December Work

 

Every month I like to set new work out on our cart. We use this cart for free work. This is work that coordinates with what we are learning about and what season or holiday it is and can be used duing rainy, cold or super hot (don't want to be outside) days. My kids even do the work on it if they are bored. December is one of the best months for free or spare time works, because there are so many things you can put out if you celebrate Christmas. Especially during that two week break when the kids are home all day whining about how bored they are. This along with some December busy bags (here) will help with the boredom. Simply point them in the right direction. So here are the works I put out this year. I really hope you enjoy and even try putting out some work out for your kids this Christmas season.

Cleaning Tray: This is a work we have out almost all year long. My kids use the spray bottle (filled with water) to wash windows or outdoor furniture (during the summer). The broom in this kit is wonderful for sweeping works. You can see an idea of a Christmas sweeping work here. Everything here (with the exception of the tray itself) was purchased at the Dollar Tree.



Flower Sorting: I purchased some silk flowers from the dollar tree and cut off two or three of each flower. Making sure there were only three different flower styles used. Now the kids pull the vases off of the cart and arrange the flower by color into the vase. The vase was purchased at Michael's about a year ago.

Decorate a Wreath: I simply used any and all left over flowers, berries, pine cones, etc. from the flower sorting work and cut them. I made sure the wire wasn't sharp and then folded the wire in half. Now all the children have to do is stick the decoration into the wreath, wire first. Everything pictured here was purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Toothpick Sorting: This is a great work that helps to develop good hand-eye coordination. You can make your own by printing out pictures and gluing them to a toothpick, but again these were at the Dollar Tree. In fact everything in this picture was.

Window Clings: You can find these things anywhere... and they don't have to be gel for the kids to enjoy them. I buy a few for each season. As you can see my daughter is already doing a number on these. Those little red dots where white. :) As a bonus, I have my kids clean the window where they used the clings. This is a great way to teach them to clean up after themselves.

Peg Game: This is one of those games where you have to jump a peg and try to remove all the pegs until there is only one left. My kids still haven't gotten down to just one, but they boy do they try. Great for kids of all ages and again you can find this one and the container at the Dollar Tree.

Puzzles: You can find tons of puzzles for all ages and all seasons at the Dollar Tree.

Cookie Cutters and Play-Doh: My kids love Play-doh so much that my husband and father ended up building them a play-doh table that changes into a Lego table. So when I was searching for ideas at the Dollar Tree and ran across a 6 pack of Christmas cookie cutters, I knew exactly what I would do with them. Now my kids just get the basket and a plastic place mat of the cart and have at it.

Boy/Girl Stockings: I bought the two pack of stockings and some girl toys and boy toys at the Dollar Tree. With this work children must sort the toys into the proper stocking, one for a boy and the other for a girl.

Decorate a Christmas Tree: Every child loves to decorate the tree. This is a tree I have had for about 7 years now. Over the years I have purchased ornaments just the right size for it. But... since I somehow misplaced my ornaments I had to purchase new ones this year. Thank goodness for the Dollar Tree. This is one of those works that my kids absolutely love.

December Busy Bags

I know that it has been awhile since I have posted anything, but life gets hectic sometimes. However, all that aside, I come baring goodies! These are the busy bags that I have put out for December. I hope you enjoy them.

1. Coloring pages: I tuck coloring pages into the front pocket of the busy bags binder for the kids.

2. 3-Part Nomenclature Cards: For the month of December I chose to use the birth of Jesus 3-part cards that I found at 1+1+1=1.

 

3. Melty Bead Designs: I find melty bead kits at Michael's all the time. They are only $1.00 a kit and make a great work for busy bags. I just don't melt the bead and this way the children can create the designs year after year.

4. Wooly Willy Magnet Works: This is another one of those great finds at Michael's for only $1.00 and they make them for all seasons and holidays. Great work.

 5. Lacing: For December I used a digital scrapbooking kit that I got from DigiCats and printed up three of the elements. I cut them out, laminated them and punched holes in them. Viola! Lacing work.

6. Sweeping: I used left over holly leaves and twigs that came from a flower sorting and wreath work. We have cleaning kit that the kids use to do window washing and sweeping with. They simply scatter the leaves on the floor, sweep them into a pile and then into the dust pan. From there they can place them in the busy bag. Just make sure your floor is clean, so you don't end up with dirt or food in the bag. :)

A Trip to the Aquarium

We had a great day at the aquarium the other day. The kids loved seeing all the different fish and mammals. Plus, it was a great way to educate the kids.

We had lunch first and discussed differences between fish and mammals, the zones of the sea, the food chain and much more before heading into the aquarium. 

 We got to see some cool jellyfish. Some where upside down, some were glowing and some were flat looking. We even talked about bioluminescence.

