Letter detective: On a hunt to learn

School is back in full swing by now for everyone I am sure. Being a former teacher I love back to school time. I still want to go into Walmart and buy school supplies in bulk. With back to school comes back to homework and studying. I wanted to share an activity I did with "Batman" that could be adapted to study just about anything.

Although "Batman" doesn't have any homework from preschool we are still working on letter identification and sounds. I made him an official letter detective and off we went to hunt letters! We have a letter tree in the playroom where we put the letters that we have learned to make them visible.

I told "Batman" that the letters had escaped and we had to go and track all of them down. This helped him review letters that he knew and I also added a few new ones.

Let the letter hunt begin!

He found H outside on the porch. He used his spy phone to call H and ask it what sound it made. We took H and put it in a bag so that we could return it to the letter tree in the playroom.

We continues our hunt...

Those letters were really hiding!

Nicholas was excited to learn about the letter A for alpaca!

P for pig!

Once we found all of our letters we headed back inside to put the letters back on our tree and told them not to run away again.

I hope you can go on your own hunt for letters, sight words, math problems, vocabulary words or what ever your little one is learning. Have fun learning!

Love at lunch: My take on lunch notes.

Before I packed "Batman's" first lunch for lunch bunch day at school tomorrow I decided to hop on the computer to see if I could find any cute lunch notes to include. As I was scrolling through countless super cute notes that I could print out it dawned on me that I was getting lunch notes before lunch notes were a thing. 

My mom would include a special I love you note every so often in my lunch. I don't know the story behind how it started but the message is a picture rather than words. I have to assume this is because she started giving me these notes before I could even read just like I am doing for "Batman." I never really stopped to think about how special those notes were until today in the midst of my internet lunch note search. This got me thinking, would I remember those notes so well if it was just a cute printed off picture? I don't know. 

A recent I love you note from my mom, just like when I was little

This special note appeared in my lunch when I was little but followed me through my life as a sign of encouragement. On my birthdays she would scroll Happy Birthday in lipstick across my mirror and then sign it with her signature I love you. When I went to college she would send care packages and include her special I love you. Even now when she sends something in the mail for me or the kids I can expect to see that special I love you. 

There is something about someone's handwriting that is magical. It almost makes you feel like they are there with you. Try looking at a loved one's card they have signed or a note they have written. I bet you will feel something in your heart when you do. 

So tomorrow in "Batman's" lunch I am not going to print off the cute Yoda note that I had originally thought about. I am going to write him an I love you note picture style. I hope this note can some day become as special to him as it is to me. 

"Batman's" first I love you lunch note

"Batman's" Bible Box

You might remember back around Easter I posted our resurrection eggs that we were using to learn about the true meaning of Easter. Well, these eggs were still being used after Easter had come and gone. " Batman" and "Strawberry Shortcake" LOVED the eggs. I took the Easter themed trinkets out of the eggs and put in other things that would tie into some of my favorite bible stories. So we continued to go on egg hunts everyday and do our devotion based on our eggs. Eventually I felt like the eggs needed to go and we needed a more permanent solution to continue this new tradition that we started. This is where our prayer box came from. "Batman" sometimes calls it his Bible box because we always read a Bible story after we open the box. No matter what the name of the box, it is an awesome way to fit in a devotion with little ones.

Materials: 
Decorating materials such as:
Paint
Glitter
Stickers
A small wooden box
A favorite bible verse to include on the inside

We spent time decorating our box and "Batman" put his finishing touches on his box.

Each morning I put something into the box that ties into a Bible story. I hide the box so "Batman and Strawberry Shortcake" can find the box like we are still hunting for eggs ( they love this part ). After "Batman" finds the box we all read our story together.

I hope this can give some inspiration on how to fit in a small devotion with your little one.

We're feeling hot hot hot!

Summer is in full swing here at Yankee Belle Farm and it is HOT. Humans and animals alike are trying to spend the day keeping cool.

