Recycled Glitter Sensory Bottle

Happy Earth Day Eve everyone! Today we are going to share a fun, and easy craft that is not only made from a recycled bathroom products, but it is a great sensory tool for your little ones!

I'm not sure about you, but a large majority of our weekly recycling comes from our bathrooms. The shampoo bottles, the toilet paper rolls, the bandaid boxes - it all starts to add up. Especially if one of The Cutes decides to play their favorite game - the "Let's unroll all the toilet paper, and spread it around the house" game.

Because we go through so many products so quickly, sometimes I like to look towards the bathroom recyclables for some craft inspiration. Sometimes a toilet paper roll becomes a race car tunnel, sometimes a shampoo bottle becomes a paint squirter, and sometimes an empty tissue box just becomes a tool to store fun treasures of the day in. Regardless of the item, with a little imagination that recyclable can have a second life before it officially hits the recycle bin. 

Today we are all about turning an old baby oil bottle into a new sensory craft. We love to make sensory bottles, and this glitter one is easy - using only a few supplies and only a minute or two of your time. Not to mention, the glitter sensory bottle is also an effective calm down tool - what parent wouldn't love that? ;) 

Before we start, just a few tips to keep in mind when it comes to using bathroom recyclables: 

• Double check with your local recycling agency what they accept. Try to create and give a second life to a product that can't otherwise be recycled. For example, floss containers or lotion pumps contain multiple parts and #5 plastics; therefore, most recycling facilities won't accept them. What new uses can you create using these items? 
• Try not to put too much paint or glue on your chosen craft when using a recyclable product. These can create a problem for the machines handling the recycling process, and then would no longer be recyclable. 
• Avoid cutting large bottles as this might prevent recyclables from entering the recycle machines properly, and thus rendering them non-recyclable. 

Ok, now for the craft...

GLITTER SENSORY BOTTLE

Materials Needed: 

- One clear bottle with top

- Water

- Glitter glue or clear glue and glitter color of your choice

- Food coloring if desired

Instructions: 

1: Make sure your bottle is clean. Rinse until all product residue has been removed, and dry. 

2: Fill bottle approximately 3/4 of the way with luke warm water.
3: Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.

4: Fill remainder of bottle with glitter glue (it should take the whole bottle or almost all depending on the size of your container).

Note: The glue sinks all the way to the bottom. 

5: Close the bottle with the top, and then shake until glue is fully dispersed amongst the mixture. (Note: We love the baby oil tops because they are baby proof. If your container is not baby proof, consider glueing the top down.) For added fun let the kids shake it up.

6: Just keep shaking. Now your little one can enjoy just shaking and watching all the glitter gracefully float around the bottle.

Such a fun and simple craft to do with materials we already had at our disposal, and The Cutes get a great lesson on being able to see what they think of as trash as treasure.

And they love coming back to their glitter sensory bottles over and over again to watch the glitter float. It's calm. It's quiet. It's fun. And it's about the only non-messy glitter craft on the planet. I'll take it!

If you are looking for more tips and tricks to transform your bathroom products into recyclable DIY projects take a peek at the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Care To Recycle website. Johnson & Johnson has created this fabulous recycling program to serve as an informative reminder of what personal care items can recycled, showcase some tips to making recycling easier in your bathrooms, and share some absolutely fabulous DIY and craft projects you can make with your recyclables to give them a second life. I love the darling bottle vase DIY!

What crafty idea do you have to transform your bathroom recyclables? 

Happy Earth Day everyone!

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Children's Book Club: Commotion in the Ocean

Later this week is the celebration of Earth Day, and we asked our littles for this month's children's book club selection to pick their favorite earth related story. It's no surprise to us that they chose an ocean story. They love all things sharky these days. 

Today's pick comes from a great series of colorful nature related books. It must be popular among The Cutes friends too because we have received quite a few copies of this story as gifts. Paired with our fun (and super easy!) recycled craft you can share in the celebration of our great planet with your kiddos too. 

April's Selection: 

Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae

From the Back Cover: 

"There's a curious commotion, at the bottom of the ocean; I think we ought to go and take a look. You'll find every sort of creature, that lives beneath the sea; swimming through the pages of this book." The sequel to the best-selling "Rumble in the Jungle," this delightful new collection of poems includes fun rhymes about the creatures who live in and around the ocean. Children will delight in the snappy poems and colorful illustrations about whales, walruses, penguins, polar bears, stingrays and sharks.

