Little Wonders' Days

M and M Cookie Bars, Yum!

2012-01-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

I invited the kids to make M&M cookie bars with me this past Saturday morning. Only Sassyfras took me up on the offer. Little J was interested in a project he was working on and Juiciness was busy playing Legos with Daddy. I'll skip ahead and say that it took no invitation to come to eat them!

I used the recipe found here, and substituted the chocolate chips with Valentine M&M's. It was an easy recipe and so good! The cookie bars took a little longer to bake than the recipe calls for the cookies.

Christy at Snacks and Stories made M&M cookies this past week too and had a great book to go with it. You can find her recipe and book recommendation here. She has a bunch of fun books and easy snacks on her blog.

Linking to:
Fireflies and Jellybeans, TGIF, Once Upon a Weekend

Valentine's

2012-01-24T06:49:00.002-05:00

The kids started on their valentines this weekend. I love seeing all the beautiful homemade valentines popping up on the internet. We did some semi homemade ones though and I think I like them almost as much, but without all the fuss.

I found this lollipop decorating kit at Target and thought it would be cute to dress up some Lindt truffles for all the teachers and support staff at the kids' schools.

Supplies

Lindt truffles

lollipop decorating kit

green chenille stems cut in half

scissors

Simply wrap a green chenille stem around the base of the truffle wrapper and then use the lollipop wrapper per pack instructions. It takes just minutes to make these and Little J could do it. They are a big top heavy, but they look so cute!

We put them in a dollar bucket that I hot glued some trim around.

Little J and his friends are "Angry Birds" obsessed. I found a pack of Angry Bird valentines and a bag of gumballs. After signing his valentines, we stapled them to the packs of gumballs. Cute and easy! We're still coming up with something easy for Juiciness and Sassyfras to do for their friends...

Linking to: Show and Tell, Show Me What Ya Got, A Crafty Soiree, TGIF

Long Long's New Year and Fish Painting

2012-01-23T11:01:00.001-05:00

We read the book, "Long Long's New Year" by Catherine Gower and illustrated by He Zhihong this morning before everyone headed out for their day. It's a book about a young Chinese boy and his grandfather that go to market to sell cabbages in order to earn enough money to by supplies for the Spring Festival.

It is a well written story with beautiful illustrations. In the back there is a bit about the first Chinese Spring Festival and the meanings of some Chinese words in the story. It's a bit long, but Sassyfras and Juiciness were very interested in it.

There are illustrations of fish throughout the book, so I thought it would be fun to do something with them. Now, what I've printed is probably more associated with Japanese culture, but I liked them best. Hopefully, I haven't forever confused my kids. If you want to confuse your kids too, you can find the picture here, just enlarge it.

I loved the way Little J blended the colors of his fish.

I bought a whole bag of clementines yesterday and the kids have eaten all but these three! I put 2 one dollar bills in the red envelopes and will put them at their plates tonight. We're doing dinner simple this year and ordering out for Chinese. The kids love low mein.

Linking to: Show and Tell, Kids Get Crafty, stART, Sharing Saturday, Read Explore Learn

Heart Healthy, Heart Shaped Fruit Salad

2012-01-23T06:27:00.003-05:00

My kids love fruit and will eat it anyway you slice it. They loved the Christmas tree fruit salad I made. So, when I saw this heart shaped plate I knew I had to make another special fruit salad.

I found the plate at Walmart. It took just over a pound of halved strawberries, 3 kiwis, and a handful of blueberries and raspberries to fill the plate. I served it at a family get together yesterday and it was a hit!

BTW, The AfterSchool linky will be open all week.

Come and join the party!

Linking to: Made By You Monday, ABC and 123, Making Monday Marvelous, Made By Little Hands Monday, Show Me What Ya Got, The Inspiration Board, Wow Me Wednesday, This Chick Cooks, Fireflies and Jellybeans, For the Kids Friday, TGIF, Fun Stuff Friday, Once Upon a Weekend, Show and Tell Saturday

AfterSchool Party!

2012-01-22T07:52:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the AfterSchool Party!

Thanks for joining us this week! The Little Wonders have had a great week. The kids were out of school Monday and Tuesday. We visited a science museum with friends on Tuesday and had a great time. This one had lots of live animals and the kids loved it.

We had a "Winter is the Warmest" themed family fun night, you can see the full post here.

Sassyfras and Juiciness turned 4! We're still celebrating somehow. The weather has been pretty nice here, so we've been getting some outdoor play in each day. We'll be starting a bird study unit this coming week.

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Now, onto my features from last week's party!

I discovered a new blog this week, Kid World Citizen! Becky, the blog author, shared a wonderful post about the celebration of Chinese New Year. I hope you will stop by and check out this great blog!

photo source: Kid World Citizen

Brittney from Mom's Heart shared a fun snow day theme.

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational shared a great book and a great way to teach your kids contractions. I can't wait to try this activity!

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The AfterSchool Party is hosted by

Just Playin’ Around

Little Wonders’ Days

Mama Smiles

Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns- this week's host

The Educators’ Spin On It

What Do We Do All Day?

We'd love to have you join us this week! Link up your after school post and join the fun. Please grab a button or add a text link to your post and visit a few other links. I usually discover a new blog each week and get tons of great ideas to try with my crew.

Winter Is the Warmest, Family Fun Night

2012-01-21T08:17:00.001-05:00

We decided to do a very simple family fun night last night and I mixed it in with our Friday Fun. The theme of the night was "Winter is the Warmest Season" based on the book by Lauren Stringer.

I love this book! It is about a child who decides that winter is warmer than summer because of hot cocoa, grilled cheese sandwiches, woolly hats and mittens, warm blankets, cozy cats, and much more. The illustrations are beautiful too.

I filled a basket with the book, quilts, and footy pajamas for the kids in front of the fireplace.

After we picked Little J up from school, we headed to a favorite park to play. As you can see, the weather was cooperating perfectly and it was freezing. I kid, what is up with this winter weather?! It was close to 60 degrees when we arrived at the park. So much for bundling up in hats and mittens. It did make me feel better that the rain was coming in as we left and the temperature had dropped significantly. Maybe we would be able to sit by the fire after all...

After having hot bubble baths and getting into their warm and cozy jammies, the kids helped me make dinner. Daddy arrived home just in time to join the fun.

We made grilled cheese sandwiches, oven baked fries, and apple wedges with yogurt dip.

I made some hot cocoa and we gathered by the fireplace to read the book, Winter is the Warmest Season. We played a few board games and put together a few puzzles before settling in to watch The Backyardigans The Snow Fort.

This was an easy family night to pull together. I had everything on hand. If you want to replicate this night, this is what you'll need...

copy of the book, Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer
quilts or blankets
warm and cozy jammies
grilled cheese sandwich makings (butter, bread, and cheese)
favorite side dishes
hot cocoa, whip cream, marshmallows
family favorite board games, puzzles, movie

Linking to: The Sunday Showcase, No Time For Flashcards, Winter Fun Ideas Party

Happy 4th Birthday!

2012-01-18T06:27:00.000-05:00

Juiciness and Sassyfras turned 4 this past week!

I'm so thankful for these two little ones. I had what was close to a perfect pregnancy for twins. They were born at 38 weeks at 6 lbs 12 oz and 6 lbs 10 oz. Sassyfras had a bit of trouble regulating her blood sugar right after birth and spent the day in the ICU, but came home with Juiciness and me the next evening. They've grown into sweet, happy, and fun 4 year olds. I have a lot to be thankful for!

10 More Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Show Your Kids You Love Them

2012-01-17T08:01:00.001-05:00

I posted 10 easy and inexpensive ways to show your kids you love them last week and thought I would share a few more ideas.

Put a fortune cookie in their lunch, but exchange the fortune for one you write.

Say it with a picture. Put a family picture in their pocket and write, "We love you!" on it.

Use window markers to leave them notes on the car window or bathroom mirror.

