Council from the CouncilMoms

Fun Action Songs All Kids Should Know

By Samantha Allred

Fun Action Songs to Teach Your Toddler

These fun songs for toddlers and young kids are not only great for using up some of their extra energy, but they also teach coordination skills and help with language development. These are great songs to use on a rainy day or during the cold months of the year when kids are typically stuck indoors, but they would also be a great addition to your daily routine.

1. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes – This is a classic song to teach your kids the basic body parts. After your kids learn the lyrics and actions, you can teach them to do the song really fast, really slow, or any other alternatives you can think of.

2. If You’re Happy and You Know It – This song will encourage kids to get creative and get moving. You can replace clapping your hands with different actions such as stomp your feet, blink your eyes, turn around, shout hooray, etc. Encourage the kids to come up with their own actions too!

3. Wheels on the Bus – We couldn’t make this list without including this song, which even toddlers can pick up on from a young age. This is a very popular song in our house that we sing at nearly every diaper change to distract our wiggly toddler.

4. Five Little Monkeys – Even if jumping on the bed is against the rules, this is a great song to help with gross motor development and getting wiggles out through lots of jumping. It also is a great tool to teach about numbers and counting.

5. Itsy Bitsy Spider – This simple song is short and sweet, but can help greatly with fine motor skills. Toddlers love it and can learn to mimic the simple actions.

Next time your kids need to get some wiggles out, consider teaching them some of these fun songs. When kids move to music, they are getting so much more than just exercise. They are developing coordination, balance, language, and concentration.

Photo by Taylor Gray on Unsplash

Magical Motivators for Mom

By Annette T. Durfee

UGH! The dishes are undone (again!), the laundry is ludicrous, and you sit defeated on the couch. You have a mile long list of things to do, but honestly, the motivation to do it just isn’t bubbling to the surface! Do you ever feel like that? I surely have. And perhaps it’s because I’ve felt like this SO often that I have developed a list of “go-tos,” or strategies to help me bite the bullet and turn miserable mayhem into a magical motivation. I thought I’d share a few that have helped me, in hopes that they will help you too!

1. Make it fun! Maybe I’m just a kid at heart, because although I know I could just power through and get the job done, a big part of me says, “why not make it fun?” This is where your creativity comes into play and the sky’s the limit, ladies! What would make this task A LOT of fun for you? Turning on the music and dancing while you go at it? (Yes, even if your children laugh at you!) Listening to a podcast while you work away? Or how about making it into a game? A few other ideas: I purposely buy my favorite scents for cleaning so I can relish the process more. And I’ve been known to let my mind wander as I work while planning a fun family frolic for the future.

2. Better with a buddy – Whether this is your husband, a child, or a really good friend, sometimes it is just easier as well as a lot more fun to tackle the work or a project with a friend in tow. While they help to shoulder the burden, you both enjoy conversation and even a few good laughs. Not only do you get something done that needs doing, but somehow, it seems less of a chore. And of course, the added bonus is that you simultaneously build a stronger relationship. When all is said and done, remember that turn around is fair play – you can offer to help them with what they need as well!

3. Set the timer – Sometimes the main problem is that I am overwhelmed. Have you been there? It just seems like there is too much to do, and where in the world do I start? So, instead of procrastinating, I tell myself, “I will only work for ten minutes at top speed, and then, if I feel like it, I can stop.” And sometimes I do just that and I honestly feel better because the task at hand is now significantly smaller and easier for the next time I have to face it. Other times, however, just rolling up my sleeves and really digging in produces momentum and my motivation soars. (Super Mom powers activate!) I find my mind actually enjoying the process and I don’t want to stop!

4. Reward yourself – I know that some people might look at this as “bribery,” but somehow, I don’t mind doing something if I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel: What sounds inspiring to you? bubble bath? a short nap? a few minutes with a good book? Or maybe a little snuggle time with your child? Make yourself a deal you can’t refuse, then follow through with it! A word of caution: While I have to admit I “love me” some chocolate, I would suggest steering away from food as a reward (at least on a constant basis) as we all know that would be trading one problem for another. And if all else fails, remember YOUR WHY! Think of the faces of your beautiful family and what they mean to you. You are worth it! They are worth it! Therein lies a reward in and of itself!

5. Reach out – If you find that your motivation is low for extended periods don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Goodness knows we ALL need it from time to time! What might this look like for you? Are you lonely? Who could you call for a good old-fashioned chat? Do you feel overwhelmed? Could you arrange for a sitter so you can hit your list head on? And what if you feel like sitting in bed day after day for weeks? If so, there is no shame in scheduling a trip to the doctor to help rule out or treat depression. Believe me, I’ve been there and I can assure you that there is help for you. You are not alone!

No matter what strategies you decide upon, I have faith that you WILL find a way. You can do this! You are enough and that magical motivation you need is waiting just around the corner. . .

Photo by Edward Cisneros on Unsplash

How Would You Define “Discovery?”

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Hi, I’m Regan from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.

My three-year-old’s favorite PBS show is called Dinosaur Train. Yesterday I walked in as the show was ending and Dr. Scott the Paleontologist announced that it was now time to turn off the TV, go outside, and “make your own discoveries!”

I borrowed a little of Dr. Scott’s enthusiasm and repeated the same invitation as I flicked the off button. I braced for the usual protest — “Just one more show!!!” but instead, my little guy looked at me with excitement in his eyes and said, “Yeah! Let’s go make our own discoveries!”

Then as an afterthought, he asked, “Mom, what’s a discovery?”

“Oh, child,” I said with awe in my voice as I grabbed his pudgy little hands, as we walked to the back door. “Discovery is looking around with eyes wide open. You see things you’ve already seen AND you notice brand new things. Then… Then…”

I paused to build his anticipation. We sat down to put on his shoes. “Then…”

“You think and you wonder and you ask questions and you want to know and learn and — ” (using my best mysterious voice, I continued) — ” you solve mysteries and expose secrets!”

