Time Flies When You're Having Summer Fun!

It was really not intentional.

However, it seems that between the end of the school year craziness, dance recital week, a trip to VA to see the family, playdates, pool parties, my boy's 6th birthday, keeping up with my freelance writing, and just everyday life, my poor blog has been abandoned. So for the handful of friends/readers who pop over every once in awhile, please accept my apologies. :-)

At the rate this summer is passing by, I have at least managed to post on facebook and in tweets (thanks to my phone with which I have a love/hate relationship). Something is better than nothing, right?

 I am hoping to carve out some time to catch up and document some of this summer fun (and post a few slumber party highlights - yes, I did survive. You may have been wondering - haha!). In the meantime, I've been posting fun stuff for little ones on the B Kids facebook/twitter/google + pages and commenting over at GoldfishSmiles.com.  But if you'd like to see snippets of what we've been up to - you can find me on twitter @teachitsimple2. In fact, I just posted a pic of Noah's Lego Ninjago birthday cake that the kids helped me make. I ran with Family Fun's Ninjas in Training cake idea. (Thanks, Family Fun!) It was a BIG hit, and I discovered a new favorite (and somewhat addictive) treat in the process - pretzels and icing! yum!

Hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July and are having loads of summer fun!

Who Would Have Thought?

When Abby wanted to invite all of the girls in her class to her first sleepover birthday party, I figured that there was NO WAY that all of them would come - five or six tops.

Nine girls have RSVPed.

Nine!

And a maybe...plus Abby makes a possible eleven.

Eleven!

Wow. 

Must have been the invites...

(Yep! Abby and I stayed up a bit past her bedtime making these last week to hand out at school. They really only took about an hour to make, but we got a late start.  Idea from the super cute American Girl Snooze-a-Palooza Slumber Party book.)

Or it could be the fact that no one has invited every single girl to a birthday party all year - let alone a spa night/SLEEPOVER. 

Yes, I am crazy.

Wish me luck!

"It's 4:44! Make a Wish!"

...exclaimed my cute boy just a few minutes ago.

I am absolutely sure that he wished for another Skylander. (I tell ya, those marketing people knew what they were doing with that whole product line. Geez...)

Not too long ago, as the kids and I were driving along somewhere (Girl Scouts maybe?), I noticed the clock read 5:55 and told the kids to make a wish!

They were completely fascinated with the whole idea that you can make wish whenever the numbers on a clock are all the same digit.

11:11, 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55 -

"That's SIX wishes a day, Mom!"

Good thing they never remember to wear those digital watches that Gramma and Papa got them for Christmas!

Guest Post: Teacher Appreciation Week

I love teacher appreciation week. I think it's awesome for the kids to have a chance to think about the things their teachers do for them and express their appreciation for all of those things.

Between the kids, there are six teachers/aides. This year we tried to focus on some inexpensive ways to give to the teachers. Each day there's a theme. These are the first two:

Fruit/Flower Day:
Rather than giving traditional fruit or flowers, the kids drew pictures of flowers on cardstock and signed their names on the back. Then we cut them out and used self-laminating sticky sheets to laminate them. Now their teachers have a pretty bookmark that they can keep.

Gift Card Day:
Instead of doing monetary gift cards, we decided to do gift certificates for a free car wash. We put our phone number and when the teachers need a car wash, the kids and I will go and wash their car for them. The kids are SO excited about this one. What kid doesn't love to play with a water hose and soap suds?

*Jenny is a mom of five, makes the best banana cream pie I've ever tasted, and is WAY more creative than she gives herself credit for. Thanks for posting, Jen! - Kelli

Cinco de Mayo Cupcakes!

Back in the preschool days, some friends and I got together to throw a last minute Cinco de Mayo party for our kiddos - complete with coloring sheets, a cut and paste flag, and cupcakes!

Any excuse to have cupcakes, right?


It was actually my neighbor's three-year-old son who came up with the idea to have "a cake for Mexico's birthday." So we frosted them with white icing and let the kids go to town with the red and green sprinkles to create the stripes.

