On our last day of the school year, we had to make ice cream in a bag! This recipe is so simple and they loved that they made their own ice cream! The weather could not have been more perfect today! They thought it was hilarious to put on winter gloves when it was so warm out! My 2 year old needed some help shaking his and we ended up throwing it in the freezer for about 20 minutes to help it become more solid. Over the weekend, my husband surprised me with a Millie's Mother's Day box so we used the leftover toppings for our homemade ice cream. Everyone loved the ice cream and it made plenty for leftovers!
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My 4 year old has been interested in maps lately. She draws her own maps for our daily walks. I thought it would be fun to do an indoor scavenger hunt today and I wanted to see how well she could use a map in a familiar place. I printed out pictures for each of my children (bugs/flowers for my daughter and cars/trucks for my son). I drew a simple layout of our first floor and then drew pictures on the map of what they would find and where they would find it. I am 100% not an artist - I made sure to explain to them what each item was on the map and only drew the big furniture. I sent them upstairs while I hid their items and when I called them down they were both excited to have their own maps! This activity could be done with toys you have around the house or letters of your child's name that they are trying to learn. I chose to do the pictures today to make it a bit more exciting, but have done similar activities with letter's in the past!
I promised a messy week! We did Jackson Pollock art today. Before we began, I showed them some pictures of his artwork and we talked about how he expressed his emotions through his art. He didn't mind getting messy because it was part of his process. Basically, anything went with Pollock - if he saw something in his studio, he grabbed it and used it! He was our inspiration and my kids really enjoyed this activity!
I am not sure who had more fun today, the kids or me! We made our bubbles after breakfast and let them sit for at least an hour before we used them. I found this recipe from Happy Hooligans. You need cornstarch, baking powder, dawn soap, glycerin, and water. It was a bit windy today, but we still made huge bubbles and were all amazed at how wonderful this recipe was! We made bubble wands using several different tools - we used two straws with yarn to make the giant bubble wand, pipe cleaners to make smaller wands, and pulled out some cookie cutters to experiment with! It was definitely easier for my 4 year old to make the giant bubbles, my 2 year old spent most of his time running into the bubbles or using the pipe cleaner bubble wand. Just a tip: for the straw bubble wand- I made them shorter than the recommended length from Happy Hooligan so my 4 and 2 year old could have better control. I also used reusable silicon straws instead of plastic and they worked great! Here is another way to make bubbles from Mrs. Opferman!
My husband even took a break from work to come try some bubbles! It was a great whole family activity! As our school year is coming to a close, we are celebrating summer this week! We plan to get a little messier and have lots of fun!
Who doesn't love a soft pretzel?! We make these about once a month and always eat too much! It is such a fun and simple recipe that the whole family can help with. We used this recipe from Alton Brown. I suggest using a silicon baking mat so they don't stick to the pan. The best part is creating the shapes! My son is making a dinosaur and my daughter is making a braid! Then we brush with egg yolk and sprinkle some salt. My favorite addition to these soft pretzels is this cheese dip from Sally's Baking Addiction.
Today was all about exploration. I started out asking my 4 and 2 year old what they wanted to paint. As I began drawing a car for my 2 year old, my 4 year old said she was going to make her own coloring page. I gave her a sharpie and let her creativity take over! I grabbed a bin of toys that I was okay with them putting in the paint and told them they could use paint brushes and / or these objects. They were eager to begin! My goal during this painting exploration was to give them the freedom to be creative and use different types of tools. I encourage you to let go of the mess and just let them explore. We do activities like this often so they know my expectations of where the paint stays. Truthfully, this looks way messier then it was. I was able to throw everything in the sink and spray it off within 5 minutes. This project was calming for all of us as they were happy to create and explore independently.
I found this idea from Days With Grey. I love this simple weaving project and it is adaptable across ages. My 2 year old had fun exploring and practicing his fine motor skills while my 4 year old jumped in and could have made several. There are so many benefits that come from weaving for preschool aged children - practice using pincer grip for when learning to write, creativity, focus, left to right progression, opposites (over and under), and hand-eye coordination. I always seek projects that encourage my kids to use their imaginations. While they were working, we discussed many items that are made through weaving. When they wanted to make their weaving into animal beds, I just taped the sides so it looked complete! My daughter was excited to add her dog bed to her dogs crate she made last week!
I don't know why I have not done this sooner! I found this from Busy Toddler on Instagram. All you need is soap, water, and food coloring. I did 3 different batches using 1 cup of water, about 2 Tablespoons of soap, and a few drops of food coloring. All you have to do is throw all the ingredients in the mixer on full speed. I set this up in less than 10 minutes and they played for about an hour. My 4 and 2 year old were amazed at the colors and dove right in to play. Sensory bins are so wonderful as they promote independent play. We try to do one a week to keep us exploring and having fun! |
From my home to yoursMy family thrives on routine. When school is out or life throws us curveballs, we come up with a new routine. I want to encourage parents at home to engage in play with their children. Play is hard work for children and my goal is to enhance the play while allowing the child to lead. My hope is that this site brings people together and helps us to support each other in parenting. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments! |