mitten-match up

The snow is really flying today!  Finally!!  It’s super windy and wet though, a very blizzardy day.  To celebrate, we have a bit of a mitten theme going on here today.

This is a really simple activity to prepare, and the Hooligans really enjoyed it.

I used my good-old wall paper sample books to cut out a bunch of mitts and set out a small basket of coloured clothes pegs. 

The children had fun matching up the mittens, clipping them together, and setting the matched pairs in a wicker basket.  Clothes pegs are always a hit here, and of course get used for other purposes than what I’ve set them out for, but that’s half the fun. 

They clipped them to their fingers, to their clothing, and to edges of the baskets.  It’s  a great exercise in fine motor control, and takes real concentration for the youngest ones.  I love these plastic clips, as they’re much easier to master than the wooden ones that I keep outside.

This little Hooligan worked away at the activity for about a half an hour by herself, as quiet as a mouse.  In my books that’s a long time for a 2 year old to be engaged in one activity.

We followed this activity up with a mitten-themed lunch!  I’ll link that up soon, and you can pop over to see what I whipped up.

Stay warm folks!  Hope you’re getting some of this white stuff too, where-ever you are!

Hallowe’en match up

Here’s a great little matching activity.  I’m pretty sure I had as much fun making it as the Hooligans had playing with it.

Little Family Fun‘s “pumpkin matching” activity was the inspiration behind this one.  They used a file folder, and scrapbook paper to make theirs.  

As I’ve mentioned before, I have this awesome stash of Wallpaper sample books, that my local Benjamin Moore store was happy to donate to our daycare, instead of throwing them in the trash.  I can’t tell you how much I LOVE having these books to go to, when I need some groovy paper!  I love the colours, the patterns, and the textures.  Some pages are puffy and thick, some are slick, or bumpy or glossy.  And I love that there’s a colour/pattern/texture that is just perfect for almost anything I want to make!

I chose 4 simple Hallowe’en/Fall shapes to use for this activity:  Pumpkins (which kind of look like apples, but hey, apples work for fall too), bats, owls, and fall leaves.

I don’t think there’s really any need for instructions here.  The pictures kind of say it all.

How cute are these?  The Hooligans this activity.  LOVED it.   Big hit.  So simple, and I can see doing this anytime a new holiday rolls around.  Just think of all the Christmas shapes there are to choose from!