fridge tree with magnet leaves.

i'm practically giddy thinking about september 22nd. it begins the seasonal wonderfulness that i look forward to every year and i'm so ready for emery to be a part of it!

i absolutely refuse to decorate for fall 1 day before fall actually begins. that being said, i couldn't help but start this project for emery so i could get it ready in time! if you're looking for seasonal fun for your little one, read on!

incase you want to get into my brain, here's how this project evolved. i was looking through my preschool curriculum, writing down anything that would be age appropriate for my 15 month old. when i got to the Fall curriculum, i remembered i had taped a tree to a cookie sheet for the kids and made magnet leaves for them to place on the tree. i immediately wanted to make one for emery and wrote it down on my list.

a few minutes later, i remembered this 

that i found on pinterest from solandrachel.com a few months ago and thought was super cute. i loved the idea of making it huge and decided to do it on the fridge. it would save a cookie sheet from being held hostage for a few months, and a bigger tree equals more fun.

being the project-obsessed girl that i am, i immediately got started. {i'm the kind of person that has to start right when i think of it, or it will never get done} 

i taped construction paper to the fridge and then sat on the floor and stared at it in fear for a few minutes. flashbacks of a highschool self portrait came to mind when i tried to draw myself climbing a tree. my eraser was my best friend that semester. 

 after a good 5 minutes, i finally got on pinterest and found this

thank you, thank you, to whoever made this. my branches don't look as ridiculous now. {i always want to draw trees with the trunk being one massive arrow with awkward branches coming off the side, rather than splitting it halfway up into a few different branches. this gave me a good visual on how to split them.}

i used clear tape and secured each place on the paper where a part of the tree overlapped from one page to the next.

then i got to work, cutting the tree out while it was still on the fridge. i didn't like the idea of wrestling with it and spinning it around as i cut each branch at a different angle. i'm lazy like that.

hmmm. it should be a little taller up top
{i've never seen a flat-top tree in real life}, but overall, i'm satisfied.

i took it off the fridge and tucked it away to keep it safe from curious hands until i could get it laminated. and then i cleaned the gobs of brown paper off the floor so my husband wouldn't know our kitchen had been a disaster.

next, i found clipart for leaves at this link. i printed them off {you should use cardstock. i didnt. it was harder.} and traced them on red, orange, and yellow construction paper. i used markers to highlight them and make them more interesting.

{i did 45 leaves.}

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: mardel will let you laminate stuff for 25 cents a foot. true story. i went and got these bad boys and a christmas tree version with ornaments laminated for $2.44. i walked out of the store one happy mamma.

see that fairly innocent bowl of chocolate chips?
i most definitely forgot they were there after emery woke up.
i went to clean the kitchen and came back to this:

good thing you're cute...

 the magnets i had on hand were really thin and i was nervous they weren't going to hold, so i went ahead and broke my "don't decorate early rule" put it all up just to make sure. it was a hit!

we are now sporting a diaper because her
chocolate drenched clothes are soaking
in oxyclean. does chocolate stain?
i dont know, but i keep ruining her clothes
so i wanted to play it safe.

love and leaves,

amber.

letter R sensory bucket.

i love looking back on my life and seeing all the ways God directed me exactly where i needed to be, even before i was a believer. working at the preschool taught me so much and prepared me in so many ways for being a mom. the biggest bonus - all the stuff i bought for my classroom when i was single and had the cash to do it. i saved all of it for my future kids and am sooo thankful to have activities on hand! 

whenever we get bored, i tell emery we're going to pick something out of the super secret special activity room {also known as a closet in the basement}. i think it's her favorite room in the house!

toddler/preschooler activity: Letter R Sound Box

at the preschool, every week was devoted to a different letter. we would read a book specific to that letter, do an art project about the letter, and i would create centers themed around the letter. One of my centers for letter R was an R Sound Box...

Tools:

• small rubbermaid container {i got this at the dollar store, but they also have them in sets of 5 at target.}
• rice {or if you  do a different letter, pick something else, like confetti for C, pebbles for P, sand for S, etc.}
• a few objects that start with your letter. i choose a ruler, rose, red ribbon, race car, ring, rooster, and rock. most of these i got at the dollar store.

obviously emery isn't learning what starts with what yet, but it's a fun sensory bucket just the same. I still talked with her about everything like she was 4, but she mostly just wanted to throw rice on the floor. all in all, it was a good day!

she loved finding all the treasures and she loved making a mess! 
i don't mind her doing it, as long as it's supervised and structured!

burying mommy's hand in the rice

love and the alphabet, 

amber.

PS - this post was featured on Creative Christian Mama's Linky Party! i'm more than a little pumped!

balloon sensory matching.

i wouldn't change my job title for anything. being a wife and mom is the BEST! emery's curiosity is my daily reward for staying home - we have the best adventures and she makes everything so much fun. yesterday wasn't any different...

toddler activity: balloon sensory matching

when i worked at the preschool, one of my all time favorite themes was the week devoted to the 5 senses. one of the center time activities was a matching game. I filled balloons with various things and created cards with pictures of each thing. the kids got to squish, poke, and prod and then lay the balloons on the card they thought was the right match.

i know emery isn't there yet, but i keep seeing sensory balloons on pinterest and thought i'd make them again! i still have the cards, so for the sake of the post, i thought i'd fill them with what's in the pictures, even though it wont matter for her right now!

all you need is a funnel {for some things},
the balloons, and various items
that are different sizes and textures.

feeling the rice balloon!
she loved watching mommy 
use the funnel to fill it!

things got a little messy...

corn through our
funnel was a no go.

so we put them in ourselves.

 

she wanted in that flour bag so bad!

funneling the sand.
we also did shampoo and marbles.

honestly, i was surprised
how much she loved these -
i didn't think they would
last that long, but she
loved picking them up
one by one and squishing them!

in a few years, i'll add in the cards and i wont let her help me fill them so she wont know what's in what!

i just found the pictures on google images, printed them off, traced a balloon image, and laminated them {which definitely isn't necessary, i just had access to one at the preschool and with 12 new kids every year, i needed them to last!}

{marbles, corn, rice.}

{flour, shampoo, sand.}

love and guessing games,
amber.

PS - Creative Christian Mama  and One Creative Mommy featured this post in their weekly linky parties! check out their blogs!

fun things friday {toddler activities}.

ok, in attempt to keep myself in a routine of documenting fun times with emery, i want to start making fridays a recap of the fun things we did that week. we'll see how long it lasts/how consistent i am ;-)

creative idea #26: water play.
idea sparked by: my teaching days at the preschool.

tools:

• bucket
• water proof toys {we chose measuring cups and spoons, whisk, wooden spoon, and cookie cutters}
• water
• towel {i should have laid one under the bucket, it was a little slippery for her tiny feet!}

will someone put a pony tail in this kid's hair? where is her mother? sheesh.

creative idea #27:sensory bottles.

idea sparked by:pink pistachio

tools:

• empty bottles
• small objects {we chose beads, pom poms, glitter, and googlie eyes}
• water and/or oil
• hot glue gun

i did oil in the bottle on the left because the
beads are heavier - i wanted them in something they
could float in a little more. the pom poms
on the right dyed the water pink, but it would be
fun to do food coloring too!

{emery just learned how to screw caps
off and on, so just in case, i hot glued
them on.} 

    

love and creativity,
amber.