Nurturing Naters with Preschool at home + Montessori activities

Valentine's cookie bark

2012-02-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

I love Pinterest. Saw this at halloween time, and changed it for Valentine's day.

14 chopped up oreos
1-1/2 cups broken pretzels sticks
1 cup of candy - i used valentine candy corn (2/3 cup in the mix and saved 1/3 to put on the top)
1-1/2 lbs melted white chocolate disks
sprinkles for decoration

after you pour the chocolate on top, spread it around put on remaining 1/3 of candy and the sprinkles before it sets up. you can then put it in the fridge or outside to chill, then break it up!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Little Girls Valentine's party

2012-02-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

We were invited to a little girls Valentine's party yesterday. I was asked to bring a sensory tub and a craft. Here is the sensory tub I made and the craft I tweaked a little from one I saw on pinterest.

The girls got to play with sensory tub, do multi crafts, and ice cookies. They had a pizza lunch and then reaxed watching Beauty and the Beast on video. They all had such fun!!!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Valentine's Day Sensory Tub, 2012 02

2012-02-02T04:33:00.000-08:00

This is Naters' Valentine's Day sensory tub. We were talking about sensory tubs, and I said I wasn't going to be making them every month and she got so sad. I'm figuring as long as she has fun & imaginative play with them, I will keep making them; although I do want to make them more educational if I can.

Thanks for looking!
becky

February 3-part cards

2012-02-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

Naters is 41 months old!
These are the February 3-part cards i made for Naters. You can just click and print the image onto 8-1/2 x 11 cardstock or just regular paper then have them make the little book.

Winter 3-part cards, Montessori

2012-01-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

Naters' loves to make the 3-part card little books, so I made her this Winter themed sheet. I print 2 copies, make a book for her to model, then give her the supplies to make her own! just click on the image and print in jpg format or email me and I can send you the publisher file.

homemade laundry detergent powder

2012-01-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

This really was super easy to make!
2 cups Borax
2 cups Arm & Hammer super washing soda
1 bar Fels-Naptha stain remover soap
(i found them all in the laundry aisle at Wal-mart)
I purchased a betty crocker fine grater at the dollar store that i will use just for this

grated the fels-naptha bar of stain remover soap while Naters worked on her workboxes; then mixed it with 2 cups of Borax and 2 cups of the Arm & Hammer super washing soda. voila! laundry detergent powder! First I tried it on a load of whites and was very pleased.

Thanks for looking!
becky

Letter S, alphabet sensory tub

2012-01-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

This coming week we will be working on the letter S for Snowman.
This is Naters'alphabet sensory box with all the S letter additives.
We also added in the drawer S from our Alphabet Sounds treasure box.

additives: shark silly band, spider, snake, shamrock, sheep, saw, seahorse, seal,
thanks for looking!
becky

January, winter play-doh

2012-01-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

This is the winter play-doh i made for Naters this month!
Blue is scented blueberry muffin and the white is peppermint

Thanks for looking!
becky

Homemade Bath Crayons!

2012-01-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

I saw these on a couple of blogs and thought what a great idea. I bought an ice cube tray for water bottles (WalMart) and one lb of meltable olive oil soap (bought with 40% off coupon). I already had on hand the wilton gel food colorings. Made all of these for about $3.00, and still have 1/2 lb of soap left.

Ideas are swirling in my head for what I can do with future batches (scents, glitter, mica powders)!!!
Enjoy!
thanks for looking!
becky

God Bless Us, Everyone!

2011-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to your family from ours!

Naters was 4 yrs old when we went to Disney World in September (the family picture in front of the epcot space ball). We had a great time at Disney world (our first) and are already planning our second trip there for January 2013! Recommend to anyone who is thinking about it!

Have a wonderful & Healthy New Year!
warmly,
becky

Christmas play-doh

2011-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

Red is scented with Peppermint, and the green is scented with Mistletoe & ivy

Since i've been making the monthly playdoh again, she's playing with it way more than she was the store bought play-doh, which just makes me happy to make it for her!

scholastic warehouse sale

2011-12-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

I think i did pretty well. the entire back row are hardback books. So glad i got the new Bad Kitty book. Love those for the abc's in them! Naters practically has the first one memorized! So got these 19 brand new books for $75.67 (tax included) I thought that was a great price since six of them are hardback! I do admit, I really miss my border's book store and their coupons! I think these are the first books i've purchased since my local border's closed...

thanks for looking!
becky

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

These are 3 crafts we did today. The angel handprint & footprint and the handprint on ornament ideas I got from pinterest! Love pinterest!

For the paint i combined white shimmer and while holographic acrylic paints togethers for lots of shimmer & sparkle!

Thanks for looking!

becky

Advent Playdoh, Christmas 2011

2011-12-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here is the Advent playdoh I made for Naters this month. both have lots of Martha Stewart's fine glitter as well as polyflake glitter (non-toxic) the pink is scented with Happy Birthday and the purple is scented with Grandma's Dessert

Thanks for looking!
becky

Christmas Sensory tub, December 2011

2011-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

This is Nater's Christmas sensory tub for this month. I'm going to be changing her sensory tubs up a little bit. I try to incorpoate them into whatever subject we are concentrating on the for week, two weeks, or monthly period of time we give to a subject.. She is getting older (4yrs 4mos old) and I want them to be more education centered. So she may not have a sensory tub every month, but when she has one I hope that they we will more educational or be able to reinforce more of whatever subject we are working on. Won't be too technical; but will depend on what materials i can find on the cheap (garage sales, estate sales, resale shops) or shopping with my coupons (Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Michael's, Lakeshore Learning, United Art & Education). Will let you know how my ideas for this unfold.....

Pretty much everything in the tub is recycled from last year except the spoons. Last year she got the colored rice separated initially, but then it was combined during play; so this year it's combined. Thanks for looking!
becky

December, calendar pieces, Christmas

2011-11-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the Christmas Calendar pieces i made this year for December. I let Naters help me pick out what clip art we used!

just comment here or leave me an email and i'll send you the word file or the jpg
Thanks for looking!
becky

Thanksgiving crafts

2011-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here are two of the Thanksgiving crafts that Naters did. On the tree i glued the tree, base, put the scarescrow together and the words together; then she applied them and decorated the scene.
on the turkey she loved putting the head together and gluing on the feathers!

Alphabet Sensory Bin

2011-11-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

This has been in the making since May. I actually bought the pasta on sale back in April or May. I colored over 5 lbs. of the pasta in May using Wilton gel food coloring. I've been purchasing, finding, copying things to go in to the bin since then. We do Letter of the Week so I just thought this would enhance the learning since I made the Alphabet sounds treasure box last year. I got the idea for this sensory box from Stephanie at Playing House. This is the base sensory box and then i can add/change things to it for each letter using things from our alphabet sounds treasure box and also items i've picked up specifically for our Alphabet sensory bin!

