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Together we looked at the map and I explained how to figure out where we are on the map and where the “landmarks” were (our couch, the dollhouse, the ktichen table, etc.).  The kids then went to the play room to count while I hid a snack in the livingroom.  When they came back I would mark where I hid the snack on the map and the kids would go “find” it.  They were fast!  After they found one snack they went back to the playroom and we repeated the process till all the snacks were found.

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This was a yummy geography lesson.  Next time we do this I am going to try and map our entire house and the backyard to add some complexity.  I thought the map of my living room/kitchen would be complex enough for my almost 3 & 4 year olds, but really, they got the concept of how to read a map in seconds!  I wish I had their intuitive directional skills!

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I made my template with a sippy cup to make the eye size, then bridged the eyes together.  I used this template as a pattern and using some leftover satin, we cut our eye masks out of the fabric.  I used the smaller side of the cup to make an identical mini-mask for my daughter.

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I then sewed the mask pieces together, good size facing in, leaving a two inch gap at the top so that I could turn it right-side out and stuff the mask. After sewing the pieces together I cut tiny slits around the sides of the mask.  These helped the seam be even after it was turned right-side out.  We then stuffed the mask (with rice) and sewed the top closed.  Doused the mask with a few drops of lavender essential oils and viola – relaxation!

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Thanks again to Scrubbing Bubbles for inspiring this post!  Check them out for some great cleaning supplies.

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First we cut the fronts off of our boxes, then we drew random straight lines on the back as cutting guides.    When my kids have better dexterity I am sure we could have made the lines more curved, but for now cutting along a straight line was challenge enough.  Then, once we cut all our pieces out, we had fun assembling our puzzle.

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What you need to make your own lotion-based finger paint:

• Old containers of lotion or sunscreen
• Tin to hold the paint
• Food coloring

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We used liquid food coloring, but I think the gel colors would have been better, more vibrant.  Maybe we’ll try gel colors next time.  We mixed the dye into the lotion with paintbrushes and then had a blast covering our paper and ourselves with the paint.  The kids had a blast and I loved the way the kids smelled after our craft time!  Made me think summer was already here!

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What you will need to make your own Word Slides:

• Thin and long paint chips and larger paint sample pages.
• Razor Blades (to cut the slits for the letter slides)
• Cutting board
• Permanent marker

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Making the Slides in this Learn to Read resource:

I wanted the letter slides to have common beginnings and endings.  We make our beginning blends blue, our endings green, our vowels yellow and random consonants red and purple.  This makes it easy for me to find what I am looking for without a whole lot of digging.

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The beginning blends used the letters: f, t, s, p, b, c, g.   The second blue slide had the letters: l, h, r.  With these cards we can now make the blends: fl, br, cl, gl, sl, pl, th, ch, sh, ph, br, cr, gr, fr, tr, pr.

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The ending blends were: st, er, nt, ll, ck, ed, ly, ng.   These encompassed the majority of endings to words.

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There were also two colors of random consonants to make any blend groups that I missed.

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What you will need to pour with you kids and keep your sanity:

• A variety of different sized containers
• A big sheet to limit the mess and hopefully salvage some of the wheat
• A big bucket of wheat

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Jen used rice, you could also use dirt, a box of instant potatoes, dried beans, etc.  We just used wheat as we have it on hand in big 5 gallon buckets for baking our bread.

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Opportunities for Learning with a Pouring Activity:

Practice hand and eye coordination.  We got some measuring cups recently from Pourfect Bowl.  They advertised them as great for kids as they are formed to make spilling a rare occurence.  I was actually surprised.  They made this activity a lot less messy than it potentially could have been (rubber on the bottom makes them harder to accidentally tip, and if you do tip them, the way the sides are curved makes the contents stay inside the bowl).  The kids got to practice hand and eye coordination as they poured the wheat from one container to the next.

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Explore amounts.  Which container holds more, the one that is deep and narrow?  The one that is big but flat?  The square tub?  The round salad bowl? I really wish I was able to spend more time talking with them about the activity.  Unfortunately, they were too distracted by the newness of this activity for many science experiments.   We’ll do those in a later post, hopefully.

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Textures.  This was especially enthralling to my youngest, she loved dipping her whole arm into the bucket and the feeling of the wheat squishing in her fingers.  She also enjoyed helping me clean up and picking up the grains individually.

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Overall, this was a lot less messy than I anticipated!  I didn’t even have to vacuum the floor when we were done, just take the sheet out and shake what I couldn’t put back into the bucket.  Who knows, we might have some wheat growing in our backyard this summer.

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Added this fun activity to the collection on We Play. Check it out!

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The kids get to pick their own packet – Better Oats has quite the variety of flavors – and dump the oats and water into their own bowls.

