Spinny Speller

We LOVE the Spinny Speller!!! Amy from Let's Explore sent O a Spinny Speller as a "big sister" gift, and we "play" with it everyday. We leave it on our kitchen table and have fun making real and nonsense words during our meals. O has become VERY interested in sounded out words since we've had the spinny speller, and I've heard her on many occasions trying to sound out words that she sees around our house.

The Spinny Speller is 5 inches long and is made of hardwood. It has 3 four sided blocks that can be used to make 3 dozen "real" words and countless "nonsense" words :)

Time Flies!

Ema is 2 months old today! I can't believe it! I'm rereading Dr. Sears The Vaccine Book in anticipation of her 2 month appt which is in the morning. I can't wait to see how much she weighs (she's big!) and what her percentiles are. I'm off to write my long list of questions and concerns...

Autumn Sensory Box

Here is our Autumn sensory box! It's quite a hit! I filled the box with popcorn kernels, silk leaves, wooden acorns, wooden peg people, small wooden boxes, and a small basket.

A Candy Collage

What should you do with all of that Halloween candy??? Make a candy collage, of course :) I was surprised and pleased that O was so willing to use her candy to make a collage. She really enjoyed mashing the candy and making a sculpture, too. This may become a "day after Halloween" tradition!

Dark Chocolate Covered Apples

When I was a child, I loved candied apples and caramel apples. I wanted O to be able to experience something similar, but healthier, so we made dark chocolate apples :) I was surprised by how yummy the dark chocolate & apple combination was. O loved it since apples, chocolate, and sugar sprinkles are 3 of her favorite things :)

To make the apples, we melted dark chocolate chips in the microwave. This took quite a while, and I eventually added in a little canola oil to make it watery enough to coat the apples. O held the apples over a bowl while I spooned the chocolate on them. We then sprinkled them with orange, purple, and white sugar sprinkles. O was eating the sprinkles as fast as she could, and she lost interest in helping me finish the apples. Silly girl! The apples don't look very pretty, but they tasted good, and they are a lot healthier than candied apples or caramel apples!

Egg Carton Spiders

O and I recently made egg carton spiders. I cut the cups out of a cardboard egg carton. O painted the spiders and glued on the eyes. I cut slits in the side and put the pipe cleaners through them for legs. O had fun playing with her spiders in the rice pit.

Salt Dough Halloween "Cookie" Magnets

O and I made salt dough Halloween "cookies" a few weeks ago and finally painted them on Tuesday. We plan to glue magnets to the backs of the "cookies" and give them to her grandparents for special Halloween gifts :)

To make the salt dough you need 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of flour, and a half cup of water. Mix the salt and flour and add the water in slowly while stirring. Knead the dough and roll it out! We had a lot of fun making the "cookies," but O's favorite part of the activity was playing with the dough. She loves to experience different textures :)

Halloween Transferring Activity

O enjoyed this Halloween transferring activity since she really likes skeletons (while in the car last night she said "when I turn my head, my skeleton moves, too!). She used the chopsticks to transfer the squishy skeletons from one bowl to the next. The skeletons are in a bowl with black beans, and the beans tended to stick to the skeletons which was annoying. I've really enjoyed doing Holiday themed activities with O this month, and I'm looking forward to starting a few new non-Halloween activities soon :)

Patterning with Beads

We used Halloween colors to make bead patterns today (my bag of 1200 pony beads didn't have any black beads!). I made two patterns on pipe cleaners with the beads, which O copied. Then she created her own pattern on the 3rd pipe cleaner. This was a fun activity that helps strengthen fine motor skills, hand/eye coordination, concentration, and attention to detail.

Halloween Sticker Story

O has enjoyed making "art" with her Halloween craft foam stickers. After she made this picture, she told me a story about it. I typed and printed the story for her. One day I'll put all of her stories in a book for her.

Balancing a Broom

We did it! After seeing this balancing broom trick on Pink and Green Mama, we decided to give it a try! After a few tries, the broom balanced perfectly. We left it up to surprise Guh-guh, and she WAS surprised!

Halloween Lacing Cards

Here's another fun activity to do with greeting cards! I cut the covers off the cards and punched holes around the edges with a hole puncher. Done! O had a great time lacing the cards :)

Back to Work

I went back to work on Thursday for the 1st time since Ema was born (I work one day per week as a School Psychologist). It was much harder to leave the girls than I expected. I woke Ema up to nurse her before we left for work, and I started crying as soon as I picked her up. She was so warm and cuddly, and she nuzzled her sweet face into my neck. The girls had a great day with Guh-guh, and I had a good day at work. I was so glad to come home to them. O and I read a chapter of Pippi Longstocking before cuddling and singing before she went to sleep, and Ema has spent the last 4 hours either nursing or sleeping on my chest. There's nothing better than mama's arms!

On a side note...Ema pooped in the potty today!!! O and Guh-guh took her to the potty and cued her and she pottied. My mom said that O was THRILLED!!! We love EC!

Halloween Number Sequencing

This activity was inspired by a similar activity on My Montessori Journey. O put the numbers in order from 1 to 12. She used the number line to help her since she is sometimes still unsure of her numbers (she couldn't remember what a 4 looked like today). She really enjoyed this work, and I plan on making the same activity using leaves (just like the one from Laura's blog) after Halloween. After she completed the sequencing activity, she pointed to each number as she counted in English and in Spanish.

Halloween Greeting Card Puzzles

I presented O with this tray of 4 greeting card puzzles, and she really enjoyed putting them together this morning. Elliott bought the cards from Dollar General (2 for a dollar), and I cut the front off of the cards and used my scrapbook paper cutter to cut them into puzzle pieces. This was a quick, inexpensive way to make holiday puzzles, and I'm planning to make a few for each holiday!