So I'll take think from my Alphabet sounds box and put them into the alphabet sensory box when we are doing that letter!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Thanksgiving book shelf 2011

2011-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

These Thanksgiving books are part of our daily reading for the next two weeks~
thanks for looking
becky

Autumn Fall spelling - alphabet disk pages

2011-11-09T17:08:00.000-08:00

I made the wooden alphabet disks (bottle cap letters) like confessions of a homeschooler talks about on her blog. Since I took the time to make them, I try to use them as much as possible. With that in mind, I took some of the words from the Thanksgiving based preschool pack I've gotten off the internet and put them to use in the following pages for Naters to work with

Thanks for looking!
Just click on the images if you want to download them to add them into your teachings this month!
becky

Thanksgiving sensory tub, Thanksgiving sensory bin November 2011

2011-11-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here is the Thanksgiving Bin that I put together for Naters this year. Normally I do little piles of things. This time, I put down the layer of popping corn, then I put down a layer of acrylic beads (leaves, pumpkins, & acorns). Then a layers of some wooden beads, then sprinkled with sparkling poms poms, real acorns, a giant amber jewel, some silk leaves, and a wooden bowl and spoon! The popping corn was bought at Aldi's, and all the other stuff was purchased at (JoAnn's with 40-50% coupons, Michael's with a 40-50% off coupons or Pat Catan's). I am lucky enough to live close to the craft stores and can stop by after work and use a coupon quick!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Thanksgiving Calendar Numbers, free file giveaway

2011-10-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the Thanksgiving (November) calendar numbers that i made for our calendar. If you'd like the file, just comment or e-mail me

Thanks for looking!

becky

Halloween crafts 2011

2011-10-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

Halloween crafts that Naters did.

thanks for looking!

becky

2011 Halloween Sensory tub, Halloween sensory bin

2011-10-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

This is our 2011 Halloween Sensory tub!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Halloween Book shelf 2011

2011-10-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the Halloween books we will be reading repeatedly until Halloween.

Thanks for looking!
becky

rain forest books, rainforest books

2011-10-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the rainforest books I was able to find in the used book stores for Naters. The only new one i bought was the Cat in the Hat learning series (i got the for 50% from Borders before they went out of business!) The backyadigans phonics set was only $1.00 for the complete set!!!! The new rain forest puzzle from lakeshore learning (on sale!) she has put together all on her own each day!!

Thanks for looking!
becky

rain forest number sequence puzzle

2011-10-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

here is the rain forest number sequence puzzle i made up for Naters. I print on card stock, laminate, then cut out!

If you'd like the jpg file for this, just e-mail me or leave a comment here and i will send to you ASAP!
thanks for looking
becky

Rain forest Calendar Pieces RAINFOREST

2011-10-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the Rain Forest Calendar pieces i made for Naters calendar.

If you'd like an editable copy of this file, just e-mail me or leave a comment here and i will send out ASAP!
thanks for looking!
becky

Rainforest sensory tub, Rainforest Preschool Theme Rain Forest

2011-10-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 4 yrs 1 month old. Since I don't want to do an entire month of halloween activities, I decided to squeeze in Rainforest before we start Halloween. In November we will do Fall, Leaves, & Thanksgiving! This is the Rain Forest Sensory Tub that I made for Naters.

I wanted to use coffee beans because it's one of the major crops of the rain forest, but they are just too expensive. I found these rich, earthy looking french lentils at Earth Fare and bought about 5 lbs for her sensory tub.
medium: French lentils
additives: two wooden bowls, wooden tongs, Rain Forest toob, frogs & turtles toob, and Tree toob
extras: small porcupine balls, four diffent types of beads in the 1 wooden bowl (represents water), and other bead--red, orange, yellow, purple (different shapes & textures)
thanks for looking!
becky

Lakeshore learning pit stop

2011-09-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last month near Naters' 4th birthday, Her grandma & cousin Lesley came in from West Virginia. One our of little day trips was to Preston's H.O.P.E. in Beachwood, OH (a totally awesome park!) and since we were so close, I just HAD to stop in to my local Lakeshore Learning Store while they were still having their summer sale! I help back and only purchased a few things--i swear i would like to buy everything in the store!

We got two puzzles (Rain Forest & zoo), Idestructible Pots & Pans (already have the tableware), Magnetic fishing poles (going to make my own magnetic games), rubbing crayons, a solar system poster, a magnetic double sided lap board and a school year keepsake storage folder. Can't wait to start doing some thumbprint art! We are looking forward to going back to Preston's H.O.P.E. (and Lakeshore Learning) soon!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Princess Preschool work

2011-09-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples of Naters completed Princess preschool work

we did a glitter crafts (i flocked the background with flocking), she painted the princess with a paint brush & paints, and her work that she did from printables by Confessions of a homeschooler and 1+1+1=1

thanks for looking!
becky

Princess Preschool theme printables

2011-09-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 4 yrs old (48 months). I found my Princess themed printables at the following wonderful & generous blog sites Carisa's Princess Preschool Pack ; Jolanthe's Knight Preschool Pack ; Erica's Princess Preschool Pack; and Kaci's Princess Printables. I made Naters' own Princess lacing cards and number sequence puzzles using images from the internet and printed them on cardstock, laminated and cut them out.
She's still enjoying her princess sensory tub!

Of course, she has to get our her princess jewelry, princess dresses & shoes often to play with her sensory tub. Ken & Barbie have also been seen naked in the sensory tub swimming!
Thanks for looking!
becky

On her bookshelf, Princess books, Princess bookshelf!

2011-09-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are some of the books we are reading this month. We got the 2 Do Princess books at Borders going out of business sale for 65% off! the hardback disney & dora books we got for $0.25 each at a garage sale! The other books were bought with coupons at Border's. We read every day!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Princess Calendar pieces

2011-09-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are calendar pieces that I made for Naters calendar for this month. I was orginally going to use the pricness theme in August for her birthday, but then after we planned our Disney trip for September, I decided to use the princess theme for September.

If you want the editable publisher file or you need jpg file, just let me know and i'll send it to you via email.
I can also change the month header for you if you like!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Princess Sensory Tub, 2011 September

2011-09-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Naters is 4 yrs old! she celebrated her 4th birthday in mid-August with a sleeping beauty inspired princess party. We were lucky that her grandma Edith from West Virginia was able to come up for her party and visit with us for a few days. It made her birthday all the more special. For September, I made Naters a Princess sensory tub in honor of our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World mid month. We are also going to be focusing on princess books, princess movies and of course all the wonderful princess themed preschool learning stuff there is out there. I'll put pics up in the next few days of what we are using!
Here is her PRINCESS SENSORY TUB!

