Finger Puppets

I've just added a few more finger puppets to our collection.

A giraffe for my daughter who LOVES giraffes.

And a dinosaur set for my two boys who are into all things "dino" at the moment.

These were so easy to make and have already been lots of fun.

Teepee!

Yesterday's project when the kids came home from school: contruct a teepee!

This was so much fun.  I bought 4 extendable shower curtain rods and 2 bright shower curtains from my local Homepro store and simply tied it altogether using some thin rope/twine.

This, of course, sparked some new imaginary games and a new play space.

It was so easy to put up that it can easily be pulled down and set up over and over again!

Fancy Nancy Party

This is such a cute party theme.  And one of the easiest parties I've ever prepared- seriously.
Step 1: The decorations included home-made, paper bunting (pink and purple) with pictures of Nancy stuck on.  Everything else was just about making the house look "fancy".  I hung a mosquito net from the roof as well as some Christmas lights and pink and purple balloons.  I also attached pink ribbons to the backs of all the chairs.

Step 2: The cake.  This was ridiculously simple.  A large square cake on the bottom covered in fondant with a smaller square on top covered in a different colour fondant. My fondant was pretty lumpy but it didn't really matter for this cake because wherever there was a lump or imperfection, I just stuck another accessory! Perfect!

Step 3: The activities.  For this 2-3 hour party, I had several different tables set up with things to do.  There was a fancy play-dough table with pink cutters, cupcake papers, little baking trays, beads and jewels. Another table had Fancy Nancy coloring-in sheets with fancy pencils, glitter and glue.  

A third table had everything packaged and ready to make a fancy Fruitloop necklace. And the other areas I had set up were the "restaurant" which I had roped off until it was time to go and eat (the kids loved finding their name place too) and outside I had a draped up a piece of black material and put a table full of fun and fancy accessories so the kids could have a fancy photo taken.

After eating pizza (like in the book) the children gathered in front of me on the floor and I read them the Fancy Nancy story.  It was then that I explained that, although it is fun to dress up and make ourselves look pretty on the outside, that true beauty really comes from within.  It's beautiful to smile and to show love, compassion, kindness and generosity.  
I then went on to explain about my daughter's idea of not sending her guests home with a "goodie" bag/box but instead making something for some girls that may not often get the chance to be fancy.  My friend has a small children's home and she had given me the names and ages of 9 orphaned or neglected girls.  
And so, after my 6-year-old son explained to the girls what to do, they lined up, making a production line packing lipstick, talcum powder, body spray, a fancy pen, nail polish and some candy into boxes.  I was so proud of these little 3-5 year old girls who unselfishly went about doing something for someone else without one word of complaint or utterance of wanting the gift for themselves!
After we had sung Happy Birthday, we then all enjoyed the "make-your-own parfait" buffet (that's just a fancy word for ice cream sundae). 

After our very fancy morning had finished, it was clean-up time.  Our home certainly reflected the fun that had been had!

Frog and Turtle Party

Here's some of the photos from yesterday's party.  I'll write more soon!

Different Can Be Great

“Just as morning follows night and spring follows winter, there will be new beginnings: new people to meet, new things to do.” (Lois Rock)

The lifestyle here is quite different ... Not just the food, the language or the weather, but the way life constantly changes.  

We are learning to make friends faster and say goodbye to them more often.  We understand that although we don’t get to see our parents and family as frequently as before, that when we do, we hold them tightly and appreciate every minute that we share together.  And we’re finding out that often, when we say goodbye, we’re not even sure when we’ll hug them "hello" again...

To read the rest click here.