Time-pass fun for Toddlers - Idea 1 (Collage)

Managing kids of 2-3 years age is quite a task. Engaging them in a useful activity that also helps hone a few skills is ideal. So, here's an idea that could turn very messy, but has a lot of learning fun.

We get a lot of junk in our mails - especially the glossy shopping advertisements. I store them and give one at a time to kid. Kid takes it up and with the aid of a small scissors (this HAS to be done under adult supervision) ask kid to cut portions of paper having a particular alphabet. Kid searches for the alphabet, finds one and tears up the portion. All these bits are kept aside and later in a scrap-book, will let the kid paste all the bits having the same letter in a single page. Every day, it is a new alphabet. In a month's time (26 days at least) - you have your very own alphabet book prepared by your kid! Now that is something really worth storing and using it to learn alphabets!

Whole-grain idlis and dosa! 'Health' it up!

Often seeing whole-grain breads, whole-meal pasta - wondered why not whole-grain idlis or whole-grain dosas. I tried it two years back and from then on, the idlis and dosas at home have the whole-grain ingredient.

The ingredients are just the same, but replaced with the whole-grain substitutes. That is, polished white urid dal is replaced with black gram (whole urid dal with cover) and rice is replaced with brown-rice or unpolished rice.

The texture and color changes - in fact, idlis do get a slight bitter taste due to the cover of urid dal. The texture of dosas is good and gives a good nutty taste. Try it out next time you make idlis or dosas, though it will need sometime to get used to the taste and color!