Toddler Tuesdays - Week 9 of the 12 weeks of winter

Welcome to week 9 of ‘Toddler Tuesdays’.  You can find more of our ‘Toddler Tuesdays’ activities here, we hope you are enjoying them.  This week’s activity is based on the children’s rhyme 5 little speckled frogs, however we will only be using 3.  If you are not familiar with the rhyme the words are -

3 little speckled frogs

sat on a speckled log

eating some most delicious bugs

yum, yum.

One jumped into the pool

where it was nice and cool

now there are 2 more speckled frogs

glub, glub.

Each time through the song 1 more frog jumps into the pond until there are no more speckled frogs.

You will need -

1. 3 popsticks or straws.
2. Sticky tape.
3. A copy of our free printable frogs and log which can be found here.  You will need to cut out these items.
4. Crayons.
5. A large piece of paper, A3, scrapbook page or newspaper.
6. Glue stick

Instructions -

Set out all of the items at the kitchen table or toddler table ready for your child.  Assist your child to stick a pop stick or straw to the back of each of the frogs so that they can jump off the log and into the pond.  Assist your child to glue the log across the mid section of their page.  Encourage your child to ‘colour’ a pond at the bottom of the page.  Use appropriate key word phrases to encourage your child along the way.  Once completed sing the rhyme through with your child and encourage them to have their frogs also jump into the pond.

Focus -

This activity promotes fine motor skills and is a great opportunity for language development.  You may use key phrases like, ‘stick it’, ‘turn over’, ‘green frog‘.  Remember that even when your child isn’t responding to your comments you are imprinting that language and correct grammar on their brain for retrieval when they developmentally get to that stage.  If your child is already using some of those key words themselves then add an additional word to your phrase like, ‘big brown log’.  This rhyme is a great opportunity to introduce counting, 1, 2, 3.  It’s also a fun and happy rhyme so you might encourage discussion about the frogs being happy that they are now in the nice cool pool.

If you try out one of our activities please let us know what your toddler (and you) thought.  Feel free to leave a comment here or post an image or comment to our Facebook page.  If you enjoy the activity we would encourage you to share this post with your friends.

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Toddler Tuesdays - Week 8 of the 12 weeks of winter

Welcome to week 8 of ‘Toddler Tuesdays’.  You can find more of our ‘Toddler Tuesdays’ activities here, we hope you are enjoying them.  This week’s activity is Dolly takes a Bath.

You will need -

1. A doll or other washable toy.
2. A plastic tub full of warm water, you may like to place it in the bath, on the sink, laundry bench or a tiled area.
3. A flannel.
4. A towel for the floor and a towel for dolly.  A small hand towel may be adequate for dolly.
5. Soap, either liquid or bar, whatever your family uses.
6. Optional - a small bath toy
7. Optional - a toothbrush

Instructions -

Get everything ready before introducing your child to the task.  Encourage them to undress dolly and then bath dolly in the same order that your child would normally experience their bath.  Sing your regular bath songs, wash dolly, brush dolly’s teeth, let dolly play, finally take dolly out of the bath and wrap in the towel.  Use appropriate language along the way asking what comes next, encourage identification of objects that they need or want and body parts.  Do not leave your child unsupervised with baby’s bath water.

Focus -

Imaginative play is vital for social and emotional development.  Imitation is one of the first forms of imaginative play and many children will naturally imitate things that they see and do.  Some children however don’t develop these imitations naturally and tasks such as the activity for today help them to better integrate some social and emotional skills that they may be lacking.  This activity also promotes language development and sequencing.

If you try out one of our activities please let us know what your toddler (and you) thought.  Feel free to leave a comment here or post an image or comment to our Facebook page.  If you enjoy the activity we would encourage you to share this post with your friends.

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Toddler Tuesdays - Week 7 of the 12 weeks of winter

Welcome to week 7 of ‘Toddler Tuesdays’.  You can find more of our ‘Toddler Tuesdays’ activities here, we hope you are enjoying them.  This week’s activity is Make a Shaker.

You will need -

1. 1 or more plastic bottles with lids, three 600ml water bottles would be perfect.
2. 1/4 cup of rice.
3. 1/4 cup of popping corn or lentils.
4. 1/4 cup larger beans or chickpeas.
5. Superglue (keep out of reach of children).
6. Funnel.
7. Optional - tray, you may like to sit the bottles onto a tray when they are being filled to contain any spillage.

Instructions -

Have all of the items ready on the kitchen table or toddler table before introducing your child to the activity (except the superglue which should remain out of your child’s reach).  Have your child either independently, or with assistance insert the funnel and pour the rice, corn or beans into the bottle.  Let them feel and describe the rice, corn and beans.  Only 1 type per bottle so you will end up with a rice shaker, a popping corn shaker and a bean shaker for example.  Have your child remove the funnel then put some superglue around the thread and screw the lid on tight.  Superglue should not be given to your child or within their reach.  The super glue will only take a few moments to bond and you can continue filling the other bottles in the meantime.  Once completed encourage your child to make music shaking their new shakers.

