Puppet Power

So it's official, I'm a homeschool mom. AJ started Classical Conversations (CC) in August and my brain has been on school overload every since! (which is probably why my blog has suffered).

We do home 'school' Mon-Wed and then meet at a local church for group classes on Thursday morning. Then Friday rolls around and we are all useless! No one wants to learn... not Aj and not me!

So, I decided that Friday would be a fun review day with games! I have been struggling to incorporate French into our curriculum, and thought that Friday might be a good time to do some French learning too. So, Friday is now known as Fun French Friday!

In order to make French fun, I pulled out a couple of old, cheap, very basic puppets and decided I'd use them to keep it 'light'. What I learned was a very important lesson.... just like bubbles and crackers, kids LOVE puppets!

I had two children literately melt down when I tried to put the puppets away. "No mommy, more French!!!!" Crazy! I'm trying to think what other applications these things could have. The 'clean your room' puppet. The 'learn advanced algebra' puppet, etc.

So, next time you have problems getting your little one to work on math, french, reading, etc.... maybe try a puppet!

Last Minute Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is tomorrow! For all of you procrastinators,  here are two EASY gift ideas for dad/grandpa.


Box of Love Notes

Step 1
Buy a package of recipe/note cards from the dollar store. Ask your child(ren) what they love about dad and write down their response. (Make sure to write their name and the date underneath their response). Then, let them decorate the cards with stickers and crayons.

Step 2
Either buy or decorate a box that is just the right size to fit the cards. Put the cards in the box and tie it up with a pretty bow.

Step 3
Make a tradition that the child(ren) write notes to dad on Father's Day. Write the date on each card and then have fun looking back at them over the years.



A Gift that Endures

Make a lasting impact on behalf of dad by providing a micro loan for a dad in another country with World Vision Mico Loans.

We are so blessed to have Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes when we need new supplies, but these entrepreneurs are in need of small capital to make a big difference. Loans are just that, loans. The money is repaid back to World Vision and goes to support another entrepreneur. Donations can be as small as $25 dollars or as high as $300-$400.

Your donation on behalf of dad/grandpa will help hundreds of dads (and moms) all over the world!

Father's Day Gift Idea #2

I found this idea on the Happy Home Fairy , who commented on a post from Jenuine Impressions.  You should check out Jenuine Impressions, because she has a great pic with all of her four kids!

Anyway, I love it! The hardest part was trying to get a two year old to hold her feet up so you could read the writing! But, in the end, we got a cute photo, paired it with a cute frame and made a wonderful gift for daddio (as the kids call him). Now he can keep at the office and think about us all day long!

Good luck!

Father's Day Gift Idea #1

Father's Day is coming soon so I have decided to dedicate this week to gift ideas for Dad. 

DADDIES DON"T READ MY BLOG FOR THE NEXT WEEK (that means you too Matt and Pop!).

I wanted the kids to make something usable and special for Father's Day, but as I wandered around AC Moore I was at a loss for ideas! Then, I saw some simple glass jars and immediately thought of CANDY!

So, we bought a couple of jars, some Enamel paint, stickers, ribbon and candy and set to work!

Step 1: I let the kiddos paint the jars however they liked and then I set them aside to try (the directions on the paint said to bake them, but i was afraid the glass might break, so I just let them air dry).

Step 2: Once dry, the kids put stickers all over their jars.

Step 3: I wrapped a ribbon around the top and filled with Dad's favorite candy.

It was totally simple and fun to make these jars!

Here are the supplies I used:

I hope your dad enjoys them too!

Sip Coffee - Save Lives

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." - Vincent Van Gogh.

I recently found Three Corner Coffee Roaster. They are a Cambodian Coffee producer that not only provides Fair Trade prices for Cambodian farmers, but provides employment for woman rescued from sex-trafficking and other abusive situations.

For $50.91 you can purchase four bags of coffee. As much as I love coffee, four bags will last me forever, so I am splitting the cost with a friend. We each pay $25.46 and get two bags of coffee!

You can buy coffee anywhere. Chose to help woman resuced from rape and torture to find restoration, self worth and become self suffient.

CLICK HERE to join me in sipping coffee and saving lives! :)

Tips For Leaving Your Child In a Church Nursery Or Care Facility

I have been blessed with two children who were very attached to me and did not like to be left in the nursery.


