CSN Giveaway! - CLOSED

CSN has anything and everything you could want in over 200 hundred online stores.  Anything from lights to library shelves, or toys to tables. :)  They’ve got it.  I love CSN stores.  If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have been able to provide so many high quality, educational, and fun toys for M for his birthday (coming up soon!).  Their prices are very competitive and the selection is unbelievable.  And, I have to say, they’ve got the best customer service!  I’ve been waiting to review a product from them because the wagon I wanted was unavailable, and after a couple of weeks they emailed me a 15% off coupon to use on a purchase… just because I had been waiting!  I can honestly say they’ve got my business and loyalty.  They are the first place I go now to find good prices on what we want and need.

Now for the really good part - I have a $60.00 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader! :)  This giveaway is open until midnight next Thursday, August 26th.  I’ll announce the winner on August 27th.  For your first mandatory entry, you must be a subscriber or follower of Tired, Need Sleep, and leave a comment letting me know. 

Extra entries (leave a comment for each one):

1. Blog about this giveaway
2. “Like” CSN Stores on Facebook
3. Tell me which item(s) you’ll buy with your $60 if you win

Good luck, everyone!!

Have a beautiful day! :)

Blog Stuff…

Bear with me as I’ll be in and out of blogland for the next few weeks.  I’ll have some posts, but predict that they’ll be pretty sporadic.  I’m putting the Monday Art Box posts on hold for the next month or so – M is too busy enjoying summer to care much about it and that’s fine with me.  I think if his Art Box disappears for a while and then reappears once Minnesota cold starts setting in, it will be very popular once again. :)

I’m in the middle of some minor home remodeling that started with tearing up the living room carpet one morning (my husband  loves when I do this kind of thing – you can imagine just how much), and I’m trying to plan our preschool activities which we’ll be starting mid-September.  I want things fairly organized and ready to go so I’m not just winging it like I tend to do.  These two things are taking up any and all spare time I have.  And that’s not much now that M is going to bed later and hubby is home more evenings in the summer.  I love them very, very much, and am grateful that we are spending so much time together.  We’ll just leave it at that, shall we?

I have a million posts (really good posts!) swirling around in this head of mine, but none of them seem to be writing themselves.  ;)  Stick with me and sometime in September things should pick up again and be a bit more lively in my little corner of blogland.  Hopefully this will also mean that I’ll be able to read and comment again on some of my favorite, but neglected, blogs. :) 

Have a beautiful day! :)

Biggie Fuse Beads

I bought a bucket of these a couple of months ago and put them out on M’s shelves as a fine motor activity.  He is crazy about them!  We also bought the set of two clear plastic pegboards, and he places the beads on the little pegs.  Once he’s made  a design he likes, I iron it for him (with the included ironing paper) and they melt together.  I’m sure most of you have seen the mini version of this for older kids, but the Biggie version is a great way to start those little fingers out!

At first M made his own designs, like these:Going clockwise from the top – a square, ,a wagon, a truck, and dragon bones. :)

But just recently he became interested in using the patterns that came with the peg boards.  Then we found more patterns for them here, which was very exciting, and I was told to print them all out. :)  *Note: the patterns for Biggie Beads start at the bottom of the page that I’ve linked to. 

His collection so far:Honestly, I think that photo shows only part of what he’s made; we’ve gone through 2 buckets so far, but I’m not sure where he’s hoarding the rest of his creations.

This has ended up being a fantastic activity for him – it works those fine motor muscles in his hand, works on the all-important tripod grasp, has helped him develop some patience and perseverance as he sees each pattern to the end, matching up the beads just right to the pattern.  It has expanded his attention span also, and gives him a good sense of accomplishment and pride in a job completed.  Wow – all that from a bucket of beads! :) 

M will be 4 soon, and once we finish up our most recent bucket of Biggie Beads, I’ll see how he does with the smaller version. 

Is there a product out there that you and your child have fallen in love with?  Share it in the comments – I would love to find more great products like this!

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – August 9, 2010

Last week the Art Box was left untouched.   We had a busy week with play dates and errands, and then there was that one morning when I decided to tear up the living room carpet… :)  Pictures of that, hopefully soon (although lately I can’t promise anything when it comes to blogging). 

 

M did manage to get in some artsy time with his cousin S on Friday.  I set up the little outdoor easel, put out a (muffin) tray of paints, and a selection of stamps, several brushes and sheets of newsprint:

 

and they went to work:

 

Paint a little, play a little, paint a little – all day long.  We had stacks of artwork by day’s end.  Summer is so much fun, isn’t it?

