Miss Amy's House

Polar Expres Party

2011-12-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

I have always adored the story The Polar Express. I love how it tells the story of Christmas magic, and believing! Back in the day when I taught preschool, having a day dedicated to this story was always so much fun, and a big hit for all the kids! So, for our MOMS club, I decided to host a Polar Express Holiday Party!

All the kids wore their pajamas, and looking back at some pictures I seem to be one of the only adults who wore mine! hehe When everyone walked in they were handed a golden ticket!

A table was setup for the kids--

I baked some sugar cookies earlier that day, and in the little bowls were sprinkles, marshmallows, different colored icing, etc. Everyone decorated a couple of cookies, and we also had hot chocolate! YUM! Although, it was a little too hot, and by the time it cooled down enough for the kids they were over it! :D

In the living room Connor and I made a train from cardboard boxes. It looked cute, and was fun! However only lasted a ten minutes until it became many other things!

All the kids played, the MOMS chatted, and the movie was on in the background!

We also had a book exchange. Which I didn't get any pictures of. Everyone brought a wrapped book. I had a paper train cut out with numbers on them, and taped on of the cars to each book. I then had each kid draw a number, and that was the book they got to take home!

~* Happy Holidays Everyone!! *~

Busy Bag- Stringing Beads

2011-12-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

It's time for another busy bag update!! Stringing beads!! This is a skill that tests hand eye coordination, and fine motor skills. It is included in most preschool curriculum, and is also on some developmental checklists. I've never really practiced this with Connor before, so I figured it was time. Before buying some thrifty ol' me had to create some first! ;) So we used some shoelaces, and a pool noodle!

I simply just cut the noodle up into rings, and tied one to the end of the shoelace. I showed him how to do it, and he went to town! This didnt keep his attention for toooo long. We ended up building towers, and counting them instead! At least we got a little practice in, right?!?!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

I LOVE babies in hats :D

Potty Labels

2011-12-01T16:35:00.000-05:00

I want to start getting Connor used to his potty, sitting on it, etc. I bought a seat from Target, and wanted to personalize it a little bit. So using my silhouette machine I made him some 'stickers' and we went to town! We both LOVE how it turned out! :D

The leaves are falling down..

2011-11-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

I dunno about where you are, but the leaves have not stopped falling yet!! I feel like Ive been raking everyday, and then the ground is covered again!! The boys are loving it though...

Here are some fall songs we've been singing around here!!

THE LEAVES ON THE TREES
Tune: “The Wheels On The Bus”

The Leaves on the trees are yellow and brown,
Yellow and brown, yellow and brown.
The leaves on the trees are yellow and brown,
All through the town.

The leaves on the trees are falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
The leaves on the trees are falling down,
All through the town.

The leaves on the trees make a crunching sound,
Crunching sound, crunching sound.
The leaves on the trees make a crunching sound
All through the town.

Let’s rake all the leaves into a mound,
Into a mound, into a mound.
Let’s rake all the leaves into a mound
All through the town.

The children in the town jump up and down,
Up and down, up and down.
The children in the town jump up and down
On the leaves on the ground.
Jean Warren
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Give a few of the kids small brooms/rakes and sing the following words to "London Bridge"

Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down, Autumn leaves are falling down welcome Autumn.

Sweep the leaves and put them here, put them put here, put them here, Sweep the leaves and put them here, welcome Autumn.

Jump right in and have some fun, have some fun, have some fun, Jump right in and have some fun-welcome autumn.

children participate in the activity in a circle and follow the cues for the activity.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This little Fall song is sung to the easy tune of "Wheels on the Bus." Give each child a paper leaf for the movement portion.

The leaves on the trees turn orange and brown, orange and brown, orange and brown. The leaves on the trees turn orange and brown, all through the town.

The leaves on the trees come tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. The leaves on the trees coming tumbling down, all through the town.

The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish. Swish, swish, swish. Swish, swish, swish. The leaves on the ground go swish, swish, swish, all through the town.

Logan's first time painting

2011-11-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

Logan has reached the 6 month mark, and in my mind this means he can start participating in some more projects with us! Which totally excites me. For some projects we wait until he takes his morning nap, so I can focus more on the boys, and their questions. Other times Logan cooperates, and loves to watch us do an activity!

Today he got to finger paint for the first time with paint! He loved it, and got a few minutes in before he tried to eat it ;)

Leaves as paint brushes!

2011-11-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

Connor has been obsessed with going outside collecting leaves! So today we used them as paint brushes to paint with! We talked about the different textures, sizes, and shapes of them!

You can use anything in nature to paint with! Sticks, stones, grass, etc! All would lead to some great conversations!

Cool Down Basket

2011-11-15T11:12:00.001-05:00

Like most two year olds, my son sometimes has trouble controlling his emotions. It's mostly when he skips nap, or refuses to eat. He becomes an emotional mess, and just cries and cries. In these situations I know it's not his fault so I never punish him. However, I cant help but sometimes get frustrated because its hard.

Like most parents I try to stay patient with him, and find teachable moments in these times to help him learn what he is feeling and how to better communicate it. I feel that emotional IQ is just as important as intellectual IQ.

When he is the in middle of one of his meltdowns-- it is almost impossible to talk to him. So, I just try to hold him until he calms down. This works some days-- but other days when the baby is screaming, its almost dinner time, and my husband is still at work this isn't always a realistic approach for us.

So this led me to develop him "Cool Down Basket." It's not complete yet, but it's a start. I keep it in a closet when we don't need it so that the items in the basket don't look their 'newness.' Then when he starts having a meltdown I give him a hug, hold him for a few minutes, reassure him that I love him, and then tell him to sit down on some pillows and play with this basket. So far it works every time, and has become a lifesaver for us! It distracts him, keeps him busy, teaches him about feelings, doesnt make him feel that he is in trouble, and allows me to get back to doing what I need to do without feeling guilty!

Here's whats inside--

1) "Stress" Balloons-- I filled up four different colored balloons with different materials. Cotton, playdoh, shaving cream, and air. I drew different faces on them. The purpose is to give them some tactile things to keep their hands busy. They can squeeze them, throw them, etc. It's very similar to a stress ball you find in stores.
2) Books about feelings-- I put in a couple of books we owned about getting mad/ feelings. If my husband is home I will usually sit with him while we play with he cool down basket together, and we always read a book. This can help anybody calm down!
3) A water bottle filled with water, glycerin, food coloring, and glitter. Turning this bottle over and watching the glitter slowly fall down makes me feel so much calmer even if I am not upset!

I also plan to laminate some pictures of him making different faces, and showing different emotions. This can lead to some great conversations about what makes us feel this way, etc. I also want to get a small unbreakable mirror to put in the basket so he can see how he looks!

This technique doesn't have to be used just when a child is having a meltdown! Some other ideas can include if they are getting frustrated with another child, having trouble sharing, being very hands on, upset about not getting their way, etc. Anytime they need to just cool down, but don't deserve to be 'punished!'

Ruler Growth Chart

2011-11-13T11:01:00.001-05:00

I have been looking at different growth charts for a while online. I wanted one that could be moved around in case we move. I saw something similar on pintrest, and I was inspired. However, I used my silhouette machine to cut the lines and numbers out of black vinyl. This seemed easier to me then painting lines. Which that is an option as well.

Here's a mini step by step..

1) I went and bought a board and stain from home depot. It's 6 feet tall.
2) I stained it, then immediately wiped it off with a rag. I then let it dry. Then repeated this process to give it an antique look.
3) When it was really dry I took out a yard stick. I wanted it to be 6 inches from the ground, so I marked 6 inches on the bottom with a pencil, then marked the one foot line. I did this all the way up. All the little lines are an inch apart.