Alpacas:
On a hot day you can find the alpacas getting their tan on in the sun. It seems silly that these furry guys wouldn't lay in the sun when it's hot, but they do! They kind of look dead when they lay like this but have no fear they are just soaking up the sun.

If the are not soaking up the sun they are waiting to be sprayed off with a cool hose.

Pacas enjoying the cool water

Ducks:
The ducks of the farm like to spend their time in the water when they are hot. They like it when I fill up a tub with fresh cold water for them.

3 ducks in one bin

Chickens:
Chickens on the farm can be found trying to drink out of the duck's water bin or dust bathing on a hot day. Chickens roll around in the dirt to keep themselves cool and clean.

Elvira pecking at the door on a hot day, maybe she wants lemonade!

Everyone gathering around the bin for a cool drink of water

Just trying to stay cool

Humans:
Last but not least you can find us humans of the farm sipping on a cool drink or trying to stay cool in the pool. Sometimes the chickens even sneak inside the fence for the pool. Luckily they haven't tried to take a dip yet.

Strawberry Shortcake is ready for the pool!

Batman is part fish I think

Well whether it's animal or human we spend our summer days staying cool and having fun. What do you do to beat the heat?

Earth Agents: Earth Day activities

Earth Agents!

When I was little I was sure I would single highhandedly save the earth. My neighbor/best friend and I even started The Save The Earth Club. It was official. We has sashes and patches. So naturally every year we celebrate Earth Day in a big way. This year the kids were Earth Agents, like secret agents learning about the planet.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:

Recycled earth crayons:

Materials:
Broken blue and green cryaons
mini cupcake wrappers
Mini cupcake tin

Procedure:
1. Place the mini cupcake wrappers into the tin.
2. Fill each wrapper with broken pieces of blue and green crayons.
3. Bake crayons in a 200 degree oven for 25 minutes.
4. Let crayons completely cool before removing them from their wrappers.     

We learned about recycling by making recycled earth crayons. We used the globe to see how the earth is made of water and land. 

Batman getting ready to make recycled crayons

 

"Strawberry shortcake" coloring with her recycled earth crayon

Nature Scavenger hunt:

I also took my little secret agents on a nature scavenger hunt. They looked for different colored flowers, animals, insects etc. "Batman" used his kid digital camera to take pictures of all the things he found on our hunt.

"Batman" found some white flowers

"Batman" chose his favorite tree to do a bark rubbing

We finished the day off with an earth fruit pizza. It was Delish!

What did you do for Earth Day? Leave a comment, we would love to hear how your family celebrates.

Resurrection Rolls: With an Easter Story

To continue learning about Easter I decided to try making Resurrection Rolls. These rolls are a fabulous Easter lesson and involves eating a delicious treat. The best part is when the kids bite into the roll and find that Jesus, the marshmallow, isn't there! This is our first time making these but I can't wait to make it a tradition!

We had some fun with this activity and incorporated some dramatic play. We labeled the oven as the tomb that we would put Jesus into.

"Batman" had a great time helping make each roll. I included the story that we talked about as we were making each roll at the bottom of this post.

Now things got really great. " Batman" was guarding the tomb while the rolls were cooking. He even tried to make me attempt to break into the tomb in which he promptly used his sword to avert me.

My little soldier guarding the tomb

We go big or go home around here. For Palm Sunday we were galloping down the hallway with palms shouting Hosanna! So a soldier at the tomb is totally normal, have fun with it!

Ingredients:

* 1 can of crescent rolls
* One marshmallow for each roll
* 2 TBS melted butter
* 2 TBS sugar
* 1 tsp. cinnamon

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Unroll your crescent rolls and lay each roll out on a cookie sheet.
3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, this will be used for dipping.
4. Roll the marshmallow in butter and then in the cinnamon, sugar mixture.
5. Place the coated marshmallow in the middle of the crescent roll and roll the marshmallow up in the crescent roll making sure to pinch any seams so the marshmallow doesn't leak out.
6. Roll the marshmallow wrapped in crescent in the cinnamon, sugar mixture to coat the outside of the roll and place on the cookie sheet.
7. Repeat for each crescent roll.
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
9. Bite into your roll and see that Jesus has risen!

