Rockin' the Noodle Necklace

I had to do an activity/lesson plan for one of my college courses.

Actually I have to do 6, two that I had present in class (already done, whew!)

and 4 that I have to do at my field placement (pre k class).

So I chose to start with teaching pre k math.

by teaching patterns.

I chose the rainbow because it's easy to remember the colors of the rainbow

and they are always in the same color pattern.

as part of my lesson, we made some pretty awesome macaroni necklaces using colored rigatoni

to make these necklaces all you need is the pasta, rubbing alcohol, food coloring and large ziploc bags.

you can use any pasta you want, i chose rigatoni because it's chunky and therefore easier for those little fingers to pick up and the hole is bigger so they can get the yarn in there easily as well.

but these necklaces would look fabulous with several different types of pasta

just sayin', cause you know Mother's Day is around the corner

and what mom or grandmother doesn't appreciate those macaroni necklaces :)

start by placing the pasta in large ziploc bags.

add 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol

food coloring

(the more you add the brighter the color gets)

you can make just about any color, but since we were doing rainbows

I went with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

rub and shake the bag until you get all the pasta mixed up and then let it soak for a few hours

(again, the longer it soaks, the brighter and darker the noodles)

spread and layer lots of newspaper on the table, i mean lots and lots

because you do not want to ruin your table with food dye.

and then lay the pasta on the paper to dry (preferably overnight)

you could technically use this noodle dyeing idea for a science lesson as well.

after the noodles dry....the fun begins

all you need is the noodles and some yarn

you can even let the kids play with what's leftover

Nathan and I made the noodles the night before I needed them

and he was so anxious to make a necklace of his own.  he even

made one for his teacher.

heck, Nicholas even made one.

rock those noodles!!

Harry and the Monster

As if getting kids in bed wasn't hard enough

keeping them in bed is just as difficult.

that's what happens in the story book

Harry and the Monster

Shortly after Harry goes to bed one night, he wakes up from a nightmare.

A huge, hairy, purple monster stomps into his dreams and doesn't want to leave.

his parents tell Harry to imagine the monster with pink underpants on his head...

when that doesn't work, his mother suggests imagining the monster getting stuck in jelly,

but that doesn't work either.

eventually Harry's dad comes up with the best idea ever.

and Harry is no longer afraid of the Monster...

but the Monster is now afraid of Harry's mom.

Harry and the Monster is written by Sue Mongredien

and illustrated by Nick East

Harry and the Monster

is a clever bed time story for parents who have little ones that don't like to go to bed.

The rich, colorful illustrations bring the words of this funny book to life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

creative corner...

a fun activity to incorporate with this book: let children fingerpaint their own scary monsters.

you can also let them glue sequins, stickers, pompoms, feathers and other odds and ends to their monsters.

or perhaps use a squishy, prickly bouncy ball stamped in paint and again glue some fun little confetti and odds and ends to the painting.

a fun way to let their imaginations chase their own little monsters away from their nightmares.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes only.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced in any way.

motivation mondays.....

hi folks....

today i want to talk to you about exercise.

exercise is a component to weight loss

you can eat right and lose some weight, but you need to exercise

sorry, i know a lot of people are looking for an easy way out, but there really is no easy way out.

you simply have to incorporate some exercise to your program to get long lasting results.

that said, i have heard so many people come up with so many excuses.

i think we all spend more time coming up with excuses than the time it would actually take to exercise....think about it.

how much energy do you use coming up with an excuse to get out of exercise, when all you really need to do is get your butt off the couch.

when i first started my weight loss program, i thought of all those excuses too.

I'm too tired

it takes too long

i don't have a gym nearby

i don't like going to the gym

i don't want anyone to see me

i feel funny

now it's too dark outside

i don't have the right equipment

blah blah blah....

stop making up excuses and get up!

I'm sure some of you will remember me sharing how i first started.

i could barely walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing.

so, i set a timer in my kitchen

i set it for 10 minutes

and i walked right there in place (or marched) in my kitchen.

when the timer went off i walked away and did something else, but i always managed to go back until i had put in 30 mins total (10 mins at a time) of just walking in place in my kitchen.

sure, i felt silly

my kids would look at me like i was nuts

the dog would bark and run circles around me

but i kept at it.

eventually i worked my way up to 30 mins at a time and then i went outside.

i can tell you that i still struggle sometimes with excuses...who doesn't

but then again, who doesn't have an extra 30 mins in their day.

30 mins

that's all you need.

i will tell you this, despite all my excuses and struggles...i always come to realize that when I'm done walking or running, that i feel fabulous.

those endorphins are marvelous little things.

they really do make you feel good

the real key though is finding something you really enjoy

something active and fun

something that you know you will love to do and won't want to stop

whether it's dancing in the living room with your kids

running track

zumba classes

or

walking

find something active and just get out there and do it

heck, try a little bit of everything and find out which one you enjoy more

and then just get up and move.

trust me your body will thank you for it.

~ Bella Enchanted ~

Sometimes the best inventions in life are just happy accidents....

just ask my good friend helene and her daughter bella of

Bella Enchanted

Helene was just in the kitchen one day making herself a smoothie when she accidentally got some organic coconut oil on her fingers.  She thought it smelled pretty good, so she figured why not rub in it and smell a little 'beachy' all day.

