While on vacation (and staring at the beautiful ocean last week) I was reminded of a few really stellar outdoor installation artists and the amazing natural materials that can be used to get creative. The tot spent hours and hours finding sticks to use for drawing in the sand, and the last day of our vacation, really got into collecting rocks, checking them out, and then giving them a toss into the big collections rocks around the beach.

(which was okay because there was seriously no one else on the beach otherwise throwing rocks would have been a big no-no….)

Since we’ve been home, no one’s been really excited with our “real lives.” The beach was awesome, and who doesn’t love spending hours and hours on a desolated stretch of beach lounging about while chatting and reading and watching the tot do silly dances while loudly chanting the A,B,C’s? So the other afternoon during what should’ve been nap time (but had turned into toddler tantrum time) I got out the trusty laptop and scooped up the tot to check out a few examples of outdoor installation art by Robert Smithson.

Born in New Jersey, this American artist is not only an artist artist, but also a published author. From poems to prose to outdoor installations, Smithson was a busy guy. His famous work, Spiral Jetty, was completed in 1970, created with mud and salt crystals in Utah’s Great Salt Lake. This curving length of sometimes exposed man-made earth was one of Smithson’s final creations and took six days to complete. After the tot and I spent a few moments checking out the different images of the Spiral Jetty, I shuffled her over to the table to get started on our own Robert Smithson inspired creations.

Offer your child a sheet of white paper and a set of watercolor paints, a small container of water, and a big paintbrush. For the younger kiddies, this is a great opportunity for building color recognition skills. Invite your child to coat her paper with only blue watercolor paint. Older kids can concentrate on creating an area of blue that is representational of an ocean or large area of water, even adding details such as waves.

Once your child has finished painting, allow the paper to dry, which really doesn’t take very long. While you’re waiting you can gather what you need for creating the second part of the Smithson creation. Take a minute to discuss the outdoors and how natural objects can be turned into art – even mud! This encourages kids to think of the earth as art, developing earth science and environmental concepts

The Spiral Jetty was created using mud and salt crystals, which might get kind of messy. So, instead, gather together some glitter (I used silver and red), salt, and sand (like the stuff in the sandbox). You’ll need about 1 tablespoon of each. Have your child measure and then add the sand painting ingredients in a small bowl, which also enhances and encourages math skills.

Invite your child to get out glue and a small container. She can squeeze out a good dollop of glue and then thin with a bit of water.

Now get out that blue paper back, place a couple of sheets of newspaper underneath, and encourage your child to dip her big brush in that glue water and paint a big spiral on her paper, just like Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Invite her to sprinkle the sand mixture all over the glue water, totally honing her fine-motor skills.

Leave the creation flat on the table for an hour or so and then your child can carefully lift up her paper (which can get a bit messy – hence the newspaper to catch all that leftover sand) and reveal her Robert Smithson artwork.

Pour the remaining sand into a container for the next time your child feels like creating another sand painting and find the perfect spot for showcasing your child’s finished artwork.

Now that the tot is three, so many things have changed. She can talk her way through temper-tantrums explaining to us specifically why she is screaming and ranting, run that much faster away from us while we yell her name (desperately), and determine for herself if she’d like to nap or not (which is not so great for any down time for me). Sure, she’s also developing in amazing ways and exploring all the new things her brain and body can do, but it really seems so many of those things turn into a reason to have a toddler/parent show down.

And, during those moments, I try to take a few deep breaths and remind myself she’s a toddler and her behavior is typical. She’s also learning from the world around her, so setting a positive example is essential. It’s also pretty important to take a step back as the parent and give the child a chance to explore and learn from mistakes.

Through the concept of constructivism, a child is encouraged to learn through determining his own path of knowledge and individual process. Each child is different and special, just like their learning, and constructivism supports the idea that we construct our own understanding of the world we live in through generating rules and ideas based on individual experiences and trail and error. With the learning theory of constructivism, there are no flash cards or standardized tests. Instead, the child is supported to follow her instinct and create her own knowledge and strategies for understanding and learning.

Um, what the heck is constructivism? Don’t worry, it’s nothing to freak out about – and you might find learning about constructivism benefits you and your child. So, here are some facts…

The history of social constructivism leads us back to Lev Vygotsky and his social theories of learning. His studies found that a child often successfully accomplished new tasks while working in collaboration with an adult instead of on his own. This does not mean the adult is teaching the child how to solve problems, but through the act of the adult engaging with the child the learning experience improves and offers the child the ability to refine thinking and perform effectively. It is the idea of “can do” versus “cannot do,” and offering the child opportunities to change to the “can do” attitude with supportive, individual adult input.