Go eat lunch with them at school and take something special to eat, like pizza! Even if you work, it's so worth taking a lunch hour here and there to do this with them. You get to see who their friends are and hear what they talk about without seeming intrusive. Little J loves, loves, when I stop by for lunch.

Plan a family night. It can be as simple as dinner and a movie...you just need to eat and watch with them!

Plan individual dates with each child. Amy at Let's Explore did a pack of dates for her girls for Christmas. I loved this idea! We're fortunate to have grandparents nearby, so when Daddy has one kiddo and I have another, the third one gets one on one time with the grands. We're planning to do this for one rotation, so 3 different times, and see how everyone likes it.

Purchase a big box of Crayola 96 crayons. Remove all the crayons in the shades of your child's favorite color and put them in a small bowl. Sit and color with them with just those crayons. Sassyfras loves pink and red, Juiciness and Little J loves purple.
Give them a back rub.
Leave a note or picture on their bedside table to see in the morning.
Let them teach you something. They all have special interests and talents. Take some time to let them tell or show you what they are.

And one last one...just simply have fun with them!

Linking to: ABC and 123, Sun Scholars Fun for the Kids Friday, Living Life Intentionally, Sharing Saturday, No Time For Flashcards

What We've Been Practicing...

2012-01-16T07:29:00.000-05:00

Sassyfras and Juiciness know the names of numbers through 10, rote count well, and can count objects. However, I realized that they weren't associating numbers with their proper quantities.

To help them practice, I took a muffin pan and placed muffin liners with numbers 0-10 in it. Then I counted out the exact number of Hershey Kisses they would need to finish it correctly and set them in a separate bowl. When they finished, they could eat the Hershey Kiss in the last spot...just one a day though.

As you can imagine, it was a popular work. We mostly did this together, but I think they are getting the idea.

This is a punch pin set that I purchased from a Montessori supply website. We tried this activity about six months ago and they weren't able to do it, so I put it away for a bit. Sassyfras is starting to write, so I brought it out again. She couldn't trace the cookie cutter, but she could do the punch pin now!

Over the course of preschool and kindergarten, Little J did poster board size maps of the US, all the continents, and world using a punch pin set. I was amazed every time he finished a map, I don't think I would have the patience!

She really liked her heart. I wonder if she would like to do her valentines like this???

Linking to: Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now, The Sunday Showcase, The Play Academy, What's On the Tray Wednesday

AfterSchool Linky Party

2012-01-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to the AfterSchool Party hosted this week by

What Do We Do All Day.

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Days">&lt;img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" />&lt;/a>&lt;/div>

After School is co-hosted by the following blogs:
The Educator's Spin on It

Little Wonders' Days

Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

Just Playin' Around

Mama Smiles

We had so many wonderful posts linked last week that it was hard for me to decide on features this week, so thanks for all that inspiration!

Deb at Living Montessori Now never disappoints with her weekly round ups. She shared a number of wonderful Montessori inspired winter activities.

Bern at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas shared a Fizz, Bubble, Pop experiment. She actually did a full week of mad scientists theme, fun!

Kelly at Happy Whimsical Hearts shared that no matter the weather, an outdoor walk can be fun and educational.

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Can't wait to see this week's links!

Wind Experiment, Simple Anemometer

2012-01-14T13:08:00.000-05:00

Little J has been studying weather at school and worked with a small group to investigate wind. We continued his interest at home by checking out some on line resources and library books (listed below) and set up a simple wind experiment.

We made an anemometer, a simple device used to determine wind speed. Ours can simply tell us whether the wind is faster or slower than our last reading.

Supplies

4 small paper cups

1 larger paper or plastic up

a pencil with an eraser end

2 straws

a push pin

tape

scissors

We had all the supplies needed to make this project on hand.

Steps To Make a Simple Anemometer

Mark one of the small cups so that you can identify the start/end of a rotation. We used stickers.
Tape the end of one straw to the back of a small paper cup and to the end of another cup turned in the opposite direction as seen above.
Repeat step one with the second straw and set of cups.
Now, crisscross the straws in their centers and tape (what we did) or staple them together. Be sure the cups are facing the same direction.
Insert a push pin through the intersection of the straws and secure to the eraser.
Cup hole just large enough to slip the writing end of the pencil through and insert the pencil.
Secure the large cup to something with enough weight to keep the device upright.
You may have to make adjustments to get it to spin easily.

We've had rain most of the week, so we've had to wait for a nice day. Little J initially set the anemometer on our deck, but there was not enough wind to make it spin, so he tried the front stairs. Perfect.

He counted the rotations made by the device in one minute and marked it on a log that we set up for hourly readings. He did 4 readings and then graphed his results. He could then compare if the wind was faster or slower at certain times.

On line resources

Brain Pop

Books/Magazines

The Kids Book of Weather Forecasting by Mark Breen and Kathleen Friedstad
Wind and Air Pressure by Alan Rodgers and Angella Streluk
Extreme Weather by H. Michael Mogil and Barbara G. Levine
Ask magazine March 2011

Linking to: The Sunday Showcase, Science Sunday, Fun Sparks

Tulle Valentine's Shirt

2012-01-10T16:46:00.002-05:00

I love the catalog Chasing Fireflies, just not the prices! I saw a tulle heart shirt in their recent catalog and thought it would be so cute for Sassyfras. I decided to make my own and save a few dollars.

Supplies

Washed and ironed cotton t-shirt (about $6.00)

hot pink tulle trim ($2.50 with coupon)

white tulle trim ($2.50 with coupon)

Unique Stitch ($3.00 with coupon)

Sewing pins

Needle and thread

I purchased one yard of each trim, but only used just over a half yard of each. I found it at Joanne's Fabric and used a coupon. The t-shirt came from Target. I found the Unique Stitch, a fabric glue, at AC Moore and used a coupon too. In the end, I figure I spent less than $14 on this shirt.

I started by washing and ironing the t-shirt. Then, I folded it in half and ironed the seam so I could mark the center of the shirt.

Before doing anything permanent, I played around with placing trim. I started with the center top of the heart with the white tulle and worked my way around clockwise pinning as I went. This was very helpful because I was off center the first time around. I was able to correct the placement before it was too late, so don't skip this step!

Once I was happy with how to place the trim, I started gluing it to the shirt, taking care not to glue the fluffy part of the trim. I pinned as I went and it held it well. I think it would be sufficient to not do any sewing if the wear wouldn't be too much. However, Sassyfras saw me working on the shirt and fell in love with it. I decided that I'd better do a little stitching just in case!

Chasing Fireflies pairs their shirt with an adorable red tulle skirt, but my Sassyfras is a jeans girl. I think it looks really cute with jeans!

{Post update}
I had one reader kindly ask about the tulle trim as they were concerened it didn't look like tulle and didn't want to purchase the wrong thing. I decided to take a close-up picture of what I used. The roll was labeled tulle trim, and I guess it really looks more like a tulle base with a guazy like fabric on top.

Linking to: Made by You Monday, ABC and 123, Not Just A Housewife, Sugar Bee Crafts, Wow Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Oopsey Daisy, Fireflies and Jellybeans, A Crafty Soiree, TGIF, For the Kids Friday, Design Dazzle, Fun Stuff Friday, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tatertots and Jello

10 Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Show Your Kids You Love Them

2012-01-09T12:59:00.004-05:00

Aside from doing all typical things a parent does to show and tell their children to love them, there are plenty of ways to show your kids they're special and you love them. Here are 10 simple and inexpensive ways to do something out of the ordinary to let your kids know you're thinking of them and love them.

Tumble a beach towel in the dryer to make it warm and cozy for bath time.

Make special hot cocoa, not too hot and not too cold, for no special reason.

Have their favorite board game set up and play it with them when they come home from school.

Leave a Hershey Kiss in their lunchbox and tell them there's a real one waiting for them at home.
Leave a magnetic message on the refrigerator for them.

Hide a dollar in their pocket for them to find.

Pull out their baby book and read it with them.

Wake up a few minutes early to snuggle with them before starting the day.
Take an after dinner walk and talk about whatever they want.
Do their chores with them.

