A new kind of busy.

I'm eager to introduce Klara to some early art experiences, but it's difficult with a little one who's still exploring much of her world with her mouth; maybe I'm too eager.

She hasn't figured out that only one side actually writes.

We tried those cute chunky crayons, and I spent so much energy redirecting her hands from her mouth to the paper that it wasn't fun for either of us. I thought Giotto be be crayon-pencils might be our best bet, but I couldn't find a seller in the States.

And then: I was surprised how well plain-old colored pencils (as long as they were newly sharpened) worked for her. She didn't put them in her mouth, she seemed to understand the connection between touching the pencil to the paper and her marks, and she was focused for more time than I would have expected! She threw her pencils off the high chair tray when she was finished, letting me know she was ready for something new.

I often find myself amazed by other parents' simple "aha" moments, so I'm hoping this might work for you, too! Try colored pencils!

A few other activities we've been doing lately (in case you need some inspiration! How do you keep Baby busy and learning?):
Playing music! Klara loves, loves, loves to experiment with the sounds she can make with our instruments. I show her new sounds to make, and she loves imitating the sounds and varied uses for the instruments. She also has awesome dance moves. When she's crabby, I bring out the music!

Transferring blocks. She recently learned that she can not only take things out, but she can also put them back in. She's learning to move blocks from one container to another. I give her some blocks and two containers, and she goes to town. She prefers containers that make a "ping" or a "thunk" when she drops the blocks in. (These boxes make a great sound and are also righteous drums.) The Tupperware-style containers are way more fun to look through, however. I tried to teach her to transfer a few weeks ago, and I was totally unsuccessful. It's amazing how eventually things just "click," and they start doing them as if they've always known how!

Stacking rings and blocks on a peg. Klara loves putting things on pegs these days. She started with her stacking rings, and her new favorite is a train with blocks that stack on pegs.

Reading lots and lots of books, of course. She likes to use her finger to point to things as we read and jabber right along. Anytime she brings me a book to read, I get a burst of joy. I hope she comes to love the written word as much as her mama does.

Focusing!

Success!

Putting sticks through drilled holes in a puffs container. I keep seeing this around Montessori blogs, so I thought I'd try it with her. This is definitely the most challenging task she can do these days, and it always impresses me that she sticks with it, rather than getting frustrated. It's so fun to watch her focus and then look up at me with pride when she manages to get the stick in the hole. She will sit there and put all of the sticks (about 15) through the holes.  (I used cake pop sticks because they don't bend, they're short, and they're not too sharp--all features that make the task more appropriate for her.)