Made by Mama: Big Sister shirt!

In preparation for little sister to arrive, I made this Big Sister shirt for A.  I was going to buy one from Etsy (there are SO many options on there!) but a friend convinced me I could make my own.  I knew I could, but didn't think I had the energy. 

I'm so glad I  made this myself.  The shirt was $2.50 at a consignment store and I had the scrap fabric and "Steam a Stitch."  All I did to make this was:

 -print the words out on computer paper

-iron the Steam a stitch onto the scrap fabric

-cut out the letters

-iron letters to shirt

I'm also stitching around the letters so the shirt will last a bit longer.  I'll post the final product when it's completely finished!

*I'd be happy to share the file I used for the words.  Just email me and I'll get it to you!*

Using what you've got

A hadn't painted in a while, so I thought I'd get out the paints and let her enjoy them.  I couldn't find my painter's palette, but did see an empty egg carton in our craft supplies.  I decided to use part of one to hold the paints and it was perfect!

Building set

I scored this building set from a consignment store and A has been having a lot of fun with it.  Her favorite thing to do is build towers.  Actually, her favorite thing to do is dump everything onto the ground...her second favorite thing is building towers!

More chores

A has been helping Mama out around the house more lately.  Here she is dusting our living room.  It doesn't last too long, and I have to re-do whatever task I give her, but she's excited to help and it keeps her busy!

Simple Art

On this day, I really needed to get some pots and pans cleaned and A really wanted to be by Mama.  I decided to find her a little project to do near me.

Our simple art project included the Crayola Color Explosion paper/markers and a sheet of colorful reinforcement labels.

It took just the right amount of time and turned out very colorful!

Tot School: new experiences

We will probably be using these tot trays for the next two weeks as long as they keep A's attention.  There are several new activites we will be working on.

September's sensory bin:

Scooping letters from a corn bin and matching them to paper.  I have three sheets of paper with letters and the magnets are pre-sorted into plastic baggies.
 (first seen here.)

Cutting Practice
(Included in this post from Sew Liberated)

Family Names:

A will match foam letters to the letters on these sentence strips.  She also has a page of her own (a whole piece of computer paper with her name as well as a place to practice tracing the letters in her name for when she is ready for that

*check out this post to learn more about the circle letters*

Clothespin clipping

Transferring water from one bowl to another

Number Magnet Pages

I will stick these pages to the door and have A put the magnets on the dots.
(I found these number pages at Kindergarten Crayons )

Linking up here:

No Time for Flashcards

1+1+1=1

Tools from a Kindergarten Teacher's Classroom

Here is a list of items I've used in my classroom after having tried and testing different brands/styles.  I haven't tried ALL other brands, but most of the brands that you'll find in the Big Box stores.

Crayons:

(photo from Amazon.com)

CRAYOLA, hands down.  These give the best non-waxy color of the most recognized brands in the stores.  I do NOT like the Jumbo crayons (my school had all kindergarteners purchase those).  They dull quickly and it's hard even for an adult to color inside the lines with them!  The Large size are MUCH better.

Colored Pencils:

(photo from Amazon.com)

CRAYOLA.  I have tried other brands, and unless you want to purchase real colored pencils that artists use, Crayola will be your best bet.  They stay sharpened longer and the pencil "lead" doesn't break and fall off in pieces on you.  I have also tried the Jumbo Colored Pencils from Lakeshore Learning and those have held up pretty good the few times we've used them.

Markers:

It doesn't matter.  As long as they are washable, I've found that most brands in the stores that look like Crayola markers compare just fine with them.

Pencils:

(photo from Amazon.com)

TICONDEROGA.  I like the hard lead and they stay sharp longer than other brands.  For tots, I like the Ticonderoga "Laddie tri-write."  It's thicker than a regular pencil and has a slight triangular shape that little ones can grasp.

Paper:

(photo from LakeshoreLearning.com)

I like using construction paper when we do any type of painting or drawing.  It has a bit of a texture, which will soak up any paint/markers better than just plain old computer paper.  We get ours from Lakeshore Learning because it is such a great deal!

Paint:

I'm not picky.  I will say that for beginning painters, I would not recommend the Crayola Beginnings All-In-One paint.  It's made for little hands to grasp, but the brush is so tiny, it's hard for toddlers to get it on the paper the way they want it.  If you're going to use an all-in-one painbrush, I'd go for the Crayola  Triangular Paintbrushes.  These are messy, so you may just want to go for plain old paint and a paintbrush!

Painter's Tape:

(photo from Amazon.com)

Yes, brand DOES matter.  I use Scotch.  It has the best amount of stick without leaving a residue.  Other brands just haven't had the best "stick" to them (which is fine, since in a normal setting you wouldn't want it to stick a whole lot).

Glue Sticks:

(photo from Amazon.com)

I like the Elmer's glue sticks, but NOT the purple ones that dry clear.  Little ones tend to end up with chunks of the glue stick depending on the project and when there is more than just a thin layer of the glue, it will dry purple rather than clear.

Glue:

(photo from Amazon.com)

Plain old Elmer's white school glue...not the gel.  Just the right thickness.

I think that's it.  Did I forget anything?

*These are my personal opinions on the best products I've found.  I am in no way affiliated with the brands or websites listed.  I just really enjoy their products!