Kids Song: Learning routine

With the kids, we are always working on establishing an order to things. Eat dinner, ask to be excused, put plate away, wash hands...  Or get dressed, make bed, jammies away... Or go potty, wipe, flush, wash. Etc. There are always things. I'm trying to get it to be such a solid routine that I don't have to say it every single time, WITHOUT creating another chart.  So, knowing me, I came up with a SONG!!  =)

Tune: M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E song

Morning routine:

I get all dressed and make my bed and put my clothes away.

That's the way

I start my day.

And then I brush my hair and my teeth. 

By myself! 

Mealtime routine:

I eat my food, I say thank you, and then I be excused.

I take my plate

And put it away.

And then I wash my hands and my face.

By myself!

Potty routine:

I wipe my bum and flush the toilet

Then I wash my hands.

I get all clean 

to wash the germs

That's the way we go potty every day.

By myself!

This also encourages a child's independence as they learn to do more and more things by themselves every day!

While the pizza cooks...

...I like to let the kids color on the pizza cardboard, drawing their own toppings, or just scribbling however they want.  They get excited about it every time and it sure passes the time quickly and they play with their "pizza" for the rest of the day!

Travel games for little ones

This is a much delayed post, but I did want to share some of the things I prepared for the kids to do while in the car for our 44-hr round trip drive to the beach this summer!  So here are some fun ideas.  We had so much fun doing these things we hardly got to our movies that we'd brought!

1. Print a map for your kids to follow.  If it's a short enough trip I draw it myself and add things to it I know they'll see along the way, also including the road signs we'll be looking for.  But for this long trip, I just printed some Google Maps marking our journey, one showing the entire trip, and then three other maps showing the journey for each day.  (Note, I did marker along the state lines so it was easier to see.) Along the way we'd draw on the map what kind of terrain we were seeing.  Lots of trees in Missouri, yellow flowers in Illinois, red soil in Kentucky, mountains and trees in Tennessee and North Carolina.

2. License Plate Game. We didn't do this ALL the time, but when we did it was fun. We'd look for different states on license plates, then color that state on this U.S. map. Kids also colored in the water and everything. Then each time we found a new state we'd read a flash card about it (I happened to have a set of State flash cards I'd found at Target dollar bin). Pennsylvania has the chocolate factory, Indiana has the big race car track, Alabama has a rocket museum, etc. We'd occasionally review all the states we'd learned about so far. Another idea would be to print worksheets of different state flags and have the kids color them as you drive through each state.

3. BINGO cards. I've already blogged about these before, I think here. The pictures on our cards mostly applied to things we see here in the midwest, but I'm sure you could play anywhere.

4. Graph the colors of semi-trucks.  The kids color in the squares, or just mark them somehow with an X or scribble, when they see a truck of each color. Older kids can make sets of 5 tally marks in each square instead. White was by far the most common color of semi-truck. Then ask kids questions like Which color has the most? Which color has the least? Which colors are the same as each other?

5. ABC game. I made a list of the ABCs in order and we'd have to find the letters in order until we got to the end, although the kids didn't quite make it the end before losing interest because we got stuck on a certain letter.  You can do the same with numbers.

Now for other car entertainment ideas...

6. Books on CD. A friend of mine shared with us The Mouse Cookie CD and the kids LOVED it and still ask for it today just driving to and from town! The CD includes four different mouse cookie-type stories and 2 songs to go with each, one that's just a song, and one song that's more interactive.

7. Kids songs on CD. When we discovered that we could put music and story CDs in the car's DVD player and they could listen with headphones we were GOLDEN!  They'd just sit and listen for a long time, singing along not-so-quietly!  =)

as you can see from this pic, I also let Hannah and Eli switch seats occasionally just to give variety since the middle seat has the best view, and is the seat next to Carter. *E & H are close enough in size that the only buckle adjustment is strap tightness.

8. Read aloud books.  We just had short library books but just recently we've started reading aloud chapter books (Magic Tree House series) and that would've been great for that trip! The kids could also look at books quietly to themselves too.

