Valentines fun for your littles

We are in full blown Valentine's crafts and activities mode over here! I am guilty of always starting a littttle too early on celebrating holidays, but whatever, there aren't any rules right!? 

What I typically do is screenshot what I find on Pinterest, and then I make a list of the materials I don't have. I make a trip to the dollar store (because they have EVERYTHING) and then whenever I get get a free moment, I prep the activities ahead of time. This makes it super easy for mornings or afternoons where I need a quick filler (because the boy with the mountain of toys is wandering aimlessly around the house.. go figure). I sit him down and everything is ready to go. Right now I have a Valentine's discovery bin ready to go and a tray of pink glittery playdough with various shapes of heart cutters. 

So far we have made an heart wreath (Max glued the wreath and stuck on the hearts) and an alphabet letter recognition activity. This was a huge hit. We also used marbles (make sure they are the heavy marbles) to paint hearts. Max loved watching the marbles jump around the aluminum pan. 

For Max's Valentines for his preschool buddies I am using a ton of plastic dinosaurs I have left over from his birthday cupcakes (after soaking them in boiling water to clean). I haven't finished them yet, but here is the Pinterest pic I worked off of. The printable was free on the blogger's page. If you follow me on Instagram you will see my finished product in the next few days. I also made two special Valentines for Max's buddy and his baby sis because they are extra special to us :)

And for your viewing pleasure, a couple decor pictures :)

In other news, the other day we had enough snow fall to cover the front lawn. Max and I went outside during the babe's nap for some fresh air. If you have any squirt bottles laying around (or find them at the dollar store), coloured water seems to be a huge hit with littles!! He emptied them quickly but he had fun while it lasted!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!! Thanks for stopping by!

~ K

A wintery railroad

I'm sure that many of you can relate when I say that days at home can be long. Most days we go out in the morning; to the local drop-in, the library, an open gym or to meet up with friends. But I do like to keep the boys home after we have had a couple of busy days, so Mason can have a morning nap in his crib and because I don't think it's healthy (for us) to be on the go 24/7.

On these days I try to have a new activity for Max to do. This is partially for my sanity too, as I can only spend so much time in our playroom in one day. 

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be simple and fun. Max does not play a whole lot with his train set, so I was not overly concerned about it becoming stained or smelly (it actually smells really good now). 

I laid out a large garbage bag that I had cut open and then laid a large piece of cardboard on top of that. I set up his train set, a 'digging site' and a forest with some of Max's plastic jungle figurines. I used a full can of shaving cream to create the snow. I could have used more shaving cream, as I didn't get to cover all of the areas I wanted too, but it ended up being enough as the mess was able to be contained easily this way. 

I would say three years of age would be the youngest age I would try this with. Max was able to understand that I wanted him to stay on the cardboard area, and he was to keep the shaving cream off of the floor. 

At first I sat back and let him explore. He was very interested in the foot prints he was able to make. He was also interested in scooping the 'snow' with his one front end loader. After awhile I joined in. He asked me to get his Paw Patrol Ryder figurine from the basement, and somehow we ended up re-enacting an episode of Paw Patrol. The one with the snow monster!? We piled farm animals on top of each other and covered them in snow. It was also fun to see the different tire tracks his diggers made against the cardboard. 

(Just ignore this gawd-awful attempt at a road... I put this together the night before and was clearly done for the day)

Overall it was a neat activity. I think next winter when he is a year older and engaging in more imaginative play, and his brother can join in, he will have even more fun. 

Clean up was easy too. I loaded everything into a wash basin and rinsed everything off. I folded up the cardboard and garbage bag and put everything into another garbage bag. Super easy. Max's clothes and a towel had to be washed. No biggie. You should try this one for sure with your littles! 

I am hoping to post our Valentine's Day crafts in the next few days and this year's Valentines. They involve dinosaurs, plastic shovels and free online printables I found. Just wait until you see them... they are too.stinkin.cute. 

Happy love month!!

~ K