New Drum and Lessons for A.J. & Family!

I’m so excited to have Baba Bey come to our home to give us drum lessons. The lessons are really for A.J., but we’re learning, too! Due to Patrick’s schedule, he will miss the first two lessons. He’s pretty coordinated when it comes to drumming so he will be able to catch up quickly.

A.J. was able to play on Baba’s drum and on several of his own drums. A.J. was in a little drum heaven.

We bought A.J., a floor drum that he can play with mallets, sticks or his hands. The sound quality is clear and robust yet muffled enough that he can play it when Amira is downstairs.

Speaking of Amira, I was able to take a cute 10 second video of her bowling.

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

7 Wrapping Tube Sports for Tots

Balloon volleyball with tubes as posts

1. Balloon Volleyball with Tubes as Posts – I used old wrapping paper tubes and covered them with wrapping paper for a uniformed look then slid them onto two paper towel holders as posts. The painters tape is kind of tacky, but it worked to keep the posts in place.

A.J. loved throwing the balloon over the “net.” He also enjoyed exploring the streamers. My makeshift net probably won’t last too long though because he’s kind of rough with it, but that’s okay.

Balloon Tennis or Balloon Swat

2. Balloon tennis or balloon swat – These DIY racquets are made from cut pieces of tri-fold poster board. I covered the boards with thick scrapbook paper and added popsicle sticks for handles. I doubled the sticks for a sturdier grip and duck taped them to the boards. I also used pieces of clear tape around the handles to keep them from shifting during play. Although I am a tennis player, I got this idea from Toddler Approved. They used paper plates, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I used what I had available.

A.J. had fun with his racquet although he preferred to hold the square part instead of the handle. I will keep these in storage and bring them out periodically until he gets better hang of it.

Tube Slide

Trinkets to slide

Tube sliding in action

3. Tube Sliding – One of my favorite blogs is MontessoriMOMents written by Lori. Although I saved several of the tubes for “projects,” I hadn’t done anything with them. I saw the tube sliding on Lori’s blog and got excited because I knew A.J. would probably enjoy it, too. And I was right. He got a kick out of sliding items down the tube and watching them either land in the basket or spin up and out of the basket due to speed.

We haven’t tried the next few activities yet, but they’re on my play list.

4. Golf – I will use a tennis ball and cut the tube for A.J. to use. When he gets older, we can use golf balls and a club. His Auntie plays golf, so we will have to get him ready!

5. Baseball – I really should say, “balloon ball.” He can hit the balloon with the tube as if playing baseball.

6. Fencing – The tubes look like they were made for jousting. Why not explore this sport and use it as a learning opportunity.

7. Javelin Throw – I can see A.J. throwing the tube like a Javelin during outdoor play. Ohhh what fun we will have!

What are some other ways you’ve used wrapping paper tubes for toddler fun?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!