Friday, September 19, 2014

Crafting with Nature

Kinsey is an outdoors kind of gal.  Ever since she was a baby being in the fresh air always soothed her. And nothing gets her going like playing in the dirt and with water. So when she started collecting sticks and rocks and other found treasures on our daily doggy walks, I wasn't the least surprised. 

What gave me a giggle is when she told me she was building a stick house like the 3 little pigs (a favorite book at the moment) and wanted to know how to make the sticks stick together. Equipped with a glue stick she began her project. When the sticks wouldn't stay together upright in a 3D model, she asked why. And that got me to thinking about investing in floral foam.
Using natural materials in arts and crafts isn't new but it adds a wonderful element in creative play. Not to mention its free. And tactil-ly pleasing. It also enhances observational skills and fosters a love for the outdoors.
crafting with nature
We also like to paint natural objects. And green is the color of the moment because it's "Gramma's favorite color." (And us Californians haven't seen much natural- occurring greens lately. Sad face.)
This is the same concept behind Story Stones and natural wood blocks. Lets start that love of nature early. Who knows, maybe she will grow up to be a Park Ranger or Conservationist? The future holds wonderful possibilities.


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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Dinosaur Curriculum

Our Preschool for One started almost 2 weeks ago and we have chugged right along: 

We started with a hands- on activity and made a plaster model of a triceratops.
You can't beat $8 bucks. The painting was her favorite part. Mine was reusing the plastic molds to shape kinetic sand into dino bones.

We used magnet alphabet letters to practice spelling.
Dinosaur preschool curriculum

The trip to the Library was a big success. All the Dinosaur books, please.

The Herbivore/Carnivore categorizing game was received better than I had imagined. I set out 6 herbivore and 6 carnivore cards and had her look at the pictures for clues on the dinosaurs eating habits.  She noticed right away the carnivores had sharp teeth and the herbivores had "no teeth" in their pictures.  It was hilarious and awesome to watch her match up the food to the dinosaur.












These flash cards were from Target Dollar Spot at the beginning of summer. Such a steal.

Drawing and journaling about the Dinosaurs. 

I get a kick out of her calling the Triceratops "Trixie" and the Tyrannosaurus "Rex" after Toy Story characters. These dinos were given to us by friends but were old Target Dollar Spot purchases. #Targetneverfails

And our finale, you ask?  A science experiment: an erupting volcano :)


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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

What Kinsey Wore: stripes and spots


 I'm crazy for stripes and am so pleased they never go out of style. Add in polka dots and I'm absolutely ga-ga.

Kinsey rocked this tee at the beach with rolled jeans on our last day of Family Bonding Time (We were blessed to have daddy home with us for 2 months) and also with leggings and "ruby slippers" for a more dressy vibe- note the polka dot bow!

I mean, seriously, you can't go wrong with stripes and spots.

Cherokee tee (similar)- Target
Leggings and jeans- Old Navy
Mary Janes (ruby slippers)- Target
Bow- gifted


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