story stones...

a few weeks ago, i came across this wonderful idea on a great website, red bird crafts.  they're story stones, to go along with a cute mouse story.  click on over to see how she made them!  i love the fact that she uses fabrics for the pictures... they're really adorable!

since i saw them, they've been sticking in my brain...

and i knew i had to make them! 

it's been kind of an ongoing project.  i've seen story blocks before, but i just love her idea of using stones instead.  it involves such a nice process... both in and out of the home.  it's not just about the end result, but all of the steps along the way.  i'm realizing the more and more leo and i do projects like these together, the more valuable the creations become.  and the actual process is even more precious.

we had a good excuse to head to the beach...

and collect a nice bunch of stones... talking about the sizes, the shapes, the colors...

we took them home, and gave them a good scrubbing (leo can always find a good reason to use a spray bottle)...

and were left with this lovely pile of stones.

i started by trying to recreate the fabric made pictures, like on red bird crafts, but then switched over to using paint markers.  once i got drawing, it became a nice hour or so of quiet time, with nothing to think about... while my wonderful husband made dinner.  with a bunch of good ideas from leo for pictures, this is what we finished with...

a great pile of story stones.  i love them!

at a little over 2 1/2, leo is not quite at an age where he is creating stories on his own, so these stones are such a wonderful prompt for him.  we'll sit, grab some stones, and take turns building stories together... it is just so wonderful to hear the ideas he puts into words.

 he is so enthralled with these... and the possibilities are endless...

thank you, emily, at red bird crafts, for such a wonderful dose of inspiration!

story thoughts...

the other night, i was reading where the wild things are with leo.

he laid there, so engrossed in the story.

making his comments here and there, asking questions, pointing things out.

and all of a sudden something dawned on me.  it might be obvious, but i've never really thought about it before.  or at least to the degree i did that night.

all he can do is see the pictures and hear the words.

he can't read the words.  he can only take in what i say out loud and what his eyes grab from the pictures.

he's not seeing the same words, as i do, each time we read the book.  he's listening.  to what i say.  how i say it.  how it relates to the pictures he sees.  to the images that lay on the pages.

and it made me actually tell the story.  instead of just read the book.

it made me imagine what the words were conveying.  it made me imagine what this experience was like for leo.  how my words could actually change the pictures.  how my pauses... my inflections... my dedication... could all bring to life what he was looking at.

it made me put the words aside.  and engross myself, and leo, in a wonderful dose of imagination.

i think it very well might have changed the way i read books to him forever.  and i'm so excited.

sidewalk fireworks...

with the beautiful weather we've been having the past couple of days, i just couldn't pass up an opportunity to be outside...

after a nice nap for all, we gathered some supplies, and headed to the backyard for some fireworks...

sidewalk chalk paint fireworks!

i recently tried making some sidewalk chalk paint after seeing the recipes on a couple of sites... check them out on ohdeedoh and kiddio... and fell in love!  with just the right mixture, it's such a neat activity to do outside... vibrant, messy, easy to clean up, and oh, so satisfying to paint with (i think more for me than leo).

with all the talk of fireworks coming up, we decided to mix some up again, and combine it with an activity i used to do in the classroom each year (in the classroom, we'd use regular paint, and do it on paper instead of on the sidewalk).

here's what you need...

• corn starch
• water
• liquid food coloring
• old socks
• bowls
• something to fill the socks with like rice, beans, gravel 
• a spoon

start by making the paint...

 

add equal parts of water to cornstarch... and then add a little extra water.  all the recipes have called for equal parts when using it to paint with, but for this activity, it needs to be a little extra watery for the splash effect.  we used two tablespoons of cornstarch and added roughly three tablespoons of water. 

mix it up until all the cornstarch is dissolved...

add about two drops of food coloring to each bowl and mix it up...

 

your paint is ready!

then, grab the old socks, and fill them with a few scoops of filling.  i often struggle with using food products in projects, so i decided to use some extra fish gravel we had, which could just be washed off and reused when we were finished. 

(of course, ask the fish first if it's okay).

you can use your hands... a spoon... whatever you want... 

once you've got a good ball of filling at the bottom, tie off the top of the socks.

then grab all your supplies and head to your nearest sidewalk...

climb up onto a sturdy chair or step stool (with supervision, of course)...

dip a sock into some paint...

 

hold it up nice and high, and let it go!  when it hits the ground, it should make a nice SPLAT!, and create some great looking sidewalk fireworks!  (leo gave his a little spin before the drop... which made some cool drips and smaller fireworks). 

repeat, repeat, and repeat for more!

after awhile, we started using the spoon, as well.  and then, just poured the rest of the paint on the sidewalk :)

this activity is full of great skills...

