It’s the big thing for little girls now, to have their very own play kitchen set. And oh how they love to imitate us cooking and eating! A friend gave me one for my little girl when she was 2, and she has loved it ever since. But I have found that the play food and extra things can be quite expensive to buy!

Well, one thing I like to do is give my daughter empty containers from my own kitchen to play with in hers.

I’m talking about empty containers of baking needs, spice jars, smaller sized condiments, things like that. Smaller sized jars are best.

I especially love to give my daughter empty spice jars, and flavored coffee tins because the scent still lingers inside. This is a great way to introduce your child to different aromas, and familiarize them with the smells of different spices. One childhood memory that will never leave me is when my great grandmother used to come and visit us in her little RV. She’d park it in front of our house, and my sister and I used to love to sit inside at her little eating nook and play with her empty spice jars and containers. I loved to open each jar and smell the different aromas.

Here are a few I like to use:

Here are some safety suggestions:

• Wash the container thoroughly.

• Never use a container that held meat.

• Never give your child a glass container to play with.

• Make sure that if it has a small lid on it, that you either remove it or super-glue it on. It poses a choking hazard.

• Never use a container that held a toxic substance, or chemicals.

• Never give your child an aluminum can to play with, as it may have sharp edges around the rim.

So, the next time you empty a reusable container, think about washing it out and letting your little girl (or boy!) put it to good use! Don’t waste so much money buying expensive pretend food anymore! (I’ve been so guilty of this too!)

Did you know that nursery rhymes are one of the best tools you can use to aid your young child’s language skills?

Not only do nursery rhymes engage the baby’s attention because of the bee-boppy rhythm that are inherent in them, but they introduce children to:

• new vocabulary
• rhyme and rhythm
• memory and auditory skills
• and very importantly, to “phonemes”, or the sound units that make up words

(*note: check out some very interesting articles about this here, here , here and here ).

Well, all that to say: nine months ago I became a mother.

One evening I found myself sitting in my rocking chair holding my son and thinking, “I should probably be singing him a lullaby”. So I began…”Hush little baby…*thinking, thinking *…on the tree top…*making stuff up *…why don’t you fall asleep…I think you’ll really like it”.

I sat there…stupefied. Somewhere along the road of life I seemed to have missed something. The only nursery rhymes I could seem remember with some semblance of the real thing were “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. What kind of mother was I? Why didn’t they have classes about this stuff in college?

Well, after that sad attempt of cooing my son to sleep, I decided to put lullabies on the backburner for a while. Not too long after that episode I was trying to find some songs to download on our I-Pod for my son to listen to and thought “Nursery Rhymes! I’m sure there are nursery rhyme MP3’s out there somewhere that I could download for us to listen to (and maybe I’ll finally learn a few!).”

I was excited to find this deal at E-Music (although back when I signed up, they were giving 75 free downloads! Oh, and don’t forget to CANCEL your trial period when you’re finished downloading the songs or they will charge you):

I’m sure there are tons of other offers out there like this. I personally downloaded “Diddle Diddle Doodle Doo” (Brian Melville & Caroline Sweeney) and “Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes” (by Radha).

The first time I hit “play” and my son heard the nursery rhymes being sung correctly (*cough, cough*) a smile spread across my his sweet little face. He loved it! Now every time I walk over to the I-Pod to hit play, he smiles with anticipation. And you know what else? I’ve got almost all of the songs memorized now (as does my poor husband - he could probably sing them in his sleep :))!!!

We’ve also invested in a book full of poems and nursery rhymes that we read to our son (since we believe that reading directly to our children is THE best) and it’s amazing to watch him really stop and listen to the poems that have VERY apparent rhythm.

How can you really stimulate your child’s mental development? Spend time with him! Play with him, hug him, read to him, love on him! Relationships are the best fuel for a baby’s brain, and one-on-one attention is invaluable.

Obviously, though, you can’t spend every minute playing with your baby or your house would turn into utter chaos (just imagine the piles of laundry and dishes and your poor husband pleading for a warm meal)! So, you need to find balance.This is how I maintain my days:

Quiet Tasks (computer time, paying bills, organizing, crafts)

• I do quiet tasks during my son’s nap time since they usually take the most concentration and they are generally quiet and won’t wake up my son.

Loud Tasks (dishes, cooking, cleaning)

• These tasks usually don’t take as much concentration, so it’s easier for me to keep an eye on my son and answer his needs. I usually do these right after he wakes up from a nap and while he’s playing by himself (he generally likes playing by himself right after he wakes up).

Time with Baby (playing, cuddling, reading)

• When he gets bored of playing by himself we start our mommy and baby time. I also set an hour aside each day for my son and I just to play and have fun, apart from the times we play when he begins to get bored. My husband also has about an hour of Daddy/Son time each evening with my son.

Here are some ideas on how to stimulate your baby (these are some things that we like to do):

Mommy & Baby Fun

• Sit in our bay window and watch cars go by – son loves this! He totally zones out!
• I stack blocks, he knocks them down, I stack blocks, he knocks them down
• Read books
• Walk around the house to look at everything – he loves “looking” and being held
• Smell spices from the spice rack
• Take a bath – I think most babies love this – it’s so relaxing!
• Tickle time and play with mommy’s face
• I read poems to him – they are really “boppy” sounding (i.e. boppy rhythm) and I read them with a lot of wild expressions – he loves it J
• I zoom him around the house in his baby walker real fast
• Take him on walks outside and let him touch and feel leaves, sticks, etc.

Baby Alone Time (of course, this depends on their age – my son is 6 months)

• Play some fun nursery rhyme music for him to listen to (or classical) while he plays – my son smiles every time I turn it on!
• Mobiles, Jungle Gyms, Exersaucers and walkers are all very enjoyable to little ones and gives them a lot of activity
• Tummy time in front of mirror
• Give him balls to roll across floor
• Tie a ribbon (obviously be careful and keep an eye on this) to his foot and attach the other end of the ribbon to bells, metal measuring spoons, or something that jingles above him. When he kicks, the bells jingle – he learns cause and effect. It’s amazing how fast he’ll link kicking with jingling! My son kicked like a maniac when he figured out that he could make noise!
• Stuffed Animals – my son loves his monkey, Fred. He hugs him, puts choke holds on him, chews on his tail and gnaws on his ears.

Babies are constantly learning. Give them a variety of experiences to enjoy!