Hand Print Turkey Puppets!

I have always wanted to try this Thanksgiving project, and this afternoon was the perfect opportunity. I used an image from Google Images as my starting point:



These were the materials we used:

• brown and pink construction paper
• glue sticks
• hot glue or regular glue
• popsicle sticks 
• crayons
• laminator and laminating sheets (optional)

I was too distracted to take pictures during the actual process of making these, but I have some of the finished product. It was a really simple activity that even Baby E (newly two) really enjoyed. I traced each child's hand on a piece of brown construction paper. They colored the hand prints, and then I cut them out. I cut out little pink construction paper feet, and the kids glued them on with glue sticks. Next was the kids favorite part - laminating! We laminated the Turkeys, and then glued them onto large popsicle sticks. The hardest part was waiting for the glue to dry!

Here is the finished Turkey puppet:

You could also make these into cute cards or centerpieces.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Review: KidKraft Aspen Table and Chair Set

It's review time! The boys both have birthdays coming up, and with the holidays around the corner, I hope to be reviewing some awesome gear in the next few months. First up is the Aspen table and chair set from KidKraft. Baby E turns two this week! He has recently decided that he will no longer sit in any kind of booster seat or high chair, but will happily eat at a regular kids sized table. I wanted to upgrade our secondhand plastic set to a nice wooden set that will hopefully last a long time. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, Baby E has eaten his last few meals at our brand new KidKraft table.

I decided to go with the natural finish, because it fits our kitchen better. The table was extremely easy to assemble, and I was able to put it all together in about half an hour. The directions were clear and easy to follow, and everything fit together as it should. The table feels really solid when built, and I was impressed with the quality of the wood. The finish is beautiful, and so far cleans up easily. The table does slide around a bit on the vinyl tile, so I plan to look for some type of non slip material to put on the legs.

The table is the perfect height for the 2-4 year old set. Baby E is average height, and his feet do not quite reach the floor when sitting. He fits well at the table now, and definitely has some space to grow into it. My 3.5 year old can also sit comfortably at the table, but I would imagine this table would be on the smaller side for a 4-5 year old.

Overall, I love the table, and don't see any major drawbacks. It would be a great addition to any family kitchen or playroom. The surface is also great for puzzles, crafts, building, and all the other fun things the little ones enjoy!

We love Fall!

     Fall is such an amazing time to be a little kid. Baby E especially is mesmerized by all the leaves, and must stop to look at each. and. every. leaf when we go on walks. There are so many fun things to do with leaves, and a lot of great learning often happens along the way. Here are a few of my favorite things to do with leaves:

Talk About Them

We love to talk about all the colors of the leaves, why they are falling off, and what happens in Fall and Winter. Big brother A is almost 4, and he loves looking at the different types of leaves and trees.



Crunch, Jump, and Throw

     Jumping and crunching in the leaves is pretty much a dream come true for most kids. It is a great sensory experience, and it is one of the only times Baby E is allowed to throw things to his hearts content. He can stand for a long time jumping in the leaves and throwing them in the air.

Arts and crafts
     
     Whenever we are outside, my kids collect leaves to bring inside. Most of the time, I throw these out when no one is looking, but I have saved a few for crafts. My kids like gluing the leaves, and decorating them with random art supplies. I am also hoping to experiment with laminating some leaves so we can use them for other things. These leaf place mats look like an awesome activity!

What are your favorite Fall activities?

Summer of Fun: A Day in the Life of Camp Mommy!

Fun at the Zoo!

I was a little nervous about having both kids home full time this summer. I had gotten used to A going to pre-school three days a week, and I knew it would be an adjustment for the summer. Now that we are more than half-way through the summer, I can say that I am very happy with how things are turning out. The truth is that I am exhausted. Period. But it is a good kind of tired. We have been having so much fun! With no school drop off or pick-up to worry about, and extremely poor napping habits from Baby E, (not for lack of trying) we have larger blocks of  time to fill, which allows us to explore activities we haven't gotten to do as much in the past.

