Sing with Me

Lately, I have been reading a lot about the importance of music to the cognitive development of children.  It has been proven to help children with coordination, learning to read, and self-esteem.  I couldn't agree more.

My oldest two rocking out before the youngest "band member" was born

Music has always been a big part of the lives my my boys.  Despite the fact that I can't carry a tune to save my life {seriously!}, we are always singing, listening to music, and dancing around the kitchen.  {And in case you are wondering... my dancing is not very good either.  lol}

I don't think it matters what you listen to, but in case you are looking for musical inspiration, I thought I would share a few of our favorites here (in no particular order):

1)  Disney Music - We have a great Disney compilation CD, but the music from the Lion King is our favorite.  These songs are always catchy and fun to sing along with.

2)  Music by Kathy Reid-Naiman - You may not know the name, but her songs are great.  If you want to add a few new songs to your iPod, look her up on iTunes.  We really like:  "It's a Beautiful Day", "The Truck Song", and "Sleeping Bunnies".

3)  Raffi - I am partial to Raffi because I grew up listening to him, but my boys like him too.  The funny/silly scenarios in "Down by the Bay" always manage to bring a smile to their little faces, and "I Wonder if I am Growing" always brings a tear to my eye.  :-)

4)  Personalized CDs - We have a couple of different versions of these "put your child's name in the songs" CDs, and my boys still enjoy them.  I also think they make good baby gifts.

5)  Sesame Street - We have the "Sesame Street Platinum" CD.  It is a great CD with lots of songs that moms and dads will remember from their childhood.  Who doesn't love "Rubber Ducky" and "C is for Cookie"???

We also love: Sharon, Lois and Bram, our Kindermusik CD, The Wiggles and many more.

I hope you feel inspired to sing and dance.  Don't worry if you aren't very good... your kids won't care.  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Dr. Seuss Inspired Fun

In this house, we love Dr. Seuss.  The combination of rhyming and silliness is simply irresistible.  So, a couple of days ago, we gathered up some of our favorite books and had some Dr. Seuss inspired fun!

THE CRAFT:  We started out by making some "Cat in the Hat" hats.  To make the hats:  

1)  Cut a circle out of the center of a paper plate.

2)  Tape the ends of two pieces of card stock together.  Then, have the kids color stripes onto the paper.

3)  Tape the ends of the paper together (to form a cylinder), and attach it to the paper plate with tape.


THE SNACK:  For a snack, we made these simple "green eggs" {from "Green Eggs and Ham"}.

To make the eggs:

1)  Melt white chocolate chips in a bowl.  (1-2 minutes in the microwave on 50% power)

2)  Use a squeeze bottle filled with white chocolate to make an "egg" shape onto a sheet of wax paper.

3)  Give the wax paper a gentle shake to smooth out the chocolate, add a green Smartie, and allow to cool completely.  (Special thanks to Little Warriors for the snack time inspiration.)

THE LUNCH:  For lunch we had "Grinch" juice (milk with green food coloring) and "One Fish Two Fish" Sandwiches.

We had a great day reading, crafting and eating.  Thank you, Dr.Seuss!  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS - Find more Dr.Seuss crafts, activities, and snack ideas here.

Disney Craft {Easy Mickey Ears}

Seriously... how cute are these adorable, felt Mickey Mouse ears?  They are really easy to put together, and they are perfect for dress up, party favors, or a trip to Disney.  :-)

I got the idea from Family Fun {such a great magazine and awesome website}, but I made a few minor changes.  Here is what I did:

First, I downloaded the template from Family Fun here.  After my first attempt, I ended up cutting about 1 cm out of the middle part.  You will have to make adjustments based on the thickness of your headband.

Then, I twisted some pipe cleaners onto the headband.  (This wasn't in the original version, but I found it necessary in order to keep the ears "up")

Finally, I glued the middle section onto the underside of the headband (using hot glue), and then glued the front and back of the ears together.



I hope you give this a try.  Let me know how your little "mouse" likes them.

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

* If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.

Sharing the fun with: 

ECM Kid's Craft Club - #1 {Bunny Puppet Tutorial}

The East Coast Mommy Kid's Craft Club is an easy and inexpensive way for kids to have fun crafting and experience the excitement of getting their very own mail.

For those of you that ordered this kit.... Welcome!  (If you missed it, there will be more coming soon, and you can still take part by gathering your own supplies and following the tutorial below.  If you want a .pdf version of the template, just send $0.99 via Paypal to ginastephaniebell@yahoo.ca, and I will email it to you.)

