Raise Happier Kids

Check out Smart in the image above.

Knoala Smart is an assessment tool that evaluates your child’s emotional, mental and physical development, and tailors activities to his or her unique developmental needs.

We have been blessed to have a vibrant community of parents doing activities and exchanging ideas and of course Moments with their little ones (keep 'em coming!). This active community that has made Knoala a fast success. 

Now, Knoala Smart has transformed the app into a comprehensive childhood development resource, which provides activities customized to your child. A team of pediatric specialists evaluated, tested and approved each activity, and created a simple assessment tool to help you monitor your little one's growth. 

We think Knoala Smart is going to be just what you are looking for. Every activity in Knoala's library is great--but which one is best to do next? Where is my little one at developmentally, and where is he or she going? Knoala Smart has the answers, and now you will, too.

We truly believe that Knoala Smart has the potential to touch thousands if not millions of young lives, and we couldn't be more excited about it's release. So please update your apps today and let us know what you think! And next time don't just start playing, start playing smart.

We know most Knoala mommies and daddies think of Knoala as a mobile app first--and we are. Knoala was designed to be your go-to, DIY-anywhere parenting resource.

But we are on Pinterest, too! Hundreds of Knoala's activities live online there, and we curate dozens of great boards organized by age and activity type (indoor, outdoor, craft, etc.).

Check out our boards here!

Check out these activities to get your child's artistic motors going!

1. City Map - Late Preschooler

Here's an advanced art project that will develop cognitive/spatial and artistic skills in your preschooler.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS: Boxes, paper, crayons, paint & markers

Let your child draw a map of the neighborhood you live in. See what landmarks he or she remembers.

Add buildings by decorating milk cartons, empty boxes, etc.

Use toy cars to drive through.

2. Painting With Cars - Late Toddler

Sometimes a twist on artistic activities can bring out the most creative side of your child. And if you child isn't necessarily thrilled by the prospect of putting paint to paper, this exercise will teach them not to think so rigidly about what art actually is.

This activity also teaches motor skills.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Paint, paper & toy cars

Put paint on paper.

Let your child dip the wheels of the toy car in the paint.

Have your child roll the toy car along the paper.

3. Mini Musician - Late Infant

Letting your little one bang around on musical instruments might not sound like a good idea (pardon the pun), but activities that encourage such experimentation are critical for artistic development. Teaching your little one that they can create sound--and therefore music--is one of the most fundamental ways we encourage them to reconsider their relationship with their environment.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Instruments

Play your child's favorite music

Have a couple instruments available in front of him or her

Encourage him or her to play it to the beat

Tamborines & marakas are great choices

4. To The Beat - Early Infant

For an early infant, listening to music is a good way to lay the foundation for artistic development--as well as language and cognitive skills. We recommend singing and playing instruments (live, if you can) because it will engage more of an infant's developing mind.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you! (or musical instruments, player devices)

Learn a few upbeat children's songs.

Hold your child in your arms & sing to him or her.

As you're singing, gently tap to the beat on his or her bottom or back.

Gently bounce him or her to the beat & rhythm.

We hope these activities give you some new ideas for incorporating art in your child's development! For more, download the new and improved Knoala App, now with Knoala Smart--a comprehensive developmental resource!

Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, the DIY learn-everything online resource, suggests that many parents may be praising their children in the wrong way. Instead of saying, "You're so clever," Khan suggests we should positively reinforce our children's efforts to learn, ex. "I'm proud of how you stuck with and figured out that problem."

By praising the learning process, not innate abilities, Khan argues that we help our children develop growth mindsets. The best part is, developing a growth mindset doesn't have to take away from play time! In fact, play presents a number a brilliant opportunities for parents to praise their children correctly, and encourage problem-solving and lifelong learning.

Read Salman Khan's article here.

Harvard University's 'Making Caring Common Project' teaches parents 5 steps to raise empathetic kids, which is key to prevent cruelty from children. To start, we need make caring a priority. Expand your children's circle of concern, and model how to feel compassion for others.

With high ethical expectations and the opportunity to practice, Harvard tells us we can raise happier and more compassionate kids!

--Mama Cat

The following activities for infants cover some basic elements of cognitive, emotional and sensory development:

1. Sleepy Time - Sensory, emotional

Can putting your infant to sleep be an activity? Of course! Some days it will probably feel like the only activity.

Turning sleep time into a guided activity and initiating physical touch reassures your infant that he/she is safe and secure.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you!

When your child is tired, but just doesn't want to give in, gently place your finger at the tip of his or her nose.

Trace up your child's nose & over his or her eyebrow & back down.

Repeat for other side.

Keep at it until your child falls right to sleep.

2. Finger Buzz - Emotional, sensory

Little Juliano laughs every time he plays 'Finger Buzz' with Stephanie, and there's a good reason for that--making raspberries on an infants skin tickle, and surprising noises make them laugh. Simple activities like 'Finger Buzz' are good ways to entertain your child, develop their sense of humor, and demonstrate the novel sounds people are capable of making.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you!