Base: tri-beads xmas green, 8mm faceted xmas green beads, pony beads opaque green, pony beads transparent xmas green, pony beads opaque lime green, faceted 8mm lt aqua beads, pony transparent turquoise beads
Tools: spoon, tweezers, pipe cleaners, small bowls
Fancy stuff: clay alphabet beads spelling out Princess Natalie, 15mm berry beads, large pink faceted jewel, a bag of big bling princess shapes, 3 heart beads (Mom, Dad, Naters), a wooden castle I painted pink & purple for her, a small pony & sleeping beauty doll (her favorite princess), some pink butterfly beads, and two different type purple beads--lots of different textures in all the beads~
Thanks for looking!
becky

Zoo sensory bin, August 2011,

2011-08-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 47 months old. Here is the ZOO sensory tub that I put together for her for this month. There is so much material out there for zoo themed learning, I know we won't get to it all in one month!

MEDIUM (BASE FILLER) is 3lbs of Wild Harvest Universal blend birdseed for medium & large birds. I bought this one because of all the colors & textures in the seed. We will recycle this birdseed outside in our feeders at the end of the month! FUN STUFF: Wild toob & Zoo babies Toob (polar & panda bear only), 3 small dishes (metal, wood & glass); wooden & glass beads with many textures & finishes. I LOVE HOW THIS BIRDSEED SMELLS! Instant smell of nature when she opens up the lid!
Thanks for looking!
becky
p.s. I dont recommend the aquarium stones i used last month in her Ocean sensory tub. The color kept coming off on her fingers even though i washed the rocks multi times & dried them completely before putting them in her sensory tub. The stones also scratched up one of our sensory tub containers badly. Just thought I'd be upfront & honest with you all!!!

zoo number sequence puzzle

2011-08-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple zoo number sequence puzzles I made for our zoo month. These are super easy. You can just print on cardstock, laminate & cut. If you want thicker pieces, you can mount on thin wood, thick foam sheets etc...

Just click on the images and print on cardstock!
thanks for looking
becky

Zoo calendar pieces

2011-07-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

For the month of August, we are doing Zoo themed studies. One of the first items I made were zoo calendar pieces. I just laminate them, cut them out and put in our wall calendar. Went with lions, tigers & bears; then added in our favorites elephant, koala & zebra!!!

If you'd like a copy of this file, just leave a comment below or email and I will get it out to you ASAP.
thanks for looking!
becky

painting at her easel with paint

2011-07-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 47 months old! I bought washable tempera paints, the paint cups & the paint cups holder at Lakeshore Learning last year. Been waiting for a day to let Naters paint outside. She really enjoyed this, she painted on three blank pieces of paper and two preprinted coloring sheets before she said she was done! Just instructed her her to keep the colored brushes with the matching paint cup and showed her how to get excess paint off her brush and away she went!

Thanks for looking!
becky

garage sale bargains in July!

2011-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

This week happened upon an unemployed teacher's garage sale. What was included for the $21.00?
a huge set of word family cards
FOUR sterlite containers (I use this style for our classroom storage already!),
Leap Frog beginning words wipe off workbook,
FIVE brand new monthly idea books from The Mailbox & Carson-Dellosa
for the months of November, January, February, and two for October (my daughter's favorite month!)
adore the carson-dellosa ones (full-color),
a brand new alphabet puzzle (i have a plan for that--will post soon),
a brand new pocket chart,
a brand new set of Thanksgiving gel clings
all that for $21.00
You may have to walk through some crummy graage sales, but then you happen upon a pearl of a sale like the above one (she had her things so organized!) that is does make your time worth it!
Enjoy the rest of summer and thanks for looking!!!
Becky

Lakeshore Learning shopping trip!

2011-07-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I now have a Lakeshore Learning Store about 45 minutes away from me!!!! They have a huge summer sale going on, and this is what i purchased on my most recent trip. Everything i purchased was 20% off except for the super safe eye droppers and the jumbo magnifier (i got that at 50% off!)

Thanks for looking!
becky

Ocean Number Sequence puzzles

2011-07-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

I made Naters two ocean & sea life number sequence puzzles for this month's theme. I just print these out onto heavy cardstock, laminate and cut in between the numbers! Easy & Frugal!

Click the above images for the jpg file to print out at home!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Ocean theme bookshelf

2011-07-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the Ocean & Sea Life themed books from Naters' bookshelves.
Hooray for Fish is a long-time favorite in our house!

thanks for looking!
becky

Ocean Sensory Bin

2011-07-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 46 months old. We are doing an ocean theme for the rest of the month. This is the ocean themed sensory tub that i put together for her.

contains: In the water & Ocean Toobs (40-50% off with coupons from Joanns & Michaels) shell & fish buttons (50% off Joanns), turquoise aquarium rocks (walmart), sea glass looking beads, blue & purple wave looking glass beads, green & blue swirl glass beads, Seashells & starfish all from a local store Pat Catan's. Naters also wanted two butterflies in there, she thought you might see butterflies at the beach!
thanks for looking
becky

July 4th Learning & Activities

2011-07-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

While we will be doing an ocean theme for the month of July, we did patriotic themed activities & learning through the July 4th holiday.

We had our first try at shaving cream art and she really enjoyed it. Want to thank the following women and their blogs for all the wonderful patriotic themed printables they crafted: 1+1+1=1, Little Piles Everywhere, Confessions of a Homeschooler, and 2 Teaching Mommies. THANK EACH OF YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!
Thanks for looking!
becky
p.s. I found that the children's clothing hangers that clothes come on when you buy them, makes for a wonderful way to hang moist art work that needs drying time!!! just thought I'd share that with you....

July 4th, Patriotic Calendar peices

2011-07-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

I made two different sets of Patriotic (July4th) calendar pieces.
If you'd like either file, either just leave a comment or email me; i'll send it out quickly!

July 4th Number Sequence puzzle

2011-07-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a 4th of July Number Sequence puzzle I made for the holiday weekend. Just click on the image and download. I'm working the entire holiday weekend (by choice, I picked up two of the days) so I won't have post until Tuesday or Wednesday about our monthly topic for July which is Ocean & sea life.

FARM Calendar Pieces, free file giveaway

2011-06-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the calendar pieces i made to go along with our farm theme this month. I have the Learning Resources Calendar & weather chart, so they fit great.

If you'd like the file for the FARM CALENDAR pieces, just leave me a comment or an email and i'll send it right out!
thanks for looking!
becky

Paint chip Mosaic

2011-06-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

I saw a post about the free paint chip samples you can get at most stores from My HomeMade Montessori and kept thinking about getting the samples and what i'd do with them. i'm sure there are tons of ideas out there I just haven't had time to investigate. I stopped at Walmart on my way into work one night to get a salad for my lunch an remembered to run by the paint section and get some paint samples. I got a rainbow of assorted colors. Then came home and cut them up and put them in a baggie. Naters loves to do crafts and i figured we'd be able to make some kind of paint chip mosaics as a craft. We are doing a farm theme for the month, so i pulled out a letter F page. She wanted to apply the glue with a paint brush (she was offered glue stick, a bottle of glue, or glue in a cup with a paint brush) so I gave her the glue in a souffle cup, a paint brush, blank letter F sheet, the container of cut up paint chips and let her go!