His verbal response: “Awesome” was accompanied by a non-verbal response that was even better.

He took hold of his one-year old sister’s pudgy little hand, led her out the door, and with gentle joy, showed her a lady bug.

Mom, try exemplifying enthusiasm to spark the curiosity about real life as you limit screen time today, then share if this practice elevates your mothering!

Photo by Kevin Gent on Unsplash

Candyland, Again?

By Esperanza DeLaLuz

Being a mother is a thing that changes you forever. Once you make that commitment to a child, it’s the child’s well-being, growth, and happiness that is the most important thing in your world. You’ll go without sleep, go hungry, clean up disgusting substances, labor for hours to create the perfect event or costume, and spend hours and hours repeating activities that would otherwise be incredibly boring.

Recently, I found myself playing 27 games of Candyland in a row because my 5-year-old granddaughter loves that game and can play it competently. I don’t like Candyland, but I love the excitement on her face when she makes a good move, or the exuberant thrill when she wins. Even the sadness when she has to go backwards is just adorable!

Do you know the history of Candyland? During the Polio era, before vaccines, there were lots of very young children in hospitals, and they were very bored, lonel,y and unhappy. But many of them were too young to read and unable to play games without adult involvement.

In 1948, a retired schoolteacher named Eleanor Abbott decided to create a board game that could become a distraction for very young patients. The outbreak had forced children into extremely restrictive environments. Concerned with the spread of polio, parents kept their children indoors, and children were frustrated. Games like Candy Land became an ideal way to keep them occupied.

Children who had contracted polio were isolated, physically weak, and often confined by equipment. Candy land was designed to let young children play by themselves. As long as the child can count to 2 and match colors, the child can play. Candy Land offered the children confined in hospitals a welcome distraction—but it also gave immobilized patients a liberating fantasy of movement. The joy of movement, especially for polio patients, seems to have been integral to Abbott’s design philosophy from the start. The original board even depicts the tentative steps of a boy in a leg brace!

The game teaches pattern recognition and following instructions. It shows children how to play together—how to win humbly or lose graciously. The game is designed to be outgrown. As soon as a child realizes that there is nothing that they can do to alter the course of the game, they begin to desire more challenging entertainment. But there will always be young children who need a game that they can play, and Moms and Nannas who will play 27 games in a row for the pure joy of watching a child play.

“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world.” Agatha Christie

Some material was excerpted from: “Candy Land Was Invented for Polio Wards” By Alexander B. Joy

Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up… No, wait, YES I CAN! AND I WILL!

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Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.

They say that it takes 21 days to build a good habit. I have a few decades’ worth of goal-setting experience that proves that to be about right…

My experience also says that it takes less than one day to fall out of that hard-earned habit…

Just like climbing a tree: On the way up, I must carefully choose which limb to grasp, then use my muscles to pull myself. It can be a time-consuming, arduous process — but falling down from the tree can happen pretty much instantaneously with no effort at all on my part. AAAACCCKKKK!!!! Thank you, gravity.

And so the metaphor continues: there’s gravity in that more ethereal sense of our efforts to progress and improve in life. Forces that pull us down or times when we lose sight of the goal and loosen our grips, losing our footholds and then falling.

But let’s not allow gravity to win. Defeat must be seen as temporary. There’s a great song called Tubthumping that helps me stand back up and start climbing that tree again. Here’s a fun rendition sung by an acapella group that got voted off an entertainment competition show called The Sing Off.

Let’s train our brains so that when we fall, we respond by giving ourselves pep-talks (or pep songs, as the case may be!)! Can you feel these pats on the back, Mom?! No purpose is served in wallowing in the mud or being mad at ourselves. Momivate is a play on the word motivate, and we must do it for ourselves as well as for our children. How many times we fall down isn’t important as long as we stand back up

Mom, decide just one area where you’ve fallen, and make the effort to stand back up and dust yourself off today. You’ve got this! Then share if this practice elevates your mothering!

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Stop Saying Okay, Okay?

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Hi, I’m Regan Barnes from Momivate, and this is your two-minute Mom Tip empowering you to elevate your mothering experience.

There’s a phrase that I like to hear as often as possible from my children…

“Okay, Mommy.”

I love to hear it because it means my child has agreed to whatever torture or punishment I have inflicted upon them… brushing teeth, for instance, or having to read a book before getting screen time. These are things that I consistently request from my children, and I love it when they decide that it’s okay.

But I also hear myself saying “Okay” often…. which may be where my kids have picked up on it. I’m glad I’ve set a good example in that sense.

However, I’m not sure I always use the word “Okay” in the right context… for example:

“We’re going to get your pajammies on now, okay?”

“Let’s go brush your teeth, okay?”

“You need to read a book BEFORE watching a movie, okay?”

What does my “Okay” in these circumstances get across to my children?

Is there really a choice in the matter? What if they’re inclined to say, “No, Mom, that’s NOT Okay,” would I rescind the request? Change my plans to fit my child’s lack of willingness to obey?

I’ve determined that I need to pay close attention to my use of the word “Okay” — and stop tacking it on the end of the instructions I’m giving.

If my “Okay” means “Do you understand?” then I need to replace it with, “Do you understand?”

I’ve been working on dropping the Okay from my instruction sentences for awhile now, and it’s a tough habit to change. I just repeat to myself: “Stop saying Okay all the time, Okay?!”

Mama, what verbal messages are you sending that you might not really want to be sending? Brainstorm some alternatives and start conscientiously enhancing your communication! Then share if this practice elevates your mothering!

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash