The Pleasantest Thing

Bathtub Band: Valentine's Day Edition

2013-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

We're sharing one more bath as part of the week-long Valentine's Day bath series: Music in the bathtub!

My boys love banging things in the bath. We bring measuring cups, various bowls and containers in frequently. They scoop and pour water, and usually wind up banging away. I started calling them the bath-time band, and then I realized that actually sounded like a lot of fun!

Bath Set Up

I gathered a few containers from the recycling bin. One to bang with a spatula, a large lid to hit with their hands tambourine style, and a container with texture to scratch and make a fun sound. I cut pink and purple craft foam into heart shapes and glued some onto the containers.

I also added some hearts to the bath, for the boys to put on the walls and on the tubs.

I ran the bath and started our Valentine's Day playlist. As predicted, the boys ran in, and started singing and banging away on the rock band set up.

Check out our Bear Hugs bath from earlier in the week and these other Valentine's Bath sure to put smiles on your little ones' faces at bath time:

Sweetheart Bath from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Cupid Bath from In Lieu of Preschool
Valentine Cookie Bath from Living Life Intentionally
Fishing For Love Bath from Bath Activities for Kids
Candy Hearts Bath from In Lieu of Preschool

Thank you for stopping by! For more play times full of laughter and learning, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Valentine's Day Playlist

2013-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

We love dance parties, and holiday dance parties are one of our favorites! The playlist below is what the kids and I will be grooving to this Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day Playlist For Kids

Sugar, Sugar by the Archies
The Friendship Song by Carbon Leaf
We're Going To Be Friends by Jack Johnson
You've Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman
We Go Together by John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
I'll Be There by the Jackson 5
Big Rock Candy Mountain by the Wonder Kids
Skidamarink by John Archambault and David Plummer
Thank You For Being A Friend by Andrew Gold

Do you have any other songs to add? Let me know and I'll put them in!

Thank you for stopping by! For more play times full of laughter and learning, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Disclosure: Afffiliate links are used in this post

Lacing Toy Valentine's Day Card

2013-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

We're making Valentine's Day cards this year. My boys gave some of the Christmas themed lacing toys to friends. Everyone enjoyed them, so I wanted to use that idea in for Valentine's Day cards.

These cards were very easy to make, and I used things I had on hand:

Making the cards:

Red ribbon or string
White card and envelope
hole puncher
scissors
marker

I had blank card and envelopes that I picked up at a craft store. However, if you don't have blank cards, you could just cut out white construction paper to whatever size you wanted.

I folded the card, and cut a heart out along the fold. Then I opened the card out and punched holes along the edge of the outside of the heart, making sure to keep the hole in the hole punch away from the edge of the paper.

Using a red Sharpie marker, I added messages to some of the hearts like "love" or "be mine" or drew lots of little hearts. Your child could do this as well, or your could have your child trace the words, or draw or decorate the hearts some other way. My preschooler wasn't interested in doing it, so I made it myself. (yet - I'm still holding out hope!).

Then I cut a length of left over red Christmas ribbon to use to lace the heart. We filled the envelopes with the heart and the string. And then decided who we would surprise with the cards!

Thank you for stopping by! For more play times full of laughter and learning, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Valentine's Day Activity: Bear Hug Bath!

2013-01-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

This week we're going to be bringing you two Valentine's Day themed baths. AND each post will have links to other Valentine's Day inspired baths at other great sites: Growing a Jeweled Rose, In Lieu of Preschool, Living Life Intentionally, and Bath Activities for Kids!

Are you excited about Valentine's Day? My preschooler is! So I surprised the kids with a Bear Hug themed bath over the weekend. There were pink and purple bear foam stickers, singing bear themed songs, and lots of hugs!

Bath Set Up

What we used:

Pink and Purple Craft Foam Sheets
Teddy bear shaped cookie cutter
scissors

To make the teddy bear foam stickers, I first tried to draw the teddy bears. As I looked for some shapes to use as stencils, I saw our bag of cookie cutters. I realized by pressing a cookie cutter down on the foam sheet, it would make an outline in the perfect shape! Once I had the outline, I cut out a bunch of purple, pink, and white bears.

I set the bath up, throwing the foam teddy bears into the water. The boys were so excited! As they played, we sang a few of their favorite bear songs:

Teddy Bears Picnic

The Winnie the Pooh Song

The Bear Went Over the Mountain

Of course, we finished off with some teddy bear hugs!

Four other amazing blogs are also doing Valentine's Day baths - all week long! Check them out - I guarantee you won't be sorry!

Sweetheart Bath from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Cupid Bath from In Lieu of Preschool
Valentine Cookie Bath from Living Life Intentionally
Fishing For Love Bath from Bath Activities for Kids

Thank you for stopping by! For more play times full of laughter and learning, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play (U-Z)

2013-01-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

Our final 6 ways to play outdoors this winter are here!

U is for Uncover

When we get a thick snowfall, it obscures the familiar backyard objects. We guess what's under the white bumps in the yard. It becomes a treasure hunt in our own yard!

V is for Very Hot Chocolate

Ok, I know that's a stretch for V. But I'm at the end of the alphabet and I realized that I hadn't shared one of our favorite winter activities! I bring a thermos of hot chocolate with us to the park for short winter picnics, and an easy way to warm up a bit. We also bundle under blankets on our front step, with a mug or thermos of hot chocolate, reading or just enjoying some time outside.

W is for Wagon Rides

Grab some blankets and get your kids into the wagon for a ride around the neighborhood! Or let them pull the wagon themselves. My preschooler pulls his little brother around in the big wagon. And we have a small wagon that the boys pull, collecting treasures as the go.