They LOVED it.

I also added some bean and cheese burrito bites and diced avocado to the mix so they could sample some Mexican food too, but the cupcakes were still their favorite.

Can't say I blame them.



Then it was time for to teach them the Mexican Hat Dance and the Macarena. The dance teacher in me couldn't resist. I pulled my sombreros out of my classroom stash so we could dance around them. Another mom brought some instruments for the kids to play too - including maracas! The kids were really into it. Of course, we had to get a picture of each kiddo in the sombrero - too stinkin' cute!



I wonder if I'd be able to talk Noah into wearing this hat tomorrow for another photo opp - haha! Yeah, I seriously doubt it, but I am sure he'll be all for the cupcakes!

Thumbs Up for This Teacher's Gift!

When it came to coming up with a class gift from my daughter's kindergarten class a couple of years ago, I was all thumbs.

Or I should say - the kids were all thumbs!

Literally.

Armed with a canvas bag from Michael's, fabric paint, and markers, I dipped my daughter's thumb to make the flower petal prints the night before so the bag would be dry. I took the bag to school the next day to get nineteen more thumbprints! I had asked her teacher beforehand if I could pull a few kids at a time into the hallway do help with a special project during center time - wink! wink!  Being that it was Teacher Appreciation week, she was more than happy to oblige.

With fabric paint squirted onto a paper plate pallet (and baby wipes at hand), the kids choose a color and made their mark! They were excited to write their names with Sharpies underneath too. I added smiley faces once the paint was dry and then wrote their teacher's name across the top.

She absolutely LOVED it, and the kids loved having a hand (or thumb) in creating their teacher's gift!

Go Bananas for Teacher Appreciation Week!

Teacher Appreciation week was definitely my FAVORITE week of the year when I was teaching elementary school. Muffins in the teachers' lounge each morning, luncheons, goodies, flowers, sweet cards from the kids and parents...it was AWESOME.

Since I'm now on the giving end with my kiddos being in school, I am happy to return those gestures of appreciation to their fabulous teachers. This was a fun one that I put together for Abby's teacher when she was in Kindergarten. It was a big hit (especially since her teacher was on a diet!) -

(Yay for clipart!)

And these went along with the poster - gotta love banana pops!



Her teacher had two young boys so I thought this would be fun activity for them to do as a family too. She commented several times how much she loved the idea, and the class really liked having that monkey hanging around in their classroom all week!


*Teacher Appreciation week starts May 7th so more ideas to come! Would LOVE for you share your ideas too! 

Our Tiny Tomato Project

My kids LOVE tomatoes - especially my daughter. Grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes. She's been known to take a bite out of a round, juicy tomato just like you would out of an apple! We've tried planting tomatoes in the past. We did a mini-version of the square foot garden thing, but the squirrels ended up enjoying the fruits of our labors more than we did. Grrrr. But this time is going to be different!

I hope.

We decided to try planting cherry and grape tomatoes as our Earth Day project hoping for a quicker turn around time and that we will get to them before the squirrels do.

We scooped.

We planted.

We watered.

The best part? It took less than a half an hour (not counting the quick run to the store) and we didn't have to dig up the yard. Our crazy lab does enough of that already.

Even better? These tomatoes are portable just in case those pesky squirrels come a callin'.

Earth Day Fun for Little Ones

*This was a fun one to write for B Kids this week. My kids and I love Earth Day!

Looking for something special to do with your kiddos to celebrate Earth day? Here are a few activity ideas that will be fun for the whole family!

1)    *Go on a treasure hunt! Talk to your kids about earth’s treasures like trees, flowers, butterflies, animals…and then take a walk in your neighborhood and count all of the “treasures” you can find.  For preschoolers – let them collect a few items like dandelions, rocks, and leaves along the way. 

2)      *Plant a seed. All you need is a foam cup, a bit of potting soil, and a seed.  Help younger kids scoop the dirt into the cup, bury the seed, and pour a little water. Place the cup in a sunny spot and wait for sprouts of green.  Don’t forget to help your little sprout water the seed daily!

