Playground Fun

I try to take Jack & Grace to the playground every day because they both love it so much. I also hope to create fun summer memories for Jack and Grace that they will remember all winter long until the playground weather returns in the spring. We usually go to the playground every afternoon but we are expecting 90+ degree temperatures today so we decided to go first thing this morning to beat the heat! The swings are always a favorite for Jack and Grace.

Jack's Magnetic Tray!

Jack loves his round cookie sheet, which I use as a magnetic learning tray. Jack especially loves the photographs of his family, which are glued onto magnetic paper (thanks to Maddy). Jack also has magnetic pictures of animals, shapes, and common objects. Jack is doing such an amazing job recognizing the names of items (through reaching and touching the named objects) using his magnetic tray. Jack also loves to move the magnets around on his tray with his hands.

Dancing With Grace

In the words of Grace, "I'm a ballerina!" We attended Small Steps School of Dance's Open House today and it was here that Grace instantly fell in love with the magical world of dance. Grace will begin ballet and tap dancing lessons at this studio in September and I can't wait for her to start! In preparation for today's visit, Grace and I have been reading books all about ballet. Each night before bed Grace practices her ballet positions ~ she is so graceful and is such a natural dancer. What made today's visit to Small Steps School of Dance extra special for Grace was trying on her first pair of black tap shoes. Grace was beaming as she tapped away on the wooden dance floor.

Eight Months Old!

Our happy boy turned eight months old today. Jack has changed so much over the past month. He is now crawling and he loves to talk! Jack brings a smile to everyone's face and he continues to light up a room with his bright blue eyes and priceless smile. Jack has learned to use a pincer grasp and works very hard to pick up tiny finger foods. Jack understands so many words and he loves sign language. Some of Jack's favorite things include the following: books, being outside, going to the lake, finger painting, balloons, Grace, cars, trucks, motorcycles, mirrors, animals, balls, trees, his Monkey, music, dancing, his jump-a-oo, bubbles, holding onto his own spoon, and silly faces & sounds. Happy 8 months, sweet Jack-a-roo. Thank you for bringing such great joy and happiness to our lives.

Sun Prints

We have been waiting for a weather forecast all week of sun, sun, and more sun! First thing this morning Grace & Jack collected a few of their favorite things including Ella, Monkey, items found in nature, beads & bracelets, animals, a stethoscope, a book & marker, and shapes. We carefully laid the items on colored construction paper and then Grace, Jack, and I left the items in the sun for several hours while we went to our lake beach. By the time we returned home the color of the paper had faded around the objects from the sun, leaving soft images behind! This was a fun and simple project that we will be doing again and again. The sun prints will make a great matching activity for Jack when he is a little older (especially for learning and matching shapes) and it is a project that Grace can do on all on her own. I am planning on framing Grace's Ella print & Jack's Monkey print for their rooms! Now all we need is lots more sunny weather ahead...

Fun At The Children's Museum!

Long Pond -- A Hidden Gem

After story time at our library today one of the mothers there mentioned a place in a nearby town called Long Pond. Since Long Pond was less than fifteen minutes away from our house I decided we would drive there before heading home for lunch just to check it out. The directions given to me ended near an old gate along a remote back road. This gate was the entrance to a hidden path which led into the woods. Grace, Jack, and I followed that short path which magically opened up before us into Long Pond. I was immediately struck by how stunningly beautiful the scenery before me was and I couldn't believe how lucky we were to have found this place. Long Pond is surrounded by mountains on all sides and the water there is warm and crystal clear. It is the perfect place for our family because the water is shallow enough for Grace to walk all the way out to the center of the very large pond and for Jack to crawl and play in the water well off of the shoreline! We were all so taken with Long Pond that Grace, Jack, and I lost track of time and ended up playing there -- and without any bathing suits or towels! By the time we left for home we were all very wet and sandy but oh so happy to have found this perfect place. It truly is a hidden gem and we can't wait to spend so many more of our days at Long Pond.

Jack's Oatmeal Bin

Jack loves our rice, sand, and bean bins so I decided to make him his very own oatmeal bin for a fun sensory play activity. I enjoy hiding items inside the bin for Jack to find with his hands. Jack loves finding animals and different colored shapes within the oatmeal. This is a great way to incorporate sensory, fine motor, and language skills and most importantly it lots of fun for Jack. Another added bonus of using oatmeal is that it is safe & nutritious (a whole grain!) for Jack to eat.

Don't you just LOVE those dimpled hands & wrist and arm folds?!! :)

Hidden Treasure Rocks!

Grace made little treasure "rocks" today by mixing the following ingredients together:

1 cup of flour
1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of salt
1/4 cup of sand
3/4 cup of water

Grace mixed all of the above ingredients together until it formed a dough-like consistency.