A few hours later, she realized how smooth and soft the oil had made her normally dry skin.  She decided to do some research in order to make her own body scrub and lotion using all natural ingredients.  Products that would be great for dry, sensitive skin.  Her daughter Bella suggested adding scents for fun.  Upon more research, Helene looked into essential oils, that not only smelled great, but had health benefits as well.

Next thing you know, Helene and Bella are mixing up all kinds of fun, yummy smelling concoctions in their kitchen for all their friends to try.  One of those friends suggested that they should sell their potions....and BAM...

Bella Enchanted was born!

now, not only does helene and bella make and sell body scrubs, lotions, and butters, but they added a new line of  baby balm for little bums, called Sweet Baby Cheeks, an all natural, 100% organic ointment for little ones bums, great for cloth diaper babies.

they also created an all natural eyelash conditioner as well as a healing salve for burns, scratches, minor cuts and insect bites.

there are several scents of butters and scrubs available, such as;

cool cucumber melon
chocolate mint
coconut lime breeze
joyful jasmine
peppermint patty
radiant sunshine
and more

sounds absolutely amazing, doesn't it?

I had the opportunity to review the lusicious lavendar scented body butter and I can tell you that not only has my skin been so smooth and silky, but it smells wonderful.

I love, love love it....

and I know that you will too.

fyi, a little goes a long way...you only need a small amount and your skin will feel so amazing.  My husband loves how soft and smooth my skin feels since I started using Bella Enchanted Body Butter.

with awesome scents, beautiful soft skin, affordable prices, what are you waiting for???

Bella Enchanted can be found on Etsy.

You can read reviews and stay up to date on their new scents and upcoming products on their facebook page as well.

*Disclosure ~ I received a jar of Bella Enchanted Body Butter for review purposes only.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced by Bella Enchanted in anyway.

**Photos courtesy of Bella Enchanted

St Paddy's Day Windsock

this is a pretty quick and simple craft.

you will need green (3 sheets), yellow and black (one each) construction paper

rainbow colored streamers (red, orange, yellow, green and blue)

glue

scissors

a small ribbon for hanging it

cut out the rainbow colored streamers, we doubled them so it looked fuller.

cut two hat shapes out, so when it spins it is the same on both sides.

and glue the streamers to the bottoms of the hats

then glue the two hats together

next glue on the bottom of the hat (both sides)

add the black band 

and the gold buckle

and yes....nathan's elbow is resting on the glue hahaha!

add the ribbon

and wahlah.....

told ya it was easy! 

Catching Up and Sharing a Few Quick Crafts

There are so many things going on my life right now.

I wish I could share them all with you,

but some things have to remain a secret for at least a little while longer,

(but boy are they worth it - just you wait and see) ;)

One super exciting thing is the fact that I made the Dean's List!!

Super WOW!!


Words can not describe how tremendously proud of myself that I am.

One of the things I love about this whole experience is the fact that I get to go out to schools and experience how life in a classroom really works.  Last semester I worked with an awesome third grade teacher.  She taught me a lot about how to lesson plan, how to manage a classroom and even shared some fun science and math projects with me that I came home and did with my boys.  She was always so open about her thoughts and always sharing her expertise.  It was a great experience.

This semester I am observing a preschool classroom.   Again, my mentor teacher is absolutely wonderful, she's a mother of 7 children and has several grandchildren...the students love her.  She is always sharing her expertise with me as well (including how she went back to school when her children were little too, so she knows full well how hard this can be).  I have been blessed to have such great placements.  This semester really brings home the fact that I love working with the little ones the most.

Ahhhh, I could talk your ear off about all this.
At any rate.....here are a few things that I had to make for some of my classes recently...it's fun when you can make art projects for college class haha.

the first two pics are for a lesson plan I had to create for a class on teaching math and science to preschoolers.  My lesson plan was about teaching the life cycle of frogs for science class.  We had to write up a lesson plan and then present this to the class.  We did one for math as well.  We have two more to do - presenting actual lessons to our observation class...wee what fun that will be.

this is an up close pic of the little models of the life cycle.

this rainbow craft was for my teaching emergent literacy class.  our professor had us make a spring 3D art project for preschoolers.  here's mine, a rainbow made with torn paper scraps, a super huge sun, cotton ball clouds and raindrops hanging down.

btw....this rainbow craft earned me a whopping 100%! 

didn't get my grade back on the science lesson plan yet, since I just presented it on Friday.  fingers crossed ;)

I have a few St Paddy's Day crafts coming soon that Nathan and I are working on.

Oh and did I mention that a certain daughter of mine just turned 21?!?

Or the fact that she got into pharmacy school...her first choice of college chose her, she actually applied to a few of them and they all wanted her in their program.

or the fact that this guy turned 20....

thank goodness for his super sweet girlfriend who made sure that he got to celebrate the day with his buddies (and her of course), since I was dying from the plague of stomach flu....

like I said, there are so many more fun and exciting things happening around here that I cannot wait to share....but they will be worth the wait, I promise!