Under Construction

In between family time & trick or treating...I will be changing around the blog. Please don't be alarmed with what you see..no matter how scary it may look. I should get it all finished by Sunday. Thanks!

Ooooooooo...Muffin Tin Monday

Today's Muffin Tin Monday theme is Halloween/Fall. I have to admit...I got carried away! I found so many fun ideas that I couldn't choose...so I used all of them! We had a FUN lunch!



Top Row: witch hat (crescent roll w/ cinnamon & sugar), witches finger (string cheese & airhead finger nail), Frankenstein brownie (recipe linked a few posts down)

Bottom Row: witches broom (pretzel sticks & fruit roll up), Ogar's Q-tips (marshmallow/sucker sticks/PB), Mummy (hot dog wrapped in a crescent roll), ghosts (strawberries dipped in white chocolate), & spiders (olives)

AND...



Hot chocolate with eye balls (mini mallows & mini chocolate chips)

The boys LOVED this one. Kaden laughed & laughed about the Ogar's Q-tips. It was so gross that I knew the boys would appreciate it. I gave them honey butter to dip their witch's hat in. Yum! We may have to repeat a few things this week to keep it festive!

Check out other muffin tins at:

Postive Reinforcement Update

We have been rewarding the boys with "POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT" since August. I have loved the idea & it has worked out AMAZING for our family. The boys love to get smileys & are so happy to help. Rather than always punishing the bad behavior...I feel like I am focusing more on rewarding the good. :) Click on the link if you want to see what we have been doing. It works great for littler people.

We have added a new twist to our rewards recently. My kiddos are used to getting smaller things that they ask for. We have started to include their requests into our reward bucket. For example, Kaden's school has school t-shirts & sweatshirts that the kids wear on certain days. Kaden really wanted to get one. So, I ordered a t-shirt & a sweatshirt, but now he has to earn it. When you do this...make sure that you set it at a goal that they can reach. My guys typically earn 20-25 smileys a week, but they have gotten over 30 before. I put his shirt at 25 & the sweatshirt at 30..that way...he has to work a bit harder to reach his goal, but it is within his reach. I see him going out of his way to earn those smileys & when he earns his reward it means so much more to him. I feel like he is learning so many great lessons from this & we are all HAPPY!!!!

Spookley the Square Pumpkin

We read Spookley the Square Pumpkin today, so we made our own Spookleys. We talked about the pumpkins & their shapes & why Spookley is different.

Writing Worksheets

I found a link a while back & bookmarked it, but I have NO idea where I saw it! I have made a few different post about working on sight words & writing. I was going through my bookmarked favorites tonight & found THIS WEBSITE. You can actually MAKE your own writing worksheet. I am going to start making worksheets for Kaden's sight words! What an amazing tool.

Notebooks

For Kaden's birthday, my SIL made a cute notebook. It has come in SO handy when the boys want to draw, write, or color on something other than a coloring book. He loves it & uses it often. He is now using it to write his sight words that we have been working on.



I decided to make Preston one. I bought him a really cheap notebook & used scrapbook paper to cover it. I used stickers & paper embellishments that Preston chose to decorate it. I used regular glue for the main stuff & then I cover it with Modge Podge just to seal it.

Nature Walk

We live in an older neighborhood with a TON of different mature trees. On the way to school we were talking about how all of the leaves look different. All of the leaves are falling on the ground right now. Kaden had a homework assignment to collect a leaf, pine cone, or acorn, so we went on a nature walk to see what we could collect. Preston was picking up handfuls of leaves & Kaden was more selective. We talked about what we had. How leaves from different trees have different shapes & change to different colors. We found berries, seeds, & pine cones. The boys had a great time collecting different items. I had fun getting out of the house & spending some time outside. AND they were learning!!! Head outside & see what you can find before it gets TOO COLD!!!

A Monster for your Monster

I saw these cute brownies over at CONTROLLING MY CHAOS. I made mine with mint frosting & a chocolate ganache. I posted the directions on my other blog...SIMPLY COMPLICATED.

Pumpkin Garland

We were watching Pooh's Heffalump Halloween movie & I noticed that there were some really cute simple pumpkin & ghost garlands. I felt inspired! I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to trace the shape. Kaden {5 yrs old} cut out his own pumpkin. I helped Preston {3 yrs old} cut his out. Then, I cut out a few extras.