This was definitely cheap, easy and fun! For Naters (she's 45 months old) using the paint chips was much easier for her to do than the tissue paper squares which is a too flimsy to hold up to very much handling (when wet with glue) Another thrifty tip: I got these plastic souffle cups with lids in bulk for $3.00. i also have the craft cups from oriental trading co. (which i do like) but I like the souffle cups better. they can be washed and reused; i like the small quanity they hold (great portion control for crafting) and when you put the lid on you can save glue or paint for next use. So glad i got them! You'll like them too!

Thanks for looking!

becky

FARM FUN books to go along with our theme this month

2011-06-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I only went through one of her bookcases and these were the farm themed books I pulled out.

Barnyard Dance by Boynton and Barnyard Hulaabaloo seem to be her favorite farm theme books this week! She's enjoying this farm theme so far, but i'm not sure I can make it last all month. I may just go two weeks and then switch to zoo animals, we will see.
thanks for looking!
becky

FARM FUN Green Acres is the place for us in June!!!! Farm sensory bin

2011-06-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

Naters is 45 months old! This month since everyone is hoping to get their gardens planted (we've had massive amounts of rain) I thought i'd do a FARM theme for this month. I must say that I've had so much help with this one because there is such a good amount of great materials already out there on this topic. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! to the following ladies for their generosity in putting free materials out here in blog land:

Carisa at 1+1+1=1 for her Farm Tot Pack
Michelle at Musings of Me for her Farn Fun Pack
Mari-Ann at Counting Coconuts for her Farm Poem
Lauren at Lawteedah for her Farm Life Unit Study

This is the sensory tub I made for this month. I reused the popping corn I used in a tub from last year. I added in two canning jars, one wooden bowl in the shape of egg (thought that was appropriate) and I used Down on the Farm toob and Farm toob from Safari Ltd, Multi colored beads red=barn, green=tractor & crops, yellow=sun & chicks, wood beads=wood, pink=pigs, black & white-cows & chickens. That was the extent of my creativity for this tub!

I also have so farm themed coloring pages, some Farm Themed Foamies Stickers, and I found the above
Farm Sticker Gift box at Borders on clearance for $!2.97! We also got her a John Deere Tractor & trailer at a garage sale for $0.50. We will also be reading from her many Farm themed books this month. Today a local working farm is having their opening day for their petting farm for the Summer! We will go there this afternoon after her nap. They open up their farm as a petting farm evey Wednesday June through September. Naters gets to see cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, geese, roosters, ponies, horses, reindeer (the only animal you cant pet), llamas, alpacas, and even a camel named Charlie!
Thanks for looking!!!
becky

HSV Garden Challenge / Garden themed Calendar pieces

2011-05-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Our weather here is still too brutal to be outdoors gardening yet. Soccer has been cancelled for two weeks due to flooded fields and inclement weather conditions. We even had a fire going in our wood burning stove today! While it rained outside, the wood fire blazed inside to warm us all. I decided to make some Garden themed calendar pieces after I took pictures of the vegetable sprouts Naters & my husband have started from seed.

We have the above Calendar & Weather chart from Learning Resources. If you'd like the Garden themed calendar pieces, leave a comment here on the blog or email and i will send them out to ASAP!
thanks for looking!
becky

Flower Garden Sensory Bin, Sensory Tub May 2011,

2011-05-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

We are participating in the HSV Garden Challenge so this month I wanted to focus on gardening! We live in Northern Ohio, people haven't started planting yet, but will within a couple of weeks. Naters will have two Garden themed sensory tubs in May. The first (the indoors one) is this one. The second one (the outdoors one) she will get in a couple weeks. The theme of this one is FLOWER GARDEN!

Contents:
Black beans is the base (reused from my October sensory tub)
6 flowers that i made with my hot glue gun, 1 & 3/4 green chenille stems, and foamies & felties flower bases that i decorated up --sandwiched the chenille stems in between flower layers so the ends of the cnille sticks are covered
4 mini garden tools (was thrilled i found these!)
3 wooden plant pots
2 silicone flower cups filled with assorted Butterfly & flowers beads & buttons
4 decorative wood pieces (sun, bees, rain cloud, blue sky w/white fluffy clouds)

I may show her how to fill the pots with bean and then put the flowers in them, but i'm going to hang back and see what she does on her own. i have never directed or instructed her in anyway with her sensory tubs.
I'm curious to see how much she will play with this one.

The scond sensory tub i'm going to give her later this month will be with real potting soil, seeds, peat pots, gardening tools including water can -- so this will be an outside only sensory tub!!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Organizing Foamies Sticker Buckets / Bags

2011-04-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

I like to buy these FOAMIES sticker buckets in themes to go along with our Letter of the Week curriculum, sensory tubs or holidays when i have coupons for Joanns, Michael or Hobby Lobby, but sometimes a local merchant here, Pat Catan's has a great price too! So in thinking ahead for summer ( we will be doing an oecan theme, Birthday theme, Insect & Bug theme, and a disney Theme--we are going to disney world in Sept). I found this Foamies Under the Sea sticker bucket! This is what i do with my bucket or large bag of stickers when i buy them.
1.  open up the entire package and sort it out. I also poke out things like eyes, etc.
2.  figure out how many baggies i can fill the same way (colors may vary but the number of stickers/subject stays the same)
3.  sort out however many I know I can get. In this Under the Sea tub, I was able to divide the package into Seven baggies equally and set the extra aside.
4.  print of labels and label each bag.
5. I can also use a package i've divided up for a Birthday party, our crafting preschoolers group etc. Having them presorted & bagged also makes for a quickie craft we can take with us somewhere and I like knowing she can share these with her little friends! I also like doing it this way so not just one sticker type is used on a page. So far I've done this with Patriotic, Princess, Zoo Animals, Space, Lady bugs & Flowers, Insects, animals, Butterflies & Flowers, and Sweets.

Thanks for looking!
becky

Naters' favorite Toys, April 2011

2011-04-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 44 months old and these are her favotire toys this month!

The Discovery Toys Busy Bugs Set and the Lakeshore Bingo games she repeatedly comes back to!
Let me know what your toddler/preschoolers favorite toys are!
thanks for looking
becky

Completed crafts from Crafting Adventures Playgroup

2011-04-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

These are Naters completed Easter crafts from our playgroup

The handprint chick Idea i got from The Dubiens
Thanks for looking!
becky

Crafting Adventures Playgroup, Easter

2011-04-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

Naters is 44 months old!
I host a little girls crafting playgroup at my house for mommies & their little girls. at most there is 7 mommies & 7 little girls who attend. Usually have a theme for each time we get together. This month was Easter crafts!

