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nuts, bolts, washers, oh my!
My kiddos have always loved playing with the plastic tools and accessories that accompanied our little play workbench, so when I was stuck at the hardware store a few days ago, I couldn't resist grabbing a few bucks' worth of nuts, bolts, washers, and other fun silvery-shiny things to bring back for Maddy, Owen, and Cora.I'm always on the lookout for ways of honing the fine motor skills of my little ones, and I know they love to play with anything that is usually off-limits, like cell phones, … Read More...
super-supreme saturday
We are incredibly lucky to have an awesome hook-up at the Supreme Court this year (no joke), so today we got a behind-the-scenes tour of one of our nation's most important buildings.We ate candy in one of the justice's offices. We looked down the secret spiral staircase. We shot baskets in the upstairs gym. We sat in the courtroom. We ran around the library--only because no one else was there. And Maddy, Owen, and Cora would have drained a hard-working justice's water cooler had we let … Read More...
new for us friday–mango mania
As we were grocery shopping last Friday before our big Guppy Gala night, Maddy said, Hey, Mommy! Let's try some new fruit today. How about these?She picked up a mango. How could I resist? It was Friday, and we were supposed to be trying new things on Fridays.So we did. We tried mangos. Sure, we've had them before at the mall in smoothies, at Rita's in Italian ice, but we had never really had them before as real fruit in our house.TMango Mania: I washed them, then everyone held it, squeezed … Read More...
cutting cards
Hopefully none of my friends or family who read this will be upset, outraged, or annoyed, but I have something to confess: my kids practice cutting on the cards you send them.We don't file them in nice folders, keep them to look back on and read--we just don't.We receive them, read them, feel thankful for them, and then we put them in our "Card Box". And then we use them for crafts and for cutting practice.I hope you still love us.Cutting Cards: Every so often, like today on a rainy afternoon … Read More...
trying to keep smiling: quick trick, colors
I was blue,Jenny was yellow,Mary was red, andKatie was green.I still connect my three sisters and myself to those colors because way back when my mom managed a household and four little girls who were barely 6 years apart, she kept herself sane--and everyone happy--by giving us each a color.That's my (okay, my mom's, that I've now made my own. . . ) Quick Trick today: color-coding your life.Color Coding Kids: It sounds nutty, cold, and maybe a little silly, but to me, it makes sense. … Read More...
not just a plain-jane paper chain
It's our book chain!And it's not that plain-jane, really--it's got some color to it!With summer here and the sunshine calling us outside nearly every free second, I noticed that we haven't been reading as much as we have around here. I am all for outside playtime, especially for little ones, but I do have a rising Kindergartner under my roof, so I know that reading is especially important for us this summer.I decided to have Maddy and Owen make super-simple paper chains today before rest time. … Read More...
traveling writing centers
Since last fall, I've had little writing centers in both Maddy and Owen's bedrooms, and I've really been surprised at how well they've worked out. It is rare if either Maddy or Owen actually sleep during their rest time, so they usually work on puzzles, play dolls, line up cars, or whatever they want--something quiet. Once Maddy started expressing an interest in writing, it spread to Owen, so I thought that I'd create something simple for both of them to use in their rooms--something that … Read More...
sunny rainy grid games
Maddy asked me a few days ago if we could play more of those "bunny counting games" that we played a while back.I said, Absolutely! and ran for the computer. I'm such a slave to my children's learning (how could I not be excited when this stuff is so easy and fun?)What Maddy meant was that she wanted to play grid games, and what she doesn't know is that these games are super-awesome for teaching emergent readers about one-to-one correspondence and early math skills!So, we've been trying to make … Read More...
pimpin’ our coupe
Seriously. I had to. I have been dreaming of flames on my minivan for three years now, and this, I believe, is as close as I'll ever come (unless my husband surprises me one day. . . ). After reading one of my favorite, most creative bloggers and seeing how she re-vamped a mini-coupe herself, I had to do it. Mine is much less cool, but it works for us. I like to think that Xzibit, Mad Mike, and the crew would still be proud. Cora and I worked super-hard … Read More...
new for us friday (preview!)–guppy gala at the zoo
Today, as we at our breakfast, we read through the newspaper as usual. Every day, we talk about the pictures on the front page of the paper. Then, I open up the Metro section, and we talk about what day it is, the day's weather forecast, and what our plans are for the day.Next, I always open up to the Kids Post, and we read whatever exciting articles are there. Today's "Make Tracks for the Zoo" totally rocked, since it was a great way to tell Maddy, Owen, and Cora about their super-awesome … Read More...
