♫Five little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away..♫ Mother duck said "Quack quack quack!" FOUR little duckies came running back. (Repeat until you have one duck who goes out to play.) Then Daddy duck says "QUACK QUACK QUACK!!!" All five duckies come running back. ♫ We've been singing this occasionally since September. I thought it was time to make some duckies to play with while we sing the song. They look like they have personalities! I think the second one from the right is about to have a meltdown.. LOL
We used air-dry putty. There are all kinds of things that can be used, though! Playdough, wooden beads, plain old construction paper, foam balls.
To begin, we shaped our "ducks". They rolled the foam on the table to create a circle the best that they could.
Next step was to add an orange beak to each duck.
Then they added eyes.
This really took some fine tuned precision! This little guy did it! He's 2. I love the air dry putty because it sticks together effortlessly. No glue needed.
I found these great canvas drawstring bags in my supplies. They are perfect to keep our five little ducks in!
The kids colored in the number 5.
But wait, half of the time, the kids forget the song when they get home. I printed out the lyrics and glued them onto a piece of craft foam to help preserve it. They fit right into the bags.
I love these bags. I purchased them at Discount School Supply, although I was unable to find them again. This website has wonderful items! We purchased our air dry putty from the site, too. (Oh- and my construction paper!) Happy Friday!♥♥♥
This monkey is called a 'Chuckle Buddy'. My daughter and I were in Pioneer Square in Seattle a couple of years ago and came upon this amazing toy store called Magic Mouse Toys. There was a pig rolling around in the store, laughing at everyone. People couldn't look away. They were all smiling. I could not leave the store without one. I paid about $20. The eye on his forehead waits for motion, and then the monkey rolls around laughing at us. It's so funny that it has made my top ten list of favorite toys and I had to share!
Sometimes I place him by the front door to surprise people when they arrive in the morning. Starting the day off with a good chuckle is like therapy. My special favorite toys don't come out all of the time. Our monkey stays up high so that he is safe and taken care of. He takes 2 AA batteries. His laugh can brighten the sternest of moods. Happy Thursday! I'm lifting you up in prayer this morning. Feel free to send me your personal requests. ♥♥♥
Song for today is called Sing Together by train. I downloaded this album yesterday, it's nice!♫
Occasionally I end up with one or two children. That always calls for what we call an Adventure. At Henle House, an adventure is the act of getting in the van and going anywhere but our house. We went to Forest park in Everett to picnic and explore.
It had been a long time since we had escaped to this place. I remember several summers ago, this stop was routine. How things have changed!
The boys loved the wooded trail the most. I did, too. Boys have such imaginations, it was really entertaining to listen to them talk amongst themselves about the noises they were hearing and how strong they are to get up the hills. They wondered if they would be seeing any monkeys. I saw a couple, straight ahead.
Oooh, a split log. Perfect for resting!
Aiden said,"It's a clue! What does it mean?" LOL...
They noticed how tall the trees were. This was so great! We were the only ones on the trail. They wanted to wander it again. I was all for it.
Here Aiden is, explaining another "clue" to me. ♥ Smooch!
They played on the insanely busy playground, although by my photos, you would never guess. It was CRAWLING with field trip groups of older children.
I managed to capture a portion of the toys, empty. The playground at this park is wonderful! I am always grateful when we get to escape. Happy Wednesday!♥♥♥
A sweet little song this morning called Happy by NeverShoutNever!. ♫
It's that time of year again! Each morning I enjoy a quick peruse around the gardens to see which seeds have sprouted, what flowers are blooming. My Niko beast used to do this with me, so I couldn't help but miss him this morning.♥ The wisteria is blooming beautifully! I had no idea how fragrant the blooms would be, but they are.
The Azalea is blooming. I love it's fiery orange.♥
The lilac tree smells SO good! Some of them made their way onto our table. Do any of you have any tips to make them last longer in a vase? Two days tops is usually what I get out of them. I suppose the best thing to do is keep them on the tree and just go smell them daily.
This morning I found some cucumbers that sprouted. ♥
Look who stepped in and decided to roam with me! Smudge can be my new garden cat.♥
The veggie garden was finished yesterday in the glorious sunshine. I am so grateful for this garden. If it produces NOTHING, at least it brings me joy to water and weed it every summer.
A Mother's Day photo. Our style!♥ Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥
Now playing at Henle House, Red Red Wine by UB40. ☼
The state of Washington requires that each licensed childcare business must provide no less than 30 minutes of outside time every day. Is that all? I was surprised to learn that. 30 minutes isn't very much. We do twice that just in bus stop time. I imagine that there must be childcare providers not allowing the outside time or it wouldn't have been a stipulation. This saddens me! Just allowing FREE time to roam outside sparks imagination in children. They are breathing in the fresh air, learning about the bugs and plants, running, climbing, using their imaginations. We are throwing out the schedule today and playing outside. It's going to be in the mid 70s, which is practically summer for us. I will plant the veggie seeds. The kids will get dirty and play together. For much longer than 30 measly minutes. Happy Monday!♥♥♥
Song for today is Sing Sing Sing, not sure who the original composer is. If you can watch this video without smiling, I will be surprised. ♫
Here is my handsome hubby, about to install the cool book nook I had been dreaming about thanks to Pinterest. You can see the inspiration for our book nook here. Ok, I know that the inspiration photo is much more glorious than what we built, but it was the photo that gave me the idea of using this strange space in our playroom. It used to have my personal shelves that stored games, my group time basket, other stuff. I love Pinterest!
Here is the platform! I love that my hubby enjoys making things fun for the kids as much as I do. Otherwise, this never would've been built.
Next, the railing. We still need to add one more piece of wood to be in compliance with the "slats must not be further than 3 1/2 " wide" rule.
I had this floor mat up in the attic. It's perfect for cushioning the little knees once they reach the top.
In went the steps! I am so happy with this- it is so sturdy and wonderful. The kids are enjoying it! Up next: bookshelves like these ones. Up above the book nook on the green wall, and to also replace our standing book shelf in the playroom. It will create space, and a nice way to display seasonal books. Now all I need to do is paint our nook. White? Green? Red? HELP! What do you suggest? Happy Friday! It's beautiful today- amen. I am going to be rolling out and cooking tortillas today so I can make enchiladas tomorrow. In my mind, the kids will all be skipping around the yard, holding hands in the sunshine and chasing butterflies. We'll see!♥♥♥
Song for today makes me actually want to head bang to banjos! Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford And Sons.☼
"Miss Nicole my fingers don't go that many." Hmm, this does pose a problem. How do I get a 3 year old to understand the number 17? It sure helps to be able to count fingers. I suppose we could've counted fingers and then toes, but that might confuse them. A solution= hand prints to show 17 fingers! Most of them counted all of the fingers successfully.
Sometimes I feel bad on number days and throw something like fruit loop necklaces into our schedule just to add some fun. I know, I know, counting activities CAN be fun. I believe that kids need to just play, too. So YES, we counted to 17. Then we made some sugary cereal necklaces to even out the fun scale.
Here is how the conversation usually goes. "We don't eat them, right?" I reply with,"Well, not yet." Then they continuously remind each other that if they eat them the necklace will be so small. This happens every time.
"Can I just eat one, PLEASE?" He asked. Look at those blue eyes. ♥ "Well, alright. Go ahead. " I answered, beaten by cute.
Our grass heads grew some hair! The kids took them home this week. Happy Thursday!♥♥♥
