Exciting News!

No, I'm not pregnant with my fourth child! 

Actually, I'm excited, because I get to review an item from CSN Stores and offer an item to one of my readers.  CSN Stores have such a large variety of items. They have over 200 stores with everything from baby items to outdoors. If you need furniture, you can find it at CSN Stores, home improvement needs such as recessed lighting- yes, you can find this there as well. 

Being that Creative and Curious Kids focuses on kids stuff, I'm selecting an item from their Toys and Games store. I can't wait to share my product selection with you, but it's a surprise, so you'll have to stay tuned for my review and giveaway. It's a good one! 

Take Care,
Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Giggles!

Hope your day is filled with sweet laughter!

Jen

Happy Wordless Wednesday! Be sure to visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more W.W.

The Baby Times! 8th Edition: New Baby Books

Grandma gave little man a gift this week that he loves: a set of new books.  The sturdy and colorful board books came in a set.  When I was searching online for a photo of the set, I couldn't find it, but I did come across a nice surprise.  You can actually purchase the books with a fun block set. Both books are great for baby, toddlers, or preschoolers.  The blocks can be saved for when baby get a bit older.  Below I typed an example of the little poems that you'll find in these fun books! The illustrations are eye-appealing and just adorable!

Farmyard Friends by Julie Fletcher

Sheep

Sheep is very woolly,

Her coat is soft and white.

She also makes a lot of noise,

  And bleats both day and night!

Under the Sea 123  Illustrations by Rebecca Finn

On our deep-sea counting trip,

One gentle whale glides by,

Smiling at the little fish
                            And squirting water high!

Thanks Grammy for the great books!

Love,

Little Man

If you missed any past editions of The Baby Times, you can find them here.

Have a great day!

Jen

Life at the Pond

Next weekend, we will once again be traveling to one of our favorite spots, our camp up in the mountains.  The kids are looking forward to getting their hands, feet, and everything else dirty while they investigate pond life.  Tadpoles, frogs, dragonflies, salamanders, striders, and more inhabit the pond near our camp.  Using nets, the kids scoop the wildlife out of the water to enjoy for just a small amount of time before returning them to their own habitat. 

As I was looking through my teacher resources, I found this great Pond Animal worksheet.  After teaching the kids about what life is like in a pond, the kids can invent a new animal that has adapted to pond life.  What would the animal eat? How will it fend off predators? How will it breathe? After thinking about these questions and discussing, a great project idea would be to sketch and label their new creature or to create the animal with clay or other materials. 

Pond Animal Worksheet 

Invent an animal that has adapted to pond life. Think about what life is like in a pond.

Name of pond animal:

 _______________________________


What does your animal eat?




What adaptations does your animal have for the following?

finding food:




moving around:




protection:




reproduction:




other amazing facts:







Worksheet above adapted from-
(Challenge Magazine May/Summer 2000 Vol 18 No. 5 Issue 90)
___________________________________________________

Other great resources:

Pond Explorer
Virtual Pond
Ponder This

Other ideas:
Discuss organisms that the kids can't see with the naked eye.  If available, use a microscope to view pond water.  Share PowerPoint: Using a Microscope & Life in a Pond

Discuss senses-What do you hear at the pond? Describe what you see?  What do you feel? What does the critter(s) feel like? Discuss.

Books that look like fun:


Let me know if you investigate pond life with your children.  I'll update you with our finds once we return from our camping trip. 

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Jen

It's Cleaning Day!

I'd love to play on the computer all day in between taking care of baby, because I do love posting ideas and reading all of your wonderful blogs, but my house is falling apart.  Yesterday, a neighbor came over to talk.  Embarrassed, I moved the unfolded laundry aside and pointed out where my baby was lying lost in the toy clutter.  The kids dirty dishes on the table, I could just cry.  So I humbled myself and listened as a neighbor needed me, hoping she would just ignore the mess surrounding us.  To make a long story short, I'm going to focus on my house today, because I haven't been motivated to keep up with it lately and now it is time.  Today is the time- Today is Cleaning Day!  Before I clean, I'll let you be a fly on the wall in my home.  Here's what's been going on in the Creative and Curious Kids household this week!

Peanut- sick- missed a day of school
Sunshine- sick- missed two days of school and has needed breathing treatments for asthma
Little Man- he's coughing as well and keeping us up at night, also starting to teeth
Mom- root canal on Tuesday- yippee!  lol
Dad- working overtime to pay for our root canals.  He had his last week! :(

Okay- now on a more positive note- the fun going on here-

Books- reading The Cabin Faced West to the kiddos
Peanut- reading a bunch of easy readers to practice her beginning reading
Sunshine- reading her second book from series - Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Little man- reading his favorite baby books  to him and singing rhymes, he found his toes and having fun playing with them on the floor as he rolls around :)

Computer-researching Alabama, Texas, and Colorado (3 postcards we got this week), playing
Webkinz and PBS kids

DS time- brain age, fashion game, and Nintendo dogs

Creative time- creating a museum with state artifacts based on states research, using imagination to play fashion divas, spy, and waitress.  Pet shop play. Color Fillz- Mosaic Art clay project

Outdoor time- Captain midnight, running, and hula hoop with neighborhood kids (I counted 10 in my yard last night) That's a lot of kiddos! 

Well, enjoy your day!  Time for me to get moving!!

Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Little Slugger!

Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the....

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks....

I don't care if I never get back....

Peanut's first time playing t-ball. (tear, tear...)

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

Take Care,

Jen

The Baby Times! 7th Edition: Bath Time Fun!

