Pumpkin Patch

 Dip a paper towel tube into paint then on paper to make pumpkins.  We didn't get to the step of tearing pieces of paper to use for leaves and vines.

 This was Kelsey's first time using a paintbrush and paint to write.  I told her each letter and she "wrote" it.

"Pumpkin"

Small Stained Glass

 After Christmas, The Christmas Tree Shops had bunches of craft items in their clearance bins.  We added this 47 cent "stained glass" kit to Kelsey's birthday art bin back in June and just re-discovered it.  We of course had to wait for Sydney to fall asleep before sneaking back down in our jammies.  Much concentration was needed and it was quite frustrating because the granuales were so teeny.  Nonetheless, Kelsey worked on fine motor skills as she tweezed the little buggers into the metal butterfly and flower frames.  We followed the directions on the box to bake...

 whalah!

 We added a piece of magnet (included in the kit) to make a flower magnet. It's perfect to hold up one of Kelsey's drawings of the two of us. "Katie" and "Kelsey"

Here's one of the butterfly stained glass.  We had to attach our own string.

Bug Books

These 5 page cardboard cutout books were only 30 cents in the clearance bins at Michael's.

 Kelsey picked a butterfly book and used her pencil to decorate the wings; she then drew on smiley faces.

 Sydney peeled and stuck on stickers then added some marks with a pen.

Flowers and Flutterbies

 Ever since a 4th grade lesson on pollution, i've had a knack for recycling and reusing... the lid of my Cosi salad looked like a flower so that's what we used it for... a flower stamper.  I pierced a hole in the lid and tied a rubber band on as a handle.  The girls dipped it in paint and dabbed it on paper to make flower outlines.  We then used a butterfly-shaped cookie cutter to make butterflies fluttering by the flowers!

Pretend Play: Puppies

The girls decided they wanted to be puppies.  Bowls of water and Golden Grahams did the trick.  Another time we played, I gave them paper towel tubes as dog chew toys and they got a kick out of nibbling on them and tossing and playing fetch.  What fun!

Cardboard Crowns (again)

Leftover cardboard crowns from Sydney's party:

 Sydney was very strategic in her paint placement. First on each tip of the crown and then...

 all over her hands...

 Hand stamps!!!

Kelsey covered every inch of her crown with paint!!!

Plain Ol' Painting

Just painting plain ol' painting on paper.  Enough said.

Petite Pies

We read Lois Elhert's Pie in the Sky and Apple Pie ABC by Allison Murray; Kelsey decided she wanted to make pie.  Of course we needed to taste test ingredients to see what we wanted to use in our individual pies.  I pre-cut pie dough into circles and set out all of the ingredients for tasting and prepping.

 They sampled pie crust, Cheddar & Monterey Jack, apples, dinosaur plums, apricot & raspberry jams, chocolate chips, M&Ms, cinnamon, brown sugar.

 Kelsey went for the covered-pie technique mixing lots of ingredients together while Sydney's were open-faced with single ingredients.

Finished Products:

Dabber Dots

 I found a box of BINGO-style dabber dots at (you guessed it) Michael's.  They were in the "as is" bin b/c one color was missing.  They were brand new & an added bonus, fruit scented.  We gave them to Sydney for her birthday.  Our friend Sarah gave her the GIANT Dora coloring pages which go perfectly with the dabbers!

Create Colorful Crowns

Sydney requested a Dora-themed birthday party... Map showed us we had to "Create a colorful crown" and that we did.  Each guest was given a cardboard crown (12 pack at Michael's for $2.99 less coupon) and foam shape stickies (large tub at Michael's for 6.99 less coupon; recently on sale 50% off so we stockpiled a bunch).  Simple, inexpensive, fun...also focuses on fine motor skills & end results can be used for dramatic play!!!

Carle’s Caterpillars

10/12/11
We have 4 copies of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar; the girls loved having their own copy to follow along.  I read each sentence then Kelsey wanted to repeat the text.  We all discussed the illustrations and counted the holes in each food item. We also read Creepy Crawlies A to Z and I Love Bugs!  Kelsey wanted the caterpillars to look like Eric Carle’s so we used green and yellow paint over egg cartons.  I cut foam stickies and the girls made the faces.  We added a pipe cleaner antennae (color of their choice).

*Fun Fact: Upon a recent visit to The Academy of Natural Sciences we learned that butterflies spin a chrysalis and only moths spin a cocoon… Eric Carle’s caterpillar was a bit confused!!!

Shoebox Savior

Just a little tip for packing for vacation: Prior to our weekend getaway to The Poconos, I had the kids assist me in packing.  Kelsey's dresser drawers and closet have clipart icons to show what's inside.  I printed the icons multiple times on a smaller scale to use for packing.  I hand the kids the pictures of each item they need to pack and they decide what theyre going to wear.  Each outfit is put into a Ziploc baggie... a bag an outfit...takes up less space in the luggage.

And now for vacation.  We received a free weekend stay at a condo in the Poconos. I knew the kids would need some entertaining while the adults wanted to relax so I brought along a shoebox with contruction paper, stickers, pens, crayons, pencils, and scissors.

Sydney spent time after time at the table, peeling and sticking stickers to the paper.  She also got to work and finally mastered her spring-loaded scissors, making fringe along lots of sheets of paper.

I showed Kelsey how to make "snow-flake" style hearts. She wanted to make one for Sydney which ended up looking like a mask so we colored it and used it as one.  She then made a snowflake.  Grammy did some paper-folding storytelling.

Fun on our (free) vacation!!!