number garden

this activity is very similar to this one

but instead of matching letters

we matched numbers!

i pre-made these for the younger kiddos and left one set blank for my oldest
i wanted him to write his own numbers and make the correct number of dots

here they are painting their "dirt"

so we could "plant" the flowers!

here are the kiddos working on writing the numbers

and putting the numbers in the correct order!

i then had the older kids help the younger do their matching!

it was so fun to put together an activity that was perfect for the older kids

and give them some leadership skills with the younger kids!

a couple of our final products!

again my kiddos always make me so proud with how smart they are!

Linking up with

Show and Tell #100

Naturally Nifty #13

its a 2 for 1 kinda day

this is not about saving money sorry for anyone that clicked here and was hoping for some good advice!

the only advice you will get is how to accomplish a tasks and keep kids happy/entertained!

today i was laying on the floor and realized 

i need to vacuum

well my friends i think i have talked about this before

but these kids LOVE to vacuum

so i knew this was a 2 for 1 idea

my house would get clean

the kids would have fun!

so i they vacuumed!

then i remembered this idea from a training i went to awhile back ago

take a hat, tape some paint brushes to it and the hat becomes the paint brush tool!

again another 2 for 1 idea!

these are just those hats from the target dollar pin with paint brushes taped to them!

Then i knew paint brushes on a kids head

these kids would never control it and leave the mess to a small piece of paper

that is when i remembered glass doors outside need a good cleaning

so i added soap to the paint

(i know this won't get my glass doors clean but bare with me for a little bit!)

kids painting the window!

we discovered that we needed to hold onto our hats otherwise they would fall off

when we leaned over for paint!

the kids were loving this!  they thought it was awesome that i was letting them paint "my house"

the kids ran into the door often forgetting that the paint brushes were there!

it was pretty funny! 

(i guess its only funny if you think like me!)

hang on tight!

dipping in for some more paint!

i love that in the reflection you can see the kids waiting their turn very patiently!

After the kids were done with painting 

the windows needed to be cleaned!

here comes my 2 for 1!

 dirty window, becomes a fun canvas, becomes fun to clean, becomes CLEAN!

thats more like a 4 for 1 :)

and then because they were having so much fun washing the window

they went on to washing other things!

some of the kids washing the house!

toddlers playing with bubbles!

washing down the window!

even had a child that was coming in after wiping the windows with my norwex rag!

this is the face of an extremely happy toddler who loves to do anything that involves getting dirty, messy, or wet!  he was super happy until i took the water bucket away!

so cleaning got done, kids were happy!

all in all i would say that is a very successful day!

Monday Menu

people ask me how i come up with my menu 

and i tell them

i make things that i know the kids will eat but try to mix it up so is not the same thing each week
i hate watching food go in the garbage so i would rather feed kids food they will eat then try to many new things and watch food be thrown away because they didn't like it!

but are easy, and quick to make

as some days i don't have a lot of time 

to be putting meals together!

i also try hard to make my menu with items that are on sale

so....

Monday 

Peanut Butter Banana Quesadilla 

(yes this was in last weeks menu but last week was all over the place so its today instead)

peanut butter, bananas, and a drizzle of honey!

topped with another shell and warmed in my quesdilla maker!

(i actually would NEVER eat this but the kids enjoy it!)

Tuesday

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

this is a hit for the kids and myself

i like to put this into 

1 9X9 and then the rest into the small bread loaf pan

(i know a lot about the names of casserole dishes!)

that way i have one for daycare and another for the family later!

Wednesday

White Tacos

instead of beef I am doing Chicken

Thursday
Bar-B-Que Sandwiches 
--this might be a controversy name for this meal, it also goes by the name of Taverns, and Sloppy Joes.  I have always thought those were weird and grew up with Bar-B-Que so thats what I am sticking with!

Friday
chicken on egg noddles
(this is a favorite of mine!) 


Linking up with
Menu Plan Monday