Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

My Birthday Bouquet

Sammi’s Mother’s Day Flower Craft from the library

Elli’s Mother’s Day Flower Craft from the library

A closer look at the poem on the flower craft

Today we’re linked up with 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus and Marvelous Mommy.

And we’ll be adding this post to Buried With Children’s Kids Make the Darndest Things this Friday.

Check out this week’s giveaway. You get to pick your own prize pack from Baby Cribs Plus.

Happy Earth Day!

Check out our Earth Day giveaway!

I’m thoroughly enjoying the Earth Day ideas from the comments on the giveaway post. I’m surprised and please by how many people are planning on planting a tree. Some other great ideas include planting vegetable and flower gardens, participating in town cleanup, turning the compost pile, and going WITHOUT electricity!

Here are some Earth Day ideas
for little ones birth to five

Newborns and Babies

• Visit the park
• Sit on a blanket outside
• Feel the textures of different things outside: grass, leaves, flower petals, the bark of a tree.

Toddlers

• All of the above
• Have them accompany you to take recycling to a local facility
• Dig in the dirt, plant seeds and water
• Play in the water outside

Preschoolers

• All of the above
• Practice sorting plastics and cardboard into two bags for recycling
• Learn about conserving water and electricity
• Turn off lights, appliances, and electronics when not in use
• Turn off water while scrubbing hands with soap/brushing teeth

5 year olds

• All of the above
• Help pick up debris/litter at a local park or in your own yard
• Talk about/show how products are recycled
• Talk about decisions you’ve made to be more aware of the environment
• Decide one thing together to do to be more green
• Go on a scavenger hunt to find environmentally friendly products in your home or at a store
• Change light bulbs to energy efficient ones

All Ages

• Visit local events that promote Earth Day
• Make a craft using recyclable materials in your home
• Go on a nature walk and pick up any trash you see along the way
• Buy your produce from a farmer’s market or local farm

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? I wanted to go see Disney’s OCEANS as it’s in theaters today. But the closest theater is over an hour away so I’m not sure it’s worth the drive. I think we’ll spend some time at the park and plant our flowers.

Check out the giveaway from Hanes to win your own Earth Day tee. Ends Monday.

We took Make and Takes’ Recycled Art Challenge. We made this earth from old newspapers lying around. We crumpled them up and then somehow managed to form it into a lopsided ball. Then we paper-mached it to give it a good painting surface.

After it dried, we painted it blue. Then we painted a cereal box green and cut out the shapes of the continents. We taped them on and there’s our finished Earth.

Today we’re linked up with 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus.

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day!

Sharing the fundamentals, fun and future of Earth Day and the environment
with our little ones. Oh, and a giveaway, too!

1) Earth Day crafts: Last year we made bugs from egg cartons. This year we’re making the world from old newspapers and cereal boxes. We’re finishing them today so I’ll post the picture tomorrow.

2) Earth Day books: At the library yesterday we read Clifford’s Puppy Days-Earth Day Puppy. I think it was the combination of this book and making the earth on the same day that helped it all click for Sammi.

3) Earth Day events: There were a ton of events last Saturday in the Knoxville area to help kids and families celebrate Earth Day. Unfortunately Sammi’s soccer game was in the middle of the day so we didn’t get to go to any. But we are going to the Botanical Gardens this week as part of their Tapestry of Flowers.

4) Another Earth Day craft: Speaking of flowers, we made these cute flowers and I even wrote an action poem to go with them. I’d love some feedback on the 5 Little Flowers poem, if you have a minute!

5) Earth Day outdoors: Get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Ride a bike. Play at the park. Or our newest favorite: put on your swimsuit and run through the sprinklers in the backyard! Sammi even got me in my bathing suit yesterday. It was so much fun!

6) Earth Day inside: Teach your little ones the importance of turning off lights; conserving water; recycling cardboard, plastic or glass; using energy efficient light bulbs or appliances; using green cleaning supplies.

7) More Earth Day books: Check out these great recommendations for Earth Day themed books from Mom Tried It: It’s Earth Day! from the Little Critters series. And Annie’s Home recommended two: The Berenstain Bears Don’t Pollute (anymore) and Clifford’s Spring Clean-up.

Earth Day volunteering: It’s also National Volunteer Week. What a great way to combine caring for the environment with serving in our communities. We need both to survive to have a bright future for our little ones. Find volunteer opportunities here: www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig or here: www.handsonnetwork.org/bebig.

