baby basics

How to get the Perfect Baby Handprint

We turned to momstown Edmonton to learn the best tips on how to get the PERFECT baby handprint.  At momstown, we are experts at creating beautiful keepsakes crafts at our Baby Basics Program.  Handprint crafts are adorable and moms love to capture those tiny fingers at every stage!

tips for baby handprints

 

The issue with handprints is babies just love holding their tiny (and curiously strong) fists closed as soon a drop of paint touches them!  We've all tried to pry those little fingers open and sometimes it's just end up as blob of paint that doesn't even come close to resembling a handprint.


Here are some tips for getting those little handprints perfect every time:

 

1) Use a wipeable surface - Eventually you will get that hand print even if it's not perfect! Plates are great for that! You can attempt the hand print over and over until you get one that comes close to resembling a hand.

 

2)Wait till baby is sleeping -  Babies are pretty heavy sleepers and getting that handprint while they sleep is a great option!

 

3)  Trace the hand - When push comes to shove and you need the handprint to turn out the first time (like T shirt, etc.) you've gotta cheat a little. Trace the baby's hand so you still get the size of their hand to capture the moment in time. Then dip the traced hand print in the paint and Voila! This is also a good idea if using something that typically stains the fingers like acrylic paint.

 

4)  If all else fails, resort to the feet -  Footprints are MUCH easier and just as cute!

 

To learn more about the Baby Basics program, check here.

 

We have the best hand and footprint crafts, like Canada Day tshirts and Butterfly flowerpots. 

 

Read more of momstown Edmonton's great ideas and crafts on their blog.

 

Posted by momstown team on 05/16/2013 - 19:42
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Sensory Play with Spaghetti

The momstown Milton Baby Sensory group had a wriggly, squiggly time exploring cooked spaghetti!

 

sensory fun with spaghetti

 

Playing with cooked and coloured spaghetti is an inexpensive way to have some good sensory fun with our little ones. Babies as young as 5 months and preschoolers up to age 4 year old can have fun touching, tasting and creating art with spaghetti.  It looks like it would be a messy activity, but it isn't!  

 

Instructions:

 

1.  Boil 1lb of spaghetti in a large pot. Once it is cooked, drain it and separate into a couple of bowls.

2.  Add about 1/2 tsp oil to each bowl and some Wilton gel food colouring (start with a small dab, add more if needed). The oil helps keep the colour from running onto clothes (though make sure to use a spoon while you are mixing the colour into the spaghetti!).  

 

Aside from being a tad oily, no colour leaked onto clothing or hands!  We used a plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor and added some toys and tools for fun.   

 

For more ideas on how to engage your child in sensory play, visit momstown Milton.

 

Posted by momstown team on 04/22/2013 - 10:40
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Sign of the Month- "Silly"

Babies and kids love silly things! They love silly sounds, actions, sounds, games, songs, really anything that makes us look goofy and them laugh!

 

A great sign to teach kids is the sign for ‘silly’. The sign itself is a silly sign.  Check our other sign language posts here.

 

You take your ‘y’ hand and flick the thumb on the nose a couple of times (see video).

 

 

When kids make the sign ‘silly’ they often just use their index finger and touch their nose, as they get older and their dexterity develops their signing becomes more precise. It’s fine if they are making this modified sign for the word silly.

 

Make sure that you keep signing it the right way, don’t change to the way you are signing it or it will confuse them. It will look like you are signing a different word. This is a fun and easy sign to teach children because they love all things silly.

 

When my children were young I would make a silly sound that would get my children giggling and then I would say and sign, “Is mommy being silly?!” And I’d take their hands and help them make the sign while saying, “Mommy’s silly!” Then when they would do something silly I would say, “Fireese or Hartford is being silly!” while making the sign. We also had a great book on emotions that my daughter loved. We would read it over and over again. It had the words happy, mad, sad, silly, proud, and shy. My daughter loved signing each word as I read it.

 

Books are a great tool to teach children signs. When reading a book pick one word to focus on per page. You’ll find children will love learning the signs for the words in the book.

 

This month try to teach the sign ‘silly’ and I hope you have a really silly time doing it!

 

Check our other sign language posts here.

