Yesterday, after I read the book “Toddlerobics” by Zita Newcome to Ashton, for our animal stretches I found myself searching through our bookshelf looking at the other books I had in there to do with animals. I found some books which are my all time favourites (”I know a Rhino” and “Sometimes I like to curl up like a ball” both by Charles Fuge) and started reading them to Ashton. This just renewed my love for these books and in particular this author!

To me books are a catalyst for adventure and inspire the use of imagination and creativity… while teaching children about truefacts too (depending on what kind of book you are reading.) I often will use a book to inspire my activities or adventures for the day. Where ideas are running low or completely dry, I can always count on a book to get the imagination flowing again and it also becomes a great point of reference for answering questions for children, revisiting ideas and for teaching children about how they can use books to extend their learning. – Sometimes I will use the same book for a whole week, revisiting it each day to look for a new adventure within its pages!

Ashton’s Animal Stretches

As The Polkadots we have just decided to start doing weekly adventures with our children in video format to share with The Polkadots community. Ashton and I were first up, we planned to go on a sensory walk but the weather changed our plans and we ended up doing Animal Stretches with the Animal Stretch song from Body Bop and also with a book I found on Ashton’s book shelf called “Toddlerobics” by Zita Newcome.

Although Ashton is only 12 weeks old at the moment, I have been waiting a long time to go on adventures with my own child, so I didn’t want this to hold me back! He is just as responsive to our adventures as my 4 year old niece is… just in a different way. When we got his animals out to do the stretching activities with, he got all excited and kept pulling them up to give them a hug and a kiss… (I call it a kiss, but really he just wants to put it in his mouth like everything else!)

By starting young Ashton and I get into the habit and skill of exploring our world! Making time for learning moments and quality time together. I have tried to do this with him right from when he was a couple of weeks old and I look forward to this time with him each day… and each day he is responding more and more!

TO WATCH OUR LATEST ADVENTURE VIDEO… CLICK HERE

Ashton playing with Max Monkey after we did the Animal Stretches