Happy Birthday

Play-dough+baby food pouch lids+birthday candles=just about the best birthday cake I've every seen!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

My daughter loves to act out books she reads. One of the most recent was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We made three bowls of porridge (which was really old rice cereal I had lying around from when my son used to eat it). I stuck one in the microwave, put ice cubes in one, and left the other room temperature. 

We then went into the living room and sat on three different chairs.

Finally we laid down in three different beds. The first one was too hard.

The second one was too soft.

 

But the third one was......"Just right" my daughter shrieked, which sent me into a giggling fit, because it obviously wasn't.

 

The Princesss and the Pea

I love it when literature comes to life, so when my girl asked me if we could play Princess and the Pea after reading the book, I said, "Absolutely!" In the book, the princess slept on 20 mattresses. We opted for 20 blankets instead. Also, in our version there was both and Prince and a Princess who laid upon that pea. I'm not sure the kids could actually feel it, but they were great at tossing and turning!

Valentine's Boxes

A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day, we bought some little metal mailboxes for a dollar each. Everyone in our family got one.

Everyone loved sending and getting (and eating) Valentines.

More Cars

Today we used cookie sheets, boxes, cutting boards, and baby food containers to make ramps, tunnels and bridges. After several cars went up, down, and over, it was time for all the stuffed animals to slide down the ramps. My daughter even tried, and surprisingly, the cookie sheet held her weight!

Let's Go Riding in an Automobile

We've been talking a lot about cars lately. Our favorite car book is Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle.

Yesterday, using the help of some internet clip art (some wheels, a steering wheel, and a license plate) and some string for a seat belt, we made our own car. My daughter was so pleased. She kept saying, "Look! I driving!!" If you look behind her, you'll see that my son was less than impressed.
Today I taped a piece of paper over our old license plate and gave my daughter some crayons. She didn't know what was underneath, but kept coloring. She kept saying, "ooohhhhh, so bumpy!" She was so excited when she started to see the letters come through. She was especially excited when she saw a K because that's the first letter in her name.

When she was all done, we took off the paper and she saw the license plate underneath. She got such a kick out of carry it around, and later taping it to the back of the car we made yesterday.

A House is a House for Me Take 2

As I've mentioned before, we really like to play 'houses' at our house. Here are 2 more houses.

Couch House:

Stair House:

A House is a House for Me

A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman is a favorite at our house. It talks about all sorts of different houses, like a shoe being a house for a foot, a mitten being a house for a hand, and a castle being a house for a king. My daughter has been making houses out of everything from Duplos to blankets. She recently discovered that laundry baskets make some of the best houses. In this basket from Ikea, she stored pillows, a few toys, and a pair of my flip-flops and still had plenty of room to go in and out over and over (and shut and open the 'door' over and over again).