One Of Those Days....

Well, I know we have all had them.  One Of Those Days.  This week has been exactly like that.  We didn't get to everything we wanted to.  We had lots of messes, and when we cleaned one up, well, you know what happened... yup, some little one was behind me creating another one.  When one little one fell and needed some loving, another was falling off the chair needing some loving.  At one point I think I had 3 little ones on my lap wailing.  No one was really hurt to bad, a bonk on the head, a "friendly" hair pull by a friend, and you always have one that will cry just to commiserate with her fellow crier's.  

We did get to paint this week.  The kids LOVE paint.  The easel is always fun and a challenge for the little ones since it is vertical painting... though it always seems to turn to finger painting anyways, so it didn't matter.  :)

Today we finished our Native American Headdress.  It was very cute.  We have a little book about the littlest pilgrims making friends with the Native Americans and the kid asked a lot of questions about their dress and not the pilgrims dress, so we went with headdresses this year instead of pilgrim hats.  

Looking for some turkey to cook up for dinner

Deciding if turkey is a good idea or not.... they decided NOT.
Ravioli (lunch from yesterday) was more to their liking today :)


Although the kids enjoyed playing with their headdresses... not many made it through the morning.  Having little ones around can be very damaging to any art project that finds its way onto the ground when little hands are near.

It was only a 2 day work week for me and it seemed longer than some of my 5 day work weeks.  Hopefully noses will dry up, friends will be eager to see one another after a long week away and Miss Michelle will be efficiently recharged :) by the time we get back together on Monday!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

A New Week

It's a new week and the kids are excited to be learning about the Letter Ii. We will continue to learn about Thanksgiving too. At Circle Time today I asked the kids if they went some place special for Thanksgiving, most said no. So, I wanted to find out some Thanksgiving traditions they may enjoy...

Princess: "I don't eat anything for Thanksgiving."
Shell: "Not even turkey?"
Princess: "I eat lots of turkey and applesauce for Thanksgiving. I didn't know you meant THAT Thanksgiving."

D-Man: "I eat and eat and eat for Thanksgiving. But when is it?"
Shell: "Next week." (we count on calendar) "So, D what will you eat?"
D-Man: "I don't know, maybe burgers"
Princess: "You have to eat turkey. Don't you Shell?"
D-Man: "I'll eat dinosaur meat meals. Shell, do dinosaurs eat turkey?"
Shell: "Probably, and you'll probably eat some too... you'll like it."

It was fun hearing them talk about Thanksgiving (talk about anything really). We read The First Thanksgiving, by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Thomas Locker. It was a beautifully illustrated book, but one with to much writing, and detail for these guys. So, I just talked about what was happening in the pictures. We made comparisons about life then and life now, differences in clothing, and what they actually ate at the first Thanksgiving, compared to what we actually eat.

We also read The Littlest Pilgrim, by Brandi Dougherty. This cute book is about Mini, the littlest pilgrim in her village. Mini wants to help do things in her village and everyone tells her she is to little. But, she finds she is not to little to be a friends to a little Native American friend she meets. It is a cute book that I could point out the way life was like when the pilgrims first landed in the New World. It is also something they can relate to... the Princess said, "That's like me when I want to help my Mom." That spun into a talk about being a good friend, big sister, little sister, little brother, etc...


After Circle Time we made some Ice Paint Cubes. The kids mixed up some batches of Red, Yellow and Blue food coloring with water. We then used a measuring cup to pour the colors into the ice cube trays. I then tried to put some foil over it, so we could put the sticks in (so we had some where to hold it tomorrow). I found that I could not tell where the cubes were under the foil, and we sort of make a little mess. We went to clear cling wrap after that... did you know that cling wrap doesn't really cling to plastic ice cube trays :) I had to hold it tight for the kids to get the sticks in, but we did it. I'm not saying we didn't make a little mess, but that's the fun right :)

I was so busy holding, directing, and making sure that the colored water didn't get on our clothes, that I only got 2 photo's. Weird, it felt like I was taking lots of them. Oh, well... you get the idea. The kids are excited to paint with them tomorrow. I think we are going to use paper first and then mix it with either flour or cornstarch and make some Icky paintings... I will see where it takes us tomorrow.

