My New Laminator + Dry Erase Markers = FUN!

As a preschool aide I spend a lot of time helping kids write their names. Last year I had an epiphany; laminate name tags (found at the dollar store), and let the kiddos use dry erase markers to trace their names. They trace, I wipe the name tag with a damp cloth to remove the marker, repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Laminated name tags to help preschool aged kids learn to write their name.

Over the holidays I impulsively bought myself a laminator during one of Amazon's daily deals. I absolutely love it! I try to think of all kinds of things that need to be laminated. I call this one my Sunday project, because I thought it would be fun for Macy to use at church or at home on Sundays. She can give her family facial hair, etc., and afterwards I wipe the laminated photos clean, and store them away in the coupon holder for the following week. 

Materials needed

Coupon holder from the dollar store. Holds laminated 4 x 6 photos, wipes, and dry erase markers.

One last thing that I wanted to share, is a tip to help a child hold their pen correctly. Have the child hold the pen lid with their last three fingers, Then place the pen between their index finger and thumb. If you are using a writing tool without a lid, anything similar in size will do (broken crayon, pencil eraser...). This isn't the best picture (my model wouldn't hold still), but hopefully you get the idea. 

Crayon Making - Recycle Those Broken Crayons

I work at a preschool, and we use crayons on a daily basis. Therefore, we end up with a ton of broken, or too short crayons, which is perfect for this project. I, however, went a bit crazy, and after I used up all of our nubby crayons, I went to the dollar store and bought a few more boxes. I thought it would be a fun Valentines gift for the preschool kids to have multicolored crayons in fun shapes. 

The most difficult part of this project is peeling the crayons. I ended up using an old kitchen knife to score the crayon wrapper, then it practically came off on its own. If you try it, just be sure to lay the crayon flat on the table, and pinch it with your thumb and index finger. Then gently slide the knife from tip to tip over the wrapper. It's definitely fine if you slice a little into the crayon, because you are going to break them up anyways.  

I found the silicone molds at a store in the mall called Kitchen Collection. They had several different shapes, and each one was only two dollars. You can end up making five to eight crayons at a time, rather than two in the Crayola Melt'n Mold Factory (Which retails for around $40 or $50). 

I used my toaster oven to melt the crayons, because I wanted to keep a close eye on them, and I also didn't want to heat up my regular oven. I have a cookie sheet that fits my toaster oven, and I placed the silicone tray on that, so it was easier to pick up when the crayons were hot. 

Here is how I did it:

1. Choose your colors, and peel several crayons.
2. Break the crayons, or cut them up, and fill the silicone mold. Larger pieces take a little longer to melt, but tiny ones melt too quickly, and run together.
3. Place tray on a cookie sheet, and heat in a 325 degree oven for approx. 10-15 minutes. 
4. Keep an eye on the melting crayons, because you don't want the colors to mix and become a yucky gray color. Remove them from the oven when you no longer see any solid crayon pieces. 
5. Allow to cool. I usually sit them on the counter for a bit, and then move them to the fridge for ten to twenty minutes. 
6. Once they're solid again, they should just pop right out of the mold.

Extreme Coupon Shopper Costume

My toddler is obsessed with her grocery cart, and for some reason, receipts. I wanted to incorporate those two things in her Halloween costume this year, so I came up with this "Coupon Queen" idea. I found the money fabric at Joann's, and the coins (headband) at Dollar Tree. I glued a bunch of coupons together, and had them laminated for the dress pocket and the coupon binder. I started stockpiling Colgate toothpaste boxes a few months ago. I also saved all of my receipts for a awhile. Definitely a one of a kind costume at our church Halloween party.

The Patriotic Dress and Hair Bow

I made this dress out of an actual pillowcase purchased from a thrift store. It was my first attempt at a pillowcase dress (months ago), but when I finished it was too big for my daughter. I recently dug it back out, and embellished it with these bows I found at the dollar store. The hair bow is cut from a bandanna, and  wrapped with a red and white striped ribbon. I decided to take pictures now, because who knows if it will still fit her come July 4th.

Ways To Keep Toddlers Busy

I came across this wonderful blog post about 20 ways to keep her 2-year-old busy and thought I would add a few to the list! My son is 19-months-old and busy as a butterfly so I've come up with a few ideas lately that switch up our routine and keep him busy without sitting him in front of the TV.

1. Paper plate coloring. We use paper plates and triangle crayons. The great thing about paper plate is they have an edge built in so it keeps them from coloring on the floor/table! Plus he thinks it's way more fun than regular paper. Sometimes I throw some cereal on there and he incorporates it in his scribbles while munching. He also loves stacking and un-stacking the plates.

2. Flash card hunt. I bought flash cards from the 99 Cent Store that have very basic pictures on them (Cat, Dog, Hat, etc.) and I picked out the ones he loves. I then put them all around on the floor and ask him to go find me the cat. He looks around at all the cards and (often with trial and error) brings me back the cat, meowing as he goes.

3. Home-made Water Table. (Definitely needs supervision but perfect for a hot day) Get a bunch of pots of different sizes and some smaller non-breakable dishes (like Tupperware) and some bath toys. Put them all out on the porch and fill up the bigger buckets with water. My son loves splashing around in water and dumping it into the other buckets.

4. Two things I do to keep my son out of my hair when I am cooking or cleaning are putting on music (he loves dancing) and letting him play in a special cupboard in the kitchen where I keep non-breakable and fun items he can sit at and play with. Sometimes I keep that cupboard child-locked like the rest of the kitchen so it's more special to play in when I'm cooking.

Sock Animals!!

My newest obsession is making sock animals. I saw a few cuties on Pinterest, and decided I needed to get in on the action. Went to the dollar store, and found a ton of adorable socks. Some were even three pairs for a dollar! Yeah, they are below average quality, but no way am I going to take scissors to a $20 pair of socks. I cringed just making the first cut on my cheap socks. My oldest daughter, Hailey has decided that her favorite animals are hippos and ostriches. Because I doubt any pattern could make an ostrich look cute, I decided to look for a hippo tutorial. This is the one I chose:

Sock Hippo Tutorial

Okay, yes it is Russian! And it doesn't translate perfectly to English through Google translator, but the pictures are pretty clear. After a while I noticed that my screen saver had come on, and that I was pretty much doing my own thing anyways. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Mr. Hip-hop-opotamus:

Far from perfect, but I think he is pretty darn cute. You can see how thin the socks are in the picture. 

Here is my sock rhino:

And here they are together. Hip-hop-opotamus and Rhyme-noceros. A little nod to Flight of the Conchords.

The newest member of our sock family, a Sock Giraffe! She was kind of tough, because I only had one pair of ankle length socks to work with. I definitely used every last bit of the fabric.