Make Mode

I am so ready to try this and a few cute glove puppets so come back son to check on us :)

Story Blocks

This post is for those who are making or thinking of making cute ,easy, and quick gifts for their Lil ones. I made these as part of M's Eid Gift This will help kids with their creative thinking as well as develop turn taking and sharing ability. The original idea came from a very cute blog I visited quite a while ago (don't remember the name but they were hand painted and far cuter) But after much dragging the project I finally decided to do it my way :)
For these I got

• wooden blocks from a thrift store
• a cute book ( in some foreign language... that sure made it easy to cut )

Then sand the blocks smooth,cut images to fit the side and glue and you are good to play or gift wrap them

To play !!

You need two or more participants. The first one rolls the block and starts a story with the picture that comes on top, then the next one rolls it again and adds a sentence or two using the picture that comes on top. and so on.

Baba, and I had to play the game in front of M for the first few times to give her the Idea. Next she started rolled the dice for me and baba. And eventually after a few games she was totally into it. Now she makes stories better than ours :) I feel writing them down sometimes

Why I love this game !!!
Because each time you come up with a different story and the creativity of the simple block never ends
Variation
Try rolling two blocks together and try to come up with a sentence that has both the things in it.

Dance Show and Spiders

two of her latest masterpieces

the first one is babies "Dancing in a dance show"

and this one is "a spider stuck in the spider web"

This lead to some serious thinking....I think I need to narrate the storeies with these drawings as in writing them on the same page or on back side her thoughts are as intriguing as the drawings themselves.

what do you say???

Family Portrait... A Tutorial

made by M at 2.8 years of age :) want one too??? here is a simple how to....

Step one

Grab your Materials ...

1. paper (hundreds of them, new, used, recycled)
2. pencil/crayons or markers or anything to draw with

3. Child yours or anyone Else's (that's the prime ingredient)

4. love (note the more the better)

5. praise (at least a ton)

6. Attention 2Tbsp ( don't overdo it)

Step two.

put all the ingredients together and just let them simmer in your love.

Its done when your prime Material says its done

Please Avoid.

1. Criticism

2.Taking over and telling them what to do

3.Telling them what not to do

4.Pushing and demanding for results (color "IN" the lines)

5.Labeling the end product ( if the child says its you it IS you, not a dinosaur not an elephant but only you)

Do link to me when you post your results !!! happy drawing

Sunday Surprise!!!

Since its been a week that I have resumed the full time job (that I am loving as much as I loved staying home) and already missed out our Library day twice. Think it would be the weekends that M and I will have are our special,very special time and I have all the intentions to make it fun.plus I wont be having spare time during the week for crafting and all. So where is all that leading .... yup to our Sunday surprise. I am planning to make something special every week for M it could be a hand made toy, a costume, a dish that we can prepare together, a special visit and activity related to that visit.... hmmm so the horizon is very very vast and anyone can join in no rules and regulation, no boundaries

And now the drum rolls please for our very first Sunday Surprise !!!

Ta daaaaaaaaaa

ya a royal cape and a crown. The length of our cape is a bit short as I made it from a crossroads shopping bag !!! Though M is enjoying it immensely and calls herself a king in this costume. still I need to make a long flowy gown for my princess next I can put up a tutorial if anyone is interested in instructions on how to.

Block Puzzles

Here is one of M's Eid Gift that without a doubt is her favorite

The block puzzles to make pictures of her grand parents and phopho

and to entertain us with the mixed up creations

To make block puzzles

1. I made 4 cuboids by gluing together 3 pieces of cube blocks.

I believe in introducing new concepts and activities step by step so wanted to avoid the CUBE puzzle. It would have been really confusing for a 2.8 to put together a picture cut into 12 small pieces, glued to 12 different cubes on all different sides. The first time around that is a sure road to failure resulting in early disappointments. These early disappointments in ones ability can result into low self esteem. Which I am sure any parent would want to avoid. so the formula is to add on step by step.

Any way back to the tutorial, you can also use wooden blocks if available or if you can get them cut on order.

2. Then I measured the size of the blocks all put together and the size of one block that gave me guidelines to adjust my pictures on photoshop.

3. Then I chose 4 pictures. As you can see these are family pics I would suggest something that your child is familiar or close to that will help increase the attention span.

