Morning Routine for Preschoolers

Now that Andrew is attending school 5 days a week, I decided it was time for him to start taking more responsibility for his morning routine. He's been doing most morning tasks on his own for the last six months or so, but needs constant reminders and repeated requests to get the jobs done. I wanted to create an easy checklist for him that wouldn't require any maintenance (erasing check marks or reprinting) and that would be easy for him to manipulate on his own. A quick Pinterest search put a number of "morning routine" options at my fingertips and I selected and adapted the one that I thought would work best for us.

To make this Morning Routine Flip Chart, I cut a file folder that I had on hand. Then, using my Silhouette and some adhesive vinyl, I cut out some simple images for the tasks Andrew needs to complete as well as some check marks and a morning message. I added a small piece of magnet to each flap and covered each magnet with some of the orange vinyl (just because it looked better!).

I kept the morning routine tasks very simple; potty, brush teeth, put p.j.'s in the laundry basket and get dressed. I've also started setting out his outfits for the week in a hanging shoe organizer like this. I have not labeled the days of the week, which gives him some choice in what he will wear each day. 

This morning routine has worked better than I imagined it would! Andrew took to the flip chart right away and has stuck with it for a few weeks now! I'm hopeful that the novelty of the chart doesn't wear off, because it will be worth it's weight in gold once baby #3 arrives in November!!

Sharing...

A Bowl Full of Lemons: One Project at a Time

A Simple Art Display...

I recently set up a little work space for Andrew in our new home. It is a small are where he can complete a puzzle, colour a picture or play with some play dough without the threat of his little brother tearing everything apart! I wanted to incorporate a space where he could display some of his art, like he had in his old bedroom, and I came up with these super simple clipboards.

To make this art display I picked up three plain clipboards from the dollar store, chose some cute scrap booking paper from Michael's and went to work!

First, I cut the paper to the appropriate size. Then, I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to the back of the paper and the clipboard. i carefully place the paper on the clipboard and then applied another thin coat of Mod Podge to the from of the paper.

The paper looked like it was bubbled and creased at first, 

but once it dried the wrinkles disappeared. 

I covered three clipboards with paper and hung them on the wall in a row. They add a nice splash of colour to an extremely white space and are perfect for showing off all of Andrew's little masterpieces!

I will be sharing the rest of Andrew's workspace soon, so be sure to come back and check it out!

Linking Up!!
Prairie Girl to Southern Belle - Tip & Tricks Party
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop
Pinterest Power Party
Shine on Friday
Organize It Link Party

Guest Post: Bottle Cap Stamps

The next few weeks are going to be super busy and a little stressful in the Leeper house. My husband will be starting a fellowship in Baltimore next month and we will be pretty consumed with getting him packed up and shipped off! We have also planned a family vacation for the first few weeks of July, which means crafting and blogging will be taking a bit of a backseat for a little while. However, I do plan to check in once a week or so with a post. I am also happy to say that some of my blogging friends have offered to share some of their posts! Here is the first one! Thanks for sharing Chelsea!

Hello there! Chelsea with a bushel 'n' a peck here and it is my pleasure to be guest posting here at ...AND AWAY WE GO! Leanne was so gracious to invite me to share this fun, inexpensive kiddo activity that is a favorite in our house.

So for those that don't know my oldest daughter (3) doesn't attend day care. We are fortunate enough to have work schedules that allow us (my husband for the most part) to be home with our little ones. So in an effort to try and keep her engaged we try new little artsy things to do.

While trying new things is great it can also cost a lot of money. It takes little to no time at all to take a trip to Hobby Lobby or Michaels and spend a fortune. So thanks to many a Pinterest pinners I have been able to get ideas for our arts and crafts. This day was bottle cap stamps.

Gather your supplies. In our case it only cost us $1. We started to collect bottle caps, have plenty of paint and paper, only needed the foam stickers.

Start by sticking a variety of stickers onto the flat side of bottle caps.

To apply the paint you can either allow your kiddo to stamp into some paint or apply some paint with a paint brush. I applied for my little one (at the time 2) and allowed her to stamp.

My foam stickers were different forms of transportation so as we stamped we talked all about the modes of transportation and the color we were stamping. She loved it!

How easy was that? Well the little one doesn't know, all they know was they got to stamp to their heart's content. She didn't quite understand stamping and pressure but I think did pretty well for her age. This was a fun activity that we will do again.

What a fabulous idea!  Here are some other great posts from  a bushel 'n' a peck. 

