Activity Packs – Keeping the Kids Busy and Learning at the Same Time.

My 4-year-old is a very busy boy. He likes to be on the go all the time.  To avoid him getting into mischief if boredom hits, I have always carried a variety of activities and toys with us.

As school is fast approaching for him, I thought it would be good to create a few educational activity packs to play with.  I got the inspiration for the content from a visit to his new school.  So many great activities were going on in the prep classes.

Here is what I have created:

Sight Words

This activity helps children not only recognise letters but become familiar with sight words.

You can find printable lists and flash cards with sight words all over the net.  I used these ones from our state government website as they are written in the cursive font taught in Queensland schools. I printed each sight word onto coloured A5 paper and laminated them to create flash cards.  As there are 100 sight words, I have started with only printing 20.

I then purchased a heap of cheap wooden pegs and using a marker, printed the letters from each sight word onto the pegs.

I broke these 2o sight words up into 4 activities and placed them into large ziplock bags.

To play, Master O must peg the correct letter to each sight word flash card until he has created each word. The action of pegging the letter to the flash card helps develop his fine motor skills.

Colour Matching and Fine Motor Training

This activity helps children learn colours, their spelling, as well as develop their fine motor skills.

I cut out various coloured card and laminated them to create flash cards.  I printed each colour’s name on the card in permanent pen.

I picked up a bag of coloured match sticks, a container to hold them in and a pair of small  tongs from a variety store.

To play, Master O must pick up the matchsticks from the container and place them on the correct coloured flash card.  If I want to make things more difficult for him, I set up a stopwatch so he has to race the clock.  If he is feeling nimble, Master O can also use the tongs to place the matchsticks in patterns.

Master O thinks these activities are lots of fun and I love that they keep both his mind and body active. I have put together a few other activity packs, including some for my 18 month old that I will share with you soon.

Have a great day.

Documenting the Rhythm of My Children’s Day

My youngest is in a Kindermusik class.  We both love it.

Our unit is called ‘The Rhythm of My Day’ and so it was suggested that each parent put together a little book illustrating the Rhythm of our child’s day. What a great idea!  Not only is it a great book for them to read and look at now, it will be a great book to look back on as they grow older, to see how the rhythm of their day has changed.

So over the last week or so, I have been photographing the common place activities in my 18 month old’s day….the nap times, play times, teeth brushing, lunch, dinner etcetera.  I have also started to compile them in a scrapbook album I picked up for just a few dollars at Kmart. Even without my planned embellishments (I can’t help myself), it already looks great.

My 4 year old has also been interested in this project too.  Really, I shouldn’t be surprised.  Before he began Kindergarten, the centre gave him a picture book that outlined the ‘rhythm’ of a Kindergarten day.  He loved it and often recites the book as we drive to Kindergarten. When I suggested we make a ‘Rhythm of Oliver’s Day’ scrapbook, including pictures of him doing the activities, he was all for it.

Such a simple, yet fun, activity and keepsake.  I promise to share the completed books with you as soon as they are done.

Enjoy your day.

Making the Most of Departing Warmth

I must apologise as I haven’t been around the blog much lately.  The days are getting shorter and nights more chilly Down Under, so most of us are trying to wring the last out of the sunny, warm days that remain in early Autumn/Fall.

Our little family has been hitting the outdoor activities pretty hard.  I have been snapping pics left, right and centre to get some good ones to put in my Project Life album (see post here).  Today I thought I would show you some of the activities we have been up to in this glorious weather.

Feeding the ducks and afternoon bike rides….. I thought I was being such a fun mum, whisking the boys off on an adventure after kindergarten.  All was going well until jealousy erupted over the choice of transport I brought for our bike ride.  Nothing says ‘fun’ like a crying 18 month old at the park!

 

Fishing….We all love throwing in a line and the thrill of winding in a fish.

Bush walks….This walking area had a playground and an education centre.  Many an hours could be spent here.

Picnics and playing at the beach….This wasn’t one of the white sandy beaches I like going to.  This was a mud flat, mangrove beach the kids love to go to.  Lots of sticky mud and messy fun to be had.

Long drives and country shows…..we went to the Marburg show the other weekend.  It was great to see the horses and cattle, check out the ute muster and flower, cooking and art competitions.

Winery lunch….We have a lovely winery with a greatcellar door restaurant not too far from us.  You get to sit under shady trees, looking out over green, grassy hills.  completely relaxing.

As soon as the weather cools down completely, I know I will be about the blog a lot more, but for the moment I want to savour this joyous weather. I hope wherever you are, you too are enjoying wonderful weather.

A Bedroom for a Dinosaur Loving Boy

It occurred to me the other day, as I was giving Master O’s room a quick tidy, that I hadn’t shown you all the changes we made in his room.

