Weekly Read Wednesday: Each Peach Pear Plum

Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg just looks "springy" to me. Doesn't it look like a happy book?


It's very simple text...


...and adorable pictures.


Each page has details to spot.


The book continues through various familiar fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters.


You'll see each character on their own page (Bo Peep, in this instance),


but you'll also be able to "spy" the upcoming characters in some way. This is Jack and Jill falling down the hill (of course).


At the end of the story, you'll "spy" everyone hiding...


...and then all out together!

Very cute, very simple. We like this book!

Spring butterflies

A couple days ago, my girl wanted to do a project. Specifically, she wanted to glue. I didn't have anything in particular planned for that afternoon, but she was persistent... so this is what we came up with in just a matter of minutes!


You will need:

• Paper or cardstock with butterflies traced on them (if you're even a slightly better artist that me -- and it's VERY likely you are! -- you can draw them freehand... I printed one online and traced it)
• Tissue paper, any color (I had some still handy from our cherry blossom trees)
• Glue
• Scissors
  

I cut hot pink and teal tissue paper into manageable squares, but it doesn't have to be neat. If they're able, you could even suggest that your child tear their tissue paper rather than having it pre-cut.


Start gluing and attach the tissue paper however!


She first thought this would look nice laying flat...


...but then decided it would be much better if it were crumpled up a bit. :)


A lesson in symmetry? Try it with older kids!


Here was her page when she was finished. Yes, I know there's tissue paper glued completely outside the butterflies. I tried to explain... but not very hard. :) She wanted it THAT WAY, and you know what? Who cares?! :)

The bonus of this activity was that she did it almost entirely by herself, which fellow moms of toddlers can appreciate! I mopped the kitchen while she worked.

It was glorious.


When they were dry, I cut them out and taped them up in her play room. I had big plans to have her make a few more of these over the course of a week or so, and then hang them with ribbons from the light fixture in her play room... but then I decided she wouldn't really get to see them up close, so I changed my mind. My choice was confirmed when she came down from her nap on the day that I taped these up and gasped with delight when she saw them! I love how doing these simple little projects with her (and allowing her to do them by herself, to the best of her ability) builds so much confidence and pride in her work!

Scarves

Do you have any scarves lying around your house? Pull 'em out and let your little ones imagine with them! My toddler likes to use them as blankets for her "babies," a fancy addition to dress up play, or just twirl them around while dancing. Lots of entertainment for ZERO dollars! :)

Bringing inside activities outside!

This week, the weather has just been gorgeous. It's been warm and sunny nearly every day. We've played outside, had picnic lunches in the yard, gone on walks, and just spent as much time outside as possible. When I wanted to get some work done in the yard this week, I wanted an activity that would keep my two-year-old entertained and occupied for a decent amount of time, so I didn't have to worry about her running off. She's getting better about staying in the "safety zones," but at two, she's not great at understanding that yet.


Enter: the sensory tub. I was introduced to this idea a couple months ago, and we've used it nearly every week since. Spread out a large blanket or beach towel, plop the sensory tub (or whatever inside activity you're bringing outside) in the middle, and let them have a ball! The best part... when you're finished, just gather up your blanket or towel and dump the spilled beans back into the tub! Clean-up takes no time at all. :)


This activity kept her busy for at least twenty minutes, and she would have continued had it not been lunchtime. And I got almost an entire flower bed weeded while she played! Love that!

What are your favorite inside-turned-outside activities? I'd love to hear some new ideas! :)

Cherry blossom trees

I really can't express how happy I am for spring to be here again. I'm sure my excitement level is the same from year to year, but really... I was so ready this time around. And, I have to say, one of my very favorite things about spring...


...is seeing this in my backyard. It's a cherry blossom tree that we planted last summer. It didn't bloom at all that first year and looked rather sad. In fact, I was beginning to think we may need to exchange it for something else... until just a couple weeks ago when I noticed tiny pink buds on it for the first time ever! I literally screamed in my excitement! Those buds have continued to bloom, and now there are these gorgeous, delicate, pale pink flowers all over the tree. Don't the blossoms look like they're made of tissue paper? They're so dainty that they look like they'd wither away if you so much as breathe on them! It's almost ridiculous how much happiness this silly tree is bringing me this spring, but it's just about my favorite thing right now. :)

I wanted to bring a little springtime inside to hang on my refrigerator, and let my toddler make her own "tree" just like Mommy's. This is what we came up with:


You will need:

• Brown paper/construction paper/cardstock
• Another sheet of paper/cardstock in a different color (any color you choose is fine)
• Pink tissue paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
  

Begin by tracing your child's hand and most of the length of their arm on the brown paper. If you're out of brown construction paper (as I was), try using tan or brown cardstock. If you don't have any of that on hand, grab a brown paper bag!


Cut the hand/arm out for your child and have them glue the back.


She was really "into" gluing today. Maybe we haven't done anything with glue in a few days!


Attach to the other sheet of paper you have waiting.


Get out your pink tissue paper. I cut/ripped ours into manageable squares for my daughter. Crumple up a square...


...and use glue to attach it to your "tree."


Continue adding cherry blossoms until they decide they're finished. :)


Here is her completed tree! She thought it had enough flowers on it.


But that didn't stop her from asking for another piece of paper to glue MORE flowers onto! :) This project was definitely a success for us!

Weekly Read Wednesday: Color Dance

We've been working on learning colors for a while. My two-year-old is interested (very interested sometimes) in what color various objects are, but it's not totally clicking for her yet. I'm not concerned about it though, because everything I've read seems to indicate that learning colors is just like every other milestone -- children learn this at their own pace.

Regardless of whether or not she's ready to actually retain the information, we are currently loving Color Dance by Ann Jonas.


The book starts with the primary colors.


Red, yellow, and blue.


It introduces secondary colors by mixing each of the primary colors together in turns.


The book goes on to explain that each primary color, when mixed with itself, can only produces various hues of that same color.


However, two colors can make a variety of shades, depending on how much of each color there is.


I love this page! So colorful. :)


I also love how all the words are printed in bright colors.


The author continues by explaining what colors such as white, gray, and black do when added to the mix.


Such a cute, simple book, whether or not you're in the midst of learning colors at your house! :)

Muffin Tin Monday: Rainbow

It's been a couple weeks since we've had a "muffin tin Monday" around here, but I wanted to join in for the rainbow theme. How fun! I actually had come up with a few other ideas prior to today, but we played outside for most of the morning, and lunchtime needed to be quick. :)


On my girl's plate today:

• strawberries
• baby carrot w/ dip
• banana (okay, so the peel is really the "yellow" part!)
• green salad mix
• blueberries
• pretzels w/ grape jelly for dipping

I had planned to make grape jelly "roll up" type sandwiches, but she wanted to pretzels... so this was how it ended up! :)

Check out Muffin Tin Mom for more fun ideas!