Itty Bitty Infant School - Gymnastics

M is 13 months old!!

M has been going crazy trying to get out on the floor during A's gymnastics. Most of the time you can see his face plastered on the glass of the observation room. Well this past Friday M got his chance. 

On Fridays, our gymnastics place has a toddler time where the little ones basically have the whole gym to themselves and they can run and play on everything. Papa came with us to help out because I was not sure if I would be able to keep an eye on both boys. They had so much fun. M loved the trampoline even though he didn't have enough weight to actually jump. He happily bounced and would climb on with the other tots who carefully bounced him. M was just so excited to be out there and get to explore. 

With M we have been working on using a fork. He loves to hold one and lately he has been actually trying and getting some food on his fork or spoon. After gymnastics, we went to lunch and M thought it would be nice to help his big brother finish his pancakes. Notice M is keeping a close eye on his bothers chocolate milk... don't worry he helped himself to that next. 

We have also been focusing on M's verbal skills. In the last week he has been saying so much. He can now say Juice, ball, football, hi, mama, dada, his brothers name, and a few others that he randomly will say. He can sign please. more, cookie, and eat along with shaking his head yes or no (mostly no my stubborn little guy) to tell us what he wants. 

Itty Bitty Infant School

M is 13 months old!

M had a very busy couple of weeks. M has been working on his sign language. He can now reluctantly say please, more and on occasion cookie. He is also working with using a spoon and getting much better at it. 

M enjoyed his latch board for a brief second (literally)

 M also worked with ice. He has such good hand eye coordination and was able to get most of the ice into the opening of the formula container.

 I also attempted to have M do an art project that I read about on a blog. The idea was to put contact paper down sticky side up and let him place construction paper pieces on it. I don't know if it was just the project or if my contact paper was not sticky enough but M had no interest at all.

And of course we have our weekly workbox helping. This time M decided to take all the tabs off for his brother. I think M thought if all the tabs were off, mommy would think A was done and he could go play. Notice the blur in the corner of the picture. This is M running off when he noticed mommy caught him "helping" his brother. 

Here M thought that the workboxes would work out much better in the middle of the living room. What would I do without my wonderful little helper (not have to pick up as much!)

And like any good boy, M decided to help mommy organize all of our pre-folds. 

But M did do a lot of hard work this week. He had to open the giant fire truck floor puzzle box all by himself and dump the pieces out on the floor without any help from his brother. 

Here is my favorite picture of M this week. He has such a great personality and will do anything to get people to laugh. 

Who said a colander has to be used for cooking?

What would make you think I ate the paint!

The week in Itty Bitty Infant School, M got to eat paint. I attempted to let him do a hand print tree which ended in my strong minded, determined little man stealing the paint brush and doing his own thing.

M also got to try out his new crayons that his Aunt Anne got him for his birthday. The actual crayons lasted about 1 minute before M decided they were a snack. 

M also decided to allow his brother to help him with his peg board. These rare moments do not happen ever often so I just sat back and enjoyed the 30 seconds of peace.

And of course it would not be a successful week if M did not help his big brother with his workboxes. This week he decided he was going to do his brothers worksheets. Its so nice when you have brothers to help you. 

And to wrap up this week M decided it was time to learn to drive. Who wants to wait for mommy to take you somewhere.

Itty Bitty Infant School

M is 12.5 months

Well as normal my little M has been a very busy guy. He was out of commission for about a week due to a bee sting, teething, shots, and a cold that literally hit one right after another. It was rough on all of us and there was not much sleeping going on by anyone but we pushed through and thankfully we have all recovered with exception to the teething.

Aside from supervising his brothers Tot School, M has been busy showing brother new and exciting things. When we ventured outside M made sure his brother stayed in line and didn't venture off.

After seeing how his brother was rolling down the hill M decided it was time to show A that you could also back down the hill just like when going down stairs. M found this method much more controllable and demonstrated this for his big brother. 

M also knew that mommy was very busy during the week and decided it was time to pitch in and help me out a little. During one of his brothers toddler temper tantrums, my sweet little M decided he would go ahead and change his own diaper. Thanks baby for being such a big help to mama!

So after all of that supervising, teaching, and diaper changing, M was exhausted and needed some rest. Sometimes it is so hard in Itty Bitty Infant School. 

Some things M is working on in is spare time when he is not tormenting supervising his brother are his verbal skills. We are really working on pronouncing words and repeating. M can say his brothers name, papa, yucky, mama, dada, brooke (cousin's name), make and elephant noise, moo, and cluck for a chicken. for his non-verbal communication skills M can scream his head off shake his head no, point to what he wants, clap when he is proud or excited, take what he wants out of his brothers hands patiently wait his turn, and point to several objects such as dog, cat, elmo, and Yo Gabba Gabba characters.

M also enjoys eating crayons coloring and climbing on anything  and everything. 

Fun Fridays

It may have only been one day, but I can see my boys need a day where we just have some structured fun. We live in a small 2 bedroom condo with a small outdoor space so getting outside it not a usual occurrence around here. A has been testing him boundaries running around our building, making it almost halfway before we can catch him. he has also been running into the parking lot which we all know can only be a disaster waiting to happen. We are beginning the short sale progress and are going to be listing it in September. Please pray its a quick and easy process so we can get these boys the safe yard they deserve.

Ok enough getting off topic.

