Last Play and Learn at Forest Hills

I am sad to say that on Thursday we had our last Play and Learn at Forest Hills. For our last class we played mouse in house and read a story. We then went off to do activities.

One of the activities was to make your own playdoh. I was pretty excited because this would be our first time for me and munchkin. It was actually very easy to make and came out pretty good too.

When we were getting ready to go home they gave each kid a child sized rolling pin! (Super cute) So when we got home of course we played with it along with our cookie cutters which are great for playdoh too.

Here is the recipe for making playdough that was given to us:

1. Measure 1/4 cup salt and pour it into your bowl.
2. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to your bowl
3. Measure 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water and pour it into your bowl.
4. Add 5-10 drops food coloring to your bowl
5. Use a spoon to stir the ingredients in your bowl for one minute.
6. Measure 1 1/2 cups flour and add it to your bowl.
7. Use the spoon to combine the flour with the liquid mixture.
8. When the dough begins to get too thick to stir, use your hands to mix the dough until it forms a ball.
9. If the dough is too sticky, add flour. If its too crumbly, add a tiny bit of water.
10. Play! :)

Your dough will last for about a week. Keep it in an airtight container between uses.

I am taking only really great memories from Forest Hills Library Play and Learn and I will miss it but was glad to be a part of it. It gave me a chance to meet lots of nice people and munchkin met new friends. The library itself is very cute and a perfect fit for the young ones. I cant wait to see what other locations our yearning for learning will take us but we will be there for more Play and Learn sessions! Hope to see you out there too with your little ones :)

If you want to see what the other Play and Learn sessions at Forest Hills were like check out our other 3 visits Here:

1. Play and Learn Visit #1
2. Play and Learn Visit #2
3. Play and Learn Visit #3

Central Library Play and Learn #2

Wednesday morning we took a trolley to the Central library for Play and Learn. It was our second class there (because we missed last week being sick) and we always have fun at Central.

They started off the class with a game of "ants in pants" which munchkin loves every time. We read a book "Whose Nose" which was very cute and interactive. Munchkin guessed right every time!

We then went off to do some activities: Putting a skeleton puzzle together, making hand tracings with bones inside (ear cleaners as bones smart idea) , puzzles of body parts, magnets and separating colors.

Munchkin loves being able to spend time with other kids and get to learn in different ways. For me personally its something to look forward to and a new experience. Being a stay at home mom you need those connections with other moms and kids and this is a great way to get them.

We had lots of fun! The classes are still going on through the month of October so we will keep going. Remember they are free! You don't need to register, you just show up ready to Play and Learn!

SeaWorld S.A Howl-O-Scream 2012

One of our favorite times of the year is Halloween because its fun and spooky and you get to dress up. So naturally when Seaworld (one of our favorite places) celebrates Halloween we have to be there. So Friday morning we got ready for Seaworlds Howl-O-Scream! Yes we knew it would probably rain but rain only ever makes things spookier, and there are plenty of shows to watch when you need to hide out from the rain.

My munchkin has been going to Howl-O-Scream every year since he was born. He has always loved monsters, yucky bugs and the spookier the better so he has never had a problem with going. He was all excited when he got there and saw pirate skeletons, pumpkins, snakes (he couldn't stop touching), gators, spiders, and more.

Tip for Parents with children not in school yet: Go to Seaworld on Friday mornings during Howl-O-Scream. Why? Big kids are in school! No teenagers running around. 

Yep, we got there and it was a stroller palooza! So many toddlers were walking with there parents all calmly and not crowded. It was great! We had the same experience the years before too. It doesn't normally get crowded on Fridays until after 4. And before then your kids can go trick or treating at FantaSea, catch the New Clyde and Seamore show, take a walk in the Counts Unhaunted castle and go see Countdown to Halloween with the sesame street characters (fun picture opportunity).



Trick or Treat!

We ended the day with a visit to see Jack who is Howl-O-Screams spooky yet friendly Pumpkin.

Remember that at 6pm the monsters come out so if your child isn't ready for that yet stay away from the scare zones (clearly marked on the park map and signs posted at areas as well).  We didn't get to experience any of those last night sadly because we wanted to go home before the rain got worse.

We will be going back soon to have fun during the night activities at Seaworld of course bringing in all the glow in the dark fun stuff we have. Remember that Costumes are A- OK for children to wear to the park. Adults can dress up too but adults cant wear masks. So I think maybe next time munchkin will wear his costume so we can pose him with some of the neat areas they have which would make awesome spooky backdrops for a Halloween picture. I cant wait and neither can my family who had a blast yesterday too   :)

Here are our other visits to Seaworld during Howl-O-Scream 2012:
Howl-O-Scream After dark
Howl-O-Scream 2012

Making Cake on Maker Day

 On Facebook today I came upon a post that said "Ladies and gentlemen, preheat your ovens" and so I did. I ended up making a big one sheet cake and a mini loaf cake (mini was for munchkin).