((this picture was taken before I hung it, but you can see how I started it with only 6 inches on the bottom. Then when I hung it, I made sure it was another 6 inches from the ground so that the one foot was accurate))

4) I decided to do every 2 lines a little longer, similar to a real ruler.
5) This was pretty tedious, and I made all the marks in pencil. I also double checked it a couple of times, because I found that I screwed it up.
6) Once I was certain of my measurements I counted how many small and medium lines I needed. Then got cutting.
7) I stuck them all on!
8) Then sprayed it with some clear finish!

I LOVE how it turned out!! I am so glad I went this route, instead of buying one!

Busy Bags

2011-11-10T10:49:00.002-05:00

I've been working on creating some busy bags. These are basically bags (or boxes, etc) of different activities that focus on needed skills designed for the child to need little scaffolding while doing. They are great for moms because while you are cooking dinner, or trying to get some things done-- you can pull them out! The first one I created was a pipe cleaner drop. I used an old coffee can, some scrapbook paper, mod podge, and pipe cleaners! On the lid I painted circles of the colored pipe cleaners I had, and then poked holes in the middle of the circles. The purpose is to work on fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, and classifying objects by color!

It definitely kept him busy for a little while! Stay tuned for some more busy bag ideas!

More Fall Trees

2011-11-08T21:51:00.000-05:00

This has been one of our favorite book about fall leaves. The boys love to read it over and over. We went on a nature walk earlier, and found some fall leaves! Then they asked to paint some leaves. So during nap time I cut out some empty trees from my silhouette machine! We used some mini circle sponge sticks, and fall colored paints! They boys went to town painting their trees, and they looked pretty cool once we were finished!

Volcano Sceince!

2011-11-05T21:38:00.003-04:00

Today I decided to do a science project with the boys! I put some baking soda on a cookie sheet, and then gave them a tray with vinegar dyed with different colored food colorings. I also gave them some eye droppers so we can strengthen some fine motor skills.

They were very interested when they saw this set up on the table. I showed them a few times what happens when you squeeze the vinegar on the baking soda. They loved seeing it fizz, and they loved doing it themselves anymore. This kept their attention for quite sometime!

Fall Leaf Counting

2011-11-01T21:18:00.001-04:00

I love fall! I love the leaves changing, and all the colors. I love the temperatures, and the smells. I love fall festivals, pumpkins, and everything in between. The first half of November I like to focus on fall, and all the changes going on.

This morning we read some books about fall leaves, and the changes! Then I whipped up some leaves on my silhouette machine. I then set up an invitation for boys to come create some fall trees using glue! I put their names on them so we could talk about the letters that make up their names, and work on name recognition.

I also had some numbers and a counting area set up! I was hoping it would trigger them to ask some questions, and want some assistance in counting!

It worked! We made some cute trees, counted leaves, talked about colors, different types of leaves, etc. Overall, I say it was a successful project! :D

Halloween at Miss Amy's House

2011-10-31T08:36:00.002-04:00

This would be our third year celebrating Halloween as parents. Though our oldest is still shy of 2.5 years, and he doesn't fully understand the concept or really know what candy is. However, that soon changed after we went Trick or Treating.

The Friday before Halloween we went to a party at my cousin's neighbor's house. We made a pumpkin fruit tray with grapes and cantaloupes. I wish I took more pictures of the party because it was all kid orientated. She had different stations for the kids set up such as cookie decorating and crafts.

We also had a Halloween party with the local MOMS Club we are involved in. I was in charge of bringing a 'main dish' to the party. So Connor and I made 'Mummy Pizzas.' They were just English muffins, sauce, mozzarella cheese (cut into strips, not shredded), and black olives for the eyes.

My boys were dressed as a farmer and cow. I think they looked pretty cute (but I am bias!) A special thanks goes out to my wonderful cousin Samantha who made it possible to trick or treat. My husband had to work. So Samantha and I dragged the boys for a few hours, and got lots of candy!

Around the house we didn't do many Halloween crafts. I didn't get too into it because they are still kind of young. Plus, let's face it-- lots of Halloween stuff is scary! I like to focus more on the season change, and beautiful colors of fall instead!

We have really been enjoying the book Five Little Pumpkins. So with my amazing silhouette machine I made some pieces to go with it. I will glue some felt to the back, to use on our future felt board!

Well, that's all for Halloween this year!! As the boys get older we will get more into it! :D

My new toy!!!

2011-10-22T20:16:00.010-04:00

For my birthday my husband bought me something I have been really wanting for a while... A SILHOUETTE MACHINE!! AHh! If you don't know what one is, you can read about it here!

It seems a lot of crafters own one, and I couldn't be left out! I currently own a sizzix dicut machine, but in my mind this is the ultimate dicut machine! I can't wait to make so many new things with it! My mind is overwhelmed with ideas!! Stay tuned for all I create-- and many great ways to use it to benefit children!

Happy Birthday to me!!

2011-10-17T20:23:00.014-04:00

I have been eying these number/ shape beanbags on amazon for a while. I loved the idea of all the games I could play with my boys to incorporate some important math concepts, while having some good fun physical play!!

Every time the budget would allow for me to squeeze in some fun toys for the boys I would find something else to buy, and always skipped the beanbags. So, I whipped some up myself! They arent perfect, but you know my motto-- its the process not the product!

We have already been having so much fun with them! We take turns throwing them at each other. I will give directions such as, "Throw me the square." Then Connor will ask the same, "Mommy, throw me the circle." We also practice the numbers on them, and count them! I figured I'd make more as his skills advance some, but for now 5 works for us! :D

Kid Friendly Fall Decorating

2011-10-15T21:37:00.003-04:00

Connor and I have been doing some fall decorating around our home!

First he helped me create this wreath. By help I mean hand me the colors when I asked for them... hehe! All you need to do is make felt roses, and then hot glue them to a Styrofoam wreath!

We also took some leftover white fabric I had laying around, and made some ghosts to hang in our tree outside! To do this we crunched newspaper into balls, and wrapped the balls into grocery bags (incase it rains). After that we tied some ribbon, and made glitter eyes!

Connor thought it was so cool that we were hanging them in the trees! Now that they are there he loves to look at them through the window!

Then to decorate the front door I mixed white tempra paint with a little dish soap, and then dipped both Connor & Logans feet in it! I held them up and put their little feet upside down all over the door to make ghosts!! I love how they look, and we've gotten so many compliments on how they look!

What are some ways you include the kids in decorating for fall/ Halloween? I love to hear some more ideas!!!

I linked up with...

Menu/ Meal Planing

2011-10-10T13:49:00.003-04:00

I hate dinner time.
Okay, so I don't like to use the word hate. SOOO I'll try again.
I ~~hate~~ dislike ~~dinnertime~~ making dinner.

I grew up rarely having very processed foods. My mom always cooked for us every night. Sure we had an occasional "frozen dinner," but it was very rare-- and usually a special treat. Maybe Im just not used to the taste of them now, but I think many frozen already prepared dinners are disgusting, and I try to provide my family with a more 'fresh' approach. However, its hard. We stay busy all day playing and doing projects, and before I know it.. dinner time is an hour away. I always scramble to think, "What's for dinner?" I feel like I can never think of anything.. I feel like we never have any food.. and then I just get stressed.

I finally had to figure out some kind of solution to cheer my dinner time blues. I love the idea of cooking for my family every evening, and I LOVE having all of us sitting down to eat. (Mom if your reading this I guess I should say thanks for that!) So I came up with a 'menu' solution.

