{Share and Remember}

Valentine Rice Sensory Bin

2012-02-10T14:13:00.001-06:00

Our Valentine sensory bin includes: red, purple, pink and silver metallic colored rice {all colored with liquid watercolors except the red I used food coloring}. Recipe: 4 cups of rice, 2 TBS of coloring and 2 TBS of rubbing alcohol. Previously I used slightly more alcohol on the Rainbow Rice, but really I thought 1:1 was fine. Pour all into a Ziploc bag and mix until fully colored. Pour the rice out onto a tray and leave to dry in the sun or in the oven on low for a few minutes until it is completely dry.
Also included: heart shaped cookie cutters, foam heart shapes and heart jewels, pieces of stringed beads, bowls, long handled spoons, tongs & heart shaped boxes {from the dollar store}, heart ice cube tray, measuring tray and some small valentine take out boxes.

No, the color does not come off on the kids hands.

“Convenient, clean, easy ….color” {just laugh}

2012-02-08T22:18:00.000-06:00

I‘m sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from TidyMom as part of Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign .

I have an in home family day care so I know all about messes. Big messes made by little people. Or in this case, a big mess by a big person. ME.

The picture above really doesn't accurately portray the mess made from one little dot painter bottle! See the carton on the counter? It says "A convenient, clean and easy way for kids to play with color..."

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT EVER squeeze a dot painter! LOL Paint was not coming out so I squeezed it firmly while pressing it down on a paper towel in attempt to get it going, and purple paint hit all three kids so I had to wash their faces, hair, two walls, the floor, the table, the booster chair, the kids' chairs, the rugs, the stove, my clothes, the counter. We all were in shock, like someone got shot and we were splattered. The kids just looked at me like "what just happened??" Thankfully there were no tears but I did have some explaining to parents at pick up time about "the mess that Stacy made". What a mess! But it was so funny!

What wasn't funny was the streaks left by the bright purple paint on my light green walls. I use spray bottles with soapy water and one with bleach every day so that's what I used to clean up this mess.

I do have to admit this took place in September and while I was cleaning recently, I found some similar looking purple paint on one of the lower cabinets....

Thankfully Clorox and Clorox Wipes make my continual cleaning a lot easier.

Melty Hearts

2012-02-08T09:47:00.001-06:00

I love this idea found on Club Chica Circle, a site I definitely need to check out more. Lots of great ideas there!

These are so simple! A fast, rewarding project.

Preheat oven to 400*F.
Place metal cookie cutters on a parchment lined pan.
Fill cookie cutter with one layer of perler beads. The blue/black heart was made with Glow in the Dark perler beads from Craftprojectideas.com that came in a rainy day kit they sent me a few months ago. They do look a little different than the others after melting, but great results!
Melt in oven for 10 minutes.
Allow beads to cool and harden before removing cookie cutter.

Love Grows Notecard & CD Giveaway {the heart project ♥}

2012-02-07T10:57:00.001-06:00

The Heart Project fundraiser for the American Heart Association continues! We’ve meet our $1000 goal and are working on $2000! In promotion of the Heart Project eBook Fundraiser, we are also hosting many giveaways including this one, based on my project in the book:

Enter to win:

A Set of {Love Grows} handmade blank notecards with envelopes

and

a CD “Might As Well Make it Love” by Carol Johnson

Featuring the beautiful song “Love Grows” (listen to it here)

and many other wonderful teaching songs to encourage kindness and love.
♥ Perfect for Valentine’s Day & your preschoolers! ♥

Each card features a different design:

To enter to win:
1. Contest open to {Share&Remember} readers. Please follow via Google Friend Connect before entering to win. Leave a comment on this post for one (1) entry

2. Did you buy the Heart Project eBook or printed version? Leave a comment letting me know you did. {no donations are required in order to win} (1) entry

3. Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. (up to 2 entries, one for each post) ---------------------------------------------------------------
Contest ends Mon, Feb 13th and the winner will be announced on Tues, Feb 14th.

Donate $5.00 to the American Heart Association and receive a copy of the eBook of Heart Projects:

Visit the other blogs hosting giveaways for The Heart Project:

My Book of Colors {Paper Bag Challenge}

2012-02-06T15:45:00.000-06:00

This is the project I created for the Paper Bag Challenge on Tinkerlab.

It’s a paper bag book made with paper lunch bags. I’ve included a free printable with all the pages so you can make your own. {directions included}.
Click here to download printable book pages from Scribd.