Linking to: Made By You Monday, ABC and 123, Tip Me Tuesday, Wow Me Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, A Crafty Soiree, TGIF, For the Kids Friday, Design Dazzle

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2012-01-07T13:31:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the AfterSchool Linky Party.

I'm so glad you joined us!

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Mary Anne at Mama Smiles is the host for AfterSchool this week and she is joined by Mouse Grows Mouse Learns, The Educators' Spin On It, Just Playin' Around, What Do We Do All Day, and of course, Little Wonders' Days. I also want to say a special thank you to Diana at Diana Rambles for spreading the word about AfterSchool by listing the party at Link Rink.

The kids were back at school for a couple of days this week after being out for Christmas vacation. It took a little getting back into our routine, but I think everyone was excited to see their friends and teachers again.

We started a mini shadow theme and had fun playing and experimenting with some winter shadow puppets. We'll be doing some shadow drawings and measurements later today.

Juiciness has taken a big interest in letter sounds. He walks around with our textured letter cards quizzing everyone. He knows all the sounds and is able to match upper and lower case letters. He's still young(almost 4), so I'm letting him set the pace with what we do with the letters. The set is by Key Education and is called Textured Touch and Trace Cards. We have both upper and lower case letters.

Sassyfras desperately wants to write. She has "L's"(her initial) all over her artwork and papers from school. I decided to buy a Handwriting Without Tears workbook for her and she has started working in it. I found printable block writing paper from here that she has been using too.

Little J's class is learning about weather. He told me he wrote the question, "What makes wind?" in his science journal this week. He spent some time researching the answer and came to me saying, "You'll never believe this, but the sun helps make the wind"! We're planning a few hands on experiments now.

Bake With Me Saturday

2012-01-07T11:48:00.000-05:00

I love baking with the kids. It's an easy way to spend some time together and learn at the same time. Not to mention the outcome is usually delicious!

Sassyfras got an apron from one of her aunties for Christmas. We decided to put it to use today and bake some molasses cookies together. Juiciness joined us too, but didn't want to put on his apron! He doesn't seem to like to wear one anymore.

I pulled all of the ingredients out before we started. We used the recipe right on the back of the Grandma's Molasses jar. The kids always insist on smelling all the spices before we bake. This time they wanted to smell the molasses. I'm not sure they were impressed. Let's hope they like the cookies!

This dough turned out very nice and was very easy to work with. We rolled it into small balls and dipped the tops of some in rainbow colored sugar sprinkles and some into regular sugar.

Yeah! They liked the cookies!

Join us back tomorrow for the AfterSchool Linky Party!

Linking to: Sharing Saturday, No Time For Flashcards, It's Playtime!

Winter Shadow Puppets

2012-01-04T13:57:00.001-05:00

We're learning about shadows this week. I made a couple of shadow puppets for the kids to conduct some experiments. They liked playing with them so much that I made a set of winter themed puppets for them.

In our collection

a hat

a mitten

snowflakes

children sledding

a snowman

a cup of hot cocoa

a skate

a cardinal

We started out in a dark room and used a wall to play and experiment with the puppets. I have no idea why Sassyfras is bundled up in her coat, hat, and mittens, but I guess she figured she'd dress the part.

They played with making the shadows bigger, smaller, and disappear altogether by moving their flashlight or the puppet.

I made the shadow puppets by cutting shapes from black construction paper and taping them to lollipop sticks.

They kept coming back to play with the puppets, so I finally hung a white tablecloth over the coffee table and they crawled under to put on puppet shows. Little J even joined their fun when he came home from school.

Linking to: It's Playtime!, Fun Sparks, Thrifty Thursday, TGIF!, For the Kids Friday, Fun Stuf Friday, Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Sunday Showcaase, Sharing Saturday, Red Ted Art's

Upcycled Snowflakes and Scissor Practice

2012-01-04T09:26:00.000-05:00

I think winter is finally arriving here in the south. We've been enjoying temperatures in the 60's and it hasn't felt much like winter. The past two days have dipped into the 20's and barely into the 30's. Brrrr! That's cold for us!!

I pulled out The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats to read to the kids and some scissors and magazines bound for the recycle bins.

Juiciness enjoyed the story, but didn't want to stick around to make paper snowflakes with us. I did the initial folding and Sassyfras went to work making some snowflakes.

She needed some help to make cuts that would turn into pretty snowflakes, but once she saw how to do it, she did pretty well. The magazine paper is thin enough, so it's pretty easy to cut.

I used this tutorial to make the initial folds.

We used pages that were mostly colorful pictures and very few words if any at all.

We did have several attempts that turned into nothing but cutting practice, but that's perfectly fine! It's recycled paper and good for her scissor skills.

Not all the little bits of paper stayed on the tray. Sassyfras helped clean up with the hand vacuum.

Linking to: ABC and 123, Red Ted Art's Blog

Easy Upcycled Snowmen

2012-01-03T06:13:00.000-05:00

I tend to start deep cleaning, recycling, throwing away, and organizing the house in January. I think I get energized once we clear out our Christmas decorations and start a new year. One of my chores was to pull back issues of magazines and send them to the recycle bin.

But before I sent the stack off, I gave Juiciness and Sassyfras each a magazine and a paper punch. I told them to look for pictures that they liked the colors in and to punch them out so we could dress some snowmen.

The scallop punch was easier to use, so they punched five pictures and then traded paper punches until they had enough to make their snowmen.

To make our snowmen you'll need...

old magazines

paper punches

paper plates

glue

googly eyes

buttons

chipboard accessories

Once they finished punching circles and scallops from magazines, they glued them to a dinner sized paper plate and let them dry. In the meantime they worked on the faces.

Sassyfras dressed her snowman up with a princess crown, flower hair clip, and a heart. Juiciness made a cowboy sheriff snowman. I love that they were able to do most of the work themselves. Aren't they cute!

Linking to: ABC and 123, Red Ted Art's Blog, TGIF!, For the Kids Friday, The Sunday Showcase

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T09:30:00.003-05:00

We had a super fun family party last night. The games, goody bags, and surprise balls were all a hit! Our time capsule from last year was fun to open and talk about why each items was in it. We refilled it with new items for next New Year's Eve.

One thing we did that was new for our celebration was to make a list of places to go and things to do this coming year. I was happy to see that the things we've been doing are things the kids love.

Hope you have a Happy New Year and

Wishing you a wonderful 2012!

The Educators' Spin On It is hosting AfterSchool today! Pop on over and see what they've been up to this past week and link up your post too. Look for AfterSchool here next Sunday.

Decadent New Year's Eve Dessert, Tiramisu

2011-12-30T10:25:00.004-05:00

Lest you worry that the adults in our house are being left out of any fun, don't you fret. I've made one of our favorite sinful desserts, tiramisu. I originally found this recipe in the November 2008 Oprah Magazine, but searched and found it here to share with you.

Although it's a decadent dessert, it's super easy to make. Gathering the ingredients can sometimes be a chore though. I found the ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese at Trader Joe's. Fortunately, our local grocery store carries pasteurized eggs. I can make the espresso at home, but if you can't, a cup of very strong coffee will work.

It really doesn't take much time to make this dessert, but you will want to make it in advance so the flavors blend. The recipe calls for you to brush the ladyfingers with the espresso blend, but I dip them. You want them to have plenty of the liquid and not be soggy. I use my Pampered Chef shaker to dust the cocoa powder on each layer. It keeps the cocoa from being clumpy.

I'm serving the tiramisu with Gruet's Brut Rose, a sparkling wine that I think pairs great with desserts.

Happy New Year!

Linking to: Fireflies and Jellybeans, Fingerprints on the Fridge, This Chick Cooks, Once Upon a Weekend, Tatertots and Jello

Chess Anyone?

2011-12-29T07:09:00.000-05:00

My father taught Little J how to play chess over Thanksgiving and since then he has been addicted to the game. He got a chess board for Christmas and I've played countless games ever since. When I finally cried for mercy yesterday, Little J declared he was going to teach Sassyfras how to play.

