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Nursery Rhymes List of Songs from Around the World

Nursery Rhymes List of Songs from Around the World

Nursery rhymes for toddlers and babies play a huge role in every child’s early development stages. Kids love the rhyming words, the lyrics and the repetition of words and of course, the music! The origins of most nursery rhymes are grim and they were actually ways to tell stories through poetic lyrics and sounds. But over the years, they have become a source of entertainment and learning for children. These rhymes transformed into fun modern versions that delight kids around the world.

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8 Smart Ways To Entertain Your Toddler In The Car

8 Smart Ways To Entertain Your Toddler In The Car

Going on a road trip is one of the best things you can do with your family. A long drive with your loved ones is truly a magical experience. But mommies, I’m sure you will agree that traveling long distances with little children in tow is not a joke. During the long journey, your child will be strapped to a car seat with minimal space for movement. As a result, your sweet little baby will start feeling cranky and throw tantrums. It takes a lot of patience and some meticulous planning to make sure that your child’s, as well as your own car journey, goes well. So the big question is…

How to keep your child entertained in the car on road trips?

Here are some tips.

family road trip
image credit: pexels.com

1. Pack the snacks!

Nothing can keep your child calm and relaxed if he is hungry. Plan out the snacks that you will carry with you beforehand, and pack them for your journey. Don’t forget to bring along lots of water and some milk in sippy cups. Although healthy snacks are preferred, you can add in a few of your child’s favorite snacks to keep him happy during the ride.

2. Sing songs

A family road trip is incomplete without some music! Little children react to music in an unbelievable way. Take pictures and videos of your toddler bobbing his head to the beat or your older kid singing along to the lyrics. You can even play some of his favorite nursery rhymes and keep him entertained.

3. Bring your iPad along

If you have an iPad or a tablet, bring it along on your road trip. Download an app, such as KidloLand, which is an all-in-one companion for your preschooler. Loaded with a ton of educational and fun content, your child will surely never get bored of playing and learning.

 entertain car road trip toddler tips
image credit: Pezibear/pixabay

4. Bring some toys!

Your child might have some favorite toys or soft toys at home that she loves to play with, so why not bring them along too? Your children can cuddle with soft and fuzzy toys, making it much easier for them to fall asleep. Avoid bringing toys which make noises for your own sanity.

5. White board and dry-erase markers

A clear white board is a blank canvas, all it needs is your child’s imagination! During a long road trip, your child can feel bored of sitting in one place for long hours. How about giving her a white board with some dry-erase markers? She can doodle, scribble, draw, write and keep herself engaged for quite some time.

6. Finger puppets

Finger puppets are a great way to keep things interesting on your road trip. Encourage your little one to make up his own story with the finger puppets and keep adding new twists and turns to it. This will not only keep him entertained but it will also make him think! Colorful finger puppets are great ‘friends’ for your child to talk to, and it also promotes creative thinking and imaginative play.

entertaining car activities for toddlers
image credit: publicdomainpictures

7. Books

You can bring along some story books with colorful illustrations to keep your little one engrossed. Read the stories to him or let him read them all by himself. When you read a story to him, add voice modifications for different characters and make it fascinating. Your child is guaranteed to love every bit of it!

traveling with children in car
image credit: publicdomainpictures

8. Lullabies

Naps are extremely essential during road trips! You can play some of the lullabies for babies within the KidloLand app on your iPad/tablet and soon, your little munchkin will be drifting off to sleep. Remember to bring some soft pillows for your child so that she can comfortably fall asleep. Once your child has fallen asleep, take a power nap yourself because you deserve it! After all, mommy needs some sleep too.

Summing Up

It’s best to make a checklist and pack all the essentials for your road trip beforehand. Some strategic planning can ensure that your child has a relaxing and exciting journey in the car. Happy journey!

4 Ways To Teach Your Child To Be Respectful

4 Ways To Teach Your Child To Be Respectful

“Treat people the way you want to be treated.”

This is a powerful saying which sums up a lot in one sentence. Every parent wants his or her child to grow into a wonderful human being. One of the most important qualities a good human possesses is politeness. A person who respects his or her peers, colleagues, authority, elders and children, is a good human. Such a person is greatly admired by people of all ages. So if you’re a new parent, how do you ensure that your child shows respect and gratitude? Read on to know 4 simple ways to teach your child to be respectful.

how to teach respect to your child
image credit: ambermb/pixabay

Lead by example.

