Back-in-Time Expedition

If it's raining, pouring or the day ahead looks boring, take a trip back in time without ever leaving the house. A journey back to your child's babyhood is just a bookshelf (or storage box) away. A mini-trip down memory lane demonstrates how your child has changed in size, intelligence and motor skills, providing a super science lesson on human growth and development. (And you can do it in your slippers!)

What to Pack

• Camera
• Paper and pen
• Tape measure or yardstick
• Poster board
• Life-size baby doll (optional)

Now Get Exploring!

• Make a treasure map. Draw a simple map to lead your child to the location of stored baby toys, booties, hats, bibs, crib, high chair, car seat, stroller and so on. Then join the treasure hunt.
• Dig up baby booty. Open storage chests and boxes and let your little explorer dig into her past.
• Take measure. Use the tape measure or yardstick to compare your child's baby tees to her current shirts. If you mark your child's height on a wall, hold up various sizes of baby clothes against the wall and show your child how she grew. Line up clothes or shoes from biggest to smallest.
• Dress the part. Let your child try some clothes on. Do they fit? Will they fit your child's baby doll?
• Journey to the fridge. All time travelers need a snack!
• Take a closer look. Dig out baby videos, photos and scrapbooks to enjoy with your snack.
• Get moving! Can your child move like a baby: crawl, pull up, toddle, clap hands, wave bye-bye? What can she do now that she couldn't do then? (Dance, hop, stand on one foot, somersault?) Photograph each step and paste them chronologically on a poster entitled "Smooth Moves by (insert child's name)."
• Investigate. Ask your little explorer these questions: How little were you? How big are you now? What did you eat when you were a baby? Why did you need a high chair? A stroller? A crib? What were your favorite toys then? And now? How are they different?
• Record it all. If you're a little behind in organizing family scrapbooks (and aren't we all?), now's the time to get gluing. Let your child help you select favorite baby photos, paste them down, and decorate the pages with crayons, ribbon, or buttons.
• Read all about it. Check out More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams and Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers.
  
  

Educational Perks This expedition back to babyhood introduces both pre-math skills, such as measurement, sequencing, and relational concepts (big/small, short/tall, before/after), and science skills, such as parts of the body, growth, and change.

Bonus Explorer Activity Later, visit Grandma's house to peek at photo albums of your own childhood. Major kid discovery (and one you may never live down): Mommy, too, once wore diapers! Point out ways you two are similar and how you are different. Help your child illustrate a "Like Mommy, Like Me" book. You take a page, she takes the facing page. Draw yourselves as children; include your favorite toys, your favorite colors, your favorite foods, your most embarrassing moments.

Thanks to Susan Hood.

For more exploring, play Dora's Great Big World game, find do-together Dora crafts, recipes, and activities, and print a personalized Explorer Kit for your child at Doratheexplorer.com.

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