Writing in Flour

This concept is nothing really new, but it is the first time we have done it.  There are so many variations that can be done.  My suggestion is to keep with the flour, though.  You will see why.

First get a container that is wide and flat.  I used a cake pan for my son and a reusable storage container (for sandwiches) with my daughter.  Just put some flour in and you are set.

The kids were a bit surprised and confused by me placing the flour in front of them.

I cut some paper and drew shapes, numbers, and letters on them.  I put them out and asked him to draw them in the flour. 

He had so much fun drawing these shapes.  Oh, and then came the experimenting and playing.

Now here is the part where you will appreciate the fact that you used flour and not sand.  Because shortly after these pictures were taken, the flour went in the hair.  And flour just shakes out.  :-) 
This activity is fun learning for any age or stage.  The flour has a soft, fluffy texture and makes a great sensory project.  So those of you with a preschooler and a toddler can easily do this.  For an easy clean up, just take this activity outside.  It is a ton of fun and great for learning.  Try it.
Kim

Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday?

Just the title alone is enough to know that it is my kind of book.  If you are wondering what in the world I am talking about, I am talking about Laura Bennett’s book Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday? 

                             

Laura Bennett.  Does that name sound familiar to you?  Well if you are a Project Runway fan, it definitely should.  She is the fiery, sophisticated redhead that had the expanding belly on season 3 of Project Runway.  I don’t know about you, but I was rooting for her to win (and I think we all know that heels and dresses are not my thing at all).  So with her being a mother to six children (five of them are boys), I think Laura has a very good grasp of parenthood and has an interesting perspective of things. 

I don’t really have a lot of Mommy reading time.  But, every time I did crack this open, I found myself relaxed, laughing, and truly enjoying seeing things from Laura’s point of view.  This is not one of those “I am such a great mom, you need to do everything like me” books.  Laura writes about herself, her children, her husband, and about her beliefs on being a mom and woman. 

Right when you start reading this book, Laura talks about taking care of yourself (something I admittedly am bad at) to be able to take better care of your children. 

My favorite parts of Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday? are when Laura describes parenting experiences such as her two year old dropping eggs one by one from the fridge or knowing that she needed to let go of her daughter and allow her to go to boarding school.

Laura is my kind of woman and mom.  I think if we knew each other in real life, we would get along.  She would probably go crazy with the fact that I do not wear make up on a regular basis, only have my hair done a third of the time, and think fitted tees and jeans (or capris) are the perfect outfit for about anything.  But we are both no nonsense kind of gals that definitely tell it like it is.

This week (April 6th) Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday? comes out in hardcover.  So while you are at the bookstore getting the latest book for your child, grab this one.  You can read more about the book on its website. 

Honestly, it is a breathe of fresh air.  It is liberating to see in print some of the thoughts you have in your mind.  The best thing is that they are written by someone else, so you don’t have to worry about what others will think of your thoughts or actions (not that I care about too much any longer).  I highly recommend this book to any woman (mom or not yet).

Kim

Disclosure: I was provided a pre-press copy of this book at no cost.  I was not paid or even asked to write this review.  I chose to post this review because I enjoyed this book.  My recommendation is purely my own opinion and had nothing to do with being provided a copy of this book.  You guys know I am very honest, so you should know my motives are for sharing a quality book with my friends. :-)

Using Shapes to Create Pictures

I don’t know how many of you watch television with your kids, but I do.  Not a freakishly high amount, but just enough to make me feel guilty some days.  I try to rationalize it by saying the shows are educational.  Let’s face it, Curious George is educational.  Way more than Max & Ruby.  Besides, Max is rude and Ruby is bossy. 

Okay I am getting off track.  We have started watching Team Umizoomi.  It is one cool show!  It is all about math.  They use math to solve problems.  Each episode talks about shapes and patterns.  Really neat.  And the song is catchy, “I see anything.  On my belly, belly, belly screen.” 

So Team Umizoomi inspired a project at our house.  I got out the construction paper and started cutting shapes.  I cut out squares, rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids (I like to say trapezoids).  I didn’t cut out any circles, though.  I got the wheel shaped pasta out for those.

