Animal Adventure Theme Party

Host  the perfect party for children with an Animal Adventure Theme and let the cute and cuddly stuffed critters join the fun! Invitations:

Animated Animals: Cut out pictures of animals from inexpensive children's books or draw them yourself. Fold a piece of construction paper in half and paste the animal cutouts on the front. Glue on wiggly eyes, feathers, and other three-dimensional details. Draw a speech bubble with a dark felt-tip pen and fill it with a party greeting, such as "Come to an Animal Adventure Party!" Write the rest of the details inside the fold and mail to guests.

Decorations:

Animal Posters: Buy posters of baby animals and hang them on the walls of the party room at a young child's eye level. Animal Centrepiece: Assemble a variety of stuffed animals on the table to form a centrepiece. If you like, buy or make a paper tablecloth that looks like a forest or farm and set the animals on top. Or cover the table with a piece of fabric decorated with animals.

Costumes:

Make or buy headbands with attached animal ears and place them on the guests' heads when they arrive. Costume shops and toy stores offer a variety of animal headbands-with bear ears, mouse ears, rabbit ears, and so on. If you prefer, make your own animal headbands: Make animal ears from stiff construction paper and glue them onto plain, store-bought headbands.

Games:

Tape the Trunk: For children, bigger is better, so enlarge "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" into "Tape the Trunk on the Elephant." Buy two identical elephant posters and cut out the trunk of one. That will be the trunk your guests will tape onto the intact elephant poster with double-sided tape. (If you are artistically inclined, draw your own elephant on a large sheet of poster board and make the trunk out of construction paper.) Explain the game to the players. Have the first player wear a large hat to cover her eyes (instead of a blindfold), give her the trunk with a piece of double-sided tape on the back, and stand her a foot or so from the elephant poster. Then help her find her way. If she peeks, it's okay! What's That Noise? Buy a recording of animal sounds. Have the little ones sit in a circle. Play the sounds and have them guess what animal makes each sound. Act Like an Animal: Have the guests sit on a circle, then have the parents act out an animal's movements. Ask the kids to guess the animal.

Activities:

Make-a-Mask: Cut out face shapes from felt or heavy construction paper. Cut out holes for eyes, noses, and mouths. Use your own child's face to estimate the distance between the eyes, nose, and mouth. Then glue or staple a tongue depressor stick at the bottom of each face to serve as a handle. Provide nontoxic felt-tip pens for colouring the masks, as well as a variety of decorative items like sequins, feathers, and glitter for gluing onto the mask. Then let the guests make their own masks. When they finish, have an animal parade. Home Zoo: Hire an animal trainer to come to the party with a real animal, such as a pony, a goat, or an exotic bird for the kids to learn about, play with, and pet. Animal Faces: Hire a face painter (or nominate yourself) to paint the kids' faces to look like lions, tigers, and bears- oh my! Use nontoxic face paints, then add ears and ribbon tails to complete the look.

Food:

Serve zoo food to the children at a help-yourself buffet for animals. Include a bowl of Animal Crackers, Monkey Bites (banana pieces), Chimp Chips (crisps), Python Pieces (fruit strips), Cheetah Cheese (cheese cubes), and Pet Peas (frozen green peas, cooked briefly and cooled). Serve chocolate milk in small bowls for some more animal fun. Set out a "Do Not Feed the Animals" sign, but cross off the "Not." King of the Jungle Cake Use a cake mold to create a lion cake. Frost with yellow icing. Add eyes, mouth, teeth, nose, whiskers, and other details with sweets or icing.

Favors:

Send your guests home with small stuffed animals or animal books. Hand out safari hats filled with animal toys and animal crackers. NOTE: All favors should be age-appropriate and safety tested.

Variations:

Take the kids to a petting zoo and let them see real animals. Ask parents to help with supervision. Watch a video about animals.

Hints:

Make sure that all toys are big enough so they won't be swallowed, and that all animal features are securely fastened to the toys. Ask guests' parents to help at the party. Keep in mind that some children are afraid of masks, so adjust the activity if needed.

Silhouette Portrait

Materials

• Desk lamp
• Table
• Tape
• Large sheet of paper
• Washable markers, crayons, or coloured pencils

Instructions

• Place a desk lamp on a table about 6 feet from a blank wall.
• Have your child stand against the wall so his profile casts a shadow on the wall behind him.
• Tape the paper to the wall, in the shadow, and trace your childamp;quot;s silhouette.
• When the tracing is complete, let your child use washable markers, crayons, or coloured pencils to add details to the portrait.

Picture Pairs *

As your toddler begins to recognize the similarities and differences between the three-dimensional world and two-dimensional representations, such as pictures, play a game of Picture Pairs and see if he can match up 3-D and 2-D!

