Self-made Toys

Actually, pictures seem to be self-explanatory but nevertheless I will provide some comments on each.
1. For developing hands and fingers of babies. We take a piece of cloth and make a small bag (alternative: we can take a sock without a pair =)), fill it with different substances: pasta, beans, buckwheat etc. We started to workout fingers when Maria was just 7 m.o. She liked it in the beginning but now, when she is already 1.1 she feels a bit bored with this toy.

2. I found some spare covers in my kitchen and made a logics game for Maria by cutting a hole in a piece of carton for each cover. She likes this game very much and is very happy when all covers fit in the right place.

3. These beads were made by my grandmother, for which I’m very grateful to her. We noticed that Maria as all women loves to make herself beautiful and loves to be in front of the mirror =)))). She became crazy when she saw I was putting my beads on. Soon she got her own beads made out of buttons of different size. They made her really happy!!! She played with her beads (which is also very good for finger workout) already when she was 9 m.o. but they still remain her favourite toy.

4. This toy I made relatively after I spotted intention of our baby to put things in holes, to put covers on top of the bottles, jars. It was exactly what she needed at that moment. Now, I think, this game should become a bit complicated: instead of big rings, buttons will be used and the hole will be much smaller, of course.

5. Absolutely top hit!!! is a house made by Maria’s father from the pasteboard. The house was papered for it to look happier =), but one can draw smth on it, write smth etc. As children psychologists say the house is needed for child’s internal development as it helps child to become more attentive. It also provides additional feeling of safety and soul comfort as the child understands it has its own place, where no adult is allowed. Another advantage of this toy – it will be suitable for many years on.

Methods to Develop Early

Basically all authors of methods for developing children physical and intellectual potential agree that the most productive time for developing child is till he gets 3 y.o. as this is the time when brains are in their fastest growing stage. Of course that doesn’t mean that one should stop educating kid when he gets older, but the early stage is crucial for further development.

In my blog I will try to cover all most popular methods for developing a child, posting my opinion on each. Together with Maria we probably would try to implement some elements into practice and later share our experience with you.

However, I’m very cautious with all these development techniques for some reasons. First, they all have been created relatively recently and, therefore, haven’t been tested properly yet, the lifelong influence on the child seems to be not well researched yet. Second, some of these methods make child think in categories (letters, words, figures etc.) not images. Imaginative thinking is crucial for the child till he is at least 6-7 y.o. Besides, my personal belief is that, in future, economics would need people with creative thinking (advertising industry, design, web programming, entertainment etc.). Third, the ultimate goal of each parent is to make his baby happy. I really doubt that these techniques are able to make a person happy. Simple example: a really developed child goes to school – he is too clever for the current program, becomes bored and gets lazy in the end, having no any wish to study further or he becomes an outcast and cannot properly communicate with his mates.

I believe that the best way to proceed is to adopt some development techniques, and to go our own way: e.g.reading fairy tales and poems, playing together, studying the surrounding world when being ocutside, and doing other fun things for development. What is more, it is commonly believed and I fully support opinion that the best teacher is Mum, who absolutely feels the needs of her child for development.

Dance Dance Revolution

It's been a while since my last post... Sorry guys... was hardly preparing for my exam. Till results announcement it is still some time to go, so I will try to successfully combine blogging, having rest with the little one and my job. To warm up a bit I will start with the post dedicated to music.

Children are very sensitive to the surrounding environment; particularly they are sensitive to the music. The majority at the age close to 1 Y wants to move when hears the rhythmic music.

I am fond of various kinds of music: starting with world classics and finishing with modern rock and pop. When I was pregnant I used to play piano so that the baby would listen to the beautiful music. Maria did listen and later remembered the music I played to her. Now she is big fan of music and also loves to dance. We dance together crazily when listen to the energizing music. I hold Maria’s hands and she moves: bends knees, moves her head and laughs…

When I feel we are a bit bored, I turn on the music (each time different (including also old classics such as Abba and Beatles as well as music for children) so that she also gets familiar with various styles and develops her taste of music) and we DANCE,DANCE, DANCE!!!