Spring is roaring in!

Isn’t March supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb?  Seems like Kansas missed that memo as we’ve been thrown full force into the blustery, ever-changing, unpredictable season we have known as SPRING.  However, I can’t complain because I’d much rather have the warmth that SPRING brings than to be back in the throes of winter.  Have fun with a few ideas below to really get SPRING fever coursing through your veins!

Make wind machines from recycled materials.  A wind machine is anything you or your child want it to be…let imaginations and creativity flow with paper towel tubes, streamers, tape, straws, fabric, lids, cartons.  The possibilities are endless!  Don’t forget to take it outside and test it out too!

Get dirty and plant something…a garden, seeds, bulbs, flowers.  Then when you’re finished, whip up some dirt and worms for a fun treat.  You can find the recipe here.   

Pack a picnic lunch and attend the kite flying festival at the Overland Park Arboretum.  It happens every Sunday in April so you’ve still got time to go!  Bring your own kite or purchase one there, entry is just the cost of admission ($3), and it’s fun for the whole family!

Go on a family walk.  Look for my article in the next issue of KC Baby for ideas to jazz up an ‘ordinary’ walk.

Spring cleaning!  Throw open your windows, put some music on, and put the family to work sprucing up the house a bit.  When you’re done, move out to the cars.  If yours looks anything like mine, you’ll want to!  We had salt, dirt, grass, gravel, sticks, rocks, dirty footprints, indoor turf pellets, etc.  It feels SO good to have it all tidy on the inside!  

Whatever you choose to do to celebrate SPRING, enjoy this season because before long, we’ll all be complaining about how hot it is!  ☺

Julie C.

Christmas Crafting

Holiday greetings to all!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends this past week and are now looking forward to Christmas, which really is just around the corner!  I think the older I get, the faster time goes…not necessarily a good thing!  

At any rate, with a new baby and winter-like temperatures the past several weeks, we’ve been spending a lot (read that as TOO MUCH) time indoors lately…SO…I decided we needed to spice things up with some Christmas crafting.  Yes, that does mean I started Christmas crafts before Thanksgiving.  Shame.on.me. Even though our current living situation is one in which we don’t have space for many decorations, a Christmas tree was a must.  I found a nice, little, pre-lit one on sale at Michael’s a few weeks ago, which is now sitting proudly atop our ottoman in the corner of our living room.  I thought going “DIY” this year for decorating our tree would be fun too so I set about the task of planning and organizing Christmas tree crafts for our 3.5 and almost 2 year old.  Here are a few I have in mind (I’m including a very brief ‘how to’ description but if you are a visual learner like me, you’ll need to google them anyway):

*beaded candy cane ornament (alternate red and white pony beads on a pipe cleaner)

*toilet roll reindeer (cut a toilet roll in half, stick on some wiggly eyes, a pom pom nose, and pipe cleaner antlers.  If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, paint the toilet roll first or cover it with felt, fabric, etc)

*popsicle stick Christmas tree (glue green sticks into a triangle then decorate with sequins, pom poms and buttons)

*Styrofoam snowman ornament (these are too cute not to mention again so check out my December post from last year’s blog to see instructions)

*Cinnamon dough ornaments (great for giving as gifts too)

*pipe cleaner icicles (thread various sizes and colors of beads onto a sparkly pipe cleaner then wind around a pencil to create a curly effect)

*pine cone reindeer (turn so small end points down, glue on wiggly eyes, pom pom nose, felt ears, and sticks for the antlers)

Whatever this season brings for you, make sure to take some time to remember what the celebration is truly for.  Happy Christmas to you and yours!

Julie C.

Welcome Back, Fall!

Welcome back ladies!  I don’t know about you but I am looking forward to another great year and am excited to see what God has in store for all of us!  You may or may not recall from my October post last year how much I LOVE fall…so let me just tell you.  I LOVE FALL.  I love apples and pumpkins, the changing colors, cooler weather, walks, soup in the crockpot, cider, fall festivals, aaaaaaand wearing sweatpants.  Yes, ladies, I am not ashamed to admit how much I enjoy wearing sweatpants.  I even asked my husband once if he got tired of coming home from work and finding me in my sweats.  Thankfully, his answer was “No.  Are you comfortable?”  Yep, he’s a keeper.  ☺

Since I am sure many of you will be visiting apple orchards and pumpkin patches (if you haven’t already, we love Cider Hill), here are a few things you can do with your apples and pumpkins:

• Make apple butter, caramel apples, or apple pie.
• Taste test with different types of apples and create a graph of everyone’s favorite.
• Build with apple chunks (easier than marshmallows).  Click HERE for an example.
• Glitter your pumpkins (doesn’t glitter make everything more fun?!).
• Paint pumpkins:  if you search on Pinterest or Google for painted pumpkins, you can find some REALLY fun and cool ideas such as glow in the dark puffy painted pumpkins, Superhero pumpkins, polka dot pumpkins…the possibilities are endless!

• Use pumpkins to teach your children Math and Science (unbeknownst to them) by estimating weight, number of lines, sink or float, etc.  Write it down, then actually test their estimations.  This is a great teaching tool especially when you use pumpkins of various sizes!
• Another cute and simple fall activity are THESE leaf peepers.

We’ve already started collecting a few leaves here and there as we see them for this craft.  On the website they mention pressing the leaves between books but I recommend ironing them between two sheets of wax paper.  This will help keep them flat and last a bit longer as well. 

We love attending fall festivals too!  In fact, we went to one last weekend in downtown Shawnee and will be going to the downtown Overland Park festival this coming weekend on Saturday, September 27^th if you want to check it out!

Wonderscope has a few great activities coming up as well that you can check out at www.wonderscope.org .  Lakeshore Learning in Merriam has free crafts on Saturdays for children 3 and up too!

And as always, don’t forget to check out KCParent.com for more events and happenings around town!

Well, there you have it.  Try to pick at least one new activity you think you’d like to try with some special kids (or kids at heart) in your life and have some fun! 

Julie Collett