X is for X Marks the Spot

X marks the spot! We have played treasure hunts, and pirates. Pretend play ideas engage the kids. They love pretending to be superheroes or knights, princesses, or dancers. We set up backyard rescue missions and dance competitions, pretend cooking exhibitions.

Y is for Yell

For my boys, yelling and moving around seem to go hand in hand. The louder we are, the more we're moving around. One of our favorite games is ball-less baseball, where we pretend to be batting and fielding baseballs, while yelling out the plays.

Z is for Zero (and other numbers!)

Water freezes at 0 degrees Celcius. We have an outdoor thermometer (measuring both Fahrenheit and Celcius), so we point to the numbers, and discuss how cold it is when it's 0 degrees Celcius (and 32 degrees Fahrenheit). We also use other number measurements: snowfall with a ruler, collect rain in a jar to measure. Or we gather pinecones or acorns for some counting games.

I hope this series has inspired you to get bundled up and get out and play! Be sure to check back here for the rest of the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play (A-E), (F-J ), (K-O), and (P-T). And check out these other ABC's of learning through play:

Baking with Kids from Life at the Zoo
Bath Activities for Kids from Bath Activities for Kids
Discovery Bottles from Teach Preschool
Farming for Children from Glittering Muffins
Fitness for Kids from 3 Dinosaurs
Imaginative Play from Train up a Child
Kids Activities from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Learning Through Play from Love Play & Learn
Learning Toys & Manipulatives from This Reading Mama
Movement Activities for Young Kids from AngeliqueFelix.com
Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Playing with Light from Graham and Parker
Preschool Play from Its Our Long Story
Sensory Bins from Royal Baloo
Sensory Play from Creative Play House
Toddler Activities from Toddler Approved

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play: P-T

2013-01-10T23:03:00.000-05:00

We're bundling up and playing outside this winter! Today's post brings 5 additional ways to get outside and get moving this winter.

P is for Parks

Parks and playgrounds are basically deserted have them to yourself. As long they are bundled up, we have a great time running around the equipment. I only let my kids walk up the slide if no one else is there, so this is the perfect time!

Q is for Quiet

Left photo courtesy Phil Corneau

Sometime we take a break from all the running and shouting, and are very quiet. We listen to the sound of the birds, to the faint ring of children yelling at a local playground, to the wind in the branches. My toddler was recently thrilled when he stayed quiet listening to birds, and then several birds landed on the grass nearby.

R is for Running Games

We love running games: tag, relay races, obstacle courses, three-legged races, fox and goose, are just a few that come immediately to mind.

S is for Shovels

Dig, dig, dig! I recently entertained a gorup of 4 preschoolers for an hour just by letting them dig in my backyard. (Of course, this requires a high tolerance for having your backyard dug up). Other options are woodchips, sand (we use our sandbox as long as it's not piled with snow!), and, of course, snow.

T is for Trucks

Trucks, construction vehicles, cars: bring out your whole motorcade! Kids love transporting pinecones, racing through dirt courses, dumping out rocks.

Be sure to check back here for the rest of the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play (A-E) (F-J ) and (K-O). And check out these other ABC's of learning through play:

Baking with Kids from Life at the Zoo
Bath Activities for Kids from Bath Activities for Kids
Discovery Bottles from Teach Preschool
Farming for Children from Glittering Muffins
Fitness for Kids from 3 Dinosaurs
Imaginative Play from Train up a Child
Kids Activities from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Learning Through Play from Love Play & Learn
Learning Toys & Manipulatives from This Reading Mama
Movement Activities for Young Kids from AngeliqueFelix.com
Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Playing with Light from Graham and Parker
Preschool Play from Its Our Long Story
Sensory Bins from Royal Baloo
Sensory Play from Creative Play House
Toddler Activities from Toddler Approved

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play (K-O)

2013-01-10T10:09:00.003-05:00

Are you having fun exploring the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play? Bundle up with us, and check out our K through O of winter outdoor play. A-E and F-J of Outdoor Play were earlier this week, and be sure to stop back for P-Z!

K is for Kick

Add caption

Grab some balls and get kicking! We also practice kicking our legs up, or kicking a leg over a tree stump. All of these gross motor activities get you moving, and keep you outside and warm for longer!

L is for Lights

We got out glow sticks, and played with them in the snow. The glow sticks produced a fun contrast against the snow.

Flashlights are also fun. Especially on overcast days, we get out our flashlights, and go on quests around the yard, looking for chipmunk holes or pinecones or bird nests, shining the light on the object we find.

M is for Molds

Dirt cake? Snow cookie? An outdoor play bakery can serve it all! We bring cookie cutters and sand toys out to play in the cold, and make castles and food and designs from the various molds.

N is for Night Sky

Right image courtesy Paul Downey

It gets darker earlier during the winter, so we like to go outside and look at the moon and the stars. In the summer it's frequently too late for my kids to look at the constellations, and the moon phases, but in the winter we have plenty of time before bed!

They are also able to catch the sunset at night. They love checking to see whether it's "red at night, sailor's delight," or "red in the morning, sailors take warning."

O is for Observe

Grab a magnifying glass and go outside. We look at snowflakes up close (particularly on a piece of black construction paper). We also look at dried leaves, grass, acorns, and gumballs. We look for signs of spring, and keep a "nature diary" in which note the changes in seasons we've observed.

