The Search for Signs of Spring!

With Daylight Savings this week, we couldn't resist getting outside and scoping out the spring scene in our yard. Little Biscuit is really eager to get out and play in the parks soon so he's as excited as I am to find some "signs of life" out there! First we checked out the little tree out our front window...

Sure enough, some cute little buds have already popped out!

And look what we found in the flower bed...

A bunch, actually!

Is the yellow grass turning green yet?

 Ah, yeah! Even some fresh clover has cropped in too.

And the grand finale...even the rose bush has hints of beautiful blooms to come soon!

Hooray for spring! Happy hunting at your house with your toddler too :D

Cup Concentration: A Textures Matching Game for Toddlers

We had Little Biscuit's final visit from our Parents as Teachers rep this week and she had a great idea for a game we had to try. We collected some random odds and ends from around the house that were 2 of a kind - two craft pompoms, 2 mini cars, 2 little wood men, 2 marbles, 2 hair ties, 2 Cars dominoes, 2 bendy straw ends, 2 foam circles, and 2 q-tips (the objects can be anything as long as they match, have different textures, are safe for toddler hands and are small enough to fit in a cup). Before we played the game, I let Little Biscuit hold, touch and handle the gizmos for a few minutes so he'd know the differences and how they felt.

Then, we dumped them all into an 8-oz cup...

 I put the cup inside one of his daddy's (clean!) tube socks so he couldn't see inside. We shook it up and, without looking, I pulled out one of the objects (a little orange wooden man). So it was his turn ...I let him put his hand down inside the sock...his challenge was to find the other orange man without peeking. He could only feel around for it...

Yay!! He did it :D

 He was quite proud of himself :)

 His first cup concentration match of the day...

 Mommy's turn...can she find the hair tie Little  Biscuit pulled out? If she does, she wins a BIG kiss, just like he did!! (Yippee, I won a big one!!! Here it comes...)

 Another turn for Little Biscuit...can he find the other foamie circle?

 Of course he can :D

 We had a lot of fun - what a great learning game...thanks, PAT!

Make-It-Yourself Marble Launcher

Today we decided to get a little goofy and bring out the foam noodle for some indoor fun; I figured there had to be a way to turn it into some kind of marble track. So, I rigged it up with some neon green duct tape to the edge of our kitchen counter and propped the end up on a chair. Then we set up a Sponge Bob dixie cup to see if we could catch the marble upon launching it through the noodle's center hole. I knew we'd have to get the angle just right to defy gravity and get it to go up at the end...

\

Little Biscuit couldn't wait to give it a shot!

 

Whoo-hoo, here comes the marble! The first few tries we defied gravity with no problem but took a while to get the cup in the right spot. Then, ...

Ta-da, we did it!! Yipee! The marble launcher worked AND we caught the marble in the cup!

So after our first success, we decided to get even more wild and crazy...

We made a marble "monster truck" course! Can our marble jump the stack of cars and land safely in the farm wagon? The suspense was killing us...

 

Indeed it could...way to go Little Biscuit! Then we had a great time experimenting with the angle of the noodle and seeing how high we could make it jump. This one made quite the evil kenevil leap into the air...but alas, we missed the mug at the bottom :)

If you have a marble and a noodle, why not give it a try? It was an entertaining way to spend a cold a morning and made for one happy little boy :)

 

Alphabet Soup Activity

It's warming up outside, woo-hoo! But still a little too wet to go to the park or play much outside. In the meantime we passed some more indoor time today making some "alphabet soup" out of magnet letters just for fun.

First we found a nice soup pot and some water...

(Chef Smiley had to approve of course!)

Then he went "shopping" for his ingredients.

After he had his ABCs, he added them to the pot...

Then he stirred it up and let it simmer...

 

Time to add some seasoning...salt and pepper for sure.

Time to test the temperature to make sure it's just right...

 

When it's just right, he's ready to serve up a big bowl of alphabet soup!

MMMMM!! Yummy ABC soup!

DIY toddler wall storage solution for play area

We just got home from a wonderful Christmas travel tour to visit both sets of Little Biscuit's grandparents. He didn't get spoiled in the slightest (yeah right!) Today we spent a lot of time removing Christmas decor and trying to find places for all the new toys. The biggest order of business was to make a special spot for his new fire house and gear. I decided to keep it really simple and instead of buying an expensive coat rack for the fire jacket and hat, we'd stick with Command strips. Besides, the extinguisher and hatchet wouldn't have worked on a coat rack. Those I just attached using the super-techy hair tie nailed to the wall with a  photo frame nail :)  The extinguisher and hatchet both store and come out really easy...and should hold up well too since they're stretchy.

I may use the same hair tie system to store some other stuff in his room too...

Of course it's not about the storage...the fun is getting it all out to play with!

here he is all decked out...

we call him "Captain Spaghetti Face!"

(On top of Old Smoky...lol... :)

Plush Alphabet Project

So, a friend I met through MOPS had a set of super-cute felt alphabet toys for her toddler son. She couldn't remember where she got them and I couldn't find any the same size to buy in a store or online (I wanted them stuffed-toy size not magnet size) so over a vacation I decided to try to wing it on my mom's sewing machine. They turned out passable - not as cute as the originals but they'll do for letter games and early phonics and reading lessons...and just plain imaginative play, which is what little Biscuit likes them best for right now :)

We use them to make some of his favorite words...
CAR, of course!

FROG...

and just for fun, a little rhyming lesson using the "at" words...

All you have to do to make your own set of plush ABC's is get 26 full felt sheets (8.5 x 11) in fun colors. Fold each sheet in half and draw on a big bubble letter to fill each half sheet using sewing chalk or washable marker (a template for the letters adds more hassle...just hand draw them, it makes them "yours!").  Cut out any holes in letters like A, B, D, P, etc. Then sew carefully around each letter outline leaving an inch hole for stuffing (consider leaving two holes on complicated letters like M, X, W); cut each letter out; stuff 'em with fiberfill (use a pencil or dowel to stuff hard-to-reach areas) and sew up the loose ends. Trim any loose thread and there you are...all done! Have fun!