9. Activity packets. For our MOPS kids I make packets of activities that include mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring pages, counting or matching worksheets, and tracing.  I have packets for different seasons, and I had several left over so I brought those along on our vacation.  Driving in the car was a perfect time for activities like that! And as you can see, there's plenty of blank space for free drawing too...

10. ipod and DS games. I had a DS that we've since found some kid games for so they could use it too. We have Dora birthday game, Let's Draw, and SmartKids games. One child could play games on the ipod and one child could play on the DS for a certain amount of time and then they could switch. We mostly used this as a quiet time activity for when Carter needed to nap in the morning.

11. Rhyming game. As we drove by things one person would pick a word, and everyone else had to come up with other words that rhymed with it.  ie We see a traffic light, and someone says LIGHT. Then others can say BRIGHT, NIGHT, SIGHT, FLIGHT, etc.

*12. Guess the gas price. This one is more geared to older kids, I guess, as my kids (ie, Eli, since I knew Hannah was too young) got upset when he didn't win and so we stopped playing altogether. Every time we stopped for gas, we'd each guess how much it was going to cost. Whoever was the closest got a jelly bean. (still have candy from Easter I was trying to use up)

THEN after ALL that if we still needed some quiet time from the kids we'd do a movie.  On our long driving day we didn't even get to a movie at all!!  We all had so much fun and I really enjoyed the interactive learning experience with the kids!

I used a folder with the three hole attachments to store all of our papers and maps and driving directions inside page-protector sleeves. I used a large shoe-box size box to keep our activity packets, markers, coloring books, flash cards, and games etc. I was more than pleased at how the long hours in the car went and afterward felt excited about the possibility of taking MORE driving trips like that!

FREE DOWNLOAD:
ABC/Color Graphing
BINGO Card 1, BINGO Card 2, BINGO Card 3
U.S. Map
Activity Packets: Autumn Theme, Dinosaur Theme, Apple Theme, Spring Theme

Creativity.

How's that for a very NOT-creative title for a creativity post?  LOL  I happened upon this piece of boxing down in the basement the other day and thought it would be fun to let Eli paint it.  I thought it looked like a little city, but as Eli was painting it he was calling it a castle.  So a castle it was!  We added some flags and called it good.  Now if I were REALLY creative, we could've added more STUFF, but I'm just not that good.  So here's our castle.  (The picture's a little bad, I could NOT get it to be in focus!!) But I encourage you, tap into your inner creativity (it's there, trust me! we were ALL children once!) and help your child create something FUN!

New link: Kids Can Have Fun

I just found a new website this morning that I'm quickly falling in love with as I continue to browse around.  It's filled with tons of fun printables from motivational charts (kind of like a chore chart), All About Me booklets, Cut and Paste activities (cutting pizza toppings, ice cream cones, spring planting supplies, and tons more), beginner drawing pages, craft ideas, puzzles, printable games (there's a balloons n slides version of Chutes and Ladders you can just PRINT off! looks super cute) and tons more.  So go check it out, Kids Can Have Fun.

Kids Card Holder

My friend Laura shared this idea on FB after she read it in some magazine or something, and it was such a great idea I tried it the next week.  And it worked perfectly!

Check it out... a card holder for kids since their little hands can't hold all those cards! Eli loves to play Uno so this works perfectly!

Directions: Cut off the bottom half of your egg carton.  Then cut a slit in each cup.  

Eli was able to slide the cards in there himself.  His cards stayed private from the rest of us and made it actually feel like a real game for once where he could play completely on his own!

He's since painted his carton, so we'll see if the paint flakes off on the cards or if we need to save another one and remake it.

Cards for Pattern Blocks

Anyone else have these fun pattern blocks?  Well, I had this great idea this week that maybe I could find free printable cards.  And wu-lah!  A whole bunch!  Cute, simple ones.  Check 'em out! You can also find more here!

