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

Number Shirts

I intended to make O a #2 shirt when she turned 2 in July, but I didn't get around to making it until last week :( Since I was making the 2 shirt, I decided to go ahead and make her #3 shirt. So I'm 6 months behind on one, and 6 months ahead on the other :) I used freezer paper to stencil the shirts. Check out Laura's freezer paper stenciling tutorial to find out how to do this. It's super easy and fun! O was thrilled with her shirt, and she wore it for 3 days before I convinced her to wear something different. I've hidden the #3 shirt in the birthday bin (a storage bin with birthday hats, banner, plates, crown, etc), so I won't forget to give it to her in July :)

Guidecraft Castle Table Top Blocks

My dad gave O this set of castle blocks for Christmas, and we have had a lot of fun with them! O likes to build castles for Cinderella and the Prince :) These blocks are very well-made, and I think they will last forever!

They are a good bit smaller than her unit blocks, but we still mix the sets together to make really big castles! Playing with blocks is one of O's all time favorite activities :)

The storage case that the blocks arrived in was cracked, so I called Guidecraft and asked them to send a replacement. Their customer service is fantastic. They were VERY nice and immediately sent out a replacement storage container. I like to buy Guidecraft items since I know I can count on them to replace any missing or defective parts. O's Kitchen Helper is also made by Guidecraft, and they were wonderful about sending 2 replacement Kitchen Helpers when the only thing missing were the screws. I'm still shocked by that!

Family Game Night

Family game night has turned into family game morning, game afternoon, etc. O received lots of fun games for Christmas, and we have been playing them nonstop! Zingo and Keep it Steady are our favorites, but we've also enjoyed Count & Cook by Cranium Bloom, Seek and Find by Cranium, and the Tea Party Game by Eeboo.

To play the Seek and Find game you have to assemble the puzzle first. You then draw cards which give you an item or items to find. Once you find the items, you circle them with a dry erase marker. This game is actually somewhat difficult, and there are a couple of items that we still haven't found!



The illustrations for the Tea Party game are really pretty :) To play this game you spin the spinner to obtain tea party items. The first person to gather all of the party items wins the game. It's fun and simple!




Just so you know...I linked to the games at Amazon, so you could see them if you are interested. However, the prices for the Cranium games are VERY inflated. I paid 3.98 for the Seek and Find game and about 7.00 for the Count and Cook game. Both games were on sale at Target. They are both a lot of fun, but not worth the prices on Amazon :)

Disassembling the Gumdrop Tree

O and I had fun disassembling the gumdrop tree a few days ago. It was almost as much fun as making it :) We threw away the sticky gumdrops and toothpicks and saved the tree form for next year's gumdrop tree.

The 1st Mishap at the Art Shelf

Last night I looked over at O while I was cooking and she was drawing at her art shelf. She was coloring all over the shelf with a marker. I screamed, and the poor child looked terrified. I explained to her that we only color on paper, not shelves. She cleaned it up (luckily, she was using washable markers!) and told me she was sorry. I told her I was sorry for scaring her when I screamed. She looked at me very seriously and said "You screamed too woud (loud), mama! You need use your inside voice. Next time scream like this "ahhh" (her scream was very soft and sweet!) She really doesn't like loud noises, and hopefully she won't color on the shelves again :) She said she colored on the shelf because her paper was full. I reminded her that she can flip to a blank sheet of paper. Hopefully, she'll remember next time!

Unanswered Questions

I know that recently people have asked questions (in the comments section), and I haven't answered them. Now, I can't find the questions because I deleted them from my email account. One person asked where O's glass slippers came from...My mom bought them for her, and I think she found them at JC Penneys. Another person asked what color my kitchen walls are painted. It's basil, and I bought it at Wal-mart about 4 years ago. I think the brand is Kilz, but I'm not sure. I think there are a few more unanswered questions, so PLEASE ask again. I'm not ignoring you, I promise :)