Great IKEA finds for Pre-School, Pre-K & Kindergartener's!

The other day, I found myself looking around and realizing what great pieces of plastic we have found at IKEA and thought I'd share!

FIRST up, the $3.99 FUNGARA gray plastic tray - perfect for an eating or work surface and cleans up perfectly!

SECOND is also a tray, $7.99 KLACK.  It's larger than the gray tray and my favorite for LEGO's as the sides are taller so less little LEGO's can escape!  Not a good fit for the dishwasher.

NEXT UP, an iPad, cooking book or UNO card holder!  RIMFORSA, $15.99.  This item can be found in the office section as well as the kitchen accessory marketplace.  The ISBERGET is $2.99 and plastic.  It comes in a few colors (white & blue pictured).  It isn't as tall as the RIMFORSA, so not as good for a cookbook!  Ivan loves UNO, Go Fish and Old Maid ... it's quite tricky to hold all those cards in those little hands, so these have been great ways to hide his cards and still be able to see them!

What else do you need to go with a LEGO/project tray and UNO card holder? a TABLE!  The LACK tables have been good to us.  I don't care if they get written or spilled on (and they never leave a mark, cleaning up beautifully).  They are the perfect height for a 2-3 year old's project table, light weight and cheap ... $7.99!  They also come in various colors!

We also have the SUNDVIK white table and chairs ... the table is a bit higher than the LACK tables and has matching chairs.  My favorite part of this set is using the chairs for a step stool for myself!

Another favorite IKEA inspired activity to do on a table ... slice hard boiled eggs!  Random enough as it sounds, it is super fun and encourages healthy snacking!  This easy to use egg slicer SLAT, will only run you $2.99 and can be found in the kitchen section of the marketplace.

TOYS ... they have toys, paper roll holders, paint, crayons, cute kitchen toys, lots of stuffed animals wooden train pieces, on and on.  All priced very friendly.  It the easy to assemble tents ($9.99+) and RUSA tunnel ($14.99) that kids of all ages seem to gravitate to every time the room fills up with playmates!

This plastic step stool is great because it is skinnier than the others we have an doesn't slip/slide as it has rubber (green parts).  Can't beat it for $4.99!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST the items that get me excited!  KNALLA umbrellas are $2.99 and open and close very easily.  They are on the larger side (not golf umbrella size) and are handy to have around.  At the price, I don't even care if I leave one behind!

I'm a winter time scarf wearer!  The $5.99 KOMPLEMENT scarf hanger keeps me organized and fits my scarfs in the closet!

Yes, I fully appreciate good quality for a great price.  I'm def a value gal.  Coming in last but certainly not least are the 20" x 20" throw pillow inserts ... FJADRAR for $5.99!!!  Seriously this may be the best value in the entire store.  Compare the fill and feel with like inserts found at Pottery Barn etc for upwards of $18+ each

and no I'm not on the IKEA payroll ... wondering how I spent so much on my last visit with all these low prices?!!  Happy Shopping!

No sugar added, Apple Pie Oatmeal for a healthy breakfast

Fall brings changing leaves, pumpkins & APPLES!  In Ivan's class for the month of October they studies the life cycles and all things apples & pumpkins.  I believe this has spurred his new phase of apple everything!  

We were finding ourselves in a slump of breakfast foods.  He seems to get on something and want it daily, then not at all!  Looking at all the apples sitting around, I peeled a few, diced them up and put them on the stove with some cinnamon, splash of water, and few lemon juice squirts.  I then mixed up in his oatmeal (added butter and unsweetened almond milk to the oats) for "apple pie oatmeal"

He licks the bowl clean every time ... and the kitchen smells warm and delicious in the morning!

After realizing what a hit this actually was, I have now started doing 3-4 apples at a time and leave in the fridge for a faster morning routine.  I simply warm the apples separate from the oatmeal and then combine.  Still smells good 😊 

Easy and fun way for your child to help carve a pumpkin

Fall foliage is in full force!  It's apple picking, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treat time!! 👻 

Last year we went to carve our pumpkin and realized just how complicated creating a jack-o-lantern can be.  We choose a LARGE pumpkin that had deep grooves which made it near impossible to draw shapes for Daddy to cut out.  The marker couldn't even make a straight line.  Then Ivan's pin pricking kit came into play!

