Hide Away People

 

These hide away people have been a big hit with my DCK. They have been great for their fine motor skills, color recognition, and color matching. They were really very easy to make! I bought all the wooden pieces from a craft store and painted them with water colors. Then I sealed them with beeswax making them completely toxic free!

I didn't throw in the towel...

No, I didn't abandon my blog already... I have been blessed to have my mother in law come all the way across the country to come spend a couple weeks with us! Little did she know she came all that way to take care of my family and house... on the Friday before Easter I was struck down with the stomach flu. Ick! I don't know how I would have made it through without her. So anyway, Easter turned out great thank God! The kids had a great time even though D "thinks" he's getting a little too old for all of this. He doesn't know what he's talking about... or maybe I'm just in denial. Either way he will continue to be an active participant in our Easter traditions :0)

Textured Number Bags

I saw these awesome textured number bags here on Izzie, Mac and Me and just HAD to make them for my DCK! They were a lot of fun to make and they seem to be enjoying the uniqueness of each one (yay, with a huge grin). Each bag has a number and corresponding amount of ribbon tags.

Each bag has a different texture of fabric

and is filled with something different.

Here is what is in each bag:

pink: baby wipes wrapper 

red: plastic shopping bag

orange: polyfill beads

yellow: cotton balls

green: cotton and a squeaker

blue: navy beans

purple: cut up straws

brown: ribbed side of cardboard 

black: fabric shreds and bell

and I love how they look in their little basket :)

TaaaDaaa!!!

Dyeing playsilks with kool-aid

Playsilks! That wonderful open ended toy that can be wings to fly, a dolly blanket, a table cloth, fort walls, a cape for your little super hero, or just about anything! We absolutely LOVE ours :0)
So here is how I did it...

First get your plain playsilks. I bought mine at dharmatrading.com and got the 30" X 30". You will also need:
lots of vinegar
hot water
kool-aid 2 packs per color (at last... a use for this stuff)
glass bowel

1. Add one cup of vinegar and 4 cups of very hot water to a glass bowel. Put one playsilk in the bowel to soak while getting the dye ready.
2. In a measuring cup mix one cup of vinegar, two packs of kool-aid, and a cup of very hot water. Mix it up and pour in the glass bowel with the silk.
3. With gloved hands or a wooden spoon stir it up and swirl it around for about 5 minutes or until the silk has soaked up most the color. Be careful not to ball up the silk tightly as this will make your color very uneven.
4. Once the silk has soaked up most the color you are ready for the fun part... hahaha! Rinsing the excess color out! Under cold water rinse and wring the silk until the water runs clear. The red can take a really looooong time!
5. Hang up to dry.
6. Time to play with them!

Here are the results

Our sensory table

Right now in our sensory table we have colored rice with little Tonka trucks and the other side has large pom pom balls, a bucket, and a shovel. Since I have one child who is 12 months in my daycare one side of our sensory table always has things that he cannot choke on. 

Colored rice :0)

Okay, this rice was a BIG hit with the DCK (daycare kids). I put it in the sensory table along with some measuring spoons and cups and let them go at it! Of course it doesn't look as pretty now, hehehe! Here is how I made it:

big bag of white rice
6 zip lock bags
rubbing alcohol
food coloring

I put two cups of rice in each bag along with 1 tsp. of rubbing alcohol. Then add a generous amount of food coloring mixing colors if needed to get the right color. Seal the bag and shake, squish, and smoosh until all the color is distributed evenly. Then I baked the rice on a cookie sheet covered in foil at 200 for 15 minutes. The smell of the alcohol goes away once it is fully dried in the oven.
Enjoy!

My very first blog post!!!

I am a stay at home mom and I love it and feel very fortunate! I have 2 boys whom I will refer to as D and E. D is 15 and E is 9. I have been married to the love of my life for almost 16 years now. Prince charming's name is Rich and rich in love is how he makes me feel. I have a small home daycare (3 kids). I absolutely love what I do and strive to make my home as home like for my daycare babies as I can. In the last year I have made some changes in how I do things. I have decided while watching the kids play with battery operated instant gratification toys that they don't learn a whole lot. And really, how much fun can that be to push buttons all day long?!?! So instead I have been weaving out the mindless toys and replacing them with.. well.. more stimulating toys that are kid powered! I have been reading a lot about Montessori and Waldorf schools teach and I have really fallen in love with their practices. So hear goes my blog on our daycare adventures!