We cut out triangles & circles for the eyes & nose. Then we cut out mouths. Preston only wanted mean mouths! Then they glued them on.



Once they were dry I glued them onto a string. I did ours double sided because it is in a walkway between the kitchen & family room. The boys were so excited to show their Daddy! I love having their decorations around the house. It makes me happy!



I am linking to Friday Showcase. Check out the other great ideas by clicking on the button.

Paper Plate Mummies

With Kaden having short day on Wednesdays...it is a good day to do a craft. Today we made mummies. Almost every night the boys want to read Where's My Mummy?



Here is what you need:



black paint
paint brush
paper plate
large google eyes
glue
glue dots (or you could just use glue)
white paper
newspaper (to keep the table clean)

Paint the backside of the paper plate black.



Once it is painted...set the plate aside to dry.



While your plate is drying...tear your white paper into strips.



Using the glue dots (or just glue) stick the eyes onto the plate.



We put glue all over the plate to start with. That way we had a good start to stick the papers on (& for the most part I could control the mess a bit).



Start to place the strips onto your plate. As you layer, you will need to add some more glue.



It doesn't matter if the paper goes off of the plate. I just trimmed it down after they were done.



Here is the finished product.



I am linking to Friday Showcase. Check out the other great ideas by clicking on the button.

Muffin Tin Monday...No Theme

So...um...we did Muffin Tin Monday tonight, but I am not sure why my camera (or SD card) hates me so much. I took great pictures of our dinner, but they were lovely corrupt files. I'm really not surprised after the day that I have had today. I am just glad that this happened on a no theme day!

We ate chicken pot pie, peach cobbler, grapes, cheese, & grape tomatoes.

I love feeding the boys chicken pot pie because they eat more veggies than they normally would! I posted the recipes for both the PEACH COBBLER (so easy) & for the CHICKEN POT PIE on my other blog.


Click on the muffin tin button to see the other Muffin Tin Meals!

Sight Words Part 2

Here is one way that we are using our new word strips {see the post below}.

I pull out 5 words at a time & put them up in an area where they can be seen easily & often....for us that is the fridge. You can decide how many you want to do. I try to get at least one of the more difficult words in each group & then some of the smaller easier words. I was thinking of changing the words every couple of days, but over the weekend we have done new words each day. Kaden is so excited & reminds me every morning that he needs new words.



First thing we did was read the words. Then, I had him write each word in his notebook. {I'll post about his notebook tomorrow!} Then, I have him use two to three of the words in sentences & write them down.



Throughout the day, we stop & read the words. If I notice that Kaden is having a hard time on one word more than others...we spend a little more time talking about that word. We also mix up the order once he has got them down...just to give him a bit more of a challenge & make sure that he is paying attention to each word.

This has been working great for Kaden, so I am going to create something for Preston to use.

Sight Words

My little man is now in Kindergarten. They are working on sight words & he is doing great. I found these word strips at the Dollar Tree. I picked up two different packages. One is labeled Pre-Kindergarten & the other is Kindergarten. They come in longer strips & I cut them down. Kaden loves practicing his words. If you have a little one who is learning their words...pick these up. I will be posting a few ideas to do with them.

Tissue Ghost

Preston's preschool class made these cute little tissue ghosts today & I just had to copy! We could really use some ghosts! They are so easy! I made a practice one in less than a minute! I took step by step pictures, but my camera or card malfunctioned & gave me corrupt files...so you only get the finished product. Isn't it cute though?



Here is what you need:

a small paper cup (dixie)
tissue or napkin
black marker
string or fishing line
scissors
glue

Put a thin layer of glue on the bottom of your cup. Place the tissue (or napkin) over the glue...center it the best you can. Draw a ghost face on your tissue. Poke a small hole in the top & thread your string through. Tada!!!! You have a stinkin' cute ghost!

I linked up to Showcase Friday. There are other fun links...so check it out!

Muffin Tin...errr...Tuesday???

I had every intention of doing Muffin Tin Monday on Monday, but my body had other plans. Then I realized that I had to go to the grocery store to get what I needed. Thankfully the boys were sweet enough to let us put it off for until today. I am feeling much better & can do their Muffin Tin as they deserve it! Here is what we had:

Top Row: brownie, cheese, lil' smokies
Bottom Row: olives, grape tomatoes, bananas & grapes

We also threw in some crackers.

Is it Halloween yet?

