Language, Social Skills and Cognition

Early language and cognition have always been fascinating to me and are what drew me to the study of child development in the first place. I have always been interested in how children begin to comprehend the world around them, learn to speak their first words, and build the foundation for reading and learning.  

After observing young children in different settings throughout my time as a student, researcher, and childcare provider I have also become more and more interested in children's social development. I've enjoyed watching and learning about the ways that they learn to play and interact with others and how this changes with age. 

When children are young the transformation that they go through month by month is incredible. I am still amazed by the incredible differences I see in an 18 month old versus a 2-year-old and a 2-year-old versus a 3-year-old. Children picks things up so quickly and their little personalities come out in their actions and abilities. I can't imagine how quickly this passes by for a parent watching their own little one!

At Smart Sprouts we try to use research to guide us in supporting children's cognitive and social development. This is a great quick reference chart for some basic milestones that we can work on at every age:

All kids are different and develop at their own pace, but these are some general guidelines that help us to adjust our expectations and teaching tools to certain ages. There is nothing more exciting than when we see our smart sprouts reach a new level of development even if it's as simple as stringing together new words. And we love to provide an environment where kids can learn and grow through play.

*This chart came from The Mayo Clinic website.

Pinterest

Have you heard of Pinterest?


I like to think of it as the lazy girl's guide to the best of blogs, shopping, DIY projects, home decor ideas, recipes, and so much more. When you sign up (request an invite first) you get a "pin it" button on your favorites bar and anytime you find a photo of something you love online you "pin" that photo to your profile and choose a category for it. Then you have all of your "pin boards" full of great ideas with sources attached. It's sort of like an online version of a binder full of magazine clip outs, but without the hassle of sorting through pages and trying to remember where you found them.


The best part of pinterest is that you share your boards with friends and follow their boards as well. So you don't have to do all that web surfing yourself! You can simply sit back and watch the pins go up and then "repin" anything that you like. 


The ideas, crafts, DIY projects, recipes, gifts, decor ideas and clothing/accessories for kids are endless. I have already found so many great summer camp projects and snacks for Smart Sprouts. Here is a glimpse of the Smart Sprouts pin board:

This is a Smart Sprouts board through my personal account. I'm waiting on my invite for a Smart Sprouts account where I can create boards for crafts, research, snacks, decor and more all about kids. 


Here are a couple of my most recent and favorite finds:

Superglue pennies to the bottom of shoes for homemade tap shoes!

When I saw this 'pin' I had to 'repin' and when I clicked on the source I found this amazing list of New Uses for Old Things, Kids Edition from Real Simple.


This a great example of how 'pins' lead to finding more great ideas on the web that I would never find myself. Now I know that baking soda and WD-40 both work for cleaning crayon off of walls, a pillow case can be turned into an adorable art smock, and that cupcake liners can double as popsicle stick drip-catchers.


And this is an adorable idea for an Eric Carle themed lunch box:
(Although it might only happen on the first day of school but on any normal day it looks a little ambitious...)

This may seem like the ultimate online time waster (and yes, at first you will spend WAY too much time on it). But, I like to think that pinterest actually cuts down on the time I might spend flipping through magazines, blog surfing and googling things likes recipes only to be disappointed. Pinterest brings together the best of the web and allows you to not only save these ideas in an organized way but gives an easy way to track back to the actual recipe/DIY instructions/store/website etc. 


Ready, set, pin!


Thanks for reading,
Ann

Tweed Baby Outfitters and StyleBlueprint Blog

Our favorite children's store and our favorite Nashville style blog are pairing up today to offer a great deal! StyleBlueprint is a local blog written by two moms who keep up on beauty, health, restaurants, local talent, art, design, fashion and more. They were the first to write about us in this post (and I am eternally grateful).
Tweed Baby Outfitters is an incredibly cute children's boutique located in Edgehill Village. The owner, Maggie has hand picked the best selection of baby and toddler clothes, shoes, toys, and accessories to fill her shop. And FYI their custom gift wrap is incredibly cute and will make you look like a DIY gift wrapping genius.

If you are looking for a unique baby gift or something fun for your little sprout be sure to scoop up this deal: $25 for $50 worth of merchandise! 

*Side Note: Tweed posted some pics on their facebook page of some musical instruments they now carry and they have a guitar that looks JUST like the ones we have at Smart Sprouts. Kids LOVE these guitars and we haven't found them anywhere else...






