Color Flashcards

The photographs for the color project began over a year ago, but recently the flashcards have cycled up as popular item for play.  Her favorite, of course, is yellow.  

Bird Seed Ornaments

Cold weather is here, and the resident birds are hungry.  Every morning the starlings and the cedar waxwings hit our cherry tree for the ripened red delights. The squirrel and chipmunk gather fallen sunflower seeds from the ground.  The cardinals and chickadees raid the feeder.  We all watch the action, but Loki likes it best, so we call it “kitty TV.”

Though we currently have a feeder (and by feeder I mean a dissected milk jug hanging on a string), Aurora and I decided that a few decorative embellishments could be a fun addition to our backyard, so today we made bird seed ornaments.

To make the ornaments, gather

2 packets of gelatin

½ c water

2 c bird seed

string

cookie cutters

wax paper

cookie sheet

In a small sauce pan, mix the gelatin into the water and heat until dissolved.  Stir in the bird seed.  Place the cookie cutters on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Fill the cookie cutters with the bird seed gelatin, pausing midway to insert a looped string.  Allow the mixture to harden for eight hours. 

Ta da!  Bird Seed Ornaments!

Baking Soda and Vinegar

For fun times, cover a cookie sheet in baking soda, put vinegar colored with food coloring in a squeeze bottle, and let your kid go to town.

At Aurora’s insistence, she and her father took turns pouring the vinegar. They made all sorts of sound effects as the yellow eruptions bubbled before them. My favorites were an enthusiastic “WHOA!” and a extended guttural “grwull.”

So while the carboxyl group of the vinegar’s acetic acid (CH3COOH) was busy becoming an acetate ion (CH3COO-) by donating a proton, H+, to baking soda’s sodium bicarbonate’s (NaHCO3) bicarbonate ion to form carbonic acid (H2CO3), which decomposed into water (H20) and carbon dioxide (CO2), which effervescenced out of the remaining sodium acetate (CH3COONa), I was busy enjoying my daughter laugh and my husband smile.

First Snow

Today’s snow was magic. Oh sure, she had seen two whole winters’ worth of snow before this morning, but today’s snow was something special. We walked out into the blustery fall after preschool but only made it two steps before we were poking it with our fingers and throwing it “splat” onto the concrete.

She learned the word immediately.

At home, given the option between playing in the snow and anything else, the choice was always snow. While I made lunch, she tromped around with Dad in the backyard looking for “big snow.”  Instead of taking a nap, we gleefully ran around the football field leaving “paw prints”

with our feet. She threw small snowballs at my legs. “Ah! Aurora got me with a snowball. Aaaah!” I’d run around each time, and she would laugh and laugh.

Being a wimpy parent, of course, I got cold and called it quits before she did. We retreated to the cover of our front yard. Her mittens were soaked through, so I gave her my heavy-duty spare pair. This left me to gather giant balls of “big snow” for her to “splat” by the armload. Pretty soon we had amassed enough to attempt a snowman.

She learned this word immediately as well.

We rung the door-bell and convinced Dad to call his work day quits—all family members were needed for this, the building of Aurora’s first snowman. Immediately upon inserting the eyes, Aurora declared there to be a need for a “happy face.” We found an appropriately smiley stick. Aurora gave him a hug. He was decapitated, but repaired easily.

After much convincing, Aurora returned to the warmth of the inside, but continued to look at her snowman from the front window.   

Aurora Music

Come on to the apple tree.

Won’t you pick apples with me?

We will find an orange kitty –

Big and fat and so fluffy.

Kitty won’t you come with me?

Come on to the apple tree.

Kitty won’t you come with me?

Come and pick apples with me.

Come on past the apple tree.

We will find a tire swing.

Mom will push, and I’ll say wee.

Swinging by the apple tree.

Kitty won’t you come with me?

Come on to the apple tree.

Kitty won’t you come with me?

Come and pick apples with me.

“Kitty, we’re going to pick apples.   Come on kitty.  We’re going to pick apples.”

Before and After

Before

During

 After

Good party.  Good day.  Best ever little girl.

Party Games

Aurora’s birthday is almost here!  Soon will be tested my ability to keep a room full of toddlers entertained for two hours.  I have inventoried my arsenal below.  

Feed the Pig

Feed the Pig is a lot like a bean bag toss, only without all those fancy rules. The objective is to get the vegetables through the pig’s mouth.

It requires

a pile of felt vegetables

a large painting of a pig, mouth agape

Tip: After several pencil sketches, I found that a pig with a particularly desperate expression was particularly motivating.

Aurora feeds the pig with great enthusiasm.  She feeds it forwards. 

She feeds it backwards. Alas, the pig is never satisfied.

From time to time the cat jumps into the pig’s mouth. I think this is hilarious, but Aurora finds no amusement.

“Loki, no!” she scolds.

The pig’s expression remains static.

Felt Vegetables

Watching Aurora playing with toys is the delight of my heart.  It is particularly spectacular when the toy with which she is so entertained is one that I have made.