As I was giving the baby a bath last night, I realized that I didn't know very many bath time songs or rhymes. So I researched different songs and poems and thought I'd share on The Baby Times- just in case other Mommas or Poppas out there needed ideas as well. Have fun Bebopping and singing to baby during your next bath time!

Bebop Bath

It's a scrubble-de-time.
It's a bubble-de-time.
It's a rub-dub-a-dub
Dub-a-dubble-de-time!

You can wash with a swash.
You can swim with a swish.
Be a seal!
Be a whale!
Be a fish if you wish!

You can flip-flop your arms.
You can wig-wag your feet.
You can sail all your boats.
Let a duck join the fleet!

'Cause …

It's a scrubble-de-time.
It's a bubble-de-time.
It's a rub-dub-a-dub
Dub-a-dubble-de-time

Another great idea is to take a little song we are already familiar with and change the words to fit bath time.  For example-

Mulberry Bush
This is the way we wash our hands
Wash our hands, wash our hands.
This is the way we wash our hands,
When were in the bath tub!
 or
Frere Jacque
Splish splash water, splish splash water
On your toes, On your toes
On your fingers, on your fingers
On your nose, on your nose

For more great bath songs and rhymes- resource: Pool Rhyme Times

These links are adorable- you'll have to check them out- with music! :)

http://www.smart-central.com/bathtime.htm

http://www.smart-central.com/rubadub.htm

http://www.smart-central.com/Rubber_Ducky.htm

Another cute version of Rub a Dub Dub from Mother Goose Club

Oh, there is nothing like kissing clean baby fingers and toes!

Books that look fun-






And don't forget about Ernie!

Rubber Ducky, your the one! You make bath time lots of fun......

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Stay Tuned for Baby Times!

I'm truly hoping I can finish my Baby Times post today, but not sure if it's going to happen.  Last night, Sunshine was having problems with asthma and little man was up all night coughing, which means Momma was up all night.  And now it is time for me to go and get a root canal- Yippie. 
Anyways, if I'm feeling okay, I'll be sure to post. My next Baby Times post is going to focus on Bath time fun, rhymes, and songs. 

Have a great day- hope your day will be more exciting than mine. he, he

Take Care,
Jen

Fun Flea Market Finds

Flea markets are so much fun. I love looking at antiques and other people's treasures and who doesn't love finding a good deal. Today, I only spent $3 and I came home with a great wicker laundry basket, a copy of The Cabin Faced West, two books about our state, and a really cool book that I wanted to be sure to share with you. It's titled Spot the Differences: Art Masterpiece Mysteries.


What's so cool about this book is not only does it show 25 famous paintings, but it is also a fun puzzle book. On one page you will find the original painting, but on the next page there are 6 to 14 changes in the painting to discover. The book also includes facts about each painting and the artist. Oh, it was so worth 50 cents!!

What fun finds have you found recently?  I'd love to hear about them!

Take Care,
Jen

Postcard Swap

I'm very excited to be participating in a National postcard swap organized by Playing by the book. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get into the International swap, but luckily she organized a second swap for all of us interested in the states!

We sent postcards to five different states and will receive 5 postcards from different states. As the cards come in the mail, the girls will mark the different states on a map.



Next, we'll research each state. What are the state symbols? landmarks? special foods? fun things to do? etc. Sunshine is interested in the state flags. First, I'll assess their background knowledge about our own state before moving on to new states. Then we can compare and contrast the different states.

Research resources

Enchanted Learning- USA/States

State Symbols

50 States Book List

Possible project ideas

-travel booklet

-tourism commercial

-state mobile

-PowerPoint

Also, stop over at Superheroes and Princesses. She has been doing some awesome state projects with her kiddos!

Please feel free to leave a comment and share any ideas for state projects. If you aren't participating in a swap, but are interested in something like this, out-of-state relatives are a great resource and kids love getting post cards from family!

Enjoy your day!

Jen

How Sweet!

Awww! Look what I got from one of my new followers! Kristin from Adventures of a Betty Crocker Wannabe awarded me with this "Sweet" Award.

Thanks, Kristin!





I passed it along to 10 sweet bloggers- some are new treasures that I've recently found and others I've been reading for years.

Congrats friendly bloggers!

Christy at Superheroes and Princesses
http://superheroesandprincesses.blogspot.com/

Valerie at Frugal Family Fun Blog
http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/

Jen at Delicious Ambiguity
http://www.mydeliciousambiguity.com/

Jenn at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman
http://jennwa.blogspot.com/

Nicole at Activity Mom
http://activitymom.blogspot.com/

Chels at Fantastic Finds
http://fantasticfind.blogspot.com/

Bobbi at Casa Camacho
http://bobbicamacho.blogspot.com/

Erin at Letter Soup
http://lettersoupblog.blogspot.com/

Trish at Preschool Playbook
http://www.preschoolplaybook.com/

Vanessa at Silly Eagle Books
http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/

Sweet Blog Award Rules:
*Give this award to 10 sweet and friendly bloggers.
*Make a post about the award including the picture and mention the
person who gave it to you.
*Put the award on your blog.
*Let your nominated 10 know you've awarded them by leaving
a comment.



Have a great day! :)
Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Yes, I Married Him!

Last week, my husband made fun of my over baked potato! This week I get to return the favor and make fun of him! I just had to snap a photo of this!

Listening to the hockey game on my old 80's boom box wearing our daughter's froggy earphones. He's sitting there like this is normal. LOL I got a good laugh when I walked into the living room to see this. I guess he really wanted to listen to the game!

Gotta love him! I'm hoping we'll still be married after I post this. :)

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

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
Jen