                      

I drew some shapes on the paper to make some trucks and cars.  Right now Cole is talking about transportation at preschool, so I thought this would be fine to tie into that.  Cole matched up the cut out shapes to the shapes on the paper.

      

We also talked through a few vehicles without an outline to go by.  We experimented with some shapes and where to place them.  After ignoring some silly suggestions by Mom, Cole made a train and a car.

               

We had a lot of fun doing this craft.  It was easy, fast, and fun.  Best of all we learned about math, deduction, and problem solving.  Who would have thought gluing some paper and pasts would do that?  ;-)  Try it.

 

Now you get to share with us.  Just add your link below.  Please be sure to link back so your readers can find other sites and their readers can find you, too.  There are no real guidelines here, just whatever you would like to share with friends.  That’s what we all are, right?

I can’t wait to see what you have to show!

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1. Photo Cube Puzzle @ What I Live For
2. Janna - Easy way to capture your kids on Video!

1. Circle Art Project
2. Smart Money Mom - Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie
3. Great healthy recipe! Janines Greek Pitas! Yum!
   
   
4. You are next...
   CLICK HERE to enter your link

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If you do not have a blog, please feel free to share any tip or craft idea in a comment.  I know I would love to read about it.  :-)

Kim

Say WHAT?!

                               

“New rule starting now. We do not run with pee!”

 

Can you tell we are potty training?  Potty training always brings out the weirdest statements.  My daughter has no real interest in the reward system.  She likes to pee in the big potty and praise.  She also likes to pee in her potty and her favorite reward is to dump the pee into the big potty. 

She gets so excited that she runs to the bathroom as fast as she can (and that little chick is fast) carrying the basin with pee.  That stuff goes splashing everywhere.

I will let you know when my new rule is actually followed.  :-P

Chalk another one up to things I never thought would come out of my mouth.

So what have you said lately?  Please share with us.  Don’t make me feel like I am the only one.

Mud Glove for Kids Giveaway: CLOSED

When I was at the Blissdom Conference I attended a party that had a goodie bag.  Inside this goodie bag was a pair of gardening gloves.  I really didn’t think too much of them until I got home.  They were kids gardening gloves!  They are Mud Puddles by Mud Gloves.

                 

My son uses them for everything.  He uses them as firefighter gloves, so the people won’t slip out of his hands.  He uses them as doctor gloves.  There is really no end to his imagination with these gloves.

Now we did use them as actual gardening gloves to plant seeds for our soon to be garden.  These gloves are great!  My son really loves them.  They come in frog (green) and flamingo (pink).  Here is their website so you can check out them a little more for yourself.  These puppies are less than $6 and well worth it.

I have been in contact with Mud since the party and asked them if they would host a giveaway.  Since I already have a pair of gloves, I don’t need anymore.  They will be going to you!

                     

Mud Gloves provided me with 3 pairs of gloves to give away.  I will be throwing in a $5 gift card to The Dollar Tree (bought by myself).  With this $5 you can buy some gardening gear to go with the gloves.

This giveaway has ended.  Janelle L. was randomly selected through random.org.  The winner will be notified by email and will have 3 days to claim the prize.  So enter below to win. :-) 

Disclosure:I did not receive anything for this giveaway. Mud generously provided the gloves for the giveaway. I already have gloves from a previous experience.  I asked Mud to host this giveaway because I already loved their product, so this giveaway had no effect on my opinions.

Say WHAT?!

                                

“Not everyone thinks looking like a giraffe is a good thing, Honey.”

 

We were in line at a store when my son told a lady that she was pretty.  She lit up and thanked him.  Before she could get the words completely out, Cole told her that she was so pretty because she looked like a giraffe.  He told her that giraffes were one of his favorite animals.

The woman was not so impressed with the comparison.  Needless to say, I think my son’s flattery needs some work.  But she did kind of look like a giraffe.

We were in the car and he just didn’t understand why the lady stopped smiling and didn’t seem happy.  So I had to say the above statement.