I used things we already had laying around the house! Clothespins, scrapbook paper, hot glue, and a bulletin board! It has clothespins for every day of the week, and a pocket to hold our favorite menu items. On Sundays I decide what we are going to eat, and make a list for those ingredients. I think since I am a very visual person, this helps a lot! I no longer have to think "what are we having for dinner?" I just glance at our menu and start cooking!! Plus I am saving tons on groceries!

I'd love to know your ideas, or ways you manage to get dinner on the table every night?! Especially with a baby! Anything that can help dinnertime go smoother in our house is worth a try!

** I am getting ready to open an esty shop to sell some family/ kid friendly creations! This is something I was considering putting up! If you are interested in one, they will sell for $15usd. It will include everything shown, with laminated pockets, and blank white heavy duty card stock to write meal ideas down! amylyn930@bellsouth.net if you are interested.

Swing Painting

2011-10-07T13:40:00.000-04:00

This is great to strengthen the vestibular system. This particular project would be EXCELLENT for children with anxiety, panic attacks, or self stimulating behaviors. Although the boys are typically developing, they still loved it!

You could use a therapy swing, but we got creative and just used our tire swing! I just put them on the swing over paper, and gently pushed them. It took a lot of coordination for them to figure out how to paint! haha

Wordless Wednesday- Brotherly Love

2011-10-05T13:34:00.002-04:00

Look how adorable my boys are! They are starting to parallel play!

Boats!

2011-09-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

Connor has really loved boats lately! We were talking about the letter B this week, and thought it would be perfect to use some clean meat trays to create sail boats! So we did just that... then we sailed them. However, our tub was a bit small for it to be a lot of fun... so we ended up doing some sink and float in the water! Connor's boat made it to the bath tub later on that evening though!

How to get my son to eat...

2011-09-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

Sometimes my kid doesnt eat. However, if its in the shape of cars, planes, or trains... it will go right down! Go figure..

Exploring the 5 Senses (well four of them!)

2011-09-27T11:09:00.003-04:00

Today we played with different spices to explore our five senses. I brought out some spices with very strong scents. We talked about what we use to smell, and took turns smelling them!! Even baby Logan got to smell!

Then we used a paint brush to spread glue all over some paper, and shook the different spices on them. We noticed they all had different textures, and looks. We even felt how different they all felt in our hands!

Of course we had to taste them next! Yummmy! Cinnamon was our favorite! This was a simple project, but the conversations and new words we learned was so much more then the spice picture!!

Block Play

2011-09-26T13:19:00.001-04:00

Great article about Block Play! We love playing with blocks.

Alumnium Foil Painting

2011-09-21T11:03:00.009-04:00

Today we switched things up and painted on aluminum foil instead of paper! The boys loved how shiny it was! I wrapped a piece around some cardboard, and gave them a few different materials to paint with! They had fun, and it looks great on Connor's bookshelf in his room!

Next time we are going to roll some foil in a ball and use that to paint with!

Eye Dropper Painting

2011-09-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I am not to sure what to call this blog entry. I guess maybe just dropper painting, but they look similar to eye droppers. However, eye droppers could have the same effect.

Anyways, I filled up a tray with liquid water colors. Then taught the boys how to squeeze the droppers to suck up water, and let it go. They eventually got the hang of it, and had a lot of fun. After the paint was used up, I gave them some water to continuing to practice! Great fine motor skills!!

Playhouse Update

2011-09-18T09:51:00.000-04:00

So this past week I have been a bit out of the loop! My mother in law came to visit, and we spent a lot of time with her! We visited a few local parks, and overall had a great time together. I also have a test coming up for graduate school admissions that I have been preparing for. So I haven't had much time to blog.

I did manage to do some updates to the playhouse. If you haven't had a chance to read my playhouse blog, please do! Anyways. The boys spend a lot of time outside, and in the playhouse. They LOVE IT!! I know once Logan is a bit older he will as well. I have all these ideas to enhance our outside experience next summer, and create a better "outdoor classroom." For now, this was our little update! LABELS!!!

I made labels for the door, windows, etc of the playhouse. I also printed out some pictures of bugs that are commonly found in our area! They are all glued to cardstock, and laminated! I hung them on the wall, with some pictures of "yellow trucks" (since we use them in the sandbox). My idea is when they get more interested into bugs.. they can use the labels to figure out what type it is. Sounds great in theory anyways. Otherwise they are just kind of cool to look at! :D

Overhead Projector fun

2011-09-15T13:27:00.000-04:00

If you have an overhead projector, this can be a lot of fun for kids of any age!! If you don't you can still turn the lights dim, and use a light table! Basically, we just played with our shadows and transparent letters! We made different words, our names, sorted the letters by color, drew with markers, and played "what letter is this?" It was fun!

Painting in the driveway

2011-09-02T22:08:00.000-04:00

With summer coming to an end (very upset about that) I decided to squeeze in a couple more "messy" projects that would best be done outdoors. One of the ones in mind was painting the driveway. It was really probably a good thing that we did this during a week that it wasn't AS hott outside because our driveway is black and can get reallllllly hott!

Anyways, first I had to make some paint. I mixed 1/4 cup of corn starch and mixed with 1/4 cup of water. I made four of them, and added food coloring into each! Then we went outside to paint!!

Todd was jealous of all the fun we were having, and had to join in!!

It was a fun way to end summer!! Easy cleanup too! ;) This is another one that can be done with babies, since the paint can be edible (but gross!)

Ice Bricks

2011-09-01T21:40:00.000-04:00

Connor has been very into building things lately. Blocks have become more then just stacking and knocking down. He really explores them now, and uses his imagination. He loves to build "briges" (bridges), and push his cars and trains under. He also builds train tracks, and houses.

So I decided to try to make some 'ice bricks' to build with. I filled a cupcake tin and a snack tray up with water and food coloring. I put foam letters in them (assuming they would freeze in the middle of the ice... however they floated so didnt go as planned). This is how they turned out...

We then built with them. I also gave the boys a hammer to break them, and get the letters out. Both boys were naming colors and letters. We were also comparing the different sizes. We had so many great conversations from these!

((look how engaged!!))

After a while Connor pointed out that his hands were turning colors, and kept calling it paint. Then I said great idea. We did paint with ice before, and decided to do it again!

We all had a lot of fun with this project (however, I havent found one that didn't bring smiles). The boys were really into it, and it lasted a good while! I want to try this one again when Logan is a bit older! This could be something real young ones could do as well!

Dot Fun!

2011-08-31T21:27:00.000-04:00

I bought some cool new paint supplies the other day. All the back to school madness had me feeling like we needed to switch things up a bit around here. :D

Today we experimented with dot paint things. The boys loved using them. They were easy to figure out, and made awesome pictures. I am actually considering buying a canvas, and having Connor make me some wall art for the hallway!

We used primary colors, and had some great color convos!!

Bath Time... in the dark!?

2011-08-31T12:35:00.004-04:00

We do bathtime every other evening before bed. Connor loves bath time and always had.. He loves it even more ever since he got Yookidoo Flow 'N' Fill Spout

It recycles the bath water so its like the water is always on! He loves it. Logan loves bath time too. I think the water soothes him, and he loves to watch Connor play, and dump water on him. However, sometimes I get kind of bored during bath time. Especially, since they can both sit there for a good half hour enjoying the water. So I decided to switch it up the other night. We have a Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light, Turtle which btw is also another one of my favorite toys. We use it as a night light.. and it automatically shuts off in 30 minutes or so. You can change the colors from green, blue, and brown. It has real constellations too, so when the boys are older we will look for them. For now, its just very relaxing.