Grace broke off small pieces of the dough and shaped each one into a rock. Grace then pressed little treasures of her choice into the center of each rock (e.g., coins, animal figures, etc.). Grace has her hidden treasure stones drying on a cookie sheet. It should take 2-3 days for them to fully dry and once that happens I'll give Grace some tools to chip away at her stones until she finds her treasures. I also made some rocks for Grace so that the treasures inside will be a surprise for her. I'll post pictures of Grace's rock excavation later this week!

Pizzicato!

Every morning while Jack takes his nap Grace & I have what I call "our special all girl book time." One of Grace's favorite books right now is called Musical Instruments, which is created by Gallimard Jeunesse. Grace has learned so much from this book. Grace has been learning that sounds are made through rapid movements called vibrations. Today Grace learned how a piano makes music --how small hammers strike piano strings of different lengths which then vibrate to produce sound. Grace also learned that longer strings make lower sounds and shorter strings make higher sounds. We opened up my piano after reading this book this morning so Grace could experiment with the padded hammers and strings. Grace has also learned that there are 88 keys on the piano, she can tell me what a scale is, and she can name all of the instruments in a symphony orchestra! Grace's favorite new word right now is pizzicato, which means to pluck strings on instruments like a violin, cello, bass, or guitar. Grace has also learned about musical instruments from around the word and can name several including: an Indian sitar, a Lapland flute, Spanish castanets, Swiss bells, an Amazon flute, and Kora of Mali. The last page of the book demonstrates how you can make your own musical instruments at home. Grace made her very own guitar by stretching rubber bans of different widths around a box. Grace enjoyed making the rubber bands vibrate to make music -- pizzicato! Here is Grace making her homemade guitar by stretching rubber bands around a wooden box.

Beach Baby

We have had a cool summer so far with temperatures struggling to reach 80 degrees most days. We finally had a hot summer day today -- it was nearly 90 degrees! We spent most of our day at the lake. Jack couldn't get enough of the cool lake water and he absolutely loved floating along the shoreline. Jack also loves playing with the sand. Jack is definitely a beach baby and what a cute one he is!!!

Feeding The Goats

We went to the Topsham Fair today. Grace was so excited to pet and feed goats, pigs, cows, sheep, rabbits, and alpacas. I love the way these pictures capture Grace's deep love of animals and how kind and gentle she is with them.

A Red Balloon!

Jack was given a red balloon at the Topsham Fair today and he was literally shaking with excitement! Jack was BEAMING when we tied the red balloon to his stroller. Jack was so excited to have his very own red balloon -- just like the one we read about together every night before bedtime in the book Goodnight Moon.

Art In The Park

We attended South Portland's 30th annual "Art in the Park" show on Saturday at the duck pond park that Grace, Jack, and I visit to every Thursday after our music group. It was exciting for Grace and Jack see their favorite park transform into a live art show that featured nearly two hundred artists and their original artwork. I hope that by exposing Grace and Jack to all types of art at an early age, including music and dance, that it will inspire lifelong imagination and creativity!

Happy Faces of Our Sweet Jack-a-roo!

"Dada"

Jack is quite the talker! I love waking up every morning hearing Jack's happy squeals, raspberries, and sound play over the baby monitor. Jack is very expressive and is full of so many happy stories. Jack's favorite word right now is "dada," which we all love hearing.

Salad Spinner Art

Grace had such a great time with this activity. First, Grace cut out lots of paper circles to fit in the bottom of the salad spinner. Grace then poured in different colors of paint and spun away! Grace made so many salad spinner art circles and each one is so beautiful and unique depending on the colors used and how fast Grace spun the salad spinner. By the time Grace was done with this project she and I were giggling because Grace looked just like her salad spinner art circles - she was swirled with paint too!

Cooling Off With Colored Ice Cubes!

Last week Grace and Jack had a great time playing with water. Jack enjoys scooping, pouring, and splashing water & Grace loves to mix different colors of water together. When Grace and Jack were done with their water play we poured the different colors of water (red, blue, orange, & green) into a mini muffin tin and put it into our freezer to use on the next hot day. Today was the perfect summer day to use our frozen colored ice. We filled different sized bins with water and then added Jack and the colored ice cubes!! Jack loved sitting in the water bin and he had such a great time watching the water turn different colors as the ice cubes slowly melted. Grace thought the bin look inviting so she climbed right in too!

Beautiful Gracie Girl

My "Mommy Vase"

Maddy gave Grace and Jack this beautiful "Mommy vase" and it has become one of my favorite things! The vase has tiny holes all around it which are designed to hold flowers with short stems that a child would typically pick. I am such a lucky Mommy because Grace and Jack love to pick flowers when we go on our daily morning walk. My "Mommy vase" is such a special way to display all of the beautiful flowers picked by my incredibly sweet children.