Never to Early for Art!

Thanks to my years working in a childcare classroom, I am very well versed in the subject of Process versus Product- that is the important part of an art experience is the experience not how the final masterpiece turns out.

The place where I worked frowned upon cut out shapes and limiting children's options a bit too much in my opinion (I opened the art cabinet and let the toddlers pick from far too many colors of paper more than once...) but I absolutely agree that giving children choices, even at a young age, is going to get those creative juices flowing!

The Bug was only 2 months old when he created his first masterpiece! As young babies do not have control of many body parts, we started with feet painting!

The Bug was not sure how to feel about this cold and mushy substance being smeared onto his feet but he played along well!

We used a boppy pillow to prop him up (he had reflux so flat wasn't good), took off his pants and socks, taped paper to an empty diaper box (yes I use these for everything I can! Recycle!!), and put him on a washable blanket. He was unpredictable and there was paint in some strange places...

But he actually seemed to enjoy it and having a surface to "kick" is a wonderful way to develop some core muscles when you refuse tummy time!

Plus, honestly his grandparents were delighted to get these along with their Easter cards! 

Did I let the Bug pick out his own colors, no, he was 2 months old and couldn't focus on things far away from his face but I feel that part of the reason he tolerates crazy new sensory things is because I started him young!

For Father's Day, I had to get a bit more creative. The Bug was now almost 5 months old and had a lot more control of his body. My aunt had been cleaning out her dad's house back at Christmas and brought a bunch of old wooden spools and asked if I wanted them (uh, yes!) so the Bug rolled the spools in paint with some help from me and created canvases for Daddy and Papa! This was the first time I celebrated Father's Day since my own father passed away so it was important to me to make it big!

The Bug made more choices this time though I did end up rolling the spools into paint and putting them on his tray after the first canvas...

We used Crayola paints which are nontoxic but you can also find recipes for edible finger paints around. I'll get around to posting some recipes one day!

Paint isn't a clean activity but the Bug really enjoys it and I enjoy getting to try out some "artsy" photography shots!

Our latest art fun was sensory art! The Bug had an ear infection and cold so I didn't want to be running around (he was napping a lot) but he was also chomping at the bit to do something so...

WE PAINTED!

Each color had a different texture or scent! Red was mixed with bubbles, orange with sand, yellow with lemon extract, green was just paint (got to have a control...), blue was oats, and purple was lavender oil (I was hoping that one would help him wind down...)

The Bug was perfectly willing to check out the paint on the plates but wasn't as interested in creating art so the plates were definitely more painted than the paper.

He ended up covered in paint. He loves baths before bed but in the middle of the day, they cause meltdowns... 

The things I added to the sensory paints were things I had on hand! I've added all sorts of things to paints before- flour, salt, corn syrup, as well as the things pictured above! *Salt can cause some changes in your paint!

Scent painting (like the lemon and lavender) is a great activity too though if you do too many at once, your senses can get overwhelmed! I've used lemon, orange, raspberry, peppermint, and vanilla extracts before- the paintings have a hint of scent but are not overwhelming once dry!

The Bug's Favorite Toys 0-6 Months

When I was registering for and buying baby stuff, even as an experienced teacher I was SUPER overwhelmed by the amount of stuff!

For the first 3 months, we basically didn't put the Bug down except for play time, Mommy's bathroom breaks, and at night. His favorite thing from day 1 was the little mobile that came with his play mat. It played a gentle song and little bugs spun around. We chose not to do a musical crib mobile (I made one- what can I say, I like crafts!) and I'm glad because it stimulated him a lot for a little guy!

The Bug was so obsessed with this bouncy, jingling bird that I had to hide it when he started getting angry that he couldn't get the whole thing in his mouth... He would play with, wrestle, and just love on this thing!

Before a long car trip, we discovered Zazzles the zebra (not his legal name). The Bug loves it and it has a bee that shakes, an apple to chew, rings to grab, and a mirror hanging from his feet which just happened to be one of the Bug's favorite things to chew/suck on! Zazzles also has ribbons for a tail which are basically the Bug's favorite thing ever...

