Child Learning Tips Archives - Oh My Heartsie Girl

How cute are those toys you can buy in any regular kids’ store? They are colorful, and flashing, and make a ton of engaging sounds. This makes them perfect for kids! Or so you might think.

In reality, most plastic toys, while seemingly awesome, are best left on the shelves. Instead, choose sustainable toys for your little ones, and here’s why:

1. They’re Kinder to the Planet

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Ultimately, the toys we choose to give our children represent our vote on the kind of world we want them to grow up in. Sustainable toys provide a nod to a cleaner, greener world. These toys are made with natural, renewable materials that have little impact on the environment, including bamboo, wood, and recycled plastics. The sourcing of resources is equally as important as the materials themselves.

Producers of environmentally friendly toys frequently go above and beyond to guarantee that their goods are made morally, with an emphasis on energy and waste reduction. Once these toys have fulfilled their intended use, they don’t spend generations gathering dust in landfills. They are an eco-friendly option for those who care about the environment because many of them are biodegradable or fully recyclable.

2. Safety First and Always

Children’s safety is a top priority, and eco-friendly toys honor this promise. Because they are made of natural materials, these toys are devoid of potentially dangerous chemicals that are frequently present in their plastic counterparts. Lead, phthalates and other chemicals that shouldn’t come anywhere near mouths are, unfortunately, often present in traditional plastic toys. Conversely, non-toxic paints and finishes are used to create sustainable toys, making them safe for children to handle and gnaw on.

Beyond simply considering the materials used, safety is also considered in the design of the toys. Durable and high-quality construction is a top priority for manufacturers of sustainable toys to avoid breakage and choking dangers. With this careful approach, parents don’t have to worry as much about what their children are doing with the toys and focus on the creative and exciting play these toys provide.

3. Encouraging Eco-Friendly Play and Learning

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In the world of sustainable toys, eco-conscious living, and child development are given priority when it comes to materials and designs that are environmentally friendly. For instance, let’s take a look at educational Montessori toys for 2 year old kids, which are a bright example since they use sustainable, natural materials to encourage learning and development via hands-on play.

What we like the most about these toys is their obvious sustainability which is very easy to pass on to your kids during and after play. Many of such toys are made of natural durable wood that can last for decades and can go with your kids anywhere–to kindergarten, park, playground, family trip, etc.

4. Sparking Imagination Without the Bells and Whistles

Although the lack of electronic parts in sustainable toys may appear to be a drawback at first, it works to their advantage. With these toys, the onus is on the child to interact meaningfully with their playthings and create original games and stories. Children learn how to solve problems when they come up with new uses for the same object, which fosters creativity.

With their straightforward patterns and organic textures, sustainable toys encourage children to explore and dream, transforming a basic wooden block into a vehicle, a boat, or a skyscraper. This type of play fosters emotional growth and cognitive flexibility, setting the stage for a lifetime of creative learning and thought.

5. A Lesson in Responsibility

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Choosing eco-friendly toys starts a conversation with kids about the environment and our duty to protect it. These toys highlight the value of conserving natural resources and cutting waste by providing concrete examples of what it means to make environmentally sound decisions. Children can learn about product lifecycles and the circular economy by selecting toys made of recycled materials or designed to be recycled.

Children are encouraged to consider their impact on the world around them as a result of this early exposure to sustainability techniques, which instill values of mindfulness and stewardship. This lesson equips students to be responsible global citizens and goes beyond the playground.

Sustainable toys might be trendy today, but investing in them goes much further than just fashion. This move will give your kids hours and hours of precious fun, and all that safely and healthily that will benefit them long-term. And when your kids grow up, you will pass on these amazing playthings to new generations!

June 22, 2022June 22, 2022

Finding Someone Safe to Care for Your Kids

There is so much in the media about children being mistreated that it is very difficult to decide who they will be safe with. If you need a nanny or a babysitter, how do you know that they are responsible enough to give your children the care they deserve and you want them to have? You should never just accept someone because they are convenient; there are processes you need to go through to be sure.

What Do You Need And What Can You Afford?

Childcare costs are often the second biggest expense for families in the US after housing costs such as rents and mortgages. You need to look carefully at what you need and then at how much you can afford to pay. With babysitting averaging at $16 an hour and full-time nanny’s earning more than $650 per week, it is an expense that you have to be certain you can afford before taking anyone on.

Of course, you will always find people that will work at a lower rate, and that is fine as long as they fill the criteria you have for the person caring for your children. Do some research and find what the going rate is in your locality, and that will be much fairer for you and whoever you employ.

See if you can move the hours around as it could be better to employ someone for two full days rather than for a few hours five days a week.

Nanny Agencies Are Not Always The Best Way

Nanny agencies are not always the best place to find the perfect babysitter or nanny. To start with, you need to be confident that the relevant background checks have been carried out and there have been instances in the past where false information has been provided regarding these from nanny agencies.