Learning Skills:

•Classification and matching

•Real vs. representation

•Visual discrimination

Materials:

•Pictures from magazines that represent things found around the house, such as toothpaste, toddler food, hat, toy, shoes, watch, and so on.

•Real items to match to pictures

What to do:

1. Find pictures that represent items found in your home, as suggested above.

2. Collect real items to match the pictures.

3. Set out the real items in a row on the floor or at the table.

4. Seat your toddler next to you, facing the items.

5. Hold up a picture of one of the items and ask your toddler to find the matching real item.

6. Repeat until your toddler matches all the items.

Safety:  Be sure all items are safe for your toddler to handle, and give him lots of praise, encouragement, and help so he doesn’t become frustrated.

Do women carrying boys need to eat more than women carrying girls?

Q: I read in a parenting magazine that a woman pregnant with a boy needs a 10% higher energy intake than someone pregnant with a girl. Is this true? I’d appreciate hearing what you have to say, as I’m pregnant with a boy.

— Submitted by Emily

A:Laura E. Stachel, M.D.

On average newborn boys are slightly heavier than newborn girls. Researchers are interested in knowing if their heavier birth weight results from their mothers eating more during pregnancy or whether mothers of boys are more efficient at utilizing the food they eat.

In 2003 the British Medical Journal published results of a study on 244 American women who filled out a diet questionnaire during their second trimester. The analysis showed that compared to mothers of girls, women carrying male fetuses had a 10% higher energy intake (including protein, carbohydrates and fat), suggesting that these women had higher nutritional requirements. Surprisingly, these same women did not gain more weight than other women in the study, although birth weight usually correlates with mother’s weight gain.

In contrast, another survey involving 300 British pregnant women showed similar energy intake between pregnant women carrying male and female babies. In this study, the only difference found was that women carrying girls consumed 5% more fat and calories during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Based on these two studies it’s premature to recommend that you consume more calories because you’re carrying a boy. As long as you provide yourself with a healthy, balanced diet containing ample calories and nutrients, you will be supplying your baby what he needs to grow. For more specifics, see my article titled, “Nutrition During Pregnancy” on this web site.

What emergency information should I give the babysitter?

Q:When I get a babysitter for my son, what kind of information should I make sure to leave in case of an emergency?

Dr. Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, M.D., M.P.H.

Pediatrics

A:Although emergencies are rare, it’s best for you and your babysitters to be prepared. Talk with your babysitter about preventing and preparing for emergencies, and write down clear instructions.

What kinds of emergencies might you encounter? Probably the most common emergencies are: injuries (such as falls, choking, cuts, poisoning, or burns), illnesses (such as vomiting, allergic reactions, or asthma attacks), and natural disasters (such as earthquakes, fires, or severe storms).

Start by asking the babysitter about her own preparation for dealing with emergencies: what kinds of emergencies has she dealt with? Has she recently taken a class in pediatric first aid and CPR? Does she know what to do if your baby or child is choking on a piece of food or a toy? What would she do if a fire started in the kitchen?

Make sure you give the babysitter a good orientation to your child and to your home. Let her know your guidelines for preventing emergencies, e.g., the safe play areas for your child; how to heat bottles or cut up food safely; and keeping medicines, small objects and sharp items out of reach. If your son has any medical conditions, such as allergies or asthma, be sure to explain and give the babysitter a written description of foods to avoid, signs of an attack, medications to give, and when to call emergency medical services. Also, orient the babysitter to the location of the phone and fire extinguisher, how to exit your home in case of fire, and what to do in case of an earthquake or storm.

Finally, be sure to leave a list of emergency telephone numbers for your babysitter, including: your cell phone number or the telephone for the restaurant or friend’s home where you’ll be; other emergency contacts such as a neighbor, friend, or relative; emergency medical services, fire, police, and poison control; and your child’s doctor and medical insurance plan number.

What’s considered reasonable behavior from a 3-year-old at preschool?

Q:What should I expect from a 3-year-old in terms of preschool attendance, sitting in his/her own space, interruptions and squirminess? I’m a preschool teacher, and parents always ask me questions about these issues. I would like someone else’s perspective on the matter.

Dr. Kenneth N. Condrell, Ph.D.

Child Psychologist

A:It’s typical for 3-year-olds to squirm, interrupt and invade other children’s space. That’s why parents and teachers need a lot of patience to help children this age gain better self-control. While they can improve in the areas you mentioned, you shouldn’t expect them to fare as well as, say, a 5-year-old.

I think it’s a great idea for parents and teachers alike to surprise children with praise when they show self-control—sitting still during a story, for example, or not interrupting when mum’s on the phone. Children love to be praised, and to please parents and teachers. They’ll try harder to cooperate when their efforts are acknowledged.

