Bean bags step by step

I will apologize ahead of time to anyone who actually sews out there, this is not the best job but I googled lots to figure out how to do these :) This one tonight took me 20 minutes to make from choosing fabric to final product (with taking pictures). You do not have to put a letter on them you could just do plain bean bags the young kids don't even notice the letters but the older ones have been having tons of fun spelling with them. I used an inside bean bag so I would know for sure no beans would escape since I have young children playing with them. I made these to help Alex with spelling and to introduce Wyatt to letters. I think they will be a fun learning tool for the boys. 

Supplies I used to make the bean bags, my sewing machine (you can do it by hand too but I am lazy), white navy beans, muslin, 2 different materials to use for the bean bag and letter, scissors, a rotary cutter and mat, measuring cup, a cut out of a letter.

I cut the muslin (for the inside bean bag) into 4X4 squares and the fabric for the outside of the bean bag was cut into 5X5 squares.

I traced the letter on the back side of the material and cut it out.

I pinned the letter onto the front of the bean bag (you can also use iron on backing to keep the letter on the material while you sew) then sewed the letter on the front of the bean bag.

I sewed the inside bean bag and left a hole to put the beans in.

added a 1/4 cup of white navy beans then sewed the top shut.

Put together the front and back of the bean bag with good sides facing each other then sew around the edges leaving a hole to put the inside bean bag in.

Turn the outside of the bean bag right side out and add the inside bean bag.

Sew the outside edges and the bean bag is done :)

I hope you enjoy. I am new to sewing and had no problem at all making 33 of these. I tried to have all the bean bags have some kind of different texture to them. I used so many different materials some were minky, cotton, corduroy, pleather, flannel, fleece, and more but I don't remember them all .. lol

I would love to do a whole set with the letters coordinating with the fabric such as C is for cat with cats on the material or D is for dog. I have a couple done in this set and hope to add some more to it after Christmas.

Finished bean bags

I am so excited that I finished a whole set. I did 32 because I doubled up some letters. These were so easy to make and I am going to post step by steps tomorrow.

This is my finished set :)

The kids have been playing with these like crazy. The older ones have been spelling all kinds of words and Wyatt likes to throw them into his drum.

We went to the Christmas parade today and it was so cold that I didn't even think of bringing out the camera. We had our first snow flakes today during the parade :) The only 2 days of the year I absolutely love snow is the Christmas parade and Christmas day.

Toddler water play

Wyatt absolutely loves playing with water. Now that the weather is too cold, and we had to put away his sand/water table for the winter, we had to find another way for Wyatt to play with water. He moves the chair over to the sink and signs and says water over and over. So I decided why not just let him play with it, it is just water and cleans up easily. Surprisingly he is very good with it, of course he does get some water on the floor but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

 We turn the tap on as low as it will go to get some water in the sink (I find the longer it takes to put water in the sink the better since he likes to play with the water as it is coming out) with the plug in and about 1 1/2" of water I give him different size cups, measuring spoons and small containers. He pours water from one to the other, he seemed to figure out yesterday that some cups are smaller than others so he can't pour a whole big cup of water in it. I love watching him explore and learn!!

This picture is from last week when he was playing in water and he has done it everyday since.

Wyatt has also been working on colors, he really only seems to want to learn green and blue :) This is him trying find the blue one, he got very upset when he found that there was no blue in his handful of pencil crayons. 

Books of the week

I wrote this blog last week and forgot to post it. I guess I will be doing another one when I switch his books up for "S is for snowman" on the weekend.

Every week (or two) we rotate the books for the kids. I try to choose books that have something to do with a holiday at the time or the letter we are doing that week. I always put in some of Wyatt's favorites too. He loves books and will bring me books all day to read. I am still only putting board books on his shelf that is accessible to him (since he still likes ripping pages out) but I bring out other books to read to him too. I am going to list the board books he has for the week on here and then daily I will try to list other books we read through out the day.

We read "Goodnight Gorilla" every night (sometimes 2 or 3 times) he loves that book!! I have tried to read other books at night and he won't have anything to do with it.

This week and last we have been working on the letter T, it is so cute when Wyatt sees a T now he will say t,t,t, Tee. He has been learning how to sound out the letter :) I tried to put books out for him that has something to do with the letter T.

