A Punk Rocker, a Witch, and a Pumpkin?

Sunshine age 10

Peanut age 8

Pumpkin age 2

 

 

Oh and I almost forgot about Spider Web girl?  or should I say Momma!

 

Last Saturday, we had fun dressing up for a Halloween parade. Sunshine even won third place in her age group for her punk costume. 
The Spider Web eyes idea.. not my own... found it on Pinterest and had to try it. Here's the pic that I found and printed out to help me decorate around my eyes.

I love the fun and creativity of Halloween...  a little bit spooky.. okay, but gore or evil.. not my thing for sure! My kids complain that my Halloween decorations are too cute!

Enjoy your Halloween adventures!

Jen

Create a Witches Hat!

Who says a witches hat has to be black?  We had so much fun creating these colorful and sparkly witches hats for Halloween. 

Materials
Colorful card stock
Glitter(we used a  mix of colors)
Markers
Halloween Stickers

I cut out the hats for the kids and assisted with the glittering process.  We used baking sheets covered with foil and this worked out great.  Less mess for sure.

Just read this tip online somewhere this week... can't remember where though to give credit to this awesome idea. 




 

Little man creating with his buddies

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Jen

 



Have a POTATO Day!

Why? You ask.  Why not.  Because there is a lot of learning you can do with potatoes.  Here are some activities that I had fun sharing with little man and his one year old buddy!

1. Play hot potato.  Old but goodie.  I sat the little one on my lap and she helped me pass a ball back and forth to little man.  The giggles and squeels were awesome!



2.  One Potato, Two.  Sing a hand-rhyme.

One Potato, Two

One potato, two potato, three potato, four
Five potato, six potato, seven, potato, more
Eight potato, nine potato, ten potato, then
Let’s start over and do it again.

(pound your right fist on your left fist and then left over right- repeat to rhythm of poem)
 
Source....

3.  Color Mr. Potato Head or play with Mr. Potato Head toy.  Name the different parts: eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet, etc.

printable

 

 

4. Spud observations:  Take out an actual potato. 

Let your little one observe and feel the different texture of the potato. 

Talk about it and where it grows. 

What do they see on the potato? 

If they are old enough, they can draw their observations.

 

5. Potato Painting

I cut an old potato in half and let little man paint with it.  He enjoyed this activity.  We were focusing on the color red this week, so I gave him red paint.  Then he asked for yellow and being he asked nicely.. yellow he got. 

 

 

More ideas..

*Roll Mr. Potato Head Game and printable.
*Magnetic Mr. Potato Head with printable.
*Potato activities from Make Learning Fun.

And then we have couple of funny potato posts from this blog...

Over-baked potato!

Mr. Potato Head

 

 

 

 

Any more fun potato ideas for little ones?

Jen

 

Thank you to Church House Clipart for the cute potato image!

Building with Large Blocks

Good Morning!  I just wanted to share a couple of pics of little man being creative and building with large cardboard blocks.  These blocks have outlasted 3 kids so far... bought them when my first was born and she's ten!  They are so great for so many reasons.. motor skills, creativity, story telling to name a few. 

If you are new to my blog, you'll have to check out Big Ben that my girls built many years ago! I think in 2008 to be exact.  I told you these blocks were old.  :)

Jen

Pinterest Find: Fall Tree Paintings

Some may think it is a little early to be painting fall trees, but when I saw this art project on Pinterest, I just had to do it with my son and a couple of new friends.  It was a hit with all three of the kids who thought that it was pretty cool to paint with q-tips.  

La classe della maestra estre Valentina

The above pic is the pin that I used as a guide for this project.  Please be sure to visit the link above to view the process. 


Artwork by LM(2.5) and M(3)

I think we'll be painting with q-tips again... easy clean up for sure! Have you started any fall crafts with your kiddos?

Jen

Chameleon Themed Books and Activities

My children have always been fascinated with chameleons! When peanut was just 2, she would ask the librarian for the same Chameleon book weekly- Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley.  She adored the photos in this non-fiction book and would "read" along with her favorite parts.

Little man has been fascinated by the chameleon characters in his fiction books: The Mixed up Chameleon by Eric Carle, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni, and Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro . 

Chameleon isn't happy with being a chameleon and wishes to be like other animals, even humans.  We enjoy seeing him get mixed up as he wishes to be a flamingo, a deer, and more.  At the end of the story it teaches a great lesson about being happy with just being you! 

Activities

1. Act out the story with...

The Mixed Up Chameleon Story Patterns from Kiz Club

2. Paint a chameleon
Art Project by in His grace

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"Parrots are green, elephants are gray, pigs are pink." But chameleons change color wherever they go. "On lemons they are yellow. In the heather they are purple." One chameleon is not pleased with his changeable appearance. He thinks, "If I remain on a leaf, I shall be green forever, and so I too will have a color of my own."

