'J' is for Jack-O-Lantern

Ha ha right about now, I sure do wish I had started this about a week sooner, but oh well.  At least this way you can play with your Jack-o-lanterns for another week...right!?

This week we will cover:
The letter 'J'
'J' is for Jack-o-lantern
The color Orange
The Number 10
Hexagons
More and Less

Monday:  The Letter 'J'
-color a Letter 'J' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, this and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'J' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Orange construction paper and Hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'J' memory cards (one with the Letter 'J' on it, and the other with a Jack-o-lantern on it)
-go through the Letter 'J' section of starfall
-go jogging for J's (go on a jog through your neighborhood and look for things that begin with the letter 'J' like jeeps, jump ropes, etc)
-'J's' in a jar game (cut out 10 pictures of things that begin with the letter 'J' from magazines.  Glue them to pieces of construction paper so that only the side with the 'J' item on it can be seen.  Place the letter 'J' pictures in a jar and fill the jar with rice or beans--anything to cover the pictures.  Leave about two inches of head room in the jar.  Have you kiddo shake the jar and try to find all the letter 'J' pictures)
-sing your ABC's


Tuesday:  'J' is for Jack-o-lantern
-color a Jack-o-lantern coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this.
-glue your Jack-o-lantern coloring page to a piece of Orange construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a paper plate Jack-o-lantern (use washable paint to paint a paper plate orange.  Cut out eyes, a nose, and a mouth for a Jack-o-lantern face.  Let your kiddo decorate their "Jack-o-lantern")
-Make a Jack-o-lantern "stained glass" picture (use crayons to color a Jack-o-lantern on a plain white piece of printer paper--not construction paper.  After your picture is finished, use a cotton ball to rub baby oil (cooking oil would probably work just fine too) all over your picture.  The oil will make the paper transparent and the crayon will look sort of like stained glass!  Just be sure to do this on a table or surface that you can wipe clean after you are done!  Hang your Jack-o-lantern stained glass in a window to enjoy)
-sing this fun pumpkin song:


I'm a Little Pumpkin
~ adapted by E. Lassiter
Tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" 

I'm a little pumpkin,
orange and round.
I grow on a vine from
a seed in the ground.
When I get all grown up,
give me a face.
Put me outside,
in a very safe place. 

Wednesday:  Fun Day
-we are going to have a Fall Fun Day today!  We will go on a walk and look for any Jack-o-lanterns still lurking in our neighborhood.  We will collect some pretty fall leaves in all different colors.  And we'll probably enjoy a picnic in a local park too.
-Whatever you do, just have fun!!  :0)  And remember to do fun 'J' things like Jump in some leaves, Jog down the street, and sing a Joyful song or two! 

Thursday:  The Number 10
-color a Number 10 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the number 10 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Orange construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of number 10 memory cards (one with the number 10 on it, and the other with 10 stickers on it)
-hand-print art (get out a piece of construction paper and some colored paint.  Help your kiddo dip their hands in the paint and put two hand-prints next to each other on your piece of construction paper.  After the hand-prints dry, count the fingers.  You can even write numbers above each finger as you count them.)  
-sing 10 Little Indians
-review More and Less--talk about each one and what they mean
-play the More and Less candy game (Here's a fun way to use some of that leftover Halloween candy!  Get several jars or clear bowls.  Put different amounts of candy in each one.  Show your kiddo two jars at a time and have them tell you which one has more and which one has less)

Friday:  The color Orange
-watch this
-go on an Orange scavenger hunt (look around your house or yard for things that are Orange)
-make Orange Play Dough (divide the play dough recipe in half.  Use red food coloring in half of the recipe, and yellow food coloring in the other half.  Once the play dough cools, mix the two colors together and watch them turn into Orange!  You can also do this with paint, or icing, whatever floats your boat!)
-eat a fun orange snack (you can drink Orange Juice, and eat something like carrots, goldfish, peaches, cantaloupe, cheddar cheese, orange jello, orange bell pepper slices, macaroni and cheese etc)

Just as a side note, this will be the last week that we make number memory cards.  I don't know about you, but I don't think I could fit many more stickers on our cards!  You can continue them if you would like to, but the number memory cards won't be included in my weekly lesson plans.  And be sure to play your memory game every now and then...they really are great for review purposes!  


