Poems

Here are some poems I wrote for my English class.  I am not going to put the name on the second one for obvious reasons.

Bo

I love the way your eyes light up when you’re sneaking on me

I love that I am your number 5

I love that you will only paint with red

I love that you get jealous when I play with other kids

I love that you brought a feather duster to church

I love that you wanted wear red converse like me

I love that you ask to do arts

I love when you give me big hugs and wet kisses

I love that you ask to pee on a tree

I love it when you sing silly songs with me

I love that only some of your shoes are fast

I love that I get to be a part of your life

Poem 2

No four year old should have B.O.

No kid should be that bruised up

Every four year old should know more than 5 words

I wish I could make it all better

No kid should ever say Daddy hits Mommy

Your separation anxiety is beyond extreme

Preschoolers should want attention

I wish I could make it all better

You are never dressed for the weather

Kids should want to play with others

Boys should be rough but not that rough

I wish I could make it all better

Homemade Playdo and Chocolate Soup

I watched 5 kids the day after Christmas. I knew that I was going to have to take something that everyone from the 6 year old girl to the 1 year old boy would enjoy. My decision was playdo. The only thing was that I needed A LOT of playdo, so I decided to make some. I found a recipe on Pinterest and doubled it. I made it green so that it wasn't too girly or too boyish. I attempted to make it lavender scented, but that didn't work too well. The playdo just smelled like playdo not lavender. I don't have any pictures of the kids playing with the playdo because I was trying to feed the baby while they played. 

It was then requested that I make Chocolate Soup. I used 3 packs of hot chocolate for 4 kids and they sucked the bowls dry.

While the big kids had chocolate soup the baby decided to find all the playdo crumbs on the floor!

Then I pulled out the Color Wonder. The boys tried to color each other and got upset when it didn't work. LOL! Grace made me a unicorn and a picture of the two of us that I hung up in my room.

Christmas Ornaments

Ok so this is a really late post, but I thought is was still worth posting. One of my mom's friends hosted  Kid's Craft Day. I decided to take Bo with me since I was too old to do the crafts. We made 5 different ornaments and got one in a goodie bag. There were 10-15 kids, mom's, 3 tables, and supplies packed into the living room. It was crowded, but it was really fun and I hope to take Bo again next year. Some of the crafts required lots of adult assistance, but I think that is because Bo was the youngest. He was 3 and the other kids were probably 5 and up.

Each child got to pick out a crocheted snow flake (yes she made each one and there were 5 options). Then the kids got to paint each one with modpodge, then cover it with glitter. 

Then they flipped them over and did the same to the other side.

The big people then put a decorate hook on the top and helped the kids hang them up on a sting on the front porch. When they dried they were stiff and misshapen, but they were able to be reshaped easily enough. Bo was able to do this one with very little help.

 All of the pieces were already cut out. She used glittery felt for the main part and regular white felt for the top.  She had also printed every child's name on transfer paper and put it on the white top. The kids glued a piece of cardboard to the white to make it stiffer. Then the other side of the cardboard was glued to the red. Next a string was put through the hole at the top and stickers were used to decorate the red. This was also simple enough that Bo could do most of it himself.

This was by far my favorite craft of the day. The kids put floor polish into the bulb and swished it around then poured it out. Next they poured in lots of brown glitter. They put their finger over the top and shook it up until it covered the inside and poured out the extra. The grown ups then helped put the top on the ornament. The kids then used glue dots to attach the eyes and nose. Finally a gold pipe cleaner was wrapped around the top for antlers and a red one was strung through the loop on the top so that it could hang on the tree.  Bo's favorite part was pouring  out the glitter because he could make fart noises because it was "reindeer poop." He needed a lot of help, but he did pretty good.

 This craft was a little above what he could do. These were strips of heavy decorative paper with a hole punched at both ends. The string also had a hole at both ends. The adults lined up all the wholes on the top of the papers and both holes in the string then stuck a brad through it. The same minus the string was done at the bottom. The ideas was to separate the paper and make a ball. Bo did really well for his age I thought.

This was another favorite of mine. Each kid was given a styrofoam ball and a sheet of air-dry clay. They were then to wrap the clay around the ball. The hard part was getting all the bubbles out so it wouldn't crack when it dried, this was a job for the adults. The kids then put tacky glue on the eyes and beads for the mouth and pushed them into the clay. Next they rolled the orange clay into a nose and pushed that into the white. A strip fluffy fabric was glued to the bottom of the  ball as a scarf. A pipe cleaner was pushed into the foam ball and pom poms were glued where the ears should be for ear muffs. The finishing piece was a pipe cleaner loop pushed into the ball as a hanger. Bo needed a lot of help, but he did carry it home in his lap.