Chalk another one up to things I never thought would never come out of my mouth.

So what have you said lately?  Please share, don’t make me feel all alone.  :-)

Kim

Say WHAT?

                               

“Don’t clean the windows with your pizza.”

Yes, you read that correctly.  We were done eating lunch, but Charley was still nibbling.  Cole and I were cleaning the windows.  He is my official “Squirter Guy” and Mommy is the wiper.  Charley just had to get in on the action.  So she walks over and slaps her piece of pizza against the glass and starts smearing it.  I am sure she thought it was wiping, but Mommy saw it as smearing.

At least she was trying to help clean.  :-)

Chalk another one up to things I never thought would come out of my mouth.  What have you said lately?  C'mon don't make me feel like I am the only one. :-(

Alphabet Crafts

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be recommending Alphabet Crafts today.  I think we all know how much I adore Allie at No Time For Flash Cards.  Well guess what?!? Alphabet Crafts is HER BOOK!

                             

That’s right.  She just released Alphabet Crafts this week.  It is an amazing e-book filled with the cutest crafts for letters of the alphabet.  A lot of you are like me and have preschoolers and/or toddlers in your home.  This book has crafts that would be great for both, while helping them learn their letters and phonics.

The coolest thing about this e-book (other than it was written by a mom for moms, is full of cute crafts, and it helps your child learn) is that it is only $8.00.  No, that is not a typo.  It is only $8.00!!

After reading this book I was inspired to do my own letter craft.  I did not want to do one that Allie has done, because I really want you to buy the book.  But this is “Allie inspired”. 

     We did W.                          W is for wheel.

We just used glue and wheel shaped pasta.  He is concentrating so hard while putting the glue on.  :-) By the way, that is a rhinoceros temporary tattoo on his cheek. That is where it HAD to be put.

 

Here is the information on the book:

                                 

Title: Alphabet Crafts

Author: Allison McDonald

Publisher: Memetales Publishing

Here is the link to get the e-book:  http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2010/03/ebook.html

To purchase the item you will need to right click the “Add to Cart” button and open in a new window or tab.  But it will take you there and you will get to buy it for only $8.00!!!!!!

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this e-book to review.  I asked Allie if I could do a post about it and she generously offered a free copy to review.  I received no compensation for this post.  I am supporting an immensely talented friend with her new project.  I have strongly recommended Allie’s site, No Time For Flash Cards, before this book was published and I read her site every day.

This post is linked up with Feed Me Books Friday over at The Adventure of Motherhood.  Janna hosts this meme as a great way for moms to share neat books with other moms.  Go over and check it out.  Why not share your recommendation, too?

Kim

Review of ToysandGamesOnline.com and a Giveaway:Closed

I was given the opportunity to review a site that has a great selection of childrens toys and games.  It is appropriately called ToysandGamesOnline.com. 

They have a great selection of neat items at really good prices.  Like this cool crafty Clamp On Paper Center for only $9.99!!!

                        

I was given a credit of $30 and got to shopping.  I spent forever looking through their selection.  I finally decided on this cool easel.

                         

I was sent a confirmation email of my order.  Then I was sent an email when the item was shipped with all of the tracking information.  My experience with ToysandGamesOnline.com was very pleasant.  I was extremely satisfied with the entire process.  You guys know me, I am not making this up just to be nice.  Their prices are very competitive and some are down right bargain bottom.  I strongly recommend going over there the next time you are doing some shopping.

You want to know the cool part?  They are providing me with a Step 2 Easel for Two for one of you!  That is right…it’s giveaway time.  Just enter the form below for a chance to win this easel.  Once again, this is just for me to be able to select a winner.  I do this entry form to keep your information off of the internet and make it fair for everyone.  So please enter. :-)

This picture could be of your kids enjoying your easel.

     

This giveaway is closed.  One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.  The winner will have 3 days to claim the prize or a new winner will be selected.  This giveaway is limited to U.S. addresses.

