Monkey School: Valentines Day

I haven't been posting Monkey School lately.  So I will try and do better.  Today's lesson was all about valentine's day.

We started by reading Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli.  It is a wonderful book about the power of feeling loved by those around you.  I then had the kids find hearts (I had taped them around the room) to give to a group of sad stuffed animals.

Next, we played in our valentine's day themed sensory bin.  Thanks to the dollar spot at Target, we had heart shaped measuring cups.  The kids loved them and my homemade funnels (if I do say so myself).

Lastly, we did two art projects.  First we made those hearts where you put drops of paint on one side and then fold it over and "massage the paper" (that's how Miss M describes it) until a beautiful, symmetrical design is formed.  I used finger paints for this because I thought they would spread more easily than poster paint.  I think they turned out beautiful.

Then we used homemade stamps to decorate our Valentine's treat bags.  We will use the bags at our party next week.  and yes, the hearts are made out of toilet paper rolls.

Monkey School: Snowman

Monkey School was all about Snowmen today.  I started out by talking about shapes and I had the kids find different objects of each shape by digging through the sensory bin.  Then I put the shapes together to make a snowman.  We also read Snowman at Night.  

Next we played with "snow" (shaving cream).  They loved this. 

For snack we frosted rice cakes and made snowman faces.

 And for art, we made paper plate Snowmen.

Dinosaurs: The Paleontologist Edition.

I know most 2 year olds don't know what a Paleontologist is, heck, most can't even say Paleontologist but I am determined to raise kids who are interested in science and that requires early exposure.  So today in Monkey School we pretended to be Paleontologists.

First we went on a skeleton hunt around the room and ended up putting together a stegosaurus skeleton.

Then we carefully uncovered dinosaur bones hidden in the beans.

 Next we dug through mud (pudding) to find the dinosaurs (dino shaped fruit snacks).

And finally, we created volcanoes (baking soda and vinegar).  The kids had a great time and so did I.

In which my head explodes . . .

I know Halloween was a month ago but I've got to get this off my chest.  Why, oh why are Halloween Costumes so sexist?  I was so angry as walked up and down the clearance costume aisles of Target that I was literally sick to my stomach and shaking.  What sort of message is Target trying to send to little girls?  Now I am not so extreme that I won't admit that some costumes are (for the most part) gender specific.  I get that little girls want to be Princesses and that little boys probably don't.  I don't fault costume companies for that.  What I do take issue with is the designs of costumes that should be much more gender neutral.

Take "Cowboy" for example.  The boy costume is cute and functional, but what in the heck is up with the fringed mini-skirt?  I'm sure that'll be great for riding horses.  And it is not just the costumes.  The boy costume is called, "Boy Cowboy Costume"  but the girl gets to be a "Cowgirl Diva".  Just what I want for my 4 year old.  

And then there were the pirate costumes.  Both my daughter and son love pirates.  Once again, the boy costume was very cute.  Lil' Buddy could be a "Pirate King" but Miss M . . . she could be a "Pirate Cutie" at best and a Pirate . . . Hooker(?) at worst.  

These costumes make my head explode.  And the examples were endless.  Little girls should not be sexy.   Please don't force my little girl to pick between a Cutie and a Diva.  She is so much more than that.  And my son needs to know that girls are more than that.  Granted, it is my job to teach them but Target (and every other retailer of Halloween costumes) is making my job that much harder.

Of course, the only reason they carry costumes like that is because people buy them.  So fellow citizens of the world: Do Not Support This.  Girls are so much more than Divas, Cuties and Princesses.   

Emotive.

Okay, I know I titled this feature Random Music that Makes Me Happy but the truth is not all music that I like makes me happy.  So I've changed it to RMIL (Random Music I like).  Today's RMIL is really more of an album.  now, I know that I am pretty much the only person in the world who loved this album and I get why people didn't like it (it's all remakes and not typical of the band) but I think Emotive by A Perfect Circle is brilliant.  It's one of those albums where the songs sound better if you listen to the entire album rather than the individual songs.  For some reason, this impresses me.    Just as a heads up, the album is mostly remakes of old peace songs.



And here is the video of one of the few original songs on the album.  This song was so perfect for the movie Constantine.  Plus, he co-wrote it with Trent Reznor.  Need I say more?  Speaking of things that most people hate, and I love--Constantine is actually a really good movie.  Seriously.  It is my favorite Keanu Reeves roll (even better than Matrix) and I love the religious themes.  I will be the first to admit that Keanu Reeves just plays different iterations of Ted but I'm telling you, Demon Hunting Ted is the best Ted.  Way better than surfer Ted or Shakespeare Ted or (Groan) RomCom Ted.

Monkey School: Thanksgiving

• Book:  Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks.  (not the best thanksgiving book for 2 year olds but the one I had.  

• Song:  I'm a little Turkey (I'm a little Teapot)
• I'm a little turkey
• Fluffy and brown (rub tummy)
• My wings flip-flop
• When I turn around (flap arms and turn around)
• I have lots of feathers,
• On my back (bend down and wave hands over back)
• And a big orange beak 
• that goes click clack (clap hands)
• Gobble Gobble (tickle kids)

• Motor:  Turkey Hunt/Color Match.  
• I hid turkeys around the room and had the kids hunt for them with toilet roll binoculars



Once the kids found the turkeys they put them in their home.



• Art:  Leaf Turkeys  



These turned out so cute.  



• Snack:  Oreo, Candy Corn and Hershey Kiss Turkeys.  









Online inspriations:  

http://www.perfectlypreschool.com/Preschool-Lesson-Plans/Thanksgiving/index.php

http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/11/t-is-for-thanksgiving.html

You're Here.

Two weeks ago, I started taking a 5:45AM spin class. I love the productive feeling of getting a workout in before my kids wake up.  Unfortunately, the hour nap I end up taking later in the day undermines the overall productive value but it is probably still good for my health.

Now, when you show up at spin class that early, the temptation is (at least for me) to take it a little easy.  After all, just showing up is impressive and any exercise is better than nothing.  All that is true and yet at the second class the instructor yelled encouragement that changed my perspective.  

"You're here. Might as well make it worth it."  

I realized she was right.  Why make all the effort to pull my tired self out of bed, make my husband go later to work (yes he usually leaves the house around 6am) and then coast once I was there?  I have written before about my tendency to cut myself too much slack and this was another prime example.  But what really struck me is that I was already there.  I was going to spend 45 minutes at spin class whether or not I pushed myself.  so why not make it worth it?  Why not indeed.

This is my new motto.  When I took my kids to the park, I sat down on the bench, glad for any break from their constant whining and clinging.  but then I thought, you're here.  Might as well make it worth it.  So I got up and started playing tag with my kids.  We had the best time at the park yet. The kids still talk about playing "trap-out" with mom.  

At church, I was zoning out during the primary songs (I'm in primary now) and then . . . you're here.  Might as well make it worth it.  So I started singing and participating.  The lesson (of course) made me mad but I was engaged in what was going on around me and it was a better Sunday than usual.  

Anyway the motto helped me, I thought it might help you.


You're here.  Might as well make it worth it.  

me, just after my first triathlon post having kids.