While thankful for the reprieve, I did suggest to him that she was a little young and he was lucky she could play tag with him. This did little to deter him and she was over the moon that he wanted to play with her. Well, I have to say it was most entertaining to eavesdrop on their game. At one point he declared, "I think I'm going to Win".

New Year's Eve Activity Cards

2011-12-28T08:41:00.010-05:00

I used some of the swirled cardstock I made yesterday and a scallop punch to make activity cards for New Year's Eve. I'll have the kids take turns drawing a card at our New Year's party.

-Make Noise Makers

-Open Surprise Balls

-Face Painting

-Build Your Own Sundae

waffle bowls dipped in chocolate and sprinkles

-Watch "Rudolph's Shiny New Year"

-Play Minute To Win It Games- M&M sort, balloons in the air, cup stacking

-Open a goody bag (there are 3)

-Open last year's time capsule and make a new one for 2012

-Make a list of the places we want to visit this year (we have the book 101 Places You Gotta Visit Before You're 12 to help generate ideas)

This should be plenty of fun to keep a lively party going until the late hour of 8:00 at which time we will have a sparkling apple raspberry cider toast and bedtime for the little wonders!

Linking to: The Mommy Club, A Crafty Soiree, TGIF!, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Once Upon a Weekend, Tatertots and Jello, Space46, The Sunday Showcase

Silver and Gold Swirled New Year's Eve Bags

2011-12-27T12:37:00.005-05:00

I've been up to my shaving cream painting antics again. This time I used silver and gold acrylic paint to swirl paint treat bags and card stock to cut out some stars and other decorations for New Year's Eve .

I've packaged the bags with some fun things to hand out as the evening goes along.

We normally start our New Year's fun around 5:00 and end around 8:00. I didn't put times on our bags. I have a list of possible activities for the night, more on that later, and didn't want to feel too scheduled.

I found these light up balloons at Walmart in the party section and thought they would be fun for New Year's Eve.

My kids love to have their faces painted. This will probably be one of the first activities we do for the night. I usually google some face painting sites and let the kids pick out a design. I found I have an easier time with full faces than small designs. We have some gold hair spray too!

Linking to: Wow Me Wednesday, The Mommy Club, TGIF, Tatertots and Jello

New Year's Eve Surprise Balls

2011-12-26T17:26:00.014-05:00

I made surprise balls for our New Year's Eve celebration. I tried to pick out little things that the kids could use at our party, like noise makers, beads, candy watches, etc. I found most of them at a party store.

To make a surprise ball, you simple take different colors of crepe paper streamers and start rolling your surprises in it one at a time, changing paper colors after each item is rolled. It's almost like rolling a ball of yarn. I used what I had on hand (yellow, blue, green, orange, and this tie dye crepe paper).

You can also roll confetti and coins in for a little added fun. I sealed them with a few stickers. They were cheap and simple to make, but I think the kids will be very excited to unwind them on New Year's Eve!

Linking to:
Tuesday Confessionals, Tuesday Talent Show, Not Just A Housewife, Wow Me Wednesday, The Mommy Club, A Crafty Soiree, TGIF!, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tatertots and Jello, The Sunday Showcase

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T09:53:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

The First Noel, A Buche De Noel

2011-12-23T11:18:00.001-05:00

I chose to teach the kids "The First Noel" for our advent carol today. I say chose because we are really not following my advent plans anymore. We have just gone with what we wanted to do. It has helped having a list of ideas and all the supplies already on hand though.

I have always wanted to make a Buche De Noel log, but something about rolling a cake scared the pants off me! Little J helped me in the kitchen this morning to make one though and it really was easy.

We followed this recipe. There is no flour in this cake, another thing that really worried me. However, if you can't have flour, this is a great dessert.

It actually worked! It rolled right up without any trouble.

It unrolled without any trouble too! The frosting in this cake is delicious! We'll see what everyone thinks tonight, but if all goes well, this recipe is a keeper. I just might keep how simple it was to myself!

**Post update info- This cake was incredible. It's one that will be made again!

Linking to: The Sunday Showcase

Cookies for Santa

2011-12-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

I think I've finally redeemed myself in the sugar cookie baking area! After the kids went to bed last night, I mixed up this recipe. I let it chill a few hours before trying to roll it out and cut the cookies (a step that I think I skimped on in the past).

I turned on some Josh Groban Christmas music, poured a glass of wine, and rolled out dozens of cookies in peace. It was rather peaceful. I've always had 3 kids swirling at my feet when trying to make cookies!

After putting the cutout cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, I put them back into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before cooking them. I think it helped them from spreading out and loosing their shape.

I made a batch of royal icing using this recipe. The kids decorated with icing and sprinkles to their hearts' delight. Cleanup was simple since I had lined the table with a plastic tablecloth.

We're having dinner with some good friends tomorrow night. I know my friend hasn't had a chance to bake cookies with her kids this year, so I've packaged up a couple dozen unfrosted cookies to take for them to decorate.

Santa is very happy!

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

2011-12-21T15:26:00.008-05:00

We're having a special candlelit dinner tonight by the fireplace to celebrate the winter solstice. The kids decorated glass votive holders to help decorate our table.

Supplies

Glass votive holders

Modge Podge

Foam brushes

Tissue paper

LED votive

Brush a thin coat of Modge Podge over the outside of the votive. Layer small pieces of tissue paper, making sure to cover the entire outer surface. Brush another thin layer of Modge Podge over it and allow to dry.

We're using LED candles in these votives. The light looks very pretty shimmering through all the colors.

We read Elmer's Christmas while we waited for the votives to dry. This book has nothing to do with the winter solstice, but Elmer looks too much like our votives not to read this story!

I wanted a hearty, winter meal for dinner. So, I've made beef stew with creamy polenta. The house has smelled so good all day.

Have a wonderful evening!

Linking to: Red Ted Art's Blog, A Crafty Soiree, It's Playtime!, Read Explore Learn!, The Sunday Showcase

Letters From Santa!

2011-12-21T06:54:00.001-05:00

Santa's letters arrived yesterday! The kids were so excited to get a personalized letter and little present from Santa.

The kids wrote their letters back here at our letter writing party and have patiently waited for a reply.

I found this Santa letter on WPClipart, saved the picture, and added the letter to it for each child. Santa even signed them!

Santa also sent some magic reindeer food (oats and sprinkles) for the kids to put outside on Christmas Eve.

For a little added authenticity, I found this stamp and printed it on the envelopes.

Linking to: A Crafty Soiree

Joy to the World, Joy Boxes

2011-12-20T06:48:00.004-05:00

We are off my planned advent activities again, but that's okay! We've been having a wondeful season and taking life as it comes. I taught the kids the first verse to "Joy to the World" yesterday. I think it will be one of their favorites. We read part of the Christmas story from Matthew 2:10-11.

Our go along project was to paint joy boxes.

I found these little boxes and chipboard letters at the craft store. The kids painted them with tempera paint. I also gave each of them a little card that I stamped with the word joy.

My initial plan was to ask them to write something or tell me something to write for them on the card to do for someone outside our family. However, we've been having a little issue with squabbling with each other and I changed my mind. I asked them to use the card to tell one thing about each of their siblings that brought them joy and one thing they could do for them to bring them joy.

Little J did it quickly and Sassyfras and Juiciness were excited to hear what he said about them, big smiles. They however, took a little coaching to understand the project, but in the end figured it out and Little J was very happy too. I can't say we're going to be all hugs and smiles today, but maybe reminding them to read their cards again will help restore some joy!

Linking to: Red Ted Art's Blog, A Crafty Soiree

Homemade Pillowcases, A Simple Last Minute Gift for Christmas Eve

2011-12-19T06:34:00.006-05:00

I made Sassyfras this cute flannel pillowcase this past weekend. I'm going to finish one for Juiciness and Little J later today. I'm planning to give them to the kids on Christmas Eve.