3)      *Create an outdoor masterpiece.  Break out the sidewalk chalk and decorate the driveway or sidewalk for all to see! For extra fun, ask your child to lie down  and let you trace his body with the chalk. Then add eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth. A great way to practice body part recognition too!    

                        

4)      *Have a backyard picnic! Make some sandwiches, grab some fruit, and spread out a blanket in your backyard.  Enjoy the fresh air, do a little cloud watching, and throw in some bubble blowing for extra giggles. Ask older toddlers and preschoolers to help clean up the trash and remind them of how important it is to keep our earth clean!

H

How does your family celebrate Earth Day?

Ever Tried to Plant A Kiss?

Simply adorable and a perfect spring picture book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - Plant A Kiss -




We saw it a couple of weekends ago on the picture book wall at Barnes and Noble, and I read it with my son - twice! When we went to the library last week, I made a beeline for the Rs in the children's section,  and it was there so, hopefully, you can find it at your library too. 

A must read with your kiddos!

What Do Daffodils and Mini Muffin Cups Have in Common?

Displayed on the bulletin board outside of Noah's kindergarten class - how cute and clever is that?

 His teacher told me that they did a tulip craft too - can't wait to see it!

Family Favorite: Strawberry & Cool Whip Cake

In honor of my dad's birthday, I thought I'd share this super easy Strawberry & Cool Whip cake recipe that I made for him this past weekend - a long time family favorite!

That's really all there is to it - strawberries and Cool Whip double layered on top of a white cake - a box mix, of course!

Be sure to refrigerate leftovers - if you have any, that is.

An Easter First - Peeps S'mores!

I had heard rumors about these and knew we had to try them out...

Oh my GOODNESS! YUM! Just place a peep on a graham cracker and pop them in the oven at 300 degrees for 2-3 minutes - until they puff. Take them out, place a piece of chocolate on top and another graham cracker and SQUISH!

Definitely our new favorite Easter treat. Like my friend Jenny texted after I sent her a pic, "Every s'more needs a bit more sugar."

We'll eat to that! :)

It's Tulip Time!

There's nothing I love more than admiring and smelling the tulips with my kiddos at this time of year - so pretty!

 Makes all the seasonal sniffles and scratchy throats totally worth it.

A Mini Muffin Morning

Gotta love those $1 just add milk muffin mixes. Those chocolate chip minis were on the table for less than a minute and were already half gone. Guess I'll have to start making these more often!

For Little Ones: Five Tips for Road Trip Fun

*Just wrote this early childhood article for the B Kids facebook page yesterday - ah, I remember those days so well!

Packing up the car and heading to Grandma’s house or a vacation spot for spring break? Here are a few ideas to help make travel time more fun for your little one…and less wearing for Mom and Dad:

1) Timing is everything. If your baby or toddler doesn’t mind sleeping in her car seat, plan to hit the road about an hour before naptime.  Be sure to bring her special blanket or snuggle toy.  Of course, if your child doesn’t sleep well in the car, try to leave shortly after she wakes up in the morning or right after a good nap. A well-rested baby is a happy baby!

2) Along with bringing a few of your child’s favorite toys, books, and snacks, stash a couple of new toys in your bag of tricks! If you can tell that your child is getting restless or may be on the brink of a meltdown, a new rattle or small musical toy will be a helpful mood booster. (Toys that link onto the car seat are also a plus!)

3) Sing! Sing! Sing!  It wouldn’t be a road trip without a few rounds of Row, Row, Row Your Boat!  Have a family sing along or pop in a CD of toddler tunes. Clap your hands, roll your arms, and “car dance” along to the beat.

4) Be flexible and take breaks. It’s tough for little ones to be strapped into their car seats when they are used to being on the go.  Make sure to stop and let them stretch their legs. Restaurant play areas are great places to let kiddos run around safely. (It's also a good idea to wash hands after playing on the equipment.)