Activity: Recycled Ocean Sensory Bottles

Ocean in a Bottle

Materials: 

- Clear water bottle with top

- Baby Oil

- Blue Food Coloring

- Water

Instructions: 

1: Make sure the inside of the bottle is washed and clean.

2: Fill the bottle half way with water.

3: Fill the remainder of the bottle with baby oil leaving a little air at the top. 

4: Add a few drops of blue food coloring. 

5: Close with top and make sure it is secure to avoid spills.

6: Let your little one shake or sway the bottle side to side to create ocean waves. 

(Side note: I totally remember making a version of the ocean in a bottle as a child. Talk about a throw back to the 80's!)

Jelly Fish in a Bottle

Materials: 

- One clear grocery bag (We used the one that we bring our fruit home in.)

- Clear water bottle with top

- Water

- Blue food coloring

- Thread or floss

Instructions: 

1: Cut the bottom part of your bag off. 

2: Fold bag in half and cut out one square section.

3: Create the jellyfish head by pushing the middle of the square up in a circle and tying off with your thread/floss. Leave the string a little loose so that there is an air pocket available.

4: For the tentacles cut the bottom into strips keeping well below the thread tie off. 

5: Fill the head slightly with water and place in your water bottle (leave an air pocket). 

6: Fill the bottle with water and add a few drops of food coloring. 

7: Secure tightly with the top.

8: Let your child turn the bottle upside down to see the jellyfish float up and down in the water. 

CHILDREN'S BOOK CLUB 2016

| January | February | March |

Happy reading and crafting!

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Kitchen Confessions: Cookie Dough Dip

I have a confession to make...I love cookie dough.  I mean, who doesn't?!?  When I was pregnant I bought a big tub of it and would just eat it by the spoonful.  I remember introducing my oldest to the term "cookie on a spoon" and she loved it just as much.

Last weekend my mom and dad came in town to visit and my mom brought along this amazing cookie dough dip.  Oh my goodness, it was SO good.  I could have just taken a spoon to it, but instead we took my mom's advice and dipped our apples in it.

Seriously so yummy.  Now, my kids have been begging for apples just so they can have this dip. That's not such  bad thing and has been the perfect snack for them.  The Mr. also put some on his banana yesterday. I'm thinking you could also dip graham crackers or in it, too.  Or, you can do it the way I do and just use a spoon! ;-)

Cookie Dough Dip 

Ingredients: 
1 stick butter (softened)
1 block cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions: 
1. Cream together butter, cream cheese, and peanut butter with electric beaters.
2. Mix in brown sugar.
3. Mix in vanilla, powdered sugar, and flour.
4. Stir in oatmeal.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Store in airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

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Handwriting Helpers

Happy Monday everyone! That weekend went by waaaaaay to fast! This is a post that I debated on for awhile about writing, but thought it might be helpful to some. We are coming into the home stretch of the school year, and with Kindergarten on the horizon we've been involved in a lot of prep already for next year. Cute is beyond excited about all things Kindergarten, and can not wait to go to "big kid school", ride the school bus, and play on the "really really big kid playground". I love his enthusiasm for what is to come later this year.

In December, we had a meeting with Cute's pre-K teacher and discovered that he is lacking severely in his fine motor skills compared to his peers in some areas - handwriting being the biggest issue. Sadly, Cute became so discouraged and frustrated that at one point he flat out refused to even write the first letter of his name. After speaking with several professionals, and getting Cute the help we felt like he needed, we finally turned a corner. We've worked extremely hard on catching up these last few months, and we are so proud of him and the progress he has made. It reflects in his attitude as well. 

He still has a little road ahead of him, but I also recognize he is young and enthusiastic about school, and want to keep that great positive attitude up.  

At home I've found a few fun practice things that have helped him, and thought I would share my favorites with you in case you find your little one in a similar situation. These are also great tools if you would just like to practice working on those handwriting and fine motor skills. 

DRY ERASE BOOKS

A few months ago, our friend Sarah started working for Usborne, a great education based children's book company. She introduced me to the Wipe-Clean series, which in more ways than one has been a great helper. 