 They really liked the sharks and stingrays (we got to pet and feed the stingrays later) and the big fish.

 My daughter was fascinated by the mermaid show (which made for a great opportunity to discuss mythological creatures).

They enjoyed learning about mammals and getting to control the underwater dive camera.

And they loved the flash flood simulator so much, we ended up seeing it three times.

Sidewalk Chalk Games

Yesterday the kids and I had an outdoor, all day, type of a day. One of things we decided to do was play with sidewalk chalk. There are a ton of different ways to make this fun, especially for the older kids. We took a few ideas from here:

http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/sidewalk-chalk-games.html

These are some of the things we tried with our sidewalk chalk.

The kids drew a map of the front yard. When they were finished they each put an X on a spot they would bury treasure and then turned our font yard map into a treasure map.

 We drew a maze and the children took turns walking through the maze to get from start to finish.

 We started by drawing a 10' x 10' grid on the driveway. They each picked a corner to start in. The object of the game is to move one square at a time and put an X in the square when you leave it. This means no one else can go in that square. You can move any direction you want as long as there are no X's in the squares, but you can only move one square at a time. The person who wins is the one who can still move after the other players are blocked in.

 We drew a board game on the sidewalk as well. The children had to a choice between questions that worth one square or two. The questions worth two squares where harder, but they really enjoyed the game. We also made a snail hopscotch. They really got a kick out of that one.

This was definitely a fun way to get out of the house and spend the day, not only being active, but creative as well. I really recommend this one to all parents.

Road Trip Tips

This summer we decided to take our children on a road trip. When a wrench got thrown into our plans we had to change them up a bit, but we still managed to pull it off and have a wonderful time. So wonderful in fact, that when it was finally time to come home, my kids were upset that they wouldn't be able to see more things. We hit a few snags along the way, so I just wanted to share with you some things that will help your road trip with your kids (hopefully) go somewhat smoothly.

Tips and Tricks:

1. When booking hotels for the night, try to do it in advance and make sure that the rooms are refundable or can be cancelled if anything should come up.

2. To help save money try to book hotels that offer a free continental breakfast in the morning. Breakfast can run a family of four $25.00 and up at McDonald's and sit down can be even more expensive. So if you have to spend an extra $20.00 on a hotel that offers a free breakfast, then it is well worth it.

3. If you are on a budget try to take your kids to historical sites or national parks. Most are free and others only require a small fee. Mt. Rushmore, for example, is only $11.00 to park. We had six people when we went and took only one car, so it only cost about $1.83 per person.

4. Take snacks with you. It is always a good idea to have some form of snacks with you while traveling... especially when you have children.

5. Always take an ice chest. Water is extremely important while traveling and you should carry lots of it (and other liquids as well). Plus, if you are on a budget you can make things to take with you so don't have to eat out as often, if at all. And if you do plan on eating out (say fast food) you can pack things like healthy dressing to put on a salad if you don't want to eat too much unhealthy food.

6. Try to plan your route and activities in advance, but try not to plan too many things for one day. If you are constantly rushing to try and make the events of the day you will have cranky parents and children. Everyone will be exhausted and no one will have fun.

7. Take time to enjoy your surroundings and site-see a little. If you stop every few hours just to get out and stretch or look around you will find that everyone has more fun. Kids don't like to be cooped up in a car all day long. We stopped at random historical markers and sites, just so the kids could expel some of their energy. Places like Custer, South Dakota have painted bull statues everywhere, we got out and took pictures with as many as we could find. Cheyenne, Wyoming has large boot statues and map to help find them all.

8. If something comes up while on your trip that puts a damper on things, try your best to make it seem like it is nothing and make the best of the moment. We broke down and had to change our water pump, before we could go anywhere. While my husband worked on the car the kids spent time seeing who skip rocks the farthest or see how far they could hop on one leg. We made, as my kids said, an adventure out of it.

9. Make sure you take things with you that will entertain your children when you are on the road. We went to a quite a few places, but I made Lapbooks to coordinate with our trips to Mt. Rushmore, Bear Country USA and the Mammoth Site. You can also take things like coloring books, Nooks or Kindles, music for kids (with songs like "Going on a Bear Hunt" and other songs they can move and sing too, but still stay seated) and games they can play while on the road. We bought portable DVD players a few years back and it only ran us $75.00 for a two screen system that straps to the back of the head rests. Great investment if you like to travel with your kids.

Remember that children tend to get bored easily and they also get loud when they are bored. Try to encourage your children to play and have fun, but not be so loud. And if for some reason you just can't get them to lower their voices try blasting some music they like for awhile and even singing along with them. You could have a singing contest or take turns singing different parts. Make it fun for the kids and you will have a great time as well. I really hope you guys enjoy your next road trip.