Loving the Rice Pit

We revamped our rice pit a couple of months ago, and started letting E get in it to play when she was about 11 months old (she's almost 13 months old now).


I have to watch her closely because she'll occasionally try to sneak rice in her mouth, but she LOVES the rice pit.
We usually come straight to the rice pit on our screened porch after we get home from dropping O off at school. We have fun scooping, pouring, using the funnel, etc.



The rice pit is definitely a favorite activity for O and E, and I highly recommend it for hours of fun!

I added a few links showing the rice pit that O used to play in when she was a little older than E is now.  I can't believe how little O used to be and how quickly she's grown up :(

Catching a Rainbow Science Experiment

O, E, and I usually do a science experiment or an art activity each afternoon. Last week we did the "Catching a Rainbow" science experiment from Kidzone.

We poured a cup of milk into a bowl. Then O squeezed 3 drops of red food coloring at the top of the bowl, yellow at the bottom, and blue at the opposite side (to form a triangle). I squeezed a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid into the middle of the bowl, and we observed the changes.



I printed a sheet from Kidzone for O to complete about our experiment. She worked on it as she watched the rainbow.


She was SO excited when I told her that she had a homework. She said "Homework! I've always wanted to do homework!" I read the questions to her on the sheet, and she dictated the answers to me.

This was a fun experiment, and I'm excited by how much O enjoyed drawing what she saw and answering questions.  I think we may start a science journal for her to draw and write about the different experiments that we do. 

What a week!

It's been an exciting, annoying, and painful week! 

O tried out for a part in The Nutcracker Ballet, and we received a letter yesterday saying that she will be a cherub!  She is SO excited.  I've spent the morning chasing down tickets, and still don't have any...

Elliott upgraded our internet service, but instead of getting faster it went out and we haven't had access since Tuesday.

I threw my back out on Wednesday and can barely move.  Luckily, I had to work at my easy job yesterday (School Psychologist), so I was able to recover a little before I was back on for my more demanding job (mama). 

Drying a Tray with a Sponge

I saw this work at O's school, and I knew it would be a fun one for us to have at home.
To do this work, E shakes water from a bottle onto a tray. She then dries the water with a sponge. E LOVES it! She did it over and over and over and over...

We talked about the concepts of wet and dry while we did this activity.

The bottle is a salt shaker from Dollar General. Don't make the mistake (like I did!) of putting too much water in the bottle...you only need a very small amount.

Oh, The Possibilities...

When I saw this spiral rainbow notepad at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't resist buying it for O. The possiblities for creative art projects are endless!

So far, she has enjoyed writing notes on it with a pen (she is really excited about writing with a pen, and she likes to write all of our names), making a mini accordian fan for E, and she has started working on a collage using a piece of contact paper (sticky side out) that I taped to the sliding glass door. She loves to make contact paper collages, and I think she'll be making a lot of them with these colorful notecards. This notepad was definitely worth the 2 dollars it cost!

And the Winner Is...

Kellie at Training Up a Child! Kellie, please send your choice of shoes, size, and your mailing address to me at chasingcheerios@gmail.com

Thanks!

Painting on Canvas

The girls had a great time painting on stretched canvases this week, and I'm excited to have new art to hang on our walls! I decided to do this art project outside by the lake for easy clean-up, and I'm SO glad that I did!

The hand of a true artist! E was covered in paint, and she tasted it, too, of course.


After O finished her painting, she painted herself. She painted her hands, feet, and legs. Again, I was SO glad that we did this project outside, and I was so glad that it was warm enough to go swimming after we finished!


The girls were proud of their masterpieces!

This one is by Baby E (12 months old).


And this one is O's (4 years old).


After they finished their artwork, we went swimming and caught a baby soft shell turtle!

O named him Buddy (she names all turtles Buddy), and we observed him for about 10 minutes before letting him go. Evidently he lives on our beach because O accidentally caught him again today! She scooped up a cup of sand, and then said in an almost scared voice "Look! There's something in here!" The turtle was buried in the sand with only his head peeking out. We watched him for a while again before letting him go. Hopefully, we'll see him again tomorrow :)

Zubber

O and I recently made insects using Zubber. I bought the kit from WM for 2 dollars. We had fun making the insects, and O was impressed with and proud of her insects. Although we had a good time, I was glad that I only paid 2 dollars for the kit.

