Coffee Filter Fun

Repeat offender, here.  Coffee filter butterflies are just so fun and easy!

The kids just color any sort of design onto the coffee filter with washable markers.  The markers need to be washable to allow the color mixing effect to take place.

Just run the colored coffee filter under water and watch the colors mix together.  Immediately lay it out onto a paper towel.

The kids prefer to hold them in front of the heater to speed up the drying time.

Next, pinch.

Add pipe cleaner, curl some antennas and hang!

Meanwhile, Chippy was chased up the tree by Smudge again.  I watched them carefully play yesterday and am starting to gain confidence that Smudge will not actually eat Chippy.  Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is called 1901 by Birdy.  I think she's only 17. ♫

Spring Chicks

Kids love to have their hands painted. 

This time we used our hand prints to create a spring chick.  How wonderful it has been to note the changes lately!  The spring flowers are blooming, the blossoms on the trees are flying, the air is warmer.

It's the perfect time to create our chick.

Add a triangle beak and a googly eye....

Add a nest...

Tie it with a bow...

All done!   Easy squeezy, 15 minutes tops.   Have a great Tuesday!♥♥♥

I Bought Some Fabric

It all started Saturday morning.  I had a very small list of things to get at the grocery store and was kind of cranky because I didn't have something more to do.  Sometimes my mind just needs a project.  So off I went to the fabric store in Everett.  My daughter helped me pick out something bright.  I knew it would be for playroom curtains.  How one simple task turned into an entire re-do, I don't know.  I get obsessive.

We immediately went to Home depot to pick out paint.  Blue and green.  Perfect.

Ta-da!  We covered up all of the yellow paint.  I LOVE the green, it looks so bright and fresh! 

Next I decided that we couldn't keep this black shelf in the room, so I went BACK to Home Depot to get white spray paint.  Note to self- I do not like using spray paint.  Not only is my index finger numb from all of the spraying, but it runs and didn't spray on evenly.  Oh well.  I imagine it will get beat up anyway.  So it's all good!

Completed the "Grouchy Ladybug" fabric curtains and hung them up.  I like the contrast. :)

Giant daisy for decoration. ♥  One on each side of the window.

I used twine for the loop on our tie backs.  Twine. ♥

I wasn't sure if I would keep the tree.   Since I didn't want to paint the ceiling,  the tree needed to be repainted.

Paint, paint, paint..

I extended the grass all along the bottom this time.  Adam built me a platform that will fit into the little nook area of the room.  It will be four feet tall, and when complete will have stairs so the kids can climb up to read stories on the cushions up on top.  The kitchen area will remain underneath.

Can you envision it?  I can, it will be exciting.  Happy Monday!  Sunshine is out- I must get into it today. ♥

Song for today is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.  ♫  The Weird Al Yankovic version is great, too!

Mosaic

While digging through my leftover craft stuff drawer in the garage I found some foam mosaic squares.  I remember last summer, this house was bustling with ten children each day, so the amount of mosaic squares I put away would not have been enough for everyone to use for a project.  Into the drawer they went.  Now, I usually have three to five children during preschool time.  While digging, I found LOADS of extra craft projects that we will now be able to use!  Score!

The kids chose a shape from a big bag of sticky cardboard shapes.  They just need the backing peeled off, and then they can use the shape as a sticky surface. I love them because it's nice to give the glue a break. Less mess to scrub off of the table!

The kids were encouraged to put as many of the squares onto the shape as possible.  We then got out some construction paper and taped the shapes onto it.  The car was given a road to drive on.

The butterfly flew around the flower and over the grass.

