Father’s Day

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The kiddos were wanting a project to work on.  They love working with recycled material and the glue gun. Father’s Day seemed like the perfect time for them to get creative.  They could not wait to make something special for Chuck.  After some creative suggestions (which made me giggle!) they decided to make a hammer since Chuck is a contractor.  So cute.

The kids got to work using cereal boxes, a glue gun, milk jug lids and acrylic paint.  I wish I would have taken pictures throughout the process, but I was too busy sewing:)  I helped gather all the materials and walked into another room.  I find that sometimes leaving the room helps the kids not rely on my help.  The results are often far better than what I could have helped them come up with.

These little hammers are SO cute.  I love the string the kids added to hang on a carpenters belt.  Perfect!

The kids insisted that Chuck try it out.  It was not quite strong enough for hammering into wood, but worked great for hammering into cardboard.  Love it!

Hope everyone had a special Father’s Day.  The kids are now waiting for Kid Day.  Hmmmm…I might have to plan a special day just for them.

Summer 2011 Bucket List

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I love all the fun summer bucket lists that are popping up everywhere.  Summer always escapes too quickly.  Before I know it my kiddos are back in school and I am left wondering where the time went.  This is a great way to help organize all the fun things we want to do.  Love it!

This would have turned out SO cute written in “little kid font”, although none of the kids wanted to write it.  Instead I pulled out my favorite pens to doodle with and got to work.  Where would I be without my colored sharpies?  We all sat down and the kids listed all the things that they wanted to do this summer before school started again.  I love all their ideas.  Now it is just figuring out how to fit is all in!

We hung by our front door to reminded us what fun adventures are still waiting to be done this summer.  As we complete an activity we will cross it off on the glass.  This way the kids can check off the list and after summer is over the list can be filled away.  I would love to hear what you are looking forward to doing this summer.

 

Sandbox Visitors

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Last summer Chuck built the kids a wonderful covered sandbox.  It is tucked in the corner of the kids play area.  I love watching them build tunnels and make wonderful creations.  Today however, there was a different type of play happening.  As I come around the corner I hear a quiet “shhh…here comes mom” and quickly they closed the sandbox lid.  Suspicious!  So I call the kiddos over to see what they are up to.  They all start talking at once “We like them mom!”  “They are just babies!” “They are so cute!”  “They are fuzzy!”  Now I am really curious what they are hiding in the sandbox since our only pets are fish.

The kids stood on the lid of the sandbox guarding their new found playmates.  Eventually they decided to let us see what all the fuss was about.  I probably should have asked more questions, because this was my reaction.  I am surprised that Chuck was able to even get a picture since I was running away so fast!

Yes, I totally freaked out!  But do you really blame me?  Apparently the kids have not played in the sandbox in a while because they found a nest of 5 baby mice.  I really have no words!  Chuck took pictures, while I was observing from a distance.

I am all for learning through discovery.  However, really it is a baby mouse.  Do they not realize that these cute cuddly little guys they are holding could one day be the same little creature that has me standing on the couch waiting for Chuck to come rescue me?

Chuck let the kids enjoy the little creatures for a bit.  Then had the kiddos place them back in the nest.  I am not sure what the mama mouse will think when she returns to her disrupted home.  The kids were then sent inside to wash up.  I am still shaking, but the kids thought this was the best discovery EVER!  Kaleb even mentioned that next to his planed trip to Valley Fair this is the highlight of his summer.  Ha!  Hopefully our summer will hold more exciting learning adventures; ones that I can enjoy with them as well!

 

Summer Smoothie

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My kiddos love smoothies and they are the perfect summer treat.  We use plain yogurt, low fat milk, and throw in lots of fruit.  Each time I blend up a batch, they taste slightly different depending on what fruit I have on had.  My kids love them because they taste great and I love them because the kids are slurping up a healthy treat!

This is the basic recipe that I use, although I don’t measure the ingredients:)

1 cup plain yogurt

3/4 cup low fat milk

1 teaspoon on agave nectar or honey.  You can also use a bit of sugar.

Frozen strawberries, bananas, blueberries, mangos, and any other fruit that is in my freezer.

Blend all ingredients together and serve.

I would love to hear your smoothie recipe.

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Beyblade Arena

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School is officially over and summer is here.  We are loving it.  Needless to say with all the fun, I have neglected to keep posting what we have been up to.  I just realized that my last post was 2 1/2 weeks ago.  Seriously, has time gone that quickly.  I hope that the rest of my summer does not disappear that fast!  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I LOVE watching kiddos play, and seeing the creative process that happens.  Here is a simple progression of play that happened today.  Kaleb had a friend over and they were out battling their Beyblades in the little plastic arena that is sold in toy stores.  If you are not familiar with Beyblades, they are high performance spinning tops that are designed to battle.  The winner of the battle is the last top spinning.

 

Soon they abandoned the plastic arena and were spinning them on tables, the floor and the counters.  Next they used full boxes of cereal to create a wall to stop the Beyblades from spinning to the floor.  It was so fun to watch their creative process.  It was not long before I heard one of the little creators commented “how great it would be if they could use empty boxes to create a large battle arena.”  Quietly I set a stack of empty cereal boxes and a roll of masking tape near where they were playing.  Immediately, they were working together on creating a amazing cereal box arena.

 

It was so fun to watch them plan and create the best walls, tunnels and ramps.  I love the imagination that it took them to come up with the design, and how quickly they were able to execute it.

There are 2 Beyblades on the ramp getting ready to battle.  The boys enjoyed spinning them on the ramps and watching them fly.

They played with their homemade arena for most of the play date.  They were continually tweaking the design and creating better ramps.  I think before they were ready to be done building and tweaking, we ran out of masking tape.  Something that I need to make sure and stock up on!

The boys then moved onto making hilarious videos.  I love their silly commentary.   Our house creates a lot with cereal and food boxes.  They have so many great uses.  I would love to hear what you are creating with recycled food boxes in your house.