Happy Happy Happy: My New Appliances & the Outdoor Challenge

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

I am up this bright and early morning enjoying my new energy efficient GE Profile washer and dryer...

Yes, I did say enjoying...

We got two new appliances this weekend and let me tell you...
It is already making a huge difference.
 
Being able to do three loads at once using less water and less soap is a good thing.
It is making laundry a more orderly sort of task, instead of one that I hate.

Having the ability to do three loads of laundry at once gives you more of a chance to enjoy your time with your family, especially on the weekends.

In honor of Earth Day, and as part of the Cash for Appliances Program, we got a fabulous deal on both.

Thank you, Lowes!

The delivery guys showed up yesterday and the washer and dryer have been busy since...

The freedom of not having to wait to continually put tiny loads in is awesome!

So, since we had more free time, we all went to the park and had a great time!

Don't get me wrong...we still would have gone to the park even before getting the new washer and dryer, it is just that less laundry would have been done and more would still be in the cue waiting their turn to be washed and dried. and instead of really enjoying my time, near the end, I would have been getting anxious to get back home to get crackin' on the inevitable.

All in all, a very nice weekend...

Time at the park with family is always fun.

Well, while I was waiting for the laundry to do its thing, I happened to read a post on Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns about an Outdoor Challenge carnival of sorts put up by 5 Orange Potatoes and hopped over to find out more...we pretty much do outdoor time every day, either at a park or pool, so it was a no brainer to join.

I have attached a little about the Outdoor Challenge below from 5 Orange Potatoes....she has some neat recipes and activities at her blog and so does Mouse Learns, Mouse Grows...




candied lemon peel shortbread- outdoor challenge

Posted using ShareThis


In  the spirit of the Outdoor Challenge, I am posting some photos from our park visit.

This park is such a cool one...very tropical feel to it, as it has loads of palms, tropical plants, and big, Spanish moss covered oaks...

One of our family's favorite parks...

Big Bro enjoyed himself by climbing all over the place.
He was having a great time climbing on top of the bars, which made me a little nervous, but Dear Hubby was there to spot him in case anything happened...
Dear Hubby just stayed out of view of the camera for the shots of Big Bro, but he was right there along side him as he was climbing.
Little Bro spent some time climbing and then, some time swinging, playing in the different interactive areas, and then, walking and running through the wooded areas.

All in all, a very fun time.

Earth Day Prize Pack Winner - Wrap Up to the UBP Fun!

Thank you to all who entered to win the giveaway for the Earth Day Prize Pack.

I do not have the random number generator set up on my blog yet, so we did it the old fashioned way and picked out of a hat...


The Earth Day Prize Pack Winner is:
Jennifer from Adventures in McQuill Land.

Jennifer, please send me your mailing address so that I can expedite your prize package.


Just so that everyone will know, I am doing some giveaways in conjunction with Mommy Moment on Monday, so if you did not win today, please stop back and visit both their blog and mine to find out the details.


Have a happy weekend!

Ways to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Plastic Caps & Giveaway Reminder

Well, if your family is anything like ours, you probably drink lots of milk and juice.

We go through so many containers and always have a plethora of caps / lids from the various drink containers.

Well, in the spirit of upcoming Earth Day, I thought that I would throw out some great ways to do your part by doing one of the three R's for the Earth, so here is my top ten list for plastic caps:

1. Use them for game pieces for checkers, tic tac toe, or board games.

To do this, sort and see how many caps you have of a particular color.

Make sure that you have enough caps of a color to use for the game pieces.

So, for checkers or tic tac toe, you would need enough of two colors.

For board games, you might only need one cap in four colors.

2. Use the lids for a simple, Montessori style moveable alphabet.
To do this, count out your caps.
You need to have enough of two colors to have one color for vowels and one for consonants.
Add small letter stickers to each cap, 1 letter per cap.

