Outdoor splashing but not in the pool!

One of the things I've noticed since becoming a parent is how many children's toys are plastic.  During Bean's first year, I tried to buy toys that were made of natural materials such as wood or cloth, but there are very few of them for older children.  Plus, my daughter LOVES duplo! Since...

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Freezer bag art

I saw this mess free and fun art activity on a television show last year and I had been waiting patiently until my daughter was old enough to try it out.  I know it's important for children to get messy and use all their senses to play and discover the world around them, but sometimes you just...

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Spring time -outdoor activities

It has been so warm and sunny lately, we have been spending a lot of time outdoors with Bean.  We are lucky to have lots of local parks near us and it's probably my daughter's favourite way to spend the morning or afternoon, or even an entire day if she had her way!  Since we cannot spend...

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Book Review- Duck! Rabbit!

This is a hilarious book that my daughter finds quite enjoyable and one which I laughed out loud at the first time I read to her.  This book was a Christmas gift from friends and Bean has been enjoying it ever since.  It has an illustration of an animal that could be a duck or a rabbit and...

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Playing with goop

Objective To explore with senses using goop Materials corn starch food colouring (optional) 1/4 cup measuring cup 1 teaspoon My daughter and I played with goop yesterday.  I loved this messy activity as a child and I hoped that my daughter would too when we made the sticky, wet and crumbly...

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Cotton balls and Q-tips

Objective To further develop fine motor and sorting skills for my toddler Materials cotton balls Q-tips Two containers (one for the cotton balls and one for the Q-tips) Like many toddlers, my daughter likes to play and explore objects that are not necessarily toys.  A couple of weeks ago,...

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Food Colouring Magic

Objective To give my daughter the opportunity to practise learning the names of colours in a fun way Materials food colouring milk  dish soap Q-tips This activity is actually a science activity for children slightly older than my daughter.    I decided I would try it with my daughter...

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Book Review- From Head to Toe

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle is a fantastic book for children learning their body parts as well as names of animals.  This book is a fun teaching tool and quite interactive.  It's another one of Bean's favourites.  It's very cute to see her flip through the pages by herself and carry...

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Tissue Boxes & Scarves

This activity is one I did with my daughter when she was younger, when any random household object would turn into a simple toy.   You will need a long canister or tissue box and some scarves.  If using a long canister cut out a hole the size of a dime on the lid so the scarf can be pulled...

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Literacy & Puppets

Objective To promote literacy through puppet play Materials Various hand and finger puppets Children are like sponges, they absorb everything in their environment.  Creating an environment in which literacy can be practiced is important and easily done.  Having books(board books, paperbacks...

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Matching mittens

Objective To engage toddlers in the cognitive skill of sorting by finding pairs Materials basket various mittens and gloves (adult and children's sizes) A great indoor winter activity, this one is super easy to put together as you likely have everything you need already!   I filled a basket...

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Salad Spinners

I've had to sacrifice many things as a mother and I have been more than happy to do so for most of those things.  The latest has been my salad spinner!  Bean has made it into her new favourite toy and figured out how to use it all by herself.  She thoroughly enjoys taking it apart and...

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Bowling Boxes

Objective To help my daughter with the skills of rolling a ball to a specific place (Gross Motor) and problem solving (Cognitive) by helping to balance boxes on top of each other Materials cardboard boxes plastic cups take away containers (basically anything from your recycling bin that is light...

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Book Review, Llama Llama Wakey-Wake

My daughter really enjoys the Llama Llama series of books.  We first heard Llama Llama Red Pajama at a reading readiness (story time) program that she and I used to attend last year when she was about 5 months old.  It soon became a favourite bedtime story.  Bean has several bedtime stories...

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Finger Painting

Objective:   To allow my daughter to experiment with mixing colours Materials: food colouring yogurt paper a bib I am surprised at myself for setting up this activity for my daughter since it makes me cringe even seeing her get her hands messy when she eats.  It makes me cringe  because...

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Basket and Balls

Objective To encourage the gross motor skill of throwing which helps toddler's coordination Materials Basket An assortment of balls I really think that the outdoors is the best place for Bean to explore her physical abilities and develop her gross motor skills. The last couple of weeks have...

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Make and Shake

Hi there!  Happy Music Monday!  Bean and I have been dancing and playing our instruments to her favourite songs for a couple of months now.  She has a variety of instruments, but I thought it would be nice to have a homemade shaker for something new to use today.  I used a clean...

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Book Review, Blue Hat, Green Hat

Happy Friday!  Here's another book review, this time it's Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton.  I adore all of Sandra Boynton's books, but I decided to write about this one because it's the first one that Bean giggled at when we read to her.  I am not sure if she understood what was...

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Hot Rocks

Objective To help my toddler understand hot(warm) and cold using river rocks (Sensory Discrimination) Materials Two containers that are similar  river rocks (to be divided equally into the containers) As mentioned above, I divided the rocks into two. I put one set into the freezer about...

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Sensory Surprise Bag

Objective To encourage the use of senses through exploration of new objects (Skill: Sensory Discrimination) Materials For this activity, you can use any assortment of objects as long as they are safe and objects in which you think your child will be interested.  Some of the ones I...

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Edible Water Colours

Around this time last year, I wanted to let my daughter experiment with some form of painting or colouring. I was unable to find anything that was safe for her to put in her mouth yet still fun for her to use to paint.  Then I looked in my fridge- all the fruit and veggies in there!  I decided...

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Music Mondays

Exposing children to music early on has huge developmental benefits.  There are great music programs for even the youngest infant.  I have been taking Bean to a few different music classes over the last year and a half but we are really enjoying our current class.  One of my favourite...

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Spatial Exploration

The last couple of months, my daughter has been trying to fit objects into other objects.  Sometimes the objects fit, other times they do not.   She often gets frustrated after multiple attempts of doing her best to coerce an object (for example a ball) into another object that it was not...

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Book Love + Clip-Clop Review

Reading is something my daughter has enjoyed since her first few days as a newborn.   I remember her milk-drunk smiling as my husband read to her while I held her in my arms.  One book that brought her particular joy was Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss.  This book had the ability to calm her...

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Making a mark

For the past few months, Bean has been really interested in painting and scribbling.  She will do it with just about anything that she knows will make a mark.  Non-toxic crayons and washable markers are great for little hands.  For some variety, I tried letting my daughter "paint" with...

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Water play + Bubbles!

My daughter loves bath time because it usually involves lots of play time and splashing around.  Since she has extremely dry skin and it's January, we have been keeping bath time short these days.   So when Bean (her nickname) decided she would open the bottom drawer in the kitchen where the...

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Welcome & Introduction!

Hi there! Welcome to momece! This blog is a place for me to share some of the activities, adventures and a few special moments I experience with my daughter with all of you. I have been on this incredible learning journey of motherhood for over a year and am constantly amazed at how much and fast my...

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