Monday, December 15, 2008

Happy Holidays Part 2...

Well it's hard to believe that our first semester of Moppets is over. We have had a great time with the kids this fall and we're super excited to welcome them back in January!

Today the kids read the book God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa T. Bergren.


Lisa Tawn Bergren writes amazing spiritual books for both adults and kids. Be sure to check out her latest book How Big is God, it will help you answer some of your little ones questions about God.

The children finished up their gifts for you as well today. They wrapped them up and made cards-- but no peeking until Christmas morning :)

Due to the rain, the children were not on the soggy yard today. During the time they would have normally been on the yard they were watching Christmas cartoons. Their snack was holiday cookies, we apologize in advance for their sugar high.

As promised in the last installment this week I'll give you some New Year's traditions that your family might want to try. Enjoy!

1. Have the kids record an end-of-the year talk show. Interview them to ask about their accomplishments from the past year.

2. Check out how they celebrate New Years in other locations around the world. Try out one of their traditions-- who knows, it might be one you keep from year to year.

3. Forecast the future. Ask each person in the family to write down a question they have about the coming year (What will be the top news story of the year? How many goals will Hayden make this year? etc.) Then have each person in the family write down an answer to the question. Seal these away until New Years 2010-- break them open and see who was closest!

4. Make January 1 a "Day of Firsts". Try a new food, style your hair a new way, go to a new park you've never been to. See how many firsts you can cram into one day!

5. Make a memory jar for 2009. Take an empty jar or box, a pad of paper, and pens and put them in a place that your family can easily access. During the course of 2009 write down any nice thing that happens (a new puppy, a good grade on a report card, Grandma coming to town) and the date. On New Year's Eve 2010 you can review all the nice things that happened during the year.

6. If you have little ones who can't wait up until midnight, why not celebrate at noon? Do the whole countdown and drop your own ball--- maybe a basketball or football! Then there's no pressure to stay up and everyone can stick to their bedtime schedule!

7. Make pancakes in the number shapes for the new year. How fun would it be to wake up on January 1st to 2009 pancakes?

8. On New Year's Eve have the family decorate a box and place it in a central place in your home. Throughout the year as you go to the movies, school programs, Disneyland etc. place a small memento from the occasion in your box. At the end of the year you will be able to relive all of the wonderful adventures your family has had.

No matter what you do, I hope you have a wonderfully safe holiday!!!!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Holidays Part 1....

Today we begin part one of our two part holiday series. The children were read the story A Small One about the donkey who helps Mary and Joseph get to the inn to have baby Jesus. I can't tell you about the craft because it's a surprise-- you'll find out on Christmas day.



There is also a video that tells this story-- you can find it on many DVD compilations like Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 9 - Classic Holiday Stories sold at Target or Amazon.com.

Holiday crafts are a dime a dozen, so instead of giving you links to craft sites I thought I might share with you some traditions that might be fun for your family.

Try sleeping one night under the Christmas tree or having a picnic under the tree if you can't be away from a cozy bed.

Wrap up holiday books and have the kids unwrap one every night as their bedtime story.

Bake cookies then take them to neighbors houses or a retirement home.

Choose a family and secretly give them gifts representing the 12 Days of Christmas (e.g. For 4 Calling Birds give the family a telephone calling card, for 6 Geese a-laying give the family eggs.)

Have a Birthday party for Jesus-- complete with birthday cake and balloons.

Join together with a few other families and have a progressive dinner. Have appetizers at one house, entree at another and dessert at yet another. You'll get to see how everyones house is decorated and you'll only have to cook one portion of the meal.

Next meeting I will have lots of ideas for New Years celebrations, so be sure to come back!


Sunday, November 16, 2008

Thanksgiving Activities....

Hello MOPS Mommies!



It is the time of year to be thankful for all the blessings we have and I have lots to be thankful for. I would like to express my thanks to my amazing MOPPET team of Laura, Amy and Julia who make my life so much easier. My Moppet workers never get enough credit and they do so much for me and our children. I would also like to thank you and your adorable children-- we do this for you and we are truly blessed!

Now on to our activities for this week. We read Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland and made hand-print turkeys.
The author also wrote Valentines are for Saying I Love You-- so grab that book in February.

If you are looking for some fun activities to keep little ones busy while you're in the kitchen, check out this site. They have Thanksgiving Bingo cards, coloring pages, word searches for older kids, and lots more!

If you're more into crafty things check out this site where they give you craft ideas appropriate for 2 year olds and up. I love this site because they have crafts into not only age categories but thematic categories as well.

For some recipes to make with little hands try these ideas. My favorite is having them make butter for the dinner rolls-- how fun is that?

Our very own Christine Davis has a friend who has a wonderful newsletter/website with ideas for pre-school aged kids. Be sure to check it out-- you can subscribe for monthly ideas. Thanks Christine for bringing this to my attention!

I hope you and your families have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Today we took a break from our traditional stories and we watched a story on DVD. Our story was about Spookley the Square Pumpkin.



We did a square pumpkin craft for the kids to bring home.


Spookley has an official site with lots of things for kids to do. There are coloring pages, activity sheets, and music videos to watch.

There are lots and lots of Halloween games to be found at the Family Fun website. If you want a really great parenting magazine, by the way, this is one of the best!

I found a new site with games for young and older children-- lots of really fun graphics and word games on this one.

One of our Moms made these cute finger cookies for the Lombardi bake sale. You can make them at home for yourself with this recipe.

If you are enjoying this blog, please send a quick note to hippolito@gmail.com

Have a wonderful, safe Halloween!

