New and Improved Blog + Valentine Sensory Bin

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DIY Muffin Tin Meal Kit

Heidi gave me the most fun and thoughtful gift for Christmas. A muffin tin meal kit! Don't know about muffin tin meals? Read about them here.

Take a look at what Heidi included in the kit.

The majority of the supplies are in this box which has 3 interlocking levels. The bottom level has an organizer that I may or may not keep. I haven't decided yet!

This drawer contains "everyday" supplies:
- silicone muffin liners
- small cookie cutters on a metal ring
- tiny cups for dips, etc.
- egg molds (I'm so excited about these!)
- fondant circle cutters
- food safe markers

She included one special event drawer too, focused on Halloween.
- Plastic cauldrons (so cute!)
- a BUNCH of really mini Halloween cookie cutters
- Pumpkin food picks

There are a few more included items (shown in the first photo) that didn't fit into the box.
- the six opening muffin tin (of course!)
- Wonder Sandwich Sealer and Decruster
- alphabet  and number cookie cutters (I love these!)
- A folder with meal ideas and technique directions.

She also made me a muffin tin meal planner and we're sharing the planning page with you today! You can download the page here and print out as many as you want for your own planning book, or just print them as you need them.

Here are a couple of meals I've thrown together recently for our color themed "Mommy School" (more on that later.) Having the tools on hand made it really easy to whip these up.

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

Sorry this one is a day late.  My roommates and I had "roommate Christmas" last night since we realized it was the last night we'd all be around for a while.

Anyway, here's a link to the 12th day of Christmas file.  It's a math game.  Each player needs their own tree and 2 dice.  Players roll the dice and find the sum.  The corresponding ornament is added to the tree.  The winner is the first player to completely decorate her tree.

You'll notice that 1 is already on the tree since you can't get a sum of 1 with two dice.  :)  The Santa counts as a "wild."  The player can put it on at any point when he rolls a number that's already on the tree.

Hopefully this will take up some time on our last 1/2 day before the break!  Thanks to those of you who've been 12 Daying with us.  I hope you're able to enjoy some fun and games with your littles during this magical season.  Merry Christmas!

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

How about 11 puzzle pieces?  This is another project where it's nice to have baggies or envelopes for the kids to keep their little pieces in.  Also, if you're doing this in class I'd recommend asking the kids to put their initials on the back of each piece.  It'll save a lot of hassle come clean-up time.

The file is here.

On the 10th Day of Christmas

"...my teacher gave to me 10 dots to link"

C'mon!  This doesn't even qualify as a rhyme!  Well, I guess "link" is closer than "connect" and do the kids really care anyway??

Probably not, so here are some little dot-to-dots.  Yes, there are technically 80 dots in all, but the page was too bare with just one on it.  You can get the file here.

I love the vintage-y look of the pictures.

I found these on-line years ago and have no idea of the source.  If you know, please pass the info on so I can give credit.

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

Who doesn't love tic-tac-toe?  Especially with penguins and snowmen?  C'mon you know you're gonna make yourself a set.  :)

The kidlets can make these without too much fuss.  It is helpful to have envelopes or baggies for the little pieces, though.

Get the files here.

Happy 3-in-a-rowing!

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

Today's gift is the world's tiniest coloring book!  At least that's what I tell my class.  They love showing off these when they're done. This is another craft where you have to do some step-by-step instructions.

The kiddos need scissors and a copy of this page.

The idea is to fold it into a tiny book.  These are easy-peasy when you've done a couple, but at first they're a little tricky.  Here's a diagram to walk you through it.

If you're like me and need a step-by-step model, here's a 1 minute video I found on Youtube.  

Just remind kids to only cut on the center dotted line.  It's actually easier to fold if you cut a teeny bit (like 1/4 inch) above the center line. 

And--voila--a teeny-tiny coloring book!

P.S. We did the 2nd day of Christmas today, and like I feared, reducing the maze to 1/2 sheet was a mistake.  A few were willing to give it a try, but  most took one look at the itty-bitty tree maze and decided it was impossible.  At least they enjoyed the other side!