Relocating....hopefully

These posts might be few and far between for a little while. We are beginning the home buying process and it has proved to be STRESSFUL. On top of that, our rental house seems to be crumbling before our eyes! So obviously we're trying to get out of here asap. We thought we found the perfect house last weekend but we couldn't make a high enough offer and lost it. We were crushed but we've got a new list of homes to look at tomorrow. No matter where we end up Saetia has already told me she wants a pink floor, wall and ceiling...oh little girls, so precious.

In other news, my little sailor turned 1 on the 21st of April.


And this is Saetia waiting for the party to begin.

Nature to Art Part 2

This activity is creating art with only things you've found outside. Go on a nature walk and collect things like rocks, leaves, moss, berries(make sure they don't eat any!), flowers, sticks, ect. *remember not to pick flowers or anyone's plants. We only collect things that have already fallen on the ground. So gather up your nature supplies and arrange them into anything you want. Use tacky glue and card stock. This art work will shrivel but you can display it for a couple of days. Saetia made a dragonfly. Other ideas are butterflies, turtle, fish, crab, ladybug or spider.

Nature to Art

Yesterday was Earth Day so we've been doing crafts with things we've found in nature or around the house. The first craft we did was a simple lady bug rock. Here's what you need:
*Go on a nature walk to collect flat round rocks
*red and black paint
*googly eyes (optional)
*pipe cleaners (optional)

Have your child paint the rocks red.


After those are dry, paint on the head and spots. You can add pipe cleaner antennas or feet. We didn't add eyes, but you can paint white dots on or glue on googly eyes. We have a grandma that loves lady bugs and she might want these in her garden.

Sound Cylinders

Here is another Montessori inspired lesson called Sound Cylinders. The object of this lesson is to refine the auditory sense. This is my homemade version. Here's what you'll need:
*film canisters
*red and blue construction paper
*things that make different sounds like chick peas, rice, salt, bells, ect.

Most people don't have a bunch of empty film canisters laying around. I went to a place that develops film and asked them for their empty ones. They were happy to give them to me. Ask for at least 8. It's helpful if they're all the same but I didn't want to seem to picky so I just crossed my fingers. I only got one different color. I started off using 8. Cover 4 canisters with blue construction paper and 4 with red construction paper.


Next fill up one red and one blue canister of the same object.


Close the lids. Show your child how to sort the colors and put the reds on one side and the blues on the other in a line. Take one red and bring it up to your ear and shake it. Then choose one blue from the line and shake it. If it's not a match put it back in line. If it is a match put them together to the side. Continue this until they've found all the matches.


After they've mastered those, you can add more sounds. Another activity is lining them up loudest to softest or guessing what's in the container.

Smelling Bottles

I got this idea from Montessori. They have an activity called smelling bottles. You can either have the bottles and match them to control cards or you can have 2 sets of bottles. With 2 sets of bottles you have the option of blindfolding your child and see if they can find the scents that smell the same. Here's what you need:
*empty baby food jars, washed
*hammer and a nail
*cotton balls
*miscellaneous extracts (cherry, mint, lemon, banana, cinnamon, orange, ect.)
*stock card

Put the lids on the baby food jars and hammer 5 or so holes in the top.


Then take the lids back off. Next get your cotton balls and put a few drops of extract on each cotton ball and put these in the jar. I just #3 baby food jars and they were a little too big so I used 3 cotton balls in each. Put the lids back on tightly so your child can't get them off. Then you can either print out a picture of the fruit or whatever scent matches the bottles or draw them on card stock. I wrote the word on them too. I would suggest laminating these. You might need to go through them and let your child smell the bottles and tell them what is in it. Since they might not know what coconut or root beer smells like. I have found at least 10 different scents. You could experiment with other things in the bottle like dirt or something other than food extracts. I would suggest covering the bottles with black paper. My daughter automatically sees what color is on the cotton ball and knows which card it goes with. You want them to use their sense of smell.

Know how to knit?

Those of you who know me and my son, know that he is a SLOBBER MONSTER. I'm serious, I go through tons of bibs a day. So I thought, why not make my own bibs? It's cheap and easy! I came across this very simple Baby Bib Pattern. So grab your knitting needles and give it a try. Here's how mine turned out.



I used whatever yarn I had lying around and vintage buttons.

