Soda Bottle Easter Basket

Juliette made this adorable Easter Basket at school and I had to share it I thought it was so cute!

To make it they cut the top off of a soda bottle then covered the cut edge with duct tape so no little fingers would get cut.  The kids decorated the feet and head with crayons, a pom pom for the nose and foam stickers for the pink of the ears.  There are also pipe cleaners for the whiskers.  The arms are attached with a brad across the top on either side to make the handle, which can move back and forth.  Finally there is a white pom pom glued on the back for the cotton tail.

I don't have a template for the pieces but they are pretty simple you can use white construction paper and free hand the shape of the arms and feet.  The head is a simple circle with a little extra at the bottom so that it sticks up from the bottle.  Then you can get creative and make the ears any shape you want.

**If you try this I would love t hear about it send me a link to any pictures so I can see how they came out!!

Post-it's + Stack n Smile Photo Blocks = Learning Fun

We have had our set of Stack n Smile Photo Blocks for awhile now, and I always want to use them for learning activities, but never get around to filling their sides with "stuff."  I was putting together a game for Juliette and realized the cubes would work perfectly, but ahh I did not have the time to format a page on my word processing program with the letters I needed then cut them out and put them in the cubes.  That's when I realized POST-ITS !!!!  I was able to quickly write the letters on each post it and they were the perfect size to slide right into the pockets.  I am so excited for all the fun learning activities that we can now quickly put together. 

Letter and Number Sticker Matching

This is a simple activity to put together that helped Juliette recognize uppercase and lowercase letters.

First, I wrote all the letters of the alphabet in capitals on colored dot stickers. Then I wrote the lowercase letters on a plain piece of paper. I did these in a random order so Juliette really had to hunt for them. Finally, she used the stickers to cover the letter matches.

This was the perfect activity for my sticker loving preschooler!!! After she finished she said "another one, another one!!"

So next we did this with numbers and dots. She practiced counting the dots and covering them with the matching number.

Penguin Shapes

Juliette made this adorable penguin craft at school while working with squares, rectangles and circles. The body is a white paper plate and the eyes are white reinforcement stickers. Then they used white shiny paper cut into squares and rectangles for the ice. She was so proud of her penguin!!

We have been having so much fun with our Elf on the Shelf!!  The girls wake up every morning so excited to see where Ginger is and they even talk to her during the day.   Here is a peek at  the fun things she has been up to at our house.

Ginger going for a drive.

Ginger getting a bird's eye view from the ceiling fan...hopefully no one turns it on today!!!

Oops we forgot to take a few links off of our Advent Chain...thank you Ginger for helping us out. I am sure we won't forget tonight :)

Ginger is sharing an update from Santa...hopefully some motivation for Juliette to start being a better listener!!!

 

 

Ginger set up Emily and Juliette's Nativity! How did she know we were going to need it today when we decorate for Christmas?

Ginger loves our Christmas tree, I think she wanted to help put up the star! Emily said the star is her favorite part because it reminds her of Baby Jesus :)

Silly Ginger, Rudolph noses for everyone!!!

Ginger is an Artist!!!

We think Ginger really likes maple syrup...she almost drank all of ours!!

Yay, Ginger Candy Caned our tree!!! We will all be enjoying some sweet treats from Ginger :)

Say Cheese Ginger!!

Emily loves to draw so as soon as Ginger appeared she decided she would draw our Elf's silly antics.  It was cute to watch her get out all of her supplies and get to work recreating the image of Ginger on the Candle on her own paper.  

We are hopping to save these and put them together into a book or collage after Christmas as a special memory of the Elf on the Shelf through our 5 year old's artistic perspective :)

Our Elf on the Shelf has Arrived

This Christmas Season we have a special visitor watching the girls each day.  Her name is Ginger and she is our Elf on the Shelf!!  I have to say I was hesitant about this special Christmas Tradition.  I do prefer the things that are more Christ centered.  But I am so glad that we have included this in our Christmas preparations this year.  The girls are in love with her and it is so much fun to see their faces EVERY morning as the look for her and then discover the silly antics she is up to.

We had our Elf "delivered" to our front door one night.  Delivered meaning Daddy placed her sitting on top of her box at our front door and then knocked while we were upstairs getting ready for bed.  When the girls heard it they wanted to know who was at our door at bedtime.  They were so excited to find our Elf on the Shelf!  That night we read her special book, which is basically an instruction manual for her in a cute rhyming text.  It told the girls that we had to pick out a name for her and how she listens to hear if they are good or bad and then tells Santa.  It also lets them know that they are not allowed to touch her or she will loose her magic.

Now for the real fun, every morning she is in a different place in the house.  Sometimes it is just sitting or hanging somewhere and sometimes it is a whole little scene.  Here is what our Elf, Ginger has been up to so far :)

Day 1

Ginger for Ginger ~ we think she likes her name!

Day 2

Helping us decorate ~ the girls love the candy cane candles 

Day 3

Fun with Clementines

Day 4

A Campfire and making Smores with Prince Eric

Can you tell that the girls loved it?!?!

 Day 5

Ginger loves our Wedgits as much as we do!

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf, what is your favorite part of this tradition?

Check back soon to see more of the fun that we have with our Elf, Ginger as we prepare for Christmas!!