Flowers and Books

I hosted another coffee shop story hour this week.  The theme was flowers.  I had so many books that I wanted to read, but three is definitely the limit with the preschool story hour group.

I read:

Song of the Flowers by Takayo Noda - This is a great bedtime book.  There are many varieties of flowers in the story and each kind asks to be sung a lullaby.  This is a nice way to introduce children to different varieties of flowers.  R (my Wizard of Oz girl) was happy to see poppies in the book!  The artwork is bright and cheerful, and the lyrical text is perfect for quiet time reading.

Jack's Garden by Henry Cole - This is a garden version of the rhyme, "this is the house that Jack built".  Follow the progress of the garden from seeds to flowers, and notice all of the tools, weather, and creatures that help the garden grow. 

Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry - As you read this book, each stage of the life-cycle unfolds until you have a big, yellow sunflower!  Kids love this book!

After story time, each child made a flower to take home.  I had flowers ready for them to decorate.  To make a paper plate flower, I folded a plate in half and cut a hole in the center and flower-like edges around the outside of the plate.  Folding the plate in half makes it easier to cut the hole in the center and it also makes the flower symmetrical.  This is what it looked like after I cut it:

I gave each child a paper plate flower to decorate with crayons, markers, and dot stickers.

I didn't notice this until now, but R's dress matches her flower!  R made a few paper plate flowers, and we are going to tie string around them and hang them in her room.

        

I like Clouds on my Rainbows

The Sweetest Smelling Garden

We have painted with Kool Aid many times, and this week we decided to make a sweet smelling garden.  I drew some crazy looking flowers on watercolor paper (I used watercolor paper because it is more forgiving when it is wet!).  Then, to make the Kool Aid paint, I mixed 2 TBSP of water with one packet of unsweetened Kool Aid powder. 

We used different flavors of Kool Aid powder in little plastic containers so that we could have a colorful (and fragrant) garden. 

R painted all of the flowers to her liking and when it was dry, it smelled so sweet.  We cut out the dry flowers and glued them onto green construction paper that we cut to look like grass.  I love the way Kool Aid paint looks when it is dry; the colors stay so bright!  It smells wonderful too.  If you have never made Kool Aid paint, add this to your MUST DO list.

We also love to make Kool Aid play dough.  Click here for our favorite recipe!

The Rainbow Fish

We have read The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister many times, and every time we read the book, C insists on making his own rainbow fish.  This is the first time that R made one though.  I think they both came out great!

I drew the outline of the fish, C and R colored their fish and added details, and then they glued on a few pieces of aluminum foil to make the sparkling silver scales. 

Birthday Highlights

R loves the Wizard of Oz.  That was the theme of her family party.  

She also had a party with a few friends, and that party had a princess theme.  A friend of mine (hi Robin!) made this very cool castle cake:

If you didn't know already, R has two very silly brothers (the superheroes of the house):

R received some wonderful presents, and looked oh so fashionable wearing a few of them!

We had a lot of fun celebrating R's fourth birthday! 

Giveaway

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Hint water!  Click here for details.  Time is running out!

Happy Birthday R!

My baby girl is four today!  I have no idea where all the time went.  I also have no idea why tears are rolling down my face as I try to write this post.  Emotions!  R has always been a joy to be with.  She was born happy and has also been the most independent and easy-going of my three children.  As she turns four, she is still all girl.  She loves pink and purple, princesses, jewelry, dresses, and shoes!  Her favorite activity is shopping, especially if it's shoe shopping!  Even though she is all girl, however, she can mix it up with her brothers and will probably be the first of the three to climb a tree!  

Why do we get sad as our children grow older?  I guess it isn't really sadness, just pure love and the knowledge that as our children grow, they become more and more independent. 

Here are just a few photos as I stroll down memory lane:

Happy Birthday my beautiful girl!  I love you more than you could know!