Card Slot Busy Activity from our Member of The Month Jaime

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Talk about jumping right in and taking action. Our member of this month did just that right from the start of her membership to The Activity Room.

Before I ‘met’ Jamie and the other members of The Activity Room, I was kind of just pulling myself through the day. My toddler was bored with the same toys and I kept thinking, there has to be a solution that isn’t, more toys.

And within a month of being a member of The Activity Room, Jaime was a different kind of parent and super-engaged with her son.

The rewards became evident almost immediately. My husband noted that within a week our son Caspian (2.5) was talking, observing and engaging more. I have better days too because he has better days and they don’t seem as endless as they once did. 

Let’s get to know Jaime and her journey in The Activity Room, and then I also want to share an activity she did with her son that’s super clever and fantastic for hand-eye coordination.

The Activity Room gives me some accountability and a way to get a virtual high five (no small thing when I spend the entire day with almost no one but my babies). I take pride in posting the pictures of what we’ve done and I get to feel good all over again for mustering the energy to do something more with my kids. It gets easier too, the more I do.

Let’s meet Jaime!

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

My son Caspian is 2.5 and my daughter Glory, is 7 months

How long have you been in The Activity Room?

About a month or so?  (Since August 2017)

What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?

Caspian’s is definitely painting with cars and probably sink or float. It’s hard for me to choose… I like the recipes for play dough, watercolors and homemade paint.

What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?

Painting and dancing to pop music!

What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?

I’ve mentioned this in The Activity Room Members Only Group but it bears repeating:

Let go of the outcome.

Get rid of expectations because your kid either doesn’t have any or has totally different ones than you would have. Lower the bar and let it be. If getting messy stresses you out, take precautions beforehand and teach them that when they’re painting or doing the sensory bin, they have to stay where they are until it’s time to clean up. Even at 2.5, they can learn that.

Favorite quote?

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common–this is my symphony. – William Henry Channing

Card Slot Busy Activity

Jaime’s son gave her the inspiration for this card slot busy activity. He loves playing with business cards, credit cards, and gift cards, so she made a quick busy game for him!

For this activity you need: tape (packing tape would be great but you also need a surface you can use that won’t be harmed by it), a cracker or cereal box of some kind and lots of cards (firm or flimsy but stiff ones are probably best for little hands).

Here’s the Jaime did for this card slot activity:

Take the box and tape it down on its side. I left the ‘top’ of the box where you would normally open it, untaped (so that we could take out the cards once they were inside, to start again).

Before taping it down I cut a slit (see pic for positioning).

Aside from the slit and the side opening, you have to tape it quite a lot so that it will stay upright while they’re trying to push things into the box.

I was careful to only cut the opening long enough for the cards to go in one way, so that he had to turn them the correct way to fit them in. He loved it!

You can also learn more about Jaime on her blog and main website, jaimelee.me, where she shares her music and voiceover reels.

Want to have your daily activities planned out for you? Join us in The Activity Room!

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