Fun with Puzzles

Who doesn’t love puzzles ?  Truthfully me, I was never a very big fan, I don’t have the patience or mind set to truly enjoy them. That all changed with the birth of my little princess. Everyone knows of the baby puzzles and there importance in developing cognitive skills, problem solving, visual recognition, memory, shapes, colors and much more which is why I am going to focus on some other ways to look at puzzles.

My grandmother use to love making puzzles and she would always glue them together when she was done, I never asked but I assume she liked the challenge, the tranquility of the time to herself and the sense of accomplishment when completing a difficult puzzle so this got me to thinking how can I use puzzles in my little princesses life without me having to do the bigger puzzles.  After she grew out of the infant puzzles and block puzzles Kiara naturally was ready to advance to the childrens puzzles( 25-100 pieces) but had kind of grown bored with them, this is were my plan was put into place. I decided not to make it about the learning in the traditional sense but more of the creative sense which is what she always seemed to gravitate towards.  We did not have a lot of money so I solved multiple problems with one cheap tactic. I would get a Disney princess puzzle and in the beginning we would solve it together with me always making it a huge deal when I got a piece so she would think it was when she did as well. Remembering how my grandmother would glue the puzzles I began doing the same for Kiara and having her hang them on her walls. I choose Disney princess for a few simple reasons: 1. She was four when we started and in her princess phase 2. There are too many varieties to count and 3. They are readily available at walmart, target and most dollar stores.  This began to evolve into several bonding activities besides the obvious of doing the puzzles together there is the tradition of hanging them on the wall which I always allow her to pick the spot  and of course going to the store to pick out the next puzzle  (generally reserved for rainy days as we like to spend as much outdoor time as possible). Kiara also began to think puzzles were cool and not just for kids when she saw how into puzzles my fiance (Iva) was, by this time she had begun to really look up to her as a female role model and associated her doing puzzles with being the intelligent and artistic woman she is , so naturally she too wanted to do them.

I found that the puzzles began to build her sense of pride, accomplishment and definitely independence as she was very proud to be in charge of decorating her room and it became more more her space which lead to her taking a bigger sense of pride in keeping it clean.

Its funny how even things you might not have enjoyed as a child can come back to have such an important role in your life….thanks grandma, thanks Iva!

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Cooking with the kids

Some of my fondest moments as a child were in the kitchen, my mother was a single mother who always was working at least two jobs to provide for us (thank you mom!) so on most nights the only real times I got to spend with her was the hour  or so she stopped home to cook dinner. I will always remember the vast array of smells and being amazed at how well she could cook  but mostly I remember sitting at the table and talking to her as she prepared our dinner.  It was also a family tradition to gather at our grandparents house every Sunday, every once and awhile I would be lucky enough to sleep at grandma’s house the night before which traditionally meant staying up late watching tv and eating things my mother would never allow ( got to love grandparents), but the most memorable times of those sleepovers were prepping the food for the next days festivities, this usually consisted of  homemade pizza or  lasagna, but again the time spent together talking about current events, family gossip or just silly  joke telling is what made it so special. As I grew older I came to realize more and more just how big of an impact cooking had on my life not just giving me an appreciation for cooking but also an appreciation for using food as a bonding tool. When my daughter was born, I immediately decided that cooking would be part of our relationship and would be used as a learning tool.

 Obviously when you are dealing with children of any age safety is first, in my case I always have  my daughter help with the prep work as she was not allowed to use the oven for obvious reasons. Also, knifes were out so I found a childrens’  spreading knife that had no sharp edges and allowed her to use that which she knew was only for her use. ALWAYS TEACH KITCHEN SAFETY !!