By combining the idea of social and cognitive constructivism, the child is able to develop in positive ways. Social constructivism emphasizes the learning a child accomplishes through interaction with others and outside experiences. Cognitive constructivism is based on a child’s developmental stages and individual learning style. As stated before, each child is different and when her specific learning style is determined, her ability to learn is enhanced, especially when adults are able to fine-tune teaching to fit her specific learning.

Teaching with Constructivism

The educational system is not conducive to comfortably support constructivism in the mainstream classroom. But, there are small things educators, and parents, can do to support a child’s learning and development through constructivist theory. It is thought that most educators view learning as an objectivist theory, with the belief that learning exists outside of the bodies of learners residing in books and other educational documents. This leads to curriculum being based on teaching the child through textbooks instead of through experience. Through constructivism, the main way of learning is the senses, causing the brain to build a full understanding of the surrounding world. This leads us back to the understanding that each child is an individual creating separate unique responses and experiences.

With testing being the popular way to determine a child’s knowledge base, constructivism encourages the concept of experience and interaction. The process of learning through doing and engaging is the goal. Also, understanding each individual child’s prior-knowledge is key, used to build and grow adult interactions and teachings. This encourages greater bonds between adult and child and deeper educational experiences resulting in higher knowledge and self-esteem.

Ways to Integrate Constructivism

Introducing constructivist theory may seem like an unattainable goal for the classroom, but educators can make a difference through making simple changes and a bit of extra time. Parents can benefit from doing the same thing, creating a positive environment where the child is encouraged to explore and build his knowledge base through constructive ideals.

Take time to talk: It’s challenging in a bustling classroom to cover topics required by state standards of learning and maintain requirements of the school, but shortening lectures and book study and adding more interaction and discussion is one way to offer each student the opportunity to take part in learning. Including activities that encourage the student to apply their existing knowledge and real-world experiences promotes constructive learning. A healthy class debate is always a wonderful way to talk things out and hypothesis new ideas and problem solving.

At home, take time to talk through problems and encourage conversations at the dinner table, discussing new and exciting topics. And, don’t forget to ask lots of open-ended questions!

Doing is learning: Get out of the classroom and use those senses for learning! This goes for the home environment, too. As a population, we get caught up with the Internet and other social media as ways of entertainment and education. That big, heavy textbook has been replaced with surfing the interwebs. Turn to the great outdoors, along with real-life social interactions for learning and growth. Taking students into the real world to test their ideas and knowledge benefits constructive learning and understanding. Encourage a group discussion to finish the lesson after the out-of-classroom experience. And, parents can do the same by getting out of the house for a simple nature walk.

Ditch your expectations: Constructivism is not about test results and rote learning but about developing the child’s senses and understanding of the world around her. Find ways to encourage that learning through doing activities that are free of set limits and end results. Allowing a child to experiment with open-ended activities encourages creativity and self-esteem. If talking about weather systems, have students create a colorful weather collage. When discussing architecture, brainstorm as a group ways for building better covered bridges. Not only is the child developing her brain in amazing ways, she is pushing her senses to the limits learning more about his strengths and weaknesses and then making adjustments. Offering pre-tests allows for the teacher to gain understanding of student’s existing knowledge, aiding in creating educational lesson plans.

At home, direct open-ended questions without pressure on expectations. Use language focused on learning instead of results, such as grades, to instill confidence.

Introducing constructivist theory into the home or classroom is easier than one might think and offers fantastic benefits for both child and adult. So get out there and do some open-ended activities!

The other day the tot was really into running her cars on everything. She raced them up and down the stairs, along the walls, and even through some paint. While I was hoping this fascination would wane, I actually was inspired by her artistic creation, which reminded me of an artist I know and love. Willem de Kooning was a Dutch born artist that lived in New York for the majority of his life creating colorful and vibrantly strong images. His technique of layering on colors sometimes with strong black lines that form a figure intrigue viewers into take a closer look.

Along with being full of color, de Kooning’s abstract creations are almost childlike in the way they are sloshed together. There are chaotic areas of color, jumbled together lines, and, somehow, an image all together in one place. I pulled the tot up to the laptop and shared with her a few of de Kooning’s creations to see what she had to say.

