dot valentines

Cole was playing with the 3-hole punch when it came open and the dots almost fell out. He decided to pour them into a cup. The kids were fascinated by a bunch of paper dots, which gave me an idea for Chase's simple valentine. I poured glue in a heart shape on red rectangles.











He sprinkled paper dots on the glue and then shook them off. I backed the red rectangles with white and thought and thought, and finally came up with a saying to put on them.

Good job, Chase! I'm glad you had fun.

making valentines

This year Cole (8) is fond of robots:and Sarah (6) is all about pop-up hearts: (A little piece of pop-out gum taped inside is a nice surprise!)

I wonder how Chase (3) will make his . . . he is still crazy about Lightning McQueen, but I don't think he's able to draw him. Yet.

Last year, he painted a big watercolor and stamped hearts onto it, from which I cut hearts out and signed the backs.

I'm not sure what he will do this year, but I'm sure it will be fun!

boat making

When we get rain like we've been getting lately, the kids get the idea of making boats. With friends visiting, we pull out the recycling reserve and start building.

Kids notice the potential of a paper tube, yogurt container, plastic tray and whatever else is in the house! I love seeing their hands move with ideas. They inspire me to try without worrying so much about the outcome.













That smile says he's very proud of his go-fish boat!