Toddlers and preschoolers are growing and learning everything they know from what they see and hear around them. A child observes the behavior of his own parent and emulates it. If you’re a respectful person yourself, your child will effectively start practicing it himself. No matter who you talk to – be it a waiter at a restaurant or the old neighbor you see every day – be polite to each and every one. This is how your child will learn from your example.

teaching children respect and manners
image credit: london-scout/unsplash

Talk about it.

If your preschooler says some disrespectful words or phrases in anger, sit down and talk to them about it. Explain to your child, calmly, why such words and the tone of saying they can be hurtful to the other person. Teach them that kindness and politeness are some of the best qualities a person can have. If your child speaks rudely to you or the elders of the family, you can try saying this – “That is not a good thing to say. We must respect one another.” Avoid yelling or using harsh words yourself.

 

teach respect to kids
image credit : bevashurst/pixabay

Appreciate when your child is polite.

Disciplining your child with a firm voice when they’re being disrespectful is important. But what’s also equally important is appreciating him when he shows gratitude. Teach empathy to your child by using words such as ‘thank you’, ‘please’ and ‘excuse me’ in your daily lives. Be respectful to your child and your child will respect you too. Again, don’t yell at your child, especially in a public place. Doing this can result in him feeling embarrassed and hurt.

teaching toddler respect
image credit: Bessi/pixabay

Teach your kids to help.

Encourage your child to lend a helping hand, at home and at her preschool as well. Teach her those good manners and good behavior helps her to become a wonderful human being. A caring heart and kind words will make sure that your child grows up to be a good person overall. Teach her that even if she wants to say ‘no’, she can do it politely. Show her how to frame sentences so that it’s respectful.

Summing up

Respect means you care to think about the other person’s feelings before you act. Getting angry is natural but how you deal with it is important. If your growing child learns about being compassionate, kind and respectful to others, it’s half the battle won.

5 Tips For A Healthy & Interesting Lunchbox For Preschoolers

5 Tips For A Healthy & Interesting Lunchbox For Preschoolers

Kids, especially the ones under the age of 6, are picky eaters and making a lunchbox for them can be quite a daunting task. If you’ve only been packing sandwiches in your preschooler’s lunchbox, it is time to switch it up and make it interesting for you and your little one! It’s essential that your child’s lunchbox is healthy and also gets him excited for lunch time. Here are some simple and easy ways to make your child’s lunchbox more fun!

1. Get creative.

Cut out vegetables and fruits such as carrots and oranges into fun shapes. You can use various cutters or even cut it out yourself. Make funny faces by including various veggies and set your inner creative artist free. This will not only make the lunchbox fun, but it will also make your preschooler giggle. Try to keep it exciting by choosing a different vegetable every single day.

toddler lunchbox picky eaters
image credit: laundrya/pixabay

2. Keep your child hydrated.

A bottle of homemade orange juice or a yummy smoothie will surely liven up your child’s lunchbox even more. Include fruits such as bananas and strawberries, which will be a nutritious addition to the lunchbox. You can also buy colorful and attractive water bottles, so that your child drinks a lot of water throughout the day and stays hydrated.

healthy lunchbox ideas kids
image credit: digihanger/pixabay

3. Think outside the sandwich.

Instead of the same old sandwich, how about preparing some wraps, rolls, or even some pasta? Including these food items will ensure that your child’s lunchbox is never boring. Increase the health quotient of these recipes by adding some broccoli, peas, and corn. You can even add some chicken and various sauces to ramp up their flavor. Your preschooler will thank you for it.

healthy school lunch ideas
image credit: theandrasbarta/pixabay

4. Pack the power trio.

Healthy eating is a must, no matter what your age is! Make sure that you add the power trio to your preschooler’s lunchbox. The power trio consists of fiber, protein & healthy fat. Whole grain oatmeal, fruits like apples, pears, oranges, are all rich in fiber. Eggs, poultry, fish, dairy products are all great sources of protein. Avocados and hummus are sources of healthy fat.

lunch ideas for 2 year old
image credit: miltonhuallpa95/pixabay

 

5. Make it fun!

Whatever you do, just make it fun! Kids love different shapes and colors. So, work with that in mind and make the lunchbox very colorful. A wonderful and healthy lunchbox is nothing less than artwork. Make pinwheel snacks, veggie dips, heart-shaped cookies to keep your little one super excited for lunch time! Happy eating!

