It's a boy! {Newborn Gift Basket}

Every new little busy bee needs a few things to start out with. Upon hearing the exciting news of the arrival of a friend's first born, I immediately got busy putting together and then delivering a basket all in a work day {without missing work of course!}.

If there's a store, I guarantee you this Busy Bee can shop in it. Knowing every location of all the Homegoods in New York State, is also helpful. I first visited a clothing store and picked up an outfit, bib, towels, and blanket then headed to the nearest Homegoods to pick up the rest. I bought the basket, bow and a bee mat for tummy time. I love putting together gifts for friends & family.
Need any gift ideas, just ask!

Make Room for Baby! {NYC 1BR/1BA}

Right before the New Year I helped some friends make room for the arrival of their first born. To start we made focused to-do-lists on targeted areas that needed to become baby friendly {think bottles, diapers, clothing, blankets, towels, laundry, etc.}.  After a few hours of brainstorming, emptying, organizing, shopping and re-organizing we were able to create space in every room of the apartment.  We emptied drawers, cabinets and created easy accessible storage for all of their needs.

Here's what we did:

Linen Closet: We added storage pockets to the inside of the door and cleared off a shelf for little towels, blankets, sheets and washcloths. We also created a baby friendly bucket for easy apartment cleaning & baby friendly laundry detergent.  

Drawers: 

 

Before & After:

We took a trip to one of my favorite places on Earth ~ The Container Store. 

We purchased baskets and trays for drawers to contain important techie supplies, pens & paper, and life's other necessities.  

Kitchen:

We cleared out and moved adult glasses higher to make way for bottles, formula and pacifiers. 

Our Four-Legged Busy Bee assistant:

Purchases: Baskets, trays, bucket, over the door pocket organizers, and large bins to organize those "take to parents house" items.  

Oh, the Things you can Do that are GOOD for you!

Book Review: Oh, the THINGS you can DO that are GOOD for you!
Topic: Health

I found this gem at the American Museum of Natural History, while visiting a special exhibit with a student. I quickly read it in the store and then again to my little friend over lunch. After reading it this little busy bee tried to finagle it out of my arms but I refused to let it go. We read it again and I encouraged him to use his kind words and ask mom to get it for him.

This sweet book has fun illustrations and easy language to follow. From feeling great, to staying healthy by washing hands, brushing teeth to eating right and exercising a healthy lifestyle can be introduced by the Cat in the Hat. Everyone loves him, so why not try to be as healthy as him. A great addition to any library.

Games to Encourage Verbal Communication

Have a quiet child? Working on articulation? Want your child to talk louder or more frequently? Want your child to play more cooperatively?

Use your child's interests to play games to enhance verbal communication. I love finding new games that I know my students will love AND benefit from. A few years ago I had fun-loving student who loved fish. It was so exciting to find a fish themed Go Fish, that I still use. I have found many themed games that I would love to share with you that will benefit any child who is working on their verbal skills.

 I always have the child make the executive decisions to help them build their decision making skills, self-esteem and listening skills. Children are motivated by their preferences paired with fun. Being forced to play an academic game is sometimes a challenge but just by asking questions {ie. - What side are we going to use first, green or red? (Zingo) or who's going to go first, me or you?, Should we play on the floor or at the table?} will help your little busy bee feel like they are an important part of the game playing unit.

Here are my favorite games to encourage verbal communication and interactions:

Zingo! 












The regular plain old Zingo! is really fun to play with. It has basic pictures such as tree, shoe, house, ball, ghost, t-rex, dog, cat, bird.

Sight Words
{great for those little busy bees are are beginning to read}

Number

Bilingual {Spanish/French/Hebrew}





GO FISH

Alphabet & Animal matching 
{2 games in 1}

Sea Life & Numbers
{Match fish or numbers or BOTH}

Colored Fish
{builds vocabulary with colors including: Lavender, Jade, Turquoise, Buttercup, etc.}

Howard B. WIgglebottom Learns to Listen

Book Review: Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen

Topic: Listening, following directions, Safety

I have read this funny book to bunch of little busy bees and it gets an encore every time. This silly bunny has a hard time listening to others. But after a few mistakes with himself and a friend, he tries to do his best. In the end he is safe and earns a reward. A cute book to teach children how to try their best at something they are not great at for not only the safety of themselves but for others too!

Learn more about Howard & see more of his books here!

Alphabet Alley

Made by Discount School Supply, this fun tool will get little busy bees moving and learning all at the same time. There are endless activities that you would do, hop, jump, walk, add letter objects, play a matching game, have children stand on their letters, etc. 

Click here to purchase one for your little busy bees classroom. 

The Selfish Crocodile

A great book to teach what it means to be SELFISH. 

I found this on a classroom bookshelf and had to read it IMMEDIATELY. I LOVED it.  It's straight to the point. If you want to be a selfish and not share, then you'll be all alone. When mean Mr. Croc is in need of help, a sweet little mouse comes to the rescue. After doing such a nice gesture, the two become friends and the crocodile is changed forever. Any child would benefit from this book.

Get The Selfish Crocodile by clicking here!