"Brown bear, brown bear" by Eric Carle, this is just a favorite of his.
"Manny's book of tools" by Disney
"Tractors" an Usborne touchy-feely book
"Signing time books 1-3" by Rachel Coleman, these are favorites of Wyatt's and almost always on our shelf.
"Thomas and the dragon" Thomas and Friends
"Noisy building site" an Usborne busy sounds book
"animal homes" baby einstein
"touch and feel animals (baby animals, farm, wild animals)" DK books
"Transportation words" by Bright baby touch and feel
"Sylvester and the alphabet" a Looney tunes book
"Tractors and trucks" a touch and learn book
"my first book of numbers" Baby Einstein
"Let's go" Baby Einstein
"God knows all about me" by Kate Toms
he has about 10 little tiny board books on all different subjects by Bright baby
"Trucks" Little hands

Day off!!

I have the day off today and I am so excited to have a day with just Wyatt and I. I really should get some house cleaning done but I think we will have a fun day instead :)

I love getting Wyatt's picture taken :) I have an amazing photographer that surprises us every time we see her with her ability to make every thing look beautiful and artistic, her name is Samantha Petrushak check out her facebook page HERE. Today we are going to Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls and taking some fun 2nd year photos of Wyatt. I will post a couple on here when I get them.

Wyatt has been having fun with the new bean bags :) I can't wait to get them all done for him.

Bean bags :)

Well I started Wyatt's bean bags! It has been a busy week with Mike home but I managed to spend a good chunk of time today sewing and creating :) I have finished 11 of the 32 I plan to make and it has been so much fun! I am going to add photos and instructions on how I did these. Hopefully I will have them all done by the weekend :)

Arrrgggg ... Blogspot is not letting me upload photos. I can just explain how I made them for now. I am making bean bags all out of different material (colors and textures) with the letters of the alphabet on them. I am cutting out the letters and it is a lot of work but so much fun! Alex has been liking the bean bags more than Wyatt but he was trying to spell his name with them ( well he was lining them up ..lol)

We did so many fun crafts and things this weekend and of course I didn't take any pictures :( Wyatt tried scissors for the first time and he is turning into a pro with all types of glue. We made Christmas cards, baked some goodies, had fun picking out material for the bean bags, had even more fun trying to fill the bean bags with beans :), Wyatt learned how to count to 5 and lots of coloring.

I have 3 different blog posts almost ready to post I just need to find the time to finish writing them :) It is a lot harder to get on here as much with Mike home.

I got pictures on :) I have done quite a few more now but these were the first 11.

T is for turtle

This morning Wyatt made a Turtle ( I had to help a bit more with this one) it is so cute so I had to post it now :) I did see this idea online but I have no idea where.

 We used a green plastic bowl (for older kids you can use a plain one and get them to paint it), construction paper, scissors, craft glue and googly eyes.

I put the legs on and Wyatt glued the spots and eyes on :)

This is the material for Wyatt's quilts and curtains. I can't wait to get started.

Sometimes I wonder why I go through all this work to prep crafts for Wyatt. He sat for 20 minutes happy to just play with the empty package from school glue, a sucker and crumbs from his muffin.

T is for train

Wyatt starts the letter T tomorrow. We have the "letter of the week" curriculum from confessions of a homeschooler. This week is T is for turtle. I am excited to do some of the crafts we have planned for this week :)

We have a busy week coming up, Mike comes home on Thursday, we have a christmas card making party on the weekend with some friends, I would love to start Wyatt's quilt, we are starting to make christmas gifts too so I think for Thursdays craft day we are going to make christmas tree ornaments, and of course our normal craziness with 3 one year olds in the house :)

I tried to find a train craft for Wyatt and he was being way too impatient. So I just put something together for him to make now. It turned out pretty cute if you look past the actual shape of the train since I just drew it for him. He used Alpha bits cereal for the loads in the train cars and cotton balls for the smoke. I helped him place the cars then he did the wheels on his own :)

  One of the little girls I babysit (4 yrs old) was watching my brother use a miter saw to cut trim and she was amazed by it. He saw her watching and asked her if she wanted him to make her a picture frame. She was so happy and we got ready to start decorating. We had to glue it to a pizza box because we didn't have enough time to wait for wood glue to dry. It turned out cute and she was so proud of it. Earlier in the day while I was getting Wyatt's craft ready for him she asked me what I was doing, I told her I was getting a craft ready for Wyatt to do. She got all excited and said she wanted some too, so I got it all ready for her and sat her down at the table. She looked at me and asked me where her craft was, I told her it is in front of her she just has to glue it together. She looked at me confused and said that is not Kraft Dinner! LOL It was so funny, we had to have Kraft Dinner for lunch after that because she drove me nuts all day saying I told her we were having some.