Be sure to check back here for the rest of the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play. And check out these other ABC's of learning through play:

Baking with Kids from Life at the Zoo
Bath Activities for Kids from Bath Activities for Kids
Discovery Bottles from Teach Preschool
Farming for Children from Glittering Muffins
Fitness for Kids from 3 Dinosaurs
Imaginative Play from Train up a Child
Kids Activities from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Learning Through Play from Love Play & Learn
Learning Toys & Manipulatives from This Reading Mama
Movement Activities for Young Kids from AngeliqueFelix.com
Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Playing with Light from Graham and Parker
Preschool Play from Its Our Long Story
Sensory Bins from Royal Baloo
Sensory Play from Creative Play House
Toddler Activities from Toddler Approved

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

ABC's of Playing Outdoors in the Winter (F-J)

2013-01-08T00:18:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play! Today we have F-J. Be sure to check out A-E of Outdoor Winter Play. And we'll be doing the rest of the alphabet this week!

F is for Frosty the Snowman

Building snowmen together is a classic for a reason! It's a must-do if you're in an area with snow.

We also made a "snowman bag," which contains odds and ends that we will use to decorate a snowman. It hasn't snowed since we put the bag together, but when it does I will add a picture!

G is for Green

Winter is full of greys and browns. We look for the trees that are still green, compare them to trees that have lost their leaves. My preschooler also loves to look for other signs of winter, and differences in the seasons. He notes things like fewer animals because of hibernation or migration, no bugs, thicker coats on the animals that we see.

H is for Hunts

Kids love searching games. I've made up hunts for different colors, scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, and searched for different sounds. We've hunted for letters, numbers, and shapes. We've tried to find different animals, or looked for their tracks. On days I bundle them in the stroller, we play jogging stroller bingo.

I is for Ice Play

We jump on shallow frozen puddles to break the ice, slide on ice, and watch icicles. And, of course, there's always ice skating at local ponds and outdoor ice rinks.

J is for Jumping

I have the most success playing with my kids outside in the cold when we are all moving. Jumping games are a great place to start. I put a jumprope on the ground to hop over, wiggling it for my older son. We play hopscotch (traditional, or using the alphabet or colors or shapes). We jump from hula hoop to hula hoop, or over logs.

Be sure to check back here for the rest of the ABC's of Winter Outdoor Play. And check out these other ABC's of learning through play:

Baking with Kids from Life at the Zoo
Bath Activities for Kids from Bath Activities for Kids
Discovery Bottles from Teach Preschool
Farming for Children from Glittering Muffins
Fitness for Kids from 3 Dinosaurs
Imaginative Play from Train up a Child
Kids Activities from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Learning Through Play from Love Play & Learn
Learning Toys & Manipulatives from This Reading Mama
Movement Activities for Young Kids from AngeliqueFelix.com
Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Playing with Light from Graham and Parker
Preschool Play from Its Our Long Story
Sensory Bins from Royal Baloo
Sensory Play from Creative Play House
Toddler Activities from Toddler Approved

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Playing Outdoors in the Winter (A-E)

2013-01-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

We play outside in all weather and all seasons! Sure, some days it's only 10 minutes, bundled an then rushing inside for a cup of hot cocoa. But even on the windy and snowy days, we like to get outside. And if you are playing outside, in the winter, you need to get moving!

This is the first in a series of 5 posts with the ABC's of how to get outside and PLAY this winter!

A is for Animal Tracks

We love exploring animal tracks. We investigate the tracks left by local animals. Frequent visitors to our yard, and local parks, are birds, squirrels, dogs, cats, and deer. This is especially when snow blankets the yard.

B is for Bubbles

Bubbles are great for outdoor play in the winter. The bubbles last longer and are slightly harder to pop, which thrills my boys. Chasing bubbles never fails to get the kids moving - and keep them warm!

C is for Coloring Snow

Image attribution Andrew Coulter Enright

Add some color to the snow. Use spray bottles filled with water and food coloring. Or crush up sidewalk chalk and mix it with water. Freeze ice cubes with colored water, and hide them in the snow. Or let them melt and watch the colors blend together.

D is for Draw

Pick up branches, drag them along behind you, knock snow off of trees. Use branches or your (gloved) hands or feet to draw pictures, letters, shapes, make trails.

E is for Experiments

Try some experiments outside to illustrate physical differences dependent on temperature.

Ice experiments: Try to see how you can get ice to break (we like to drop it on our patio, or stomp on it). See if salt stops water from freezing. Get 2 similar containers. Put plain water in one, dissolve salt in water in the other, and see which freezes. You can also observe the time it takes for the water to freeze.

Snow experiments: Bring snow inside. Leave some on the counter, put some in the refrigerator, some in the freezer. Compare the rate at which they melt. Measure the snowfall.

Be sure to check back here for the rest of the ABC's of Outdoor Play. And check out these other ABC's of learning through play:

Baking with Kids from Life at the Zoo
Bath Activities for Kids from Bath Activities for Kids
Discovery Bottles from Teach Preschool
Farming for Children from Glittering Muffins
Fitness for Kids from 3 Dinosaurs
Imaginative Play from Train up a Child
Kids Activities from Growing a Jeweled Rose
Learning Through Play from Love Play & Learn
Learning Toys & Manipulatives from This Reading Mama
Movement Activities for Young Kids from AngeliqueFelix.com
Play Dough from The Imagination Tree
Playing with Light from Graham and Parker
Preschool Play from Its Our Long Story
Sensory Bins from Royal Baloo
Sensory Play from Creative Play House
Toddler Activities from Toddler Approved

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

The Gift of Time

2013-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Recently I have been struggling with the passage of time. When did my preschooler stop calling band-aids "boo boo tape"? How is it that my milky, sleepy baby is now running and jumping? And why is my to-do list running through my head while I play with them?

