Story Stones

Annika is a child that seems to always need outside direction. Just for  her I got her some stones so she could make and design some story stones. It took a lot of energy to explain to her what they actually are. I finally got our little netbook fixed so I pretty much turned it over to her so she can become engaged in some new activities where she can use the netbook computer to help her. She constantly has questions and she needs to learn how to find her own answers. I enrolled her in 5th grade this week. She has a male teacher. That will be interesting. With her attachment disorder issues this year will be interesting. I already have meetings set up with her teacher and school nurse. Now, if only I can keep my cool.

Making stick puppets

When the kids find old tongue depressor sticks left over from my old toddler classroom of course they need to make stick puppets. Eliot's had full anatomy and were "princesses". Evan's were just a shirt on a stick.....

Hanging out with friends and making "clean mud"

Ingredients needed:
toilet paper (any brand)
Ivory soap (grated)
warm water
kids and / or adults that want to squish and mix everything together. If you are afraid of cotton (you know who you are) stay away from this activity or adapt as needed!!   :)

Just keep adding the ingredients to your liking till you get the consistency you want. I like it thick. Some like it squishy and runny. I know, it sounds like fun. The best thing of all is that the kids end up clean and smelling like soap. The whole house can end up smelling that way!!

It can be saved in a Ziploc bag or plastic container or you can just make more!!!!

Making homemade paint

The kids and I made some homemade paint. Lyn has been working on a lot of different art projects lately and wanted to try some natural pigments. We used crushed annatto mixed with oil for the light orange. The yellow was from fresh crushed dandelion. The dark orange was from crushed red clay mixed with water. I used my finger to paint with. Some kids used brushes or paint brushes. I want to add a natural  green tint when everything dries. I am not sure what the end product will be. Who knows.....

 

Fall is here...

Today is the first day of Fall. It is still very hot outside but we wanted to celebrate in a small way. The kids collected leaves and made leaf prints. It was dusk when they started working on their project but they had fun.

Homemade art gallery

The big girls were busy yesterday painting away. When I got home from work they presented me with a tour of their work. Lyn used one of her homeschool books as a guide but they pretty much took their ideas and ran with them.

Rainbow footprints

Eliot's class had fun today making footprints of all different colors! Eliot was a bit shy but she had fun.

Chalk art

Lyn has always been a bit creative. Just on a whim because she was a bit bored today she made a chalk drawing on the back patio. It ended up looking like a person. Check out her blog for a better description.

Of course Annika wanted to try her hand at it too. And as always there is always an audience at our house.

Painting on the porch

As we speak Dad has set up the little kids' table on the back porch for a painting activity. It helps that Evan was already stripped down. I have totally rubbed off on him! They always enjoy painting. Annika got into the mix and Lyn came later to join them.

Easter fun...

The little kids and Lyn had fun today. They hunted eggs at Grandma and Papa's house and painted with Lyn in the afternoon. Lyn planned their painting acivity herself. Check out the slide show on the sidebar for pictures of the day and look below for a small video of the kids.

Fun at preschool

Evan has been enjoying his preschool class. Today they had fun playing with shaving cream. The best part of having the little kids close to me while I work is that I get to peek in on them when I am out of the office.

Afternoon Fun

Making turkeys, dramatic play, and computer fun!

My husband took a whole day and cleaned up and organized the garage on Monday. We have a computer, couch, and table set up out there. My original goals was to have the space available for the kids to spread out and play. We actually took advantage of it today. In preparation for Thanksgiving I cut out a circle turkey for the little kids to put together. Annika joined in their fun. They then got into the masks and puppets. Lyn helped the little kids put their bug masks on as Annika put on a puppet show. Evan wrapped up play time by showing off on the computer. He has mastered a toddler game (Reader Rabbit). Eliot likes to watch but hasn't quite caught on to the mechanics of the game. Lyn and Annika then left for Lyn's second volleyball tournament game. The Riptide won again!!

All about Evan

Evan had homework in his preschool class. He had to make a friendship quilt square. For all of those out there who have never had a young preschooler or toddler in daycare this usually consists of designing a piece of paper or poster board. The goal is to put information about the child and his or her family on the paper. Dislikes, pets, siblings, and pictures are usually included. When I was a toddler teacher for years this was not my favorite activity. I enjoyed learning about the children in my class and their families. But, the activity was more for the parents instead of the child. Evan is three now so he got into the project a little bit more than I expected. We kept it short and sweet. He made a hand print. (Of course he had to paint everything else after that.) He told me his favorite snacks. We listed his many brothers and sisters. He shared some of his favorite activities. I then took his oldest sister to her volleyball game (she won). As I had a moment to myself at her game I glued everything onto his poster. I could have involved Evan in this part of the project but a tired mom has to do what she has to do to get it ready for the next day. I left the poster in the car so it would not get destroyed. They next morning (today) I showed Evan the end product as we were walking into his school. He was so proud. I had him hold it up for me to see. I am assuming that he will be sharing this with his class and it will be pieced together with all of his other friends' artwork somewhere for all to see. Some of the goals of this activity for Evan age would be:

1) That he enjoy the sensory creative side of the painting.
2) That he would have letter recognition when he picked out his name.
3) Encouraging social interactions when he share the poster with others.

Saturday projects

Lyn is working on a project for school. She is designing an advertisement for the state of Texas. To distract the little kids while she was working I set up painting for them. Annika joined them. They enjoyed themselves. I practically had to tear them away from their painting. In the end Eliot actually cried herself to sleep for her nap. This only shows me that I need to offer them painting activities more often.