I decided to bring him in the bathroom, and they took a bath in the dark. Logan hasnt seen the turtle on yet, and he loved it too! Connor thought it was so funny that the lights were off! We had a good time! I think it helped everyone relax more before bed as well because everyone slept great that night!

You could also use a disco ball, lamps with different color light bulbs, black lights, etc. I think we are going to bring some glow sticks into the bath soon!

Stay tuned for that :D

UPDATE:
We did try the glow sticks, and they were so much fun too! I bought a bunch of 100 8" Premium Lumistick Glow Stick Bracelets Assorted off of amazon.

Bean Sensory Tub

2011-08-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

I created this bean sensory tub today! Connor had soo much fun!! I just filled an empty storage container with a mix of dried beans, and added measuring cups, a wooden spoon, cup, and a truck. Of course lightening mcqueen ended up in there as well! :D

FUNNN!!! I cant wait for Logan to be old enough to play more! :D

Huricane Irene

2011-08-29T22:20:00.000-04:00

For the past week everywhere we went we heard about "the hurricane." Being from Florida I wasn't too worried about potential damage since it wasn't that strong of a storm.

I wanted to find a way to prepare Connor for it, in case it woke him at all during the night, etc. (When in reality I am the one that woke him, and had him sleep in bed with us!)

We talked about the storm, looked at the pictures and videos they were showing on the news, etc. Then I told him we are suppose to be getting A LOT of rain. So I decided we will measure it. I took a glass jar I had, and made inch lines with a permanent marker. Then we put it outside. Connor was excited when I showed him what we collected. He kept just calling it "water" which it was.. but I don't think he exactly put the concept that it was the rain we heard all day/ night to it. Either way it made for a fun conversation about measuring, numbers, and rain! :D

We only got two inches (which is probably a good thing!). We used the rain water to water a plant.

We suffered more from wind damage!! Yikes!

Two days after the storm we walked down the road to the playground. I actually completely forgot about the storm, and the playground was cover in sticks and leaves from the trees. Connor brought some funny looking thing to me that I wasnt sure what it was, but we called them "tree balls." We started collecting a bunch, then we decided to collect the sticks with "no leaves" and we made piles! It was great to practice sorting/ classifying/ counting objects. Plus it was fun!!

Noodle Fun

2011-08-24T14:05:00.001-04:00

So, I boiled some noodles to play with the other day. I wasn't sure what we were going to use them for yet, then I decided to pretend they were worms. While they were boiling we read "A Diary of a Worm" by Doreen Cronin which is one of my most favorite books ever. It is so cute, and older kids really find it funny. We talked about how worms are smiley, and that they live in dirt and mud. After wards, we painted with "worms" and made worm tracks. We used brown paint of course to represent the mud.

Then I made a sensory tub with the remainder of noodles, and the boys spent a while playing with them! Lighting McQueen even went for a noodle swim :D

I have considered going to the store for some chocolate pudding and gummy worms to make a "wormy" snack.. but the extra sugar just doesn't seem to necessary! Plus, I am feeling very lazy right now! :)

Transportation Sorting

2011-08-22T13:40:00.012-04:00

We have been working on classifying and sorting objects recently. Since we have been doing some transportation themed activities, and since that is what keeps Connor the most interested we decided to sort his airplanes, cars, trucks, etc. Basically what I did was made a pile of all these toys, made some labels that had the word with a simple drawing, then lined it up. I would hold up a toy and say "Oh Connor, what is this mommy is holding?" He would tell me, and I which say "Which sign says ____" he would "read" the picture, and then put the toy in the right area. It was a lot of fun. When we were done we counted each column. If he were a bit older I would have added on a bit by making this setup more like a graph, and we would have had a lesson on reading graphs. I would also have used where you find these types of transportation instead. For example, "in the sky, on the ground, and in the water." Would have required some more thinking to sort the objects. However, it was very age appropriate, and kept us busy for now! This can be done with any type of toy. Sort things by color, where you find it, size, type, etc. All are important concepts children should be introduced to.

One of my favorite parts of this activity was that I laminated our signs after wards, and put them in his basket where these toys are kept. Now I see him taking the signs, "reading" them, and matching the toy to the sign. What great practice! Makes me smile knowing he really did learn something from this :D

Box Car

2011-08-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I went to a thirty one party (if you havent seen their bags.. you should they are cute!) While I was gone Todd was in charge! Him & Connor turned a box we got in the mail (from amazon of course) into an awesome box car!! Looks like they had tons of fun, and goes great with our transportation unit this week!

Car track painting

2011-08-18T09:12:00.015-04:00

Connor is all boy. He is in love (to the point of obsession) of all things transportation. Trucks, cars, airplanes, trains, boats, etc etc. So today we painted with cars... and he thought it was great! I got a few different cars to use. Since they had different size tires they made different size tracks! It was great to talk about concepts such as big/ little and fast/slow! I gave him (and the other little boy I watch) some paint, dip, and roll!

He got so into it, that I ended up giving him a few more sheets of paper, and more paint color choices. No joke-- he sat for 45 minutes playing with his cars and paint! (which ended up being brown 'mud')

Since he made a mess I let him give his cars a 'bath' in the sink afterwards. Which looking back-- I should have just put him and the cars into the bath tub!

I say it was a huge success! :D

Schedules & Routines

2011-08-16T13:15:00.000-04:00

I have been approached quite a few times with questions from my friends about how to get their children on a schedule of some sort. Connor has always pretty much been on one, since he was 6wks old. This is when I went back to school, and to make things easier on my husband who was home I would post a schedule! As Connor's age, sleeping & eating habits, and interests changed so did our schedule! When he was about a year old I made this for him:

Recently another friend asked me some scheduling questions and this was part of my response:

Schedules or at least a routine is important-- for everyone. It's a way of life. Kids benefit from them. It has been proven that children behave better when they know when to expect something, and what is to be expected of them. Here is an piece from a textbook—“ Routines involve repetition. Repetition involves predictability. Predictability involves stability. Stability involves security. Kids crave routines because routines make kids feel safe and secure. On a very basic level (keeping in mind that is how young children function) routines reassure children that their needs will be met. Routines also provide opportunities for children to experience success in what they are doing, which then promotes self-control and self-esteem.”

I personally like to call it a “schedule” and hang it up in our house one on the frige for me.. and one on the kids level! I feel that by teaching them to follow a schedule teaches them a very important life skill. We use schedules at work, school, etc. When making one it’s not so much important of the order things come in, its more so what works best for you—and your boys. The key is it’s suppose to improve everyone’s day, and take away stress. So you shouldn’t feel like your rushing or more stress because you feel like you didn’t do something that you wrote down!

Flexibility is also an important life skill. So it’s okay to change things some days—and to go out and have a “break” from the schedule. I feel that since Connor has always followed a schedule, he feels very emotionally secure and stable. So it makes outings so easy… He loves them. He has learned that I will always meet his needs, and he shouldn’t stress. However, I notice if we have too many in one week he starts not getting as much sleep, and doesn’t eat as much (from stress) so I only allow for a couple of breaks from the schedule, and try to schedule outings around feeding & sleeping times.