4. Then I used photoshop to adjust my pictures so they kind of fit together when overlapped

5. Print them

6. Cut and glue on them on the blocks

7. I used contact/sticker sheet to protect the final blocks just measure all around a block that will give you the required length and for width simply measure the broad side of a block. Remove the back sheet slowly as you work your way up the sides. it will take some practise and patience.

DONE.

Work Work Work

is now mommy's motive or may I say motif ...... its my second day and man am I going nuts from going to one design and then to the other, this color schemes or that???, from home fashion to apparel to kitchen accessories and whats with the funny designs with Rosters Oh have you ever heard of a thing like "bridal formal Apron", Oh God who was the designer and who has chosen and approved those aMMazig designs.... hahaha the world is all going crazy man how were they surviving without ME !!!
And No matter how much I am enjoying this crazyness I am missing my Matto Janiya and our cute lil "ac-tiv-ties".It makes me so so happy when I think about going back home and my lil one will hug me with "I missed U Mommy" and that's why today's post is straight from my office. NO MORE COMPTEER TIME at home from now on, all of that would be Matoo's time!! what do you say to new mom unplugged ? well partially unplugged.

Tot Batote....

Guess the first week of our library and what did I find!!! "tot batot "(that's the best I can spell it in English)....It was my fav character from Urdu poems and was I delighted to find it after ages in Library last week. M liked the rhymes and though the illustrations in this book are a bit below average and there are only 4 or 5 images that are irrelevantly placed on random pages, still we love it.... for Sufi Tabassum's gems

so for now we are just relishing our discovery... its amazing to see how everyone at our home is loving it (the poems NOT the book)

Need to find the old version, The one that we had in our personal collection... anyone any Idea

Marble Painting

M and I did our first marble painting today , yes it was my first ever as well !!! Its simple and fun and now I wonder why did I wait so long to do it ...May be because I was afraid that I wont be able to stop her using/messing up her hands and fingers without being strict to her and that sure is one thing I want to avoid as much as i can. But I also wanted to show her that there ARE DIFFERENT ways to do and enjoy. and I think we pretty much succeeded.
To do it I measure and cut a piece of paper that fits in our cookie sheet, place the paper in then M put the ball on it.(yes we didn't have the marble so I used a small ball and it worked ) then I poured some paint on the ball and gave the cookie sheet to M to shake and move around. kept pouring more color as required and the results .....ammm really nice.

Magic.... Miracle...or What

...... how does this compteer of mine came to life just like that ... it had some serious ya S-E-R-I-O-U-S problem for the last 15-20 days... ammm every since my last post I guess and just because I was Extremely bored and missing the blogging dose I switched it on knowing it wot work and to my sheer joy it switched on Ya just like that and now I am awe stuck as to what to wright

may be about our Eid

about M's Eid gifts and

how did she like them

her new puzzles

our new obsession with smartness

or about the poor birds that Irfan rescued like Diego

and what they might be thinking

after spending a few days in M's house

may be all of them are worth individual posts but later I guess right now me need to catch up on so many things before it collapsed again :)

Toys She Likes Best

are pencils, markers, paints, brushes and a surface to paint and draw on of course, blocks, empty boxes, letters from old scrabbles (that my mom gave her),books ,babushka dolls infact all kinds of dolls, puzzles and ya her most favorite of all "a jambulon rectangle frame".
Irfan saw it in college junk yard and brought home thinking I might be able to use it for model making, little he knew it would become his daughters all time fav. It is her beach , it is her gate its her home and its her window a road for her cars and what not.
You need to see it hehehe its a funny pink frame with an 11 X 8 inches cut out from the center Ya our design major teacher Sir Ghanni was more than right when he said that kids prefer the boxes over expensive toys. Ever wonder why?
yup because their simplicity makes them versatile... just let a child look at it and it could be anything!!!

Another Painting Session

While I was busy busy making and thinking about the eidi, Miral enjoyed another session of painting. She took all the liberty and painted herself from head to toe in paint ....she was making "body prints" LoLs

thats what we call free art :) Its just that I dont know whats her poor Art teacher gonna do this winter when she starts school.

Besides painting with hands, feet and brushes today she also enjoyed painting with her toy cars though we had a little phadda over using small nesting blocks or a rectangular plate to use as a pallet for the cars, she wanted to paint every thing including herself after all she got her hands on " paints" after a long long time...

pictures comming soon....

