April 2013 - Busy Bugs

“If You Give a Mom a Muffin” for Mother’s Day!

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 26, 2013 in Gift Ideas, Mother's Day | 0 comments

My kids really enjoy the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series by Laura Joffe Numeroff. If you haven’t introduced these humorous books to your children, or students, I highly recommend that you do. They are light, funny, and follow the pattern of a circle story (a story that ends where it begins) making them perfect for writing examples. I personally enjoy the spontaneous, easily sidetracked, personalities of Numeroff’s characters. I’m pretty certain every mom, and teacher, can relate to these characters at some level, I know I do! Especially since becoming a mom, my house seems to be littered with half-finished projects and remnants of previous distractions; kids are masterminds when it comes to creating multiple diversions!

DIY Painted Mugs for Mother’s Day

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 22, 2013 in Gift Ideas, Mother's Day | 1 comment

These DIY painted mugs are the perfect addition to the “If You Give a Mom a Muffin” theme we are creating for Mother’s Day this year. They were surprisingly simple to make, and each one is uniquely personalized for the special moms in our life. I made two types of painted mugs for each mom, plus an extra ladybug fingerprint mug for my bugs to give to their Nana.

Stamp Art using Textured, Foam Blocks

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 17, 2013 in paint printing, Painting | 0 comments

The boys received this bag of textured, foam building blocks last Christmas. It may not look it, but this bag holds a surprising amount of blocks.

Melting Snowman Paintings

Posted by Nicole Carney on Apr 15, 2013 in Literacy Activities, Painting, Picture Book Activities, Winter Activities | 0 comments

Well, it’s springtime in Calgary, which means very unpredictable weather! It can be sunny and warm one day and blowing snow the next; you just never know what you’re going to wake up to! This morning we woke up to snow, lots and lots of heavy, wet snow. Rather than sitting inside complaining about the weather, I decided to bundle up the bugs and embrace, what I’m hoping will be, one of our last snowfalls of the season. I’m not holding my breath though!