Shaving Cream Blocks

I got this idea from my most recent Child Care Conference I attended here at SUU. Simply put = Shaving Cream + Blocks = HOURS of entertainment! Now, I didn't use my nice unit blocks. These are just some I've had sitting around that are too small to have out on the floor much because they include a lot of small pieces that could be chocking hazards. But the older kids had a great time building with these. The shaving cream makes a really neat kind of glue so they can have a little more freedom in building. They also had fun adding in marbles and other small items. Clean up is a little bit of a pain because you do have to wash/rinse everything off. But it doesn't get everywhere like some other sensory play...it was basically contained to the table. And it kept them busy for literally HOURS several afternoons in a row. You should try it...might like it!

"Picnickin"

The older girls made a list of all the things they wanted to do this summer. It included a request for Picnics..."Lots!". So I guess this is the first official picnic of the season. Yes it was 90 degrees outside. Yes we had a picnic anyway. It's a great way to get the kiddos to drink their milk! ;)

Summer Pretty much rocks around here :)

Do I have to really say anything about this picture? It makes me seriously giggly inside :)

Want a quick and EASY activity to entertain the kiddos for an afternoon? Grab a bowl of water and add a few drops of dish soap. I put it on a dish towel just to keep the wetness from going everywhere. Give them a straw...just make sure they know not to drink it! My mom let us do this when I was a kid. I love it now because it's SO easy and clean up is a cinch.

Must be doing something right!

I have always loved reading and tried to pass that love on. We do story time every day here, at least before quiet time, but often several times in between. Imagine my giddiness when we sent the kids over to pick their book for story time and they sat down together and started reading to each other. It was the cutest thing I've seen in a while. I especially love that this is happening more and more!

Tired Boy!

You know it's been a fun playful morning when....

Picasso in Training

Today was SO cool! We pulled out a large heavy sheet of paper and let the kids all paint together. The picture started out completely different than it ended up. Everyone was doing their own thing, but they decided they wanted to COVER the paper with color instead. It was really cool as the picture blended together. I then saw the perfect opportunity to talk about color blending, but they taught me something instead! They told me all about the volcano they made (the purple part) and how it was exploding (red colors) into the ocean below (blue at the bottom of the picture! How cool, creative and expressive they are! I hung this one up for about a month before the tape finally wore out :)

Little Authors

Miss Carrie brought us books and stickers so we could write our own stories! The kids had a ball with this activity. They "wrote" their own stories using crayons, stickers...whatever. Then they told us the stories and we transcribed the stories into their books. Their favorite part? Reading the stories back to us!

Snowman Building

OK, so I know it's April and probably not Kosher to post snow pictures, but since it's supposed to snow again this week....what the heck!

The kids LOVE to play in the snow. We try to go out as often as we can. On this day we had the perfect snow for a snowman! It was great fun to jump in there with them and bring Frosty to life in our own backyard!

3D Art

Kids love to do art with just about anything! 3D objects are especially fun. And it's so neat to see what they can come up with. This particular day we did art with contact paper. The kids put whatever they wanted on the sticky side of clear contact paper. We then covered it with another clear piece and voila...they have their own version of a stained glass window! It's so valuable for kids to have the freedom to create art how they want to!



The older girls, ever my creative ones, decided to make bug playgrounds! I would have never thought of something that cool, but the detail was fabulous and they had a grand time putting it together!Cass loves the camera! Whenever I pull it out she's the first in line to give me a grin! Let it shine sweetie!

Fun with Ramps!

Who knew a few pieces of wood and a bunch of ping pong balls could be so much fun! The older girls especially loved setting up the ramps in various configurations all over the living room. This would be a great activity to get the whole family involved in and you could use almost anything lying around the house. There is also a lot of potential for discussions on science here! Plus you have to admit the kids would probably much rather play with "found items" than their toys on any given day....at least that's how it is here! Just beware, you'll be finding balls in the strangest places for weeks!

Twinners!

Tyler often doesn't want to get dressed in the mornings, especially when he's wearing his BumbleBee PJs. I love it though when Bronson comes in his Lion shirt, because Tyler's all for being twins with his buddy!