Here’s a new take on the old Dr. Seuss story of One Fish Two Fish.  My daughter Moriah came up with this idea and my preschool class LOVED it!  To accomplish this adorable felt story you will need a felt Dr. Suess hat which can be either sewn or purchased. If you are like me and wish to skip the sewing bit, you can purchase the felt hat for a reasonable price at most Party City locations. Sewing instructions for the crafty can be found here: http://mamalusco.blogspot.ca/2011/03/dr-seuss-day-cat-in-hat-tutorial.html
We cut out various shapes and colours of felt to represent the fish in the story. For the circle time we told the story by placing the fish on the hat. Because the hat is made of felt, the fish stick! The kids loved this and wanted to do it over and over. For a variation, we took turns letting them place the fish on the hat themselves which is a great way to reward happy listeners in the circle!  Here is our finished product! Simple, fun and one felt story kids will want to do over and over!

Looking for a cool art project to do on a hot summer day? Then why not try painting with ice! Simply fill up various ice cube trays with water tinted with food colouring and freeze. Once frozen children can “paint” on water colour paper for a “cool” effect. As the ice melts , the paint begins to form various patterns. Sprinkle on glitter or salts for a textured effect. Tip: If the ice is too cold for little fingers to grasp then have them use tongs to paint with.

Here is my tried and tested play-dough recipe. I have tried almost every recipe under the sun and this one has been by far the best recipe ever! I have used this for many years and continue to use this for my children at home as well as the children’s programs I coordinate.  To add variety to this basic recipe you can add colours and scents, sparkles and more! In the centre which I work in we create the play-dough to match up with the theme of the week. Such as for “Super Hero Week” we made blue and red play-dough with silver sparkles. We added in some grape jello (1 small dry packet per batch) to make it smell good. The children loved it!

Miss Mitra’s Play Dough Recipe:

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoon cream of tartar (find it in the spice section)
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Mix first 4 ingredients in a pan. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 – 5 minutes. Dough will become difficult to stir and form a “clump”.  Remove from stove and knead for 5 minutes–add food coloring during kneading process. Note: This play-dough will last forever if sealed properly.

So many possibilities for a Minecraft themed party!  The great thing about a Minecraft theme is that is can be used for a boy or girl, teen or child.  This was a big year for birthdays in our house. My oldest son turned 18 on the 18th and my youngest turned seven on the seventh so we combined the two boys birthdays and did a Minecraft theme. Hope these pics give you some inspiration for your own Mincraft party!!

!

With Valentine’s Day just a few short weeks away I thought it would be fun to repost these cute ideas for quick and easy Valentine’s Day cards.

Short on time and cash? No problem!  Here are some quick and inexpensive valentines for you and your child to make. These make perfect classroom valentines or just a special valentine for a special little someone in your life. 

We made these King and Queen Valentines by cutting out crown shapes and letting the children glue on hearts and jewels. Two holes were punched in the side for the lollipop.

These simple cards were made by placing a box of smarties and reeses pieces on a piece of card stock. For the smarties, we cut out a pocket shape of blue card stock and taped onto the smartie box to look like it was coming out of a pants pocket. So cute!

Another simple candy card to make is the lifesaver card pictured above. Simply cut out a strip of card stock and fold to make an envelope. Place candy and saying inside, fold and tie with a ribbon. Children love these! Another variation could be to use tootsie rolls , gum or other candy for the cards. Get creative and make up silly sayings to go with the candy you are using!

If you prefer not to use candy you can opt for the following valentines. 

Wrap mini packages of microwavable popcorn in red paper.  Add caption and hearts for a cute classroom valentine. Or dress up a package of nuts for a special treat with the caption “I’m nuts for you!”  Just make sure there are no nut allergies before handing out these.

Hope that these ideas have inspired you to get creative and remember it isn’t the gift, it is the thought that counts! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Joy!

Finding Joy during the holidays is sometimes a daunting task for young children. Every day activities are magnified as their senses are on overload from all of the excitement surrounding the holidays. Not that this in itself is negative , the problem arises when children become too over stimulated and are unable to cope with the day to day tasks such as brushing their teeth or following simple directions that they normally would not have any trouble with.  As mothers and teachers we can choose to let our children’s behaviour get the better of us or we can remind ourselves that a cranky child is usually on overload and remember to tone down the holiday festivities if it seems to be too much for the little ones to handle at this time.  Too much of anything can have a negative effect on us all. For example, I love chocolate, but too much chocolate can make me sick..so I have to really watch that I don’t over eat around the holidays. The same can go for children. Too many gifts, lights, parties, shopping trips, etc can have a negative effect on a child. I remember one Christmas in particular when my middle daughter was two years old. She had so many Christmas presents to open from both sides of relatives that by the time she got to the last few she started crying and saying “ No more Christmas!”    I think at that moment we all realized that we had lost the Joy of the season by buying into the commercialism of the holiday. So the question is: How to keep Joy in the holidays for the young child?  Balance and moderation are the key!  Little ones can only sit through so many Christmas events. So pick and choose the few that you want to participate in. Gift giving does not have to be extravagant.  In my many years of working with young children I have found that they are usually just as excited about the box and wrapping paper as they are the gift itself.  Educational and home- made gifts are always appreciated and so much more meaningful that the latest fads.  Also playing soft music during the holidays tends to work as a subconscious calming tool. Another wonderful element in finding Joy during this busy time is to stop and take time to read and cuddle with your child. This will allow them an opportunity to calm down and focus on the story rather than the chaos going on in the world around them.  For those children that need to be more active taking quiet walks together works wonders as well as having a time to allow them to explore and create their own holiday cards and gifts.  Christmas can be such a wonderful time for children as long as we take the initiative to keep the Joy alive by spending quality time with them during this busy season.

Looking for something easy to do with your left over jack o lanterns?  How about cooking them up for some yummy treats!

Here’s a delicious and simple recipe from my friend Janet that kids and adults will both love! (Thanks Janet!) Also perfect for a classroom cooking lesson.

No-bake pumpkin cheesecake cookies

Ingredients

1 cup of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of pumpkin puree
2 tbls of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of orange food colouring (optional)
20-24 wafer cookies

Fall is here! The leaves are starting to change colors and the nights are crisp and cool! This is a fantastic time to visit your local farm as produce is plentiful and bargains are easy to find. We have been canning up a storm in our kitchen with the local produce we have found. Tomatoes, Peaches, Apples and Cucumbers to name a few!  The children love helping out with the whole process of gathering the produce from the farm to helping in the canning process. It is so important to teach children where our food comes from . This helps to instill a healthy lifestyle which can last a lifetime!

To celebrate fall MiMi’s House has released a new music video for the classic children’s song, Old MacDonald Had a Farm! The soundtrack features the voices of the Kostamo Kids and was recorded by their Dad in our home studio. you can purchase the single on i-tunes or cd baby for only .99!