Directions:
1. Print pages (cardstock works best) & cut out pages, shapes and color names.
2. Attach color rectangles and cover page to flaps of bags.
3. Cut down tops of bags. Leave the cover bag longer, to allow enough paper to fold over the other pages and to staple it together.
4. Staples bags together into a book.
5. Child glues on shapes and names of colors.
6. Child attaches color related stickers or collage items to appropriate pages.
7. Decorate with ribbon or yarn as desired.

I love adding the ribbon & yarn to the edges to make it more colorful.
Click here to download from Scribd.

*Brown page template is also included but not pictured.

Mini Volcanoes

2012-02-05T14:45:00.001-06:00

Throughout our dinosaur theme, I think the volcanoes captured the boy’s {I currently have all boys enrolled, mostly 2 year olds!} attention most.

They loved making mini volcanoes. I gave them each three containers: one with colored vinegar, one with backing soda and one empty bowl. Each had a spoon and a water dropper. I showed them briefly how they could put a little baking soda into the empty bowl and then drop a little vinegar into it. I just let them discover they could scoop larger amounts or pour the whole container.

We did this activity two days in a row. They all loved it, even the two who are just 18 mos. I helped them of course. It’s a bit science, a bit sensory. Completely fun though!

The small containers are from The Dollar Tree. I resisted buying them at first not knowing exactly what I’d use them for but since having them, we’ve used them a lot. This is a perfect activity to do on trays.

Help Yourself Pitchers Pouring Practice

2012-02-05T13:10:00.001-06:00

Recently I purchased a set of the Help-Yourself Pitchers from Lakeshore Learning to promote drinking water.

I have one set out everyday for them to help themselves to water. We use several of them at snack time so they can pour their own. So far we’ve only used them with water but we might try milk and juice eventually.

These are great little pitchers that the kids are so excited about. They like to do it themselves. It’s challenging though so I thought I should give them some time to play with them to practice pouring.

It was so quiet and everyone was so busy! Lots of concentration for pouring.

The little clear measuring cups were recently in the Target dollar section. I was so excited to find them! I bought a bunch of them for water play next summer. They are also a hit for holding lots of other things. Recently I found a cup holding three small zebras.

Pouring is a fine motor skill that uses the hand and wrist.

Practicing pouring water is more than just trying not to spill.

It requires concentration and coordination. It requires small muscle control that indirectly prepares for writing.

During this activity, independence can be gained. A child can learn to pour his/her own drink {our main goal}.

Once they can pour independently, they can also pour for others, allowing them to be helpful and gain confidence in themselves.

Pouring out and filling another container develops the mathematical mind as well. The child estimates how much water is in the pitcher and how much can be poured into the cup before it overflows.

Additional activities could expand the mathematical aspect of this activity, but mostly, it’s just plain fun to pour!

{The Heart Project} eBook of Heart Projects

2012-01-31T20:28:00.000-06:00

the heart project ♥ is: A fundraiser for the American Heart Association. {Share&Remember} and more than 70 bloggers contributed to this project, created by Jamie at Hands on as We Grow.

We created a "heart book", a collection of over 100 heart projects, created for or by kids, that is available to you with a $5.00 donation to the American Heart Association. It is formatted as a 8.5" x 8.5" book with links to the heart projects.

Below is a preview of the eBook:

These are the two projects {Share&Remember} contributed to ♥ the heart project:

Sponsored by:

Craftprojectideas.com is contributing $1 for every ebook sold this month! That means in addition to your $5 donation by purchasing the The Heart eBook, Craftprojectideas.com will donate another $1 on your behalf (up to $500!)!

Make a $5.00 donation to the AHA and receive an ebook copy of the heart book ♥

[The book is only available for donation through the month of February, so hurry!]

Would you like a printed book? It's a softcover 8.5" x 8.5", full color book, 128 pages.

US $20.00 + $3.59 shipping

Order the Printed Version

♥ $5.00 of every sale of this book will go to the AHA.♥

If you would like to make a donation {no book included} to the American Heart Association in a different amount:

♥ All proceeds of each auction will go to the AHA ♥

Melissa & Doug - 4 Trunki with Teddy Bear Auctions!

Fudoo Boards - 3 Fudoo Board Kits for Auction!

Fudoo Board Kit, ends Feb 10
Fudoo Board Kit, ends Feb 10
Fudoo Board Kit, ends Feb 10

All of these great bloggers contributed to the eBook & the heart project campaign! Many will be hosting giveaways through Valentine's Day. Be sure to visit these great sites.