How we figured out a short cut to pumpkin carving that included Ivan participating in a very helpful role:

1. Design your pumpkin face - need inspiration? search online for different jack-o-lantern faces
2. Draw the mouth and eye shapes on white paper 
3. Then, place each eye and mouth on the pumpkin & secure with painters tape
4. Let your child pin prick the pattern directly on the pumpkin
   *the pins are SHARP, not toys!
5. Remove the paper shapes and see the trail of pin pokes left behind
6. Have an adult cut out shapes & circle around top
7. Clean out guts of pumpkin
8. Light & Enjoy!  

Pin-pricking isn't just a good way to carve your pumpkin, it is used in Montessori classrooms as a way to reinforce the proper grip for a writing skills, it strengthens fine motor hand muscles, and a great exercise for concentration! We've put together pin-pricking kits you can use in your home.  Each kit includes a holding case (3 colors available: blue, green, pink); sponge, pin pricker, assortment of fall colored leaves and an apple!  Order your pin-pricking kit with fall leaves + apple here.

Last year, I used brown packaging from an amazon shipment to make a tree in on our home office wall and this year a Trader Joe's paper grocery bags.  Ripping the paper in long strips I just taped the strips on the wall in the shape of a tree trunk & branches.  Ivan could come in and pin-prick 1 or more leaves and hang.  It ended up being super cute and a great little activity for him.

How to use the pin-pricking kit to build your fall foliage tree:

1. Rip long strips of brown paper, to build a trunk & branches, taping to the wall 
2. Have your child choose a leaf or apple shape to pin prick
3. The shape gets placed on top of the sponge to avoid pokes in your table!
4. Your child should poke along the line of the shape and may need help poking the shape out when complete
5. Your child can tape to the tree!

Library books to check out! Great books for preschool aged kids

Once Ivan finds a book he likes, he LOVES it.  Which means we read it over, and over, and over again!  Nothing worse than him locking onto a book that is dreadful to read!  I defiantly have my favorites ... and may or may not be responsible for books that have disappeared in the past ...

When we visit the library, I try to skim the books we check out in the attempts to find GOOD ones ... meaning, we will both enjoy them!

Here are two GEMS that shined from our last library outing.  Worth hunting down at a library near you (If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area, you can reserve online here Billions of Bricks & The Lion Inside)

Billions of Bricks, by Kurt Cyrus

WHY we love Billions of Bricks: Rhyming, Counting, Process, Construction + Building, & STEM

The Lion Inside, by Rachel Bright

WHY we love The Lion Inside: Beautiful illustrations, great story about different perspectives!

Getting creative indoors ... Plastic Easter-egg fun!

Ivan is well versed at watching YouTube on the iPad.  Recently he has discovered quite a lot of videos of people opening plastic eggs to find random things inside.  It's amazing how he will watch them and interesting to hear him learning his colors in doing so!

Now that Easter is approaching, I was able to find those plastic eggs at the store.  We have had a lot of fun playing with them in all sorts of creative ways - and I'm surprised to report they keep him busy for twice as long as I would have guessed!

BEANS IN THE KITCHEN - Ivan has a cupboard with a plastic mixing bowl and dry mix of beans (kidney, black and white beans).  We have been playing with those for the past 6+ months, pouring them into different sized containers, spooning them into muffin and mini-cupcake tins etc.  Add the plastic egg's and we've kicked the bean game up a notch!  I fill the eggs with a bean mixture and place them in the mini-muffin bake tray.  Ivan then opens the egg and dumps the beans into the mixing bowl.  This is a great game to play for counting and learning colors!

WATER IN THE BATHTUB - On the first evening of the eggs + beans the egg's had to go into the tubby for Ivan to go into the tubby!  Fill with water, open & dump.  Sounds pretty straight forward but you can search for colors and opening the eggs is a lot more fun than it sounds!!

PLAY-DOUGH WRAPPED EGGS - YouTube inspired, we brought the eggs into a play-dough session at Grammy's on a snowy Saturday morning!  I couldn't wrap them fast enough ... he LOVED opening them and getting the play-dough ball out from the inside.  Aside from keeping him entertained, this was yet another way to reinforce his colors - although I think he's got them down!  ... Perhaps I need to find some pastel eggs to elaborate on his color palettes! 

Playing with play-dough wrapped plastic eggs at Grammy's house

PASTA SHAPES IN HIS PLAY KITCHEN - I think I may have exhausted the egg play ... I got different shaped dry pasta and filled the eggs in his play kitchen.  I think part of the thrill here was dry pasta in his pots and pans!  He counted to 8 all by himself, clear as day!  That was worth the pasta on the floor!