Congratulations to Michelle! Check your email.    :-)

Disclosure: I was given a $30 credit to purchase an item for purposes of reviewing the site.  I did not receive any compensation.  I have written an honest review and the credit given has no bearing on that review.  This giveaway was generously sponsored.  While I appreciate this company giving this opportunity to one of you, it does not effect my review in any way.

Teaching Preschoolers Anatomy

I think we all know that my son has a serious Curious George obsession.  He LOVES Curious George.  I love Curious George.  Any show that has my 3 year old building something and saying, “Look Mommy, a cantilever!” or “We need a stick to use as a lever.” has my official seal of approval!  This activity I got right off of an episode of Curios George.

    

I took a bunch of paper that was used as packaging in a recent box and taped it together.  You can use any paper or even get an inexpensive poster board.  Cole laid down and I traced his body.  Sorry, it is hard to see in the picture below.

                        

We talked about our body and why we have different body parts.  We talked about bones and what they do.  My son told me, “Bones keep us from being mushy lumps on the floor.”  I had told him this only 100 times when we watched the episode when Curious George breaks his leg.  He still remembers.

                              

We felt different areas on our bodies to try to feel for bones.  When we found bones, we tried to figure out the shape of them.  He said his ribs were “stick bones”.  Then we drew the bones on the trace of Cole’s body.

We talked more about different body parts and the jobs that they have.  We talked about our heart, brain, lungs, and stomach.  I drew some on construction paper.  I cut out the brain and stomach, but Cole cut out the heart.  Yipee, he cut curved lines!!

                           

We talked about where he thought those body parts were in his body.  The only ones he got right were the heart and stomach.  LOL, a true boy!  We talked it over more and through some guided questions, he figured out where they are.  He taped the organs to the appropriate spots.

Now we have an “inside” look at Cole.  He got such a kick out of this.  We talked about body parts for days.  Well different ones than we usually talk about. *wink, wink*

This is a great way to teach your young one about their amazing body and how it works!  Try it.

What body part do you end up talking about the most at your house?

Kim

Memetales: A New Way to Interact with Books

It is Try and Tell Tuesday.  I have a neat new site I want to share with you.  Memetales is a great interactive site founded by a mom.  Memetales has online books and so much more. 

                   

You choose a book, try it out, buy it.  Is that it?  NO WAY!  Memetales helps inspire creativity and a love for books.  Linked with every book are activities related to the theme of the book.  There are also items from Etsy shops that are related to the theme of the book.

                   

Memetales is the only site I know of that takes reading a book to the next level.  Imagine being able to read a story about peacocks to your child at the computer, buying a peacock plush toy while there, and then going to the other room to make a peacock craft.  I think an experience like that would help reinforce that book with your child.  I think an experience like that would make your child love reading books that much more. 

                  

Memetales is a new site and I am more than happy to give my full support to an entrepreneur mom.  Tuesday night from 9-11 pm EST, there will be a twitter party to help launch the site.  If you are on twitter, I would love to see you there.  If you are not on twitter, it is pretty cool once you get used to it.  A twitter party is a great way to jump in.  A twitter party is like instant messaging with hundreds of people all talking about ways to make your kids love books (in this case).

You can go here to learn more about the twitter party.  I hope to see you there.  I will be a little late, though.  I have my foster/adoption licensing class until 9 pm CST, but I will be there.  :-)

Well that is what I have to share today.  What do you have?  Link up below or tell us in a comment.  If you join in below, please remember to link back here so others can find great sites and they can find you.

I can’t wait to see what you have to show!

I am part of the Mamarazzi

Do you chase your kids with your camera in hand?  Have you been told, “No more pictures, Mommy!”?  Is your memory card full of chocolate smiles and bare bottoms?  Then you are a part of the Mamarazzi.

                           

                                     They can try to outrun you.

 

          

                                    They can try to climb away.

 

               

              They can try to go to the center of the earth to escape.

 

                      

                             But the Mamarazzi will catch them.

 

                              

                         Until their bodyguard steps in, that is.

                That looks means I need to stop taking pictures.

 

So are you a member of the Mamarazzi, too?  Go over to Household 6 Diva and link up your pictures on Mamarazzi Monday.

Kim