I KNOW that it is hard to leave a screaming child in the arms of a nursery worker.


I KNOW that you walk out of the room hiding your eyes because you are crying.


I KNOW! I've done it MANY times. It doesn't get any easier for the parent. For the child, however, it does get easier.


I know this because I have four years of experience on the other side of that door as a nursery worker with one and two year old children.

There are two tips to a successful 'drop off' experience:

Tip 1 - Be Consistent

You need to have your child in the nursery on a consistent basis. Not only is it good for the child to understand that you leave and then come back, it is helpful for the nursery workers to know the likes/dislikes of your child.

There was one little boy I use to watch who would cry when his mom dropped him off. We found that we could put him in the high chair with a cracker for 10 minutes when he was first dropped off and then he would calm down, access the situation, enjoy his cracker and play happily with the other children for the next hour!

Trust me, the more you come the easier it gets for everyone.

Tip 2 - Be Calm
Kids get their cues from you. If you are anxious or upset, they will be too. So, put on a happy face!

When dropping your little one off, put on a smile and say: "Mommy is going to church. Miss teacher is going to take good care of you. You have your blanket and paci if you need them. I love you and I'll be back soon." Then give your child a kiss and turn around and leave!

The cardinal rule of dropping off a child is DO NOT STAY! The child will only be upset as long as you are there to witness it.

Most children cry for a couple of minutes and then calm down. But, I have honestly had children scream and cry while their parent is in the room and then stop crying the moment the parent leaves.

Your child is crying because he/she is trying to make you stay. Once your child realizes that you are leaving and you will come back, they will get on with life and start enjoying their surroundings.


FINAL THOUGHTS
-It is totally alright for you to ask someone to check on your child after you drop them off. There have been many times that I have sought out another mom or teacher and asked them to poke their head into my child's room to see how they are doing. Just make sure that you don't check on them directly. If they see you, they will start crying again!

-Make sure you pack something that your child loves (a blanket, paci, teddy, etc). Tell the care worker about it and make it accessible.

-Try to be one of the first parents back at the room once your event is over. Once kids start seeing parents they think about you and start getting upset. I always leave a couple of minutes before church ends so that I am the first back to receive my child. It makes their final memory happy and helps with the next trip!

I KNOW that it's hard to leave your child, but it gets easier. My son is now four. He would cry a lot when he was one... now he doesn't even turn around to say good bye! :(

Inexpensive Indoor Places to Go

So, it's raining again! You have painted millions of pictures, jumped on all the pillows and pulled out every toy... now what?  Here are some suggestions for inexpensive indoor places to take the kiddos when the park or beach are not an option:

The Airport
Every airport has an observation area. When weather permits we let the kids sit on the hood of the car, but in the rain they play in the car and watch the planes take off and land. The kids like to guess which airline it is.  We alternate between the International Airport and the smaller Executive Airport near our house. The kids love both!

The Library
Most libraries have story time or puppet time during the week and sometimes on evenings/weekends. This is a great way to meet other local parents, and enjoy some book time with the little ones!

Bass Pro Shops
We like to take the train down to Bass Pro Shop and then walk around and look at ALL the stuff. They can sit in the boats, on the ATV's and in the tents. You can stop and get a Coke and fries at the restaurant on your way out and look at the many fish tanks!

Chic Fil A
I'm not a huge fan of fast food, but you can't beat the play area at Chic Fil A! It is always clean, they have healthy choices for kids food and they usually have one night when kids eat free! And, if you go in the morning the place is empty and you can sit and enjoy a coffee in relative peace!

Chuck E Cheese
My kids are in love with Chuck E Cheese. Si doesn't know why she likes it but AJ thinks it is cool so she does too! If you go around 10am on a week day the place is EMPTY! The kids can run free, consume 20 tokens (for $5) and mom can relax!

The Pet Store
Its fun to take the kids to the Pet Store to look at fish, snakes, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Dogs, etc. Just don't go if you have a soft heart or you may come home with a couple of pets! :)

Toys R Us
Kids can spend hours just looking at toys. And, if you buy a small car or toy on the way out it is an inexpensive day!

Barnes and Noble
The larger stores have a train table and a Lego table so the kiddos can play and look at books.

