Hanging Bells

A simple stand from IKEA and bowls of bells with strings attached

made for great eye hand coordination play.

So focused.

Look at how his fingers are holding the string.

Figuring how to open the string to be able to hang it.

Working with a big buddy

playing and sharing

builds a trusting relationship.

Pita Christmas Tree for Snack

A simple snack to make with your little one.

Pita bread, avocado, carrot sticks and raisins.

For other decorations you could use cheerios, peppers, grated cheese.

What would your child like as a topping?

A Tree Puzzle

My husband made another toy for us.

A stacking wooden tree puzzle.

I put it out, in the block corner, about two weeks ago and

it was pretty much ignored.

So today I set it up in the middle of the classroom 

on a soft green blanket.

The children were attracted to it,

especially toddlers.

I like how the parents were close by to encourage,

assist when needed

or to suggest ways to take the wood pieces off.

Watch how this little one figures out how to take the wood off the post.

He got the first one off after his mom suggested holding the ends 

and lifting.

The next he tried pulling at one end

but it wouldn't work.

 In fact it lifted the whole stand off the floor.

His mom again recommended to hold the ends and lift.

He sat down and tried it.

He got it all the way to the top but couldn't reach any farther

so it dropped down to the base again.

He stood up and tried it again and successfully got it off.

The more it is played with the easier the wood slides on and off the post.

Putting Out the Fire

This morning at school this little guy came up to me and asked for something 

that looked like water.  As he stood there he twiddled with his fire helmet.

At first I didn't understand what he was after until I looked over to 

where his mom sat by our fake fireplace.

She held up the black hose and pointed to the end of it.

Ah, he needed water for his fire hose.

We found a piece of tissue paper and he stuck it in the hose and

proceeded to put out the fire.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him putting it out

but when he was done he left the hose there.

A little later another child came along and 

pretended the same thing.

Our fireplace has provided quite a variety of imaginative play.

Fake Snow Play

Last week just before it started to snow we made fake snow.

We followed the recipe from Fun at Home with Kids

using baking soda and shampoo.

Three cups of baking soda to a quarter cup of shampoo

and a little water.

Both ingredients are very soft so the children loved squishing it together.

With a sprinkle or two of water it started to clump together.

We made snowballs

and even a snowman.

A side note:  I thought I had found an unscented shampoo but as the fake snow sat

overnight in the container, with the lid on, it became quite fragrant.

And I was surprised by the heat that came off of it when we opened the container

after sitting all night.

We could only keep it for a couple of days until the fragrance became too strong.

But by then we had real snow.

The Return of the Gingerbread Cookies

Oh what a day!

Our Gingerbread Cookies were scheduled to arrive on the 10:30 flight

at the airport and we were there ready to meet them.

But the flight was delayed by over a half an hour

so we decided to head back to school.

Mr Wallace, who works for Westjet offered to meet the Cookies

and keep them company until we could return at noon.

They arrived safe and sound

looking a little tanned and dressed like maybe

they came from Hawaii.

Mr Wallace opened the suitcase for us so we could see what they had packed.

 

In the back of their case were their passports.

We were able to read all the places they had visited while they were away.

Best of all they brought us a treat, gingersnaps.

We had just a small group at noon.

I apologize to all the families that came earlier and missed out.

But the cookies are safely back at school waiting to see everyone tomorrow.