Chicka Chicka Mama: November 2019

Saturday, November 30, 2019

365: Stay Home Well Day

November 30 is Stay Home Well Day. Stay Home Well is a day dedicated to just hanging around the house instead of doing much of anything else. This was one of the first holidays that Jude celebrated with Jay instead of me.

I headed out to the flea market today, and Jude and Jay stayed home well. They played and enjoyed time staying in instead of running around!

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365: You're Welcome Giving Day

November 29 is You're Welcome Giving Day. This holiday always lands the day after Thanksgiving. It is a day to remember that while we are thankful for what we get, we should also remember to be thankful with humility!

For the holiday, Jude and I said you're welcome every time someone said "thank you". We were around many children and parents this morning at LilyPad, so Jude had a lot of opportunities to see the importance of both thank you and you're welcome!

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Thursday, November 28, 2019

365: American Thanksgiving

November 28 is American Thanksgiving this year. We spent the holiday celebrating with people that we are infinitely thankful for. Below are some pictures from our day! Also, I want to say a special thank you to the few that click the links every day and read these posts! You are all the best.

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Wednesday, November 27, 2019

365: Jukebox Day

November 27 is Jukebox Day. We went with a modern day jukebox in the form of a Spotify playlist dance party to celebrate.

We spend a lot of time listening to a playlist titled "Dude". It has a mix of songs that I like and songs that Jude likes. We danced along to these songs for our party!

Here are some of Jude's favorite songs:

"Baby Shark" by Pinkfong
"High Top Shoes" by JoJo Siwa
"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
"Truth Hurts" by Lizzo
"Milkshake Song" by Old Town School of Folk Music
"The Bunny Hop" by Patty Shukla
"ABC Animal Train" by Pink Fong
"Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by Chip-man & The Buckwheat Boyz
"Shake My Sillies Out" by Raffi
"Toes Up, Toes Down" by Kimbo Children's Music

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Tuesday, November 26, 2019

365: Cake Day

November 26 is Cake Day. Since we are eating very little sugar in our family, we opted to make a pretend cake to play with in lieu of making a real one.

The activity was really simple and amused Jude for about an hour, an impressive feat these days. We were able to do it with materials we already had, and I can imagine this being a great rainy day activity.

Tin Playdoh Cake

Materials:

1. Cookie tin

2. Play doh

3. Any tools you can find that might be fun. We used a wax seal stamp, play doh hammer, a toilet paper roll, and a Tigger peg doll.

Directions:

1. Model rolling the dough out and sticking it on the tin.

2. Model using the tools (if needed)

3. Parallel play with the toddler, only moving to cooperative play if the toddler initiates

4. Add some extra tools (we used the toilet paper roll for this) and let the toddler discover them at their own pace.

I have noticed a lot of success in parallel playing with Jude until he prompts us to play together. When I was jumping right into cooperative play, I was taking charge of the play instead of letting Jude guide us. It’s the old teaching adage of being a “guide on the side” rather than a “sage on the stage”. I’m here to support Jude’s play rather than running it!

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Monday, November 25, 2019

365: Healthy Lifestyle Month

November 25 is part of Healthy Lifestyle Month. I try to get Jude in the habit of living a healthy lifestyle by offering him well balanced meals, helping him navigate his feelings, giving him opportunities to socialization with similar aged children, and getting outside as much as we can to run around.

Today, we focused on the going outside part of our healthy lifestyle by participating in Tinkergarten today. While I was setting up, Jude climbed up and down a couple of large rocks. This is a great way for him to gain independence, work on his proprioceptive and vestibular systems, and have fun while doing it.

Jude also got to socialize today by playing with other children while we made a witch's brew for class! We worked through the scientific process while watching vinegar and baking soda react. We practiced taking turns, being patient, and working cooperatively.

Living a healthy lifestyle is so much more than just eating well. It's the socialization, care for mental health, and submersion in nature that helps toddlers have a well-rounded, healthy life!

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Sunday, November 24, 2019

365: Pomegranate Month

November 24 is part of Pomegranate Month. Pomegranate is a fruit that neither Jay nor Jude had tried before, so they both ate their first pomegranates to celebrate the holiday!

I noticed how vibrant the juice was when I was cutting it up. I figured we could turn this into a new food and art experience. To do this, we just stuck a piece of watercolor paper down on the tray. Jude ate some pomegranate and smushed them down while chewing. This allowed the beautiful red juice to make patterns on the paper.

As far as taste goes, Jude really liked them. Jay did as well. Jude kept going back for more! The art was fun. The taste was good. It was all in all a success.

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Saturday, November 23, 2019

365: Wolfenoot

November 23 is Wolfenoot. Wolfenoot is a holiday, created by a 7 year old, that celebrates canines, kindness, and humans who embrace both. This is the second year that Wolfenoot has been celebrated. The whole idea of the holiday is that the Wolf Spirits come hide little gifts for people around the house. The people that are kinds to dogs (and wolves) get more gifts. You eat a cake on Wolfenoot that looks like a full moon, and you take the day to be extra kind to dogs.

Jude ate some full moon cake at our friend Megan's house, and we honored her dog, Lupo, with a whole lot of pets. It was a good reminder to Jude that we are kind to all animals, not just our own. Jude happily ate the cake and gave a lot of good, gentle pets to Lupo! This holiday is one I hope we celebrate every year!

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365: Go for a Ride Day

November 22 is Go for a Ride Day. We spent most of the day inside babysitting Q, but we did take some time and went on a ride to Target. Jude happily rode along in the cart as well. Target is my favorite play to go for a ride to, and I'm glad Jude enjoys it too!

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Thursday, November 21, 2019

365: World Hello Day

November 21 is World Hello Day. Jude is the friendliest little dude around, and he loves to say hello to everyone. Today was no different. When we are at Tinkergarten, Jude loves to wander. I allow him, within reason, and today, he walked right up, smiled, and waved to a whole group of moms sitting under the shelter. It seemed to brighten their day! Hellos have that effect on people! Hello, all!

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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

365: Universal Children's Day

November 20 is Universal Children's Day. The day is dedicated to the improvement of child welfare around the world. It’s also around to promote togetherness in children.

We spent Universal Children’s Day having a “yes day”. If you are unfamiliar with a yes day, it’s just like it sounds. You say yes to everything the child wants to do (unless it’s dangerous, obviously). We were with the Cousin Crew this afternoon, so it was a yes day with five kids. It was a lot but we had tons of fun. Below is a photo walk through our yes day.