Family Memory Game

Family Memory Game, originally uploaded by omamom16.

I made this memory game for O for Christmas, and I know that she is going to LOVE it! To make the game I cut a piece of balsa wood (from Hobby Lobby) into 10 equally sized pieces, sanded the edges, and decopaged the wallet sized pictures to the boards. The hardest part about making this game was choosing the pictures. I planned on choosing 5 pictures from each year, but I've got 5 pictures here from O's 1st 4 months! I ran out of boards long before I ran out of pictures. I hope to buy more boards soon, so I can finish this game and mark it off my list!

Sorry for another off center picture! It looks perfect in draft form. I don't think that blogging through flickr is going to work out :(

Rocks and Frogs Memory Game

When Amber commented on the Shell Matching game that she may make a similar game with rocks, I knew I'd have to try it! Thanks, Amber! I have lots of river rocks from our recent mountain vacation, and I knew they'd be perfect :) I planned on finding insect stickers, but I never found any, and I loved these frog stickers the 1st time I saw them (although I didn't buy them until the 3rd time because I was being indecisive!).

O was very excited when she saw the rocks. We started by matching them face-up. Then I decided to play Memory with the rocks face down. I was not really expecting her to catch on the first time, but she understood immediately :) I made a big show of turning over one rock and then was thinking out loud trying to remember where the match was, and she quickly turned over the matching rock for me! I couldn't believe it :) We had a great time, and it was great practice for learning turn taking skills. I had to prompt her a few times to only turn over 2 rocks at a time, but other than that she GOT it! I'm really looking forward to playing more memory games with her, and I guess I should have started sooner. Although, I think this game is the PERFECT first memory game since the rocks are not identical and the differing sizes of the rocks give clues as to which stickers are on them.

A Shell Memory Game

Can you tell that I love making/playing memory games? The idea for this game came from The Write Start. When I saw her post, I knew we would definitely make this game. Its so pretty and fun! If you haven't checked out The Write Start yet, you need to!

First we washed and dried the shells. Then we put the stickers on the shells. I looked several places before finally finding the same exact stickers that were used on the inspiration post (at Target). I was pretty excited especially since all of the other sea life stickers that I'd found were flashy and tacky :) O helped stick a few of the stickers on the shells, but she was a little rough and I was afraid she would tear them.
Since she's not quite ready for a full-fledged memory game, we did a matching game instead. I put a set of shells in each basket, and she chose one from the 1st basket and then found its match in the 2nd basket. She REALLY enjoyed this!Here she is with all of her matches!

Shell & Stickers Memory Game

I made this shell and stickers memory game for O(5) about 2 years ago, and I take it to the beach with us every year.

I tried to teach E(1) the ins and outs of memory, but she's not quite ready for that :) However, she had fun matching the stickers.

To make the game, I gathered (from around my house) a bunch of shells that looked similar (O's grandmother brought them to her from the Bahamas), and I bought 2 packs of beach/sea life stickers. I put stickers on each shell to make about 10 matching pairs. Simple and fun!

Scrapbook Paper Memory Game

When I saw this memory game on the Crafty Crow, I knew I would be making one soon :) Its just too cool and pretty to not make! This game will be one of O's Christmas gifts, and I plan on making a drawstring bag to keep it in. One handmade Christmas present is made, and I have about a hundred more to go! I bought wooden rectangle boards (sold in packs of 4) from Hobby Lobby and used Mod Podge to glue the scrapbook paper onto them. I planned on covering the paper with a layer of mod podge, but I decided to spray them with clear acrylic sealer at the last minute (since it's so much faster and easier). This was a fun and simple gift to make, so give it a try!
Here's a pic showing the other side of the boards. They are bigger than I planned, but I couldn't find boards any smaller, and I didn't want to go through the trouble of cutting them.

