Monday, November 29, 2010

CSN Giveaway



***Giveaway Now Closed***


I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Now it's time to get ready for Christmas. Yeah!

And to help you out with all that Christmas shopping CSN stores has graciously offered to giveaway a $75 promo code to one of my lucky readers.  With their 200+ stores you'll find everything you need in one place.


Here are some things I've had my eye on:


(These are really adorable.  You should definitely check them out.)



  






To enter to win all you need to do is leave a comment and tell me you'd like to be the winner.  Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you as well . . . Only one entry per person.

Giveaway ends Sunday, December 5th 11:59 PST and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 6th.
The winner will be picked from random.org.

Good luck!




Saturday, November 27, 2010

Notice Something New?


 
Per request, we've added a feed burner to our blog!  You can now subscribe and have every single post emailed right to your in-box. Scroll down and look for the subscription box in the right column.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!


Monday, November 22, 2010

Don't Eat Tom Turkey



Last year I found this fun little Thanksgiving game over at This Little Project. Initially, I wasn't sure how fun it would be, but we ended up having a blast playing it. My daughter couldn't get enough of Don't Eat Tom Turkey. It kept us busy while we patiently waited for Thanksgiving dinner to be ready. We'll definitely be playing it again this year.




Click HERE for instructions to play and to download the game.
Happy Thanksgiving!




Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Worksheets


 
My boys love to do worksheets.  I have tons of workbooks that I've bought (from Target's Dollar Spot) and several that have been handed down to me.  But sometimes I need a little something different.  All Kids Network has a great variety!  I've provided a link to some of our favorites:

Mazes (my 6 year old really loves mazes)



Monday, November 15, 2010

Counting Bears



I bought some counting bears at our local teacher supply store thinking they would keep the boys busy on our trip this past summer.  Really they are great to have any day.  We can sort, count, add, subtract, teach color, graph, etc.  For the plane I made up little flash cards and put them on binder rings for each of the boys.  Some are easier (for my 3-year-old) and others a little more complex (for the 5-year-old).  This is what I came up with.

We still have fun with these bears and my 3-year-old especially loves to sort them and finish patterns.



My 18-month-old really loves them too.  He pulls them out of the closet and spends a good deal of time dumping the bears out and putting them into the cups.

Really, the possibilities are endless with these little guys!
 



Monday, November 8, 2010

Tooth Pocket


My Kindergarten-er recently informed me that he had a loose tooth . . . and sure enough, it was loose.  Really loose.  So I decided to make a little something for lost teeth.  I have seen a lot of ideas floating around out there . . . but I like simple.  So, simple it was going to be. 

I took some leftover pieces of felt.  Out of the white I cut out a tooth shape.  With the green (his favorite color) I cut a 3x6 1/2 rectangle. 


Then I hand-stitched the tooth onto the top half of the felt rectangle.  I left the top part of the tooth open to make a sort of pocket.


Next, I folded the green felt in half, length-wise, with the tooth on the outside.  I then proceeded to stitch around the edge, again leaving the top open.


And there you have it.  A tooth pocket... with a pocket for the lost tooth and another for the money that the tooth fairy leaves.  Nice and simple.


And I made it not a moment too soon.  He lost his tooth that very night.




Thursday, November 4, 2010

Book Reviews: Big Sisters-Little Brothers

At our house we love the library (and we're lucky to have such a fabulous one!).  We go at least once a week and always come home with a big bag full, as well as an arm full, of books.  We never tire of reading.

Lately I've found myself falling in love with books that I've just happened to come across among the shelves about big sisters and their little brothers.  And I wonder why??? Maybe it's because I watch my own daughter be such a sweet big sister to her darling little brother every day.

And for those of you out there with your own "big sister and little brother" these are books I highly recommend.



If I Were Queen of the World
By: Fred Hiatt

"If I were queen of the whole wide world, I'd have one hundred lollipops a day and never have to share.  But sometimes I'd let my little brother have a lick or two."

So begins a small girl's glorious fantasy of what life would be like if she were queen of the world and could do anything she wanted--without her little brother getting in the way! But she realizes there are a few accommodations she can make for her brother without relinquishing her power.  As queen of the world, she would have her own desk, which nobody else would ever touch. (But now an then, she'd let her brother work beside her.) As queen, she'd ride the scariest roller coaster at the fair one hundred times. (But she'd get off once in a while to keep her little brother company on the flying baby elephants.) If she were queen, she'd be able to fly just by spreading her arms. (But sometimes, she'd take her brother on her back.) And as queen of the world, she'd make sure her brother never felt sad.  She'd let him sit near her and pretend to be king--but NEVER of the whole wide world!



Flora's Very Windy Day
By: Jeanne Birdsall

When Flora's younger brother spills her paints, their mother orders them both outside even though the autumn wind is strong and might blow them away. Luckily Flora wears her super-special, heavy-duty red boots, but Crispin's purple boots are ordinary. When the triple-strength wind lifts him up into the air, Flora kicks off her boots and sails up in the sky to retrieve him. A dragonfly, a sparrow, a rainbow, an eagle, and a cloud all ask to keep Crispin, but she says, He's my brother and I'm taking him home. Each one replies with the cryptic phrase, If the wind lets you. The lonely man in the moon and the wind also ask for the child, but Flora is determined. Accepting her change of heart, the wind blows them down to earth. 

This gem of a book will resonate with older siblings everywhere.



Daisy and the Egg
By: Jane Simmons

Mama Duck and Aunt Buttercup are sitting on a new egg, and Daisy is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her new brother or sister.  Days pass, and Daisy waits and waits . . . until she is finally awakened by a Pip! Pip! Pip!

A Story full of anticipation that every older sibling can relate to, Daisy and the Egg will surely be a hit with fans of the endearing ducking.



The Wildest Brother
By: Cornelia Funke

Brave as a lion, strong as an elephant, Ben is one fearless boy.  When it comes to protecting his older sister, Anna, nothing can stand in his way!  Gallantly he spends his day battling moldy green ghosts, slime-belching monsters, and all manner of ferocious beats.  But when the day is over and darkness falls, Ben suddenly doesn't feel so brave. . . .

Meyer's witty artwork matched with Funke's deft balance of humor, emotion, and truth make The Wildest Brother the perfect bedtime read for rambunctious boys and girls.


Enjoy!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Cereal Box Mask


For some reason my 5-year-old thinks he needs to collect our old cereal boxes.  And for some reason I'm letting him.  This past Saturday he finally decided to do something with them.  He loves to look at Calvin &
Hobbes . . . and in one of them Calvin makes a TV.  So that was our first project:  Make a TV out of a Pops box.  That's within my ability.  But next he wanted to make some masks.  He drew out what he wanted them to look like and then we my wonderful husband cut them out.  The boys had a blast playing with their recycled boxes . . . I'm glad that kids are so easily entertained!




 What fun things have you made out of a box?