Tide Free & Gentle

Here's another product plug.  We have been using Tide Free & Gentle since just before Emma was born.  Scott's cousin suggested we switch to it to make laundering much easier.  It's not marketed as a baby detergent, but since Tide Free & Gentle is dermatologist tested and free of dyes and perfumes, it is safe for sensitive baby skin.  Plus, it's cheaper than Dreft, the infamous pink-capped baby detergent.  When I priced both at Wal-Mart, there was a $4 difference for a 100 fluid ounce bottle.  So if I don't have an entire load of baby items to wash, I am able to toss them in along with my normal loads and a cap of Tide Free & Gentle.  What a time and money saver!

Soccer Lessons

In addition to gymnastics and swimming, we signed Emma up for soccer lessons this summer.  Yes, now that we have a mini-van, I truly feel like a soccer mom carting my child around from one thing to the next.  Age check, she's only four!

We brought Lauren with to the first practice.  She hung out in her stroller for most of 45-minutes and only fussed once.  She wanted to be held upright to see her big sister and the other kids.

Emma was extremely attentive to her coaches and did an amazing job of following directions.  At the end of each practice, she was the last one on the field helping pick up the equipment.  It was sweet to see her so eager to please them.

Swimming Lessons

Emma took swimming lessons for the first time this summer.  Her coach was a high school girl and she worked with just Emma and one other little boy during the 30-minute sessions for eight evenings. On "Diving Board Day," Emma was the most eager to take the plunge.  In fact, she scaled the ladder and made her way to the end of the board before her coach, Olivia, was out there to help catch her!  Way to go, girl!

Sunflowers - Part 2

Academic Practice:  Emma completed two workbook pages on numbers and uppercase/lowercase letters.  She's a fan of using a pencil.

Coloring Page:  I found a sunflower image and added a title and name line to create this coloring page.

Addition:  This game from Making Learning Fun involved choosing two brown circle numbers and placing them in the center of the sunflowers.  Then Emma used sunflower seeds to represent each addend.  Finally, she counted on to find the sum and placed the numbered blackbird on the top of the placemat.

Happy 4th Birthday!

 

Many family members joined us for Emma's party.  We had a wonderful time.  Lauren slept through most of it, but sported her Minnieware for a short time!

Blowing Out the Candles

Minnie Mouse Party

Emma brought several Minnie Mouse games to her babysitter's house to celebrate her 4th birthday.  I was feeling a little crafty!  In addition to the activities below, I also made her bow headband.  Well, I ordered one from Disney, but the bow was red and we decided to wear a pink shirt.  So I created a pink with white polka-dot slipcover for the bow.  I love that iron-on tape!

Scavenger Hunt Match - Have the players meet at the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” while an adult or older child hides the 7 character cards in another room, which you can call “Mickey Park.”  Tell the players that Mickey and his friends are hiding in Mickey Park, and it is up to them to find all 7 characters and bring them back to Mickey’s Clubhouse.  Hand each player one character.  (The little kids can be partnered with an older child to hunt for the match.)  Each player must hunt for only his/her matching card.  If he/she finds a different character, he/she should leave it hidden and continue hunting.  When a match is found, the player should return to the “clubhouse” location with the matching cards.  Play the game again, but assign each player a different character card.

Pin the Bow on Minnie - Put a piece of double-sided tape on each bow.  Use the fabric to blindfold each child.  After each person has a try, the bow that is the closest to Minnie's is the winner.

Polka Dot Toss - Set up the 5 pails in a line along with the starting line.  Give the player the basket of balls.  They can attempt to toss them into the pails in order 1-5 or just toss for fun!

Mickey and Minnie Coloring Pages - This was a quiet afternoon activity while the little ones napped.

Minnie Mouse Cookies and Juice Boxes - Aren't those Minnie faces just too cute!  I ordered them from Denny's Doughnuts and Bakery.

Mickey and Minnie Party Favor Bags - The boys got Mickey stuff and the girls got Minnie stuff.

Sunflowers - Part 1

Handprint and Footprint Sunflower:  We used yellow paint and Emma's hand for the flower petals, green paint and Emma's foot for the stem and leaf, and sunflower seeds for the sunflower seeds!  When they dried, I cut them out and Emma glued them together to create a life-size sunflower.

Ordering Numbers:  When I found these tiny baking cups in our cabinet and decided I was not likely to make mini muffins, an idea struck me.  The yellow ones looked like sunflower petals.  I wrote the numbers 1-10 on the inside and mixed them up for Emma to put in order.  This was part one of the activity.

Counting Seeds:  Next, Emma had to count out the exact number of seeds and add them to the sunflower cup.  It was a lengthy activity, but great counting practice.

Ss Do-A-Dot Pattern:  Emma wanted to do a yellow and green pattern on this worksheet.  I thought her idea and color choices were perfect!

Observing Seeds Grow:  We planted sunflower seeds a few weeks ago.  Emma loves watching the seed coats sit on top of the sprouts and fall off as the leaves unfold.

Life Cycle of a Plant:  Emma cut out the four stages at the bottom of a worksheet I found in a plant workbook, placed the pieces in order, and glued them on the flow chart.

Blow and Measure:  Emma came up with this game herself.  She started blowing seeds across the kitchen table as I was cleaning up our materials.  I suggested we use her ruler to measure the distance.

Garden Party

The ISU Horticultural Center hosted a children's garden party one evening in June.  Emma and I explored the grounds, made a creepy crawly sculpture, painted a stick for a future picket fence, and played in a sand table.  There were other activities, but it was a warm evening and dinner time, so we had to limit our fun to just one hour.