DIY Play Makeup (using nail polish)

When I'm in the bathroom putting on my makeup my three-year-old daughter is right beside me getting into things and pretending to do her makeup along side me. 

Start out with an empty and cleaned out eyeshadow case. 

I bought one for $1.00 at the dollar store over the weekend. I used a pair of tweezers to get the eye shadow out and then cleaned it up with a baby wipe. If you have a empty case sitting around you could use that as well. I do not wear makeup all that much so it would take me a long time to get an empty case for her.

 I also picked up a new makeup brush for $1.00 as well.

 

Next, carefully pour different colors of nail polish into the compartments. 

Let the nail polish dry completely....

just be be on the safe side I put the case up on a high shelf and left it for 48 hours. 

My daughter loves it! 

And I love that when we are in a hurry to get out the door she doesn't have smeared purple eyeshadow all over her cheeks!

Picture Books

Do you have a ton of pictures on your camera, cellphone, or computer? Are you looking for some fun ways to display them? Here's a great idea!

Both Shutterfly and Snapfish have fabulous deals and promo codes all the time making these books so affordable! Sign up for their emails, look online for promo codes, or watch social media sites for the codes!

I made the following picture books filled with family photographs I've taken over the past three years. Here are a few ideas of what to do with your pictures....

1) Create a cute alphabet book for your children...

For my daughter's 2nd birthday I made her this cute alphabet picture book. She is present in every picture. It is one of her favorite books and it's such great quality. I think I paid around $10 for it (after the coupon code I found online)!

 A is for APPLE

 G is for GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

H is for HUSKER GAME DAYS

I is for ICE CREAM 

 R is for ROAD TRIP

S is for SUNGLASSES

 T is for TENT

U is for UNDERWEAR

V is for VACUUM

W is for WAGON

X is for XYLOPHONE

Y is for YUMMY FOOD 

2) Create a book of the 1st year of your child's life....

Her birth stats and professional pictures that were taken (note: you may want to get a photo release to use the professionally taken pictures in your book just to be on the safe side). 

 Where she was born and who visited her at the hospital.

 And lots of other adorable pictures from the 1st year!

3) Create a  family picture book...

 Trips we took together, pictures of relatives, being silly....any moment with capturing!

4) Create a cute book for daddy for Father's Day....

5) A Yearly Photo Book filled with pictures from the past year. I'm now working on a 2013 photo book....pictures to be posted after the product is made.

What do you do with all those pictures you take throughout the year? I'd love to see how you display all of your pictures!

Just Let Them Play

Yesterday I attended a seven hour early childhood training conference for my state childcare license. It was one of the best conference's I have attended in quite some time. I was not looking forward to going. Sitting at a table for seven hours did not seem like such a great way to spend nice (60 degree) spring Saturday....but I'm so glad I did. I walked away feeling uplifted and energized about early learning again.

The conference was titled "Take Time to Play". The presenter was a very knowledgeable and very passionate educator named Jeffy A. Johnson. You can learn more about him here. And I highly recommend that you do (and in no way am I being paid or getting any sort of compensation for suggesting you look him up). I found myself agreeing over and over again (I even caught myself nodding over and over again) at a large majority of what he says speaking so passionately about.

Though I'd love to share with you everything that was covered during those seven hours it would be way to time consuming for both of us so I will just give you the highlights.

*Free play ... dramatic play, imagination play, exploration play, etc .... is so important in early childhood.  I'm talking about child-lead, child-directed play..... play where the child gets to pick what they do (the task), how they play (the technique), how much or how little time they do it (the time), and who they choose to include in their play (the team). Children are learning through play.

* Play is in the child NOT the toy. Place toys or objects in the child's environment which can be manipulated in multiple ways.....items like cardboard boxes for example. A child can imagine it's a space ship, or a boat, or a tall tower, or a refrigerator....or whatever they come up with.

* Create 'YES' environments (not environments where you are constantly telling the child no). These are environments where children are free to explore their natural curiosities without fear of being told no.

* Add something new to their environment then stand back and watch what they do. This can be something tangible or even an idea or suggestion.  Watch their imaginations unfold....it's truly amazing!

* Allow play to be spontaneous. Do not over-plan it....just go with the flow. See where their imagination takes you.

* Be observant....watch and learn. I've been a caregiver for young children for the past fourteen years and I'm still amazed at their wonder and excitement of the world around them. It's truly inspiring.

This conference was such a good reminder to let children play. They are learning so much from play.... things that you cannot teach them from a book or sitting quietly in circle time. If you do not believe me about how important play is to our early development I dare you to research the importance of play.

When you were growing up were your fondest early learning memories when you were sitting in circle time or behind a desk being drilled on your ABC's or where they when you were allowed and encouraged to explore on your own, at your own pace, in your own time the world around you on the playground, on a nature hike, or in your own backyard?

Easter is Just Around the Corner

Easter is only a few weeks away. How will you be celebrating? Do you have any fun Easter traditions? I'd love to hear about them.

Here are a few things we do to celebrate....

Coloring Easter Eggs: Thank you to Pinterest for sharing this great idea of using a whisk to help us dip in and out our hard boiled eggs! It's a must now...especially when coloring eggs with our daycare kiddos! So much easier to use then those little flimsy egg holders that come with the dye.

I've also learned over the years to put down a few layers of old newspaper for an easy clean up! I keep the little egg coloring cups and reuse them year after year.