IKEA
Some of the many reasons to LOVE Ikea!
-Kids that are 40"+ & potty trained can play in the supervisd play area for 30 minutes while you shop.
-On Tuesdays, kids eat free
-If you come at 9:30 you get a HUGE breakfast for $1.99
-If you join their club you get free coffee!

The Mall
Some malls have children's play areas that are a great place to beat the heat or rain and play indoors. We can spend a whole day at the mall between the play area and the Disney Store!


Did I miss a place?

Rainy Day Energy Burner

When it is raining outside (as it has been for a while now) and I am trapped inside with my two tiny Barbadians I have to release the energy some how! Enter- Pillow Jumping!

I grab all the couch cushions and pillows I can find and lay them down flat on the ground. Then I cover them with comforters and blankets to make a large, comfy pit. I put pillows up against any sharp edges that might be near by, then I push the Ottoman up against the pile and let the kids jump! And Jump and Jump!

Usually I turn on some upbeat music and let the kiddos burn all the energy that they can! I have to referee a lot because they think that it would be even more fun to jump on each other! But to avoid any dangerous catastrophes I enforce a strict 'don't jump until the other person is off'' rule. It actually increases the fun because you have to be quick to jump, get up and run around to jump again!

Happy Jumping!

(This is a blurred Si jumping onto our pillow pile)

YUMMY UMMY Pancakes!

These are a family favorite! We especially LOVE the chocolate chip ones... they taste like dessert!

I like to make these one day, cook up a few, put the remaining batter in the fridge and then make the rest on day two- this way we have fresh, yummy pancakes for two days in a row! :) If making blueberry pancakes I use frozen blueberries and add the blueberries right before cooking (so they don't thaw and water overnight).

Enjoy!

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted

Optional
1 banana mashed
1 cup of blueberries or 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions
1. Combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let stand five minutes to 'sour'.

2. Combine four, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, flax seed and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into soured milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone. Add banana and chocolate chips or blueberries (if desired).

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray or butter. Pour 1/4 cup full of batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula and cook until browned.

Makes about 6 pancakes.

Garnish
For chocolate chip pancakes we garnish with icing sugar.
For blueberry pancakes we garnish with butter and brown sugar.

Parent-Child Date Night

I read an article last year by Reb Bradley who related child rearing to a tree. He said, essentially, that you can tie apples onto a tree but it doesn’t make it an apple tree. Instead "Luscious fruit will be born from what we put into our children- not from what we tie onto them. As a matter of fact, in no time, the fruit that we put onto our children will rot and fall off.”

I keep this quote in mind daily. I am reminded that the relationship I have with my child is important. I must go after his/her heart in order to impact his/her life and life choices.

It is so easy for me to get sidetracked with day to day living. I am constantly immersed in caring for and watching over my children.

"AJ, don’t put that pillow over your sister’s face.”

"Si, don’t ride your Winnie the Pooh train over your brother.”

“Get your hands out of the toilet!” “Don’t touch the stove!”

My words are usually aimed at the body, and not necessarily intended for the heart.

For that reason, Matt and I find it important to set time aside with each child to really connect. Every week we have date night with a child. Matt takes one and I take the other and then the next week we switch. We are not always consistent, but we aim to get alone time with each child at least once a month.

When Si was little I would stay at home with her. I would give her a bath so she could enjoy having the whole tub to herself (without her brother) and I would sit on the floor next to the tub and talk and play with her. Now we go to the park and blow bubbles or enjoy an M&M ice cream together.

Matt likes to take AJ downtown to look at boats and watch the train. Lately I have been taking AJ to go bowling or ice skating, things he cannot experience with a two year old sister in tow.

Where we go isn't as important as what we do. I don’t use my cell phone. I focus on my child and conversation with them. Last week AJ and I went ice skating and then sat and watched the Zamboni clean the ice. We didn’t talk that much, but we were together and he knew that I was there with him, for him and that I love him.

My children are so precious, and SOOO much work. There are many nights that I long for bed time so that I can have some peace and rest. It is so nice to have a night dedicated to getting out of the daily routine and connecting with the heart of my two year-old and four year-old balls of energy.

Bean Play

About a year ago, my friend got me started on bean play. It is usually good for about 20 minutes of playing time once every couple of weeks!

I start 'bean play' by putting a large sheet underneath their play table (to catch all the stray beans) and then pour out a container of dried beans; kidney, black and garbanzo (nice to have a variety of colors). Then I add an eclectic mix of containers and scoops along with some cars, airplanes, lego, etc. Target dollar bins and the dollar store are great for scoops. I use random tic-tac containers, m&m tubes and any interesting, small container.