W.I.P-2

Two days later here we are

2:30 - 14 sept

Just came back from shopy shop, have almost ya almost all the stuff we need for making gifts

Still waiting for the print of silhouette

Dress top pattern finalized after quite an effort finally had to go to my tailor master to get it right ... hah i forgot how to cut an armhole and arm for a toddler :( any way now its done . even the embroidery pattern is stamped on it

Got blocks for the block puzzle and story blocks

Also found very nice zippers in funky colors for the busy book.

10:00 pm

Finally got the print of silhouette, but guess its too small book.

11:00 pm

Got it enlarged .Irfan did it free hand will sure put up the pic its really nice.

W.I.P

Ya work in progress, here is the first update for M's Eidi
come again to check how it goes

1:54 pm - 12 sept.

Silhouette created for the Bag ..... hahaha i know its a year old pic but cant help it , had to find and use an old one as the camera is still not fixed . If it were a recent picture she would have a pony tail and her chin is slightly thinner

By the way I had decided on the color combo and fabric even before putting up the list

5:50-ish pm - 12 sept

Fabric selected and purchased for bag ... ya cant show now :)

3:25 am - 13 sept

pattern finalized for the bag , even tried out

working on a pattern for her dress think it will be a short sleeved A-line shirt with capris ... hmm nothing much traditional this time

Eidi For M

On this Eid I am planing to make all the gifts/ Eidi by myself as I am on a handmade swing these days and with Eid just 10 days away I think I better speed up and finish off the gifts that I am planning to make for M this Eid .

here I am posting the list that I am planning this Eid.It is actually a reminder to myself :)

1. An Eid dress off course (even the designing and selecting the fabric is taking so much time)

2. M's memory Quilt

3. A goodies bag (planning to make something with M's a silhouette on it, most probably I'll applique on a plain background)

4. Eid Coupons (that she can use later) here are some very cute ones but I want to create something especially for her so lets see...

5. Story Blocks/ where does it come from puzzle.

6. Puzzle blocks

7. A new Sketch book.. ya need to dress this one up , its Eid after all

8. A Busy book ( as with every passing day she is showing more and more interest in buttoning lacing zipping )

9.Stuffed Alphabets

10.Eatable Crayons ... ya she loves sweets

Hmmm A LONG list lets see how much I can AC.COM.PLISH In 10 days :)

Learning About The Surface??

well that's what your baba thinks you are doing when you Draw on our "not so new" wooden sofa with a chalk in the lounge this afternoon...(alas don't have the camera wanted to show this art of yours to you one day.)
Those were the funny few minuets that I sure want to tell you about. When your baba with an amused expression asked me quietly to look at what you are doing for a a split second I was like what the HELL... "sofa too gaya" and what's next!! You never draw on walls or furniture and it seemed to me like a beginning of a habit i always dreaded and he wanted me to stop you. But as soon as I opened my mouth he was like " kya krr rahi ho cant you see she is learning about the SURFACE" shhhhh (aaH the artist!!)
And you know what ? for a moment the artist Mom in me skipped a beat that Oh I was about to keep you from such a "healthy " activity but thank God my logical/ not so arty/ tiered from keeping the house tidy/sick of your toys everywhere, side of mom took over... other wise you were planing to learn about your tables surface next ...hahaha no I didn't beat you or something just gave you a black sheet to draw on. And I assured my self that I might have stopped you from learning about more surfaces in our home with chalk there are plenty other ways you can learn about them.
Hmm now I have to think about those ways...................

How Can I Forget ....

... to share this fabulous underwater scene drawn by M on our way to Hyederabad. I just love the way little ones draw things their way, the boldness and confidence of her strokes and I just Wish that she keeps this even after going to school, hate the way they teach them how to draw in the so called art class at schools; that just sucks the Individuality out of it... ammm more on that sometime later, don't want to spoil the beauty right now ;)

Kindness Begins With Me !

WoW what a thought especially when it comes to share something with kids. As my kiddo is going to begin school coming January I am trying to figure out how to make it special for her and at the moment it seems more important than her next Birthday which is not due before Feb anyway . And in my search I found this really cute back to school idea shared by Wendy @ The shabby nest . I do need to figure out how to add a personal touch to the ideas that are floating in the blog sphere but till then I just love her HAPPY FIRST DAY banner and the concept of a year theme.