Because de Kooning’s artworks are a bit of a mish-mash of color and line, they are wonderful inspiration for some fun fine art creations. Invite your child to scrounge around for different types of art making tools (like feathers, big paintbrushes, tiny cars, plastic shapes), which can all be used to create expressive lines.

Along with being an exciting (and messy) activity, your child will learn more about color mixing and layering paint. Younger kids can simply mix paint along with experimenting with painting tools while older kids can try to create a form or shape hidden within the splotches of color.

Offer your child a sheet of paper and position all the painting items within close reach. If you’re not excited about mess, cover the area with newspaper and your child (and yourself) with a smock.

Go ahead and squeeze out a few drops of paint onto the paper and let your child have a fabulous time moving the different painting tools through the paint. Add more paint as you go, or swap out papers with fresh ones.

Once your child is finished, allow the artworks to dry for a couple of hours and then revisit. De Kooning often finished his artworks with the image of a person or additional areas of white to define the painting. Older children can use some black paint to bodily add more lines while younger tots can slather on a bit of white paint for extra impact. We dabbed on a bit of white paint and then ran the car over the painting a few final times with some dark brown paint.

Display your child’s finished de Kooning inspired creation in a special spot for others to enjoy!

The rains have arrived here in Northern California, which means re-discovering old toys and finding  fun things to do. I’m always looking for new ways to re-use stuff, and the corner of the room where the tots toys are looks like a big blow up of itty-bitty parts of puzzles and games (which no one is putting away).

We need some organization.

I pulled out a couple of egg cartons and knew they could be transformed into something useful and entertaining – at least for the day. With the help of some tape, tempera paint, and the creativity of the tot, we turned an egg carton into hours of color organizational excitement.

This is a perfect project for introducing color recognition to your kiddies – or for the older set, color theory. I offered some assistance helping to mix the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) so the tot could paint green, orange, and purple cups, but older kids can be on their own to experiment and explore creating their own unique colors for painting the inside of the egg cups.

Simply cut the side off the egg carton, leaving the side with the egg cups, and use masking tape to section off the cups to encourage the kids to remember to paint each individual cup – instead of creating a big ol’ mess of color – and then let things dry.

While the paint is drying, invite your child to look through her collections of things for small items that are similar in color to the egg cups (which might also include a bit of cleaning up – yay!)

Once the paint is dry, offer your child the painted egg cups and invite her to organize her colorful items in the appropriate cups. She can see how many small toys she can fit in each cup, counting along the way, also encouraging her budding math skills.

Even if the egg carton color fun only lasts one day, it didn’t cost anything to make and was a fun and exciting way to organize (and maybe clean) your child’s toys – and encourage some color and math skills!

Now that the tot’s three, life is totally different. Really? No, it’s not. Things are moving and grooving in pretty much the same way other than she can say more words and sometimes figures out how to put them together into interesting sentences, such as, “I am so not good with being okay now,” or “You that now for me, right now, right now.”

Awesome.

I’m also spending a bit more time observing her play rather than directing it. She’s starting to be old enough to go off on her own and create her own emergency care center for her stuffed animals. While watching her (and also getting some of my work done) I’m finding she’s definitely leaning toward certain ways of learning, which is super exciting and a bit overwhelming.

How can I make sure she learns to her best ability?

Understanding that each individual child is different and special in her own way and also learns in her own way. Along with using her right and left-brain in combination, she has to make split-second decisions and tap into her emotional intelligence. But, along with all that, she has a special learning style that works best for her, and connecting with her multiple intelligences only boosts abilities to greater lengths.

Wait, what?

Yeah, that’s a bit of a chunk of information, but really, multiple intelligences aren’t as scary as you think…

Defining Multiple Intelligences

Multiple intelligences are the concept and understanding that individuals learn in different ways and are more apt to retain knowledge when information is presented in a certain way. Howard Gardner, a leading expert in the area of multiple intelligences, finds intelligence is the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings. According to Gardner there are multiple intelligences that can be valued and encouraged, creating a stronger and smarter individual, or ignored, stunting potentially important growth.

As parents, or educators, we want our kids to be smarter and think to their greatest capacities. Understanding and appreciating the different ways that kids learn and taking the time to encourage their abilities is an essential step to promoting positive life skills and development. Our brains are born pre-wired to lean in one learning direction more than another. And then, through experiences, our intelligence is increased. Multiple intelligence theory taps into the child’s intrinsic levels of motivation through natural talents, which encourages learning and development in a comfortable way.