Friday, October 24, 2008

New pictures...

...are now on-line. Follow the link in the previous blog to view them. Thanks to Claudine, Tara and Lisa for sharing their photos.

Love,
Heather

Monday, October 20, 2008

Pumpkin Patch Trip...




We had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch at Underwood Farms. In this link I will post everyone's pictures so we can all share them. I am also linking some sugar pumpkin recipes, so we can all enjoy our pumpkins!!

Here are the pictures that Suzanne and I took.

There are lots of recipes-- here's how to process your pumpkin to make it usable for recipes.

In my new Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine they have several sugar pumpkin recipes. If you go to the "In Season" tab on this page, you will see several of these recipes.

If you have other pictures for me to share, please send me an e-mail hippolito@gmail.com and I'll stick them on here for other Mom's to download.

It was great fun to see you all today-- see you next week at MOPS!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Pooh's Friendship Week




Winnie the Pooh was published by A.A. Milne on October 14, 1926. This week we celebrate this achievement by reading some stories inspired by our favorite silly old bear. Each of the classrooms will have a different Winnie the Pooh story read to them (please note that these are the Disney versions, not the traditional or classic Pooh versions.)

The kids made a bee with their friends. If you look at the wings of the bee you should see the fingerprints of all the kids in their class. This shows that if we all work together we can make things better!

If you would like to learn more about A.A. Milne you can check out this site. It has a short, reasonably easy to understand biography of Mr. Milne's life. This site also has some neat games and e-cards featuring both classic and Disney Pooh.

For all things Pooh-- games, stories, and merchandise you can check out the official Disney site.


If your child would like to color some Pooh pages, try this site.

For those Moms who love to bake-- and show off their amazing skills-- there is a darling Pooh cake that you and the kiddos can make here.

We hope you take some time to enjoy a little time with Pooh and your friends!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Week 2


Today the kids read the book Papa Oblong by LeRoy Blankenship. You can check out his website by clicking here, but it isn't very kid friendly.

If you would like some other great books about Noah's Ark, check these out:

One More River: A Noah's Ark Counting Book by Joan Paley

Noah's Ark (Picture Yearling Book) by Peter Spier

Noah's Ark (Caldecott Honor Book) by Jerry Pinkney

The kids in the older rooms made a beautiful rainbow mobile and the younger kids colored a rainbow picture.


If your little ones would like to do more crafts, check out these links.

Make a Noah's ark out of paper plates, click here.

This is a great site for coloring pages that you can print at home. I linked it right to the Noah's Ark pages.

If you are feeling really Martha Stewartish-- you can bake your kids an ark cake. Here's how you can make it out of pre-made pound cake.

I also found some games that you can do in the Noah's Ark vein, click here.

Please let me know if this blog is helpful to you by sending me a quick e-mail at hippolito@gmail.com

Thanks!



Saturday, August 23, 2008

Welcome to Moppets!!!


On this site you will be able to see what your children are doing in Moppets and some fun extension activities for home. I hope that you will use this site to help your children learn and grow!

Here's to more adventures in motherhood!

Love,
Heather

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

September 9th-- First Moppet Meeting

Welcome to our Moppet blog. Here we will share with you what we've done with your children and give you some ideas to continue the fun at home. We hope that you enjoy!

Heather, Laura, and the Moppets Staff


Today in Moppets we read Listen Buddy by Helen Lester.

It is the story of a little bunny named Buddy who has trouble listening to his Mommy and Daddy. In the end he learns the importance of listening after a bad encounter with Scruffy Varmint. We hope this will inspire the children to listen to the adults not only at Moppets, but at home too!

If your child enjoyed this book, check out other books written by the same author by clicking here:

Helen Lester's Official Site

Our older children made a cute bunny craft which shows off Buddy's listening ears. We hope you will put it in a place of honor in your home.

Extension Ideas:

Bunny Bath-time:
Here is a craft that you can do at home. Try to read the instructions to your child and see if they can listen and complete the craft.

Bunny made from a washcloth.

What you'll need:

* Washcloth
* Rubber band
* Ribbon
* Wiggle eyes
* Small pompom
* Glue

How to make it:

1. Fold washcloth in half to form triangle.
2. Roll washcloth from small point to long side.
3. Fold rolled washcloth in half.
4. Fold washcloth in half again. Fold loose ends back towards fold.
5. Place rubber band around washcloth 2 inches (4 cm) from fold. Cover rubber band with ribbon. Glue eyes and pompom (nose) on to bunny.

To see the website with diagrams, click here.

The Play's the Thing:
If your child likes to act things out, download this bunny mask and have them show you what Buddy did in our story.


Parents corner:

Quick Tips To Get Kids to Listen-- Please note, these are just suggestions from a parenting website. You should do what works for your child.

  • Be clear and pleasant
  • Avoid nagging
  • Use humor
  • Phrase things in a new way
  • Be concise - can you say short attention span?
  • Never baby talk to a small child
  • Avoid negatives. Instead of Don't Run, say Walk Only.
  • Don't talk down - expect maturity and you're more likely to get it
  • Don't back down or kids won't know when you're serious
  • Check for understanding by asking the child to repeat what you said
  • Make a game out of story time - lock lips and put the key in your pocket
While this article is for educators (sorry it's the teacher in me coming out) it has some great games you can do to help your child be a better listener:

Listening Games Article

Next meeting:
I hope that this is helpful for you. We look forward to seeing your child next time at Moppets where we'll be reading about a very special animal on Noah's Ark.