Putting Objects in a Clear Container

It doesn't get any simpler than this! I gave E a clear plastic container and a bunch of wooden Kapla blocks. She had a GREAT time putting the blocks in the container and dumping them back out again. She also enjoyed trying to put the lid on the container once it was full. Next week I'm going to give her a bunch of golf balls to put in the container. I know she's going to LOVE it!

E's Birthday Crown

I'm very happy with E's birthday crown and thought I'd share it here :)

I (with my mom's help...she did the top stitching) made E's birthday crown using wool blend felt (from Prairie Point Junction). I used the pattern and directions from The Creative Family to make the crown. To make the cake and candle, I drew the pattern on a piece of paper and cut it out. I traced around the pattern with disappearing ink onto the wool blend felt, and cut out the cake, icing, and candle. I attached them to the crown using fabric glue. This crown was surprisingly easy and fun to make!

Our Favorite Things

Since I am VERY frequently asked (in email) which toys and books I recommend for children and which books I recommend for parents, I decided to put up an Amazon widget of our favorite things (toys, books, dvds, cds, etc). The list of our favorite things is in the right sidebar of this blog, and everything on it is something that we own and like. I'll be adding more as I have time. Enjoy!

(oh, and the links are affiliate links!)

Never Underestimate The Baby!

On the day that I posted that E wasn't ready to put the popsicle sticks into a small opening in a cup, she took a rug to my mom, sat down, and started doing just that!

Look at that concentration! I love to watch my children when they are so focused on their tasks. I only videod her putting the 1st 3 popsicle sticks in the container, but she continued until they were ALL in the cup. She amazes me! I've learned 2 lessons from this...observe rather than assume and NEVER underestimate the baby!

Wee Squeak Shoes Review and a Giveaway

We love Wee Squeak Shoes, so we're hosting another review and giveaway! A representative from Wee Squeak Shoes sent this super cute pair of shoes to O a couple of months ago. She loves the shoes...they are very well made, comfortable, cute, and easy to put on and take off. One of the best things about them is that the squeaks are removeable! She can run around squeaking for a while, but we can take the squeaks out so she can wear the shoes to church, school, and the library. What fun!

Here are a few words about Wee Squeak Shoes from the company...

Wee Squeak Children’s Shoes are footwear that's fun to wear! Comfortable and stylish, these little shoes are great for any season. With a variety of styles and colors to choose from, these children's shoes are a great gift idea as well as a way to help children learn to walk properly without even realizing they're being taught. Traditional Mary Jane’s, along with a wide variety of boys sandals, children’s tennis shoes and girls sandals in several different colors and styles, Wee Squeak Shoes has a very diverse selection. We even have accessories to go with our “Wee Snap” shoes…clip on flowers to dress up the shoes, as well as Crystal Crown accessories in white or pink. These decorative additions to our Wee Snap line will put a sparkle in any girl’s eye when she sees them gracing her toes!

Wee Squeak shoes are designed for children and parents alike. Our shoes actually make a fun squeak sound as the child walks. A cushion in the heal squeezes air through a tiny nozzle making the squeak sound. For those occasions when the shoe needs to be silent, the squeaker can be removed very simply by an adult. Shoe sizes range from 3-12. We have a wide variety of shoes for boys and girls, and we have expanded our collection Fall 2010.

Leave a comment to enter the giveaway for a pair of shoes. US residents only, please. My random number generator (O) will choose a number on Friday night (September 24).

A Fun Party Activity and Snack

My mom and I helped a friend plan activities and snacks for her little girl's birthday party a couple of months ago, and one of the fun activities that we did was make a dirt and worms snack.

To make the snack, I put 5 or 6 oreo cookies in a ziploc bag and gave a bag to each child. I told the kids to smash the cookies any way that they could. They started off by smashing them in their hands and hitting the bags. They quickly realized that it was easier and more fun to stomp and jump on the bags. O and the birthday girl put their bags under a twister game mat and danced on them.

Once the cookies were crushed I put a handful of gummy worms in each bag and gave each child a spoon. They loved eating the tasty dirt and worms!

Peek-a-Boo House

E LOVES this peek-a-boo house flip toy! She opens the windows and says "cat" and barks when she sees the dog. She will play with this toy for a long time while strengthening her finger muscles and developing fine motor control. I bought this toy from a 2nd hand shop for about a dollar...it's made by Melissa and Doug.