Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Our Day Out with Thomas - The Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012

2012-03-07T08:45:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we had the privilege to attend A Day Out with Thomas - Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012 as a "Mommy Reporter" family at the Goldcoast Railroad Museum in Miami, FL.

It was our first time attending this event & the Lil Divas had lots of fun.

All the kids were so excited to see Thomas the Train in real life!

Aboard the train things were festive and fun.

The Boy Scouts were there helping keep things lively.

Once our trip was underway we found out we were picking up a

"mystery load" at Sir Topam Hatt's request.

We were given 3 clues to help us figure out what it was.

One of the highlights for the Lil divas was definitely getting to take pictures

with Thomas the Train & Sir Topam Hatt!

What I really liked about the event was that there was lots for the kids to do before and/or after their ride aboard Thomas. There were bounce houses, mini golf and crafts. There were also food and snack vendors available. It was a fun, festive atmosphere and everyone enjoyed themselves.

If A Day Out with Thomas - Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012

is going to be a city near you be sure to check it out.

It was an afternoon of great family fun for all!

Disclaimer - We received 4 tickets complimentary tickets to A Day Out with Thomas - Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012. As a Mommy Reporter I live tweeted our experience throughout the event.

Spring Weather - Making Rainbows

2012-03-06T06:29:00.000-05:00

Spring is almost upon us and with it comes lots of awesome weather.

Sun, clouds, wind, rain and of course rainbows.

With both spring on the horizon and St. Patrick's Day nearly here,

there is simply no better time to talk about rainbows.

We read the book The Rainbow and You and talked about how rainbows are made. Rainbows are fascinating and the Lil Divas are very intrigued by them. I knew they would enjoy making their own rainbows, so I brought out some prisms, opened the window shades and let them have fun.

As they worked we observed what happens when the light hits the prism and when there is no sunlight streaming through the prism. We made rainbows on the floor, on the ceiling and on white paper.

We made big rainbows and little rainbows,

thin rainbows and thick rainbows,

long rainbows and short rainbows.

Throughout the entire process the Lil Divas were amazed

at how the light held all these amazing colors.

Tip: If you don't have a prism you can fill a clear glass cup with water (about 3/4 full) and use it as a prism. Find a sunny spot and put the glass in front of it and aim towards white paper - you will see a rainbow! We tried this too but I unfortunately didn't get pictures of it. It works!

After making and observing rainbows, the Lil Divas made a rainbow book.

To make the books I printed up a title page, half sheets of paper with each color of the rainbow and an end page. The Lil Divas made all the illustrations by drawing something that matched each color of the rainbow. For the Oldest Diva we talked about "all" the colors of the rainbow (including indigo & violet) but the youngest Diva was a bit confused so I kept it at just purple for her. We will continue to explore rainbows and she hears us talking about it, so I know she will catch on anyway.

Books:

We will continue to explore rainbows but for now be sure to check out our other weather related fun

& I'd like to share a fun weather related linky with you. So many wonderful crafts, activities, experiments and more all having to do with weather.

Join me and all these amazing bloggers

by sharing your weather themed fun

in the Weather Blog Hop -

NurtureStore :: The Golden Gleam ::
Rainy Day Mum :: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

Putti Prapancha :: Sun Hats & Wellie Boots ::

Montessori Tidbits :: Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Reading Confetti :: Dilly-Dali Art ::

Growing A Jeweled Rose :: The Iowa Farmer's Wife

AngeliqueFelix.com :: Kindergarten Basics

:: Mommy With A Selective Memory

Glittering Muffins :: Creative Family Fun ::

Living Montessori Now :: Toddler Approved

Living at the Whitehead's Zoo :: Sense of Wonder ::

Make, Do & Friend :: Creative Connections for Kids

The Educators' Spin On It :: RainbowsWithinReach

:: A Mom With A Lesson Plan :: Creativity my Passion

Mama Smiles :: Teach Preschool ::

JDaniel4's Mom :: The Outlaw Mom Blog ::

Mama Mia's Heart2Heart :: :: Mindful Meanderings

Bern

Dr. Seuss {Inspired} Food & Snack Ideas

2012-03-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's Dr. Seuss' birthday!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

This week we have been reading lots of Dr. Seuss books and enjoying all kinds of fun activities. It was fun for me to try to incorporate the books into some of our lunches and snacks.

Here are a few of the things I made for the Lil Divas this week:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Lunch

What's In It:
Tuna fish sandwich on fish shaped wheat bread
rainbow goldfish crackers
One Fish, Two Fish Jello (blue raspberry jello w/swedish goldfish inside)
Pink Yink Ink Drink - (Shh, actually it's just pink lemonade)

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back Fruit Kabobs

What's In It:
strawberries & bananas make up the hat & the head is a grape

Yes, that's it! Cute, easy, yummy & healthy = win, win, win, win!

The Lorax Sandwich & Truffula Trees

What's In It:
PB & J Sandwich - eyes are raisins, mustache & mouth made of apple slices.
Truffula Trees are twizzlers w/cotton candy tops

These are some Seuss Snack ideas we did last year -

Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast

What's In It:
scrambled eggs & ham w/a hint of green food color
bagels - the melted butter has a hint of green food color too

Green Eggs & Ham Dessert

What's In It:

Lime Sherbert & Whipped Cream - super easy & sure to please!

Cat in the Hat:

What's In It:

Nilla Wafers

marshmallows

cherry gummy life savers

vanilla icing

The Books:

Bern

** Don't forget to link up to the Ultimate Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Linky Party!**

Weekly Wrap-up 3/4/12 - Seuss, Food & Fun

2012-03-05T01:00:00.000-05:00

With GFC gone, I can no longer send out my weekly newsletters. I decided to try a weekly wrap-up post instead. I'd love for you to comment below and let me know what you think of this idea. Should I keep it or would you rather not see this on the blog?