Happy shopping and thanks for reading,
Ann

Sippy Cups, Storage, Slides, Snotty noses, and Sanitization

Here at Smart Sprouts our playspace sees up to 12 kids at a time and has taken some serious playtime beat downs by up to 21 kids in a day (our all time max so far!). Our toys, structures and products have to be built to last and to be easily cleaned. I have recommended the best products to many of our moms and I've made a list of the day to day things we can't live without:
*Side Note: If any products can be found on Amazon I will always link there. We are Amazon junkies! Heard of Amazon mom? Sign up and you can order products (at discounted prices) and set a schedule of delivery you don't have to think twice about. Diapers and wipes can come on a schedule of your choosing and are delivered to your door. It doesn't get much better than that!


Sippy Cups:


These cups are the best for us. Screw tops (minimizes leaking and childproof for toddlers' favorite game of take-apart), easy to clean, you won't stress out about leaving one at the playground because they are about 50 cents a pop, and our favorite feature is the range of colors to use for different kiddos. 




Storage:


IKEA, IKEA, IKEA. If you've ever walked into our space you'll notice it looks a bit like an IKEA showroom with some Melissa and Doug + Plan Toys thrown in. IKEA has a line called Trofast that comes in white and wood and we used those pieces to create our front desk and storage for toys/shoes/diaper bags. I can't say enough about how sturdy and practical these pieces are for kids. You can buy bins in a range of colors (white, blue, green, pink, red) and at the end of the day when the playroom is torn up it's as simple as tossing the blocks in one bin, puzzle pieces in another, etc. and the room looks cleaned up and put together. Plus the pieces are so affordable and have a glossy finish that is incredibly easy to wipe down. 


Sorry Nashville friends but the closest IKEA is in Atlanta. It took a suburban and a 12 foot U-Haul to get everything we needed (with another 2 trips later on). There is a company in Nashville called moderNash who does IKEA buying and has a retail store with some items they keep in stock. 


Slides:

This slide is definitely a favorite for kids of all ages at Smart Sprouts. It has a fun little crawl space underneath, a wheel for steering the "ship" to faraway lands, an easy to climb ladder and a slide that is fast enough for the big kids but safe enough for little ones. Also one full side is chalkboard!


This slide is by CedarWorks and is called the Rhapsody Solo. It came in pieces but was easy to assemble and pretty affordable for the price-per-play we've gotten out of it. Another great option for an indoor slide is their "Rhapsody Soloette" for $195. It doesn't have the underneath level but looks like it would be just as fun and take up less space. I can say this thing is STURDY. It is also easy to wipe down and clean and we haven't had too many head bumps or falls so in general it's very safe for all ages (our ages are 1-6). 


Snotty Noses:


Teething, allergies, and more produce little runny noses that never seem to stop. It feels like cruel and unusual punishment to rub a little red nose with yet another dry tissue. Answer? Boogie Wipes. 



Boogie Wipes are natural saline based wipes that are soft and gentle on noses. They can also tackle food smeared faces and hands in one wipe. We buy them in this giant canister and go through them like you wouldn't believe. They are also green and purple...our signature colors. It's a win win!


Sanitization:


This hand sanitizer stays on the counter and gets used all day long. It is alcohol free, kid safe, leaves a citrus-herb fresh smell and makes hands soft instead of dry. 


It comes in a foam, spray bottles and on-the-go wipes. It also claims "4X more uses per oz. than alcohol gel" and I have to agree. We have had a hard time getting through the bottles and we use it many many times a day.








Do you have a favorite product that you can't live without? We'd love to hear!


More posts to come on toys that have held up to hours and hours (and hours) of playtime as well as research on separation anxiety and more.


Thanks for reading!
Ann

Here comes the blog

Hi, I'm Ann. This blog was born out of my business, Smart Sprouts Drop In Playcare and Tutoring. I studied child development at Vanderbilt University and then received my Masters of Education in Child Studies at Vanderbilt's Peabody College.  I opened Smart Sprouts in December 2010 following in the footsteps of my entrepreneurial sister who started Brilliant Babies  (among other businesses) in my hometown of Menlo Park, California. 


Despite not having any children (yet) I am fascinated by them and have had a crash course in parenting over the past 8 months while chasing 1-6 year olds around for 9 hours a day. I also have seven smart and beautiful nieces who entertain and amaze me on a regular basis. 


I am inspired to write about research, crafts, products, activities, ideas and more that pertain to young children. I hope to share some of what I find and know about kids with our clients and any parents who enjoy blog surfing as much as I do! Please feel free to comment or ask questions through the blog or my contact email: SmartSprouts@gmail.com.


Thanks for reading, 
Ann