Tips to Pack a Healthy Lunch

How To Deal With Your Toddler’s Tantrums

How To Deal With Your Toddler’s Tantrums

Every parent of a toddler will agree that the dreaded temper tantrums are a complete nightmare. Your adorable and sweet little child turns into a screaming and bawling one. Raising a child is not easy and handling a crying toddler is definitely one of the tougher tasks involved in parenting. So how do you manage your little munchkin’s massive temper tantrum? Here are some simple ways:

Stay calm.

This might seem like a no-brainer but it is the most important thing to do. If you start panicking or start yelling at your already distressed child, things will only get worse. Your toddler’s fit of anger will recede slowly if he sees you being calm about the situation. Toddlers are still growing and they will end up getting angry about trivial things. Make sure that you take a deep breath and handle the whole outburst calmly.

Give her time.

When your child is overcome with emotions and gets really frustrated, she will throw a tantrum. In this case, one of the things you can do is leave her alone. That doesn’t mean that you should abandon her. Just let her sit in a safe space all by herself and you stay nearby. Once she has calmed down a little, you can come back and talk to her in a soothing voice. Avoid saying things like, “You’re a bad kid!” or “You annoy me!” Be gentle and help her to feel better.

how to stop temper tantrums
image credit: publicdomainpictures/pixabay

Change your surroundings.

Sometimes, toddlers find the worst places to throw a tantrum. It can be a restaurant, a supermarket, or the Doctor’s office. It can be very difficult to pacify your child when he is crying his eyes out about something, especially in public. In such situations, get out of where you are and go somewhere you can be alone with your child. A change of surroundings or some kind of diversion can help to take his mind off the original reason for frustration.

toddler tantrums 2 years old
image credit: jordan whitt

Hug!

Reasoning with your toddler will not work, so just go ahead and hug! When a child hugs his mom, it releases a hormone called oxytocin in his body which results in him feeling good. It helps to calm down his flared up emotions. Some soothing words and a comforting hug will surely benefit your toddler and make him feel happy.

Be funny.

Making the situation funny for your child can help her see the brighter side of things. With the help of any nearby objects, try to say and do something funny to distract her. You can also make funny faces to make her laugh! Even if it doesn’t completely calm her down, it will definitely help in some way to ease her frustration. Also, don’t forget to appreciate your child when she successfully calms down.

toddler temper tantrums
image credit: amandacatherine/pixabay

Try to avoid future tantrums.

If your child is freaking out so that he can make you buy something that he really doesn’t need, like some candy or a certain toy, politely refuse. Don’t give in. If you do, your child will realize that throwing a tantrum can give him whatever he wants. In order to avoid future tantrums, make sure that you always carry some snacks, in case your little one gets cranky due to hunger. Figure out whether your toddler gets out of control when he’s hungry, bored, angry or sad. Be prepared and tackle the situation before the storm arrives.

Bottom line

Handling your toddler’s temper tantrum is all about some patience and some clever strategies. If your child gets too hysterical and you feel like you cannot handle it, don’t be afraid to contact a child health care professional.

Toddler Tantrums

How To Encourage Early Literacy In Toddlers

How To Encourage Early Literacy In Toddlers

It’s no secret that children of all ages love reading and listening to stories. But why is it really important to start reading and interacting with your child at an early age? How does it help your little one? The answer is simple. Early literacy in children is an important aspect of their overall development. A strong foundation of reading, writing, drawing, and communicating makes sure that your child does well in school and even in the future. It also opens up a whole new world of creative and imaginative ideas which can enhance your child’s thinking and social skills. You can make this whole process really fun for your toddler or preschooler by following the tips given below.

early literacy toddlers
image credit: nickelbabe/pixabay

Keep it exciting

Join a library which has a wide array of books ranging from bedtime storybooks, fairy tales, fables, early reading stories and more. Your little one can choose whichever storybook she likes the best and you can read it to her or read along with her. Use voice modulation and give funny voices to different characters in every story. Not only does this strengthen your parent-child bond, but it also develops language and vocabulary as they learn new words every single day.

early literacy activities
image credit: dassel/pixabay

Teach poetry and rhymes

Apart from storybooks, another great form of reading is reading poetry! You can introduce your child to the fun world of rhymes with classic nursery rhymes as well as other children’s poems. As an early learner, they will be fascinated with how words work and rhyme with one another. Emphasize the phonics and rhyming words, and ask your child to repeat them as well. Once your child gets used to rhyming words, ask them to write tiny poems on their own. This will surely create some wonderful moments for you and your child.

literacy development toddlers
image credit: Publicdomainpictures/pixabay

Read, read, read!

