Archive for January 2010
Snuggle Puppy 
Mama, Do You Love Me?
Did I Tell You I Love You Today?
I Love You Stinky Face
Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch is perhaps the classic tear jerking picture book. I read this for years and years to children and had no problem getting choked up, it never bothered me, then I gave birth and I can’t read it without sobbing. The premise is simple, a mom sings this simple song to her son as he grows ” I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as you’re living , my baby you’ll be.” until she can’t sing it anymore and it’s his turn. For days after I read this I tear up as I lay my son in his crib. * Edited to add that many readers have commented that they do not like this book at all! What do you think? Leave a comment and tell us!
The I LOVE YOU Book
This bouquet won’t wilt after a week , if it lasts that long! The idea of a candy bouquet isn’t new but when I was at the dollar store I wanted to see if I could make it with stuff I found there for a fun and frugal centerpiece . The total cost was $4 ! Not bad. For a simpler Valentine’s Day craft, just make the candy flowers and hand them out to friends.
- Gather your materials. You will need some white card stock ( we used paper plates), Valentine’s themed lollipops, a glass vase, florist foam, some red tissue paper, heart stickers ( or self adhesive foam hearts) , red and pink crayons , a marker and scissors.
- Draw some outlines of flowers on your card stock.
- Have your favorite little one color them for you. I should have taken a video, he was narrating to “other kids mommies” how to do this step.
- While they do that cover the florist foam with red tissue paper and pop in the vase. I just tucked it in , didn’t even tape it.
- Cut the flowers out.
- Poke holes in the middle of the flowers.
- Thread the lollipop through. Ours have twist ties on them and I used them to hold the flower in place.
- Pop the lollipops in the foam.
- Add stickers to the vase.
A healthier twist: If you don’t want candy you can do this craft with Valentine themed pencils. It would be a cute gift to a teacher , I know when I was teaching I was forever running out of pencils.
It’s a month away! Get your love shaking with this musical Valentine’s day craft. There is nothing my son loves more than music ( well maybe garbage trucks) and any craft that can be used for something besides decorating your fridge is a huge plus in my book. The novelty of the peek a boo window made this an even bigger hit! Have fun, shake it and make some music !
- Gather your materials. You will need 2 paper plates, red paint, a sponge brush or roller ( helps the paint dry faster so you can play with it faster too!), some jingle bells, some pom poms , a zip lock bag, packing tape or a stapler, scissors and glitter glue.
- Start by drawing a heart on the inside of one plate.
- Paint the outsides of both plates.
- Add glitter if you want!
- Let dry. We patted ours dry with a paper towel so we could keep going.
- Cut zip lock so that one layer covers the heart opening. Tape well.
- Pop the pom poms and jingle bells in the plate.
- Tape the top to the bottom. We used packing tape because I can’t find my stapler . If you are stapling it make sure that the staples are close together so that no jingle bells fall out. * Also if you have young ones that are still popping little things in their mouths try ripped pieces of paper instead of pom poms, and dry rice!
Books
Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day, Dolores
I Lost My Kisses
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Pretend play activities that combine imaginative play with crafts are our favorite things to do lately. Also our supplies are made up of many recycled and reusable materials. This can be done with boxes, wagons pretty much anything your child can sit in! When they are pretending go along with their suggestions and let them lead. It’s your turn to ask “Why?” and follow along. Most of all have fun.
- Gather your materials. We are using a laundry basket, some party streamers, a wrapping paper tube, some painters tape, pipe cleaners, a paper grocery bag, sticky back foam, markers and scissors.
- Start by having your child decorate the mast of the sail ( aka the wrapping paper tube) with markers and foam.
- While they are doing that , draw a sail on the inside of the grocery bag.
- Fold and cut two layers ( so the inside is facing out ) of sail.
- Decorate the sail with markers and foam.
- Tape the sail to the mast. I am using painters tape because my son likes the blue. Any tape will work.
- Decorate the boat. We weaved the party streamers in and out of the little holes on the sides of our basket.
I didn’t want anything sticky in the basket since my laundry does sometimes get put in it. 
- Attach the mast. I am using pipe cleaners wrapped around the tube and tied to the basket. Like I said above I didn’t want sticky tape residue on my basket. If you are using a box no biggie but this worked for us. I covered the sharp edges with painters tape which also won’t leave a residue.
- All Aboard! We played ferry boat, and the drink you see was part of our pretend play. I had to be the lady in the ferry cafeteria and make him a drink before he got back in his Honda and we docked. Hey it got some banana into him too !
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Sensory tables and tubs ( or lasagna pans like we used this time) are a fun experience for toddlers and preschoolers to learn a myriad of things. Simply scooping and pouring the contents of a sensory table will help develop hand eye coordination, as well as the basic concepts of measurement but as your child grows there are easy ways to turn your basic sensory fun a step further to keep them learning.
- Gather your materials. We used packing peanuts, blue pom poms, small pieces of silver ribbon and tiny snowflakes. We also used over sized clothes pins to use as “pinchers”.
- For younger children simply mix and explore. Feel the different textures, scoop with big spoons or measuring cups and pour.
- For older kids introduce the clothes pin , choose things to pinch or just let your little one loose. My son pretended he was a crane working on a snowy
construction site and picked up all the blue pom poms. Little does he know he was giving those fine motor skills and hand eye coordination a darn good work out! - There is no right and wrong way to do this , have fun and use what you have!
Books
A Really Good Snowman
Snowman in Paradise
In May after splashing with buckets of paint, He threw down his brush, saying, “Gauguin I ain’t.”
Even if some references are more for the adults reading it than the children listening , both parties will close the book smiling and wanting to start all over again. Grab it and see why I love it so much!
