Once Upon a Book ~ Mouse Paint

Mouse Paint

by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Summary: Three mischievous mice spot some jars of paint and notice some interesting changes as they dip themselves into the primary colors and begin mixing!

Bible Verse

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors." Genesis 37:3

Art

Using the primary colors, paint three mice. Mix the primary colors to make the secondary colors and paint three more mice.



Craft

Make mice using rocks. Use the paint mixed from the above art activity to paint rocks. Once dry, use a marker to add eyes and whiskers. Glue yarn for the tail!


Our mice needed a home, so they boys used their rainbow blocks to build houses for each of the mice!

Snack

While I don’t recommend candy for a snack, it is fun to use candy in color observations! Drop some Skittles into water and watch the candies dissolve. Try different color combinations. (Here we mixed yellow and red to make orange.)



Science

Practice making the secondary colors using the Color Wheel printable.

More Ideas


~ Learn the color names in a different language!
~ Go on a color hunt around your home or neighborhood.
~ Joseph & the Coat of Many Colors Craft from DLTK
~ Mix up a colorful batch of Kool Aid play dough!

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Now I Know My ABC’s ~ w is for whale

It's time for some fun alphabet crafts!! We hope you enjoy these! If you are new, you can visit our ABC webpage to find links to any other letters we have done, letters (with books listed) coming up, as well as all the fun crafty letters we have been working on. Be sure to check it out!

The Whale and Jonah by Laura Dreyer

Summary: A fun retelling on the story of Jonah and the whale ~ from the whale’s perspective!

 

What You’ll Need:

• blue craft foam {two shades if preferred}
• white and black craft foam
• scissors
• optional large wiggly eye
• pen and pencil

How to Make the ‘w’ for whale:

1. Cut out a lowercase ‘w’ from a piece of blue foam sheet. To make the letters go along with the uppercase letters we’ve done in the past, this letter was cut from a piece of foam that was about 6” x 4”.
2. Using a piece of blue foam 8 1/2” x 5” in size, cut out a body for the whale.
3. Cut a 1 1/2” circle out of white craft foam for the bottom of the whale’s eye.
4. Cut an 3/4” oval out of black craft foam for part of the whale’s eye and a small white circle for the center of the eye.
5. Glue the lowercase w onto the whale’s tail.
6. Glue the eye onto the whale.
7. Draw a mouth on your whale.

 

Mommy Made Printables ~ CHRISTmas

We are excited to share some Christmas printables for you to use at home with your tots as you celebrate the birth of our Savior during the month of December!

Christmas Tot Pack {from 1+1+1=1}

LOTS of Christmas Printables {from Christian Preschool Printables}

J is for Jesus Unit {Confessions of a Homeschooler}

Christmas File Folder Games {from File Folder Fun}

Christmas Bible Verse {Songs for Saplings}

AWESOME Christmas Printables from our readers:

• Spell Outloud
• My Delicious Ambiguity
• Hubbard's Cupboard
• Musings of Me
  

Do you have any Christmas printables YOU have created {and share}? If so, leave a link to your blog post in the comments below!

Terrific Tot Sites ~ Tractor Tom

Today’s featured site is a quick stop, but if you have a little boy, these tractors to color will be WELL received!

 

Tractor Tom is a part of the Kids CBC website where they have lots of games to play.  Tractor Tom has coloring pages for little ones and the scenes can be changed behind the picture, colors can be added online, and images can be printed. The tractors were just too cute ~ and a big hit!

 

Have fun checking out Tractor Tom and coloring in some cute pictures!

The Terrific Tot Sites feature is designed to help you find fun and safe websites to visit with your toddler. Some of the sites are educational in nature and some are just plain fun! If this is your first time visiting, be sure to check out some of the toddler websites that we've featured in the past. Hope you enjoy this Terrific Tot Site!

 

Hope you enjoy this Terrific Tot Site! To see more featured sites, click here!

Get Real with God ~ God's Formula for Peace

While reading through Philippians I discovered this nifty little formula. Maybe you’ve already discovered it but it seemed new to me this time reading through.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

See the formula? Prayer + Thanksgiving= Peace in our heart and mind

I think the reason this is so significant to me right now is because I have joined another blog in making an effort to create a peaceful home. Surely every time we try to make this kind of change all manner of unpeacefulness erupts!

We have loud days and quiet days, days when I’m yelling too much or not enough, days when I’ve let the cares of the world press in and effect me. But I struggle more with being peaceful on the inside. I’m not concerned about my salvation or walk with the Lord, but I do get bogged down with worry about my children and my husband. Wondering if I’m doing right by them: am I helping them, am I loving them, am I trying hard enough. This formula is a balm to my soul!

