September, 2018 - A Flourishing Rose

Month: September 2018

10 Stocking Stuffers for Preschoolers

September 24, 2018

This is the third post in my stocking stuffer series. Click here if you are looking for stocking stuffers for infants and here if you are looking for stocking stuffers for toddlers. There are so many options for this age group. It’s hard to narrow it down.

1. Art supplies

To encourage some creativity, why not go with something different than the standard crayons?

You could get these metallic crayons by Crayola that have a shimmer in the wax.

Make a drawing you can smell with these washable scented markers.

Add a little sparkle to your projects with this glitter glue.

Your child can get some practice cutting with child safe scissors.

2. Books

There are endless choices of books for preschoolers. I usually include a Christmas book or two in Rosebud’s stocking, but you could go with a book from any theme.

3. Felt story board kit

To go along with story time, a felt board story kit is a great idea. On Etsy, you can find homemade versions and support someone’s small crafting business or find a felt story on Amazon. The kids love moving the pieces to follow along with the story or creating a story of their own.

4. Items from our childhoods

How about this retro style mini Etch a Sketch?

This toy is similar to the Light Bright, but this one is travel sized without the paper.

Who else remembers these water games?

5. Puzzles

Puzzles are a great quiet winding down activity. Preschoolers can handle puzzles that are a bit more challenging.

6. Night light

Many preschoolers are scared of the dark and what may or may not be under the bed. Why not get them a cool night light to make night time a little less scary.

7. Games

Preschoolers can start learning games with simple rules.

8. DVD’s

These are good for a quiet rainy day afternoon inside or a long road trip. These are some of Rosebud’s favorite shows and movies.

9. Accessories

You could get hair bows, hats or jewelry.

10. Magnetic letters and numbers

Preschoolers can get some practice with letter recognition and learning sight words.

These aren’t magnets, but they are great for bath time.

I hope this post has helped you fill your preschooler’s stocking. Stay tuned for more gift giving ideas as the holidays get closer. Until then, happy shopping!

9 Comments

Books, Education, Parenting

Five Fun Halloween Books for Toddlers

September 19, 2018

In the beginning of September, I brought out all Rosebud’s fall and Halloween themed books. She has been wanting to read them every night, so I thought I’d share the ones she really enjoys.

1. Five Little Pumpkins.

I’ve had this book since her first Halloween and she loves it. It’s a simple rhyme about pumpkins. They have finger plays and songs for it as well. She loves to read along and his it memorized now.

2. Who’s There on Halloween.

This is another cute Halloween book. It has hints for different Halloween related characters like the witch, ghost and spider. She has this book memorized too, but she hasn’t figured out that the point is to guess by the clues before you turn the page.

3. Boo! A Halloween Peek-a-boo.

This is a short, but silly Halloween book. A dog chases different Halloween characters in costume who say different things. Rosebud likes when I do silly voices with this book. I just introduced this one to her this year because it has paper pages, but she always asks to read this first.

4. Scratch and Sniff Halloween.

Who doesn’t like scratch and sniff books? They are fun until they lose their scent, but Rosebud has been having fun reading this one regardless. You can smell the minty witches brew, the spooky pumpkin or the sweet lollypop.

5. Big Pumpkin

I just ordered the paper copy of this one, but we like to listen to the audio version I found on Youtube because it’s sung to a song. If you’ve never read this book, the witch wants to make pumpkin pie, but the pumpkin is too big to take off the vine. The witch, ghost, vampire and others try to remove it, but it doesn’t work until a bat comes along with the solution. This book is good because it’s an actual story, but it is not too long that an older toddler won’t sit through it. Rosebud is growing out of the simple board books. Although she still loves them, I think she’s ready for longer stories.

What are your favorite Halloween books? Tell me in the comments.

5 Comments

Activities, Art

Leaf Painting

September 18, 2018

Here’s a simple painting activity for the fall.

What you’ll need:

Paint,
Paper,
Leaves,
Tray or some other way to set up the paint.

I just took a cookie sheet, lined it with foil and put some globs of paints in different colors on it. Then I put one leaf in each color of paint so they wouldn’t be mixed at first.

All you do is cover the leaf with paint and stamp it on the paper. I showed Rosebud once and then she got to work, creating her pictures.