I hope you had fun learning the Letter 'J' with us!!  If you have missed a previous week, you can find it here.  Please check back next Sunday for 'K' is for Kite!  

What I've Been Up To This Week

I have been working like a fiend to get our living room all finished up this week.  Ha ha it will be really nice to have one room in our house that is completely done!  One room where I can sit and not look around and see the fifty million renovation projects that I "should" be working on instead of sitting on my rear.  Here are a few pictures to give you a fun preview of the living room:

New Curtains:

Fun Paint Color:

(although it looks much brighter in this picture than it actually is.  It is more of a muted turquoise)

Recovered Chairs:

Funky Throw Pillows

(with some burlap mixed in...I have been in LOVE with the texture of burlap lately)

Round Throw Pillow:

(my Grandma had these awesome round throw pillows on her sofa, and this is my novice attempt at making one.  Ha ha I'll do better next time!)

I am also participating in 3 Four and Under's Blog Hop today!  I have never done one of these, but she always has such fun ideas that I thought I would give it a try!  So be sure to click over to her site and take a look around!

Taco Seasoning Spice Blend

Several years ago, I started cooking the ground beef for tacos and realized that I did not have one of those lovely little spice packets to season it with.  Oops! 

I did a quick google search and found a recipe very similar to this one.  I realized how much less expensive it was to make my own spice blend, and it was SO great to be able to customize it to our tastes!  I haven't bought one of those little spice packets since! 

I make up a batch of this and keep it in a jar in my spice rack.  Then whenever I go to make tacos, or any sort of Mexican food, I can add as little or as much of this as I need.  We are spice weenies, so if you prefer spicier foods, add in a couple of teaspoons of red pepper flakes, or ground red pepper.   

Ingredients:

6 Teaspoons of Onion Powder (or you can omit this and just cook with fresh onions instead)

4 Teaspoons of Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano

3 to 4 Teaspoons of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Cornstarch

2 to 3 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder

2 Teaspoons of ground Cumin

Directions:

Pour all contents into a jar or Tupperware dish with a tight fitting lid.  Shake well.  I use about 1/4 of this mix when I make tacos, so I would say that this recipe is equivalent to four of those little packets that you buy in the store.  Before you use the spice blend, just give the jar a little shake to make sure that the spices are still well mixed, and you are ready to go.  I put mine in a jar with a shaker lid, so I just shake on as much as I need. 

Enjoy! 

I am linking up to Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party today!  Be sure to go check out her blog for some wonderful ideas!!

'I' is for Ice Cream

Whew, I have to admit that I am all helicoptered out after last week.  But I hope you had lots of fun learning the letter 'H!'   Jay and I will actually be taking a break this week, but I wanted to go ahead and get the lesson plan up for everyone else.  We will either play catch up and do two weeks in one, or we'll just stay a week behind, both of which will work out fine!  And if you and your kiddo would like to take a week off, you can do that too.  :0)

This week we will cover:
The letter 'I'
'I' is for Ice cream
The color Orange
The number 9
Hexagons
More and Less

Monday:  The Letter 'I'
-color a Letter 'I' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'I' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of orange coloring paper and hang it on the wall
-go through the Letter 'I' section of starfall
-make a set of Letter 'I' memory cards (one with the Letter 'I' on it, and the other with a picture of Ice cream on it)
-play 'I' Spy the Letter 'I' (look in books, magazines, or around the house for the Letter 'I')
-sing your ABC's

