Two years ago (wow has it really been that long?) I was at Babies R Us feeling overwhelmed about what to register for my first baby. My therapy with kiddos had been with ages 4 and up- so I was totally clueless about babies.
So what did I do? I joyfully went around scanning the things I knew...
TOYS AND ART SUPPLIES.
Forget the bottles and diapers- I was ready to PLAY!
My friends laughed at me when they saw the random list of items and probably were a bit concerned of my cluelessness (is that a word even?) about the needs of infants.
But I just knew that one day I would incorporate art and play in the daily lives of my children.
That is important to me.
I really believe a child (supervised) is never too young to engage in some form of expressive art.
It is a way that they can explore their world, process their feelings, build their self-esteem, and learn about their surroundings. Here are some things we learned in this 10 minute moment of drawing.
#1 Learning to SHARE and ENGAGE with others
#2 BONDING with each another
#3 LEARNING about the colors as he repeated them to me.
#4 Practicing on the FINE MOTOR skills
#5 Feeling PROUD of his accomplishments
For those of you who are wondering what we are coloring with...I discovered these babies.
They are triangular to help with little man's grip and they also don't need a lid (the ink is inside)- all you do is press down and the ink then comes to the surface! They are fabulous!
Now go and add some art in your daily life!
besitos,
PS. DON'T FORGET TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER FOR BIANCA MERKLEY'S NEW ALBUM....GO HERE TO ENTER! SHHH THIS IS A SECRET BUT THERE WILL BE MORE THAN ONE WINNER SO THE ODDS WILL BE IN YOUR FAVOR I PROMISE!!
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I love it! Bren's favorite thing in the world is his crayon set - we could color for hours. :) I'm definitely going to have to check out the traingular markers, though - that's brilliant!
ReplyDeleteSo you inspired an ultra effective parenting moment for me tonight. It was bedtime with difficult Owen not wanting to get jammies on, or anything else. I'd managed the diaper change by sitting on his legs and pinning him down. It wasn't going well. I was considering letting him sleep without pants, but knowing the diaper would come off, I gave that up. But getting the PJs on would not be happening. He was in control. Suddenly I had a vision of you as the train conductor so I stopped and suddenly pretended to be Bob the Builder, his current fav. Owen was on board in less than a second, ready to find his truck. I snuck the PJs on while he was thinking about what we were going to play. I nearly laughed at how quick and amazing the change was. I had intended to buy the Playful Parenting book before, but just hadn't done it. Well, as I lay beside him, thinking of how difficult he can be (my hardest yet, I think) I decided I MUST get it right away. If it was that easy, I am a believer! Thanks, So So much!
ReplyDelete@Jess- we really need to get our little guys together!
ReplyDelete@Laura- I have had those moments... especially around bedtime :)- I have the book on cds if you want to borrow- i also have the book (if you are more of a reader) that I would be happy to send your way. email me your address and I will pop one in the mail- just tell me which you prefer!