Earth Day and other spring projects

Monday

Nothing like a rainy Monday to provoke a sluggish start. We stayed in our PJs a little longer than normal and watched the rain soak the patio from their window seat. They were pretending to feed each other popcorn as if they were an old married couple at the movies. Once we got moving, we cleaned up our weekend messes and shook our sillies out. We brought out all of the dress up clothes and played with them for a little bit. Then we ate our special mini cupcake snack and started painting our birdhouses.

Tuesday

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. While we waited for the sun to come out this morning, we painted our birdhouses and talked about what birds or animals might come eat there. Tristan is convinced a tiny goose with inhabit his. And I hope one does! We took a nice walk and then came home to play in the sandbox, with bubbles, and with chalk. Their new favorite thing to do outside is talk to ants and bugs. After we were tired out from outside, we headed in for some snack and to read our book of the week, Alphabet Trucks. It's become Tristan's favorite!

Wednesday

Happy Earth Day! We have been talking about flowers and how they grow, and painting bird houses to help the birds, so I tied this in with a mini Earth Day lesson. We talked about cleaning up after ourselves (inside and out) and how to recycle things that can be used again. We even walked some cans and bottles out to our new recycling bin. We also used pipe cleaners and cheerios to make some bird and squirrel feeders. We sat and waited sort of patiently for them, but shockingly no animals came near the window with two kids yelling for them! We took a nice long walk and pointed out the different types of flowers we saw, and then played in the sandbox until nap time.

Thursday

Sometimes Thursdays are the roughest! We started out okay but then had to

make a run to Giant which was slightly chaotic. They are usually pretty good 

listeners when it comes to getting dressed, putting on shoes, and picking up their toys but today it was like pulling teeth. Getting them to the car 

was pretty easy, as was getting them in and back out and into the cool car

shopping cart that I can never steer without knocking into something took a little work, but we made it to self checkout without an issue. Then I couldn’t find my bonus card, the woman was trying to give me a free disposable bag (?) for 

Earth Day as Lily was trying to climb out of the car and Tristan attached 

himself to the woman’s leg. Whew. We came back home and considered outside time but it’s pretty windy and chilly today. Once we were inside and settled, they managed to keep themselves entertained for a little bit while I did some chores. Once fighting started to happen, we moved to our seats and ate some 

snack and got ready to do project. Today we made some spring wreaths to 

hang on our doors. I had large foam flowers and foam stickers we glued and 

stuck to a circle I cut out of cardboard. They came out pretty cute!

Friday

Alas, Friday. Yesterday was a rough one. But we made it and now we are that 

much closer to the weekend. A three day weekend for us complete with 

Sesame Street Live tonight and then the cabin until Monday. It is very much 

needed! Today was a free play kind of day. We sang some songs and did our 

exercises after breakfast. We played with some toys we haven’t seen in a while. 

We even tried to watch a new TV show or two, just to switch things up. For our 

project, we began to paint clay flower pots for some cute Mother’s Day gifts we 

will be mass producing! Hopefully the rest of the day will go on pretty smoothly 

and we can get the weekend started!

Have a good one everybody! I am going to attempt to get a chunk of wedding related things situated and hopefully one of those things will include a blog update for all of you who are on the edge of your seats! :)

Spring Unit: Week One

Since we are done our letters, I am thinking of doing my 'lesson plans' in unit form. Not sure how long each unit will last just yet, but for now, we are working on a Spring Unit, which includes flowers, nature, and all things outdoors! Here is what we were up to this week!

Monday

Wow what a gorgeous day! We took full advantage of this wonderful warm spring weather and spent almost the entire day outside! We ate breakfast and then did some quick cleaning around the house. After we got dressed, we went for a nice long walk in the stroller and then played in the sandbox for an hour without any fights or issues. We came in for a quick snack, to use the potty, and to take a nap. After nap and lunch, we headed back outside to play with chalk, bubbles, and in the sandbox again. I have a feeling this is how most of our warmer weather days are going to be spent. I am will and ready to do all of our projects outside to enjoy the outdoors!

