Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Beauty

The girls and Sleeping Beauty


They adored the Fairies!


Watch out for the Bad Fairy!

Community theatre is awesome- affordable, yet still enriching!
For more W.W., be sure to visit 5Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!

Happy W.W!
Jen

Alphabet Eggs: Story and Craft

What is the Easter Bunny to do? All of his painted eggs are ruined and it's the day before Easter. Oh no, all of the children are going to be disappointed. Luckily, a family of little bunnies come to the rescue just in time in The Bunnies' Alphabet Eggs by Lisa Bassett. What happens when the bunnies create alphabet eggs? Will the children like the unique Easter eggs? You'll have to read to find out!


My girls enjoyed the story and said that they liked looking at the illustrations best. After we read the story, we painted our own alphabet eggs. I had the kids paint the letters that would spell: "Happy Easter". After they were done painting, I connected the eggs to make Easter garland. Doesn't it look cute on our mantle?




To make your own Easter Egg Garland, you will need:

Paint(we mixed white with primary colors to get Spring shades)
11 egg paper cut outs
Curling ribbon



I assigned different letters and colors to the girls so that the letters made a color pattern.






Sunshine decided to get creative with the left-over eggs!



For another fun alphabet egg activity go to- Teach Mama: Alphabet eggs puzzle

Happy Easter!
Jen

Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Building Set- Giveaway!

I found a great giveaway today over at Eager Little Minds, so I love sharing good finds with my readers. Plus, I get an extra entry for sharing!

The Awesome Prize: Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Building Set($45 value). To enter, visit Eager Little Mind.

Good Luck!

Jen

Baby Footprint Chick

This card is so simple to make (if your little wiggle worm will cooperate) and will make the proud grandparents smile!

Supplies:
Yellow paint
Paint brush
Colored pencils
White Paper

Paint your little one's foot and stamp on folded paper. Add details to make a spring chick- wallah! An Easter card that will be adored by loved ones!

Happy Easter!

Jen

Check out more fun crafts/activities or link up your ideas over at Delicious Ambiguity for Tot Tuesday!

The Spring Rabbit

"Why haven't I got a sister of brother?" he asked his mother.
"Wait until spring, she answered.

The Spring Rabbit by Joyce Dunbar and Susan Varley, is an adorable tale about a little bunny who yearns for a baby brother and sister. What does this little bunny do as he waits for Spring? You'll have to read The Spring Rabbit to your little ones to find out!

Today we read this together taking turns on each page. I'm so impressed with how my Kindergartner's reading is coming along. She is doing a wonderful job! And it's cute how my 2nd grader reads with such expression. Proud Momma.

Keep Reading and Happy Spring!

Jen

PBS Kids Writer's Contest- Oh My!

Procrastinator Mommy strikes again! For months, my girls have been asking to enter the PBS kids writers contest.

"Sure, I just have to check it out, girls."

They are actually asking to write and I blow it off. What's wrong with me? It's called new baby syndrome, forgetfulness, etc- I can make excuses.

Well, anyways, today Peanut asked me again. I said sure- let's do it right now. Which is a good idea, being that it has to be postmarked by March 31st which is right around the corner.

I typed while she recited her story. She then started working on her illustrations which she called her "blueprints."

Take a peek at her story. Keep in mind that she's only five. I think she did a great job being we are so last minute-thanks to me. Bad job, Mom!!

Leah and the Evil Prince

Once upon a time there was a girl named Leah. Leah was very creative and had a good imagination. One day, she went out to the stream. She was pretending that she was flying. And then suddenly, she started to float in the air. She didn't know how it was happening.

An evil prince was spying on her. He was jealous of her because he knew that she got a lot of attention from all of her friends. So he took her to his castle that she had never been to.

And then her friends came to rescue her. First, they went to her house and they couldn't find her. Next, they checked all of their hidden cameras and saw that she was hidden in the castle. So then they came out in the night and saved her while the prince was sleeping. Leah felt really happy because her friends saved her.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

Her illustrations are just adorable. I can't wait until she gets everything together this weekend and we make it into a book.

