Wordless Wednesday - Love

Muffin tin sort: toddler transfer and preschool patterns

Oh, how we love our muffin tins.  We just keep using them for various fun things like sorting games and cup swaniches.   

Little Lady used a big bowl and a muffin tin for a transfer and sort activity using various toys.  

Not only did she pluck the toys from the bowl and plop them in the muffin tin, she also chewed on a toy farmer.  Teething is hard!

She banged the toys against the bowl.  Music!

And no toddler activity is complete without some dumping.

But then she sorted again (still chewing).

And no matter what we're doing, she tries to climb on or get in something in some manner.  See her foot?  It just had to rest on top of the muffin tin.  

I have found that if I leave these things out, she'll revisit them throughout the day for a few minutes at a time.  



One day I pulled the big muffin tin out for Mini Me to see if he could do some blind folded patterns like we did with our pool noodles.   

We were trying to do a ball, flower, ball, flower pattern.  It was tough, especially with an interested little sister.

Do you like our pink, hooded bath towel / blindfold?  

This pattern was ball, ball, flower.  Having the individual slots in the muffin tin really helps Mini Me think about patterns - it is a challenge for him.

Everyone wants to play!  The pattern making was a bit difficult for Mini Me this time.  We are definitely going to try this one again.

Letter H - a year of ABCs

Read about how it all started - A year of ABCs.


Art - Make a hand hug by tracing hands, cutting them out, decorating them, and connecting the two hands with yarn.  We sent our hugs to the grandparents and it is still a treasured keepsake for them.


Music - Sing and dance to If You're Happy and You Know It.



Science - Dig holes in dirt or punch them into paper.



Spanish - ¡Hola!


Movement - Hop the heart trail.  We cut hearts out of contact paper and stuck them to the rug, then hopped along the trail.

A week of walks: UNI

This is Part 5 of "A week of walks".  Also take a look at  
A week of walks: Candyland Garden.
A week of walks: the river park
A week of walks: discovery walk
A week of walks: the track

I'm wrapping up our week of walks with my favorite walk we took this month - a picnic and loooong walk on the campus of my alma mater, The University of Northern Iowa, where I completed both my BA and MA.  My husband joined us for this one and we all had a fabulous time.  We walked a lot; from one end of campus to the other, plus lots of playing in between.  I brought balls to play with on the lovely lawn but everyone was too worn out!  In fact, the kids were so exhausted after our adventure, they both took three hour naps that day.    

The weather was perfect and campus was in its usual regal and gorgeous state.

The campanile in the center of campus.  

Enjoying some of the art around campus.

Playing around inside the dome on the football field.  Go Panthers!

Touching the goal post.

Bare feet on turf.  Little Lady loved it and squealed, grinned, and laughed.

A tackle!  We did get out the football here and Mini Me and Daddy played a quick game.

There were one too many Japanese beetles for me to follow through with my plan to have a picnic on the grass, so we brought our picnic inside the union.

Playing in the pool.

This child loves to be upside down.

On top of the building!

I loved our picnic and walk.  Don't tell my husband but I got a little giddy - and teary - being back on campus.  College was a fantastic part of my life and I love the nostalgia of walking those paths again.  We enjoyed pointing out to the kids the places we lived, had class, met friends, and so forth.  We also hoped that both kids have good memories, as they will need to remember this as their first campus visit in 15 or 16 years.  
  
 

A week of walks: the track

This is Part 4 of "A week of walks".  Also take a look at  
A week of walks: Candyland Garden.
A week of walks: the river park
A week of walks: discovery walk


On the evening we set out for this walk, I had an entirely different destination in mind which (sort of) explains how my children are dressed - Caribbean clothes and sandals are not great high school track attire.  I can't believe I have never thought of exploring this place before as it was a lot of fun and had a great deal of educational potential as well.  


I am also proud to report that I clocked my slowest lap time ever... 36 minutes!  (Not that I was a speed demon before).


We began near the starting line for the 110 meter dash.  Mini Me stood on his favorite number.

Little Lady was immediately fascinated with the colored paint on the track.  I admit, it does stand out sharply.  She spent almost our entire lap around the track bending down to touch every painted shape or line she saw.  As a result, I narrated a lot of things like, "Ooo... I bet that yellow triangle feels bumpy!" or "Look at that short red line!"

Mini Me ran and ran and ran.  He also practiced staying in his lane (and he learned what a "lane" was).

Little Lady tried to run, too, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't keep up with her big brother.

We had a Marilyn moment at the halfway point.

I was delighted to discover that the high school band was rehearsing near by, and there was also a football camp going on.  Little Lady loved the band and tried waving to them with her pinch-the-fingers wave and saying "hi hi hi hi".  Mini Me was intrigued by the football campers.

We climbed the bleachers.  Carefully - they are old.  

At the top, we had a better view of the football camp and the band. 

Back on the track, both kids proceeded to dance to the drum cadence.  It was a hoot... we have a hand-clappin' boogier and a wave-the-arms foot stomper.