If you sew and need a last minute gift, these are quick and easy. I used this pattern here.

I'm using the same fabric for the boys, just different colored rickrack. The orange is for Juiciness and the black is for Little J.

I wish I had thought of doing these earlier. I'm sure you can make some gorgeous pillowcases for adults too.

Linking to: Fireflies and Jellybeans

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2011-12-18T06:41:00.004-05:00

&lt;div align="center">&lt;a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days">&lt;img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" />&lt;/a>&lt;/div>

Welcome to the AfterSchool Linky Party!

I'm joined by these other wonderful blogs as I host this week's party:

Mouse Grows Mouse Learns

Mama Smiles

Just Playin' Around

The Educators' Spin On It

Superheroes and Princesses

What Do We Do All Day?

We've been having a wonderful week filled with Christmas parties and fun family times. I was so thankful that I planned ahead and had most of my shopping and running around completed so I could enjoy this past week. I was able to simply be present at all my kid's Christmas shows and parties and not worry about how close Christmas was getting.

I've been teaching the kids Christmas carols. Some they like better than others, like "Away in a Manger" is now a favorite as is "Joy to the World". The kids will finally be out of school in a few days, so we'll be having even more fun this coming week.

Thank you to everyone that linked up last week! Here are a couple of features from the party. Can't wait to see what you link up this week!

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational extended a school lesson about Claude Monet with her son at home. They made this 3D water lily painting together and I think it's beautiful!

Kristina at School Time Snippets made this adorable and easy snowman garland with her daughter.

April's Homemaking shared a wonderful family day filled with memory making activities. Her cranberry orange donuts look perfect for a cold winter's day!

Deb at Living Montessori Now has a wonderful post to help us teach children how to say "thank you". It's a timely reminder to make sure we demonstrate for our children before the big day.

And last, but not least Bern at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas shared her gingerbread house story to remind us that what we think we have to do this season and what really makes our kids happy are sometimes two different things. You don't have to be supermom to be present with your kids.

Hark The Herald Angels Sing, Advent Day 17

2011-12-17T11:03:00.005-05:00

Hark the Herald Angels Sing is our carol of the day. I think they like hearing the song better than singing it, but we'll see how the day goes.

We made some paper angels this morning using this pattern. I cut the angels out of construction paper and then put out a tray of craft items to decorate them.

Juiciness liked adding sequins to his angel. He piled them on at one point and I wasn't sure how it would look, but it actually made a very pretty 3D effect.

They used my Martha Stewart paper punch on the skirts of the angels. You could also us a hole puncher to give it a similar look.

I thought these Lindt chocolate angels were too cute to pass up for this day.

"O Come All Ye Faithful", Crowns

2011-12-16T07:21:00.007-05:00

"O Come All Ye Faithful" was the carol I taught the kids a few days ago. We sang the first verse and chorus. We talked about what it means to "adore" someone and ways that we can show Jesus that we adore him.

The kids made these easy paper plate crowns as our go along craft. They painted a plate gold and then glued sequins on it.

To make the arches of the crown, we made hole in the center of the plate and then cut triangles and folded them back toward the center. I helped the younger two cut the crown part.

Updated Healthy Christmas Party Snack

2011-12-15T09:45:00.013-05:00

I just had to share the fruit plate I made for the twins party today. I added some drained Mandarin oranges and I think I like it even better than the first fruit tree.

Wonder Mom also shared that she sometimes uses fresh cherries when she makes something similar to this tree. I love that idea too. Hmmm, maybe a heart for Valentine's Day? No, she didn't really just mention a holiday two months away, shhh!

Linking to: Wow Me Wednesday, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Homeschooling on the Cheap, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Fireflies and Jellybeans

Gingerbread Days

2011-12-14T08:34:00.008-05:00

We did some gingerbread activities a few days back. We always look forward to making our gingerbread house. I wish I was a better baker and could make our own, but I'm not. So, I seek out kits...ready to go kits. Cosco had one this year, all assembled and icing already in a pastry bag. My kind of kit, Score!

The kids and I visited a local historic inn to see an amazing gingerbread house display. I so wish I had the talent to make one of these homes. There were so many beautiful ones.

The kids had a great time making these gingerbread houses made from paper bags.

I pulled out a variety of materials that I already had on hand and set them out. There were stickers, stamps, pom poms, glitter, dot dot paints, rickrack, sequins, etc.

I cut squares and triangles out of paper bags and they glued them together to make a house.

This is not a project for the weak at heart as it was a bit messy with all the glue, glitter, and paint, but it sure was fun. I loved how they all used different materials and how focused they were on decorating their house. I think they turned out really cute.

When I anticipate a messy project, I usually have snacks and a movie ready to go so I can have a few minutes to regroup. They help me clean up what they can and then I send them to watch their movie while I finish cleaning.

Decorating our house was an experience this year! I had all our supplies out and ready to go. Before I knew what was happening the younger two had mouthfuls of chocolates and gum drops. Needless to say they were sugared up for the evening and our traditional drive for lights turned into an evening walk to use up some of their energy.

We took turns adding icing and candies to our house. It seems less chaotic than just all jumping in at once.

While one was working on the house the others read some of Jan Brett's gingerbread books or played with this fun interactive on line gingerbread house at Jenny B Harris.

Our activities were spread over a few days in case you were wondering.

Linking to: Red Ted Art's Blog, It's Playtime!, A Crafty Soiree

Away in a Manger, Advent Day 12

2011-12-13T10:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday started our Christmas carol advent activities. We read from Luke 2:6-7 and then we practiced singing Away in a Manger.

Little J did this beautiful "stained glass" sun catcher of the nativity scene.

I found a silhouette and cut it out of black construction paper for him. He placed pieces of colored tissue paper on a sheet of contact paper until it was nearly covered. Then he placed the silhouette over the paper and I helped him seal it in with another piece of contact paper.

Juiciness and Sassyfras were busy setting up and playing with their nativity set (which plays Away in a Manger). Hopefully, they will work on their sun catcher later.

We trimmed the scene out and Little J hung it in his window.

Linking To: Red Ted Art's Blog

Healthy Christmas Party Snack

2011-12-12T13:17:00.009-05:00

Seedless green grapes, raspberries, and star fruit for the topper.

I made this fruit plate for Little J's party and I think I will make one similar for the twins' party (except I'll cut the grapes) later this week.

**Post update- This is the plate I made for twins' party.

Christmas tree plate from Kroger's.

Linking to: Made by You Monday, The Southern Product Queen, Jingle All The Way

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2011-12-11T09:13:00.001-05:00

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days"><img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Our after school activities have mostly centered around our advent themes in addition to a few other random fun things.

We had a marshmallow fun day here...

a swirly twirly day here...

a candy cane day here...

and a festival of lights here.

and finished off the week with a snow storm here!

Just Playin' Around is hosting this week's party.

Little Wonders' Days, Mouse Grows Mouse Learns, Mama Smiles, What Do We Do All Day, The Educator's Spin On It, and Superheroes and Princesses join to bring you AfterSchool each week.

Snow Storm Day

2011-12-10T16:24:00.009-05:00

We're a little off my planned advent days (and posting), but only you and I know this. My kids have been having a blast the past several days. I found out that our local science museum has a winter wonderland set up with all sorts of trains running through the snowy scenery. So, for our "Friday fun", I took the kids to see it. The museum was empty and we had the place to ourselves. To top it off they had hot cocoa and gingerbread boys and girls for sale. How fun!

We finally got around to doing our "snow storm day". The kids have a busier social schedule than my husband and me this year and have several parties to attend this next week. So, our day started with us making mini cupcakes. Some were for our dessert and most I froze to bring to their parties this week.

They were simple cupcakes for the kids to make. We used a confetti cake mix, very pretty on the inside, and made butter cream icing. I rolled the sides in white sprinkles and topped them with snowflake sprinkles.

We read several books to go along with our theme for the day. Dream Snow by Eric Carle, The Mitten byJan Brett, and this book, Coming Through The Blizzard by Eileen Spinelli.