I think she found it helpful, so just wanted to share it with whoever reads this :D

Building a town

2011-08-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

So for the past two weeks my little cousins (ages 11 & 13) stayed with us. Today their mom came back to pick them up, and she brought their younger brother who was 5 along for the ride. She was busy packing, and getting everyone's stuff together with hopes to be on the road shortly, and all (5) kids were a bit out of control. I eventually told everyone we had to go outside before I lost my marbles. (they were all yelling, fighting, tattling, etc etc). Once outside they were walking around aimlessly saying they were board.. nothing to do.. you know how it goes. So I grabbed some chalk, and toy cars and decided we were going to create a town, and a track. It ended up being tons of fun, and EVERYONE got involved. The older ones loved drawing everything, and thinking what the town needed to survive (gas station, food, hospital, entertainment, etc, and the little ones loved having a 'house' and driving their cars on the roads. It killed a lot of time, and kept everyone very busy!

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A camping we will go..

2011-08-11T09:30:00.000-04:00

This entire week we did a mini indoor camping unit! There are a lot of activities you could do for camping, and it's one that I really enjoy!

Since we still don't have a dining room table we used that room as our camp site. I attached two sheets together using safety pins, and hung it from the ceiling to create our tent! (Even my 13 year old cousin enjoyed this unit!)

I made a fire from tissue paper and toilet paper rolls. Although you can use anything!

We used real sticks to 'roast' marshmallows!

Our campsite was complete with a 'fishing hole' which was tons of fun!

No camping trip is complete without some supplies.. so we had to get crafty!

(Our binoculars and lantern!)

And one of the most favored projects... SMORES! Since I wasn't going to create a real fire for us to roast everything on, we wrapped them up in aluminum foil, and put them outside before nap! A few hours later they were a gooey and yummy mess!
Another alternative is you can make smore trail mix! Simply mix chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and honey grahams cereal and mix! (A much cleaner version!)

We read a few camping stories in our tent, brought out some flashlights to play with, talked about shadows, we acted out the "We're going on a bear hunt" song, and "a camping we will go." One day Connor didn't nap and I found a few barney clips talking about camping on youtube so we watched those!

Of course I labeled everything in our camp site to promote some print awareness :)

This unit is fun because it can be watered down, or spruced up so much for different ages!

Flubber

2011-07-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

I picked up some borax the other day, because I remembered making Flubber back in the day with kids! So today we created some blue flubber.

The boys had fun mixing ingredients!

It felt so cool too!

This is the recipe we used..

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Flubber-With-Borax-and-Glue

Warning: wear old clothes-- does not come out that well!

2011-07-26T21:53:00.002-04:00

My cousin called me this morning to see if I wanted to come over with the boys, and do some tye dye. Sounded fun, so off we were!

Lemonade

2011-07-26T21:30:00.009-04:00

There is nothing more refreshing on a hott summer day then a big glass of lemonade! So, today was dedicated to just that! First we did an art project! I cut out a pitcher outline from white paper, next we used yellow crayons to color them, and then we used a thread spool to dip it in yellow paint and make lemons!

Afterwards, we used this recipe to make some real lemonade!

Perfect Lemonade Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
1 cup lemon juice
3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Method

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Yum! What a tasty treat :D

Sorting & Counting

2011-07-24T22:02:00.010-04:00

Today we did some sorting, counting, and color practice! I have some small wooden blocks that come in red, blue, yellow, and green. So I made 4 corresponding bags. Then we took the wooden blocks, and sorted them by color. After we did all the blocks we emptied the bags and practiced counting! This kept them entertained for a good hour or so! For being a new two, Connor picked up really quick!

Free Art Friday

2011-07-22T21:51:00.003-04:00

Today we did some Free Art Friday-- but outdoors for some inspiration!

Hottest day of the season

2011-07-21T21:46:00.000-04:00

So today is our "hottest day of the season." This summer I have been setting up a small wading pool and sprinkler for outdoor play time. It's pretty much to hott to do anything outside that doesnt involve some kind of water! Today I noticed the boys seemed to be getting bored kind of fast. So, I brought out some paint rollers, and a bucket full of water, and told them to paint the house! We also "painted" the ground, each other, and everything we saw! This brought some new excitement to water play, and a ton of laughs!

Feet Painting

2011-07-18T21:39:00.000-04:00

So, everyone knows about finger painting... why not switch it up and do feet painting?!?! I wish I got a picture of Connor's face when I actually told him to put the paint on his feet! haha

Wayback Wednesday

2011-07-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

I am in Florida staying at my parents house right now. This is hanging up in my closet here, and it makes me smile. When I took a children's literature class we were assigned a children's author, and had to make a poster and presentation on them. I was in charge of Maurice Sendak who wrote Where the Wild Things Are. Being Amy.. I couldnt just put together something on a poster board, and I had to get creative! Here is my wild thing :D

Elmo Thank You Cards

2011-06-10T13:12:00.000-04:00

Connor's second birthday theme was Elmo. He received so many wonderful gifts, that we had a lot of thank you cards to send out. Since he is still to young to write out his own cards, I wanted to have him paint some so he can contribute. We read a couple books on manners, and saying "Thank You," and I explained to him the importance of appreciating his gifts, etc. Anyways, I am not sure how much he took from it, but he did like finger painting about 30 cards red! haha

I had him finger paint with red, and then he helped me glue Elmo's parts to him. I cut his parts out free handed so they probably could have been better. However, Connor was able to figure out who it was so I thought everyone else would be able to as well!

Missing in May

2011-05-30T13:08:00.000-04:00

I havent wrote in a while. We have been working on adjusting to new baby, how to be a big brother, and birthday party planing! :D

Corn Meal Pizzas

2011-05-24T16:22:00.001-04:00

My friend sent me this recipe to try for personal corn meal pizzas. They sounded easy, and I had everything on hand so we gave them a try. OH-MY-GOODNESS they are so amazingly yummy as well! I highly recommend these! Connor loved helping out too! His favorite part was rolling out the dough! I topped them with extra olive oil, mozzarella cheese, and spinach!

This will defiantly be a recipe we make again in our home!

New Playhouse

2011-05-06T11:01:00.000-04:00

I have been going back and forth with what kind of play equipment I want in the backyard. We have been considering getting something for Connor's big brother gift/ his birthday that is coming up. I want something that will last a while, and provide the boys with something to do when I send them outdoors to play.

We looked at big playgrounds. They have a wide price range from affordable to a bit much. However, we don't have THAT much room in our backyard for a huge over the top thing anyways. However, most of the basic ones were kind of boring. A couple swings, a slide, and maybe a few extras. I kept thinking back to my childhood. My dad built us an awesome playhouse set complete with a sandbox, monkey bars, slide, swings, and a fire pole! It was awesome. However, what I remembered most was the playhouse. We had sleepovers in there. We would pretend to be so many different things. I even remember bringing my baby dolls up there to play.

Then I made up my mind. I wanted something to foster imaginary play. I wanted a place the boys can pretend and use their imagination. A place to call "theirs." Plus.. we have two playgrounds within very very close walking distance to us that has swings, slides, the basics. So, we have plenty of opportunity to work on all those gross motor skills. So my playhouse search began.

After hours of browsing the web, looking at plans to build our own, ones at the market, etc. My husband found this one that was sitting in an old playground stores lot.

We went to go see it and check it out. It was a bit weathered looking, but in great shape! I got really excited about it, and if the price was right then thats what I wanted! I called them up, and negotiated a bit with the salesperson. I ended up getting it for a great price with delivery and all!

When it came I had them put it in the garage. I wanted to repaint and decorate it. Plus I didnt want Connor to see it yet! Here are some pictures after I got done with it!

Connor has a bunch of plastic tools in our backyard. I created this "work bench" to store his tools, and he can pretend to build things. I have some great ideas of things I want to add next summer when he's a little older. I figured I could also get some small chairs, and this can work as a table too!