Clearly, the key isn’t just to pray though, it’s to pray with Thanksgiving! Sometimes it’s hard to find things to be thankful for isn’t it? Sometimes life just stinks. And I’ve realized that finding something to be thankful for, even if it’s just something silly, changes my focus from the things that are worrying me, onto the Lord who has covered and supplied ALL-MY-NEEDS! Which is why Paul goes on to say:

“Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Oh Father, thank you for making your word so clear! Thank you for this simple formula that can transform a heart full of worry and care into a heart over-flowing with peace and contentment. You know how we are prone to worry, especially us mommy’s, you know how desperately we want to do right by you and our family’s. Help us to keep our souls full of thankfulness, our lips full of prayers, and in return you give us hearts and minds full of peace that we can’t even begin to understand or explain.

Treats 4 Your Tot

Here are some more cool giveaways for tots/moms of tots, check them out below and let us know if you win something we told you about!!!!

• Guidecraft Animal Train Sort & Match…ends 11/14/10
• Pillow Pet…ends 11/22/10
• Melissa & Doug Puzzle Gift Set…ends 11/22/10
• Play Doh Fun Factory…ends 11/22/10
• Guidecraft Rocking Chair…ends 11/22/10
• Veggie Tales It’s a Meaningful Life DVD…ends 11/22/10
• Double Track Race Tower…ends 11/22/10
• Wooden ABC Puzzle…ends 11/22/10

Bolded are items we personally own and love!  If you are hosting a TOT friendly giveaway you are free to leave a link in the comments section!

If you are looking for gift recommendations for tots, I have a list on my blog here…

In My Heart ~ Psalm 46:1-2

Everything in Love {Psalm 46:1-2} is #11 from Seeds of Courage. 

Full Page Verse Printable… 

Verse Mini Book {which could also be cut into mini flash cards to have kids put the verse in order}…   

Copy Work Tracers {print & cursive}    

Copy Work Sheets…    

Full Verse Coloring Pages…  

Seeds Family Worship printables here!

Visit the main Seeds Family Worship Printables page here.

Visit Seeds Family Worship to learn more about their ministry here!

Simple verse cards from Seeds, and also a verse memorization checklist can be found here on their site!

Once Upon a Book ~ Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?

 

Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?

by Margaret Wang

Summary:  Nine cookies have disappeared from the cookie jar.  There is one left.  Who is eating them?  Read this book with your child to discover who stole the cookie from the cookie jar by counting backwards and learning the names of different animals.  This book is also fun because the cookies are raised, textured cookie shapes, perfect for the toddler who enjoys touching as they learn. 

Bible Verse

 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:2)

Hands-On Play

Having recently added these Color Cookies to our school room, they really added to our learning experience.  I loved using this manipulative, because I was able to apply the book to all three of my boys (ages 6, 4, and 2).

 

Smiley enjoyed taking the cookies apart.

Putting them in a bucket . . .

Stacking . . .

And you can try patterns . . .

  

Game

Matching

Supplies: 

• small cookies
• cookie jar
• pictures of all the animals in the book
• number cards

I couldn’t resist purchasing little cookies.  Yes, I know that I could have made them . . . and we did.  But my cookies aren’t rock hard!

Directions:

I went through the book and found clip art on my computer that I knew Mr. Smiley would recognize and was similar to the pictures in the book. 



As I read the story, I had him find the matching pictures.  Mr. Smiley loved it when we came to the last page . . . “Daddy stole the cookie from the cookie jar.”  He finally got to grab the picture of his dad. 

 
I then added numbers into the mix! 



The idea was that when we read the number of cookies left, that Smiley would place the animal talked about on that page on the appropriate number.  This was a bit of an adventurous task for a two-year old. 

Cooking:  Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was a bit nervous for this next endeavor.  I hadn’t ever “baked” with Mr. Smiley.   However, I found that he followed directions well.  But IF you are going to cook with your Toddler, I would highly recommend that you PREPARE everything before you begin this culinary experience.

I also made this a project that was just a Mommy and Smiley activity.  That lowered my stress level, to be honest, and Mr. Smiley really got to have a hands-on learning time.  He was delighted . . . and wanted to eat a lot of cookie dough!


Want the recipe?  I can’t give it to you . . . but I can tell you where you can find it . . .  this tasty and moist cookie can be found in the Sue Gregg Dessert Cookbook.  You could also purchase pre-made cookie dough or make a normal recipe that you are familiar with! 

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!