There have been several moments where I say to myself, "Remember this. Remember the look in his eyes. Remember the way their brown and blond locks blend together as they cuddle." Remember this moment, this day, this mispronunciation.

I have always, always thought about what comes "next." With each milestone, with each personal achievement I am already looking two or three steps down the line. I refuse to do this any longer. I will not rush these days, these minutes.

Being a mother is, hands-down, the best thing I've ever done. I am so terribly happy and lucky to be able to stay home with my boys. But it can be hard. The days can be long, and I can feel isolated and overwhelmed. It seems like before I can even get a handle on what's going on now, there are three more things I need to be doing. There's never going to be a magical time where my house is organized, the dishes are cleanly stacked in the cupboards, the laundry into drawers. I need to be present during the little moments now, not after everything is checked off my list.

Time is a gift. Now is the time that matters. Yes, chores will still be done. Dishes washed, laundry folded, appointments made and kept. But my hope is to contain those tasks to their own moment. I want to allow my other moments to shine. (Maybe even get to the point where I feel the abundance in the mundane tasks as well.)

I've been feeling bogged down with all the stuff I should do, must do, will do. I want to "add sparkle to the mundane." This phrase is from the description of the benefits of the Abundant Mama eCourse offered at Awesomely Awake.

It may sound odd that I am signing up for a course, which takes time, in order to make more time for myself. The ecourse is designed to bring gratitude, and abundance, into your life. To make you think, more deeply, more regularly, about all the things that are wonderful in your day. Because even during sleepless nights, and days where nothing seems to be going right, time is passing. And I want to make the best use of it that I possibly can.

Many friends have told me about the benefits of prioritizing a daily practice of gratitude. I generally try to stay positive, but this course will help me focus on that goal. And, even better, it comes with a built in community of people, all of whom there with positive intentions to make life affirming changes.

I can't wait to start, and I would love for you to join me. The Abundant Mama Project offers two options:

A: The course, including writing prompts and some activities to get your whole family involved.

B: The course PLUS support, support, support! There is a private Facebook group, weekly discussions, additional writing prompts, and individual support from Shawn, the founder of Awesomely Awake.

As I drink my cup of tea in the morning, I would rather savor two minutes of stillness than frantically think through the next few hours. At the park, I don't want to think through making dinner. My goal with the Abundant Mama Project is to allow myself to be free. To know what I have to do, but to let in gratitude. Basically, I want to "Write. Love. Play." (apologies to Elizabeth Gilbert). I am enrolled in the Abundant Mama Project. I would love to connect with you in the forums.

Disclosure: Affiliate links are used in this post.

Bedtime routine

2013-01-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

My preschooler loves our morning routine chart so much that he asked if we could make a chart for our bedtime routine as well. I am all for anything that makes bedtime easier, especially when it's my son's idea!

The routine starts with quiet playtime, which begins after dinner. We usually read books, play with puzzles, or get out some blocks or Legos. In general, we try to choose activities that don't involve yelling or running around.

Our chart is a picture with simple words, so my preschooler can follow along. He's a pre-reader, but he has begun to recognize these words in other contexts, because he sees them so frequently. He also gets one last bit of writing practice for the day, as he checks things off of our laminated list (he checks the last few things off in one go).

Bedtime Routine Chart

I've copied the chart below, and you can click here to download it.

We try to stick to this routine as much as possible. However, sometimes things don't go as planned. Travel or sickness or family visits can knock us out of the routine. When that happens, we just try to resume it as things settle back to normal.

I would love to know what works for you around bedtime. Do you have a bedtime routine?

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Storytelling for Preschoolers: Guided Storytelling

2013-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

When we received a package of 3 lifelike bear replicas from Safari Ltd., I knew that they would be excellent for a guided story-telling. My preschooler enjoys storytelling, and often his play involves complicated scenarios.

He enjoys creating stories, but I wanted to introduce a literary framework to him. By acting out the story as we went along, and by giving him prompts and a bit of guidance, he created his own, structured story.

Step 1: WHAT IS THE SETTING?

Prompt: Who Are The Characters

We used 3 lifelike replica bears: A black bear (Bayah), a polar bear (Kay-yah) and a black bear cub (YaYa).

After my son gave them names, I wanted him to think through their traits. I gave him the same prompt to use for each bear: "___ loves to ____ and is always _____."

For our story, YaYa is a cute cub who loves to climb and is always curious. Baya is a black bear who loves to explore and is always friendly. Kay-ya is a "fluffy white" polar bear who loves to run and is always happy.

Prompt: Describe The Setting

I gave him prompts for the setting of his story by explaining that he had to figure out where the bears would live, and where most of the story would take place.

He decided that the cub lived in America, the black bear lived in China, and the polar bear lived in Antarctica.

Most of his story would take place in America, where the black bear lived.

Step 2: Describe the Problem And Rising Action

I explained a story describes a problem and how it's solved.

He wanted this story to be about "Beary-Thanks," a large meal that bears enjoy together once a year. He decided that this feast should take place in America, where he thinks that there is food that bears prefer (honey, fish, and berries). His problem to solve was that the animals didn't live in the same location.

Prompt: How Do The Characters Try To Solve The Problem?

I prompted him with "How did the bears all get together," explaining that after introducing the setting, stories describe how the main characters work to solve the problem (the "rising action").

