If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah...

This new book arrived to Torah Toy’s shelf just on time for Pesach. “If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah” was written by Rachel Shifra Tal and Illustrated by Carrie Truitt. The story takes place at a little boy’s Seder table on the night of Pesach. It all starts when the the boy gives the frog a piece of Matzah. Once he takes the piece of Matza, the frog wants to hear all about the story behind it! When he hears that he is one of the plagues, he wants to hear about the rest of the plagues as well! The boy goes over the 10 plagues and explains to the frog what happened in each plague. At the end of the story the boy is happy of being Jewish because Hashem saved us from all the plagues.

“If You Give a Frog a Piece of Matzah,” is a great book to review the 10 plagues in a creative way. The boy interacts in the Seder table with a new found friend, the frog. It’s a wonderful book to keep Little Ones engaged in the story and learn all about the 10 plagues.

Pesach Kosher V’Sameach!

Toothbrush Holder

This a super easy activity and hardly any preparation needed. We made a toothbrush holder out of paper plates. We cut-out all the pictures, toothbrush, toothpaste, cup of water and floss. You can download the pictures from the Healthy Teeth Activity Book (pg. 4) or by clicking right here. I then cut a paper plate in half and stapled it on a to a second paper plate leaving an opening on the top (pocket). My Little One glued on all the pictures on the half paper plate and I wrote on the top “I Brush My Teeth” with a black marker.  When finally placed the little toothbrush in the packet. It looked just precious!

You can also read more about Healthy Teeth and suggested book by following this link. And, there are lots of fun activities to complete in the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. If you haven't done so, hope over to check it out!

Have a great week!

Healthy Teeth Activity Book

We just completed our Healthy Teeth Activity Book ! Wow... was it so much fun! And not only that, but we work on many different skills. My daughter's favorite is the sensory activity, brushing Chaim's teeth with toothpaste and an old toothbrush. I think the toothpaste got all over the place, even on my daughter's hair. She really had a ball!

We also started out Incentive Chart (also part of this Activity Book) and hung it right behind the vanity door. When my daughter wakes up in the morning and brushes her teeth, she sticks on a sticker by the "sun" box. At night, right before going to sleep, she brushes her teeth and sticks on a sticker by the "moon" box on the sticker chart. At the end of the week, when the chart is complete, my daughter gets to pick a small prize from the prize box. I laminated the chart so we can use the same chart over at the end of each week.

You can read more about "Healthy Teeth" and suggested reading material by following this link. You can also download the Healthy Teeth Activity Book by clicking here and get all that fun going!

Healthy Teeth

          We just did our first visit to the dentist and what an experience it was! Teaching our little ones dental hygiene is extremely important – especially at a young age. We want to make sure we keep our teeth healthy and clean to do many Mitzvos and to greet everyone with a nice smile. Before scheduling my daughter’s first appointment, we read together “I Go To The Dentist” by Rikki Benenfeld. It was a wonderful book!  My daughter knew what to expect on her first visit and was actually looking forward!

         As we arrived to the dentist, my daughter felt very welcomed with all the variety of toys and books the dentist had at the waiting room. She didn't seem to mind at all if there was a looong wait… Or if she had to wait there all day long! When her turn came up, the dental hygienist handed her an adorable pink Cinderella toothbrush and a child toothpaste. My daughter was so excited she didn't want to let go of it until we got back home. 

        The dentist was very friendly and explained to my daughter the importance of brushing teeth. As for me, he gave me some essential tips to ensure tooth brushing becomes a routine. Here they are, these tips work great for us and I’m sure it would work for you too!

Modeling:

I find that the best time to reinforce tooth brushing and learning the appropriate way to do it, is during bath time. There is one specific doll we keep under the bathroom sink for bath time. I showed my daughter how to brush her teeth. She looooves the taste of the tooth paste. I believe that she ends up swallowing half of it during the process. Then she talks turns brushing the doll’s “teeth.” We are still trying to spend some more time brushing our own teeth (and less on the doll).

Positive Reinforcement:

 It is EXTREMELY important! We all like to hear nice words, so do the little ones. I alternate between the two types of Positive Reinforcement: directly and indirectly. 

Directly (speaking to the child):

“Great brushing!”

“Keep the good work!”

“I like the way you brush your teeth!”

Indirectly (speaking to a third person in the child's presence):

“You have no idea how well [name] brushes her/his teeth!”

“I didn't even have to remind [name] to brush her/his teeth!”

“I love the way [name] keeps her/his teeth so clean!”

              

Reward System: 

I personally like sticker charts (and so does everyone else). They are so easy to make and to follow. You can find one in the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. We keep the stickers right near the chart so we have a quick access to them. We get a sticker in the morning and one at night right before heading to bed.   

          We then completed together the Healthy Teeth Activity Book. It includes a sensory activity, fine motor activity, rote counting, number recognition, a reward system and much much more! The Healthy Teeth Activity Book is coming very soon!! Please stay tuned!!

         Now, after Purim, is a great time to work on dental hygiene. We all have gotten so much nosh from Mishloach Manos, that we probably have no idea what to do with it… Well one thing for sure, let’s keep it away from the little ones :)