Read to find out what this chameleon discovers! Another sweet story about accepting who you are. Great for teaching colors and camouflage science concepts.

Activities

1. Explore camouflage with this cool activity!

Colorful chameleons activity by Helping Little Hands

2.  Play a game.

Camouflage Chameleon Game by Bright Hub Education

3.  Toddler Activity
After cutting out a variety of different colored chameleons, have your child match colorful pom poms to the different chameleons.  For fine motor fun, provide plastic chop sticks. (If creating the above game, the chameleons can be reused for this activity.)

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What a fun story written by the Japanese author, Chisato Tashero. We love the colorful illustrations of the different animals yearning to be different colors and patterns.  What happens when all of the animals turn different colors?  Read to find out how the problem in this story is solved! Great story to be combined with the above stories of self acceptance and differences. 

Activities

 

1.  Make a Chameleon Puppet

Toilet Paper Roll Craft from DTLK

-just add a popsicle stick to make it into a puppet

2.  Explore Culture
Teach your child about Japan. Read a book or explore online.  Next, share on a  map Japan's location in relation to our country.  Share simple phrases in Japanese.

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More chameleon themed printables/activities-

ABC matching chameleon cards from The Virtual Vine

Chameleon Party Blowers from Disney Family

Books we'd like to explore...

So much fun.. looking forward to doing lots of chameleon activities with my kiddos... hope you'll join in on the fun!  Leave a link in the comments if you have a post or a fun idea!!

Enjoy your day!
Jen



Ice Cream Activities

Recently, I posted my ideas for an ice cream week with the kiddos!  Well, we had fun testing ice cream, making a craft, reading an ice cream mystery and more.  Take a peek.....

Ice Cream Craft

Materials: ice cream template, tissue paper, markers, stickers, scrapbook paper, scissors

Ice cream Word Search

Materials: Word Search, pencil, and ice cream for eating!

Literature:

The Ice Cream Mystery by

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Should I Share My Ice Cream?

by Mo Willems

Ice Cream Taste Test

Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Choose a variety of ice cream flavors for your kiddos to try!  Blind fold them or have them close their eyes.  Which flavor is their favorite? Can they guess the flavor? 

We tested the following flavors: Spumoni, Rasberry Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Turtle Trail

For more ideas for an ice cream taste test, visit No Time For Flashcards: 5 Senses- Ice Cream Taste Test

We're not done celebrating the joy of ice cream just yet. 

Stay tuned for more ice cream fun!

Jen

Time to Make Our Leprechaun Traps

Every year we are tricked by those sneaky buggers.  Maybe this year will be the year that my kids will finally trap a leprechaun.  They need to get on the ball and start building their traps, being St. Patrick's Day Eve is right around the corner.   

Here are a couple of past posts with our experiences and fun pics...

2009 ideas- leprechaun came, but the kids didn't build traps- felt it was cruel. Leprechauns on the Loose


2010- changed their minds and created cruelty free traps. (I guess?)  Fun project. Leprechaun Linky Party


Are your kids planning on trapping any leprechauns this year? After the traps are set, be sure to read..

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Jen

Roller Coaster Physics for Kids!

                                        

Roller coasters are fast, fun, and exciting! They also involve a lot of Science-potential energy, kinetic energy, velocity, speed, friction, forces, gravity.....  Kids can learn about physics by building and testing  their own roller coaster. 

Materials needed

-foam insulating tubes (cut in half to make track)

-duct tape

-marble

-other recycled materials such as paper towel rolls for tunnels

-paper and pencil for planning

Sunshine (age9) adjusting her coaster so that her marble stays on
the track and makes the loop!

After designing and testing her rollercoaster, Sunshine wrote two paragraphs explaining how physics is involved in relation to her overall model and coasters in general.  She used her Science book, as well as information from websites to guide her with the writing component of this project.

                                         

Little man had to get in on the action as well!  I don't know what's cuter- the red long-johns or his attempt at getting that marble on the coaster? 

Resources:
How Roller Coasters Work
Hands-on Activity: Amusement Park Ride: Ups and Downs in Design
Roller Coaster Marbles: How Much Height to Loop the Loop?

Enjoy your weekend!

Jen

The Nightengale by Amy Short

Isn't this illustration just beautiful?  It was created by a friend of mine who also is a talented artist.  I just love it!  Although it could be for any time of year, it reminded me of Christmas, so I wanted to share. To find our more information about Amy's work or to make a purchase, be sure to stop by her site.

http://www.amyshortart.com/

Christmas Blessings,
Jen