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laughing, learning, & wondering
​a little more each day

Winter Story Stones: Our Winter Nature Pal Exchange Craft

12/1/2018

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Winter themed story stones are a fun, easy, and cost effective craft! All you need is to collect some stones, gather a variety of scrap craft materials, a brush, mod podge & use your imagination! Story stones support literacy through tactile play.
Happy first day of December!

​I created this craft and wrote this piece a long time ago and thought now would be the perfect time to share since the holidays are before us. I can’t wait to take them out and see what Little Miss F does with them now!


Two years ago we were excited to participate in our second Nature Pal Exchange! Once again I was tempted to go upstate to forage at my Mom’s farm for pine needles, twigs, pinecones, milkweed seeds, and other fancy stuff...but...then I got thinking about what New York offers. I considered a bunch of possible crafts--making pressed leaf ornaments with sculpty clay or acorn cap ornaments. While walking through a park on my way into work one morning I noticed there were some large stones on the edge of the path. Looking more, there was a great variety of large smooth stones! it was serendipity once again that led me to our project-Winter Themed Story stones!

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Lavender Scented Homemade Play Dough Recipe

8/13/2017

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Lavender Scented Homemade Play Dough Recipe. Make your own super soft, super sparkly, purple play dough using Lavender essential oils. From Littleredbarn.org-stories from a Mom, Wife, Early Childhood Educator, and Animal Lover
It has been ages since I posted! Life is busy & we've been having fun! I am so happy to share one of my favorite toddler activities that blends science, sensory play, & cooking. 

I love making Play Dough with Miss F. !

Full disclosure --It definitely requires a certain approach of patience and flexibility of mind. Fortunately, this is a very flexible recipe...the measurements need not be precise!

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Valentine Discovery Bottles

2/25/2017

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Valentine Discovery Bottles: A Valentine Themed No Mess Sensory Activity fwor Babies, Toddlers & Children. From littleredbarn.org-stories from a Mom, Wife, Early Childhood Educator, and Animal Lover
We ❤ Discovery Bottles! In anticipation of Valentine's Day, I made Little Miss F two Valentine inspired Discovery Bottles.

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Valentine Sticky Craft & Mixing Old School Homemade Toys!

2/21/2017

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 Valentine Sticky Craft & Mixing Old School Homemade Toys! Encourage your toddler’s fine motor skills and pincer grip with heart shaped materials and pink, white, and red colored items for a Valentine Themed Activity. From Littleredbarn.org-stories from a Mom, Wife, Early Childhood Educator, and Animal Lover
So this is the state of things...I began this post in January. Seriously. January….and now I am finally getting around to posting it...how many weeks AFTER Valentine's Day? What can I say...life is busy and it doesn’t always go according to plan. But we’re having fun!

We LOVE any project, activity, or craft involving contact paper. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I offered Miss F a Valentine Themed Sticky Craft using a variety of materials I found at the dollar store: Ribbons, pink, white, & red pom poms, and plain & glitter hearts in a variety of colors. ​

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Ocean Discovery Bottles

2/4/2017

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Ocean Discovery Bottles: Easy to Follow DIY Step by Step Instructions for creating your own no mess sensory play and beach explorations. Using simple materials: a recycled bottle, sand, shells, rocks, and water you can easily create a fun activity to spark your child’s wonder about the natural world. From Littleredbarn.org-stories from a Mom, Wife, Early Childhood Educator, and Animal Lover
Miss F loves Yetis. Yes, the winter wonderland version of Big Foot. Absolutely. Loves. Yeti. She has yeti books, a Yeti friend for her bed. We’ve been reading Vin Vogel’s picture book, The Thing About Yetis. Our little girl, much like a Yeti thinks the cold and snow of winter are the most fabulous things. She does not like to be hot. But...just like the Yeti in Vin Vogel’s book, sometimes, even those who really, really love the winter miss the breezy ways and days of summertime.