The only way to trust the checks is to do them yourself. See if you can find a company like Jumio, but who will work with parents/nannies, for an identity verification check, and take up any references they have provided, ones from past employers will usually throw up a red flag if they had a problem with them. Check out their social media pages, as these will show a truer picture of their personality.

Speak to friends and relations to see if they can recommend anyone, and there are also nanny and babysitting sites that have qualified people advertising their services.

No one would suggest that all nanny agencies are bad, but you still need to do the checks yourself to be certain they are right.

Interviews Next

When you get to the interview stage you need to be well prepared. Have your questions ready and answers to any questions you expect them to ask you. Try to avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no as you will not learn much about them that way.

Do not expect them to automatically know all the answers regarding your children, as some things will depend on your practices with child-rearing.

Anyone that you think might be suitable, let the children meet. Try to leave them alone for just a few minutes and see how things are when you return to the room. If you do this with 2 or 3 candidates you will find that your children have a preference, and that is great of it agrees with yours.

Have A Trial Period

A trial period is vital just to see how things work out before making it a permanent arrangement. Set a period of a month or so and see how the children and the nanny are getting on after that.

Always be aware of your children’s reactions. This does not just apply to nannies and babysitters but to anyone, they come in contact with. Children do not generally shy away from people without reason, so be wary of anyone they do this with.

Some parents go to the extent of having cameras fitted around the home when this happens, but if you do this you should inform the person providing the childcare that they can be seen.

Reviews

Every two or three months you should sit and chat with the nanny to find out anything they are not happy with, and vice versa. This should be seen as a review of their performance. It is a chance to reward them if they are doing exactly the job you wanted, or to point out things that need to change.

This chats can be useful for you and them, but the people that should benefit most from them will be the children.

January 15, 2022

Four Daycare Art And Craft Projects You Can Do At Home

Craft and Art Projects at Home

Do you remember getting excited about art class back in school? How about the beautiful craft projects you worked on at home along with your parents? Recalling your memories related to arts and crafts, you can probably understand their importance. Arts and crafts have a significant impact on the overall creative development of a child.

From birthday parties to summer camp activities, arts and crafts are a must-do in terms of events associated with kids. So why not have art and craft dates with your child at home? After you agree to the idea, you need to do some homework to determine a project’s safety, availability of materials, and ease of construction related to the child’s age and ability. But before you start worrying, we have got you covered on some starter project ideas.

Here are four daycare art and craft projects that children can easily take part in:

Stone Monsters

What could be better than using simple stones to make pretty little monsters? Using stones is a great option in terms of utilizing something easily available in nature. You also get to experiment with colors and patterns to create different characters.

Here is all you need to make these simple and adorable stone monsters:

Smooth Stones
Acrylic Paints
Colored Markers
Googly Eyes
Glue
Paintbrushes
Newspaper

Now that you have all your materials ready, let’s get to work!

Spread the newspaper over your work area to prevent the paint and glue from spoiling the surface. Then take a stone and paint it with your desired color. Use the marker to draw patterns and a mouth. You can stick one, two, or three googly eyes on your monster, and it is ready to make your child smile whenever they look at this cute little creation.

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For young kids, working with small stones to create art can be a great activity. You can easily teach your child how to create these characters from stone and help them create as many monsters as they like. To make their experience even more fun, you can name the stone monsters you create with your kids and encourage them to play with the characters.

Sock Puppets

Sock puppets are a classic craft project for homes, daycare centers, and schools. These puppets are not just creative but also engaging for your child’s learning and cognitive growth.

Here is what you need to make your sock friend:
A sock
Googly eyes or buttons
Glue
Marker

Gather all these materials and roll up your sleeves to initiate the project.

Start by marking the locations for eyes and mouth. Glue the buttons on the spots marked for the eyes. Allow the child to mark the points. You can use the glue for them to make sure the buttons stick well. Depending upon the child’s age, you can decide whether or not they can be allowed to handle the glue themselves. Now, with a marker’s help, make the mouth of your puppet. You can use ribbons, colored markers, bows, and other creative additions to enhance your sock puppet’s appearance.

When your sock puppet is ready, you can use it for story narrations. As your child completes this art project, you can encourage them to use their puppets and conduct a puppet show, which could be a lot of fun.

Paper Plate Fish

Paper plates are easy to find and make an excellent supply for art and craft projects. Paper plate fish is one of the easiest craft projects you can make with a class of young students.

