Week 5: It's a plan! Pirates

Colours: Red, yellow, black
Shapes: crescent, oval
Sensory : cloud dough treasure hunt. (add jewels/ coins)
Science : Sink or float boats

Monday: Tuna sandwiches
Tuesday: TP roll parrot
Wednesday: Newspaper hat and eye patch
Thursday: Spyglass
Friday: Handprint pirate ship

Shopping list:
paint
Empty TP roll
card stock
glue
googly eyes
News paper or large sheets of paper
tuna
mayo bread
ketchup
empty paper towel roll

Aluminium foil
Red plastic cups

Week 4: It's a plan! Dr Seuss

Colours: Pastels (explore mixing colours with white)
Letter: S
Shapes: Circle, Oval, rectangle
Sensory: water beads

 Lorax snack find inspiration here and here
Monday: Truffula tree forest
Tuesday: Hop on pop hop scotch and exploding chalk
Wednesday: One fish, two fish goldfish graphing
Thursday: The foot book craft, here is a whole bunch of activities
Friday: Yertle the turtle stacking

Shopping list:
Food colouring
waterbeads
tissue paper
popsicle sticks
baking soda
cornstarch
vinegar
sidewalk chalk
paint
glue
card stock
goldfish/ Swedish fish

Have fun everyone!
Tiana

Monday started off with the Lorax, we made a Truffula tree forest and had a Lorax snack

It was also a "good day for up!" We went to a local fair and rode the Ferris wheel

We read "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" and used some Swedish fish for graphing

We took the fun over to Gramdma's house and hung out with our little cousin. We read "Hop on pop" and then played with the water beads, and made exploding chalk

Of course the clean up so much fun too

Week 3: It's a plan! on the farm

Colours: green, brown, red
Shapes: square, crecent
letter: F
Sensory: Vegetable garden sensory box or muddy pigs
Science: Sprouting beans

Monday: Corn on the cob painting
Tuesday: Corn bread muffins (I am totally going to use a mix that I have on hand!)
Wednesday: Cow foot print or handprint
Thursday: red barn collage (Use an outline of a barn, children tear pieces of tissue paper/ paper and stick on)
Friday: Chicken mask

Shopping list:
Corn on the cob
ingredients for muffins
paint
paper
paper plates
tissue paper/ magazines
cotton wool
beans
things for the sensory box
or
cornstarch, food colouring and pigs for muddy pigs

Have fun everyone! 

Tiana

Week 2 : it's a plan! Exploring great artists

I have to give a LOT of credit to Red Ted Art, for this week's inspiration! Her projects are nothing short of fantastic!

Colours: Red, Blue, Yellow
Shapes: Circle, rectangle, triangle
Letter: A
Sensory: Free painting / window painting (Recipe here)
Science: melting ice cubes/ colour mixing (Make red, yellow and blue ice cubes, melt together in water with different temperatures)

We will look for works by the artists and discuss their techniques and use of colour before we do our crafts this week)
Monday: Anothy Gormley sculptures with play dough (seriously the best play dough recipe ever!)
Tuesday: Kandinsky finger painting  (This doubles as the sensory activitity!)
Wednesday: Jackson Pollack marble painting
Thursday: Picasso sandwiches (Cut slices of bread into circles, give children a variety of food to create their own self portraits)
Friday: Matisse cut outs

Bonus: Obliteration room  This was so cool, it needed a special mention!

Shopping list:
Red, blue and yellow paint
baby oil
flour
cream of tartar
food colouring
salt
bright coloured card stock
dish soap
glue sticks
scissors
circle stickers
large sheets of white paper
ingredients for sandwiches
marbles
shallow pan

Have fun everyone!

 

Tiana

Round up! 

Play dough, ready for the week! 

Cleaning the windows for window painting! 

There was a thunder shower outside, so we decided to paint on the inside! 

Isn't it lovely? 

Matisse cut outs 

Supplies for self portraits 

 We had an event this weekend called the "Art walk". Local artists line the side walks for several blocks. Here is Kermit appreciating his grandma's work! 

I hope everyone had fun this week! I am having a hard time getting anything done, the weather has been so gorgeous here, we just want to be outside! 

Tiana

Week 1: It's a plan! Reptiles

Colours: green/ brown
Shapes: triangle, circle
Letter: R
Sensory: playdough

Monday: Turtles made from Kiwis and grapes
Tuesday: Spiral snake
Wednesday: Egg carton frogs
Thursday: popsicle stick lizzard
Friday: Dragon eggs
Field trip: We'll be going to a local nature centre

Supply list:
Kiwis
grapes
raisins
eggs
food colouring
vinegar
popsickle stick
paint
glue
pipe cleaners
card stock

Summer camp at home!