Family and Friends Memory Game

I finished this game last night, and I am really pleased with how quickly it came together. I hope O is going to love it! To make the game, I printed pictures as thumbnails, placed a wooden disk on top of the picture, and cut around it. I then glued the picture to the disk with mod podge. The next day I coated them with another layer of mod podge. Fast and easy! I ran out of wooden disks long before I ran out of pictures, so this will be a work in progress :)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
These disks are pretty small, so you wouldn't want to make this game for a child who still puts objects in his or her mouth. This picture of me is goofy, but it's one of the 1st pics O ever took and I think she did a pretty good job :)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
I originally planned to make a drawstring bag to store the game in, but then I decided that this box would work nicely :) I like how the picture disks look all crowded in the box :)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

A Miniature Matching Game

I can't remember where the idea for this miniature matching game came from. I think I saw it on a blog about a year ago. If anyone knows, let me know :) To make this game you need as many bottle tops as you can find (Thanks, Auntie EB for saving your bottle tops for us!). I cut cardstock circles to fit into the bottle tops and put tiny matching stickers on the cardstock. Quick, easy, and fun! First, the girls matched the pairs while looking at them. O was much more interested in playing with the leftover stickers :)Then we turned them over and played a game of memory. There were too many pieces for a 2 year old, and O was not at all interested in playing. My 4 year old niece loved the game, and we had fun playing!
I can't wait to make more memory games using bottle tops! I think it would be very funny to make one using the faces of family and friends :) I'm adding it to my list! This would also make a great category sorting activity. Once I add a few more tops to the game, I'll show O how to sort the fruit, vehicles, clothing, and animals into their categories.

O's Christmas List

I have to admit that while I try to minimize the amount of "stuff" that O has, and I strive to give her more handmade gifts than bought gifts, I do LOVE toys. I have a great time making O's Christmas wish list each year, and I'm so glad that her grandparents always request a list (otherwise I wouldn't make one). I enjoy researching toys and reading reviews. I have pretty strict criteria for the toys that go on O's list...no plastic, no batteries, no characters, made of wood, heirloom quality, open-ended, inspires creativity, etc. However, their are ALWAYS exceptions to my rules :) I make a LONG list so that O's grandparents can choose something that they like, and so they, hopefully, don't feel like I am just telling them what to buy :) Her grandparents usually buy 3 or 4 things off her list. We are VERY lucky that O's grandparents are respectful of our "criteria" for O's toys :) So here it is: (I'm copying and pasting from the email that I sent to O's grandparents. Although I have edited it a bit within the last week.)

Toys and Puzzles

rainbow blocks O loves her unit blocks so much that I think these will be a welcome addition to her open ended, creative block play!

Just Like Me Toddler Photo Doll Girl/Boy Set with Terrific Twins Clothes (felt paper doll made using O's picture) I think O will be thrillled to see herself as a paper doll! This is such a neat idea, and I think that since O loves to play dress up so much that it will be neat for her to dress up a doll that looks just like her!

block buddies
These blocks are so cool, and it's a great brain building exercise. I don't think amazon has a very good picture of the blocks, but www.mindware.com has better pictures if you are interested.

body puzzle Since O is very interested in veins and bones, I think this puzzle will be thrilling for her. I am sure she will learn so much from it.


yoga kit for kids O loved doing yoga months ago when we had a kids yoga library book, so I think it will be a fun addition to our morning routine to do yoga. I especially think she'll like pretending to be the different animals.

kids PVC free yoga mat

dollhouse nursery furniture

dollhouse accessory set
dollhouse furniture playground
marble runaround
All-in-One castle This is such an amazing toy. I wish I could see it in person! I think this is one that could definitely be passed down to O's children!

Nesting water waves
rainbow glockenspiel
magnetic labyrinth
Paint cups

Stories on CD

Jim Weiss Sweet Dreams cd

Jim Weiss Animal Tales

*Jim Weiss Good Night

Jim Weiss Fairytales

Montessori Materials

binomial cube
http://www.montessorioutlet.com/cgi-bin/item/S-021-1/search/Montessori-Outlet-Binomial-Cube

third box of color tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Color-Tablets-p/s.006.1.htm

baric tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Baric-Tablets-p/s.008.2.htm

thermic tablets
http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Thermic-Tablets-p/s.009.1.htm


metal insets with 2 stands http://www.montessoriequipment.com/Metal-Insets-p/l.411.1.htm



Games

Hello from around the world memory game O LOVES matching games, and I really like that this game uses actual photographs. I think it will be fun for her to learn how to say "hello" in so many different languages!

soundtracks game

Tell Me a Story cards

Fun at the Beach

We had such a wonderful time at the beach last week! Here are a few highlights...

