Easy Activities - Printables

We've been spending so much time outside and with friends this week that we haven't been doing many planned activities. A few quick and easy things that I've printed online are:

Cute Critter memory/matching game - C loves matching games, and she's been asking for the Easter cards again, so I printed these ones. They had to be small to fit in a little ceramic bowl she loves (I keep catching her lifting it above her head to put it in the 'microwave' in her play kitchen - it's sure to break one of these days!). For bigger cards, the Spring matching cards on Montessori for Everyone are beautiful!

This Life Cycle of an Apple matching game goes well with a couple of books we've read recently, and the local apple cider we bought at the grocery store -yum!

Strawberry Shortcake's Field Trip - Megan E. Bryant

Not a lot of content here, but it's a cute lift-the-flap book that tells the very basics of apple growing and picking.





Apple Cider Making Days - Anne Purnell

A straightforward book that shows you how apple cider is made. I enjoyed it more than C; I think older kids would think the process is pretty neat.

Toddlers in the Kitchen: Lessons Learned!

They say you learn something new every day. Well, yesterday's baking attempts taught me two lessons!

Lesson #1: Plan ahead

I woke up early, got a shower before C woke up, and we finished breakfast in record time. I thought it would be fun to do some baking and re-stock the freezer, so C and I started making a double batch of muffins. Mid-way through the recipe, I realized that we were missing a couple of ingredients, and we had to go to the grocery store. So I learned that I should always check my ingredient supply before starting to cook, even for pantry staples that we always have (like raisins)!

Lesson #2: Supervision

This is a biggie. After returning from the grocery store, my little helper and I mixed the wet ingredients. Then the phone rang. As I was writing Hubby's dentist appointment on the calendar, I turned my back on C (I'm sure you get an idea of where this is going). All of a sudden I hear glug-glug-glug-glug-splash! I turned around to see C pouring the entire bottle of vanilla into the bowl! Thank goodness the dry ingredients were in a separate bowl. It was really hard not to laugh, actually, but also discouraging because now we were out of vanilla, I didn't have enough eggs to make it again, and I didn't want to drive to the grocery store twice in one hour! Thank goodness for neighbors that you can borrow baking ingredients from. So take it from me, don't turn your back on a toddler in the kitchen - your little helper might decide to personalize the recipe!

As a side note, I have no idea what I said to the receptionist on the phone! When I looked at the calendar last night, I saw that I'd only written 12:30, and the 0 was a squiggle going off the side of the page!

After our adventures, the muffins turned out well, we have a stocked freezer, and Mummy's a little bit wiser!

Click here for our recipe for Bran Flax Muffins (which taste a lot better than they sound!)

"Mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!"

This weekend has been beautiful; full of sunshine, laundry blowing in the wind, picnics and playing outside. C and one of her friends went looking for bugs this morning, and they had us grown-ups lift almost every rock in their backyard! We scored by finding a bunch of ants (which they were fascinated by), and a couple of beetles in a compromising situation (now the girls know how baby beetles are made!). Too bad I didn't have a camera with me during the hunt - the girls were so enthralled!

The other big event of the weekend was that we bought C a tricycle! We're happy with the bike, but finding something that didn't have princesses or Dora on it was tricky! The red Radio Flyers were cute, but her legs would be too long for it by next year, so we went with this one. The basket in the back is great! We also got a child carrier for Hubby's bike, and we're going to take a family bike ride tonight. Check out my tattooed biker chick!

Figuring out the techie stuff

I added a link in the sidebar for those of you who subscribe to blog feeds. Let me know if you have any trouble with it!

Water and Pine Cones - Earth Day 2009

Despite the rain, we spent some time outdoors on Earth Day. We went to a local park with some friends, and all the kids enjoyed playing around a small pond and checking out the streams. They enjoyed the "sink or float" game... sometimes a bit too much - many shovels and buckets made it into the water and were saved by the grown-ups!

C loved throwing pine cones into the water - she cleared a good sized section of the forest floor! I saved a couple to make pine cone bird feeders that evening. This was the perfect toddler activity, with a bit of a snack thrown in. All we needed was peanut butter, seeds, pine cones and string. Unfortunately, it started raining again shortly after we hung them up outside and it's been raining all day today too, so most of the seeds have probably washed off! It's supposed to be warm and sunny all weekend (25 degrees C!), so if we re-coat the pinecones, we'll probably get to see some birds munching away!

What did your family do? Add your post here.

Earth Day books for kids

My daughter loves to read; a trait she got from her Mama! We've been reading books for Earth Day, and I thought I'd share some of what we've read so far.

