Tape Roadways

I am working on being more of a "Fun Mom", which doesn't always come easy to me. With my long hours of work and school I am trying to sneak in play times that my son won't easily forget. When I saw this on Pinterest I knew I had found a winner. I just bought masking tape and proceeded to make roadways all through out the living room and dining room. The more furniture you tape up the better. Then matchbox races here we go!

"A" driving on his road

Don't you love the randomness of things on my floor-like deodorant. Ahh-life with a 15 month old.

Parking Lot

He is such a ham ;0)

Snow Madness

Here is the Pacific Northwest even the mention of snow gets us giddy. Over the long weekend we did some snow learning/craft activities to summon the snow. Wishful thinking I suppose. However our snow dreams paid off because we are enjoying our first (and probably only snow day of the year) We even got up and played before the sunrise, just in case it melts!

Snow Crafts:

Noodle Snowflakes "A" made

I attempted to make Borax Crystals. They would start to form but then stop. I must not have got the ratios right or water hot enough. Sort of a bummer! I will have to try it again one day!

"A" drew a picture of a snowman and made labels. Here he tried to write snow.

"A" put the snowman on ski's. Here you see his label sce for ski. Nice sounding out the phenomes!

Snow Reading:

Gibbon's writes a ton of terrific Non-Fiction nature books for younger children that are in picture book format. There are some great facts in these books. This one discuss how snow is made and more!

Terrific book about a farmer who was the first man to take microscopic photographs and discover no two snowflakes are alike. Excellent picture book biography suitable for any age.

Some of Snowflake Bentley's photographs of snow crystals.

One of "A's" favorite snow books. The pics are so sweet and soft they will melt your heart.

What do snowmen do when people go to bed at night. Read Snowmen at Night to find out.

Snow Day Fun:

"B" enjoying the snow (for about 10 mins)

The boys in the snow at dawn

My street. Already melting and sloshy. We called school for this-gotta love the Pacific NW

Me and "B"-did I mention I wasn't fully awake yet and it was before sunrise!

"A's" feeble attempts to make a snowman

"A" settled for a tabletop snowman. He is so proud. I think he looks terrifying, but I would never tell "A" that!

Ahhh....all warm with hot chocolate. That is more like it!

Literacy Bags

I am slightly obsessed with the idea of literacy bags. I heard about them a few years back and hope to write a grant to make them when I have a class of my own one day. A literacy bag is basically a book bag that is themed. In each bag are books that fit the theme, a manipulative that fits the theme, an activity or journal to do something hands-on, and more. They are a great tool to encourage reading with families. Imagine my surprise when I found out my public library just made them for the public to check-out! I can't be more excited!!!

About a month ago our library started Sophie Reads. Sophie is our library mascot (don't as me why). There are over 25 different themes ranging from siblings, feelings, trains, dinosaurs, pond, bears, and more. The literacy bags include 4-5 picture or board books (geared for ages 1-5), a video or music CD, a manipulative (like a puzzle or dolls), a book for adults (normally parenting related), and a page of songs to sing or finger plays related to the theme. Here is the one we just got for Transportation:

The books

The puzzle included (just right for my little tot)

List of songs and finger-plays, along with a DVD

The book for adults FYI: This book has great ideas

The bag all the materials go in. This is considered only ONE check out!

This literacy bag is perfect for my toddler and can get me back on track with implementing 5 A Day Books in a easy way. To read more about 5 A Day Books go to the Imagination Tree to learn more. That being said my 5 year old also really loves the bags (he normally picks the themes). If your library doesn't have them you can make them yourself and adjust them to the age that works for you. As I mentioned I want to make them for my class of upper elementary students. For example, I may make a cloth bag with a Ancient Egypt theme. I could include various levels of Non-Fiction books and some easy fiction (I am thinking something they could read in a week), Ancient Egypt Toob toys (Toobs are great for these), and maybe an activity where they write some hieroglyphs.Their really is no limit to ideas. Most of the things you could get at garage sales or used book stores. I'm getting all excited again! Here is an amazing website with fabulous ideas from a teacher named Mrs. Madden.

Mrs. Madden's bags she made for students. Can't wait to do this!!!

O-Shogatsu New Year Festival

Yesterday, at the Portland Japanese Gardens, we celebrated O-Shogatsu New Year Festival! "A" and I have been studying Japan a lot this year because my sister moved to Okinawa last year. We have had fun receiving care packages from her and researching here at home. You can see our Japan Lapbook in my post here. When I saw the New Year Festival I knew we had to go.