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

Summertime Art – Leaf Printing (in your swimsuit)

I’m trying to do one planned and structured art project with M each week.  He gets in plenty of self-directed art with his art easel outside and his little art box inside.  MaryAnn Kohl’s book, Preschool Art has been a great source of ideas and inspiration, and this little project came straight from its pages.






  

We both enjoyed this activity… M loved the process, and I love the beautiful result.

To do this, you will need a sturdy piece of cardboard or cardstock, glue, paint in the colors you want (M chose green, yellow, and blue), a small paint roller (ours is from the craft section at Walmart), a small tray or dish to roll the paint in, and some sheets of plain paper. You’ll also need newspaper to put under your project if you are working on a surface that you don’t want painted.

Next, you need to go find your leaves!  This was a really fun part of the project for M – he hunted and hunted until he found the perfect leaves.  Yes, we did take a few straight from our shrubs or low-hanging tree branches, but we found a lot just lying on the ground too.  You’ll need fresh, flexible leaves, not ones that are dry and apt to crumble when they are being rolled with paint.

Arrange them, face down, on your piece of cardboard.  You want the lined and veined surface on the underneath to be face up.  Once you are pleased with your arrangement, glue them in place.

Put some paint in your tray and roll your roller through it.  We started off with green and yellow (mostly green), then for our third print we added in a little blue.

(Like how the newspaper appeared under his work?  Suddenly I realized I didn’t really want a green and yellow picnic table.  And do you think the people listed in those obituaries minded that we were using them for this?)

Gently, gently, roll the leaves with the paint:

Oh my heavens, my chubby little baby has turned into a skinny big boy!

Once every leaf is covered with paint, place a sheet of plain paper over the top and rub it, again gently, all over.  

Lift it off and you’ve made lovely leaf prints!
I have these hanging in my kitchen now and sometimes I just stop to admire them.  I’m thinking of framing them and hanging them in our breezeway (like a 3-season porch that runs the length of our house).  They make me happy. :)

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – August 2, 2010

My beloved laptop was having some issues last week and my not-so-beloved-but-normally-reliable camera was malfunctioning.  Ugh.  You can imagine my horror and anxiety, right? ;)  Everything seems to be back to normal now, and the internet did not go away during my absence.  Thank goodness.  Um, not that I need the internet, or my laptop, or my camera for that matter…  that would just be silly, wouldn’t it?

So, I only captured one lovely piece of artwork made from the Art Box and this is it: Yes, I know it looks like he poured glue on a piece of paper and then dumped a bunch of random stuff on it.  However, it took him a good half hour and he was very intentional about all, or at least most, of it.  He even stuffed things into the noodles. :) 

To be honest, sometimes I think the Art Box has turned into more of a tool for me to keep M busy while I “get something done”, than just something for his enjoyment.  However, he really does enjoy the freedom of being able to make whatever he wants whenever he wants.  And he is always so proud of each and every creation.  So many are made with a specific person in mind (to give it to), and I love to hear him talk about how much he loves them and how much they are going to love their special gift.  He is definitely expressing himself through his artwork! 

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

Photo problems… help!

This morning I had a strange error on my blog, but it hasn’t shown up since.  I can see all of my pictures just fine (even when I’m not signed in to blogger), but have been told by a couple of readers that they are seeing some of the photos on the blog have been deleted.  Anyone know what’s going on???  And how to fix it??? :)

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

We had family from New York visiting last week and most of our time was spent just having fun with cousins.  The Art Box did not see much action, but I did capture a couple of creative moments… these were times when a very over-tired 3 year old who doesn’t take naps anymore needed something quiet to do.  While sitting in one spot. ;)

 

First, a little sand art, which is always a huge hit with M.  Michael’s has these cute little containers and M used a funnel to fill them up with colored sand:

 

Also, some drawing on the side of the fridge with window markers.  This was a novel idea for him and kept him happy and creative for a good half hour at least:

(His “snowman” drawing)

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

ABC Collage and Trace Book

I’ve written about M’s little ABC binder before.  He still uses it on a regular basis and enjoys it.

There are two parts to this little book (a 3-ring binder, actually).  First, each letter has a tracing page.   Both upper and lower case letters are on one page, and they each take up about half the page.  It’s so much easier for children to learn to write using large spaces… once they get the movement down, they’ll be able to start making their letters smaller and smaller. These are placed in page protectors and then clipped into the binder.  M uses a dry-erase marker to trace them, then erases them with a small piece of felt.

Secondly, each letter has a collage page that goes beside it, showing things that begin with that letter.  I print out a page of clip art and a page that is blank except for the letters in the middle:

M calls these his “cutting pages” and LOVES them.  He cuts out the pictures and glues them onto the blank letter page.  This isn’t about precise cutting, and he leaves a pretty good border of white around each picture.  The clip art is spaced widely apart to allow for plenty of room.

