OH ELMO....

Do not adjust your computer screen....yes you are seeing TWO Elmos... Elmo has a friend...his name is also Elmo.

Sometime around the age of 1 1/2 Ryleigh became attached to her Elmo...so I quickly went and got 2 replacements in case the need should ever arise...(luckily they were the $5 ones from Target)...well we have been really good about switching two of them in and out of rotation...seamlessly...so as not to arise suspicion....you know....that way in case Elmo #2 was needed he was worn about the same as Elmo #1...well here is where the problemo came in...I apparently forgot to switch in Elmo #3...in a timely manner... so it was discovered...Ryleigh has mentioned that he is too light and fluffy... and is totally not hers... so Elmo #1 has come back out of the closet and now hangs out with #3...WHOOPS!

Here the Elmo's are safely watching the weekly projects... I was also told that they are having a conversation.... about what- I am not sure.....

SCHOOL DAZE - Week Twenty - 7 & 34 Months

Braeden is 7 Months and Ryleigh is 34 Months

As Ryleigh is doing both activities for Tot School and Preschool, for the time being I plan on linking to both sites... Most likely in the fall Braeden will be the new "star" of Tot School posts and Ryleigh will be completely transitioned over to the Pre-school posts... pretty much the only thing this really means for now is that I am re-titling my School posts ...so really...it doesn't mean a whole lot and it's just me rambling and you probably could have skipped this whole paragraph....

Our week started out with the Music class that I teach in our House. As I was unable to get a lot of pictures this week, I'm just including a few here instead of doing my Musical Mondays Post. These pictures show some of the kids gathering at the drum...I have so many kids coming now that I really need to get a second gathering drum.... (we are up to 13-15 kids...and loving every minute of it!)

When I was in AC Moore, I saw this cute Easter puzzle for Ryleigh to color in and then put together... it also fit in with our Letter "P" Week theme....

For our Letter of the Week, we did P is for Piano....I had the girls glue on black and white construction paper to make up the keyboard...and then add some fun music note stickers...

The finished pianos...

To continue with the "P" theme, we had the girls paint with bingo markers on the Letter P that I got from Confessions of a Homeschooler... We find that the bingo markers are much neater then the do a dot paint.... (and are only a little over $1)...
The girls did an Easter collage with stickers, markers, ribbon, pom-poms...all on a print out of an Egg...(my friend printed them out so I am not sure where she got them from)...

Juliette climbing on Braeden while the girls were working....
he doesn't seem to mind;)

The girls made Pizza (as it starts with P...also because I usually have them bake something and we thought it would be fun for them to have lunch together)...great fine motor practice with the spooning of the sauce...

Enjoying the pizza...

Ryleigh and Grandad playing with her wooden blocks...
they did the alphabet and numbers... and some tower building...

We used our felt board for our stART project this week...

We practiced putting clothespins on a cup...great fine motor activity...and she counted them as she did it...(unprompted...)
Ryleigh practiced her lacing again this week...these are foam shape cut-outs that I hole punched and attached lanyard to....
Ryleigh worked on her patterns with the felt board... loving the felt board for this activity because then we can keep changing the patterns as she stays interested... I like this particular picture because it captures her signing about the patterns....(a song that she made up)...

Ryleigh and Braeden playing together before Dinner... Ryleigh likes to "read" to him...which consists of her leafing through her books and telling him the story...sometimes it is the actual rendition and sometimes not so much...

Go see what others are doing in their Tot Schools (1+1+1=1) and Pre-Schools (Homeschool Creations) this week!

Winner of the Melissa and Doug Scissors

The winner of my Melissa and Doug giveaway is Cassie from Southern Domestic Goddess. Congratulations!

stART - Pooh's Easter Basket

a story + art = a great stART!!!

For this week's stART project, we read Pooh's Easter Basket. It's a cute board book that Ryleigh got in last year's Easter Basket. She really likes because (A) its about Pooh Bear and Friends and (B) she can carry it around. It's a great book to review colors...each page has a different character with a different colored/patterned egg.

For the project portion we used the felt board to decorate eggs. I cut out a large cream colored egg out of felt and several decorations for her to use. She had a great time decorating....over and over with different variations... below is a sequence of her first attempt.. and in case you are wondering what the yellow is supposed to be under the egg...that is felt grass of course...(I actually put that part there...)




For more great stART projects visit A Mommy's Adventures!

Tot School- Week Nineteen - 34 Months

Ryleigh is 34 Months...Braeden is 7 Months

We did Music Class, stART, the Letter "O" , baking, Art Group, some fine & gross motor practice, Dance Class, lots of letter recognition... and played out doors...the weather toward the end of the week has been great!

I recently received these wonderful flashcards in the mail as a "thank you" gift... they are fantastical!!! I believe that they came from Target... On one side they have both the Upper Case and Lower Case Letters...on the other side they have a picture...that you are supposed to pick out 3 things that start with whichever the Card has as its letter...and on the inside is a pop up 3D animal that starts with the Card letter...super fun. Ryleigh had a great time with these...

For our stART project this week, we read Harold and The Purple Crayon...
and then made muffin tin crayons...

This week we did "O" is for "Octopus". I had the girls glue on a blue wave, the legs and some googly eyes...

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day we did potato prints with green paint, water transfers with blue & yellow (to make green), and made Irish Soda Bread...

Doing the water transfer with a pipette and a paint palette...

The girls making Irish Soda Bread... you can find the recipe on Michelle's Blog...