3. Use the white or lighter colored lids as water magnifiers..
To do this, have your child place a very tiny item inside the cap.
Then, cover the cap with a glass slide from a microscope.
Put a couple of drops of water onto the slide. Then, have your child look through the water covered slide at the object below...easy, instant magnification!

4. Use the caps to make three dimensional art collages.
To do this, sort out colors by color family.
Then, draw a simple outline for your work and cover each section of your work with the correct color cap.

5. Use the caps for math manipulatives.
To do this, decide on how many caps you need to represent the math concepts you plan to have your child do, maybe you might need 10 caps, or 20, or 100...
The caps can be used for patterning, sorting, counting, placing into sets, attributes work, ordinal numbers, positive and negative numbers, etc.

6. Use the caps for parts of speech...for example, use red caps for verbs and black caps for nouns. Goes along with the Montessori inspired grammar symbols work.

7. Use as an extension to command cards...
To do this, simply write the command inside the cap with a permanent marker, or you could type out the command and then, glue the commands into the lids.
So, maybe one cap might say to touch your head or to hop on one foot, etc.

8. Use for riddles...
To do this, print out riddles and the answers to the riddles.
Place the riddle on one side and then, the answer on the other side.

9. Use for vocabulary words.
Print out the definition and place on the one side and then, place the vocabulary word on the other.

10. Use the caps for story starters.
Print out story starters and glue them to the insides of the caps.
So, maybe a cap would say:
When I went to the grocery store, I...

Well, there are many other uses for caps and lids...these are just some of the possibilities.



Remember, the drawing for my giveaway for the UBP Earth Day Prize Pack is today, so if you leave a comment about this post, please let me know that you want to enter the giveaway. 

I just need your name, your blog address, and your email address.

The drawing is today.

Below are some photos of what is in the prize pack, in case you are curious...

Prize pack includes:
Planet Earth Coloring and Activity Book
Child sized garden gloves
Child sized garden tools
Recycled paper Earth Day notebook for kid's nature journal
Recycled paper sticky notes
Earth Day themed iron on patches
Alphabet stickers and plastic lids to make recycled moveable alphabet
Earth Day Get Your Green On magnetic notepad for your fridge
In the Garden three part cards
Earth Day magnets
Recycling three part cards
Labels & gift tags for Spa Favors: Organic Chocolate Moisturizing Mask, Organic Sugar Scrub
Idea sheet for reusing plastic lids and coffee filters
Mini Grow Your Own Tree Kit...

Please Note: The Mini Grow Your Own Tree Kit is only available in some states, so if you live outside where I can ship the mini tree kit, this will not be included.

But hey, it is a neat prize pack even without the little mini tree kit, right?

I will post the winner's name tonight by 9 pm Eastern time. 

Remember, the giveaway is open to everyone, with only some restrictions regarding the seeds for the little tree.

The winner will have until Sunday at 4 pm to claim their prize.

Giveaways and Reviews...

Since Tomorrow is the last day of the UBP, it is also the last day for your chance to win the neat Earth Day prize pack I have put together.
So, if you have not entered yet, please remember to do so...

To enter, simply tell me that you would like to win the Earth Day Prize pack, as well as your blog address and your email address. If you want to leave me a nice comment, that would be great, too.
Also, if you have anything that you would like to share for Earth Day, please feel free to link up to this post or to my other ones about Earth Day.

Also, for this upcoming Monday, in conjunction with  Montessori Monday on Mommy Moment, I am writing a review and working with Mommy Moment on a neat Montessori inspired giveaway...

So, a couple of chances to win neat, handmade Montessori inspired items over the course of the next few days...yippie! 
 

Some Nice Homemade Spa Gifts You Can Make as Party Gifts or Favors

Since this is the Ultimate Blog Party week, thought that I would share some homemade spa gifts that you can make either for yourself or for gifts for others...great way to recycle those teeny tiny first foods baby food jars, too!

