ChasingCheerios@gmail.com

Stephanie at Montessori Free Fall had a great idea that I'm copying (I hope she doesn't mind!). Lots of people have been asking questions on the blog, and I try to answer everything in the comments section. However, I don't always see the comments (they are sometimes sent to my junk mail), so I may miss a few. Also, I don't know if you remember to check back in the comments section to see if I've answered your question. So... I've created a Chasing Cheerios email address. If you have any questions about anything at all, then you can just email me and I'll email you back with the answer :) Hopefully, that will make it easier on the readers and me! Thanks, Stephanie, for this great idea!

Chalkboard Birthday Cards

The chalkboard is great for making birthday cards, too! I uploaded a pic from our birthday card photo shoot to snapfish, and I'll make a postcard to send to Grandpa for his birthday. He's going to love it, and O had a great time making it! Also, I discovered that I love writing with wet chalk :) We left the chalk out in the rain last night, and it was so much more fun to write with it when it's wet. I really don't like the feel of chalk on my fingers, so this was a very pleasant discovery. I think we'll just use wet chalk from now on!

Learning to Water Ski

O is ready to learn to ski ("ike mama and dada"), so she practiced today in the grass. I think 24 months is a bit young for skiing, but Elliott is determined to teach her next summer. We'll see...

Making Wrapping Paper :)

O and I had a great time wrapping a present for one of her friends today. We started with a piece of newspaper. She painted it with her dot painters. Then decorated it with stickers and colored with markers a bit.

Then it was done! We had a great time with this project, and O was very proud. She told me that she want to "get in O's car seat and mama drive to see Momo NOW!" The party is not until Sunday. I hope she can wait that long!

The best part about this is, not only was it fun, but its recyclable! We'll be wrapping all of our Christmas presents in newspaper this year. Although we will use the gift bags that we reuse every year :)

Rainbow Felt Goldfish

I finally found the time (and motivation) to finish sewing the felt colors goldfish that I cut out before O's birthday :) I'm not sure why I couldn't bring myself to start sewing these fish because it wasn't difficult to do, just a little tedious. Anyway, I'm glad they're done, but I think I'll wait until Christmas to give them to O. They'll make a nice advent gift (I'm super excited about the advent calendar I have planned for O! I'm going to start making it next month, and I have started working on a list of tiny gifts and activities for it).

Sorting Body Parts...

... using Mr. Potato Head, of course! O loves Mr. Potato Head, so I thought she would love a sorting work with Mr. Potato Head parts :) I chose 3 sets of eyes, 3 arms, and 3 sets of teeth/lips. I showed O how to put the different body parts in the different openings in the tray.
She caught right on and had lots of fun! This work will definitely go on the new shelf once we start school!

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.

We're Back!

O and I just returned from a one night vacation that turned into a 3 night vacation :) We had a great time, and O really enjoyed playing with her cousin. It was nice (but strange) to be without a computer for 3 days! Luckily, I had a couple of blog posts saved as drafts that Elliott published for me :) Thanks for all of the comments over the last few days. I'm trying to catch up on reading my email, and I'll answer all of the questions in the comments section. It's good to be home!

A Couple More Chalkboards

I had leftover plywood and paint, so I made a couple more chalkboards yesterday. They are smaller than the original one, and I'll put one of them on our deck next to O's new playhouse (I'll post about this soon, I hope!). The 2nd one is for my niece. You can't really tell in the picture, but the border is aqua. I hope the girls like them!

An Impromptu Activity

While Ell and I put together O's adirondack chairs and table this morning (a birthday gift for O from my sister and niece), O had a great time taking the sockets out of the tool box. She lined them up according to size, but she got really frustrated when she tried to put them back into the box. I think this will make a great Montessori work when she is older. I'll take all of the tools out of the box, put them in a basket, and show her how to fit them into the correct places one by one. 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.

Thanks!

I got an award!!! Thanks to everyone who gave me this award- Jo, Shannon, Bizzy Bee Creations, and Ahfat. Sorry its taken me so long to pass it on!

The award comes with these rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs youv'e nominated.

So here are my 7:

Make and Takes
Megret
Pepper Paints
Shannon's Sharings
The Crafty Crow
Toddlebits
Walk Beside Me

There are many others that I would like to have given this award to, but somebody beat me to it! Thanks again, ladies! I REALLY do appreciate it!!!

Matching Cats Tray

The idea for this work came from the Montessori n Such catalog. I LOVE that catalog! When I was at my mom's house last weekend, I found this cat tray and tiny cats. I knew that I had to make a Montessori work out of them! 2 of the cats are sitting and 2 of the cats are standing, so I showed O how to match the sitting cats and match the standing cats.
She did a great job, and she loved it! I need to find a few more cats because 2 pairs is just not enough!

O's Number Puzzle

O was thrilled to work with her number puzzle this afternoon. I'm just happy that I found this wooden number puzzle for only 25 cents :) I am a bit disappointed that I couldn't get the pen marks off of it. Does anybody have any ideas for getting pen marks off of wood?

Matching Lids and Jars

This a simple activity you can do with jars from around your house. We have lots of jars since we can't recycle glass here. O was VERY excited when she saw me setting this up, and she couldn't wait to get started. I found as many different sized jars with lids as I could. I took the lids off and put them in a basket and put the basket to the left of the jars. O immediately got to work, and she did really well. I was afraid that I had too many jars, but it was the perfect number :)
After she finished matching the lids to the jars, she immediately starting taking the lids off and putting them back in the basket. She was ready for "more game" as she calls it! I think this girl is ready to start back with our school work!