We will now be having Fun Fridays. I am going to fill A's workboxes with activities he really enjoys and fun things he likes to do. He will still have school time but it will be much more laid back. My goal is to complete the boxes throughout the day.

Fun Friday Workboxes
1. Fine Motor Skills - connect four game
2. Pre Writing - Workbook
3. File folder - Paint Brush File Folder Game from Confessions of a Homeschooler
4. Playdough
5. Art - Stamping
6. Donut Man DVD

I found this little connect four game at Michael's the other day in their $1 section. A loved it.

Stamping 

Matching all the colors without any help. Ok do toddlers have this secret pack that they will not let their parent know just how smart they really are? I have never even taught A all his colors and even though he wasn't saying the names, he got them all right when sorting.

Showing Mama that Caillou is doing the game with him. Caillou is A's best friend, favorite show and goes EVERYWHERE with him. 

ITTY BITTY INFANT SCHOOL- Fun Friday

 M taking stuff from helping his brother complete his workboxes. I am still looking for some of the tabs.

"Don't worry big bother, just let me take this tab off, and there you are all done with this workbox. Now on to playing with me."

Today in incorporated an "ALL DONE" box. I was running out of room when A was complete with a box and it was all getting put in my counter so today I just took one of M's boxes since I don't think I am going to use them on a regular basis and when A is all one I have him put everything is there. I can now just empty the box at the end of the day.

Ok so like I stated above, going outside is a challenge and safety issue right now but these boys were driving me crazy so decided we were going to get in our wagon and go for a walk. We have a common area not to far and the boys have some room to run without the scare of a car so we have been going over there more often. Its also the only shaded area so I don't have to worry about the boys getting to much sun. Our deck is shady in the morning but then gets the direct sun all afternoon and is to hot to take little ones out there. We played a little and fed the ducks in a nearby pond and then A was asking to play in his sandbox. I strictly talked to him and told him he had to stay on the deck.

A playing on his slide... M not far behind except he decided to climb up the slide instead of go down... He is our little daredevil. Always climbing.

Sometime the easiest activity is the one that brings the most peace and sanity to a household.

Recipe for happy kids and happy mama
- a few tubs,
- Large cooking spoons and ladles
- Ice (lots of it)
- Water

Fills tubs with ice and water, give kids spoons, relax and enjoy the piece and quiet while the kids play nicely together for over 45 min. Refill ice as much as needed.

A loved this so much he asked for it again in the evening when his daddy came home and the boys played out there again. M got send inside though because in the evening there is to much sun on our deck. It was wonderful for such a hot and humid day. A happily used his ladle to transfer the ice from once container to the next. 

And that was our FUN FRIDAY

Itty Bitty Infant School

M is 11.5 months old

I was so excited this year to incorporate our sweet little M into our school time. He is 11 months old and VERY active. I have noticed because he has an older brother, in some ways he is so much more advanced then when A was that age. And in some ways he seems so much more like a baby then A was. Whatever it is, I thought it would be easier to include him then try to balance watching him and schooling A.

So here is how our first day of Itty Bitty Infant School went.

I gave M three workboxes. Of course I was up until 2 the night before getting ready and I moved some things around our small condo to try to make a better school area (our kitchen table). I put the boys small table in the kitchen area and places M's work boxes on them. M gets up at around 6:30 and A sleeps until 7-7:30 so its we try to keep M entertained and quiet until his brother gets up. Without missing a beat, M was right in the kitchen grabbing his workboxes, trying to open them and carrying them around the house. He also was tearing apart the schedule and pulling the tabs off A's workboxes.

Let me start by saying M is the cuddliest little guy around and loves his mama but he is a difficult baby. He whines and cries ALOT. He wants constant attention and hates when I even for a second focus on anyone one or thing other then him. According to him, I was created for him and my only person in life is to cater to his every little peep... enter big brother... my other child. So you might see where this is going. Anytime I even turned away from him, he would yell or do something to get my attention.

So when we finally got to school time, I presented M with his first workbox. It was filled with his leapfrog fridge magnets. This is a usual favorite until he is told to play with it.

You can tell he wasn't entertained because he was already playing with a fork that was on the table. He lasted about 2 minutes. 

So I quickly moved onto the next box when he started his grunting and trying to get out of his seat. M loves puzzles and whenever his brother brings them out, he is right there stealing pieces helping put it together. I gave him a puzzle he really hasn't played with hoping it would entertain him for a few moments. 

And with that thought... all the pieces when on the floor. So much for puzzles.

So after about 10 minutes ( I say this very generously, more like 5) this is  M...

Getting away as fast as he can. Not even 12 months old and already trying to skip school. I think I am going to have my hands full with this little guy. 

Like all curious babies, he did eventually did stand at my feet pulling and crying until I picked him up come back. M loves crayons so I gave him an A and a couple crayons. 

He was very thoughtful when using the crayons though. He knows his brother uses them all the time and he took it upon himself to make sure they were safe and if they could possibly be used for a snack if one ever got hungry while coloring. 

... and the results are... Yes on them being safe, No on them being a snack, mostly because mama will take them away.

After the great crayon experiment, M wanted his brothers dot dot marker. So I let him try it.

Again... Yes dot dot markers are safe if put into mouth and No they too cannot be used as a snack because mama will take those away too. 

And then he proceeded to rip his A into many little pieces and eat test those also, So Itty Bitty Infant School ended for the day and it was decided that M's school would not be so structured.