Reading doesn’t have to stop at books! Whenever you go outside with your toddler, ask them to read out the various labels, signs, names of restaurants, shops, streets etc. Take her to the supermarket and ask her to read everything around her. This will keep her mind alert and inculcate a habit of reading everything she sees. Don’t forget to ask her questions like ‘which shops did you see today?’ or ‘which sign did you see today?’ which will develop her memory skills too.

importance of early literacy
image credit: dagon_/pixabay

Communicate

Asking and answering questions is an integral part of every little one’s early literacy skills. Good communication skills ensure that your toddler will successfully communicate his feelings, thoughts, ideas, and opinions! If your child gets nervous about speaking in front of multiple people, slowly ease her into it by supporting her, cheering for her and appreciating her when she does it well.

preschooler language development
image credit: klimkin/pixabay

Draw & write!

Motivate your preschooler to write each letter, short words, and draw simple objects. Introducing your child to picture books with simple stories is another great idea! Your toddler will look at the colorful illustrations, point out different objects and characters, and repeat the dialogues of the characters which are all beneficial in the long run. This will improve his understanding and will make reading so much fun for him.

As parents, you need to actively work towards the development of your child’s early literacy skills. Children imitate parents in every way and being excited about reading will make them excited too! If you follow these ways to build your children’s early literacy skills, they will surely have a strong base for their future academic life.

5 Yummy Christmas Breakfast Ideas For Kids

5 Yummy Christmas Breakfast Ideas For Kids

Christmas is a couple of days away and the holiday cheer is all around us. People all over the world are excited because it’s the most wonderful time of the year! One of the best things about Christmas is the scrumptious Christmas breakfast that you enjoy with your family and friends. It’s a beautiful experience to prepare breakfast for your loved ones, especially for your little munchkins. A fun Christmas breakfast is something every child looks forward to, so why not make it even more interesting for them? Below are 5 easy and creative ways to make Christmas breakfast that will make Christmas even more magical for them.

1. Pancake Santa

Making Santa pancakes is a simple way to incorporate Santa Claus in your child’s breakfast! The steps are easy:
– Make a plain pancake with your usual recipe. Here’s one simple recipe from allrecipes.com.
– Place a pancake on a plate. Add strawberries to make the Santa hat.
– Slice a strawberry to make Santa’s nose and place it in the middle of the pancake.
– Pipe whipped cream onto the pancake to make Santa’s beard. Also add a little whipped cream at the end of his hat.
– Place two berries to make Santa’s eyes.
– Finally, make him smile with some chocolate sauce and you’re done!

2. Christmas tree cookies

– Christmas tree cookies can be made by first making your regular cookie dough. Here’s a detailed recipe.
– Once the cookies are baked in the shape of a Christmas tree, make sure you let them cool completely.
– Then, pipe green colored frosting on the cookies.
– Add some sprinkles on top of the frosting to mimic ornaments of the Christmas tree
– That’s pretty much it. You can also add a star shaped candy on top of your very own Christmas tree. Enjoy!

christmas cookies breakfast ideas
Some more ideas for cookies!

3. Reindeer brownies

– If you love baking, making brownies will be very easy for you. To make Christmas special reindeer brownies, follow this recipe to make the basic brownies first.
– Once they’re made, cut up your brownies in triangles to make the faces of the reindeer.
– Place some brown candies to make the eyes of the reindeer.
– Draw a smiley face with some whipping cream.
– Finally, add some pretzels to make their antlers. Reindeer brownies are ready!

4. Christmas tree waffles

-Waffles might be a staple breakfast food in your home, but how do you make Christmas themed waffles? It’s simple!
-First, prepare your waffles (here’s a recipe if you need any help!). If you want to make it even more accurate, add a bit of green food coloring in it.
-Next, cut the waffles into triangles.
-Place these triangles under each other to look like a Christmas tree.
-Add some sprinkles on it.
-Your Christmas special waffles are ready!

