Rolling for Pumpkins

Here's a very inexpensive way to work on the concept of one-to-one correspondence!  I adore the dollar section at Target!  I found these super cute tin pails and a bag of pumpkin erasers.  I already had an unfinished wooden cube that I used a Sharpie to make into a pumpkin dice. 

The activity can be as open-ended as you'd like.  Twiggy and I would take turns rolling the dice and putting the corresponding number of pumpkins into our pail.  We played until the pumpkins were all gone, and then counted our stash.  We talked about who had more and who had less. 

Other ideas:
* Use the dice to "take away" pumpkins.
* Use ice-cube trays as grids.  Whoever fills up their tray first wins.
* Get a second type of eraser (we also bought bats) and practice patterning.

Itsy Bitsy Spiders

I love this time of year!  The leaves are changing, the weather is perfect for go-cart rides, and all things fall are fun!
At a recent family bonfire, we made these adorable T-shirts! They were super simple!!!

First, I found T-shirts on clearance on Walmart.  I probably should have pre-washed them but I didn't.  I put newspaper and old magazines inside the shirts to keep the paint from seeping through to the other side.  I used black fabric paint, but you have to be super careful not to get it on your clothes.

I painted the kiddos palms and four fingers (do not paint the thumb).  My little suggestion: if you are painting a younger kids hands I would do just one hand at a time to minimize the mess. 

Stamp the child's painted hand onto the shirt with thumb down.  Place the other hand down on the shirt, so the palms touch.  I let the spiders dry before I used white puffy paint to add eyes.  I used a thin paintbrush to paint the spider webs.

The kids had a lot of fun making shirts and had even more fun wearing them later that week!