Road Trip Activities for a Media-Free Toddler

       We recently returned from a road trip during which we logged over 1400 miles in the car.  We worked to spend as little time in the car as possible, but the first and last days of the trip required about 5-6 hours in the car (much of this was through some very, very boring country- no buildings, no trees, few hills...blah).  This can be tough for anyone, but especially for a toddler.  I searched online for ideas to entertain my toddler during the trip, but many of them involved watching DVDs or playing with other computerized games.  We are a media-free family, so I knew that I would need to be a little more creative with my activities. 
    While Q-ball was obviously ready to get out of the car when the time came and did, of course, experience some boredom and frustration, my husband and I were incredibly impressed with the patience she showed and with her ability to largely entertain herself.  Here are the activities that were most successful: As always, I'm a little blog, so I'm not getting any sort of compensation for the links below!

1. Car Tray. This item was necessary for all others to be successful! We introduced it to Q-ball a few hours into the trip, and she wanted to use it pretty much the entire time after that!
2. Books, books, books.  Before the trip, I spent a substantial amount of time exploring our public library's catalog for books that related to our trip.  I ended up with over 20 books!  I looked for books that included lots of pictures of the areas and specific sites we were visiting as well as descriptions of activities that we were doing.  Of course, not all the books were successful (mainly the ones with a bit too much of an academic focus), but these were Q-ball's favorite: Fred and Ted's Road Trip and Maisy Goes Camping.
3. Toy Cars. Q-ball played with these more than any other item!  She parked them, drove them, lined them up.  They never bored her! 
4. I Spy. I'd never played with game with Q-ball before, but she enjoyed using these print-outs from the Montessori Print Shop. (They are free!)  While she wasn't able to identify object by shape or color, she liked picking out the objects by name or, at times, by subject (something to eat, an animal, etc.)
5. Animal Matching Cards. This is another resource from the Montessori Print Shop.  I hadn't introduced this activity to her previously, but she enjoyed naming all of the animals and matching them to their "shadow."  We certainly weren't able to achieve any sort of Montessori neatness in our matching piles, but we got the big idea!

Other tips from our travel (most are obvious, but just to confirm!)

• Schedule naps for car rides when possible.  Q-ball hated the carseat for about the first 9 months of her life, and our road trip when she was 4-months was much prolonged as we had to stop every 15 minutes or so at times to calm her screams, but I'm happy to report, she is now a relatively happy car napper!  (Although she does still like for Mama to sing her to sleep...)
• Have snacks and water on hand.
• Make lots of times for active play when you are not in the car.  We used hotel swimming pools at the end of the trips and ran around some green spaces before getting in the car.  When possible, take lunch breaks at parks or restaurants with playplaces. (Q-ball had her first Happy Meal on this trip- we very, very rarely do fast food, but she loved being about to run around the playplace for an hour!)
• Include lots of cuddles when you are not in the car!  According to Dr. Laura in Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, although you may feel very close to your toddler when you are all stuck in a car together, a car ride can be a separation for a child. Your child needs you to make up all of this time apart with extra attention later!
• Introduce toys steadily throughout the trip.  I waited to introduce some activities until we were two weeks into our trip, so we'd have something novel on the way home. 

Wordless Wednesday: At the Park

It's hard to find a good playground for toddlers and walking babies.  But, we've finally done it!

This was not her favorite...

Easter Egg Art Project

First of all, I cannot take credit for this project! Our neighborhood playgroup coordinator did all the work and planning.  Thanks, B.A.!

Last week, Q-ball joined her neighborhood friends for an Easter/Spring art project.  The children ranged in age from 12 months to 4 years- it was very adaptable.  

Materials:

• 9x13 pan
• Construction paper
• Non-toxic paint
• Hard-boiled eggs

Method:

 1.  Place construction paper in the 9x13 pan and add dollops of paint.  

 2.  Place hard-boiled egg inside the pan. Let the child roll the egg in the paint and/or shake the pan back and forth to roll the egg.

3.  Taste paint..err...egg...Q-ball was the only participant that found this step necessary...

4.  Display your child's beautiful picture, so they can enjoy it!

Fun with Water!

In How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way, Tom Seldin suggests providing children with a water activity for fun. He suggests setting up the water station in an area where spills can easily be cleaned up. It was a beautiful day outside, so Daddy took Q-ball out to explore the water!

He filled a large bowl (we used an upside down cake cover, so that it would provide a large, flat, stable surface) with water and placed it in front of Q-ball. He placed 2 plastic cups and 2 silicon prep cups within arm's reach and let her figure out how to use the materials.