I would also like to share a very special blog just found its called Just Something I Made and she shares amazing vintage prints along with other creative stuff. This blog world keeps me mesmerised, cant believe how creative and generous these people are. Not sure even if I am contributing anything at all on my own.

Nesting Blocks

Now that M is up early today and its our potty training day two I didnt want to sleep while she was up, so reintroduced the nesting cups and this time as with potty issue she seems to understand the concept so easily. Though a lot of practice both for her eyes as well as hands is still requiered its very very nice to see that she wants to use the cups in a fashion that they are actually designed for, does it mean that she has started understanding spatial concepts in the teeniest lil way along with many other benifits this activity offers including

1.Visual and small muscular perception of dimensions.

2. This awareness of dimensions leads to observation of the child’s environment.

3. Helps to make smoother and more coordinated movement.

4. Math readiness by introducing concepts of smaller, larger, prepares for the decimal and number system.

wow am I expecting too much from a simple toddler play ?

Can You Count on Your Fingers???

Sorry not our original pic but close enough to whats i am going to talk about (don't remember where i got this pic from or sure would have given the ref.)

Yup that's what we are practicing these days never thought it would be that a great challenge for little toddler fingers. And Its adorable to see her putting so much effort and concentrate so much to hold her little finger with thumb to raise the rest of three fingers to point number three :)

we have started practicing in the sequence from index finger to thumb like index finger is 1 , index and the next one is 2 , index and next two make 3 all fingers raised together 4 and the whole hand with all fingers spread makes five But now i am also thinking to start from the little finger as well

I am sure its a nice exercise for her hand muscles that will help in her small motor skills But its lots and lots of fun as well , as for every number we do the high five style clap and it gives her a special pleasure :)

Try it with your lil ones and do tell us about it !!

....And Again We Are Ready For A Fresh Start....

of course i am talking about potty training what else ... hahaha
but this time the hopes are very high as M decided herself that she doesn't want to wear her diapers any more ( even the extra large size gets too tight)
The reward chart is really working and lot of credit also goes to "Learning to potty with Pee Wee Potamus" its about a little girl Kidzie who wants to grow up... though M still prefers to be a BAiBEE she still like her potty pals
and though we had a few accidents ... still our hopes are very very high this time :)
fingers crossed 0x0x0x0x
Will sure put up a pic of our potty chart as soon as I get my camera fixed.M gets to color a box and put a sticker of her choice in the box whenever she manages to do it in the "cAmmot". Otherwise mom just wrights the time and date in the box, it sure is turning out great!!

The Coolest Picture

....of our trip to Sindh this summer, isn't it fabulous... especially when its taken by a 2 years old (who manage to trip over the camera after taking this great shot :)

Sad Face Tomato

Reminds me of the sad face used for theater logo and also of pumpkins that are crafted for Halloween :) Did you look for fun stuff in your veggies today

Nugget Noodle Doll

Here Is our very first one!! Daan-da-daan (Note: I edited the background to make it more clear)
The empty fun nugget pack in waste bin, half Kg boneless chicken in fridge and an urge to make something fun for M' dinner were the reasons behind this cutie... and it was appreciated to the point of satisfaction :)
Search the recipe and found one on videojug.com it is supper easy,
all you need is

chicken boneless ( half kg makes about 14 of this size)
salt and pepper
all purpose flour
bread crumbs
and an Egg (beaten)

Blend in the boneless chicken some salt and Black pepper (I used 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp pepper) in a blender /food processor, give shape (don't try too hard at this stage, just determine the thickness), dip in flour, then egg and finally in crumbs.
Now is the time to shape your nuggets, I had nothing particular at this stage so thought to go for basic shapes as it was my first tryIt was only after frying the first one I started with a round one to make a face. Then thought of the rest, the picture tells it all so think no need to describe much. I make dolls with triangular bodies when M asks me to make a girl it looks like a dress, next time for boy I am planing to use the square one.