Towards the end of last year, as Master O’s 4th birthday loomed, we struggled to find him a present.  We really didn’t want to buy him toys as we knew he would receive more than enough as gifts from the family.  I really had no inspiration until I found myself staring absent-mindedly into a store window while waiting for my sister.  As she arrived and I turned to leave, I realised what I had been staring at…..the cutest range of dinosaur linen and accessories on a fantastic sale.  There and then I decided his present would have to be a dinosaur room makeover.

The day before his birthday party, while he was a daycare, I set about transforming his room.  Previously it had sported a nautical/pirate theme which I shared in these posts here and here, but this is what it looked like on the morning I started the transformation.

After a good clean up and rearrange, followed by the addition of  the new duvet cover, matching cushions and bunting, the room looked a lot fresher.

I added a few other nick nacks that suited the theme, like these cute bookends.

I had already added a padded cushion to the Trofast toy storage units to make a reading seat, but now I could see how well my colour choice matched with the linen. You can read about how I made the seat  here.  A little rearranging of the Trofast tubs I already owned enabled me to bring the colour green into this area of the room as well.

I had tried to purchase some artwork for the walls in time for his birthday but I couldn’t find anything that matched the colour scheme. Master O didn’t mind, he was chuffed with the transformation.  The walls remained blank until about 3 months ago when I returned to the linen store and found a matching dinosaur canvas in stock.

So with one wall decorated,  I thought I might have to make something for the other wall – but what?  On holidays last month I came across a stall that sold all manner of dinosaur cutouts,  2D and 3D.  The were amazing and so well priced that I had to be restrained.  I purchased 2 x 2D cutouts and after a bit of spray paint, attached them each to a canvas.  It was a such a simple art solution and they really do pop with their shiny bright orange paint.

The other purchase I made was 3D pterodactyl.  After a couple of coats, also in the bright orange paint, I attached him to the ceiling.  I was concerned that he might be a bit scary for a 4-year-old, woken in the middle of the night, but Master O has entrusted the pterodactyl with the task of keeping him safe.

So after stalling for nearly 4 months with the artwork, the room is pretty much complete now.  Master O received a couple a big dinosaur figurines for his birthday and Christmas that fit in perfectly with the colour scheme so they now reside on top of his Trofast unit and look very much at home.  We also picked up a hat stand shaped like a tree on sale at Target.  It is the perfect place to hang his Kindergarten and library bags when it is not some how involved in some imaginative dinosaur play.

This really has evolved into the perfect room for our dinosaur loving boy.  What are you favourite themes for little boy’s rooms?

Weekend Cooking

It is not often that we are about the house on the weekend so I don’t do a lot of cooking.  However, this weekend I made a bit of an effort and ended up making some lovely things.  When I say ‘effort’, it wasn’t that great as most of the recipes were done in the Thermomix. I really can’t explain just how much of a marvel the Thermomix is.  If you don’t have one, don’t let that put you off clicking on the links to the recipes as most could be done without it, or perhaps completed with another appliance that you have.

Have a look at my creations, I am more than a little proud of some of them…..

Apple Porridge made in the Thermomix while I got ready for the morning.  It can’t get much easier than that!  The boys LOVED it.  Recipe is here.

Banana and Coconut Bread.  We all loved this.  The recipe is one for the Thermomix but easy and well worth adapting if you don’t have one.  I also had my first attempt at scrolls.  These were spinach and feta.  Yummo. A fantastic brunch or lunchbox food.  You can find the recipe here.

Healthy Banana Ice Cream.  This is made with just a little sugar (or in our case dextrose), frozen skim milk and frozen banana.  It is just like soft serve ice cream without the guilt. I will post more about easy ice creams made in the Thermomix soon.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Mocha.  This recipe calls for cocoa, but I have been right into using raw cacao and I am convinced of  the health benefits.  Hubby and I love this rich drink.

Mango, Banana and Apple Green Smoothie.  This was my own concoction but you can read about my green smoothies here. This one was demolished by my boys in seconds, despite them watching two big handfuls of spinach going into the mix.

Chinese Combination Short Long Soup.  I did freestyle with this recipe and added things I knew we would like.  It was a hit all round.  Master C loved the dumplings.

Another dish that I stupidly didn’t photograph, despite the fact it was the stand out dish of the weekend, was Singapore Noodles.  Oh. So. Yummy. Instead of making it with vermicelli noodles, I used angel hair slim noodles which have less than 7 calories per serve.  The meal had next to no calories and was so filling.  I can see this appearing regularly on my meal plans.

I’d love to hear whether you get up to cooking or baking on the weekends or is that your ‘time off’?  Have a great week.

Thermomixing: Naturally Sweetened Jam

Like most kiddies, my children love jam.  I mean, why wouldn’t they?  It is sticky and beautifully sweet and there in lies the problem.  Jam is a no-no when you are trying to cut down on sugar and eliminate refined sugar.

Since the addition of the Thermomix into the household, I have wanted to have a go a making my own healthy jam.  So when I picked up two huge punnets of strawberries, the mission to find the right recipe was underway.