The Multiple-Intelligences

So, what are the nine multiple intelligences? Some are interrelated and overlap a bit, but each child possesses each of these nine intelligences in varying amounts, and some are more dominant than others. They are:

-Verbal-Linguistic – This includes the ability to use words and language. If your child has a knack for picking up languages, understands and uses language properly, he probably has leanings toward being a verbal-linguistic learner. Your child may prefer to read a book than finish his homework, but finding a balance is key. Offer rewards, such as a trip to the bookstore, once academic goals are met.

-Logical-Mathematical – For children this includes the capacity to understand and recognize numbers and abstract patterns. A kid that enjoys concentrating on challenging math or logic questions and engaging in exciting science experiments has logical-mathematical leanings. You might have the next great mathematical genius on your hands, so find ways to encourage those skills through playing games such as Sudoku or tangrams.

-Visual-Spatial – This is the ability to visualize objects and special dimensions and to create internal images and pictures. It is thought that left-brain dominant learners also learn concepts best through visual-spatial activities. Your budding artist may have a completely disorganized room, but actually know where each important item is located. Find ways to encourage his skills by challenging his logical right brain, such as using toothpicks to construct a building.

-Body-Kinesthetic – The ability to use the body in a controlled physical way. Just because your child has a hard time sitting still does not mean he is a challenging learner, but that he finds moving his body an essential part of his learning experience.  Find ways to tap into your child’s bodily abilities by encouraging participation in sports that promote problem solving and quick thinking.

-Musical-Rhythmic – Recognition of musical patterns, sounds, and rhythmic beats. Kids that are excited to pound away on the piano or want to spend hours practicing the viola are learning through all that music. In fact, playing an instrument may encourage your child’s understanding of math concepts.

-Interpersonal – The ability to create personal relationships and engage in person-to-person communication. Often, children that easily empathize with others or want to help and lead others are interpersonal learners. Your interpersonal child probably loves talking, sharing and working with others, so encourage her skills by offering a video camera to use for making a movie collaboratively with friends.

-Intrapersonal – When a child has the ability to understand self-reflection and inner being. Children that are able to identify and regulate their emotions and behaviors are intrapersonally intelligent. Although it may seem that your child is withdrawn or quiet, she has a busy inner-life. Offer your child lots and lots of journals to keep important notes – and remember to respect her privacy if she does not feel like sharing.

-Naturalistic – The ability to understand, recognize and categorize items in nature. Kids that are all about digging in the dirt and exploring nature around them many have a stronger naturalistic intelligence. So head outdoors with your budding naturalist and take a trip to your local zoo or museum. She will love the experience and feel nurtured to explore the nature around her.

-Existential – Understanding and striving to learn more about human existence and question and learn about life, death, and what happens after. Children that like to question and have deep inquisitive thoughts are existentially intelligent. It may be time to hit the library or explore researching together on the Internet when you grow tired of the questions. But, teaching your existential child research skills will only benefit her for years to come.

Encouraging Multiple Intelligences

Now that you have an idea what multiple intelligences may be stronger in your child than others, what to do?

-Understand that teaching children with blanket educational styles will not promote positive learning. Getting to know each child individually offers the ability for educators, and parents, to tap into children’s intelligences and adjust learning and teaching experiences.

-As a parent, take the time to educate yourself on the multiple-intelligences concept through reading and learning more about your own learning style and intelligences. When you as a parent understand a concept, ideas are easily implemented in the home.

-In the classroom, allow students to take part in their own assessment and grading to encourage their own intelligences and self-motivation. Along with taking part in assessment, students can be included in lesson planning and encouraged to offer their opinions and ideas for teaching and learning certain topics.

-Learn more about your child’s special area of expertise and encourage it. Like earlier stated, this means that if your child is showing signs of being the next Mozart, find ways to encourage her musical talents. Even if it is not an area you are fluent in, find ways to connect and further educate the child to help promote her way of learning.

Multiple-intelligences are just another great way to expand your child’s learning abilities and learn more about the wonders of the brain.

Since my parents have left I’ve had to get back to doing all that stuff I used to, like putting away the dishes, doing my own laundry, and playing with the tot. Needless to say this week kicked me hard in the tushi and I was in need of some serious help keeping things together – including my daughter from having a complete and utter boredom breakdown.

