Paper for Valentines

Slowly but surely I'm getting back into blogging. Last week I got back to my other blog Fancy That . This week I hope to get back into the swing of things with this blog.

Decorated Paper

Big Sis and Little guy both had fun with this project. We took tissue paper scraps, scrapbook paper scraps and glued them down to a large piece of construction paper.

The paper will be used to make Valentine Decorations for the house. We are also going to bubble wrap paint, and perhaps marble paint other paper so that we have a variety of textures and techniques. Stay tuned for more decorated paper and the Valentine decorations we make with them.

Have A Delightful Day !!

Construction Paper for Big Girls and Chrismas Card Making

My 16 year old niece and Big Sis (my 11 year old daughter) love to make cards. But not just any old cards, fun glittery cards made cute scapbooking paper.

I like to call it construction paper for Big Girls. I'm sure that many of you are scrapbookers or card makers and can relate to the fascination that is scrapbooking paper, I find my self wanting to buy more and more of it (it's almost like wanting to buy new fabric). My mom bought them 2 big stacks of paper to use for making Christmas cards. I can not tell you how happy it made them. It was as if they had died and gone to card makers heaven

These are some of the card my daughter made. It is fun to see how her ideas and creativity change and grow as she practices her craft.

I think the rick rack is a fun addition to this card.

I pulled out all of my Christmas stamps and we borrowed some from Granny too.Some of the lettering is achieved by the use of stickers or rub-ons. I have been trying to encourage them to cut out simple shapes, like the tree below. It's less expensive than using stickers, and just as cute.I love the way the girls use double sided tape, and glitter to create glittery boarders and edges.Both of the girls have a tendency to be a little wasteful. So I really encourage them to use their scraps. The book marks and gift tags are just a sample of what my daughter came up with.This year she will be making all of our Christmas cards, and gift tags. She was so existed about this idea. I think she feels like she is really making a meaningful contribution, and she is!!

Card making supplies are at the top of these Girls' Christmas lists!!

Have a delightful day.

A is for Acorn

For the last month or so, we've been watching squirrels gather acorns. My little guy loves to watch them, and it is such a concrete way for him to see the signs of the changing season. We also enjoyed reading Chipmunk Song. He love acting out the story as I read it.

We've been doing a few Acorn Activities and talking about the letter A

These acorn guys were fun to make and look so cute hanging from our light fixture over the kitchen table.

I don't usually gather acorn to eat for the winter, but these acorns were yummy!! I borrowed the pan for these from my mom. It's from Williams Sonoma . I have also seen some really cute leaf pans at Wal-Mart and of course they cost a little less.

I used a gingerbread muffin recipe for these muffins. The recipe is adapted from a Southern Living cook book.

Last Minute Gingerbread Muffins

1C butter

1C sugar

1C Molasses

4 eggs

2t soda

1 C buttermilk

4C flour

1 T plus 1t ground ginger

1t ground allspice

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/4t ground black pepper

1t lemon zest

Cream butter gradually add sugar,beating at M spread until light and fluffy. Add molasses, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Dissolve soda in buttermilk.

Combine flour, spices, and zest. add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture. beating well after each addition.

Fill greased and floured pans 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Batter can be kept in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I glazed some of the acorn with a mixture of granulated sugar and lemon juice.

This recipe was great for the pan. The muffin was firm but moist and I had no problem removing them from the pan. But I must say if you really want the best ever ginger bread you need to try this recipe. It is too moist to be used in the type of pan used above, but is by far the best gingerbread I've ever had.

Gather your little squirrels around and have a delightful day!!!

Fall Art Gallery

I've been wanting to create an art wall / gallery for my children's art for some time. I finally got around to it. There may be some changes and or additions, but at least I have a start. The idea is that each month or each season they will create new pictures to go in the frames. This month we went with a fall theme.