Tuesday:  'I' is for Ice Cream
-color an Ice Cream coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of orange construction paper and hang it on the wall
-Play Dough Ice Cream Parlor (roll play dough into balls and put them into a plastic container.  Let your kiddo use your ice cream scoop to scoop out the "ice cream."  Use your play dough to make all sorts of ice cream concoctions like, ice cream cones, sundaes, banana splits, etc)
-talk about ice cream (What is it?  How is it made?  What is your favorite flavor? )
-make ice cream (if you have an ice cream maker, use that, or try this fun coffee can method.  You can use tupperware dishes instead of the coffee cans, and I have even heard of some people using ziploc bags.)
-work this fun online Ice Cream puzzle 
-sing this Letter 'I' song

Wednesday:  Ice Cream Day
-go to your favorite local Ice Cream store and enjoy some yummy Ice Cream!  (We have a store by us that is train themed, so I can't wait to take Jay there!!  :0) )

Thursday:  the Number 9
-color a Number 9 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 9 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of orange construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Number 9 memory cards (one with the Number 9 on it, and the other with 9 stickers on it)
-9 flavors of Ice Cream (use construction paper to make an ice cream cone with 9 flavors (aka colors) of Ice Cream on it.  You can even use glitter to add "sprinkles" to it!)
-do this cute connect the dots worksheet
-talk about More verses Less (Use cars, or blocks, or something concrete for your examples.  Show your kiddo two groups of items and talk about which group has more in it, and which group has less in it.  Take away a few of the items from the group that has more...now which of your two groups has more?  etc)   

Friday:  Hexagons
-color a Hexagon coloring page
-while coloring, watch this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Hexagon with their finger and count the sides of the Hexagon
-glue your coloring page to a piece of orange construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Hexagon memory cards (they should both have Hexagons on them)
-talk about Hexagons (they look kind of like Octagons, but they have fewer sides...this is a great opportunity to talk about More verses Less again)
-use pipe cleaners to make a Hexagon
-do this More verses Less worksheet
-play this online More verses Less game

I hope you guys have fun this week!! If you have missed a previous week, you can find it here, and be sure to check back next week for 'J' is for Jack-O-Lantern!

English Muffin Bread

I tried this recipe today, and I have to say that I am quite impressed!  English muffins are getting more and more expensive to buy, but I really love the texture and flavor of them.  Plus, they are great to make little mini pizzas or sandwiches on.  So when I saw this recipe, I had to give it a try.

Ingredients:
6 cups flour
2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
cornmeal

Directions
Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt and soda in a large bowl.
Heat together milk and water until very warm (120 - 130 degrees).
Add dry ingredients to milk mixture and beat well.
Spoon into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal.
Sprinkle cornmeal on top.
Cover and let stand in warm place for 45 minutes.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

The texture is a little bit more dense than the muffins I usually buy in the store, but it was still pretty darn good.  Jay and I tried it warm right out of the oven.  :0)

Easy $4 Bathroom Curtain

Let me begin by saying that I have my camera back!!!  Woo Hoo!!  :0)  I made this curtain earlier this week, before we got the camera back, so I did my best to recreate the process with another piece of fabric.  

I am so pleased with how this turned out, and it was SO easy!  But I also have to confess that I am a total novice when it comes to sewing.  So, if you are new to sewing, this would be a wonderful project to try!  

Supplies:
curtain rod
sewing machine
thread
fabric (I used two yards of white muslin that was on sale for 99 cents a yard!)
ribbon (I used two spools of ribbon that were a dollar each)
fabric glue


Step one:
Measure your window and figure out how much fabric you will need.  To calculate the length of fabric you need, multiply the length of your window by 2.5.  To calculate the width of fabric you will need, multiply the width of your window by 1.5.  

Step two:
Choose a fabric for your curtain.  Be sure not to pick anything with a pattern that has to face a specific direction--it won't work with this design.  I wanted a basic white curtain, so choosing my fabric was really easy!

Step three:
Hem the sides of your fabric so that the fabric is the correct width for your window.  You should have enough fabric to make a curtain that is about 1.5 times the size of your window.  I didn't want t lot of ruffles in my curtain, so I actually hemmed my fabric so that it was 1.3 times width of my window.  These seams are easy to do, just do one long straight seam along each side of your fabric.  My seams were about an inch wide.

