Archive for May, 2009:
Scrapers & Shaving Cream
For those of you who think I am insane, I am (but this was just TOO much fun). The scrapers are from Let’s Explore.
I sprayed Simon’s name on the table and he took over from there.
Fantastic Fun!
The clean-up was worth it because the activity kept him busy for almost 40 minutes!
Some Workbox Fun for Elijah
Silly Sentences Game
Pattern Blocks
Scrabble Sticker Crosswords
Simon’s Second Day with Workboxes
I love taking pictures of Simon’s busy little hands!
Today’s workboxes included:
1. Brown Bear book
2. Brown Bear puppets made from a printable pages from Kizclub
We pulled these out two at a time and had fun asking the animals what they saw; we also used them to have fun with animal sounds
3. Animal Puzzles
4. Paper & Muffin Tin Crayons
(Elijah and I made these crayons when he was a preschooler!)
5. To the Zoo File Folder Game (he’s been loving this for almost a year now)
6. Window Writing
I found the Wax-O-Glas Crayons at Let’s Explore
7. Bonus Box- Creative Fun
I just gave him a box with a glue stick, some pipe cleaners, google eyes, and alphabet stickers.
He couldn’t figure out how to get the pipe cleaners to stick together, so I twisted two for him.
Meet "Eyeball"
A Little Workboxer
We took a one month break to enjoy the weather, but now we are back to school. I started Simon on his very own workboxes today; he LOVED them. He loved them too much and had a complete meltdown when he finished the final box. I need to think about adding more boxes as I only gave him six today.
His line-up
Box 1 ~ Books
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
Box 2 ~ Puzzles
Heads and Tails Matching Puzzles (all the animals from the Brown Bear book)
These were from Carisa. It’s always lovely to find quality (FREE) things to use with my children…one less thing for me to make!
Box 3 ~ Sorting
I put the Schleich animals in a box and had Simon sort them into two piles- BIG and little. He loved this! Once in awhile he would put an animal in the wrong spot and the other animals would "talk" the out of place animal to the right spot. So cute.
Box 4~ Coloring
Simon and I made a mini-book of the animals in the Brown Bear book. This free printable was also from Carisa. This was great for reviewing colors, practicing fine motor skills, and for sequencing the story. I love the way this kid colors! He has some serious zeal for crayons!
Box 5 ~ Painting
Simon had a fun time creating with his new Paint Bellows. He made a red bird and a white dog. The tools for this project came from Let’s Explore (a super fun shop…the kind of place I would own if I had a shop!).
Box 6 ~ Play-doh
He spent quite a bit of his morning with some yellow play-doh, tin pie pans, and rolling pins. This is one of his favorite things to do.
My main goals for the week are to
~keep Simon’s boxes stocked with new things each day
~teach Simon to put things away when he is finished
~avoid meltdowns
I will keep you posted!
Poetry and Popularity
I don’t know if you know this about me (or care), but I love poetry.
I mean it in the most sincere, un-flippant way;
I L-O-V-E the written word in poem form.
I had a little claim-to-fame encounter this past weekend; it reminded me of a poem I memorized for presentation while taking a poetry writing class my final year in college. This one stirs me up every time I read it; the words are rich and reach me.
Famous
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
~Naomi Shihab Nye
(Things I Never Thought I’d Say)
Boys are so interesting. I never pictured myself as a mom of boys, but here I am (and I have no desire to trade them in for girls). I laugh a lot and shake my head a lot, too!
Here are some of the recent questions and statements from my mouth to their ears…
Why is there smashed banana on the bed?
While shopping– Please stop licking the floor.
Why would you eat a spider?
Why would you leave your toothbrush on the floor…next to the toilet?
Why do I see spaghetti sauce on the wall?
Please don’t eat ice cream with your hands.
Stop pouring sand on your head. No, not a good idea to pour it on your brother’s head, either.
Did you really think sending your brother down the stairway in a box was a good idea?
Why is there a very dirty, very wet sock in the bathtub?
And the question I ask on a daily basis…
Are you trying to drive me nuts, or does it just come natural?
Enjoy your boys!