Watch for {Share&Remember's} giveaway coming soon!

hands on : as we grow	♥	A Little Learning for Two	♥	Among Many Blessings
Angelique Felix	♥	At Home with Ali	♥	Broken Treasures
Busy at Home	♥	Busy Kids Happy Mom	♥	Carrie Saindon's Photo Journey
Child Central Station	♥	Classified: Mom	♥	Classroom Magic
Creative with Kids	♥	Creativity My Passion	♥	Critters and Crayons
De Tout et de Rien	♥	Dilly-Dali Art	♥	Dinosaurs & Octopuses
Excited 2 Learn	♥	Hand Over the Cookies	♥	Handprint & Footprint Art
Happy Hooligans	♥	Heart Journey	♥	Imagination Soup
Jamie's Jumble	♥	Kitchen Counter Chronicles	♥	Kreative Resources
Let Kids Create	♥	Little Illuminationss	♥	Living Montessori Now
Loudness of the Lambs	♥	Love and Lollipops	♥	Mama, hocemo nesto da pravimo
Mama Pea Pod	♥	Mama Smiles	♥	MemeTales
Messy Kids	♥	Mindful Meanderings	♥	Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Mommy Labs	♥	Mommy Perks	♥	Mum Paints Lives
Mummy Mummy Mum	♥	My Creative Family	♥	NurtureStore
One Artsy Mama	♥	Peace Love & Rainbows	♥	Play Dr Mom
Putti Prapancha	♥	Rainbows within Reach	♥	Reading Confetti
Ready. Set. Read!	♥	Red Ted Art	♥	Sense of Wonder
Share & Remember	♥	Stacy Molter	♥	Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
Teach Preschool	♥	The Artful Child	♥	The Chocolate Muffin Tree
The Craft Barn	♥	The Educators' Spin on It	♥	The Golden Gleam
The Imagination Tree	♥	The Iowa Farmer's Wife	♥	The Joy of My Life
The Kids Fun Review	♥	The Outlaw Mom Blog	♥	The Preschool Toolbox
The Seeds Network	♥	Toddler Approved

Craftprojectideas.com is showing the love!

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

NOW CLOSED--THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

Craftprojectideas.com sent us this fun Boy Craft kit to make a Rubber Band Launcher. I let Brett pick it out. Of course I knew he’d like it, but I wanted him to be excited about the project we did and he was!
The package arrived Saturday morning and he opened it immediately and wanted to get started!

It was a perfect father/son project for a Saturday morning. Brett took all the parts out of the package and organized them. Dad read the directions. Because that’s what he does. He’s a good direction reader. Brett peeked at them a time or two as well.
The directions were clear to understand and simple to follow. All the pieces were present and nice quality materials. The wood pieces are smooth.
Brett was able to do most of it himself. Dad was right there to help but Brett could have done it alone.

It was a simple project that came together quick, which is great for kids. (Recommended age is 8+ years. Brett is 9.) Brett was anxious to play with it! Be aware that it’s recommended that it dries over night. I admit we didn’t wait that long. By evening it was dry enough to play with and it’s still in one piece.
After gluing the pieces together in the correct order, he decorated it with stickers. This would have been a fun project to paint too.
All done! The kit comes with a bag of rubber bands {although Mom’s hair bands work well too!} and cardboard characters that stand up for targets. It’s great that they are included because when it comes to guns, there should be guidelines – like it’s not nice or even safe to shoot bands at friends or parents or pets….

If you have a little boy who loves guns, this is a great project and toy for him.

Craftprojectideas.com has generously offered to send a Boy Craft Rubber Band Launcher kit to one of my readers! *(continental US readers only please)

Have a Wild West shootout with your customized Rubber Band Launcher! To learn how to assemble this product, watch our video here!

---------------------------------------------------------------

To enter to win:

1. Contest open to {Share&Remember} readers. Please follow via Google Friend Connect before entering to win. Leave a comment on this post for one (1) entry.

2. Follow CraftProjectideas.com on at least one: Facebook * Twitter * YouTube * Pinterest for one(1) additional entry.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Contest ends Tues, Feb 7th and the winner will be announced on Wed, Feb 8th.

CraftProjectIdeas.com - Kids Crafts

Connect with CraftProjectIdeas.com via:

Facebook * Twitter * YouTube * Pinterest

January 29, 2012 {9 yrs, 4 mos.}

2012-01-29T13:26:00.001-06:00

My {Spoiled} Cat

2012-01-27T20:37:00.001-06:00

Yes, he’s sleeping in the baby swing. : )

Watercolor Snowflakes

2012-01-24T16:27:00.001-06:00

First I cut snowflakes from coffee filters {my group is a bit young for that part}. Then the kids used liquid watercolors and droppers to color the snowflakes. They add so much color to our room!