Supermarket adventures...

In the mornings we usually have a short outing to the grocery store, library, or other indoor location.The kids are very early risers, and not interested in lazing around in the morning (as much as I try to convince them). They are usually dressed and itching to get out by 830 or 9am.  We are usually home by 11am for some lunch, playtime, and "nap" time. Baby E (already 20 months!) usually sleeps for a short time, while A just has quiet play time. By 1:30, we are usually ready to head out for the afternoon.

Playing with sand at home

Rock painting!

We have spent our afternoons exploring new parks, visiting the zoo, and having a blast at the local children's museum thanks to an awesome LivingSocial deal. Thankfully, the summer weather has been pretty mild. No one in this family does well in the heat, so I have really been thankful for any cooler days that we have. By 4pm, the kids are melting down, and we head home for...Ices! I'm not sure how I will break this habit at the end of summer, but for now I am enjoying the few minutes of peace and quiet I get while the kids are both happy with their cool treats!

Yumm! Or as Baby E says "mummy!"

What do your summer days look like?

End of Year Gift for Pre-School Teachers

A was in Preschool this past year for three days a week. We had a great experience, and I wanted to find a cute but inexpensive way to acknowledge all the teachers and staff who worked with him.

I ultimately decided just to have A make cards for the teachers, and then I packaged them nicely with a chocolate bar. I'm happy with how it turned out, and it was all done for under $15.

For the cards, I let A go to town with his art supplies on a few pieces of construction paper. I picked two of the pages, and cut them in half, which gave me a half-sheet to use for each card. I typed up a short message, and had A glue them inside the cards. I laminated them as an extra step, just to make them a little bit nicer.

I stuck them in cute bags with the large chocolate bars, and that was it!

How are you planning to thank your child's teachers?

A Blanket is Not Just a Blanket

Any parent of a baby or toddler knows that often a blanket is not just a blanket. Both of my kids have lovies that they are extremely attached to. Baby E loves nothing more than snuggling his blankie (AKA nay-nay). He even insists on dragging it through the mud with him as he crawls around outside. Big Brother is attached to a tiny striped washcloth from Babies R Us, that they obviously don't make anymore. Most of the time, I am extremely thankful that each one has an object that brings so much calm and comfort. These small items have helped my kids through many travels, tantrums, and other dramatic events in the lives of babies and toddlers.

The one bad thing about lovies, is that there is only one. There is no other Blankie for Baby E when he throws up all over it in the middle of the night. And there is no replacement washcloth for Big Brother when he loses it on his way to board an airplane (only to be returned by a kind stranger who we are forever grateful to). My older one understands that his lovy stays in the house unless we are taking a long car or plane trip. But Baby E is too little to understand, and I am too tired to get him used to that idea right now. So Blankie comes everywhere, and that's why you may see me walking in circles around the neighborhood looking for the blankie which he dropped out of the stroller. I think I need to cut it in half, so I can stop having nightmares about losing it.

But all in all, I think the pros of having a security doll/blanket outweigh all these cons.

What is your infant or toddler attached to? 

Salad in a Jar!

On Purim, it is customary to give friends and family baskets of food. I wanted to do something easy and healthy, so I decided to layer salad ingredients in pint size mason jars. I used lettuce, carrot slices, canned corn, red peppers, and croutons. It was very quick and easy to assemble and it looked pretty too! I tied each jar with some colorful ribbon, and attached the cards that my toddler helped make.

For the cards, I asked my 3 year old to paint a couple pieces of paper. He decided to use dot paints, and went to town painting the sheets of paper. I printed the text for our card, cut them up, and glued onto the painted pages. The text of the note was very short, so I was able to fit 10 copies on each piece of paper that had been painted. I then cut them out again, and laminated. It was a lot of fun, and my son loved participating!