9) Earth Day garden: Sammi asked and prodded and finally convinced us to plant a garden. We got some shady plants to plant in our front planter box. She and Elli has so much fun turning the dirt, digging holes and planting the seeds. I hope they grow because it’s a really shady spot!

Earth Day Giveaway

10) Earth Day trees: Plant a tree with the help of Hanes. Hanes has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant to help consumers plant trees in north Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest.

How you can get involved: Purchase any three Hanes products. Just complete the claim form here, attach the original UPC codes, original cash register receipt and/or original packing slip from your purchases, and mail them in.

In your honor, Hanes and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree. Hanes will also send you the cool T-shirt shown above as a thank you and reminder of your involvement in Earth Day 2010. This promotion goes from April 1-May 15, 201 so there’s still plenty of time to stock up on socks and under shirts and help save the environment.

Hanes has offered to give one Because Babies Grow Up reader an Earth Day tee!

To enter, leave a comment below telling me how you are sharing Earth Day with your family.

If you’re interested in an additional entry, you can tweet “@ajpassey and @Hanescomfort are teaming up to #giveaway an Earth Day tee: http://bit.ly/d3KPQO ” (Leave a comment with a link to your status)

Giveaway open until April 26 at 11:59 pm. Winner will be announced and contacted Tuesday, April 27. Good luck!

This list is linked to Oh Amanda’s Top Ten {Tuesday} carnival.

We went to the library this morning to visit our favorite children’s librarian, Miss Cindy, and we discovered that it’s National Poem in Your Pocket Day. Last year I gave some warning about this holiday and a few of our favorites. You can check out that post here. This year it crept up on us! Fortunately the library had us covered. They had a bunch of different poems printed out that anyone could grab and carry with them. Our poem is one of my favorites from my childhood.

A Purple Cow
by Gelett Burgess

I never saw a purple cow,
I hope to never see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one.

Do you remember that one? What are your favorite children’s poems or poets? Do you enjoy poetry? Honestly, I have a hard time with poetry that doesn’t follow a rhyming scheme or have a real sing-song kind of rhythm. But like it’s important to expose our children to classical music and the performing arts, I believe it’s also important to expose them to different forms of writing, including poetry. I hope they can gain and understanding and appreciation for this art form without being hindered by my own preferences.

If you don’t get to carry a poem in your pocket today, the whole month of April is National Poetry Month so there’s still time left to celebrate poetry and get your little ones involved. One great resource for poetry and children is Gotta Book who had a fantastic series last year for poetry month, 30 Poets in 30 Days. He’s doing the series again this year so don’t forget to check out the 2010 edition of 30 Poets in 30 Days.

We’ve got one heck of a photographer-friend, Jenni. She’s also the mastermind behind the Oobleck cupcakes I posted yesterday. She was at our Dr Seuss shindig yesterday snapping photos like crazy. She posted all the best ones on her blog, but I thought I’d share my favorites with you here.

Getting into the spirit of the Cat in the Hat

Just how I envisioned it:

• Reading Dr Seuss
• Kids gathered around
• Parents close by
• Snacks not too far off, either.

It was the perfect party, in my opinion. Lots of friends came and brought Dr Seuss books and food. The house was decorated with pictures and books in honor Dr Seuss. We visited, shared and played for hours. Thanks everyone who participated!

What makes a perfect party, in your opinion?

We started our Valentine’s celebrations with these balloons my mom bought the girls at the mall on Saturday.

We placed the valentine’s cards we got from our valentine exchange on the map showing where each card came from. Some are pretty close to us and other very far away. It was fun to talk to the girls about all the different places where we sent cards and then where got cards.

Here’s our table set for dessert. Brent brought us home roses. He brought each of the girls their own flower. They loved to flowers and having their own, but they loved playing swards with the long plastic containers the roses came in more! I made a tres leches cake from a recipe I saw on the Food Network. I made everything pink to go with the Valentin’es theme. Unfortunately, the cake is much better looking that it was tasting The cake didn’t cook evenly since our oven is bizarre and didn’t soak up all the milk mixture. The whipped topping was perfect, though and I scraped it off and ate it plain! The present you see to the right of the cake was a Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Halloween video that Brent found at a great price (go figure!) and got for the girls.