I also start collecting egg cartons months before so we have something to store everyone's eggs in for easy transporting.

Another trick I've learned is to buy the egg dye/coloring on clearance after Easter. It's super cheap...like around 20 cents for the package and I use it the next year. I've never had a problem with it not working and I've been doing this for the past five years!

Look at these bright colored eggs! So pretty! About 1/4 of the liquid mixture is white vinegar...the rest is water. We let the eggs soak for quite a while to make them brightly colored!

What to do with all those hard boiled eggs? Make them into the cutest little chicks of course! I made four little chicks to place in the center...and then did good old regular deviled eggs for the rest of them. My yolk mixture is...yolk, mayonnaise, onion powder and a little bit of sweet pickle juice...oh and a little bit of paprika (or a lot depending on who is sprinkling it). I'm always up for trying something new....anyone have a great recipe they want to share?

Bird's Nests: My then 2 1/2 year old daughter and I made these cute yummy birds nests. We melted chocolate chips with peanut butter and dumped chow mein noodles into it. After quickly stirring it up we put them into those mini cupcake tins and quickly placed these cute robins egg candies on top. Then we just let it dry. So easy and fun. Also takes really good. Planning to make something similar with them this year but using cupcakes as the base.

Bunny Tails: I made these last year for our Easter brunch with the in-laws. I used a lemon cake mix and put it into my cake ball maker. After they cooled I rolled them in powdered sugar. I was a bit disappointed that the cake ball absorbed the powdered sugar so they didn't quite have that "bunny tail" look I was going for.

Jello Jigglers Deviled Eggs: My local grocery store was giving out these cute egg molds for free if you purchased a box or two of Jello weeks before Easter last year. So I decided to get one. After making the Jello according to the directions on the package. I poured them into the molds and waited for them to set. Then popped them out, cut them in half horizontally, and then put a squirt of canned whipped cream on top. Really adorable and really tasty!

 Homemade Easter Cards: My daughter and I made these oh-so-cute cards for her to give to our relatives for Easter. We used construction paper, a black medium size tip sharpie marker, a thin black size tip sharpie marker, white paint and a pink medium size tip sharpie marker.

Easter Treat Bags: These embellished bags we filled with all sort of Easter treats for our daycare kids from the Dollar Tree. Inside we put a stuffed Easter animal, bubbles, a coloring book and crayons and a board book. The bags were also purchased from the dollar store in 2 packs. So they cost me 50 cents each. I then took purple construction paper and cut out an egg shape. Then took green construction paper and cut out little circles and took glittery ribbon I'd bought on clearance from Micheal's craft store and cut it to size. Then used a glue stick to glue it all together.  

Easter Egg Hunt: Our Easter would not be complete without an egg hunt! What do you put in your plastic eggs? I'm always on the look out for new ideas. Here is what we did last year....individually wrapped candy, coins (which go right into mommy's pocket and then into their piggy bank), hair barrettes, stickers, and rice krispie treats (molded to the shape of the egg).

Please share your ideas or traditions with us! We'd love to hear what you do to celebrate this beautiful time of the year!

55 Activities To Do With Your Toddler

1. Go for a walk.

 2. Play in an indoor tent.

3. Explore outdoors.

4. Clean/do chores together.

5. Try new foods together.

6. Play dress up. 

7. Go out for an ice cream or a frozen yogurt treat. 

8. Dig in the sand.

 9. Visit a local nature center or state park (Pioneer's Park).

 10. Visit the local zoo (Lincoln Children's Zoo).

 11. Go on a wagon ride.

12. Go to the park (Antelope Park).

 13. Go on a road trip (Western Nebraska).

 14. Visit a historical site (Chimney Rock).

 15. Play hide-and-seek.

16. Explore a cave together.

 17. Visit an aquarium (Mall of America).

18. Enjoy water play.

 19. Go for a bike ride.

 20. Play in the sprinkler together.

 21. Build with blocks together.

 22. Make s'mores.

 23. Visit the local library (Gere Library).

 24. Play with stacking cups together.

 25. Build with mega blocks together.

 26. Play in the leaves.

 27. Rake the leaves together.

 28. Paint pumpkins together.

29. Play in the snow together.

30. Pick dandelions.

 31. Have a tea party.

 32. Make binoculars out of empty toilet paper rolls and yarn.

 33. Visit your local Children's Museum (Lincoln Children's Museum).

34. Get lost in a corn maze together (JTK Pumpkin Patch).  

 35. Wear fake mustaches together (aka be silly together!)

 35. Build a snowman.

 36. Visit a local outdoor store (Cabela's in Omaha).

 37. Visit an indoor playground (Mahoney State Park).

 38. Play with magnetic letters together on a cookie tray.

 39. Play with pipe cleaner.

 40. Sort trail mix into matching piles.

 41. Paint with water.

 42. Color Easter eggs.

 43. Visit the fish at a local pet store or your local Walmart.

 44. Color with sidewalk chalk.

45. Take pictures together.

 46. Cook and/or bake together.

 47. Plant, pick and enjoy fresh fruit from your own garden together.

48. Using different colored construction paper find items around your house that match those colors. 

 49. Enjoy ducks together.

 50. Go swimming.

 51. Play in the rain together.

 52. Play with trains together.

 53. Play games together.

54. Make holiday crafts together for family and friends.

And.....55. Just spend time together doing whatever you and your kids love doing!