Now, Seldin also recommends, "[establishing] and [enforcing] some basic ground rules such as no splashing," but some activities are just more fun with less emphasis on practical life and more emphasis on exploration.

Q-ball loved splashing, dipping the different sized cups into the water, and, of course, tasting!  As Seldin states elsewhere in his book, "As long as objects are clean and safe, you don't need to limit this experience- your baby will decide what tastes good and what doesn't."  This has pretty much become my mantra, and Q-ball has certainly tested its limits! For this activity, I deemed grass and leaves as "clean..."

Treasure Baskets: What to Add, What to Keep, and What to Remove?

I've shared quite a few of Q-ball's treasure baskets on the blog.  They seem pretty simple, but I do try to put some effort into figuring out what should go in her baskets.  I wanted to share some of the questions I ask myself when assembling a new treasure basket or, more likely, updating a current treasure basket.

1) What is Q-ball doing developmentally? 

One of the primary reasons I started my Watch Her Grow posts was to be able to answer this question.  Conducting these observations allows me to figure out what new skills she is working on.  Some examples:

• A few weeks ago, I noticed she started "sorting"- picking up objects and then setting them down again.  So, I added a large deck of cards to her basket, and she loved getting the whole deck in her little hands and then picking out individual cards. (WARNING: likely goes without saying, but this activity required quite a bit of post-Mama-clean-up, and cards were quite tasty to Q-ball.)
• Very early in treasure basket introduction, Q-ball was still mastering her Palmar grasp, so I avoided putting small of items in her basket.  Large spoons and other utensils are perfect for this time as an entire, tiny hand can reach around nearly all parts of the object.

2) What is something that she hasn't played with in awhile?

As I learned in this post and as all parents know, babies and children like lots of new things.  They get bored with stuff they've seen and played with for the last few weeks (or days, or hours...)  If I see an item that Q-ball used to play with all the time that hasn't been touched in about a week, I remove it from the basket.  The hope is that she'll be excited when it is later reintroduced.  An example:

• As I mentioned, my early treasure basket was full of kitchen stuff. She got bored after awhile and wasn't playing with anything.  I dumped the whole basket about 2 months ago, but just this week, I reintroduced a rolling pin, and she was very excited to play with something "new"!

3) What is something that she hasn't every seen/manipulated before?

This is my favorite question!  How excited to see the world through a baby's eyes!  A few weeks ago, Daddy decided that Q-ball's treasure basket needed a re-do, so we took a trip to Cost Plus World Market (super awesome for treasure baskets!) and loaded up.  Some examples of novel items for Q-ball:

• Color!  Most of her previous baskets had been a little on the bland side, so we got some colorful juggling balls and colorful silicon prep bowls. (Yes, typically Montessorians lean towards natural materials, and I work to avoid most plastics, but I like some silicon. First of all, it doesn't have the "bad" chemicals in plastics, and a lot of the items are squishy, and Q-ball loves squeezing them into different shapes.)
• Metal! For banging!  I love this tiny Bundt  cake pan from World Market!  In addition to playing with the sense of sound, this is a new tactile experience- a smooth, cool surface.

 

4) What items has she yet to master?

When considering whether an item hasn't been played with for awhile, it's also important to remember that maybe baby just hasn't mastered the item yet.  Basically, she doesn't know how to play with or manipulate the object.  Example:

• Q-ball's early treasure basket had a ball of yarn. I thought she'd love it, but, really, she rarely touched it.   But, I didn't want to remove it because I knew that there was potential, and she'd eventually come around.  Finally, last week (after months!) she picked it up, and hasn't wanted to put it down!  

5) What item is beyond her current level of development?

Some items are attractive to Baby but Baby lacks the physical or cognitive skills to use the material.  I've placed items in the treasure basket that Q-ball wants to play with, but they lead to some tears and yelling because they are just too frustrating for her.  Notice this is different than the situation with the yarn in that, here, Q-ball is actually working with the material vs. just looking past it.

These questions may seem like a lot, but it's really not that hard- and, your babies are pretty forgiving! Treasure baskets can be fun for parents and babies!

Wordless Wednesday: Boxed In

Every time I turned around this week it seemed like Q-ball had crawled into this box!

Treasure "Baskets"

    As I found out with my research for this post on a baby's memory, it's necessary to continue to introduce novel items to my little explorer Q-ball (10 months old yesterday!)  Well, despite my best efforts, I started running out of new materials to present in her treasure baskets, and I did not want to go out and buy new items.  So, I decided to present the old, familiar items in a novel way.  Instead of the baskets that I had been using to present her materials, I placed the items in different containers.  It was a huge success!  Not only was Q-ball instantly drawn to the novel containers, the new containers presented all sorts of new sensory exploration, especially for sound and touch.  She was able to discover new ways to manipulate materials she had previously mastered!

