Counting for Candy

So we decided to encourage the kid's ability to count and make it fun at the same time. We started a new game called "Counting for Candy". They roll the the dice and whatever it lands on if they count it correctly, they get that many pieces of candy. We decided they knew how to be high rollers, so may I suggest small pieces of candy? They LOVED it! Seriously, try it!

(We made the dice out of two milk carton bottoms inside each other. Wrap with white paper, add the dots and cover with packing tape) Worked like a charm and is re-uasable for a number of other games. I only wished I made the dice more creative by going all the way up to 10.

What's different? This was a fun activity to do with them. We just took an 8.5 x 11 paper and halved it length wise. Drew around six total images, one being slightly different than the rest. We made some of them easier and others harder depending on the age. The kids had a little bit of a challenge understanding the game, but once they got it wanted to keep playing. Very fun and WAY easy!

I saw this snack and was DYING to try it. Peanut butter, marshmallows and apples. Very yummy combo I might add. Ours somehow or another ended up looking like Bubba Teeth. Not so cute. The kids didn't wanna eat it. We took 'em apart and voila...hit! Oh well..can't win 'em all! haha

How To Make:

Children's Magnetic Art Holder

You will need:

• 1 ruler/child (we used plastic...whatever is cheapest)

• Self Adhesive Foam Letters

• Small clothespins (we found some at our local UT/ID supply store, basically any learning store's craft section)

• 1/8 yard fabric (we used 45 wide)

• Roll of magnetic Tape

• Hot Glue Gun

• Acrylic paint (whatever colors coordinate with fabric)

• Scissors

We got the suggestion from a Toddler Idea book and kind of re-vamped it. I will tell you what they did and what we did. The fun of it is that you can decide for yourself what you wanna do!

They took a ruler and glued clothespins to it and had the children write in marker their own name, attaching it to the wall with nails or tacks. We wanted to bling it out. So we went to Joann's and picked out our favorite fabrics and used those. If you buy 1/8 yard, you have enough to make 2 out of it! First, you paint the clothespins you plan to use- whatever colors match the chosen fabric. It may take a couple of coates, but adds a super-cute touch to 'em! You can leave them plain as well...cute idea either way. So, we basically glued the fabric onto the ruler (backside). You will have to do this by trial and error. If you know how to do mitred corners when sewing, this came in very handy when gluing...they held a bit better.

We then were able to go back to the now dried clothespins and attach them (w/ hot glue gun) to both ends of the clothed ruler. We then glued (even though they were self-adhesive) magnet strips to the center of the back. The longer the strip, the better hold. FYI-we tried attaching to just the two ends, it didn't hold the weight very well...the center was better. Then simply attach the Foam Letters to the front. We used foam and didn't really try to secure them any other way. Mine are still holding up fine, but if you don't think your's will...maybe Elmer's glue? We also discovered in our bag that the letter/color ratio was not very good. So be sure to spell the name out in the color selection before you start! (I'm sure you could do wooden as well, weight would be the issue)

Anyway, happy creating! We sure had fun with this one and the kids LOVE to put their art work on it. I love it b/c it de-clutters my fridge! haha

Our Preschool

Candace and I decided that we wanted to do some pre-schoolish activites with our kiddos. We are alternating weeks and just do some sort of educational game/activity and a craft. This was our first preschool. Candace was in charge and put together a really fun game. You take some tape (we used electrical) and make shapes on the ground. Then you have the kids learn to identify the shapes by running to them. Candace was super crafty and even had alternating colors for the shapes! They LOVED it!

The kids had it pretty much mastered within a few turns. Even Trapezoid. How smart are our kids???

Tessa and William are at that competitve age and they, I think stuck it out b/c they mostly didn't wanna be out done by the other! haha

Then there was Lily...

Crop circles? That girl has a mind of her own...but we love her anyway!

Curls Gone Wild

Oh we had a vision! We decided that we wanted to roll our daughter's hair in rags (see picture above) so that they could have adorable Shirley Temple hair. The picture below is exactly what we were going for! We found two methods of "how to rag tie your hair". (As opposed to "how to tie a Du rag, which we found plenty of links.) We chose the one that looked the cutest in the rags (like the above picture).

And so began our quest. We cut up the rags, wet down the girls hair, turned on an entertaining movie, and started rolling hair. It did look cute in the rags, but I must say that the cuteness ends there. We knew we were in trouble when we untied the first rag in Tessa's hair and it all but retreated back into the hair follicle.

Tessa's Experience
Before

After...

Which reminded us of this...

and her turning around didn't make a difference. It looked like this...

which has quite a resemblance to this...

Lily's Experience

Before

After...

Which reminded us of this...

No, dear Richard, you didn't just look in a mirror. But you did get a glimpse of what your children would look like.

Needless to say, after laughing so hard we almost wet ourselves, the quest of finding the perfect curl was a TOTAL failure.

Princess Party.. and Will

The Whole Clan

We took the kiddies to a Benefit for a relative of Carrie's and one of the activities was a Princess Party! So, we got the girls all dressed up (William wanted to dress up too, but, really? What can a little boy wear to a Princess Party?) and took them to have some fun! There were so many activities at this benefit! Story time, face painting, balloon animals, cupcakes and cookies, slaying a dragon, and of course having a picture taken with the princesses. Our favorite part, however, was the face painting, which William had nothing to do with. The three girls did it and the results are priceless!

Tessa/Cinderella getting her face painted into a tiger!

Raven/Belle getting her face painted like a Butterfly

Lily/Snow White getting her face painted like a Butterfly


The Results

The kids had such a fun time!