Little Lessons

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Auf Deutsch?

We make an effort at home not to limit language exposure to just Japanese and English. Finding things in other languages though can be a bit tricky. From time-to-time I hope to share some of our favorite books, dvds, websites, etc!

Here are some German favorites...

ABCKinderladen http://www.abckinderladen.com/

Kinder Bibel DVDs

Neuen Testament

Alten Testament

Thomas und seine Freunde

Die Bremener Stadtmisikanten

Mein Finger-Nachfahr-Buch Durch Natur und Der Frosch feiert Geburtstag

Meine Bibel Mit ueber 45 uberraschendedn Einblicken

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tummy Time タミータイム

In my Baby Signing Time class today we had an interesting (sort of) off topic discussion about tummy time. The moms in the class had never heard of such a thing. It's come up in classes before too... often enough to make me wonder about what moms in Japan do with their babies all day! When the Little Guy was really little (2-7 months) tummy time was one of our main activities. We would play for a while on the floor after he woke up from his nap. While we started out with just 5 or 10 minutes at a time before long he was lifting his head and really beginning to enjoy exploring the items within his reach.

I came across a mat on Amazon.jp that is designed for tummy time. It's the first time I've see a product on there advertised for that purpose. The mat we have came from the US since I couldn't find one in Japan 3 years ago.

Take a look at the Tiny Love タミータイムファンlady bug and frog.

Here are some ideas of activites for tummy time:

3 months old - mat near the window, plastic mirror, books, ring stacking toy - all within reach

3 months old - mirror, ring stacker, baby doll, cloth books, gauze, window

4 months old - grapefruit, apple

tummy time outside

5 months old - balls, towel for hiding toys, stacking cups

Any baby toys can be put just within reach to encourage exploration. Other carefully chosen household products are great too. A plastic cooking spoon, small cloth bag, citrus fruit, colorful placemats... things that seem ordinary to us are often the most interesting to babies!

Of course tummy time should always be closely supervised but not over supervised. Put on some nice music and give the babe a chance to explore while you sit back and quietly observe! You may learn a thing or two too!

* Please keep in mind that tummy time is for play time. Babies should be put to sleep on their backs!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Travel Prep

As the summer gets underway in the US, and we start thinking about what to do in 2 months when it arrives in Japan, a common topic becomes what to do when traveling with small kids. One yahoo group that I'm a part of, Married in Japan, has the same topic come up every year. What do you do with small kids on long flights?

Here is what I did last year: Plane Entertainment: Toddler Style

This year we don't have plans to go overseas but with baby #2 on the way we'll be spending a lot of time on the train going to/from doctor appointments, etc. My hope is to prepare some file folder activities. I need to get a laminaator first though...

A friend of mine posted a little while back about the file folder activities that she prepared for her 2 yr old. You can take a look at her blog post here.

Happy travels!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Toddler Size

Toddlers really do like things that are their size. Tonight the Little Guy and I ate supper at his table (he set it) and we enjoyed mini hamburgers with edamame and salad. He declaired it was like having an indoor picnic!

About half way through the meal he realized that the chair I was sitting on was a bit small for me and offered to bring me one from the dining table. I love the way he is noticing things and becomes so concerned!