Sometimes we try to make shapes out of the beans, but mostly we fill up one container, pour it into another container and repeat.

On occasion, we have built contraptions with lego to carry the beans. It was fun, but made for a lot of extra clean up!

Happy beaning!

Supplies
-beans
-containers
-scoops
-table
-various little toys to drive through the beans

Outside-Inside Box

The standing rule in my house has been that outside items are left outside. The kiddos can find and carry around all the leafs, twigs, rocks, branches, etc. when they are outside, but when we get home, they are to leave them on the mat outside the front door.

Lately there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth as AJ has fallen IN LOVE with a certain rock or leaf and it pains him to leave it outside in the 'cold'. :)

So, I came up with the 'outside-inside box'. I went to IKEA last week and bought two small plastic bins with lids (for $1.50 each). I let the kids paint them and decorate them with stickers this week and now they have a place to store all of their beloved outside treasures!

Hopefully, the box will calm AJ's aching heart and the lid will keep any possible buggies attached to the treasures out of my home!

Dress Up Play

I rarely purchase dress up clothes and, as a result, our dress up box is an eclectic mix of items found around the house.

We have a little bit of everything including: baseball caps, cowboy hats, Star Wars masks, winter hats, winter gloves, Handy Manny gloves, toy cameras, old cell phones (battery removed), random dress up/Halloween costumes, play jewelry, belts, purses, etc.

My kids love to dress up, pack up the purses and pretend that they are getting on an airplane to visit one of my sisters in either Canada or New Zealand. They move around the house from bed to bed (the beds are the airplanes), unpack their belongings, and then load back up to switch planes and continue on their journey.

Recently, a friend gave me the idea of putting a full length mirror out to use during dress up play. The kids love dressing up and dancing around making funny faces in the mirror!

I truly believe that you don't need to spend a ton of money on dress up clothes. All you really need is a little imagination, and a couple extra hats and purses! :)

Spelling with Easter Eggs

My kids LOVE to hunt for Easter eggs! And, while they love the candy inside, they REALLY love the 'hunt'!

So, with Easter over I decided to repurpose those plastic eggs for a spelling game.

First, I picked short, easy words like; fish, bed, dog, ring, etc. and spelled them using letter magnets. *scrabble pieces, or pieces of paper with the letters written on them would also work.

Next, I put together a sheet with photos of each word and colored spaces for each letter depending on the egg color.  *CLICK HERE to download my spelling sheet.

Then I put each word in a different color of Easter egg. i.e. For 'fish' I used pink eggs and put an 'f' in one, an 'i' in another, an 's' in another and an 'h' in another. Then, for 'hat', I used green eggs and put each letter in a green egg. etc.

After that, I hid the eggs all over the house.

When AJ and Si woke up from their naps, they used their Halloween pumpkins to collect the Easter eggs (my kids are going to be so confused)!

Then we sat down on the floor and I asked Si to hand me all the 'pink' eggs. After she handed me all the pink eggs I passed them to AJ who opened them up and used them to spell the 'pink' word. While he was working on the word I asked Si to hand me the yellow eggs, etc.

They loved it! You could put anything in the eggs; words, parts of a bible verse, math equations, presidents to be organized... etc

Once all the eggs were open, and all the words spelled, I let the kids hide the eggs for me to find. There were some pretty good hiding spots too! I'll have to remember them for next Easter!

Springtime Caterpillars

To me, caterpillars and egg cartons are synonymous. In fact, whenever I look at an egg carton I see two caterpillars waiting to be created! It was so common to me to make a caterpillar out of an egg carton that it never occurred to me to share our caterpillars with anyone! Then, a friend came over today and said "Oh, how cute! I never thought of that!"

So, today's post is for all those egg eaters out there who are looking for a way to recycle their cartons: Springtime Caterpillars.

We painted the caterpillars one day and then put the decorations on the next. For the back, we glued on sea shells- collected at the beach, and then squeezed more paint on top of them. You could also use sequins, sparkles, stickers or pom poms.

For the antenna, I poked two holes on top and threaded the pipe cleaner through one hole into the next so they wouldn't fall off!

