Fabulous fun

One of our themes this week is the letter F. Today we glued pieces of foil onto a big letter F.

Any activity with glue is a winner and we got to talk about the letter F while we did it.

I used the remaining bit of foil in the package and was about to put it in the recycling box in the garage when a little one wanted to hold the empty container.

"Did you know," I said, "that there is a sharp part to this box?" 

I showed him the strip of pointy metal on the side of the box and said, "Owie."

Now he knows to be careful with those types of boxes. 

And he also knows about the letter F.

Have a lovely day.

What is this?

This intriguing goodie is comprised of a blue holder for markers with felt pieces stuck in each hole and then some sticks from the number stick game poking in as well.

Diaper-changing stations are lame. Not cool. I could have all the supplies set up and sit there with a smile on, but I wouldn't get any takers.

So today, as I sat there smiling for no reason, I grabbed whatever was within my reach: the marker holder, some felt pieces, and all those sticks. Then I assembled them and played with it like it was the best thing since jelly donuts. 

It's all marketing, really.

And wouldn't you know? A sweetie needing a diaper change approached, took the new item, and then...diaper job done!

I really don't like to chase anyone down for a diaper change. I don't like to make little ones mad. So, if they can come to me willingly, all the better!

Today we also dug in oats for some number sixes. I gave them each a cake pan filled with oats and a few construction paper sixes hidden inside. 

They dug around with spoons until they found the sixes. No big whoop to make and it made the point about sixes. Then they just played with oats.

As I was sweeping the oats, they really wanted to sweep, too. So, I gave them each a small whisk brook to use. They even had fun cleaning it up. 

Hope you're having a lovely day!

Elephants on a spider web

Yesterday we each made a hand print elephant and glued it to paper along with a big letter E.

I was glad we created a hand print template, because today I used it to make props for the Five Elephants Counting Song.

We also did the number sticks game. Matching colored Popsicle sticks are put in the appropriate tubes. One stick goes in the #1 tube, two sticks go in the #2 tube, etc. I would have a photo of this, but my handiwork turned out less than photogenic.

Here is what it is supposed to look like.

After the game, the kids made a Popsicle kitchen, a facility where they made and sold Popsicles. For pretend! They also used the tubes as microphones and sang into them.

Who am I to get in the way of innovation?

Oh and I stuck one yellow stick in a tube and set it in the middle of the floor for some Jack Be Nimble fun. I recently heard another verse to Jack Be Nimble, by the way.

Jack Be Nimble, the extended version:

Jack be nimble.
Jack be quick.
Jack jump over the candlestick.

Jack be nimble.
Jack be spry.
Jack jump over the apple pie.

Now I want apple pie.

Have a lovely day!

E equals engaging enjoyment

Today we made hand print elephants and glued them onto paper along with some big Es.

I got the idea here, but we put our own spin on it. There is a reason we did construction paper hand prints instead of painted ones. I'll post about that activity tomorrow.

We stomped like elephants all around the house and read Elmer and the Birthday Quake by David McKee.

We also talked about words that begin with the letter E: elephant, elbow, ear, empty, educational (oh, they know this word!), Elmer, eagle, Earth, and excellence as well as eviction and epidural.

Just kidding about a couple of those words.

I was elated to entertain and enlighten extensively and effectively with the E element today; and though the kids expected epicurean edibles, we ended up eating epic mac and cheese.

Have an enchanted day!

Happy Mardi Gras

Well, we had our own little Mardi Gras celebration today. We didn't get into the history or meaning of the day but just had some fun.

For the masks, use what you have, right? Well, we had some felt, crepe paper, pom pom balls, and party favor wands.

The felt became feathers; and snips of crepe paper and pom poms were just to glue on, because everyone loves to glue!

Party favor wands were fashioned to be mask handles. Jazzier than Popsicle sticks, I do believe.

How about that King Cake?

The kids colored sugars and decorated the top. They each had a baggie of sugar and I added food coloring. Then they smooshed it all around until all the sugar was colorful.

Those were some very proud bakers!

I don't have a recipe for King Cake. I cheated and just used our muffin recipe and baked it in a cake pan.

Cheater King Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

Goodies: fruit or chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients. 

Fold in the goodies. I added some chocolate chips and a bit more milk (to make up for lack of moisture since I didn't do fruit this time).

Pour batter into one buttered and floured cake pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

A light glaze of powdered sugar and water mixture will help colorful sugars stay put.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Personalized memory game

Hey, this was a fun activity!

You know the classic game, Memory?

Well in that spirit, I took photos of the little neighbors as well as our pets, Kitty Baby, Little Weirdo, and Mr. Cool.

Two of each photo were printed and then snipped into game cards. 

I turned all the cards face down and then told the kids I had a fun game. They were skeptical at first. But once the cards were flipped over... 

They loved it!

The older ones enjoyed the play of the game while the younger ones just wanted to carry around photos of themselves. 

Awwww. Can you blame them? 

Remember to have a lovely day!