We LOVE the ocean. We LOVE the beach--the water, the waves, the sand, the shells, the rocks! This summer Miss F simply delighted in her first beach experience, much to the absolute pleasure of her parents (and Digby!). ​

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Old School Play: Popsicle Stick Coffee Can Posting Activity

1/22/2017

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Old School Play: Popsicle Stick Coffee Can Posting Activity--a low-cost, low-prep activity for toddlers to encourage your child's fine motor skills.
It has been such a busy New Year! I have a bunch of posts planned on a variety of Invitations to Play to share quite soon -- our Winter Nature Pal Exchange Craft, Story Stones, Valentine Inspired Play Activities, Sensory Bottles and More! In the meantime, I thought I would go old school and share one of our favorite homemade activities: Popsicle Sticks in a Coffee Can Posting! ​

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Pom Pom Fine Motor Transfer Activity for Toddlers

12/4/2016

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How to Create Your Own Homemade Transfer Activity for Your Toddler: Supporting Fine Motor Skills, Crossing the Midline, Sensory Play, & Fun! Littleredbarn.org
Life has been busy since my last post! Between the full calendar of school activities this fall, Thanksgiving and everyday life, I am happily exhausted. Coffee is now back in my routine after nearly 3 year break. I didn't drink coffee during my pre-and postnatal times. Wow, did I miss you coffee. It's good to have you back my old friend.

Back to toddler life...Lately I'm finding Miss F is able to do so much more throughout the day (napping less and less nowadays!) and is so excited for every new adventure. I am regularly creating new activities for her to enjoy at home. Some are huge hits and others not so much. Today I want to share one of her most favorite recent play activities--pom pom transfer play. If you are looking for an easy and fun activity for your toddler--this is it! ​

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Baking Pinecones, Acorns, & Natural Materials for Play & Craft

10/27/2016

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How to Bake Acorns, Pine Cones, Sweet Gum Seeds, and other Tree Seeds  and Natural Materials in Your Oven. Step-by-Step Directions: Littleredbarn
Last weekend my daughter and I took a leisurely autumn walk to the park. Actually, we never even made it into the park -- only to the entrance steps! Little Miss F. was having so much fun playing with the leaves as we went we didn't get very far. While we were sitting on the steps enjoying the leaves, an older man stopped to share, "I was watching you and your daughter as she was playing in the leaves." I wasn't sure where this was going...but I listened. Having a dog and a baby has taught me that people feel quite comfortable to come up to you at any time and just chat. Then he asked me, "Do you know Buckminster Fuller?" He then said, something I hope I carry with me always. He explained, "When your daughter pulls on the drapes, LET HER! There's only two weeks that she'll be that type of scientist!" It was amazingly affirming to hear from a complete stranger, YES! Do let your child play in the leaves. She is happy. She is exploring. She is engaged. She is learning! Thank you kind stranger. You left me with a quote I will ponder for some time.

Nature and offering natural materials to my daughter is important to me. Especially since we live in New York City. In last post I shared our Nature Pal Exchange box. It was so much fun to purposefully explore the nature around us in New York! There is a lot to notice, explore, wonder about, and enjoy! I learned some lessons too! Dry out your collected materials as soon as possible! I made the HUGE mistake of not drying out my collected acorns and leaving them in open bags in a closet. Big mistake! I noticed the condensation on the bags & hoped since they were open they would dry out on their own. Nope. Mold formed. I was so disappointed & it was totally my fault. I felt so bad-the acorns could have been tasty meals for squirrels. :(

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Nature Pal Exchange: Collecting Found Materials on our Nature Walks in New York, NY to share with our Pal's in Kansas City, KN!

10/8/2016

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Nature Pal Exchange: Connect with a faraway nature-pal to find, collect, and organize local natural materials to send as a care package! It’s amazing what you will discover in your own back yard on nature walks as a family! Littleredbarn.org
Late on a Friday night I saw the post on Instagram announcing the Fall Nature Pal Exchange. Pen pals but with items found on nature walks?!? What a fabulous idea!

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Reuse Glow Sticks: How to Recharge Your Glow Sticks in the Freezer

9/15/2016

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Reuse Glow Sticks: How to Recharge Your Glow Sticks in the Freezer. Save money & waste less plastic by reusing glow sticks by pausing their glow by freezing them. When you want to reuse the glow sticks simply remove from the freezer. Glow sticks thaw quickly.
As I shared in my earlier post, Glow Stick Bath Time Fun! I read on Knowledge Weighs Nothing that you can ‘recharge’ or ‘pause’ your glow sticks by putting them in the freezer. I had to try this! 

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    Heather

    Mom,
    wife, animal-lover,
    ​
    early childhood educator.

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