The stone and cookie cutter make fun noises on the metal container.

Q-ball enjoyed the ridges on this wooden bowl.

Q-ball liked trying to pick up the pot (it's heavy!) to shake the walnuts.

    I also worked to find ways to make our traditional baskets more novel. As Q-ball is standing up and cruising along the furniture, I placed one of her treasures baskets on top of a table.  She loves to reach up and pull it down!

What Can Your Baby Remember?

    First of all, a rant and confession- I missed last Science Friday, but it was not for lack of trying. I wanted to write a post about infant hair growth as I constantly get comments about Q-ball being a boy, despite the pink, heart-covered onesies, but after hours of research, the most I could conclude was, "babies' hair will grow in time..."  Pathetic. There appears to be one article that contains the information I was seeking, but none of the databases to which I have access had a copy. So, if you have access to databases of medical journals, let me know, and maybe we can work together!

   And, now to this Science Friday- For about a week, Q-ball's favorite toy was her pink monkey; another week it was her wooden spoon, and another week it was a cloth book.  Few items have remained favorites.  So, what changes?  As we could have imagined, a lot is going on inside Q-ball's growing brain that is affecting her memory and, likely, explains why those toys just aren't so great anymore.

   To explore this topic I'll have to give a VERY brief and basic overview of the development of the brain in regards to memory.  As has been mentioned in nearly all of my Science Friday posts, babies have an underdeveloped central nervous system.  This explains their lack of motor skills, inability to maintain visual focus, rhythmical motions like head-banging, and their poor memory.  Neurons are nerve cells which transmit (via an electrical impulse of known as a synapse) and store all of the information in our brains. Our experiences shape neural activity- the concept of learning to roll a ball, for example, literally re-shapes and strengthens synapses within our brains. When babies don't use certain synapses, they will actually disappear! But, do not worry, humans overproduce neurons and are meant to lose many throughout childhood. In fact, synapses in the visual and auditory regions of the brain of babies 4 to 12 months are 150% of that of an adults! This proves how much information babies are able to absorb throughout the day. I know that Q-ball's everyday explorations and observations are quite literally directly influencing her brain development.

     Many, many parts of our brain are involved in memory. Each of these sections of the brain develops at different times, and, subsequently, a human baby's ability to use each section for memory develops over time.  The first memories humans have are composed of habits and conditioned responses and are stored in the spinal cord and brain stem. In fact, fetuses in their third trimester have been able to demonstrate basic memory through reflex movements. When a loud sound is played close to Mama's belly, the fetus will likely jump at first.  But, eventually, he habituates (a term psychologists use for just getting use to something, and thus, no longer responding) to this noise and responds less and less.  After birth, conditioning simple reflexes continues to be the primary method of memory for young babies. When she was between 2 to 3 months, Q-ball loved laying under her mobile. When I placed her under it, it was clear that she remembered that if she moved in certain ways, she'd be able to get those little animals above her to move!  Research has shown that a 2-month old can remember how to move a mobile for just a day or so, but by 6-months, babies can remember how to move the same mobile, even if they have not seen it for up to 2 weeks!

        Next, the cerebral cortex further matures, which includes the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is responsible for many of our actions on a daily basis, but in regards to our discussion on memory, it helps us identify new information.  By 6 to 9 months, babies seem to have an especially acute sense of what is new. This explains why Q-ball is no longer impressed with the spatula that was yesterday's coolest-thing-ever. She has habituated it, and she is craving more novel objects.  In one experiment, two groups of 6-month old infants were shown pictures of monkeys' faces.  Parents of babies in one group continued to regularly show them pictures of these monkeys until the two groups were again shown pictures of monkeys at 9-months. At this time, babies in the group who were regularly shown pictures were actually able to identify monkeys they had never seen before just by seeing their faces in pictures. Even people that work with the monkeys regularly cannot necessarily do that.

