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. 

Spice Up Toddler Lunches

We had gotten stuck in a rut with the same or similar lunches everyday. We (the kids and I) needed something new. 

Mashed Potato Boats with Pirates (red potatoes with cheese and olives)
Hearts and Stars (lunch meat and cheese on crackers)
Life Boats (clemetine slices)
Fish and Oysters in the Sea (frozen peas)

This is a hand-me-down book given to me. I hadn't really used it until my 3 year old started being a bit picky. He's willy to try most foods but says he doesn't like any of them. It was time to do something new, fun, and engaging. 

We hosted a get together and had some left over food. So let's get creative. 

I used my small cookie cutters to make cut outs for my two eaters. 

I did cheese up for my kiddo who may not eat the meat and meat up for the kiddo who avoids cheese these days. I would like to say it worked but nope. She ate it all and he only at the crackers and meat leaving the cheese to his sister. 

I microwaved small red potatoes and the cut off the top, scooped out the middle, mashed it with some butter and salt and pepper and then refilled them. 

Add a cheese triangle with a toothpick, then an olive as pirate.

My two love frozen peas. They were the oysters and fish in the sea and the clementine slices were the life boats with the mashed potato pirate ship started to sink (be eaten). 

Homemade Crayons - Reuse Old Crayons

Need a way to use the nubs on crayons or maybe your little one decided to break every crayon your household owns? Here's a great way to make 'new' crayons and have a blast!!!!

We started by sorting crayon into similar colors and a few with mixed to make some funky crayons.

We then placed the muffin tin in the sun. Normally on an 85 degree day they would melt in an afternoon. However, it was only 72 here this day and it was taking a bit long. Our crayons were soft  and started to melt but we wanted to be able to use them that afternoon.

We decided to pop them in the oven, which is what I remember trying as a child. - oh growing up with a crafty mom was AWESOME!! 

 

Try to get your oven as low as you can go. I was able to set mine to 100 degrees.

 We left them in for about 20 minutes, until they were liquid and glossy on top.


 

Make sure you let them cool completely or you will have finger prints and dents.



To get them out, we had to turn the pan upside down and bang on it a bit. It also helped to try and lightly twist the muffin tray like an ice cube tray.

Use this as a conversation starter to talk about the sun. You can discuss how the sun heats the Earth, warms the water in pools, lakes, etc, warms the soil so plants can grow. Have fun talking about color sorting, matching light blues and dark blues or opposites on the color wheel (blue vs orange). Anytime you can help build your child's vocabulary, you are only helping them be more successful!!!! Give them the words and let them practice what those words mean. When they get to do - they learn!!!! 

I am not sure about no stick spray and the wax in the crayons. If you try it, let me know what you think.

Band Practice

Kids LOVE to make music and don't care if you can't carry a tune to save your life. 

I can't at all!! But we have a blast. 

For Christmas we were given a Melissa and Doug music set to add to our collection.

 

One great set of instruments with a Latin flair :)

 

Most stores carry instruments of all kinds. Find something that works for you and just have fun! 

This great drum came in one of our Citrus Lane boxes. A great website that families, parents, grandparents can subscribe to. The recipent gets a box of goodies once a month. Sometimes the items are plates, silverware, stuffed animals, music related, books, CDs, food samples, food containers, etc. It's a great investment. I have only been receiving it for five months now but am not disappointed! 

 

When we are not using store bought instruments, we have a BLAST with an old coffee container, plastic food storage container, pin tin, mixing bowls (metal - not my glass ones :) ) and a wooden spoon. 

 

Put a CD or downloaded music on in the background and go for it! Have a blast.  

For a few great music ideas: Dr. Jean (a must - used in classrooms all over, wonderful catchy songs that I have personally witnessed helping all types of learners succeed!!!!), Wiggly Songs, Animal Playground, etc. Have fun, really these are ideas to get started!

 

Kids want to be involved! There is so much since behind how little ones (and adults) learn. Put anything to music and people grasp it faster. I have a friend who's 18 month old could spell her brother's name (Michael) because they sang it to her in a song. WOW, right! (Granted mom is a music teacher, but still....I can do that) 

 

Exposing kids to different styles of music and various instruments are so incredibly valuable. Our little man dances constantly and his sister follows along the best she can. 

