Cookie Cutter Coloring

What to do with the slightly grungy paper at the end of my photography paper (the marks from shoes, chairs, kids, extra) cut it off and tape it to the floor for drawing. Our kids love getting out things to trace and try to draw. 

For those of you who do not have an in-home photography studio with a roll of paper that is 8 feet wide, use butcher paper or even better Ikea sells rolls of craft paper that are a great addition to a home for all sorts of things! (covering counter tops for painting, drop cloth, drawing, painting, covering a window for a guest who needs a darker room :) the list could go on and on). 

 Today we grabbed a few cookie cutters (plastic for easy washing) and let them have at it! We were given a set of 101 cookie cutters made by wilton. You can find them on amazon as well.  They are inexpensive about $12 either way. So many uses in and out of the kitchen. 

 This is such great dexterity practice!!! They have to learn to hold the outline steady while they reposition the marker to finish the outlined picture. 

It takes some practice and encouragement from mom/dad and each other for them to keep at it but they get it after a few tries. It's hard having one kiddo who feels like he needs to do it very well the first time and each time while the other will love just to scribble. Encouragement, patience, and modeling is a huge part of the success! 

Chat with your little ones about their picture, help them describe it and maybe demonstrate different things that could be added to it to help tell a story. For example, my son drew fireworks, so I demonstrated how to draw some stick people watching them. Then we did some drawings of lions, trying a few times to get them right (me included - model what it is like to say "it's ok it doesn't look like I want it to, I will try again). We added grass and talked about them living in Africa and hiding in the long grass. 

You never know what your kiddos will pick up on, so be sure to model the behaviors you wanted exhibited.  Be sure to model and have those conversations so you help to build their vocabulary and skill level! 

Little Chef

My kids Love cooking with me! It's a great way to teach some life skills, teach them about food, introduce new foods and lastly, keep them out of trouble while dinner is being prepared. 

Every little chef needs a chef's hat. I made this with some cardstock and tissue paper. It would work great with a stapler... I just couldn't find mine. Sometimes tools aren't always returned to their respectable homes. Work in progress with toddlers. 

Supplies: 

To make one hat- 

2 - 2" strips of cardstock

3 sheets of tissue paper

Packing tape

Connect the two strips with tape. Make the tape go around to the back. 

Next, measure your child's head by holding the band around their head. Make a mental note and tape it in a circle. 

Tape the tissue paper to the inside of the band, connecting opposite corners first. This way you get a more even hat. 

Connect all four corners. 

Begin connecting the middle by folding in the middle pieces almost similar to the ends when wrapping a gift. 

You will end up with something like this. Take a minute and fluff it up. Use your last sheet of tissue paper to fill out the top and keep it from collapsing as your child wears it. 

You'll end up with a few fun dress up items that wouldn't be too hard to fix or duplicate if necessary. 

Always involve your little ones in what you are doing. Describe what you are doing, this will build their vocabulary, love of learning, fill the need for mental stimulation, and just maybe turn a picky eater into an amazing eater. You'll never know until you give it a try. 

Reading Picnics

A great way to get out to the house and still have some quiet time:

Book Picnics!

My two love the read and this is when they have some great individual think time. Little man begins reading to himself and our little lady normally sings to her favorite books or starts to point out characters! Both are wonderful comprehension strategies. Letting kids revisit books helps them think about what they have read, helps to introduce strategies for retelling (a great way to read a book), and point out parts of the picture that tells the story!

If you know anything about The Two Sisters, CAFE or DAILY 5 (most educators do, for those who don't it's a great way to help children learn to use reading strategies independently and begin thinking about literature), they encourage children to read books three different ways: read the words, read the pictures, and retell the story.

We began inside, however both children were having a hard time sharing books this day. So I gave each a book blanket that they could use to spread out and have their own space to read.

 That didn't last long and both were reading on the same blanket, but sharing the books.

We have a ton of different books. I try to rotate them throughout the house, stacks will end up in her room then move to his, down to the play room, and in the book box in our car - keeps them entertained while on our way. This way we have many times to revisit them, during the day or for bedtime.

We love all sorts of books! Try the BabyBug magazine (made by Cricket) for little ones. It is built with durable pages that are hard to distroy and cute poems, songs, and stories to do with your little ones. We also love sharing various languages with our kids, try grabbing a few books from other cultures. Babies love to look and read about other babies - there is quite a bit of research behind that thought, not just me chatting. Add some books to your collection that have babies as the main characters. My two are drawn to those! Don't forget some of our favorite authors and titles. Expose your kids to your childhood favorites and soon they will love them also!