Resurrection Roll story:

Resurrection Roll story explanation:

Easter gardens

Today in our resurrection eggs we opened the egg about Jesus praying in the garden. I decided that we should add an Easter garden to our regular garden to remind us about Easter all the time. The kids are always loving to dig in the dirt so they were into this idea. I have seen these garden ideas in church and online. I will share with you how we made ours. Adapt yours to fit your family!

Our Easter Garden

Materials:

* Pot or container
* Cup or a smaller pot for the tomb
* A large rock to cover the tomb
* 2 sticks to make a cross
* Other small stones to create a path to the tomb

Procedure:

There are no specific order of steps for this project. Just let the kids get in there and start creating, with guidance of course.

First we searched for the perfect sticks for our cross.

Next "Batman" and " Strawberry Shortcake" filled the pot up with dirt and added our tomb.

"Batman" then placed the cross behind the tomb in the special spot that he picked out.

When we were finished, "Batman" thought we needed to add a Jesus. We searched for the perfect Jesus and settled on a Star Wars action figure.

Jesus in the tomb

To finish the garden off we put the rock over the tomb. I will move the rock Easter morning and we will talk about what happened to Jesus.

The stone has been rolled over the tomb!

Eggcellent day

Since we have been spending so much time checking on our little mama chicken sitting on her eggs, I decided we should do some activities today involving nests and eggs.

Building number sense with eggs:

" Batman" and I have been working on one to one correspondence with his counting as well as number recognition. I found some great bird's nests on clearance at AC Moore and picked them up because they were just too good to pass up! I set up the bird's nests with numbers next to each nest and a bowl of mini robin's eggs to sort. 

"Batman" counting out his eggs

 
After "Batman" did his counting in order, I switched all the numbers so he wasn't able to just count them off in order. We also practiced adding and taking away eggs and discussing the new number. He had a great time and of course it didn't hurt that I let him sneak a few eggs. I love this activity because it can be adapted for any age level. Little ones can practice their fine motor skills by simply putting the eggs in the nest and older kids can count by 2's, add, subtract, multiply, the possibilities are endless!

Happy egg counting!

Resurrection Eggs

Easter is just around the corner and we LOVE holidays around here. As much as I love egg dying, bunny crafting and eating lots of marshmallow peeps, I wanted to think of something to do with the kids to keep Jesus at the center of our Easter celebration. After some thinking, talking and internet investigation I found resurrection eggs. I hadn't heard of these before even though I now know they have been around a long time. There are lots of versions out there including ones you can buy. I will share with you our version and how we explore the eggs.

Materials:

* 1 Egg cartion
* 12 plastic eggs
* Print out from church house clipart: http://www.churchhouseclipart.com/resources/Resurrection%20Eggs%20Colored%20Page.jpg
* Small palm branch
* Small piece of bread
* Silver coin
* Small piece of rope
* Feather
* Thorns
* Purple cloth
* Small cross
* Goldfish
* Cotton ball

I started by numbering my eggs 1-12. I used a great print out I found at Church House Clipart to guide what I was going to put in each egg. I cut out each little picture and put a corresponding item in each of the 12 eggs. There is also a verse that goes with each picture.

The first 6 eggs open with their tangible items

I thought it would be fun to have the kids hunt for these each morning when they get up, one per day until Easter. They hunt around until they each find their special egg for the day. We spend time talking about what is in the egg and reading a bible story from their children's bible. It is a really great way to start the day and a great way to get kids talking and thinking about Jesus at Easter.

"Batman" was pretty proud of himself when he found his first Resurrection Egg!

"Strawberry Shortcake" grabbed her egg and ran!