"Is it Halloween yet?" Are you sick of hearing that yet? I have to admit that I am. Everyday Preston (3 years old) asks if it is Halloween. I am not really looking forward to hearing that for the next 22 days. Don't get me wrong...I am excited too! Today the boys decided to make a Halloween Countdown. I was all for it!!! Preston has been VERY interested in my paper cutter (for scrapbooking). I measured out the paper & they cut it. Then, they went crazy making the links. Normally, I would have "led" the kids to make a pattern, but I have been working on letting them do their own thing. It is getting easier with each project!



I used a sign from the dollar store & hung the chain from it. We hung it on their door because it needed a little decor. The boys are so happy!!

Paper Plate Spider

As I mentioned below...Kaden had a friend come over after school. I needed a quick and easy craft to do with 2 five year olds & a three year old. This was PERFECT!! There are a few different variations on the internet. I wasn't as organized with my pictures as usual, but you get the idea.

You will need:

paper plates (one per spider)
eight strips of paper (cut your paper length wise)
large google eyes (2 per spider)
string (if you want to hang it up)
glue
crayons & markers

Turn your plate upside down & color the top.



Accordion fold the strips of paper & glue to the underside of the plate. (The side that you didn't color.)



Glue on your google eyes onto the colored side of your plate. I poked a hole in the middle of the plate & strung a string through it. The boys wanted to hang it from their beds.

Muffin Tin Monday...All About ME!!!

Today we did MTM for an after school snack. Kaden had a little friend over after school. It was fun for him to share one of his FAVORITE things with his friend. I made sugar cookies & the got to decorate them like them {It doesn't sound right, but I am currently on a sugar high...so I'm not thinking straight!}

I took pictures of the original set up & let me tell you...it was hard to get 2 five year olds & a three year old to wait for me to take a picture, but they did. If only I had my memory card in my camera! We were still decorating when I realized the problem...so I can give you an idea of what we did.

Here is what we had:

yellow licorice (for hair), red licorice (for mouth), M&Ms (for nose, eyes, or whatever), assorted chocolate chips (for nose, eyes, or whatever), & a sugar cookie.

Here are their cookies:

Here are the boys eating their cookies! YUM!!!

Click on the Muffin Tin Monday button to check out all of the other Muffin Tin links.

Five Little Pumpkins

I was going through my Halloween decorations & came across The Five Little Pumpkins book. I also found some Jack-O-Latern fun foam that we used to make magnets last year. I had exactly enough pumpkin shapes left to make puppets to go along with the Five Little Pumpkins poem (or story). My shapes were already precut to make Jack-O-Lanterns. I bought it at Joann's last year...they might have something like it this year. You could also just cut your own shapes out of construction paper or fun foam.

Here is what you need:



I have include the poem at the bottom of the post so that you have it to go with the puppets.

Have your little ones assemble their Jack-O-Lanterns however they want. We did 5 for each kid to go with the poem.




Take your popsicle stick & put glue just on the top of the stick. Place your pumpkin face up onto the glue part of the stick. Let it dry.






Once they are dry...do a puppet show & have fun!



Here is the poem:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."
Oooooooooooooooooo went the wind and out went the light.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Egg Carton Spiders

Today we made some egg carton spiders. They are the easiest of our egg carton friends (we made bats & pumpkins too). Here is what you need:



egg carton
black paint
paint brush
black pipe cleaners
google eyes
glue
scissors (not pictured)
string/fishing line (optional/not pictured)

Cut egg cups off of carton. You will need 1 per spider (we made 2 spiders). Paint outside of carton cup with black paint & let dry.


Once the paint has dried...poke 8 holes along the rim of the cup for the spider's legs. Four on each side. (I also poked a hole at the top because I wanted to hang the spiders from string.)


Glue the google eyes onto your spider & let them dry. Excuse the white all over the spider...we had a little one go a bit crazy for the glue!



Cut your pipe cleaner into 4 inch pieces. You will need 8 4-inch pipe cleaner strips per spider. After your eyes have dried on...stick one pipe cleaner piece into each hole. The picture is bad...sorry, but I love his little fingers. I had the twist & bend them a bit inside of the spider so that the pipe cleaners didn't fall out. A little loop at the end did the job.



Bend the pipe cleaners a bit to make it look more like legs. I just used some string that I had left over & hung them up.

Here is the finished product! I hung them up in the boys' room. How fun for them to have their very own homemade Halloween decorations in their room.