    

Step four:
Fold your fabric in half crosswise.  You should have the two seams you just sewed on either side of the fabric.  The top of the fabric should be the fold, and the bottom of the fabric should be the open ends. 

Step five:
Create the tiered look of the curtain by folding the top of your fabric down to a length that you like.  Make sure that you are NOT folding the un-hemmed ends of your fabric down, but are folding the folded top edge down to create the tier.  Your un-hemmed edges should be at the bottom of your curtain panel.   

Step six:
Sew a pocket for your curtain rod at the top of the curtain.  This is easily done by sewing one seam  across the top of the curtain.  To determine how much room your curtain rod needs, measure around the widest point of the rod and add about half an inch.  Then divide that total by two.  This will tell you how far from the top edge of your curtain to place your seam.  I used a little tension rod, so I didn't have to have a very large pocket.  I think my seam was about an inch and a half from the top.

 
Step seven:
Hem the bottom edges of your curtain.  To figure out what length I needed to hem my edges to, I actually hung the curtain in my window, and pinned it in place.  Then I just hemmed each of the two pieces of fabric.

Step eight:
Glue on your ribbon.  Yep, that's right...glue it on.  I am sure that you could sew it on too, but that was just way more than I wanted to tackle at the moment.  :0)

Here's one more look at my finished curtain:

So there you have it, my $4 curtain.  It'll do in a pinch, and I love that if I ever when I get the urge to redecorate my bathroom I can easily sew up another curtain with whatever fabric is currently speaking to my soul!  Ha ha and yes...fabric does speak to my soul. 
 
 

Pumpkin Patch 2010

We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend, and, as always, we had a blast!  They had gotten a shipment of pretty large pumpkins in, and they were all so awesome!  The weather cooperated, and it was a perfectly gorgeous fall day.  :0)

(It killed me not to have our camera...but we tried to make do with our cell phones.  So please excuse the crummy picture quality!)  

One of their new features this year was a big wooden moose that greets you as you drive in:  

They have tons of wooden cutouts scattered all over the place, and Jay thought they were fantastic!

Here he is doing his Kung Fu Panda Move:

 Can you believe he is over three feet tall!? 

Ha ha and in this picture, he is actually talking to the bears:

After Jay made it through most of the cut outs, we went out into the actual pumpkin patch area to pick out our pumpkins.  We let Jay choose all of our pumpkins this year, and I think he did an excellent job! 

Here is Jay running around searching for his "perfect pumpkin" 

This is the big pumpkin that Jay picked out.  It is seriously huge!!  I can't wait to pick out what we are going to carve on it this year!     

 And this pumpkin was a very close second.  I think Jay liked it because it was pretty tall!

They have this adorable little wooden house made of shelves lined with pumpkins.  I should have gotten a better picture of it, because it is so neat!!  Anywho, this is the medium sized pumpkin that Jay chose:

They also had some hay bales stacked up that the kiddos were all sliding on, and Jay thought it was just about the greatest thing EVER!  Ha ha I thought we were never going to get him off of them! 

When Jay had (finally) had his fill of sliding, we picked out our little mini pumpkins and headed home. 

When we got back home, I think we were all pretty worn out, but it was well worth it!!  We always have so much fun out there!  This year I hope we can make it to check out their Christmas tree lot...

  

'H' is for Helicopter

Aren't giraffes cute!?  I hope you guys had fun learning about them and learning the letter 'G!'  Be sure to use the emotions chart you made last week to talk about how you feel this week.  :0)

This Week We Will Cover:
The letter 'H'
'H' is for Helicopters
The color White
The number 8
Rectangles
Emotions

Monday:  The letter 'H'
-color a letter 'H' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the letter 'H' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-go through the letter 'H' section of starfall
-make a set of letter 'H' memory cards (one with the letter 'H' on it, and the other with a picture of a helicopter on it)
-talk about the letter 'H' and the sounds it can make
-do this letter 'H' worksheet
-make a hand print letter 'H' (trace your kiddos hands and cut them out.  Cut out a letter 'H' from construction paper and glue the hands to it)
-sing your ABC's

