Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Giveaway....Nearly $100 Worth of Hot Tamale Dinner Ware!

Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, and Mega-Family Blogs is giving away nearly $100 worth of Hot Tamale Dinner Ware...

This, to be exact...


...and this...



To enter, go HERE!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Cereal and Pipe Cleaner Time

Toddler ages: 24 months, 24 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-Fruit Loops or Cheerios
-pipe cleaners

Instructions: Have your toddler(s) place the cereal onto the pipe cleaner. This activity is best done in conjunction with snack time.

Here is the fun....

...the 3-year-old boy...


...Twin A...


...Twin B...


Note of caution: Pipe cleaners can poke tender tongues, so have your toddlers sit down if they decide to eat the cereal off the pipe cleaners. No injuries occured during our activity, but I realized there is potential.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Domino Time

Toddler ages: 24 months, 24 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-dominoes
-ziploc bags
-bowls or other containers

Yet another activity the 3 three and under invented...

Step 1: Place materials on a table.

Step 2: Allow your toddler(s) to bag, "bowl" or build with dominoes how they may...

Bagging...


"Bowling"...


Building...


Acting the well-rehearsed part of being a blogging subject by repeatedly saying "CHEESE!"...


(You would think that I would at least brush their hair for these photo shoots, but my motto is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." They're happy and I'm not going to mess that that.)

Hope yours enjoy this as much as mine did! Thanks for listening.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Roly Poly Peanut Butter Chocolate Ball Time

Toddler ages: 24 months, 24 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-Cheerios
-light corn syrup
-creamy or crunchy peanut butter
-powdered sugar
-semi-sweet chocolate chips

Today, I have the honor of having been asked to guest post over at "Make It From Scratch"! This is what I made...


...and this is with whom I made it...


To see how we did it, go HERE. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Snow Painting Time: A Guest Post

Today I am so very pleased to announce that Quirky Momma will be guest-posting on 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time! I am so thankful she has agreed to do this, as running this blog, along with my three others (see sidebar), can be time-consuming, a commodity I am running low on as the birth of our baby boy approaches. (The due date is today, and apparently, he has no plans on being other than timely, or fashionably late. Incidentally, to see photo of how I'm faring, you can go HERE.) Okay, enough about me. More about Quirky Momma...

Quirky Momma has an amazing blog which features fun and educational activities for toddlers and preschoolers, and includes valuable home schooling tips for young children. Be sure to hop on over there after you read the fun activity she did with her kids recently. Thank you so much, Quirky Momma, for adding to the fun here and for lightening my load!

Toddlers ages: 42months, 29 months and 14 months

Materials You'll Need:
- old bottles
- Food coloring
- water


Mix the water and the paint in your containers. We used an old chocolate syrup bottle, an empty soap pump and this empty bottle of glue. For us, the fun lasted longer with the glue bottle and the kids made the most mess, but had the least fun with the chocolate syrup bottle. The smaller the nozzle the better! Here were the results of our red paint in the chocolate syrup bottle:


Let the fun begin!



Isaiah 1: 18 "Though our sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow".
  • If you want to adapt this activity for warmer climates you can use the bottles to "paint" the sidewalk or driveway. Food coloring will wash off the next time it rains. For other fun preschool crafts check out, Quirky Momma.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Library Center Time

Toddler ages: 24 months, 24 months, 3.5 years

Materials you'll need:
-books
-toddler chairs
-a rug (optional)

We've posted about library time here before, but this is different. Rather than temporarily placing favorite books on the couch for our library activity, we set up a permanent library in the 3 three and under's bedroom!

First, I placed all of their favorite books in a canvas basket, like so...


...for easier replacement once the books are read.

I then moved the rug we had by the 3-year-old's bed and placed it closer to the center of the room, surrounded by various types of toddler chairs and benches...


The only toddler who was home to try it out for the photo shoot was Twin B, and he absolutely LOVED it! He sat and read for well over half an hour...


...and put the books back all by himself when he was finished...


I hope your toddler(s) enjoy this as much as mine did!