In the gift-opening panacea that was the holidays blended with the tot’s birthday, we got several small containers of play dough, which were played with for hours and hours while Gamma was here. The thing is, all that play dough blended together into an unappealing looking green blob – and left this chemical-ick smell on our hands.

Blech.

So the other day we tossed together some of our own handmade play dough – with a spin. Instead of going through all that work to heat and stir and cook, I simplified things by adding hot liquid to the flour and salt. And, to combat that wallpaper paste smell of flour and water, we added some fresh grated lemon zest and juice to the hot water.

What’s really fun about this play dough is you can add food coloring and some scented oil to make things different. We tossed in a few drops of lemon food coloring to add to the already yellow tinged dough. Once your child gets tired of squishing with the play dough, the finished creations can be left to air dry, or baked in the oven on low heat for about an hour, creating a nice, hard little sculpture they can paint or put on display for everyone to admire.

We used a few cookie cutter to make fun shapes, which we then put together into a mobile….

Ingredients

4 c flour

1 c salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 to 2 c hot water

Zest of one lemon plus its juice (optional)

Food coloring (optional)

Scented oil (optional)

Directions

Measure and add the flour and salt to a big mixing bowl.

Bring the water to a boil along with the zest and juice from the lemon.

Add the hot water to the flour and salt mixture, along with the vegetable oil (along with the food coloring and scented oil), and give a good stir. If things feel too stiff, add a bit more water. Or, if things are too watery, add a bit more flour.

Dump the dough onto a work surface and knead until everything is nice and smooth without being sticky.

It’s that simple!

*To bake finished items, place in a 250 F oven for an hour.

I’m so excited to share that Parents.com picked up some of my fine art for kids activities! This was a really exciting project for me – and something that is really near and dear. With my background as an art teacher, creating, and getting creative, with kids is something really important to me and one of my big goals is to share that with others. Sure, sometimes my projects are a bit out there or might take you out of your comfort zone (like getting over your fear of glitter). But, hey, that’s what art is all about.

Even if you don’t think you are “crafty” you might find exploring art – and getting messy – with your kids is really fun. The first thing is to realize just making the effort to attempt creativity is the most exciting and important step. Embrace that fear of finger painting with a two-year-old, offer markers to your toddler, and wield that hot glue gun with no fear! Your kids won’t have a clue you’re shaking in your boots worrying your rug will be speckled with red paint or one of those markers might wander off…

They’ll just remember having a great time while making art with you.

Head on over to Parents.com to see what we put together – I know you’ll find something you and your kids will love creating!

Before getting started, here are a couple of tips for making arts and crafts time a happy time:

-Determine your boundaries: Pick an art corner in your house and make it clear that area is where mess can be made. Finding a spot near a sink is beneficial for those really crazy moments – or if things go a bit haywire. If your home is carpeted, invest in a cheapy carpet to put under your craft table to protect your floors. Heck, if you’ve got hardwood floors, it’s also a good idea! I’ve picked up several rugs from the local re-sale shop that have had wonderful lives as craft rugs. Kids go through different stages of art development, and some can be a bit messier than others.

-Prepare: Before starting a project, prep your materials just like you do before making a meal. Have your paper and art materials out and within reach so they can be offered, and removed, while creating with your child. I’ve got a toddler and find this is a serious part of doing fun and messy projects. As soon as she is finished with the paintbrushes, I whisk them away and offer her something else. This ensures those forgotten brushes don’t get rediscovered and end up being used to paint the drapes. Once the project is finished, have a spot for the artwork to dry or rest out of reach.

-Enjoy: Sure, I know you’re going to want to take a couple of pictures of all the fun you’re having while getting creative, but put the camera/phone down and give your child some undivided attention. Art is important and this is a great learning opportunity and chance to really chat with your child. Quiz her on colors she’s using, shapes she’s making, how her day went, her hopes and dreams….

We all get caught up with stuff around us (SOCIAL MEDIA), but quality time with your child is so important.

-Share: Once your art project is finished, proudly display it in your home. Not only is kid art cool art, it also shows your child how much you value her creation, boosting her self-confidence. Art is an essential part of emotional development and when your child feels she can safety and comfortably express herself through her art, she’ll feel better about herself, boosting her self-esteem, and aiding in her cognitive and creative development.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Parents.com with your child and pick a masterpiece to recreate!