 

Laura Berg, my smart hands
Monthly signs are submitted by guest blogger, Laura Berg, My Smart Hands,
Laura Berg is the President of My Smart Hands Inc, a company that teaches baby sign language and now boasts over 200 instructors worldwide. Her recently published book, The Baby Signing Bible (Avery/Penguin) has cemented her status as the go-to authority on Baby Sign Language.

 

Posted by momstown guest on 01/23/2013 - 18:18
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Playing Peek-a-Boo and Pop Goes the Weasel! DIY Jack-in-the-Box Craft

momstown Kitchener-Waterloo moms and babies made their own Jack-in-the-Box crafts at Baby Basics!  When a baby is starting to understand the idea that something still exists even when it can't be seen, any game where things appear and disappear are always a hit! Peek-a-Boo, Where's Baby, and so many more fun games can be played at this stage of development.

 

Here are two easy Jack-in-the-Box activities using household recycled items! For more fun with boxes check out these ideas!

 

Jack-in-the-Cup

DIY jack-in-the-box craft

 

 

1.  Find a container for the "box"= plastic cups, but old formula cans, coffee cans, yogurt cartons, etc.

 

2.  Punch a hole in the bottom of the container using a chopstick, pencil, popsicle stick, or shish kabob stick.

 

3.  Glue or tape a fun "Jack" at the end of the stick! You can print off fun circus characters or tv show characters online and colored them. You could even use finger puppets, small stuffed animals or even a plastic figurine!

 

4.  Have fun with your safe jack-in-the-box that you can operate yourself. Simply pull the stick down so the toy has "disappeared", then quickly push it up when you want "Jack" to greet your baby. You can even add a "Pop" sound or "Boo" as you push the character up!

 

Kid-in-a-Box

 fun with boxes

 

1.  Use a carton or even a plastic bucket or bin that you have around the house or use an old diaper box.  Older kids can decorate the outside of their box and you can turn it into a cool ride!

 

2.  Put baby sitting down, inside or let your toddler climb in and hide.

 

3.  Sing this song as you pretend to crank the handle.... be sure to "POP" baby out or tell your child to "POP" out when you reach that part in the song! (warning, older children will LOVE this so much you will be doing it for hours!)

 

 

All around the mulberry bush
 The monkey chased the weasel.
 The monkey thought 'twas all in fun.
 Pop! goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread,
 A penny for a needle.
 That's the way the money goes.
 Pop! goes the weasel.

Up and down the City Road,
 In and out of the Eagle,
 That's the way the money goes.
 Pop! goes the weasel.

Half a pound of tuppenney rice,
 Half a pound of treacle,
 Mix it up and make it nice,
 Pop! goes the weasel.

Posted by momstown team on 01/14/2013 - 11:48
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

Baby's First Christmas: Footprint Christmas Trees

What a fabulous idea for grandparent's gifts for the holidays!

 

Both moms and babies enjoyed getting a bit messy and painting their feet with green washable paing. 

baby's first Christmas keepsake

 

Then you simply press your baby's foot onto the paper and add a gold star on top! 

 

Baby's First Christmas keepsake

 

Feel free to decorate your tree as you wish.  This is a really simple idea but makes a very cute keepsake for Baby's First Christmas.

 

If you love this craft, you will love this "MistleTOES" keepsake plate.

 

Submitted by momstown Oakville

Posted by momstown team on 11/29/2012 - 11:16
Labels:
ShareThis share this post

DIY: Baby's First Christmas Footprint Plates

This week at momstown Edmonton Baby Basics program we made adorable Christmas Footprint Plates! The mamas love to make cute keepsakes for their babies so we made a perfect gift for grandparents! This craft was the perfect keepsake to mark baby's first Christmas. 

 

baby's first Christmas footprint craft

 

Supplies:


White Plates
Red & Green Permanent Markers
Red & Green Acrylic Paint
Small Paintbrushes
Sponge Paintbrushes

We found doing the footprint first gave the best results, then adding the writing with the markers.

We added the bows using a small paint brush and the polka dot border using round foamy paintbrushes.

I will warn that these plates are for decorative purposes only. You may be able to seal them with a varnish of some kind.

 

Baby's first Christmas footprint craft

Posted by momstown team on 11/26/2012 - 19:11
Labels:
ShareThis share this post
12next ›last »