Every Spring I pack away the winter clothes and fill all the kids' drawers with summer clothes. This year, I realized that I had very few pairs of summer PJs for the boys, and I came up with a great alternative to going out and spending a lot of money on a bunch of new summer PJs.
Want to know how I saved some money? I went to Walmart and bought a bunch of plain white t-shirts. The shirts were 2 for $6... so $3 each. I think they work great as tops with the bottoms of their winter PJs. Pretty clever, right?
I love how simple this idea is... and I am excited about the money I am going to save on summer PJs. More money for ice cream!
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
Today I want to share a really simple indoor activity that my 4 year old came up with. We decided to play "indoor camping", and my little guy had a fantastic idea for an indoor campfire.
We put a flashlight inside a container (which was actually our play tunnel), and then we covered the flashlight with crumpled up tissue paper. Doesn't it look like a real fire?
We sang songs around our fire and pretended to "roast" marshmallows. Such a fun way to spend an afternoon! Have you ever played "indoor camping" with your little one?
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
My 4 year old and I are "crafting our way through the alphabet", and yesterday we had some fun with the letter N. We made an adorable little paper necktie (that you can really wear), and we did some letter N printing practice.
To make the paper necktie:
1) Download the template here.
2) Print the template onto white card stock.
3) Color the tie with crayons.
4) Punch two holes in the tie, add some reinforcements, and tie on some elastic (so that the child can easily put the tie around his/her neck).
I think this would be a fun craft for Father's Day too, don't you? It's easy, inexpensive, and really cute.
After our craft, we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter N with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.
Interested in more letter N crafts? What about this adorable "N is for nest" picture. The next is made from ripped up pieces of a lunch bag.
Or... you could decorate an N to look like "night". Use star stickers and a paper moon.
Fun, right? Next up, the letter "O"!
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
You can find all our alphabet crafts here.
My four year old and I are still "crafting our way through the alphabet". Yesterday we hit our halfway point, and we had some fun with the letter M. We made a cute paper bag monkey puppet, and we did a little letter M printing practice.
To make a paper bag monkey puppet:
1) Print out the template I designed onto card stock. (Or draw one yourself. 😊) You can download a pdf version of my monkey puppet template here... OR you can get it as part of my NEW book download here.
2) Color the pieces of the monkey, and cut them out. Then, use glue to add two googly eyes.
3) Use glue or tape to put all the pieces in place. Make sure to put the top half of the mouth above the fold and the bottom half below the fold. This will allow you to make the monkey "talk".
Cute, right? After our craft, we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter M with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.
And you if you are looking for more "letter M" crafts and activities, why not try decorating a letter M with crayons and stickers?
Or you could transfer a "letter M" into an adorable mouse. All you need is some paper, crayons, glue and googly eyes.
Fun, right? Next up, the letter "N"!
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
Find more alphabet crafts here.
My four year old and I are still "crafting our way through the alphabet". Yesterday, we had some fun with the letter L. We made a fun paper plate lion mask, and we did a little letter L printing practice.
Seriously... doesn't he make an adorable lion?
To make your own lion mask:
1) Cut a circle from the centre of a paper plate.
2) Cut strips of yellow and orange construction paper. (Mine were about 10cm long.)
3) Glue the strips to the outside of the paper plate, and allow to dry.
After our craft, we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter L with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.
And if you are looking for more Letter L activities, you could make this adorable "L is for Ladybug" craft. Draw an L, color it black, glue on a black circle head, glue on a red circle cut in half, glue on googly eyes, and add a few details with black marker.
You could also decorate a letter L with crayons and stickers.
Fun, right? Next up, the letter "M"!
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
My four year old and I are continuing our "crafting our way through the alphabet" adventure. Last week, we had some fun with the letter K. We made a paper bag Kite, and we did a little letter K printing practice.
To make a paper bag kite:
1) Use a hole punch to make four holes in the corners of the open end of the bag. Use reinforcements to make the bag a little stronger around the holes.
2) Cut two equal lengths of string, and tie each one through the holes (on the same side of the bag). Then, attach the two loops with a longer piece of string. Attach the loose end to a popsicle stick.
3) Decorate the paper bag with crayons.
4) Use tape to attach strips of tissue paper to the closed end of the paper bag. The tissue paper really "flies" in the wind.
After our craft, we did a little printing practice. If you want to practice printing the letter K with your little one, you can right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it.
And if you are looking for more letter K crafts, check out this adorable "King" craft made from a letter K. Start with a letter K, add a paper crown decorated with jewel stickers, and then glue on a mustache, googly eyes, and a button nose.
And this fun "K is for key" craft is a great way to work on fine motor skills. Draw a key shape on a piece of paper, rip up tin foil, and glue the tin foil to the key.
Or, for something really simple, just decorate a letter K with crayons and stickers.
Fun, right? Next up... the letter "L"!
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
Find more alphabet crafts here.
Did I mention that my youngest boy is heading off to "big" school in September? I can hardly believe it! It is a huge milestone, and to mark the occasion, I came up with this simple Preschool Graduation Treat.
Isn't it cute? I put this cupcake in a plastic drinking glass, popped it into a clear loot bag, added a cute tag, and tied it with twine.
You can download your own copy of the tag I designed by right clicking on the 4X6 picture below. Save it to your computer, and print it like a regular photo. (There are two tags per print.) With one hour photo processing, you can quickly put together enough treats for an entire graduation class of pint-size cutie pies!
I just love an easy and inexpensive treat idea, don't you? These Preschool Graduation Treats are sure to be a hit on your little graduate's special day.
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
