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Snow Play!
The first accumulating snow has fallen in Columbus and with that comes all of the snow related activities. Read on for 10 ways to say-n-play in the snow! Snow related vocabulary: snow, ice, slippery, white, cold, melt, freeze, wet Activities: Build a snowman: Do you want to build a snowman? Of course! Have fun building a snowman or a family of snow people with your child. Use snowman related vocabulary (descriptive words/body parts/clothing) and snowman related concepts (spatial/size/sequencing) while building in the snow. Make a snow angel: Describe how to make a snow angel. Then, get down in the snow with your child and make snow angels together. Snow Paint: There are many ways to…
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How to Say-n-Play on a Road Trip…With a Baby!
I am a planner. I like to make lists of daily and weekly tasks. That is until it comes to packing and preparing for a road trip. For some reason, I always wait until the last minute. Most trips, I wake up in the morning and hurriedly throw some clothes in a bag before I’m out of the door. When it came time for baby’s first road trip out of state, I fell into my old habit and found myself franticly scurrying around the house on the morning of the trip stuffing onesies and diapers into a suitcase. Aside from an old habit dying hard, I’ll blame my poor trip-planning on the fact…
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Salt Dough Ornaments
Do you remember making salt dough ornaments when you were a kid? I have fond memories of making these ornaments in grade school during the holidays. This week, Say-n-Play Columbus got back together with Annette Ferraro Photography to carry on this holiday tradition by making salt dough ornaments with our little ones. Salt Dough Recipe 1 cup flour 1 cup salt 1/2 cup or warm water Mix the flour and salt together. Add warm water. Begin kneading the ingredients together until you reach the desired consistency. The smoother, the better. Roll the dough out or press the dough flat with your hands and begin making your ornaments. …
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Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt
December is finally here, which means Christmas lights are everywhere. Why not spend some time this holiday season having fun with your little one on a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt? To take part in the holiday fun, simply print out the list shown below and load up your bundled kiddos in the car. As you drive around admiring the Christmas lights in your local neighborhoods, help your child find each item on the scavenger hunt list. PDF Version Here Before you set off for your evening journey, prepare for the scavenger hunt ahead of time by going over the items on the list. Talk with your child about the location of…
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Hurry and Get Outside!
Can you believe the weather we’ve been having this fall?! This indian summer has provided many wonderful opportunities for the little one and me to enjoy nature. However, it’s the middle of November, so I can only imagine our days are numbered until winter sets in. Hurry and get outside before it’s too late. Say-n-Play Columbus had another play-date with Annette Ferraro Photography, this week. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather, by playing outside and experiencing all of the textures and colors that fall has to offer. As you can see from her gorgeous photos, we had a great day! For our outdoor adventure, we picked a park close to home. Then, we…
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Baby Ice Painting
Baby school was in session this week, and these two cuties spent the time in class “ice painting.” Ice painting is a simple activity you can do at home with your baby (or older kiddo), to create beautiful pieces of art. At a little over three-months-old, these girls are soaking up everything in their environment. This ice painting activity is an excellent way for your child to experience colors, different sensations (COLD!), and cause and effect (the ice melts to create beautiful art). Materials Needed: Ice cubes with two drops of food coloring in each cube; paper (preferably porous paper to absorb the water); gallon-size freezer bags; and cookie sheets. Set Up:…
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Balloon Kicking Fun
I was searching Pinterest again for a simple way to entertain my baby and found another winner from CanDo Kiddo. This balloon kicking activity is so much fun and a wonderful learning opportunity for your little one. The activity hones your child’s ability to recognize cause and effect, and gross motor skills. This activity is recommended for babies one-month-old to five-months-old. Considering all babies reach developmental milestones at different times, it should be noted this activity is recommended for those babies who are not yet truly mobile and grasping/mouthing objects. If you have a crawler on your hands, this activity isn’t for her. It is important to supervise your baby while doing this activity. Do not leave…
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A Fall Day on US-68
Fall is the perfect season to build your little one’s language. There are so many fall-related activities in and around Columbus, it’s difficult to choose where to go and what to do before the season is over. One of our favorite fall day-trips out of Columbus is to Yellow Springs, Ohio. It is less than an hour’s drive from Columbus and is a beautiful, small town with many friendly people and unique stores and restaurants. This year, we spent quite a bit of time just outside the town and ended up having a full day of fall fun on US-68 (the highway that leads into Yellow Springs from I-70). Our first stop…
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Little Free Library
I first saw a Little Free Library a few years ago on a side street in Clintonville. I had never seen one before and thought it was such a unique idea . Recently, a friend brought up the Little Free Library as a great topic for this blog, and I completely agreed. Now that these libraries are on my radar, I have been seeing them everywhere! Little Free Library began in 2009 by Todd Bol in Wisconsin. As a tribute to his mother, he built a little library and put it on a post in his front yard with a sign that read “Free Books.” His neighbors loved the idea so…
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Star Box Play for Baby
I love Pinterest almost as much as I love Instagram. With Pinterest, I can type any of my thoughts into the search engine and inevitably someone, somewhere has come up with an activity or craft that matches my thoughts! Recently, I was trying to find ideas on how to use a cardboard box to entertain babies (strange, I know) and came across CanDo Kiddo’s stargazing box. This is so simple to make, yet so entertaining for the little ones. Supplies: A cardboard box, Christmas lights, a knife, and packing tape (if your box isn’t already put together). Steps: Put the box together and place it on it’s side, cut “X”s…