Supplies:
-Egg cartons, cut lengthwise
-Paint
-Pipe cleaners
-Google eyes
-Glue
-Decorations

Cleaning Pennies

While searching the Internet, I visited the 'Kids of Integrity' website and found this activity in their lesson on Obedience.

We have a great, big jar filled with dirty pennies, so I knew that this activity was for us!

Take:

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup water

Mix together in a bowl and add dirty pennies! Watch the results!

We also used cotton swabs to stir the pennies in the bowl.

On the 'Kids of Interity' site they recommend leaving the salt out and seeing that the pennies aren't clean, and then adding the salt and showing that we can try to be obedient on our own but it's too hard, we cannot do it on our own strength. It can be done by asking God for help.

I tried explaining this to Aj and Si, but I think that it went a bit over their heads. Either way, they both LOVED washing pennies! This is definitely a keeper in our household!

And, now all of our pennies are shiny and clean!

Library Rules

My ideal library would have their children's section in a separate, soundproofed building, with shelves of reinforced steel and soft pillowly floors that the children could bounce around on without getting hurt.

If that is too much to ask, perhaps there could be a drive-thru library that senses when I'm coming, chooses a bunch of books my kids would LOVE, checks them all out and has them waiting for me at a convenient, drive up window so that all I have to do it put them in my car.

Unfortunately, these libraries do not exist and I'm forced to visit quiet, adult oriented libraries with two loud, busy children!

I went on hiatus from the library a couple of months ago when my children decided to run away from me, in opposite directions, through rows of books all the while screaming and laughing at the top of their lungs. Then, when I successfully scooped Si up under my arm she persisted in screaming, kicking and flailing, while her brother crawled across the floor after me screaming 'i don't want to leave' !

Needless to say, we didn't visit the library for a LONG time after that experience.

Finally, after reading the same books 100 times, I realized that it wasn't their fault we had a bad library experience, it was mine. I failed to set clear expectations for what was acceptable in a library. For all they knew the library was sound proofed and the shelves were made of reinforced steel!

So, I sat AJ and Si down and explained to them that running, yelling and climbing are not acceptable in a library. If they run, climb or yell, they will receive a punishment. Also, I explained that in a library we talk, walk and keep our feet on the floor.  Then, we loaded ourselves into the car and headed to the library. Before getting out I re-explained what I expected of them and what the consequences would be if they did not act appropriately.

After a few climbing and running experiences the kids realized that I was serious about the consequences and our experiences have been MUCH better.

Si still has a hard time keeping her voice low, but she is two, so i understand that a little bit of excitement won't hurt.

Now, we are happily visiting the library every couple of weeks and mama isn't reading the same Dr. Seuess book over and over and over again! :)

Still Life

About once a week I pull out an old beach towel, throw down some paper and let the kids paint. Usually it lasts for about 10 minutes, they fill up five sheets of paper, get bored and start painting themselves!

Yesterday, I decided to do things differently.

AJ received an art easel for his first birthday that has been sitting in the back of the closet for three years. I pulled it out and clipped a piece of paper to each side.

Then, I took some old egg cartons, cut them each in half and filled each 'cup' with a different paint color.

Then, put an apple on the counter and asked the kids to paint an apple!

They LOVED it!

I put out Easter eggs, apples, flowers, boxes, everything I could think of that was an easy shape! It was so great! They had SOMETHING to strive for in their painting! It was a blast and worth about 45 minutes of fun!

Yah for still life!

AJ's Apple

Si's Apple

Simply Elaborate Cash Register

I have wanted to make a cash register for the kids for a long time. Around Christmas time,  I saved a couple of boxes to use for this project, but it never happened.

Yesterday, I planned on playing store with the kids so I decided to pull out one of the boxes and use it for the money. I decided NOT to decorate it. After all, they're kids, they can use their imaginations, right? I just wanted a simple box for a simple cash register!

Then I decided that I should AT LEAST put buttons on the register. And, you can't put buttons over a logo, so I decided to cover the top with blank paper to make it look fresh and clean.

For the keys, I cut up a sponge that I bought from the dollar store. (This picture shows the 'big' keys. After the box was complete I ended up pulling all the 'keys' off and cutting them width wise, because they stuck up too much and kept falling off).

Then  I decided that I had to have a screen, so I took another box, cut the lid off of it and slipped it into a slit I made in the first box.

