Stained Glass Shamrocks {and what they taught me about perfection}

Hi there, friends!

I am so sick of gloomy skies and snow. It was 37 and sunny the other day and I was this close to throwing the windows open! We need some color when we look out the window, and these fit the bill perfectly.

So this was my plan. Fill up a piece of contact paper with torn green tissue paper, trace some shamrocks on it, cut them out, and hang them on the wall. Easy peasy, right? We'll be done in, like, an hour, right? Right.

Plan: Fill a piece of contact paper with torn tissue paper.

Reality: A patchwork of tearing and sticking for small amounts of time over 3 days. Concerns from the 4 year old including, but not limited to: It's too many, what if I don't finish before dinner, that piece is too big, that piece is too small. Responses from Mama including, but not limited to: You can do it! Dinner is in 5 hours, you can do it. That piece is perfect, you can do it.

Jobs appear really big to her. We have learned that we need to break big things into smaller pieces, or she gets overwhelmed and doesn't know how to start. She's a bit like her Mama that way.

Plan: Trace shamrocks onto contact paper and cut them out. Follow the lines, of course. You know, because fine motor practice and life skills.

Reality: "I just want to cut a circle around them."
This is where I got stuck. I really wanted her to cut on those lines. I encouraged. I offered her the bigger one with bigger curves. I cut out the bigger ones to show her how simple it was. I pushed. And still, "I just want to cut a circle around them."

Ok. Here's the thing. She gets overwhelmed. She is absolutely terrified of making mistakes. It's hard to find the balance between encouraging her to do her best work, and letting her set her own standards of success. Will there be times that I need to set the standard of following the directions correctly? Of course. Was this one of them? Not even a little bit.

So I don't have a window full of perfectly cut out shamrocks (because, let's face it, that was my plan). What I do have is something that Abbey can look at every day and see success. She finished a project and it made our house prettier. And because she felt successful, she wanted to do more

It's not spring without a rainbow, right?

.

"Now it looks like spring all the time!"

Yes it does, baby girl, yes it does. And you did it!

Be blessed,
Heather

Have a Safe 4th!

Hey there friends!

I have to admit...I'm that mom that freaks out over sparklers. They just make me nervous! I was never allowed to have them growing up, and now they just make me antsy with little ones around.

Last year, we decided to get crafty and make our own fireworks. We attempted straw painting. I think our paint was too thick...

We also made these, and they were a hit! Some sparkly pipe cleaners, some craft sticks and  little hot glue...DONE! Easy peasy, and lots of fun to run around with.

This year I've been looking for other fun alternatives to sparklers and, as usual, the Kid Blogger Network did not leave me wanting! Here are some of my favorites:

super simple: Star Wands from Our Arts 'n' Things

A little fancy: Patriotic Spirit Wands from Buggy and Buddy

Great for itty bitties: Fireworks in a Bottle from No Twiddle Twaddle

Want more crafty holiday goodness? There are over 30 ideas, all from KBN bloggers here on my pinboard: 4th of July with the Kid Blogger Network

Be blessed, and be safe!

Heather

Day 23: Little Duck

Charlie & Jack enjoy when their daddy reads to them and one of their favorite books is Little Duck: Finger Puppet book.  Daddy likes to make the little duck pop out and they never see him coming. Just a quick peck out and they start laughing hysterically! 

I decided to get a bit creative and thought making puppets would be a great idea. I've compiled some of my favorites from Pinterest. Easy, fun and a great chance for your kids to get their creative juices flowing!

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We finally settled on adorable (similar to these) toilet paper roll owl puppets::

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You just need toilet paper rolls, cupcake liners, some white paper, and a marker! Quick and easy owls for day-long fun.

What's your favorite kind of puppet?

Samantha at The Peanuts Gang

Day 22: Bridget's Beret

Hi friends!

Today I've got another great book by Tom Lichtenheld (the author of Cloudette)! Our book for today is Bridget's Beret.

I am officially a Tom Lichtenheld fan. This is a great story about doing what you love, and it includes classic art!

Today I wanted to show you something that gets used all the time in our house: our art bin!

I bought a simple bin with a lid with a handle. It's simple, portable, and lives on the same shelf as our Toddler Boxes.

It's full of all our favorite arts and crafts supplies, so they're easy to get to whenever we need them.

Here's what we keep on hand:

Paint:

(clockwise from top left)

Dot paint: We do a lot of bingo dauber sheets (my favorites are HERE), so these are great. The biggest "investment" in the bin though. Totally worth it!

Tempera paint: Great for general paint projects. Washable (woot!). 

Finger paint: Not the biggest hit over here, but nice to have around

Sun Catcher stain: Plastic sun catchers cost about a dollar at Hobby Lobby. Great "special treat" after a day of running errands

Water colors: Perfect for simple, mess free painting. These come out at dinner time a LOT.

Craft Supplies:

Pipe Cleaners: Plain and Sparkle varieties. They're in toddler boxes, they're in Christmas projects. They're pretty much all purpose. Get some!

Craft Sticks: You know....for building things.

Foamie Stickers: Great for simple collages. Great fine motor practice, too!

Pom Poms: If we're not using the dot paint for dauber sheets, we use these. Also fun for collages.

Glitter:

What good is an art bin without glitter? Ours stays in a ziploc bag 1) so it will stay together and 2) because glitter messes are no fun to clean up!