For more information on this contest, check out PBS Kids.

Wish us luck getting everything in on time! Better last minute, than not at all, I guess.

Enjoy your Friday!
Jen

I Did Not Bribe My Child!

I did not bribe my child- no way. Okay, maybe a little. Actually, a lot. I cannot tell a lie! I was desperate though, desperate to have my little girl get her dental work done so that her tooth didn't get infected. I tried everything- encouragement and prayer. When this didn't work, I did start the bribing. As she stood there with her mouth shut closed-tightly closed I might add, I started the offering.

I'll take you for ice cream. No- didn't work.

I'll take you to the park. No- didn't work.

Then I called Dad- he did the opposite- he got mad- let them work on your mouth or you can't have your scooter, your bike, your DS and so on and so on.
Did that work? Nope!

So I was ready to throw in the towel when it hit me-what does she want more than anything- to get her ears pierced. How about a pinch for a pinch? Her eyes lit up when I explained that I'd take her right away to get her ears pierced if she let them give her the Novocaine.

Bingo! That did it.

She was so afraid of that needle, but she did it. She was brave so that she could get what she truly wanted. Is this awful? Am I an horrible mom? What would you have done in this situation?

So you might be asking? What about the other daughter? Yeah, she weaseled her way into getting her ears pierced,too. She went right to Daddy with that boo boo lip. I told her no, that she'd have to wait like her sister did. She begged her sister who finally gave in and said it was ok and her Dad said yes to his little peanut.

So there you have it. The story behind the photos of Ears Pierced times Two. (yesterday's Wordless Wednesday)

And what did Mom do this evening? Go shopping for birthday earrings for my little girls, of course!

Take Care!
Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Pierced Ears times Two!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the words behind these photos! For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Happy W.W!
Jen

Fairies Galore!

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a fairy birthday party for my almost 6 year old. Really? My little girl, my peanut, is turning 6- wow! Anyways, I have this image in my mind about how I'd like to decorate, but my funds are low. So off to the dollar store I went searching for ideas. Here's what I came up with so far! I'm planning for about 12 children.



Fairy Wand Craft
1 pkg. flower foam shapes (24 count)
2 pkg. Velvet fairy stickers
2 pkg. Markers
Ribbon( variety of colors)

Total cost for this craft ($6) - I still need to find wooden dowels for something else for the handles of the wand.

Favor
I found this idea in Family Fun Magazine.
For $1 a bunch I was able to find colorful silk flowers. I'm going to cut them to make individual flowers. Next, I'm going to tape a pixi stick candy to the stem. I'll put them in a vase to decorate and then each child will go home with a "candy" flower.
Total cost for favor ($3)

Decorations
2 bunches of silk flowers
1 long stem of silk greeenery
I'm going to cut the flowers and glue them to the greenery and drape this across the food table. I have more greeenery of my own that I'm going to use.
1 roll of wallpaper border with fairies- I'm going to cut out the fairies and use them on homemade invites and for decorations.
Total cost for decorations- ($4)

Other supplies
Pink plates
Pink table cloth
Butterfly birthday napkins
Cost- $3

Cupcakes
Homemade- thinking about putting silk flowers on top of each cupcake. I wanted to put rings, but didn't find anything that I liked.

Game-Fairy, Fairy, Where's my Flower?
Children will sit in a circle. One child will sit in the middle. The adult will give one child a flower to hide behind back while the child in the middle is closing his or her eyes. Next, the child will open his/her eyes and then all of the children will say-

Fairy, Fairy, Where's my Flower?"
The child in the middle will say-
"Someone has it- is it you?"
and point to a child sitting in the circle.

Each child in the middle will get 3 guesses. The child holding the flower goes in the middle. Repeat until everyone has a turn being the fairy in the middle.

If you liked this post and would like to get more fun ideas from dollar store finds, be sure to check out Dollar Store Crafts.

