Toddler Spring Bouquet

Spring has sprung!  I don't know why I never thought about this phrase more until this spring.  We've had warmer than normal weather occur here in Kansas.  Suddenly all the trees had blooms that in a week's worth of time had leaves explode out!  Now instead of sticks for trees we have fluffy green trees everywhere.  It's so rejuvenating and beautiful!  To have some fun with the season and some craft supplies we have on hand, Penelope and I made some flowers.

First, we gathered our supplies.  You'll need an empty egg carton, scissors, and pipe cleaners.

Cut each egg section apart and poke a small hole in the bottom of each section.

Next, thread a pipe cleaner through the hole.  This can get fancy by twirling the inner end of the pipe cleaner or by twisting two or more colored pipe cleaners together and then threading them through the hole.

Finally, the carton flowers can be decorated with markers, stickers, pom-poms, glitter, etc.

Welcome spring!

linked up at Momnivore's Dilemma

Fantastic Kid Craft Site

How many TP roles do you and your family go through?  Do you throw them away or recycle them?  Last week John Paul's theme at preschool was Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  We've recycled here at home for several years, so it's really nothing new for us...or so I thought.  John Paul must have really tuned in to Ms Jan when she talked about the Reuse part.  He won't let me put anything in the recycle bin because he thinks it's all getting thrown away.  I had to explain that no, it was all being taken to be recycled, made in to new things.  He insisted that we could reuse everything.  So, after making a few music boxes out of tissue and cereal boxes I knew I needed to turn to the creative people on the net.  Via another favorite blog I found this gem of a site, TPcraft.  I love that many of her TP roll crafts not only have complete how-tos, they also have a children's book associated with it.

Check out some of the fun:

Spring flowers

Seed starter planters

Log Cabin

The Log Cabin one could easily be changed in to a store, garage, house, etc and could be played with many other toys.
I have to remind myself that so many kids crafts are more about the process and the learning that takes place while creating and they're not about the end product.  They'll all be recycled in a week or two, right?  ;)

Extra Practice Never Hurt

My guys do a pretty decent job when it comes to brushing and flossing their teeth. I'm proud to say that there are no cavities so far in their little mouths.  Sometimes, however, this twice-a-day routine can get dull.  And a hot summer is just about here (tomorrow at 10:30 it officially starts for us!)  I need some fun activities for all 3 kiddos.  I came across this awesome idea (some people are just pure creative genius!) and I know we'll be doing this one for sure.

Don't forget to brush and floss when this fun time is done :)