The first piece of art was created by Baby with a little help from me. I started by painting a simple trunk and branches. I then applied paint to her hand, I used a combination of red, yellow, orange and brown. I squirted globs of paint into a pie pan, being sure that the colors were close together. I then took a sponge and laid it in the pan, being sure to pick up all of the colors. I used the sponge to apply the colors to her hand. The leaves are made up of finger and hand prints.

Next up, Big Sis created this lovely tree using paint and brush. I think little brother helped with it a little too.

Turkey Time!! Little Guy made this turkey. I applied paint to his hand, just like I did the baby's. I helped him press his hand on the paper, added eyes, beak, legs and he helped paint fall grass. I love the way his thumb moved just enough, to give the appearance of feathers on the turkey's head.

Have a delightful day!!

S is for Scarecrow and Spider

In my last post I mentioned that the Little Guy has been learning about the letter S. We've been reading all about scarecrows and spiders and we've done some fun activities that even Big Sis has taken part in ( Scarecrow and Spider Crackers). I'm finally getting around to posting a couple of other activities that we've done based on the Letter S.

Scarecrow and Straw start with S (books we're reading The Lonely Scarecrow , Barn Dance, and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything)

First up is the Straw S. This is a super simple activity, but just one more way for little ones to begin to associate the sound s with the letter s. I cut out an S and we glued straw on together. As we worked we talked about our scarecrow stories, and remember that scarecrows are made with straw.

Spider Starts With S (books we're reading How Spider Saved Halloween and, The Very Busy Spider )

Next up, we have the favorite craft by far!! Spiders!! My little guy is really into spiders lately, and he loves to decorate for Halloween. Before the day was over we had to make a family of these guys to hang from the light fixture.

As usual I went with a simple pattern. I traced a medium sized bowl for the body and cut strips about 1/2 inch in width, and as long as the short side of the construction paper, free handed round eyes and the letter S.

We love the accordion folded legs and silly eyes. The spider looks great hanging from a light fixture or such (I should have taken pictures).

Have a delightful day!!

"Oh Lovely Mud" and Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

If you've just dropped by to see my favorite photo for the "Foto Fiesta" scroll down to the last photo of today's post. But feel free to read all about our "lovely mud" if you have the time.

"Oh Lovely Mud"

When I was teaching, Mrs. Wish Washy was always a favorite of my students, the same is true at home. My oldest daughter loved this book when she was small and my little guy loves it now. It's the perfect book for little ones, it has repetitive language patterns, fun content and, and great illustrations.
In the book, poor Mrs. Wishy Washy is trying to keep the animals clean, but they keep getting in the mud.

For today's activity we learned about the letter M, it's sound, and the fact that the word mud starts with M. We first read the book together and then we maid a "Muddy M" painting

We used brown paint and a letter M shaped cookie cutter, a sponge in the letter shape would work as well.

Once Big Sis came home, from school, we worked together to make farm animal cookies.



I love this recipe, it's easy for kids to roll and cut out themselves. The cookies taste great too!!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

3 C flour
2 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1 C shortening (I used butter(
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 C sugar
2 T milk
1 t vanilla
Combine flour, baking powder, and soda, cut in shortening (or butter) with a pastry blender until it resembles course meal. Combine egg, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir until well blended pour into the the dry mixture. Stir with fork until well blended. pat dough into ball and chill 2 hours (we usually can't wait that long). Role dough 1/8 in thick and cut with cookie cutter.
Bake at 375 for 6 minutes.

After the cookies had time to cool we drizzled them with "mud". We used chocolate flavored almond bark (because it is so easy to work with) but any kind of candy coating or frosting would work.

Friday Foto Fiesta

The kids had such a great time working on this cooking project!! My favorite photo this week is of them together in the kitchen.

To Join the Fiesta!! Visit Candid Carrie.

Have a Delightful Day!!