Tuesday:  'H' is for Helicopter
-color a Helicopter coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-talk about helicopters and what they do (rescue people, transport things, carry things, etc)
-pretend to be helicopters (hold your arms out and run around your house or yard making helicopter noises.  You can even stop and pretend to rescue people)
-work this fun online Helicopter Puzzle
-make this cute Helicopter toy (but use a hot glue gun if you have one--the regular glue would take forever to dry!)

Wednesday:  Fun Day
-we are going to go to a park close to a local Helicopter manufacturing plant to watch helicopters fly, but you can:
     watch a movie with Helicopters in it
     go to a park and pretend to be helicopters flying around
     go on a letter 'H' scavenger hunt (look for things that start with the letter 'H' like hand,
     head,house, horse, hay, Halloween, etc)
-Play the How am I Feeling Game (make different faces and have your kiddo decide what emotion you are expressing)   

Thursday:  The Number 8
-color a number 8 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the number 8 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of number 8 memory cards (one with the number 8 on it, and the other with 8 stickers on it)
-Domino Search (look through a set of dominoes for the dominoes that have eight dots on them, the double 4, the 6 and 2, the 5 and 3 etc.  While you have the dominoes out, make a letter 'H' out of them, and you can even make an 8 too!)
-make a number 8 musical shaker (decorate a jar, and Easter egg, or some other small container.  Fill it with 8 beans or pieces of pasta.  Glue it closed and shake away.  Jay loves this Shaky Egg song.)

Friday:  The Color White
-talk about the color white
-look around your house or yard for things that are white (milk, paper, marshmallows, sheets, bathtub, etc)
-make a salt painting (mix salt into white paint. Use a paint brush to paint it onto black construction paper. You can paint a lamb, trace your hand, try to draw a helicopter etc. When the paint dries it has a fun texture from the salt and sometimes it will even kind of sparkle)
-read a book about emotions like this one

I hope you have fun this week learning the letter 'H!'  If you have missed a previous week, you can find it here, or just click on the ABC Lessons tab from the top of my blog.  Next week, we will learn 'I' is for Ice Cream!!  Yummy!! 

Microwave Popcorn

Let me just begin by saying I absolutely LOVE popcorn!  Jay and I, in all seriousness, eat it several times a week.  But with an active two year old, dragging out an air popper was just too much hassle, so we started using microwave popcorn instead.  But microwave popcorn is far from healthy, and is full of all sorts of additives and extra fat...all of which we could definitely do without!  So what's a busy momma to do!? 
Make your own microwave popcorn!!  It is easier than you'd think, and less expensive than the store bought stuff!  I also love being able to make custom flavors like parmesan or cajun popcorn.

Here's what you need:
Popcorn kernals
salt
oil or butter
brown paper lunch bag

 
Here's what you do:
Put popcorn kernals into the paper lunch bag.  I just eyeball it, but I use from 1/8 to 1/4 cup for Jay and I.  Salt the kernals to taste.  Put a small amount, about 1/2 a teaspoon, of olive oil in the bag with the kernals and shake it up to coat all of the kernals.  (You can also use butter.  Just cut it into smaller pieces and don't just use one big ole clump of butter)  If you want to add parmesan cheese or another seasoning, add it to the bag.  We use about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, but you can add more of less to suit your taste.

Place the bag on a microwave safe plate and put it into the microwave.  Ours takes about three minutes to pop, but yours may take more or less time depending on your microwave.  When the popping slows down and there are several seconds between pops, your popcorn is done. 

Remove it from the microwave and let it cool for a few seconds.  Taste the popcorn and add salt if needed.  I love the fact that the paper bag soaks up any excess oil or butter so your popcorn is never soggy or gross from it.  I serve ours in a really great vintage bowl from my Grandma's house.  :0)

If you love popcorn, try this, you won't be disappointed!  It makes afternoon snacks or movie nights extra special. 