Then I decided that it didn't look like a screen and I needed to make it look metallic... so, I wrapped the screen in aluminium foil.

Then, it was kind of floppy, so I reinforced it with a piece of cardboard and some tape.

There, I was done!

But.... as I was cleaning up the supplies, I noticed that the bottom of the box that I cut up for the screen would fit really well in the big box. So, I cut a rectangle in the big box just large enough for the tray to slide into.

Then I decided that money would flop around a lot in the tray, so I needed partitions (I used the scraps from all the box cutting and a lot of tape).

Then I stopped! (I had no choice, Si woke up).

It really was quite easy! The kids really enjoyed opening the drawer and pushing the buttons!

Supplies:

Two boxes

Sponge

Tape (lots of tape)

Paper (to cover the top of the box)

Glue (to glue the keys down and the paper down)

Aluminum foil

Scissors/knife for cutting

Play money

AJ's General Store

This afternoon the kids and I played 'store'.  It is a fun game to play for the fun of it, or to teach your little one about money. You can make the counting more or less elaborate depending on the age of your children.

I have learned how to stretch this game out to encompass the most time and fun possible.

Step 1- Arranging the store.
AJ, Si and I clean up his room and get all the tables and toy bins out and ready. Then, AJ and Si set up all the products (I always include food and buckets, spoons, etc). *You could also create a sign for the store to stretch out the fun even further.

Step 2 - Preparing the Customers
AJ, Si and I rummage through the dress up clothes and pick out hats, shoes, purses, glasses, etc Then we pick dolls to ride in the cart and stroller and ensure that they are dressed up too.

Step 3 - Shopping
We take turns manning the cash register and buying supplies. I ensure that we make many trips through the store and play with all the items on display.

Step 4 - Party
AJ and Si take all the newly bought food, bowls and goods and prepare a party in the next room where we get to enjoy all of our newly purchased goods.

Happy Shopping!

Supplies:
Toys
Dress up Cloths
Pretend money (monopoly, real coins (with older kids), poker chips
Imagination
Cash register (optional)
Shopping cart, stroller, or just big bags to fill with goods

Shaving Cream Toy Wash

I found this idea online and thought it sounded like so much fun!

Truthfully, AJ enjoyed the wash station more than his sister. She was not interested in washing toys. She got bored and decided to wash her shoes, some leaves, rocks, and finally stood in the pan herself!

AJ did take time to clean his cars and toys and then made a LARGE rinse station and played in the water. I would consider it was a moderate success... worth about 30 of playing time!

I got all the supplies from around the house and the Dollar Store, so it was cheap to create and not overly messy (when done outside). I think we might just do this one again!

Supplies:
Aluminium Foil Pans
Water
Shaving Cream
Brushes
Cloths
Toys to wash

Coffee Talk

I LOVE coffee. I have a special, Hazelnut cream that I buy at Wholefoods and mix it with my Fair Trade coffee and a little raw sugar. It is my special treat every day! I look forward to it. I don't let anyone else make it. I LOVE my coffee.

But, even more than my coffee, I love my family. And MOST days I prepare my special cup around 8am only to find a 3/4 cup of cold coffee on my counter around 3:30 in the afternoon. While I take great care in making my coffee, I rarely find a good time to actually drink my coffee!

Then, at Christmas I received a metal travel mug for taking coffee on the go. I used it for going out a couple times before I realized that I am ALWAYS going somewhere! Now, I prepare my special cup of Hazelnut, Fair trade, raw sugar coffee at 8am in my 'to go' cup, and go around the house all morning with a warm cup of coffee following me from room to room and activity to activity. I usually complete my coffee around 11, and it's still warm!

Just a tip for my fellow, busy morning coffee lovers!

Learning Shapes

Si learns a little differently than AJ. She is like her mama... kind of stubborn and likes to do things her own way! :) Consequently, she still has not learned her shapes! Aj learned his in two days, and Si has still not learned them and it's been MONTHS! To her, everything is a circle or triangle! I called a friend for some advise and she offered up a great game.

I cut out a bunch of shapes on card stock and outlined them with a felt marker -just to make them look pretty. I kept them all white, so that we would not get confused with color vs shape.