Place your child's finger on your mouth and then move it away.

Each time he or she puts his or her finger back to your mouth again, make a different sound effect

Make kissing sounds, buzzer noises, whistle & more

3. Every Bit Of You - Emotional, sensory

'Every Bit Of You' is a quintessential infant activity. You are initiating loving physical contact and talking directly to him/her, using familiar and/or repeated words. These kinds of activities build a bond between you and your infant, while developing their cognitive & language centers. 

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you!

Tell your child you love his or her nose, then kiss his or her nose.

Tell him or her you love his or her hands, then kiss his or her hands.

Repeat with different body parts.

Best done when dressing or undressing the baby.

4. Finger Grasp - Motor, sensory, emotional

Finger holding is one of the most basic forms of physical contact that an infant may initiate. This activity helps infants learn to hold onto another person as a means of support or communication. 

Grip strength in infants is actually proportionately much stronger than in adults, an atavistic trait that evolved for infant primates (monkeys, apes, etc.) to cling to their mothers' hair.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you!

Newborns have a very strong grasp. Exercise your child's motor skills daily by placing your finger inside his or her palm.

Have your child grab onto your finger for practice.

5. Head To Toe - Sensory, cognitive

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Just you!

Lay your child down on the bed.

Point out his or her head, shoulders, knees & toes.

After a few rounds of saying them, sing the song 'head & shoulders, knees & toes'.

Perform the dance moves by touching your head, shoulders, knees & toes for him or her.

For children at a very young age, cognitive activities are simple: they demonstrate the ability to do something new. As your little one grows into a toddler and preschooler, cognitive activities become more instructional: numerical, spatial, and language skills (among others) can be purposefully trained.

We hope you enjoy our first Activity Roundup! Have fun teaching your child to learn!

PRE-TODDLER

Ice, Ice Baby!

Ice Activities might seem more sensory... and they are that, as well! But playing with ice is a good opportunity to introduce your late infant/early toddler about temperature and states of matter (i.e. ice vs. water, melting, freezing, etc.). 

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - ice cubes & dish

Add ice to a shallow dish preferably made of non-breakable material.

Allow your child to explore the ice by touching, tasting, smelling & listening to the sounds as it clinks together.

Compliment the act by giving your child the language to describe the sensations that he or she is feeling (i.e. ice, cold, hard, clanking, etc).

TODDLER

Popsicle Stick Shapes

Spatial-cognitive skills are extremely important. Many infants are familiar with different kinds of shapes, but Popsicle Stick Shapes allows your toddler to being constructing shapes and developing a deeper geometric understanding. Encourage your child to try to make up a new shape to see what they discover!

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Paper, contact paper, popsicle sticks & crayons

Draw large shapes that can be easily recreated with popsicle sticks (i.e. squares, triangles, diamonds) onto the piece of paper.

Place the contact paper on top, sticky side up. The shapes should be visible underneath.

Encourage your child to stick the popsicle sticks onto the contact paper to make the matching shapes underneath.

If your child is ready, you can move on to letters.

Bear Cave

Building a pillow fort (e.g. Bear Cave!) might seem like more of a motor activity, and it certainly fits those parameters. But Bear Cave actually creates a series of cognitive teachable moments. The act of construction can introduce your toddler to concepts of balance, friction, and weight, and by expanding the activity to include stuffed animals, you can incorporate lessons of biology (i.e. we live in a house, but where do bears and lions sleep and live?).

Remember, cognitive learning can be intuitive! Your little one doesn't have to understand the coefficient of friction to gather that something keeps the blanket on the pillows!

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - blankets, chairs & pillows

Have your child help build a cave with chairs, cushions & blankets. Have him or her do as much of the lifting and moving as possible

Put more pillows, blankets, and cushions inside the cave.

Pretend to be animals with the cave as your home, or use it as a hiding place or a reading & cuddling corner.

PRESCHOOLER

Color Wheel Hunt

By the time your little one is of preschool age, cognitive activities should be more skill-focused. Colors are a good subjects to begin with for early preschoolers. Thanks to Kristina for submitting this activity!

TOOLS - tape, paper & toys

Tape rainbow colored construction paper to the floor or a large table.

Go hunting for toys that are the same colors as the construction paper.

Place red toys on the red card, blue toys on the blue card & so forth.

Little Dishwasher 

Little Dishwasher is another activity that builds both cognitive and motor skills. This activity can help build concepts like dirty vs. clean, how soap, sponges & faucets work, and why we go through all the trouble to begin with.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Dishes, sponge, sink & chair

Let your child help with the dishes by filling a sink with soapy water.

Offer a chair for him or her to stand-on.

Bring out a few dirty dishes & let your child wash them with a sponge in the sink.

When done, drain the sink & teach him or her to rinse the soap off with running water.

Place the dishes on the side to dry.