Brent had to go back to school and study for his very difficult test today (that was actually canceled because of a snowstorm) so the girls and I sat down to watch a few episodes of Wubbzy before bed. My mom and I both dozed off while the girls were enthralled with Wubbzy’s adventures.

That pretty much wraps up our Valentine’s Day celebrations.

How did you celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Happy Valentine’s Day. Hope it’s one filled with love and friendship for you and your little ones! Here’s a favorite song of ours. I shared it last year, as well as this awesome nesting heart project.

Nesting Hearts

Click on an image to read more about that project!

Christmas-Themed Projects

Jesus Spelling Activity

Materials:

• cookie cutter letters: J, E, S, U
• 1 sheet of cardstock, red or green for a Christmas theme
• scratch paper, decorative or plain, enough for the 5 letters
• glue stick and scissors

My part: I used the cookie cutter letters needed to spell Jesus. Then I pressed them in an ink pad and “stamped’ them in order on a piece of cardstock. Then I stamped the letters again on pieces of scratch decorative paper I had. I cut out the letters from the scrap papers.

Sammi’s part: She used a glue stick to put glue on the back of each letter. Then she glued the letters to the cardstock matching each letter to it’s shape. I let her choose the letters in whichever order she wanted; she, of course, started with “S” since it’s her favorite.

Penguin

This penguin is one of the crafts found in my new eBook: Laptime Songs for Mommies. Sammi had fun putting this cute guy together then adding her own touches.

Go ahead, make the purchase that will help you bond with your little one through music, books and snuggling. Purchasing today, at the limited-time, introductory offer of $10, you’ll get a full-color, interactive version of Laptime Songs for Mommies, a black-and-white printable version and the 6 songs in MP3 form that you can burn onto a CD. This purchase will benefit you and your little one for years to come. —Laptime Songs for Mommies

Treasure Pouches

I made these for Sammi’s friends for Christmas gifts. Each one has the initial of the child it belongs to. I filled each pouch with a bag or two of fruit snacks. The idea is they can hold any little “treasures” your little one may be attached to and want to take everywhere.

Materials:

• felt sheets in different colors
• scissors, fabric glue, sewing maching
• ribbon

I folded a sheet of felt in half longways then cut off a third. This makes the pouch. Before sewing the sides up on the pouch, attach your letter and shapes using fabric glue and stitches. Some I stitched by hand and some I used the sewing machine. then sew up the sides, fold over the top edge and sew to make a hem for the ribbon. Cut a slit in the front middle of the hem then thread the ribbon through the hem. Voila, an easy, personalized gift for the little ones in your life.

Visiting Santa

I had to share this picture of the girls’ first encounter with Santa this year. Sammi was excited to see him and visit with him. She asked for toys and didn’t get any more specific than that. Elli was not the least bit interested in Santa. Poor thing. But she has enjoyed wearing a Santa hat and a bell on a necklace. The girls saw Santa at the Tree Lighting Ceremony on campus at Lincoln Memorial University. They had a great program that I thought was the perfect blend of the religious significance of Christmas and the holly, jolly side of the holiday. Afterward we were treated to a stellar performance by the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra. We had to leave early because the girls were desperate for their beds, but what we experienced of the orchestra was energetic and full of holiday spirit.

I love this time of year! It’s so fun to decorate for Christmas: putting up the tree with lights and ornaments, setting out nativity scenes, strategically placing snowmen and Santas throughout the house. We are having a blast! So far, our tree is lit but without ornaments. It may stay this way… I have several nativity sets that I love, but trying to keep little figurines away from little hands has proved difficult!

One activity that I enjoy but we haven’t done regularly is the make gingerbread houses. I posted back in October some Monster Houses that we made from Make and Takes eBook and mentioned a recipe I found that I liked for turning frosting into the glue that holds the house and its decorations together. Since I was thinking about it again, I thought I’d share my version of the recipe.

Frosting for Gingerbread Houses

In a bowl, beat until stiff peaks form
-3 egg whites
-2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
Add 1 pound powdered sugar a little at a time until all is mixed in smoothly
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla

You may need to add more powdered sugar so that the frosting is stiff. It should be able to hold gingerbread houses together fairly easily. Plus it’s amazing for sticking heavy pieces of candy to the sides of your house.

Happy decorating!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a VTech Ride and Learn Giraffe Bike.