He had to figure out how to get the bears, from all different parts of the world, together for their feast. He decided that the polar bear was going to ride on a ice floe to meet the black bear in China. The two bears would then travel together by boat to America.

He set his bears in 3 different locations (a blue blanket was used as the ocean), and built wooden block ice floes and boats for the bears.

Prompt: Point Out Obvious Inconsistencies (Optional)

I debated whether to leave his story as it was, or to explain that the polar bear's ice would melt before he reached China. I decided that I would tell him that to get from Antarctica to China the bear would have to pass through warm areas, where the ice would melt.

I then let him think through the problem. He decided that where the ice would melt the polar bear would have a boat waiting. The polar bear would then go pick up the black bear, and the two would travel together.

Step 3: Climax

I didn't prompt him with the climax. The bears had a tough journey by boat, but at the end, it was clear they would reach their goal to meet up with the black bear cub. My preschooler brought all 3 bears together.

Step 4: Falling Action and Conclusion

Prompt: How Does the Story End?

My son decided to have the story end at the "Beary Thanks" feast, with the bears all climbing trees for honey, and diving into streams for fish. The falling action for our story was the bears sticking their paws into honey.

I am very excited to let you know that Safari Ltd. has offered to do a giveaway! We are doing my favorite kind of giveaway - winner's choice! Safari is going to give away one of their educational handpainted replicas to a reader. In addition to their animal replicas (they have everything from butterflies to dinosaurs), they have human figures, fantasy figures. So head on over and see which one you would pick if you win.

Any US resident, 18 or older, can enter. Just leave a valid email address in the Rafflecopter below. I will contact the winner after the giveaway closes on 1/9. You can enter once a day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more imaginative ways to use replicas, you can follow Safari on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Thank you for stopping by! For more ways to learn and develop imagination through adventure, play, reading, and nature, please join us on Facebook or follow along on Pinterest.

Disclosure: Safari Ltd. provided us with the animal replicas and is providing a replica to the giveaway winner. I was not compensated in any other way. I only recommend products we use and love.

Best of 2012 Kids Activities: Lego Learning

2013-01-01T15:59:00.002-05:00

My most popular post of 2012 contains a few Lego math activities. This is perfect, because we play with Legos all the time. The Legos are the toy my preschooler plays with when he wakes up, and by bedtime he is still going strong with the little plastic blocks.

My husband also loves Legos, and they have spent hours, and hours together, working on their latest Lego creation.

Most of our Lego time is freely creating whatever strikes my son's fancy. He builds forts and planes, creates his own planet, builds cities. Naturally, when I want to create a math activity for my preschooler, my mind turns to Legos. My most popular post is a series of pictures of my preschooler's favorite Lego math ideas.

2012 at The Pleasantest Thing

2012-12-30T00:39:00.000-05:00

As the year ends, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite posts. This collection contains my favorite posts and some of our most smile-inducing play times.

Games

Chomp is a get-moving game, that we still play several times a week. This never fails to leave both of my boys in giggles. I actually resort to this game on days when everyone's cranky, and it has really turned everyone's mood (mine included!) around.

Game nights are huge in my family. This list of our favorite paper and pencil family game night ideas has withstood the test of time. It includes games my grandmother and her 6 siblings enjoyed.

Chess is an important part of my husband's life, and he has begun to share it with our preschooler. One of my favorite posts for the year dicusses introducing chess to preschoolers.

Literacy

My preschooler tells stories all day long. To encourage his storytelling, and to save the memory of his stories, we've created books.

Another way we creating stories is using sticker story bags. These are more ad-libbed, game types of stories.

As much as we love creating our own stories, I was happy to have the opportunity to share the inspiration behind some of our favorite stories with my boys. Looking at the bear who launch'd a thousand readers (apologies to Marlowe) was a highlight of 2012 for us.

Of course, in addition to creating stories, nothing beats cuddling up together to enjoy a book. The post on tips for reading with baby was another of my favorites for the year.

Pretend Play

My little guys love animals and superheros. We combined the two by creating missions for backyard superheroes.

We created our own brown paper cave, which we decorated with cave drawings. (This was a great way to work on writing practice without my preschooler even realizing it!)

We also do a lot of pretend play based on every day life. One of our favorite pretend play times is library pretend play.

Nature

Touch and feel fall guess bags were popular with both of my boys.

Nature walks are a staple of our weekly routine. This post was about taking time to focus on our senses during a trip to the park.

I really enjoyed a rhyming game we played, inspired by the flowers around us.

I hope you've enjoyed reading these posts as much as I enjoyed writing them! I'm looking forward to a 2013 filled with lots of play ideas.

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Shaving Cream Sensory Bags

2012-12-29T18:24:00.002-05:00

I put together a shaving cream sensory bag for my baby to play with color, Making the bags is very easy. Simply
gather:

shaving cream
food coloring
(optional) duct tape

Add the white foam shaving cream into a re-sealable bag, and put in a few drops of food coloring (more drops leads to a stronger color). This time we used blue and yellow drops. As an optional step, to make sure the bag doesn't burst seal it with duct tape.

I handed the bag to my son, and he pounded it, tossed it, and rubbed his fingers around the bag, mixing the colors as he played. I also gave him q-tips, to make designs in the shaving cream.

I've done this with my older son before, but this was my little guy's first time. It was so much fun, I know we'll be repeating it!

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The Snowy Day Activities

2012-12-28T17:59:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite winter books is The Snowy Dayby Ezra Jack Keats (if you're a Facebook fan, you might remember that I picked it as a Picture Book of the Day).

