Countdown to Disney!

Disney World Trip

 

We are finally doing it! This August, we will be taking the three kiddos to Disney World.

I can't WAIT for them to see it.

 

August will be warm, but never the less, it is DISNEY!!! We will have so much fun!

 

Yesterday, we booked the trip and have all of our details pretty much set.

 

Disney's Art of Animation

Hotel

 

This is where we are staying when we go. It is their newest resort and themed around Cars, Little Mermaid, and Finding Nemo. AKA- HEAVEN for the kids.

 

 

Below is the Little Mermaid-themed room we are staying in.



 

 

We are staying 5 nights, 6 days.

Dinners are all reserved.

Anticipation is building up by the day!

 

Our original plan was to not tell the children and just start driving. We were going to see how long it look Liam (4 years old) to say:

"uh...where are we going?"

Daddy decided last night to tell the kiddos. Liam JUMPED for JOY and couldn't even finish his dinner, he was so excited.

Noah (2 1/2) jumped for joy and couldn't finish eating, but..I don't think he knew why he was excited.

Amelia (1) was not phased in the least and kept eating because nothing worth cooling a meal over.

 

They were also so excited to hear that we are stopping to see our Aunt Jill and family in Alabama for a few nights. What fun this is going to be!

 

So...since we are not going for a few months, I was trying to think of things to do with them NOW to get them hyped up for the big trip.

The plan is: Every Friday night we will be having a themed dinner and movie night. (Disney-themed, of course)

 

Ex: This week is Lilo and Stitch. I will be making Hawaiian Chicken and rice, a special dessert and then we watch the movie. You may have seen this on Pinterest. It is too cute not to do. :)

 

So....we are truly SO excited and want to share our anticipation activities on here for you all to see. Enjoy!

 

 

How To Give A Pig A Pancake

Monday was a special day for the kids because Daddy was home! I decided to incorporate Daddy into our reading activity for the day. The kids LOVED it!

The book we read was If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff. I absolutely LOVE the If You Give A.... stories. I love that you can integrate so many different activities into the stories:

• If You Give A Moose A Muffin: Make Muffins with the kids and read the story.
• If You Take A Mouse To The Movies: Before going to the movies or watching one at home, read the story and pop some popcorn.
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie: Bake cookies together and read the story.
• If You Give A Pig A Party: For lunch, get a few balloons and set up the room like a party. Maybe reenact a small party for the kids, but the party is for the pig!

Here is what we did with: If You Give A Pig A Pancake:

What is even MORE fun...they have a book at the library that has a collection of the If You Give A... books. Definitely check that one out. Look at that ornery, little piggy peeking in the window. How cute is she?

 

So, as I mentioned earlier, the husband was off work for President's Day. I put him to work.....

 

Daddy was the pancake maker...and did a wonderful job!

 

While Daddy cooked the pancakes, I read the story to the kids.

 

Even my little princess loved the story!

 

The boys chowed down on their pancakes, just like that little piggy!

 

So did Mommy and Daddy........

 

 

Another little sweet pea wanted in on the fun.....

 

 

NOW she is happy!

 

In the story, the little Pig wants to mail his pictures to his friends.

They race off with all of the mail to send away.

 

 

The boys wanted to make piggies to mail off to Uncle Drew. They were not sure about 'mail' and the post-office...so the lesson went in that direction. We talked about mailboxes, bills, cards, letters, etc.

 

The boys painted paper-plates and then added all of the parts of the pig.

 

 

How cute are THESE? They will be mailed off to Uncle Drew in New York City this week.



 We could have done more with this book...but we could not pass up 50 degree weather outside.

This was a fun book and activity for the kiddos!

Again...you can check out ALL of the If You Give A...books and the activities that can accompany them are pretty easy to plan. I love to incorporate food into the lessons. Hey...they are little piggies that have to eat, right!?

 

Have a great day!!

 

Blessings!

 

Abby



The Hat

 

The book we read yesterday was The Hat by Jan Brett. *A personal favorite*

 

We read through the book together. The boys really thought it was a funny story. They didn't understand why Hedgie would want his 'hat' off if there was snow on the ground. I think I spent 15 minutes explaining that animals don't wear clothes, but have fur/feathers to keep them warm.