Chocolate Moisturizing Face Mask 

(This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe by Ruth Ann Byrd, a clinical aesthetician, as it appeared as part of her wonderful article entitled Benefits of Chocolate)


You will need:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon high quality organic cocoa powder
• 2 Tablespoons organic, raw honey 
• 2 Tablespoons finely ground oatmeal, made from steel cut Irish style oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon water
• some small baby food jars and a spoon to stir the mask mixture
• Pretty fabric and matching ribbon to cover jar lids
• Cute Chocolate Face Mask labels

Directions:

Grind the oatmeal very finely in a blender or food processor.
Add the other ingredients and mix well.
Add cute little labels to the jars  telling your guests that this is a Chocolate Moisturizing Facial Mask. You may wish to type directions for use:
Wash and completely dry your face gently with a towel. Then, apply a thin layer of the mask to your face and add some warm water to help it spread evenly.
Leave on for 5 to 10 minutes, and then, rinse and gently pat your face dry with a towel.
Add a light layer of moisturizer or lotion.


Homemade Sugar Scrub Party Favors
 You will need:

• Small baby food jars with lids 
• Cotton fabric, cut into a square large enough to cover and hang down from lids
• Ribbon 
• 2 Cups Sugar in the Raw
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Spoon
• 2 - 3 drops organic essential oils (suggestion: 1 drop peppermint and two drops vanilla)
•  Small bowl and spoon to stir up the scrub mixture 
• Neat Homemade Sugar Scrub labels 

Directions:

Cut cotton fabric to fit over lids of four tiny baby food jars

In a small bowl, add ingredients and stir scrub mixture with a small spoon.

Spoon the scrub mixture into the baby food jars.

Screw on lids.

Cover lids with fabric and trim so that the fabric hangs down but so that you can still see the scrub mixture in the jar.

Add a ribbon to hold the fabric in place.

Optional: Make tags with each guest's name. 

Make cute Sugar Scrub labels and place on the jars.

I had posted before about making homemade soap balls
and you could also make these and add these to your party favors.

Then, to go with the spa theme, give everyone a glass with their name added to it, using glass paint. 
Fill the glasses with water, ice, and thinly sliced lemon and lime slices.

Have fun pampering yourself and your friends too!

Please remember to enter my giveaway for the Earth Day Prize Pack. 

To enter, simply leave a nice comment on this post for me to read, along with your blog URL or your email so that I can reach you to notify you. 

If you win the Earth Day Prize pack, in addition to the goodies for your children, I will throw in some neat downloads for you for the labels and tags for the spa party favors.



Drawing is on the 16th of April, at the close of the Ultimate Blog Party!

Two Neat Activities to Get Geared up for Earth Day: Mini Greenhouses and Wants Vs. Needs

The Center for Ecoliteracy has two very neat activities that are very timely for upcoming Earth Day...

Clip art copyrighted by Bobbie Peachey, http://webclipart.about.com
Allowed for use for educational purposes. Thank you, Bobbie:)

The first is a mini greenhouse that you can make from a CD case.

This activity is geared towards younger children, from about ages 3 to 9...
You could easily adapt this to a Montessori classroom or homeschool by placing the materials on a tray and having the child work through the steps after doing a short lesson about greenhouses with them. You could follow up by putting parts of a plant cards out on your shelves.

As an extnesion, it might be fun to plant different types of seeds instead of just one type of seed and to note the different results.

The second activity is about Wants and Needs and is geared to an older elementary aged child, approx. 9-12, but could be easily adapted for younger ones.

For a complete download of the cards and the lesson to accompany the cards, please follow this link to their great site.

In addition to the Wants Versus Needs activity, they also have some neat materials about project based learning that could work well both in the classroom setting and the homeschool setting.

Hope that you will enjoy these activities.

I happened to come across them as I was searching for something on Etsy. Just sounded so cool that I thought I would share. We are going to do the CD case mini greenhouses, so I will post photos in the upcoming weeks of ours. Please feel free to link to this post if you also make these.