After a recent snowfall, we read The Snowy Day, following along with the little boy as he awakens to a blanket of snow coating his neighborhood. He makes tracks in the snow: pointing his feet in and then out, adding a stick to make additional tracks. He watches the big kids have a snowball fight. The book captures the wonder and enjoyment children experience in a winter snowscape.

After reading we bundled up and headed outside - for our own track making, stick dragging, and snowball throwing.

Afterwards it was back inside, to re-read the book with mugs of hot cocoa warming us up. Maybe next time I'll let them bring in a snowball in their pocket (like they did in the book) to see what happens!

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Disclosure: I always look at my local library first. But if you decide to buy this book, and use this link, it is an Amazon affiliate link.

Washington's Crossing: Learning about the Battle of Trenton

2012-12-26T17:28:00.001-05:00

The day after Christmas we got out our replica Continental Army figures from Safari Ltd. to talk about the Battle of Trenton. Luckily, this year, it was cold and snowy (although not so windy as in 1776), which helped with envisioning what it was like for the soldiers.

I explained that at the end of the first year of the Revolutionary War, the American soldiers were worn-out. They did not have sufficient clothing or food. Some soldiers were lucky enough to have boots, but they were often full of holes. Many just wrapped their feet in rags. Their blankets, which sometimes doubled as both coats and hats, were full of holes.

The men were discouraged, cold, sick, and tired...they had been steadily losing battles...their diet consisted of dried beans and water...and the money they were being paid with was worthless. In a few days time, when their enlistments ended on January 1, many of them would be free to leave the army and return home.

I told my son that George Washington was able to rally his tired troops and convince them to spend hours in the middle of a wintry night crossing a river choked with ice. Then they still had to march the 9 miles to Trenton. After they rallied behind their commander to complete this dreary task, they won a battle on December 26, 1776. After following this up with another victory at Princeton, Continental soldiers took heart and reenlisted--Washington's army was saved!

After hearing the story, we picked up the figure of General Washington. "Washington" then rallied his soldiers. Our next task was to use blocks as boats for the soldiers to use in our crossing reenactment, and pretended to cross a river full of ice in the sleet and wind.

We bandaged some of the American soldier's feet, and I explained that many of the soldiers had rags wrapped around their feet, because they either didn't have boots, or their boots had holes. The soldiers marched that day over the ice covered roads, leaving red trails behind them as their feet bled into the snow.

My son knows that the Revolutionary War was fought against the British, but he hadn't heard of the Hessians (mercenaries hired by the British to fight in America). We don't have Hessian replicas, but we do have British Revolutionary War replicas. (Ours are the Safari Ltd. historical figures set).

We marched to the Hessians, who were taken by surprise, some still asleep. The Hesians surrendered after a short battle.

The victory at the Battle of Trenton gave the American soldiers hope, and made them believe they could actually win the war. It energized the soldiers, many of whom re-enlisted, and persuaded additional citizens to join in the fight.

He didn't understand the Paine quote, but I explained that it meant that it was very hard fighting for something, even something you believe in, when you are cold, hungry, sick, and constantly beaten. It would have been easy for any of the Continental soldiers to quit. But that those brave soldiers who stayed on and fought should be thanked, even still, today.

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Thank You to Teachers: Moms Celebrating Moms

2012-12-22T10:56:00.001-05:00

Liz from Fit Kids Clubhouse is here today, sharing a truly inspiring post, honoring mothers who are also teachers. Her recent post on making Christmas crayons is something I plan on trying out this weekend. I also think my boys would love blowing the gigantic bubbles like her students did in this post on exhaling. You can also follow along with her on Facebook, Pinterest, or Google Plus.

When asked to write a post for “Moms Celebrating Moms” the first Mom to pop into my head was, of course, my own. I could write pages on the woman who was married at 19, only to become a single mother a few short years later. I could spend days telling you how she is the daughter who takes care of her aging mother, the wife who nurses her sick husband, the sister who is always there for her brothers, and above all, the very best grandmother to her only grandson, my baby boy. Yes, I could celebrate her all day. Truly, we are blessed to have her as the rock in our family. She knows that on this journey through Motherhood, she is my compass.

Like most mothers though, there came a time where she had to let me walk through the doors of a big building and into the classrooms of other mothers.

So today I shine the light on the moms who parent not only their own children daily, but entire classrooms of children as well. The moms who tie shoes, settle disputes and wipe tears, all while simultaneously teaching reading, writing and arithmetic.

I have had amazing teachers throughout my years of education. I have distinct memories of the first grade teacher who showed me just how to handle an annoying hair pulling boy, a lesson that has stayed with me for a lifetime because let’s face it, boys never stop being annoying. I still laugh when I recall the woman who put on her “babushka” and did the “dupa dance” to start the day off entertaining her tired little second graders. She taught me the importance of letting yourself be silly. In sixth grade when my last name was changed mid-school year and I felt awkward, my teacher decided to turn it into a reason to celebrate. She single handedly turned that name change (and the confusion I felt about it at the time) into something I can now look back on and smile. The list could go on and on, as I remember teachers who were there for me above and beyond the classroom walls and their job descriptions.

Children don’t leave their personal lives at the door before they enter a classroom. Their teachers not only have to work with what is on the lesson plan for that day, but what is on that child’s mind. Last time I checked there was no on/off switch to this mommy thing either. When a child is in need, a mother acts. The teacher, who is also a mother, often has to balance being both.