Magical Numbers

Numbers and letters are some of the most basic and most important cognitive skills for toddlers. Fortunately, easy activities can make learning much more engaging and (dare we say it) fun. Magical numbers is a simple activity but can be very rewarding for your late toddler.

View card on Knoala

TOOLS - Markers, construction paper & stickers

On the left side of a piece of card stock write the numbers 1-10.

Have your child place the same amount of stickers next to the corresponding number.

If he or she only knows certain numbers, help your child place the right number of stickers next to the numbers he or she doesn't know.

I read an interesting article recently on how overpraising our kids may actually lead to low self-esteem.

The study shows that inflated praise can cause children to believe that they must meet those standards at all times. As much as we mean well with our compliments, think twice before you offer them excessively. Our goal may be to boost our children's confidence, but too much of a good thing may just backfire.

--Mama Cat

View card on Knoala

TOOLS: Butterfly net, wings

Buy a butterfly catcher & wearable wings.

Take your child outside & let him or her run wild!

Let your child know to catch insects with wings like the ones he or she is wearing.

Remember to always remind your child to be gentle with nature!

Thanks to Diana for submitting!

We adore the mix of MOMtivities and Knoala activities on her Summer Fun Pinterest board. Check out her winning board here.

We want to thank everyone for participating. There were a ton of awesome boards out there!

We are also in love with these other entries:

Miranda Wilkes

Tabby Powell

Diana Zepeda

Thanks to her great board, Cari has won a Rainbow Ring Play Pool Center, pictured below! 

Stay tuned for more contests coming up in our Community forum soon!

View card on Knoala

TOOLS: toys, tub or pool

Let your child explore different types of bath toys.

Some are large; some are small.

Some are animals; others are vehicles.

Slowly introduce different colors, shapes & styles of toys as he or she learns to enjoy bath time more & more.

The Little Dishwasher activity not only helps your preschooler develop cognitive and motor skills, it teaches them that basic chores around the house are actually a soapy, sudsy good time! (We recommend not sharing this last tidbit)

View card on Knoala

TOOLS: Plates, sponge, sink & chair

Let your child help with the dishes by filling a sink with soapy water.

Offer a chair for him or her to stand-on.

Bring out a few dirty dishes & let your child wash them with a sponge in the sink.

When done, drain the sink & teach him or her to rinse the soap off with running water.

Place the dishes on the side to dry.

Danya was an early childhood teacher for 12 years before she began her new life and career as a homeschooling mom and blogger. Her depth of experience in the world of teaching and raising kids is hard to match.

Lemon Lime Adventures is packed with knowledge, everything from recipes to teaching tips. For a rich list of sensory activities, look no further than Lemon Lime's Sensory Play page.

But Lemon Lime Adventures is more than just a source for great activity ideas and childhood development tips. Danya has a very diverse family (9, 7, and 1 year old) that has overcome quite a bit. Danya shares her family experience in a candid way that is both moving and inspiring.

The 1,000 Days partnership promotes targeted action and investment to improve nutrition for mothers and children in the 1,000 days between a woman's pregnancy and her child's 2nd birthday when better nutrition can have a life-changing impact on a child's future and help break the cycle of poverty. Visit their website here.

The 1,000 Days partnership brings together a wide-range of partners to help create lasting improvements in maternal and child nutrition. NGO, donor, and private sector partners working across a variety of sectors—including health, agriculture and food security, water, sanitation and hygiene, economic development and gender equality—each have an opportunity to work toward better nutrition outcomes in the 1,000 day window through their priorities, practices and programming.

For more resources and information about Thousand Days and their programs, check out:

http://www.thousanddays.org/resources/advocacy-toolkit/ 

Kerri and Jake played 'I'm Gonna Get You!' So did Courtney and Joshua. Lucky we get to share in their smiles! 

Thanks to Courtney Elizabeth Dvorak for submitting this great activity!

There's nothing better than music to entertain your little ones--and the learning really gets going when they start to make it themselves!

The maestro is composing...

Chep looks like he was born to wear that hat.

Everyone who works at Knoala receives three unique perks that allow us to spend more quality time with family.

Paid paternity leave

We host company-wide, family get-togethers (so office functions don't always mean time away from children)

The Family Dinner Project - We do our very best to make sure our staff make it home for family dinner every night 

We hope that someday, every company will offer similar benefits. Until then, make the most of your family time with Knoala to help your child grow as they connect with you.

Images of Knoala's new office. We promise we work hard; it's not all fun and games!

"Hi there! I'm Tanya, mum of two teenagers and a toddler. We are from Australia. I'm also an Early Childhood Educator and work with babies from 6 weeks old to preschool age children.

The Knoala app has actually gone viral; all of my coworkers agree that Knoala is one of the best resources available for child development activities! Thanks to all who upload new submissions :)

I love that I am able to search for activities based on developmental skill sets and materials needed for each activity. I particularly like to submit activities and share with Knoala parents so other children can learn and grow too! Receiving our weekly email updates are great for planning ahead on activities to do for our next week of skill-based learning."