EXPLORE ART project with BABY

While I think it is important to incorporate art into childrens' lives, I will admit it is more difficult to find appropriate material/ projects for babies.  Babies younger than 12 months or even 18 months will not be able to grasp the concept of how to use materials, especially without putting things in their mouths.


Now don't get me wrong, this does not rule out including art in their lives altogether.  When they are still too young to use art materials you can still be building their visual dictionary by showing and talking to them about art.  


But back to the dilemma of art projects with babies.  Sage just turned 1 year old and we, my art partner in crime Mr. Cyrus, have decided to start including him in on some of our art projects.  Sage is usually entertained by snacks in his high chair while Cy works.


Our materials are still a bit limited because not only does everything go in Sage's mouth he even eats it.  We've caught him a few times with crayon pieces all over his mouth and in his teeth.  Yum.  He also likes to get a hold of (clean) paint brushes and put them in his mouth. 


So we went for finger painting, which did end up to be more like full body painting.  A few tips: make sure to use non-toxic paints, get baby in play clothes or just a diaper, pick a room where the floor will clean up easily and block all exits.

Materials:

• Crayola washable, non-toxic paint
• Large paper or paper roll
• Tape
• Optional found objects- we used cars and hair picks to drag through the paint

I taped a big piece of paper to the kitchen floor, and laid out the paints for Sage to investigate.  Cy then helped me pour different colors of paint directly onto the paper.  We worked fast to keep Sage's interest.  

Cy got right in there, showing Sage how the paint can be spread all over the paper using their hands.  

At first Sage did put his hands in the paint and then directly into his mouth.  It took a few tries then he got the idea it was to paint on the paper with and not to taste.

Sage liked exploring the feel of the paint, smushing it in his hands and at times rubbing it on his body. He really got into the idea of running the cars and hair picks through the paint.  I tried to think of "tools" he could use that wouldn't go right into his mouth.

They both had a blast, rubbing, smushing, smearing, rolling and walking through the paint.  Sage's attention span lasted about 10 minutes for the project, which is expected.  As he gets to play and experiment with more art materials his attention span, interest and understanding of materials will grow.
Luckily Sean came home just in time to help grab one kid while I got the other and we carried them right up to the bathtub.

So we are still working on the concept art materials are to paint/ draw with and not to eat, but we'll get there.  In a couple months there will be so many more materials/ projects we'll be able to all do together.  Stop by Friday for a few of my favorite baby/toddler art materials and project ideas.

And keep on EXPLORING ART- Baby!

Homemade Baby Food

You know you would love to do it......... just keep thinking, I think I can, I think I can.

By the time your ready to introduce your baby to baby food, you most likely haven't recovered from the continuous lack of sleep since that baby came home from the hospital.  So to take on the chore of making your own baby food seems quite daunting.  But you can do it, and you can do it with appliances that can already be found in your kitchen.

What you'll need:  fruit or vegetables to prepare, stove with pots and pans to either boil, bake or steam, mesh strainer, spatula and your blender.  Yep that's it! 

1. Wash, peel and dice your desired fruit or veggie
2. To steam food use your mesh strainer to hold the food over a pot filled half way with water.  Boil the water allowing the steam to rise and steam your food.  Or to boil food simply put it in a pot of water and wait until its soften.  Note you can bake squash at 350 in a pan with about an inch of water.
3. Now its time to place boil, steamed or baked food into the blender.  Try and keep it only about half full it will be easier to process.  You are going to need approximately 1/4 cup water to your prepared food, you can either reserve liquid from step #2 or add water as you go.(or substitute juice)
4. Run your blender on medium or high until the food is blended into a puree and turning over in the blender.
5. Now pour the pureed mixture through the mesh strainer sitting over a bowl.  Using the spatula stirring and pressing the mixture through the strainer.  This will catch any seeds or skins of fruits or veggies that weren't pureed and could get caught in the baby's throat.
6. If you are preparing purees for slightly older babies you could add baby cereals to your puree to thicken the mixture.  Those that would be eating at a stage 3 in baby food you could also add finely diced, cooked or steamed fruit/ veggies into the puree.
7. Next you need to transfer your puree into a storeable container.  Ice trays work nice for smaller quantities or when you are first introducing food, look for small containers to freeze food in.  If you know someone who is using store bought food ask them to save the containers.  (make sure a wash containers with hot soapy water or boil glass containers before use)

That's it your done!  You can store food in the fridge only for a couple days before it will develop bacteria.  Freeze food, for around 3 months, and thaw at room temperature or in the microwave.

Click Here for a schedule of when to start different fruit and vegetables, along with some other helpful tips