Looking for 1 Year Old Birthday Gifts?

Best Toys and Gift Ideas for 1 Year Old Girls

Have a one year old baby's birthday coming up? So, what are the best toys and gifts for a one year old? Nothing feels better than watching your baby girl grow. You want to be there when she makes her first step, and you want to be the first one to hear her alter her first word. These moments are magical. Believe me, it gets even more exciting when she turns a year old. It's her first birthday and it's normal to feel super excited and overwhelmed. How do you make it special and unforgettable? Other than holding a birthday party and inviting all your friends and their kids to celebrate, getting the perfect gift is the best way to ensure that your baby girl never forgets the day.

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But wait! Which is the best gift for a one-year-old girl? A toy is the best catch here. You want the best for your daughter, something that she will like and even if you were to keep it and show it to her when she is already all grown up, she would have the same smile she had when you first showed the toy to her when she was one year old.

What to get a 1 year old girl on their Birthday? 

Choosing such a toy can be a daunting task. This article aims to make the work easy for you by outlining a list of the best gifts and toys for a one year old girls.

A VTech pull and sing puppy

Kids love puppies, and they find them to be the cutest thing, and it gets even better when puppies and toddlers are combined. Not all girls are into barking, taking dogs for walks and having a pooping pooch. You do not have to get a real puppy to match the experience for your baby girl. If she loves puppies, a VTech pull and sing puppy is an excellent choice.

The little guy can do tricks and other stuff that real dogs can do and more. He can sing, teach numbers, body parts and colors as the baby pulls him around his leash. It comes with over 50 songs and melodies to keep the kid entertained, and she will never get bored even if you were to leave her alone as you do chores around the house. You, however, need to include a battery.

Baby Einstein take along tunes

Kids are sensory. Its smell and touch alone are enough to make the baby glued to the creature as she tries to figure out how the machine can respond to her queries. If your kid is already a young jammer trying to get her tune in line, this toy will do her good. It's a kind of jukebox that switches between a total of seven melodies.

What's more? It lights up as it sings. It also comes with a volume control button and two AA batteries. It's a perfect toy for small hands, and your kid will not struggle as she plays with it. Even better; it is made of a soft polypropylene surface which makes it safe for children. The color and design are cute, so it does not scare the baby away.

Fisher Price brilliant basics first doll

Girls love trying to play-pretend at this age, and a baby doll is a perfect gift to help foster her imagination. She can tote the doll around as she tries to learn new words and understand different body parts like the mouth, legs, hands, and eyes. Dolls are soft and cuddly which makes it ideal for helping the baby in social recognition and giving them a sense of comfort when playing with it. She will carry the doll where she goes which is also a way of learning a sense of possession.

Fisher-price Baby’s first Blocks playlist

Your child will have a blast with this gift set on her birthday. It features two Fisher-Price toys a baby’s first block and a rock-a-stack. What she has to do is sort them for fun, which is a perfect way to keep baby busy and put her mind at work.

Such toys help develop problem skills too. The toy is meant to prepare kids for preschool through mental development. Grasping, sorting, and stocking the blocks is a fun way for your baby to stay happy as she explores. It will teach her a sense of discovery as she tries to see what happens after all the rings are sorted and stacked.

LeapFrog count and crawl number Kitty

Get your child on the move on many skills with this unique, cute kitty. The doll is designed to enhance a great push and play experience for little ones, keeping them busy and offering them a positive way of having fun. It comes with keys, that when pressed, make the cat start counting in a rhythm. How exciting is that? That's not all.

There are also music mode keys that command the cat to play meows in low and high modes as she makes silly sounds. Pushing the kitty makes her produce fun counting songs that your baby girl will want to listen to the whole day. The kitty can sit, bat, scoot, and crawl. This toy is a perfect way of nurturing mental development and balance in your baby as she explores and counts numbers one to twenty and learns new music. It comes in beautiful colors to keep your baby's attention.

The choices are endless, and these are only a few of the best and highly reviewed toys. The best part is that they are all durable and you can keep them and show them to your baby girl when she is all grown up.

How do you choose a good toy for a one year old?

You shouldn't choose the first toy that comes when conducting an online searches in sites. Let's take look at what should inform your purchase of a one year old's gift. 

Considerations when buying a present for a one year-old girl

• Safety – some toys are just not safe for babies and they even come with a safety warning signs. You will realize that some of them have been written to explain that they aren't recommended for kids under the age of five. This is probably because the toy has some aspects that could compromise the baby’s safety. Kids at this age love putting things in their mouth and you have to ensure that what you get cannot choke your baby. Also, make sure that the toy is non-toxic and doesn't have sharp edges.

• Go for educational toys – it shouldn't be all about play and fun. The child should be able to learn something when interacting with the toy. This is the developmental stage, and therefore, the toy should at least sharpen her mental development, communication skills, and cognitive capacity. Your baby will probably be spending most of her time with the toy, and therefore, it should be in a position to help her learn.

