RSPCA WOW Pocket Pets

Today we went past the RSPCA shop and I saw a sign for these WOW Pocket Pets, so we went in and bought a couple of packs.  We have a few other WOW toys that we really like, so these seemed like a good addition to the collection, plus part of the money will go to a great charity and there's the surprise of opening the package and finding out what animal is inside!  Part of Personal, Social and Emotional Development includes caring for others and of course charities and animals fall into that category.  It may not be something that Ethan can understand at such a young age, but it is nice to introduce him to the concept.

We sat down together and I gave him the packets, we looked at the back to see which animals might be in there.  We went through each type of animal, it's name and the sound it makes.  Then I slowly opened the first packet and let him peek inside, he said 'ooooooooh' and excitedly pulled out the little pig!  It was so cute to see him all excited at the surprise.  Then we did the same with the second packet, another very cute 'ooooooooh' and then...'doggy!' There was also a little activity sheet in each packet that Ethan enjoyed looking at and pointing out all of the different toys.  I may now be addicted to surprise bags for Ethan, just to see that cute little look on his face :)

Sliding

Today we took Ethan to the playground and saw a much smaller baby go down a fairly large slide on his own, so we thought if he could do it, then Ethan could do it too!  (I'm always a bit afraid to let go as I don't want Ethan to fall backwards and hit his head when he's going down so quickly)  Sliding is wonderful for Ethan's Physical Development as he learns to keep his balance in different situations.  It's also good for his Personal, Social and Emotional Development as he becomes more confident to do challenging tasks on his own.

The first time that Ethan slid down on his own he started to lean back, but managed to keep his head from touching the slide.  Then the second time he stayed completely upright!  That was it, he loved it!  He kept climbing up the stairs and sliding down on his own, we were so proud of him!  (Then some big girls came and pushed him out of the way, grrrr, playground rage!)

Kicking Down a Tower

Ethan's been going to football classes for a few weeks now, and one of the activities that they often do is to set up a tower of foam bricks and then kick a ball at it to knock it down.  It's one that Ethan hasn't seemed to really grasp, he's either wanted to play with the blocks or just throw the ball around.  This activity is great for Physical Development as it involves kicking a ball at a target and requires great coordination for a 19 month old.

Today I went away for the night (my first away from Ethan, yikes) but Daddy and Ethan had lots of fun playing this game at home.  Ethan still often found it very tempting to just knock down the tower with his hands, but there were a few times that he did manage to knock it down with the ball.  It made a big difference to isolate this activity away from the football class so that he could focus on it without other distractions.  And then he was able to play freely with the bricks and the ball as he pleased and wasn't rushed onto the next activity.  It was definitely beneficial to him and I think we will try to take activities away from football like this in the future.

Shopping Play

Today I bought Ethan a little shopping basket, which inspired me to be very ambitious with some shopping imaginative play!  Ethan may still be a bit young for role play, but I thought we'd give it a try.  A great part of Creative Development is imaginative play and Ethan seems to be doing a little bit on his own already.  We started out by making some money to play with (I printed out simple notes with numbers and gave Ethan markers and crayons to colour them in) then we set out all of the things for the shop, Ethan collected what he wanted to buy in his basket and then paid for them and put them in a bag.

Ethan did really well with this activity, he followed my instructions while filling up his basket, choosing carefully what he wanted to put in.  Then he brought all of the things to Nana and handed over all of his money, then put the items in the bag.  After that he wanted to take everything back out, put it into the basket and pretend to eat the food.  I let him have freedom then to play however he chose to, not enforcing that he do things in a set order.  

Ethan's Words Box

Today I compiled a box of toys; some that Ethan knows how to say the word (or sound it makes), some that he has said before but doesn't always say, and some that he doesn't yet know how to say.  I thought this would be great language practice for his Communication, Language and Literacy development as he is learning new words everyday (and I'm almost losing track of them all!)

Watching Ethan learn new words has been an incredible experience.  I can't believe that just a couple of months ago I was so worried that he wasn't saying enough words.  Now I am absolutely loving his progress and trying to keep track of every single new word as he learns it.  The best part is how adorably he says the words in his own unique way, so the selfish part of this game is that I'm trying to make a video of Ethan saying all of his words so that i never forget how sweetly he said 'ot' for hot, 'butt' for button, 'ap' for apple, 'nana' for banana, 'ehm' for Elmo, etc, etc. 

Sign for Nana

Today Ethan's Nana is coming to visit us from Canada!  We've been talking about it for weeks, and today is the day!  I decided that it would be nice to make something for Nana, and also to prepare Ethan for her arrival.  He can be quite shy with new people or people he doesn't see a lot and unsure when people are in 'his' house, so early preparation seems to be the best method.  He is cecoming more confident and warms up to people quicker than he used to, but this seemed like an excellent way to prepare him and get him even more excited.  All a part of his Personal, Social and Emotional Development as he builds relationships with a variety of people.

As we made the sign we talked about Nana coming on an airplane from Canada and how she'll stay with us for a few weeks.  I put glue on the card and asked Ethan to stick the pop poms and foam shapes on.  As an interesting side note, I realised that Ethan doesn't really understand that glue is sticky and that's why we put things on it.  I'll have to find a way to teach him about glue so that he understands why I'm asking him to put things in a certain place (and why we have to leave them there until it dries).  It's much more complicated than it seems, any ideas?

I'm Going to BritMums Live!

I am very excited that I've just bought a ticket to BritMums Live! - a conference for parent bloggers.  I kept putting it off, and then the tickets sold out, but I was lucky enough to buy a ticket from Claire - Ministry of Mum (she's nominated for a BIB, which basically makes her a Mummy Blogging Celebrity!)

Here's some info about me to introduce myself to other bloggers attending BritMums Live as part of a linky

Name: Niki

Blog: Play & Learn Everyday

Twitter ID: @PlayLearnToday

Pinterest: PlayLearnToday

Facebook: Play & Learn Everyday

Height: 5ft 8in

Hair: usually messy with bits of playdough in it! (but otherwise brown with highlights)

Eyes: brown

Is this your first blogging conference?

Yes!

Are you attending both days?

I plan to (as long as hubby is home early enough to play with Ethan on Friday afternoon)

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2013?

Meeting lots of other bloggers

What are you wearing?

I have no idea!  

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2013?

I'd love to learn tips on how to make my blog better - how to write better and how to get more people reading it!

Tell us one thing about you that not everyone knows

I'm Canadian, but I've lived in Britain for nearly 9 years :)