Valentines for the Birds

The other day (when there was still snow on the ground) we decided to make Valentines for the birds.  I cut out hearts from some cardboard and Eva turned them into treats by spreading shortening on them and then sprinkling on bird seed.

We added some ribbon for hanging and then went out to decorate a tree with them.

Eva helped by sprinkling some of the extra seed around the tree for the birds (and squirrels).

Seeing as they disappeared from the tree that night, either we have some very hungry (and strong) birds or some other critters got a little treat.  All that matters is there are a few less hungry animals in our neighborhood!

Snowflake Decor

We haven't had much snow here this year so the other day we decided to make our own snow- snowflakes that is!

I folded coffee filters and then Eva took snips out of them in various places.  Her favorite thing was cutting off the corners.  We even broke out the hole punch and made a few snowflakes using them.  After making a bunch I taped some yarn to them and we suspended them around our dining room window.  Now we can have snow even when it's rainy or sunny outside.

Craft A Day 'Til Christmas: Day 7: Glitter Glue Ornaments

Today's craft isn't done yet but I didn't want to not post something!  This morning I drew some holiday shapes on wax paper with a marker and then Eva used glitter glue pens to trace over them and fill them in.  She loved this!  We need to use glitter glue more often- all the sparkle of glitter with tons less mess!

Twelve hours later, they are still drying!  When they have completely dried we will peel them off the wax paper and use ribbon to hang them on the tree.  (Or I may get really impatient and just cut out the ornaments and leave wax paper on the backs!)  I'll be sure to post an update when they are completely done.

Craft A Day 'Til Christmas: Day 5: Laced Stocking

This craft brought me back to my childhood.  I remember always making a laced stocking at some point before Christmas each year.  For this one, I cut out two stockings from red paper and then punched holes around the edge while holding them together.  I cut a length of yarn and tied it to the first hole and then Eva set to work lacing around the edge.

(Our dog Woofer was acting as quality control today.)

When she had worked her way all around the stocking, I tied it off the then looped the extra yarn back to the beginning hole and tied it there so there could be a hanger.  Then Eva used some Christmas stickers to decorate it.

She also cut out and designed a bee to glue onto the stocking (not sure what the rationale for it is but she insisted her stocking needed a bee) and now she is busy making things to put into it.

Craft A Day 'Til Christmas: Day 3: Sticker Ornaments

This is a craft Eva came up with on her own.  We were making a paper chain to go on her little tree when she decided she needed to make some ornaments as well.  She stuck Christmas stickers on a sheet of red paper and then cut them out.  I added the yarn for hanging and Eva decorated her tree.

Craft A Day 'Til Christmas: Day 2: Button Tree

Today's craft was a simple little button tree.  I cut out a triangle from green paper and a brown rectangle and Eva glued together a tree.  Then she used white glue to adhere buttons all over the tree for ornaments.

That in itself had been my plan for the craft but Eva knew no Christmas tree is complete without lights so she used glitter glue to make tiny dabs all over the tree.  Now it sparkles just like our actual tree does!

It's hard to see but next to each button, Eva drew the pine needle that the ornament is hanging on.  I love that she can take a simple idea and add so much of her own interpretation to it!

Craft A Day 'Til Christmas: Day 1: Bow Wreath

We have officially kicked off our Craft a Day 'Til Christmas!  Today we made a bow wreath.  To prep, I cut out a wreath from cardboard and gathered some stick-on bows.  I was just going to have Eva slap the bows on the cardboard but she insisted the wreath needed to be green so she colored it a bit first.

Then she peeled the backings off the bows and stuck them to the wreath.  If your child is as obsessed with stickers as mine is, this will be pure joy!

When she was done, I reinforced the bows with a few staples because they were starting to pop off.  (Eva squeezed a ton of bows onto the wreath.  If you do less yours may stick better on their own.)  Then I added a ribbon for hanging and now we have something festive to brighten our door!

Happy Crafting!!!

Early Literacy: Sight Words

I recently noticed that the number of words Eva is able to recognize and spell has been increasing.  For a while she knew her name and ours and that was about it (besides boo which she has hung onto since Halloween).  Now she is noticing more words in the environment and starting to hold on to them.

While she can read and spell them, she does not know how to write them yet.  (The only word I've actually taught her how to write is "love" so that she could sign birthday cards for family members.)  The other day I sat down with her and wrote down the words she can both read and spell to make a chart to help her learn to write those words.

