Down the Drain

I am starting to feel like nearly every one of my posts includes a Pinterest reference.  This is no exception.  We are big "Wacky Wednesday" people around here and for the past two years or so, I have tried to do something small, but "wacky" each Wednesday.  It may be a turning some of our hanging pictures upside down while she is at school.  Or, making her bed while she is gone with her pillow at the opposite end than usual.  Or, like this morning, placing her breakfast on the table in the spot usually reserved for Henry (and, in turn, letting her sit in his booster seat to eat her breakfast--Henry slept in BIG time this morning). 

A couple Wednesdays ago, I threw some activated glow sticks in the bath and both kids were beyond thrilled.  Seriously, I am not sure that I have ever done something so simple and received a reaction so big.  Knowing that the glow stick bath couldn't be beat, I headed to Pinterest for another fun idea.  I came up with bath tub paint and although I almost instantly messed up the paint by trying to place the muffin tin in the very shallow water thinking it would sink (it didn't and the paint was immediately watered down), the kids still had fun with it.  I will just have to repeat it down the road one wacky Wednesday night. 

Summer Fun List 2011

Ugh! I know that I will go to find this post about our Summer Fun list and never think to look in the month of December for it!  Yikes!  I am ridiculously behind!

Regardless, this was our list of 22 ideas to do this summer.  We created it waaaay back in May and did pretty good on the list!  As you can see, we completed all BUT 5 items (and we ended up both camping AND picking up litter on a family walk this fall). We are still finishing up our ABC book.

I love making these lists and having Amelia decorate them--having the list so visual keeps her interested and holds me accountable!

On the Line

Amelia has been enjoying reading The Little House books with me and learning more about pioneer families.  We decided one day to cut out some little clothes from scrap fabrics we had around the house.  Then, I hung a clothesline in the playroom and let Amelia go to town hanging all of the little clothes.  She was pretty happy with it until she noticed a picture of a washboard in one of the books.  I told her we would check out the antique mall down the street and if there was a reasonably priced one available, we would buy it so that she could get a more authentic idea of how laundry was done in Laura and Mary's time.  She even offered to use her own money for the purchase. We haven't made it up there yet, but I am reminded about it every day (and twice a day if we pass the antique mall)!

Stuffed

While heading out the door on a routine trip to the library, the book Sewing School caught my eye. Henry was already at his breaking point with our trip to the library, so I grabbed the book and checked it out without giving it much attention.

Turns out, I had recently started to follow the Sewing School blog in my google reader.  Amelia was really taken with this book and we got right to work. She loved what the book calls "stuffies".  No surprise that she chose to draw up Wendy as her character of choice on her first attempt at creating a "stuffie" of her own.

 After she drew on the material, I cut it out for her and then pinned it to the blue felt she used as a backing for the pillow.  Then I showed her both the whipstitch and the running stitch in the book and she chose to give the running stitch a try.

 When there was only a small gap left, we stuffed it with some pillow stuffing stuff that my mom gave us. She stitched the gap closed....

And then, Wendy was ready!  It was very exciting for us both!

She was so excited, she immediately started on stuffie #2--a car (with Henry and dad inside) for Henry!

She did several steps without my knowing and even began to sew the pillow by herself before I could get over to help her!

Today she started her third "stuffie" for a distant relative.  I can't wait to see how it turns out--could be her best one yet!!

Pete's A Pizza

 Do you know about Pete?  I had heard of the story and had seen the book around, but until I volunteered one morning in Amelia's class did I know what a fun story it was!  The day I joined Amelia at school was "Food Week" and all I could think of while listening to her teacher read the story, is that every kid should have this book and every parent should reenact it with their child.

In case you don't know the story, I will give you a quick summary.  Pete is bummed because he had plans to play outside with his friends, but it starts to rain.  His father, in an effort to cheer him up, decides to "make" him into a pizza.  He kneads the "dough" (Pete) and throws it up in the air.  He sprays the dough with olive oil (water) and adds flour (talcum powder). He adds tomatoes (checkers) and cheese (paper).  He eventually throws Pete into the oven (couch) and bakes him to perfection.  I mentioned to Amelia that we should do that some rainy day and she was so giggly just at the thought of it!

