Not a lot of brain power left this week....

After a long holiday weekend it always feels good to get back to work and back into my daily routine. Yes, I am one of those women! ;) However, it always takes some adjusting for not only me but for the little one too. Therefore, I have already decided while having my morning tea, the theme of this week will be... SIMPLICITY! Yes, doing activities where you don't have to put huge amounts of thought into it. Yet, it is just as fun & exciting as ever for your baby, toddler, or big kid.

I decided to make the cutest little Caterpillar with Thomas. First I will show you our creation and how it turned out, then I will let you know what you need and how we did it. SO BABY FRIENDLY!

HOW ADORABLE! Thomas really enjoyed himself while he sat on my lap and took in all the bright colors and textures of the fuzzy balls.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1. A Clothes Pin
2. 4-5 Fuzzy Balls
3. A glue stick
4. 1 pair google eyes

HOW WE DID IT:

1. We put glue on the top of the clothes pin.
2. Then we picked our colors for the fuzzy balls and glued them on.
3. We glued the google eyes to our front fuzzy ball.

There you have it! The most simple yet fun and colorful activity for your child. This activity is wonderful. Whether you have a small baby or a toddler/big kid it is another opportunity for them to learn their colors, opposites (soft, hard), feel different textures (fuzzy, smooth) and to work on their fine motor skills by gluing the balls to the clothes pin.

If you have a big kid feel free to go bigger than a clothes pin and use a popsicle stick. Also, if your feeling daring and want to go the extra step... glue a magnet to the bottom of the clothes pin and use it as a magnet to put your child's art on the fridge! So many cute and wonderful ideas on how to put this simple, mindless activity to good use.

All of the crafts that you will need for this project can be found at the dollar store!

Do you have any favorite activities that you and your child love to do together? If so, we would love to hear all about it. Feel free to comment and share with everyone your favorite arts and crafts!

-D

Rainy Day Fun!

Are you stuck inside with your baby and big kids on this awful rainy day? Here is a SIMPLE & FUN recipe for some home made Play Dough!

Recipe & Picture found from Pinterest.

RECIPE:

1. 3 Cups Flour
2. 1 1/2 Cups Salt
3. 6 Tsp. Cream of Tarter
4. 3 Tbsp. Oil
5. 3 Cups Water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour ALL ingredients into a large pot. 
2. Stir consistently over medium heat until a doughy ball forms. 
3. Remove from heat and knead until the texture matches Play Dough. 

Store the Play Dough in a plastic container IN THE FRIDGE. It should last for a couple of weeks. However, in my experience I would check it every few days just to make sure it is still good.

Feel free to add a few drops of food coloring to it and glitter to make it fun & sparkly for your little one. The best part about this homemade recipe is that if your child decides to put the Play Dough in their mouth all ingredients are found in your kitchen. YAY for non-toxic!

I hope you and your little one enjoy this recipe just as much as we enjoy giving it out to you! If anyone has any other great craft recipes that you and your baby love to do together please comment & share your experiences with us!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

-D

Happy (ALMOST) Mother's Day!

Have you been wondering what to make for Mom or Grandma this Mother's Day? This can always get sticky when working with babies and toddler's. However, it is also one of the best & most special times to save up all the memories and package it nicely for Mom & Grandma.

Being a nanny, it is one of my many joys being able to do fun arts & crafts with my little ones. I really enjoy seeing the looks on the parents' faces when you hand them a precious piece of art work their child has completed.

This Mother's Day I really wanted to do something special for my boss from her son, Thomas. Thomas is about to turn twenty-one months old. As we all know, projects at this age can not only get sticky & messy, but it becomes a serious game of, "WAIT! DON'T EAT THE MARKER!!" ;)

My boss loves her garden, plants & flowers. Although, we all tease her because she tends to forget to water the beautiful plants and they end up not making it! So, for this Mother's Day I decided that Thomas and I would give her some potted flowers that will never die. This was the end result....

Adorable! Right?! ;) Needless to say my boss was smitten when Thomas gave her, her beautiful pot of flowers!

Listed below are the simple steps to go about making this unique Mother's Day Project;

*Small side note: ALL materials were bought at the Dollar Tree. This Project cost me $5.34 to make.*

Tools You Will Need:

1. A small flower pot.
2. Colored construction paper.
3. A foam ball. (They sell them in packages)
4. Pipe cleaners. (I used sparkly pink ones)
5. Scissors & a hole punch. (I used a knife)

Steps To Make This Awesome Craft:

1. Trace your Child's hand to make a template.
2. Take template to trace as many hands as you want in your bouquet. 
3. Cut out all hands.
4. You may write messages on the hands like I did above, or you may allow your child to color them. Get creative!
5. Take your hole punch or knife & make a small hole at the bottom of the hand.
6. Stick your pipe cleaner through and fold the pipe cleaner in half. You may want to wrap the two end's around one another to make it look tight & swirly.
7. Take your knife & puncture slits into the foam ball.
8. Stick your pipe cleaner into the small slits and stick the foam ball into your flower pot.
9. Take either a black or brown piece of construction paper and cut it into tiny pieces to serve as the "dirt" in your flower pot. I cut the paper into vertical strips then cut horizontally across the strips to make small pieces.
10. WAAAALAAA! You have the cutest little flower pot that Mom & Grandma have ever seen!

On the actual Flower Pot itself feel free to write a cute message. You can even write the child's age that way you will never forget how old they were when their hand was that little!

Have a great time getting creative with your little one! I know that I did! 

Feel free to comment below with some of your favorite Mother's Day craft ideas! 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!

-D