This was the ornament we received in the goodie bag. The sled appeared to be made by glueing mini candy canes to a fun sized Hersey's bar. She said that wooden men were just from her stash of Christmas ornaments, but I'm sure something similar could be found at the store.

Summer With Morgy Video from 2011

I gave this to the parents at the end of the summer.

Bo loved watching himself on TV!

29 Sensory Activities

• Shaving Cream on the trampoline

I used two cans of shaving cream sprayed all over the trampoline.

Then I added the sprinkler. We played for an hour and fifteen minutes!

• Colored ice cubes in the tub

Super easy and lots of fun!

• Ball pit

I simply cut up foam noodles from the dollar store, then threw Bo in.
I do plan on getting some more for next summer

• Yellow sensory box

I colored rice and noodles by putting them in a bag then adding food coloring and rubbing alcohol.
I laid it out on some wax paper to let it dry overnight then put it in our box.
Then I collected some yellow toys and buried them in the rice.
Bo seemed to like the digging ones the best.

• Cook spaghetti

I cooked the spaghetti with food coloring and vinegar.
Next I put it a bag with some oil to make it slippery and threw it in the fridge.
Bo thought it was yucky and kept dry heaving so he preferred using tongs.

• Pond sensory box

I used some old aquarium rocks and water.
Then I cut out some foam lilly pads and added animals.
He really liked the frogs.

• Sprinkler on the trampoline

This was a daily activity just about.
Super fun and easy.

• Slime

Mix 1 teaspoon of borax into 1 cup of water and stir until dissolved.
In a separate cup mix 1/2 cup of white glue with 1/2 cup of water and add food coloring.
Mix the two cups and stir.  It will start to get more putty like.

If you poke the slime it makes tooting noises for those of you with boys!

• Alphabet fishing

Just throw the letters from the fridge into the pool.
Then hot glue a magnet to a string and tie to a stick.
I love simple sensory activities.

• Ice cube pirate ships

It is really hard to get the sails to stand up so I taped them to the walls of the freezer.
It was enjoyable, but I suggest using foam sails not paper.

• Pirate sensory box

This was black beens, beads, blocks and print outs.
I soaked the beans in alcohol so that I can keep and not have bugs in them.

• Red, white, and blue sensory box

Blue rice, feathers, and red, white and blue toys.
This was our 4th of July box.

• Bird sensory box

This was bird seed, a cat toy, two real nests, and two eggs that were found in the nest.
The bird even chirped!

• Doing dishes

Super simple. Plastic containers and cups in a sink of soapy water.
I also threw in some brushes and wash clothes.

• Dinosaur sensory box

The base is cloud dough. It is made with 1 part baby oil and 8 parts flour.
The of course I added an aquarium cave, plants, and dinosaurs.
The cloud dough is fun by itself the dinosaurs were just and added plus.

• Shaving cream slip 'n' slide

I made a slip 'n' slide out of a plastic table cloth and 2 cans of shaving cream.
Of course I added a sprinkler later to wash him off.

• Garden and bug sensory box

The base is black beans.
Then I cut up some fake flowers from the dollar  store and "planted" them.

Then I added some bugs.

• Farm sensory box

Black beans again.
This time I had some ity bity horses and tractors to throw in.
The tractors spent a lot of time burying each other.

• Ice age sensory box

I put about an inch of water into the box and froze that.
Then layer by layer I added animals and more water and froze it.
The final layer was another inch of water.
Then I let the boys use the hammer and the hair dryer to free the animals.

• Red sensory box

Red rice and red toys. Really simple, but Bo really loves to find the treasures.

• Squishy 

I just blew up balloons and threw in stuffed animals and pillows.
He kept begging to go to bed!

• Construction sensory box

Super easy. Just rocks and tractors.

• Toothbrushing sensory box

I covered the teeth in contact paper and grabbed some toothpaste from the dollar store.
The toothbrush was from the dentist.

He loved the toothpaste.

• Soapy letters sensory box

I dumped a huge bottle of soap and magnetic letters in.
Eventually I added a strainer and water.
We ended up washing the car too. 

• Redneck waterbed

This was really hard to do because of so much leakage.
I folded a plastic drop cloth in half and duct taped it.
Then I added the hose. It was fun while it lasted even for the big kids.