The kids rolled out some Model Magic Clay by Crayola and stamped out snowflakes. After making a small hole in them so we could string them when they dried, we sprinkled some of them with glitter.

They look very pretty hanging in the windows.

We had an afternoon snack of Ritz crackers and Jarlsberg cheese. Aren't these snowflake crackers cute!

I showed Little J how to make a god's eye. He used white yarn and popsicle sticks.

Little J is learning about weather in school. We looked up a few websites about snow and winter storms. We liked this one, Weather Wiz Kids, the best.

Linking to: Sunday Showcase, Serenity Now, Link and Learn, Making Monday Marvelous, I Heart Naptime, Making the World Cuter Monday, Made by You Monday, A Crafty Soiree

Happy Friday Night!

2011-12-09T07:25:00.001-05:00

My husband and I like to make Friday nights our "at home" date night. I make an appetizer and drink and we enjoy some time together after the kids are in bed. This was our "Happy Friday Night" from last week. You can find others under the label, "Happy Friday Night! on the sidebar.

I wanted to keep it simple, but yummy, this week. I found these red and green tortilla chips at Walmart and white bean hummus at Trader Joe's. Once they were put on a pretty Christmas dish it looked festive. I paired it with a Christmas beer from Anchor Steam.

We enjoyed watching It's A Wonderful Life, and it certainly is. I encourage you to take time out of this busy season to enjoy some downtime with your sweety.

Happy Friday Night!

Linking to: Made by You Monday

Festival of Lights, Advent Day 6

2011-12-08T06:38:00.004-05:00

One of our favorite family traditions is to go look at Christmas lights and have hot cocoa. After we finish dinner, the kids get ready for bed and then we head out for a short drive. We had some extra fun around this tradition yesterday.

We made our own tangled strand of Christmas lights out of yarn and paint. I showed the kids how to drag a piece of yarn through paint and then drag it along their paper to make the light strand. Then they dipped their finger in different colored paints and dabbed them along the strand to make a string of colored lights.

Our next craft was quick and easy, if you don't mind a little glitter. I gave them each a cut out of a Christmas tree. Then they dipped their finger in glue, sprinkled glitter and voila a pretty tree with glittery lights. I usually don't hang things on our refrigerator, but they look so pretty there.

I picked up some glow sticks from the Target dollar bin. The kids love glow sticks and now they can be part of the light show. Little J helped hang the Santa sun catcher in our kitchen window. He looks pretty jolly there.

Before heading out for our drive, the kids helped us hang some lights in our front yard. This was the first time they helped with doing this and thought it was so much fun.

I made real whipped cream for our hot cocoa and topped it with Christmas light sprinkles. They had strawberries with more real whipped cream for their goodnight snacks.

Linking to: TGIF Linky Party, Mommy Club Share, Design Dazzle, Link and Learn

Swirly Twirly, Advent Day 5

2011-12-07T08:00:00.016-05:00

The kids helped me make these swirled cookies for our swirly twirly afternoon. We baked just a few and then wrapped the rest of the roll up and put it in the freezer to bake more another day.

We cook together quite often now and they have all gotten really good at pouring and mixing. Little J runs the mixer without help and reads and follows simple recipes independently.

I saw this ribbon candy the other day while shopping and it brought back childhood memories. I had an aunt that always had some out for me at Christmas time when I was little. I remember thinking how pretty it was. We each picked two colors to try and just had a tiny piece.

We did shaving cream paint art again and it was a big hit. The kids love creating with this process and we're always surprised with the outcome.

This time we painted one side of white lunch sacks (from target). The kids are going to use them to wrap small treats for teachers.

You can find our instructions here.

We use acrylic paint because it makes for a more brilliant color pattern. We have tried tempera and I've seen food coloring used, both are pretty, just not as vivid as acrylic paints.

Little J and I made some swirled glass ornaments. To make them we picked 3 acrylic paint colors and poured just a little of each into the ball and then covered the opening with a paper towel and shook them. We drained them overnight and in the morning they were dry and ready to hang.

Linking to: Someday Crafts, Rae Gun Ramblings, It's Playtime!, TGIF Linky Party, A Crafty Soiree, For the Kids Friday, Mommy Club Share, The Play Academy, Tatertots and Jello, Once Upon a Weekend, Be Different Act Normal, Link and Learn, Making Monday Marvelous, Made by You Monday

Marshmallow Fun, Advent Day 4

2011-12-06T14:04:00.003-05:00

Our marshmallow day was so much fun. I set out trays of colored toothpicks and marshmallows and the kids made all sorts of structures. Juiciness occasionally used his toothpick to eat a few marshmallows.

Sassyfras figured out how to make a house, Juiciness was interested in making shapes, and Little J worked to design an igloo.

The most fun though, was had with this simple marshmallow shooter. I found the directions at Come Together Kids. Once we had the balloon on one end it looked like a toboggan and we just had to add some googly eyes and a big smile. Then, the marshmallow fight was on. They had to stay in the kitchen and breakfast room and help clean up what they shot.

We used chocolate vanilla swirled marshmallows and confetti candy melts to make some marshmallow pops. The kids liked making them better than eating them. I'm glad we made just a few because they really weren't our favorite.

Gingerbread s'mores though, that was another story. While I didn't think the cookies were particularly gingerbready, they were s'mores and do I really need to say more? Yum! To make them, we put a piece of chocolate on one side and a marshmallow on the other side. I microwaved it until the chocolate was soft. Not quite like a summer BBQ, but again, s'mores.

Linking to: It's Playtime!, For the Kids Friday

Candy Cane Day, Advent Day 3

2011-12-06T06:02:00.005-05:00

Our candy cane day started with finding some magic North Pole seeds that our Elf, Nicholas, left on the table. The kids remembered getting these last year, but couldn't remember what grew, lol!

They quickly went to work planting and fertilizing the magic peppermint seed and set their bags on the mantel. They ran to check them every so often through out the day.

It was the first thing they checked the next morning and they were over the moon excited to find candy canes growing.

I made a batch of candy cane play dough (standard recipe with peppermint extract added) and set out construction paper Christmas trees, rolling pins, and some cookie cutters for them to play with. It smelled wonderful and they really loved playing with it.

Sassyfras made ornamnets to decorate her tree and Juiciness made cookies.

Sassyfras and Juiciness sequenced some red and white paper strips and then turned them into a paper chain for the Christmas tree.

Little J measured the chain for us and then decide whether it was longer or shorter than different things in the house...icluding all of us.

We were really bad and made chocolate mint ice cream with crushed candy cane pieces. Boy was this good! We used the chocolate ice cream recipe here and then added peppermint extract (instead of vanilla) a little at a time. In the end we added almost 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract.

Linking to: Show and Tell, Come Together Kids, TGIF Linky Party, Be Different Act Normal

Christmas Story Bracelet

2011-12-04T12:56:00.015-05:00

A kind reader emailed me the other day to let me know she liked the Thanksgiving story bracelets we made. She wanted to know if I had any book suggestions to go along with a Christmas story bracelet. I had to look through our book stash, but in the meantime, I accidentally deleted the email. If you are that reader, I'd love to hear from you again! Here is what I came up with.

Usborne Young Bible Tales Christmas Story is a nice book for the preschool crowd and retells the Christmas story in a simple and easy to understand way.

I used beads we already had to make this bracelet, but I think they work nicely. I chose a white chenille stem to represent purity.

White bead- An angel appears to Mary.

Blue bead- The angel tells Mary she is going to have a baby boy and to name him Jesus.

Light brown bead (grey would be fine too)- Mary and Joseph rode a donkey to Bethlehem to be taxed.

Dark brown bead- When they arrived in Bethlehem, there was no room in the Inn. Mary and Joseph had to sleep in the manger.

Purple bell- baby Jesus is born. Purple represents royalty and the bell reminds us to tell the Good News.

Clear star bead- A very bright star appears in the sky.

White bead- An angel appears to shepherds keeping watch in the field and tells them Jesus has been born.