1, Decorate a foamie egg with jewels & Beads
2. Make and Easter Beads Necklace
3. decorate either a chick or bunny paper bag
4. make a handprint chick
5. Foamies Easter sticker collage page
6. do a dot art pages (tulip & Egg)
7. Decorate foamie bunny head, large egg, small egg
8. handprint bunny page
9. Goodie bags & coloring books I made up.
Thanks for looking, tomorrow i will show pics of some of the completed crafts!
becky

more Easter crafts we've been working on

2011-04-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 44 months old today! These are more Easter crafts we've been working on. For the jewel eggs (pink & blue), I gave her a bottle of glue, a bowl of beads & jewels and let her do it solo! The scroll is mine. I used stardust stickles on it (very sparkly in real life!)

Thanks for looking! becky

Easter Crafts, Foamies & Felties

2011-04-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 43 months old! There are some Easter crafts kits that Naters & I completed. She is always so happy doing these, especially when she knows they are gifts. The yellow egg was all Naters, I gave her the egg and the decorations and gave her privacy she did great I think! The little chics with the feathers came in a pack of 8 and we are mailing them to family members and she was saying who each one was going too!
I use my hot glue gun and put some pretty heavy circle magnets on the back so people can put them on their fridge.

Thanks for looking!
becky

Easter Lacing Cards

2011-04-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are some Easter lacing cards I made for Naters. I just went to google, under images and typed in Easter. Founds images i liked, printed them on heavy cardstock, laminated them and punched holes. Quick & Easy as well as Cheap!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Easter Decorations for the house

2011-04-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some decorations we made for the house for Easter. Naters loved adding the grass to the bunnies display and she helped decorate the jelly bean cottage with the flowers and jelly beans. This was fun and I am surprised at Naters response to our crafting times. She's really taken with it and requests to do crafts each day. We do watercolors, fingerpaints, gluing, markers, crayons, beading, etc. I'm looking forward to nicer weather here (we got snow today!) so i can incorporate more nature/natural items.

Thanks for looking!
becky

Easter Sensory Bin, April, 2011 04

2011-04-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is Naters' Sensory tub for April/Easter. Her fav colors are pink, purple, & yellow (in that order) so those were the colors I chose for the rice. She saw the colored rice drying and just couldn't wait to play with it. She's very eager to see her sensory tub for April, I can't wait for her to see it this morning!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Nurturing Naters HSV Garden Challenge post #1

2011-03-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi we have decided to participate in the HSV Garden Challenge. I was planning on a gardening sensory tub for the month of May. Where we live, May is usually the month people start to plant their annuals. Around Mothers Day is a time to start planting. I will admit my husband is the outside guru. He has a dedicated garden area, fruit tree, berry bushes, grape vines, and he also likes his flowers. He started most of his plants from seed and has been tenderly caring for them in the house. He does all the canning and the jelly making. I wont take his credit because this is all him and Naters. She loves being outside with him. Naters loves to help in plant, weed, water and then pick the veggies & berries. This year i hope he teaches her more about planting & caring for the plants and well as parts of the plant & flowers. She defintely has a HUGE tomboy side to her....

The above pics are his garden and in the 2nd pic you can see a bit of the grapevines.
Thanks for looking!
becky

Happy Spring

2011-03-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring...hmmm we have a wood fire in the fireplace and i think it's 31 degrees outside. I decided to let Naters do a Foamie sticker sheet. I have many ziploc bags full or various types of foamies strickers, so i went through them to gather up what i could for a Spring themed sticker sheet. While i had them all out, I also put together a few more themed mini bags i can grab for her to another sticker sheet in the upcoming months. For the activity, I put out two bowls for Naters; one filled with the assortment of Foamies stickers and an empty one for the peeled off sticker backing.

This is proudly displayed on the fridge currently! This was cheap fun and she asked to do another right away!
Thanks for looking

Consignment sales LUV 'EM!!!!

2011-03-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

Naters is 43 months old!
Went to a local semi-annual Big Red Wagon consignment sale here in my area!

Naters & I were very happy with my finds!!!
NEW Leap Pad Toy Story 2 (1st grade reading)
NEW Art Smock with crayons & watercolors
NEW Crayola trace 'n draw
Tonka Chuck 9 mini trucks & truck hauler
ORB Magnetic Mosaics
Rain Slicker
Disney Pooh Denim Jacket
Skort
Summer dress
two summer outfits
two fall/winter outfits
ALL THIS for $55.00
Thanks for looking!
becky

Princess Lacing Cards

2011-03-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

We are planning a trip to Walt Disney World in September of this year. I've started planning and putting together activities for our trip (both in flight and during down time each day). I decided to make Natalie some lacing cards, some were printed on full sheets and some are 5x7. I figure the smaller ones will travel well.

I've also made her some Easter ones, I'll be showing in a couple of weeks. I got the images free off the itnernet. Just printed on heavy cardstock, laminated and cut them out! Once we decide on a theme for her Birthday party, I think i'll make lacing cards as a gift in the kids goodie bags! Easy & frugal to make!

thanks for looking

becky

March Playdoh, 2011 03

2011-03-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

After hearing from you, I realized I hadn't posted her March Playdoh of the Month. Sorry! I went with natural color and added green (Martha Stewart) and holographic (polyflake) glitters. Clean cotton candle oil scent. I think i may have added too much glitter, this batch seems a bit gritty but Naters doesnt seem to mind.

Thanks for looking!
becky

Naters' favorite Toys, March 2011

2011-03-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Naters is 42 months old!

Hands down her favorite is Lakeshore's Picture words Bingo! She'll play this multi times a day and a few games at a time. we even got our visitors to play it with us on Sunday! Other current favs are, Melissa & Doug's woooden shape sorting clock (25% off Kohl's & used a gift card), M&D's Bear family dress up puzzle ($3.00 garage sale find), Discovery Toys Busy Bugs ($6.00 Craigslist), she also plays with her sensory tub, playdoh and something art related (crayons, pip squeak markers, or watercolors) every day. Please let me know what your toys are the big hits with your todder & preschoolers!
thanks for looking--
becky

March Sensory Bin, 2011 03, St. Patrick's Day sensory tub

2011-03-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Naters is 42months old! I went with a green theme for Naters' sensory tub this month. Although i have her yellow & green lentils from a previous sensory bin, i was unable to find them, so i went with great northern beans. I've worked the last few nights, or i would have just done green colored rice. I know, i'm a slacker!!! haha

I do have to say, when other kids coming over to play with Naters, they go right to the sensory tub; this is such a huge with Naters and the other kids!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Valentine's gifts

2011-02-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

These were Naters Valentine's gifts. We opted to go non-food. We are also working big on her with sharing. She really wants to go to Chuck E Cheese; so I told her if she has 20 days of sharing her things ( we will mark it on the calendar) then i'll take her to Chuck E Cheese.

She got a book "A Very Special Hug", some princess rings & necklaces, Hello Kitty Bingo, Dinosaur Train Pop N Race game (Like Trouble), and a Wooden Matching puzzles set for Opposites (similar to Learning Resources Match-ups). I think she'll like the book and the dinosaur game best!