My tot is all about wanting everything now and not remembering that a simple “thank you” goes a long way. Her brain is working a mile a minute and full of egocentric thought – and being polite isn’t important. Remembering to toss out a “please” or “thanks” is pretty rare, and I’m a bit tired of all that prompting.

Memory is a compilation of items that make up the ongoing experience of life. Although it’s a concept, and not a single tangible part of the brain, memory is an actual brain-wide process. Encouraging each individual memory helps the entire process work together, aiding kids in remembering the capitol of Peru and how to tie her shoes – or to simply say thank you.

There’s nothing wrong with having some fun while learning and honing memory skills. Sure, you can get out a few board games and get bored or mix things up with some inventive ways to use stuff around the house while spending some quality memory building time together.

What’s Missing? – Ages 4+

Take advantage of a child’s love of small items by creating a game utilizing a blanket and the power of her brain. Training the short-term memory to work longer than 20 to 30 seconds helps encourage a child’s brain to make strong memories, which can be accomplished through a fun memory activity.

-Have the child select five to seven small objects she would like to use for playing the game, such as miniature cars, plastic animals, or colored blocks.

-Take a moment to describe each item discussing its color, shape, and special characteristics. Explain to her that she will be playing a game with the items where one at a time, an object will go missing. Talking through an activity encourages the child’s left and right brain to work together, creating complete learning.

-Help position the objects in an arrangement on the floor or a table so they are close together. Once again, have her describe each object and its characteristics helping to form her memory of each item. Repeating aides in memory.

-Cover everything with a blanket and remove an item by hiding it in the palm of your hand and then placing it behind your back without allowing your child to see which item has been removed.

-Take away the blanket and ask your child what item is missing. If she has problems remembering, prompt her with descriptive words she used to describe the object, such as its color or shape.

-Continue removing items and playing until no items are left. Once all the objects have gone missing, ask if she can recall each item that was used to play the memory building game.

Rhyme it Up – ages 7+

Young adults are busy with schoolwork and hanging out with friends. Helping memory skills with a mnemonics memory activity gives an edge when it comes to getting homework done so there is more time to socialize – and will keep parents happy with the resulting good grades.

-Have your child select a collection of items or facts she would like to work on memorizing, such as social studies facts for an upcoming test.

-Using story telling as a memory booster is a fun and entertaining way to train the brain. To remember information, it needs to be committed to long-term memory with connections that make the facts easier to recall.

-Discuss with your child what mnemonics are and how they benefit memory skills. Mnemonics can be any type of rhyme, story, song, or chant to help remember items. For example, just about everyone knows, “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”

-Help your child organize the information she would like to use for creating a fun story mnemonic. Once she’s ready, she can write out the story using key words from her facts, making sure to connect each sentence so her story is easy to remember. Remember, the sillier the better!

-Now she can share the funny mnemonic story with others, strengthening her memory skills and testing others on their retention abilities.

-After sharing her story, she can test listeners by seeing how much of the silly mnemonic they can repeat back without help. Your child can aide listeners by giving them prompts as needed.

-See who can remember the most of the silly mnemonic out of your child’s friends and family and offer a prize to the memory game winner.

Total Recall – 11+

Tweens and teens have lots of pressures including excelling in school along with after school sports and activities, other responsibilities such as jobs, and socializing with friends. Help everyone keep on track with a memory boosting game that also offers the opportunity to spend some quality time together too.

-Select several images from magazines to use for the memory activity, such as pictures of people sitting in a restaurant, images of different types of landscapes, or advertisements.

-Everyone has a different type of learning, and using that to tap into memory is extremely beneficial. Your teenager can experiment with her learning style by playing a memory game using the magazine pictures and determining which way encourages the best memory retention.

-Using a timer, provide your teen with a magazine pictures and set the timer for 3 minutes. The goal is to see how many random things she can memorize about the picture and then recall later. Encourage your child to work silently, tapping into her concrete learning style.

-Once the time is up, she can pass over the picture to be quizzed. Ask her various questions such as how many people are in the picture, what color clothes individuals are wearing, animals in the image, and so on.

-Keep track of all her correct answers and the ones that she misses.

-Now she can do the process again but with a different picture. This time, she can describe the image out loud instigating her active learning. Does this help or hinder her memory retention?

-Compare and contrast her skills from previous picture and if she had better results while memorizing silently or while talking.

