This Year Give the Gift of Play-Doh

Quality Holiday Gift Giving for Nannies and Au Pairs

By Lynn Wariara, Nanny and Author

The toy industry is fickle and the hottest toy this holiday season won’t be played with just weeks after a child receives the gift. But, through all the fads and trends, Play-Doh remains just as popular as ever.

We have been encouraging nannies to share inexpensive quality gifts with the children they care for this holiday season. Quality toys provide children with activities that promote healthy play and non-violent behavior at home and school. Quality gifts promote thinking skills, creativity, social skills, and helps caregivers bond with the child.

Play-Doh is a quality gift. As a nanny, I always find it amazing to see how playing with modeling compound sparks a child’s imagination.

Here some developmental benefits to using Play-Doh or any modeling compound:

• Play-Doh extruders help children develop two-handed skills.
• Play-Doh cutters can help strengthen toddlers hand muscles.
• Play-Doh stampers help children develop pre-writing skills by strengthening the pincer grip.
• Play-Doh rollers helps kids develop hand and eye coordination.
• Cutting, squeezing, stamping, and rolling with Play-Doh helps children develop fine motor skills.
• Playing with Play-Doh compound sparks creativity.
• Play-Doh keeps toddlers busy and stretches their attention spans.
• Squeezing Play-Doh helps toddlers develop the skills they need for tying shoes and buttoning clothes.

The Play-Doh aisle is filled with great gift choices that will fit any child’s imagination. Here are some of my favorite Play-Doh gifts:

1. Melissa and Doug Shape, Model, and Mold

I don’t know any kid that doesn’t love playing with dough. Modeling dough is the perfect medium for hours of imaginative fun. This set includes five easy-grip, wooden stamping cubes, three rolling pins, four modeling dough tubs with molding lids, and a patterned wheel press.



2. Play-Doh Barrel by Hasbro

This Play-Doh Big Barrel play set offers molding, cutting, and extruding play in lots of different ways. With six cans (4 five-ounce cans and 2 two-ounce cans) of Play-Doh compound and plenty of accessories, there's no end to what a child can create! The Play-Doh Big Barrel stores all of the compound and accessories and you can take it along for fun anywhere, anytime!



3. Play-Doh Cake Making Station

For youngsters that like Birthdays and cooking the fun really starts to stack up as they create layer after layer of fun and fabulous Play-Doh modeling compound “cake” creations. Kids can use the molds to create layers for their pretend “cakes” and then load up your Cake Makin' Station tool to add all kinds of amazing decorations on top. Children can use the “frosting” tool to add “frosting" to the top of each “cake”. When they are done with their “bakery” masterpiece, they can set it on the plate accessory to “serve” to their friends and family.



4. Play-Doh Pack of 24-Colors

Help unlock a child’s creative juices with Play-Doh modeling compound and this collection of 24-colors. So much compound, so little time. They will find endless color combinations to unlock their imagination.



5. Play-Doh: Fun Factory Deluxe Set

The Fun Factory Super Set has everything kids need to roll, mold, and extrude lots of fun shapes. The two extruder rails have 10 more patterns for extruding long strips of Play-Doh. It contains six 5-ounce cans of Play-Doh molding compound and over 30 Play-Doh accessories.



6. Play-Doh NEW Backpack

This clear backpack comes with 26 letter molds, 10 number molds, a Flip N Snip tool, key chain, and 4 five-ounce cans of modeling clay. I love that the child in my care can carry this backpack of fun anywhere we go.

Top 10 Wooden Gifts for Kids

Holiday Gift Giving Ideas for Nannies and Au Pairs

It's not realistic for most nannies and au pairs to skip giving gifts to the children they care for the holidays. But, when sharing gifts there is no reason for caregivers to spend a lot of money. Instead, I encourage nannies and au pairs to keep to a budget by choosing quality gifts, rather than expensive gifts for the children in their care. Wooden toys make great gifts as they are usually non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and provide hours of imaginative play.

Here are my top ten wooden gifts to give to kids this holiday season:

1. Plan Toys 50 Construction Set

Playing with blocks promotes imagination promote natural learning, creative play, and healthy social interaction. Toddlers develop fine motor skills and explore concepts like early math, geometry, problem solving and cause and effect when playing with blocks. Plan Toys is the first company to manufacture toys using wood from rubber trees that no longer provide latex.  



2. Melissa and Doug Fold and Go Mini Barn

Children three-years-old and up love this two-story barn is stocked with seven realistic plastic farm animals, a wooden ladder and a folding corral. The farm has wonderful detail, smooth-working parts, and ample room for play and lodging of the horses and other animals. Chunky handles let you take the toy wherever you go!



3. Magica Rattle

This rattle is made of colorful wooden balls that securely attached by elastic, yet balls and rattle are flexible. The balls are just the right size for infants to pick up with their little hands, which helps to build motor skills. It is durable and non-toxic.