Remember: Conversation is one of the best ways to learn! Your child's vocabulary will grow exponentially the more you listen, ask questions, and explain what you are doing. Give them the words you want them to learn. Here, the words revolve around music (fast tempo, slow tempo, high pitch, low pitch) or instruments ( xylophone, triangle, drum, drum stick, bells, etc). I am not a music teacher at all! Please don't take me as a music know all as I am only having fun with my kids. :)  

Inside Garden from Tomato Containers

Indoor Easy Garden

As my little man and I created these little indoor gardens, I become more excited about summer coming and having him learning about gardening, plants, and growing. 

We were invited to the neighbors for a dinner party and there was no way I was showing up empty handed. I created an easy and DELICIOUS tomato and olive salad that was a HUGE hit. 

I rinsed the cherry tomatoes and realizes I NEEDED to keep these containers for something and it me later to use them as a little terrarium or mini green house.

 

I purchased little violets and used some extra dirt from the backyard. I had little man join me in the backyard to gather the dirt. It had just rained and he wasn't too thrilled with the 'mud' aspect. 

   

Conversation during this activity was all about how plants grow. We got to see the roots of the violets and spent time feeling how small and thin they are. It was cool to talk about how the roots soak up water and nutrients (I related it do plant food) to help the plant grow strong and beautiful. I showed him that trees are plants, too. We discussed plants are large and small but they all have roots. 

 

We have these in the kitchen window. I would love to put them in the play room on their art table however, the dog would love to help redecorate our home with these. :)

 

I love reusing containers. Anything works. Get Creative on your own terms. 

Remember: Every activity is an opportunity to help build your child's vocabulary. Don't worry about talking 'above' there head as long as you connect it to something they already know and can give them a visual. 

Letter Stickers

Calling all moms who are looking for another idea to practice letters. 

 

I purchased poster letter stickers on a whim one afternoon. 

What a great purchase!!!! I originally was thinking fun cheap stickers, however, it has turned into so much more! 

 

I gave little man the stickers for his name and he pulled the paper back off and put them on the paper. 

He decided that it wasn't enough just to have the stickers. He needed to make a border for each letter. Which was AWESOME, since he was outlining each letter! 

(Practicing letters all on his own) 

We spell his name to him all the time and he was writing C and L over and over.

 

 I encourage him to use various mediums to enhance his art. We had painted earlier in the day and spent time practicing using colored pencils while his sister was sleeping (she likes to try to eat them, good ideas from a 11 month old). It was time to bust out the crayons.

  

The letters were inspiring. He found his favorite letter H. Not sure where that came from but he points how "big H" anytime he sees one. Today we used the letter sticker to demonstrate how to make his letter H. 

 

We used the pattern 'line, line, cross' to practice making about four dozen H's today. It was exciting to see him start writing. 

 

Thanksgiving Cards

I know that I am a little late on this, however, if I posted before the holiday it may have ruined the crafty surprise to family. Now, feel free to pin this one for next year! 

  

I spent some time painting with CP and his little sis. His palm is painted brown and each finger is painted a different color coordinating with feathers on a turkey. When the paint dried, I used a black sharpie marker to draw a neck facing forward with two eyes and the orange marker to make a beak and "gobbler". It was a blast to make a full set of cards for our family.

Singing our ABC's

 

A few years ago, having the privilege to teach kindergarten for a year, I created felt letters cards. I used a bulletin board stencil to draw on scraps of felt and then glued the felt on to foam boards.

We pull the cards out frequently. We lay them out to find different letters, colors, sounds. We sing the ABC song over and over. It's an awesome activity to share with those who want to play with the kids but don't want to get messy.

Color Collages

CP is one smart little man but needs so practice with his colors. We have a ton of books, coloring books, crayons, markers, and toys that we use to teach color. (Basically, everything we see) 

Today, we had a wonderful day where mom and son could send a few quiet hours just playing and being crafty together.

 

We chose a few pieces of construction paper together and decided which colors we would focus on today. I used an old house decor magazine that we could rip apart, or destroy without hesitation :) We turned the pages together to find yellow, blue, or green. 

*** Be sure to stick with one color at a time in the beginning to secure each color.***

We would rip then glue and repeat. 

 

Ripping pictures and letters out to match was a blast. We used a nontoxic glue stick that I use for scrap booking so really who cares how messy we got! So much FUN! 

-For me this craft was TOTALLY free!!!-

Thrifty Finds

Check out your local thrift stores, Savers and Goodwill. You never know what you'll find. We found jumbo box of Duplo Legos for $4 and this UNOPENED Chuggington track for $7!!