Ivan playing with dry pasta & plastic eggs in his play kitchen.  Great for learning numbers & colors!

How to survive an Ohio winter with a toddler

It's March in Ohio.  Most days are cold and gray and all the pretty shoes are tucked away.  Everyone is starting to get restless.  Isabelle needs to run.  Ivan needs to run.  I need some fresh air ... AHHHH.  BUT the good news is I think Ivan and I discovered the secret to surviving the tail end of winter this weekend ... LOOK FOR SPRING! 

This past weekend Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens opened the Blooms & Butterflies exhibit, which made it very easy to start LOOKING for spring!  We then went for a walk (in 45 degree heat wave) and found some great puddles to JUMP in!

Ivan getting the mileage out of his (waterproof) winter boots puddle jumping!  Him and Izzy have more in common every day!

ENJOY WHAT WINTER HAS TO OFFER ... we made sure to build a snow man, play in his sled (I am no Alaskan Husky, contrary to Ivan's ideas), go skiing, perfecting hot chocolate and getting super creative indoors.

Last ski of the season at Snowtrails in Mansfield, Ohio

I am definitely looking forward to spring break and the leaves to return to the trees ... yet in doing so, trying hard not to wish time away!!

taking a break from a tough game of indoor hockey to catch up on his YouTube ABC video's

YouTube to the rescue!

What an amazing resource YouTube is!  I love being able to elaborate on a subject with my (almost 2 year old) son with a quick and easy clip on YouTube.  It makes things come alive in a way that is thrilling to watch and can be a great distraction to get a quick diaper change done without getting poop EVERYWHERE!  Below I've included links to some of our favorite YouTube videos.

Ivan's progression of entertainment started with his LOVE of ELMO ... There are great videos that are only a few minutes long of the Elmo and friends singing.  I usually start with Elmo's Got the Moves and find great suggestions from there.

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Hey, gingers stick together!!  Sesame Street LIVE Spring 2014

On vacation, Ivan started honing his love of the steering wheel and Daddy's "vroom" car!  We then progressed to Disney's Car's and Car's 2 movies.  As his love of motors started blossoming, MOTORCYCLES were the next item of interest.  We often visit our downtown area and walk up and down High Street watching the buses, motorcycles, and bicycles pass.  Now add in trains!  This YouTube video has the same effect as Baby Einstein on my lil'Einstein and the historic train engines are quite beautiful!

Earlier this week, we took Ivan to the first pre-season NHL Columbus Bluejackets game and while walking to the arena saw a train under the foot bridge.  That was obviously pretty LOUD and of course COOL!  Tonight we were in the same area and Ivan remembered the tracks.  He ran to the railing and couldn't understand where the "choochoo, choochoo, choochoo ... " was.  Not long after, we heard a train on a nearby track that we could not see.  The entire ride home, "choochoo, choochoo, choochoo ... " until I couldn't take it any longer!  I searched YouTube for train noises and found some pretty fun clips with amazing audio and video!  I can't believe it took me until tonight to really realize how amazing YouTube can be! 

Until our YouTube adventure this evening, Ivan has really only seen 1, maybe 2 real trains since he's been paying attention to them ... with the YouTube videos I can show him all kinds of trains (old and new) faster than we could sit an wait for the next train to pass.  I'm just loving watching the world unfold in his eyes ... !!

We have also found some video's that are great for learning ABC's, numbers, and colors.  The Pete the Cat book series is also a fun dance to get dressed to in the morning!

Bathtime Rave!

Daddy always comes up with the most fun activities!  He started performing light shows for Ivan by swinging and dancing around with glow-sticks ... you know, the ones you could buy for $5 a piece during firework shows or concerts to wear around your neck as a kid!  In the spirit of trying to be fun myself, I ordered a tube of necklace length glow-sticks from Amazon for one of Daddy's Christmas presents (who knew how easy they are to find!) and the sporadic light shows continued ...

One night I was giving Ivan a bath and of course, I am not as entertaining as Daddy can be, nor was I ready for him to come out of the tub ... then a LIGHT BULB went OFF (in my head)!  Light show in the tub!!!  And that's how the bath time rave was born.  See!  Mommies can be fun too!  

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Ivan swimming in the tub with a beach ball + glow-stick; and singular glow-sticks in varying lengths (all from Five Below)

After my Amazon purchase of the tube of necklace length glow-sticks I have also had luck finding glow-sticks at Target (in the $1 bins near the front door) as well as super cool glow-in-the-dark sticks, balls, etc at Five Below stores.