Baking Cookies

For O's 4th advent activity, she and Guh-guh baked cookies (I was at work). They planned on baking gingerbread cookies, but they realized at the last minute that I didn't have the ingredients they needed. They improvised and baked peanut butter cookies. They had fun, and the cookies are yummy :)

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I Think She's Taking it a Bit Too Far...

All week I've been casually talking to O (no pressure) about how it will be nice to give some toys that she doesn't play with anymore and books she doesn't read to children that don't have toys and books. She usually is not very happy about this idea and says that she doesn't want to do it. Today I was going through her books and found several that we should donate. At first O said she didn't want to, but she thought a minute and changed her tune. She wanted to give the books I chose and a lot more (that I didn't want to give away!) to the "other children." Tonight while we were getting ready for bed, I asked if she had any dolls that she wanted to give the children who didn't have toys. She said no, but then I asked her about a doll that she rarely plays with. She smiled and said "O not ike that doll. Let's give her to the other children!" THEN she looked on her shelf and said "Let's give THAT doll to the other children. O not ont (want) her." Ummm, not an option. She was talking about the doll that my Granny made for me when I was 6 years old. This doll also shares O's name, and she is one of my most precious possessions (since she's handmade by my Granny). I explained to O why baby doll O is precious to us and she's not going anywhere. THEN she looked at the dolls on her top shelf and said "Those dolls not special. Let's give those dolls to the children!" Umm, again, not an option, but thanks for feeling so generous :) She was talking about the mama, daddy, and O dolls that I made for her in the Spring. Obviously, I wasn't very excited about her choices, but I am glad that she's feeling generous :)

Color Matching and Patterns

This is another activity that O hasn't been very interested in yet :( It's simple and easy to make. I cut a strip of cardstock, laminated it, and put stickers on it. The goal is for O to match the corresponding color bear to the dot.

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Color Matching with Clips

Since this is supposed to be a Montessori blog, I guess I should post a few activities :) I've thought about this activity for a while, and finally found the time to put it together this week. I was waiting because I didn't think O could manage the clips. Then she started taking them off the refrigerator, telling me "be still, Mama!", and then clipping them to the back of my shirt :) To do this activity, O just matches the clip to the corresponding color dot on the cup. She REALLY liked the activity when I demonstrated it for her, but she wasn't interested in doing it herself :( Maybe next week...

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More Handmade Gifts for O

Here are a couple more things for O's doll diaper bag! I made the changing pad (except for the top stitching), and my mom made the bib.

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Here is the changing pad again, and the bib is reversible. I think she'll like the blue side the best :)

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A Book a Day

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We have LOTS of Christmas books, and we keep them in storage all year except for the month of December. That makes them new and exciting for all of us. This year I decided to wrap 24 books in newspaper and write a number on each one. Then O gets to open one each night, and that is so much fun!
I decided to use newspaper primarily because it is easily recyclable, but also because it's free and wrapping the books is fairly easy to do. However, I really don't like wrapping, and I can't stand to touch newspaper :( My original plan was to make a bunch of bags for the books using Christmas fabric that I bought last year (at 75% off), but I never got around to it. Hopefully, I'll get the bags made before next year :)

Painted Glass Ornaments

For our 3rd day of activities, we painted glass ornaments. This idea came from Parenting magazine. Although our ornaments don't look anything like theirs! To make these ornaments, we used empty glass balls and took the tops off. We then squeezed acrylic craft paint into the balls. O chose the colors, and we squeezed the paint into the ball together. I tried to get her to swirl and shake the balls, but she wasn't interested. She was ready to move to the next color! This was a good lesson in being very careful since these ornaments are VERY breakable (I broke a tiny piece of glass off of the top of one of the ornaments when I put the top back on).

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We are very proud of our little works of art!

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The ornaments continued to change as the paint moved through them overnight. I'm looking forward to seeing them when I get home today :)

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Gumdrop Tree

For our 2nd day of advent activities, we made a gumdrop tree. To make this tree, we used a styrofoam tree form, toothpicks, and gumdrops. O had difficulty pushing the toothpicks into the tree, so that was my job :) We really had a good time making this tree while listening to Christmas music :) The whole time we were making the tree, I kept thinking that it would be so much easier if the toothpicks were cut in half. For some reason, I didn't break them, but just kept using the whole toothpicks. We had to stop working to eat supper (and O had lost interest), so we finished it the next morning. I broke the toothpicks in half, and it was 1000 times easier!!! I don't know why I didn't do it earlier. Obviously, my brain was turned off :) We also enjoyed tasting the gumdrops. O tasted a few and said "O not like it. It's ucky!" Then she'd try another one... More than anything she enjoyed feeding me red gumdrops!

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O is VERY proud of our finished gumdrop tree!

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Setting Up Our Nativity

For our 1st advent activity we set up O's nativity scene. She was excited and has enjoyed playing with the set. She insists that one of the shepards is a nurse and that baby Jesus is sick :) We also started painting handmande gifts as part of our 1st day activities. I'll post more about this later.

