10 Activities to Include in Your Daily Schedule for Babies

With a limited attention span and fast growing skills, it can be very difficult to stay on top of baby activities that will keep your baby engaged all.day.long. And with the first year being crucial to kids’ development, the pressure is on to find activities that will keep your baby happy, playing, and growing the way they should. Making up a baby schedule can seem overwhelming- there are so many things you’re doing just as you navigate keeping this person alive – but by sticking to basics and establishing routine daily activities for babies, you can really help to create a daily schedule for babies that will leave both you and your child feeling fulfilled.

Creating a daily routine for babies helps to make sure that they are progressing in the key areas of language, cognition, gross motor, and fine motor skills.

They seem like heavy concepts (and they are), but when you break them down, there are super fun and simple ways to help babies learn the basic skills they need to be successful in toddlerhood and beyond.

We think you’ll find that by fitting each of these activities into your baby’s daily schedule, you’ll be nurturing their growth, and having lots of fun at the same time.

So without further ado, here are the ten things that you should fit into your daily schedule for babies.

Smiling baby crawling on the grass. Text overlay: 10 fun things your baby should do every day.

This post contains affiliate links, which you can read more about at our legal page. Thank you for supporting The Salty Mamas!

Read More

Tips for Cooking with Kids of All Ages

#cooking #cookingwithkids #cookingwithtoddlers #cookingwithmytoddler #canmytoddlercook #cantoddlerscook #shouldtoddlerscook #toddlercookingskills #toddlerkitchenskills #kitchenskills #kitchenskillbyage #kitchenskillsforkids #kitchenskillstoddler

Every night is the same- it’s time to make dinner, and the kids are underfoot. If you’re wondering what to do with kids while cooking, we suggest getting them involved! Check out our best tips for cooking with kids (including babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and up!).

One of the most challenging time of days for our family is that half hour right before dinner. The kids are getting hangry and they don’t like being ignored by Mommy.

And while most of them would be happy to plop down on the couch and go full zombie watching TV, that’s not exactly going to get me my Mother of the Year trophy.

And like the old saying, “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” – it seems the best way to entertain my kids is to invite them to participate in cooking

It might get messy, and these tips for cooking with kids won’t always be easy, but it will make wonderful memories for you and your children to share. From baby to elementary schooler, there are many easy ways to get your kids involved in making dinner right alongside you.

Frustrated trying to get dinner made? Bring your kids in the kitchen! With something for kids of every age, we've got you covered! #cooking #cookingwithkids #jrchef #cookingwithbabies #cookingwithtoddlers #cookingwithmybaby #cookingwithmytoddler #cookingwithpreschoolers #cookingwithmypreschooler

Read More

Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words at Home

For some kids, learning sight words can be HARD. But that doesn't mean it cant be FUN! Check out these tips to keep your kids playing while they learn! #sightwords #highfrequencywords #kindergarten #learningthroughplay #playbasedlearning #sightwordpractice #howtoteachsightwords #howtotaechhighfrequencywords

Is your child struggling with sight words? Check out these fun ideas of ways to practice sight words at home (without fussing, fighting, or grumpy kids!). We’ve got easy ways to turn those sight word practice sessions into playtime for kids, and they’ll be none the wiser. 

I remember the first day my son brought home his list of sight words to memorize. This next building block in his life as a reader was going to be an exciting one. I knew my boy, who LOVES books, was going to love being able to enjoy them on his own.

But through our homework and practicing and constant reading is just. wasn’t. happening. I was sad and frustrated – and so was he. As kids started taking their tests – and passing them – and getting new tests, we went past frustration to discouraged.

But we refused to give up. We doubled down, and I asked myself- how can I make learning sight words fun for him, and not a struggle? 

Here are a few things we did to help Cole practice sight words at home, wihtout turning it into a chore.. And we bet your kids are going to love (and learn!) with them, too. 

sight word activities; text overlay: the most fun ways to teach sight words

Read More

St. Patricks’ Day Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with your toddlers and preschoolers this month! We've got a collection of hands-on St. Patrick's Day activities for kids featurign fine motor skills, sensory play, and art that will keep them busy for the whole month of March. Find the full list of ideas at TheSaltyMamas.com. #stpatricksday #stpatricksdayactivitiesforkids #finemotorskills #sensoryplay #sensoryactivities #stpatricksdaysensorybin #toddlers #kids #kidsactivities #activitiesfortoddlers #parents

Need some fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for preschoolers or toddlers? Check out these engaging St. Patrick’s Day fine motor activities for the kids to get them in the Irish spirt, and follow up with a few St. Patrick’s Day sensory activities, too. Read on for our kid-approved favorites!

I’ve always felt that St. Patrick’s Day gets the short end of the stick when it comes to holidays. Crammed between Valentine’s Day and Easter, it often gets shuffled to the back of the priority list. But with leprechauns, rainbows, and gold coins, there is HUGE potential for crazy-fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for preschool that are suited right to their interests.

We are constantly on the lookout for ways to engage our toddlers through play. Toddlers are starting to learn how to use their fingers more effectively, and so we include fine motor skills activities in our toddler daily schedule to help them practice these skills. 

But we never, ever, ever want this practice to feel like work, so we do our best to change up the activities based on the month, theme, weather, or what’s going on in our lives.  So this March, we are doing it up BIG with St. Patrick’s Day fine motor activities for toddlers (and some fun St. Patrick’s day sensory activities, too). Read on for the full list of ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your kids.

sensory activities; text reads: hands on st. patrick's day activities for kids

Read More

Open Ended Bath Toys for Toddlers (Under $15!)

Looking for bath toys for toddlers to keep your little one entertained in the tub? We've got crazy fun toys and activities to turn bathtime into an activity your baby and toddler will love at TheSaltyMamas.com. #bathtime #bathtoys #bathtoysforbabies #bathtoysfortoddlers

Need to change up your bath time routine? Check out this list of open ended bath toys for toddlers, under $15 each! Lots of educational opportunity, and a LOT of bang for your buck, in this fun and simple list. 

If you’ve got little ones at home, you’ll know how stinking hard it is to entertain tiny children. We coordinate all the activities for them, we buy the toys, we play with them and try to teach them things. But at the end of the day, entertaining toddlers is a lot of work, and sometimes we need a little break. That’s where bathtime- and the best bath toys for toddlers!- come in.

When the day is stretching on to infinity and beyond, we like to throw the kids in the tub for that last, long hour of the day.  We fill up a wineglass and then fill up the bathtub, and throw ourselves what our dear friend Amanda likes to call Bathtime Happy Hour.

From about 5 to 6 pm on one of the Daddies’ long work nights, you can find us setting up shop in the bathroom and letting the kids enjoy an extra long (and extra fun!) bathtime.  It’s an excellent sensory experience, helps with to scientific and analytical thinking (we’re not even kidding!), is a screen-free activity, and contributes to personal hygiene. Which makes it an extraordinarily easy thing to justify.

And more importantly, it keeps them from driving us bonkers.

So if you’re looking to get a little more life out of your bathtime routine, we’ve collected the best open ended bath toys for toddlers (under $15 each!), along with some activities and add-ins to make your time in the tub a little more fun.

Toddler pouring water on themselves in a bathtub; Text overlay: The very best bath toys for toddlers

Read More