Leftovers

Time to start using those left over hard boiled eggs from Easter. I scrounged this sandwich up one day when I couldn't find anything to eat. Lets call it a Deviled Egg Sandwich. Here's what you need:
*hard boiled eggs
*mayo (I don't like mayonnaise but can eat Light Miracle Whip)
*a dab of mustard
*dill relish or sweet relish
*2 slices of bread, toasted
*paprika

Chop up 1 or 2 hard boiled eggs. Add some mayo, or miracle whip, until it's the consistency you like. Mix in a dab of mustard. I mean just tiny dab. Squirt some relish in there. I say squirt because I buy the plastic bottles of relish :) Then salt to taste. Grab your toast out of the toaster. This makes all the difference. Having the bread toasted makes it so you're not just eating a mush sandwich! Spread on your mixture and sprinkle some paprika on there.

Local Entertainment

There is usually a lot of activities, events, story times and exhibits going on in your local area. Here is a website I go to sometimes to see what's going on in my city. Just choose your own location to see what's going on around you. GoCityKids

My kids enjoy the library. It's fun and FREE. Get your child their own library card. It will make them feel special to have a card of their very own. And if your library is like mine, there's no late fee if your child uses their own card. Libraries usually have lots of activities going on like daily readings or special guests. Last summer my daughter went to meet "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"


Now that she's a little older she can sit and look at a book.

Mary had a Little Hand

Here's a chance to use that white crayon in the box. Plus, I really like hand print crafts because I like to look back at the old ones and see how much the kids have grown. Here's what you need:
*black or brown construction paper
*white crayon
*googly eyes
*cotton balls, pulled apart
*scissors (optional)

You can either trace your child's hand on the paper or let them do it. Next, you can either cut out the hand print or leave it on the paper. I left my babies on the paper, because his hand was smaller, but cut out Saetia's. If they're cut out they can play with them later. Put some glue on the body of the lamb and stick on some cotton puffs. Let your child add on eyes and a smile.

Marshmallow Bunnines/Bears

Keeping with the Easter/Spring Theme we tried to make marshmallow bunnies. See if yours can turn out better..Here's what you need:
*Pink marshmallows
*mini marshmallows
*mini M&Ms or regular ones cut up
*toothpick, broken in half


First, start off by cutting one marshmallow in half horizontally and cut the other vertically. Then, cut one mini marshmallow vertically and another mini one in fours. Attach the head to the body with a toothpick. Then stick on the rest of the bunny parts. It will be sticky where you cut the marshmallow so you don't need any thing else to help the parts stay in place. Our first attempt looked more like bears. Saetia was confused by that because I kept calling them bunnies.


The second time around I used pink marshmallows and smaller pieces of M&Ms. I couldn't find minis for the life of me. Saetia's is on the left and mine is on the right.


After that I let her loose with some of the left over parts to see what she came up with. And she made street lights. Then of course she had to eat everything ;)

Little Paleontologist

My daughter has been in this dinosaur phase for so long. We saw a dinosaur exhibit at the Omaha Children's Museum and one of the activities was digging for dinosaur bones. They had a big sandbox with giant bones in it. You could unearth the bones and brush them off. I thought I could translate this to a home activity. Here's what you need:
*big plastic tub with a lid
* 20lb bag of rice($5 at walmart)
*little shovels, brushes, funnels or tools(not sharp)
*small dinosaurs, bones, shells, rocks and really anything you could use as a fossil

This is so simple and provides hours of entertainment. Just dump the rice in your box and bury your fossils. Give your child the tools and tell them how to dig up the fossils and brush them off. You can talk about how professionals find bones and make molds of them because they're fragile. Or you can talk about any other type of information relating to paleontology, dinosaurs or fossils. The kids will enjoy just digging in the rice with their hands and tools after they've found all the fossils. And when they're done just put everything in the plastic tub and shut the lid!

Baby Chicks

Here's an Easter craft that is fun to assemble. You can also give these away to family members or get a small basket with Easter grass and set these little chicks in there and it could be a cute centerpiece. You could use more pastel colors though. Here's what you need:
*pastel craft paint
*styrofoam balls (2in and 1 1/2in)
*googly eyes
*pipe cleaners
*feathers
*something to poke a hole in the styrofoam(i used a skewer)

First, poke a hole down the middle of the big and small styrofoam balls. The hole should be big enough for a double piece of pipe cleaner to fit through. Next, let your child paint the balls.


When those are dry, take your pipe cleaner and fold it in half and twist the folded side around a feather. Slip it through the small ball, then the big ball. Shape the ends into feet. Then you can add googly eyes and small pieces of pipe cleaner for beaks. My daughter wanted to add tails. I said "why not?" Let them be creative.


Saetia wanted to add the photo she took with my phone (she's proud of her chicks)

10 Little Bunnies

With Easter approaching, we've been doing all sorts of related crafts, songs, baking and planting. There are so many songs and rhymes that your toddler and preschooler will enjoy. I'll share a couple of my favorites.

