Let's Explore - Creative Activities for Preschoolers

Wood Tool Caddies

Way back in the summer, the girls assembled and decorated some simple wood tool caddies with Daddy.  Natalie had made one at a birthday party, and we decided to do the project again so Delaney could have one of her own.

Daddy cut the pieces and pre-drilled the holes for the screws.  The girls had a lot of fun with the screwdriver, putting their caddies together.  Then the real fun started - painting!

Giving a tool caddy kit would be such a fun gift!  You could even include a small tape measure, screwdriver, level, etc.  Of course, these would be great for art supplies, too! :)

We're off to watch Natalie's school do a little holiday program tonight.  Hope the holidays are treating you well!

Gift Idea: Uncle Goose Lowercase Alphabet Blocks

If you are looking for a high-quality set of wooden alphabet blocks for your toddler or preschooler, you might want to check out these beautiful lowercase alphabet blocks made by Uncle Goose/Lindenwood (in the USA!).

Each block is a generous 1.75" and the blocks are made from Michigan basswood.  They feature lowercase letters, numbers, and super cute baby animals.  Since most of the written language around us is written in lowercase letters, I like finding multiple ways for kids to become familiar with those letters.

I wasn't sure if Delaney would have any interest in these blocks, but she loved them and spent a long time playing with them.  After making many towers for her princesses to climb, she had fun putting the numbers in order.

We also checked out the baby animals and found their beginning letters.

Natalie has also been using them to spell her sight words.  I'd like to sneak them away and put a fun message on the mantle!

These are definitely heirloom-quality blocks -- they are so lovely and feel really nice to hold and build with.  You can read more about them over at the Let's Explore shop!

Happy Building!

Pajama Party Thank You Cards

Natalie came up with these adorable thank you cards to send to all the friends and cousins that came to her pajama party.  She used the rectangle stamp to make sleeping bags, then drew lots of sweet, sleeping faces.  Being thankful is good... :)

While we're talking about thank yous -- thank you to everyone who contributed tips and recipes for helping little ones try more veggies!  I'm just about done putting them all together.

Happy Playing!

Mail from Australia!

Two very happy girls received their stationary swaps yesterday from Melissa and her family in Australia.

They both were totally excited about these adorable fabric stationary holders and all the goodies inside.  In fact, they wanted to use them this morning at 7:00, so I had to quickly snap a few photos of all the fun letter and card-making stuff inside: the cutest notecards and envelopes, glitter pencils, Australian animal postcards, fancy paper, lots of stickers, glittery cardstock flowers, and more!

Melissa, James & Bella - Thank you!  You made these two girls VERY happy! :)

Great-Grandma's Quilt

The quilt is done!  Thanks to help from my mother-in-law, I was able to finish my grandma's 90th birthday quilt with very little stress. :)

I love using the girls' artwork for projects like this, and we'll definitely be doing more with the fabric pastels.

We'll be celebrating a very special birthday today -- hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Sewing and more sewing...

Happy Monday!  We had a busy weekend of celebrating my hubby's birthday and trying to work on the many projects I have stacked on my desk (and around the house!).  

The girls and I joined in the Children's Stationary Swap organized by Amanda at Kiddio.  Today is mailing day -- our package is headed to Australia for Melissa's lovely kiddos.  I made some stationary holders using canvas tote bags.  I was sure I saw something like this on the internet somewhere, but I could not find it!  So, I had to wing it... Here's a little look at what we put together for them - I hope they enjoy the goodies!

I'm also furiously working on a quilt for my Grandma's 90th birthday, which we are celebrating this coming Saturday.  My girls and my two nieces are each making a square for the quilt.  We tried out these neat fabric pastels and loved them!

I decided to trace a bird onto muslin for the girls to decorate.  I used a stencil and a black fabric pastel.  I also ironed some freezer paper on the back of the muslin to make it easier to color on.

(By the way, these plastic stencils are great!  I find myself using them for all sorts of projects - they're not just for kids!)

