Teacher THANK YOU gifts

Of course I want to give Drew's teachers something special for holidays and end-of-year presents. Typically the gift is a gift card or present for the home along with a Drew-made picture. Well, we went a bit further this year. Drew painted frames for his teachers (and I inserted pictures of him with his teacher)...

and he painted shells he found on the beach...

He drew pictures on his "cards" and wrote the words all by himself!


I also included the typical "personalized gift" from me and a gift card to a nice restaurant, but what I'm sure really warmed their heart were the great presents my son made! He grew so much over the year and they were partly responsible for that growth. To see how he draws, writes, and thinks now is awesome. I'm sure they were as excited -and proud- of these gifts as I was. AND my son is learning the valuable lesson of showing appreciation for his teachers.

The little caterpillars we found, put in the bug jar, and intently watched...have turned into MOTHS! We were happy to see them emerge from their cocoons and release them. We released a few and are caring for a few babies in the jar. Soon they'll be set free as well. Who knew that trapping little caterpillars would turn out to be such a fun 4 week adventure!

Tweet, tweet

Have you ever noticed how much joy BIRDS can bring? We see all sorts of birds every day - cardinals,blue jays, chickadees, geese, ducks, seagulls, swans...and even hummingbirds! (Sure beats the pigeons of NYC!) We have a couple of bird feeders, but this year my husband had a genius idea: to put a bird feeder just outside our kitchen window. Not only do we all get uber excited to see a bird while enjoying our breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner...but it works marvelously at distracting the kids, redirecting them back to the table, summoning them, etc. LOVE it! And our sand/water table (now holding just rain water) makes a lovely bird bath :) Birds are all over our property. And while I might not appreciate their 5am wake up calls, I am delighted to share my land with them.

I'll try to take some pictures this Spring/Summer of ALL the different bird we see!

Go get a feeder and see how many bird you attract!!

Take a Hike!

In our little state, there are so many beautiful places to take a hike - and most trails are very family friendly! Each month, Rhode Island Families in Nature offers a guided hike for Rhode Islanders. However, if you don't want to participate in a group hike, then why not explore some trails on your own? I've taken all three kids on trails in south county *by myself* and find it's a wonderful way to pass an afternoon. Where is your favorite place to hike?

Sea Life is so COOL!

What kid doesn't love meeting new sea creatures from below? We enjoy all types of aquariums - from local, small learning centers like Biomes to programs being offered at colleges and universities nearby. I recommend you check out all sea-animal options near you. And -before you go- contact your library to see if they offer free or reduced passes. Ours does!!

Mystic Aquarium was a fabulous trip - and only about 30 minutes from our house! We met grandma, saw some beautiful beluga whales, seals, fish, and even sharks! If we hadn't nearly lost Drew it would have been a perfect day! This is a trip I hope to make more often!

Our Own Little Eco System

We've been collecting bugs and caterpillars regularly and Drew releases them "to return to their families" each day. Well, yesterday we made a lovely home for two caterpillars in our bug jar. Loaded with leaves, grass, sticks, and sprayed with fresh water, I thought they'd at least survive one night in captivity. Well, much to our surprise, these little guys made a cocoon overnight!!

Today two new caterpillars were added to the family. So we have two cocoons and two roaming caterpillars. I can't wait to see what we've got in there tomorrow!!

Name-in-Pasta!

Name recognition is really important for preschoolers; and learning to write your own name is crucial for Kindergarten. So, I wanted to do a fun "name project" that both kids could enjoy (ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2). I wrote the letters in glue on cut out paper (they picked the paper colors) and I put different kinds of pastas and beans in bowls for them to place in the glue.

We worked on so many skills:

• reviewing colors
• fine motor skills
• letter recognition
• name recognition
• tactile learning
• 

Bugs, Slugs, and More!

My boys - especially Drew - LOVE finding bugs, worms, caterpillars, slugs, frogs...ANY creature from outside :) Last week we found a salamander - COOL!

Personally, I don't care where they dig, turn over stones, or move wood. I am just happy that they're playing independently, immersing themselves in nature, and having fun.

One neat thing to note is that worms can reproduce asexually. That means if you cut one in half, TWO worms will exist. Cool, right? If you want to bring a little science into the fun, why not measure a worm, cut it, and measure the two new worms for a week or so...to see how they grow. We have a plastic bug jar (with holes on top for air) and we fill it with grass, sticks, leaves, etc. to create a little habitat for the creatures we find. We are always cautious with our "friends" and we always return them to their "families."

At Your Local Library...

I've been really amazed at the programs that are offered at my local library. They host so much more than just story hours (although my kids do enjoy those as well!). We went to our library last week to see the Toe Jam Puppet Band AND to meet chicks from a local farm. That's some pretty cool stuff! And there are programs for learning German, book clubs, weekly movies, kid dance parties, puppet shows, craft activities...and the list goes on. Since our tax money pays for these FREE libraries, why not take advantage of them? And if your library doesn't seem to offer anything of interest to you, make a suggestion...or check out a library in a neighboring town. While you're there, why not pick up a few new books too?!? Casey Farm brought some chicks to our library and gave a great informational session on hens, roosters, and turkeys. The boys were thrilled to hold the baby chicks; and Drew, who sat quietly up front away from his family, enjoyed learning about the chicks!

Welcome!

I'm just a mom...who's not trying to be SUPERmom, but trying to be a GOOD mom! I want to keep things interesting, have some fun with my three kids, and turn up my creative juices once in a while. We try to stay busy - both within and outside of the home. Here are some of the things WE are doing. Maybe our activities will inspire you - as others inspire me. I will share low cost activities which entertain my kids outside of the home, crafts & projects we enjoyed doing together, meals they enjoy eating, and things they enjoy doing independently. Along the way I also hope to explore ways in which I can find balance for myself - in order to be a better mom.