Free printable

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Outdoor Games for Preschoolers

This spring, the boys and I have been spending a lot of time playing in our driveway. The weather has been great and I am happy to be soaking it all up before it becomes too hot to play! Now that Andrew is 3 he is beginning to enjoy structured games, as long as they move quickly and aren't too complicated! Most of the outdoor games we enjoy involve sidewalk chalk or bubbles, so when he lost interest in the ones we had been playing I did a quick Pinterest search and found some fun new games to try!

One activity I've been excited to try for a long time is Sidewalk Painting. Jessica from Prairie Girl to Southern Belle shared her recipe for Sidewalk Paint a few weeks ago and it looks quite simple (I think I'll have more fun with it than Andrew)!

Sidewalk Paint

I was happy to find some great Sidewalk Chalk Activities that help with the recognition of letters, numbers and colours...

Colour Hop

Driveway Board Game

Water Balloon Number Target Practice

...and here are some awesome ideas for keeping cool when the heat of summer strikes!

Build Your Own Sprinkler

Ice Bowling

Pool Noodle Sprinkler

Baby Tub Water Table

I think Andrew, and some other neighbourhood kids, will have a ton of fun with these outdoor games this summer. What games do you and your little ones play in the driveway??

Looking for more learning activities that are great for preschoolers? Check out these posts:

Patterning with Preschoolers

Letter Sound Fun

                           

A fun way to learn letter sounds...

Convincing preschoolers to work on learning their letter sounds is not always an easy task. Finding fun and creative ways to work on this skill is important but can be difficult. Using objects like clothespins (they keep busy hands busy!) and centering activities around your child's interests (superheros all the way at our place) are great ways to get your kids excited about learning.

Andrew has been able to name his letters for awhile now, and he is getting pretty good at identifying intial letter sounds. I wanted to utilize clothespins in an activity to work on this skill and I came up with the idea of using photos of his friends at daycare. I used the online photo editor Pic Monkey to create a printable card with all of his buddies' smiling faces, and stuck their initials on clothespins for a fun matching game.

I was so happy with the finished product that I decided to print one off for each of his friends! I also, thought it would be a good idea to make some name pins for when they need a new challenge.

Creating the printable was really straight forward so I made up a couple of printable options for anyone who might be interested! Superheros and Princesses never seem to get old, so print off what your little one likes and have some fun!

PDF (with letters and names)

PDF (with letters and names)

Linking Up

Pin Junkie - Friday Link Party

The Taylor House - Pinterest Power Party

DIY Easter Baskets

I'm sure that it is a little late for anyone to decide to throw together an Easter basket project, but I wanted to share the baskets I finished for the boys anyway! Maybe you can "Pin it" for next year?!

I wanted the boys to have matching baskets and when I took a look at what as out there, I thought that I could probably DIY it for much cheaper and be happier with the finished product. So, using a couple of Dollar Store baskets, and some scrap fabric (from this project), I got to work!

I didn't have enough fabric to make a full liner for the basket, but there was just enough to trim the edges. To do this, I simply sewed a very long rectangle, and folded it around the top edge of the basket. 

I secured the fabric with a small piece of velcro, and added a piece of twine. I painted a couple of wooden letters and attached them with hot glue.

I wonder what goodies the boys will find in their baskets this Sunday??

Happy Easter!

xo

A spring bird feeder...

Good morning! Today I am over at The Taylor House sharing a fun kid's craft for springtime. Take a second to check it out!

Don't forget to check out some of Chrissy's other great posts and the incredible features from her "Pinterest Power Party"!

Organizing kid's medicine...

Why is it that our children's symptoms always strike in the middle of the night? I can't count the number of times I've had to frantically search my cupboards, in the dark, looking for Tylenol to ease the pain of teething or treat a fever. Up until now, I had kept all of our kid's medicine in a small travel bag. This worked well for tossing in a suitcase, but was not ideal for quick access at home. I decided that with a growing collection of lotions and potions, it was time for an upgraded system!

I started by picking up this tackle box at Canadian Tire. I gathered all of our kid's medication into one spot and tossed anything that wasn't being used or had expired. I was happy to see that everything fit nicely into the box, including measuring spoons and droppers, with room for anything else we may need to add!

In order to save more night time frustration I printed up a fever chart and a dosage chart for Infant and Children's Tylenol as well as the Advil drops... my eyes can never focus on the small print at 3:00 am! 

I attached the 4 charts with a ring clip and tucked them into a little pocket, made from paper and tape, on the top of the storage box.

 I'm hopeful that the worst of cold and flu season is behind us, but poor Henry has some pretty 

swollen looking gums that will keep us up in the night's ahead... wish me luck!

Linking Up

The Taylor House - Pinterest Power Party
I Heart Organizing
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Organize It! Monthly Organizing Link Party