Then I took envelopes, cut the tops off and drew each shape on it's own envelope. I cut out four of each shape and used the following shapes:
-Star            -Heart
-Circle          -Square
-Rectangle    -Triangle
-Oval            -Diamond

Then I mixed all the shapes up and AJ and Si took turns putting them into the correct envelope. BONUS: This also worked on fine motor skills!

It was great! She still doesn't get all of her shapes, but this is certainly more fun than flash cards! Plus, it taught AJ self control because he loves to blurt out the shapes without giving her a chance to guess!


Happy Shape Sorting!

Supplies:
-A couple sheets of card stock
-Scissors
-Marker
-Envelopes

Categories and Measuring

I'm busy planning my week ahead (for once) and I wanted to start a unit on measuring with AJ. I was busy putting together a worksheet, when I had a brainstorm.

We are going to grab daddy's tape measure and head to AJ's stuffed animal bin. Then we will carefully (hopefully) measure each animal and have Si place them into buckets based on their size (i.e. 1 - 3inches, 4-6 inches, 6-8inches, etc). That way we all have a hand in the fun!

And, after all the measuring fun, we can teach Si her colors by changing the categories from size to color!

I'll let you know how it works out!

Supplies:
Stuffed animals
Tape Measuring
Buckets with sign on front showing sizes, colors, etc

Flour Power

Match box cars have been a staple in my home since Aj was just over a year old. And, on days when we were indoors with nothing to do, I would pull out the flour and let him drive his cars through it.

I would put a LARGE beach towel on the kitchen floor, put different sized  plastic lids, bowls, cooking sheets and measuring spoons out and put a cup or so of flour into each vessel. Then, he would load flour onto the dump trucks with the spoons and take it from one bowl to the other! It was great fun for about 30 minutes.

Then I would clean all the flour back into one big tuperware continer (to save for next time) and let him stand at the sink with the water running slowly and wash all of his cars, spoons and bowls. The washing was great for another 30 minutes of fun!

I speak of all of this in the past tense, because once my little barbarian, Si, came along the flour was inevidably EVERYWHERE and while it was probably more fun for them, it was a LOT more clean up for mommy!

Leaf People

I live in a condo, so any time that we can get out and get some fresh air, we take advantage of it. We load Si into the wagon and Aj pulls her around the complex looking at ducks and golfers (we live on a golf course).

The other day we went out for a walk and Aj started picking up leaves and handing them to Si and I like they were presents.  We ended up with a stack of leaves to throw back into the grass (because leaves are NOT allowed in my house) when I had a craft idea... leaf people.

I told Aj and Si that they could each pick one leaf to take home to make a special surprise.

When we got home, we rushed to the table where I pulled out glue, goggle eyes, crayons, pipe cleaners and paper. We glued our leaves, drew arms and legs and then glued on the eyes and mouth. Afterwards I cut them out and glued them onto strips of cardboard (I didn't have Popsicle sticks). Voila! Leaf people!

Craft Supplies:
Leaves
Paper
Crayons
Glue
Goggle eyes
Pipe-cleaners
Cardboard strips or Popsicle sticks

Learning About the USA

Memorizing the 50 States
Being a traveller at heart, it is important to me that my children understand the world, and seek to explore it. I've started by teaching my son about the USA and once we've completed the USA, I plan to move on to Canada (my home country) and then on to the rest of the world.

I started by posting a map of the USA in a learning corner. Next, was an attempt to teach him, and me, all 50 states. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the 50 States that Rhyme Song:

This was a GREAT, easy tool that helped AJ and I learn our states. We went stanza by stanza and in about a week we had it memorized. Now, we go over it about once a week so that he doesn't forget it. When we review it, we usually sing it together, very loud, and dance around. Si joins in and now she is learning her states too!

Here are the lyrics to help you learn it as well:

Alabama and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas
California, Colorado and Connecticut and more
Delaware, Florida Georgia and Hawaii, Idaho
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, still 35 to go

Kansas and Kentucky
Louisiana, Maine
Maryland, Massachusetts and there's good old Michigan
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana
Then Nebraska's 27, number 28's Nevada

Next, New Hampshire and New Jersey
And way down New Mexico
There's New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio...
Oklahoma, Oregon
Pennsylvania, now let's see
Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee

Texas and there's Utah
Vermont, I'm almost through
Virginia and there's Washington
And West Virginia, too
Could Wisconsin be the last one?
Or is that 49?
No, Wyoming is the last state
In the 50 states that rhyme!