Stay tuned for party photos in the near future! If you have any simple ideas that you'd like to share, please comment. I love hearing from you!

Jen

Welcome Spring!

"Yeah, today is the first day of Spring. We need to celebrate, Mommy. What are we going to do today?"

We didn't have a cake or a party, but we definitely spent most of the day outdoors enjoying the beautiful sunshine. Here is a peek into our lives on the first day of Spring. We---

1. Took a family walk. (baby's 1st stroller ride)
2. Ate ice cream with sprinkles.
3. Sidewalk chalk murals.
4. Bird watched- three crows chasing a hawk.
5. Spied on turkeys in the woods with binoculars.
6. Looked for signs of Spring- flowers growing, birds chirping, butterflies.
7. A little bit of Spring cleaning.
8. Visited neighbors sitting on their porches.
9. Afternoon Snooze- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
10. Closed our eyes as we felt the sunny and breezy day on our faces.

What did you do on the first day of Spring?

I hope that you are enjoying your day!
Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Photo: Just a little decoration on our mantle


Happy St. Patrick's Day from Creative and Curious Kids!

Did the leprechauns visit your house last night? We didn't catch those sneaky little guys- maybe next year!

Irish Blessings,
Jen

For more Wordless Wednesday, be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

Lemonade Award

Okay, I feel awful! Someone gave me this award a very long time ago and I got busy w/ Christmas and childbirth- not that I'm making excuses for being rude! Anyways, I wanted to recognize the person who gave me this award. I tried finding you by looking at old posts on blogs that I read, but no luck. So if you gave me this award-THANK YOU! and be sure to let me know who you are, so that I can properly accept it!

Embarrassed procrastinator,

Jen

Tot Tuesdays-Linky Party!

Do you have creative ideas for toddlers to share? Or maybe you'd like to get a few new ideas. My girls are out of the toddling stages, but it won't be long that my little man will be crawling around the house, so I still enjoy reading ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. When I started this blog, my youngest was three, so I have some ideas to share as well. I know that I featured Delicious Ambiguity in my last blog post, but she's at it again with a great Linky Party- Tot Tuesdays. So I thought I'd share for all of the creative mommas with toddlers out there!

Never too Old for Songs and Fingerplays!

What a busy and fun filled weekend for my little ones! They had a sleepover Saturday night and were awake early Sunday morning rearing to go! Powder art and Wii and Nintendo DS and dancing all before 9:00 am!! What was Mom doing? drinking coffee and reading a couple of blogs of course! My little man was playing next to me on the floor- starting to coo and smile- so cute!

Now to the point of my story- as I was surfing blogs, I came across a new blog that I haven't read before- Delicious Ambiguity. She had posted a book that she had compiled of finger plays and songs for St. Patrick's Day. I downloaded the book (cover- see left) and shared it with the girls-four girls ranging from age 5 to 8. Now because they were Preschool finger plays, etc., I had to give them "permission" to act them out and sing.

My strategy- "Hey, girls! Look at these songs and finger plays- you can learn them and teach them to the baby."

Bingo! I gave them permission to be little girls again. They had a blast singing and acting out the plays. I could hear them giggling and trying to get just the right melody. So thank you, Delicious Ambiguity! If you'd like to download a copy of this resource, be sure to stop on over to her blog and check it out!




Have a great day!
Jen

Easter Giveaway!

Products from Stubby Pencil Studio

While visiting the blogosphere today (instead of cleaning while my infant is napping! Shhh! Don't tell hubby!), I came across this great Easter Giveaway over at Frugal Mommmy of 2 Girls. Stop on over an enter!


Jen

Fun with Numbers and Tasty!