To the tune of 10 Little Indians:
Do the actions as you sing
1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunnies,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little bunnies,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little bunnies,
10 little bunnies hopping up and down.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunnies,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little bunnies,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little bunnies,
10 little bunnies jumping up and down.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunnies,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little bunnies,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little bunnies,
10 little bunnies twirling around.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little bunnies,
4 little, 5 little, 6 little bunnies,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little bunnies,
10 little bunnies hopping on one foot.


A Rabbit

Preschool children act out this rhyme
Can you make a rabbit
With two ears, so very long
hold up fingers
And let him hop, hop, hop about
hop
On legs so small and strong?
He nibbles, nibbles carrots
act out
For his dinner every day;
As soon as he has had enough
He scampers fast away!
hop on all fours

Slotted Game

Don't forget your little ones! Even though they can't do all the painting, planting and cooking doesn't mean they don't want to have fun activities too. My 11 month old enjoys this game and it holds his attention for quite a while. Here's what you need:
*some kind of can: coffee, formula, gerber graduate finger food cans work really well because they don't have sharp edges.
*milk lids, foam shapes, or anything that size
*scissors
*tape if you use a can with metal on it

I really recommend the Gerber cans or an oatmeal can. Anything that is made out of cardboard. If you don't have one, remember to cover any sharp edges with tape. Cut a slot in the lid big enough for your shapes and let your child loose with it. See if they can figure out how to get the shapes in and how to get them out. Let them explore the different textures and the sounds the objects make in the can. If your child is anything like mine watch them closely with smaller shapes because everything ends up in their mouth.

What's for Dinner?

This recipe, if you can even call it that, is so simple and one of our favorites. Here's what you need:
*chicken breasts
*BBQ sauce
*buns
Told you it was simple! About 5 hours before your dinner time. Throw the chicken in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce. You don't need to cover the chicken with the sauce because you'll add more later. Don't forget the crock pot liner if you want a speedy cleanup! Turn your pot on low and cook for a few hours. I usually forget about it until an hour and a half before dinner time. At that time, take 2 forks and pull apart the chicken breasts. I like mine to be really shredded. After it's all shredded add some more BBQ sauce to make sure the chicken will be nice and moist. Then leave it until you're ready to eat. Serve on buns with your choice of sides.

Egg Man

These Grass Hair Egg Men are fun for kids. They love to see how things grow. At least mine does. Everyday it is fun to wake up and see how much the grass has grown and to water them. It gives your child a chance to be responsible for something. Let them water the grass with a spray bottle. Here's what you need:
*Eggs and a carton
*knife and bowl
*soil
*grass seed
*spray bottle

First tap off the top of your eggs and wash and dry them.



Then let your child fill them with soil and sprinkle the grass seeds in. (we might have gone overboard on the seeds)


Cover the seeds with more soil and lightly water. Make sure not to over water these. That's why I recommend a spray bottle. Then in less than a week, see hair start to sprout! Saetia decorated hers with permanent markers. You could really get into it and glue on googly eyes or foam shapes. You could add pipe cleaner glasses or feet. I think next time I'll use alfalfa sprouts so when you give your egg a haircut you can eat the sprouts!

Old Timey

My friend introduced me to historical fiction recently. Now I have to read every book by Philippa Gregory and authors like her. They get a little racy but that never hurt anyone ;) So in those books they're always talking about sealing wax and letters with seals so I thought it would be fun to try. I had no clue they still sold wax seals at Michaels and that it was a popular thing to do on wedding invitations. That's where I bought my sealing wax. I bought a vintage brass seal from England(on EBAY). I guess if you're going to do it you might as well make it authentic. I thought it would be fun to occasionally send real letters instead of email all the time. I burnt my paper to make it look old. So here's how mine turned out and my mess to go along with it.

Fruit Face

I decided to experiment with my face for the sake of science...I saw this Face Mask recipe originally on Grow Your Own Drugs(I know it sounds bad) Anyway, it's a tropical mask that gets rid of dry skin. Normally, I would just go get microdermabrasion. But this seems WAY cheaper and easier. So here's what you need:
1/2 a kiwi
1/2 a papaya
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 packet of veg. gelatin (i used regular)


Cut the kiwi in half and peel. Mash it through a sieve into a bowl. Add juice from 1/2 a lime. Next, cut papaya and scoop out the seeds and peel. Mash that through a sieve into a different bowl with the gelatin. Heat over a saucepan of boiling water for 3 mins or until it is sort of a runny gel. Remove while still stirring and SLOWLY add lime and kiwi juice. Let cool(luke warm) and apply to face. (No, I'm not adding a picture of this) Leave on for 20 mins to an hour. Wash off with warm water.