One last story, because I would be remiss to honor moms who teach without mentioning this woman. She was always smiling at her students through her perfectly applied lipstick. No one could wear lipstick as well as she did, and no one could smile that big, for that long, every day. Really, I remember that smile. I also remember her wiping my tears during a very tough time in my young life. She consoled me, she made me laugh, and she challenged me. She encouraged me to take an admittance test into a local school for honors students, and she helped me prep for that test. She sent me a card when I got that sixth grade last name change. Many years later when my last name changed again, she was smiling through the perfect lipstick from the Bride’s side of the Church. She showed me that being a teacher was much more than letters and numbers, and she was the very reason I chose to become a teacher myself. She had daughters of her own to mother, yet she still took the time to mother all of the students who walked through her classroom door. I will forever be grateful to her for that.

When I think of moms celebrating moms, I think of every mom who chooses not only to be a mother to her own children, but to all of ours as well. Thank you.

I wrote this post before the events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. I feel I must add, first and foremost, my heartfelt prayers to all of the families and faculty that are dealing with the aftermath of such horrific events. When I wrote this post I wanted to express my gratitude for moms who mother entire classrooms of children. Sadly, I must now add moms who risk their own lives to protect the lives of those children in their classrooms. There are no words that could even begin to express the gratitude and recognition they rightfully deserve. This series is an amazing reminder to take the time to honor moms we love, and each other, so let us do just that.

Making Playdough Tracks

2012-12-21T00:46:00.003-05:00

We've had a bear theme going on at home. We have some animal replicas that include accurate detail, down to the claws. I made a tray for my boys to play with making footprints.

Supplies:

-3 of our Safari Ltd. bear replicas (we used these because the paw prints are actual models of the real thing)
- playdough
- 2 magnifying glasses (1 for both kids)

My preschooler went right into investigative mode. He made footprints with each animal, noting that he could see the claw marks in the playdough, and comparing the marks made by each animal. He then got out the magnifying glass and investigated the actual claws on the bears.

My toddler had fun picking the bears up and smashing the legs into the playdough. His prints weren't clear, but he loved making them! He thought it was the coolest thing that the bear in his hand was making a mark on the playdough.

This wound up being an activity that we could all do together, with each boy easily modifying the activity to their own interests and age.

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Snowflakes For Sandy Hook

2012-12-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

I learned from Mama Smiles that the PTA at Sandy Hook elementary school have requested that snowflakes be sent in to create a winter wonderland when the students return to their new elementary school this winter.

Magic and light, laughter and happiness. That is what childhood should be. The children from Sandy Hook elementary school deserve nothing less. I hope that snowflakes received from around the country make those children's eyes light up. I hope that they forget, for even a moment, about the tragedy that is unbearably a part of their identities now. I hope that as they walk through the halls of their new school, thinking about their old school, and that awful day, they are comforted by the sight of snowflakes sent to them from people the world over. I hope making snowflakes for these children helps us - gives us a sense that we are helping them.

In case you need some inspiration, I've collected snowflake ideas from some of my favorite websites.

UPDATE: The Sandy Hook PTA has announced that they have received so many snowflakes from around the world that they are no longer accepting snowflakes. They have asked for pictures of winter wonderlands created by other communities as a show of solidarity. They are also accepting monetary donations.

White Paper Snowflakes

Kids love cutting snowflakes, especially the surprise on their faces for the "big reveal." Paper snowflakes are classic plain, and can be jazzed up with glitter or stamps or paint or stickers.

Red Ted Art shares her tutorial on making a classic 6 pointed snowflake here.

Other Paper Snowflakes

White paper snowflakes are great, but if you want to change it up, there are many other kinds of papers you can try.

For sturdier snowflakes, check out Happy Hooligan's cardboard snowflakes. You can cut wrapping paper snowflakes like Hands On: As We Grow, or cut paper bags into snowflakes. To increase the shine factor, Glittering Muffins made snowflakes from aluminum foil.

You can also try contact paper or tissue paper.

Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

Pipe cleaners also make lovely snowflakes. Frugal Fun For Boys made some lovely snowflakes using silver and white pipe cleaners. They can be simply twisted together or adorned with beads. They can also be dipped in paint and used as snowflake stamps.

Craft Stick Snowflakes

Popsicle sticks, glued or tied together, covered with yarn or glitter or paint. Glittering Muffins used paint and glitter on craft sticks to make the snowflakes above. Momma's Fun World also shares an easy popsicle stick snowflake idea.

Handprint Snowflakes

What to do with the Children created these glitter hand print snowflakes on the spur of the moment. It would also work with paint!

Snowflake Ornaments

You can fill plain ornaments with snowflakes. Or wooden snowflake ornaments can be drawn on with sharpies, paint, or crayon.

Coffee Filter Snowflakes

These spin art coffee filter snowflakes from Toddler Approved look like a lot of fun.

As I find more snowflake ideas, I will be pinning away to my Snowflake board on Pinterest.

Remember to send your snowflakes to the Sandy Hook PTA by January 12, 2013!

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Wrapping Paper Story Cards

2012-12-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

I love festive and colorful wrapping paper. The Christmas wrapping paper I buy the kids usually features fun characters. As I was wrapping, it struck me that I could create story cards with the characters.

Supplies:

Wrapping paper scraps
Glue
Scissors
Stiff card (I used index cards. You could use card stock, poster board, or old playing cards)

The Game:

I cut images of single characters or scenes out of the wrapping paper, and glued them onto pieces of index cards.

