Aa is for Apple

Now that KID 1 is spending his days in his Kindergarten classroom, it's up to KID 2 and me to keep the alphabet soup bubblin'!



This week was "Apple Week" here. I only wish we had apple orchards nearby where we could go and pick fresh apples! We studied an apple and all its many colors, then filled in a big apple outline with colored tissue paper. KID 2 had fun tearing the tissue into little pieces for gluing. I watered down some Elmer's and gave her a paintbrush to apply her glue. She really enjoyed this project!





This one is MY apple project. I want to make a banner for each month so we can hang it on the mantle to mark the beginning of the new month. Here is September's banner:

How do you celebrate the month of September?

Summer Fun: Build a Teepee!

We're spending some time in the woods this summer, looking for some good, clean fun. Remember the days when your mama sent you outside and told you not to come back 'til dinner? And you just had to make your own fun. Video games, DVDs, and iPods had nothing to do with our childhoods, and I'm thinking that was probably a good thing. This summer we're going back to basics. I'm finding ways to share the fun and imagination I developed as a kid with our kids, without sending them off to fend for themselves...you just can't do that nowadays, unfortunately.

Here's the teepee they made with their Daddy this weekend and what a joyous time they had dragging all those branches out of the woods and into the back yard! KID 1 had the idea to cover the basic tripod with leafy branches to enclose it. Next summer, the base will be ready to support pole beans as a cover.

We made some old fashioned string phones for the new hideout. Remember those? I just needed to raid the recycling bin for tin cans and we were all set!

Hope you're having some good old fashioned fun with your kids this summer!

Rainy Day Art: Stained-Glass Masterpieces

Contact paper, colored tissue and a permanent marker were all we needed to make these beautiful stained-glass creations:





Even without the sun shining through, they sure brightened up our dining room window on this stormy day!

Favorite Homemade Play Dough Recipe

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon cooking oil or baby oil
1 cup water

Mix ingredients together. Stir constantly over medium heat until play dough consistency is formed. Cool and knead. Store in a tightly covered plastic container. Add food coloring to the water before adding it to the other ingredients, or knead in colors at the end while still warm (kids enjoy this part!).

We love this recipe and use it for playgroups and projects all the time! A triple batch makes enough dough for 6-8 kids.

Lent for Preschoolers: A Hands-On Activity

We love making our faith a more hands-on experience for our children, especially during important seasons of the religious calendar. Lent can be a tough one to explain in a tangible way, but most kids are familiar with the phrase "Jesus is the light of the world."

Building on this concept, last year I gave my 4-year-old a batch of white playdough and a few smaller balls of colored dough to create his Resurrection Cross. You can read about it on my MotleyMoms post and see a couple of photos of this easy project.

Have fun!

Winter Discovery Table

As I packed up the Christmas decorations, I decided to leave my snowman collection out for our unit on "Winter." I put fresh batteries in the light-up snowman tree so the kids could see it lit up at eye level. The table has several drawers, so mittens, hats and scarves can play a part in our winter discovery.

Since we live in Central Florida, winter is still just a concept for our preschoolers. I pulled out all the books we own relating to winter, including Snowmen at Night by Caralyn and Mark Buehner; The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt; Welcome Back, Sun by Michael Emberley; The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker; All You Need for a Snowman by Barbara Lavallee; and several easy readers about animals in winter.

The TV table makes a perfect discovery table, now that we got rid of the set in our living room. We never watched it anyway! This is our winter discovery table:

How do you celebrate winter?

Where the Wild Things Are: A Scary Bit of Children's Lit.

I love the imaginative element of this classic storybook by Maurice Sendak. Max is sent to his room without supper after acting like a "wild thing" and threatening to eat up his mother. Once in his room, though, his punishment becomes a foray into a young child's imagination. The walls become the world all around and vines hang down from the ceiling. Max steps into a private boat and sails off over days, weeks and years to the place where the wild things are.

Faced with these wild creatures with terrible claws and terrible roars, Max tames them by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once. The wild things crown him King of All Wild Things and the wild rumpus begins. (This is where my children jump up from the couch and start dancing and marching around the room like wild things.)

Many times this year I have suggested we read this book, but our four-year-old consistently declined, "No...I don't like that book." And I'd think what's not to like?! I LOVE this book! Then I figured it out: It's too scary for him.

