spring for early childhood
a few simple things to do + make
Welcome to mama eats, a twice-weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, spring for early childhood, is free to all readers, barring the PDF guide at the end for paid subscribers. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mama to three. If you have the means, and find value in what I share, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, which also gives you access to the growing archive of posts older than a month.
Spring is here and I thought I’d share a quick roundup of some things that James and I have been enjoying doing together at the moment. For paid subscribers: don’t miss the downloadable Spring Children’s Guide at the end! Thank you for subscribing.
art supplies
stockmar watercolors and crayons // these are such high quality, both in the packaging (comes in metal tins with a metal palette) and the color payoff. They last absolutely ages- the crayons we use with James now were Vincent’s when he was small.
lyra ferby pencils // again, these last a really long time and have rich, smooth color payoff. They make a good mark with very little pressure- meaning that little hands don’t have to press hard to draw, which I think is important when you’re small.
paper in lots of colors for cutting and pasting // Ikea sells nicely weighted, affordable packs of paper that has both white and brightly colored paper. James has a big interest in cutting at the moment, so we’ve been using this to cut pieces, and then save the cut pieces to collage with later, with some paste. A tip if your scissors are too hard for your child’s hand to open: loosen the screw that holds the two blades together.
gardening supplies
As the weather begins to be more pleasant, we spend even more time outdoors, and there’s always lots to do in the garden. Here are the things I find to be most used by small children in the garden:
A small watering can
A small trowel
A small hand rake
a small pail to carry compost, potting soil, or place weeds into
a place outside where all these tools live- so they know where to access them independently and can put them back in their place when they are done.
a little table to examine things on, engage in water or mud play, or to have a snack on.
a small collection of upcycled scoops, cups, bowls, mixing tools, stones of different sizes, &c. for water/dirt/mud play.
Gyo Fujikawa; illustration from Oh, What a Busy Day, 1976
crafts
postcards with pressed flowers: Take any flowers you’ve pressed and modgepodge them onto a blank postcard. Have your child dictate a little message to a friend or family member and write it on the postcard. Have them help affix the stamp and carry it to place in the post to mail! Or do the same thing onto a paper that’s previously been watercolored on, and frame it for a sweet print for your child’s room or nature table.
snail mail: Draw medium sized circles on a piece of heavyweight paper by tracing around a glass. Set out paints (we used watercolors) and let your child paint designs on to the circles for the snail’s shell. Let dry and cut out, then cut out a simple snail body shape of white paper. Paste the shells onto a folded card (I just cut 8x10 contruction paper from Ikea in half), and then paste the bodies underneath. With white paint or cut out paper bits, draw or paste two little lines and dots for antennae and eyes. Have your child dictate a little message on the back to someone they love, and then place in an envelope and mail. Before you do this activity, you could go on a snail hunt to observe one and examine its spiral shell.
recipes
our current Friday pizza dough: I pre-measure on the kitchen scale all the ingredients. Then James can just dump into the bowl and mix. If your child is still working on aim and finesse when pouring, putting a large baking sheet and then putting the bowl on that helps immensely. Then, if spills happen, you can just pour from the baking sheet back into the bowl.
strawberry chia morning porridge: James helps make his porridge every morning, and this is our spring version. He gets the pot our, scoops the oats and chia, pours the liquids, and gets out his bowl. While I cook it, I have him set his table with placemat, utensils, pitcher, and water glass.
1/4 cup instant oats
1 tsp chia seeds
3/4 cup liquid- I usually use 1/2 c milk + 1/4 cup water
pinch salt
sprinkle of cinnamon
3 or 4 frozen strawberries
Cook all ingredients in a small pot over medium heat till chia seeds are swelled and porridge is thickened, adding more liquid as needed. Serve with a pat of butter or dollop of coconut cream, and a tiny drizzle maple syrup if desired.amaranth and brown rice: James loves rice, and this is such a nice whole grain side. I started making it for him last year so that he would be able to self-feed the rice without so much mess (the amaranth has some stickiness that makes it so the rice clumps together).
scottish oatcakes: Children can help measure and pour ingredients, and scrunch the butter into the flour. They are a really nice cracker alternative and provide a blank canvas with which to top with anything- nut butters and a swipe of fruit sweetened jam, avocado and sauerkraut, hummus…
games
three piece animal puzzle // I recently thrifted this set, and James has really been enjoying it. I love that the illustrations are photographs- I find that a lot of children’s puzzle illustrations are very “cutesy” or stylized and not realistic, which is not my favorite for when learning about what things are.
hopscotch // this is so simple, but just drawing a nice big hopscotch on the driveway with chalk and then hopping on it, and teaching your child how is perfect for getting energy out. You can teach counting while you jump, and try different ways of jumping- small, big, long, short, one leg, two legs…
flower matching game // I made us some little matching cards with spring flowers. I’m sharing it here for anyone who’d like to use it, too.
For paid subscribers, I’ve also created enjoy a small Spring Children’s Guide to download, in which I’ve collected for you our favorite poems, verses, fingerplays for spring, a playlist for children, a booklist of spring favorites, a few recipes, and ideas for things to do together both outside and in. I hope you enjoy. Happy spring! xx