Intriguing Leaves and Dramatic Play

Dramatic Play

Intriguing Leaves

My dramatic play area was giving me a time this week...what could I do for fall?  I thought about adding fake leaves and plastic rakes and having the kids rake the leaves...maybe adding plastic fall vegetables and having the kids make a fall meal...then it hit me...Farmer's Market!  So last night after giving my little Owlets a bath I made pumpkins out of paper bags, newspaper, and orange paint.  I moved the bench to my dining room table to the dramatic play area to serve as the table, added the pumpkins, the apple cider jugs and apples from our apple theme, and some pretend fruits and veggies.  The Owlets had a great time serving up apple cider and selling fruit and vegetables to each other! 
Our art activity for the day was pretty simple, but created a unique masterpiece.  I cut out leaf shapes from magazines and my hubby drew a simple tree shape on paper.  The kids glued the leaf shapes onto the tree! 
In group time we played a color matching game, I drew a tree (a very pathetic looking tree) onto poster board labeled it with yellow, brown, red, and orange dots, and had it laminated.  I took it to Office Depot because my little laminating machine that I love and am so glad I have will not handle poster board..the nice lady there laughed at my sad little tree!  Anyway, I cut leaves out of red, yellow, brown, and orange construction paper, laminated them, and cut them out.  The Owlets picked a leaf and taped it to the coordinating dot.  When all the leaves were on it, it was beautiful and not as sad looking! 
I added colored pencils and paper to the writing area along with some cards with fall words and matching pictures on them. I encouraged the Owlets to try and copy the letters off the cards or to draw a picture of what was on the card. 

There are more fall adventures awaiting us tomorrow...hopefully a nature walk to look for leaves, acorns, and pine cones for our discovery trays if the rain goes away!  :)

Fall is in the Air

The Tree I put in Dramatic Play

  Fall...I love fall...all things fall!  The colors, the smells, football (Roll Tide), the flavors, the crispness in the air, sweaters, and big, tall boots!  Fall and leaves are one of my favorite themes to do in school.  This weekend I have been busy creating fall in my classroom!  My hubby and I put together a tree and spent yesterday afternoon cutting out leaves an adding them to the bare branches.  I think it turned out pretty cute!
I have been coloring leaves, cutting out leaves, and laminating like crazy!   I had a lot of this stuff from before, but most of it got lost in the last three moves, so I started over!
 One of the activities we will be doing is a leaf memory game.  This activity was a favorite of the kids in my classroom when I taught before, so I went back to it!  I found it in The Mailbox Magazine from October/November 2003...wow!  My hubby drew the tree for me, but I photocopied the leaf cards and colored them myself...red, yellow, green, brown, and orange.  This is a great memory game!
I think one of the activities I am looking most forward to is the lovely leaf match!  I made twenty leaves from scrapbook paper, laminated them, and cut them out. The kids will match them based on pattern.
I have many more activities planned for our centers, group times, and special activities.  Pictures and details to come!  It's going to be a fabulous fall week! :)

My hubby drew this awesome tree for me so we can play a leaf memory game!

Leaf lacing cards

Leaf Match 

Science Experiments

Clever Owl holding the Diaper Dust she made

Glow in the Dark Slime

Clever Owl was in scientist mode when she came home from school today.  She has a ton of science experiment kits and when she pulled this kit off the shelf and asked for help doing a couple of experiments, how could I say no!  So we made Diaper Dust which was just powder and she added water to it, mixed it together until it made a squishy slime!  Then we made glow in the dark slime.  It was pretty cool..she couldn't wait to show her friends!  I think it is so awesome that she loves science!  Papa Owl and I want to do everything we can to nurture that love, even if it means buying her every science kit on the market...because she will ask for all of them!

Kellipalooza 2012

Today is my birthday..I have called this special day Kellipalooza since high school...why?  I really don't know why...I guess it makes me feel like my birthday is a big deal (even though it isn't!)  Basically, it's another day, yep I'm a year older.  Do I feel it? Nope, not at all!  Am I sad or depressed about gaining another year? Not one bit.  Why?  Age is just a number and I am happy, very satisfied, with the place where I am in this stage of my life!
Today has been, a normal day...except I didn't clean my house!  I made breakfast for my family, because I love them and want to nourish their bodies and send them off with full tummies so they have the best day possible.  The breakfast was a little more special than normal, I made cake batter pancakes and they were fabulous! I registered my babies for CYS, now they can go to hourly care or participate in CYS activities!  Then we went to the post library for story and craft time.  The librarian read stories about turtles and then the girls cute turtle magnets.  My little Owlets love story and craft time, they love being read to, they sit so still and listen so intently even when other kids are jumping up and down, screaming, and playing!  The Military Family Life Consultant complimented them for being so well behaved!  We came home and had lunch, then playtime, and then it was time to go get Clever Owl from school. 

Kosmic Karma Pizza!  Best pizza ever!

Cause I love owls and lime green is my favorite color!

Favorite place to get a pie!

When Papa Owl came home we went to my most favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom for the best pizza ever created, the Kosmic Karma!  After we finished dinner, my hubby surprised me with a cake!  My little owl family sang "Happy Birthday" to me, then we dove into the cake!  I got very sweet cards from each member of my little owl family!  It has been a great day!  I love my family so much and I am one blessed Mama Owl! :)