Flowers in Fall

My little guy has been noticing signs of the changing season. One thing he has noticed are all of the tall sunflowers we pass as we drive Big Sis to school. So what better book to share than The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carl. Today we read the book together. He loved reading about the tiny seeds travels as the Autumn winds blew, until finally the tiny seed grows into the biggest flower of all (even bigger than the house). Sometimes we think of flowers as being something to talk about in spring, but this book ties the cycle of the flower into all of the changing seasons, beginning and ending with Autumn.

After reading the book we painted our own Flower, and snacked on sunflower seed nuts. The first painting is the one I helped him with, the second one is the one he did all by himself!!

Today we pained with tempera paint and a sponge clipped to a clothes pin, and a sponge brush!!

Our next activity with this book will be to sprout seeds, and observe how they grow.

Have a delightful day!!
DeeLight

More Animals On The Bus

Okay I'm a little late. We've had our puppets made I just haven't had time to post.

We made a sheep and a cow, using the same idea as the pig puppet. My little guy wants to make a chicken next. If you want to continue to explore farm animals in automobiles and other unusual places you might check these great books out: Mr. Gumpy's Outing , Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car, Sheep In a Jeep, Cows In The Kitchen.

Have a delightful day!

Farm Animals on A Bus?

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate The Wash is a great book filled with the funny stuff that kids like. Jimmy's class takes a trip to a farm, but things get a little crazy. Somehow the animals wind up on the bus!!

You may want to take this opportunity to reinforce the color yellow, the letter Y for Yellow and B for Bus, you may also want to sing a new version of the "Wheels On The Bus". Change the song up by singing "The pigs on the bus go oink, oink, oink...The cows on the bus say...(you get the idea).

This book will serve as a bridge into a farm animal theme, but the activities are great as stand alone activities as well.

The next activity is one of my favorite kinds of puppets for little ones. There are many cute paper bag puppets out there, but paper bag puppets can be difficult for little fingers to operate. You will find that I use this same style of puppet again and again (check out 5 Little Monkeys).

This is a simple stick puppet. No need for a fancy pattern. Your little one is going to enjoy creating something special with you no matter how artistic you are. It is also important that kids learn to use their own imaginations to create and problem solve. If they always observe you using patterns, and not trusting your own abilities they will feel less confident in their own creativity. (This is not to say that there is no place for patterns and following directions.)

Today we made the pig, but check back for other animals on Thursday.

I found simple household objects to trace for the face and snout, and then drew 2 simple ears. Use this as an opportunity to talk about the number 2, circles and the color pink (or whatever color you choose to use).

My little one is not quite old enough to cut on a line so I cut the circles out and let him color the snout brown and glue the pieces together, I then drew a mouth and eyes, but older children could do it on there own. It is helpful to draw a small x where the pieces are to be glued, this way your little one will know just where to place the glue and object.

We then glued our little piggy to a popsicle stick and sang "the pig on the bus goes oink oink...

Have a delightful day!!

5 Little Monkeys...

What could be more fun than 5 little monkeys? Well, 5 little monkey puppets of course.




This is a super easy project and kids love it.



Here's what you need:

• Brown construction paper
• Scrap paper (for hats...)
• Crayons or markers
• Craft sticks
• Glues stick
• 2 circle shapes to trace (one should be slightly larger than the other)

Here's what you do:

• Remember this is for fun, your little one doesn't care if your an artist.
• Trace 5 large circles, and 5 smaller circles. Cut them out.
• The smaller circle is the nose and mouth piece of the puppet. The larger circle is the actual face.
• Find where you are going to need to place the smaller circle on the larger circle, and draw an x on the larger circle (this will help your child know where to place the glue it will be covered by the smaller circle).
• Cut out ears from the left over brown paper. You can draw an x as a guiede for glueing with these as well.
• Okay be brave it's time for the glue. Show your little one how to smear the glue on the x and then place the smaller circle on top of the glue.
• Now it's time for the fun stuff draw on eyes, nose, mouth...use scrap paper to make hats or other accessories.
• Glue your little monkeys to the craft stick and have fun acting out the story!!

Have fun, and delight in the day!! DeeLight