As you know, I love playing with my children. The summer is a perfect time for us to spend a lot of time together, and last year I decided to have a plan for each week of our summer holidays or we were likely to spend it watching TV.

All in all we will have 12 weeks of time off school with Tad, and 9 with Kermit. I have a plan for each of those weeks, centered around a theme. There will be cooking activities, crafts, sensory play, field trips, science, fine-motor development and lots of fun!

Follow along and have loads of fun!
Tiana

The round up: St Patrick's day!

Our weekend turned out to be crazy busy! We ended up not getting around to all of the crafts that we had planned. Kermit did not have school on Friday morning, so we quickly whipped up a batch of the Mint chocolate chip cookies. We used the cookie mix from Glutino, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Kermit was lucky enough to take one of the cookies to school, along with other green snacks!

Mint choc chip cookie, ready to be baked
Tadpole kept asking if it was Ice-cream!

Green lunch for Kermit!

 

When Kermit came home from school, we did a little science, we divided the carnations between the mason jars, and added the food colouring. Kermit had a great time telling Tadpole which colours to mix! We kept an eye on the flowers all through the weekend, within a few hours we saw colour creeping into the petals, especially the green ones. The results were not as dramatic as we anticipated, but there was definitely a change.

 

Before

After

I surprised the boys with a Shamrock bath on Saturday morning. I added green food colouring to the water(Apparently it doesn't affect the colour of your tub or your children!)  I found a big pack of the craft foam shamrocks on sale a few weeks ago. When they are wet, they stick to the side of the bath. The boys had a great time playing with those, it turned into a little math activity as they made patterns all around the sides of the bath.

 

For snack we combined Bananas, frozen mango and Spinach, Vanilla drinking yoghurt and milk to make our Shamrock smoothies. Tadpole had it behind his ears and in his eyebrows. They loved it!

 

We made the play dough after snack time, Kermit really enjoyed reading the recipe and measuring the ingredients. They used the cookie cutters, pom poms and tools to make many wonderful creations! I loved the recipe too. It was quick and easy. I totally cheated and used my big mixer with the dough hook attachment to knead it.

We enjoyed a Leprechaun's lunch. Shamrock omelettes with Spinach, rainbow peppers and "gold coins" at the end of the rainbow!

 

I wish we had more time to get around to all the other fun we had planned! We'll try again next year! What did you get up to?

 

Happy playing!

Tiana

 

 

 

It's a plan! Easter & Spring.

Easter is one of my favourite holidays to celebrate, it is such a wonderful time of new life. We are fortunate to have the week before Easter off as well. As usual, I plan to do lots of crafts, cooking and exploring with the boys. Seeing as Easter is a religious holiday for us, some of the activities are based in Christianity. I have provided alternative activities on those days. We may not get around to doing everything, but we'll sure try!

Colours: pastels (explore mixing bright colours with white)
Sensory: Garden sensory tub
Play dough: pink, purple and yellow (cooked play dough made with baby oil)
Science:

• Dissolving eggshells in vinegar
• Colour Easter eggs with natural dyes

 Friday: Tape resist Easter eggs. Putti's world tells you how.

Saturday: Dipped and decorated rice crispy treat eggs and bunnies, Kermit is able to read the recipe on the box, and he's been begging me to make these!

Sunday: family day!

Monday: Naturally dyed Easter eggs, find ideas for natural dyes here

Tuesday: Bunny hand prints, I think these are adorable! They might turn into cards!

Wednesday:Game day!

Thursday: Coffee filter flowers and carrots (We may take the easy road and just colour the coffee filters with markers and spray with water)

Friday: resurrection cookies / Easter treats

Saturday: Stained glass crosses and eggs

Sunday: Easter egg hunt, get some great ideas non candy egg fillers here.

Monday: Field trip!

Shopping list:
White eggs
Raspberries
Blueberries
Red and yellow onion skins
Spinach
(anything else you may need for natural dyes)
Ingredients for treats
Tissue paper
Black card stock
Contact paper
Coffee filters
Food colouring
Sticky tape
Paint
Vinegar
Supplies for your sensory tub
Flour
Salt
Baby oil
Cream of tartar

The Ins and Outs of sensory play

One of my earliest memories is of playing in the mud and making cakes, then decorating them with pebbles, flowers and everything else I could find. I remember having an outdoor "kitchen" of sorts, where I would brew all kinds of concoctions. My Mom understood the importance of sensory play. I am so thankful for the experiences I had as a child, and I would love it if my boys felt the same.

