Some Days You Need A Play Day

When Mister, Ladybug, and the Wee One went into our learning room there was nothing on the shelves because we needed a play day. A day without a ton of different toys so they could really use their imagination.  I put out the Little People Farm and Little People Tractor, which we have had since Mister and Ladybug were 18 months, and some blocks.  It was so nice to see them play for 3+ hours making up new games for their Little People.  They had a farm with animals, an apple picking farm, a maze to find goodies, a beach and then I left to make lunch.  From the kitchen I could hear giggling and playing.

Peanut Butter Cups

All three of my children love peanut butter.  We buy the just peanuts smooth and you would think it's as good as a slice of cake.  I get tired of making your standard pb sandwich and occasionally I have been mixing it up. Our latest pb lunch was pb cups with a banana slice and cinnamon.

Bake the wonton wrappers in the oven at 350 until crisp (about 8 minutes).  Fill with peanut butter add a banana slice and top with cinnamon.

April Sensory Bin - E-I-E-I-O

I am not a farm kind of gal.  Dare I say I can't stand going to the farm babies at the zoo and often tell the kiddos we just don't have time.  In my defense I am allergic to all things farm, so we just stay away.  That being said I have deep respect for people who farm and I want my children to know where their food comes when they find a tasty dinner on their plates.

Behold the farm!

Mister and Ladybug were the creators (minus the letters) of their sensory bin.  I started out singing "Old McDonald" and then read a farm animals book.  Then, we made a list of things found on a farm and went on a hunt in our playroom for farm animals and farm related objects.  I gave them a choice between beans (I am forgetting which ones) or lentils and they picked lentils.  I am happy they made that choice because we haven't used them a sensory bin and they have a soft texture.

Mister and Ladybug have a tendency to go all out on their sensory bin and then peter out by the second week, so I have a farm words hunt that I will put on the shelf to encourage them to use their sensory bin more.

I like...

Our Goodwill has an excellent section of books and most are in good condition.   Awhile back I found a collection (almost complete) of sight word readers.  I thought this would be a good part in our easy reader collection and since they were half-off I thought why not.

We have been reading Animals and did an easy extension using "I like to" as the prompt.

I asked them to use at least three colors in their drawing.  I also told them not to worry about the lines for writing.

Scholastic has Sight Word Readers for downloading and printing.

Windy Days

Last Sunday it was really windy and we had the opportunity to fly kites kicking off our windy week.  Many of the activities stayed the same, but I included some shapes, art, and science.

Fine Motor - I taped together a piece of paper and had Mister and Ladybug cut along the lines to make a windsock.  They punched a hole in the top and we put string through so we could attach it to our tree.

Sensory - How do these triangles fit? 

Mister and Ladybug had a diamond kite and they had to put on four triangles to decorate their kite. 

Science - We talked a lot about tornadoes, hurricanes, and how wind moves. 

Cotton ball races - Mister and Ladybug found they couldn't go on top of the cotton ball to make it move.


Art - Paper bag windsocks - Mister and Ladybug created a weather scene using dot markers and added streamers to blow in the wind.

Movement - We created wind with our bodies and made the scarves move in the wind.

Mini-Food

Each week I ask Mister and Ladybug what they would like for dinner and lately they want mini-food.  During dinner we had a brainstorming session for mini-meals we could add and they came up with some good ideas, but mini tacos has been their favorite.  I combined the mini tacos with muffin tin lunches and you would have thought Disney World moved into our house.

Left-to-Right, top-to-bottom: tomatoes, lettuce, green onions, sour cream, bell peppers sauted in olive oil and lime, homemade Spanish rice, beans, cheese, wonton wrappers baked for 5 minutes.

I have never seen Ladybug eat so much. 

I'm Puzzled

The ages on puzzles make me question my own puzzle ability.  Admittedly I am not very good at puzzles and it seems like my children have fallen in my foot steps.  The Wee One picked out a set of three puzzles at the store the other day and I couldn't say no because they were $3 plus she really loved them.

I set out the color puzzle on her shelf and I knew that it would be difficut for her.  The shapes are odd and they are hard to fit.  I had an "aha!" moment when I was looking at the puzzle and the pieces.  Using the dot markers, I put a dot where the piece should go.  Now, with my help to get them to fit, she can complete the puzzle a little easier.