A little trick in writing numbers...

My little man has started kindergarten and is LOVING it. He comes home and tells me all about his day learning new things. When I ask his favorite thing he says, EVERYTHING! (Well, he has recently mastered the art of swinging, so now recess is the current favorite, but he still loves everything else as well.)

He came home last week telling me little rhymes his teacher had taught him on how to write his numbers. I had never heard them before so I wanted to share them with you all. He struggled a bit in writing his numbers before, but now that he knows these little rhymes, he has no problem!

1 - 1 is easy, 1 is fun, just a line and then you're done!
2 - Around and back on a railroad track
3 - Around the tree, around the tree, that is how you make a three
4 - Down and over, down some more, that is how you make a four!
5 - Short neck, belly fat, Mr. Five has a hat (that is my favorite)
6 - Around a loop, make a swoop
7 - Across the sky and down from heaven, that is how you make a 7
8 - Make an S but do not wait, go back up and close the gate.
9 - A circle and a line make a nine.

So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed those little tricks and maybe they can help your little ones too!

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Easy Canvas Prints

I was recently contacted to see if I would be interested in trying out Easy Canvas Prints. I have been wanting to order a canvas for awhile, so this seemed like a great opportunity to try out canvas prints!

I finally decided on a picture, it is a little older one of my kids but I just LOVE it. I sent my order and about a week later I had a pretty package on my doorstep. It even arrived a day or two earlier than expected. :)

My little helper and I opened it up and were very pleased to see how nicely the canvas had been packaged. As you can see it was wrapped in plastic and secured nicely inside the box.

So pretty! It was in perfect condition, and the canvas itself was nice and thick.

I chose to do the image wrap so my picture wrapped over the sides. You can choose mirror image or a border color also. There are really so many different options to customize your photo! And it is so easy to play around on the site until you find just the right canvas for you.

Want a canvas for yourself? Go to the Easy Canvas Prints page on Facebook and "like" them. You will get 50% off and free shipping. You can't get much better than that!



Disclosure: I was provided this canvas at no cost to myself. All opinions are my own.

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Shape buttons

Miss Livi Lou and I are enjoying some one on one time together while the older two visit grammy and papa for a few days. :) As we were wandering around Hobby Lobby yesterday we came across a bag of colorful buttons in many different shapes. I think it was priced at $4.99, but of course I had the 40% coupon with me, so it was a nice little bargain.

We will probably use them for many different projects (making necklaces, bracelets, maybe on pipe cleaners so it is easier for Livi's little fingers; sorting into bowls by color or shape; and I am sure Aidan will want to use some in one of his cardboard and paper and tape inventions).

Yesterday we just grabbed her Sesame Street placemat off the table which had a bunch of different shapes on it. (I think we found the placemat at Walmart for a buck). Livi had a good time finding shape buttons to match the shapes on her mat. She was even being particular and wanted it to be the same color as on the mat.

Just one of the fun things Livi and I are getting to do in our nice quiet house. :)

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Last minute father's day gift idea

Here is a fun gift for father's day that is super easy and fun. I did this a couple of years ago for my hubby and he liked it, it was time to update those pictures. :)

Dress the kids up in one of daddy's shirts and take some fun pictures. My friend just took some pictures of her girls in daddy's dress shirt and tie and also some in his favorite sports team shirt. We bought daddy a new shirt for his favorite team as part of his gift, so I grabbed two other of his Cardinals shirts and gathered up his hats and a couple of the kids stuffed animals that were Cardinals themed. They picked out what they wanted and we went out in the backyard and had a little photo shoot. :)

I think they turned out pretty cute:

Print them off at Target/Walmart/Walgreens wherever, put them in a frame - Great fun present!!!! At least I think so. :)

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Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?

That is the title of this fun book I found while at the Shedd Aquarium last week. It caught my attention because the title of the book was also a question on the screen at the dolphin show.



Whenever we are on vacation and at those gift shops, I always try to get something that really is quality and not get caught up in all the junk that they are trying to sell you. For me it has to be something that we saw while at the place we are visiting, useful, and hopefully educational. This excellent book fit all three. It was really interesting to learn the collective nouns of different animals. And the artwork is just beautiful. This book appeals to my two-year-old, my three-year-old and my five-year-old (and their mommy!).

This is the description from Amazon - "After discovering that a group of ferrets is called a business, Sarah Asper-Smith became fascinated with the intersection of language and the natural world. Using bold prints overlaid on vibrant colors, she created Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish? to chronicle the poetic words used to describe the magnificent animal kingdom. From a knot of frogs to a watch of nightingales, the book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the alphabet with animals as its guide, including an army of ants, a gaggle of geese, and a zeal of zebras. This book's color illustrations and playful use of language appeal to readers of all ages."

I thought this book was so great I just had to share it with you all. I hope if you find it or buy it you love it as much as I do!

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My budding architect

Aidan's preschool class has been learning about construction and building things this past week. He came home one day and told me he needed paper and a crayon and told me he needed to draw a picture of what he wanted to build before he built it. I asked him if they had talked about blueprints at preschool. They had some that another parent had brought in for them to look at. He was so excited to draw it, then build it.


Can you tell how proud he was? ;)

It was an interesting little lesson about construction and architecture that I would not have thought to do with him, but was very happy that he came up with it!


Also check out this cute idea over at Quirky Momma - Toilet Paper Roll Architecture

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