I don't know what the arraignment represents but my sister says all her neighbors have the same thing on their doors.

We had a great time. They offer a scavenger hunt for young kids with pictures of garden features. For the festival we saw a calligraphy demonstration, "A" got to write in Japanese "New Spring", and I got to try some traditional Matcha (Green Tea) with sugar cookies made in the traditional Japanese way and served by kimono wearing ladies. I love introducing the boys to different cultures and am so lucky to live in an area where that is a possibility.  Not to mention by learning about Japan it makes us feel a little closer to Aunt Katie!

ShiShi Dogs

Zen Garden

Learning Japanese Calligraphy

New Spring (or close too ;o)

Making Green Tea

Kimono in motion

I love these Cherry Blossom buds hanging on during Winter

Boys near Patagonia

World's Easiest, Healthiest Quiche

Okay, so I don't know if it is technically a quiche, but everything else is true. Did I mention besides being healthy and easy it also is cheap to make and can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for about 5 days-making school mornings a breeze! It's all true!!!

Buy the reduced-fat crescent roll from Pillsbury or the generic brand (found in fridge section). Roll it out as one sheet and put in a casserole dish (spray dish with PAM first). Pinch all the edges together so it looks like one solid sheet of dough. If it goes up on the edges of the dish a bit that is okay. Then put in whatever toppings you want on top of the dough. I made one with broccoli and another with diced ham. Then you pour the whisked eggs on top. When I make it in a casserole dish I used 6 eggs. This last patch I put the dough on two glass pie dishes so I only used 4 eggs each. You can use Eggbeaters to cut down on calories (or a half eggs and half Eggbeaters). It will look runny and cover your topping and dough. Don't worry it will turn out great. Next comes some shredded cheddar sprinkled on top of the runny eggs. Pop into a preheated oven of about 350 degrees. Wait until the eggs are completely set (about 15-20 minutes). The broccoli will need to cook a smidge longer than the ham because of the added moisture. Take out and let cool. You can cut pie shapes out and it will totally hold its shape. Most mornings I grab a piece from the fridge, nuke about 30 seconds, grab a napkin and go. You don't even need a fork. Of course, you can eat it on a plate with a fork to be fancy ;o).

I love to make these 4 ingredient dishes Sunday night, so all week I can grab a piece for the kiddos with a half banana and Go-Gurt. They have a totally healthy breakfast that literally took me about one minute to make. What a time saver! You can also have it for Brunch or dinner with a nice side salad.

A piece of each-don't mind if I do! I wanted you to see what they look like on a cross-section.

Ham and Cheddar Quiche

Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche

If any of you think of different combo's please let me know. I would love to try it!

Bog Baby

We ran across The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis by happen chance at our public library. It is a magical tale of a young girl that finds a tiny creature at a pond that appears after a good rain. She secretly takes the creature home and makes it a pet, but when it becomes sad she is forced to tell her mom. Rather than her mom being upset she admits that she once had one as well. Following her mother's advice she returns the bog baby to were it belongs-the bog! The illustration and story is actually quite sweet, but even my boy enjoyed it.

I haven't even told you the best part! At the very back is a writing prompt for kids. They explain it is rare to see Bog Babies, but if they happen to find one they should draw a small picture of it and answer the questions (what is his favorite foods, how many toes does he have, what color is he, etc). Then you can mail your writing into S.O.B.B (Save Our Bog Babies) at Random House Publishing. The book is from 2009 so I hope they still accept submissions because "A" got busy drawing and writing. He didn't want to simply answer questions but wrote a whole story which he wanted me to type. We mailed it out this week.

"A's" Bog Baby

"A's" story. He had a lot to say for a Kindergartner

Writing Prompt at the end of the book and our Bog Baby proof heading out to New York.

100 Books in Kindergarten

I recently ran across a list of 100 Books in Kindergarten should read. It is compiled by the Children's Librarians of Libraries of Middlesex. It is organized into ten different categories ranging from books that rhyme, animal stories, Folk/Fairy Tales and Flights of Fancy. There are a lot of list out there like this.  I particularly like this list because the poster has boxes to check off as you read them and then a spot for your child to list their three favorites. Being from a library background I have to say this list is a pretty good start. It was written in 2008, so some of the newer great stories aren't on it. However, one of my resolutions this year is to make sure my son has heard each story on this list. I am ashamed to admit that he has only been read 26 out of the 100. Time to get busy!~

If you would like to print out this poster yourself click here. Happy Reading!