The Box Project

Race Track
Pirate Ship
Dance FloorOne of Masons favorite books right now is "Christina Katerina and The Box" so before just throwing away a box we had in the garage I decided to begin what I call "The Box Project". Just like Christina we turned our box into many different things that Mason himself choose. Some I forgot to take pics of. There are many developmental skills I could touch on that this encompassed but nothing impressed me more than the pure Imagination that oozed from each activity done with the box! I worry in the world we are in that children's imaginations are being stifled by all of the advances we have now that I find myself trying to really encourage this kind of play with Mason however it is silly because it is something that comes so naturally to a child if we just give them the freedom to release it. So go out, find a box, and have fun!

Nature Box

We made this Nature box the other day and I can't say enough about what a cute activity this was! Start by recycling an old egg carton and painting each well a different color. We then went out and explored the yard for items in nature that matched the colors in our "Nature Box". This not only made us learn our colors but really made us notice the many things in nature that we sometimes miss. The coolest thing that Mason found was a bug that had a blue butt that matched our blue section. Great learning and fun!

Making Clouds

On a Cloudy day like today it was perfect to make some clouds! We combined glue, shaving cream and a little food coloring to form puffy cloud paint! We read a book about clouds and the discussed the different shapes they take on as well as how they form. We then painted some puffy clouds of our own. The Clouds actually dry puffy so they are very realistic. So very much fun and so very messy! Our educational lesson quickly turned into a cloud paint fight with lots of giggles!

Bee Bread

For Tasty Tuesdays we made some of what Mason calls "Bee Bread" It is of course called that because it has honey in it.
The real name and recipe is as follows....WHO Bread - acoustic style
1 1/4 cup water2 tablespoons honey2 tablespoons butter @ room temperature1 tsp salt3 cups of flour (we do 2 cups unbleached white, 1 cup whole wheat pastry)1/2 cup rolled oats1 tablespoons brown sugar1 tsp cinnamon2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or, one package)
Pour 1 1/4c. warm water (about 110 degrees F), honey, sugar, and yeast into a bowl. Whisk until well combined and mixture is frothy. Set aside to proof while you mix together the other ingredients.In a separate large bowl stir together, flour, butter, salt, rolled oats, and cinnamon.Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined. (I like to do this with my hands.)Place dough into a lightly oiled bread pan. Cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm spot to rise for about an hour (45 min. if you’re impatient!). Punch down dough and let rise a second time for 45 minutes, covered with a damp towel.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove towel from top of dough and place pan in the center of your oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Done!

Schedule

Whatour VERY FLEXIBLE Classroom schedule looks like. A friend ask that I post this because she was curious as to a good routine for her toddler/preschooler. Of course letters and numbers and shapes are all mixed in on a daily basis but this is a basic run-down. Depending on the age you can go as simple or as complex as you would like.

Popcicles

Daddy took the day off so of course any activities Mommy had planned would rather be done with daddy. Made juice stirred, poured into molds and froze (oh yeah don't forget the licking yuck) and Enjoy!

Goin Fishin!

"Goin Fishin"
I picked up a cheap little wooden fishing set made a construction paper pond and taped letters on the back. Anytime Mason caught a fish we would name and talk about the letter. He loved this learning activity so much that I started taping shapes on the back as well. You could also do numbers, or words, etc....This was definitely a hit and something we will do often because Mason enjoyed it so much seriously we sat at the table doing this for almost an hour!