Dress Up Fun

(Still no camera no pics ...but I know if I didn't put it down now I'll miss it like many other projects)......edited on 10 aug
Here comes the first costume I made for M's dress up chest ... its simple and fabulous .... and its a great delight to see how my lil one loved her Ballerina Tutu

Here is how to make your own

You'll need
Elastic tape (about 20" long)
Net /organza fabric 4 meters ( I used 2 colors so 2 Meters each)
Now....

1. Just measure around your lil one's tummy, and cut an elastic tape 1 1/2 -2 inches less than that2. Stitch the ends and check if it fits3. Fold the fabric till desired length (mine was 18")
4. cut strips 5" wide so that each strip is 36" x 5" . Round the ends if u like
5. Now hold one strip from the middle, slide it under the elastic and loop the ends through it and pull it down .6. Keep going with alternative color strips
7. Put on some Nice music and have fun!!!

Truly .....Madly in Love

Ya what else it could be..... like an obsessed mom I try to preserve each and every moment of my lil one :) I literally HATE to through away even a single paper that has M's drawings, ya even a even a single line drawn by her is precious to me ,but I know I cant cling to everything and wont possibly be able to keep all the pages that hold the precious journey.
So for fathers day what could be better than something made from my collection of her art and some originals works especially for baba. here is what we did
we made two cards for Baba. I don't remember where did I see this idea first but any way here it is ....I took a small box, cut 6 colored papers that fit into it,(one for each letter) then I cut out bold letters F-A-T-H-E-R, punched and thread them with matching ribbons into a book form and Tadaaaa its ready for M to draw something special for Baba (that's my addition to the original idea that had 6 attributes one for each letter) then we did some collage on the box to match !!!

The second one gave her more freedom as it was a big D and she did some sticker collage, (especially wanted " fish" sticker for her baba that says be mine:) ) some drawings ....have you noticed the OH SO SPECIAL heart on top left...."oh so special" is a new character/stuffed bear on Disney and as we were to make something "special " for baba here it is .... (its kind of funny that it looks more like a heart shape with eyes than the stuffed bear :)

For the gift we made these two way book marks. For this I cut 4 rectangular out of card boards I used 2 different colors that complemented her work. Cut out windows in them leaving 1/2 inch on 3 sides and about 2 inches on one side.Then mounted her artwork between the two pieces. To add the string I punched one hole on top of each one and then using the loop knot added the matching ribbons.

A tool Box (that's still under construction) all painted by M so far.He could also use it to keep the Gifts that he'll receive from her in future....now thats an Idea baba!!!

And M's hand cast it came out nicer than my expectations
anyway while putting M to bed last night I thought of preserving the day with a cast of her Little hand with baba's bigger one I think that would come out real nice It will deserve a new post I believe

Hand Prints

Painting with hands ....and feet is our absolute fav. Here are some fun pics of my shrek :)

Sayyyyyyy Click

M is taking pics all the time these days so thought to share some here


ya its me and thats her very first one will update more soon

Sand Paper Numbers

M can recognise quite a few numbers and can count up to ten and sometimes more on fingers and when I am in washroom (mixing up seven with seventeen most of the times though) so I thought of introducing the sand paper numbers to her. I made the sand paper numbers using instructions from "Montessori at home ". it was very easy. I used a fine nice sand paper from Irfan's tool drawer traced the numbers on wrong side (reverse the numbers ) cut and paste on 6x6 inches mount board DONE

We counted a lot of things with them from beads to animals (Alas don't have a nice pic right now)
This is our second number recognition game by the way, made the first one for valentines with hearts and chocolate beans and missed introducing ZERO. Now I realize it is as important as any other number :)

Daddy I love You ( baba turn you face)

Now that Fathers day is just around the corner next few posts will be dedicated to that I guess. After alot of bowsing found this cute little poem that M and I will sing for most of our times now on the tune of "are you sleeping brother john"....in hope she'll learn it by the day ...its part of our surprise for baba
Thought it would be nice to share as well :)

DADDY I LOVE YOU

Daddy I love you
for all that you do
i'll kiss you and hug you
'cause you love me,too
you feed me and need me
to teach you to play
so smile'cause I love you
on this fathers day (we've changed it to ....Every day)

by nicholas gordon

More fun I deas comming soon :)

Free Play / Planned Work

I don't know how many time do I repeat my self but I cant stop wondering how creative the kids could be when left to play on their own and oh the self debate it triggers..... "weather its good or bad to stop them or /and steer them towards the planed activity when they want to use the Montessori material in a different way; other than what they were initially intended to....."