It has a working doorbell, and everything! Todd put big cylinder blocks down on the ground, and a piece of plywood under it to keep it off the ground so it wont whether as badly. The paint I used on it will apparently help keep it waterproof as well! He loves it! Like I said, I have a few more things I want to do to it, but will wait until next year! I am very happy with this choice, and I can see lots of memories being made here!

Welcome Logan Ryan

2011-05-05T13:00:00.000-04:00

Our newest addition!

Born 5/3/2011

Footprint Butterflies

2011-04-29T09:59:00.000-04:00

For our mother's day cards we made butterflies using footprints. (Don't mind the one antenna.. Connor pulled the other off, and I cant seem to find it!) Cute, personal, and much cheaper then a Hallmark card!

Rocket Pops

2011-04-28T12:38:00.001-04:00

With the warm weather coming I wanted to make my own ice pops. I grew up eating the really cheap colorful ones made of pure sugar, and water. However, I wanted a bit of a healthier option for my kiddos. So I found these cool ice pop molds (on amazon of course). I put organic blueberries in a food processor with some Greek yogurt, and poured organic blueberry juice in. Then I poured in the molds, and viola! Healthy ice pops to cool down with! Plus, Connor LOVES the shape since he has recently become very interested in rockets, and airplanes. The molds were very easy to use. I just ran them under hot water for a few seconds then they popped right out!

Easter Decorating

2011-04-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

So I have been on bed rest for premature labor. It just ended, and I decided last minute to host Easter for about 13 people knowing I could go into labor at any point. I came up with some last minute decorating ideas, and wanted to share :D

Bunny Napkins

Peeps Center piece for adult table

Kids table all ready to go

It was fun! :D

Cupcakes

2011-04-24T12:44:00.000-04:00

Being almost 9 months prego.. I want chocolate. All the time!! So, I brought out some good ol'boxed cake mix, and Connor and I made some choclate cupcakes! He loved using the mixer!

He veryyyy rarely gets processed food, or stuff with this much sugar. So this was a very special treat for him! However, we had a good time making them together. It's kind of sad to think these are our last days of doing projects with just the two of us before the baby comes! Bittersweet!

The Process Not the Product

2011-04-22T14:58:00.005-04:00

Many people associate preschool/ kindergarten with fun art projects, nap time, lots of coloring, and playing with toys. In my education classes, and from experience I learned that preschool is so much more then that. Many psychologists agree that the first 5-6 years of life are the most crucial times, and has the most impact on our core personality. I truly do believe this. During this time there are so many windows of opportunity for certain development such as speech & language, and the brain is growing nonstop. Having the experience of a quality preschool program (whether at home/ at an actual preschool) can make a huge impact on that child's life. It can give them the tools they need to be successful in school. Which can lead to college, and other awesome life choices.

I don't remember where I heard it, but someone taught me "It's the process- not the product that matters." This is so true for everything early childhood related. This blog may seem to some people that I just like to do crafts, and spend all day doing crafts with my kids. When in reality-- its more then the cute/ colorful rainbow we created. It's the process that we went through to create it.

For example, making a rainbow allows children to express themselves, it allows them to practice fine motor skills, we have conversations about it, I ask open ended questions such as, "where would you like to see a rainbow?," it allows for new words to be introduced (words that wouldn't be discussed while sitting in front of the TV), they are learning about colors and their scientific nature (what colors look like when combined), a project can stimulate all of the senses, they are learning math concepts such as proportions and quantity, they are learning social skills (sharing, taking turns, using words), and so much more!

So, when you take any ideas from this page please take this all along with it. It's not about how cute/ pretty the project turns out, but the process you go through to get there. These projects shouldn't be just handing materials to your kids, and saying "here make this," it should be quality time of sitting down and creating together!

These experiences are so much more meaningful, and they learn so much more then from sitting down and doing a worksheet, flashcards, or coloring in a book!

love my job

2011-04-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

Gotta love the things I find around "Miss Amy's House" :)

Coffee Filter Butterfly

2011-04-18T12:21:00.008-04:00

We folded coffee filters into a triangle, and dipped them into different colors of water. The boys loved watching the colors run through the coffee filter. During nap time we let them dry, and then I changed them into butterflies! They loved them!

We also read one of my favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Which is a great book that explains the process of a caterpillar turing into a butterfly! There are a lot of great projects that can go along with this one. Today we just focused on butterflies though :)

WayBack Wednesday

2011-04-13T13:13:00.000-04:00

Introducing my little one to crayons! This is him a little over a year old :D
Oh how time flies!

Flower Pots

2011-04-06T10:58:00.000-04:00

I decorated flower pots with my son last year. Now we have a bigger backyard that needs decorating! I thought it would be cute to let him paint a pot every year! We used acrylic crafters paint! I also found a wooden lizard at Michaels. He loved painting that too! When it was finished we planted a plant in it. He loves seeing his art work around the house!

WayBack Wednesday

2011-03-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

For today's wayback Wednesday post.. I felt like thinking about last Spring! :D The weather has been a tease lately going from hot to cold! Yuk!

We made some colorful flower pots with acrylic paint! We even made one for Grandma, and mailed it to her for Mothers day!

Cool new sponge

2011-03-28T12:27:00.000-04:00

We were in New York recently. My mom's friend gave me this sponge that she made! We had so much fun painting with it! To make one you take two sponges, cut them into strips, and then tie it in the middle with string. Then arrange them like in the picture! Makes painting more fun!

Picky Eatting

2011-03-24T10:46:00.001-04:00

My always hungry, super fat, lover of all baby has gone to becoming a picky toddler. As a baby I breastfed him. I learned that breastfeeding helps children be more open minded to different foods. He loved everything as a baby. I could give him a plate of strawberries, and they would be gone within seconds. I never gave him junk food, it was always fresh and organic. I thought I did things right, and I would never have a picky eater.

Now I find myself up late at night researching ways to get him to eat more healthy stuff. It seems like im starving him. Some days he will eat sooo much fruit, the next day he will hate it. After getting stressed, worried, and then stressed again. I found the following information to be most helpful.

-it's a normal part of development
- nearly all kids go through phases like this
- look at all the food groups over a week instead of a day. dont be afraid if one day they dont get any fruit (etc). As long they are getting some from each food group/ color over a weeks time they should be good.
- offer healthy choices
- they are in control of eating. We can only control whats offered, they chose to eat it or not.
- they wont starve

This has made me feel some what better. I have made meals a bit more creative. Using cookie cutters, etc. I give him foods I KNOW he will eat for breakfast/ lunch so if he refuses dinner, its okay. For snacks I lay out this nibble tray by Dr. Sears and just keep it at his level for a few hours. He will come and go, taking a piece or two. I love it!

Bird House

2011-03-22T16:14:00.003-04:00

I went to Michaels craft store the other day, and found a cute mini wooden birdhouse wind chime. Since the weather is getting warmer, and this is going to be our first spring/ summer in the house I thought it would be cute to have Connor paint it to brighten up our backyard! I gave him some 'spring' acrylic paint colors to choose from. He wanted to use his fingers, which I thought would be a great idea! I wraped the chimes in some paper so they would stay paint free!

Look how cute!! Spring is fun!

Labels/ Print Rich Enviroment

2011-03-22T14:33:00.001-04:00

When I was a preschool teacher I learned one of the things we had to do for accreditation was create a literacy rich environment. I didn't understand the reasoning for this at first, but after learning about it I became very interested in it. I had a lot of fun thinking of different creative ways to have a print rich classroom. Now that I have children, and they aren't exposed to a print rich classroom environment-- I feel that I need to provide them with a literacy rich home so they can also benefit.