Tuesday

Rainy Tuesday. I am glad we spent all day yesterday outdoors because we were trapped inside this morning. Our new ‘toy’ is a piano Gpa was given. It’s our new motivator---if they eat all of their breakfast, then I set the timer for 10 minutes and let them play their songs. We had a lazy morning and took our time getting ready. After eating some snack, we read “Flower Garden” by Eve Bunting and talked about flowers. Our project for the day was first talking about the parts that make up a flower and gluing one together ourselves. I let them use the gluesticks themselves today and they did a fabulous job listening! I only used a little bit of guidance to show them what a flower looked like, and they did the rest on their own.

Wednesday

Ahh another beautiful day! We ate breakfast and played some tunes on the piano. It is slightly out of tune but once it’s fixed, maybe I will resurrect my knack to play things by ear (you don’t lose that, right?) and teach them a few easy numbers. They like to bang around on it and sing “Baby, you’re a firework” or twinkle twinkle. After we got dressed and I consumed my cup of coffee, we got shoes and coats on and took a nice long walk in the stroller. As promised, on our return, we played in the sandbox, with sidewalk chalk, and with bubbles. It was a little windy, but still nice enough to eat our goldfish and drink our juiceboxes outside at our little table. We came in to pee after they sucked down their juice, and then headed back out for some more outside time. We drew and labeled a big flower, and talked about how flowers need sun and water to grow. Once our piggies were quite chilly, we came inside and played a round of Cranium Hullabaloo, which is a fun game that works on listening skills. There are different colored and shaped pads you place on the floor that each have different pictures on them. The object of the game is to use your listening ears and follow what the speaker tells you to do. If you end up on the pad he guesses, you win. It’s fun to watch them think about where they want to go next. We are still working on the listening part! After we got tired of that, we did some threading with our wood sea animals and shoe strings. I found that set at the $1-3 bins at Target for three bucks and it saved me the trouble of making them on my own. Plus they are slightly more durable than cardboard. We read our books for the week and then took some nice very long naps.  After lunch we headed back outside to soak up some more rays.

Thursday

Nothing better than a gorgeous Thursday! Except of course a beautiful Friday but we’re almost there! We started out a little slow moving today. After we got dressed and ready to go, we got to play with a new manipulative I found in the $1-3 dollar bin at Target. I do not know how to pass by that thing without at least looking, and almost always buying something. Most of it has really come in handy to occupy their attention for some time! Anyway, I found these little circle/peg things that can stick together and make towers and bridges and all sorts of fun things! They spent some time with these until they remembered how nice out it was. We took a very long stroller walk today to get some fresh air for them and some exercise for me. We came home and played in our new outdoor haven. They were pretty good at listening so we ate our snack outdoors again today. Came inside to potty and to get ready for nap by reading our books, and they both fell asleep very fast. Ahh fresh air!

Friday

Well, it’s rainy and sort of gloomy, but we can get past that because it’s finally Friday! Yay! We had a very low key morning, which is sometimes needed. The kiddos stayed in their pajamas and played ever so nicely with each other, cramming into the tiny places between the TV stand and behind the chair. They were using “astroblasters” and “going on adventures” and “sitting on a train” and using their imaginations in so many other ways. I just sat back and watched them play. At one point, Tristan leaned over to Lily and said “Lily you are awesome.” And I may or may not have cried a little and she turned and hugged him. Oh these two buddies! After we danced out some energy and straightened up a little, we voted on playing with play doh. They sat for about 45 minutes building and cutting and rolling and making snakes and Pluto and frogs. Once again, their little imaginations were going full speed. I actually got some painting projects for our very DIY wedding which was a bonus! I think I might actually take advantage of this gray day and read while they finish up their naps!

Have a fun weekend! Hoping to get some more wedding stuff done this weekend and perhaps blog a little about that, but we're going to a food truck festival tomorrow so I sort of plan on being in a food coma for a bit!

Outside Toy Review

Now that it is finally nice enough out to go outside and stay outside for a good period of time, I thought I would do a review of the basic items I use to keep Lily and Tristan entertained and occupied. Most of these things have been gifts or hand me downs and have gotten us through a few seasons of outdoor time. My goal this year is to bring out a new (to them) toy each week or so to keep them interested and active. I have a water table and a roller coaster waiting in the wings at my parent’s house that will be perfect for them to use this year.