Today was Maker Day and as a mom of course were always making something delicious. I made these 2 cakes with the help of my sister and even my munchkin to decorate them. It came out delicious! Cake was all munchkin wanted to eat today so we had to keep reminding him we had to eat food first before desert. 

 

 

 

He had fun putting frosting and sprinkles on it! I then cut it up in slices so he could get a small piece from his cake. I think it made him feel special that he had contributed to its creation. He couldn't stop saying how yummy it was and yes Maker Day was yummy indeed.

Did you do something special today for Maker Day?

#makernation

Our week with the Letter B

We spent most of this week sick so we didn't really get to do alot of lessons with the letter B. I decided to extend the learning to Saturday and Sunday just to make up for the missed days (but still try and have some fun on the weekend).

The letter B was alot harder than I imagined. I understand though because A is just straight lines. But the B is curves and connecting them. Munchkin did not enjoy it. The Letter B is one I will have to keep practicing more with him.

On Monday/Tuesday we were sick so we really didn't get anything done but work on feeling better.

Wednesday: We worked on letter recognition, Letter B's with highlighter tracing, We colored items that start with the letter B and we read over the B section in the ABC book.

Thursday: We went to Play and Learn week 3. We brought back the book we checked out last week and checked out another book from the library. We made playdoh letter A's and B's.

Friday: We did more highlighter letters and colored some more Letter B words.

Saturday: We colored some more Letter B words and did more highlighter letters. I made highlighter sheets with "hills" so he could practice the hills on the B shape. I wanted his hand to get use to that feeling of the curves which was still hard on him sadly.

Sunday: We wrote out letter B's on the dry erase board

Overall He can recognize a letter B and sound it out really good. But as far as writing the letter B it still does not look anything like it. I am going to keep at it with the handwriting aspect. One thing I noticed this week was that munchkin did not like that we weren't doing the Letter A. He wanted to show us letter A's and write them out (they look awesome by the way) and didn't want to do Letter B's. So right from the start he didn't have a good attitude with it and I don't know how to explain that yes I love the letter A but we need to learn other letters too? The attitude you put toward what your learning has a direct impact on how you learn because no one is going to want to learn something they don't like, so i need to find a way to change his attitude.

Do you have any tips on how to transition from letter to letter?

Started decorating for Halloween!

Since it is officially Fall now then its only right that I start decorating for Halloween. I had already gotten everything out of the storage Friday afternoon and now we took out our first monsters. Its exciting watching my sons reactions to all the spooky decorations. We only put up a couple today but will keep adding to it day by day. This is what was inside all of the boxes. I need to organize whats going inside/outside and for treat making. Looks like fun doesnt it?

Here's munchkin hanging out outside with the first monsters.

As we add more I will show you how our house transforms to spooky!



Have you started decorating your house yet?

Happy First Day of Fall 2012

Can you believe how fast this year has gone by? Today is the official start of Autumn! How exciting is that? Since Thursday we started prepping for its coming. I painted my nails a nice orange glitter and we cleaned up our yard Thursday and Friday (so much yard work that it felt like our arms and legs were going to fall off). I went through the storage and got out all the boxes of light up pumpkins and Halloween decorations for the yard (It was exciting to go through them). I went through all of munchkins clothes and took out all the too small and summer only clothes like swim trunks and sleeveless shirts to put up for sale on craigslist later. And then took out all the jackets and hoodies and long sleeves to see what still would fit and what we would need more of before it gets cold.

Besides my typical to do list I wanted to make a change of season to do list. So here goes:

My Fall Wish/To do List:

• Spend more time outside now that its going to be hopefully cooler
• Pick up lots of leaves and enjoy watching the colors change on trees
• Find some pumpkins and get to decorating them
• Get the house decorated all spooky and fun!
• Do some Fall crafts with munchkin
• Go to Seaworld for Howl-O-Scream and have a great time
• Bake some yummy treats
• Take lots of pictures

Happy First day of Fall everyone! Enjoy it   :)

Munchkin outside today

Play and Learn Week 3

Sadly we were sick most of this week so we missed Play and learn at the central library on Wednesday. But we were able to make it on Thursday to Forest Hills. We played this fun game at the beginning that's like central libraries ants in pants but this version is "mouse in house". Someone hides the mouse under a house and the kids have to tell you different color houses until you figure out under which house it is. Munchkin loved it!

We then went off to play in different stations with magnetic shapes, sensory boards and stringing boards and playdoh. I especially loved this awesome item the people from play and Learn created which was a board with flash cards on it of the alphabet (with magnets behind it) and then you go in your boat and fish for alphabet letters and they are the lowercase set (each with a metal paperclip behind it so that it will attract the magnet). It was a very cute and creative way to have a child match up the lowercase with uppercase.

I really respect the fact that Play and Learn uses items that you can make at home yourself to learn, even down to the playdoh they make in different colors and scents. Its truly a great experience that teaches you as a parent that you can do it too. Next week is our last class at Forest Hills and I'm feeling sad about it but there are still many opportunities for you join a play and learn. There are new sites starting in October and I will let you know which one were doing next too. Maybe we will see you there?