Spring Robin Activities

During a beautiful Spring walk last week, we were pleased to get a close up view of a robin.  We even started singing Raffi's song- Robin in the rain, such a saucy fellow....

As we sang and admired the bird- our song ended with ewwwww and many kid giggles.  Mr. Robin decided to entertain us by pooping on the lawn.  Little man started cracking up- only 2 and he sees humor in this.  So much for Spring beauty...well, at least the kids got a good laugh. 

It might have been funnier if you were there, but I thought I'd share anyways. 

And speaking of sharing- how about some cute Spring Robin activities....


DLTK bible
If I were a Robin in a tree... craft and song



Adventures in Reading With Kids
shares an adorable robin themed book and craft.

KidZone
Research/Coloring printable



*Resource for Research: Bird facts and bird call from
All About Birds

NutureStore
has a tutorial on how to make this sweet pom pom robin.

   And I leave you with the song we were singing when the "incident" occurred!

Spring Blessings,

Jen

The clip art at the top of the page can be found at

Early Learning HQ

Wordless Wednesday: Time for Bubbles!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

For more... visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Enjoy,

Jen

First Day of Spring Activities

Happy Spring!! 

What are you doing today to celebrate Spring?  We will be spending as much time as possible outside.  It is a BEAUTIFUL Spring day in our neck of the woods.  Little man just asked me for bubbles- so I guess that's #1 on our list! 
#2 picnic lunch
#3 bike riding- the girls are sporting early birthday presents- brand, spankin' new bikes.  They are so excited!!  They've always had hand-me down bikes from cousins, so this is a big deal to have something of their own. 

Well, if we make it indoors today, maybe we'll try out a couple of these Spring activities.....

Flower Mask from DLTK










Egg Shell Plant Pots 
from Enchanted Learning

Jan Brett- Spring Coloring Page

Enjoy your day and thanks for reading!

Jen

November Sensory Bin and Leaf Play!

I just love the dollar store.  I found these silk leaves there, as well as the fake gourds/pumpkins.  It was very easy to change over my Spooky bin from October to our November fall bin.  Little man loves the silk leaves and really has been enjoying the sensory bins that I've been making for him.  Often, I catch the older girls playing in the bins as well- which is pretty cool.

Here are a few or more ideas for silk leaves....

*Toss them around the room for indoor fall play.

*Counting

*Sorting- green and orange.

*Create math problems.  (Sally picked up 5 leaves, but 2 blew away in the wind.  How many does she have now?)  Use the leaves as manipulatives to solve the math problem.

*Beginning multiplication.  3 groups of 4 leaves= 4x3=12  Use the leaves as manipulatives to count groups.

*I think I've seen letters written on the leaves with permanent marker.  This would be fun during the fall months for ABC practice or spelling practice. (if you have extra leaves for more letters)

*Create a thankful tree.  After sharing what you are thankful for, add a leaf to the tree each day. 

Okay, your turn!  What are your ideas for these wonderful $ tree leaves??

And for more sensory play ideas, be sure to visit...


Take Care,
Jen

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

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

Create a Snow Person

Lately, we've been in survival mode taking care of a newborn and two older siblings, so the older children have been spending way too much time with their electronics. So when the baby was asleep the other day, I quickly threw together a quick creative craft- making snow people! The girls had a lot of fun and Mom and Dad decided to get our creative juices flowing as well. The kids also enjoyed spending this time with us.

To make snow people with your family, you will need the following:

Materials:
White paper
Glue
A variety of craft materials
Scissors
Circular containers to trace
Markers/crayons

Directions:
Using different sized circular containers, trace 3 different sized circles. Cut out for younger children. Older children can cut out their circles.

Have your child glue the circles together to create a snowman.

Next, have your child use a variety of craft materials to decorate their snow person. Encourage creativity by brainstorming ideas for their snow person- ballerina, football player, mother, etc.



Peanuts Snowgirl with a fancy skirt and earrings. After finishing her Snow people, Peanut had fun playing with them. She has quite the imagination!


Sunshine's Hawaiian Snowgirl with a fancy fabric hat.


Sunshine enjoyed making this traditional Snowman!



Mom at work!


It's a Snowmommy!


Dad working hard at his creation!


Dad's Snowangel turned out great!

Have fun being creative with your family! For other snowman ideas and children's books about snow, visit these websites!

Best Winter Snowman Books
Teaching Heart- Snowmen Theme
Step by Step- Snowman

Fun Blog Posts:

Somewhat Organized, Slightly Crafty: Wonderful snowman activities/ideas for Preschoolers

Preschool Playbook: Snazzy Snowmen (made with Ivory Snow Detergent)


Take Care,

Jen

Love the Pumpkin Farm!