I tend to be a bit dramatic when I read, using voices and facial expressions to make stories come alive for the kids. [Back in B.C. times (Before Children), I was very involved in theater...I love to act and sing. Now my only outlet is storytime!] They usually love it, but it was probably a bit much for this story. I don't think they liked seeing Mommy become a wild thing! Now when I read this story, I leave the acting to the kids, and they like it a whole lot more when I just read it straight.

Our son turns five this week, and he is having his first birthday party with friends. And you know how I love a theme party (especially book themes!). I just finished his Max suit, complete with long, furry tail. His party starts at dusk with a boat ride across the lake to look for wild things. Then we'll have a wild rumpus around a bonfire on the beach. The kids will be invited to wear some wild things like animal print tails and scarves and decorate wild masks. Hopefully we won't traumatize any small children...I'll let you know how it goes!

Homemade Toy: Montessori Style

Here is our new practical life activity for November:

We painted these wooden beads this morning with cranberry-colored tempera paint. Both kids helped and they dried really fast.

I put them on a tray in a small bowl, set an empty bowl next to it, and demonstrated how to use our toast tweezers to pinch and transfer the "cranberries" into the second bowl.

Both kids LOVE this new toy! It's pretty challenging for our 2-year-old, but she really stuck with it, putting all 40 cranberries into the other bowl one by one.

When she was done, she reset the station by carefully dumping the cranberries into the first bowl...this was self-motivated. I didn't ask her to do this, but when she finished, she announced, "Your turn!" to her big brother. So sweet!

Check out Works-for-Me Wednesday for more great toy ideas!

The Very Hungry Party...Finally!

KID 2 turned 2 a couple of weeks ago, and after postponing this party TWICE due to illness, we finally celebrated her birthday in Very Hungry Caterpillar Style!

Some Party Prep:

I made mini cherry tarts the night before the party

Nectar-Sipping Cups...made from foam circles

(I had way too much time to plan after cancelling this party TWICE!)

These little bookmark pals turned out so cute! These were our party favors.

They actually fit through the holes in the book!

Party Day!

Birthday Girl is Looking for Some Fun!

Making Our Very Hairy Caterpillars

 

Hunting for Caterpillars

Found One!

The Dramatic Reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar...With the Puppet

The Very Hungry Table Spread...we made apple-cheese muffins instead of cupcakes

Our Very Hungry Birthday Girl!

KID 1 in his salami disguise

Grammy's setting a good example...

Sipping Nectar Like a Butterfly!

Free-Play in the Backyard



Happy Birthday To You, Little One!

Served with a cherry on top, just like the story!

Some activities not shown here:

Feeding the hungry caterpillar (a beanbag toss game)

Decorating butterfly crowns (it was too windy to wear them and I slacked on the photo op)

The party was so much fun! The kids were great and the adults even enjoyed "eating what the caterpillar ate!" Now I need to start planning for KID 1's "Wild Rumpus" (his birthday is right after Christmas, so if I don't plan now, it might not happen!)

Tying One On...No, It's Not What You Think!

Don'tcha just love play scarves? Our little SuperKIDs sure do!

A Very Hairy Pair

The Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday bash is coming up! Here's how our little party favor experiment is going:


KID 1 filled each section of a knee high with grass seeds and soil from our compost heap, layering them in and then tying each section off to form a caterpillar (I did the tying). He then soaked it in a bucket of water and set it on a clay tray filled with water. After just 4 days, we had grass shoots! He can't wait to give his caterpillar a trim! Here it is:



For KID 2, we tried filling the nylon with soil, tying each section off, soaking it in a bucket of water, and then rubbing the grass seeds on top. Hers is pictured below on the right.



Both ways worked, but I think putting them inside the nylon with the soil is safest. Some of her seeds blew off as they dried. We tried sticking them back on, but only the ones on top stayed put.

If and WHEN her little birthday bash happens, each guest will make a Very Hairy Caterpillar and then we'll slip it into a plastic goody bag for them to take home. They will soak it in water at home and find a plate or tray to set it on and watch it sprout!

I'm thrilled that my idea worked! This will be a great hands-on activity at the party!

Materials required:

• old pantihose, cut into 2 foot sections and tied at the bottom
• rye grass seed (a 5 lb. bag cost us $3.75)
• some colorful pipe cleaners for the legs and antennae
• A bucket of water
• As take-home party favors, we got 12 goody bags for $1

This was so much fun and cheap and EASY!!! See more of my Very Hungry Party ideas here.

For more frugal ideas, check out this site...

Having a "Tt" Party!

I took a new perspective on blogging recently: I only do it when I am not completely stressed, or sick, or have a sick child...you get the idea. When I have a great idea to share, I will share it (as long as I can do it without detracting from my time with the kids).