I didn’t have much paint so by the time we got to our third picture, I showed her how she could use the leaves as paintbrushes.

I’m looking forward to doing more fall activities. What are your favorite fall crafts and activities? Let me know in the comments.

2 Comments

Gift Giving, Parenting, Shopping, Uncategorized

10 Stocking Stuffers for Toddlers

September 17, 2018

This is the second entry in my stocking stuffer series. If you missed it, here’s my list of Stocking Stuffers for Babies.
Click here for Stocking Stuffers for Preschoolers.

Today, I’ll focus on toddlers. Between one and three years of age, children become interested in a wider variety of activities and generally they put things in their mouths much less, so they can use toys with smaller parts. Of course, all this depends on the ages and developmental levels of your children. Rosebud still puts things in her mouth and chews on things that she shouldn’t, so there are still things I won’t let her play with especially on her own. The theme for her stocking last year was creativity. I included a lot of things that she could use for art projects, play-dough etc. Sometimes picking a theme for the stocking can help narrow down what you want to buy, but for this list, I will include a variety of items.

1. Large crayons

Toddlers don’t quite have the control and grip for standard sized crayons, but the larger sizes are perfect. Using crayons is a great introduction to drawing. Those scribbles will eventually become lines and the lines will eventually become drawings. Let them explore and imagine and before you know it, they’ll be drawing their own little world.

Don’t forget a mini notebook or drawing pad.

If you’re more adventurous like I was, you can try washable markers. Rosebud loves both crayons and markers and these particular markers by Crayola have washed off everything she’s drawn on.

Don’t forget to pick up a Magic Eraser to save your stuff and your sanity. Keep out of reach of children though because they are toxic, but they do an amazing job getting rid of scribbles on the furniture or walls.

2. Paints
To continue with the creativity theme, how about these water color paints? They aren’t as messy as finger paint, but you might choose to go that rout. Rosebud loves water colors. Now if I could only get her to remember to dip in the water first and then the paint. Not the other way around. You might want to include some extra brushes.

3. Play-dough

Play-dough is another great stocking stuffer. You can either make your own or get store bought. I’d suggest using homemade play-dough because it lasts longer, you know exactly what’s in it, you get a lot more than what’s in the little store bought containers and it feels smoother and easier to work with. Also, you can personalize it how you like. You can add scents, glitter, food coloring, textured items etc.

You can use tools specifically for play-dough, cookie cutters or items laying around the house.

4. Dramatic play

How about something for dramatic play? Maybe a small baby doll, stuffed animal or small set of toys.

This small tea set is for the bath, but it is small enough to include in a stocking. Rosebud loves this tea set.

This mini feeding set with bottles is another good choice.

5. Building

You could buy small cars, a mini block set or toy people to encourage building and pretend play. Another tip is to take things out of the boxes so they fit into the stocking.

6. Toothbrush

Does your child like a specific character they see on TV? They make lots of toothbrushes with characters on them. Some have lights, music and come in cool colors. Find a toothbrush that they will love and include it in their stocking. It’s practical, but it will get used.

7. Water bottle

It’s important to stay hydrated, so why not include a cool new water bottle. There are water bottles in every color, character and type imaginable.

8. Books
Books are amazing. They can introduce children to new concepts, reinforce things you’ve taught them or getting lost in a great story. I always include a book or two in the stocking.

9. Warm and cozy

Finally, why not include something warm for the winter? Rosebud loves slippers and there are so many options to choose from. Again, if your child has a favorite character you could buy something like this.

Maybe you want to buy something more cute and or fashionable like these.

Mittens or fuzzy socks come in handy during the winter as well.

10. Puzzles

Simple puzzles also make great stocking stuffers. They help toddlers use their fine motor and problem solving skills. I started by giving Rosebud puzzles with ten pieces or less.

If you are on a tight budget And are looking for thrifty and educational stocking stuffers for toddlers, check out this post from Organizing Chaos 101.
I hope you have gotten plenty of inspiration to fill your toddler’s stocking. Don’t forget to check out my other stocking stuffer suggestions. Happy shopping!

11 Comments

Awareness, Blogging

Why I don’t use Pinterest

September 14, 2018

One question I’ve gotten is, why don’t you use Pinterest? My coworkers rave about it. They spend hours finding cool ideas for their classrooms. I’d like to be able to do that too. I’d love to be able to use Pinterest to find an easy dinner recipe or to see some cool and thrifty decorating ideas. I’ll admit it. I wouldn’t mind seeing a cat picture or two. Not to mention the articles and tips that people share.

