I love buying kits for the kids - it makes it so much easier when everything you need is included in one package. Check out this website for science kits, they offer fun toys designed to teach your child science. I have never loved science so I’ve bought kits and things to help me teach Alice. My Aunt taught me second and third grades and I remember she made science fun because of the experiments. So far the science we have done has been limited to things the kids could do mostly on their own, or at least with limited help.

In grade school my favorite was building a tornado, probably because it is so easy to do with a plastic bottle. I bet the other most popular things to build is a volcano. The best part of a volcano is the end, when you see your work come to life. I know my kids would love that. The volcano kit looks fun, it is a volcano landscape with seven volcanoes and you are able to create various lava flows (can you imagine a six food tall spew?). The kit includes everything you would need - paint, labels, a guide, and a 32 page book with facts, stories, activities and experiments.

One kit I know I need to buy is the anatomy kit. Alice knows all of her body parts already and has been asking for one for a few weeks now. I don’t know all of the scientific names for bones or anything either so we have had to look everything up. It would be so much easier to have something for her to be able to look at.

A couple of weeks ago we stopped by the craft store and grabbed a couple of Klutz kits. I waver between thinking they are a great deal because they have everything you will need to complete the project and thinking they are expensive. And yes, that’s the coupon loving, clearance shopping part of me talking!

Anyway, we bought the potholder kit and finally opened it up. Alice loves it!

Starting out….

Five rows of weaving and she’s got it!

And this one is done.

She loves it so much she wanted to do more. There is a project in the book that had you make two potholders and then stitch them together to make a purse.

Moving right along…

And in other kid accomplishments - Alice learned how to tie her shoes by herself! This was the first day she did it.

If you haven’t already, check out TheToyMaker.com. I just found out about the site recently and wow - it is just so fun! I just got the Valentine’s newsletter she sends out and I printed six of the project she sent out. I’m always looking for new stuff for the kids to do. Granted, they are toys made out of paper so who knows how long they will last. LOL But it is quick and easy and fun - and it is free but you can donate.

The site is full of paper projects but I haven’t printed any yet. The newsletter is full of so many other things that they keep us busy.

Have fun!

My friend Nicole was one of three people who put together a Kids Activity Calendar. Click here for a free lesson on the Letter “A”.

I am loving this! My son is three years old and earlier this month I started doing more with him with school activities. I think he was a little jealous of Alice “doing school” and so he basically insisted on starting preschool. He’s doing great for his age. He knows a good majority of the basics - colors, shapes, alphabet, counting - so I’m now starting to build on that. We worked with numbers today and he stops counting at 14. LOL And probably a third of the time he stops at “R” and says “now I know my ABCs, next time won’t you sing with me” and smiles.

If you want to buy the full kids calendar, click here. The website will tell you more but here is what is included:

* Introduction of a new letter each week
* Weekly coloring sheets and printable worksheets
* Fun weekly audio about the letter of the week
* Crafts, Activities And Snack Ideas
* Parent Guide

That was me that highlighted the crafts. What kid doesn’t love doing crafts? The calendar is at an ‘early bird’ price of $29.97, which comes down to $1.15 per letter. That is a lot of stuff for $1.15 per letter!

The kids are both up late tonight because Daddy is working until about 1AM. When that happens I don’t make them go to bed until 11. Geez we have a crazy schedule right? LOL But we have plans, we need to work on either the bookmarks we are making or our Valentine’s Day cards.

Technorati Tags: Kids Activity Calendar, kids calendar, crafts

A quick break in submitting the last few assignments I owe to share this!

My friend Marie Ynami put together Carol for a Cause - a very unique Christmas Fundraiser inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas. She did this last year too but I didn’t participate. This year the fundraiser is from December 13-25 and all proceeds will be donated to the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

To listen to the carols and donate please visit Carol for a Cause.

Once your donation is received, you will be redirected to a page where you can access all of the carols - sung by WAHMs and sometimes their kids too. As a thank you Marie has included resources and books such as:

- Traditional Christmas Carols
- Holiday Stress Ebook
- Creating a Magical Family Christmas
and some business resource ebooks too

Check out Carol for a Cause to hear my daughter and I singing along with Kenny Chesney.

It’s been ages since I found out about stenciling on shirts. I didn’t try it at first, but since then I’ve given in and enjoyed many an afternoon of painting. It’s the drying that I am impatient about!

Remember back when I talked about the kids painting and gluing? I have a picture of one of them on my table now.

I’ve been keeping the table cleared off so we can work there and of course display candles and the little painted boxes.

See the batting and piece of material there? That’s the very early beginnings of a rag quilt! My Mom and I planned on doing it as a joint project - then we moved. I’m going to at least start it and then we are going to figure out who is going to do what.

Really, a table can’t stay totally clear! Not with a crafter in the house, right? And the pile of notebooks is mine too - I’m taking one class this semester, plus I just love notebooks and am a list person.
Oh yeah, my friend Monica (and her family) came over and she and I started the little crocheted hat and the handkerchief I talked about yesterday. I told her that we should just doing joint projects - I started the handkerchief and she started the hat. Then we switched when I though I messed up, so she was going to corrent it for me thus I kept working on the hat.

I wonder how wierd a peice would end up if it were worked on by different people? Do crocheted pieces done by a right or left handed person end up looking different? Are there different ways to crochet? I mean different styles?