Here are the instructions for the first craft -- an adorable bunny puppet.

Step 1 - Make sure you have all the supplies (included in the kit):  two templates, two googly eyes, one black button, one white pom pom, a piece of pink felt, and a popsicle stick.  You will also need some scissors, glue, and a black crayon/marker/pen.

Step 2 - Cut out bunny (which has been printed on cardstock).  Then, cut belly and ears from pink felt.  (For younger kids, you may want to just color the template pink and cut the pieces out.) 

Step 3 - Glue on: ears, eyes, nose, and belly.  Allow to dry completely.  Then, draw a mouth and some whiskers.  (I used a black pen.) 

Step 4 - Finally, glue on Popsicle stick and a pom pom tail.  Cute, right?  :-)

That's it!  I hope you had fun, and I look forward to having you join me for the next ECM Kid's Craft Club.  

Let me know what you thought of the first edition of the ECM Kid's Craft Club.  You comments help me to get better, and I love hearing from you. 

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (It goes without saying... but I will say it anyway because I am an overprotective mother... "assist young children when using scissors, and be careful of the small parts included with this kit, as they can be a choking hazard for children under three".)

Simple Math Lesson {using coins}

My boys love collecting coins and playing with money.  So, I thought it was a perfect time to do a little "math" lesson with them and teach them about sorting, making patterns and the value of money. 

All you need is some change and some old baby food jars.  Easy Peasy!

First, get the kids to sort money into piles (i.e. all the pennies in one pile, all the nickels in one pile, etc...)  

You can also spend some time making patterns with the money.  (i.e. penny, nickel, penny, nickel, ?)  The kids will have fun guessing "what comes next?".

Finally, help the kids to count out the coins (100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, 4 quarters, and one loonie), and put them in labeled jars.  It is a great way to help kids {visually} understand what money is worth.

Isn't this a great way to get the kids interested in Math?

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Kids Craft Club {test}

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I might be starting a Kid's Craft Club, and I received a lot of interest.  My boys love crafting and love getting mail addressed to them... so, the plan is to put together simple craft kits and send them out via mail (addressed to the special little one in your life). 

I have decided to do a little test before I do a full launch.  It will help me to fine tune the process.  Here is the first craft -- a bunny puppet: 

Here is how it is going to work:

1)  There are 25 kits available, and they will be mailed out (with a personalized letter and few stickers) on a first come, first serve basis.  The cost of each kit is $5 (including shipping and handling).  The crafts will be simple (taking less than 30 minutes to complete), and you will get everything you need to complete the project (with the exception of scissors, glue, and crayons).

2)  Payment (via Paypal or email money transfer only*) must be received before a kit is sent out.  Payments can be sent to ginastephaniebell@yahoo.ca.

3)  I will send out the kits on or before March 8, and I will post a full tutorial on the blog.

Note:  For this test, I am limiting orders to Canada {sorry my international friends} -- I definitely plan to expand this going forward.

If you are interested, please send payment to ginastephaniebell@yahoo.ca.  I will also need your child's name, age, and full mailing address.

I think this is going to be a lot of fun!  Thank you for being a part of it.  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

*Email money transfers need to be at least $10, so if you are only ordering one kit/letter, you will need to use Paypal.  If you don't have a Paypal account, email me, and you can send a cheque.  Shipping will be slower in this case, as the cheque will need to clear before a kit is sent out.

Homemade Butter

Last summer, we visited a farm, and my boys were amazed to see how milk is made.  Since then, I have been planning to show them how to turn cream into butter.  I remember doing it when I was a kid, and I knew they would love it. Today, I am sharing all the details of the SIMPLE process.

All you need is some whipping cream (we used 250ml) and a jar or container with a tight lid.


Here's how we did it:


First, we poured the cream into a container and made sure the lid was on tight.  (It works better/quicker if the cream is at room temperature.)

Then, we started shaking.  The boys all took turns, but they tired easily.  {Be prepared to do most of the shaking yourself!  lol}

We kept shaking and shaking -- seriously, I think shook it for about 20 minutes.  First it turned to cream, and then, when I was close to giving up, it magically turned to a clump of butter.

Finally, we drained off all the liquid.  (I put it in a strainer, rinsed it with cold water, and squeezed it in some paper towel.)

My six year old thought it was an amazing magic trick, and he immediately went to get his magic wand and hat.  (He cracks me up!)

I hope you try making butter with your little magician.  Let me know how it goes.  :-)

♥ 

Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)