Toddler’s Place

As far back as I can remember, my daughter wanted to be a teacher. When she was a little girl she set up a library with her books in an old barn that sat in our backyard. She would play school with her friends and cousin, one of their favorite things to do. When my mom was in bed for several weeks with a bad back and back surgery my daughter played school with her, and of course, she was always the teacher. So it’s not surprising that upon graduating from high school she did indeed study to be a teacher. Today she teaches kindergarten. I don’t think that kindergarten was her first choice, but it’s what was open at the time of hire, and she has come to enjoy it alot. Tonight her daughter, my little one year old granddaughter, finger painted for the very first time. My daughter said she loved it! Active as she is, she spent 20 full minutes exploring the world of finger painting. I noticed she has always liked paper, books and the like, and wonder if she too will have the natural interest in being a teacher like her mommy. I saw this cute Future Teacher T-shirt at  TeeShirtsTShirts Awesome Tee Shirts and Gifts and think it’s just so cute for a teacher’s child or a child that shows an interest in being a teacher one day. They have a lot of cute school designs at TeeShirtsTShirts Awesome Tee Shirts and Gifts , check it out!

Future Teacher Apple by TeeShirtsTShirts

Helpful Tips to a Successful Birthday Party

Kids birthdays don’t need to cost you a fortune to be successful. Here’s some simple tips to hosting a party that will leave all the guests smiling.

* Plan ahead! Don’t save all the decorating and errands for the day of the party. A happy host and hostess is essential for a successful party. Simplify when you can, ask friends and relatives for help with errands and decorating! Time. Parties don’t need to last three hours. Toddlers and young children tend to get tired from all the excitement so plan for the party to last a maximum of two hours, and not too late in the day when the little ones are tired. Children who are not tired tend to be happier.

* Budget. You need not spend next months wages on the birthday party. Toddlers and young children enjoy being with other children the most, so if you can’t afford the clowns or magic act, don’t fret. Your child and his friends will probably enjoy chasing soap bubbles just as much, and for a fraction of the cost.

* Take photos. In the excitement of it all, a parent can forget to take pictures! You’ll all love to look years later at the photos of the special day. Having a couple close friends or relatives take photos for you is a good idea if you are going to be busy cutting the cake, helping with opening the presents, etc.

* Games. Keep games simple and short. It’s best not to play games where the children need to share a blindfold as it can spread germs from one to the next. Having games that don’t require prizes is a good idea with young children as often times you’ll find they get upset if they don’t win a prize. Nothing can disrupt a party more than a child who is wailing over not having won a prize. A take home treat or treat bag for all is a great idea, but pass them out as the child is walking out the door so children don’t dump out the contents and you spend the rest of the party trying to find what they’ve lost.

*Age Appropriate. Keep the party theme, games, and food age appropriate. Remember to plan the party around your child’s likes and dislikes, not your own!

*Fun Birthday T-shirts. Kids love birthdays and celebrating it wearing a colorful fun design like those at Birthday T-shirts And Gifts is sure to delight them! You can get these cute birthday T-shirts customized on the spot with your child’s name! There are many T-shirt styles and designs to choose from including birthday T-shirts for every family member of every age right on up to the 100th birthday!

Birthday T-shirt For Kids by birthday_gifts

This summer my grandson came camping with me for the night. Near the campground is a cute little bookstore, and so in the morning we headed on over for a cup of coffee for me and to look at books. I told him he could pick one out and that grandma would read it later to him. He chose a Froggy book, Froggy Bakes a Cake. He loves the Froggy books and has several of them including Froggy Plays Soccer, Froggy Goes to School, and Let’s Go Froggy. The stories are cute and easy for little ones to understand and get caught up in, and the illustrations are amazing. In fact, my grandson loves these books so much that he memorized the Froggy Plays Soccer book from cover to cover. He was able to do this when he first turned four, and by no means could he read, but he loves that book so much he literally memorized the entire thing! If you don’t have a Froggy book for your child or grandchild, why not start out with purchasing Froggy’s Halloween? Makes a great Halloween gift and you can sit drinking a cup of apple cider and read together!

Here’s a link to the Froggy’s Halloween book at Amazon.com, but it is available in bookstores as well.

Froggy’s Halloween

I have three sets of twins in my family, all born within the last three years. It’s not a common thing for my family, there are no other twins, yet here we are bestowed with three sets of twins. My nephew and his wife had twin boys first. Then less than a year later a different nephew and his wife had twins, a boy and a girl. My niece and her husband had twins about 8 months ago, a boy and a girl. Twins are interesting to watch! They are busy, they are fun, it’s interesting to note the similarities and  yet pick up on the many differences in personality. I recently went to a wedding in Iowa so got to spend a bit of time with one set of twins that is now two years old. They are active! They were the ring bearers for their uncle’s wedding. At just turned two, how much could anyone expect they’d even know what to do, much less do a good job. We all expected they  may not come down the aisle at all. They did though, in fact, they bolted down the aisle, bumped into one another right at the front of the church and both fell down. Of course, everyone laughed, it was rather comical! The little boy  picked himself up, rubbed his head a bit, and was ok. The little girl seemed unfazed by it. The uncle said later he was happy it went that way as he was nervous until then, but it was so funny that after that everyone relaxed. My nephew, the daddy of the twins, was beaming with pride at his two little munchkins! I saw this cute Dad of Twins T-shirt when browsing a cute shop called T-shirts 4 Twins and just had to post it! This Dad of Twins T-shirt is a great gift for future dads of twins and the new dad of twins!

DAD OF TWINS T-shirt by tshirts4twins