Fubbles

These no-spill bad boys are by far the most amazing bubble wand holder I have ever encountered while working with toddlers. Even when knocked over, dragged around, and thrown in the car, it manages to not spill a drop. Of course, the top part collects bubbles and gunk that can potentially make a mess but nothing from the inside leaks out. We’ve taken this with us to picnics, parties, parks, and on wagon rides. I love that the kids can use this without me either holding the bottle of bubbles or worrying about spilling. The mess is minimal and blowing bubbles is actually a good exercise in young children relating to speech development!

Gazillion Bubbles

Going along with our bubble theme, these bubbles are amazing and the gazillion is no joke. The wand provided has tons of different size holes that can be blown or waved for a bubble overload. The wand is a thicker, sturdier plastic so I don’t feel like I am going to break it when I whip it around. The combo of the bubble recipe and the different want makes for a good amount of bubbles to start flowing. They are also non-toxic and non-staining which is also a huge plus for parents! 

Wagon

After stroller walks, a wagon is our second favorite way to get around. We actually have two different wagons. The Radio Flyer one was a hand me down that we have gotten good use out of in the cooler weather. Lily got a Step 2 one for her first birthday we also love to use when it gets warmer. The Step 2 wagon has a removable canopy for the top and even a drawer to put snacks or Mommy things. Neither one will fit in my trunk (sometimes I miss driving the mini van for transport purposes) but it’s fun for a local walk to the library or park. Or to practice pulling each other around.

 

Chalk

Ahh sidewalk chalk. I know the texture is an issue for some, but I love it. from now until the end of fall, I will have chalk on my shoes and pants. My favorite is Crayola’s box of awesomeness because of all the shades and colors, but honestly, the Dollar Store and A.C. Moore have little buckets of it for $1 that work just as well! I stocked up all winter long in preparation of being outside regularly and also doing some learning and teaching outside as well.

Sand box/Sand Table/Sand Pile

Kids + sand = HAPPY. Another thing that’s not for everyone, but I love it and so do the kids. The first day this year that we used it, both kids stayed in for an hour without any fuss or fighting. It was amazing. They get a chance to build and create while also getting in some major sensory play. We have a few stray beach toys that we've been using but plastic cups and spoons seem to be what they fight over the most! You don't have to spend a fortune on sand toys. I actually bought a few random plastic toys from the Dollar Store last fall and hid them beneath the sand for the kids to find. There is so much you can do with a sand box or table that can tie in to your daily lesson!

Water Table

Along the same lines as the sand table, these are not for the faint of heart. They will get wet. You will get wet. Just make sure to always have a towel and a change of clothes ready. It’s not quite warm enough for us to break ours out, but I can’t wait until we can. Lily can spend hours playing in the sink so this will be so much fun for her and Tristan. This pirate ship one she got for her first birthday has a ton of different features for them to play with, and they can take their Little People go for a swim! I like that they can stand or sit while they play and I can control how much water gets put in the table. They control how much gets out! :)

Kid Friendly Picnic Table

Being able to have snack and do projects at a kid-friendly table makes outside time that much better. I wouldn't do a meal out there just yet because they do like to wander when they are not strapped in, but a small table is perfect for munching on some goldfish, eating some FreezePops or grabbing a drink. I also like to use it to do projects on when I want to spend the whole day outside. The one we have is super simple and just the right size for the two of them. This is a good item to search for at yard sales! If it's beat up or faded, but still in good condition, there's nothing a good washing and a fresh coat of paint won't fix!

Comfy Outdoor Chair

Just kidding. We all know that as soon as we sit ourselves down in a comfortable spot to watch them play from afar, we immediately are needed to jump up to do some bubble in the eye sand in the pants chalk finger scrape catastrophe. Actually, I am more of a hands on mom when it comes to outside play because I find it soothing to channel my inner kid and get my hands dirty. Which is probably a good thing chasing two 2 year olds all day. Another plus to constantly moving is an even, yet still awkward, burn (or tan) line. But it’s nice to have something on those days were the universe is in my favor and I can sit back and enjoy the day from the comfort of my chair. This one is on my wishlist, in my size of course.