Homemade Fizzy Soda, Blanket Tents, and Loads of Giggles

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Honey

What a great day we had yesterday!

Homemade Fizzy Soda

After each of the boys completed their school work, we worked together (one-on-one) to make homemade fizzy soda. We had a great time making lemon soda. I found the original recipe on-line somewhere, but it was yucky (I tried the recipe first and down the sink it went). We came up with a recipe that worked well for us. It is still a bit different than what you might expect, but it worked for us.

1/4 lemon juice
1 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup sugar

Pour it all into a large container (it fizzes some) and stir gently. Then throw in an ice cube or two and sip it through a straw.

Blanket Tents

Malachi and the twins had an awesome time last night, right before bed, building a blanket tent using all the dining room chairs. They chased each other on all fours through the chairs and over daddy's legs. They had a grand time hiding and playing peek-a-boo with the blanket. This morning, another tent under the bunk bed turned into a fun reading nook (and a big book mess!).

Loads of Giggles

Giggles and grins from the kidlets are so much fun. Sometimes it is the simple things that make all the difference.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited the boys were when they heard that they were going to make homemade soda pop. They attended to their school work without too much whining (well, no more than usual). I was prompted to find the recipe after someone (who will remain nameless) was caught trying to create soda with strange ingredients the day before.

The tent in the living room / dining room was Malachi's idea and daddy helped, while sharing his childhood memories of tent making. I have some good memories of making blanket tents with my sister when we were growing up.

I need to remember that sometimes it is the simple things we do - like making fizzy soda or not freaking out over a tent town mess - that can make all the difference in our relationships with our children.

What simple things have you done with your children recently, that they really enjoyed?

What are some ways that you can connect with your children today?

Little Bitty Learners – Tot Basket

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Honey

I stumbled on this idea last week and wanted to save it for my post about my Little Bitty Learners. I have been trying to figure out a simple way to do more (planned) activities with the twins (almost 2). I am visual. If something is hidden away, I will forget about it. So, when I saw this idea, I thought it was amazing and just the solution that I needed. It would allow me to plan ahead, be organized, and have a visual reminder of activities that I wanted to do with the twins.

I want to introduce you to the idea of the Tot Basket. It is not my idea. It came from here - What's In The Basket? I am thinking that the basket could be changed out weekly or daily depending on how quickly the twins caught on to the activities (or bored of them).

Yesterday, I was doing some organizing (and it sure felt good)...

I found a nice wicker basket for the homeschool catalogs (it is the season for those), magazines (Writer's Digest and Acts and Facts, if you must know!), and books (those are a secret) that I will be writing reviews for soon. That certainly looks better than a messy pile. Trust me, it made grandma happy.

I also re-purposed another wicker basket and put it in the center of our new (to us) dining room table. I put it on a thick place mat so it does not scrap the surface of the table (just in case you were worried it would). In that basket, I put the newly created binders and all of our workbooks etc for the rest of the term. Everything fit perfectly. The basket looks great.

Okay, so all of that to tell you this... I have a cute (adorable is more like it) wicker basket with a handle that I found (another re-purpose job) and I am going to use it for the twins Tot Basket. I am going to fill it with activities just for them. It is sitting on a shelf (in plain site) right beside our telephone (I can't miss it). I will pull it down when I have a few minutes and we can do an activity together.

Have a look at my post that was filled with ideas of activities for toddlers.

What do you do for your younger children? How do you include them in your homeschooling?

Little Bitty Learners – Loads of Resources

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Honey

Life is busy and I am trying to build in special times with my almost 2 year old twins... (aka Little Bitty Learners).

We have five children (ages 10, 8, 6, 23 months, and 23 months). Life is busy, crazy, a little wild, and a volume control option would be nice now and then.

It is my desire to purposely set aside time for the twins (for more than hugs, kisses, stories, and creative play - which we do already!). I want to weave fun and educational activities into their day.

Today's post is loaded with links of excellent places that I have found and love to visit when gathering ideas for inspiring things to do with the babes. I can't believe they are almost two already.

In my weekly Little Bitty Learners' posts, I hope to share with you loads of resources, great blogs, and fun activities for the Toddler/Preschool age group. I hope you'll stop by and visit again.

What are your favorite Toddler/Preschool resources?