pretend play

There's a great new post over at Simple Homeschool about some creative pretend play ideas for your kids! It looks like so much fun...of course, the end of this week is going to be beautiful outside, but it's definitely a keeper for a rainy or snowy day. There are some other great ideas for February at Let's Explore.

boring ol' crayons

Same old crayons.


New way to color.


I got this hot plate at a thrift store for a dollar. It's the perfect size for little hands, but it will get HOT. I plug it in for a few minutes, then let the kids hold their paper with a dish towel, just in case. It makes brilliant colors and goes on smooth. We even tried it for a homework assignment. I recommend crayola crayons though....others may leave a waxy, greasy smear.

fun or not?

I thought this little activity would be great fun for Diego for a good while. Nope. It lasted only a few minutes...then he was throwing the beads around the room. Maybe when he's a little older.

our fall table

Finally.
I've finally done something I've been wanting to do for probably two years. A nature table. Or a seasonal table. I don't even know what you call it, but I know I've been wanting one.
I mentioned it to my cousin the other night, and as soon as I got off the phone, I started gathering things from around the house. At first I thought I'd only be able to find some pinecones from outside. But it turned out I had a lot more than I thought. The kids were very excited about it. I brought over a small table, just their height, that is rarely used...then let them arrange it how they wanted. Joaquin was very particular about where things should go.





So what's on the table? Who knows now. Here are some of the things it started out with:

A corn husk doll we made last year
Some apples we made from red material, stuffing, and pipe cleaners
A bowl of wooden beads
A bat
A bear
Leaves
Pinecones
Pumpkins
A Native American play set
Books on fall and apples
Fake cherries in a pail( I know that's not fall, but they look good and are fun to play with)
A cinnamon stick
Candles that smell like cinnamon and pumpkin and fall
A native american rattle made from a stick
Totem poles we made last year



Diego loves it and is the one that spends the most time messing it up. It doesn't look this neat anymore, but I try to clean it up everyday so that it's still fun to play with. We'll put more thanksgiving stuff out in November, change the books each month, and change the stuff each season and holiday. So even though I can't seem to be able to decorate the house much, I think I can handle this.