Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Three little pigs

Today we had our first Mommy school puppet show. I'll admit, it wasn't fantastic, but it sure was fun to make the set, props and perform for the little ones. I chose this script, but changed it so that all the little pigs lived. We had some friends over, and put on a show for the kids. I didn't take any pictures of today's activity, but here's a look at our set and cast:




 The three little pigs, made from old pink onesies. And the Big bad wold mask, made from felt
The straw house

The house made of sticks

The house made of bricks

Pot of hot water

Annnd, what my two year old looks like with 5 pairs of Pajamas on.



Have you ever put on a puppet show for your kids? Or have they ever put on a mini play for you? As kids we used to do the whole shabang; write scripts, make costumes, props, sets, music, lighting.... I'm sure we continued into middle school/ early high school. Once in high school, we all continued to take drama. There is no end to a child creativity if you give them an outlet for it.

Love you Forever

Last night before bed, I called my parents and we went through our book titles until we found a book we had in common. That book was 'Love you Forever' By Robert Munsch, which just happens to be my favorite of his. This is a book that we read to the kids when we have a hard day. I bought my best friend a copy of this book, and in return she bought me a copy when I had my daughter. After choosing the book, we went on skype and my mom read the kids their bedtime story. My parents live a few provinces away, so it was really nice to have them able to read to their grand kids. I think we'll do this more often :) 





Have you ever had someone read a book to your kids on the phone or skype? Was it well received? What books have you tried?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Give me back my dad!


 Two of our library books this week, are ones written by Robert Munsch. The one we focused on today, is called 'Give me back my dad'.

 Katie adores going fishing with her dad, but it's too cold for a boat, and the lake hasn't frozen yet. So, I thought, why not fish inside while DJ is taking a nap?


I got a fish!






This activity was a HUGE hit with her. We took her little pink fishing rod and her fish bath toys, sat across the room from each other and practiced fishing. I can't wait until Elijah can take Katie ice fishing for the first time.

( Had we been the ones who had bought her a fishing rod, it wouldn't have been pink, or disney anything! I had hoped this one would stay at her grandparents...but it migrated here...)

More Spaghetti, I Say Part 2

Just a quick Photo post. I made the play spaghetti I mentioned the other day. It might have taken me a total of fifteen minutes to find an old light yellow kids t shirt, cut it up and sew it together. The result was great! Both my 10 month old and my two year old loved playing with it. Katie really enjoyed pretending to eat it while I read and re read the book to her, and DJ was quickly distracted once he realized that the pot made a loud noise when he banged the lid closed. Overall, well received. I love pretend play!


Friday, October 26, 2012

More Spaghetti, I Say

Some of my favorite things include reading, theater and crafts. These are all things that I want my kids to share the same love for with me. Now that she's two, my daughter finally enjoys having books read to her, and will bring me book after book to read to her. I could spend hours sitting with her reading stories, except for one thing; she gets bored. We tried going to story time at the library once a week, but sitting still for 5 books while there's so many new toys and books to explore, is a little much for my toddler. While at home reading together in a familiar environment, we can get through a few before she becomes interested in something new. Lately we've been trying to come up with more creative ways of telling her stories, by using props or crafts.

For my first entry, I've decided to introduce you to a book I remember well from my childhood.
While surfing the web yesterday, I came across a post about this book on Sew a Straight Line. After reading  it, I decided I had to get my hands on a copy of it. I called my sister, excited about my discovery, wondering if our mom still has a copy. She probably does, but Ontario is a few too many provinces away for it to get here fast enough. On to plan B, since plan A was just silly and impossible, we walked to the library today. Good news! They had a copy, at another branch. Once my hubby was let off work, we went and picked it up. I was so excited about sharing a book form my childhood with my kids, that i couldn't wait until I had made play spaghetti to introduce it to them. As soon as I had supper cooked, we sat down and read the book together for the first time, waiting for our spaghetti to cool. Katie seemed to really enjoy eating (playing with) the same food that we had just read about.


She had me read it to her a couple more times before bed. Tomorrow we'll be busting out some pots, wooden spoons and pretend spaghetti. Have you brought any books to life lately? If so, how?


Part 2