We danced ourselves right off the track.  It was so fun!  We got to run, climb, dance, and talked about shapes, colors, and numbers.  I'd like to go back again and give Mini Me some special race instructions such as "run from the red triangle to the yellow circle".  

I wish I had thought of this special walk earlier in the summer!

A week of walks: discovery walk

This is Part 3 of "A week of walks".  Also take a look at  
A week of walks: Candyland Garden.
A week of walks: the river park

One glorious morning on the way out the door for a walk, I grabbed a small paper bag from the kitchen and handed it to Mini Me.  

Mommy: Let's go on a discovery walk!  You can put things you find in this bag.
Mini Me: What kind of things?
Mommy: Whatever you find except garbage, bugs, and other people's property.
Mini Me:  How about flowers?  
Mommy:  Good idea.
Mini Me: And maybe leaves or plants!  How about a sock?  
Mommy:  A sock?  

I still don't know where he got that idea.  

On our discovery walk, we saw a lot of leaves and grass.

Both Mini Me and Little Lady enjoyed the plot of wildflowers near our house (it wasn't private property).

We picked up a lot of tree bark, a stick, some flowers, and Mini Me found a great acorn.  He refused to put it in the bag because "squirrels eat acorns and I don't want him to get it".  I think he was afraid a squirrel would come in our house.  Given the amount of squirrels we see (and hear on the roof), I can understand his fear.  

Our discovery walk was great - we meandered and talked a lot.  Mini Me led the way and we went in a few circles and eventually ended up at a nearby play ground - surprise!  

When we got home, we examined our loot.

There was no sock, but Mini Me and I both agreed the discovery walk was "pretty cool".  I'd like to do this again in the fall when the leaves are falling and pretty!
  

A week of walks: the river park

This is Part 2 of "A week of walks".  Also take a look at A week of walks: Candyland Garden.

 Our trips to "the river park" in our town is really a trip to a cool playground with a walk along the river as my modus operandi. We park down by the playground; I love the toddler jungle gym set they have in addition to a larger-sized one.  Typically, I bring the stroller for Little Lady and we meander down the winding path along the river after we play. 

 The day I grabbed my camera for our river park excursion, we had the pleasure of a play date, so Mini Me is enjoying the company of a buddy.  

Along the path in one of the park shelters is an old piano that children have painted and turned into a beautiful piece of artwork (in the spring each year there is a festival and children are invited to do it - it's not graffiti).  We love to play the piano and sing and dance.  

Farther down the path is a dam that we like to go watch, as well as the fishermen posed alongside it.  This year they are doing some work on the dam so it is a big mess with lots of construction equipment and it is fun to watch the bulldozer driving 'in' the river.  

We explore the river bank and admire the pretty flowers hanging along the walkway.  We often see ducks swimming in the water. 

Then, it's back to the playground where Little Lady's favorite thing is to pick up rocks and let them trickle out of her fist.  Isn't that river gorgeous? 

This is the spot we choose when we want to go for a quick, in-town picnic.  With a lovely playground, a scenic river, a short yet interesting walk, and a colorful piano to make music on, we couldn't ask for much more!
  
 

A week of walks: Candyland Garden

We love to take walks.  We walk with the single stroller, double stroller, in the wagon, or on our feet.  Some road construction this summer has compromised our normal walk route and I got a little tired of navigating around the mess.   

 So, I tried to find some new, creative places for us to get out on walks.  You can read about them this week in my miniseries, "A week of walks".  (ooo... that sounds fancy!)


We live near a children's home that works mainly with adolescents in rehabilitation.  On their grounds is a nice little garden.  They have a huge vegetable plot and the rest is just a place to walk and rest.  

This little garden earned the nickname "Candyland Garden" when we were walking along the winding path one day and Mini Me remarked that it is a curvy path like in Candyland.  The name stuck (I bet you thought Candyland Garden would be really fancy and colorful.  Well, it's most certainly not).  Can you see a bit of the curvy part of the path by the arrow in the photo?  


We usually just make the walk to Candyland Garden, walk around it, and walk back home.  Sometimes we stay and goof around.  Mini Me and Little Lady both like running along the path - him on foot and her zooming in the stroller as I run. 

Mini Me sometimes says, "Let me push my sister" and then I get to take more photos:  

Recently we have run into some obstacles at Candyland Garden.  The bugs are terrible this year and I am a big bug weenie.  I hate the flying grasshoppers, the Japanese beetles, the gigantic dragon flies, and I just know one of those cicadas that sing all.day.long in the trees is going to jump on my head.  On the trip to Candyland Garden that I took these photos, the kids saw me do lots of funny dances and shakes to get those bugs away from me.  I think that's the real reason Little Lady is laughing in that photo above.  


We also see geese at Candyland Garden sometimes.  

Do you know what geese mean?  Goose poop all over the path.  At least it was hilarious to Mini Me when I told him to dodge the poop and not step in it.  

And I again find myself thoroughly enjoying how such a simple, ten minute excursion can bring such joy to my children - and me.