I've printed a bunch and will then use my self-laminating paper to make them more durable.  Yippee!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Christmas Version)

I made this up this morning.  Please excuse my voice, it's really embarrassing to hear myself sing, but there's no other way for you to hear how the words fit with the music.  So here it is...

Twinkle twinkle little star

Wise men trav'ling from afar

Following the star so bright

Walking 'cross the land all night

Baby Jesus there you are

What a wonder that You are.

A few new ideas

Just some things the kids have been loving lately that I thought we'd share.  It's always fun to get some new play ideas, so if you have any, do share!

1. Give your kids gift bags.  I won a small present at my SIL's baby shower a couple weeks ago and when Hannah saw the bag (which was purple, pink, and white, all her FAVORITE colors) she asked immediately if it was hers!  So I said sure and she enjoyed carrying it around and filling it with things.  So I went to the basement where we keep dozens of old gift bags and found a shiny blue one for Eli cuz I knew he'd want to do the same.  They loved carrying them around, and giving "presents" and all sorts of things!  Something so simple brought so much delight.

2. Give your children a kids shoe box.  They're just their size.  Like the gift bags, they loved to fill them with "treasures", "presents", and it made a great pink "lunchbox" for our picnic yesterday!

3. A stick with string tied to it makes a great "fishing pole"!  A few weeks ago the kids played forever on our porch with their "fishing poles" dangling over the edge.  It was so cute!  But of course, no pictures.  =(

What have your kids been into lately??

Pumpkin Painting

Just a peek at what the kids did this week...

 

Jesus-'O-Lantern

As I was browsing kids lesson ideas for our upcoming MOPS meeting, I came across this great gospel demonstration using a pumpkin:

A pumpkin is round and shiny on the outside, and its skin is tough and hard to puncture. It looks perfect and wonderful. Sometimes we like to pretend we're all wonderful and perfect. (Read aloud Isaiah 66:2.)

The slimy stuff inside the pumpkin reminds me of our sins -- the things we need to confess and say, "I'm sorry, God, for..." When we ask God to forgive us for all the wrong things we've said, done, or thought, he forgives our sins. (Read aloud Isaiah 43:25.)

As we scrape all the slimy stringy stuff away, the pumpkin becomes clean inside. Jesus cleans our hearts, too, when we confess our sins. (Read aloud Psalm 103:12.)

Next we can begin to carve our designs in the pumpkins. Let's carve designs that can remind us of God, such as a heart, cross, fish, or butterfly. As we carve, the pumpkin slowly transforms into something new. We change too when God works in our lives. (Read aloud 2 Corinthians 3:18.)

Finally, we can put the candle inside the pumpkin. When we light the candle, what happens? (Read aloud 2 Corinthians 4:6.)

When we have Jesus in our lives, it's like having his candle inside us. We shine the light of Jesus so others can see and know him. (Read aloud Matthew 5:16 and John 12:46.)

We don't have the means to do this at the church, but it would be a great one to do with our kids here at home after we make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

Responsibility Chart --Revised

So I made a responsibility chart for the kids awhile ago, things they need to without me telling them to (see this post) but they still were just not motivated, not remembering to do their stuff without me harping on them all day.  But I came up with another idea, and this time it seems to be working!  I printed the chart but this time I put that DIY laminating paper on it (and magnets stuck on the back) so we could reuse it instead of reprinting every week.  Instead of using stickers I'd put check-marks on it with dry erase marker (which does come off if you scrub hard enough with Windex &paper towel).  Well, Hannah wanted in on it too.  So I used red marks for Hannah and blue marks for Eli.  Then I decided to make it a contest.  Whoever has the most check-marks at the end of the day gets two marshmallows, and if you helped at all during the day you get one marshmallow.  They've been doing great with their responsibilities (though still not a full chart, but I'm still pleased).  And when one remembers to do their chores, I can say loudly, "Oh look!  Eli remembered to put his cup in the fridge!!" And then Hannah will usually follow.  Or Hannah's the first one to do it and Eli will follow.  The great thing about siblings!

So here's the new chart...

You know you eat out too much when...