2 Clear beads- The shepherds go to see Jesus.

Clear star bead- Wise men see the very bright star and travel to see Jesus.

Gold, Purple, and Red beads- Represent the wise men and their gifts.

Linking to: Link and Learn, The Sunday Showcase, CRAFT, Our Worldwide Classroom, Show and Tell, It's Playtime!, TGIF Linky Party, A Crafty Soiree, For the Kids Friday, The Play Academy, Tatertots and Jello, Once Upon a Weekend, I Heart Naptime

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2011-12-04T07:20:00.001-05:00

&lt;div align="center">&lt;a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days">&lt;img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" />&lt;/a>&lt;/div>

Welcome to the AfterSchool Party!

AfterSchool is hosted by Mouse Grows Mouse Learns this week. The Educators' Spin On It, Mama Smiles, Just Playin' Around, Superheroes and Princesses, What Do We Do All Day, and Little Wonders' Days join her in bringing you AfterSchool each week.

Our after school activities have primarily focused on getting back in our routine (more on this coming, I promise!) after traveling over Thanksgiving. We've started our advent activities and are really looking forward to this season.

We wrote letters to Santa at our letter writing party. Our Elf, Nicholas, also joined us for a special breakfast this week. We played elf games and did elf crafts to celebrate.

&lt;div align="center">&lt;a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days">&lt;img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonFeatured.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" />&lt;/a>&lt;/div>

Now onto our features from last week's party!

Zina from Let's Lasso the Moon shared some fun advent ideas in this post. There are printable cards too!

Beginning Reading Help has free printable flashcards of high frequency words found in easy readers.

Thank you all for sharing last week!

Advent Plans and Elf Crafts, Advent Day 2

2011-12-03T15:55:00.004-05:00

Our advent activities this year will be mostly secular until December 11th. After that, I thought I would do something a little different. I've picked out Christmas carols to teach the children. We'll sing the chorus or the first verses of the songs. We'll also do some fun go along activities. I don't expect they will memorize the songs, but I want the days to be more focused on Jesus and the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Day 1- Elf Fun

Day 2- More Elf Fun

Day 3- Candy Canes

Day 4- Marshmallow Fun

Day 5- Swirly Twirly Day

Day 6- Festival of Lights

Day 7- Snow Storm

Day 8- Reindeer Games

Day 9- Gingerbread Play

Day 10- More Gingerbread Play

Day 11- Nutcracker Fun

Day 12- Away in a Manger

Day 13- Oh Come All Ye Faithful

Day 14- Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

Day 15- Joy to the World

Day 16- The First Noel

Day 17- Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Day 19- Little Drummer Boy

Day 20- Angels We Have Heard on High

Day 21- It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Day 22- Silent Night

Day 23- What Child Is This?

Day 24- The Christmas Story Retold

Merry Christmas

We finished up our elf fun with a few elf crafts. Using construction paper, I cut elf faces out and placed them in a green gift bag for each child.

They glued them to the bag to make a cute elf face.

I had them leave them on the table for me. After they went to bed, I packaged up their Christmas jammies for a little morning surprise.

I loved these Russell Stover chocolate Santas when I was a child. They do too!

Our other craft was pine cone elves. Juiciness and Sassyfras helped pick out the colors for their elves, but Little J and I drew their faces and did any hot gluing. We used chenille stems for the arms and legs and also to make a small loop on the back so they can hang on the tree.

Linking to: The Sunday Showcase, Link and Learn, Show and Tell

Elf Fun, Advent Day 1

2011-12-02T07:30:00.010-05:00

The kids were excited to see that Nicholas, our elf, had arrived from the North Pole! He called ahead to make sure I knew he was coming. This way we could have a special breakfast to celebrate our reunion.

Nicholas brought his favorite movie, Prep and Landing. This is such a cute movie and the kids were so excited to receive it. We watched it after dinner last night...a few times!

I gave the kids a Playmobil advent calendar. We had one a few years ago and it was a hit with Little J. The kids will take turns opening the doors each morning and placing the new Playmobil piece in Santa's mail room scene.

I made crepe batter the night before our breakfast, so this made it quick and easy in the morning. Half of the fun of crepes is building your own creation. We had strawberries and kiwi for the filling and whip cream and a piece of star fruit for the topping.

We had elf punch...orange juice with a little grenadine makes magic!

Crepe Recipe

Whisk together one and a half cups of milk (I warm it, just a bit, in the microwave so the flour mixes without clumping) one cup of flour (whisk in a little at a time to keep from clumping), 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, food coloring optional. It should be thinner than pancake batter, but not watery.

I use an 8 in frying pan to make the crepes. Spray the pan with cooking spray, heat over medium heat, and then pour just under 1/4 cup of batter in the pan. Swirl it into a thin circle.

I made an elf size snack of mini pastry puffs, whip cream, and raspberries for an after school snack. I set extra raspberries out with them to try to keep the not so healthy sweets to a minimum.

My kids love these temporary tattoos. I think Sassyfras would have used all of them yesterday if I hadn't set a limit of two tattoos a day.

The kids thought Elf Yourself was hysterical! We played with that for a little while and they laughed at their siblings elf dances!

We did a few elf crafts that we're finishing up today, so I'll share those later.

Linking to: Living Life Intentionally, Sun Scholars, Come Together Kids, Design Dazzle, Somewhat Simple, Toys In The Dryer Fun Stuff Fridays, The Sunday Showcase, Link and Learn, Come Together Kids

Dear Santa...A Letter Writing Party

2011-12-01T06:20:00.011-05:00

While the kids were at school today, I set up for a Santa letter writing party. I set out a basket of Christmas stationary, pencils, markers, crayons, and stickers.

I found this cute felt Santa advent calendar in the dollar section at Target. The kids are excited to see Christmas is so close.

We had Santa's favorite snack, milk and cookies, along with some strawberries. We turned on some Christmas music and got to work.

Little J wrote his letter back in September...experienced one! However, just to get some sneaky fun writing practice in, I had him write a letter to Santa asking that he visit the child whose card we picked off the angel tree. I helped Juiciness and Sassyfras write their letter and they tried super hard to write something that looked like their name. After that they colored and decorated their letters to the nines.

After their letters were sealed and addressed, they put them in the mailbox. They can't wait to hear back from Santa!

Now the younger two wouldn't know, but Little J is getting old enough to catch details about Santa that just don't make sense. So Santa has to be a bit more careful these days. Santa's letter has to look authentic.

We sent our letters to the North Pole and "Santa" will send us a letter back, but I also found this site that has a printable North Pole stamp.
*If you send your letter to the North Pole, it must be there by Dec 10th to get a reply before Christmas*

Linking to: It's Playtime!, Living Life Intentionally, Sun Scholars, Come Together Kids, Somewhat Simple, The Sunday Showcase, Link and Learn, CRAFT

Wintery Snack Mix

2011-11-29T06:33:00.003-05:00

The kids enjoyed our fall snack mix so much that we made a "wintery mix" one last week. We made a few little jars of it for little gifts, some in Ziploc snack bags for our trip, and the rest in a Tupperware for later.

Our recipe

Teddy grahams

Dried blueberries

White chocolate pretzels (those new chocolate and candy cane pretzels would be yummy!)

Marshmallows

Christmas M&M's

Caramel Popcorn

This is a very easy mix for kids to do by themselves. I had to open a couple of packages, but they did the pouring, mixing, and scooping.

Again, it's not meant to be a healthy snack, just a little treat every now and then.

Linking to: ABC and 123 Show and Tell, Living Life Intentionally, The Sunday Showcase

AfterSchool Linky Party! Gateway Arch

2011-11-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days"><img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

We did some traveling over Thanksgiving. Along the way we passed by St. Louis and made a stop at the Gateway Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion. Little J completed the Junior. Ranger booklet and received a junior ranger pin.

We rode the elevator/tram to the top of the arch. It was a little claustrophobic, but worth the view of St. Louis. The domed building in the picture above is the Old Courthouse where the Dread Scott trials took place. We didn't have time to tour it, but read about it in some of our books.