Anyway, two weeks ago when I wasn't posting, the kids and I spent the morning spontaneously preparing a "Tt" party luncheon to surprise Paul when he came home for lunch. I had recently acquired a train cake pan at a terrific yard sale, so the kids helped make pumpkin muffins shaped like a train (our table centerpiece).

I cut up some leftover seasoned chicken breasts, mixed in some chopped celery and mayo and voila! Chicken salad "Tt" sandwiches were born! I just cut off the crusts of the bread, cut the sandwiches into 4 sections, and arranged them in an Uppercase T on their plates.

The kids helped wash and set the table, and we were ready to go! Lunch never looked so good here!

Hungry for a Party!

These little guys are hungry for a fun birthday party!

KID 1 and KID 2 helped decorate these little egg carton caterpillars with permanent markers (I helped with the eyes). We'll hide them on the day of the party (and probably every day after that) and let the kids hunt for the caterpillars to win a prize.

I have a caterpillar party favor idea involving knee highs, potting soil, pipe cleaners, and grass seed, but I'm not sure this will work yet. It would need some sort of bottom container, I think. Maybe it could go into a cellophane baggie and parents can find something to set it in at home before they water it...I have an annoying jingle in my head now: Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Using my pinking shears, I cut each piece of junk food from the Hungry Caterpillar fabric I ordered from The Carle museum. Then I sewed one piece of food on each side of these denim bean bags. These will be the "food" for the "Feed the Hungry Caterpillar" game. We'll draw or paint a big caterpillar with a red face (like Eric Carle's caterpillar) on the paved driveway for the kids to toss the food into. The number of feet they need to stand from the line will correspond to their ages. Gotta keep it challenging!

I've got to find swirly lollipops like the one the caterpillar eats through in the book. I just don't want the HUGE kind that are bigger than the kids' heads! I may have to go with regular lollies...how boring.

Check out these cute butterfly cupcakes...they are just darling. I can't decide whether I want a caterpillar cake/mini cupcakes or a butterfly cake/cupcakes. I have several ideas. But I really like these cupcakes! And they look easy!

Can you tell I LOVE planning kids' parties? The fun is in the details!

A Good Day

Yesterday was KID 2's birthday. She turned 2. Unfortunately, she and I have both been sick. Her party should have been Saturday, but we had to postpone it.

Monday was her official day, and so in honor of her birthday and Letter Dd week, we walked to the park by the lake and read Make Way for Ducklings (a Caldecott classic). Then we loaded those little ducklings up with stale homemade bread.

This one was not my idea: I was inspired by the leader of our Children's Lit. forum who just loves book adventures, or turning a beloved book into an activity/adventure.

A few friends met us there, and afterwards we played......Duck, Duck, Goose! Of course!

Happy Birthday, Little One!

You're beautiful, inside and out.

A New Tradition

Here is one of my happy fall projects, inspired by a recent Girls' Nite Out event. A very artistic friend led the evening with lots of designer fabric giveaways and cute banner ideas. Her blog is called Pretty With Ribbons.

I plan to make one for each month so the kids can help me put the banner of the month up on the first of every month...they love being involved in traditions!

I found some inexpensive fabric and cut it into diamonds with my pinking shears. I made it double-sided, but it didn't need to be for the mantle. I think I like it there. I sewed each one with a zig-zag stitch onto some thick hemp jewelry cording.

The letters are cut from a remnant of felt I picked up in the fabric department for less than a dollar. The black tulle is leftover from the birthday tutu I made for KID 2 last year. I think it's a bit reminiscent of black bats, don't you?

Birthday Season

This is the birthday tutu I made for KID 2 last year. The pink cow fabric was marked down to $1/yd. That inspired me to make a cow cake, which turned out adorable! The body was a round cake pan, the head was baked in an oven-safe bowl, and the feet and ears were cupcakes (I cut one in half for the ears).

Birthdays are on my mind now as KID 2's birthday draws near (she'll be 2!). The theme this year is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which offers all sorts of possibilities. I'm thinking a pull-apart cupcake cake shaped like the butterfly, and maybe a small caterpillar cake for her made of mini muffins.

I'm not sure what I will do with it yet, but I found The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric at The Carle museum online. I got a yard of the food fabric and a yard of the dots, plus the panel with the caterpillar, the butterfly, and the leaf. So cute! The proceeds actually benefit The Carle.

Our activity for the party will be decorating butterfly crowns with colored tissue paper and glue. I can't wait!