Valentine's week

2011-02-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

Naters has really enjoyed The Letter V from Erica's Letter of the Week Curriculum. I also got her a carpet this week, so she'd have a more defined work space than just the entire floor. She really seems to like the
idea, and was asking what work she does at her desk and what will she do on her rug. Playdoh, she does at her table (i have an office chair mat under her table so the playdoh doesnt get in the carpet--It works great!)

for her poke pad, I took two foam pads for stamping and hot glued them together giving her a about 1" thick padded surface to do her poking on. She calls it her poke pad. But needless to say it's so thick she won't poke through it and i feel comfortable with her doing her poke work at her desk, table, or carpet!
Thanks for looking!
becky

V is for Valentine's Letter of the week work

2011-02-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

Naters is 41 months oldMonday we started with Valnetine's inspired actiities in her workboxes. This week we are doing Erica's Letter of the Week Curriculum Natalie is really enjoying this week. She did tell me she is getting bored with the do a dot marker stuff though, hmmm. I'm very happy with her scissor work and her pre writing skills. She's really come a long way since we started preschool at home this past fall! With the bottle cap picture you see two letters off to the side. when i put the letters in the bowl for Naters', I usually include two extra letters that she doesn't need so she has to think and not just do a matching exercise. She does very well with it. I'm happy she is letting me takes pics of her school work. She will even say, "take a picture for your scrapbook" I LUV IT!

Next week, the plan is to do Michelle's Valentine's Day pack
Thanks for looking!
becky

Valentine's Playdoh of the Month, 2011 02 February

2011-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is Naters' Valentine's Playdoh of the Month for February!
Pink is scented with Fruit Slices and has Martha Stewart fine pink & iridescent white glitters adeed
Red is scented with Strawbery scented and has Martha Stewart fine red glitter added
They are both very sparkly!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Valentine's Day Sensory Tub 2011 02 February, valentine sensory tub

2011-02-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

Here is Naters' Valentine's Day Sensory Tub for February. Fill medium is: Great Northern Beans, Red kidney Beans, and Red Lentils. Used various textured beads in pink & red colors, Pink spikey balls, felted & glitter hearts, faceted plastic jewels, red heart shaped buttons. She has a container of various pom poms to add also. I let her play with this yesterday with just the beans & lentils in it and she played with it for a good while. I know she is excited to see the added Valentine's Day items today!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Wonders of watercolors

2011-01-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Naters is 41 months old!
She's been asking to paint with her watercolors. she's really been on a craft kick since we hosted our Crafting Adventures playgroup here at the house on Saturday. We've been doing something crafty each day which I know is good for her fine motor.

Naters painted the dinosaur picture for her grandma.
Thanks for looking!
becky

Crafting Adventures Preschool Playgroup

2011-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

Naters is 41 months old!
I hosted a group of 5 girls (aged 2.5 to 5 yrs old) with their Mommies here on Saturday morning. We did five crafts and then took the girls to McDonald's Playland for lunch. Everyone was worn out afterwards but it was such fun! It was a great way to spend some time with Naters before I went to work that night.

1. decorated a craft stick snowflake (i painted them white, hot glued them together and attached a ribbon for hanging beforehand) with beads & jewels
2. decorated a cupcake for themselves and for their Dads (had carryout containers to get them home in)
3. decorated a snowflake or snowman with peel n stick snowflakes and glitter glue (they could also use the beda & jewels too!
4. made a foamie marshmallow snowman
5. Did a painted footprint snowman (decorated the snowman with buttons & used brown chenille stick for arms. Idea from Handprint and Footprint Art
We are getting together in a couple weeks for some Valentine's Day crafts, can't wait!!!
thanks for looking!
becky

Winter Weekend Crafts, January 2011

2011-01-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

I've had this idea cooking in my head for a few weeks. Wanted to build a snowman and then have Naters glue down some cotton balls for snow. I little craft that we could display for the month. I got the little hat for $0.45 and bought 3 sizes of styrofoam balls (more costly than i thought--but doable) and the rest of the items(buttons, beads, brown chenille sticks, glue, cotton balls, yarns & blue cardstock I already had on hand. Naters was very excited to glue down the cotton balls. I gave her a craft cup of glue and a paint brush showed her gluing down one cotton ball and I let her go to work! I'm happy with how it turned out!

Second craft we did was to build the Gingerbread tree kit I bought yesterday for $1.00 on clearance at Michael's. I thought she'd want to do the white tipped tree, but she didnt want any white frosting on the tree! She had so much fun decorating this tree. She did try to eat a piece and spit it out. But the fun was in assembling and decorating. I'd definately buy this kit again
(great for younger kids)
Thanks for looking!
becky

Love Lakeshore Learning!

2011-01-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

At the end of last month, my best friend from high school came into town. Kim has 12 kids and has been homeschooling for decades. We shot down to the Columbus, OH store after Christmas last month and I picked up a few things. Had a coupon so i saved $15.00 on what i bought! She bought stuff too!

Naters has already played with the lowercase letter lacing beads and has given them the thumbs up! I'm excited for spring since we now have a step 2 easel, and I've bought the tempera paints, no spill paints cups, brushes, and now the paint cup carrier! We can have art studio sessions outside (no fear of paint on the grass!)
Thanks for looking!
becky

January games we are playing, 2011 01

2011-01-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

We've been playing a lot of games; due to our winters here we haven't been going outside too much. The games she's been enjoying are: Lakeshore Learning Beginning Sounds Bingo, Hot Potato, Princess Dominoes, and Froggy Boogie!

She also loves to play with her My Little Pony house & ponies and My Littlest Pet Shop pets with house. Playdoh is a given, she plays with that multi times a day. I let her have five cookie cutters, a rolling pin and one other playdoh cutting item (we change them out each week --she picks what goes in the bin!)
Thanks for looking!
becky

January Bookshelf, 2011 01,

2011-01-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

These are the books on our honor shelf this month. She has two bookcases, one in her room and one near her classroom, but i keep selected books out on a special shelf for one month, usually to go with our theme for that month. This month in keeping with winter, snowman & snowflakes here are the selections for the month:

The Snow Bear and the the Little Penguin books have embossed pages and she loves running her fingers over the pages!

Sensory Tub update: this is the first month i've used such a light weight medium (filler) in her tub. i used mini glitter poms poms. In other tubs i always add in large poms for texture and she plays with them. with this tub, she just keeps sifting out all the texture items (beads, buttons, etc) and leaving the poms in the tub. This is by far not her favorite tub, but she still plays with it a little each day without any prompting. She definitely prefers the rice, beans, popcorn type mediums (filler) in her sensory tubs. Just keepin' it real folks!

I'm going to be hosting a preschooler craft day at our house 1-2 saturdays a month through winter, so i'll post those projects in the following weeks also. I've got the first two sessions crafts picked out. Naters is excited!