Play Tips: Choosing the right toy for a 2 year old

How your 2 year old plays now:

• She hops, jumps and can travel stairs one foot at a time.
• He knows the difference between safe and dangerous.
• She's becoming more social with other kids.
• Good hand-eye coordination means he can build with blocks and tuck a stuffed animal into bed.
• She likes to roll and cut play dough.
• He announces what he's going to draw but may change his idea if the drawing begins looking like something else. When he completes his drawing, he likes you to display it.
• She enjoys mimicking the actions of those she knows.
• He understands what "inside," "under" and "on top" mean.
• She creates simple sentences and uses the words "I," "me" and "you."
• He can recall what to do when given simple instructions.

Ride - ons

Rock Roll & Ride Refresh

Why your child will enjoy this toy now:

A trike helps your child learn balance, steering and how to pedal forward and backward—all good for large motor control. Alternating right, left, right, left as they learn to pedal contributes to "whole brain" development.

What you can do to help your child learn more:

When your child first sees a ride-on, he may be very happy to just get on and off repeatedly by himself. Or, he may sit on it and push with his feet, forward and backward.

Ride-ons are designed so a child's feet reach the ground or the pedals, and so his body weight helps push the ride-on around. Often, children don't realize their feet should go around on pedals and they want to push back and forth; it may help if you show him how it's supposed to work. Put his feet on the pedals, hold your hands on top of them and push so he feels the motion of the pedals going down and around.

For many children, steering with handlebars seems to happen automatically—they just get it and follow their nose! Help him to learn directions by saying the words, "Now you're turning left," or, "Turn to the right."

Children love to make use of the ride-on's little storage compartments. If his toy has one, help your 2-year-old select a "friend" to take for a ride, or pack a little snack for him to enjoy on a break.

Children at 2 years are old enough to learn to "park" their ride-on. Give your child a "parking spot" in the shed or garage. Say, "This is your parking spot," using that term. "Just like Mommy has a parking spot for our car, this is where you park your ride-on when you're done with it."

Alphabet Book

This is a good rainy day project that can be completed during one or more sittings.

Materials

• Crayons or markers
• Small notebook or sheets of paper folded together and stapled inside a construction paper cover
• Glue
• Photos
• Child’s blunt-tip safety scissors
• Old magazines

Instructions

• Help your child print a letter of the alphabet on each page of a small notebook.
• Use the alphabet book in one of the following ways:
• Have your child write words she knows on the appropriate pages: cat on the C page, Mum on the M page, and so on. She can illustrate the words or glue in appropriate photos or pictures cut from magazines.
• On each page, have your child draw a picture of an animal that begins with that letter, or cut animal pictures from old magazines and glue them onto the page.
• Look through magazines and grocery store fliers for pictures of food that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Cut out the pictures and glue them onto the appropriate pages. If you like, help your child label the pictures.

Sand and Water *

Sand and water are two properties that offer your toddler a wide range of open-ended activities. All she needs are a box of sand and pail of water to pretend she's at the beach, as she pours, presses, molds, and sifts.

Learning Skills:

•Cause and effect

•Fine motor development

•Imagination and dramatic play

•Sensory exploration

Materials:

•Large wooden or cardboard box

•Fine sand

•Bucket of water

•Sand toys, plastic animals and figures

•Sifters, cups, scoops, spoons, and other kitchen items

What to do:

1. Set a large wooden or cardboard box in the yard and fill it at least one-foot deep with fine sand.

2. Set out a bucket of water, sand toys, and kitchen items for discovery play.

3. Let your toddler enjoy exploring the sand and using her imagination as she sifts, pours, buries, and plays.

Safety:   Watch your toddler around the sand, in case she gets it in her face.

What to Pack for hospital

      Don't forget insurance and hospital pre-registration forms. Filling them out ahead of time makes admittance a breeze. Pack a bag for the labor room. You could be there for a while, so the following things may prove useful:

A list for mum:

1. Bathrobe
2. Slippers
3. Socks
4. Extra underwear
5. Sanitary napkins
6. Lip balm
7. Hard candies
8. Lotion for massages
9. Snacks for your birthing partner
10. Change for phone calls and vending machines
11. Cell phone (if permitted)
12. Phone numbers for people waiting to hear the good news
13. Books
14. Tapes
15. A tape/CD player
16. Eyeglasses
17. A stopwatch for timing contractions
18. Paper and pencil
19. Camera with film and flash
20. Baby book for recording baby's first footprint

Later, for your hospital room, you'll want a fresh nightgown (with nursing openings if you're breastfeeding), a bra (nursing or supportive), underwear, basic toiletries, and your address book. For going home, bring a fourth- or fifth-month maternity outfit.

A list for baby:

1. T-shirt
2. Spare nappy
3. "Coming home" outfit
4. Receiving blanket
5. Snowsuit (in winter)
6. Hat or bonnet
7. Booties or socks
8. Bottle, nipples and formula (if you're bottle-feeding)
9. Infant or convertible car seat