Christmas breakfast morning ideas
Place your waffles as shown here

5. Christmas tree cupcakes

-This one is simple and easy! First, bake some green cupcakes. Yes, green! Here’s a great recipe.
– After the cupcakes have cooled, pipe some green colored cream cheese frosting on top.
– Again, add some sprinkles for that extra Christmassy look.
– Place a tiny star shaped candy on top of it. It’s done!

Christmas breakfast toddler
Green cupcakes!

Summing up

merry-christmas-1872500_1920

Preparing and having your Christmas breakfast with your friends and family is a wonderful experience. These festive desserts will surely make your Christmas day even sweeter.
For more Christmas games, activities, songs and stories, you can download the KidloLand app here! Merry Christmas!
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12 Adorable Baby Photo Ideas That You Will Love

12 Adorable Baby Photo Ideas That You Will Love

A baby is a beautiful addition to a family and capturing the happy moments that come with your little bundle of joy makes for great memories to look back on. Time goes by fast and it’s natural to want to save all the wonderful moments that your child brings in your life. If you’re not a photographer, don’t worry! Here are some easy, helpful and adorable photo shoot ideas for your baby, toddler or preschooler.

Sleeping baby

This is a must-have in every baby photo album and you just can’t go wrong with this one. A cute, sleeping baby makes for a great opportunity to take photos. Wrap your child in warm hats and blankets and capture close ups of every wrinkle, folds of the skin and expression that your baby has while he’s sleeping!

baby picture ideas at home
image credit: tawnynina/pixabay

Use an accessory

Accessories like a crown, headband or a hat can add to your baby pics and make them unique. Capture the way your child reacts to such accessories in candid photos and watch him/her have fun with it. The combination of nice clothes and an accessory will definitely make your child feel awesome.

toddler photo ideas
image credit: esudroff/pixabay

Family moments

Ask your significant other to snap pictures of you cuddling and hugging your baby. If you also have an older child, even better! Hire a photographer or use a timer to take a picture to include your entire family. Cute family pictures will help you to see how exactly you all looked at that point of time.

newborn baby picture ideas
img credit: publicdomainpictures/pixabay

Take a photo with a pet

Your pet dog or cat can add great value to your child’s baby photos. Make a photo album where you include pictures of your child laughing, giggling or playing with your pet. You never know, you might end up with really funny pictures that will fill you with joy!

baby photography tips
image credit: koleida/pixabay

Dress up!

Don’t fret if Halloween has already passed, photo shoots are a great excuse to dress up your little one too! Find cute outfits (like a lion, bunny or turtle costume) that your children will love, especially if it involves their favorite cartoon character. That’s all it needs – then it’s time to take pictures of them enjoying all the fun!

baby photo ideas
image credit: kangheungbo/pixabay

Use props or toys

Surrounding your child with the things they love will make them happier than ever, so remember to incorporate that into your baby photo shoot! Keep some toys or props such as balloons, leaves or a sock puppet that your child can hold on to while posing for the picture. In such pictures, cuteness is guaranteed!

baby photo ideas
image credit: riad135/pixabay

Baby feet

The littlest feet make the biggest footprints in our hearts! So true, isn’t it? Children grow up too fast and before you know it, your newborn is a toddler already. That’s why it is important to take a picture of every detail of your little one. A popular and adorable choice of photograph is the ‘baby feet’ picture!

baby feet picture
image credit: fancycrave1/pixabay

Milestones

A child’s life is filled with important milestones. Record videos or take pictures of your child learning to walk, crawl, run and jump! Your young one will be thankful for these pictures.

toddler photo ideas
image credit: guillaume-d2/pixabay

Reactions to food

We know how children react to different types of food items, be it sweet, sour, bitter or even a little spicy! Grab a camera whenever your child is about to taste something new and capture his/her immediate reaction to it. We’re sure that it will be a moment to remember.

baby photo poses
image credit: avitalchn/pixabay

Laughing

A child’s laugh could simply be one of the most beautiful sounds in the whole world. A baby’s giggles can be brilliantly captured in videos or even photographs. It will definitely make your heart melt whenever you see it.

laughing baby
image credit: pexels/pixabay

Seasons

Nothing is better than your little one enjoying the different seasons. Take your child to the beach on a summer’s day, ice skating on a winter’s morning, or just watch him playing with leaves in fall. Outdoor locations like these are prefect for clear and stunning photographs of your entire family.

baby autumn photo
image credit: publicdomainpictures

Being goofy

Silliness comes easily to every child, so why not capture that, too? The joy that comes with being goofy, especially in the tender years, is unbeatable. Just ask your children to make funny faces at the camera, or even better, join them!

baby funny moments
image credit: elizadean/pixabay

Bottom line

You don’t really need a lot of equipment or professional photography skills to capture beautiful moments with your baby. Your older self will thank you for taking these adorable pictures. Click away!