Kermit has a love-hate relationship with messy things, he loves to explore, but has a severe aversion to getting his hands dirty. Keeping this in mind, I have tried to provide activities to get him a little more comfortable with being messy.

But why is sensory play so important? From birth, children learn through sensory input. Not only does sensory play stimulate all five the senses, it is a great avenue for basic math skills, early literacy, fine-motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, development of self control and creativity. And it is so much fun!

Now that I have you all excited about sensory play, where do you start?
Well, sensory play does not need to be expensive! A simple sandbox or water tray with a few tweaks, can provide hours of fun! I once filled my sink with bubbles and measuring cups, Tadpole played there for nearly an hour! You can add all kinds of toys and even a little food colouring to make things exciting!

Another avenue to explore when planning sensory play is a sensory box/bin/tub/table. When I set mine up, I start with a filler, I've compiled a list of my favourites, but you can add whatever you want.

Think about things that your children would enjoy, ask for their input regarding themes and work around their interests. I try to add things that will stimulate as many senses as possible. 

In my opinion, sensory boxes have the same allure for children as a junk drawer, they simply love exploring all of the little parts and treasures they find. Add some life skills practise by adding scoops, tongs, spoons, bowls or containers that need opening and closing.

Here are some pictures of the sensory activities we've done in the past:

Ocean animals and foam 

Cloud dough and dinosaurs

Rice, coloured with kool-aid, on  a light table

A giant ice cube with clear water beads and trucks to clear the "snow"

Bubble wrap and shaving foam

Green and blue water beads with empty easter eggs and spoons

Fall

a giant ice cube with little plastic dinosaurs,
ready for excavation!

Ice cream

Dinosaurs

Halloween (coloured cooked spaghetti)

If you need some more inspiration, have a look at the sensory bins  from Counting coconuts, she has been a great inspiration to me!

Happy playing!

Tiana

It's a plan! St Patrick's day

I love holidays!
I love making special food, doing crafts and just having fun with my boys.
Seeing as St Patrick's day is just around the corner, I think it is the perfect time to explore colours!
I've put together a little plan for the St Patrick's weekend. I will post pictures of our adventures after we've done them! Chances are we will not be able to do everything, however,  if we have a plan, there is hope!

Colours: Green, red, blue, yellow
Sensory: green playdough
Science: Ice cube melting, use food colouring to make red, blue and yellow ice cubes, explore colour mixing as they melt. Ask your children to make predictions
Another science activity I've been meaning to try is coloured flowers, I think St Patrick's day lends itself perfectly towards this activity!

Friday afternoon: Shamrock collage, Large shamrock shaped paper. Children tear pieces of magazine and stick on. (each child makes 2, turn into a garland) find inspiration and plenty of great ideas here

Saturday: Mint chocolate chip cookies, find the recipe on this lovely blog. While these are baking, we might make some hats! There are several great ideas out there, these hats are easy and cute!!
    
Sunday: I think we'll celebrate with lots of green food, and perhaps have a Shamrock and Chocolate coin hunt

Because my boys love baths, I'm sure we'll have to try a themed bath time at some point in the weekend, I love this idea by In lieu of preschool!

A friend gave me this very easy recipe for playdough, I will try it out this week.

No cook Kool-Aid playdough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 drink mix packs of kool-aid (1Tbsp)
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup boiling water

Mix  the dry ingredients and oil
Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon until it's too thick to stir
Kneed the mixture until it forms a soft ball.


Enjoy your playtime!
Tiana

Shopping list:
Food colouring
carnations/daisies
sugar cookie mix
paper plates
green kool-aid
flour
oil
salt
chocolate coins

Hello there!

Let me start by introducing myself and my family.

I am a thirty something SAHM of two, Kermit who is 5, and Tadpole who is 3. I've been married to my sweetheart Jerry, for almost 8 years.

 

I adore my little family, I love to cook and bake healthy, wholesome, real food. I love to do a number of crafts, including jewelry making, scrapbooking, card making and knitting. I love watching movies with my family. Playing with my boys is a big priority for me, we craft, cook, build and do science experiments together. I am also getting pretty good at building Lego and turning Transformers back into the vehicles they are supposed to be! I hope to post a little bit of all of our adventures as we grow together!

 

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

 

Tiana