Ryleigh also practiced cutting this week with her
Melissa and Doug Cookie Decorating Set.

TINY TOT SCHOOL
Braeden is spending a lot of time sitting up and playing with his toys. Some of his favorites include these letters...perhaps because Ryleigh is so into the alphabet these days?
Braeden watching Ryleigh run around the yard...

I snapped this quickly when Ryleigh jumped onto the ground....she was actually NOT posing... one of her favorite activities is running around on HER grass....and then she practically dives onto the ground... then repeat...again and again...I think we are all happy that SPRING is finally here!

To see what others are doing in their tot schools go to 1+1+1=1.

stART- Harold and the Purple Crayon

A story + art = a great stART!
Harold and the Purple Crayon is one of Ryleigh's favorite books and is read quite often. It is about a little boy (Harold) who has a grand imagination and uses his purple crayon to bring his adventures to life.

For our stART project this week, we made big muffin tin crayons (rainbow crayons)...

1. Get together some crayons that you would not mind melting down...I suggest the crayons from restaurants...they melt quickly and...and this is the MOST IMPORTANT PART...their wrappers slide right off!
2. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Peel and break all the crayons.
4. Arrange the crayons into the color schemes that you want...in the muffin tin.
5. Turn the oven off when it reaches the correct temperature...as long as you are ready to put the crayons in...
6. Put the muffin tin in the oven for 15-20 min...depending on how fast your crayons are melting.
7. When completely melted let cool for an hour or two....then use a knife to gently slide out.

Ryleigh picking out some shades of purple for our purple/blue crayon...

Ryleigh breaking the crayons into pieces and then peeling the paper off of them...

The crayons broken up and arranged by color in the muffin tin...

Our finished crayons...so pretty!

For more great stART projects check out A Mommy's Adventures!

Melissa and Doug Giveaway

My very first giveaway!

Recently I went on a search for the perfect pair of preschool scissors. After trying out a plethora of types I came to the conclusion that Melissa and Doug Scissors were the winners.... They are extremely easy to use...

I have decided that I would like to personally give one set away...i.e. I purchased this on my own and would like to share it....

TO ENTER:

• Follow or Subscribe to The Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM
  

EXTRA ENTRY:

• Blog about this giveaway and include a link back to The Ramblings and Adventures of a SAHM. (This is worth 3 extra entries ~ leave a comment for each one)

I will select a winner using Random.org.....so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry

The winner will be announced here, and also e-mailed so please include your e-mail in each comment or enable it in blogger. The winner must respond within 48 hours or I will choose another winner.

Good Luck!!! This giveaway will be open until Wednesday March 24, 2010 midnight EST.

TOT SCHOOL - WEEK EIGHTEEN 34 Months

We started off our week with Music Class....did a lot of baking...the Letter N... and lots of other fun projects... Unfortunately toward the end of the week both kids got sick....so we had to miss Art Group and Dance Class....


This week: Back by popular demand...by the Mommies... the Yummy Yums... this time I will include the recipe so that others my share in the yumminess of it all.... Heat oven to 400 degrees... meanwhile... unroll Pillsbury pie crust... sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon & a touch of brown sugar....lightly fold up the crust.....place on a baking tray...pinch the ends so that the yumminess does not escape...bake for 20-25 minutes...when the dough starts getting to a light golden brown...take them out...let them cool for a bit...enjoy with coffee or tea .... or juice if you decide to share with your child :)

Ryleigh spooning some sugar onto the crust

Folding up the dough....

This week for Letter N...we did N is for Names. The girls glued their friends and siblings names onto the Letter N...so cute...

Also with the N theme, I printed out the paint dot page from Confessions of a Homeschooler and the girls painted with the bingo markers...

The girls also did some bead lacing...on lanyard. I think they enjoyed it.
It was a great fine motor activity...

The babies waiting for their sisters to be done "playing projects"...

To continue with our N theme, we downloaded from this Nn matching activity from Confessions of a Homeschooler. To add to this activity we cut strips of construction paper, glued it to the Nest page and had the kids sort and glue the appropriate N or n onto each strip.

When Ryleigh was born one of my friends gave me a whole bunch of adorable foam shapes that she had made for bath time. I have re-purposed them for lacing practice. I hole punched them and then we attached lanyard to them...and now they are great lacing practice.
This week was Michelle's Birthday (Happy Birthday Michelle!!!) To help celebrate I had the girls bake Chocolate Cupcakes.

Here the girls are beating the eggs (in the mugs)

Enjoying the cupcakes... YUM!

I had Ryleigh put stickers on a shamrock that I drew...great fine motor practice... she did very well putting them all in order.

Ryleigh, Marc and Braeden fixing household items with their tools....

Braeden practicing his crawling....he didn't go anywhere...
but he did get a chance to show off his thighs... :)

Braeden has been sitting up and has really started enjoying his toys....
it is really cute to watch him interact with his sister.

Braeden playing the piano...one of his favorites!

Recently, Ryleigh planted Forget Me Knots and Strawberries from the Target Dollar Spot...I was surprised to see that they are actually growing... Here she is using a pipet to water them.....Might as well get some fine motor practice in while doing a science activity....
I have been putting some workbook activities in page protectors so that Ryleigh can reuse them over again. I have her use dry erase markers...conveniently the ones that have the eraser attached to the top.. here she is matching colors.

Ryleigh sorting gigantic multi colored and multi shaped buttons by shape

Braeden...helping Marc sort laundry...I'm not sure why only my socks ended up on his head....

For more great Tot School Ideas visit 1+1+1=1.