Watch Out For Those Sugar Bugs!!

When Jay was smaller, he would let me brush his teeth without any problems, but as he has gotten older, tooth brushing time has become more and more of a chore.  And it is something that I really worry (almost obsessively) about because Jay looks SO much like his Papa...and his Papa has absolutely horrible teeth.     

I was talking to a woman at church about the situation, she has a granddaughter about Jay's age, and I always love to get her advice on things.  She worked in a destists office for many years, and he always played the "Sugar Bug" game with children that came in.

He would tell his patients that whenever they ate sweet things, yucky ole sugar bugs would get into their mouths.  These sugar bugs are serious business...they can make your teeth hurt!  And we brush and floss our teeth to get them out.

I thought this sounded like something right up Jay's alley, so we gave it a try.  Here's our version of the sugar bug game:

After we eat breakfast, and dinner, we hurry to the bathroom to brush all the sugar bugs out of our mouths.  I make it a game by having him check my mouth for yucky ole sugar bugs, and then he lets me check his mouth.  I tell Jay to watch how I brush my teeth so that he can be sure to brush the same way and we can both get all of our sugar bugs out.  Then after we finish brushing, we spit our toothpaste out into the sink.  My toothpaste is kind of an aqua color and Jay's toothpaste is a yellow color, so I point at both colors and say "oh my goodness Jay...look at those sugar bugs we just spit out!  Do you see the yellow one right there..and that big green one over there!?"  Then we floss our teeth to make sure none of the sneaky little sugar bugs are hiding between them.  I bought some of those flosser stick things at the pharmacy, and they work great for this purpose.  I have him watch me floss so he can do the same thing.  And then we both check each others mouths to make sure we got all the sugar bugs out.     

We have been doing this for several weeks now, and it really WORKS!  There are no more screaming tantrums, and I no longer have to try to force Jay to let me check his teeth to make sure they are clean.  Sometimes he will even run to the bathroom after lunch or a snack to brush his teeth.  And he is much better at actually brushing his teeth too.   Watchig me has taught him how to move his toothbrush better and he brushes for longer because he is brushing for the same amount of time that I do.  Flossing his teeth had become impossible, but now he is flossing twice a day!!  Woo Hoo! 

So if you have a stubborn toddler, try the Sugar Bug game!!  It just might make toothbrushing time a little easier for you too!

'G' is for Giraffe

After last week's sirens and flashing lights, I bet that you're more than ready for something quiet!!  Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief...because this week is all about Giraffes.

This Week We Will Cover:
The letter 'G'
'G' is for Giraffes
The color White
The Number 7
Rectangles
Emotions


Monday:  The letter 'G'
-color a letter 'G' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the letter 'G' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of letter 'G' memory cards (one with a letter 'G' on it, and the other with a picture of a Giraffe on it)
-go through the letter 'G' section of starfall
-Glitter 'G' craft (cut a letter 'G' shape out of cardboard.  Use a paintbrush to paint white glue all over the letter 'G.'  Sprinkle glitter all over the letter 'G.'  Your kiddo will have the most fun if your glitter is in some sort of shaker, so use an old spice bottle or just buy glitter that comes with a shaker lid!)  
-talk about the letter 'G' and the sounds it makes
-make this fun little 'G' book
-sing your ABC's

Tuesday:  'G' is for Giraffe
-color a giraffe coloring page
-while coloring, watch this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-talk about giraffes with the fun facts here
-work this fun online Giraffe puzzle
-read this fun online book, Georgina the Giraffe
-make a giraffe mask (the directions say to use foam, but you can just use construction paper)
-read a book with giraffes in it (like a zoo or Noah's Ark book)