******

What a fun & frenzied week we had in the Lil Diva household! If you follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter you know we were out and about having FUN!

I had the privilege of being a "Mommy Reporter" for the Miami stop of The Day Out with Thomas: Mystery on the Rails Tour. The Lil Divas had so much fun riding aboard Thomas! Our post with more details is coming this week.

There is so much going on right now on the blog! I am going to give you the inside scoop & even a few sneak peeks at what's coming up but I'd love for you to stop by and see it all first hand! We have been busy little bees!

The Sunday Showcase

is open. I look forward to this so much each week. I truly enjoy seeing all of you stop by to share what you've been up to with your little ones. We have some amazing Seuss related features from last week and some March inspired ones too. Be sure to come & take a peek - so much inspiration!

*****
Did you celebrate Dr. Seuss birthday?
We sure did & will continue to do so this week!
We are hosting The Ultimate Dr. Seuss Linky Party -

many wonderful bloggers have joined me
in my efforts to make this a fabulous
resource of Seuss activities!
Be sure to click the link above to see
the 190+ (& counting) activities linked so far.

*****
Our Dr. Seuss related activities this week included -
making Oobleck (of course!)

I had lots of fun pulling some Wacky Wednesday
tricks on the Lil Divas

We did lots of fish related math with
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

and did some creative writing inspired by
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet

Tomorrow, I will be sharing our Seuss related snacks!
You won't want to miss the post! :)

******
Did you see our BIG unveiling today
of our year long project -
Around the World in 12 Dishes

We are part of a fabulous group of bloggers
that are exploring the world with our children
through food, books, crafts & fun.

I would LOVE to see you all jump in
& step out of our comfort zone and explore
the world with our children.

The 1st stop on our Around the World Journey is the United Kingdom. We kicked things off by making Cinnamon Chip Scones & Cucumber Sandwiches. We also read Paddington Bear (a true classic) and made our own TP Roll Paddington Bear.

Remember - This is a year long project and you can jump in any time! I hope to see you joining in with us.

******
Coming up:
This week we will have even more Seuss related fun,
some fun with weather & St. Patrick's Day
and new reviews and giveaways for you.

******
Current Giveaways:

Grandma's Trunk Alphabet Game
(ends 3/4/12)

$5.00 Dunkin Donuts Gift Card
(ends 3/8/12)

Wishing you a FABULOUS week!
Bern

Kiwi Crate: A Hands-on Experience Delivered Right to Your Door!

2012-03-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Kiwi Crate?

They offer monthly crates for kids age 3-7 that arrive right at your door or mailbox. Each crate is filled with hands-on activities - which can include things like experiments, crafts, imaginative play and more. Each crate centers on a particular theme and includes enough materials for two to three projects/activities.

We recently received their Under the Sea crate for review and it was perfect for my Lil Divas. The crate included a salt water versus fresh water experiment and a fishing craft/game. Can you already see why it was perfect for the Lil Divas? Seriously, I was very impressed with it.

We started with the science experiment. The crate had everything we needed except for the water.

Here's what we did:

1. We filled the 2 cups 3/4 way with water.

2. We added the salt to one cup and stirred.

3. We left the other cup filled with just plain water.

4. I let the Lil Divas feel each ball and had them hypothesize about what they thought would happen to each ball in each cup.

4. Then we conducted the actual experiment by adding in the various balls to each cup in turn and observing if they either sunk or floated.

The Lil Divas enjoyed the experiment so much they did it a few times. They especially liked that they got to keep the balls we used in the experiment - a definite added bonus!

Then we moved on to the craft. The Lil Divas colored in the various sea creatures as they liked. I let them have free reign and they worked really well together.

The Oldest Diva wanted to be in charge of creating the sea scape. She took this "job" very seriously and included lots of fun details like sea weed, coral, a mermaid, a scuba diver and a large whale.

Once the sea was ready, we were all set to add the velcro pieces to our sea creatures, construct our fishing poles (super easy) and play! We set up the game on the floor and the Lil Divas sat on their boat ( aka the couch) and happily fished over and over again to their hearts content.

The Littlest Diva especially enjoyed this game (big surprise, NOT!) and has played with it quite a few times since we first opened the crate.

Our Thoughts:

I think the idea behind Kiwi Crate is fabulous. This can benefit anyone. I do all types of activities with my girls but I can see this being a great "go to" resource for me on a rainy day or even a day when I am not feeling up to putting something together but the girls want an activity. What a peace of mind it would be to have one of these crates on a day when I am not feeling well.

I think this is especially wonderful for busy parents or the non-creative type. Everything you need comes right to you, including the directions and almost all the materials (except things like water). Our crate even included a pair of scissors.

Kiwi Crate's projects are open-ended to promote creativity and spark imagination. Our crate was educational, fun & engaging and definitely hands-on. The Lil Divas completely enjoyed it and there were enough materials that they were able to work on the activities together, YAY!

How to subscribe?

Interested in Kiwi Crate for your children? Visit the Kiwi Crate website to subscribe. A monthly subscription is $19.95 and a year;y subscription is $220.00. This includes shipping and at least 2 projects a month. You are free to cancel at any time and can even add-on extra materials for a sibling at an additional $7.95 per month/crate.

Have you used Kiwi Crate? I'd love to hear about your experience? If not, what do you think of a service like this? Can you see it being beneficial in your family?

Bern