The fish was under water.  This morning was quiet until about 8:15!  I enjoyed a leisurely bus stop trip with my 8 year old son, and a friend showed up and blessed me with coffee!  God is SO good.  Happy Friday!♥♥♥

Song for today is Ooh La La by The Wiseguys.  Now playing at Henle House!  Grab a towel and swing it around while you get your groove on, it's Friday! Noone will know!  The kids are headbanging, how adorable.♥ ♫

Button Sorting

All you need is an egg carton, some markers or crayons, and some small objects of color, shape etc.  We used buttons!  I took some markers and colored the bottom of each egg cup.  We put some buttons in the top row of the carton, and the kids spent considerable amount of time just sorting the buttons into the correct colored cup.  They think they are having FUN, while I have actually placed them in front of this task to diffuse a melt down. Sneaky, but it always works!

 I wanted to post the photos of the rest of the cars from the pinewood derby last night for you to see.  This category above is the preschool age group.

Here we have the kindergarten through 2nd grade group.

Here are the third grade through sixth grade group.

Here are the teen and adult cars.  I know that we had a lot of late check in cars, so not all of them were pictured.  Aren't these fun?

I particularly liked this one, it was called the redneck RV. 

Our pastors wife came up with this idea, a replica of the race track.  So creative!  Happy Thursday!♥♥♥
I don't have a song of the day for today.  I suppose I am in mourning because I downloaded an album this morning,  it was Some Nights by Fun.  I was annoyed and mad that as I started listening to it it was great, and then out of nowhere, the F word.  Song after song, ruined by profanity and now I can't even listen to it.  I guess that is one way I know that my heart has changed.  I don't think I could even enjoy it without a house full of kids.  That's proof of a change in me.  Change can be good!  I know there is a verse somewhere, something about how can we speak such filth and then turn around and glorify God out of the same mouth?  Darn. It could've been a great album. 
But I'm cutting that cord.

Pinewood Derby

It's that time of year again, the AWANA Pinewood Derby is tonight.  Aiden made a mouse car.

Ethan made a sword!

Adam made a car designed for speed.

I made a crayon.  I hadn't made a car in about four years, so I thought I had better jump back on the bandwagon. 

There is all of the extra weight, maybe it'll pass up another car.  Maybe not, but it looks cool.   I hot glued over the hole and spray painted it orange again. 

 Yesterday we created May day hats to wear!

I have a container full of these floral cut outs that had been used in the past to decorate our tree on the wall in the playroom.  They are just perfect for a May Day hat.

Glue.. stick.. glue... stick...

Ta-da! Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is now playing at Henle House.  Start Somewhere by Toby Mac. ♫ We all have to start somewhere.
 

Alligators And Food

♫5 little monkeys swinging in the tree, teasing Mr. Alligator, you can't catch me..you can't catch me!  ♫ And alooooooong came Mr. Alligator (Hand motion an alligator) and SNATCHED that monkey right outta that tree!  ♫  4 little monkeys... (repeat.)  The kids love this song!  I found a project in my supplies from last summer that I ordered from Oriental Trading last summer.  We sang the song in group time and then created our necklaces.

This fell right into place with our patterning that we have been doing.  They looked at the paper instructions and tried to follow the pattern. It took some thought.

Even if the pattern wasn't created, they enjoyed getting to the point where they could add the alligator bead.

My attempt to capture four smiling children didn't go as planned.  This was take 5.

Meanwhile, I have vamped up my daycare menu to include more of a variety of new foods for the kids to try.  It is now loaded with more fresh fruits and veggies, less processed foods and more homemade meals.  Every lunch that I make still has to fall into completion within half an hour to keep us on schedule.  I am sad that I am not allowed to use foods that I have canned myself, but that is understandable.  We CAN, however eat the food that are grown in the gardens.  We have strawberries and snap peas that the kids love to eat.

We talk a lot about how the healthy foods we eat help our muscles grow.

The kids flex for me almost daily.  So funny!

Over the weekend I finally went out and bought a Wisteria.  Here it is, in all of it's glory!  (Bad fuzzy photo, sorry.)

I can't wait to watch it grow over the years.  It is a Cooke Purple variety and is planted in a spot that provides ample climbing space.  My back yard flower garden feels complete.  Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Song for today is Safety Dance by Men Without Hats.  It's just that kind of day. The kids are dancing around the May Pole for May Day which just happens to be today.♫