Share Day! (Webbing Activity)

Last Friday, we had the children bring in a favorite toy to share with the class. Here is the web we made showing the child's name (whited out), the toy they brought and some things they said about it. This is a good way to document things the children say and to see what they know about a topic as well as where there interests lie. Any given branch of the web could lead out to a completely new web in itself. It's important to hear what the children have to say and see where it takes you in your study.

Happy webbing!

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Thrift Store Finds

Recently, I have been doing a lot of back-to-school thrift store shopping. Here are just some of my awesome finds.

Most of this was 50 cents or less. The 2 puzzles at the bottom came as a set for .75! Got some geoboards, a few games, xylophone and bowling set for the kid.

Here are my craft finds. Little of this and that. Also found some more scrapbook items for cheap at Ollie's that are not pictured here.

Books galore. Gotta feed my addiction. All these added up cost me only $13.00. I would say that's a deal, how about you?

Happy bargain hunting!

DIY Feltboard

Here is a felt board I made for the classroom awhile back and now use it with my son. It is just a piece of cardboard with black felt glued on and then a cardboard border with colored masking tape to decorate it. Very simple. I also made another one which I can't find now, but it was thicker. I used 2 empty fabric bolts from the store and taped them together. It takes a lot of tape, but was quite sturdy actually.

 Remember, you don't have to use felt to make pieces for your felt board. Laminated pictures with velcro on the back works as well. I made 4 sets of some different things that L is familiar with. The first is food as shown above.

Farm Animals

 Vehicles

Toys

To make these, I photocopied the images from a book I got at the library, colored them with crayons and then laminated and added the velcro.
I think this way is easier than cutting out felt, although I have made some of those as well. I like the idea I saw at library storytime for making felt pieces, using fabric paint for the details.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I LINK UP

Follow-Up on Toy Organization

First off, I would like to say Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there, especially my own and my husband. Hope your day is great!

I have been busy since this post when I pleaded for help in organizing my son's toys! Of course, the house is still a far cry from perfect. But I have come up with a solution that works at least for now. Thanks to the suggestion of reader, Kristianne, I decided to begin by going through all the toys and organizing them into groups. Then I got the appropriate containers. 

These are shelves that my mom had given me that were up in the play room, but not really being used, so I decided they would work for now. The biggest problem I have is that L cannot reach the top shelf and there is really no reason for there to be so much room between sheves, but there is no way of adjusting them.

So, as you can see, that cleared up the mess that was by the chair and now I have moved the end table there.

You can kinda see the "parking lot" for some of the larger toys with wheels next to his tent.

 Here is how I set up the space for L to play his Vtech and when he's not using it, I store the chair up against the wall. 

 Moving on to the family room. Remember that huge tub that was there? Well, that is gone. In it's place is my new breakfast nook. Where did all those toys go, you ask?

The cabinets on either side of the fireplace were pretty much being used for junk, so they got cleaned out, thus making plenty of room for the extra toys. Also, they can't be seen, so if they aren't in the most organized shape, it's all good (as Pete the Cat would say).

It just took getting a little creative and actually getting to work sorting things. As I said, it could still look much better, but it is a major improvement from where we were. Thanks for the help, Kristianne.

I hope you are inspired to organize something in your homes now!

Toy Organizing HELP needed!!!

Ok guys, so I am very embarrassed to show these photos of my house, but I need help in figuring out a cheap way of organizing my son's toys. Keep in mind, I have been on Summer break for almost 2 weeks now. 

The main problem is, I cannot realistically expect him to clean up his toys if there is really no place to put them or any order to them. I need more storage. This was fine when he was crawling and couldn't get into things on his own, but now that he is all over the place, I really need to get this straightened out. 

Here is the current state of my living room:

 Here is the current storage in my living room:

 Here is my storage in the family room:

The containers are just too big and he never gets to the bottom to play with those toys. I am thinking some short shelves with some smaller containers on them. Please give me any ideas you have. I would also appreciate if you know anywhere cheap to get shelving/storage. I am planning to check Good Will and some yard sales. Oh, I am also looking for a child-size table and chairs as well.

HELP! Please leave any comments below.

Wishlist Wednesday: Mess For Less

This week's guest blogger is from Mess for Less. There are so many good and creative ideas on the blog, so please take a moment to check it out. Thanks for posting!





Thank you so much to Cachey Mama for asking to me guest post here today about some of my wishlist items.  Over at Mess For Less, I blog about children's crafts and activities, so I always have a wishlist of things I want to try with the kids! There is a Lakeshore store nearby and I always go in there and look at all the teacher supplies and wish I could get it all.  Here are a few Lakeshore items that I would get if I had the budget. Classroom Clay and Dough Designer Kit

My kids love play dough and I love finding ways to spice it up.  I have added Popsicle sticks and googly eyes to make Monsters Vs Aliens - Toddler Style and this kit seems like it would also add fun to ordinary play dough.  The scissors and other small items can help with fine motor skills, while the different shape cutters add to creative play. Super Safe Craft Tape Center

When I was teaching Preschool, this was such a big hit in my classroom.  The kids used it for so many things from making their own books, to creating roads in the block area.  You can also make some really pretty pictures using the colored tape. Lakeshore Water Play Kit

All educators know the benefits of water play.  Kids can explore science and math concepts as they learn about what will float and measuring.  We have a water table in our yard that I have filled with various cups and scoops I have found at the dollar store.  I would love this set so I could have everything in one place.  

I should mention I am not affiliated with Lakeshore in any way.  I get nothing for mentioning them, not even a free product.  I am just a customer.  You can find my wishlist items at any kind of teacher supply store or website. Thanks to Lori for the chance to share some of my favorite items, and thanks to you readers for indulging me.