Tag Archives: way to play

sail away with paper boats

Posted on July 26, 2014 | Leave a comment

Sail into summer with fun paper boats. Such a fun water activity, sailing boats into water streams played magic on me when i was a kid.

Since we arrived to lebanon, i wanted to take Nady to this specific place where i used to play when i was his age or even bigger.

The sound of water flowing increases the energy and causes great eagerness! With less than a dollar you can make 20 colored boats to launch in this cool water.

Here is a detailed tutorial paper boat craft:

Fold an A4 paper in half. Again fold from both sides to the middle two side triangles to make like the roof of a house.

Fold up the rectangular part under the triangle from both sides. Fold the edges to the inside to make hat shape.

Fold the hat exactly in the middle, then fold up the edges (triangles) from both sides. Again if you open it it looks like a hat.

Open the hat sideways, et voila the beautiful paper boat!

The multi colored boats and the green on the sides of the water stream created a charming frame! If you don’t have natural water streams nearby, you can play by the sides of a pool or even in the bathtub to make the shower more fun.

We could stay forever playing, sensory water activities are endless, as i always say it’s one of the most exciting things to explore! Even when all the boats sailed away, Nady found another game to stay by the stream. Throwing stones in the water! Yes splash, slosh and slop! He was so excited he just wanted to soak his hands in the cold water…

Imagine how exciting and fun playing with water!

colored pasta frame to Nady’s best papa tuto in the world – Happy father’s day!

Posted on June 20, 2014 | 2 comments

Papa Tuto (Antoun) we miss you a lot, can’t wait one more week to join us! Nady’s is in a hurry to see you to offer you his handmade frame, made with love.

If you want to make similar frame, all you need is colored pasta and a frame of your choice.

Color different type of pasta, with food coloring. Let it dry completely for at least 5 hours before using.

Choose a white frame (for a better contrast with the colors) with big borders to have a space to stick the colored pasta.

Tuto as Nady calls Antoun! You can write anything you wish, maybe a message!

Brush the frame with glue (we used UHU) give your child the pasta and let him be creative.

This beautiful frame is 100% made by Nady 🙂

He kept on sticking and removing the pasta for a long time! He really enjoyed this craft play! Even after he is done with the frame he played with the remaining pasta for some time!

It’s the second father’s day for you, and it happens for the second time we are not celebrating in the same country. I collected your happy moments with Nady over these two years, i know each picture says hundred words, thousand stories and infinite feelings.

Happy father’s day tuto, am sure Nady will grow up loving you and being proud of you!

Happy father’s day to all the fathers in the world, especially those who lost a kid, those who raised one they didn’t give birth to and those who takes care of their kid with special needs.

Happy father’s day to my father in law William, may you live long and god grants you health.

Finally happy father’s day to the one who put me on his shoulders to reach the stars.

تعاليمك صلاتي وصدرك سمائي وحبك سرمدي كيسوعي أزلي.

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, special occasions, way to play

Tagged blog, celebration, colored pasta, DIY, father, father's day, frame, happy father's day, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, pictures, way to play

let him create his own outfit with washable colors

Posted on June 18, 2014 | 2 comments

My son is my inspiration! he gives me ideas for the fun games we do together! He is a little artist, in love with colors! Give him a pen and he will draw everywhere except on the paper 🙂

Washable colors are a perfect invention! Let your child enjoy his free drawing and design his own outfit!

When i handed him the colors without a paper, he felt something different this time, he was surprised. I am sure he thought: Mamma went nuts! He didn’t hear me saying “be careful not to draw on your cloth or the wall or… or…

All i had to do is a single dot on this tshirt to make him go crazy!

The space was all his, for a totally free drawing everywhere! Really everywhere! He was beyond happy, expressing his joy with colors.

It’s very important to give your child from time to time a free messy play with no restrictions or rules! Of course a safe one! Messy play is designed with children’s natural curiosity in mind. It unleashes their creativity, builds self-confidence and self-esteem. They develop concentration, problem-solving and planning. Nady was so proud of himself, and i was proud to see him leading the game! he is the boss and I was just talking to him to help boost his language skills and teach him colors!

Love his creation tshirt! he also drew on the shorts to match 🙂

He was really happy and it made me happy as well. I wrote happy on his tshirt.

It’s a brilliant idea, practical, safe and guilt free. Just put it in the washing machine and it will be ready for another piece of art the next day!

Just be happy!

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, design, marmite et ponpon, motor activity, painting, washable colors, way to play

straws sculpture – fine motor activity

Posted on May 26, 2014 | 2 comments

This Fun play was totally inspired by my son. Since he was a baby he shows interest in straws, he likes to pull it out of my drink, then put it back. Every time we are in a restaurant we order extra straws for him to play so i can save my drink 🙂

To encourage his interest and his motor skills, i got a bunch of colored straws (to add more fun to the play) to play with.

He got so excited when he saw the quantity!

But this time we are not inserting the straws in a cup, we are poking them in a homemade playdough. Click here for the safe homemade playdough recipe that i posted earlier.

He started by sticking the straws one by one. The sculpture started to shape out.

He had a good time building and rebuilding the sculptures. Every time i think it’s over, he removes the straws and starts again!

Constructive play begins in middle to late toddlerhood, when the child becomes motivated to combine and arrange objects to construct something new. At this age there is no rules for the play, you can show your kid how to play, but he always has his own way. Conventional toys are very interesting, but kids like to use items in the house to discover the environment around them. You see kids playing with tupperwares, lids, spoons… Sometimes simple things at home can be instructive and entertaining. With these simple straws we played for more than an hour and he was extremely happy and entertained!

And here is Nady’s beautiful straws sculpture. Isn’t it beautiful?

2 Comments

Posted in DIY, way to play

Tagged blog, DIY, jaymmy, kids, marmite et ponpon, motor skills, playdough, straws, toddlers activity, way to play

Water balloons sensory play – bath time fun!

Posted on May 13, 2014 | 4 comments

Next in the sensory play series was the limitless possibilities of water play!

Toddlers love water, not only because of the familiarity of their womb environment, but also because it’s one of the most exciting thing to explore!

Giggle, spray, sprinkle, laugh excitedly, drip, pour, funnel tickle, drizzle… and the most fun one is SPLASH! Think of how rich and delightful water is as a play.

Who doesn’t remember water balloons from childhood? I filled about 20 balloons with water and placed them in the tub to extend the bath time fun.

Nady got so excited, he jumped on the balloons, wanted to grab them all at once, squeezing them, twisting them into other shapes and slipping them through his hands.

Water play, fosters learning in all developmental areas. It encourages the development of eye – hand coordination through squeezing, pouring or stirring.

Water play relieves tension by encouraging children to release their emotions. Nady was enjoying expanding the balloons. I tied the balloon to the tap and he was pulling until it splashes. You can hear a lot of giggles!

Water play is such a meaningful experience to introduce new words to describe the situation such as heavy, pull, splash… for instance.

Sprinkling was hilarious! I was enjoying the play as much as Nady. I loved his reaction!

Water play widens the sensory experience as kids put their hands in different textures and temperatures. Running water was like magic for him, he wanted to catch it, he stayed for a long time trying…

You can’t imagine how open – ended is this activity and how it provides opportunities for extended learning. After we burst all the balloons and wanted to end this play, i needed a transitional game to take him out of the water. I thought his stacking cups could help and he found a way to stay in the game. he started filling the cups with the burst balloons and pouring them from one to the other.