Focus -

This activity promotes sensory exposure to different textures via the beans, rice etc and via the different sounds that the shakers make.  An older child may be able to distinguish which shaker is which from the sound that they make without looking at them.  They may also begin to play to a beat.  Fine motor skills are also practiced in this activity when the child is using the funnel and pouring the rice etc into the bottle.

If you try out one of our activities please let us know what your toddler (and you) thought.  Feel free to leave a comment here or post an image or comment to our Facebook page.  If you enjoy the activity we would encourage you to share this post with your friends.

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Mandala Meditation

Guest blog post - Michelle Saleeba is a single mum to two independent teenagers and perhaps more simply a gorgeous German Shorthaired Pointer called Otis who still likes going with her for walks at the beach!   

She writes, paints and journals and tries to get on the yoga mat as often as possible.   

Michelle facilitates creative therapy support groups for women that incorporate meditation as well as visual art and writing usually in the safe container of a journal.  

Michelle is finishing her Personal Training certification and offers exercise programs and training sessions for wellbeing as well as anxiety and depression management.

Connect on Facebook

For more information about creative support groups or personal training with Michelle contact the Henry Street Centre in Fremantle on 9433 6957 or email michellesaleeba@msn.com

Much has been written on the benefits of meditation, a practice of quietening the mind as a way to relieve stress, foster relaxation and keep us comfortably focussed in the present irrespective of what is happening around us. 

While this is an incredibly valid practice and one I encourage, sitting meditation is something that takes time and dedication to reap the rewards.  Especially in times of high stress or anxiety it can be really tricky to just sit and be still, to ‘relax’, yet it is important that we do.   

Using a focal point for your meditation practice (whether you are a beginner or have an established practice this works equally well) can be beneficial to get you started and keep your attention as the inevitable thoughts, worries and noisy mind chatter stream through the conscious mind pulling us away from our needed quietening and relaxing.

Mandala drawing or colouring has a long history in meditation practice and is used as a tool in art therapy to assist the process of quietening our worries and provide a focus for centering the body and mind.  

Today there is a new idea that is gaining momentum in art therapy which involves the colouring of mandala circles as an incidental therapeutic practice.  This idea has evolved from the long tradition of using pre-drawn and coloured mandala images as a focal point in meditation to include the active participation of colouring to achieve a heightened sense of calm as we not only focus our attention but express our creative energy in a way that is both soothing and nourishing.

The popularity of Mandala colouring comes from both the portability and accessibility of the practice.  All you need is a print out of your Mandala template and colouring tools (ideas below).  You can do it anywhere with table space, or even leaning on a magazine and best of all you don’t need any specific drawing, art skills or training, just a willingness to engage with the process and give it a go.  Remember we aren’t ‘making art’ here we are practicing active meditation, so letting go of needing a particular outcome is an important part of allowing the process to flow and receiving that calming meditative benefit.

Don't think about your colour choices too much and don't worry about matching colours. Let your instincts guide you. After you've begun with the first colour, the rest will follow.  The idea that each colour you choose and place on the mandala will invite the next one is key here.  Trust the process, see how it gathers momentum. 

I recommend having a variety of mandala templates to choose from, a folder of print outs works well.  There are also template books available.  Less complicated designs are perfect for snatching 5 minutes of time for yourself and larger more complex designs are wonderful if you know you can set aside a longer period to focus on your practice.

Getting Started 

Gather your supplies

You can use any colouring tools you like, crayons, pencil crayons, chalks, pastels, paint, or markers in a variety of colours.  You can even use collage to fill in your Mandala.

Print your mandala (see links below).

Find a quiet and comfortable place.

Start colouring.

It’s that simple!

The next step is creating your own Mandala templates! 

Some Links to Mandala templates

print mandalas

mandala templates

View fullsize

Image provided by Tiny Sparks WA

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Toddler Tuesdays - Week 6 of the 12 weeks of winter

Welcome to week 6 of ‘Toddler Tuesdays’.  You can find more of our ‘Toddler Tuesdays’ activities here, we hope you are enjoying them.  This week’s activity is Can you Guess?

You will need -

1. A pillowcase.
2. A number of household objects or toys that your child is familiar with.  Their age and ability may guide your selections here but some examples would be spoon, toy car, soft toy, block.

Instructions -

Before introducing your child to this activity you will need to gather the items from above and place all of the toys or household objects into the pillowcase.  The idea of this game is for your child to put their hand into the pillowcase and choose one item.  For a young toddler they might simply get it out like a lucky dip and you name the item.  For an older child you might encourage them to describe the item they can feel, have a guess at what it is and then let them bring it out for them to see.  You can play many rounds of this game if it engages your child switching out the items each time.  For a young toddler you may only want 4 or 5 items as their attention to the task may wander.  For an older toddler 10 items may be more appropriate.

Focus -

This activity really focuses on the child using the sense of touch to help them determine what the object may be.  Language is also encourage by asking questions eg, ‘Is it soft or hard?’  If your child is not yet verbal you can describe it to them when the item emerges, eg ‘This is teddy.  Teddy is soft.’  Your child will also be building their fine motor skills grasping the object and removing it from the pillowcase.

If you try out one of our activities please let us know what your toddler (and you) thought.  Feel free to leave a comment here or post an image or comment to our Facebook page.  If you enjoy the activity we would encourage you to share this post with your friends.

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