Zucchini Cakes

Stevie and I made Zucchini Cakes (really, my aunt Karen's zucchini bread) and had a blast. I do recommend that you do all the prep work ahead of time, so that you and your toddler can enjoy mixing all the ingredients. I decided to do this recipe and was not prepared for how long it takes to grate the zucchini. My toddler had no patience for that business. All in all, great fun.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jackpot! Early learning activities galore!

Just found this today. It's nice to have all of this info in one place. It comes from the Center for Early Literacy Learning and it's great. This site gives examples of activities for parents of infants and toddlers. Yay!

Color sorting

While we were playing today, I asked Stevie to go and get something that could fit in his plastic egg and I would guess what it was. Well, he wasn't interested in that, but instead he did something we had done several different times (but . . . together). He found the red apple pillow and decided he would collect other toys that were also red. It was cute. We usually do stuff like that together. It's nice to see him have fun with that all on his own.

Sweetest mommy and kid book

I've been reading this book with Stevie and it is so cute. He asks me to read it every day (too bad it's a library book). It's one of those cute mommy and child books that reminds you and your child how special the mommy/kid bond really is. The book is called Your Kind of Mommy, by Marjorie Blain Parker. The illustrations are soft and dreamy. The characters are mommy and daughter. Just beautiful and full of rhyme.

Letter Matching Game

This game happened kind of accidentally today. Stevie and I were reading in his "book nook" and his lowercase letters were all over the floor. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was right there and Stevie noticed that the letters looked the same. I asked him if he could find any matches. He started matching letters and we played that game for a good 5 minutes (forever in toddler time).

The Power of Play

I'm reading a book about the role of play in a child's development. The book is called The Power of Play, by David Elkind, Ph.D. In it, Elkind describes the different types of play and the value of unstructured play as a means of learning. The author writes about young children not needing "formal instruction," because that is not what motivates them to learn. They need play and love (love of the thing that gets their attention) in order to learn. Not work or formal instruction. The play and love has to be their first, or learning will be a chore. Elkind writes, "parents and teachers are most effective if they build on children's love of stories, contrasts, rhythm and rhyme, unexpected facts, and humor." I found a blogger who has listed a series of quotes from the book. If you are interested in reading more about play . . . click here

Book reviews and lists

I had a couple of hours to blow the other day (this is rare) and I decided I would check out some library books that were not for my 2 year old. I found a bunch of books on books. Specifically, book lists of must have kids books, grown-up books, etc. I found a 3 ring binder that read, The Early Bird Project Handbook. The handbook is part of the materials for this project that sounds really cool, but I'm not sure if the project still exists. Printed in 2002, it contains information on how to read to preschoolers, babies, and toddlers. What I found most useful was the lists, by category or theme, of books and a brief description of each one. Perfecto. Exactly what I need, and I assume what other moms of tots would like to see. The link to the website no longer exists, but the name of the author is Carolyn (Tunie) Munson-Benson. I plan on writing more about this author when I find out more. In the meantime, here are some early learning books with some book lists, reviews, etc.

*Choosing books for children : a commonsense guide / Betsy Hearne ; with Deborah Stevenson

*They're Never Too Young for Books: A Guide to Children's Books for Ages 1 to 8 / McGovern, Edyth M., and Helen D. Muller