Okay, so I did all that and here's my thoughts. IT WORKED! My skin is seriously smoother. After 20 mins or so the mixture gets hard. I left mine on for 40 mins. Here's a tip though, watch out for any cuts. My son scratched my neck and the lime juice got in there and stung! Obviously watch out for your eyes too.

Scratch and Sniff

I originally saw this Kid Concoction on an IPTV infomercial. They gave a few recipes for fun kid stuff. You can buy books on their website for $12.95 or 3 for $34. Oh, and they also have a Concoction of the Month I just catch the infomercials and do the free ones ;)

We tried the Scratch and Sniff Watercolors. All you need is Kool-Aid packets and water. I hate to say this but you should really get the Kool-Aid Brand. I tried a few generics and the colors weren't as true. Kool-Aid has all the colors of the rainbow plus pink. Grab a muffin tin and pour one packet into each hole and add a Tablespoon of water to each packet. Mix and paint! This will stain fingers so I advise to steer clear of finger painting with this. After the materpieces are finished, let dry. Overnight is best. When they're dry, scratch and sniff them!

Breakfast fun

Why make the same old round pancakes? One of our favorites are Mickey Mouse pancakes. I cook the pancakes and I let Saetia decorate the faces. Today we used lazy pancake mix, the Bisquick that you just add water to, and chocolate chips. For a healthy version, use whole wheat pancake mix and blueberries.



Another idea is letter recognition through pancakes. First pour your letter. Remember to do it backwards!



After a few seconds pour more batter on top.



When you flip it the letter should be a little bit darker than the rest of the pancake. See if your child can guess the letter. Mine was too easy I was told!

5 Little Shamrocks

Okay, I know I'm a day late with this but here it is anyway. This is a St. Patrick's Day craft we did. It's a felt board with 5 little shamrocks and their neighborhood.
Things you'll need:
*A piece of cardboard
*Felt, Green, Yellow, Blue and Brown
*markers, scissors and templates if you don't want to free hand your shapes
*googly eyes if you want your shamrocks to have faces

Cut your piece of cardboard however you want. I just cut mine to match the size of the felt. Actually, I just bought a piece of self adhesive felt in blue and stuck it on. Voila, a background. Next, cut out your shapes. You'll need 5 shamrocks, a door, a tree, and a bee hive. Add faces to your shamrocks if you want. If you want your shapes to stick to your felt board you can glue a little piece of coarse sandpaper to the backs. But if you don't have sandpaper you can just play with it laying flat. Another option would be to glue your shamrocks to popsicle sticks to make puppets. Kids seem to like waving things around. Mine is very plain but you can get creative!



The poem: (you can laminate the poem or stick it between 2 pieces of contact paper)

One green shamrock in the morning dew.
Another one sprouted,
and then there were two.

Two green shamrocks growing beneath a tree.
Another one sprouted,
and then there were three.

Three green shamrocks by the cottage door.
Another one sprouted,
and then there were four.

Four green shamrocks near a beehive.
Another one sprouted,
and then there were five.

Five little shamrocks bright and emerald green.
Think of all the luck these shamrocks will bring!

Feed The Birds

I like this project because you can do it during any season. The birds will always be hungry! Also, your child can do it almost all by themselves.

These are Pine Cone Bird Feeders. Supplies you'll need:
*pine cones (can substitute for orange rinds)
*bowl of peanut butter (if you have allergies I'll list an alternative later)
*bowl of birdseed
*string or yarn and scissors

To gather the pine cones we went on a Nature Walk. I let Saetia pick out her own but after a while I had to direct her (she likes anything that is tiny and tiny pine cones won't hold many seeds!) After you gather your pine cones and the rest of your supplies you can start to assemble. It's simple, tie a piece of yarn or sting around the pine cones you want to use then hand it over to your child (if you aren't afraid of a mess) Let them spread the peanut butter.



Then roll it in the bird seed.



Ta Da, you have a bird feeder! Let your child choose where to hang the feeders. It took our birds a couple days to find the feeders. It was fun to go out everyday and check to see if they've been eaten.



Peanut Butter substitute for pine cones (this recipe works better in cold weather)
Mix ½ cup vegetable shortening (or alternative) with ½ cup oatmeal or corn meal in a mixing bowl until well blended. (This amount will cover one large pinecone or two or three smaller ones.)