Kiddos Create Challenge - PT Tube

This weeks challenge was to make something with a toilet paper tube. As a teacher, everytime I take an empty one off the roll I wonder "what can I do with this." But I'm not a saver so I toss it hoping I don't think of something later.

We had an empty paper towel tube and I handed it to Elliya and asked her, "What can this be?" After tossing around some ideas she settled on a butterfly. I left it up to her and went to church to work in the nursery. When I got home I found this...


For more kid crafty ideas visit Mama Jenn.

Muffin Tin Monday

This was a no theme week. We decided to try pickles as our new food. Evie liked it but not our picky bird!

pickle, mandarin oranges, pepperoni, oyster crackers

Go visit the Muffin Tin Mom for more great lunch ideas.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Got a class of cold milk? You'll definitely want one, besides, everyone knows chocolate cookies and milk go together. (My DH doesn't see the big deal though.)

I tried these Chocolate Waffle Cookies today simply because of the fun factor.

Mine didn't look like the picture (anything I cook rarely looks like the picture) but they are so tasty.

I have a belgian waffle maker so my cookies had a different texture and look (soft and fluffy like my waffles!). I'm curious to know how these would turn out in a regular waffle maker.

The frosting is a nice addition but certainly not necessary especially for little ones who already like too many sweets!! The frosting makes these super sweet and a glass of cold milk becomes a necessity.

Enjoy...let me know if you try these.

Drawing

Elliya has really begun to enjoy drawing and I enjoy finding little pieces of paper with her drawings on them. She is noticing the details around her and putting those into her drawings.

She brought home this dog that she drew at school during free play. Don't you like how he stands on two feet?

This past summer she started drawing the girl with a triangle dress with a heart in the middle. Do you see the high heels? The girl has curly hair and a bow. She learned how to draw a butterfly from the art teacher last year. Come to think of it, that may be what started it all.

I went to the library to find some super easy step by step drawing books. My hope is that her ideas of what she can draw will grow.


Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book has been around for a while. We got out some ink and played around with some. I even showed her how she could do the same thing by drawing circles instead of the fingerprints.


I Can Crayon is a very cute book showing step by step how to draw using crayons.


1 2 3 I Can Draw is another one. It shows some good step by step illustrations but what I liked most were the two pages dedicated to the 8 basic materials for drawing as well as different kinds of lines and that drawing is like putting shapes together. This is very kid friendly...not complicated or too advanced.


David's Drawings uses a story to show the progression of his drawing and how his classmates helped add detail.

I really like how all of these books are simple and because Elliya's interest is high they are perfect for her.

Kiddos Create Challenge - Leaves

This week's challenge was to use leaves. I pulled out my "fall" tub where I store everything fall related that I use in my classroom.

Sidenote: I used to keep everything in file folders but it became too hard to store larger projects and things that needed more room. One year I got the idea from a fellow teacher to use tubs to store away units or anything else that needed more room than a file folder. I really like them because when I am done I can just throw everything back in and put the lid on. They take up some room but I think it's worth it. One tub can contain several units or one unit depending on how much I have. It's a nice way to store read alouds that go with that particular subject/unit. These are the ones I use. I believe it's a 15 qt...the next size above the shoebox size.
I found this project {Fall Leaf Watercolors} that I've used in the past. Using leaf tracers, trace the leaf on white paper then outline with a thick line using watercolor markers. Go over the lines with a watercolor brush and water and watch the colors spread.


We also tried leaf people. I used {this} and {this} to jumpstart our thinking.

For more ideas visit Mama Jenn.

Kiddos Create Challenge - Buttons

Mama Jenn (who also hosts Brown Like Me Book Reviews) just started a new blog carnival focusing on crafting with your kids. This week's challenge was to use buttons. I have plenty of those thanks to Papertrey Ink's beautiful supply that is irresistable...especially since it is so matchy matchy with their paper, ink, and ribbon.

I googled "button crafts" and came across these ideas from Better Homes & Gardens. That is where I got the idea for our monogram canvas E. I am collect E's and hang them in the girl's room and I thought this was the perfect addition. Not to mention it was easy and quick enough for Elliya to help with. It was nice that I already had all the supplies.


For more great button crafts visit Mama Jenn.

Muffin Tin Monday

pretzel sticks, pepperoni, pinapple, "E" sandwhiches, marshmallows

Here is Evie enjoying her own muffin tin while big sister is at school!Visit Her Cup Overfloweth for more creative lunch ideas!

Our Menu

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Made these {Mini Cinnis} this morning. They were so easy and so yummy! I am not comfortable with homemade breads much less homemade cinnamon rolls. So if you're like me then these are perfect. I actually cut the recipe in half, all except the cinnamon mixture. I put the other half of that in the fridge in hopes I could whip some up tomorrow morning.

Tacos with rice, beans (which I just realized I forgot at the store...shoot!), and homemade tortilla chips

Breakfast for dinner - these {sausage crescent rolls} are so good. I also halved this recipe. A very simple mixture of sausage and cream cheese between crescent rolls. I put half of my crescent rolls on the bottom of a square pan then the mixture, then the other half of my rolls. I did use the hot sausage like it suggests. The cream cheese helped take out some of the heat but there was still some...not too much though. If you read the reviews you'll see it's an easy recipe to add to.

{Chicken Enchilada Soup} looks like a great crock pot recipe!

Want to try these {Pumpkin Blondies}

To get more great meal ideas go visit Organizing Junkie.

Muffin Tin Monday

The theme this week was "All About Me" but between a cast and getting hung up on finding food that resembled brown curly hair I went a different route.

Elliya has a major sweet tooth. Thankfully fruit usually satisfies it. I thought I would offer her a dessert muffin tin this week. She loved it although I thought it was too sweet.

Marshmallows on sticks, melted chocolate, sprinkles...she enjoyed dipping the marshmallows in the chocolate and then in the sprinkles.

Here is Evie's: cheese quesadilla, grapes, pepperoni

For more muffin tin ideas go visit Michelle at Her Cup Overfloweth.

Casted

Most of you know (via facebook) that we have ventured into new territory this week...we are nursing a broken arm (a fractured elbow to be exact).

What's ironic is that we always joke and say we're surprised Elliya hasn't broken any bones yet...she's pretty active.

We went to gymnastics on Monday as usual and it was testing week (I guess the teachers see how much they've improved in the skills...nothing formal and stressful). I was out walking Evie around trying to keep her busy and when I came back in another mom told me what happened. About half way through the class Elliya was doing the "birdie jump" on the lowest uneven bar and fell landing on her elbow.

We had a not so good experience with the first orthopedic and halfway through the visit decided to try to get in with a pediatric orthopedic...so thankful we could get in the very next day (yesterday). He had her casted and out of there in 30 minutes. So uncomplicated compared to the first one. And to top it off...he didn't charge us for the cast since he was out of network for our insurance. PTL!!

She has enjoyed the challenge of writing with her opposite hand, in fact, we all wrote with our opposite hand at dinner last night.