I Spy Doll Quilt

The doll quilt my mom and I made to match O's I Spy quilt is perfect for playing on the go games of I Spy! We've rarely played I Spy with the quilt on her bed...probably because it's so big and it's in her room (obviously), and we do most of our playing upstairs in the den. The doll quilt is a different story :) She takes it everywhere, and she was excited when I showed her how we could play I Spy with it. Hmmm, maybe this will be another game for game night :)

What We've Been Working on Lately...

Pouring rice



Folding napkins
 
Stringing beads

Completing puzzles

Doorbell Dollhouse

I bought this Melissa and Doug Doorbell Dollhouse for O before she was born. I thought it was really neat, so when it was on clearance I decided to go ahead and get it. It turns out it was a good decision :) The dollhouse has 4 doors with doorbells, and each door has a specific key. The keys are attached to the house on a ribbon. Behind each door is a little dollhouse person. O has gotten pretty good at selecting the correct key, but she still has some difficulty fitting the keys in the locks. She REALLY likes ringing the doorbells!

Matching Colors using Clothes Pins

The idea for this activity came from Teaching Tiny Tots. This is a fun and easy activity to put together. Get 2 each of several different sheets of paint chips from your local paint store. Cut the paint chips on one sheet and glue one each to a clothes pin. You're done! O enjoyed matching the colors, and she really had to pay attention since the colors are so similar. I also like that this is a fine motor exercise. O had a little difficulty managing the clothes pins, so I held the cards up for her while she clipped the paint chips to them. I think this will be another popular work on O's shelf!

Renewed Interest in the Lentil Tray

O has shown a renewed interest in the lentil tray over the past few days. This morning she said she was chopping walnuts to bake a birthday cake for me. She brought me a jar full of lentils and asked me to blow out the candles. I think we'll be playing pretend birthday for the next few weeks :)

Learning to Play "Go Fish"

O has expressed an interest in learning to play Go Fish lately (evidently she's seen her older cousin play the game), so today we gave it a try. I found these cards by School Zone at the thrift store for 50 cents, and they were perfect for O's 1st Go Fish game. We had a lot of fun, and she caught on quickly. I think Go Fish will definitely be added to our list of favorite games for Family Game Night :)

Magnetic/Nonmagnetic Objects

The idea for this activity came from the The Wonder Years. I just found this blog last night, and I LOVE it. It is full of wonderful and creative Montessori activities!
This morning O was sitting on the couch playing with her magnetic fishing puzzle. I played with her, and when we were finished I asked her if she'd like to do an activity about magnets. She enthusiastically responded "yes!" I gathered 4 magnetic objects and 4 nonmagnetic objects and put them in a basket. I then demonstrated to her that the fishing pole would pick up the magnetic objects, and we put them in a container. We talked about how we had to use our fingers to pick up the nonmagnetic objects, and we put them in another container. We also talked about which kinds of materials are magnetic and which kinds are not. She really enjoyed this work, and I think it will be a popular activity on her shelf. Thanks to The Wonder Years for the inspiration!

Cinnamon Sticks & Sandpaper

This is another activity from Starting Sensory Integration Therapy by Bonnie Arnwine. For this activity you need a cinnamon stick and sandpaper :) Let your child draw on the sandpaper with the cinnamon stick and smell the sweet scent. I was surprised that the cinnamon stick did not actually leave a mark on the sandpaper, and O lost interest rather quickly. However, we did enjoy smelling the cinnamon.

Squishy Bag Fun!

The idea for this activity came from the book Starting Sensory Integration Therapy by Bonnie Arnwine. This book has lots of fun activities, and I'll be sharing some of my favorites over the next few weeks. To make the bag O and I squeezed a bottle of hair gel into a ziploc bag. O shook glitter into the bag, and I added letter beads and color beads (thanks, Guh-guh!). I included the letters of O's name, and 3 each of several different colors. We sealed the bag, and put it into a second bag. We then taped the bags closed with duct tape. O enjoyed cutting the tape :) O loves to mash and squish the bag. Eventually, we'll squeeze and squish our way into spelling her name and sorting the colors. She loves to find the letters of her name, so I think this will be a lot of fun for her (and me, too!).

A Cutting Work

O and I cut strips of cardstock using my straight cutter. Then I drew lines on the strips for her to cut. She LOVES this work! She is VERY into cutting lately :)

Our 1st Sewing Project...

on my new sewing machine! Guh-guh and Grandpa gave me a sewing machine for Christmas. Our 1st project was an easy one...a blue satin pillowcase for O. She loved my "shiny" pillowcase at my mom's house (my satin pillowcase from when I was little), and since I had the satin, we thought this would be an easy 1st project.

 

Happy Half Birthday, Miss O!

We had fun celebrating O's half birthday on Friday! I can't believe that my baby is 2 and a half! On Thursday O and Guh-guh made whole grain banana and walnut waffles, so for her half birthday breakfast she had 2 and a half waffles with 2 and a half candles. We sang "Happy Half Birthday" to her :) She had 2 and a half balloons, and she was wearing her #2 shirt. She was so excited to wear her birthday crown and that we wore birthday hats. She was also thrilled that I hung the Happy Birthday banner.

After breakfast O went to her art shelf to write a note. The note says "O, We love you. Love, Mama and Daddy"
Elliott joined in on the fun Friday night by bringing home a tiny cake and book for O. She was thrilled with another celebration! What a fun day!

Teeny Tiny Food Erasers

I LOVE these teeny tiny food erasers! They are made in Japan, and I bought them at a Japanese store in Epcot when we were vacationing in Disneyworld in November. O loves them, too and plays with them almost everyday, but I have to admit that I got them more for me than her :) O enjoys feeding the delicious treats to her dollhouse people :) I bought one of each set (about 6), and I'm going to give O the sets one at a time at Easter and Christmas. You can find them here. I'm surprised that they were much cheaper at Disneyworld...about 3 or 4 dollars per set. Enjoy!

Sweets for my Sweets

I made these felt Valentine's Day cookies for O and my niece. They were quick and easy to make. I hope the girls like them!

Since a couple of people have asked for directions for the cookies, I thought I'd post directions here instead of in the comments section. So here you go...
1) cut 2 hearts out of the tan felt using a cookie cutter as a pattern
2) cut a slightly smaller heart out of red or pink felt
3) sew the colored heart to one of the tan hearts using a running stitch
4) sew sprinkles onto the cookies using embroidery floss
5) sew the 2 tan hearts together using a running stitch. leave a small hole and fill with stuffing before completely sewing the hearts together