Math Games Mondays - City Life

Here's another fun Roll the Dice game for Math Games Mondays. Yep, it's Monday again already!  Where did the weekend go?

I found these Safari Ltd. Toobs that are of NYC and vehicles - perfect to use for every day play, but today, we are using them as counters.  Simply roll the dice. Cover up that many buildings.  Roll again until all the buildings have a counter on them. 

This game helps with number value, counting, taking turns, and bonding time.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Math Games Mondays - City Life by melanieshanks on Polyvore

City Love 2 - 8X10 Art Print/Wall Art - Baby Nursery Decor and...
etsy.com

Baby Food Jar Terrariums

 Remember this hint from yesterday?  No, there will not be a new baby in our house.  We are making mini terrariums with baby food jars!

 It's sooo easy.  Layer pebbles then potting soil then plants.  I used a plant called "baby's tears" available everywhere.  I went to my local nursery and they had tons of it.

 Now, comes the fun part.  Add in any small animal, rocks, gems, fake mushrooms, etc.  Use your imagination or "borrow" some of my ideas.  I used these teeny tiny mushrooms that I found at Micheal's Craft Store - a bundle was $2.99.  The deer is a button from Dress It Up buttons. You can find them at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn, or at shellysbuttonsandmore.com

 The rabbit above is from a Safari Ltd Toob.  Very woodland, right?  AND just in time for Easter.

 The blue butterfly is from Safari Ltd as well - it's in a "good luck" pack found at Michael's.  They also have dragons and unicorns and animals - very tiny not recommended for kids under 3. :)

 I call her Cinderella, but she is a princess button from Dress It Up.  There are 3 princesses in that pack - purple, yellow, and blue for $2.00

This bear is also a button - how cute are these??? - from Dress It Up.  I cannot get over the cuteness level of their buttons!

The fun thing about terrariums is...1) they are easy to make, 2) kids will enjoy making them, 3) it's creative and imaginative, 4) if you can out the animal or button, it's a whole new scene!  I love creating terrariums, because you don't need much of a green thumb to keep them alive.  They cost very little to make.  And it's like you are creating this tiny new world.  Plus, it's science.  It's nature.  It's fun...and kinda messy, too.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Once Upon A Time in a Rainbow Forest

"Once upon a time, there was a Rainbow Forest.  It was a cozy play, where lots of animals live.  I wish I could live there too.  It's sooo cozy..."

"...lot's of animals live in the Rainbow Forest and make it their home.  There's deers and hedgehogs and skunks and a whooole lotta birds..."

"...sometimes a baby dragon is in the Rainbow Forest and needs someone to take care of him.  He is a tiny baby dragon..."

"...the fairies take care of baby dragons and alllll the animals.  They are good at taking care of animals.  If I was lost there, they would take care of me.  No bad people are in the Rainbow Forest.  If bad people did come, the fairies would hide everyone..."

"...foxes are in the Rainbow Forest too.  They are onry sometimes and play tricks on the other animals.  Look, there are owls, too!"

"...we can take care of hedgehogs and deers just like the fairies, but first we have to catch them.  Where is there a forest here?  I do want to find a Rainbow Forest big enough for me to stay in.  I think they eat and drink and sleep and play alllll day in the Rainbow Forest.  It's a happy place and cozy, too..."

"...lots of birds live in the trees but one lives on the ground.  The red bird is flying.  I can fly too.  Watch me..." (running about with arms flapping)

"...the fairies take care of alllll the animals then they go to sleep.  The End." - G, age 4

I do love the imagination of this child.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Math Games Monday - Penguin Grid Game

It's February and cold here in Ohio.  As we are stuck inside, I am inventing new things are us to do to keep the boredom at bay and the cabin fever away.

 Today, I made a Penguin Grid Game.  I used two pieces of scrapbook paper (JoAnn), glue stick, one die, and a penguin paper punch from EK Success brand.  Kids can help punch out the many min penguins then glue them on in a grid.

 Roll the die then cover that number of penguins with your acrylic hearts that can be found at the Dollar Tree.  OR you can use pennies or M&Ms or anything really.

 Continue you on...

 until you've covered up the whole board.

 My grid has 88 penguins on it - which would be good for a 4-5 year old.  If you are making with a younger child, make your game board with less (maybe 24 or so).  Younger children have a shorter attention span and may lose interest.

I can't wait until Spring, but until then...

Have a Fun & Playful Day!
Mel

Math Games Monday - Roll the Dice Games

Games are fun...and easy to make.

You need very few supplies - paper, glue, cutouts or stickers, 2 penguin game pieces, and a die.  My penguins are from Safari Ltd. Penguins Toob.

Simply map out a twisty path with your snowflakes and glue them on.  If you are using stickers, place them on.  Kids can help make the gameboard.

Roll the die and move that many spaces. Easy, peasy.  You can make these easy game for little money and for any theme you want.  You could coordinate your game to your child's favorite book or movie.

 OR if you have 2 players...you can use the penguins to take turns (patience is a good thing!) to see who reaches the end first.

 So that there's no hard feelings, I always say, "Kate is the first winner. Ethan is the second winner." I learned that from a veteran preschool teacher of 20 years.

 I used Safari Ltd. Penguins from a Toob, but you could use any animal as game pieces.  If it's snow-themed, you could use any polar animals or Anna, Elsa, or Olaf figures like these at the Disney Store as game pieces.

 The possibilities are endless.

Games are great for teaching taking turns, patience, counting, one-to-one correspondence, and family bonding time.

Have a Fun & Playful day!
Mel

Craft Day Tuesday - Small Shadowboxes

 Do you remember making dioramas as a kid?  I used to love getting an assignment where I could make a diorama instead of writing a book report...more fun and creative.  Well, on this cold and snowy day, I decided that we would do a mini version of a diorama.  Instead of a shoebox, we are using 3x3 jewelry boxes (found at Michael's for $.99 each but 1 box makes 2).

 Just a few supplies are needed: scrap paper, cotton, felt, stickers, glue, scissors.  I found these adorable fox and polar friends sticks by Sticko at Walmart.  Greta was so into this project.  She could do most every step.

 We lined the bottom of each box with a scrap of paper that I had.  Then, we just added tree cutouts, the stickers, felt or cotton, and a few plastic flowers that I had laying around.

 They turned out sooo cute.  You could hang on a wall, but we decided to tape ours to the frig.

 It's a beautiful little display of art, don't you think?

Light Table & Aqua Gems

Everyone knows that toddlers are a whole different creature. Cute and lovable, independent and storming. I needed something new to keep little missy doodle busy. She is 15 mos. old but any preschooler would love to do this. Heck, my 14 year old played around with these for a while. Some people call them aqua gems, some call them water beads.

You find them in the floral section. Caution: Children should be supervised as these shouldn't be eaten. To make the light table, you'll need: 2 clear bowls, 1 strand of white Christmas lights, aqua gems, and a dark space.
Simply place the lights over an inverted bowl. Put the other bowl on top. Fill with aqua gems. Turn out the lights. It's sooo cool!
Little missy doodle put a spin on it. After a little while, she popped up and walked away. I thought, "well, she is done." Nope. She returned with her Sesame Street characters and Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, and Ernie went for a swim! :)