A Bit of Styrofoam

A parent gave me several long sheets of styrofoam

so I covered a table with them.

 I dug into my cupboard and fun tooth picks

and appy sticks, like umbrellas.

The children loved poking the sticks into the foam.

 I worried how safe it would be with toddlers

but they amazed me with their curiosity and focus.

 It was fun to see the different ways and places they put the sticks;

making patterns and designs.

 Then the umbrellas stirred their interest.

How do they open?

 Do they smell like flowers?

They look like trees.

One day I noticed a family added some buttons to the table.

So it inspired me to look for other items that would work.

 

Love it when you can use recycled materials to create games and learning.

It's Spuds Time

We have participated in the Spuds in Tubs program since 2010.

It's a fantastic program that I would recommend to everyone.

The program includes the tubs, soil, fertilizer and the seeds.

It provides an opportunity to learn about gardening.

This week we filled the five tubs with rich, dark soil.

The children mixed the fertilizer into the soil.

Enjoying the feel and getting dirty.

Next we checked each seed and removed extra sprouts.

The children dug holes in the soil, dropped their seed in

and covered it up.

One more step - water.

Then they rest till we come back from Spring Break.

How much will they sprout?

A Little Colour Magic

Last week we read the book "Planting a Rainbow" by Lois Ehlert.

I chose it to have some fun with colours.

Prior to story time I dyed sunflower seeds to match the colours in the rainbow.

 After reading the story,

I showed the children coloured sticks.

We put them in our garden box in order as they appear in a rainbow.

The children were then given 6 seeds, one of each colour.

They planted them, matching the seed colour to the stick.

Another book we read, during our second storytime, is called

"Plant the Tiny Seed" by Christie Matheson.

It's a fun interactive story.

It also helped inspire the idea of magic.

We watered the seeds and left them over the weekend.

 Monday morning magic!

At story time we had fun comparing the coloured sticks to the flowers

that magically grew over the weekend. 

Another Homemade Toy

I've been away from blogging this week as I've been busy

visiting with my daughter and

playing with my grand daughter.

During the week I brought home the PVC pipes that we used at school

 and built an activity centre.

I also brought home a few mini disco balls that I had

bought at Christmas.

And two icicle lights that I had hoped would change colours

but were only blue.

My two month old grand daughter loved it.

I tied the first disco ball on the pipe before I realized I could slip them on.

But we discovered that the it spins better when it hangs lower.

It's been an exciting week watching, singing, playing and cuddling.

Final Additions

The children have been enjoying the many books about fire fighting that are available in the room.

They have given us information about the trucks and also the equipment 

the fire fighters wear.

Another piece of equipment our truck needed was the control panel

where the hoses connect.

We used jar lids, milk jug caps and tuna cans.

The tuna cans are the perfect size for the hose to fit in.

Next was the axes.

We don't have a pull out panel like the real truck

so we made hangers (with zip ties)

on the inside of the back door.

It has been exciting to see all children, boys and girls,

enjoying the fire truck.

I think this is the first year that I've heard the term

'fire fighters' used more than 'fireman'.

Our finished truck.

One of our grandfathers, who is a retired fire fighter, checked it over.