I handed a stack of the cards to my almost 5 year old, and explained that we could tell stories based on the pictures. There are so many ways to play:

We took turns closing our eyes and drawing cards, making up stories based on what we drew.
He lined up the cards randomly and told a story from those cards.
He selected cards and created a story from those cards.
You could also play memory with the cards
Toddlers can also just match up the cards.

It's also a great way to use up some of the wrapping paper scraps on Christmas morning!

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Reading for Detail: Illustrated with Gingerbread Friends

2012-12-17T01:41:00.001-05:00

We've been reading Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett over and over this month. It's a continuation of her Gingerbread Baby stories. In this book, Gingerbread Baby is lonely when Mattie, the little boy who made him, isn't home, and he wants some gingerbread friends. While Gingerbread Baby seeks friends at a local bakeshop, Mattie is at home, calmly making a batch of ... Gingerbread friends!

Gingerbread Friends has Brett's trademark illustrations, with borders that are so much more than frames for her pictures. In this book, a recipe is contained in the the border. The first few times we read it, my preschooler did not realize that there was a recipe in the border. As I read the pages, and paused to look at the illustrations together, he turned the pages, impatient to get to the action (he loved the chase scene!).

We went through the book without reading the words on the pages, just looking at the pictures. I wanted to show him that the pictures give information beyond what the words provide. We started with the center picture, and discussed the action taking place in each scene.

We looked at the facial expressions (happy Gingerbread Baby, hungry cat, angry bakers). We talked about the way the pictures showed movement (candies being juggled, animals trying to pounce on Gingerbread Baby, Mattie skiing). I asked him what time of year it looked like it was, what the weather was like, if it looked like Gingerbread Baby lived in a city, town, or country.

Then we looked at the borders. I love Jan Brett's borders. She frequently includes action happening contemporaneously with that in the main picture, but focusing on a different character than the one pictured in the large picture.

In this book the recipe Mattie uses to make his Gingerbread Friends is included, step by step, in the border. I asked my son to look at the border, and tell me what he saw. He happily realized there was a recipe. I gathered the ingredients, and we went through, step-by-step, and made the recipe from the book!

To make the recipe, he looked at each page, pointed to the recipe, and then found the ingredients. So when the recipe called for 2 teaspoons of ginger, he would look at the spices, find ginger, and then find the teaspoon measures. I let him measure, mix, and roll out the cookies, with minimal help from me (mostly disaster avoidance, like grabbing the salt before he poured it into the bowl).

Having a 4 year old measure and stir (vigorously) is not the best test of a recipe. Ours didn't turn out, but that by no means indicates that the recipe is a bust. Our version was very crumbly. If anyone else tries it, I would be curious to know how it turned out.

Crumbly or not, it was a fun way to really explore the importance of illustration.

This post was written as part of the Virtual Book Club for Kids! Check out all the other wonderful posts inspired by Jan Brett below.

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Christmas Sensory Bin

2012-12-16T12:03:00.000-05:00

My almost 5 year old and I put together a Christmas sensory bin for my 17 month old today. It came about because I had all the wrapping stuff out, and the boys were having fun looking through the bows. That lead to a quick scavenger hunt for my older son to put together a basket full of Christmas themed items safe for his brother to play with.

We included:

Jingle bells on ribbon
Lots of gift wrapping bows
Non-breakable ornaments
Section of tinsel garland
Extremely dull cookie cutter shapes of reindeer, Christmas trees, and angels

This was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and it was a fun way to get both boys engaged. I let the boys pull out items from the bin. As they held them and played with them, we discussed what the items were, how they felt, what they did. Mostly, though, they just played.

As always, especially when using things not designed for babies and toddlers, be sure to watch them carefully as they explore.

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Caroling With Kids

2012-12-13T05:30:00.000-05:00

The past month we have been focusing on kindness: being kind to each other, to our friends and family, to those who help us, and to our neighbors. To spread some cheer in our neighborhood, we went caroling.

Taking the time to share a song with our neighbors, made me (and the kids as well, I believe) feel more strongly connected to our neighborhood. Everyone we visited lit up when they realized carolers were visiting. It was incredible watching the kids sing and laugh and dance. It really felt like Christmas.

Preschool Caroling Tips:

Songs: We chose the kids' favorite songs (Frosty, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Jingle Bells). It's intimidating to sing in front of other people, so picking well-loved songs eased that experience.

Song books: We printed the words to the songs (even for the pre-readers), and the kids decorated the front of their books with Christmas stickers and crayons. Even the kids who are not yet reading made sure they had their song books turned to the right pages.

Wagon: Being pulled in the wagon is always popular with my kids!

Sign: We attached a sign to the wagon for our group: the Jingle Bell Singers.

Jingle Bells: I put bells on a piece of ribbon for each child, so even if they didn't want to sing, they could still add sounds of Christmas to the music.

Are you planning on caroling this year?

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Wrapping Paper Creation Station

2012-12-12T05:30:00.000-05:00

I set up a wrapping paper creation station for my sons last night, to surprise them when they came downstairs. The saw the setup, ran over, and were happily creating wrapping paper while I got breakfast ready (and, um, possibly while I washed dishes from last night).

There were four sections:

Crayon rubbings of wooden ornaments (placed under the paper)
Stickers
Glitter pens
Christmas themed stamps, with red and green (washable) ink

Both of them liked the stamps best. My 16 month old needed a lot of supervision, but he went to town with the stamps after I inked them for him.

They created several festive pieces of wrapping paper. Now my only problem is that I may like them too much to actually use them as wrapping paper!

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