a happy little walk...

i've wanted to make more of an effort to have some days that we just meander... 

spend time in the backyard...

sit in the grass...

read some books...

go for a nice walk.

so often, it seems like our days get filled.  with outings.  with work.  with appointments.  

we've finally gotten to a point where we have less to do.  it's funny that i feel like the only way to have some lazier days is to actually plan for them.  

today, we had nothing to do.  so, when we finally got around to it, we went for a nice walk.  i thought we'd just stroll, but leo wanted to go to the library, so that's where we headed.  

i put a couple pieces of chalk in a pouch and brought it along.  while we walked, leo and i started to talk about all the things that make us happy.  we'd stop along the way, and draw some pictures of the things we'd talk about...

a fire truck... with a firefighter...

trees... and a green bush...

a few of his friends...

some grapes...

which we then sat down to eat :)

it was a nice, leisurely walk.  

what's funny, is that the next couple of hours were not so nice.  i was tired... and therefore, a little less patient than usual.  and leo was grumpy... and filled with strong emotions...

during the walk back home, i was anxious to get back.  i just wanted to take a nap.  we both needed it.  badly.  

meanwhile, while my frustration was bubbling...

i'd stumble on those pictures. 

and as much as i wanted to wallow in my grumps, it was hard when every few blocks, i'd see another picture...

of the simple things that make us happy.  

creations...

just a couple of gifts...

for a fan of airplanes, a freezer paper stenciled shirt...

for my newest niece, a shirt with some fabric scraps from liz scott...

and a couple of onesies.

 have a happy tuesday!

a fishing game...

what a beautiful day we had.  the weather was nice... the children played...

we learned about shapes... as we went fishing!

here's what you'll need:

• sticks
• yarn
• magnets
• hot glue gun
• sheet of thin plastic
• large paper clips
• hole puncher

when i've made fishing games for the classroom, i've always used paper.... we would just spread the fish on the ground instead of putting them in water.  but, after seeing this post on mini-eco, the idea of using plastic made fishing in water possible!  brilliant!

start by cutting some lengths of yarn... about 2' long.  hot glue a little magnet at the end of each piece.

take the other end of the yarn, and hot glue it to the end of a stick...

and you've got a fishing rod!

then, make a fish template.  use that to trace as many fish onto the plastic as you'd like.  (if you're not planning on using the fish in water, just trace them onto paper.)  cut them out.  

i normally would just clip on the paper clips, right onto the front of the fish, but saw this other cute upgrade on mini-eco... punch a hole at the front of the fish, and slip the paper clip into the hole.  it makes for a much cuter, fish-on-a-hook look!

be sure to use the large paper clips if using plastic fish... with the extra weight of the plastic (as opposed to paper), they need the bigger paper clips to work with the magnets.

now, you can get a little creative...  depending on the age of the child, add a little something onto your fish.  we went with various shapes to work on shape identification.  in the classroom, i've done numbers, dots for counting, different colors, or even random questions that the children would have to ask each other ("what's your favorite color?"  "how many eyes do you have?", etc.)  i love the idea of doing questions, because it brings a social element to it!

once we were all set with our fishing rods and fish, we brought them outside, and drew some large shapes on the sidewalk. 

we dumped the fish in a bucket of water...

and as the kiddos caught their fish... 

they'd find the matching shape on the sidewalk and place their catch in it!

happy fishing...