 As children revisit text, they are able to tell us more, connect illustrations to text, and pick out important details that make the story. 

I took a step back and let them have their space. WOW, they really know how to enjoy a book. I need to learn to let them and not always get involved or "in the way". Both kids were telling me or pointing at things me in their books that was memorable or exciting. 

Remember, after kids are exposed to books repeatedly only will they have the stamina to read and THINK about they are reading independently. Talk about the books with your kids so that they build their vocabulary and have the words to retell stories to you. 

Play Ball!

A trip to the park today lead to a wonderful new game for us! 

Play Ball!!! 

Beside one of our parks is a sports complex with 6 ball fields, room for youth football, and tons of space for picnics and such. We needed to, literally, run some energy off so we started pretend baseball. 

It was great to practice naming shapes using the bags and home plate.

We got creative with the rectangle for the pitchers mound and squares for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd - our fields pick them up after each game.

It was a blast to stand at home, let little man pitch to me and run the bases. He took turns "batting" and running the bases!

Realizing that each ball field was numbered we quickly went on a number hunt. It is an awesome way for Little Man to practice spotting numbers rather than letters and to have fun counting. We had a blast giving the kids the vocabulary to have fun on the fields. Fun conversations came afterward about running, bases, baseball, home-runs, etc. !

Growing Tomatoes - Finding the Mysterious Worm

Just about everyone is growing tomatoes as well as other things these days! Turn it into conversation pieces. 

You and your children can have a blast looking for the flowers and talk about how the bees and other insects pollenate the flowers so they will produce fruit. Also, this is how all fruit start out. 

We have one plant making tons of little fruit! We go on a hunt to find all the growing fruit and look at the different colors. It's really exciting to watch the kids realize the food is growing and changing. Patience is hard for young ones, and adults sometimes, too! 

Watch as they turn from green to yellow to orange to red! 

It's fun to find the hidden fruit on the plants. 

We also talk about the size and look for ones that are smaller, bigger, smallest, largest. It is really neat to help them find ones of the same size (matching). 

Another opportunity for giving your child vocabulary is providing them with the words stalk, base, leaves, shoots, etc. 

Now, we have a mysterious worm. (I got one last week and now there seems to be another one!! yuck!) I'm still on the hunt for this one!  

 We discuss the different ways we can tell we have a worm. Some of the fruit has been eaten, holes in the leaves where is has been eaten away and......

worm poop (fun to give them the word scat also for poop). Be honest with yourself....it's fun to talk about poop! 

Each day we water our plants together. 

Once a week we fertilize our plants and talk about how it is helpful to the plants and harmful to us. 

Hummingbird Feeders

After being in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado with my family, I realized that I was missing a HUGE opportunity for my kids to be a bit closer to nature here in the Chicago burbs. Why not let them help me fill the hummingbird feeders!!!!!

Awesome opportunity to give them an understanding of how birds find food, give them new vocabulary words with meanings, and let them practice colors, mixing, watching sugar dissolve, and of course helping our local bird population!



There were so many little birds dive bombing us, it was amazing. If you were patient enough you could get one to perch on your finger. My husband's amazing aunt has my daughter showing her the hummingbirds up close!!! So Cool!!!!

I use a 4:1 ration. 1 cup of water to 1/4 cup of sugar.
We heated the water in the microwave for about a minute - not boiling - just hot enough to dissolve the sugar.

I let one kiddo add a few drops of red food coloring and the other got to stir. They loved watching the drops take over the entire container.

I showed my two kids the funnel. Now that's a fun word to get a 2 1/2 year old and 15 month old to say. We giggled more that got it out but it was fun! I let the little one hold the funnel and asked my son to pour the red sugar water into the feeder.  We talked about how red and other bright colors attract birds and bugs as well as what birds eat. It was a great conversation!


       

We have the most amazing bay window that the kids can sit inside. This is the best place to watch our little feathered friends. Now its not the best place to attract them so I need to get a few placed around our garden. We do have amazing flowers planted by the previous owners to attract hummingbirds, so we have a good start!!!

I made a second batch to keep in the fridge as a refill - this is what I could take photos of as my hands were helping prevent spills the first go around :)