Sick Day Activity: Go to the Beach!

M was on the couch all day today with a stomach bug. She slept a lot, but after a while she got to the point where she could use a diversion. We decided to pretend to go to the beach! So, with a couple of magazines, construction paper, and a pair of scissors, we were off!

I asked for M's advice in deciding on the colors, content and positioning of the different elements. We had fun talking about the beach while I was making the scene, and then afterward, it gave her something to look at and think about when I couldn't be with her.

Any other suggestions for fun scenes to make the next time M is sick?

What Doesn't Belong: Artists Version

Would you like to play my latest version of "What doesn't belong?"

First, can you tell me what all of these pictures have in common?

They are all paintings by Claude Monet.
And which one is different from the others and why?
All of them have a lady with a parasol but one.
Here's another one. What do all of these have in common?
All are done by John Singer Sargent.
Which one doesn't belong?
The landscape- no people in it.
These?They are all works by Edgar Degas.
And of course, one of the paintings doesn't have any ballerinas.

The game can also be played mixing up the artists (so for example, all of the paintings would be done by Monet excepting one).

If you guessed that this game is a little beyond M, you would be correct. I'll save it for later. It was interesting to discover that M had an immediate affinity for the works of Pablo Picasso- even hugged and kissed each picture (?!) Very odd!

Easy Homemade Pop-up Cards

I'm so excited to have found this website for making home-made pop up cards. The thing I really like about it is the opportunity to incorporate M's artwork in creative and pretty ways.

The website has about 20 different printable templates for pop-up greeting cards. For Mother's Day this year, I printed off the pieces for a pop-up flower and had M color the flowers for her grandmas and great grandma. It really wasn't tricky putting them together either (If it had been at all like origami I would have given up on it :-)

The website has a really cute bird peeking out of a birdhouse card that I think I will try soon. Let me know if you try some of the designs with your little ones (and whether you have any success or ideas for improving them!)

Sylvia the Potty Training Snake

Many thank to Notes from the Den who gave me this idea in the comments section of one of the posts here! Sylvia the Snake is my latest attempt at motivating M in the potty training department. Every time M does the right thing she gets to add a segment to Sylvia's body (made using metal fasteners). When Sylvia's body is as long as it can be (20 segments) M will get to go out for an icecream cone. ( Also good practice for number recognition!)

Who has the Treat?

When M had some friends over the other day to make snacktime a little more fun we decided to turn it into a game.

Our backyard contains a little shed that I hope to turn into a tiny playhouse for the girls soon (more on that later). Just before snacktime I secretly placed one of M's stuffed animals out in the shed, along with a little treat on a plate. When I came back I told the kids that they could go get a surprise treat in the little house if they could guess what kind of animal was out there.

The kids took turns guessing, (with occasional hints for when they were stumped). Every time they guessed correctly and retrieved their treat, I went out again and stealthily added a new treat and new animal (I used a big back to transport the stuffed animals from the back of the shed where I had a pile of them to the inside of the shed). Once the kids had the hang of it, I allowed the winner for each round to change out the animal and treat for the next round.
The kids enjoyed the fun anticipation and the treats! (especially for the five-year-old; it took a little longer for the preschoolers to catch on).

Getting a Little One Involved in the Garden

This year is exciting for us in that it marks the first year of our married life that we've been able to plant a real, in-the-ground- vegetable garden. We're starting out small (25 square feet), but it's already such a source of delight to me! It's been fun getting M involved in the process too. She's not really big enough to hoe or to weed yet, but here are some of the things I have been having her do with me:

- planning (discussing and looking at pictures of the different things we could plant)
- putting the seeds in the ground
- covering them with dirt
- watering/ fertilizing with spray molasses
- harvesting (yes- already! we like to go out before dinner- each with a pair of scissors in hand and a basket to cut chard and spinach for salads)

For a beautiful children's book to accompany gardening adventures, I can't recommend highly enough A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long. The plant and seed illustrations are large and detailed without being too busy; the words are gently childlike. It's wonderful!

Have you found other ways to involve a little one in your gardening? (or any other good children's garden books?) I'd love to hear about them!

Run 'N Spell

M seems so much happier (and more manageable) when we've been able to include some active activities in our day. My latest attempt in this direction has been "Run n' spell." Here's an example of how we do it:

Me: Run and go touch something in this room.
M: (runs to couch) couch
Me: Ok, M, come on back and we'll see if we can spell it together. c-c-c-ouch. What letter makes the c- sound?
M: C
Me: That's right! Couch starts with C. (as I write it on an index card) c-o-u-c-h. Ok- go give the couch it's name tag.
M: (runs back to couch and puts the card on it)

Despite its simplicity, M really gets a kick out of it!

Strawberry Picking

A couple of years ago our family had a wonderful time at Sweet Berry Farms pumpkin patch. Well, last week the girls and I went again- only this time to pick strawberries!One especially fun thing about the farm where we went was the abundance of animals for the kids to pet and feed after we were done picking strawberries.
To find a farm for strawberry picking near your location, Pick your Own is a good resource.

What Doesn't Belong: The Simple Version

We have been playing a very primitive "What Doesn't Belong?" game during M's school time lately. I draw a row of objects all the same except for one that is different either in color or in shape. Her job is to point out the one that doesn't belong.

Then I fold that row down and do another (it's less confusing when she can only see one row at a time). We do about 5 rows in each sitting. She understands the concept now and enjoys it. Any suggestions for the next level of difficulty?

Edible Playdough

28oz peanut butter
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
6 TB honey

Run powdered milk through a food processor until powdery (I should have done this but didn't- you can see that it made my dough a little grainy). Combine all ingredients. Mix well and knead with hands until workable.

Makes enough for about six kids to have a little to play with and plenty to eat for a snack!

Set out other little snacks to use for decorating (cheerios, raisins, nuts, marshmallows, coconut, pretzel sticks, etc) I also set out a couple of little pots of honey that the kids could use with the pretzel sticks as "glue."

Lots of fun!

Mama's Busy Game: Categories

I find that most days there are times when I am busy doing something with my hands, but my mind and mouth are free to interact with my daughters. Sometimes it's nice to just enjoy silence and time to think, but at other times I don't want to waste the moments with M and G.

One game that M and I often play while I'm making dinner is "Categories." I think of a category and we each try to think of examples. I might say, "Let's think of different animals." Then I ask her "Is a lion an animal? Is a chair an animal?", etc. (M really enjoys it when I make ridiculous suggestions!) Then she will do the same thing, and we will go back and forth until we have exhausted the category, and then we will move on to a new one.

This game is, of course, very flexible, educational, and can even help teach morality. One recent category we've explored is "Let's think of good and bad times to be silly."

Can you think of some good categories to explore with a two-year-old? (I may use them for dinner tonight!)

The Little House

Uppercase/ lower case wheels

I have great hopes for my new little box of brass fasteners. It seems like they could enable a lot of fun creativity. My first project with them was a set of simple wheels for M to turn and practice correctly aligning her capital and lower case letters. It works well and has become a semi regular feature during our school time.

Does anybody else have interesting ideas for things to do with the fasteners?