There is a reason that puzzles are a classic toy, it's because they are awesome!!! They aren't just to keep kids occupied, although they are masters at doing that, they help kids develop fine motor and problem solving skills. There are a million different types of puzzles. There are chunky wooden puzzles, peg puzzles, cardboard ones, floor puzzles, or all of the variations on the red and blue octogon ball with holes for different shapes (I think we all grew up with that one). Anyway, those can all be quite expensive so here are some ideas for cheap, homemade puzzles.
-you can just cut up the back of your Cheerios box and let your older child put it together. You will be amazed how well they know what it is supposed to look like. That also helps them recognize environmental print (all of the words they know because they have seen then a million times. ex. McDonalds (what kids doesn't recognize that word or atleast the M).
-you can paste a picture from a coloring book or magazine on some popsicle sticks and them cut them apart with a razor blade. Let the kids put them back in order. You can write numbers on the bottom to help with number recognition and to help the younger kids put the picture back together.
-you can go to TJ Maxx and buy their awesome "Melissa and Doug" wooden puzzles for dirt cheap.
-you can draw the outlines of different shapes on a paper and then give your kids cut outs of those shapes to put on them. (if you want this to last longer, laminate a manilla folder with the shapes drawn on them and then put velcro on the shapes so the kids can stick them on the right shape)
-use cookie cutters to cut out shapes in play-doh and then have the kids try to put them back in the right spot.
-laminate a place mat (trace different foods or their utensils on a long peice of construction paper and laminate it) and have your kids try to match the shape of the food they are eating or utensil they are using to the one on the place mat. Examples are certain cracker shapes, cheese stick shape, apple slice, carrot stick, sandwich halves, the shape of the bottom of a yogurt, the bottom of their cup or bowl. You can also use this idea to get them to leave their bowl or plate in the right place on the table. They will love that they have their own special place mat.
-trace different blocks or objects and cut them out into a cereal or tissue box and let them drop in the object that matches.
Have fun with it. Your kids will love all of the new ideas!!
If you have other ideas let us know!!
About Me
- Dana
- I am a cultivator of all things Home. I am currently trying to shape 3 small human beings into becoming who they are meant to be, while keeping an orderly (in the mom of 3 kids kind of way) home and taking care of a wonderful husband. I have a degree in Family and Human Development and will be forever grateful for that decision. My goal is to maintain a balanced life. I like to keep my life simple. I am a minimalist at heart. I am on a mission to find the best products, tips, methods of all things pertaining to making my home a Healthy little Haven for my family. I am a nonchalant Norwex consultant, not because I want a career, but because I believe it makes my life simpler and healthier and I LOVE taking that to other people. It has become my hobby which keeps me balanced. I love to clean; I’m not a clean freak. I love to cook; I’m not a chef. I love to feed my family healthy/home cooked foods; my kids had Macaroni and Cheese for lunch. You get the idea, balance. No extremes here.
4 comments:
Dana-
This is Sheri from your love & logic class. Fist, I love the blog. Great ideas! Secondly, Jenny told me to check out your site to BEG for help. This last week whenever I sing the uh-oh song for my son, Payden, he completly freaks out. He starts to growl and scream and hits me. This has NEVER happened before. He has never hit or anything like it. I am at a total loss. PLAESE HELP!! I'll see you monday!
We can definitely talk more about it tonight, but I do have a few suggestions for you. I have said before that you can take the pieces of Love and Logic that you like and that work for you. My advice would be to drop the "Uh Oh" song. I think that once you try something for awhile (you did it for like a month) if it isn't working for you, try something new. I encourage you to try something new that fits the Love and Logic style. If I were you, I would try just not saying anything at all. You can just walk him to his room and tell him to join you when he is sweet. We can talk more tonight about specifics. I am trying to come up with things that will work for you all. By the way, for getting your kids to get dressed, here are a few ideas: you could set aside 15 minutes in the morning to play really hard and make it special mom time. You could say something like, "I will be doing special mom fun time out here in the living room for the next 20 minutes, feel free to join me as soon as you are dressed." With that you can change it to anything he enjoys. You could put on a short video and tell him you will be starting it in 5 minutes, and he is free to watch it when he is dressed. You can tweak it so it works for you, but I think some type of reward might work, just make it seem like you are doing it anyway. If you do special mom time, it might be a great way to make sure to really get on the floor and play with the kids hard at least for 15 minutes a day.
Dana, I am so glad you started this blog. I took love and logic classes here in st. george and so I am familar with it. I was thinking that you need to come stay with me, like The Nanny show does, and help me discipline my children:) That would be pretty sweet! anyway, I am excited that you are sharing your knowledge! love ya, Amy
First of all, "Happy Anniversary"! Hope you and Bubba are having a great day. I sent you a recipe last night called Cinnamon Sweet Potato Slices and I just wanted to let you know that my VERY PICKY boys have eaten two baking sheets full! I am thrilled! I couldn't believe that all three of them were begging me for more and I even had to hide them so that we could have some with our dinner. And they were so easy to make. I cut the sweet potatoes about 1/4 inch thick and I used spray butter instead. They ended up being just a little crispy around the edges and softer in the middle. I am just happy I found another vegetable they will eat!
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