So I vowed that the next birthday party I attended, I would put together a "Pete's A Pizza" kit for the birthday child.  My friend, Erin's daughter was the recipient.  Little Elise turned 2 at the end of April.

I made some paper cheese and then bought the book, some talcum powder, a cheap set of checkers from the dollar store, and some tins to hold the "cheese" and "tomatoes". 

 

I decided that what would make this gift even better was a bag to keep it all in.  I cannot STAND games and toys with a million little pieces UNLESS they are all contained.  It was my first attempt at creating a drawstring bag (which I did without my mom's help, thank you very much) and it went great.  I followed this SUPER easy tutorial. I custom made the bag exactly big enough to fit the book.  The bag was also the perfect, eco-friendly gift wrap!

 

Amelia was so excited to see the gift come together that she immediately added it to her birthday list (not just the book, but the pieces as well).  And as requested, she received the "Pete's A Pizza" kit, minus the drawstring bag to keep it all contained.  One day I will learn.

I can think of a million books that would be so cute to package in a bag with supplies to bring the book alive.  "Harold and the Purple Crayon", "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More", "Mouse Paint" just to name a few!

Bird Bling

I really loved this idea that I came across awhile ago.  We have lots of fabric scraps, string, ribbons, etc. laying around the house that, quite honestly, drive me crazy.  We didn't have the same fancy wire as the Whimsy Love author, so we copied her pipe cleaner version.

I formed a cage, of sorts, using some sparkly pipe cleaners leftover from our Pot o' Gold craft. Amelia got to work stuffing it with odds and ends that we thought a mother bird may be able to use to build a nest for her babies.

 We decided the perfect spot to hang it was near our bird feeder itself.  Both the "cage" and the bird feeder hang from a tree that can be viewed perfectly through our kitchen window. Amelia checks it constantly and always reports to me what she observes.

Our cage of goodies has been up for about a month now and it appears the birds have been taking some items.  I've actually yet to see it with my own eyes, but there are definitely supplies missing and we've seen a few pieces scattered in our yard far away from the cage itself.  We will have to repeat this craft early next spring when the nest-building frenzy first starts!

Learning to Braid

Amelia asked if I would teach her to braid the other day.  I initially told her she was too young to learn, but then the more I thought about it, the more I figured she was actually the perfect age to learn.  She LOVES making patterns and has learned "right" and "left", so why not?  I decided to start her using pipe cleaners, thinking it would be easier to learn using those in case she let go mid-braid.

Turns out, she is a natural!  And as an added bonus, she requests a braid in her hair almost every day.  Now if only she could braid it herself.

Next up?  Shoe tying!

Big Headed Baby

During our last play of the Family Theater Series at the Florissant Civic Center, Amelia was completely fascinated by what she called the "big baby" during the "Pirates Don't Change Diapers" segment of the play.  After talking about it extensively on the way home, I told her I would show her how they set it up.

Immediately upon returning home we gathered the necessary supplies:  old sheet, large piece of cardboard, baby sleeper, baby bonnet, baby rattle, baby blanket, tape, and something to stuff the sleeper with (we chose Amelia's socks and undies).

The whole thing was pretty silly and Henry REALLY didn't know what to make of it.  

The next week when we checked the book out from the library, Amelia was really disappointed that the baby in the picture wasn't a "big headed baby" like the play.

Built for a Queen

 Another craft we picked up at our pre-cycle break trip to Michael's was a wooden princess castle "puzzle".  I'm not quite sure how the little one talked me into this, but she was pretty passionate about it and I had an extra 40% off coupon to burn, so I caved.  She, of course, wanted to come home and get started immediately, but I was able to hold her off a couple of days claiming it was a Cycle Break Project and, thus, had to be completed on cycle break.

Unbeknownst to me, the kit was 66 steps!  (This was not something advertised on the packaging).  We got through about half of the construction on the first day while Henry napped.  It was a process, but Amelia was so patient (a trait she does NOT get from me) and so excited.  She was actually able to help a lot on the first day because it was mostly like building a puzzle.