5) If all else fails, break out the bubbles!  Keep a party favor-sized bottle in your glove compartment for easy access to diffuse a major meltdown. Your toddler will be so surprised to see those bubbles floating his way, it should help to entertain him for a bit…or at least until you make it to the next rest stop!


*How do you make long road trips more bearable fun?

Simply Adorable - Fingerprint Popcorn Tree!

I found this in Noah's backpack today, and I fell completely in LOVE -

His little white fingerprints to make a "popcorn tree"...

LOVE.

Definitely framing it.

Everyday Fun with Colors!

*My latest early childhood article for B Kids Toys - posted over on their facebook page.

Spring has finally arrived, and colors are blooming all around us!  Simply pointing out yellow daffodils, green grass, and pink blossoms to your toddler while you taking a stroll together begins to build color recognition skills. Although children usually start naming colors between three and four years of age, exposure to a variety of colors early on provides visual stimulation and makes their environment more exciting! Allowing your child to pick a tiny purple flower or walk barefoot on the lawn will be just as exciting as she touches the soft petals or feels blades of grass tickle her feet.  Chasing after butterflies and noticing their bright patterned wings will also bring squeals of delight!

Taking a trip to a local farmers market (or even browsing the produce section of the grocery store) is another fun way to expose your child to a variety of colors (and shapes)!  Use descriptive words as you pick up a fruit or vegetable. Let him hold a bumpy orange or rough, brown potato and feel the outside textures.  If your family likes to garden, involve your little one in the growing process.  Toddlers and preschoolers will be thrilled to help hold the watering can or pick a bright red tomato!

Playing with brightly colored toys and reading picture books with your child also helps to build color recognition.  Between 18-24 months of age, your toddler may be able to point to a red balloon in the story or pick up a blue block when you ask.  Be sure to let her get creative with crayons and watercolors too!  Of course, don’t be discouraged if it seems to be taking awhile for your preschooler to grasp those colors.  Just keep providing colorful learning opportunities, give encouragement, and pretty soon, she will be naming every color of the rainbow!

Last Minute "First Day of Spring" Party!

As soon as Noah woke up this morning, he ran into my room and declared, "It's the first day of spring! We need to have a party, Mama!" 

How could I say "no" to that?

After I picked him up from Kindergarten, we went to pick out some colorful decor, a lemon cake mix and strawberries, and invited some neighbors to come on over that afternoon when Abby got home from school. 

 They devoured the cake, played outside, and decorated with sidewalk chalk -

Yay for spring - definitely a great excuse for a party! Good thinking, my boy! 

Breakfast Fit for a Leprechaun!

Along with our traditional St. Patty's Day breakfast, we also made our own version of a "Shamrock Shake" the day before - mint chocolate chip ice cream with green sprinkles on top in green cups! Just couldn't wait!

Luck of the Irish to ya!

Our Healthy Choices Family Challenge

*In 500 characters or less, I entered this story and photo in Disney Family's Try It Contest (- that was a challenge in itself). Our challenge is still in full swing, and the kids love trying to beat Mom and Dad! There are so many great healthy living ideas and experiences that have been submitted - pop on over and check them out!

To fight winter blahs and keep us moving, our family created a Healthy Choices Challenge displayed on our fridge! Together, we came up w/ exercise ideas, non-TV/video game activities, & good eating habits. Each time we make a healthy choice, we add that card to our envelope. At the end of each week, we count up our choices to see who has the most! We came up with rewards too like 50pts = a new book or 100 pts = roller skating! We're learning to make better choices and having fun together too!


*** How do you get your family movin' and groovin'?

St. Patty's Day Recipe: Irish Brown Bread

What do you get when you let your kiddos combine 4 and 1/2 cups of flour, 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats, and 2 and 1/2 cups of BUTTERMILK with their hands?

Great BIG smiles!!! :)

Last March, I saw this Irish Brown Bread recipe over on Family Fun and decided to add it to our St. Patty's day festivities along with our traditional Lucky Charms (that my kids start begging for in February), treasure trail of gold (Rolos), and green decor.