Coloring:

Markers

Rainbow scratch art sheets

Our crayons tend to be out for general use, so they don't stay in the bin. 

Elmer's School Glue: Good for general crafting. Also makes great Cloud Paint!
Glue dotters: These used to be standard on my school supply list, and I like them SO much better than glue sticks. They don't try out, and you actually get a usable amount of glue without much pressure.

At any given time there may or may not be a random assortment of other stuff in here, depending on recent projects, but these are the staples. I love having everything in one place, it makes quick activities so easy! Also, nothing in here is to expensive, or fancy so I don't worry about letting Abbey go wild.

Have fun putting together your art bin!


Just joining in? Make sure you check out the rest of the series!

Be blessed!

Heather




It's A Long Story: blog. facebook. twitter

Day 16: Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Hello friends!

I don't know about where you live, but fall here in Chicagoland has been beautiful this year! I remember being so excited to be back from Phoenix last year, and being so disappointed in the fall colors we had. This year has been spectacular! You can't help but get outside and enjoy it!

Today's book is a great one by the always fantastic Lois Ehlert, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf.

It is such a wonderful book for this time of year, and has inspired all sorts of leaf collecting! Matt took Abbey out the other day to collect leaves from school. I told him to snap some pictures (always the blogger!) and this is what he got:

Gosh, I love them!

Looks like a successful trip to me!

Now, I happen to believe that a Nature Walk to collect leaves is a great activity in and of itself, but what if you want to actually do something with all those leaves when you get home? 

Here are some ideas for you:

(Almost) exactly a year ago we made some Fall Leaf Art. Gah! She's so little!

Putti's World has some adorable leaf ghosts and monsters!

Here are some great examples of leaf rubbings from In Lieu of Preschool.

And how cute are these leaf puppets from The Chirping Moms?!

Now get out there and find some leaves!

Just joining in? Make sure you check out the rest of the series!

Be blessed!

Heather




It's A Long Story: blog. facebook. twitter

Toddler Box 4: Cutting

Wow, guys! I posted 1LW Wednesday yesterday, and totally forgot that it was actually Thursday! Yikes. This is what happens when I go to work on a different day of the week.

Now that I know what day of the week it is...

It's Toddler Box time!

This one is so easy, and has so many different options for kids at all levels. I had a box like this in my classroom last year, and one of my kiddos loved it! It's great for fine-motor work, and pre-school skill building.

I started out with craft foam.

 I bought a pack of half sheet craft foam at Hobby Lobby for $6. It's going to last us forever! Cut your foam pieces down so they fit into your Toddler Box. Add in some (child safe) scissors, and you're all set!

Get to cutting!

This was Abbey's first time using scissors, so she had a hard time getting the hang of it. She'll figure it out soon! She kept wanting to use the scissors to pull on the foam and tear it, rather than cutting through it.

Getting there...

If your little one is having a hard time maneuvering classic scissors, try some loop scissors. They will help them master the motion of cutting without having to do as much work. 

Why foam and not paper? A few reasons. It's sturdier than paper, which is nice. Abbey can't squish it while she's concentrating on cutting. It also stands up while she holds it, instead of flopping over. It also gives her a bit more resistance than paper would.

Have kids that are already cutting? Make things a bit trickier! This is also a great way to work on cutting/tracing!

Add some lines to your foam and you instantly have a new cutting activity! 

My favorite part of this crafty Toddler Box? No waste! 

All those little pieces that you end up with are perfect for all sorts of fun and games! Use them for mosaics, or sorting, or whatever your little one can come up with!

Learning and recycling? Sweet!

Now, it's Kids Co-op time! Yay!

Welcome to this special outdoor, earth friendly, kid adventure, non-stop projects, and ideas editionof The Kid's Co-op! 

Each week we get together we'll ask YOU to share your favorite kid's activities. We'd love to see a plethora of ideas geared for toddlers to pre-teens. We are looking for activities that are family oriented, fun, unique and educational. Please share your favorite project or blog post below. We will be sharing our favorite post from our own blogs too! {Co-hosted by: The Kid's Co-op Group, Let's Lasso the Moon& Nurture Store}

PS: By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on our group Pinterest Board. Are following the Kid's Co-op on Facebook? Let's connect!

Be Blessed!

Heather

Toddler Box 3: Pom Poms

Hi friends!

Toddler boxes are back! Yay! The one I have for you today is a go-to in our house. It is so versatile!

Super simple. Pom Poms and pinchers. Pom Poms are available in all sorts of colors at craft stores, and I found the oversize tweezers at my local teaching supply store.

Abbey likes to fill up her tea cups with pom poms, so those usually live in the box, too.

Sometimes we fill them up by color. Sometimes we fill up the cups and use the pinchers to put them back in the box.

Would you like some "punch"?

Another thing Abbey likes to do with these is glue them to paper. It is a great chance for her to work on multi-step projects. She's still working on getting enough glue onto her paper to get them to really stick, but we're getting there.

If your little one is up for more of a challenge, you can have them fill in the circles on bingo-dauber worksheets. 

I find a lot of great ones HERE.

Have any of you made any Toddler Boxes yet? I would love to see them! Link me up in the comments!

Now, it's time for the Kids Co-Op Linky Party!  I am amazed every week at the fantastic ideas in there. Make sure you check them out!

This post is linked up. Come play with me!