The second day of building was a little more frustrating for me.  It involved installing roofs and balconies.  And since Amelia very efficiently popped out all of the pieces, I had a hard time finding what I needed (the individual pieces weren't marked).  But we made it through and I have never seen a little girl so happy over a $3 wooden puzzle!

The first thing she did, of course, was insist the roofs and balconies be removed so that her "Peter Pan people" will in the castle.  (She informed me that this is Peter Pan III and in Peter Pan III, there is a castle). And did I mention that she lost Peter Pan on a recent trip to the doctor?  Hence the green block.

Here's her castle, along with the pirate ship she made awhile back with GG.  She is getting quite the collection of items she has built.  One of these days, I will remember a camera when she attends the Home Depot Kid's Clinic!

And so it was definitely worth every frustrating minute.  And actually, the final product is surprisingly sturdy and well constructed.  And it really is a perfect addition to Amelia's make-believe world.  And I love that she adds color to it as she sees fit.  Come to think of it, I may see if Michael's has any others we can put together....

Pot o' Gold

It's hard to believe, but we are in the midst of Amelia's last cycle break--ever!  Her pre-school has been functioning on a year round schedule, with 9 weeks in school, followed by a 3 week break.  When Amelia returns to school after break, she will begin her final quarter of pre-school.  Wow!

As I mentioned, she usually has 3 weeks off for cycle break, but due to a very snowy winter, she has 3 snow days to make up this cycle.  So, it ended up being more like 2 weeks.  Before break even started, we swung by Michael's to pick up a few craft supplies to keep us busy during break.  (Turns out all three crafts I had in mind were pretty much completed by day 3 of break, but that's another story...).

I found this idea awhile back and thought it was right up Amelia's alley.  I also thought it would be fun for her to pass these out to friends and family.  We ended up making 5 "pots of gold", although we strayed considerably from our original recipient list.

I failed to take a final picture after it was all together, (check out the link above for a visual) but it couldn't have been more simple.  Amelia painted a clay pot with black paint.  Then, when it was dry, she filled it with Easter grass.  Third, she placed pipecleaners of the colors of the rainbow arched in the pot.  Finally, she filled the "pots" with gold (chocolate) coins we picked up at Walgreens.

I think she enjoyed making these, but the real fun came when she got to pass them out!

Run, Marble, Run

  Amelia was so amazed by the thaumatrope project that she quickly insisted on “another craft!” that evening.  Since I was already on this website, I searched around for something we could throw together with no preparation.

This marble run was perfect!  All we needed was an old cereal box and some marbles.  We had half of that!

Amelia and Jason quickly got to work following the directions carefully.  In no time, the marble run was ready to be tested.  But, alas, we have NO marbles in our house—almost seems like a crime.  And it just so happened that day we had visited an antique mall (Amelia’s idea for a “special treat”) and I was eyeing several mason jars of marbles.  But I failed to make a purchase.

And thus began a search around the house for something marble-like.  Amelia keeps a “nature box” which is really an old shadow box from Jason’s youth.  With it various compartments, it is perfect for storing allllllll those things she manages to find when we are the park (pinecones, acorns, shells, rocks, etc.).  She immediately went for the oblong acorns, which didn’t work too well.  After that, we tried acorns that were more rounded, rocks, and then candy.  Jelly Bellys, jaw breakers, and even Mike and Ikes.  It became an experiment of sorts to see which shape made it down the ramps and which did not. 

Amelia played with it much of the night and was very excited to show Henry the next morning.  He also seemed to enjoy it!  

Eventually, it made its way to the recycling box.  But, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of “Marble” Runs in our house.

Thaumatrope, anyone?

  I cannot remember what maze of website ogling brought me to this blog, but I instantly fell in love.  Most of this man’s ideas are super simple and many he even has ready made to print out. The first project I thought we would try was his thaumatrope. Do you remember these from your youth?  There are two separate pictures that are attached to a disk and when twirled quickly, they merge into one image?  Apparently it's due to "persistence of vision".

So, one night after dinner, I told Amelia we were going to do a little magic.  She had earned the privilege of staying up a little later than Henry (a rarity these days now that naps are absent in our house). 

I printed out the two pictures:  a bird and a branch and told Amelia that when we were done, the bird would be on the branch.  She got right to work cutting out the circles and then we attached them to a pencil.