• Food fight

We had a food fight with refrigerated vanilla pudding.
Best thing ever!

• Jello sensory box

I buried sea creatures in blue jello. It was fun and yummy!

• Blue sensory box

Blue rice and blue toys. This was my first box with Bo.
He was literally speechless.

• Cloud dough

We had this stuff all over the back yard! It was a really good time.

25 Rules for Babysitters

I have seen lists of rules for moms and sons and dads and daughters, so I thought I would make one for babysitters.

1. Don't be afraid to get dirty- The best memories are those that required a bath afterwards. My mom always said the amount of dirt was equal to the amount of fun had. 
2. Always have an extra outfit- You never know when you might get peed on, spit up on or simply dirty from having a food fight in the backyard.
3. Have something fun planned- It doesn't have to be big or expensive just a planned activity. The kids enjoy breaking up the time and it makes the time you spend with them more fun for everybody.
4. Leave a note- Parents want to know what their kids did, ate, and watched while they were away. I try to always leave a note including naps, food, T.V., and anything else I think they should know. Parents have commented about it many times.
5. Get away from the screen- Try to fill your time with games, crafts, books, walks, really anything but T.V. or video games. Believe it or not even middle school boys can go all day without T.V. and not miss it. Fill your time with something else.
6. Take a camera- You will want to remember what you did, and what the kids looked like when they were little. I have 2,372 babysitting pictures. They help make school more bearable when I see the kids on my desktop smiling at me. 
7. Drop everything and read- If a kid asks me to play cars and I am in the middle of something I will tell them to hold on a second, but if they ask to read I stop wherever I am doing and read. Reading is very important in development and one of the best things you can teach kids to enjoy.
8. Be patient- Remember that kids aren't trying to upset you. People naturally want to please. Make your expectations clear and remember that they aren't little adults. The process is more important than the product.
9. Don't overuse "No"- Only say no when the child is doing something dangerous not just inconvenient. Instead redirect their attention. When you say "no" constantly it loses its meaning.
10. Don't do or say anything you don't want repeated- Kids learn by copying and aren't afraid of telling how they learned something.
11. Get you nose out of your phone- No ifs, ands, or buts. When you are babysitting you need to be alert and when you are texting you can't give full attention to the kids.
12. Be silly- Kids love it when you put on a paper crown and have a dance party in the living room. Remember that nobody is judging you, so just relax.
13. Get involved- Don't just watch the kids play house. Get in there and play with them, it will be more fun for everybody.
14. Don't play favorites- Of course you will have favorites, but don't ignore the others. They want you to play with them just as much.
15. Don't be a sucker- Do you really think Mommy lets the kids jump on the couch? Chances are that if the kid says, "Well Mommy lets me do it," then she probably doesn't.
16. Cool down- Don't discipline a child when you are upset. Go to the bathroom, count to ten, then go back and deal with the situation. Or best of all don't let the kid get you upset in the first place.
17. Clean up later- Don't spend the entire time cleaning. Ask the kids to pick up after each activity. Trust me it is way less stressful even for those of us with OCD.
18. Go outside- Dirt is actually good for kids. As a kid I spent all day outside if it was nice. Build a fort, go to the park, go for a walk, blow bubbles, color with sidewalk chalk, just have a picnic.
19. Be familiar with the potty routine- As a girl I wasn't really sure how little boys went to the bathroom and I was too embarrassed to ask. I have seen just about every way to go to the bathroom you could imagine. I have seen boys sit backwards, on their knees, stand up, and sit down. Just ask, it makes things much easier. 
20. Naked is best- For some reason every kid's favorite outfit is their birthday suit. So what if they want to be naked, as I see it kids are easier to clean than clothes and potty training is much easier too.
21. Have a routine- If you babysit regularly have a routine. It makes kids less upset when switching activities because they know what to expect and helps you out too.
22. Have special toys- Take some toys for the kids to play with when you babysit. Even if they already have the exact same toy it is more fun to play with yours. It is just another thing that makes you special.
23. Keep cool- Stay calm no matter what. Kids pick up on your emotions. When they fall down and crack their head open keep calm so as not to freak them out
24. Be fair- Fair and equal aren't the same. Fair is the kid who is bleeding gets a bandaid. Equal is everybody gets a bandaid. Keep in mind every kid has a unique set of needs.
25. Everyone is different- Never assume that what worked for one kid will work for another. Kids are individuals. Just because one boy liked trains doesn't mean that every boy likes trains. Treat each kid accordingly.