...a song on the radio says "angels on a subway" and your child shouts from the backseat "SUBWAY!"

...you're looking at a book with your toddler. you point to a cherry and ask her what it is, and she replies in a soft, sweet voice, "Cherry, like the limeaid?" {Sonic}

...the radio announces a song by Sonicflood and your children shout, "SONIC!"

...all the time your kids will stick their head out the side of a ladder or the bottom of the piano or the window of something and say, "hamburger and fries please!"


What have you heard your children saying??

Answer Me This: Kids Toothbrushes.

Can someone please answer me, what is with the age ratings on kids' toothbrushes??  I was picking out Eli a new one today because his was all "hairy" (AKA the bristles were really frizzled.  hmm, I like that word, I think I just made it up) and looking at all the brushes on the shelves they all look the same to me.  I select one that I think looks good, then flip it over and it says 5-7 yrs!  So I put it back and kept looking.  There's Stage 1 and Stage 2 and maybe Stage 3 or whatever, but what's the difference in these brushes?  And does it really matter what I use when??

Answer Me This: Kids Movies

Okay peeps, I need some advice. We're leaving for our vacation to Colorado on Friday. Something like a 9 hour drive. I'm actually not too worried about the kids in the car at all, but we probably will do one movie with them in the van along the way and then on the way back. I can pick one Netflix movie to arrive before then but want your suggestions on what they might like. Of course they love Lightning McQueen but it would it be fun to do something different besides that. They get scared at pretty much any PG movie. Is there anything G-rated that they would love?? Besides SHOWS like Thomas n such. Do they even make G-rated movies anymore?? LOL Anyway, what are some of your favorite kid movies??

UPDATE: So I'm browsing Netflix right now and I see that yes, indeed, G-rated movies are still being made. I'm actually surprised at some of the movies rated at that, because I know my kids would still cry at those! Sheesh!

Some movies I'm considering:
The Tale of Despereaux
The Princess and the Frog
The Incredibles
Horton Hears a Who

I dunno, that' all I got so far. What are your ideas/suggestions??

Any guesses?? (update)

Update:

Well, you guys are awesome and/or I'm better at Lego-building than I thought because every single one of you guessed correctly as to the what our creation was! A car wash! =) So now I encourage you, take a break from your chores, and go create something with your kids!

Original post:

It was my goal this week to get down and play with the kids more. And I really have been doing just that. Yesterday Eli and I made this. Any guesses on what we made??

My little secret

To help my kids leave wherever we're at without crying, get in the van and in their seats quickly (Eli's requirement is to be buckled too), without playing around, without climbing into each other's seats, without grabbing books and toys first, I keep a ziplock bag of jelly beans in one of the seat pockets in the van. Whenever they do all of the above, they get a jelly bean. Doesn't matter if it's 8 in the morning or 10 at night, they still get their reward. Speed is something that you can't really discipline for, it's just annoying and you don't always have time to go toddler's pace. But a nice little incentive keeps them moving! And so far, it's been working about 98% of the time! So that's my little secret that I thought I'd share! =)

My new favorite thing

Laptop. Netflix. Instant Play. Veggie Tales....'nuff said.

A lot of the Veggie Tales on there, and they probably have all of them, are Instant Play. Awesome!

Kids Memory Verse Song

I came up with this song in the fall for a MOPS lesson with the kids. We talked about all the things changing around us but how Jesus never changes. This is one of Eli's favorite songs he asks me to sing.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
(tune: Jesus Loves Me)

Jesus loves me this I know
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Even when things start to change,
Jesus will always stay the same.

Hebrews thirteen eight
Hebrews thirteen eight
Hebrews thirteen eight
Jesus will never change.

He'll forgive me every day
He listens every time I pray
He's always with me wherever I go
For the Bible tells me so.

Hebrews thirteen eight
Hebrews thirteen eight
Hebrews thirteen eight
Jesus will never change.

Find more of my Bible verse songs here, here, and here!

Shaving cream lids

...are a collectors item at this house!

Such a wonderful array of colors makes for bathtime fun!