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