It actually turned out pretty well (despite the sticky mess). Of course, I'd never made it (or tasted it) before so I have nothing to compare it to - but it was good. Warm homemade bread with a little butter and honey - can't beat that!

Easy-Bake Afternoons and Tiny Treats

As cute as those pink-and-purple-packaged Easy Bake Oven mixes are, the price ($6-$8 for a teensy bit of batter) makes this mama cringe! Honestly, we had only used the Easy Bake oven a handful of times since Christmas because of that reason, but since discovering the snack size cookie mixes from Betty Crocker (for only $1), my daughter has been baking her little heart out!

Just add butter/oil or water - no eggs required. Super easy! To make our Easy-Bake afternoons even more fun, we've been using ideas from this adorable Tiny Treats recipe book from American Girl that we picked up at a doll shop during our "Girls Day Out" last Saturday.

Yep! Those are mini peanut butter blossoms - tiny bit of cookie dough and a chocolate chip. Too stinkin' cute and yummy too! There are lots of no-bake treat ideas as well -

That first evening after buying the book, we made mini donuts (multi-grain cheerios), s'mores (golden grahams, chocolate chip, mini marshmallow), and tiny cakes (two Oreos with frosting).

For such tiny treats, we really had a TON of fun! 

Fishful Thinking Favorite: Take a Detour!

Ever have one of those weeks days when you just feel kind of  blah? Laundry is coming out your ears (as always), the dishes are piled in the sink, toys are everywhere, cookie and popcorn remnants speckle the carpet that you just vacuumed less than 24 hours ago....ugh!  Not to mention your little boy was sick all weekend and would only sleep if he was draped across you all night, but still woke up every half an hour. Sigh.

So when Noah and I picked Abby up from school the other day, I decided to take a detour. First to Sonic for a Cherry Coke ( I really needed one!) and a couple $1 oreo sundaes for the kids. Then, on the way home, instead of just waving at the cows in the pasture that we pass every day on our drive, I decided to pull over into the grass, unbuckle the kids, and roll down the windows so that the kiddos (and the cows) could have a closer look.

There were probably five or six baby calves out there grazing together, and they were looking right at us. The kids really got a kick out of it. Noah insisted on taking a picture with my phone:

Of course, then Abby (and her thumb) wanted to take one too:

Then I figured I might as well get in on the act:

I'm sure those cows were wondering what in the world we were doing.  The brown one on the right was totally staring us down. :)

It was pretty funny and definitely helped put me and my kiddos in a better mooooooo-d.

(hahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

***It's hard to believe I wrote this post in March of '10. Even two years later, we still love taking those "beauty detours". With spring just around the corner, there will be even more to come! 

Seuss Day Flashback and Read Across America

We started last year's celebration with a Seuss-ed up breakfast of none other than...

Yep! The kids helped make Green Eggs and Ham (and actually ate it)!

We read lots of stories, played some rhyming games, and danced around to the Seussical soundtrack - such a great musical! My kiddos did a few Seussville actvities too - fun website!  

 

Now to find that red-and-white striped hat and run by the store to pick up more eggs and some ham. We're all set with the green food coloring! The kids are supposed to wear red, white, and black to school tomorrow and will be participating in Read Across America activities - should be a fun day!

  

*Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss book that you'll be reading with your kids tomorrow?

Leap Day Fun: Fruity Frogs and "Tic Tac Toad"

Here they are - our Fruity Frogs (idea courtesy of FamilyFun)!

These were a lot of fun to make and eat - especially with cream cheese caramel apple dip. (I figured I had the cream cheese, might as well throw some brown sugar and vanilla in there too!) Good stuff!

Noah and I played a few rounds of "Tic Tac Toad" (idea from TLC family) earlier too. Yep! We drew our own frogs...

 

Now to gather all the blankets and pillows an set up camp in the living room for our sLEAPover (and American Idol fest up until 9 o'clock - DVRed it from yesterday). Oh, and our leap contest! The kids have been practicing for that all afternoon. The dog has even tried to get in on the act. :)

Here's hoping the kids actually go to sleep! 