I ordered the Ready for Writing, Pen Control, and Mazes books. Each came with its own dry erase pen, and page is bright, colorful, and full of great prompts to get children to write and play games. 

I usually hand these to Cute in the afternoons after he has had some down time to play with, and he loves them. He never thinks of it as "work" because how entertaining each page is to him. He loves the challenge of being able to complete the mazes, create a picture, or even play matching games. 

They have been a great helper and one that he has enjoyed doing as well! There are several more in the series, and I plan on grabbing a new one or two to entertain Cute in the car ride for our beach trip and to be able to enjoy something new over the summer to keep up the encouragement.

Some time after Sarah introduced me to the Usborne Wipe-Clean series, and saw that it was something that was working as practice for Cute, I found this book. The Quack-a-doodle-moo! book is slightly more elaborate than the Usborne ones, but it has a ton of pages, some seriously fun games, and even comes with a variety of reusable stickers.

Cute loves the Quack-a-doodle-moo! book, and even Little Cute thinks it is funny when he is creating silly sentences or mixing up the different animal parts and noises.

I've heard great things about the Priddy Wipe-Clean series as well, but haven't picked one up yet. They have options for toddlers up to elementary school age, which would be great to go ahead and let L.C. try as well. It is definitely on my to-do list seeing how useful the dry erase books really have become.

And the best thing about the dry erase books is you can use them over and over and over!!


THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT
I think I was a little shocked when both his current school and his future school suggested a few apps that would help him with his handwriting skills. I mean, we already live in such an electronic based world, how the heck does an app help encourage his need to practice his handwriting.

After speaking with my mom, who has worked in the school system for over 20 years, including doing several stints in Special Education, she confirmed and suggested a few of her own. Go figure.

I learned that these apps in most schools across our state now, and that they are great for letter f and sound recognition.

Cute has tested them all, but by far the most helpful and the ones that engage him the most are these: 

• Starfall - In addition to great handwriting practice this is also a great app/website for practicing reading and math skills. Cute loves that he can earn rewards with through the app, and has actually picked up on a lot of the math. He also regals us daily with the educational songs that are part of the app. (Free through iTunes)
• Letter School - A fun tracing app that promotes letter, number, and sound recognition. Children are able to play four games and build on their skills by tapping, tracing, and writing from memory. Cute enjoys this app a ton, and freely enjoys being able to work through each number and letter game to earn coins and create his own little characters.  ($4.99 through iTunes) 
• Writing Wizard - This app is another winner, and Cute never complains when he gets to play it. It is a letter tracing based app, but I love it because you are able to customize it to your needs and check progress along the way. It's super helpful, but at the same time fun so that Cute doesn't feel like he is doing anything other than playing a fun game. ($4.99 through iTunes)

TOYS
When my sister, Aunt K, learned of Cute's needs she found him a few helpful toys to encourage practice as well.

By far Cute's favorite is the LeapFrog Leap Reader and Writing System. It came with a sampler book and she purchased the Talking Words Factory book. Set up is super easy, just a simple connection to your computer and a quick scan of the book, and everything is customized and ready to go for you.

I love that it is has dual usability, and that both reading and writing are addressed with it. It's small and compact enough that we can fit it in our bag pretty easily, and so far battery life seems to be great!

Cute loves to practice with it, and the fact that it gives him feedback is super helpful to me as well. For example, when he doesn't correctly complete a letter it asks him to re-try a few times before moving on. A super nice computer girl's voice asking him sometimes is waaaaay better than mommy asking him apparently.

In addition to the ones Aunt K gave him, we have the  LeapReader Deluxe Learn to Write Letters  book, as well as the Deluxe Learn to Write Numbers, and both combine both letter practice and simple games to encourage practice.  



PENCIL ADJUSTMENTS
When it comes to just simple old school writing we were given a few little tools to try. It's one of the few things that if we find that it works, he is actually allowed to take to school with him to use to write write with. This is great because then what we are doing at home will be familiar to him at school, and hopefully not create stress at school when it comes to this task.

We started with a half pencil and these have worked wonders for him when it comes to control and grip. Think of the golf pencil you get on a course or at putt-putt places. These smaller pencils aren't always what he wants to write with, but using them has definitely helped him improve his writing skills.