• The toy should enhance coordination – it's around this time of her life that a baby girl will be learning how to roll over and pull up as she tries to take her first step. Choose a toy that can help her enhance her motor skills and coordination as she starts to stand and walk. Keeping baby's hands and legs busy improves her strength too.

• Color and material – these are also aspects to keep in mind. You want something that will attract a baby girl and you should choose brightly colored toys over the dull ones. Pink, blue, yellow, red, and white are the most recommended colors for girls. The material takes you back to safety. Choose something soft but durable.

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Early Childhood Teacher Study Online

10 Things ECE Teachers are Studying Today

What are early childhood teachers studying today? Curriculum for ECE teachers is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest topical trends and innovations. Young children live in a world where computers, tablets, smartphones, music players and gaming devices are readily available, including in their classrooms. Anyone studying to become an ECE Teacher needs to keep up with these trends in technology. The best way to do that is to get your ECE training online and we highly recommend getting your professional development training at ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI.)

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ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI,) the industry leader for online professional development, offers courses that cover the latest in everything from technology and STEAM to bullying, attention disorders and more. Every early childhood teacher and their staff can benefit from the online ECE training at CCEI. Here at Kids Creative Chaos, we've taken several courses and enjoyed each one of them, including CCEI122: Active Learning in Early Childhood course! Check out our review, here. We’ve also reviewed CCEI's online professional development for early childhood teachers in these past articles: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers and ECE Continuing ED Online. No matter how long you've been teaching, you'll discover something new and have an “a-ha” moment during CCEI’s course training.

Personally, I’ve taken many courses online and offline receiving certificates and credits toward my ECE (Early Childhood Education Certification) and CCEI is the best! ChildCare Education Institute offers certificate programs and coursework that meets the requirement for national credentials including the CDA. CCEI also has online certification programs for Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ comprehensive training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET.)

Below, is a list of the most popular things ECE teachers are studying. What are you most interested in studying? After you’ve taken a look at the list, let us know your thoughts in the comments below the post.

10 Things ECE Teachers Should Study

Here’s a list of TOP 10 trending topics that ECE teachers are studying today (that teachers wouldn’t have studied 10 years ago), according to CCEI:

• Children on Devices: CCEI’s CHD103: The Child’s Digital Universe: Technology and Digital Media in Early Childhood online course shares the latest research and recommendations regarding children's use of technology and digital media and ways in which digital devices are reshaping childhood and early childhood education.

• STEM and Robotics: Children are growing up in an increasingly digital world, and technology, coding and robotics in schools are getting a lot of attention. CCEI’s courses  CUR113- STEAM: Enhancing STEM Education with the Arts and CUR123: Robotics in Early Childhood Education: Hands-On and Playful Approaches helps teachers explain robotics to children.

• Trauma Informed Care: ECE providers work with diverse groups of students from all walks of life. Statistics show that 26% of children living in America will experience some sort of trauma in their life prior to the age of four. CCEI offers SOC108: Establishing Trauma Informed Practices in Early Learning Environments which focuses on ways to incorporate trauma informed practices into the environment and interactions with children. 

• Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices can prevent instances of undesired behavior, increase focus and engagement and promote a feeling of ownership and empowerment for children. As an additional benefit, classroom communities tend to be more empathetic and kind. CCEI offers SOC106: The Value of Mindfulness in Early Childhood which explores calming and reflective approaches when working with young children.

• Spirituality: CCEI’s CHD109: Supporting Spiritual Development in Early Learning Environments is based upon the work of Deborah Schein, author of the book titled Inspiring Wonder, Awe and Empathy – Spiritual Development in Young Children. The course explores what spiritual development is and why it is important to overall development. Participants will also learn how to create moments within their learning environments that promote spiritual development in young children.

• Caring for Allergies: Child food allergies are on the rise in the United States and continue to be a public health concern. CCEI’s CCEI119: Food Allergies in the Early Care Setting online course provides an overview of food allergies and basic safety principles to employ in the early care setting. Upon completion of this course, teachers will be able to provide a safe environment for children and staff who suffer from food allergies, identify the eight major food allergens, list the theories associated with the rise in food allergies and identify the importance of food labeling and packaging.

• Dual-Language Learning: In some areas, non-native English speakers may make up the majority of a classroom. It is important for all early childhood educators to be prepared to meet the challenges of guiding a child toward English fluency while maintaining fluency in (and respect for) their home languages and cultures. CCEI offers CHD102: Dual Language Learning in the Early Childhood Environment to provide early childhood professionals with strategies and tools for helping young children develop language and literacy skills in English.

• Attention Disorders: CCEI offers courses like SPN102: Attention Deficit Disorders to help child care providers understand the symptoms, subtypes and common treatment strategies associated with attention disorders.

• Diversity and Inclusion: CCEI’s CCEI640: Creating a Multicultural Environment online training course helps teachers define the goals of multiculturalism, plan and implement an anti-biased classroom, incorporate multiculturalism into learning centers and other classroom activities and promote cooperative social skills in diverse classrooms.

