Have I mentioned that I hate this time of year? I know hate is a strong word. And yes, I hate this time of year. All the fun holiday festivities are over, most of the toys from Christmas have lost their newness, and yet it's still too cold to go out and play. I love my kids to pieces and feel so blessed that I get to stay home with them. I really do. But being a SAHM is tough. And it's around this time of year I just start to feel burned out.
It's around this time of year that we stay in our jammies until mid day (or often all day). It's around this time of year we start watching way too much TV. It's around this time of year that we get cranky. And bored. And I think we all get a little nutty--as evidenced in the picture above by Liam's new favorite activity--"bucket hat!" Hey, even toddlers get Cabin Fever, too, you know!
Anyway, the other day I decided it was time to change things up. So I decided to add some Valentine-inspired "montessori" trays to our office space--which I placed on a bookshelf where the kids can come and pull activities and then put them back. I'm not a huge believer of Montessori, per say. But I do like the idea of just having some activities out and at the ready.
It was a huge hit. Both kiddos really enjoyed the new set up. And just in case you're curious, I scored most of these activity ideas from THIS website.
Will it last? No. I'm guessing by the end of the week we'll be bored with this and then it will be time to think of something new. But I am hoping we can find some things to get us through the next few weeks (hopefully not months), and I can force myself to turn off the TV a little more, garner the strength to find new things to play w/the kids. And praying that spring will be here SOON!
Anyway, this particular activity (above and below) turned out to be Elizabeth's favorite. I think she thought she might be able to sneak some of the candy, so she pretty much hoarded this tray the first few days (I've since put away the candy so she'll try some of the other activities). Anyway, the goal is to make patterns out of the different colored hearts.
She's not huge on the work involved in making the patterns. I kinda have to push her. What she loves about this activity, though, is holding the candies, and eyeing the candies, and sniffing the candies. Even though it was intended to be a lesson on patterns, I think it ended up being a lesson in self control. Lol.
This was another favorite tray for both kids, but especially Liam. You basically pour the cinnamon candies from one jar to the other. I think its supposed to be working fine motor skills. It's one of those very "typical" montessori activities. Again, not sure I'm really totally on board w/the philosophy. But hey, it did keep him very focused for long periods of time. And actually, it was pretty stinking cute.
Along with pouring, really skilled hands can use the tweezers to move candies one by one. Both my kids just liked to pour. And Elizabeth discovered you can screw the jars together to make a shaker. That's another thing about Montessori--letting the kids discover their own methods.
This was also big. Surprisingly, neither of my kids enjoyed shaving cream art. We did this one day (see pic at the top) and it was a huge mess. Granted, it got my floors clean! But neither of my kids really loved getting super messy. So this was a great alternative. It's tempera paint inside a plastic baggie. I double bagged--lol. And then you just let the kids work on writing letters or shapes or what have you. A twist on the magnadoodle. We decided this month we'd work on "V." Again, not sure we'll keep up with a letter of the month. I'd love to be "that" mom. But I also know it might not be totally realistic for us.
This one was probably my favorite, although not sure she loved all the steps involved. You are supposed to role a set of dice and add up the numbers you get. I couldn't find dice, so we used dominoes. She'd pull out a domino, and add up the numbers on both sides. We used candies to help as a visual.
I'm not a math person, but this seemed like it would help when she's a little more ready.
I'm not a math person, but this seemed like it would help when she's a little more ready.
Anyway, that's about it. There were a few other activities the kids haven't done yet, which means we still have some things to do over the next few days! I might try to post some of those pics if I get a chance. 
And with one last picture of "Bucket Hat" I think it's safe to say we are officially ready for SPRING!
