Read Across America Day- Dr. Seuss Style

Wednesday is the NEA's Read Across America Day. This was one of my favorite days when I was teaching. There are so many fun ways to celebrate reading!

This blog, ObSEUSSed has so many fantastic ideas. You can find food, crafts, activities, and more on this site. It is one of the best collections of Seuss stuff.

Here is some of the fun we did last year during daycare:

Green Eggs & Ham for lunch...of course!

We read several Dr. Seuss books and made a page for each book we read.

The Foot Book feet painting

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish was glitter paint sponge painting.

Ten Apples Up On Top ...the kids took round apples and piled them up on top in order!

Paper plate food for Green Eggs & Ham.

Outside we did a little Hop on Pop...don't make fun of my quick drawing skills though!

We also enjoyed cupcakes at the end of the day with a candle in each one as we sang "Happy Birthday" to Dr. Seuss.

Have fun whatever you do, and let us know what you did to celebrate!

Mommy & Me Monday: Read to Me and ABC

Hello, all! I am posting this late because............I forgot about it! I don't have a new craft to show you this week. However, I wanted to share with you an awesome resource I came across for teaching your children the letters of the alphabet. It makes me wish my two boys didn't know their alphabet so I could go back and do this with them. There are plenty of alphabet resources available online, but what I REALLY love about this program (besides that all the ideas are FREE!) is that each lesson starts with a book that you read with your child. Then you do a fun and simple activity which goes with the book and emphasizes a letter of the alphabet. As you go through the letters, your child will assemble a keepsake letter book that they have made with you. I just love this idea!

I sometimes get asked either by parents of students I teach or by readers of my Montessori blog if it makes a difference what order you use to teach the letters of the alphabet. My suggestion is to do it however feels right for your family. One suggestion is to start with A and go through the whole alphabet in order. Another idea is to start with the letters of your child's name since they have intrinsic meaning for the child. Then you could add the letters of the names of other family members and continue until you've gone through the alphabet. Anything is really fine and remember that the most important thing is to have fun!!

CLICK HERE for the link. This post will show you how to make the letter folders and to set it all up. It will also have links to all the posts written for individual letters.

Mommy & Me Monday: Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! Hope you have a lot of lovin' planned for today. I am sharing two ideas to do with your little ones. The first one is a keepsake handprint project. We made these for the parents of my Montessori students last week and I'm pretty sure they'll be treasured for years to come. CLICK HERE to go to the post I wrote about the project on my Montessori blog. It has some tips and directions as well as a link to print the label if you want. I am not able to upload documents here on Blogger, but I can on Typepad (the other blog).

I know I'm posting this a bit late for you to make these to give as gifts for Valentine's Day this year. However, if you think ahead, these would be great to give Grandma for Mother's Day. You could do this in fabric paint on a t-shirt or canvas bag. Or do it on paper and place it in a special frame. You'll probably want to make some to save for yourself as well!

The next idea is a baking project. We are also making these at Montessori this week. These are little "heart tarts" made from refrigerated pie crust and strawberry jam. I found the idea and recipe in the latest issue of Family Fun magazine. These were really easy to make and tasted really good. I didn't even frost mine and thought they were still yummy. They taste like mini-pies or kind of like pop-tarts. CLICK HERE to go to the Family Fun website for the recipe.

Free Dental checks for kids

Free program that Creighton Dental School is holding on Saturday, February 12, 2011 from 8:00am – Noon for kids 3-14 years of age.

Students and faculty will be conducting free dental examinations, x-rays, cleanings, fluoride treatments and dental sealants (cavity preventative).

Parents / legal guardian must be with the child.

For an appointment call 402-280-2863.

Mommy & Me Monday: Valentine Suncatchers

For this simple, yet beautiful, craft you will need: clear contact paper, tape, tissue paper, and scissors. Precut some tissue paper into small pieces. Cut out a square of contact paper (mine was approximately 8X8 inches........I just eyeballed it), remove the backing and use Scotch tape to tape it to the table STICKY SIDE UP. Just put one piece of tape across each corner. This will make it MUCH easier for your child to complete the activity, believe me! After you've secured the contact paper to the table, let your child cover it with the pieces of tissue paper. This is a great activity for refining and strengthening those little finger muscles.

Once the contact paper is covered with tissue pieces as shown below, cut another piece of contact paper about the same size and place it on top STICKY SIDE DOWN. You are basically making a tissue paper sandwich. Smooth out any wrinkles in the contact paper and make sure the two sides are sticking together securely.

Cut the "sandwich" into a heart shape and tape it in your window. So pretty! (Tip: I just folded my contact paper sandwich in half and cut half a heart on the fold. This resulted in a symmetrical heart shape. If your child is able, you could draw a heart shape with a marker and have them cut it out.)

Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure

Thank you to Laura for getting us a copy of the new book Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure and Darlene Schacht. Laura read the review for this fantastic book on the Women Living Well Blog. It was so awesome for us to be able to give a copy away since our meeting topic was on healthy living!

Taken from ChristianBook.com~~ "In Reshaping It All actress Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) offers the reader a candid account of her struggles with food and tells how faith ultimately reshaped her life, giving her true freedom from her food addiction. More than a mere testimony, this book is a motivational tool that will put you on the right track and keep you there. Includes 16-page black and white photo insert."

*Thanks to Darlene Schacht for donating the book to our group!

If you were the lucky winner to win the copy at our MOPS meeting...there is still a chance for you to win one~ Laura has another copy to giveaway on her blog...and a great review of the book! Click here to jump to her blog and enter to win! Good Luck!

Twin Creek Movie Theater in Bellevue
Movies are $2. Showtimes are Saturday at 10 and Sunday at 11.

Feb. 12-13 Nanny McFee Returns
Feb 19-20 Alpha and Omega
Feb 26-27 Cats and Dogs Revenge of Kitty Galore
March 5-6 Legend of Guardians
March 12-13 Megamind
March 19-20 Yogi Bear

Click here for more info

Welcome baby Jackson

Mark and Misty welcomed Jackson Thomas into their family in January. Jackson weighed in at 8 lbs and was 19 3/4 inches. Congrats on your new addition!