Our February Poetry Basket

February has been a busy month, and we've only read our poem from our poetry basket a few times.  I couldn't find a poem that I liked on the internet, so I decided to just get one from one of our children's poetry books.  I love Wild Beasts by Evaleen Stein, and it's perfect for acting out (although the props don't fit in our basket!). 


Baby E likes to point to the words while reciting her version of the poem. 


O has had fun acting like a lion "beneath a nursery chair."

Where to buy Montessori Materials?

Where is your favorite online store for buying Montessori materials?  This is a frequent question that is emailed to me, and I don't have an answer because I rarely buy Montessori materials. However, I'd like to buy a set of knobless cylinders, and I'm looking for recommendations...Also, what are your favorite Montessori materials for children age 6 and older?  O is only 4, but she will be homeschooled starting in first grade, and I'm wondering what kinds of materials I need to get to prepare for this.  Thanks in advance for any input!

Van Gogh Art Study Continued

O and I (and occasionally baby E) have continued our study of Vincent van Gogh.  We haven't had as much time to focus on this as I would like, so we are going to continue to do van Gogh related activities for another couple of weeks. 


We came across a mini van Gogh book in a set from Starfall.  O cut the pages, and we stapled them together.  I read the book to her, and then she read it to me.  After we finished reading the book, we found the book on Starfall and read it there.  O really enjoyed this activity. 




After we looked at the Starry Night on the ipad, O painted her own version of the Starry Night.  She loves the art set that her grandparents gave her for Christmas.




Both girls love the Touch the Art books.  Touch the Art: Make Van Gogh's Bed




Starry Night has always been O's favorite painting in this book.  The swirls are raised and glittery, and the girls love to touch them.




This book is also one that we've enjoyed for years.  Vincent's Colors




O recently did this beautiful embroidery at school.  She said she was thinking of The Starry Night when she made it.

Valentine's Day Cheerio Treats

The girls and I made these Valentine's Day Cheerio treats yesterday, and they are DELICIOUS!

We melted the butter (about 3 tablespoons) and mini marshmallows (about 3/4 of a bag) using the microwave.  Then we poured in the Cheerios a little at at time and stirred.  I didn't measure how much Cheerios we used...we just kept adding more until it looked right.




We then added in Valentine's Day m and m's.  Yum!




I pressed the mixture in a glass dish and let them sit over night.



This morning I cut them using metal cookie cutters.  This was NOT easy to do, and it definitely would only work with metal cookie cutters. 

There is only one Cheerio treat left...I'm so tempted to eat it, but I guess I'll be nice and divide it with Elliott and the kids in the morning.

Heart Crayon Valentines

O and I finally finished making the Valentine's for her class today.  The idea for these crayon heart Valentine's came from Family Fun. 

First, we soaked the crayons in hot water.  This was the best idea ever, and it worked beautifully.  Last time we made number/letter crayons, we just peeled the paper off the crayons, and it was a painful nightmare. 





We then broke the crayons into little pieces and put them into a heart silicone tray (I think it came from the dollar section of Target a few years ago).




I baked the crayons on 275 for 20 minutes, and let them cool and harden in the oven so that the colors wouldn't mix when I moved them.  I cut out circles and wrote "You color my world!" on them.  O wrote her friends' names on the backs of the cards.  We attached the crayons to the cards using double sided foam tape. 



O is very proud of her Valentines, so I hope that her friends will like them!

No-Sew Gnomes for Valentine's Day

I wasn't going to make handmade gifts for the girls for Valentine's Day this year...until I saw these heart gnomes on The Crafty Crow.  They looked simple enough, and I made a few changes to make them even simpler! 




 
I printed the pattern from Wee Folk Art and got to work! 




I realized about halfway into this that I should take pics for a tutorial.  The room was pretty dark, so the pics aren't the best.

Here are a few of the pieces cut from wool blend felt (bought from Prairie Point Junction...I have lots leftover from the felt fairyland that I made for O's 4th bday). 




I glued the felt to the wooden people using Aleene's No-Sew Glue 4 oz (I love this glue!).





I then glued the cape to the person.  I held it in place for a few seconds.  I thought that I would need to pin it, but it stayed in place with no problems.




I put a line of glue down the side of the hat and rolled it to the right shape.  I used clips to hold it in place for about 10 minutes before attaching it to the gnome's head.




I drew hearts on the felt using a disappearing ink fabric pen and cut out the hearts.  I glued one heart to each gnome, and then glued the hats to their heads.  Done!  It was nice to start and finish a project in one night...a rarity around here!

I like the look of the gnomes much better when the edge of the felt is blanket stitched.  However, the kids won't notice or care, and I was in a hurry, so this worked for me! 

 Last year, I made no-sew fortune cookies for the girls, and the year before that I made heart shaped felt sugar cookies.  I'm glad that I made these last minute gnomes, or I surely would have regretted slacking on the handmade gifts...or maybe not as I'm trying to filter out much of the stuff that clutters our home and lives :)