We love everything about Fall! The colors are gorgeous, it starts to get cooler, and we get to do some fun fall crafts. We've spent a lot of time on walks and bicycle rides observing the trees, plants, and leaves around our new home. But, since I still can't find the paintbrushes since we moved, I had to get creative. Our favorite substitute for a paintbrush has been glue - it's easy to continue reading...
Chalk Maze: Helping Children Learn Their Name!
I'm always looking for ways to use things that we have around the house in new ways. On this particular day, I saw some chalk on the porch and I took advantage of the large amount of cement we have in front of our home (now, our old home!). We made a life size maze out of chalk and added my daughter's name inside. It not only got her moving, but it also helped her to learn her name! I was continue reading...
Pair Books w/ Play: The Perfect Fall Children’s Book
I love the book, "Leaf Man"by Lois Elhert. The book is beautiful; the illustrations really tell the story! It starts with a man made out of leaves and as the story progresses, he blows away to become something new: a chicken, a fish, a cow, etc. A leaf man can become anything when the wind blows. I love talking with Lil about what she sees in the pictures. We try to find the images on each continue reading...
Pair Books with Play: Five Little Monkeys and a Sensory Bin
Pair Books with Play will be a new focus on this blog! Each week we'll talk about a book and create an activity based on the book's theme. This week, Lil and I read “Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car” by Eileen Christelow. I paired it with a sensory play activity that we called the monkey car wash! Here's the synopsis: The book is about five little monkeys who try to sell their Mom’s continue reading...
{Pinkalicious} Make a Pretend Cupcake Shop
Today, we opened our own pretend cupcake shop! After reading Pinkalicious <--affiliate link! by Victoria Kann at nap time, we wanted to make our own pink cupcakes. This adorable book made both of us laugh out loud and my daughter wanted to read it over and over! Since we loved making erupting cupcakes, I knew my daughter would love this sensory play. We just had to put one ingredient in continue reading...
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Painting Butterflies and Learning About Symmetry
I love where I live in Santa Barbara because we are five minutes from a butterfly preserve. Monarch butterflies come here in droves during the winter and they hang in chandelier like formations from the trees. It's magical. I especially love that we get to see them flying around, stretching their wings on a warm and sunny day. It always encourages me to grab the books: The Crunching Munching continue reading...