recycled seed starters

I love Spring and this time of year always makes me wish I had my very own vegetable garden.  I don't really have a green thumb naturally but every year I pick up a few new tricks and manage to help my plants survive  little longer then the year before.  This spring we had a packet of extra sweet basil seeds lying around and some seed starter soil, so Lyla and I got creative about what we could use to plant the seeds in.  We made little greenhouses that have worked amazingly.  Using a rinsed out yogurt cup we just punctured the bottom then filled it with soil and planted our seeds, then I rinsed out a baby food jar and stuck that on top and put it in the windowsill - within a few days all of our seeds were budding.  Can't wait to make some pesto with these guys!

Spring Time

It has been so beautiful here in Florida, I feel like we normally don't get a spring but this year has been different. We have been loving every moment of it. The other day it was so nice we took Lyla's new easel she received for easter and did some painting outside. She loves to paint!

Disney on Ice came to Jacksonville so went with some friends from Lyla's playgroup. Lyla was so enthralled with the show and if anyone tried to talk to her she would put up her hand and say "I'm watching!" It was too cute.

St.Patricks day

I figured I should probably post this before march is over. For st. Patty's day Lyla constructed a beautiful rainbow made of fruit loops. We talked about the different colors of the rainbow and we even read the bible story of the flood in her message bible. But of course what she most enjoyed about this activity was snacking on the fruit loops (something I normally don't have in the house.)
I took this picture on a beautiful spring day when we took a walk in the neighborhood. We have been having really great spring weather here in Florida which I am so grateful for, I love this time of year.

Oral Hygiene Month

Among other important holidays in February was also the less recognized oral hygiene month. Lyla was busy with a week of activities learning about how and why we need to brush our teeth. It was very fun and also very helpful because now she seems to have a better appreciation for brushing her teeth. Here are a few of the activities we did that where fun easy and required little to no supplies.

Math & Snack Time:

We made these fun replicas of a mouth full of pearly white teeth using cut up apples, peanut butter and mini marshmallows. Lyla had to count out three marshmallows for each mouth and then once we had made all four sets of teeth she had to count how many teeth there were all together. great counting activity and using addition. Plus she really enjoyed eating them.

Discussion Time:

I told a story about how Tinkerbell had a sick tooth that was hurting her and what she had to do to make it feel better again. We spent time brushing Tinkerbells teeth to make them feel better.
Reading:

Some of the books we read during this week to learn more about our teeth and how we can take care of them were;

1. The Tooth Book, Edward Miller

2. How Many Teeth?, Paul Showers

3. Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth, Lugy Bate

4. The Bears Toothache, David McPhail (this was Lyla's favorite)

5. Rosie's Baby Tooth, Maryann Macdonald

6. Those Icky Sticky Smelly Cavity-Causing but...Invisible Germs, Judith Anne Rice (this is the book she is reading in the picture below.)

Science & Snack Time:

We conducted an experiment seeing what certain foods did to our teeth. We first ate an oreo cookie then looked in a mirror and I asked Lyla a series of questions about what her teeth looked/felt like. Then we ate some apple pieces and observed what happened to our teeth after eating the apple. She had a lot of fun looking at her teeth and what the effects were in the mirror.
Art:

We pretended the egg carton was our teeth and the paint was the tooth paste and Lyla need to brush the egg cartons teeth and see how "clean" she could get them. She attempted to brush her own teeth about 3 times during this project and I had to keep reminding her that the paint was yucky and that we were only pretending. So if you do try this craft with your little one you need to keep a close eye on them the whole time.

Olympics Part II

So I didn't get a chance to post these before our trip to Savannah but I wanted to share the rest of Lyla's Olympic school activities we did. I recorded the figure skating and Lyla and I watched some of the highlights together the next day. On another mom's blog she suggested having some "play skate time" with your child in your socks and prompt them to pretend to be figure skating. Well, Lyla needed no prompting after watching about 2 minutes she hopped off the couch and proceeded to copy the skaters routine who was on the ice - it was amazing!

I think we have a future Olympian on our hands.

Another activity we did for school was making our own olympic torch. All we needed was foil, paper, markers and a water bottle with the bottom cut off - easy peasy. Lyla loved making it but has enjoyed playing with it even more, she still every day at some point runs around the house waving it in the air. It is crazy how she has always preferred playing with trash as oppose to her actual toys we spend money on. Go figure!

O is for Olympics

For School today Lyla and I talked about the winter olympics in Canada and looked at a book about flags from all over the world. We also looked at a map of the world and talked about the different countries of the world. She really loved the map that had the different animals placed on the continent they live on. Then we made a Canadian flag in honor of the games going on in Vancouver. Lots of messy paint fun!

Cyber Hibernation

So... I have still been keeping busy and doing lots of stuff but I have unfortunately been neglecting my blog for way too long. I had every intention of starting up again in January once the crazy busy holiday season was over, but alas it is mid February and I am just now posting for 2010. Well I think it is safe to say my season of cyber hibernation is over.

I have started doing school for Lyla in the mornings. She seemed to be getting bored with just random coloring and play-dough time. I wasn't sure where to start so I checked out some preschool curriculum books from the Library and WOW have they been helpful in planning out good activities. If you are looking to do the same I would recommend these books, I may end up buying a couple of them once my borrowing time has expired.

Here is a little post valentines math activity we did this morning. Graphing a random handful of sweethearts. It was a great exploration of colors, numbers, counting and learning about most and least. If you want this chart you can download it here.

of course we ate a few too! :)

This looks so cute! I guess it will be in theaters in April. I look forward to seeing it before baby girl number 2 arrives and crying because oddly enough I have become one of those woman who cries when she sees a baby.

Oh the messes we'll make!

I have to say I really love having a toddler. In a few months Lyla will be 2 and with each day she is more curious and excited about life and the world around her. Which in turn makes me curious and excited as well. Summer has officially come to florida and we are feeling the heat - so on days when we are not outside directly in water we will be doing some of these wonderful messy things! I spent some time scouring different mommy craft blogs and such and found some I really love. Here is a list of my faves:

crafty crow

tutus and turtles

dollar store crafts

plum pudding

filth wizardry

Also I can't wait to see this movie with Lyla! It was my brother David's favorite book! The preview makes me cry.