     So, how am I supposed to keep Q-ball engaged at home? First of all, I am careful to not play all my cards at once. So, many of the Christmas gifts are still in the closet to be slowly introduced, allowing me to regularly introduce new items. Not only does this keep her out of my hair focused for a short period, but it also helps build new synapses or at least ensure she's not losing them all. Secondly, it's important to not garnish the idea of "novel" to an infant. It does not need to involve expensive, electronic, noisy, "toy of the year" toys. When Q-ball found one of Daddy's paintbrushes, it was the best, most awesome paintbrush she had ever seen!  Mainly because it was the only paintbrush she had ever seen!  We've realized that basic household items- kitchen tools, crafting items, and containers- also make amazing baby (and cat) toys.  Finally, some evidence exists that babies are very particular about where they have seen certain items or had specific experiences.  As such, sometimes just moving some objects to a different room or a different shelf might make them seem novel.  

      Constantly rotating and introducing new objects is not easy. Especially when you only have a few extra minutes during naps or after baby falls asleep.  But, realizing that you are helping give your little one new experiences and shaping her brain makes it worth the effort.  

Sources:

Eliot, L. (1999). What's going on in there? How the brain and mind develop in the first five years of life. Bantam Books: NY.

Gredler, M. E. (2009). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice. Pearson: New Jersey.

Mayell, H. (2005, May 22). Babies recognize faces better than adults, study says. National geographic news. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0321_050321_babies.html

     

Hurdles to Our Prepared Environment

As Q-ball has become more mobile, she has helped us uncover areas of the house that did not pass the prepared environment test.  Over the past few weeks we have work to destroy these hiccups, so Q-ball can get back to exploring with minimum distractions from Mama and Daddy.  As Dr. Montessori stated in regards to creating a children's environment from constraints, "And this freedom is not only an external sign of liberty, but a means of education." None of these ideas are revolutionary; in fact, they are quite obvious. It's interesting that there are some pieces of pre-baby life that are harder to change than others.  Here were are top trouble spots and how we made them baby-friendly.

1.  The blinds on the doors.  Q-ball loved pulling up on these things, and we kinda knew they are likely to break, but we may have waited until it was too late to do something (the story you'll hear will depend upon your relationship with our property manager...) So, in a stroke of genius, we decided to simply raise the blinds! Also, Daddy had to get a screwdriver to remove the fixtures at the bottom of the door to remove the final hazard.

2.  The end table. I had some pictures frames on this end table and a basket of magazines underneath. All of these things were just too appealing to Q-ball.  Again, too easy of an issue to fix- just remove everything!  We also placed this treasure basket where the magazine basket used to be, so it is still an fun area for Q-ball.

3.  Outlets.  Some of the outlets that we use cannot be hidden by furniture.  This was a tough fix because most products just cover outlets that are not being used.  But, we purchased LectraLock to fix this issue.  I should say that while these outlets covers are good for some outlets, we found that we weren't able to use them everywhere. (NOTE: it's probably obvious that a little blog like mine isn't a PR-hub, so this is my honest opinion.) But, I'm still very happy to have them as Q-ball moves very quickly nowadays.  

Foiled by LectraLock!

4. Books, books, books.  Daddy and I have lots and lots of books.  We had them very tightly packed in some lower shelves.  But, Q-ball is just too tricky and strong, and figured out how to get lots of them out.  We removed the books and filled them with surprises for Q-ball to find.  There are still a few books at her level to feel and occasionally pull out, but not so many that Mama doesn't loose control of the exploration.  

5. Hanging Pictures. This past week, Q-ball was frustrated that she wasn't able to see the pictures that we have hanging around the house.  I spent lots of time lifting her to see them, but finally decided that she needed some of her own pictures.  So, I ripped apart our 2011 calendar and hung the pictures at her level. She really loves it! And, at no cost to me! The calendars work perfectly because they are a material that she cannot easy tear (and then eat), and the images are clear and simple. I'm planning to pick up some more as the 2012 calenders go on sale so that I will be able to rotate the images. Assuming that Sports Illustrated are the not only ones remaining.

Have you found areas in your house that were harder to change post-baby than others?  Or, do you still have places that you haven't quite got around to changing??

Source:
Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori method: Scientific pedagogy as applied to child education in "The children's houses." Fredrick Stokes Company: NY.

Thanks, Santa and Family!

Thanks to Santa and family, Q-ball has been busy exploring this week! 

First of all, we have a new mini-treasure basket!  I've placed this basket in one of the last corners of our house that was not very friendly to Q-ball- we were constantly having to redirect her to other venues.  So, a little clean-up (which I will discuss next week) and this treasure basket have eliminated the need for redirection. 

Here's the basket:

Yarn, colorful rattle, natural teether, homemade sensory cloth (with colored tags and two different materials) a stone, cookie cutter, cork, and a ribbon.  So far, her favorites are the cork (great for teething!) and the rattle. 