When we were finished with our Ice Paint Cubes we cleaned up and took a walk to the neighborhood park. It took us a while to get out of the house today, because we lost a sock. We are ALWAYS losing socks!!! The kids take off their sneakers when they come in, and mostly they leave their socks on. But when the 2's take their shoes off, usually the socks come off along with it. I think I should learn by now, but I always say, "leave your socks on, the floor is chilly." And without fail, Sprout or Little Miss M will take off their sock SOMEWHERE in the house and I won't find it for a week. I usually will find it tucked in the darnedest places... someones backpack, in the Tupperware cupboard (in a piece of Tupperware) or once we found one in the toilet paper holder in the bathroom.

I'm sorry, I digress... we went to the park. The kids had a great time, climbing, swinging, sliding, and running. Then it started to rain. It was cloudy, I know. But we had sunshine peeking through a lot, it was warm, and I just didn't think it would rain until later today :) The kids LOVED it!! Great Big Rain Drops were falling on our heads. It wasn't a downpour type of rain, it was just these big drops falling, kinda like a Springtime rain. It even smelled great. We made it back without getting drenched. It was the talk all through lunch and settling down for nap. It was a great morning.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving Kozy Kids!!!

We have so much to be Thankful for!! I am thankful for my family, my Kozy Kids, my health, my ability to love what I do, the Families that have stuck with me through a rough time, and for all the wonderful moments that happen in my life everyday!!

Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!

A Busy Morning

Wednesday Morning seemed to be a busy one... we had out lots of water play (since it was raining outside), we went through the tunnel, built with blocks, used our Sand Studio, made Head Bands, and talked Turkey. We had a lot of fun exploring how all our friends celebrated Thanksgiving.

Our Sand Studio is a big hit!! I am glad I made the purchase. I kept going back and forth about the price, but the kids really love it and get a lot of use out of it. We use it for anything they want... playing in the sand, tracing letters, making words (hence the letters in the background) and using the templates to make shapes.

I think the favorite though is being able to quietly (alone or with a friend) play with the little people or animals.

Water play is my favorite. We try to get water out everyday. We have had a baby washing station, just water in the sensory table, sponging tray work, washing the table or clothing tray work, the list can go on and on!! Water has so many possibilities and the kids just kind of lose themselves in what they are doing...

This happens to be a favorite!! We don't even have the boats anymore, but they use cars, motorcycles or little people... doesn't matter. There is a path to follow and they love to follow it :)

The kids have really been into their Monster Trucks lately and we have had this type of play going on from early in the morning, until they have to go home. They found out last week that if they moved the carpet around they would get hills, mountains, and ramps!! What Fun!!! So, we tell the other kids to be careful where you walk... we don't want anyone falling over!!!

We had a friend make up some feathers on her die-cut machine!! We used them to make our headdresses. We talked about Thanksgiving and the Native Americans that helped the Pilgrims when they came to America. We then extended the conversation to how WE help our families during Thanksgiving and how we can help them everyday!!

How do you help your family during Thanksgiving Time?

B: I make the food that my Mom makes. My Dad likes to eat it.

L: I go to my Mimi's house, Nana's house, and I do all the work. My Mom drives and my brother plays. My Dad is playing with my brother.

S: We eat and I help.

R: I don't like to help. I want to play games.

Those are some of the great responses I got. I love to listen to their thought process and see what comes out. We started Show-n-Tell Friday's and the kids can either talk about what ever they want, or show a toy and tell about that. I ask questions and they answer them so far, but every once in a while we will get one child who will go on and on about what ever it is they are telling us about. I love it. It gives them a chance to talk in front of the group... a skill it is never to early to start.