 

 

After we read the story, we did a great fine motor activity. I tied string to two chairs, making a clothesline. (just like in the beginning of the story) There is a continuing theme in the book of the clothesline. I showed the boys how to put the clothes-pins on the line and then how to attach clothes. We talked about why we put clothes on a line (since we don't have a clothesline). 

This is actually a great activity to pull out on a cold, rainy day! The kids LOVED hanging clothes from the line. Humm....wonder if they will do the laundry and hang it this spring for me? :)

 



 

Along with this activity, we did some other letter activities, but my camera died, so I was not able to capture any of them.

 

Now Liam was fascinated with the hedgehog in the story. He did not understand what the prickles were on the hedgehog. I have planned an activity to show him how they feel. No...not with pins and needles. :)

 

Take a potato and uncooked spaghetti pasta. Ok...add some googly eyes to the potato and a cute little, pink nose! Then let the kids add the spaghetti all over the 'back of the hedgehog (potato)'. The kids can then feel the prickly back of the hedgehog. :)

 

There are my ideas! Let me know if you do anything different!

 

Blessings!

 

Abby

Do I live in a BARN?

 

The story we read was: BARNYARD BANTER by Denise Fleming.

 

I went to the library and checked out this book. The boys enjoyed reading it and making all of the funny  noises that accompany each animal.

 

In the story, there is a goose on each page. It is chasing something. At the beginning of the story you see it trying to catch a butterfly. I asked my boys:

 

"What is the goose trying to catch?" "What will the goose do once it catches that butterfly?"

 

"What do you think the word BANTER means?"

 

"Pick an animal from the story and make the sound. We will all pick a different one and then at once we will make the sound...to create a banter!"

 

Tying into the lesson, we started talking about the letter Bb. We did some letter Bb songs and handwriting skills.

 

(to the tune of Wheels on the Bus)

The letter of the week is Bb, Bb, Bb

Bb, Bb, Bb

Bb, Bb, Bb

The letter of the week is Bb, Bb, Bb

What begins with Bb?

 

Have your child come up with words that start with Bb. For my 3 year old, I have to give a few examples and then I keep making the Bb sound so he can think of the words.

 

I have books from teaching Kindergarten that the kids use to do the writing skills, but there are numerous sites online that allow you to print your own.

 

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

 

The site above is one of my favorite 'go-to' sites for any type of learning tools with the preschool age, especially. Check out the site!

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer....The kids are using a pen because they grabbed them and begged to use them. I prefer that they use the over-sized pencils. You can buy those anywhere. I just bought more at Target. They came in a pack of 4 with a sharpener for about 3.00 or so.

 

 

Noah is a little young, but has fun with trying to write his letters.

 

 



 

Any activity I do with Liam, I do with Noah. Noah may be a little young, but watching his big brother really helps him. It also makes him feel like such a big boy!

 

It is hard to really time out activities with the boys. They may be will to sit and learn for 15 minutes or an hour. It all depends. Noah has a shorter attention-span (being younger) than Liam.

 

The best advice I can give to ANY parent that is trying to create a literacy-enriched home environment is... utilize your public library! We have the most amazing children's librarian where we live.

 

Also- you truly can incorporate a book into every part of your day!

 

Examples:

When we were heading to the Smokey Mountains for vacation last year, our librarian found 15+ books about the mountains, bears, hiking, etc.

 

FUN activities like: Making muffins with your child after you read If You Give A Moose A Muffin.

Popping popcorn after reading If You Take a Mouse To The Movie.

Before a bike ride you can read Curious George Rides a Bike.

 

The ideas are ENDLESS!

 

Now this does require some planning ahead. Think about the week you want to have and then make a list of the things you will be doing. It can be anything from making PB&J for lunch to going to a doctors appointment. Recently, Liam went to the dentist for the first time. I had purchased a "my first time at the dentist" book and he took it with him. He had the hygienist and the dentist sign and date the inside cover.

 

My goal for this project on my blog is to open your eyes to literacy and give you ideas GALORE on ways to add books into your everyday life!

 

Join my fun and let me know along the way if you have questions.

Also share with me the literacy activities you do with your little one(s).

 

What happens after a day of activites and reading.....

 

A 'ready for rest' child. (not always...this was a rare occassion!)

If you need any ideas...please let me know! 