-Other ideas would be for her to act out the image, write out words for prompts, or create a rhyme for the picture to help remember information within the 3 minutes for each picture.

-See which way of learning provides the best results for the memory retention game and offer a reward for all her hard work – like heading out for some well-deserved ice cream.

Playing memory games are a fun way to train the brain and also boost retention skills. Keeping the memory strong ensures those special memories will be around for many years to come, along with all those important facts and dates.

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind over here. We delayed Christmas until my parents arrived late last week, the husband and I went out on a pre-New Year’s date, and now it’s the tot’s birthday.

I’m about ready to crawl into a quiet corner and hibernate.

When deciding what to do for our big tot on her b-day, I wanted to keep things pretty tame, you know, because we’ve been opening presents for what seems like days and days and days.

I figured we’d make a special meal – and a special treat. She’s in love with chocolate and bananas, so I combined the two into something really tasty.

Choco-nana cupcakes.

These are really simple and actually not so bad for you – especially if you eat them just as is without the additional frosting. There’s less sugar in them and no butter, but you’d never know. Using a really big and not-yet-brown banana creates big happy chunks of nanners in every bite.

What you need

3/4 c unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1/2 c sugar

1 1/4 c flour

2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of salt

1 t vanilla

1 tbsp honey

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 c milk

1 c big chunks of chopped banana

How to make them

Start by cranking your oven to 350 F and then get out a muffin tin. You can line with little liners or lightly grease with a wiping of oil. Now you can begin dumping all the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl (cocoa, flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, sugar, salt) and give things a good stir.

Measure and add the milk, honey, vanilla, and oil and lightly mix. Go ahead and toss in those two eggs too.

Chop up a big banana and add it to the mix. If you’ve got smaller bananas, you might need two. Seriously – it’s that simple.

Gently stir things up and then spoon into muffin tins. You should have enough batter to make 12 good-sized muffins.

Toss those choco-nana muffins in the oven for 17-20 minutes or until the tops are cracked and firm to the touch.

Once things are cool, top with yogurt cream cheese frosting or a dusting of powdered sugar – or eat plain!

YUM

*Yogurt cream cheese frosting

4 ounces room temperature cream cheese

1/3 c plain (or vanilla) yogurt (strained for an hour)

1/2 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

After you toss your cupcakes into the oven, line a strainer with a sheet of paper towel and then plop on your yogurt. Let it strain for an hour or so – or longer if you feel like it. Then gently press the yogurt to release as much liquid as possible.

Whip the yogurt with the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar using a hand mixer and spoon into a heavy duty zip top plastic bag and smoosh to one corner.

Snip the corner of the plastic bag with a scissors and then squeeze the frosting out in swirls onto those nicely cooled choco-nana cupcakes.

If your house is anything like mine right after the holidays, it’s strewn with bubble wrap, boxes, wrapping paper, and lots and lots of stuff. After I did a bit of cleaning, that bubble wrap just didn’t want to be put away. While enjoying popping most of it with the tot, I thought of a fun way to use the rest for a creative art activity.

I got out the paints, paintbrushes, and some brown construction paper, and then pulled the tot up to the trusty laptop and shared with her some images of Aboriginal dot art. You could say Aboriginal rock art is the original art with some examples dating back over 60,000 years ago. Using swirling lines, dots, shapes, and repeated designs, Aboriginal dot art is vibrant and organic – and was originally created with the use of natural pigments such as ochre and painted onto cave walls or hard sand.

These artworks also contain symbols and stories representing the Dreamtime, or explanations for why certain things are the way they are. During the “time before time” Australian Aborigines created these special stories to teach and share traditions. Take a look at examples of dot art as well as Aboriginal symbols with your child before getting started.

Encourage your child to select a theme or symbol as a base for her Aboriginal dot art creation. She can focus on an animal or one of the traditional symbols and create a couple of sketches before working on the bubble wrap.

When she’s ready, invite your child to paint her design onto the bubble wrap using vibrant colors of tempera paint just like the Aboriginals did. Now she can radiate the design by creating repeated lines around the central shape.

Once she’s finished offer her a sheet of brown construction paper and then press on top of the bubble wrap. Now she can lift the paper to reveal her own unique Aboriginal dot art.

Now your child can gently wipe the bubble wrap and continue to paint and create using different colors of construction paper and designs! She can even write her own unique Dreamtime story to go along with her creation.

Here’s how things went at our house with an almost-three-year-old…