Happy Birthday Doc

1 Mar

March 2nd (TOMORROW) is Dr. Seuss’ Birthday!  This is one of my favorite days to celebrate BOTH at school and at home!  Here are some fun things we’ve done in the past along with a few new ideas at the bottom, including a Montessori inspired activity!

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What’s a party without some fun snacks!  Here are a few quick and easy treats to make for the big birthday bash :).  DR. SEUSS SNACKS LINK

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This Thing One and Thing Two craft is still hanging up in our play room, it’s one of my favorites!  Here is the link to the directions:  THING 1 & THING 2 CRAFT

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We love to make Green Eggs and Ham for one of our meals on March 2nd!  My boys are already talking about it!  Here’s How we’ve done this in the past…   GREEN EGGS AND HAM LINK

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This One Fish Two Fish craft was made easily using paper plates and paint…  Here is the link…  ONE FISH TWO FISH RED FISH BLUE FISH

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This craft is so pretty and also very simple.  It reminds me a little bit of my Sorority Days (go ISU DZ :)) because it uses puffy paint!  Puffy paint and straws make this simple craft a favorite around here!  Plus, who doesn’t love truffula trees???

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This idea comes from http://www.livingmotessorinow.com. It’s pretty self explanatory!  I think you could adjust this work, a well, by making 6 hats and writing one number on each hat from 0-5.  The students then have to place that amount of red poms on the hat!

So cute, I could celebrate Dr. Seuss all month, and I might :).

 

 

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GO CUBS GO!

4 Nov

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Kindergarten Halloween -at Word Lesson

1 Nov

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This week I had the opportunity to teach a lesson to my son’s Kindergarten class.  His teacher requested a lesson on The -AT Word Family and since I happened to be teaching on Halloween I figured there was no better time to bring in a black cat :).  The lesson was pretty easy to prepare.  I pre-made a construction paper cat for each child.  The front of the cat was black and the back was white.   I let the children cut the stenciled cat out and also gave them white paper for the whiskers, pink paper for the nose, a black circle for the curly tail, and of course google eyes!!!  I really love the way they each made their cat a little bit different… You can see a couple examples in these pictures!  I really think these sweet black cats look a little bit like their creators :).  The curly tails were a little tricky, but the kiddos did an amazing job.  I taught them how to cut a circle into a spiral and then attach it to their cat!  They are hard to see in the pics, but were absolutely adorable!

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On the white side of the kitty we wrote down all of the -at family words we could think of. CAT, SAT, FAT, MAT, RAT, PAT, BAT, HAT, VAT, and even CHAT!   Some children were able to do this quickly on their own, while others needed some guided instruction.  It was an easily differentiated lesson in this way!  You could definitely extend this lesson by having them read their words out loud to the class, individually to an adult, or even to a partner!

Have I mentioned that I LOVE KINDERGARTEN???  CUZ I DO :)!

 

 

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Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

12 Nov

2950177772_4e9fc2f2e3In the spirit of the season, I brought out an old favorite for the cooking class I teach at Montessori.  It’s called “PUMPKIN PIE PLAY DOUGH” and it’s awesome!  It smells and looks like pumpkin pie, but it’s play dough… I highly suggest making it, it was so much fun! I tripled this recipe to make enough for 12 children to take home. The recipe below is originally from Family Fun Magazine…

Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tarter

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon veg oil

1 cup water

6 drops red food coloring

15 drops of yellow food coloring

Combine dry ingredients in a non-stick pan

Add oil, water, food coloring and whisk until smooth

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms a ball

Turn onto counter, let cool slightly, knead until smooth

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SOCCER MOM

15 Oct

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The words “Soccer Mom”  crack a bit of a giggle in society today…  There’s a bit of a negative connotation that goes along with being a “soccer mom”…  I’m not really sure how that started and I actually don’t know how it became so laughable?  Is it because soccer mom’s drive big SUV’s that haul multiple children, gear, and various snacks; not to mention smashed goldfish, wet homework papers and stinky socks?  Is it because soccer mom’s sit on the sidelines and chitchat about the community, school and neighborhood happenings?  Is it because soccer mom’s show up with enough chairs, blankets, hats, mittens, coats, scarves, and snacks to share with the entire sidelines?  Maybe it’s because soccer mom’s come straight from work, the market, the post office, or the urgent care clinic and arrive EXACTLY as the ball is dropping for kick off?  Better yet, it must be because soccer mom’s have volunteered to help coach the team along with organizing the snack schedule, picture day paperwork, volunteering at the school and making sure the crock pot meal will be ready in time for some hungry players immediately following tonight’s game.   I’m sure at some point or another I’ve participated in giggling about this mommy stereotype, but I have something to tell you… Being a SOCCER MOM is actually really enjoyable- as my boys would say, “it’s super fun”.   It’s beyond exciting to watch your young one out on the field vying for the ball while you simultaneously hold a conversation with several other parents about which program you should enroll your child in the next season.  It’s exhilarating to watch your child score a goal and act like an airplane while running towards his teammates for a big group hug!  It melts your heart when the coach hugs your little player after the winning goal gets past him in the net and tells him it’s all part of the game.  And it’s simply amazing to witness the pride on your child’s face when he realizes that his part of the team is important and valuable.   The stereotypes are right, my SUV is packed, my schedule is tight, and my voice is loud (B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E)!  Being a soccer mom is a gift and a blessing that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.   Thank you S Brothers for giving this girl the gift of being a soccer mom!  GO BULLDOGS!