As the Bug grew and became more interactive between 5 and 6 months, he became MUCH more interested in toys. Papa put up a swing at the mountain house and the Bug spent hours swinging. He would have spent more if it weren't for the mosquitos eating me...

This gem happened to belong to the hubby when he was a baby and the Bug loved it! Nana was a little concerned about letting him chew on it but I'm a germophile so I let the Bug do as he pleased! I have found them under bead maze most successfully!

Stacking cups grew into a top pick VERY quickly. The Bug learned to clap them together and is still happy to do so. They're simple and versatile- great toy to grow with him!

The winkel and oball are two that continue to be the Bug's favorites. They are great because they are graspable so as soon as he started reaching for toys, they were easy for him to grab. They both also have rattles so now he enjoys shaking them and bonus to the oball, he crawls after it when it rolls away!

There were lots of other toys that he enjoyed but these have been the most consistent! His absolute favorite thing for the first 6 months of life were faces. Now Mom and Dad obsession has been replaced by cat chasing... 

Baby's First Sensory Bin

So I am a bit more adventurous than the average new mom (spend time for 9 toddlers all day for 3 years and you'll be more adventurous too!) but the Bug's first sensory bin was rice. Check out of sensory starter ideas!

He wasn't quite sitting up yet so we'd prop him on a pillow and he'd stick his hands in and move them around. He is about 5 months here and so many people asked me if he was trying to eat it. If you have a 5 month old, you know- they don't have a pincer grip or the grip that uses the thumb and index finger to pick stuff up. He was beginning to use a sweeping grip but rice falls right through those fingers!

I eventually made Rainbow Rice, an older toddler classroom favorite! You can find the recipe here: Rainbow Rice

He was talking... 

The box got a bit too high so we tired a baking sheet too!

And of course on his high chair tray!

So many ways you can try out sensory things with your little one! For things like rice that are easier to vacuum than sweep or mop, I highly recommend the rug be under your child! So much quicker to run over the rug with the vacuum! Things that need to be swept or mopped, we do on a tablecloth turned picnic blanket!

When It's Ok to Play With Your Food

At our 4 month appointment, the Bug's pediatrician informed us we were starting cereal. I had been all about baby led weaning up until daily (sometimes more than once) poop blowouts began occurring and suddenly the prospect of giving him cereal so that I wouldn't be cleaning up poop everyday seemed like an excellent idea!

Except that it wasn't. The Bug was exclusively breastfed and the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their recommendations from starting solids at 4 months to 6 months and the Bug wasn't ready. Sure he was sitting up with help and meeting most of the "milestones" but his digestive system wasn't ready and after a week, we stopped.

BUT now we have all this stuff and a kiddo who was interested in our food so... we compromised with him sort of...

The mantra I hear over and over now is Food Before 1 is Just for Fun! so I took that to heart!

We got the mesh feeders and started letting the Bug explore breastmilk ice cubes (great for teething though the Bug still has 0...)

Then of course, it was totally finger painting with prunes time! 

The Bug thinks of himself as Spiderman even though we prefer Superman...

He did eat some but that was ok- he was having fun! (And oral exploration is definitely fun...)

As he got a bit older, we started adding things like pieces of banana or avocado to his mesh feeder and taught him how to hold it himself! (This was once the hand to mouth part was better mastered!)

At 6 months, we went crazy! The Bug gets spoon fed a little bit but most of his food is stuff he can pick up! We did abide by the 3-4 day rule between introducing new foods to a point though now we aren't good about it...

He makes a mess but he has now learned to chew and loves Rice cakes and Kix (thus I don't have to buy the overpriced, over sugared baby brands!!!)

So go grab a container of the baby food you can't believe you bought (what? It's not organic???) and let it be part of a sensory experience! 

** Note- it is up to you and your doctor to decide when is the right time to start solid foods for your child!

*** Please make sure your child isn't playing with food they may be allergic too! Rice or oatmeal cereal is a perfectly fine play medium as well as any foods!!!