Isn't this time of year just lovely? The pumpkins, the warm cider, the changing leaves- I just love it. Yesterday, we had a family day out at the pumpkin farm. The weather couldn't have been better.


Our festivities included a hayride, pumpkin picking, corn maze, face painting, and more! Take a peek:


The Hayride


My Sunshine Girl with her pumpkin!



Pumpkin just lookin' cute.



"Did the girls have to pick out pumpkins this large?" Poor Dad.


Is this pony smiling?? Peanut's first pony ride- yeah!


Sunshine enjoying her pony ride.



Smile!

Happy Fall from our family to yours!

Jen

Snow Princess!

We had so much fun dressing up our snow girl today!! My girls have been dying to get out to build a snowman, but the weather has been way tooo cold! The weather today was just right and the snow was Perfect for building. Being we had so much fun, I'd love to challenge you to create a unique snowman or girl with your creative kids!! So, I'm going to have a creative contest!! Here are the guidelines:

Contest Guidelines

1. Take a photo of your snowman or girl or creature.
2. Post it on your blog. (If you don't have a blog, but would like to participate, let me know!)
3. Link back to me and I will give linky love back to you!!
4. For extra entries, be sure to do the following: subscribe to Creative and Curious Kids or Put my site on your blog roll!!

The winner will be chosen randomly and will get to choose a book of their choosing from my Usborne website. (Up to a $15 value)
Contests ends on January 31st!

Have fun being creative with your kids! I hope that you will participate; I can't wait to see your photos!!





Have a great day!!

Jen

Marshmallow Snowmen

Another tradition passed down from my Mom- Marshmallow Snowmen!! She would make them for us and practically all of the kiddos in the neighborhood. When I was teaching, I made them for my students as well. This year, my husband and I helped our girls make their very first snowman out of marshmallows and they loved it! This activity is fun to do with the kids around Christmas, but also a fun January activity. That's the great thing about snowmen- you can keep them out until March!!


Materials needed: Bag of large marshmallows, gumdrops, candy canes, toothpicks, 3 Musketeers bars or Milky Way Bars, Aluminum Foil, blue food coloring

1. Wrap a candy bar with aluminum foil. Tape candy canes on each side of the wrapped candy bar to make your snowman's sled.

2. Connect 3 large marshmallows with toothpicks. You may want to double up on the toothpicks so that they hold. Using toothpicks, put the snowman on the sled.

3. Next, make arms,legs, and a hat out of the gumdrops by connecting them on toothpicks. (3 for each leg, 2 for each arm, 1 for a hat) Attach into the marshmallows.
(This part is a little tricky- we kept poking ourselves with the toothpicks! Ouch!)

4. Finish your snowman by making a face. Dip tip of a toothpick into food coloring.

5. Wrap with plastic wrap and ribbon to decorate.

6. Don't wait too long to eat your creation or give it as gift for a fun winter surprise!!




After a day of sledding and hot cocoa, try the above family activity!
Take Care and Happy Winter!

Jen

Let it Snow, Let it Snow.....

Things are getting pretty white around my neck of the woods! My girls are so excited because they can't wait to try out their new purple sleds from SANTA! Also, they want to have a snow ball battle. This is so my fault! One day last winter,I thought it would be so funny to hide behind the bushes and sabotage my husband with snowballs. As we were anxiously awaiting his return, one of my girls looked up at me and asks- "Why are we doing this again?"
"Because it's fun, silly!!"
Actually, it is because Mommy is immature and wants to get back at Daddy for all of the "bad" things he has done over the years! (Ha! Ha!)Ever since then, they want to beat up Mom and Dad with snowballs. They also can't wait to be snow angels and build a snowman.
I love watching them try to catch snowflakes on their tongues! I'd love to capture this moment on film. Especially my six year old! It is so great to see her just being a kid! She's trying to grow up too fast, so it is pure joy to see snow falling on her little face as she struggles to catch just one!
Although this weather makes me want to hibernate, it is hard not to appreciate the beauty of it all. The snow brightens up the dreary days of winter. The trees looks so beautiful when they are snow covered and I love watching the light reflect off snowflakes as they fall.
If you love this weather or if your children are fascinated with snowflakes, you'll have to share the story of "The Snowflake Man" with them. I came across a book titled Snow Crystals about Bently at the library and was impressed by his passion and work.

For the little ones, be sure to share the book, Snowflake Bently by Jacqueline Briggs Martin.














"Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated., When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind."

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley 1925


Enjoy the Snow and the books!
Jen