• Bullying in the Classroom: Although bullying has been around for years, today’s teachers are more proactive about reducing bullying. CCEI’s GUI100: Bullying in the Preschool Environment online course helps teachers bring empathy and compassion to the classroom as a way of reducing bullying behaviors.

As you can see, CCEI’s course offerings are full of valuable information that keeps up with the latest trends in early childhood teacher study online. Whether you run a daycare from your home, homeschool preschool, or teach in a public early childhood classroom, CCEI has courses for you.

CCEI has over 35+ certificate programs offered in both English and Spanish! They’ve graduated over 15,000 early childhood professionals from its CDA and other certificate programs -- with over 5 million online coursework completed. Its web-based coursework is available 24/7/365. You can see a full list of certificate programs on their website here, but below are just a few of them:

● CDA (Child Development Associate)

● FCCPC (Florida Child Care Professional Credential)

● Director’s Certificate

● NAC (NECPA National Administrator Credential® Certificate)

Becoming a preschool teacher or caregiver is a rewarding experience, but it takes patience and perseverance. Not everyone is cut out for such an important career choice. When this is your calling in life, you want to be the best teacher possible for your students. Keeping up on educational trends is key to providing your preschool class a positive experience that will pave the way for their future educational endeavors. It's important to find a balance between fun activities and the solid building blocks of education. We always try to make learning fun.

If you're in need of continuing education for your early childhood program or for a new career in early childhood education, start here with our review of ChildCare Education Institute. CCEI offers many amazing continuing education courses for professional development in early childhood education. Their extensive course list is full of lessons that are relevant and current for today’s ever changing ECE programming. 

I encourage everyone involved with childcare and early childhood education, whether you work in a brick and mortar environment or a virtual environment, to sign up for a course or two. And for new CCEI users, you can take a trial course a NO COST!  To stay current, be sure to follow the recommendations on the top 10 things ECE Teachers are studying today. I love that they offer so many course options and each course is informative and easily applicable to your lesson plans and teaching technique. Check out CCEI today!

For more preschool and early childhood activities, follow us on Pinterest.

To read more about our experiences with CCEI's online professional development for early childhood teachers read these articles: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers and ECE Continuing ED Online.

Becoming a preschool teacher or caregiver is a rewarding experience, but it takes patience and perseverance. Not everyone is cut out for such an important career choice. When this is your calling in life, you want to be the best teacher possible for your students. Keeping up on educational trends is key to providing your preschool class a positive experience that will pave the way for their future educational endeavors. It's important to find a balance between fun activities and the solid building blocks of education. We always try to make learning fun.

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Preparing Teens for Life after High School

How Your Teen Can Prepare for Post-High School

Your teen has spent the majority of their childhood getting an education. Deciding what they're going to do post-high school is often a challenge. However, to ensure that the senior year is less daunting than they expect and that they're ready for whatever the world throws at them, here are some of basic ways to prepare teens for things to come.

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Look at College Options

Around 67% of high school graduates enrolled in college in 2017, and so it's extremely likely that your teen is looking at college as a viable future option. While this is an important stepping stone toward their careers, it's vital that they spend time considering the right college options. 

Boost Grades

To do this, you should consider looking at Cornell University GPA requirements on CampusReel, among others, as this will help your teen find a college where their application is likely to be accepted. You should also take them to open days and apply for brochures that can help your teen find out what each college can offer them.

Take AP or Honors Classes

If your teen wants to stretch themselves academically and be in a good position for the level and type of learning that college offers, consider enrolling them in AP and Honors classes. Not only will these types of classes assimilate the types of projects that they'll commit to at college, but they can also help boost their qualifications and grades so that they can apply for higher ranking colleges and job positions in the future.

Visit Their School’s Career Team

One of the benefits of establishing your teen’s plan for the future while they're still at high school is they will have access to their school’s career team, who can help them plot their goals and long-term dreams. Not only can the team discuss a number of careers with your teen, but they'll also be able to give high school students advice for their college applications and help them find future work experience within the job sector holds their interest. Our local college career center offers things like: building trades, welding, nursing, childcare, broadcasting, and graphic design.

Study online to get a certificate in Early Childhood Education.

Get a Part-Time Job

Is your teen lacking in real-world experience? If you're concerned about how your teen will cope with their sudden entry into the real world, you should consider encouraging them to take on a part-time job. Not only will this force them to improve their time management skills by having to balance this job with their studies, but it will also allow them to boost many of the necessary skills for adulthood, such as independence and communication. It also allows them to experience working for and learning to follow the rules of other adults. So, it can change their attitude toward following your intstructions too.

Study for Exams

However, the most important thing your teen should do before they leave high school is study for exams, which gets them in a good position for their future, whether they want to go to college or go straight into the world of work. To help teenagers achieve their full potential, there are many resources online that can help teens study and excel at their end of high school tests. CLEP tests are great tests for college.

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