Educational toys for toddlers

i've been receiving questions of where do i get those toys Chloe play in IG stories that i post daily.

and i promise these mama i will do a proper post for it

Ever since Ming trying very hard to convert me to a minimalist, we started to stop buying toys a lot lesser. My focus now is more on fun educational toys.

 Brand: Imagination, Toy r us

very good for fine motor skill and focusing. At first she's not very keen but after few practice she love it till today, she can recognize the shapes now so i'll asked her to follow my instruction to thread the shapes by order. 

 I got it from taobao you can easily find it thru Montessori material, let me know if you need help on the link

i think this is more advance than a shape sorter because they need to figure out the hole for each shapes to put it in, Chloe love to turn them round and round till its fall on the bottom..good for 1 years old and above

one thing i really like about Montessori approach is that it emphasize on practical life skill

so this lock and key is obviously helping them to figure out how to unlock a lock with key

it's quite tiny and seems okay for her tiny hand she manage to unlock it on and off or with little helps

also some color pairing skill too, i got it from taobao

i saw it from a friend who has a 5 years old son she was telling us how money worthy this puzzle are coz she brought when her boy was 1 and he still love it 3 years later

you can get it from Popular book store super cheap 

surprisingly Chloe can do all the puzzle herself without much help! her attention spam for these is longest maybe because i only let her play every 3 days, she always need finish all 2 boxes of puzzle before i can keep it away!

i was planing to buy this but still checking out which brand is better 

then so happen a friend gifted this for Chloe's birthday  

this is from ELC another one i'm eyeing is from Melissa & dough

i think it's pretty good for her age! since she know shapes and colors now so this works like a puzzle for her to complete. 

that's all for now not much toys to share actually also we normally don't buy toy on the spot in front of Chloe is either online purchase or when daddy mummy go on a dates 

just don't feel like giving her this idea of " i see this, i like it and i want it now!" i've seen too many kids throwing tantrum in the mall just because they don't get what they want

i want to avoid that happen to mine 

so i try my best to start it young, we visit toy shop whenever we in the mall

we let Chloe roam around, play with toys after playing make sure she put it back to the same rack

then proceed to next toys after sometimes when we think she's done then we left empty handed. i'm not sure how well it works but at least i tried. Don’t get me wrong. I am not against toys just don't want her to get the ideas of buying it also choice of toys

another things i realize kids have very little attention spam on a toys especially those are always there in their play area so why buy so much. i don't need a toy shop in my living room

 what i do now is to keeps these toys in my cupboard or storeroom 

occasionally took it out and let her play then keep it again after she's done!

i realize she can focus on the 'new' (perhaps it's actually old ones) way longer compare to when that toys was displayed on her shelf! also now i diy 'toys' so i save some money too!

So less is more! Kids can hold longer attention spans with lesser toys! When there are too many toys, children fail to appreciate what they have and view toys as just another distraction! read this article here i think it make a lot of sense (at least to me). Still kids get to play and learn from play, by limiting their toys will help them stay focus be resourceful and be creative that's how we grown up with isn't it?

9 Home activities for toddlers

quoted from Maria Montessori

I really wish Chloe can learning through play, so she can enjoy learning and the process 

she is such a sticky bug sometimes i need her to occupied with things so i could do my house chores and cooking so these activities come in handy 

then i started to google and pinterest for toddler activities ideas thanks to those mama who share theirs so i can follow and improvise to my own version that suit to Chloe age, personality and things she likes! Hope this post help you to keep your toddler busy too...

Materials needed: Assorted beans

What to do: Draw 4 circle on a paper or use different container place one type of beans in each circle or container then mix up the rest of the beans teach your toddler to sort them according to shape and color of the beans! 

Skills learned: Sustained attention, sensory processing, learning how differentiate colors and textures of the ingredient  

Suitable age: As long as your toddler do not simply put stuff in to their mouth need monitoring

Occupied Chloe for: 15 minutes 

 Materials needed: Toilet paper or kitchen tower roll, wrapping paper and pompom from Daiso

What to do: Wrapped the roll with wrapper paper stick it to the wall place a container below. Demo to your toddler how the pom pom fall from the top of the tube to the basket.

Skills learned: Grow motor skill, Understanding directions and coordination

Suitable age: any! 

Occupied Chloe for: 5 minutes 

  Materials needed: Bathtub, Non-toxic Waterbeads from Tickle your senses and some random toys for waterplay

What to do: Soaked your beads beforehand and throw everything in to the filled bathtub. let them pick up the beads into the container and play freely sometimes i will throw some alphabet in for her to find them in the water and ask for some of those she can recognize 

Skills learned: Sensory awareness, muscle strength and listen to instruction

Suitable age: any! but supervision is required

Occupied Chloe for: forever! haha 

 Materials needed: Pompom from Daiso, colorful cup or container with some tools like spoon, scoop or tweezer 

What to do: Mix colorful pompom and teach her sort them accordingly to colors i used different tools everytime i think tweezer is the best that can train her fine motor skill

Skills learned: Motor skill, color knowing and focusing

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for: 20 minutes 

  Materials needed: Big piece of paper i use manjong paper here, faber castell washable marker

What to do: Draw some items that your child love on the paper and get her to name it then let her draw freely on the paper 

Skills learned: Motor skill, coloring concept

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for:30 minutes 

 Materials needed:watercolor from IKEA, small hand grip brushes 

What to do: teach her the concept of water painting then let her paint freely

Skills learned: Motor skill, color knowing and focusing

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for: 30 minutes

 Materials needed: Dropper taobao, 2 container with color water (i use kids friendly paint for the coloring) and 1 empty container to collect 

What to do: demo how to use a dropper, transfer color water to the empty container and see the result after 2 colors mixed together

Skills learned: Fine motor skill, color knowledge 

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for: 15 minutes

 Materials needed: Rounded label stickers, printed number with circles guide (let me know if you need the template) 

What to do: Stick the stickers according to the guide 

Skills learned: Focusing, number knowledge and fine motor skill

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for: 5 minutes

 Materials needed: Non-toxic Waterbeads from Tickle your senses , 2 container 1 filled with water and beads, spoon

What to do: Scooping beads to the empty container with the spoon 

Skills learned: Fine motor skill

Suitable age: Toddler 

Occupied Chloe for: 20 minutes 

Keep looking for this post i will try to keep it update

sometimes i'm just too lazy to take a proper photo when we are doing activities, but i will try my best.