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O's Advent Calendar

We FINALLY hung the advent calendar last night! We've been doing an activity each day, but I didn't have the ribbon I needed to hang it until yesterday. To make the calendar, I used a book of punch out boxes that we put together a few weeks ago. (I bought it last year after Christmas for 50% off). I was excited that Elliott joined me in building the boxes. It's fun to have him involved in crafting :) I'm not that happy with how the calendar turned out since it looks a little flimsy. It's definitely not one that will last for years and years :)


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O has enjoyed the our activities each day. However, she was surprised to find a piece of paper when she opened the first box. She asked "where's choc-choc (chocolate)? where's toy?" I was quite surprised, and I think she may have gotten a little spoiled with treats while we were in Disneyworld :) I told what the note said and that the activity was her special surprise.

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My Christmas List

Elliott and my mom always ask me for a Christmas list for myself, and I always have a hard time thinking of anything to go on it. It wasn't too hard this year because I had a few things in mind :) Here it is:

a thermos with a pop-up top and straw from Target (I LOVE my kleen kanteen, but the top is annoying. A straw top would be so much easier to use, and I'm sure I would drink more water if I weren't so annoyed by the top!)
laminating paper
Dr. Sears Vaccine Book O is selectively vaccinated on a delayed schedule. She's actually almost caught up with her shots, but I'd like to have this book as a reference, especially if we ever have any more children.
Kids Knitting One of my New Year's resolutions for last year was to learn how to knit. It hasn't even come close to happening, so I'm hoping this book will help me come closer to this goal for the next year :) It has great reviews, and since it's written for children maybe it will be easy enough for my old brain to understand :)
a sticker maker I have big plans for this sticker maker! I plan to make stickers for O using photos, illustrations from old books, pictures from magazines, etc. However, I need to make sure the sticker cartridge has repositionable adhesive in it instead of permanent, so I won't have stickers permanently decorating every surface of my house!

That's it! Yes, I'm boring :) So...what's on your list?

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

A Lesson for O

Just in case there is any confusion...this post was written last Friday :)

We think it's important to teach O from an early age that it's better to give than receive. Last year, we filled a shoe box with goodies for Operation Christmas Child. This year we've (us and our extended family) adopted a family with 7 children under the age of 7. I told O about the family today, and I explained to her that we are buying toys and clothes for these children because they don't have many toys or clothes. Elliott gave O a few dollars, and O, my mom, and I went to town to quickly shop at the 3 dollar stores (this is a small town, and the only stores they have are Family Dollar, Dollar General, and Super 10. At least we didn't have to worry about Black Friday craziness!) O was not excited about buying toys that she did not get to keep at first. She picked out a doll that she felt like she just HAD to have. Luckily, we convinced her easily that she didn't need it since Baby Emma was waiting for her at home :) O was proud to show our purchases to my sister when we got home, and she said they were for the "other children and not O." Phew! I was afraid she wouldn't understand and would think that she got to keep the toys once we got them home. She also donated 2 dollars to St. Jude's, but I don't think she really understood that concept. Oh, well. At least we've started young :) I've also told her that when we get home (we are still at G & G's house) that I want her to go through her toys and books and choose some items to donate to kids who don't have as much as she does. She did not like this idea AT ALL, so we'll see how it goes!

A Lesson Learned...

I'm learning more and more about sewing everyday. Last night, I learned a very valuable lesson...it's sometimes a good idea to turn the sewing machine off before threading the needle! I was threading the needle while O was standing beside me drawing on a piece of paper. Somehow she stepped on the presser foot without realizing what it was, and that needle started moving FAST! It scared me too death, and we all screamed, but luckily I wasn't hurt :)

O's Handmade Doll Carrier

One our major projects for O's Christmas is a baby carrier that is modeled after my Beco. O loves to ride on my back in the Beco, so I hope that she'll love to carry her babies on her back, too.

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After we finished the carrier, we decided to make a drawstring bag to store the carrier in. O is going to have a very organized diaper bag! I actually had nothing to do with the making of this bag. My mom made it while babysitting O and my niece. She's a busy lady! Thanks, Mom!

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To make this carrier, I looked at my Beco for inspiration. O was asleep (and I didn't want her to see the carrier), so I used one of her shirts to figure out the size of the pattern. I cut the pattern from newspaper (and, of course, I almost forgot to allow for the seam. Luckily, my mom reminded me). I cut the fabric, sewed it front to front, leaving openings for the straps. To make the straps, I measured around O's waist with a ribbon and over her shoulders. I cut strips of the fabric, folded it front to front, and ironed it. Then I pinned it and sewed it. Once the straps were sewn, I pinned them in the carrier and sewed all around, leaving a small opening to turn it. I tacked the velcro onto the straps and left it for my mom to finish :) I was surprised by how quickly we made the carrier. I didn't even try to do the top stitching :) That was definitely a job for my mom, and she did a GREAT job! It's amazing how the top stitching changes the whole look of a project and makes it look SO MUCH better! Thanks, Mom!

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Another fun thing about this carrier is that it is reversible. Also, we used velcro on the straps, so she will have lots of room to grow. I hope she won't grow out of this carrier for at least 3 or 4 years :)