Dandelion Painting

We are guest blogging about all the fun we had painting with dandelions over at Greening Sam and Avery today.  Stop by and say hi!

Let the Planting Begin!

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous so we spent a lot of time outside getting our gardens ready for planting.  Eva has been anxious to start growing her vegetables so I broke out some of the seed starters she has accumulated over the past few months and she went to ton making the dirt and planting the seeds.

We also direct sowed our carrot, lettuce and pea seeds.  We had so much fun building bamboo teepees for our pea plants (and later, green bean plants) to grow up.

(We live in the city so we take advantage of any bit tof garden space we can find!)

As soon as the seeds were in the ground, Eva began asking when they would grow.  We made a little chart to keep by the back door with our guesses as to what would sprout first.

Now everyday when we go outside, we check to see if anything has sprouted.  It is so exciting!

Play Dough Planting

It's not quite planting season for us here yet but we still can have flowers!  I came upon this post at Teach Preschool and knew it would be a big hit.  I made a batch of play dough and added a mix of food coloring to turn it brown.  (I also sprinkled in some cocoa to make it smell nice!)  Using some flower pots and bunches of Dollar Store flowers, Eva started planting.

So much fun!  Eva was so into it, she climbed up onto the window seat to get comfy and played for half an hour arranging and rearranging to flowers.

Spring Painting

Seeing as spring rolled in with a snow storm, we needed something to perk things up a little.  Eva decided she wanted to paint a flower picture on her easel and I am loving how all of the sudden her paintings actually look like something.  I am a total nerd when it comes to child development and I am just amazed how children grow and change so this picture will definitely be going in the "keep" pile!

See that green and yellow thing at the bottom?  That's a bee- isn't it the cutest you've ever seen?  Next to it is a flower and some baby bees (the little yellow dots).  The blue is sky and the yellow spotted blob floating in it is a bunch of bees shedding their skin (guess who learned about molting in her bug class?).  And of course no spring picture is complete without a giant red T-Rex.

Easter Week

This week we will be spending our time prepping for Easter Sunday.  Be prepared for lots of bunnies, eggs and chicks!

Books
          


























Small Motor Activities
Felt Easter Egg- we will be decorating a felt Easter egg on our felt board

Easter sensory tub- the split peas are still in there but what will Eva find this week hidden beneath them?

Large Motor Activities
Bunny Hop- we will be hopping around the house (and neighborhood if the weather permits) like little rabbits

Easter Egg Hunt- where will the Easter Bunny be hiding eggs this year?

Crafts
Handprint Bunnies- we will be using these to decorate Easter cards for friends and family

Easter Bonnet- can't wait to see how Eva will look in a paper bowl that we will be converting into a stylish hat

Spring Lamb- we will be repurposing some packing peanuts that came along with an Easter gift

Paper Weaving- this craft involves weaving paper to make a checkered Easter egg- this will be a new activity for Eva so we will see how it goes!

Paper Plate Bunny- we will be adding eyes, ears, nose and whiskers to a paper plate to turn it into a cute bunny head

Other Activities
Coloring Eggs- this was a big hit last year so I'm sure we will have a blast again!

From Seed to Flower

Today we talked about how flowers first start out as seeds.  We looked at four different types of seeds- sunflower, pumpkin, lima bean and fava bean seeds- and noticed all the ways they were alike and different.  I then dumped them into a bowl all together and Eva set out to sort them.

Then we made a giant sunflower using an oatmeal container.  Daddy did us the favor of eating up all the oatmeal first and then peeling off the container's wrapper and cutting inch wide strip all around it.  Next, Eva painted it yellow and pink.

While the paint dried, Eva tried out her new sidewalk chalk.  Since it was raining outside, I spread out some brown paper we had from a package we received and Eva got to draw on the dining room floor.

Once the paint on the flower was dry, I folded out the petals and filled the center with glue.  Eva then used the seeds from earlier to fill in the center of the sunflower.