 

 

Blessings!

 

Abby

New Direction

With the children asleep, I contemplated what to do with my time. My list of things I could do are as follows:

Laundry
Clean Kitchen
Dust and Vacuum
Organize toys
Clean craft room (yikes is it messy!)
Start the new blog I wanted to start

So what did I decide was MOST imperative that I start right away? You guessed it. A new blogging topic that I am pretty excited about. I want to use my existing account, but go in a different direction. With my two boys leaving their toddler phase and entering their preschool phase of life {tissue...sniff sniff...where is the time GOING?}, I have been doing activities with them to prepare for Pre-k/K. I want to start sharing the things I am doing at home with them so that it may inspire you to do the same with your little ones.

The activities are almost always centered around literacy. I am a big advocate for early literacy and find it the basis of all education. {I am sure you agree...or you should.} I hope to get pictures of my children doing the activities and to be as descriptive as possible for you, with the activities I do. I am going to post our most recent activity at home and will post more as we do more! Let me know if you have any questions.

Blessings!

Abby

Potato Soup {Recipe for Uncle Drew}

This is a picture tutorial for Uncle Drew on how to make yummy Potato Soup!

 Gather your ingredients:

Potatoes

Onion (I used frozen.)

Eggs

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Stick of butter

Evaporated Milk



First take a peeler and your potatoes. Get a plastic bag for the peelings.

OH NO!!!!!!!!

You forgot to wash your hands.

 



 

Wash them good!

 

I would suggest you check Noah for accidents in his pants before beginning!

 

Ok-- start peeling. I peel a whole 5lb bag. Put the peeled potatoes in a colander.

 

Look at those peelings. Throw them away, but remember to remove your peeler before disposing of the bag.

 

5lbs of potatoes...peeled. Eww...dirty!!

 

Fill your soup pot with water. You want just enough water to cover the potatoes after you dice them up.

I don't normally add much water. You can always add more once you see how full it gets with potatoes.

 



 

Clean them taters!

 

Clean them REALLY good.

 

Now dice up your potatoes. Careful to not cut off a finger. I have had close calls before. Wet potatoes can be kind of hard to work with.

Put your diced potatoes in the pot of water.

 



 

Add salt. Very important that you salt the potatoes. But....beware of how much salt you use. You must generously salt the potatoes, but not TOO generously. Trust me.

Onion. Now....I know you don't like onion, so you CAN skip it, but I highly suggest it. It adds so much flavor to your soup. I use frozen, but you may just chop up fresh.

 



 

Pour in your onion. Your call on how much to add.

 

Stir your potatoes with a really ridiculous looking facial expression. It adds to the flavor. Cook it on med/high until potatoes are done.

 

In the mean time.....

 

Let's play a game of....Find the smiling baby in the messy toy room.

 

THERE she is!

 

Ok...time to make your dumplings. We love putting dumplings in the potato soup. Adds a chewy texture. Yum! You want to take some flour. Crack eggs and stir. I can't tell you how much flour or eggs. Just start with a little. Add more flour to the eggs, add more eggs to the flour. You want a sticky, gooey mess in the bowl. OOPS...add some salt!

 

Again...crack the eggs....

Add eggs to flour...... OH NO!!!!!......

 



 

Kids are making a MESS!!! As long as they are alive, proceed with cooking.

 

Check to make sure the dog is still in the backyard.

 

Ok...take a minute to cuddle with the little princess.

 

This is what your dumpling dough will look like.

 

 

Potatoes are done! Time to add the dumplings! You can pinch the dumplings with your fingers and drop in the boiling water, or you can use a fork.

 

 Drop all the dough in the boiling water. They will float on top of the water. Yum!

 

 

Time to add the stick of butter.....

 

And the can of evaporated milk.

 

Pour that evaporated milk!

 

Add your pepper...to taste...ACHOO...bless you!

 

Almost done! Stir that pepper in!

 

ALL DONE!!! You did it! You made a whole pot of Potato Soup!

 

Ta-da!!!

 

And here are what the critics say......

 

YUM!!!!

 

I shall eat my soup like a dog!

 

 

This soup is the BEST!

 

This soup makes my tail wag!

 

Why can't I have any??? :(

 

And here you have it!

Have fun making your soup, Uncle Drew!!!!

We love you!