on the shelves - 14 months

 the learning tower

Elise is now able to climb into and out of her learning tower all by herself!  This is a great spot for stirring, scrubbing, and sampling (E's favorite!).  If you're deterred by the cost of a new learning tower, check craigslist - that's where we found ours, and I see them on there frequently.

 

 

nesting tubes

A friend loaned us this Plan Toys Cone Sorting activity.  There are actually two parts to this activity:  the nesting tubes on the inside and the cone-forming rings on the outside.  Right now, Elise is exploring the tubes - next, she'll try out the rings.

 

rainbow people mover

Minus one blue person - any guesses where he could be???  He's eluded us since day one.  Hmmm...  This is the first "toy" I've bought Elise in months, and she loves taking the people out and putting them back in the holes. 

 

Ball!

"Ball!" is a word Elise has been saying a lot lately.  This rubber ball from Crocodile Creek is just the right size for her to carry, throw, and kick. 

 

first purse

Elise continues to love having her own purse.  Occasionally, I change the contents to keep it fresh.  Yes, it's waaaay more organized than mine - no old shopping lists and receipts for this girl!

 

  Louise and friends

Elise has recently become very into playing with dolls and stuffed animals.  She wraps them up, feeds them, and carries them everywhere.  I put together a little basket of fabric and ribbons to help support her play.  Honestly, I am over the moon that Elise likes Louise so much -  I definitely feel inspired to make more toys!    

naturally-colored play dough

After seeing the gorgeous, autumn-themed play dough over at Sixtine et Victoire (Seriously!  Play dough can be gorgeous - check it out.), I was inspired to make some with Elise. Although it was always one of the most popular activities in my classroom, I realized that Elise had Never. Played. With. Play. Dough.  

GASP!

Not only is play dough endlessly fun, it's also good for you!  I couldn't believe I'd been depriving Elise for so long.  

Here's a quick list of the benefits of playing with play dough:

• builds fine motor strength
• allows for open ended play
• emotionally therapeutic

Read more about the benefits of play dough and discover some exciting variations at The Imagination Tree.  

Naturally-Colored Play Dough Recipe:

Over high heat, stir 2 cups water and 1 cup salt until salt is mostly dissolved and water is boiling.

To make yellow play dough, mix 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon cream of tartar, and 1 tablespoon turmeric in a bowl.  Combine dry ingredients with 1 cup of the hot water and salt mixture and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.  After it's cooled slightly, knead until a smooth dough is formed.  If dough seems too wet, add more flour; if it seems too dry, add more oil.

To make brown play dough, follow the same steps, replacing the turmeric with 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.    

Keep play dough stored in an airtight container between use, and it should last for a long time - unless your little one is like Elise and eats it all!  Ha, ha!  No, Elise didn't eat it all, but I was surprised at how much she actually put in her mouth considering it's so salty.

busy hands - 14 months

filling an egg carton with rocks

Elise is endlessly fascinated with rocks - soon they'll all be covered up by snow!

stacking rings on a post

We have borrowed a couple of these types of stacking activities from friends.  This one is made by Plan Toys.

caring for Louise 

Elise has been really into tending to her dolls lately.  She will spend the better part of the morning covering them in blankets - it's really sweet. 

picking the seeds out of a spaghetti squash

We sprinkled the seeds with salt, pepper, and cumin and then toasted them in the oven.  They were yummy, but kind of hard for someone with only six teeth to eat! 

reading in the book nook

Elise continues to enjoy hanging out in her book nook.  Right now, she's really into "lift the flap" books.

sweeping leaves off the sidewalk with Nana (my mom)

I love that somehow Elise ended up with the big broom, and my mom with the child-sized one!

a bag of red treasures

Have I mentioned lately how much we love treasure baskets?

Now that Elise is a little older, treasure baskets have taken on a new purpose.  In addition to providing sensory experiences, they are also a great way to introduce vocabulary.

Today, Elise explored a bag of red treasures...

I introduced this activity to Elise by showing her the bag of objects and saying,

Elise, this is the red bag.

Everything in this bag is the color red. 

As we took each object out of the bag, I named it:

This is a red feather!
These are red shoes!

This is a red block!

 

After looking through all the treasures in the bag, we went on a search around the house for other red items. 

Although Elise only says a couple of words, her understanding of language never ceases to amaze me!

e's first purse

Does this scene look familiar?

 

I can't even count how many times I've left the room for a millisecond, and come back to this:  the entire contents of my purse strewn around the living room, and Elise sitting contently in the middle of the chaos.  It's sweet and all, but after searching for my debit card for the billionth time, I decided it was high time Elise had her own purse! 

clockwise from the top: purse, keys, bracelet, wallet, "pen"

Instead of buying Elise a first purse toy (These actually exist!), I decided to be resourceful and use items I already had here at home.  Real things captivate Elise more that toys do right now anyway.   I chose a purse and wallet that wouldn't be too easy or too hard to open - Elise isn't quite ready for zippers or snaps yet.  

 I filled the wallet with outdated cards - pulling these out is a great fine motor exercise for little fingers! 

The verdict?  Elise loved exploring her new purse, but she wondered why it didn't have any lip gloss or hand cream!  Soon enough, Elise - please don't grow up too fast!

cornstarch & water: an ooey gooey toddler experiment

Back when I was teaching, I totally embraced messy projects.  As a mom, not so much.  I think it's because all the naturally occurring messes are terrifying enough!  Or, maybe it's because my little daughter fearlessly eats anything and everything.  Either way, I've decided to throw caution to the wind, and try some ooey gooey projects with Elise while the weather's still nice.  Wish me luck!  ;)

Our first messy project:  cornstarch and water...

 

First, we filled a tub with cornstarch.  

The cornstarch itself was an interesting sensory experience.
It's SO slippery!

Next, we added some water.
If you try this at home, the ratio is 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water.

(We weren't that precise - we just added enough water to make a thick paste.)

Then, things got a little interesting.
It wasn't quite a liquid, but it wasn't quite a solid...
It was OOBLECK!

Just in case you were wondering...

YES! Cornstarch and water make a delicious combo.
(According to Elise, that is!)

2 upcycled jug activities

Nothing could be more satisfying than dropping a cylinder-shaped block into a milk jug or pushing a cotton ball through the neck of a glass bottle, right?  What - no? You can think of lots of things you'd rather do?!  Well, you're obviously not a one-year-old then!  Elise LOVES these kinds of activities right now.  How can I tell?  She repeats them again and again, with concentration so strong, she barely makes a sound - just the occasional little happy noise.  :)

Activities like these are great for strengthening fine motor control and building spacial awareness.  Plus, they're a snap to put together - just look in your recycling bin!

pushing cotton balls into a glass bottle

materials needed:

• glass bottle with a short neck
• cotton balls in a dish

Elise eventually filled the whole bottle with cotton balls.  Afterwards, I pulled them all out with tweezers while she napped - it didn't take as long as you would think!

dropping cylinder-shaped blocks into a milk jug

materials needed:

• milk jug with a hole cut in the side
• cylinder-shaped blocks (Ours are part of a set given to us by a neighbor - I think they're Melissa & Doug.  If you don't have blocks like these, shape sorters usually have a cylinder-shaped block.)

When you're cutting the hole in the side of the milk jug, make sure you leave an inch or two of plastic at the bottom.  The first time I did this, I cut too close to the bottom and the blocks bounced out of the jug.  BTW, the purpose of cutting a hole in the side of the jug is so that your child can reach in, grab the block and repeat the activity.  Then, you won't have to spend those precious moments of nap time trying to get the blocks out of the jug.  You can just sit back and sip a mocha, or fold laundry, or whatever!