Two The Moon Girly Space Themed Rocket Ship Birthday Party
Read moreGirl’s Halloween BOO party PINK & Black
This weekend we got the Ghoul Gang together for a little Halloween party and it was so much fun! I’ve been dying to have a little get together at our new house and we’re so lucky the weather cooperated because it literally poured down rain right before and after the party. This party was so much fun to design — I had to go with the girly pink and black Halloween theme year. And of course feature some of my favorite small shops. Check out the list below for all of the goodies!
Fall Pumpkin Activities
Yesterday, I created this little Pumpkin Pie themed activity setup for when Sofie woke up from her nap. My favorite thing about making these little setups is that when she wakes up from her nap and walks down the hall to her playroom, you can just see her eyes light up in wonder with what’s new. And of course, these aren’t usually new toys or books, but just a collection of new things that work together for matching or pairing or talking about a certain topic or theme. Here’s what I gathered for this one:
Pumpkin Pie Play Dough - Okay so maybe I enjoyed this one more than Sofie did. But it was so much fun to make a mini pumpkin pie out of play dough. I used CharsJars play dough in yellow and orange, but you could easily make your own! How much fun would it be to make some pumpkin spice flavored play dough for the pie. Or better yet, make the actual pie!
Lovevery Wooden Puzzle - This fun wooden puzzle came in her latest Lovevery box and I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to break it out. Sofie loves saying “it’s not gonna fit” and “this piece goes here, mommy!”
Trader Joe’s Fall Leaf Chips - Sofie always needs a little snack when she wakes up and these fall leaves I found at Trader Joe’s were perfect. I loved the pretty fall colors and there are so many potential fun and creative uses for these. For this setup, I just added them in a bowl as a snack, but that’s all it took for Sofie to jump right into the activity. The first thing she said was “Chips!”
Vegetable Flashcards - We used this opportunity to talk about pumpkins of course, but also all of the other fun vegetables that Sofie likes to eat. Fortunately she’s not at the phase yet where she hates healthy foods so we’re capitalizing on her love of broccoli while it lasts.
Farm Animal Memory Game - Since Sofie’s been so obsessed with farm animals lately, I added this game to the mix. And to my surprise, she actually wanted to play and match them. She can’t quite get the turn them over part of the game, but she can at least pair the animals for now.
Pumpkin Pie Book - This little book was so cute when I found it at the store, I had to grab it. And when I got it home, I realized it’s one of a series and she has the little cuddle bug version which we read almost every night. I can’t wait to make this a staple for bedtime.
Apple Picking Dramatic Play Kit
I’m so excited to be launching this Apple Picking Dramatic Play Kit! This one is so fun because there’s so many different activities you can do with it.
Apple Tree - Pin the leaves and the apples on the tree
Pie Making - Use play dough or these paper stencils to layer the pie
Apple Stand - Use the labels for bins of individual products to sell
Apple Seed Counting - Use raisins or chocolate chips to add to the Apple Seed Page
Photoshoot - Take the Apple Orchard pennant flag to your local orchard for a little photoshoot
Printable Play Decor
Flag
Banner
Signs
Cut outs
Candy Apple Making
To make a caramel apple for kids, start by washing and drying crisp apples thoroughly. Remove the stems and insert a popsicle stick into the top of each apple. Unwrap soft caramel candies and place them in a microwave-safe bowl with a splash of milk. Microwave in short intervals, stirring in between, until the caramel is smooth. Dip each apple into the melted caramel, using a spoon to help coat it evenly. Place the apples on a lined baking sheet and let them cool in the refrigerator until the caramel sets. For extra fun, roll the caramel-covered apples in toppings like crushed nuts, sprinkles, or mini chocolate chips before chilling. Enjoy these sweet treats with the little ones!
Apple Seed Counting
Use the apple seed counting printable. Grab a taste safe activity filler like chocolate chips or raisins for kids under 3. For kids over 3, you can use a non-edible sensory filler like black beans. Put the filler in a bowl and have the child place each one on the printout and count the seeds as they go. For older kids, you can have them count the number of seeds on the paper and then pour, scoop, or blindfolded pick out the same number from the bowl! There are countless ways to make this one easier or harder depending on the child’s age and fluency with counting.