Beach sand foot massages



Watching "Grasshopper" the Stingray grow. He's our most realistic looking growing animal, and several people thought he was a real animal that we'd caught in the ocean.


A mama and O shadow shot


A short game of memory using the beach shell memory game that I made last summer.

Texture Board Memory Game

O and I had fun playing memory with her texture boards this week. We felt them before turning them over to see if we had matches, and then we turned them over to see if we were right. I had no intention of saying who won because I try to de-emphasize competition. However, O had other plans. She immediately started counting the boards to see who won after we finished the game. She had 10 boards, and I had 8 so she determined that she had more, so she won. I decided to turn this into an impromptu math lesson, so I asked her how many more she had. She didn't know, so we lined the boards up in 2 rows with hers on the top and mine on the bottom. I showed her how her line of boards was longer by 2 boards, so 10 was 2 more than 8. It was still a little over her 3 and a half year old head, but it was a good introduction to higher level math skills :)

Homemade Christmas

I've been reading about people getting ready for Christmas on several blogs lately. At 1st I was surprised, but now I realize that I REALLY need to get started if I want to have everything made in time without a lot of stress. I wasn't planning on starting until October, but I realize now that is too late! Here's my list for O: baby doll cradle (Elliott will help with this one), baby doll quilt, baby doll diaper bag (my mom will help with those), playdoh (pumpkin pie scented, cinnamon scented, and gingerbread scented), memory game (using scrapbook paper decopaged onto wooden pieces), frog and lily pad game, a couple of books, felt play food, etc. I also plan on making (with O's help) gifts for her grandparents and aunts and uncles. I can't list them here since they all read this blog :) What are you planning on making for Christmas gifts this year?

Mommy/Daughter Arts and Crafts Time

I've decided that since O is a little older (2) and is getting more independent that it may be fun for us to sit down at the table together and each do our own separate arts and craft activity. It worked well today and was fun! O colored with markers and decorated herself with "da-doos" (tatoos) while I worked on a scrapbook paper memory game. Then she played with a little troll doll that her Grandaddy Harry brought her yesterday. Check out that cool forehead "da-doo"! She's VERY proud of it!
Here's her other masterpiece!

Last Week in Review

Here are a few highlights from last week...

The girls found the flower button board that I made for O(6) about 4 years ago.  O loved it, but E was only moderately interested.

We had a Valentine's Day themed homemade playdough playdate.  The kids helped make the playdough and then had fun playing with it. 

We cut hearts from flour tortillas to make heart shaped cinnamon and sugar tortillas for a playdate snack.

Goobi magnets are the most chosen work in our school room!  E(3) had fun making different shapes.

The chocolate playdough was a little crumbly!  It made a mess, but clean-up was fairly easy.

O(6) enjoyed her Rightstart Math lessons this week.  She created and solved math problems using the balance, and then recorded the problems in her notebook.

E(3) enjoyed spreading out and looking at the cards from our Impressionism memory game. 

We took a long walk on a beautiful day! 

E is running to me with her arms open for me to pick her up.  Love!

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Postcard Book

The idea for making this postcard book has been bouncing around in my brain for months, so I'm so glad to finally have it made! I added a piece of cardstock to the left side of each of O's postcards and laminated them. Then I cut the cards out of the lamination, punched the holes, added the rings, and now she has a book of postcards! Yay! Most of the postcards are from her grandparents from their various vacations. I've also started getting postcards whenever we travel, and I write a few lines about what we did and what O liked about each place. It's an easy way to create a vacation memory book, and hopefully I can get Elliott to participate, too. Since I used ring binders, it will be very easy to add new postcards to the book.



O likes looking at her postcard book, and her favorite page is the postcard from Disneyland :) I'm not sure why she surrounded herself with the bowling game bottles when she sat down to read. Silly girl :)