More importantly, I’d like to be apart of the huge blogging community on there to bring traffic to my blog. Many bloggers get so much engagement from Pinterest and it often gets suggested as a great source for getting traffic to your blog. The problem is the app and the website are inaccessible to me. First of all, the whole point of Pinterest is visual which I can appreciate, but often the pins include text which normally I’d be able to read. I use a screen reader called Voiceover which comes built into Apple products which basically reads everything on the screen out loud. I won’t get technical, but that’s it in a nut shell. Anyway, when I’m trying to browse Pinterest using Safari, all it reads are the tags on the pins. If I’m using the iPhone app, it will read the titles of the pins which I was excited about, but then when I clicked on them, I could not read the text even though it would load. This was extremely disappointing and frustrating.

If Pinterest would fix their code to be compatible with Voiceover, I could read the text and it would make a world of difference. I could read and share pins as well as interact with other Pinterest users. One idea I had was to link to a few cool pins right here in this post, but that won’t happen until I can read them.

The other accessibility issue I have with Pinterest is creating the pins themselves. I know you have to fix your images to work as a pin and I’m not sure how to do that. Trying to edit photos is obviously not my strong suit. It’s hard enough for me to find images let alone editing them.

You might be thinking, why doesn’t she just use other social media channels and why aren’t they enough? Well, I do use Twitter and Facebook and while those are helpful for growing my blog, it seems that both Pinterest and Instagram are where bloggers are at these days. I’m finding this especially in the parenting niche. I’m left wondering how much I’m missing out. How much would my blog grow if I could use it? I’ve had similar challenges with Instagram since it is also so visually based.

I don’t like to complain about these things or draw attention to myself. I’m also a believer in working with the resources I have. I’m grateful for technology and the things that are accessible now, that never were in the past. When it comes to these issues, my gut instinct is not to speak up. Not to ruffle any feathers. The nagging voice in my head tells me to be grateful for what I can use or to wait and maybe somehow it will work better in the future. On the other hand, I think I should be able to participate and use a website as big as Pinterest to find ideas for my classrooms, to grow my blog and eventually to promote my business. Now it’s your turn. What social media platforms have you had the best luck with? Let me know in the comments.

4 Comments

Gift Giving, Parenting, Shopping

10 Stocking Stuffers for Babies

September 11, 2018

I know it’s early to start thinking about Christmas, but it’ll be here before you know it. Filling a stocking can be challenging because you need items that are small, useful and thoughtful. Who wants to get a bunch of junk in their stocking? Although finding stocking stuffers can feel like a scavenger hunt, I love it when I find something neat that I know the person will enjoy.
Click here to find Stocking Stuffers for toddlers. Click here for Stocking Stuffers for preschoolers.

For babies, finding appropriate stocking stuffers can be hard because they are limited in what they can play with and let’s not forget their tendency to put everything in their mouths. It’s developmentally appropriate of course, but it definitely limits what we can put in their stocking. Here are some ideas to help you create your baby’s first stocking.

1. An all time favorite, stacking cups. These cups are great for fine motor skills as they can be stacked, put together and taken apart. They can be compared by size, color or another attribute depending on which set you buy. Some have numbers, letters or shapes on the bottom. They can be used for pretend play. Rosebud often serves cupcakes in them. They can be used for bath time fun or even in the sand box. Rosebud still uses her stacking cups in the bath. I chose this particular set because they are BPA free.

2. Bath toys are another great stocking stuffer for babies. There are cute little toys that squirt like these sea creatures by Munchkin. They can be squeezed and fit well in small hands.
 
There are bath time baby books that squeak and have nice colorful pictures like these.
 
Of course, you can’t have bath time without a rubber ducky. You could buy a classic version like this.

If you want a modern rubber ducky, this one is a little more high tech. This particular ducky gages the temperature of the water. It’s a cute toy for your baby and a functional item for you. When the water gets too hot, the word hot appears in white on the bottom of the duck.

3. You can never go wrong with books. There are so many books to choose from. I chose a bath time book to go with Rosebud’s bath toys, but you could choose anything.