One of my favourite blogs for healthy Thermomix recipes is Quirky Cooking.  Not surprisingly, Jo had the perfect recipe for a naturally sweetened jam recipe.  To my great joy, it was super easy (isn’t everything with a Thermomix anyway?) and within seconds I was in the kitchen making jam.

Naturally Sweetened Jam

Ingredients

• 500 g of your chosen fruit (I used strawberries)
• 150 g rapadura sugar (or use another sweetener like honey,  stevia etc)
• 1 level teaspoon agar-agar

Method

1. Place a saucer, for testing the jam, in the freezer to cool.
2. Place fruit in the Thermomix and chop for 3-5 seconds on speed 4, depending on how chunky you like your jam
3. Add sugar and agar-agar and cook for 8 minutes/100 degrees/ reverse/ Speed 2.  If you prefer a smooth jam like we do, don’t put the machine in reverse and give the whole mix a blitz at speed 8 for a few seconds once the cooking is done.
4.  To test the jam, take 1/2 teaspoon of jam and place it on the chilled saucer.  Once the jam has cooled, push it with your finger.  If the mixture ‘wrinkles’ it is ready.  If your jam requires a little more setting, add a pinch more agar-agar, cook for a further 2 minutes and test again.
5. Pour the jam into sterilised jars and keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Everyone loved this jam. Unlike the store-bought jams, it was not sickly sweet and tasted like strawberries.

It is possible to omit all sweeteners from this recipe and I am keen to try that when strawberries are at their sweetest.

I definitely recommend giving this recipe a go.

Easter Tradition: Easter Egg Seeds

Last Easter I posted about a new Easter tradition we started that involved planting a garden with Easter Egg Seeds.  You can read the original post here.

Basically, what happens is that at some point before Easter, the Easter Bunny leaves my kids a packet of seeds to plant in the yard.  If they are good and very lucky, they will grow into Easter eggs by  Easter Sunday.

The Easter Bunny left our seeds for us to plant today.

Master O is taking his gardening role very seriously, watering and watching for any growth.  We are certain that a few eggs will sprout before Sunday

While on the topic of preparing and looking forward to Easter, we had a little poke around the shops this morning and bought some Easter decorations on sale.  I think they are just adorable, so I had to share them with you.

These lovely bunnies cost me just a few dollars each at Bed, Bath and Table.

And this ceramic Easter egg, also from Bed, Bath and Table, pairs nicely with my big bunny and is perfect for holding chocolates for our guests to help themselves to.

There were so many lovely decorations on sale that I know I will cave and be back to buy more before the end of the week.  Stay tuned!

 

 

Thumbprint Easter Egg Sign

Yesterday I showed you the cute thumbprint Easter egg cards the kids and I made for their teachers.  You read about that post here.

As we had such a ball making them, we decide to also make an Easter sign for our entrance using a blank canvas.

A bit of stamping, some paint and a few stickers later and it was proudly on display on our hall table.  Cute

And don’t you just love the moss bunny? He has been my favourite addition to our Easter decorations this year.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

 

Easter Craft: Thumbprint Easter Egg Gift Cards

I came up with this cute card design to accompany my kid’s teachers’ Easter gifts.

The kids were able to get involved and we had a lot of fun completing them.  Give them a go yourself.

What we used:

Blanks cards – we purchased ours or you could make these from card stock

A variety of acrylic paints

Paintbrush

Coloured textas

Green paper

scissors

How we did it:

Taking the first colour, I painted each child’s thumb and got them stamping.  I directed the kids to stamp away from the very bottom of the card – you will see why later.

Before we used the other chosen colours, we washed and dried our hands.  This helped to keep the colours crisp.

Once the thumbprints had dried, we used textas to decorate the eggs and to add a greeting to the card.

Taking a strip of green paper, I cut out a zig-zaggy section of grass.

Using some glue, we secured the grass to the bottom of the card.  As we had positioned the thumbprint eggs further up the card, they appeared to be hiding in the grass.

And that is it.  Relatively quick and easy to make and they look gorgeous.

We have attached these cards to a bundle of mini eggs for each of the kids’ teachers.

As we had such a fun time doing this, I have dreamt up other uses for fingerprint Easter eggs. Tune in tomorrow to see them elsewhere.

Easter Decorating and Activities

I don’t know about you, but it scares me just how fast Easter is approaching. It seems to sneak up on me….every year!  Over the weekend we completed a few fun projects that have helped get us into the Easter spirit, so I thought I would share them with you.

The boys had fun hanging some egg-shaped decorations along with this cute ‘Happy Easter’ banner.

I ‘helped’ (although the correct term would probably be ‘cleaned up after’) the boys as they painted some plaster Easter decorations to display about the house.

I experimented with my chocolate lollipop mould and made these cute bunny shaped ones.

This week the boys and I are decorating some props for our Easter Egg Hunt and making some more chocolate creations.  I hope to share them with you soon, but until then, take a look at some of my other Easter posts……

Click on the images to link to the post.