Toilet Papering

 We created some really cute heart guys yesterday!  I was going to only blog about that this morning.

A song came on.  It is almost ALWAYS when a song comes on that the kids decide they want to dance.  We have been skipping our extra outside time because it's so cold.  The kids have been climbing the walls.  So have I!

 It began as it usually does.  The kids were jumping around.

 As I was hauling an arm full of toilet paper rolls to the bathroom to restock- I thought- why not?

 We had our very first toilet paper dance party! 

 It was far more exciting than streamers or scarves.  It floats so nicely through the air!!

 We toilet papered each other.

 The energy is not captured in these photos, but they were all bouncing off of the floor and yelling and screaming in delight.  It was AWESOME.

 It makes me happy when they are happy.

 Chippy came by.  It wasn't too cold for her.

 I will not forget how fun this was.  It was worth demolishing an entire roll of toilet paper.  We always have a lifetime supply, thanks to Costco.

 We immortalized our toilet paper fun by sending it to a fiery death.  We had a moment of silence.

I cannot even express how fun this was!  These kids are blessings.

♥♥♥Happy Friday!♥♥♥

Paint & Beads

I do not have any pink paint.  I don't remember seeing any Crayola pink paint, either.

Needing pink paint is always a good excuse to teach the kids about color mixing.

Everyone had a blob of white paint.

We added two drops of red paint.  The kids mixed it up to see what would happen.

Look at his face!  He just realized what is happening. :)

Everyone had a pale pink paint!

Time to paint the word "Pink".

They all did a great job painting in the lines.

We had lots of time left.  It has been unusually freezing outside here in Western Washington.  For most of winter, it has been in the 40 degree range.  This week it dropped down into the teens and 20s.  That is pretty shocking for us!  We stayed inside because the kids are miserable outside in this type of cold.  Beading would help to pass the time.

I particularly love these larger beads because I can actually write names on them.

Pretty!  She wore it again today! 

This was also happening yesterday!  Seattle was a giant cluster of overfilled busses and non stop traffic to celebrate the return of our Superbowl champs- The Seahawks!  I couldn't resist tuning in from the warmth of the living room.  It was pretty exciting!  Thousands of kids skipped school to attend. 

♥♥♥Happy Thursday!♥♥♥

Hearts

We got out the craft sand!  

We have been working on the number eleven and the heart shape.  Why not create eleven hearts?

The kids painted some Elmer's glue onto the hearts.  See the cool plastic tray?  They are PERFECT for any project involving sand or any other messy art stuff.  The only downside is that I usually have to scrub them off, but the peace I get from knowing that sand in my house is contained is far more worth it.

The kids chose colors and sprinkled them onto the glue. 

We poured the excess sand off of each heart onto a paper plate to create rainbow sand.

 I love craft sand.  See how bright it is?  It really stays put, too.  I can hang projects up on the wall before they have even dried and not have to worry about sand falling off all day.. 

Eleven hearts!  (Well, 44 hearts, but you know what I mean.)

♥♥♥Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥

Letter Kk & Pattern Transfer

Sometimes I fold and we complete the worksheet that I had planned originally.  It IS important to practice tracing those letters.  Sometimes they just seem so boring.  We are working on the letter K this week!

I have been trying to reinforce name recognition lately.  Those who are ready have been working on writing the letters of their names.

Look at those K's!

We got out these plastic sheets that have raised patterns imprinted into them.  I don't know what to call them.  Crayon rubbing stencils?  Pattern sheets?  Anyway- we used them for the first time yesterday.

When you place them under a sheet of paper and color over them, a recreation of the pattern appears.  The trick is to hold the paper still.  I like them because we don't have to use the crayon on it's side to make it work.

♥It was  a quick project.♥

There was some sort of cat meeting happening outside.  
♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥

Busy Hands Are Happy/ God's Life Lesson

Friday I decided to set up three centers.  One was the patterning blocks.

Second was the free paint table.

Third was a giant floor puzzle.

Choosing two or three 10-15 minute activities is a great way to keep busy kids occupied.   Time flies by when we are busy and happy!

I love patterning blocks.  The kids seem to never get bored with them.

On to the paint table.  

The kids chose to stand, which believe it or not, changes the painting experience completely.  

They painted for quite a while. 

Finally, it was floor puzzle time!  

It is always a good thing when the kids are busy.   Busy hands are happy hands!

 

Reflecting on my curtains/blinds tizzy- God showed me what I was supposed to learn through that experience.  I was so caught up in myself that I forgot to pay attention.

• Number one: NONE of this "stuff" belongs to me anyway.  I am a steward of whatever God puts in front of me.

• Number two:  This happened because the Lord allowed it to happen.  (Clearly, for good reasons.)

• Number three:  How selfish I was, freaking out about something as trivial as blinds and curtains.  Here I am, having been gifted this wonderful childcare center all thanks to God- and my freak out did not glorify God in any way.  I apologized.  Lesson learned, and I'm glad it was learned quickly. 

                                                        ♥♥♥Happy Monday!♥♥♥