February 2011

Playful Picks (February 28, 2011)

Quote of the Week Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow. {Henry David Thoreau} Fun Activities & Projects Sculptural & Artistic Elements in Children’s Playscapes :: let the children play Pipe Cleaner Calder Craft :: Almost Unschoolers Melted Crayon Clay Ornaments :: Blick Art Materials Label Collage [...]

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From Natalie’s Camera

We gave Natalie her own digital camera for her 8th birthday last fall. It is always a treat to load her photos onto the computer and see what she has been capturing lately. If you are looking for a beginner digital camera (for a child or yourself), I would highly recommend the Canon PowerShot A495. [...]

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Flashlight Fun!

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{Originally posted at Blissful Kids, March 2009} Do your kids like to play with flashlights? Mine sure do! Spend a few minutes before bedtime playing a flashlight game or two. Flashlight Scavenger Hunt: Go on a night walk in a familiar area and see what you can find by the glow of a flashlight. Name [...]

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Creative Pretend Play Props and Ideas

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Pretend play is an important part of a young child’s life. Trying out different roles, replaying experiences, practicing social skills, and trying out new vocabulary are just some of the many benefits of imaginative play. Creating an environment that supports pretend play is easy – kids just need some space to play, unstructured blocks of [...]

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Building Decision-Making Skills

My six-year-old has become a bundle of indecisiveness. The I don’t knows come out of her mouth like a reflex or knee-jerk reaction. From simple things (like what to eat for breakfast) to more involved ones (like what to spend her money on), she is really struggling with the deciding process. It also seems to [...]

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Today, we will: •eat heart-shaped toast with strawberry jam •tell each other valentine knock-knock jokes •paint big paper hearts •learn how to play the card game Hearts •do a valentine mad-lib •read and reread our stack of valentine books •eat our traditional valentine’s day dinner – waffles with strawberries & whipped cream •give extra hugs [...]

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Valentine Fairies

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Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk about making Valentine cards, but not much action. A quick look at the calendar today sent both my girls into a Valentine-making frenzy! I had a pretty good feeling that Natalie would want fairies to be involved with her Valentines – she is [...]

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Picture Frame Calendar

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Happy Monday evening! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  My family is finally healthy after coming down with a stomach bug one after the other – I was the only lucky one who didn’t get it (knock-on-wood….). My niece turned 12 over the weekend, and I made her this fun dry-erase calendar out of a [...]

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