The finished collage page is then placed in a page protector and added to the binder, next to the tracing page.  He can “read” his abc book by himself and practice tracing the letters any time he wants!

It’s been such a great project for him that I decided to make it available as a printable.   The file download includes the tracing pages for each letter, a page of clip art, and a page to glue the pictures onto after they are cut out.  Each letter has 5 pieces of clip art except for X and Z.  C and G both have two sets of clip art – one for the hard C or G sounds, and one for the soft C or G sounds.

Go here for the download, or click on one of the images above. 
Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – July 19, 2010

I bought a little tote to go along with M’s Art Box last week.  This way we can keep all his usual stuff in one spot and he can add more fun things to the actual box.  In the tote are paintbrushes, glue, pens (which I’ll switch out for colored pencils, pastels, or markers occasionally), scissors, his tiny paint palette, and a small container of collage items like macaroni, pom-poms, etc.

 

I let him pick 3 items from each drawer (there are two craft drawers that are his “art box drawers”.  He chose a bundle of old fabric, cotton balls, a wooden snake with paints, coffee filters, electrical tape, and some stickers.  I picked a variety of papers for him to use.

*Note how messy the box is now that I let M pick the items for it?  There’s no time to pretty it all up before snapping a quick photo. You’ll have to just take my word for what’s in there! :)

 

     

First he made… well, what are these?He was so very proud of them, and told me he had thought up something that no one else had ever made before.  I think he just might be right about that. ;)

 

He had a great time painting his little wooden snake from Michael’s:

 

 

And then he grabbed a piece of dark green velvet (it looks black in the photo), and glued cotton balls all over it.  He told me he had made a “collage of very soft things”:

 

So, yes – his art was interesting this past week, but he enjoyed himself, was excited about it, and probably even learned something – I call that a success.  And I don’t mind that it keeps him busy while I blog either. ;)

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

Books of the Week – July 17, 2010

If it were up to M this week, you’d be hearing about Thomas the Train and nothing else.  If you have a Thomas and Friends lover, check out the book in the carousel above (Thomas’ Big Storybook); it is definitely the favorite around here these days. 

However, I’m going to spare you Thomas.  :)  Or maybe I’m just sparing myself!

My favorite of the week was Raggedy Ann and Rags, adapted from the stories by Johnny Gruelle:

 

M picked this up at the library without my noticing, and I was excited to see it in the pile when we checked out.  I loved Raggedy Ann and Andy when I was a child, and had forgotten about these great, detailed stories.  This book probably took us a good 20 minutes to read, but M hung on every word.  The story tells of how Rags (the dog) was found and then has his first adventure – where he helps the other toys save Raggedy Ann and another doll from floating away to sea. It’s really such a great and engaging story, and captured M’s imagination with the idea of toys having a secret life of their own, and I can’t wait to find more of these!

We also liked Elliot’s Shipwreck, by Andrea Beck:

We like all the Elliot Moose stories, and this was no exception.  It’s a great story of friendship, adventure, imagination, and problem solving!  A great add on activity for this book would be making little boats from various materials and seeing which ones work and which ones get shipwrecked!

For more reviews of children’s books, check out Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns and Feed Me Books Friday. Have a beautiful day! :)

Summertime Sidewalk Painting

Last summer we had a lot of fun making sidewalk paint and using it on our patio.  I had completely forgotten about this great activity, but apparently it stuck with M, who asked me about it a few days ago. 

Here’s the oh-so-simple recipe:

1 part cornstarch to 1 part cold water
5 to 6 drops of food coloring for each color you want to make.

We used 2/3 Cups of both cornstarch and water.  And we ended up with two good-sized containers worth of paint (a bit bigger than an applesauce or jello snack container).  It went fast, so we definitely could’ve used more!
Just mix the water slowly into the cornstarch.  If you are using a whole box of cornstarch, you’ll need to use a whisk or maybe an electric mixer.  Pour it into your individual containers, then add your food coloring and gently mix it in.   Food coloring will stain clothing so be careful!!  It did wash completely off of our driveway with the first rain, so no worries there, although you could always use a dab of washable paint for color in place of the food coloring.

We used regular old paintbrushes and some foam brushes to paint with.  It’s fun to watch the watery paint dry quickly in the sun – it becomes so vibrant as it dries!  Pretty, pretty, pretty. :)

M drew a pirate ship.  Obviously. ;)  And some other things I can’t remember.  I drew our family and the earth and sun.  It’s really hard to resist getting down and having fun with this sidewalk paint – we had a wonderful time doing this together!
Have a beautiful day! :)