When I was grocery shopping the other day, I was pleasantly surprised to find these number fruit snacks-Clever Kids- Number Bites. Something yummy that kids can learn from, I thought. I like it! And what kid doesn't like fruit snacks? On the back of the box and on each package there are fun math problems. I picked these up, because I thought I could use it to play a math game with my girls. One thing we did do with them is addition practice. I had my 7 year old pick out two numbers. She couldn't eat them until she added the two numbers correctly. Although the numbers aren't as clear as I thought they could be, I still think they could be used for number identification and other number activities. I found a website online where you can find work sheets to go with the number fruit snacks, as well as letter fruit snacks. There's also a $1.00 off coupon on the site.

Snack Picks: Clever Kids

Have fun learning while you snack!

Be sure to submit your ideas over at Confessions of a non-domestic Housewife for-


Jen

Leprechaun Linky Party!

It's finally here! Welcome to my Leprechaun Linky Party! Start posting your creative leprechaun traps and other fun activities.

And now for our reveal:



Introducing Creative and Curious Kids' Leprechaun Traps!
Drum Roll, please..............

Peanut's(age 5)


Popsicle stick steps to help out the little guys and gold to tempt them into her trap!










Momma's (age 21-he, he!)



Tempting my leprechauns with a colorful rock wall and lucky charms!










Sunshine's (age 7)


Don't tell the leprechauns about the trap door hidden under the clouds. On the side there is a rope so they can swing onto the top of her contraption.




Here's a fun letter that you can print out for your kiddos! Leprechaun Letter

Have fun catching those leprechauns! Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Jen

A Silly Slug Story!

Sally and Dave- A Slug Story written by Felice Arena was just simply delightful. The cover and title drew me in and I knew I had to check it out of the library. This silly story about two slugs and their different personalities also shares a message that no matter how different we are, we are special. My girls loved the story, not just because one of the characters are named after their father- he, he!

Here is a just a peek:

"Meet Sally. She is sensational at sports. She's sleek, slim, and simply stunning. Meet Sally's neighbor, Dave. He;s just a common fat slug."

Not only is this a cute story, but it's pages are filled with tongue twisters and lots of "S" sound words. This would be a great starting point to introduce tongue twisters or to supplement your letter unit. For science buffs, why not investigate slugs further. Even though I have two princess, they love slimy and crawly things and would love to learn more about them. My little man is too young, but it didn't stop me from sharing this story with him as well.

ACTIVITIES:

Fun with Tongue Twisters
Tongue Twisters for Kids: poems and illustrated tongue twisters

Thinks.com: tongue twisters from A to Z

Slug Research
All About Slugs

Slip Sliming Away

Slug Diagram from Enchanted Learning

Sally and Dave Cartoons
Visit Sally and Dave's Blog



Hope you enjoy the story and activities if you choose to share them with your kids!

Jen

Leprechuan Linky Party

Just a reminder! Stop by Creative and Curious Kids on March 10th and share your creative ideas. We will be sharing our kids' leprechaun traps. For more info. on how to make a homemade leprechaun trap, be sure to read my previous post-Let's Catch a Leprechaun. Also, if you have any fun ideas for leprechaun crafts or literature, feel free to share this also. The more ideas the merrier!!

Take Care!

Jen

Leprechaun Tales: Fun Reads for St. Patrick's Day

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I thought that it would be fun to read some Leprechaun tales with the girls. I selectedThe Leprechaun in the Basement by Kathy Tucker and Leprechaun Tales by Yvonne Carroll.






This delightful story is about a leprechaun who came to America stowed in a trunk and his encounter with a little boy named Michael McKeever. We loved the suprising ending and the lesson that was taught about greed and selfishness.


Fun Irish tales that have been passed down from generation to generation. This is a collection of six mini stories. We are actually still reading them. I like that you can read a different tale each day.

Happy Reading!

Jen

(Above: Illustration of leprechaun reading is from www.dulemba.com)

Wordless Wednesday: Silly Hat Day!

It was almost impossible to get a good photo of these girls for silly hat day; they are just too silly!



If there is such a thing as being too silly! Boom Boom, ain't it great to be crazy!


Happy W.W.! For more Wordless Wednesday, be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Suess!