Happy Leap Day!

Pancake Day Creations!

So I snapped a few phone pics of the kids' pancake faces at dinner last night. We went all out this time with whipped cream and chocolate syrup! After all, it was National Pancake Day...

Love that little smile that my son so carefully "drew" on his pancake. :o)

My daughter definitely took advantage of the chocolate syrup - that's my girl!


We'll be playing with our food later on today too when we make FamilyFun's Fruity Frog in honor of Leap Day (-see post below). Photos to come!

If You Give a Kid a Pancake...

And then give them scrambled eggs, orange slices, bananas, and grapes to go with it, their plates might just end up looking like this...

These crazy characters were actually created this past Halloween (hence the plates), but pretty much every time I make pancakes for the kids (as long as I slice up some fruit), this is what they end up looking like...

as I'm sure will be the case tonight when I flip some flapjacks for dinner in honor of National Pancake Day!

Better make sure to have my camera handy. :)

Leaping into Leap Day!

I love the whole idea of having one extra day to spend with my kiddos so I've been trying to come up with some fun little things to make February 29th extra special.

Since the history behind Leap Day is all Gregorian calendars and Julian reform (???), we are keeping it simple and sticking with FROGS!

Here are a few ideas that I am tossing around for Wednesday's festivities...

1) Teach them the game of Leap Frog (...or at least attempt it) or let them LEAP and measure how far they jump (- throwing some math in there.)

2) Play a few rounds of "Tic Tac Toad" (I saw this while I was browsing and cannot find the link again, but you cut out some paper frogs in two different colors to use as markers - my boy loves tic tac toe.)

3) Most definitely make this Fruity Frog (from FamilyFun) - Granny Smith apples, grapes, cream cheese, and chocolate chips. How cute is that?

4) Break out the Froggy books, of course! Froggy Plays T-Ball is always good for a laugh.

Last, but not least...my kids will LOVE this one...

5) Have a sLEAP-over in the living room! The kids love when we all camp out together (and we haven't done it in awhile) so I'm sure they'll be excited about this, especially since Leap Day is on a school night.


*Have anything fun planned for your extra day?

Happy National Chili Day!

There's nothing like a little known national holiday to help you decide what to make for dinner. :o) I joined in the celebration and made FamilyFun's quick and easy White Chicken Chili tonight -

I used ground chicken instead of cubed chicken to save some time, and it turned out great! We like to crunch up tortilla chips to put on top and sprinkle on some cheese too. Good stuff!

And did I mention how easy it was to make?

My husband even went back for seconds - now that's really saying something.

*Does your family celebrate those little known holidays? Our favorite is National Ice Cream Day on the 3rd Sunday in July!

Peanut Butter, Crackers, and Chocolate - oh my!

Who would have thought that peanut butter crackers coated in chocolate almond bark would be SO GOOD?
I am forever in debt to my sweet cousin, Courtney, for making these for us while we visiting down in Arkansas last summer. The kids and I have made them a few times since, and, now, I make sure to keep the ingredients on hand. (I admit, before that visit, I didn't even know what Almond Bark was, but I found it in the baking section at Wal-Mart.)

All you have to do is spread a thick layer of peanut butter on 12-15 Ritz crackers (or the store brand), put another cracker on top, and then start melting your almond bark in the microwave.

Melt four big squares (half the package) for 30 seconds at a time on high, stir, and then repeat until it's completely smooth. Then dip the peanut butter crackers in the almond bark - coat them really well. Then put them on wax paper to set. 

Depending on how well you coat them, you may have some chocolate left so you can make more crackers and dip some more.  Seriously good stuff! Store them in an air tight container (if you your kids don't eat them all in one sitting - haha!).


And while we're at it - Here's a variation using graham crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate chips I came up with that's even easier to whip up and is a fun after school snack - my daughter's favorite!



My kids love making those smiley faces!

If peanut butter and chocolate are near and dear to your heart (like they are to mine!), these treats will be too. Yum!