 

Also, Grandma made us activity squares!  Using felt, she made different squares that allow Q-ball to explore different tasks and senses.  We have a zipper, buttons, velco, a pocket, mirror, and book with colors.  Currently, I have only given Q-ball the mirror, book, and pocket.  She loves them!  

Wordless Wednesday: Pets!

Well, the title should more accurately state "Barnum and Q-ball"- as was stated yesterday, Bailey is more interested in being a trophy cat.

Baby Exploration Site 1: The Kitchen

         Our goal is to make our house as baby-proof as possible. We want to allow Q-ball to control her own exploration/play while we spend little time saying "no" or redirecting.  I have discussed some of the research that has encouraged us to make this decision already (see Mahler, play, Ainsworth) and will present more as time goes on. We have taken the standard baby-proofing steps (covering outlets, removing breakables, getting rid of poisons, etc.).  But, we have also created what I'll call "baby exploration sites" in each room which keep baby occupied and allows for individual exploration.  This series of posts is just going to showcase our baby-exploration sites as general baby-proofing information abounds.

        The first site I'm presenting is located in the room in which we spend the most time- the kitchen.  Although I've also discussed in this blog about our Montessori leanings (in this sense, presenting objects that stimulate multiple senses...), the kitchen contains very few items that have been "placed" for Q-ball to find. One Montessori aspect for which I strive within these sites, however, is to minimize clutter.  So, it's been great for helping me stay organized! This site still contains all of the items I needs to operate our kitchen which have been arranged to accommodate an acitve, exploring baby.  Also, we rent, so there are no structural changes that we have made or that we can make.

Now, how we play safely in the kitchen.

1.  The island came with this fun curtain instead of cabinets on the bottom shelving.  I'm sure it was a cost saving measure on the part of the owner's when fixing the house up for renters, but it's perfect for grabbing a baby's attention.  Q-ball is instantly drawn to it because it's so accessible to her and fun to play with itself.  I was worried it could be a hazard because she was try to pull herself up on it, but she seems to know that that is not an option. Also, it eliminates the possibility of pinched fingers. Even if I had my own kitchen with cabinets in the future, I would consider replacing some with curtains because this has worked so well. 
2. So, all of the items placed in this area are items that are 100% ok for baby.  I've placed the ones that are "more" ok in the front, and frankly, these typically please her long enough that she doesn't make it to the back.  Wooden bowls, baskets, paper plates, bibs, towels, cookie racks, plastic storage stuff.

Baby-exploration sites require quite a bit of clean-up! 

New and Improved: Treasure Basket

        Now that we have settled, I am able to improve upon the treasure basket that we are providing for Q-ball's exploration/play time.  This is an idea that I read about on several Montessori blogs and read about in How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin.

       The goal is to include "household objects and things from nature."  This way baby can explore the items with multiple senses.  Montessori herself often insisted on natural materials and avoided synthetic materials such as plastic.  Natural materials, according to followers of the Montessori method, are believed to be more beautiful, durable, and more stimulating to a child's senses.  

In The Joyful Child, Micheal Olaf has this to say about the material of toys-

It is very dangerous that wood is progressively disappearing from our lives. Wood is a material that is familiar and poetic; it gives a child a continuity of contact with a tree, a table, a floor. Wood does not cut, does not spoil, does not break easily, can last for a long time and live with the child. It can modify little by little the relationship between the objects which are timeless. Now toys are chemical and do not give pleasure. These toys break very soon and they do not have any future for the child. 

Below are what we are currently rotating in and out of Q-ball's treasure basket. In upcoming posts, I will discuss how and why we let her explore this treasure basket and other parts of the house with minimal interference.  

These items were picked up at the local market and allow us to make use of the what nature provides throughout the changing seasons.

Wooden bowls and cookie cutter from Goodwill.  Teaholder from personal collection (I've always wanted to use this phrase from art galleries...)

Leather wallet, satiny place mat, and silk cloth provide different touch sensations.

Mason jars that I have filled with rice, rosemary, and popcorn.  These allow Q-ball to explore with her sense of sound. She loves these! I also poked holes in the top of the rosemary jar to allow her to smell.  But, it's frankly not very strong- I'm looking for an item with a stronger smell.

Wooden utensils from Goodwill.

Have you created a treasure basket for your baby?  What have you included?  Any ideas for an item with a stronger smell to place in the Mason jar?

Sources:
Olaf, M. (2009) The first year. Retrieved from http://www.montessori.edu/0-3firstyeartext.html#Materials 
Seldin, T. (2006). How to raise an amazing child the Montessori way. DK Publishing:NY