Spray Paint Valentine’s Cards

Part of the joy of creating art is the process. In fact, the process IS the joy and the whole purpose in much of the preschool art experience. Exploring materials, experimenting with different techniques -- this is where the excitement is at! Here’s our take on a process oriented Valentine.

An interesting "costume"

This is what happens when you don't give your three year old enough crackers for her hummus:

Tugging on Heart Strings

I hope no one is getting tired of all our Valentine’s crafts – I have a few more to post! This idea came from the Feb 2011 issue of Family Fun (great magazine, I dog-ear at least 10 pages each issue which is my criteria for keeping a magazine subscription).

I did run into some issues with the cornstarch glue. It seems I’m not the only one – at least Kim from Life of a Modern Mom had the good sense to jump ship and move on to the Elmer’s glue. I was trying to reach “translucency” with a bunch of white goop in my pot that seemed ready to solidify. I took the mixture out of the pan and found the perfect solution…

Howdy Folks!

Welcome to those folks coming over from Apartment Therapy's OhDeeDoh -- how exciting to get a mention on one of my favorite websites! I hope you enjoy the Valentine's Day Apple Chips and visit for a while. Thanks for stopping by!

For more Valentine's Day ideas check out the wreath my craft toddler made and our heart shaped bird-seed ornaments (because our feathered friends need love too).

Lil’ Letter Caper

 

I strongly believe play is the most important learning a three year old can be doing. That said, I have a kid who is endlessly curious about letters and writing (and books obviously). Claire quickly learned all the sounds in our alphabet over the summer (short sounds for the vowels) and now I’ve introduced the letter names. I didn't follow any formal program -- I just wrote a few letters on the board before breakfast and pointed to them while speaking their sounds. That's it! Our phonics approach seems to be working because we were goofing around with some stick-on letters and I found this:

Through Her Eyes

                                                      
I wrote shortly after Christmas about Claire’s excitement after receiving a digital camera for Christmas from her Aunt Nikki and Uncle Matt. I finally got around to taking a look at what she’s been photographing and I laughed out loud at many of the images and marveled over the beauty of the “everyday” she captured. I’d like to think I was looking through her eyes at things that are important to her: family, friends, animals, her special toys and favorite places in our home…

I'm glimpsing happiness as she smooshed her face close to ours to fill her camera’s frame, excitement as she stalked her grandparents’ kitties, pride in a stack of clean dishes after lunch...

Tech for Tots: Evolution of the Oregon Trail

>>> Regina has cholera. Would you like to push on or rest for three days?

If you're a child of the 80's, I'm sure this game has a place in your heart. I remember vying for computer time amongst my fellow classmates intent on guiding my wagon full of family west to the promised land. I was so excited to purchase the newer version complete with primary source material scanned in for my students back in 2004. The graphics had improved immensely, although I admit the original had a charm all its own.

Here's a great read about the unlikely start and success of this educational software, and the efforts of its creators to make it historically accurate: THE OREGON TRAIL: HOW 3 MINNESOTANS FORGED ITS PATH

Do you remember this game? What was your chosen field - farmer, banker, carpenter? Did you join a wagon train or rough it alone? And most importantly -- would you push on or let me rest as I suffer from cholera?!

Family Portrait

Claire has been drawing these fantastic people for a couple of weeks and I just had to share this family portrait she did. I especially love her mohawk hairstyles and the carefully chosen hair colors. Can you tell that we are all wearing shoes? I (on the left there) am even wearing my glasses! I'll have to post more of these, they are just cracking me up!

What are your children drawing nowadays? Any tips on displaying a prolific little artist's creations?

How to Make Homemade HEART Apple Chips

                     



 Yummy! A crunchy, sweet Valentine’s Day treat that won’t earn your kids a trip to the dentist – what a delicious, simple and healthy afternoon treat these were! Package ‘em up pretty and I think they’ll make a lovely gift for someone special. Apple chips are about a gazillion dollars per bag at my grocery store so this is a super frugal snack to boot!

How to get your kid to LOVE nature: Ornithology 101

What do you get when you combine a snowy morning, tons of sunflower seeds and our very first non-fiction book checked out from kiddie section at the library?

Valentine's Day Wreath Toddler Style

Crafty Claire strikes again, there is a poofy, pink and very glittery wreath on my front door. It's fab.
Did I mention the glitter?

I'm thinking everyone needs a wreath like this on their front door. And I'm sure this is proof that I've been sniffing too much polyurethane while finishing our staircase.

Three stairs down and at eleven to go...I'm sure there will be lots of crafty goodness to share in the coming weeks as this home improvement project wraps up (or as I get tired of sanding). I've got to keep this kid occupied so while I'm slaving away, Claire's been whipping up some Valentine's Day decorations.

I cut out a bunch of hearts from some heavy duty watercolor paper and Claire went to town painting them and liberally sprinkling them with glitter. And I mean LIBERALLY...the whole wreath is a-glowin' and I'm just glad it's hanging on the outside of the house.

Claire enjoyed using the stapler for the first time. We counted out four sheets or so per flower and alternated between accordion folds and poofing and just stapling tissue paper straight to the wreath.

I hesitated introducing the stapler since I once stapled my sister's fingers together. We were terrified to tell my mother so I pried them apart and told her to suck it up. She managed to play flute and oboe just fine so I'm sure there was no lasting damage. Heh heh, I'm a great big sister ;-) Love ya, Laurie.

Love the nose scunch in this photo

My plan was to weave some tissue paper flowers through a wire wreath form (leftover from Christmas). That proved rather tough so I improvised:

At least I didn't use the greasy side. The pizza aroma just adds to the experience, trust me. 

And here is the finished project in all its glittery, pink glory:

Be sure to let me know if you tackle this project, I love to feature other mums and their blogs! Upload your images to our facebook page for some virtual pats on the back.


Want to see more Valentine's projects? Don't miss the V-day recipe for sweet and crunchy heart apple chips, a DIY project for heart stamps using building blocks and our spray painted Valentine's!

Saturday Snapshot

Claire and her new favorite game, "Singing Contest." She croons from her bed while Dan and I sit in chairs and bop along. Most of the songs consist of one word (princess, penguin, instrument or alphabet are recent favorites) repeated over and over (and over) in different monotone rhythms. She seems to have her grandmother's "gift" for pitch.

We clap as directed and smile, lots of smiling.