I hung it from one of our window shades and left some sentence strips and markers for her to use to write when the mood strikes her.  She grabs the word she wants to write and sets it above her sentence strip for a reference.

I love finding her "writings" and knowing that she has embraced this and done it on her own.

Some other things we do with her little word wall are:

• use a pointer to point and read the words
• I say a word and Eva points to it
• take the words out and spread them on the table then Eva closes her eyes and I hide a sticker under one of the words; she then has to read a word and then look under it to try and find the prize
• trace the words with her finger
• take a word and make it with magnetic letters
• take a word and stamp it with alphabet stamps

As she learns new words I'll remove some of the really well known ones and put the new ones in their place.  

Easter Egg Magnets

A while back, Eva went to a bug class at our science museum and made a cute lady bug magnet.  The shape of them reminded me of eggs so I decided to recreate the project to use as an Easter gift.  To begin we added water to some plaster of paris and then scooped it into plastic spoons.

Then Eva dropped a magnet into each spoon.  (Be careful if you are using strong magnets- they will attract each other if the spoons are too close.)

When the plaster was dry, I popped them out and rubbed the edges to get rid of any rough parts and then Eva painted them.

We let that dry and then Eva decided her eggs needed polkadots.  Using the opposite end of a paint brush, she dipped it in paint and dabbed onto the eggs.

Now we have a collection of Easter egg magnets to pass out on Easter Sunday to our family and friends!

Fun with Plastic Easter Eggs

This year, instead of coming up with activities for Eva to do with plastic eggs, I gave her a basket full of them and let her creativity guide her.  Each day she has come up with something to do with them.  She has used eggs tongs to transfer them from the basket to a tray.

When she got bored with that, she dumped the eggs on the floor and then used the tongs to collect them again.

Here's a list of a few other Easter egg activities she came up with:
*  hide the eggs and then find them again (great training for Easter egg hunts!)
*  open the eggs and see what will fit inside (she's tried everything from dinosaurs to crayons to buttons)
*  put something in an egg and have someone else guess what it is by shaking it
*  sort eggs by color
*  sort eggs by size
*  roll eggs to see which ones will go the farthest
*  put small objects in two eggs and use as shakers to make music

Mardi Gras Activities

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and we have a fun day planned!  We will be kicking off the day with some yummy doughnuts for breakfast.  Eva picked out a chocolate frosted one covered with sprinkles when we were grocery shopping today and she can't wait to give it a taste!  We'll also be having a New Orleans staple for dinner- jambalaya- yum!

Other fun Mardi Gras things to do:
*  Throw on some beads and grab your masks for a masquerade.  Add some fun music and you've got a dance party!
*  Use those beads for painting.  Dip a string of them in your favorite color paint and then drag them around on paper or toss them in a box top lined with paper and shake them up.
*  Grab some musical instruments (or make your own, like we did last year) and you can be your own rag-time band!
*  Many folks enjoy a king's cake on Mardi Gras and it's good luck to find the baby hiding in the cake.  Play hide and seek with a baby doll and bring on the luck!

Mardi Gras Masks

We'll be leaving China this week for India but we'll make a pit stop in New Orleans for Mardi Gras next Tuesday.  In preparation, we made Mardi Gras masks.  I started out tracing this template onto purple card stock and cutting it out.  Then Eva went to town decorating her mask with gems, sequins and feathers.

When the mask was complete, I used packing tape to attach a pencil to the back to make holding the mask easier.  You could also punch holes in each side and add ribbon or elastic but if your child is like mine and hates having anything around her head, the pencil is the way to go.

Now we are ready to start indulging in the Fat Tuesday fun!

Building Creativity

Today I set Eva up with some marshmallows and toothpicks at the dining room table.  I showed her how to push the toothpicks into the marshmallows and connect and let her go to town.

This activity was great for working on fine motor skills and Eva learned about the need for a solid foundation (although watching the tower fall was tons of fun and became the new foundation!).

Eva loved adding the toothpicks and even returned to the sculpture while I was getting dinner ready.

250 toothpicks and a bigger support paper later, Eva unveiled her fantastic creation:

Who would have thought that a bowl full of mini marshmallows and some toothpicks could lead to such creativity!