-
Take a Taste Tuesday with Made by Melissa Lee
Hi! I’m Melissa and the writer behind the blog Made by Melissa Lee. I mainly focus on easy, family-friendly recipes, with a good dose of family fun thrown in courtesy of my daughter, Emily. I’m so excited to stop by today to share one of my favorite recipes Emily and I make together – Tropical Green Smoothies! I’ve been excited to get Emily into the kitchen since she was born and now that she’s two, I try to get her involved in mealtime almost daily. You’d be surprised how much a two-year-old can do! We’re not prepping her for Master Chef Jr. or anything, but it’s been a lot of…
-
Little Buckeye Children’s Museum
It’s Spring Break! which means there are a few extra hours in the week for an adventure. I have heard so many wonderful things about the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum, so I decided to take a mini road trip with my daughter to Mansfield, Ohio to check it out. The museum is approximately an hour and 15-minute drive north of Columbus and admission is only $8 (for 2 and up). The museum’s mission statement is “To Provide Children and Families Opportunities to Learn and Discover Through The Power of Play” and is an ideal location for visits by children ages 2-12 years. My daughter is 21 months and enjoyed herself. The Little Buckeye Children’s Museum is located…
-
Take a Taste Tuesday
As a Speech Language Pathologist, the oral motor abilities and feeding concerns of children fall under my scope of practice. Each year, the number of children with feeding concerns with which I work grows considerably. With this in mind, I am attempting to expose my daughter to a variety of tastes and textures for her to continue to accept different foods. I am not a natural cook, so I look to others for great recipes as inspiration and fun ideas that include children in the cooking and eating process. Generally, my inspiration comes from Pinterest, Instagram searches, or just asking friends. I try to share ideas that work for us from my perspective, but I…
-
Some Thoughts on Toddler Language Development
This past week, we had an epic morning filled with toddler tantrums. After the tantrums subsided, I analyzed what had happened and jotted down some thoughts based on toddler language development and how to survive a future one. Just some thoughts are listed below. A toddler’s receptive language (what she understands) is higher than her expressive language (how she communicates). I know that that discrepancy would be frustrating for me, even as an adult. A toddler has very little control of her environment. For the majority of her day, she is being told where to be and what to do. To help your child feel as if she has the…
-
It’s in the Details at Goldfish Swim School
At 20 months old, there are few places that my daughter recognizes when we pull into the parking lot. Goldfish Swim School is on that short list. When we pull into the parking lot, I can immediately hear her clap her hands and shout, “Yay!” I don’t know if it’s the Goldfish logo, or something else that tips her off that we have arrived, but I do know that is not the only time she claps and shouts “Yay!” while we are there. While the small things from our visits to Goldfish may not be a big deal to some, it is these small details that make my girl’s day when we…
-
A Spring Weekend in Cincinnati With Kids
Cincinnati, Ohio, is a one and a half hour drive south on I-71 from Columbus. Located on the Ohio River, the “Queen City” has much to offer on a weekend getaway with the family. It’s such an easy drive and a whole new city of adventure for Columbusites like us. Read on to see how we spent 28-hours exploring Cincinnati with our 19-month-old daughter. Where to Stay Do you Airbnb? Airbnb is a unique way to book lodging when you are traveling. It allows you to book a single room within a residence, an apartment, or an entire house in a unique location. I find when we travel with a toddler, it…
-
A trip to The Newport Aquarium with the Young and the Old(er)
We recently spent a weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio and The Newport Aquarium was a must see on our list of things to do. The aquarium is located just over the river from Cincinnati in Newport, Kentucky, so we were there in a matter of minutes from our stay in the city. When my husband and I planned our trip to Cincinnati, we had our daughter in mind for each of our stops and picked destinations based on her interests and experiences. She loves the water, so we made sure The Newport Aquarium was on our list. However, we quickly realized once we arrived that what appealed to our toddler at the aquarium also appealed to us as…
-
Learning Through Play at the Duke Energy Children’s Museum
We recently spent a weekend exploring Cincinnati, Ohio. The first stop on our adventure was the Duke Energy Children’s Museum at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The museum is an easy one and a half hour drive down I-71 from Columbus and admission is only $5.50-$10.50 (depending on age). The relatively short drive and affordable cost allow it to be a fun day trip from home or must-see stop on a weekend away in the Queen City. The museum provides eight educational and themed play areas, with two specifically designed for preschool-aged and younger. The children’s museum provides more than 1,800 additional hours of programming each year. We picked a weekend when the…
-
All Things Green
In anticipation of Spring and St. Patrick’s Day, this week we are celebrating with all things green. Read on for some green inspiration. Make a Green Smoothie. Not only is making a smoothie a great way to build your child’s language skills, but it’s a great way to sneak some healthy food into your child’s diet. I used this recipe from Super Healthy Kids for inspiration for the perfect green smoothie. Set up a Green Walk down the hallway. I printed out common green objects, cut them out, and then taped them on the hallway walls. My daughter went up to each common objects and imitated a word or sound after I modeled it for her.…
-
A Dr. Seuss Celebration!
March 2 is a day for celebration. It is Dr. Seuss’ birthday (He would be 113 this year!) and Read Across America Day. In celebration of the day and the 44 books Dr. Seuss has written, I have put together 5 toddler-friendly activities paired with a Dr. Seuss book for each day of the week. Monday: Start the week by reading a Dr. Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham. I love that Dr. Seuss wrote this book on a bet that he couldn’t write a book with fifty or fewer distinct words. Then, make a tasty breakfast of green eggs and ham. In lieu of food coloring, check out the blog Family Food…