To make your paper plate fish, you will have to dive into your ocean of creativity and find the following materials:

Paper plates
Paints
Paint Brushes
Scissors
Googly Eyes
Glue
Marker

What next? Here’s what you do when you have everything in place:

Start by painting the entire plate with your favorite color. When the plate dries, cut a thin triangle from the center towards the ends of the plate. Now use the triangle as the tail and stick it to the rest of the colored plate. Use another plate to cut the fins of the fish and attach them to the plate. For young children, it is advised that you do the cutting for them to avoid any accidents.

You can use a different color paint to color the fins of your paper fish. Now take a different color to make the scales of your fish. You can make different patterns and decorate your fish. Stick a googly eye on your fish and make a smile with a marker, and now your paper fish is ready to show its tricks!

Ice-cream Stick Pen Stand

As parents, you are constantly looking to participate in wholesome activities with your kids. Creating art and craft projects can be a great experience that triggers your child’s creativity. You can use these projects to teach them the art of making the best out of waste. One such helpful project is an ice-cream stick pen stand.

To make your pen stand with ice-cream sticks, you will need the following:

Ice-cream sticks
Glue
A piece of cardboard
Paint
Paintbrushes

Keep all your materials ready and get started with your project.

Use a square cardboard piece to make the base of your pen stand. Now paste a few ice-cream sticks on it to cover it up. Once your base is ready, place the ice cream sticks in a square frame position. Stick every layer and go on stacking them until you reach your desired height. When your stand structure is ready, you can use different colors to paint and decorate it.

Some more art and craft ideas for creative young minds

Here are some more art and craft projects that children can try at their home, daycare, or school:

Paper caps
Shoe-box aquarium
Ice-cream stick octopus
Bottle bees
Paper Plate butterflies
Egg crate flowers
Thumb painting
Cartoon masks
Leaf painting
Paper fans

Arts and crafts are a part of almost all academic and recreational curriculums. Encouraging your child to engage with art is one of the best ways of promoting their creative skills.

Creativity is a never-ending stream, and introducing young students to the practice of thinking, imagining, and creating is an excellent way to trigger their cognitive growth.

Sandra Chiu works as Director at LadyBug & Friends Daycare and Preschool.”

January 10, 2022January 11, 2022

5 Exciting Gift Ideas for Your Child

5-Exciting-Gift-Ideas-for-Your-Child.-for-creative-play As per leading research, young kids appreciate receiving tangible gifts more than going and other fun experiences. For example, they will be happier to receive a toy than a park or jungle safari trip. Toys give kids a sense of ownership and are an excellent means of enjoyment and learning.

There are many toys in the market that are created with beautiful designs and painted in bright colors, especially to appeal to a child’s fancy. Here are five gift ideas that you can get for your kids.

1. Cartoon Figures
Kids like cartoons because they tell innocent stories. These cartoon figures have no relation to the hardships of life. Their every activity makes kids laugh and happy. Cartoon figures can be great gifts for kids. You can choose cartoons your kid loves watching on TV.

For example, you can gift them Mickey Mouse cartoon figures. There are various Mickey Mouse cartoon figures at stores like Yvette streasures like Mickey Mouse fun train set, Mickey Mouse outdoor explorer camper, Mickey Mouse funhouse, and many more. Today, you can get almost any cartoon figure toy in the market.

2. Treasure Boxes
Kids of all ages love treasure chest toys. These treasure boxes are exciting and full of surprises. Your kids can play with them for the entire day. The treasure chest toys or toys filled with treasures are filled with things kids love like, small figures of wild animals, bumblebees, furry animal toys, and even teddy bears.

Each of these treasure toys has something for every kid and makes a great activity for your kids to do with their friends.

3. Educational Toys
Educational toys refer to a separate toy category of toys that are specifically designed to engage and stimulate learning in children. Electronic toys, construction toys, building blocks, musical instruments, and chemistry sets fall under educational toys.

You can explore a wide variety of educational toys at online stores, and select a toy that is aligned with the learning objective. For example, if you want your child to love and appreciate music, you can get musical instrument toys that can make them familiar with common music tones and generate interest in them.

4. Creative Toys
Drawing is an activity that is enjoyed by most kids. Craft kits can be excellent gifts for your kids. You can explore a wide variety of craft kits to choose from. You can also buy individual craft items online and let the kid’s imagination take over.

Creativity is natural to kids. Giving them creative toys helps kids express themselves, encouraging them to explore their skills. Parents who encourage their kids to be creative will show greater interest in learning, and they are more likely to do best in their school life.

5. Dolls
Dolls are yet another type of toy that is liked by kids immensely. Both boys and girls like dolls for many reasons. Today, you can get many types of dolls. For example, some dolls are dressed as doctors, and they wear a white uniform, carry a stethoscope and other medical equipment.

Dolls allow kids to emulate adults and also invoke kids’ interest in early childhood development stages that are good for the kid.

To sum up, these are a few types of gifts you can give to your kids. You can buy these gifts on special occasions and festivities like Christmas or your kid’s birthday.
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