gotta go for a while

When I first started this blog, 2 Tots 2 Teach, I felt I was spending too much time posting about my kid's lessons instead of my own personal crafts. I had a goal of separating the two...

But now, I've realized, life with the two is crazy busy. I can barely find the time to post on my other blog CraftyKorisa about our life.

I'm going to keep this blog out here though for the moment I want to come back!

morning nature watch

Materials needed:

Outdoors

curious kids

camera

planning

It is time for a new plan.  A new schedule.

This is more to keep me on track and actually spend quality time with my kids than anything else.  If I don't have a schedule I find myself stuck in a pile of laundry or pile of dishes forever and the day is gone.....

With my son only one year away from Kindergarten (gasp) the housekeeping chores can be put on hold slightly (or until it drives us all crazy).

So,  here is my new schedule.  So far---so good.   I'll let you know later if it is still working for us.

Gotta go......I have some birdwatching to do with the kiddos today on our "nature watch".

homemade sidewalk paint

This activity is so fun, easy, and inexpensive.  The kids loved mixing up their paints and then creating their masterpieces in the driveway.

Materials needed:

Cornstarch

water

food coloring

container with lid

Directions:

Scoop a few spoonfuls of cornstarch into a container.  Add water and stir until it is the consistency you wish for  ( You may have to add more cornstarch and/or water until it is the desired thickness).  Add a few drops of food coloring and stir.

The paint dries almost immediately once it is painted on the concrete.  You can cover any leftover paint with your lid for your next painting adventure!  Just add water if it thickens up before the next use.

homemade "furniture"

Materials needed:

Large box

different fabrics

poly-fil stuffing

hot glue gun (do the gluing by yourself) or craft glue if the kids do the gluing

box cutter

My kids love to play with their animals and dolls.  They love making "beds" which means every blanket and pillow in our house usually makes it to the floor for the "beds".  So  I thought if we made our own special beds for their toys that would alleviate the problem (at least for a day or two).

First use a box cutter to cut a large box in half.  Since I have two little ones,  I used both parts of the box for two separate beds.  Of course,  I cut the box away from their curious fingers.  

Once the box is cut, the fun can begin.  The kids loved picking their fabrics to cover their boxes.  I had tons in my closet that never made it to all of those wonderful "projects" I had been planning on completing.  Carefully glue one fabric to the outside of the box.

After putting on the outside fabric,  fill your box with stuffing.  You can then put another piece of fabric on and glue to the bottom of the box.  Finish your beds by letting the kids add pieces of fabric and decoration.  Don't worry about getting everything perfectly straight or neat.....let the children do most of the work.  They take pride in their "very own" creations!

sorting

Materials:

Several small objects of same color  ( I got these small baby favors at Dollar Tree)

This lesson was entirely impromptu.  Not planned at all.  I was getting things ready for an upcoming baby shower and keeping my 2 and 3 year olds out of it was impossible.  I decided to let them help me sort the colors.  

I had forgotten what an important math skill this is.  They had so much fun sorting into sets that I think I may go get more after the shower!

What amazed me is I was being so narrow-minded and said lets sort these by color.  My two-year old did this for a while and said,  "Mommy,  we can put all the bears together too."  
There are so many math lessons you could teach with these.....I look forward to sharing them with you!

puzzle fun

Materials:

*Premade boxed puzzle (24-25 pieces)

I know I'm not telling you about anything new and groundbreaking here......but thought I'd remind you about puzzles.

I thought my kids would only want to play with the board puzzles designed for preschoolers.  Imagine my surprise when one day I pulled out a more complicated one for us to work on together.  My two-year old loves putting them together.  I do have to assist her but she puts many of the pieces together all by herself!  She loves bragging to me that she is "very good at puzzle games".

This is a fun thing for the 3 of us to do together for some quality quiet time.  

super letter of the day

One thing my kids love to do is to pick a letter each day for us to talk about.  It is an easy, fun way to reinforce the alphabet.

Materials:

Recycled container ( I used an old coffee container)

Letters (You can make your own or buy pre-made...Dollar Tree often has them)

Directions:

Pick a letter each day.  I let both of my kids each pick one.  I then let them tape them to the wall.  We then sing the coordinating song from our alphabet chart and cd.  

I love our chart and cd but you could easily do this without it.  Try listing words that start with the letter or practice "writing" the letter with play-dough,  sand,  etc.