When the glue dries we will be adding a stem and some leaves so be sure to stop back to see the finished product.  Also check out the one at Frugal Family Fun Blog that inspired ours.

Wonderful Wind

After a morning at the zoo, we unwound by reading some books about wind before "nap" time.  Then, while Eva was resting, I wrapped some crepe paper around a dowel leaving long strands hanging down to play with out in the wind.

The streamers were a big hit!  Eva played with them for a half an hour before deciding wind was also good for blowing bubbles.

Coffee Filter Flowers

Despite the chilly temperatures and dampness, spring really is upon us.  Flowers are popping up in our gardens and now we have a few in our window as well.

Today we made flowers using coffee filters, markers, water and cupcake liners.  Eva started out by coloring on coffee filters with all different color markers.

Then we placed them on some newspaper and sprayed them with water until they were soaked.  When they get wet the markers bleed and the filter starts to look like a watercolor painting.

Be sure to get them really wet so the color spreads over the entire filter.  While they were drying Eva decorated some cupcake liners with markers too.

The filters don't take long to dry.  When they were no longer damp, we glued the cupcake liners to the center of the filters and then hung them in the window.  They definitely brighten up a dark, dreary day.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It's time to jump in puddles!

After getting all our splashies out, we headed inside to make an umbrella mobile.  To get us started, I drew a bunch of raindrops on a pale blue piece of card stock and Eva painted them with glue.

Next, she sprinkled some crystal glitter on the glue to make the raindrops sparkle.

The glitter container didn't have a shaker top so I just poured some in my hand and Eva took little pinches to sprinkle.  (She's an old pro at sprinkling as Daddy lets her add the salt and other spices when they cook together.)  We then set the raindrops aside to dry and started on the umbrella.  I cut a large half-circle out of poster board.  Eva had found a giant butterfly sponge on a recent trip to JoAnn fabric that she wanted to use as a stamp so I thought this would be a good project for it.  She chose two colors- pink and turquoise- and we dipped the sponge in them and then stamped on the umbrella.

I had to help push down the sponge since it was so big.  The clothespin were hooked on to help Eva maneuver it.  After letting it dry (and getting a little someone to bed) I cut out the raindrops and attached them with string to the umbrella along with a handle cut out of a cardboard box.

I love how the raindrops sparkle.  I can't wait to see Eva reaction to the finished product in the morning.

Spring Has Sprung

On Saturday we welcomed a new season- Spring!  This week we will be focusing on spring things- wind, rain, flowers and birds.  Hopefully we will be able to spend some more time outdoors too but the forecast is looking a little wetter and chillier than last week.

Books


We will be reading a bunch of books about Spring and all that this new season brings.

(Image Sources- Goodreads)

(Image Source- Amazon)

Rain is in the forecast for this week and it couldn't be spring without it.  We will be curling up on the couch to read books about rain while listening to it pitter patter on the windows.

(Image Sources- Goodreads)

When there is rain, there is bound to be wind too.  We'll see if any of these books blow us away.  (sorry- had to go there!)

(Image Sources- Goodreads)

Large Motor Activities
Wind Dancing- we will be dancing as if the wind is blowing us around; we will even use streamers to create our own wind

Nature Walk- if the weather permits, we will take a walk through the neighborhood and park to look for signs of spring

Small Motor Activities
Seed Sort- we will be sorting a variety of seeds by type, size, color and any other ways we come up with while examining them

Crafts
Umbrella Mobile- we will be making an umbrella with dangling rain drops

Coffee Filter Flowers- using coffee filter and cupcake liners we will fashion some pretty spring flowers to replace the snowflakes that were hanging in our front windows

Oatmeal Container Flower- we will be making a flower similar to the one seen here

Yarn Bird's Nest- using a balloon, glue and yarn we will be creating a nest for a little feathered friend

Wind Sock and Pinwheels round out the crafts we will be attempting this week.

Other Activities
Animal Matching- we will be matching up baby animals with their mothers