Yesterday while beading these tiny miny beads M started making geometric shapes with them. First of all she surprised me with a diamond shape that she made with 4 beads (I never made any shapes with such stuff ....and a diamond certainly "NOT". Then came circle by adding some more (damn don't have camera all the time....) When I came back with the camera a few min later she was working on this one... any guesses what it is going to be....

Yo its a "tYiangul"that looks like a house :)

any suggestions on the above issue???

Potty Training Day one

wohoo finally we ventured into the potty training phase.
M is 27 months old and every now and then I find my self wondering if the delay is on my part or hers. Every day I promised my self that this is her last day in diapers and every day I came up with a new excuse I couldn't get myself to take her diapers off for good.So today was the BIG DAY..... 9 accidents and no luck in 10 hours but my hopes are really very high coz after her third or may be forth accident she tried to tell me "mommy washroom mommy washroom" I missed her clue coz and I thought she was looking for me n thinking that I was in washroom :)

Milk Pack Tower

M loves making towers so every thing and any thing can work as blocks for us these days....

I Love Free play

I love free play as its where the kid's imagination is at its peek , I don't mind much even if she tries to use her Montessori materials in a different way that they are intended and that's why M is spending more and more time creating her own games with the things she has. A few days ago she made this bridge with Dora stickers ... these stickers are more like paper dolls as they are mounted on a hard board...

See u can even walk on it :)

Punk Rocker With Flowers In her Hair : )n

I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair ....yup that's M's first FAVORITE song and my princess doesnt loose a chance to pick flowers to put up in her hair. She picked these flowers from Nana Jan's tarres and with Hassan mamoo's help she managed to get them in her hair ..... itn't it CUTE!!!

Green Day Collage

Presenting the first page of our color book

This is our second attempt on collage so far and not really bad if we compare the above collage to this... But it was not easy at all to get M to make one even after eight months.We really had to put in" efforts" to make this work attractive to her. I am glad though that at least she was interested in putting on glue to the paper (it was a bit difficult to take that away actually) and then she just pasted the leaf and she was done to finish the thing I had to place the pieces one by one asking my self "Were will it look good ?" "where should I put it?" REAL LOUD and then M would suggest a place and that's how we get here.
I didn't suggest the overlapping of pictures at any point and I am totally exited that it was purely her Idea

we'll try the recycled/junk collage in the morning... so do come back and check it out :)

Happy Earth Day

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY ....... every day

Celebrate morning
The cry of a loon on a lake in the night
The dreams that are born in the dawn's early light
Celebrate morning

Celebrate living
The laughter that sings in the heart of a child
The freedom that flies at the call of the wild
Celebrate living

Celebrate evening
The stars that appear in the loss of the son
whispering winds," we are one ...we are one"

Celebrate Earth day, every day
Celebrate Earth day , every day
Celebrate land and sea
Celebrate you and me
Celebrate Earth day, every day

words and music by John Denver

Green Eggs and .......

Never knew Our Green celebrations would start this way....
yup!!! M's latest obsession with Dr. Seuss 's "Green Eggs and ham" lead us to this green treat :) she loved it so much that i know it by heart by now and after reading it for 20 or so times this morning she wanted to eat Green eggs and ham..... Hmmmmmmmmmm ... what to do? what to do?
make green eggs what else !!!

my lil one didn't seem to mind the squarish shap of her eggs a bit

Here is the Recipe:

To make 2-3 green eggs

3-4 bread slices
2 Eggs
3-4 tbs Milk
3-4 tsp Sugar
a few drops of Blue food color
oil for shallow frying

1. Beat eggs, add milk and sugar.
2.Make two toasts by dipping one slice in the batter at a time, turn over covering the other side then fry in pan with 2 Tbsp oil.
3.Add 2 drops of blue food color it will turn the yellow better into green (u can also use green if blue is not available) repeat the above process to make one green toast.
4.Now using a Cookie cutter cut a hole in each yellow bread. Using the same cutter cut 2 circles from green bread now place two green pieces in each hole you can also switch the circles and your green eggs are ready. Yummmy.....Enjoy !!!

My lil one loved them and I would love to hear if you try them :)