4. Alex Toys Wooden Stringing Sets

I have found that toddlers love the bright colors and shapes of Alex Toys stringing sets. I am recommending the gender neutral farm stringing set today but Alex Toys offers other fun sets as well including cars, clothes, letters, and treats. Each set includes 12 wooden beads, wooden needle, cotton lace, and stopper. The wooden needle is easy for little hands to lace through the beads. Children can also play with the wooden beads separately as toys. Stringing beads improves fine motor skills and manual dexterity.



5. Wooden Cutting Fruit Crate

My two-year old charge loves this wood cutting fruit crate which includes a wooden knife and seven pieces of sliceable fruit that can be cut into a total of seventeen pieces. Velcro holds the pieces of fruit together so when the child cuts the food it makes a fun "crunch" sound when sliced. With so many pieces, it's also a great way to introduce the concepts of part, whole, and fractions to young children.

6. Melissa and Doug Stacking Construction Vehicles

These three chunky, wooden construction vehicles, packaged as a set, include an ambulance, a fire truck, and a police care. Each vehicle has a freewheeling base and is constructed of solid wood stacking parts. The trucks can be taken apart and rebuilt again and again. These trucks are great for developing fine motor skills, building cognitive memory, and inspiring creative and imaginative play.

7. Deluxe Pound and Roll Tower

For kids two-years-old and up, this classic pounding toy has been taken to new "towering" heights at over 10-inches high! Kids can pound the four brightly colored balls through the tower's holes, then watch and listen as they roll down the ramps. There is a sturdy wooden hammer included. Incredible value and superior craftsmanship make this item a childhood favorite. Brightly colored, smooth-sanded pieces help build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills.

8. Pounding Bench

What kid doesn’t love this classic toy made from one of the best wood toy makers in the world?  The brightly colored, smooth-sanded pieces help build early shape, color, and size differentiation skills. There are eight wooden pegs to pound into the wooden bench, then flip it over to repeat again and again! The sturdy wooden hammer is also included.

9. Melissa and Doug Shape, Model, and Mold

I don’t know any kid that doesn’t love playing with dough. Modeling dough is the perfect medium for hours of imaginative fun. This set includes five easy-grip, wooden stamping cubes, three rolling pins, four modeling dough tubs with molding lids, and a patterned wheel press.



10. Melissa and Doug Wooden Family Doll Set

This wooden family doll set contains seven wooden play figures with flexible limbs. The family includes a grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, daughter, son, and baby.



Click here for best puzzles to give as gifts too!

Changing Jobs During a Recession?

The Business of Daycare: Making the Transition
By Anne Stephanie Cruz of ownadaycare.com

Nannies considering making the transition into the daycare business may be hesitant given the current unstable nature of the economy. Starting any business can be a lucrative venture and a rewarding career.

According to a recent report by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, 24,755,834 of the nation’s children under six-years of age are in need of childcare. In addition, more than 63 percent of children ages five and under are in some type of childcare arrangement every week.

Furthermore, more than a quarter of stay-at-home parents plan to go back to work because of the economy and as a result they require quality daycare. Daycare allows parents the freedom to concentrate on the job hunt and to go on job interviews.

One of the seemingly easy ways to gain additional income is by opening your own home daycare center. With home daycare, you only need your own house as the center for kids and some tools needed for caring toddlers and kids.

There are many things to consider if finances are on an obstacle to starting a daycare business:

Grants Fundraising:

There are a variety of funding options available for daycare businesses, including grants and subsidies. A daycare grant is a one-time payment given to a childcare center for a specific need of project. A subsidy is a need based, ongoing payment usually provided by the government which covers essentials such as food. In this unstable economic climate, fundraising can help keep the daycare business going. Fundraising events also provide a means of increased visibility for your daycare, thereby increasing clientele and profitability.

Low Overhead:
The best businesses generate profit with low start-up costs. Family daycare centers can be started with very little overhead. The main expenses for starting an in-home childcare center are licensing, insurance, advertising, food, and tax deductions. You can legally write-off many of these expenses during tax season. In addition, there are federal food programs that will offset food costs.

Consider Tax Deductions:
One of the benefits of owning a family childcare business is that you can legally write-off business related expenses. Tax breaks can be given on a predetermined percentage of the mortgage, food, and supplies. In addition, the money you spend on equipment like diapers, cleaning supplies, toys, cribs, and stroller for the business, can be deducted.

Specialized Childcare Services are in Demand:

Even in times of economic uncertainty, one thing you can count on is emergencies and unintended circumstances. The demand for specialty daycare services like drop‐in care, 24-hour daycare, vacation care, sick daycare is on the rise. Now, daycare business owners now can carve out a niche for themselves by providing unique services and increase their chances for success.

You’re in Control of your Cash Flow:

Childcare business owners are in control of how much money they make, setting their own rates and hours. Daycare business owners decide who their clients will be. Aside from the usual legal and licensing requirements, the owner of a childcare business generally sets and follows his or her own rules and therefore how much money is the business generates.

Be sure to market your previous experience as a nanny and mention that you can provide excellent references. Parents will appreciate that their child is being cared for by a former nanny who has already demonstrated that she can provide the kind of love, caring, and nurturing that is so essential to a child’s development.