Simple Spider Craft

I made these simple spiders for little man and his little buddy yesterday.  Very easy to make, but fun to play with!

Materials: black construction paper, yarn

Directions:
1. Cut out a rectangle. Next, cut four legs on each side. 

 

2. Fold the legs on the rectangles as shown above.

 

3. Cut out a circle.

 



4. Put the circle on top of the rectangle and poke a hole in the center.
5. Pull a peice of yarn or string through the center and tie on the bottom.

 



 Now the eensy, weensy spider is ready to take a walk!

 

 

Jen

Tt is for Turtle...

Little man loves the letter Tt!  Do you want to know why?

Well, I'll  show you....

Do you know how stinkin' cute it was to hear him trying to sing this- oh my goodness!

Well, after that, I just had to do a Tt craft with him.

Turtle Craft

Materials: green and yellow construction paper, google eyes, glue, brown paint, and a sponge or large pom pom

After cutting out a half a circle for the shell, I  had little man paint brown spots on it.  He used a large pom pom. Cut out the other parts of the turtle. Cut a yellow Tt.

Let the shell dry before helping your child glue the parts together.

Last, with assistance help glue the Tt on the turtle.  Talk about the letter and the sound.

He's so proud of his Tt  turtle!

Turtle song

I had a tiny turtle,

His name was Tiny Tim.

I put him in the bathtub,

to see if he could swim.

He drank up all of the water,

He ate up all the soap,

He tied to swallow the bathtub,

But it wouldn't fit down his throat!

(different versions online)

I made a paper bathtub and acted out the song with a stuffed animal and the bathtub. I think I had more fun with this than little man.  Oh well!  Maybe your little one will like it! 

Have fun learning

with the

letter  Tt!

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

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

The Baby Times! 3rd Edition

Welcome back to The Baby Times! This week, Sunshine shares a finger play using a puppet with our little man. Getting the kids involved with the baby seems to help with feelings of jealousy. It helps them to bond and to feel part of taking care of him. Enjoy the simple finger play- Ten Little Bunnies!




Other ideas for counting finger plays-

Ten little bumble bees go BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ!(bumble bee puppet?)

Ten little bubbles go POP,POP,POP! (blow bubbles for your little one)

The book pictured below looks super cute! Haven't read it yet, but it looks like it would tie in nicely with this activity.

"One little bunny drumming.......Boom! Boom!"

Enjoy your Tuesday with your little ones!

Jen

The Baby Times! 2nd Edition
The Baby Times! 1st Edition

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

Happy Groundhog Day!!

Be creative with your kids tomorrow and celebrate Groundhog's Day with a couple of these fun ideas!

*Make a groundhog face mask with a paper plate! Have your child pretend to be a groundhog. Did they see their shadow?? or create a small groundhog puppet.
Groundhog Day crafts from Enchanted Learning

Shadow= Six more weeks of Winter weather
No Shadow= Early Spring

*Have fun singing this simple groundhog song!
Here's a Little Groundhog
(can be sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

Here's a little groundhog
Furry and brown
He's coming up
To look around
If he sees his shadow
Down he goes
Then six more weeks
Of winter snows.
(Source: Project Groundhog)


*Play and experiment with shadows. Use a flash light and make different animals on the wall. For more shadow fun and ideas, visit the links below!
Hand Shadow Pictures
Shadow tracing

*Ask open-ended questions to your child to get them thinking!
Would you want to be Punxatawney Phil? Why or why not?
Do you want Spring to come or do you want Winter to last longer? Why?
How is a groundhog different than a bear, how is it similar?

Fast Facts
Groundhogs can whistle!
Groundhogs keep pretty clean!
Groundhogs hibernate! (one of the few who actually do- not just a deep sleep like other animals.)
(Source:http://www.groundhog.org/about/funfacts.php)


Official Site of the Punxatawney Groundhog Club:http://www.groundhog.org/

Have fun being creative and curious about Groundhog Day 2009!!



Jen