A pencil grip was a second thing tool that was suggested to us. Cute thinks this tool is more of a toy and fun than something that helps him, so it's nice to know that it doesn't bother him at all. I haven't let him bring them to his pre-k class though because we were warned that all the kids will want one once they see it. They have some super cute pencil grip options out there, and I thought it might make a great end of the year school goody too to pass out to his classmates - if anything just to think is neat and to familiarize them with it in case a student they are with next year has them too.  

And there you have it - our trusty handwriting helpers. I know we will be working on this through the summer in preparation for next year, and I will try to add anything that I find to be beneficial.

Hopefully this was helpful to some of you, and please feel free to share any tips or tricks that you have found helpful when it comes to getting your little ones practice those handwriting skills - I would love to hear! 

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Friday Favorites

Woo Hoo!!!  So happy today is FRIDAY!!!  I'm not going to lie, getting back into the swing of things this week after Spring Break has been a bit tough so the weekend is very welcomed.  Today we are linking up with some of our favorite bloggers for Friday Favorites!  I have lots of fun random favorites to share today.

~ONE~

I usually buy 1-2 new pairs of shorts each spring/summer and I just got a pair that I am in LOVE with.  It's no secret that we love leopard so when I saw these leopard shorts they caught my eye right away.

J. Crew shorts are my favorite because they fit so well and their Factory site usually has some great deals.  Well when these shorts went on sale for less than $30 I knew I had to order right away.  They are made with a basketweave fabric that looks so nice and also helps them from wrinkling.  They are definitely some of my new favorite shorts!

~TWO~

Last week on Spring Break, the Mr. and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Masters for a few days.  It's my 3rd or 4th year going and I just LOVE it.  The event itself is pretty amazing, the people are amazing, the grounds are amazing and I love getting to hang out with my favorite guy for uninterrupted amounts of time since no phones are allowed inside!  

~THREE~

Speaking of spring break...while we were at the Masters, the kiddos spent the week in Florida with their grandparents.  I drove them down and on the ride back I was solo for the road trip meaning I got to listen to anything I wanted.  I threw it WAY back and listen to one of my all-time FAVORITE CD's, No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom.  I used to love No Doubt and this CD.  Isn't it funny how you can not hear a song for years and years and still be able to sing every word when you hear it?  That is how I was for the entire CD and I was singing the whole way home. I still love Gwen Stefani and her new songs, too!

~FOUR~

Right after Spring Break we got to celebrate this little lady's real birthday.  One of my favorite times from this week was getting to visit her class during her school birthday celebration.  I took in cookies for her class and they all sang happy birthday after lunch.  She loved sporting that birthday crown all day! 

~FIVE~

Some of you may remember that we shared some of our spring favorites from our friends at Preppy & Personalized a few months ago.  They have the cutest products and not too long ago I ordered this coordinates bar necklace. I'd been wanting a shorter style gold necklace to wear and loved that this one could be personalized with the coordinates of a place special to me.

I love the length of the chain and it adds just a little when I don't want to wear a bigger statement necklace.  This is just very dainty and personal.  I think it would make a wonderful gift (maybe Mother's Day) and I'm sure it would become their favorites just like it became mine!

~Six~

In case you missed it yesterday, I shared my love of Matilda Jane with y'all.  It is one of my very favorite clothing brands for my girls.  Yesterday I had a trunk show at my house and it was SO much fun to be there with my friends checking out the latest release.  So many adorable things!!!  If you want to order on my show, there is still time.  Directions on how to place an online order are HERE.  

~Seven~

Last, but not least I want to share my favorite sight as I walk out my front door each day.  A bird had been building a nest on top of one of the columns on our front porch. I watched over the past few weeks as the nest grew, but I never actually saw the bird.  This week though, the mama Robin has been sitting on her nest.  She's usually there early in the mornings and in the evenings and during the night.  I love peeking during the day to see if she is there and the kids have gotten a kick out of it, too!  I can't wait to hear those baby birds chirping. :-)  This obviously isn't a great picture, but I didn't want to get too close and scare her away.  You can see the outline of her head and beak sitting on the nest though! 

 

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