The week of finger paint

I was asked by someone I went to school with what it is that I do with MJ all day. I have to admit, I have a pretty wise child. He has learned stuff quickly. Although most is just his own personality and will to get somewhere or do something on his own, I would like to take credit for some stuff. I like to be a hands on mom. I try to be a hands on mom. I know we all have a busy schedule, trust me I know! With school ( yay for being done) and Bible study and suadron events and Matts games I really have to sit down and make the time to teach MJ stuff that a good mommy/teacher should do. Since he was small I took him to the Zoo and parks and walks talking to him and showing him everything I possibly could. Although he probably never understood it, at people thought I was silly taking my two month old to see animals I loved it. I loved spending the time with him and showing him things and of course lets be honest, having a reason to do all the childish things an adult cant until they have children. I teach, that is my degree, that is my job before I had MJ. I teach children. I watch them learn and explore and see their face light up when they just get something or are introduced to something new and fun. So as a mom I spent countless hours on the internet looking for activities ( other then the zoo and park) to do with MJ at home that will help him learn. So many sites out there have wonderful activities for children..who are above the age of 2... Ok my kid is smart but not THAT smart, at least not yet! I then came across a blog http://www.playcreateexplore.com. This blog had some great activities for all ages. Of course there are limited options for one year olds but I then read in her post that , young children can do just about any activity an older toddler can with adult supervision and maybe a little tweaking. I also read in her blog that in order to keep a child's interest for long you must stick to one activity with small changes here and there to keep it interesting. So that is what I am going to do. Each week ( of course not counting the extreamly busy weeks where it would be no fun) I will decide on one activity.. just one. That one activity will be done those days we are home. During those days I will add to it or change it in some way to keep MJs interest. Now as a first time mom I am learning so I imagine some activities will be a bust while others will be ones he will love for years to come *hopefully*. So here we go!!


Although I usually wont start on a Sunday today we started finger paint!!!

I made homemade finger paint because MJ has not yet moved past the stage of everything going in his mouth. So therefor it must be edible.

Flour
Water
Food coloring

I just added the amount of flower I wanted ( depending on how much paint you want to make) and then added water until it was the consistency I desired. Start with small amounts as it can get watery quickly. Then add the food coloring and you have green paint!!! Or whatever color you desire. Today we started with just the paint on his high chair. Dont want to overwhelm him the first day do I? As excited as I was he was fascinated for about 5 minutes before getting fussy, why I started so close to nap time is besides me. He was a bit confused what was going on. He really was more interested at looking at what was on his hands then on the table. I can imagine as we do this more often he will learn to love it. He is a bit of a texture freak so anything gooey is out of his comfort zone.

I have not decided what I will add to the paint throughout this week to help him learn and have fun but I will figure it out as the days go on.

Here is too a new turn on mommy hood!!!

See what I mean about the hands

Good thing its edible

there are those hands again!