Share with me too if you have some fun stuff to do with your toddler! 

5 Reasons Why I Quit Job to Be a Stay At Home Mom

This started with me dragging my feet back to work after maternity leave

from my 3 months maternity leave to 6 months then 9 months unpaid i decided this is it!

i want to be a Stay at Home Mum

we have no help here in Singapore and we could't bear to send Chloe to childcare (#overlyattached)

i wanted to nurture my kids since the beginning 

so i guess God granted my prayer

i always tell mum who asking for my advice that SAHM itself is a hardest job i had so far 

long working hour, no MC, no OT, no salary and don't talk about BONUS!

but the fulfillment of being a SAHM is what a normal job can't provide

so let me list them down so i can constantly remind myself and be grateful

Guarantee money cannot buy!

from breastfeeding to sacrifice sleeps and spending time with your child

this is the best reward of all...

Chloe is very attached to me and Ming

every morning she would ask where is Papa? when i pick her up from her room or ask for Mama on weekend when daddy pick her up in the morning. 

that's kinda heartwarming coz she just love us equally and enjoy being with us 

i guess it's all worthy when she would randomly run to me for a hug or plant a kiss in the midst of playing..

as a person who spend most of time with her i know how to control her temper, how to stop her tantrum and know what she want and need 

yes you may say we are overly attached but how long will a child attached to you?

cherish the moment when their world has only you and be irreplaceable to your child because you just can't get this time back

To me early childhood is really important that's when they shape up their personality and behavior 

being a stay home i can really focus on her and be in touch with his emotional and physical milestones. I'm glad it was me and not a teacher or nanny who saw her sit up or laugh for the first time. 

Home is where we learn whose we are. We're not designed to journey through life alone. God created us to have relationship with Him. The most effective place for us to learn that is not so much at church — it's at home! i wish i could teach her what right and wrong based on bible teaching before she enter school. People always say eventually they will learn something bad or fall sick from school or friends so why being so protective?Isn't it that what a parent responsible to at least shape and nurture them as much as you can so they are armed when they entered the world. Yet in the first three years of life is when you shape their brain, their heart and mind! i wouldn't say Chloe will ended up be a good person but at least i do my best.

i am able to spend time curating activities for my toddler to improve her motor skill, life skill and knowledge thru play! yes i want her to learn thru playing which we really want her to know that learning is fun is not boring or being forced to. 

i'm drafting up a post of daily activities i do with Chloe at home!

the hardest part to let go is financially, with my salary we definitely live a better life

travel more? buy more and better toys and clothes for Chloe? buy a condo? buy a car? 

but when i look back this so call "a better life" is not God favor or must

we are thankful that God provide Ming's job with a salary that at least give a comfortable living 

we still travel but not far, we still buy stuff for Chloe but average not the best things in store, hdb is not bad too and thanks for Grab, Uber and comfort and buses, a car is not necessarity for living in SG

You know what we’re actually spending less money of course right because we earn less what. This mean we actually doesn't need that extra money that we thought it's important.

However, I think i am becoming a better person because of it i spend money wisely now compare to when i'm working i indulge less in material. I am learning the difference between needs and wants on a daily basis of course still have room for improvement but i still learning to be better.

Also i'm constantly in amaze how God provides. 

with who? haha of course with the husband!

i was the one who came out with the idea of quit the job he was all supportive from the very beginning, as we have no helps we rely on each other so so much..now i think we bond much better and grow better as a family

He is a very hands on daddy and husband, he helps on everything in the house (except he can't cook, not complaining tho) when Chloe still young we always have the feeling that both of us is always on the same side fighting this battle dealing with sleep deprivation, a constantly crying baby and plenty of house chorus. Now i think we win this battle in one piece, now that Chloe sleep in her room we spend time catching up, watch a movie together. On and off when my mum come or we go home we will always sneak out for a dates, treasure the time even more and not taking each other for granted!

yes SAHM is boring sometimes especially you have to repeat daily task keeping the routine

when baby sleeps Hooray that "me time"! 

at first i treasure all my me time by getting some house chores done, watch a drama, snack or a naps

slowly i thought why not start something? so i don't waste those skills i gained from the pass few years and God send this opportunity of a friend of mine approached me for helping her part time in the company 

Really God's timing is always perfect!

and now i've been working from home for few hours everyday while Chloe sleep and naps.

perhaps i really enjoy it! I'm actually planing for a business too! i hope it work out.

Don't get me wrong everything have its pro and cons! the biggest cons of SAHM is often feeling felt lost, without much identity kids losing socialization as they stay at home with you so much. 

For me so far it's rewarding, my baby is only a baby once and i don't want to be regret the rest of life not spending enough time with them. As i adjust life as a stay-at-home mom, though, the rewards come to me on a daily basis. SAHM teaches me to be simple and humble. Still, life at home with the kids all the time can be frustrating. 

But i am very sure that i'll never regret being with them just about 24/7.

All in all, thanks God for His provides for that i could learn and gain above things. 

This is a personal choice being SAHM doesn't make me a better mum working mums way lot more to scarifies! 

妈妈都是伟大的!