How To Develop Your Toddler’s Fine Motor Skills

How To Develop Your Toddler’s Fine Motor Skills

Raising toddlers is a Herculean task that only super moms can handle. A toddler’s daily routine includes running around the house all day, having cranky and stubborn moments and being picky with food. Amidst all of this, it is essential for every super mom to make sure your toddler is learning and growing well, too. Hand-eye coordination, learning to balance on their feet, jumping, running, grabbing objects, speech, and language skills are all important abilities that your toddler should develop. A crucial aspect of every toddler’s growth is the development of his fine motor skills. A fine motor skill is the coordination of small muscles of hands and fingers with the eyes which helps a child to perform various activities like zipping up a sweater, holding a pencil, scribbling and much more. Below are 10 ways to develop and grow your toddler’s fine motor skills :

1. Playdough

Introducing your toddler to playdough can have a lot of beneficial effects. The squeezing, rolling, squashing, poking, flattening, separating and cutting (with safety scissors) involved with playdough makes sure that your little one develops hand-eye coordination while keeping it fun and interesting. It also enables your child to fuel his creativity by creating different objects with the malleable playdough.

fine motor skill playdough
image credit: republica/pixabay

2. Tearing paper

Paper tearing might seem like a boring thing to do for adults, but for toddlers, it is extremely fun and also necessary for the development of their finger muscles. Tearing paper helps your child to enhance his grip on the paper with his fingers, increases his hand strength and also makes way for more complicated actions like opening and closing zippers and tearing bread into small pieces. A great activity to keep your toddler engaged and entertained is to let him tear papers into small pieces and make a collage from it.

3. Finger exercises

Finger exercises are a significant addition to your child’s fine motor skill development. This is also a simple and helpful activity for your baby to develop hand-eye coordination. Even simple activities like holding a pencil, clapping, crumpling paper, holding a ball etc. can make a huge difference in your child’s growth.

4. Finger and hand painting

Apart from being a creative way to develop fine motor skills, this is also an essential aspect of your toddler’s artistic progress. Let your child dip her fingers and hands in toddler-safe or edible paint and set her free with a blank canvas or printable coloring sheets. This is how you will motivate and encourage her imagination.

finger painting fine motor skills
image credit: nadinedoerle/pixabay

5. Coloring and doodling

Another way to develop your child’s creative talent is to provide coloring books or printables to him. Crayons, coloring markers, pencils are all great for your children to set their imagination free. You can also let your toddler scribble or doodle on a white sheet of paper. This activity imbibes patience, improves bilateral coordination, develops their color sense and keeps them engaged for quite some time.

6. Tracing

Tracing is a task that helps to develop fine motor skills in a huge way. Children learn how to control their grip on the pencil, learn to draw carefully along the dotted lines which can be curved or straight and thus, prepares them for preschool. Spatial awareness and dexterity are some of the benefits of tracing activity. You can also download apps like KidloLand which includes fun tracing and tapping games to further help your child.

7. Grasping activities

Building your toddler’s hand strength can make things much easier for him/her when they start preschool. Give multiple objects to your child to grasp, such as plastic glasses, toys they can squeeze, toys that they can shake, building blocks etc. Switch it up in between by asking them to pick up a tiny object and then pick up a big object. This makes for good hand and finger exercise for every toddler.

fine motor skills activities toddler
image credit: jarmoluk/pixabay

8. Cutting paper with safety scissors

The next level of your child’s hand and finger development is getting him used to cutting (only with safety scissors). Cutting paper or playdough with safety scissors can refine their finger strength and hand-eye coordination. Your child can start with cutting straight lines, curved lines, circles, squares, and many other shapes. Supervision is a must, especially for this activity.

9. Sock puppets

Easy DIY sock puppets are exciting and significant for the development of fine motor skills. Making different sock puppets will let your toddler think creatively, encourage imaginative play and also improve hand-eye coordination. It’s a complete win-win situation for both, parents and kids! Parents.com has a great video to make a simple sock puppet.