How about this photo book? I included this in Rosebud’s baby stocking and put pictures of the cats and I. She still loves looking at the pictures to this day.

4. Don’t forget to include something soft like a my first teddy or small security blanket.
 
How about a security blanket?

I put an octopus rattle in Rosebud’s stocking. I don’t see it anymore, but it is similar to this lamb.

5. Every baby I’ve ever known is fascinated by bubbles even if you have to blow them inside. This multi pack is great if you are shopping for more than one child.

6. Teethers always come in handy. There are some that are actual toys like this rattle.

Then there are the classic ones that you can freeze.

7. If you are looking for something more practical, a sippy cup is a good choice.

Rosebud loved this Nuck learner cup until she bit through the nipple making a huge hole. She still loved this cup, but I didn’t anymore because she started dumping it out.

The Munchkin 360 came in handy after that. One feature I like about this cup is it feels more like a regular cup. A regular cup without the mess.
 

8. These bowls have also worked well for us. They are small, light weight and will stick to a table or tray. Rosebud learned how to unstick them, but they still work great. They come with covers so you can save food as well.

If you get bowls, you have to have spoons. These have longer handles, are soft and have no sharp edges.

9. You can’t have a child’s stocking without toys. Rattles or balls are good choices for babies. Rosebud loved anything made by Obal.

10. Finally, you could include a snack. Rosebud loved puffs.
 
You could also do yogurt bites or another treat depending on your baby’s age.

Have I left out anything? What will you be putting in your baby’s stocking?

13 Comments

Activities, Education, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

Treasures by the Sea Shore Sensory Tub

September 5, 2018

Here’s a simple sensory tub that we’ve been using a lot this summer. I know I’m very late posting this, but there is still plenty of sunshine outside and if you are not ready for fall, then this is for you. It started off as an ocean themed sensory tub, but Rosebud decided that she was a pirate looking for treasures. I’ve used this set up with and without water. She enjoys it either way.

What you’ll need:

Water,

Scoops and or measuring cups,

Mini toy fish,

Seashells,

Glass marbles.

If you are really adventurous, you could add sand for the real seashore experience.

Ideas for play:

Counting marbles or sorting them by color if you use multiple colors. Those were the treasures in our case.

Sort seashells.

Identify types of fish.

Work on fine motor skills with scooping and pouring.

Watch your child using their imagination and see what they come up with.

0 comments

About me, Self acceptance,

The Weird and the Wonderful

September 3, 2018

I’ve seen a few posts like this on other blogs recently and I thought I’d write a post with random facts about myself. It’s a way for you to get to know the person behind the posts. Here are some of the things that make me unique.

1. Rosebud and I share the same birthday. No. that wasn’t planned, but it was her original due date.

2. I’m a lefty and we all know about the Genius of lefties.

3. I’m a collector. I’ve had many collections over the years. For a while it was keychains when I used to travel more. I had a small collection of unique candles, but I stopped that when I kept getting endless store bought typical jar candles on every occasion. My childhood collections were rocks, shells, porcelain dolls and snow globes, later on. Most of those have broken over the years, but my unicorn collection has stuck with me.

4. Speaking of collecting, whenever I go clothes shopping, I can’t help but buy more shirts. Even if I’m only going for pants.

5. Raggedy Anne dolls creep me out. I hate the faces that are painted on and their stringy hair. A three dimensional face was always a must. I’ve been creeped out by them since I was a kid. In fact, if I hear a story about a haunted doll, I always picture one of those. I refused to let my mom buy one for Rosebud.

6. My first job was collating books. It was boring as hell and I had this horrible boss who insisted that we couldn’t talk to each other. We were working on collating Harry Potter books back when they first came out. I’ve never read anything from the Harry Potter series.

7. I lived in the same house until I was 18, but moved seven times between my 20’s and early 30’s. Only one of those times was out of state.

8. I can’t stand coffee. I don’t care for the smell. The closest thing I’ll have is a cappuccino.

9. I pierced my own ears when I was twelve using just an earring. Yes, I have a high tolerance for pain.

10. I named all my dolls when I was a kid and I probably had 40 to 50 of them.

11. I actually prefer cloudy days because I can see better when I’m outside.

12. One of my favorite hobbies is making pottery. The amount of things you can do with clay is endless.

How about you? What makes you unique? Let me know in the comments.

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