Dramatic Play
Vegetable Flashcards
Fall is finally here and I’m excited to finally have Vegetable Flashcards in the line up. These were so much fun to illustrate and so perfect for those fall sensory bins. Some of the more obscure veggies are hilarious to hear Sofie practice. Here’s a list of ideas for how to use these flashcards for different kinds of learning and play.
Set up a farmers market stand and use the cards as signs for bins for different foods
Pair them with fruit flashcards and have your toddler separate them out by type
Turn them over and have your toddler pick them out and say the word for each
Sort them by color (and match or pair with other color toys or flashcards)
Set up a fall sensory bin using leaves, foods, chickpeas, corn and other fall foods
March the veggies in the kitchen as you’re cooking to help with real life object identification
DIY Simple Ghost Pancakes
Have I mentioned that I love Halloween!? Okay so Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday and I’m loving all of the black and white monochrome vibes now so I had to try these little ghost pancakes. These were such a simple DIY toddler activity — I woke up this morning and decided on a whim to do it. I was able to prep it and make them all before Sofie’s morning hanger kicked in!
These little ghost pancakes were so simple to make and you don’t even need to have a steady hand to do it. I just grabbed a simple pancake recipe, plopped them on the griddle at 250, added some googley eyes and plastic spiders and bam! Spooky pancakes perfect for the holiday season.
Pancake Recipe
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Cup Milk
3 Tablespoons Butter Melted
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Egg
3 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Halloween Boo Activity Kit
OMG! It’s spooky season and I’m so excited for all of the amazing Halloween goodies this year! I’m kicking it off with this adorable printable activity set. This set is perfect for a little Flisat table setup or you can use the pieces as decor for your Little Boo’s Halloween Party. I’m doing both this year and I’m teaming up with my favorite @CharsJar_s to bring you a spooky little collaboration.
Rainbow Blocks
Okay so I got these amazing rainbow GNF colored blocks from Chars Jars Shop (use code GNF10 to save) and I’m absolutely in love. Well, I should say that Sofie is in love. So I was hoping to practice stacking, color matching, building, and sorting, but Sofie has decided that throwing them around the room the way to go! Luckily they’re super durable. I’ve been trying to have her practice with the Alphabet Placemat here by pairing colors to the letters — we’re not quite there yet. But in any case, I hope you’ve had a chance to snag one of these educational placemats from the shop. They’re so versatile! We’ve used them for learning, play dough, and during meal time. The different shapes and colors always keep Sofie entertained when it’s taking time to get dinner on the table.
Back to School Printable Classroom
This set was so much fun to design, but it was even more fun to watch Sofie play with.
Printable Classroom: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1066224135
Pencil bows: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewDaintyBowtique
Wooden Pencil: https://www.etsy.com/shop/OakAndCoshop
It’s the perfect way to get your kiddo in the mood for back to school or for your preschooler, perhaps a way to introduce them prior to their first day of school! Dramatic play is so important for kids and Sofie had so much fun learning these classroom concepts. Pretending to write on the chalkboard, practicing her ABCs, learning the alphabet, practicing telling time on the clock and practicing the days of the week were such a blast. She was quite distracted by having the apple on the board. We also used the little cards to practice school subjects. Sofie really liked the gym card because it has all of the balls on it. She kept saying, “Milo’s ball!” We played with this little setup for about two weeks and everyday Sofie would be the teacher teaching me a new subject.
School Supplies Flashcards
I’m working on an epic Back to School drop this year because I love love love all things back to school! I can’t wait to share all of the details, but first us is this awesome School Supplies Flashcard set. This flashcard set includes:
Notebook
Lunchbox
Scissors
Crayons
Globe
Paints
Pencil
Backpack
Books
Glue
It’s the perfect way to get your kiddo in the mood for back to school or for your preschooler, perhaps a way to introduce them prior to their first day of school! This flash card set is a great way to expose them to fun kinder-concepts as they get used to the idea of going back to school. Pictured here with these adorable wood toys from @oak.and.co Oak And Co Shop
This flash card set will be available on it’s own and as part of the BTS bundles dropping August 6-8th.