10. Sticking and folding

Sticking and folding small pieces of paper or using stickers can help your toddler improve his spatial awareness and also increase his finger strength. Exposing your kids to art and craft activities can not only keep things fun and interesting for them but also improves their creative skill, hence making them perfectly ready for preschool.

fine motor skill toddlers
image credit: vincentvan/pixabay

Summing up

Fine motor skills and gross motor skills are important milestones of every toddler’s and preschooler’s development and starting early is very effective. Encourage your little one to perform the activities above and get him/her ready for preschool easily.

12 Useful Christmas Gift Articles For Preschoolers

12 Useful Christmas Gift Articles For Preschoolers

It’s December already and that means, 2017 is almost coming to an end. But, it also means that Christmas is near! It is that time of the year when parents and children of all ages rejoice and make merry together. Surprise gifts, delicious food, decorations, stuffed stockings are all Christmas essentials that little children mainly look forward to. Your little one is probably very excited to know about Santa’s gift for him/her this year. If you wish to make Christmas a memorable one for your toddler or preschooler, look no further. Here are 12 Secret Santa gift ideas that your little bundle of joy will absolutely love!

best toddler toys
image credit: unsplash/pixabay

1. Crayons, colored pencils, sketch pens

Encourage your children’s creative side by gifting them packets of crayons, colored pencils, and markers. These gift articles are guaranteed to motivate your children to draw and express themselves very well.

2. Dolls or Doll clothes

If your children have dolls that they absolutely adore, take it up a notch by gifting them their dolls’ clothes. They will be elated to find out that their favorite doll has brand new clothes for Christmas too!

3. Playdough or modeling clay

Apart from making play time fun for young kids, playdough can also speed up their fine motor development, since it involves activities like pushing the clay in, pulling it out, squeezing it, rolling it and much more.

Christmas printables for preschoolers
KidloLand’s FREE Christmas Printables

4. Coloring printables

Printables are a great way for kids to develop their coloring skills. It’s a fun method to increase their hand-eye coordination, develop concentration and focus, identify colors, which in turn enhances their overall growth. KidloLand has 200+ worksheets that your child can color to his heart’s content.

5. Puzzles

Simple and easy jigsaw puzzles are known to develop a growing child’s cognitive skills, hand and eye coordination, problem-solving skills and they also learn to work with a goal. It can be an important addition to your child’s early learning experience.

6. KidloLand

This Christmas, make sure you download the KidloLand app in your iPad for your little one. Filled with 1000+ wonderful interactive animations, nursery rhymes, songs, games, activities and surprises, this app is sure to delight, engage and educate your toddler and preschooler.

7. Board Books

Board books are small books with thick pages made of paperboard which can handle your child’s inquisitive little fingers. Find good board books that tell simple but brilliant stories that your toddler will enjoy reading and appreciate.

secret santa gift for toddlers
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8. Toys

Different types of toys are a necessity for the development of every toddler and preschooler. By playing with toys, they learn to explore, figure out and interact with objects from an early age. Trucks, LEGO, cars, action figures, are all great gifts that your preschooler is sure to love!

9. Stuffed toys or plushies

Cute plushies or stuffed toys can be great companions for your kids to hug whenever they’re worried or anxious about something. Soft toys can also help your toddler to enhance his creative thinking skills and encourage imaginative play. Children will learn to love their stuffed toy and care for them just like they would care for a friend.

10. Stickers and a drawing book

Another great option for a secret Santa gift is a pack of stickers and a drawing book for your child to doodle on. By using stickers, your child can personalize and decorate various objects that belong to them, learn about positioning, and develop his hand strength.

best preschooler gift
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11. Craft activity kits

If your child is a crafty little one, then this is a perfect gift from ‘Santa’. Find a craft kit that has activities like jewelry making, building blocks, paper craft, DIY projects which will spark off your baby’s imaginative skills. Remember to always supervise your children when they play with small objects.

12. Bath toys

Bath time can be fun with the addition of some bath toys. Bath toys are affordable and can easily ensure that your child looks forward to bath time. Apart from the floating yellow duck, you can buy some floating boats, floating animals or other squeaky toys to make bathing enjoyable for your baby.

Final thoughts

Christmas gifts can be useful, practical and beneficial for your child if you choose them well. Select any of the gift ideas mentioned above and have a joyful Christmas!