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Sometimes, they talk me into stenciling their initial onto their bowls:

Other times we just decorate our oatmeal with faces or globs of applesauce. Either way, our kids enjoy their oatmeal and I enjoy a cooking activity my preschoolers can for the most part do by themselves!

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This post was sponsored by Better Oats Oatmeal – I can attest to the Blueberry Muffin Flavor. It was yummy!

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How to create your own “What is Missing?” Game:

We used Easter egg tops, but I bet you could use old cups or even sippy cup lids.  Basically, you want something to cover up each item.

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A mix of ten or so small trinkets or items.  We had a figurine, a horse shaped eraser, some candy, a button, loose change, a fake bug, pom-pom, etc.

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Learning opportunities in this Preschool Game:

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We hid each of the trinkets under the egg “lids.  Then I would ask my preschooler to find an item.  Can you remember where we hid the pom-pom?  When she was right we’d switch turns and my daughter would ask me to try and remember where we hid an item.

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Next, we took turns covering our eyes.  After our eyes were covered, the other person would remove one of the items off of the table.  It was the job of the blinded person to guess what item was removed.  When we first started playing my daughter would need clues to help her remember what the item was (ex: it was blue and you could sew it on your clothes).  As we played though, she became very good.

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Then Quirky Kiddo figured it would be best to just wrestle mommy and peak at the contents of the egg lid.  We had a blast and had fun stretching our memories.

Ingredients needed for fudge:

• 5 bags of chocolate chips – we used Dark chocolate for the rich flavor and antioxidants!
• 2 Cans sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 Can evaporated Milk
• 2 tablespoons of butter

Get your big crockpot out, put the chocolate in, turn heat on high. Add the cans of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and butter. Stir till all the chips are wet, then watch the chocolate and butter melt. It should take a few hours, and you’ll have to stir the fudge occasionally so it doesn’t burn. If your fudge looks too thick (making peaks) add a bit of milk to it and stir out the clumps.  When the fudge has a thick syrupy consistency, boil your jars and lids to sanitize them, fill the hot jars with the hot fudge. Put the lids on the jars, as the jars of fudge cool the lids will seal – you should hear a ping sound. The fudge lasts forever, assuming you don’t eat it all!
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The best part of making the fudge is cleaning out the bowl afterward!
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Fudge Variations:

• Add 5 peppermint candy sticks to the batch for Chocolate-Peppermint Fudge.
• Add 1 1/2 cup of maraschino cherry juice and half a cup of dry in place of the evaporated milk. If you are really industrious, you can dry the cherries from your marachino cherry jar in your oven (on its lowest setting, turning them occasionally). Dried cherries and this cherry fudge make a great icecream toppings.
• Use milk chocolate and substitute one of the bags of chocolate for toffee bits. Chocolate-toffee topping is delish!
• Add 2 tablespoons of almond extract. It’s a nice Italian variation, great in coffee!

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My oldest is 4, and she starts off every morning with, “What day is it?”, followed by, “And what special thing are we going to do today?” As you can imagine, she keeps me on my toes.

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One of the cartoons she enjoys is Toot & Puddle.  Toot and Puddle are 2 pigs who travel the world and explore different cultures.  One day last month she asked me about postcards.  We had never talked about postcards before, so I asked her where she first heard about them.  “Through Toot and Puddle, Mommy.”

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That’s where I came up with the idea for the Postcard Project.  I called my mom, who called my aunt.  I asked my friends.  I asked my brother.  Basically, anyone I knew who lives, or works, or travels to other states, I asked them to pick up a postcard or 2, and mail it to us.

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I went out and bought a 3-ring binder and some cardstock.  I also printed off a blank map of the U.S.A. Then we waited for a few postcards to come in the mail before getting started.

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I prefer the blank map because you can fill it in as you receive postcards.  You can show them where on the map they live in proximity to where the postcard came from.  And you can even make it a game to receive postcards from all 50 states or one from each continent, etc.  I prefer to glue the map to the very first page in the binder, but you can order your binder however you choose.

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As you glue your received postcards to the cardstock, grab a marker or pen and record who sent the postcard and the date received.  That way you’ll never forget who sent it once it’s glued in place.

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The Postcard Project is something that can be long-term.  As years go by, vacations will be had, business travel will occur, and people you know and love will move.  Take those opportunities to grow your postcard collection and teach your kids about different places in the country (or world).

Supply List:

-3-ring binder

-cardstock

-glue

-map

-a handful of postcards to get started

Thanks to Friereke and the Umeebee School Program for proving an image for us!  And a big thanks to Liz for inspiring this geography activity!

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Thanks to all the moms who have participated in our post card swap!  Over 30 kids and nearly 20 families participated!  If you missed out on it, email me and my kids will mail you a card and keep you updated if we ever do a big swap again in the future.