Many of the traditionally recommended Earth Day books were checked out when we visited our local library (like Michael Recycle, The Carrot Seed, The Berenstain Bears Don't Pollute Anymore, It's Earth Day, Little Critter, or The Whole Green World), so I just spent some time scanning the shelves. We ended up with mostly nature books, and we've combined reading with lots of playtime outside!

The Tree - Dana Lyons

This is a short book with beautiful illustrations and an important message about saving our forests.




A Tree This Tall - Inez Rice

C has asked to read this book several times already this week. It's a great book about a boy who lives in a big city. There are no trees on his block, and when he finds an acorn on the sidewalk, he decides to plant it, and he imagines what his tree will be like. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be in print anymore! We borrowed this copy from the library.


Where Does the Garbage Go? - Paul Showers

A great child-friendly explanation of what used to happen to our garbage, what happens now, and the importance of recycling. Too bad they don't talk about composting too though!

Can You Say Peace? - Karen Katz

Although this isn't an environmental book, it shows children all around the world and teaches you to say "peace" in many languages - certainly an important concept in preserving our planet!


Fancy Nancy, Explorer Extraordinaire! - Jane O'Connor

This one isn't a storybook like the other Fancy Nancy books; it's more of a guide to nature, with Nancy's quirkiness thrown in. It's cute, but I think C will enjoy it more when she's a bit older.



The Lost Lake - Allen Say

Follow a boy and his father on a journey to find a lake untouched by civilization.

Earth Day Recycling Game for Kids

Here's a little recycling game I put together as one of our Earth Day activities. To recreate this you will need:

• Recycling bin or a box with a recycling symbol taped on it
• Garbage can
• Various types of clean, dry garbage and recyclables
• Recycling symbols

I put a recycling symbol (or two) on every item that is recyclable in my area, and left the garbage as-is. The idea of the game is for your child to check the item for a recycling symbol, and place it in the appropriate container.

I used stickers to make it easier for C to find the recycling symbol, but older children may be able to find the symbol right on the packaging.

Here are a couple of books to help reinforce the concept. Of course, the best way to teach is by example, so ask your kids to help you put things in your recycling, garbage and compost bins on a daily basis!

What doesn't belong?

 

It's like the Sesame Street song: "One of these things is not like the others...". Each strip has one image that is different from the others, and C has to figure out which one it is. On the dark blue strip it's a boat with a bunch of animals, on the pink one it's a shiny heart, on the purple one, one figure has his hands down while the rest have their hands up, etc. The smiley faces are the trickiest!

This was a quick and easy activity I created for C using everyday materials. All you need is scissors, paper (I used construction paper) and a bunch of different types of stickers. I also plan to laminate them with packing tape to make them more durable (and so that the stickers don't fall off!). I think she'll like finding the differences, and it can also be used for counting, grouping, colour recognition... plus, it's a nice compact game to stick in my purse, just in case!

Painting, gardening and planning for Earth Day

This week has been a busy one at work for me! C and I have been doing a lot of general playing and spending time outside, so there's not too much to report here! C used watercolours for the first time this week, and she liked that much better than regular paint! (Oh, I later read that coffee filters are good to paint on as they soak up some of the extra moisture. Good tip - her paper was soaked!) She also tried to figure out how to use scissors, with a little bit of success. She helped me pull up twigs and leaves from the garden, and played with outdoor toys while I worked, which was fantastic. One garden down, 2 to go!

I've also been planning some of our Earth Day activities for next week. We'll be visiting the library for a kid's concert on Saturday, so I hope to go early and pick up some books. I have to work on a few more ideas for our colour Green Day, and I have a recycling game in the works that I'll post about when it's finished. There aren't any Earth Day activities for kids in our city, so we're on our own! I'd love to hear what you're doing!

Celebrating Earth Day with a Toddler + an Earth Day Challenge!

I've been brainstorming ideas to celebrate Earth Day as a family. C is two years old, and I've been jotting down age-appropriate activities and searching for books that she would enjoy. Earth Day is on Wednesday, April 22nd, but we're going to celebrate all week. I haven't heard of any child-friendly activities in our city yet, so we're making plans on our own.

Here's what I have so far:

• Pick up garbage in the neighborhood
  
• Nature walk
  
• Tidy our garden to get ready for planting
• Make a pinecone bird feeder
• Painting rocks
• Read environment and nature-themed books
• Have a colour day: Green!
• Look at maps (download free maps here for colouring and activities)
  

I'd like to challenge you all to celebrate Earth Day with your families; or better yet: Earth Week! Post about your plans on your blog, and then link to it here using the Mister Linky below. Then come back and link to pictures of your family celebrating Earth Day!

Here are a few kid-friendly Earth Day crafts from Kaboose to get you started. I'm excited to hear about all of your ideas!

Please link to your POST (not just your blog). Thanks!