Thanks for looking!
becky

Playdoh of the Month January 2011 01

2011-01-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm late with posting this; being sick and then working the last two nights, I got behind but we did make the Playdoh together the other night before I had to go to work. Both colors are peppermint scented. Turquoise blue doh has white & iridescent glitter and white (natural) doh has 2 purple and 2 blue shades of Martha Stewart fine glitters in it. She enjoyed helping and i liked doing it together!

Thanks for looking! becky

Winter Sensory Tub, January 2011 01, snowman sensory tub

2011-01-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Since we live in Ohio, I'm focusing on Snowmen & Snowflakes this month.. Our classroom calendar features snowflakes. This is Nater's sensory tub for the month. I've been sick, so i'm a bit behind; the playdoh will be made tomorrow.

Thanks for looking!

Becky

December, the month in review, 2010

2010-12-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

The December Christmas sensory tub this month was a HUGE hit, but the excitement over the tub also brought about BRISK play = more rice on the floor than i like. i've been vacumming daily; but i guess it's worth it. I am looking forward to bringing out the january tub (no rice) though! This month we focused on Christmas, and we used both Carisa's Nativity Preschool Pack as well as Erica's Preschool Christmas Activities both were a hit and she wanted to do something each & every day, even Christmas day we were playing with Prekinder's Christmas Pattern block mats!

I'm sorry to see this month end because we have had so much fun with the different activities & crafts. In Jan, Feb & Mar, I do want to focus on a weekly field trip, just so we can be out of the house. We live in Ohio and we have pretty intense winters here, and i don't want us to have cabin fever from being inside all the time. Just have to work around my work schedule......
Thanks for looking!
becky

Merry Christmas One & All

2010-12-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy, safe & fun Christmas Season!
Natalie is 40 months old.
Merry Christmas!
becky

Lakeshore Learning Shopping Trip II

2010-12-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

Naters is 40 months old! Was able to take a run to Columbus, OH to the Lakeshore Learning store that opened there. Purchases are: Beginning Sounds Match-ups, hand pointer, Lowercase Alphabet Sequence Puzzle, Magnetic uppercase letters, Magnetic write & wipe lap baord, No-spill paint cups, Picture Words Bingo, Real working Cash Register, Rhyming Bingo, See & Solve Manipulative Kit, Tissue Paper Squares, Tub O'Letter Practice Cards, Uppercase Alphabet Sequence puzzle, Washable Tempera Paint (case of ), Wrist & Ankle Bells). I made a large purchase from them in the summer and have been very happy with everything I purchased. Their items can be pricey, but i did save $30.00 off the above item I purchased with two coupons. I also scored great this past summer at a retired Kindegarten Teacher's estate sale where I got numerous Lakeshore items for a super price!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Holiday Table Setting

2010-12-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this wonderful post from Mama Jenn about Setting the Table and i loved the idea. I'm lazy, instead of finding, a large contrusction paper pad. I just went and bought a pack of 50 placemats from the party store for $3.00. Then I printed off the Nestle Place setting template that Mama Jenn used onto some holiday scrapbooking papers that i had in my stash. I've gotten mixed reviews from my family & co-workers who think this may be a waste, but then i've also heard "my daughter is 12 and she still doesnt know how to set the table properly". I took a drive to Lakeshore Learning this week for some holiday purchases and while i was there I was able to laminate the placemats!

fyi. this was some older American Crafts Christmas papers that i had on hand. I am looking forward to making some for January & February. But for those i'm only making 4 placemats each.
Thanks for looking!
Becky

December bookshelf 2010 12

2010-12-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the books I've place on the honor shelf in her bookcase this month.. We read from at least one of these books daily, but more often it's like 4-5 of them!

I have some more Christmas books to bring out, so i'm going to rotate some about mid-month, so that we read them all a couple of times this holiday season!
Thanks for looking!
becky

Christmas play-doh, December Playdoh of the Month, 2010 12

2010-12-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Naters is 39 months old. I made her two playdoh's this month. Natural color with 3 different red Martha Stewart fine glitters, scent is Gingerbread orange candle scent. Green color with 3 different green Martha Stewart fine glitters, scent is Mistletoe & Ivy candle scent. I used the same WIlton gel color (leaf green) as i did to color her rice in the December Sensory Tub from previous post. The little Christmas cookie cutter pack I got from Hobby Lobby in their Christmas aisle package was marked 2.99 but i got it on sale for 40% off! The size is perfect for toddler hands. I dont hesitate with my glitter or scents, Naters has never been one to put anything but food into her mouth!

Look at those sparkles!!!
Thanks for looking!
Becky

Christmas sensory tub, December Sensory Tub Christmas 2010 12

2010-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

Naters is 39 months old!
Here is her December Sensory Tub. For those who want to know, our tub is approximately 16" L x 11" W x 6" D. Naters who weighs 30 lbs can sit in it, which she usually does at least once a month. She also likes to stand in it in her bare feet to feel the textures on her feet!

here's whats in it:
3 lbs red colored rice (Wilton Christmas Red)
3 lbs green colored rice (Wilton Leaf Green)
3 wooden people (Daddy, Mommy, & Naters)
Red faceted beads large round
Green faceted beads rhombus large
Christmas buttons - polka dot
Flocked button shapes
Shaped Buttons (Trees, gingerbread, stocking, heart)
Red, Green & Purple glitter pom poms
Blue & Black pom poms
Red & Green porcupine balls
Multi-colored light bulb shaped beads (larger ones)
Painted Christmas themed wooden pieces
Silver, Red & Green jingle bells

Thanks for looking!
becky

Handwriting without Tears

2010-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hi! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family & friends! As you all know, I'm using Erica's Letter of the Week Curriculum but I'm introducing the letters in Handwriting Without Tears Developmental Teaching order. This week we went out of order, because I wanted to use Carisa's 1+1+1=1 Thanksgiving Preschool Pack. Natalie had a lot of fun with this. She's at a stage where she doesn't want me taking pics, so i got no action shots of her with the work this week (pics are from last week). We did get a package on Wednesday and I was delighted to see that is was my order from Handwriting Without Tears. I didn't buy everything (they had a one click deal for each age group) but I already have many things similar to what they sell, so i limited myself to certain items. I am surprised at how small the sponge bits were, they are about 1/2 inch square cubes. I'm interested in seeing how well Naters works with them.

November bookshelf

2010-11-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the books highlighted on our special shelf of her bookcase.

Her favs are The Littlest Pilgrim and Thanks for Thanksgiving! I like my Thanksgiving Prayer!
Thanks for looking, Becky!

Letter Builders & Magnetic Alphabet Builders

2010-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Naters is 39 month old! A little info about us; Naters is my only child, I was finally blessed with a pregnancy that went to full-term when I was 42 yrs old! Since she will be an only child, I plan on enrolling her in a Montessori school next year (4 yrs old) but this year I have chosen to preschool her at home. So when choosing a purchase for homeschooling I take into account that I’m only doing this for one year and not for multiple children.