Our book list

S is for Show me: A Missouri Alphabet by Judy Young

Lewis and Clark, Explorers of the American West by Steven Kroll

The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Join the Corps of Discovery to explore uncharted territory by Carol A. Johmann

Wishing you a Very Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:00:00.027-05:00

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful and peaceful Thanksgiving today. Our plan is to spend our day with family watching the Macy's Day Parade, playing football, taking a long walk, thinking of what we're thankful for, and enjoying a wonderful traditional dinner. Sometime during the myriad of desserts, we'll probably breakout the board games and card games.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hostess and Neighbor Christmas Gifts

2011-11-22T06:45:00.001-05:00

I'm desperately trying to finish Christmas shopping. I like to have it all finished by Thanksgiving so I can relax and enjoy the holidays. I find that I never know how many parties or dinners we will be invited to and attend. Also, while I don't make it a point to exchange gifts with neighbors, I do want to reciprocate the kindness if they happen to drop by with a little something. (I know that sounds a little scroogy, but I don't want to obligate them either. I would rather invite them for dinner from time to time or enjoy a backyard cookout together.)

Starbucks cocoa, balsamic vinegar, wine, and flavored olive oil. I have multiples of these gifts on hand.

I found that having a little stockpile of gifts on hand that most people would enjoy worked well last year. I have put ribbons around the bottles so their ready to go. I've put them in my pantry along with a few gift bags, tags, and a pen.

Muffin Tin Monday Picnic

2011-11-21T06:45:00.002-05:00

We actually did this muffin tin Monday a few weeks ago. The weather was gorgeous so I decided to take Sassyfras and Juiciness to the park for lunch after preschool. To make it easy on myself, I stopped by the grocery and hit the salad/hot bar.

Carrots, tofu, broccoli, pasta salad, and a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. Milk to drink and dip is in a separate container.

They haven't always been this way, but lately one food can't touch another food or there are serious "issues". I thought about this ahead of time and brought some muffin liners with me and just popped them into the takeout containers. I found it also helped me keep their portion size appropriate (I tend to over fill these containers).

They were excited to go to the park after school and we enjoyed a simple picnic in November! Plus, we didn't have any food touching issues...although I still couldn't sell the tofu...oh well.

Linking to: Muffin Tin Monday

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2011-11-20T08:00:00.003-05:00

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days"><img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Welcome to the AfterSchool Party!

My little kiddos have been sick all week, so I've not been on my computer much. We're on the mend here, but I'm still trying to catch up from all that was left undone. So, we haven't done any after school activities.

The Educators' Spin On It is our host this week. Little Wonders' Days, Mouse Grows Mouse Learns, Just Playin' Around, Mama Smiles, Superheroes and Princesses, and What Do We Do All Day join her to bring you AfterSchool.

I can't wait to get back to blogland this week and read about your after school activities, both fun and or educational!

Keep Your Germs to Yourself and Sick Day Tips Revisited

2011-11-18T08:10:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting or commenting for the past couple of days because Sassyfras and Juiciness have had croup...the entire week! As you probably know, it gets worse at night...so that means very little sleeping around here. Anyway, I thought it was a good time to dig into my archives and repost my sick day tips. I think we'll be doing a refresher "tea party" when everyone is well. See you soon and stay well! Also, thank you for you many kind comments and awards. I will reply soon.

Stay well!

I bet you think this is cute little tea party we're having.

But, it's not. It's a share great times together, but keep your germs to yourself party. With cold season insight, I wanted to make sure to start teaching Juiciness and Sassyfras about keeping healthy.

We talked about when and how to wash our hands. We washed our hands before snack.

Bathroom stools and fun, easy to use soaps help young preschooler independently wash their hands. I just use store brand pump soaps and put a few stickers on them.

I've taught them to sing the A,B,C song when they wash. This will ensure they wash long enough to be effective, but don't stay and wash for the next 10 minutes. Really, any song your preschooler likes and knows that is about 2o seconds long should be fine. There are even cute hand washing songs you can learn.

While warm water may be ideal for hand washing, I've just taught them to turn on the cold. I put a small sticker on the cold faucet to help them remember. I have to replace it from time to time, but I think they pretty well know which one to use now.

I picked out two books to read while they had snack. The first is Germs Are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick. This book is a very simple book about hand washing, proper blowing your nose, and sneezing and coughing etiquette. As I read it, I used their stuffed animals to demonstrate and then they practiced.

The other book was Don't you Feel Well, Sam? by Amy Hest (I realized after sitting down that I had put out a different Sam book and had to go get the correct one). This is a book about a young bear named Sam. Sam has a cough and doesn't feel well. His mama bear takes special care of Sam.

Blow, wipe, toss, wash.

For my own self, I went through our medicine cabinet and threw away any expired medicines and made a list of the medicines I like to keep stocked. I also went through the pantry and made sure I had cold comfort foods and drinks and the makings for chicken noodle soup on hand. I may make a batch and keep in the freezer.

I posted sometime ago about sick day tips, you can read my tips here. I also saw some wonderful tips at Rhythm of the Home for a few natural home remedies, see their post here.

Linking to: Show and Tell at ABC and 123!

AfterSchool Linky Party!

2011-11-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the AfterSchool Party!

I'm hosting the AfterSchool party this week! Mouse Grows Mouse Learns, Just Playin' Around, Mama Smiles, Superheroes and Princesses, The Educators' Spin On It, and What Do We Do All Day join me to bring you AfterSchool each week.

&lt;div align="center">&lt;a href="http://www.littlewondersdays.blogspot.com" title="Little Wonders' Days">&lt;img src="http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz128/luraymeister/Afterschool/AfterschoolButtonDraft4.jpg" alt="Little Wonders' Days" style="border:none;" />&lt;/a>&lt;/div>

Nana and Papa were visiting with us at the beginning of the week, so we just enjoyed spending time with them. The rest of the week was spent learning about Thanksgiving, what it means to be thankful, and turkeys (lots of turkeys!)

I made a feather rubbing plate for the kids to make the turkey here.

Juiciness and Sassyfras made turkey collages in this post.

All the kids were home from school on Veterans Day and I made them a "Thankful Breakfast". They also helped me make cocoa rice krispie turkey treats that day.

Features from last week's party!

Living Life Intentionally shared some fun learning activities that went along with the kids' current interests...their Halloween costumes! I love linking learning into what interests my kids at the moment.

Lessons Learnt Journal made a fun shaving cream car wash for her kids to explore with. It involved lots of sensory, color mixing, fine motor, and just good old fun.

Deb at Living Montessori Now rounded up several great ideas and activities to teach children about gratitude.

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational shared a great tutorial on how to make a "twist a letter" game using a PVC pipe.

Thank you to everyone that linked up and shared their great ideas!

Cocoa Rice Krispie Turkey Treats (and a Rudolph!)

2011-11-12T09:02:00.010-05:00

I helped the kids make some Cocoa Rice Krispie treats yesterday. I surprised the kids by making them into the shape of a turkey.

The recipe is on the side of the box, but it's the same as regular rice krispie treats.

Sassyfras helped measure and pour the marshmallows and Little J and Juiciness measured and poured the cocoa rice krispies. I did the actual cooking part.

To make the turkeys, I used a hand shaped cookie cutter, some candy eyes, a candy corn for the nose, a piece of raspberry for the snood, and a few M&M's to give the feathers color. I would have rounded out the bottom edges a bit, but once my kids discovered what I was up to, I had 3 eager "Do mine next!" kids surrounding me.

They were very yummy!

I couldn't help but sneak back into the kitchen to see if I could make a Rudolph treat or not. I need bigger candy eyes, but I think he turned out really cute. These would be fun to bring to a kid's Christmas party!

Linking to: The Sunday Showcase, Be Different Act Normal, Link and Learn, For the Kids Friday, Sassy Sites Turkey Party, Tasty Tuesday