Then, I showed her how, if you move the pencil very fast in your hands, the bird winds up on the branch.  She was SUPER impressed by this mystery and had many ideas as to why this happened.  Unfortunately, my camera couldn’t catch the two images together, but trust me, it was pretty neat!

I will have to search out some other examples of this phenomenon since it was such a hit in our house!

Budding Artist

 Henry got his first taste of creating art.  And, luckily, there was actually no tasting involved!  Henry seemed to enjoy himself and he stayed surprisingly clean.

 Kind of reminds me of another little budding artist...

(Notice the same high chair in the same spot in the kitchen with the same paint even! Looks like I've only upgraded the paint shirt and the blinds.)

Amelia and the Oobleck

 With several inches of snow in the forecast, I knew Amelia and I were going to need a little extra something to get us through a day of being snowed in.  We headed to the library and filled our bags with books, CD's, and a DVD.  While Amelia was off picking out a book for Henry, I spotted the Dr. Suess book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck.  I had never actually read the book before, but I knew of the gooey green substance, Oobleck, that fell from the sky in the story.

 That night and the next day we read the story a few times and then I decided to tell Amelia that I knew how to make oobleck.  She was ecstatic!  (She's actually made it a couple times before, but obviously didn't remember).

She decided that the oobleck should be pink instead of green like the book.  After all, pink matched her bow and dress.  Who am I to argue with that logic?

Seriously, though, this stuff is so weird!  You just add 1 cup of water to 2 cups of corn starch.  And actually, we cut that in half because we were running low on corn starch and it was plenty.

While playing in our oobleck, Henry woke from his nap so I decided to stick his hands in too.  He wasn't too thrilled with that choice.  He eventually warmed up a bit, but was never as interested as his sister.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a great picture of his disgusted face because I was trying to keep him from falling off of the stool he was standing on.

A copy of this book and a little container of corn starch (with directions to add water) would be a cute little gift!

Snow Cream

 I'm not sure why I've never tried Snow Cream before.  It is such a simple recipe and I love ice cream of any kind.  My friend, Susie, mentioned she made it with her girls and we decided to give it a go.  We've definitely had enough of the white stuff around!

In case you don't know, the "recipe" is snow, a bit of milk, a bit of sugar, and a bit of vanilla.  Mix together and enjoy!

And enjoy we did!

Everyone Wants S'more!

While visiting Jason's grandparents (who spoil Amelia senseless with treats and other various goodies) a few weeks ago, we received two gigantic marshmallows.  Seriously, these things were each the size of a baseball!  Jason had the brilliant idea to roast them one night in the fire, and Amelia was on board!

I realize that the marshmallow doesn't look especially big in the picture, but trust me--it was huge! So after Jason jimmy rigged a marshmallow roasting device, he got right to it (Amelia chickened out once she realized she would have to be so close to the fire).

You can kind of see the size of the marshmallow here a little better in comparison with her hand. Huge, right?  She loved every bit of it and we still have another one waiting for the next fire!

We're Going on a Thing Hunt

I was looking for a fun activity to reinforce some concepts Amelia has been learning at school and had the idea to do a scavenger hunt.  But, then I realized that if I gave her a list of 20 things to find and bring to me in the house, I would have a pile of 20 items that would have to all be put back.  Most likely by me.

So, instead, I gave Amelia our old(er) camera and told her each thing she needed to find.  When she would find the item, she would show it to me and hear her next object to locate.  I think I made it a little too easy for her, but it was a good experiment and an activity we will use again!

Here were the things on the list:

Something that begins with "D":

The scariest thing in the house:

 Something with four wheels:

Something with stripes (Henry's shirtsleeves):

Something in the shape of a sphere:  

Something square:

Something in the shape of a cube:

Something with exactly two colors:

 Something made of glass (this is a close up on a large jar in our house):

Something with a lid:

Something with polka dots:

Something with a pattern:

Something triangle shaped:

Something star shaped (do you see the tip of the hippo's hat?):

I cannot wait to try this again with a list that is a little more challenging.  Amelia LOVED taking all of the pictures, but I think she got bored pretty quickly with the items on the list.