Yarn Painting

2012-01-24T15:52:00.001-06:00

Yesterday’s art activity relating to dinosaurs was yarn painting. We used this simple technique to simulate a dinosaur’s tail dragging on the ground.

Snowflake Play

2012-01-23T16:46:00.001-06:00

On Friday we had snow like this:
It was a good day for this…

but since I had a group of preschoolers, our music & movement for the day focused on snowflakes: The Snowflake Dance and a song with these puppets. We also did a Snowflake finger play. {see below}
To make the snowflake puppets, download snowflake page, cut and laminate. Attach {hot glue & packing tape} to large craft sticks. Decorate with yarn or ribbon, if desired {encourages movement}.
Download Snowflake Pages
Song & Finger Play

Snowflake Dance

Free Personalized Kids Tooth Brushing Chart

2012-01-23T07:05:00.000-06:00

Need a tooth brushing chart for your child? Here's a free customizable one:

A Public Service by Dentist Advisor

Fresh Snow

2012-01-21T20:16:00.001-06:00

Today’s the big day! {1st lost tooth}

2012-01-17T19:01:00.001-06:00

Finally, the first tooth fell out. Literally, it fell out all by itself. There couldn’t have been much holding it in any longer. So my *9 year-old* finally lost his first tooth! He was pretty happy about it.

D is for Dots & Dinosaur

2012-01-17T10:39:00.001-06:00

Dot painting on letter “D” shapes & decorated with dinosaur cut outs {cut on Silhouette}.

Clay Dinosaur Prints

2012-01-17T09:51:00.001-06:00

To make our town versions of fossils, we pressed clay into petri dishes {from the Target dollar bins}. I did put a parchment circle under the clay so we could easily remove it when we were done. After pressing the clay flat {this is not easy for preschoolers but helps build those small hand muscles}, they made dinosaur tracks.

Now that they are dry, we will be painting them.

Painting with Dinosaurs

2012-01-17T09:29:00.001-06:00

This activity was definitely about the process not the product. I was a little disappointed in the end result of painting with the dinosaurs but the kids enjoyed it. I noticed that they tried a variety of things – painting with the feet and then the tails. They tried pushing down harder to make a mark or dragging the dinosaur to make prints. I saw them really checking out the dinosaurs, talking about then or sticking their fingers in the open mouths. At pick up time, I heard one child tell his mom “We painted with dinosaurs!”

Collaborative Heart Project Fundraiser

2012-01-16T22:43:00.001-06:00

I am currently working on a project, created by Jamie at Hands on as We Grow, who is pulling together a “Heart Project eBook”. This collaborative project, involving more than 50 bloggers, will be a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association. The Heart Project eBook will be available by making a $5 donation.

Many participating bloggers will also host giveaways in conjunction with the fundraiser to raise awareness. {Share & Remember} will be hosting a giveaway in February.

You can also participate in this great fundraiser by submitting your own heart project by January 25th or by donating to the American Heart Association and receiving a copy of the eBook when it becomes available in February.

For complete details on this event, visit Hands on as We Grow. More information to follow!

Learning About Dinosaurs {preschool activities}

2012-01-16T21:58:00.001-06:00

Our theme this month is dinosaurs. This will be a long post since I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been working on lots of things.

Here’s what we’ve been busy with:

Pretending to be paleontologists.

Dinosaur magnet puzzle

Painting purple dinosaurs
Looking at dinosaur books
Learning about fossils

Writing our names like dinosaur names
Digging for bones

Dot art dinosaurs – dinosaurs were all different shapes and colors {well, maybe not this colorful!}

Dinosaur words

Painting dinosaur bone shapes (cardstock bone shape taped to paper tube)
Playing with magnets/one to one correspondence (templates from 123 Learn Curriculum)
Made purple/green/oval dinosaur headbands
Playing with dinosaurs

Sharing Pictures #2 {My Family Day Care}

2012-01-16T21:18:00.001-06:00

Here’s the entry/closet:

One the left: certificates, licensing papers, chalkboard, family photos display

Right: Job cards, rules, daily routine

Cubbies/coat hooks, parent center

Entry/front door/hallway – bathroom on left, 2nd bedroom on right

Play area/LR from front door

Quiet corner (books, puppets, chairs, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals), kitchen dramatic play, dress up clothes

books, puppets

Kitchen and store dramatic play

Dress up clothes & hats

Toy shelves, blocks

The above area has changed since I took the picture. Now it’s our block area:

Social emotional / Writing Center / Magnet wall / Kitchen

Writing table / lunch & snack, craft area

To fenced in play area

Outside play area seen from LR

Circle time area