Faces.

Faces.

All of a sudden, out of the blue (at least it appeared that way to me), my 3-year-old started drawing faces.

I never showed her how to draw one and no one had (to my knowledge), so I was pretty blown away when she drew this one day, a few weeks ago....

Bodies and arms and recognizable faces. Pretty cool. Yesterday, she drew these faces with some pastels I got out for her.

She made sure to point out the eyelashes.

Babies Discovery Basket: Shells.

Poor second kid. She has totally gotten the shaft.

By the time her Sister was the same age, I had done lots of interesting, fun Activities with her. I carefully rotated out her toys and materials every 2 weeks. She had been to numerous Music Together Classes and even a Yoga Class or two.

Not this time.

The Living Room is starting to starting to feel overwhelming, so it's time for a "Toy Rotation."

Sorting out Toys, prompted me to put together this quick Discovery Basket.

I collected around 10 or so Shells from our various collections. I made sure none were too small. I sat right next to her, after introducing the Discovery Basket and made sure that all the Shells stayed on the Sheepskin Rug. The Living Room has wooden floors and I was concerned that if she started walking around with the Shells, one would drop and shatter.

Each and every one of the Shells went into her mouth (of course). It was fun seeing which ones, she really responded to and kept picking up again and again.

This is such a simple, but beautiful Activity to share with your baby! 

Snow Jewels.

It's still snowing. When it stops, we'll try these puppies out.

Giant Snow Jewels.

They look much prettier in real life. Can't wait to see what Nye-Nye's reaction will be to them.

Making them was easy. I just filled up balloons with water and some food dye and then put them in the freezer.

I put them in over-night, but you only need 5 or 6 hours for them to freeze.

Then, all that is left to do is cut a small hole in the balloon and peel it off.

And, enjoy!

Here are some Tips (I learned the hard way)...

1. Put food dye in FIRST. I attempted to fill up the 11 inch balloons with water, before I put in the dye. The water just sprayed about and the balloon deflated.

2. Use a bathroom faucet to fill them. It's been way too long, since I've made water balloons. You need to make a seal and my kitchen faucet just wasn't cutting it.

3. Remember they will freeze however you lay them down. Whoops...space is at a premium in our freezer, so I squeezed two of them in an awkward spot. When they were frozen, I couldn't get them out. Papa Bear had to work really hard to yank them out of the door shelf.

4. Be careful peeling over the balloons, your hands will get messy. The food dye dyed my hands, which wasn't a big deal. But, if it is for you, I should recommend you wear gloves.

I was inspired by the wonderful Growing a Jeweled Rose's Post on Snow Jewels. 

Looking forward to putting them into action!

Activities for Babies: 9 Months. Light and Shadow Baby.

This activity took exactly two minutes to set-up.

When the box from Amazon arrived of transparent folders for Nye's Light Box, I decided to hang them temporarily for the Baby. I added the packing pillows, since they are so fun to touch.

I used my favorite....electrical tape to stick them to the door.

The shadows were so beautiful!

Now, I'm not going to say this kept her captivated for an hour. But, five minutes here and five minutes there is fine in my book. Especially at this age.

I'll leave them up for a few more days and then cut them into different shapes for the Light Box.

I'm sure they will make another appearance (in a different form) on the door soon.

Frozen Fun.

If you are currently experiencing some SERIOUSLY COLD WEATHER, this may be a fun activity for your Kids.

Frozen Ornaments.

The sky is the limit with different themes. But, we made these before Christmas and used Cranberries and Pine Cones.

You could some small toys or other materials from Nature, whatever your Child is interested in right now. We used a Muffin Tin because that's all we had. But, a Bundt pan works better (and stays frozen longer...we learned that the hard way the first time we made these). 

Throw in all the materials, add some twine or ribbon and water and put Outside for a bit. And Voila!

So pretty in the Sun, don't you think?

Gifts To Make. Play Silks. Ages 2-7.

If there is a Kiddo on your Christmas List who is really into Imaginary Play this be right up their alley.

It's one of the coolest Craft Ideas I've seen in awhile. Cheap, easy and encourages Open Ended Play. It's so worth making yourself and NOT buying.

Kool-Aid, White Vinegar and boiling water...how hard is that? The hardest thing for me was tracking down some Kool-Aid.

I bought several plain white silk scarves from Dharma Trading Company. The cheapest was about $2 and the largest one was $8. I don't even want to think about how much the large one would have cost, if I bought it from a Waldorf site.

It took less than an hour to "dye the Playsilks" and was very straight-forward. (The biggest issue was a whiny Toddler who wanted to stir the boiling water).

I would think this would work as a present for both Girls and Boys up to the age of 7 or so. Especially if you dyed a really large scarf or two. A cool tent, or curtains for a theater...the possibilities are unless!

This could also work as a gift for that person in your life who ADORES scarves as a fashion accessory. It would be a fun activity to do with an older child.

Nice tutorial here.

Wonderful photos with another tutorial here.

Rainbow Rice. The Gratitude Month.

It's the Simple Things.

Seriously, how have I not made "Rainbow Rice" for my Kiddo, before? It cheap, it's easy to make and occupies my Rugrat FOR HOURS.

I packaged it up for Nye-Nye to take to her Dadi's this Week, while Papa Bear and I are away. It's a perfect thing for her to do at her Grandmother's house.

It cost around $8 for a 10 lb bag of rice and I already had some food coloring and a big, plastic storage bin. If she eats some, it's no big deal. I'm sure you seen it on Pinterest and a million Blogs, so I won't bore you with directions.

What am I Grateful for Today?

Rainbow Rice...Fun, Open-Ended Play for my 2 1/2 year old (perfect for long, Winter Days)

Halloween Art

 

 

Art Makin' has been on the back burner, recently.

The kiddo has been immersed in constant Imaginary Play and lots of Block Building. So, it's been well over a month since I busted out some Art Materials.

I realized that we should send a few Halloween cards to an Auntie who greatly appreciates them. So that's what we did this Morning, while our Bright Eyes slept.

Lots of painting with black, white and orange. I had a stash of black envelopes that I just kept handing Nye. She would paint for 30 seconds or so and say, "all done" and then I would hand her the next one.

She's sponged painted a pumpkin and worked on several watercolor paintings (wax resist...so fun with kids).

It was a nice way to spend 45 minutes or so together.

I love the white and black combo, if I have the energy, maybe we'll do some charcoal together tomorrow.

Hope you'll having fun getting ready for Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letting Go. Being Okay With the Mess.

 

Sometimes it's easy to find yourself saying "no" when your child is getting caught up in playing and making a big mess. All you can focus on is "oh, no...how long is this going to take to clean?"

I am trying to just to LET GO. And, enjoy her smile and her pure Joy at being completely and utterly engaged in her work.

I feel like I am finally getting to the place where I can be okay and say...the clean-up is totally worth it. What's a few minutes of scrubbing and sweeping compared to an hour or so of utter enchantment?

 

 

 

 

Using Real Art Materials With a Toddler. Oil Pastels.

 

 

 

 

The latest craze sweeping through our Family?

 

Oil Pastels.

 

I have been busting out daily with nice paper with some good weight to it and a decent box of Oil Pastels.

 

Tons of fun. We now have a Mama/Daughter Art Hour after Dinner. It's nice because it's something we can do together and is a very calming activity before Bed-time.

 

It's been interesting watching her work progress. The photos of the drawings show her first 6 drawings in order. Which is your favorite? I think mine is #4.