A Homemade Christmas

When I was a little girl my mother made a lot of my gifts.  I had this Barbie cloak in navy blue with a snap and a Peter Pan collar.  It was my favorite outfit for Barbie.  Sometimes the best gifts aren't purchased, but made with love.  So, this year I have tried to make some things for my children.  I just finished a cake stand for their felt cakes, which will go in their bakery.

To make this cake stand you  need a wooden plate found in the clock making section and a wooden candle holder.  I painted and coated it with a clear satin finish, predrilled two holes and then drilled in the screw.  It took no time and was really inexpensive.

King Kabobs

For our letter K we made king crowns and had a special kabob lunch.  They loved the lunch and have asked a million times to do it again.  I loved it because it was quick and very little clean up.

Kissing Kites

G and H love to get into chap lips or lipstick, so I gave them a chance to really put their love of lipstick to good use.  They put on copious amounts of lip gloss and kissed a letter K.  We also made kites because you can't learn the letter K without making a kite.

Keys

One of our letter K activities was key matching.  I found a bag of random keys in a cabinet, so I traced 5 different keys and had them match the keys to the outlines.  They enjoyed the activity, but what they enjoyed even more was using the keys to drive their cars.

Markers Everywhere!

I hate markers.  There, I said it.  I hate the way they get all over hands, on tables, and tops are never put back on.  However, my children, as most children, love them.  I was tired of seeing markers spread all over and most without their tops. 

So, I put together an activity, a mini lesson, on how to match and snap markers.  I modeled how to match the tops and then listen for the snap.  Genius, right?  Yeah well the markers are left without their tops, but at least I tried.  I suppose we will be repeating this activity often.

Latkes

If you haven't ever had a latkes, then you are missing out.  What is there not to love about potatoes and onions fried?  For the start of Chanukah we made latkes and enjoyed our latke smelling house for the next few days. 

December Sensory Bin

Well, I never did get around to putting together a November sensory bin.  It seemed that the entire month was over before it really started. 

This month in our bin we have fake flowers for sticking in foam, bows, bells, garland, and Christmas ornaments.  If I had the time I would have filled the bin with bells, but for some reason I couldn't get motivated to buy that many bells...I can't imagine why.

Table Decorations

I always like to have something made by my children for our holiday table.  This year for Thanksgiving we covered candle holders with tissue paper and glue.  They turned were beautiful when lit. 

Jump and Jiggle

Eeks I am really behind on posting because I have been in a felt food craze.  If you haven't made felt food, you must.  It is easy and fun.

Anyway during our letter J study I made a J activity die.  On each side was one of the verbs jump, jiggle, jerk, jive, juggle, and jig.  We took turns (I participated) throwing the die and then doing the activity.  The jerk was their favorite.