I went ahead and heat-set the black outline so it wouldn't smear all over the place while the girls were decorating.  They loved coloring their birds!

 

The pastels have nice, rich color and heat set with an iron.  They do smear a bit, but it didn't seem to bother the girls.  More quilt photos to come when I get it finished!  In fact, I should be sewing right now... :)

Happy creating!

Tooth Fairy Traditions

Natalie finally has her first loose tooth.  I say finally because she has been waiting and waiting for this moment with great anticipation.  I need to figure out what kind of tooth fairy traditions I want to start with the girls.  I need your ideas!

Here's a few cute things I've seen:

Tooth Fairy Tote from Family Fun

This adorable matyroshka doll tooth fairy pillow from Goody-Goody Handmade.

A magical color-changing tooth fairy jar from Lost Button Studio (via Crafty Crow)

And this cute poem:

In this pocket you will find

A teensy, tiny tooth of mine.

So while I sleep where dreams are made,

Let's see if you can make a trade.

~Author Unknown

Also thinking of adding a few new books to our collection -- we love to celebrate everything with stories!

I also have thought about doing a tiny note or scroll and maybe some glittery fairy dust.  Maybe a little wood box instead of a pillow?

I would love to hear about what all you tooth fairy veterans out there are doing!

Have a great day!

Thank You Cards

Delaney drew a lovely picture for her birthday thank you cards.  I scanned it in, added the text, and printed the drawing on inexpensive cards from Michael's.

Delaney also wrote her name for me to scan in and print out on labels.  I wanted the personal touch of her signature on the cards, but I didn't think she was up to writing her name 15-20 times!

Now, we just need to sit down and write our thankful thoughts to all our family and friends.

Have a great day!

New Placemats

Well, we have been trapped in the house today - incredible heat and terrible smoke. It actually looks foggy outside from the low smoke. Gross! One of the things that we did to keep busy was to make some new placemats for the girls. 

They drew on some pieces of muslin with fabric markers:

Then, there was much fun to be had rummaging through my tub of fabric and choosing just the right prints. Delaney went with reds and Natalie chose greens, but only because I did not have enough turquoise fabrics! The girls manned the sewing machine pedal, too.

Natalie's tribute to the squirrel that frequents our bird feeder:

And Delaney's abstract art, plus her first time writing all the letters of her name! 

I guess I better think of a dinner worthy of these super-cute placemats. Don't you think these would make great gifts, too?

Happy playing today and stay cool!

All About Daddy

Father's Day is almost here! One of our favorite types of homemade cards to make are ones with mini-interviews, where I ask the girls to tell me about Daddy's favorite things or what they love about him. It's always fun to hear the silly and sweet things they say. Plus, these are quick and easy for last-minute gift-making.

When Natalie was around 2 1/2, we made this simple paper bag book together. We wrote sentences about what she liked and what Daddy liked, such as "I like macaroni and cheese. Daddy likes Cheerios." and "I like to swing. Daddy likes to push me." Really easy and fun - you could also glue on some photos.

We made a 30 Things We Love About You accordian book for Daddy's birthday a few years ago, but this would make a great Father's Day gift too. The girls were little, so I did most of the actual creating, with some words from me, and some quotes from Natalie too.

The girls made interview cards at preschool this year too. Delaney dictated answers to fill-in-the-blank questions:

• My dad loves to cook _______________.
• If he could go on a trip, he would go ___________.
• When my dad shops, he loves to buy ____________.
• I really love it when my dad _____________.
• His favorite chore is ___________.
• Daddy always tells me ____________.
• My dad loves to relax by ___________.
• It makes him happy when I ___________.

My favorite answer from these questions is "Daddy always tells me to clean the floor." :)

• Natalie's card had 6 questions:
• What is a father?
• What does he do?
• What does he look like?
• What are his favorite things?
• What is the best thing he does? (Natalie said "Hug me and love me.")
• What makes him happy?

Kids' words are so precious! Hope you have fun making something special for Dad or Grandpa.

Happy Father's Day!