The Mama Workshop

Valentine’s Day Games for Toddlers

We have been playing Valentine’s Day Games for Toddlers all day. Including Tic Tac Toe and 5 other games! It’s so simple to make!

We have been seeing a lot of hearts lately. We have seen them at Target, the grocery store, up on store windows; they’re everywhere.

So, I put up a few Valentine’s Day decorations on our mantel to get a little festive. My kiddos love the decorations! They were so sad about Christmas being over and all the decorations getting put away. So, this was a nice way to get over those blues.

I’ve been trying to figure out a few games to play to get my kiddos excited about Valentine’s Day. So, I made some quick little hearts that can be used for a few games!

Whoo hoo! I love when I can use a 10-minute project multiple times!

I hope you have as much fun as we did!

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DIY Geoboard for Kids – Using Cardboard and Pushpins

I made a simple DIY geoboard using cardboard and pushpins for my son. He loves it! It kept him occupied for a long while. Whoo hoo! Make one too!

It has been foggy and cold here the last few days. So, most of our activities have been indoors. Plus, we have been sick. So, that means cranky kiddos and parents. No fun at all.

We’ve thrown cotton balls at each other for an indoor snowball fight. We’ve played pirates. We even made up games.

But, when you’re sick, your creative fuel runs out. I have been at a loss.

Today, at Target, my son grabbed a giant ball of colorful rubber bands. He asked, “Mom, can we get these?” At first I just stared at him thinking, “What the heck are we going to do with those?” I put them in the cart anyway, thinking I’d figure something out.

Sure enough an idea popped in my head while roaming the aisles of Target.

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A Loud Winter’s Nap Craft and Activities

We are reading A Loud Winter’s Nap and doing a tortoise craft and activities to go along with the book. It’s so fun! Join in on the fun too!

We have been learning the letter W this week for preschool at home.

One of our favorite things to do when learning a new letter is to gather books that have the letter. Then, we find the letter on the cover and in the pages while we read.

It’s like a game for my son. Plus, he is introduced to new literature. Yay!

If you haven’t noticed yet (tehe), my friend Beth (from Days with Grey) and I have been teaming up each month to provide a book and a craft/activity that you can do with your kiddos to help prepare them for story retelling.

They absolutely don’t have to master the skill now. But, introducing them to the idea is a great way for them to have a great kindergarten year.

You can see a couple of our past Book Box Story Retells here: Room on The Broom, Dragons Love Tacos, The Watermelon Seed.

So, I was really happy when this month’s book box, A Loud Winter’s Nap (aff), had the letter W in it. It goes perfectly for our W week (W is for Winter)! Yippee!

I thought an egg carton tortoise and craft stick sled would be the perfect craft for this book. So, that is what we made!

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Little Blue Truck’s Christmas Craft

We made a Little Blue Truck’s Christmas Craft to go along with the book. My kiddos have been having so much fun delivering trees. Make it too!

December is my favorite month of the year. I love the decorations and the activities. I love the hot cocoa and lights. It’s so cheery.

We started our advent activities yesterday. I made some cards, printed them out, laminated them and cut them to size. We are drawing one card a day and doing that activity. If you’d like a set, you can get them as a thank you for signing up for my newsletter: FREE Christmas Advent Activity Cards.

One of the activities is to read Christmas books. So, today we’re reading Little Blue Truck’s Christmas (aff).

I love that the book has counting in it. I can teach my son to count and how to do some subtraction. It’s an easy read. So, my son can retell the story to me too! By kindergarten, children will be asked to retell the main points of a story.

If you haven’t noticed yet (tehe), my friend Beth (from Days with Grey) and I have been teaming up each month to provide a book and a craft/activity that you can do with your kiddos to help prepare them for story retelling.

They absolutely don’t have to master the skill now. But, introducing them to the idea is a great way for them to have a great kindergarten year.

You can see a couple of our past Book Box Story Retells here: Room on The Broom, Dragons Love Tacos, The Watermelon Seed.

But, back to Little Blue Truck’s Christmas. If your kiddos love trucks, farm animals and lights, they’re going to love this book. The very last tree lights up. My kiddos just love it (so much so they kept turning to that page)!

I thought counting trees and a cardboard truck craft would go along with the book. We set out our toy farm animals and delivered a tree to each animal while I read the book to them. I hope you enjoy doing the craft too!

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DIY Grinch Christmas Ornament

We had so much fun making this DIY Grinch Christmas Ornament and reading the book! I love when we can use supplies we already have. Have fun making one too!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. So, don’t be a Grinch. Haha! But, really.

We try to be those holly jolly people that smile and say Merry Christmas to everyone. Some people make it really tough. But, it really is about loving the people around you and sharing cheer. So, we’re choosing not to be the old Grinch.

My kiddos really love How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They love how he ends up being good and learning that Christmas doesn’t come from a store. And that he gets to enjoy Christmas.

So, we decided to make a Grinch Christmas Ornament to go along with the book. The kiddos enjoyed making it.

We didn’t have to go out and buy things to make it either. We used what we had. Hopefully, you have all the stuff to make it too.

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