• fine motor skills... filling the socks, mixing the paint

• gross motor skills... climbing up and down the chair or step stool (you can even work on two-footed jumps off the stool)
• color identification

• sensory exposure... exploring the rice or gravel, the cornstarch/water mixture, even playing with the paint once it dries

when we were finished, we still had so much more to do.  i love including leo in the cleaning process, especially when it doesn't even seem like cleaning.

we hosed down the side walk...

we dumped all the rocks into the bowls (and carefully picked out all the ones that were stuck!)...

rinsed them off...

and rinsed out the socks.

at the end of the day, we had a nice little patch of fireworks, and everything all cleaned up.  except for our soggy pant legs :)

enjoy your fireworks!!!

sharing over at...

layered ball scavenger hunt...

i'm not really sure what to call this activity...

it's a scavenger hunt of sorts...

definitely a fine motor exercise...

a tactile activity, as well...

and one that kept leo engaged and interested for awhile.

i'm going with "layered ball scavenger hunt."

here's how it works...

start by gathering the following supplies:

• a few small objects (we went with buttons, a small truck, a quarter, and a rock)
• a piece of paper
• pencil/marker (to make the list)
• crayon (for the little guy to cross off his findings)

and some materials to layer the balls with, such as:

• aluminum foil
• yarn
• wicky sticks
• masking tape

start by making a written or picture list of the objects that will be wrapped...

then, grab one of the small objects, and start wrapping!  i went with wicky sticks, then aluminum foil, some masking tape...

some more masking tape, yarn, and more wicky sticks to keep it all from unraveling.  repeat with all the objects.

a couple of suggestions...

1) don't wrap too tightly... this should be fun, not frustrating!

2) when using any kind of tape, it's helpful to fold over the ends so the child can find the end easily.  leo had to ask me for help several times to find the start of the tape layers.

3) use various colors, especially when layering similar materials... this gives some visual cues as to which layer is next, and when the layer is completed.

once they're all balled up, gather them up, and let the hunt begin!

leo really was so busy working on these...

working those little fingers...

making piles of mess...

and was so excited to find out what was at the center!  

i couldn't even handle when he was marking off what he found... searching for his crayon under all the mess... and making his little squiggles... aye... adorable!

and proudly showing off his completed work...

have fun!

linked up with...

along with reflection comes honesty...

a few days ago, i wrote about reflection.

how important it is to just reflect, and respect, our children's emotions... their space...  where they are, in that moment, and no further. 

that said, i feel it's also important to honor my own feelings.  very important, for that matter.

as parents, we so often do our best to hide our frustration.  stay calm.  we want to have peaceful homes.  and we do a pretty good job at it.

however, that's not to say that being honest about our own feelings can't be a part of that. 

i sure am not a vessel of calmness at all times.  yes, i think i do a pretty good job at not losing my temper... or not yelling at leo... or taking time to think things through before i react.  but leo also needs to know that there are times i am frustrated.  and i do get sad.  and i do get angry.  and sometimes, yes, he is the one that makes those feelings surface.

by no means do i shout out and blame him for those feelings.  but when i've asked him to do something over and over again, and he hasn't, i think it's worth him knowing "leo, this is making me feel frustrated."  or, when he's crying, still, after i've said no to something, that "i need some space from the crying.  if you need to cry, that's fine, but i need to take a break from it." 

or, when i've sat, for many, many minutes, with him... as he's sad... and i no longer have the time available to sit and wait, that "i understand you're still feeling sad.  you've been sad for a long time, and i am sad too.  it's time for me to move on now."

he freely expresses his emotions.  he moves on from one emotion to the next pretty easily.  he lives in the moment.  and i envy that.  if i can't do that, the least i can do is be honest with myself and him.  and be easy on myself.  there's nothing wrong with getting frustrated... or angry... or sad... or just needing a break for a few minutes.

and leo needs to know that.  if all he knows is me remaining calm, taking deep breaths to avoid frustration... than how will he ever know that emotions are healthy?  that expression is healthy? 

i'm not saying it's right to yell.  or encouraging losing patience. 
 
but i do think it is okay to just be honest. 

in whatever emotion that may be.

beautiful little butterflies...

this week, in our school group, we talked about butterflies!

 we read the very hungry caterpillar, by eric carle...

as everyone arrived, we made some butterfly paintings.  i had already drawn some butterflies on large white paper... then the kiddos poured little blobs of paint all over them.  once that was done, we folded them in half, and used some small rollers to smush the paint around.  we opened them up to reveal an adorable butterfly... and once they were dry, cut them out.

we also made some wearable butterfly wings...  we cut out both of the small sides of some brown paper bags (the ones with the nifty little handles)...

so it looked like this...

 

decorated them with some shape stickers and glued on paper shapes...

 took them outside, and flew, flew, flew!!!

and then, my favorite part...

getting back to the very hungry caterpillar...

i cut out some really big fruit shapes used in the book from large cardboard boxes, with nice big holes in them... and painted them accordingly...

and used them to reenact the story!  

start as a little tiny egg in the light of the moon... when the sun comes out, the caterpillar POPS! out...

and that little caterpillar starts to eat...

one apple, two pears, and three plums...

four strawberries, and five oranges... and tada!!!  (he was still hungry, so we just pretended to feed him all the other many foods, as well as a green leaf...)

 he then wrapped himself in a chrysalis, and opened up into a beautiful butterfly!

 the big cut out fruits lasted for a lot of play time... leo wanted to do it again... and again... and again.  eventually it morphed into a story adapted from the little red hen called the little red hen (makes a pizza)....

he decided to make a pizza in his apartment, and call out the window for help from his friends...

why be locked into one story, right?

just linked up to this new site i've been reading...