their Summer Activity Guide.

6 Tips for Playing with your Baby

I am a new mother, with a baby who is now 2 months old. Babies are known for simply sleeping, eating, and pooping when they are first born, but I wanted to do what I could to help support my daughter's development, since I know that there are many things you can do when babies are still young. Here are some ideas about how to play with your baby.

Sing/Read – Babies love to hear your voice, and even recognize it. Singing and reading to your baby helps to teach them about rhythm and patterns of sentences. It also helps begin the foundation for language.

Healthy Resolutions for You and Your Family

With New Year's well in our rear view mirror, so are a lot of our healthy new resolutions. Resolutions can be difficult for us to keep. Setting one big goal with the deadline a year away allows us to push off any urgency in making healthy changes. Some of us launched so hard and heavy into the goal that we're already suffering from burn out. While setting out for the larger goal of being healthier is a good thing, we often forget the importance of breaking our goals into smaller steps. Here are some suggestions on smaller goals to help improve the overall nutrition and health of you and your family.

My 3 Year-Old Should Use Scissors? Say What?

We talk to countless parents that are surprised their child should be using scissors by age three. We get it. Age three seems really young to be playing with scissors, right? This question often comes up because a question on the 36 month Ages & Stages Questionnaire asks if a child can use scissors. So why are scissors so important for your child’s development? I asked one of our child development specialists, and got her advice on scissor activities for toddlers.

Let's PLAY!

Have you ever thought about play as a necessity? For young children, it is! In a world where productivity is so highly valued, often we look for more programs and extra-curricular activities for our children to participate in. While there are many worthwhile activities they can be involved in, we often overlook simple, free, undirected play!

Make-Believe Play and Your Child's Development

I took a Parenting and Child Guidance class and we read a book by Laura E. Berk called, Awakening Children's Minds: How Parents and Teachers Can Make a Difference. Berk explains in one of the chapters how make-believe play contributes to a child's learning and development. Here are some highlights that I found!

Let’s Have a Ball!

Some of the simplest toys can bring the greatest growth. At Help Me Grow Utah, some of our favorite toys are books, balls, and blocks. Most everyone has them and everyone loves them! Some of my personal favorites are balls. As a kid, my brothers and I always seemed to have a ball within arms reach.

National Trails Day

On the first Saturday of June each year, we celebrate National Trails Day!  We are privileged to live in a state covered by them!  These trails could include hiking, biking, horseback riding, and more.   You can celebrate with your family by helping clean up a trail close to your home and/or going on a trail with your family.

Grandparent Activities

Grandparents play an important role in a child’s life. It is common for grandparents nowadays to be either the primary caregiver for grandchildren or to reside in the same household with them. Children can learn a lot from grandparents and it’s always fun for kids to play with them.

Ice Play - Sensory Activity

Children are naturally curious and love to explore. Sensory activities are great for children because it gives them the opportunity to explore. Sensory activities are also a way for children to play and create, while stimulating all five of their senses: vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Happy National Nutrition Month

Happy National Nutrition Month!

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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has dedicated March as National Nutrition Month!

Their theme for this year is “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right”. The main goal of this campaign is to help everyone develop good eating and physical activity habits. The theme is meant to encourage everyone to enjoy and appreciate flavors and social experiences that comes with the food we eat.

A whole month dedicated to celebrating the yummy food I eat? Yes Please!

Foaming Paint

Science experiments at home are a great way to teach children. Kids are naturally curious, so providing them with opportunities to explore and grow will help them learn more about the world around them.

DIY Haunted Candy Cottage

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Every year, friends and families get together to celebrate ghosts and goblins on Halloween. This year try something different with your little ones. Haunted Candy Houses! This spin off of a Christmas tradition is fun for everyone.

What you will need:

• Paper plate or cardboard
• Spoon or knife (plastic) for applying frosting
• Graham crackers (4 or 6 whole rectangles per house)
• Frosting: Vanilla or white (amount varies on number of desired colors)
• Food coloring: green, purple, orange, black
• Halloween candy! Here are some ideas:
• Candy Corn/ Candy Pumpkins
• Reese's Pieces
• Halloween Peeps
• Black Licorice
• Gummy Worms                                                                                  

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Step One:

Cut the graham crackers into shapes for house foundation.

1. Two pointed rectangle: 
• Cut of edges of two rectangles (reference pictures)
2. Four Squares: There will be two walls and two for the roof  
• Break two rectangle crackers in half to get four squares

*If you want a bigger house, you can use whole graham crackers for the roof and sides. This would require 6 whole crackers instead of the four. 

Step Two:                                                                                            

1.      Use a thick amount of icing to connect each side of the house together.    

2.      Begin with one of the pointed graham cracker pieces. Apply icing to edges and hold side crackers on one at a time for a few seconds.

3.      Close the open side with the last pointed graham cracker.

Tip: Wait a few minutes to add roof. Works better if foundation is stable.

4.      Apply icing to each roof piece, and gently hold on top of house (one at a time). 

5.      Fill in any cracks with icing

Step Three:

Let the house sit for few hours (or overnight) while frosting hardens.

Step Four:

1.      Add desired food color to frosting.

2.      Apply to outside of house. (A variety of colors is encouraged!)

Step Five:

Decorate with candy! Help your child get creative and have fun with this Halloween activity. 

-Hannah

Red Ribbon Week Activities

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“Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free” is this year’s theme for Red Ribbon Week. This national drug prevention campaign invites members of every community to take a stand against drugs. This year, the time to celebrate is October 23-31. As parents, educators, and members of society, we have the chance to help create drug free communities for our children.

Red Ribbon Week began in 1985, after a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent lost his life in the stand against drugs. The National Family Partnership started sponsoring the cause in 1988. Their goal was to use Red Ribbons as a symbol to educate youth in communities, and to encourage them to join drug prevention activities. With the help of neighbors and schools, we can work together to bring awareness and advocate for drug free youth. 

Parents can help their children celebrate Red Ribbon Week this year by organizing activities within their home and community. Here are some ideas to make this year's celebration unforgettable. 

Home Activities:

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• Use this week as an opportunity to talk to your children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol 
• Prevent prescription drug abuse by securing and monitoring your medicine cabinets 
• Come up with a theme for next year's 2016 Red Ribbon Week, and enter the contest
• Wear Red! Whether it's a ribbon or a shirt, wear red throughout the week to show your support
• Sign the Red Ribbon Pledge!

Community Activities:

• Get to know the parents of your children's friends. Establishing a relationship can give you an opportunity to work together to monitor your child's behavior and set limits 
• Get the neighbors together to discuss what to do when any suspicious activity is observed in neighborhood 
• Talk to your child's teacher about fun Red Ribbon Week celebration ideas
• Examples: Wear Red Day, Put A Cap On Drugs (Hat Day), Put A Sock On Drugs Day, Be On A Drug Free Team Day (Favorite Team Gear), Shade Out Drugs Day (Sunglasses)

Tell us how your family celebrates Red Ribbon Week in a comment below! 

For more information about Red Ribbon Week, click here

-Hannah

Fourth of July Crafts and Treats

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, we wanted to share some fun craft and yummy treat ideas. 

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For more fun Fourth of July ideas check out our board on Pinterest!