FREE App Friday!

If you have any little ones around (kids, students, grandbabies...) you MUST check this out!  I just downloaded ALL of them because... well, they're FREE!

Check them out at Smart Apps for Kids

What's your favorite app for kids?
XO!

Alphabet Easter Activity for Little Ones

This is a super fun way to practice letters with your toddler or preschooler! There are so many variations that can be done to satisfy your little one's development and what kiddo doesn't love Easter eggs?!

Start with a bag of plastic eggs.  I got this bag from Walmart, about $1.99.  48 eggs total.  We only need 26.

Based on your little one's letter recognition, you can do this a couple of ways.

• The first way is to write the uppercase letter and lowercase letter on the same colored egg.  This will help narrow the choices down for your kiddo, making them feel more successful (which is what this is ALL about).  
• The second way is to mix all of the egg pieces up and write the uppercase and lowercase letters on different colored pieces.  They will have to rely on the letter, rather than the color.  (You will have to cut the pieces apart if you choose this method.)

Using a sharpie, and your best writing, write an uppercase and lowercase for each letter.  Make sure to get the uppercase on the TOP egg and the lowercase on the BOTTOM egg. 

My daughter knows all of her letters so I opted for the mixed colored eggs.  This is will help her become more fluent with recognizing both uppercase and lowercase letters. 

Activities with your eggs:  (remember, your goal is to help your child feel successful so start small)

• Start with a few eggs (the letters in their name is a great start).  As your little one gets better, add a couple of eggs. 
• Hide the eggs and line them in ABC order as you find them.
• Put small objects that begin with that letter and guess what may be in it. 
• Have your little one sort objects by beginning sound and put in correct egg. 

Can you add any fun activities to the list? 

XO!

I Pinned This - Mess Free Painting

Sometimes messy things don't bother me.  Sometimes I would rather stab myself in the hand than deal with the mess.  Today is one of the stabbing kind of days.

Here's what Pinterest promises: 

I got out a plastic freezer Zip-loc bag and cut a piece of card stock to fit inside the bag. I squeezed some big drops of different coloured tempera paint onto the paper and very carefully slid the paper into the bag. I then closed the bag and using duct tape, taped it to one of our craft trays. (Rainy Day Mum)

Here's what I did:
I got a Zip-loc bag, the only paint we had laying around, and some clear packing tape.

I keep my paint in a bottom drawer of my craft dresser, thus the dot of paint on the top of the lid. It helps know what color the bottle is without pulling every container out! 

I squeezed in some paint.  Not too much because I know my kid and the likelihood of the painting squirting out from too much pressure was high.

I taped it up to the sliding glass door instead of the table.  Partly because of what I said about paint squirting out (and the hope that it would be harder to pop the paint up) and letting the light shine through the bag to see whatever she was "painting".

Make sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing and taping it! 

Play and enjoy! 

And even with my high-energy little one, this was fun and held her attention for enough time to make lunch at least! 

XO!

Breastfeeding is Hard, Part 1

This post is an honest account of a new mom and breastfeeding.

When I was pregnant with Chloe, I was very unprepared for a lot.  Some of it may have had to do with the surprise of her and the denial of me throughout almost 7 months of pregnancy.  I was very on the fence about breastfeeding before her arrival (but I mostly mean I was leaning on the fence and standing on the 'no way' side).  And this is more honest that I've ever admitted out loud... I was scared the hubby (who wasn't the hubby then) wouldn't find me desirable after watching me feeding someone out of my boob. Selfish, immature, naive.  I gave it a shot though.  It wasn't a "I really want to do this and make it work" kind of shot, it was a "I don't want anyone to think I'm a bad mom if I don't do this" shot.  Selfish, immature, naive. It lasted maybe 5 days... maybe 4, and I hated it.

Becoming a stay-at-home mom with Aria meant losing an income into our family.  Formula is expensive.  I knew breastfeeding was going to be more of a necessity this time around and I had grown into mother hood enough to know that I could do this, probably.

In case you didn't know, there are not lactation consultants available to you at the hospital during Labor Day weekend.  I relied on memory of what the consultant told me with Chloe, the nurse that got stuck working on the holiday weekend who was not overly friendly/helpful, and instinct.  I was very conscious of her latch, I was generous with the Lanolin ointment and it still HURT.  Day 2-5 is by far the worse.  By day 2, I was cracked and bleeding.  It was turning into the same story as Chloe.  We went home from the hospital on Sunday, I was ready to quit Monday.  Part of my milk supply and settled into into a gland under my armpit, causing a huge, painful lump.  I was still cracked and raw, even after using Lanolin ointment after every feeding.  I was engorged.  I was done.  I had a breast pump from Chloe that was not expressing any milk and hurt equally bad as nursing.  (It got to the point where I was sitting on the toilet seat, crying, holding a bottle and hand-expressing - think similar to milking a cow - to have some relief, any relief.)

My mother-in-law is pro-breastfeeding and wanted it to work out for us this time.  On Monday, while I was nursing Aria, for what I expected to be the last time, she was driving the 40 minutes into Target to pick up a "good" pump and nipple shield.

Both of these were lifesavers.  The shield provided enough relief from the suction of Aria's mouth to allow the skin to heal, while still allowing her to receive milk. (It still hurt, but was manageable.)  I used it on the worst side for 1 full day, then every other feeding, than only if it was really sore, and by 4 days I no longer needed it.  The pump did not hurt while it was pumping (A good pump should NOT hurt!) and expressed enough milk to remove the intense pressure and give back the feeling of softness to my breast.  Between these two "tools" I successfully made it through the first week and what is deemed "the hardest part" of breastfeeding. 

That doesn't mean it got easier. 

Part 2 coming soon...

XO!

DIY Felt Board for Toddlers/Preschoolers

In Chloe's preschool class, the kiddos are encouraged to write books about anything that interests them.  As a way to help Chloe understand that things are drawn with different shapes, I created a felt board that she can manipulate into many different scenes using basic shapes.  (square, circle, rectangle, triangle)  As she grows, the possibilities of what she can create are endless by adding felt shapes as she wants.

Here's how to make your own.  I began with an easel we bought from Ikea last year for Christmas.  One side has a chalkboard that she loves to draw on, which is also great for her writing muscles since it's large enough that she has to reach up and pull down.  The other side is a white board that rarely gets used because of the lap-sized marker board she's always drawing on.  If you don't have an easel, a large frame would work just as well!

For an easel sized felt board, you will need 3/4 yards of fabric.  I chose black so any scenes created would "POP" out.  White or brown would have the same effect.  After cutting the felt to size, I used a clothespin to help hold it in place while I marked where I wanted to Velcro to be.  (If you are using a frame or do not care if the felt is permanent, hot glue the felt into place.  I wanted to be able to remove it should we need the marker board in the future.)

Mark where you want the Velcro to go, and sew on to secure.  I planned on using 4 pieces of Velcro - top corners and bottom corners - but once I started securing it to the frame, 6 peieces were needed to keep a taunt pull, plan accordingly. 

Once the Velcro is attached to your felt, stretch it onto the frame and mark for the companion Velcro piece. Because it was on the back of the frame and you can't see it, I hot glued the other piece of Velcro onto the wood.  

Continue as needed until you are satisfied with the tightness of the felt on the frame. 

Add whatever shapes or pieces will interest your little one! The benefit of this project is that you can customize it for you - if you don't have a lot of room, make it small, if they need help with spelling make letters that can easily be moved around, etc.  

What would you put on a felt board for your toddler or preschooler? 

XO!