I tried to take advantage of my time at home with the boys this season and do lots of activities with them...
I think my favorite project was the gingerbread house. I bought a kit on clearance last year after Christmas knowing that we would never eat it anyways and stored it until this year. Jaxson took a nap one afternoon and Bradley and I got creative, it was so much fun.
Bradley and I also spent A LOT of time working on his Christmas List. He had originally cut out pictures and glued them on a piece of paper, then I told him he had to write a letter to Santa. So we wrote one letter, but then he was afraid it was too sloppy so we printed out some wide lined paper and rewrote the letter as a neat sheet. This teacher momma was on cloud nine, he was all over that writing process! He did a pretty good job saying words slowly and listening for sounds, I also gave him an ABC chart.
We also went to a small town in Illinois to see Santa on the CN Santa Train. It was pretty cool. The big engine rolled into town decorated with Christmas lights and stopped, then the long line of kids and their parents waited to get on the train to see the man in the big red suit. Really hoping we get to do this next year too!
(Bradley is covering his ears because the sound of the train horn was just too loud for him.)
(There was lots of neat stuff to look at on the train, but my camera was acting up and I had difficulty getting pictures. There was a really neat model train set up.The boys also got to go up on the engine and blow the horn.)
Hopefully I will remember to post the pictures of the boys with Santa once they are posted on the CN Santa Train Site.
We also did LOTS of crafts!
We painted puzzle pieces and put them together to make Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
We also painted popsicle sticks green and glued them together and decorated them to look like Christmas trees.
On another day, I painted the kids hands and we put a handprint on an ornament. I thought it made a neat keepsake and it was so simple.
I also bought some canvases. Then I used adhesive vinyl to cut-out the letters of our last name and the last names of the kids that I watch. Next, I stuck them onto the canvas and gave the kids some paint and let them paint. Jaxson was so excited, he kept saying "I paint! I paint!" Then when the paint dried, I peeled off the adhesive vinyl. I used painter's tape on some of the canvases, before I remembered that I had the vinyl. I thought they turned out really neat and made for some original gifts! I also painted the kid's hands and put their hand prints on them.
Jax loves having this hanging up in the house, every time he looks at it, he looks at me and says, "I paint!"
We also made and decorated cookies.
Making Santa's Cookies...
Whew! That is most of it! No wonder I am exhausted everynight, but it is all about the memories.
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