What does it mean by providing children with a literacy rich environment? It's simple! It means by hanging signs, labels, books etc on everyday objects. It allows children to become more comfortable with words and letters. It will teach them that spoken language is represented by different symbols They also learn that words have meaning and a real. They will tie the words into their daily experiences. When labels have pictures with them, they will "read" the pictures, but learn that words represent objects and they are more then something you find in a storybook.

The labels have to be more then just having labels everywhere. They should be on objects the children use, and see. They should be at their level, so they can become aware of them.

Some ideas for signs/ labels in the house:
-rooms of use-- bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, etc
-labels on toys/ materials
-name labels on specific things to help recognize their name (coats, lunch bags, etc)
-labels/ signs/ charts for schedules, chore charts, etc.
-key room elements (doors, windows, desk, chairs, tables)

Another way to create a literacy rich environment is to provide lots of books, writing supplies, and play props that have words on them. This can include laminating take out menus, and keeping it by a play phone, or giving them a phone book, it could be giving them blueprints with their blocks, etc! The more exposure children have to this, the more prepared for reading they will be!

Here are a few photos of some of the ways we made our home to promote literacy!

Spring Trees

2011-03-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

Before doing this project, we went on a walk to look at the trees, and talked about how they are changing. We also observed the other changes that were going on as a result of entering the Spring season!

I loved the way our fall trees turned out that I wanted to create some spring trees! So I took the same concept, and we sponge painted some green leaves on it!

St. Pattys Day

2011-03-17T15:52:00.001-04:00

So, usually St. Patrick's day is one of my favorite holiday. When I used to teach preschool I would make a big deal of it. The day before we would always create a leprechaun trap, and the next morning we would find his clothes in it!! (he used his special magic to escape!) He would make a mess of the classroom-- leave green paper shamrocks & glitter trails etc. I figured the boys were still a bit young to really get much enjoyment out of this idea. So, I decided to just focus on the colors associated with it! Such as the color green, and rainbows! I pretty much put green food coloring in everything we ate today!

We made leprechaun hats, wore green, and made some rainbows!

(the trick was to only give them one paint color at a time, and let it dry a bit in between colors, otherwise it would have been a big brown mess!)

For the letters I used my Sizzix Die Cut Machine. This was one of the first personal die cut machines. It has been around for a while. I don't have much knowledge about other machines out there, but I love mine! They don't make many new dies for it though :(. I have had it for a good amount of years now.. and truly feel I've gotten my moneys worth :D

Happy St. Pattys Day!

Baby Nursery

2011-03-10T10:55:00.000-05:00

We decided to do our son's nursery in an airplane theme. Here are a couple things I made for wall decor!

Cheerios

2011-02-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

When is a child is between 6-8 months old they beging to develop a pincer grasp. Which is the pointer finger and thumb working together to pick up small objects. This is the age parents are usually encouraged to introduce easy finger foods such as cheerios, or puffs. The main reason these are recommended is because it's great practice, and they dissolve easily in the mouth.

As the child gets a bit older this skill can be advanced some by also including some problem solving skills, and hand eye coordination. We have an awesome "Cheerios" book that I adore. It's a way to make snack time last a bit longer so I can get some stuff done, he has fun, and is practicing important skills!

The book has different pictures made from cheerios. There are empty holes in the pictures where children are suppose discriminate which need cheerios, then put them in the holes. Here is a link to one:

However, you don't need to the book to make this a fun activity. You can easily draw dots on a paper, and have children cover the dots with cheerios. For children a bit older, you can give them a string to put cheerios on. You could even write their name on paper and have them put cheerios on the line!! Lots of great learning activities, and much more fun then doing a worksheet!

WayBack Wednesday

2011-02-16T13:26:00.000-05:00

I bought Connor a paint with water book a little before his first birthday! I thought what a great way to practice using a paintbrush and learn about colors without a huge mess! He loved dipping the brush in the water and spreading it around!

Lazy day of coloring

2011-02-05T17:17:00.001-05:00

Today we are having a lazy day. However, my son asked to color. Of course I can't deny him! He has been at it for over 45 minutes! He loves it!

Happy Ground Hog Day!

2011-02-02T10:23:00.001-05:00

Today is groundhog day. Connor, and the others are a bit young to fully understand the concept. I have a lot of ideas that can go along with this day, but will do most next year. For now, we made groundhog hats, and talked about shadows. I brought out flashlights, and they learned what a "shadow" was! Most importantly, they had tons of fun shining lights everywhere!

Playdoh Set

2011-01-26T09:24:00.001-05:00

Connor received some late Christmas gifts from his Nonna today. One of them was a full on playdoh set! We had so much fun with all the cool new playdoh tools!

I found the set on amazon! I would recommend it!

We even pulled it out again this evening! Todd made our little (growing) family out of playdoh and included soon to be baby Logan!

Painting with ice

2011-01-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

It has been really cold out! (obviously, since it is January). Everytime we go outside Connor says "burr cold." So I thought we should do something to reinforce the hot/cold concept he has become interested in. So I decided to paint with ice. The night before I put water in an ice tray, and dropped lots of food coloring in each. Then I put plastic wrap over it. I cut up straws and punched them through the plastic into each ice cube. In the freezer it went!

When they were done, I took off plastic wrap and popped them out! This is what they looked like!

Connor and the others LOVED painting with them! They used different colors and mixed them. This allowed us to talk about the different colors they make when mixed. We also talked about hott vs cold, ice, water, solid, liquid, and they learned the word "melting." This was a great activity to introduce many basic scientific terms, and it was lots of fun!

This would also make an awesome summer activity since ice would melt faster, and may be a fun way to 'cool down.'

Painting with "snow"

2011-01-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

This mixture makes a pretty cool looking picture. Mix some glue with shaving cream, and then paint with it. We also added some silver glitter! When it dries the shaving cream keeps a puffy soft look! It's cool to look at, and to feel! We called it snow!

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

2011-01-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

We have been talking about arctic animals this week. Today we read "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" By Bill Martin Jr, and Eric Carle. This book is a lot of fun, and great for learning new animal sounds! I love the repetition this book has!

Afterwards we created a simple panda with some cotton! We talked about soft/hard, and the color white!

Name Snowman

2011-01-17T10:17:00.000-05:00

We have been doing a few name recognition activities. Today I came up with the idea of building snowmen using letters from our names. First I wrote a letter on each white circle, and we talked about the letters we saw, and the sounds. Then I wrote each name on a sheet of paper, and we played a matching game. For example, they had to put the 'c' circle on the 'c' on the paper. They were kind of young for it, but it was a good start! Then I helped them glue it in order, and we decorated them as snowmen! :) Fun!

Penguins

2011-01-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

Today we read a few books on penguins. We talked about the colors, where they live, etc. Then I had everyone paint a penguin cutout black, then we glued penguin parts on it. Here is Connor's!

Playing in snow

2011-01-15T10:08:00.001-05:00

Snow is good for some things. I see it as a big sensory table! You can use the same kind of toys that you would use to play with sand, and learn the same concepts. You can fill and dump, measure, pour, sift, feel, rub, pat, and best of all its kind of relaxing. You can also work on gross motor skills on it. Especially since just basic walking in it can be a bit more tricky and require extra work! There is no wrong way to play with this material. I love it because it is so open ended. You can just simply shovel a little, or make a big igloo. There is so much to learn from it, and if your dressed appropriately you can enjoy it at any age! Plus, getting some fresh air during a season we usually spend the majority of the time indoors is great!

