DIY Fabric Rosettes

I’m at the point in my pregnancy where I tend to wear the same few shirts over and over (and over).  It’s not very exciting so I do my best to spice things up.  I’ve been obsessed with making fabric rosettes lately.  It requires limited supplies and little time – which is just my style right now.

SUPPLIES:

  • Fabric (lightweight fabric works best)
  • Fabric Glue (I used Aleene’s No-Sew Fabric Glue)
  • Scissors

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cut the fabric 1″ wide and atleast 24″ long.  The longer the fabric, the bigger the rosette.
  2. Tie a knot at one end.
  3. Apply a little fabric glue and start twisting and gluing.
  4. Apply glue every 1/2 turn or so.
  5. When you get to the end and have about an inch or two of fabric left, apply some glue on the back side of the rosette and adhere the leftover fabric to it.
  6. Add a pin, clip, or velcro to the back so you can easily transfer it from belt to headbands, bracelets, etc.

This has been a great way to use fabric scraps laying around my house and also has me thinking of cute headbands for the little girl headed our way.

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Music Makers: May

It’s May so that means new songs for the little ones! This will be the last month for Music Makers (we don’t meet as a group in the summer).   If you’re interested in learning more about the program, start here.  This post will tell you all about the basic layout and structure of the group.  We will resume again in the Fall when school starts back up.  The theme this month is Summer & Bugs.

Here’s a sampling of songs that we’re singing this month:

RHYTHYM STICKS:

“TAP YOUR STICKS” (sung to: “Frere Jacques”)
Tap your sticks.
Tap your sticks.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.

Can you tap your sticks,
Can your tap your sticks,
Just like me,
Just like me?

Tap your sticks,
Tap your sticks,
Way up high,
Way up high.

No-w, bend down,
No-w, bend down,
Tap the ground.
Tap the ground.

THEME SONGS:

Eentsy, Weentsy Spider
The eentsy, weentsy spider went up the water-spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the eentsy, weentsy spider went up the spout again.

Repeat… The great big spider
The rock and roll spider
“Flutter, Flutter Butterfly” (sung to: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
Flutter, flutter, butterfly.
Floating in the summer sky.
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.

“Baby Bumblebee”
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee,
Ouch! It stung me!

I’m squishing up the baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee,
Ooh! It’s yucky!

I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Won’t my mommy be so proud of me,
I’m wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Now my mommy won’t be mad at me!

STICK SONGS:

There’s A Beetle on the Floor (sung to: If You’re Happy and You Know it)
There’s a beetle on the floor, on the floor
There’s a beetle on the floor, on the floor
Who could ask for anything more
than a beetle on the floor?
There’s a beetle on the floor on the floor.

There’s a beetle on my shoe, on my shoe
There’s a beetle on my shoe, on my shoe
Oh, I donʼt know what to do,
thereʼs a beetle on my shoe.
There’s a beetle on my shoe on my shoe.

Repeat with:
Knee- Heʼs as big as he can be. Just look over here and see
Hip- Oh, I think Iʼm gonna flip. I got a beetle on my hip
Tummy- Oh, it isnʼt very funny, thereʼs a beetle on my tummy
Neck-Oh I’m gonna be a wreck! I’ve got a beetle on my neck
Face – Oh, what a big disgrace! I’ve got a beetle on my face
Head –Oh, the beetles on my head I want to hide up in my bed
“But he jumps off”
There’s a beetle on the floor on the floor (repeat first verse)

“Mr. Sun”
Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Please shine down on me

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Hiding behind a tree. . .

These little children are asking you
To please come out so we can play with you

Oh Mister Sun, Sun,
Mister Golden Sun,
Please shine down on…
Please shine down on…
Please shine down on me.

MOVEMENT TIME:

Can You Move With Me? (sung to: “Do Your Ears Hang Low”)
Can you wiggle like a worm?
Can you squiggle? Can you squirm?
Can you flutter? Can you fly like a gentle butterfly?
Can you crawl upon the ground
Like a beetle that is round?
Can you move with me?

Can you flip? Can you flop?
Can you give a little hop?
Can you slither like a snake?
Can you give a little shake?
Can you dance like bee
Who is buzzing round a tree?
Can you move with me?

To download the entire May program, click below.

For other month programs, click here.

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To Eat or To Sleep?

Porter had a tough time deciding which to do yesterday after church so he tried to do both at the same time.

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Favorite Toy: GeoTrax

We would be lost around here without our GeoTrax these days.  It’s the perfect toy for those days that my energy levels are low and I can’t think beyond what I’m fixing for dinner. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has those days.

For those of you curious about what age range this toy works for, I would say 18 months-6 years.  We gave a good GeoTrax starter kit to Caden when he was almost 3.  Caden loved playing with his cousin’s tracks starting at 2 1/2 years old. He loved them greatly until he was about 4 and then stopped playing with them for a month or two until Porter started showing interest in them.  At 18 months, Porter can piece the tracks together all by himself (well, mostly… he struggles with the bridges).  I was even impressed when he made a closed circle the other day!  What a great thing for a young mind!  And I’m guessing that most children are done with GeoTrax by age 6.  By then they are into more motorized toys and legos.  Correct me if I’m wrong.

Whenever asked if I would purchase these or the wooden Thomas the Train sets.  I say GeoTrax, hands down!  They are easy to snap together and they stay together.  When Caden was young, we had two different Thomas sets and there was endless frustrations over the bridge and how easily it would be knocked down by the dog, or by Caden stepping out of his sacred train circle.  The trains wouldn’t ever stay together and the magnets seemed hard for him to figure out.  The GeoTrax are easy to use and Porter has little to no frustration, even with how young he is.  Plus, we found investing into two different track systems was silly so why no just start with the real deal.  Just like Thomas, the GeoTrax system has both motorized and manual trains so the child can pick which one they’re comfortable with.

I highly recommend these for any young mind that likes to tinker.  These days, Porter goes straight down to play with them first thing in the morning and they will keep him busy for hours.  I’m not even kidding.  HOURS! I recommend trying to find a used set as these things are pricey.  The starter kit that we gave Caden was found on Craigslist and included about $300 worth of tracks, buildings and trains for $125.  The boys always seem to receive pieces to add to their collections for birthdays and Christmas.

I will say that storing these is kind of a nightmare.  I haven’t found the perfect solution yet.  The tracks aren’t so bad, but it’s the big buildings and bridges that take up space.  Currently, they are stored in a big toy bucket which means there’s usually a dumping party involved when we play with them.  If you have any storage ideas, please share.

|It probably looks like I was paid to write this by GeoTrax, but I wasn’t paid a dime.  I just love these things so much right now.|

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It’s a…

GIRL!

We couldn’t be more surprised or thrilled. I’ve been shopping for frills and pink like there’s no tomorrow.

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