P.S.  I can’t wait for Baseball Season!!!  🙂

Easy Halloween Crafts

8 Oct

Here are just a couple Halloween Crafts we’ve done in the past… ENJOY

BDP_3436The boys and I made spiders for decoration…  I used black construction paper cut into a circle for the body… Fan folded strips of black paper for the legs and used a white crayon to draw the faces… I certainly wouldn’t want to find one of these guys in the corner of my living room!

BDP_3440I made these “mummy cups” by wrapping a paper cup in gauze and sticking some google eyes to the front of the cup… I filled the cups with glow sticks, pencils, erasers, noise makers and a sucker and gave one to each of the kids…

BDP_3560What is a special holiday without cut out cookies!  My kids love rolling, cutting and even decorating cookies!

Stio 

31 Jul

   
   
Over spring break this year the fam and I traveled to Jackson Hole to see our Aunt Hannie and Uncle Tom.  We were tooling around town and I snapped this pic of the boys in their favorite Stio hats… Stio is a store that started in JH specializing in outdoor clothing and adventure gear 😉…  They currently have retail stores in Jackson Hole and Chicago, as well as their online business!  

 We posted the pic to Instagram and the people from Stio contacted us…  One thing led to another and before we knew it Ben and the boys had earned a fun gig…  This week Stio began to launch their fall and winter lines and we found our sweet boys had made their website!  If you are looking for cute outdoor clothing for you or your little ones, check out www.stio.com 

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HAND PRINT SUNFLOWERS

16 Jul


We are a baseball family.  Our boys LOVE baseball and are picking up all aspects of the sport very quickly.  This season, my husband coached our older boy’s little league teams.   Did you know that on your resume for coaching you need to indicate whether you “spit seeds” or not?  I guess it’s a prerequisite for coaching the sport of baseball, who knew????  Well our baseball season is over, but for some reason, spitting season is not.  Just for the record, I am not a fan of seed spitting.  I will, however, tolerate this as I live with four dudes and I’d much rather they spit seeds then spit ANYTHING else…  Needless to say, the seed spitting habit has brought about a few questions around our house… Where do sunflower seeds come from?  Where do sunflowers grow?  How big do they get?  Should we pick some?  As you know, I like to use every opportunity I can as a teachable moment, so  Daddy’s “habit” was turned into a quick lesson on sunflowers.  We’ve been growing sunflowers but the big buggers take a long time to grow…  We decided online research was our best way to learn quickly!  Once we learned all we could about these beauty’s we made these cute projects..  To duplicate the project you will need:

white construction paper

Yellow & green tempera paint & brushes

white glue

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I simply painted my boys hands with the yellow paint and lightly pressed their gooey fingers on the paper to make a hand petal!  I repeated this four times in opposing directions to mimic the shape of a flower.  I then let them paint their own stems and leaves.  Once our pictures had dried we used white glue to attach a few (don’t worry Daddy) of Mister’s sunflower seeds to the center of our flowers…  Viola, handprint sunflowers!  I think we’ll keep these up all summer, they are so sunny!

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Thank You #blueballoonsforsydney 

20 Jun

  

  Last Monday I began my day by contacting three other families that were friends with the Galleger’s to ask them if they would help me with this small idea I had of “Blue Balloons for Sydney”.  I made a couple of graphics, flyers, and Facebook buttons to post on social media.   Tuesday night I created a public Facebook page and invited three hundred of my Minnesota friends to participate.  That invite list is now nearing 15,000. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate what is happening around Eden Prairie, Minnesota, The USA, and the world. I am beyond grateful, completely humbled and quite frankly in awe of the way so many people have come together for this family.    Thank you ALL so much for honoring, loving, and praying for a hurting family.  Sydney has saved lives, brought a community together and impacted a world. She was nothing short of a miracle… She truly is an angel!   

Keep those thoughts and prayers coming…  #blueballoonsforsydney doesn’t end today…  XOXO. 

Shannon 

  
If you want to see the amazing pictures check out the “Blue Balloons for Sydney” Facebook page!  

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Blue Balloons for Sydney 

16 Jun

 You may have heard about the 17 year old, full of life, contagious spirit of a girl, Sydney Galleger who passed away due to complications from oral surgery this week. I grew up with her family and her aunt is still one of my dearest friends.  Her funeral is this Saturday 6/20/15 at 11:11am. To show our support, we are asking the community to display blue (whatever shade you can find) balloons in front of their house or business to celebrate Sydney’s huge heart and cherished 17 years of life. We want to blanket Eden Prairie and surrounding areas to honor Sydney. We’d love for the balloons to be up by 9:00am so that the Galleger’s can feel our love on the way to the funeral of their special girl. Thank you for showing your support! Please help spread the word! 

    

No matter where you live; Colorado (like me) or Canada or China, I’d love for you to participate!  Please just post a picture of your balloons to mommyapolis’s Facebook page and I will share them with the family!  Let’s show this family the power of a world wide community!  

 

Please also include the family in your prayers going forward.  Thank you!  

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