Transforming Christmas Lists

More toys to clutter the play room is exactly what we all need this time of year, right?  No?  Then what gifts do you wrap up to fill your children with wonder for the holidays?

After taking the Playful Learning Spaces Workshop, I totally revamped my children's (and my own) Christmas lists.

When I first started their lists (on Amazon...it makes relatives' lives so much easier) I was just trying to come up with things that were reasonably priced, and made to entertain their age-range.  They don't actually need (or want, honestly) any more toys.  After watching the very first video from the workshop, though, I knew it had to change.  Each following video and lesson gave me great ideas for things that wouldn't just clutter the play room, but add to it in an inspirational and educational way while still sparking the excitement we all love on Christmas morning.

So what sort of things are on the lists now?  Lots and lots of art supplies, made specifically for their ages, along with a few other things that inspire pretend play and outdoor exploration.  I've listed many of my ideas below.

Art Supplies:

• Preschool scissors
• Triangular colored pencils
• Triangular crayons
• Triangular pencils
• Tabletop easel
• Blank sketch pads (these could also be handmade)
• Dry erase markers
• PlayDoh and accessories
• Alphabet stamps
• Window crayons
• Toddler craft kits

Dress-up and Pretend Play:

• Dress-up clothes 
• Role play hats
• Pretend play broom and duster
• Pretend play kitchen accessories
• Felt vegetable garden (handmade or you could probably find it on Etsy)

 Outdoor Exploration

• Explorer kit
• Binoculars
• Magnifying glass
• Bug catching kit
• Umbrella
• Raincoat and galoshes

 Other ideas:

• Toddler instruments
• Chalkboard writing set (easy to make, from Playfullearning.net)
• Memberships to the local zoo, aquarium and children's museum
• Use this link to find a zoo or aquarium near you
• Use this link to find a children's museum near you 

I could go on, but I'll stop here and hope that some things from this list provide inspiration for your lists this holiday!

Playful Learning Spaces

I count myself lucky to be a part of the Playful Learning team and was over the moon at the opportunity to take part on their Playful Learning Spaces workshop this past month.  The experience gave me a whole new perspective on the areas I have designated for the girls and made me completely rethink the Christmas list we were sending out to the family (that's a whole other post!).

My  favorite part is the fact that I am able to revisit the lesson videos and links, as well as the inspiring comments and pictures of the room transformations shared by the other women in the workshop.  Inspiration can continue to be reignited each time I look back on these awesome resources (because we all know that we never have time to do the things we want WHEN we want to do them).  :)

My rooms and spaces are far from done, but I already see the difference these small changes are making in my girls' interactions and in the way they entertain themselves and one another.  Here are a couple "before" photos that I took of our play room on the main floor.  I intentionally left it messy so that the amount of toys available to the girls was captured.

It was both over-stimulating for the girls, and overwhelming for us to take on as a task to clean it up every evening.  It was so jam-packed full of toys that I wasn't even sure where to start with it's transformation.  These suggested blog articles were a HUGE help:

• Child's Play: The Art of Toy Rotation
• Toy Organization: Tackling the Living Room
• Rediscovering Your Child's Space
• Seven Guiding Questions for Creating Playful Spaces
• Child's Play: Organizing One Toy at a Time

As I said, the room makeover is far from complete, and I'd still like to downsize a bit, but I already feel better about the amount of toys I have available for the girls at any one time, as well as the organization, making it easier for them to clean up after themselves.

I hope to continue to share updates as they happen, as well as my daughters' reactions to them.  So far so good!  Their attention spans seem to have tripled with fewer toys in the room.  :)

It's a wonderful, rewarding experience that I just couldn't keep to myself and wanted to pass on in hopes that one of you will find it equally as encouraging.  If you're interested, check it out here:

A New Toy for Free!

The girls woke up this morning to this beautiful sight outside of our sliding door.

We were given a brand new toy to play with that was absolutely free: snow!  As soon as the sun came up we took on the challenge of dressing for the outdoors.  Snow pants, boots, coats, hats, scarves and gloves were donned and 45 minutes later we were out the door.

So what do toddlers do out in the snow?  Simply explore.  Our girls LOVED discovering the fact that they could make footprints wherever they went.  C grinned each time she watched her boot come up and discovered that she had left a mark behind her, and E was all over our yard, looking back every so often to see the new design she had created. 

Of course, there is a natural draw to eat the snow too.  I'm sure it's not for everyone; but as long as it wasn't any other color than white, I let them experience the cold snow melt quickly on their tongues.  Who wouldn't want to savor that feeling again and again?