Wow! I can't believe I havent written about these yet. You can look back into september and you will see pics of our purple letter bulders (non-magnetic); and earlier this month, I finally cut out our magnetic letter builders. Like Erica, I love Lakeshore Letter Builders but I got got hung up on the cost. I found Erica's -- Confessions of a Homeschooler's Version - Magnetic Alphabet Builders and made them back in early summer. First, I made the non-magnetic ones out of 2 large purple foam sheets, super cheap! Then I bought the magnetic canvases and mounted them to regular size pink foam sheets. Total cost for both sets (magnetic & non-magnetic) was under $12.00!! Naters favorite colors are pink & purple which is why I chose those colors. We use these so much that I don't even bother to put them away. They are always in the top drawer of her workboxes. Confessions of a Homeschooler thank you so much for the free Alpha Builders template!!!!!

thanks for looking! becky

2010 November Preschool crafts

2010-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

NATERS IS 38 MONTHS OLD
Purchased some Fall, Autumn, Thanksgiving crafts items. The acrylic pieces (Pumpkins, leaves, & jewels) will be used for counting, graphing, & also in her sensory tub. Foamie® kits: boy pilgrim, girl pilgrim, three different turkey kits, glitter wreath kit, glitter pumpkin kit, Foamie® leaves, Feltie® leaves, Foamie® glitter leaves, Feltie® acorns & squirrels, fall chenille sticks, two fall sticker books. I think we are off to a good start with all the craft ideas I’m getting from everyone, THANK YOU ALL!

Thanks for looking! Becky

Thanksgiving Alphabet Disk Sheets

2010-11-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

While we are continuing with our Letter of the Week curriculum, I'm also incorporating in some holiday crafts and lessons. Here are two simple Thankgiving alphabet disk sheets that i made. I followed Erica's instructions for making bottle cap letters (alphabet disks)

Thanks for looking! becky

Thanksgiving Sensory Tub & Thanksgiving play-doh of the Month, 2010 11

2010-11-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

Naters is 38 months old!

For her sensory tub this month, I went with a Thanksgiving theme. the tub medium is popcorn kernels and I added in fall pom poms, different shapes & types of wooden beads, silk leaves, wooden people (Dad, Mom, Naters), two beautifully painted wooden cups from Europe, a wooden spoon, some leaf beads and three turkey beads. Her playdoh of the month is burgundy (apple pie scent with non toxic polyflake glitter and also a copper colored playdoh (grandma's dessert scent with a different colored non-toxic polyflake glitter) i put out some smaller cookie cutters, but i'm on the hunt for some thanksgiving cutters I can get on sale or buy with a coupon!!!

If you want ideas for sensory tubs, back in August i posted an excel spreadsheet here on the blog!
thanks for looking! becky

Alphabet Sounds Treasure Box starter set Giveaway Winner!!!!!

2010-11-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is my completed Alphabet Sounds Treasure Box (finally) as i said in previous post the four empty drawers will be used for Birthday, Easter, Halloween and Christmas! I want Naters involved in helping to fill those drawers!This is the improved giveaway package i'll be mailing out to the winner!!! 48 laminated & cut letter cards and over 80 images sixed for the box!!!

Jessica from October 17th was number 12. I've emailed you to get your mailing address so i can mail you out your starter package for your own Alphabet Sounds Treasure Box! Congratulations!!!! Thanks so much for all your comments, they are so appreciated!!! becky

This week's Lessons & Book Bounty!

2010-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week we are doing the letter Nn in Erica's Letter of the Week Curriculum. I'm still introducing the letters in Handwriting without tears developmental teaching order. I kinda thought since Naters knows her ABCs that she might ask why we aren't going in order but she has yet to say anything. I also did get a chance to go to our local used book store and came home with 14 books for $5.00 and i was so happy to find A my name is Alice hardback! what a wonderful, classic alphabet teaching book!!! Sunday evenings I set aside 30 minutes to prepare my folders for the week and update the calendar with our shape, color, & number of the week as well as putting out the Sandpaper letters & flash cards for whatever letter we are doing for the week. I normally do this without Naters involved, but this week I let her help me and she was thrilled to be setting things up for the coming week! She enjoying being able to pick out the shape (square) , color (yellow) and number (Zero 0) of the week from each stash of cards. from now on, i'm including her!!! Dont Forget about my blog giveaway on my previous post. comments open until October 31st! Will draw a winner November 1st fyi I've kept adding more to the prize--It's way more now!!!! Thanks for looking -- becky

Alphabet Treasure Box and giveaway!

2010-10-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

When I went with my niece (the teacher) down to Lakeshore Learning, she recommended their Alphabet Sounds Teaching Tubs as a wonderful teaching tool. Outisde of the high cost, there was also the bulk of the item as a deterent. Then i saw Mari-Ann's Alphabet Box at Counting Coconuts and I decided to go ahead with the box. In putting this together the only further expense I had was to buy the box (got mine at Walmart for under $12) and I bought a $3 package of wild animals; the rest of the items I already had in the house!
I did do an internet search for five different alphabet charts, then i printed, laminated & cut them. I also printed off Counting Coconuts alphabet charts onto blue & red cardstock to match the sandpaper letters that I made a couple months back. I'm doing blue for consonants and red for vowels. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. There are still a few ideas I have for certain drawers and the four remaining drawers in the container will be for holidays Easter, Halloween, Christmas & Birthday!

So the giveaway is an envelope of the extra laminated alphabet cards that i didn't use. I have at least one card for every letter and in total you will get 48 mini laminated alphabet cards ready for your own alphabet treasure box. Leave a comment and we will use a random generator to pick a winner on November 1st!! Thanks for looking! Becky

10-21-10 Updated Blog Giveaway Info! I've added more than 80 clip art images to go along with the letters for your alphabet box. I've printed them off on cardstock for you, and if you buy a box similar to mine; all the images are sized to fit in the box!!! Leave only one comment here on the blog to be entered in the giveaway! Taking entries through October 31. I'll draw a winner on November 1st and get them in the mail to you ASAP! thanks for looking! becky

Library Building and our Halloween books

2010-10-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

We've been building our children's library since Naters was born. It's my favorite type of gifts that she gets. We also have a newly opened used bookstore by us that is run by Project: LEARN that teaches literacy to anyone, mainly adults. I've purchased a lot of her books there and also at garage sales. I'm putting these halloween inspired books out on the shelf in her bedroom so we can read them anytime or she can look through them when she pleases.

Thanks for looking! becky

Amazon has captured my shopping heart

2010-10-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have always liked Amazon but couldn't say I LOVE IT until recenlty. I love seeing an item on sale and the offer of free shipping with a $25.00 order! I mean how can you beat it? Here is the bounty from my last order. I got the ZOOB set for 22.98 & free shipping, i am in heaven!

very happy with everything! thanks for looking--becky