Looking at it from this perspective makes me a little more tolerable of the stuff! :D

Snowman Blob

2011-01-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

This was a lot of fun! I didn't tell the kids what we were going to make. Just had them paint white on a paper. After it dried, I told them we are going to turn the blobs into snowmen! I gave them some 'snowman parts,' and we glued them on! They thought it was funny that their once white blobs, now look like a snowman!

Snowman Sponge

2011-01-09T17:14:00.001-05:00

I bought a snowman shaped sponge from Michaels the other day. Today we painted with it, and made cool snow mam shapes!

WayBack Wednesday

2011-01-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

Connor finger painting at ten months old! We started talking about colors!

Red & Green Free Art

2010-12-23T16:06:00.000-05:00

So it's the last day before Christmas Eve. We are singing Christmas songs, eating Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, etc. The boys wanted to paint, so we did a simple art project.. free paint with red and green! We even had a special visitor! My aunt's dog is staying with us for a week! (She did some paw painting)!

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-22T16:10:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I baked a bunch of Christmas sugar cookies! My husband has off so we decorated them as a family :D Which I think will become a Christmas tradition! I made all the icing by mixing powdered sugar and milk! I gave Connor a plastic knife since they are less sharp! He did really good spreading the icing on the cookies! Great practice :)

Our Classroom

2010-12-20T09:33:00.014-05:00

When you walk into our front door..you go to the left.. and thats where you will find our "dining room." However, I have changed it into a classroom. It is my new favorite place to be in our house..

View from the door..

Cubbies..

We have everything you will find in a regular preschool classroom. Homeliving, Blocks, Circle time area, book center, cubbies,listening center, little tables, posters, pictures, words. Etc. I did everything following NAYEC's accreditation standards. Although NAYEC doesn't do accreditation for home daycare, I still wanted mine meet their standards!

Rodolph the Reindeer

2010-12-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

This can make a cute Christmas card, or a gift! As you can see its a combination of a footprint, and both hand prints! We used brown paint and once dried add some eyes and a nose!

Snow Cream!

2010-12-17T19:08:00.004-05:00

I Love snow cream! It really is so tasty! I found this recepie online, and we really enjoyed it!

Sandy's Old-time Snow Cream Recipe

Basic Recipe

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
large bowl of snow (about 3 quarts)

Blend milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough snow to make snow cream to
an ice cream consistency.

Variations - There are many variations for snow cream. For example,
substitute canned cream for milk for a heavier flavor. Add Nestles Quik
for a chocolate snow
cream, or use instant cocoa mix. Another variation is to add plump
raisins and cinnamon, or add a beaten egg for a nog taste. Puree an
overripe banana and add to
the mixture. Get creative - you know your family's tastes.

Note: ALWAYS - ALWAYS make sure the snow is clean. It takes at least one
to two hours for snow to clean the pollutants from the air, then use
only snow that
has fallen after that first cleansing snow. It also goes without saying
(but I will anyway), to make sure you do not collect the snow where
animals and birds eat (or do
other things). Cleanliness first. Stress that with the kids, because
this is a treat even the younger ones can make for the whole family.

Gift Bow Painting

2010-12-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

For free art Friday we used gift bows dipped in paint to create a picture :D It made some pretty cool designs, and kept the Christmas spirit going!

This is an easy project that even really young ones can enjoy! Its great for hand-eye coordination and those little fine motor skills!

Christmas Trees

2010-12-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

We had an hour to kill before bedtime the other night. Connor and I were hanging out in the classroom, and we decided to make some Christmas trees! I had a foam cutout of a tree! We glued,used stickers, and lots of glitter! What a great decoration :D

Christmas Handprint Wreath

2010-12-10T19:11:00.000-05:00

This project took some advance planning.

A few days before hand I traced each child's hand print. Then I made several copies of them. The kids (3+) cut their own out of the paper. Next I cut the inside of a paper plate out, leaving just the outside. I had to play around with each child's hand print to find how much we needed to go around their plate.

Next, we were ready to make the wreath! I worked one on one with each child to help them glue their hands on. Then we painted our wreaths with green glitter paint!

After they were dried, we glued red "berries" on, and I added a bow!

I loved the way they turned out, so it became our door decoration for all to see :D

Quick candy canes

2010-12-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

I needed a quick easy project today. So I decided to work on our fine motor skills, and make candy canes. I cutout a cane shape out of red paper, and then gave everyone white strips to glue on. We practiced using glue sticks. They make cute decorations!

WayBack Wednesday

2010-12-08T13:03:00.000-05:00

Connor's first time finger painting.. He was only 6 months old :D

He loved how it felt! It was also great practice for his developing hand-eye coordination at the time!

Cooking with kids

2010-12-04T12:59:00.001-05:00

I often hear other parents say things like "I cant wait until my child is older so we can cook together!" Kids can start helping in the kitchen as soon as they start sitting up! Here is a picture of Connor helping me bake a little before he turned 6 months! Of course they need some help! Even just giving them an empty bowl and a spoon to "practice" makes them feel included in meal preparation!

Gingerbread Cookies

2010-12-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

Today I have a 11 month old, 18 month old, 16 month old, and a 3 year old! We are going to have a gingerbread cookie day!! Yum! Who doesn't love a good gingerbread cookie?!

To start the day we read a classic book-- The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth. All of the kids got really into the book. They loved screaming "Run Run as fast as you can, you cant catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man!!"

This gave us a bit of an idea of what a gingerbread man is. Then it was time to practice. I gave each child a gingerbread man cutout, and we used a white paint pen to decorate and draw designs on the paper.

That one is Connors. Which is similar to how the younger ones looked. The 3 year old of course drew actual buttons, etc. Then it was time to make some cookies before nap time! Everyone helped pour ingredients, and took turns mixing!

When the little ones went to nap. The 3 year old and I rolled the dough, and baked them! After nap we all decorated our own, and ate them up! We even made a few extras for everyone to take home!!

That was our gingerbread day :D

New letter match game

2010-12-02T12:09:00.003-05:00

The other day I found a letter match game at TJ Max for only $5. It is designed to play a memory match game matching capital letters to lowercase ones. Of course Connor (and the others I have during the week) are a little young for this.. but we took just the first ten letters, and played a letter recognition game! I would ask where is the "D" with the duck on it? Then they would find it! We would even practice making the letter sounds! They had a lot of fun! It was a great way to learn some new words, follow directions, and a basic introduction to letters and their sounds!

Christmas Cookie Cutter Art..

2010-12-01T12:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome December!!

We are entering one of my favorite times of the year.. Christmas! Although, I do admit.. I am not a fan of the cold that comes with it!(which makes Summer still my number one). I love the endless amount of project ideas to do with little ones. Unfortunately, it makes me kind of anxious for Connor to get a * tad * bit older so we can do even more! Until then, there is still plenty we can do!

Since we still have a while until Christmas, I wanted to start of slow, and save them more extreme Christmas ideas until later on in the month! So today we just dipped Christmas themed cookie cutters into red & green paint. (Obviously those will be our colors this month!)

The kids loved seeing the outlines of the different pictures the cookie cutters created. Perfect for little hands! Great for hand-eye coordination!

Pumpkin Pies

2010-11-19T11:11:00.000-05:00

What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving?! Mine of course is all the food & family! One of my favorite foods is pumpkin pie!! Yumm!! We made pumpkin pie slices today, and then ate some real pumpkin pie!! Don't forget the cotton ball whipped cream!