Once the gloves were saturated, it was time to head back indoors, but we came out right away again after nap time in the afternoon.  Our back yard has a small hill (more of a slight incline, really), so we brought out the sled this time around.  Although they enjoyed the hill, the real kicks came from me simply pulling them around the yard.  :)

Daddy came home just in time for the snow to get warm enough to turn into the perfect packing material for snowman-making.  Though we didn't have any carrots, we made do with some sticks as arms and rocks from our garden to create the eyes, nose and mouth.

Since the snow has already started so early this year, we'd better find ways to enjoy it!  Who knows, maybe Mr. Snowman will get a snow-puppy in the near future.  :)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

...for a birthday party!  Ever since we met Daniel Tiger at the local library's story time a couple of months ago, my oldest daughter has been over-the-moon about him.  So when asked what kind of cake she wanted (upholding the family tradition of special birthday cake creations), she responded with a resounding, "Daniel Tiger!"

Now, my husband will attest to the fact that I get carried away with things a little too often.  When I have an idea I take it and run until the sidewalk ends.  For this party, with the cake as my starting point, I tried to reign myself in a little and I attempted to keep the things I did on the inexpensive side.

The cake was homemade, of course; here's the finished product.  E was able to identify it as Daniel Tiger, so I considered that a success.  :)

For the favors and decorations I went to the PBS website and found all kinds of great printables that made my life so much easier (and cheaper)!  I printed the Daniel Tiger Friends masks on card stock that I already had lying around at home, and Lowe's Home Improvement store provided me with the free paint stirring sticks that I taped to the back to complete the favors.

I didn't do a great job capturing pictures of the decorations I printed from the website, but you can see a few hanging in the pictures below.  I literally spent nothing on the favors and decorations, except whatever the paper and ink cost to print them out.  The balloons I had leftover from last year.

My favorite decoration, though, was the neighborhood trolley I created.  I posted a request for a large box on my neighborhood's Facebook page and luckily someone had just bought a deep-freezer.  It was perfect!  Not only that, but another neighbor had just finished a princess castle party and offered her castle...yes please!  So not only did they have Daniel's trolley to play in, but Prince Wednesday's castle too!  I had to purchase the red and yellow paint, and of course, put a little time into it, but it was so worth it!

With a few balloons blown up, and these two boxes, the kids were completely happy and kept themselves occupied the whole time!

E and her friends had a BLAST and my husband was definitely happy with the final bill.  ;) 

Fun With ABCs

Schools (and even parents!) are getting more and more competitive these days.  Although I want my kids to be successful in school, just like the next mom, I don't want to waste the few years they can stay at home sitting in front of a screen or flash cards so that they can recite their ABCs by the time they hit preschool. 

So how do you get kids to learn without the usual flash card drills, videos, or computer games?  Here are a few ways that I've come up with to incorporate learning the alphabet in fun, playful ways:

1. Sing!  It sounds so simple, but it really works.  I have a Eric Carle print of A-Z animals hanging above my youngest (16-months-old) daughter's changing table.  She can't sing it by herself, but she loves chiming in with me as we're changing her diaper.  I catch her singing to herself once in a while too.  :)
   
   
2. Alphabet blocks - The learning doesn't have to be forced.  Your child is getting exposure to the letters by simply seeing them on each block as they build.  You may say the letter as your child picks up a block, or simply let them experience them on their own.  They're absorbing the shapes of the letters as they play.
   
3. Alphabet books -There are so many out there!  When visiting the library, your local bookstore, or online, just do a quick search.  You'll be amazed at the variety you'll find.  One of my favorite sights is watching my youngest "read" a book to herself.  ABC books are some of her favorites because she feels like she knows the words.
   
   
4. Magnet play - Growing up, my family had alphabet magnets on our refrigerator.  We LOVED playing with them (and still leave messages for one another when we're home visiting).  They're inexpensive and easy to find.  Some of you may have stainless steel refrigerators that aren't magnetic, so where can you put them?  I took my idea for an inexpensive alternative that is easy and fun from this post!
   
5. Matching games -  My mother made this beautiful quilted version for my daughter's 2nd birthday.  There are lots of beautiful panels of fabric available to create something similar, but if you're not a seamstress, there are plenty of quick and easy ideas on Pinterest too.  Check them out here.

For even more alphabet fun, visit No Time for Flash Cards's blog!  She has put together 50 Alphabet Activities For Kids ranging from sensory play and gross motor activities to outdoor ideas and fine motor practice.  The variety will keep the fun and creativity flowing MUCH more than any flash cards!