busy days

I have had a couple busy days with lots of kids and early mornings. It has been warm enough out that the kids and I have been playing out in the leaves as much as we can. We have done tons of colouring and games but no pictures for the last few days. Wyatt has just started really playing with other kids now instead of just around them, it is so much fun to watch him grow into a little boy. He has been talking like crazy this week too :)

I finally got out today and picked up the fabric for Wyatt's quilts. I have 4 months to figure out how to sew 3 twin quilts and a double. This is my first attempt but I am sure with help from my wonderful mom I will get it done :) I am going to take some pictures along the way. Wish me luck!

I am so excited that I won a giveaway on Family Treasures , I won two reusies snack bags. They are a great environmentally friendly choice instead of using plastic bags. I can't wait to get these home and try them. Check out their site here! 

Home made playdough

We had so much fun today, we played outside in the leaves (with a couple arguments over the cozy coupe), the kids had a fun bubble bath with LOTS of bubbles, we baked cup cakes ( I learned a couple new short cuts for baking cupcakes) and made playdough. This was my first time using this playdough recipe and it turned out great. We did red (turned out pink) with peppermint extract in it for scent. I got this recipe from my montessori journey she does a different playdough colour and flavour every month and I think I will try to start that in the new year.


Homemade Playdough
1 c. flour
1/2 cup salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water
Food coloring of your choice
Add-ins of your choice (i.e. spices, extracts, glitter, etc.)
Stir ingredients together well.  Just measure them into the saucepan you will be using to cook the dough, but mix them well before heating up the pan.  Over medium heat cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.  (NOTE:  When it starts to pull away from the sides somewhat and clump together and most of the "wet-looking" parts look dry, it's ready to remove from the pan.)  Turn dough onto a board (or the countertop) and knead until very smooth.  (NOTE:  It will be pretty warm to the touch, but try to knead it until it becomes a nice, smooth ball.  If it feels sticky, you can work a little more flour into it and it will be fine.)  Cool.  Store in a covered plastic container OR in a sealed ziploc bag. (ANOTHER NOTE:  This dough does seem to always stick in the saucepan somewhat.  I have tried spraying the pan first, but I still have a crusty residue on the pan when I'm finished.  I am used to this now and just plan on soaking the pan after I make a batch.  I just wanted you to know about that though so you wouldn't think you had goofed something up if that happens.) 
When I add spices, I usually start with about a teaspoon (though I never actually use a spoon).  I just shake a bunch in until I think it's going to produce the desired level of scent.  (I like a LOT of scent.)  If you are adding an extract like vanilla or peppermint, for example, probably just a teaspoon will be enough, but you can experiment with a little more than that.  Also add gradually if you are doing glitter.  I would still start with only about a teaspoon and go from there.


I will add some photos tomorrow when I get them on the computer.

A great day

Today was a great day :) We had a play date in the am with some great people and a very cute little boy. We went to Aereo gymnastics for the kids play, the boys loved it! I got to walk through the house again today when I took them my hardwood and it is looking great! We have railings on our stairs now and that is so exciting. After we got home both boys went for a nap at the same time so I got some quiet time :)

Wyatt did a poppy craft today, I marked where to glue the centres and he still just glued them wherever he wanted .. lol .. he will learn some day.

After looking at confessions of a homeschooler I decided to attempt to make a felt gingerbread man. I can honestly say it was not as easy as I thought it would be and I will do things differently for my next one. I decided to hand sew the outside stitch instead of using my machine and it made it feel like it took forever to make. It was fun to make though and I will make a couple more for Wyatt to play with :) 

Tomorrow we are trying a new playdough recipe. I will post pics and the recipe tomorrow. 

early morning crafts

Wyatt decided this morning he wanted to do a craft while he was eating breakfast. So I let him do a paper plate chick I had prepared last night. He did pretty good, I told him where to put the glue and he stuck everything on himself (I had to straighten the beak for him).

"See mommy see"

Playing peek a boo with the chick

Alex taught him how to drink the milk out of his cereal bowl when he is done. 

Yes I know my kid is standing in his highchair but he was done and I wanted to take pictures and he wouldn't sit for them.

We have a couple more things planned for today. After staying up late with Tish looking at sites I got tons of new ideas to start. I am hoping to get some felt food done today, I can't wait for Thursday since Fabricland is having a 50% off sale and I can get the fabric for Wyatt's beanbags and the kids blankets and curtains. I will be busy for the next little bit.

