Sun Catcher

I'm going to start off by saying I learned my lesson: set-up crafts before the girls wake up.

I'm also learning that there are typical toddler/preschooler behaviours that are going to happen, and I can already see they will happen less the more they get used to doing crafts and other activities. For example, the girls enjoyed dumping any supplies they were using, or frantically wiped their hands across the table to clear it of anything on it. *sigh*

That said, it was an educational experience, and I will definitely keep trying.

Today (now yesterday, since hubby needed the computer while I was writing this post), we made sun catchers. Seemed like an easy enough activity, considering we only needed two maybe three items.

Clear tacky paper
tissue paper
and masking tape to hold the sticky paper down.

I wanted to let the girls be as involved as possible, so I let them tear the paper as our first 'activity'. Then we just put them on the sticky paper, and placed another piece on top when they were done.

I eventually would like to either put some construction paper boarder around it, or cut them out into their initials. It's nice to have a little colour in their new creative space, a.k.a. 'craft room'. Pictures of that will come up eventually.

Miss C had the creative bug and wasn't finished. Truthfully she wanted to try out her new pair of scissors she watched me use to set up the activity we just did.... so, a little free craft time was her's, while I changed a stinky Miss E and let her watch Baby Signing Time.

While we were at Dollarama loading up on craft and organizational supplies, Miss C set her eyes on some Bingo dabbers and just HAD to have them. Great idea! So we started with those.

She was SO proud and happy!

Then, while closely supervised she tried out her new favourite tool, her scissors.

We had bought some glitter glue that day as well, so might as well give it a go!

Now, Miss C is not one for getting dirty. I was reminded of that during our frozen blocks activity.

She touched the glitter glue on the paper and immediately asked me to wash her hands, and I told her we had to go to the sink to wash it off (she wanted me to just brush it off like dirt at the park). So I had her wipe her finger off on a blank part of paper... but then she really wanted to experiment and engage her senses, so she went for it.

 What a pretty mess!

 When she had enough of the sticky, glittery mess, we washed them off it the sink and she came back for some more cutting practice. We switched to a new paper so she didn't keep on re-glueing herself. :0)

Although we had some bumps, I still feel it was successful. I could tell she learned a lot.

I Took His Hand and Followed

I Took His Hand and Followed
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

Preschooler Nature Kit

There are so many creative crafts using egg cartons. Although this isn't a craft, it is another useful use for egg cartons.

I didn't want to muck up any containers to put Miss C's paint in, so I used an old egg carton. The bonus: you don't have to wash it out and you can just keep adding paint on top of the dried stuff each time you use it.

Okay, nothing too creative here, yet, right?

Then I found this idea on Family Fun.com

Paint each egg compartment a different colour, and then take it with you on your next hike. Your little one can collect different items on your hike, recognizing their colour, and match them to the coordinating colour compartments.

Ice blocks

In this wonderful heat, here in on Ontario, you have to be creative with ways to keep cool and entertain the kids!
This was really fun for my 12 month old (to get dirty and eat them), and not as much for my 2.5 year old whom does not like to get dirty...

Just freeze coloured water in any shape you like. We used ziploc bags and ice cube trays (creative, right?), for a quick freeze during nap time. I've seen some moms freeze toys inside big ice blocks and the kids chip away at them to get to the toy.

 As they melted, they made new colours!

Glow stick fun!

There are so many fun things to do with glow sticks! I picked some up from Dollarama and we had some fun with them in the bath, and the next night after dinner with daddy, by putting them inside balloons!
With the straight skinny ones you can make letters and shapes, and practice colours.

Toddler Preschool Calendar

Miss C has been having a hard time understanding why we do things on one day and not another (see the garbage truck, eat pizza and watch movies, go to church, etc.). So, to help her understand the days of the week (weather was an added bonus), I picked up one of these calendars from The Learning Tree.
She really enjoys being the one to change the days, and stick them in place. We also go through the number dates of the month, and any special occasions she would understand (mainly birthdays). We try to do the stuff she already knows in English (numbers, etc), in Italian and Sign Language as well.

The calendar is posted on our kitchen wall with 'sticky tack', as are the dates, days, month, and weather.