Snowmen in Australia? It's Possible!

Is there any play material better than playdough? NOPE! Playdough is the BEST!!!
It's easy to whip up, cheap to make, fun to play with and the themes and varieties are endless.

Around Christmas (yes, it has been that long since I was posting), we made a batch of 'snow playdough'. Translation: it was white. You could just leave your playdough uncoloured, but I think that shade of white is quite watery in appearance. So instead, I made a batch of our regular playdough using this recipe, but substituted cornstarch for flour to make the dough whiter.

The girls experimented with rolling the dough into balls, and I showed them how to stack them to make snowmen. Ava preferred hers laying flat on the table.

    

                                           

It was a hit! They thought it was hilarious (no idea why, but laughter's always good!), and once they had made a few snowman bodies, they dipped into the stash of supplies to decorate them.

Coloured Sand Pictures

Unsure of how to use your new Coloured Sand (see this post for the how-to)? 
We persevered with our planned glitter art, using the coloured sand instead. Eden and I sat down together with Hubby and Ava to make some lovely sandy cards for our family. All you need to do the same is cardstock, a pencil, white glue, a large flat container and your coloured sand.

From DIY Glitter Fail to Coloured Sand

One of my pet peeves when it comes to doing certain crafts with my kiddies is the cost of some of the craft supplies. This does not appear to be as much of a problem for the fortunate folks in America who pick up fabulous deals for a couple of bucks, but here... some things are nearly impossible to get your hands on (wooden blank discs, freezer paper, Lakeshore Learning products, etc), and some are just expensive.
Glitter is one of the latter.
Shopping at The Reject Shop or Sam's Warehouse may cut craft costs in a lot of other ways, but even there two little vials of fine glitter (the size of your thumb) will set you back $3. Considering how much glitter kids like to use, I'd need to buy about half a dozen vials for a single project... that's $9 worth of glitter! You've got to be kidding me!
So, when I saw a post on Pinterest about DIY glitter, I got so excited!!

Learning to Read

Well hello there folks! It's good to be back. Lately, I have been doing a lot of work with my eldest daughter Miss Eden, following a general curriculum (see here for more on the curriculum) and supplementing with plenty of activities and experiences of our own. This has certainly kept her and I very busy - and Ava too, who does her own 18 month old versions of our 'work'. Until this week, it seemed that Eden had settled into a comfortable learning rhythm.
Until this week.

Where it all began... the first of Classified: Mom's packs,
which Eden decided was the best thing IN THE WORLD!!!

On Monday, Eden informed me in her very grown-up voice, that she wanted to learn to read.

Attack of the (Eden shaped) Cookie Monster!

Over here at Casa Happy Little Munchkins, the eldest Miss Munchkin decided that we were lacking in the baked good department, so we tackled some super-easy, super-tasty cookies!
Mumma Munchkin is SO proud! All I did was instruct Eden on what needed to be done, and put the baking trays (ie: cookie sheets) in and out of the oven. She did the rest herself, and the results were delicious! Actually, the results quickly became nothing more than crumbs on plates and full tummies.
Try this recipe, you won't be sorry you did. Although, your waistline may not thank you for it...

Piggy Bank Practice

For whatever reason, little ones seem to LOVE putting coins in money boxes, taking them out, putting them in again. It's been a favourite game of Ava's for a while now, and of course requires supervision, especially if your child is into mouthing everything (which she is). So, I set out to make a tot-friendly version sans the choking hazard.

A Lil' Extra Stimulation for Miss 3

We have a new addition to our home - not the new baby, I've still got 22 weeks to go 'til then! - but a Pre-school curriculum. Yep. You heard (read) me. Curriculum for the under 5's. 
Why? Simply put, Eden loves learning and has been begging me to learn how to read and write and do maths (except she calls it playing with numbers), and I have been doing my best to keep up with her sometimes insatiable appetite to learn new things. I love this about Eden and I am constantly amazed at how quickly she picks things up, but whilst she leaves me gaping at her capability she also leaves me at a total loss for how to keep up with her! 
Maybe it's because my mum and my aunt (who I'm close to) are both primary school teachers, but I felt that I needed a curriculum to help me plan what to teach and when. I need plans, people! Mum was going to help me craft one for Eden, but being time poor, I went to the web for inspiration and found a slew of resources - some free, some available for purchase - most of which have been created by some incredible homeschooling mums. No, I am not homeschooling Eden, nor am I 'pushing' her because I want her to be an academic genius! I just wanted some structure to how I introduced new concepts to her. 
I had been using the free resources over at one of my fave sites, 1+1+1+1=1 for Eden for a while now, especially the tot packs and lapbooks which are always a big hit. The site has printable activities for young children with heaps of themes, so your child's interest is sure to be engaged. Eden's current fave is her Ballerina Pack, but also on her top list are the Dora Lapbook, the Princess Lapbook, and the Peter Pan Tot Pack. When I put a new pack/lapbook together, I wrap it up in a ribbon with a bow and leave it on the kitchen bench for her to find. She gets so excited! She has been known to refuse to move from her stool until we had done each and every activity at least once!

Matching numbered pegs to corresponding pictures