Remembrance day crafts

We started today with our Remembrance day crafts. Today Wyatt made a poppy wreath, his poppies centres are not quite right but I let him glue them by himself :) We have a couple ideas for Remembrance day and I hope to get to them all this week.

Birthday plans

Wyatt's 2nd birthday is coming up and I have been thinking what to do for the party. Alex misses doing cookie parties so much (we haven't been doing them since moving into my moms) so I decided to do a cookie party/birthday party. The little kids will love making them too. I am pretty sure we are going to do a farm theme and I can't wait to get started!

I have been excited beyond words about the new house, we still have 142 days to go but it seems like it is actually getting close now :) The kitchen is going in sometime in January and then the wait is going to seem so long once that is done. I have been getting things together for the new house and it will be so exciting to be able to decorate with all the things I have been buying.

I have some projects to get started soon so I can finish them before we move March 31st. I am making the comforters for Alex's bed and Wyatt's bed, I am making the curtains for all 4 bedrooms upstairs (my room has 4 windows!) and I need to get started on the design for the classroom in the basement so we can get the materials together for the guys to build it the first week we are in the house. So much work to do but it should be fun and I will post pictures along the way. I am also making Wyatt alphabet bean bags, each bean bag will have a letter of the alphabet on one side and a picture of the ASL sign on the other side. This may be an ongoing project and I plan to do the letters for Wyatt's name first.

Christmas parties

It seems too early to be making christmas plans but it is actually only 47 more days!! I am making plans for our Christmas card making party with the kids and our Christmas cookie party. Wyatt's second birthday is coming up too, SECOND birthday! Wow time flies!

We had a busy day today and Wyatt and some friends helped me make brownies. No pictures today of our activities.

Wyatt has been using the potty today :) I have not pushed potty learning at all with him I am in no hurry but he seems to be very interested in it. I had him in big boy underwear and he looked so cute :)

This week we will be doing our Remembrance day crafts, still doing letter D, going to try to make it to the library a couple times and hopefully getting together with some friends for a few play dates this week. Should be a fun filled time.

D is for Door

Another idea from no time for flashcards we made a D is for door today. He got mad at me towards the end on craft time because I wouldn't let him use a permanent Sharpie marker so he crumpled his picture up but I still took a picture of it.

We also read a couple of his flap books today since he calls the flaps doors. I am trying to figure out how to add pictures of the books we read everyday on here. Something for me to do tonight :)

    

Letter D

We are doing the letter D for the next 2 weeks and today we decided to do a D craft. Wyatt made a dragon :)

He is getting so good at using the glue and he loves it!

We got this idea from no time for flash cards I love her ideas :)

Some "staycation" photos

Some pictures from our little get away without leaving town :)

Alex the skeleton

 Wyatt still would not wear his whole costume

 Wyatt got bored so I dumped Fruit Loops on the floor and gave him a water bottle with a little bit of water in it. It kept him busy for almost an hour

 The boys loved this interactive water thing (I have no idea what to call it ..lol)

 no fear! he just jumps right in

 Wyatt learning how to play mini putt

What a week!!

We had soooooo much fun this week! We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge for 4 days and the kids loved it! Wy would have stayed in the water all day if we let him and I can't wait for next year when he is big enough to go on more slides.

I finally found Do-a-dots today and I am so excited. I kept seeing these on other blogs and had no idea where to find them (you would think I would just ask someone) I found them at Michaels yesterday and I am going to put them in Wyatt's stocking for christmas. If you have no idea what I am talking about, they are like bingo dabbers for kids (so washable). I would love to post a picture of Wy playing with them but I really want to wait until christmas to give them to him (maybe his birthday).

Mike just left for work again today so we will be back on our regular routine of fun and crafts in the house :) We are working on the letter D for the next 2 weeks so we will be doing lots of dinosaur related fun. We will also be doing remembrance day crafts this week to honour those who have fought for our freedom!!

Once I get our vacation pictures on the computer I will have to post a few of my water loving boys.

Here are some photos from Halloween:

Some of the Halloween crafts the kids made on the 29th

The cupcakes Wyatt and I made for Halloween

Wyatt Helping me bake cupcakes

Wy painting his pumpkin

Alex getting ready to carve his pumpkin

Alex's finished pumpkin (with dad's help)

Wyatt's finished Pumpkin