Wednesday:  Fun Day
Here are a few ideas for today:
-go to the zoo to check out Giraffes in person
-go to a drive through animal refuge where you can feed Giraffes from your car
-take a trip to the Grocery store to shop for things that start with 'G' (grapes, green beans, Gatorade, gummy bears, etc)
-wear your Giraffe mask and go play outside in the Green Grass.  You can even have a picnic while you're out there!
-make an emotions chart (write "Today I Feel" at the top of a piece of construction paper.  Underneath the title, draw smiley faces with different emotions--happy, sad, sleepy, angry, scared, etc.  Talk about the emotions and about what might make you feel them)

Thursday:  The Number 7
-color a Number 7 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, this, and this
-Have your kiddo trace the Number 7 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Number 7 memory cards (one with the Number 7 on it, and the other with seven stickers on it)
-play the count to 7 game (use just the number cards 1-7 from your memory card set.  Lay the number cards out on the floor randomly--not in order.  Work with your kiddo to arrange them in order from 1 to 7)
-Talk about the 7 days of the week.  Count the days on a calendar
-read a counting book and spend extra time on the Number 7
-point out how you are feeling on the Emotions Chart you made yesterday
-sing If You're Happy and You Know it


Friday:  Rectangles
-color a Rectangle coloring page
-while coloring, watch this, and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of white construction paper and hang it on the wall
-talk about Rectangles (the have four sides:  two long and two short)
-go on a scavenger hunt through your house to find things that are rectangles (cereal boxes, dresser drawers, microwaves, doors, beds, telephones, etc)
-find the Rectangles in this fun online game
-color this fun Rectangle worksheet
-make a Feelings Collage (cut faces with different emotions on them out of magazines and glue them to a piece of construction paper.  Talk about different feelings, and point out a face from your collage that shows that emotion)

I hope you had lots of fun learning the letter 'G' this week!  If you have missed any of the previous weeks, you can find them here.  And please check back next Sunday for 'H' is for Helicopter! 

Harvest Bread

I LOVE this bread recipe!!  When the weather turns cooler, this bread is one of the first things I make, and it has become a staple on our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables.  It also freezes very well if you wrap the loaves in foil and then place them in a freezer Ziploc bag.  So you can make them ahead of time and pull them out for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning! 

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (If you don't have whole wheat flour, just use 3 cups of all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups sugar (I typically only use 2 heaping cups of sugar)
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil  (I actually use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce)
1/2 cup water
1 large apple, peeled,cored, and shredded  
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl
Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil and shredded apple in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended
Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened (be sure not to over mix or your bread will have a tough consistency)
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely

To make using three 8 X 4-inch loaf pans: Prepare as above and bake for 60 to 65 minutes
To make using five or six 5 X 3-inch mini-loaf pans: Prepare as above and bake for 55 to 60 minutes
To make using mini muffin pans: Preheat oven to 340 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes

**Cooking times will vary by oven, so check about 10 minutes before the time is up just to make sure that your oven doesn't cook differently than mine**

I really love the flavor that whole wheat flour adds to this bread, so if you have any definitely try it!  Enjoy! 

Trash to Treasure

The previous home owner left a lot of things in our house when we bought it--which is a really good thing in my book!  I have had so much fun going through the things in the house...and I haven't even gotten to the garage or storage shed yet.  The sun room painting room had this poor coffee table in it:

I am not sure what you would call this paint technique...but it was pretty terrible! 

The Hubbs thought we should just toss it!  My original plan was to paint it and use it as a coffee table in the sun room--if we ever stop using it to as our painting room.  But after I painted it, it looks like a completely different table!  I tried using it in our living room, but the style is just way too modern and sleek for us.  So I am going to sell it on craigslist, but I just had to share it with you guys first:

(Again, please excuse the crummy pictures, I had to take them with my cellphone)

I can't believe how much better it looks!  I love the chrome spray paint I used on the legs, and the semi gloss black paint gives it such a nice sheen.  These pictures just don't do it justice!  And the best part is that it did not cost me one single penny to do!!  I used leftover paint from other projects.  :0)  Woohoo!!

I am participating in Transformation Thursdays over at The Shabby Chic Cottage, so be sure to go check it out!  There are SO many awesome project ideas...