There are many  benefits to cooking with your children ranging from comprehension to math to social development. Cooking can help develop math skills by allowing your children to do the prep work   will naturally learn addition, subtraction and measurements. Cooking builds self confidence and esteem, seeing the finished product being enjoyed by others will give your children a sense of accomplishment and make them feel as if they have contributed to the functioning of the family. Your child will feel more confident in taking care of themselves and others.  Cooking can help your child to tell time, develop  an appreciation for a variety of foods and understand the importance of healthy eating. Another very important lesson that can be passed along to your children is that old gender stereotypes are no longer valid. Its good to let your children see that their father can help out around the house and cook, do you want your daughter to think her role in life is to only serve? Do you want your son to think  a man can’t take care of his family in other ways besides financially?  In todays time of split homes its important to teach your kids to take care of themselves and in the homes that do have both parents more and more both are working it is important to show your children that  home responsibilities should be shared. Most importantly cooking is a great way to learn communication and manners.  Helping each other requires teamwork, politeness and patience.

Cooking with my daughter has provided me with amazing memories that can never be topped. Passing on my knowledge to her is only part of the satisfaction, the time spent together is what really makes it all the worth while. Spend the time talking to your children about their day, their feelings or even just laughing with one and another. In my case its usually the laughter.  Kids enjoy the simplest things in life as long as it is with their parents and cooking is one of the easiest to incorporate into your routine as we all have to eat. It is simple in todays world to just throw a meal together quickly but the reward of just slowing down and taking a few extra minutes will far out weigh the time saved when you see your child development. My daughter still gets a kick out of sitting in front of the oven watching the food bake and I still get tremendous joy from watching her, no matter how stressful or fast paced your day may be its all worth it in the end. My daughter has amazing confidence in herself, whether with me or a sitter she knows she will never have to worry. She takes great pride in the fact that she can go into the kitchen get a drink, make a snack or a sandwich.

Thanks for the memories grandma, I know you would be proud to see the influence you have had !

Safety Tips:

**Again safety is always the most important thing**

1. no knifes

2. stay away from ovens or stove tops

3. stay away from electrical appliances

4. pots and pan handles should face inwards

5. teach about the dangers of raw foods

6. teach the importance of washing hands before, after and during

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The art of coloring

We all loved coloring as kids, in fact I have never even heard of a child who doesn't like to color, personally I never grew out of it. I may not have exactly announced to the world that I continued to color through my young adult life but once I had a my little princess we were back in business with no feelings of shame or guilt that I enjoyed coloring as much as I did. Much like with movies, rides and games once you have a child you are given a free pass to again enjoy these activities with out the funny stares.

There are numerous benefits to coloring including perception, creativity, recognition of colors and shapes, concentration and gross- motor skills. All these benefits are well documented and can be read about in thousands of published articles, they are also common sense in my opinion. I found that although these benefits are extremely important there are also a lot of benefits that seem to not get quite the same recognition.

Coloring helped my little Kiara learn to express her feelings more openly, I found she used coloring as means to show how much she cared for everyone in her life. She got extreme pleasure out of making pictures for me, her teachers, friends, my friends, family and later in her life she used them to express her love of my fiance. Coloring also, sub consciously, taught her proper etiquette as she began to color thank you pictures for everyone who gave her presents, she used them as cards for loved ones on holidays, birthdays and all occasions and eventually felt as if she showed up to someones house it was her way of bringing something to share.

Coloring can also be extremely therapeutic to both your child and you, not only does it teach how to express feelings and etiquette but also provides family and bonding time with your child. Some great conversations have been had at our dinner table over a bowl of grapes and a coloring book we discuss the day at school, how we feel about whatever is going on in our lives at the time and we create inside jokes.

Coloring is a very calming it is a perfect activity to share with your child between dinner and story time. It relaxes and calms your child after a long active day. Coloring is also a very good and cheap activity when stuck indoors on those rainy days. Coloring books are readily available at dollar stores, discount stores and there are endless websites were you can download free pictures for coloring.

Coloring is educationally, creatively and emotionally beneficial to a childs development but most importantly it is fun for everyone!

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