Monday Night With Mother Goose Time: Dinosaur Dig 1

Hi Mommas! Happy Monday Night to you! 

You We made it! 

I have heard so much feedback from so many of you about Mother Goose Time! I am really excited these reviews and posts are spreading the word about just how wonderful MGT really is. 

When a new MGT box comes in, I usually get to peeping just as soon as the boys (and girl) lay down for naps. 

Each theme will come with lots of great ways to begin setting up your classroom area. Each month you will receive a new calendar, a poster for that month's theme and name tags as well. I love having the name tags on the table (as you have seen I am sure in many pictures). Kohen has already learned how to spell his name aloud, just from having his name tag on the table. Kruz has also began writing his last name, just because of seeing his name tag everyday. And there are no more problems with " ... (insert a brother's name here) is in my seat". Makes this Momma's life a little bit easier.

January's theme is Dinosaur Dig! I can remember when I first told Kruz about MGT. I read to him all of the different themes and Dinosaur Dig was the one he was most looking forward to. Now that it is here and we are right in the middle of it, I would say it is living up to all of his expectations. And mine too! So when Kruz saw his new Dino name tag, he was pretty revved up!

The Dinosaur Dig began with learning about Paleontologists, Excavation Sites, Fossils and Bones. Kruz is learning about what a paleontologist is, the tools he/she uses on a dig, what they do on an excavation site, what fossils are and all about dino bones. 

This was one of our projects when we first started Dinosaur Dig: Excavation Dig

Each art project comes with one of these, a project sheet with different ideas on discussion, exploration, a plan, ideas on creating and ways to play when you are done. 

For this particular project, all we needed to have were scissors and glue. Got it and got it!

So each of the boys cut out their own sets of bones. We were given a small pack of sand and once the pieces were cut out, they all went into the sand where the boys had to 'excavate' the bones. If you noticed in the top picture, MGT provided us with brushes - these were used to brush off the sand and 'clean' the bones once they were found. Once each bone was clean and free of sand, the boys glued their bones on their paper, ultimately figuring out how to piece together the dinosaur skeleton. 

And sorry for no more pictures after this. I'm pretty sure I was refereeing it between, " ... Mommy, (insert a brother's name here) got my bone" and oh, I could just see the wheels a-turning in Kruz' brain on throwing that sand in the air. Geesh! The end results were really cute! Especially since Kollin, Kolt and Kruz figured out they could make cool designs with glue and the sand would stick to it. Fun, fun!

And here is another set of pictures without an end result shot! Ha! Seriously though, Kohen was so stinkin' cute in those Jake undies painting his dino bone! I mean, way too cute not to share!

Everyone painted one of these bones and I had the privilege to paint the dinosaur's skull. Yea, I like to paint sometimes too! We had fun piecing them together to make the shape of our own dinosaur! 

P.S. Yes. Yes, that is my four year old in a Bumbo chair in one of those pictures. Yes, he still fits. Yes, he was stuck. 

Gettin' Crafty - Instagram Photo Frame

I've had this mirror for for.ever. I'm pretty sure the Hubs and I picked it up at a yard sale for a pretty cheap price. This thing has had so many homes. Once it was placed on the mantel in our last home, it has been used as regular wall decor and even as the boys' bathroom mirror in this home. Eventually it was shoved under the couch and just recently I slid it back out and stuck it in the donation pile. 

Until yesterday that it is. 

I had this idea to make this thing into an Instagram Photo Frame. It was so super simple and super inexpensive. 

Here's what I did.

First thing I did was sand the frame down just a bit. Making it just a little rough helps the paint to stick better - at least that's what I've always been told. 

The mirror was held in by staples and a little wood glue. I used a screwdriver to lift up the staples and it took just a slight push to pop it out. 

I picked these colors up at Hobby Lobby, just $2.99 each. I also added a smidgen of gray and a drop of black to make the color I wanted. 

Here's the amount of white I used. 

I started out with this much orange because I really thought it would be strong. By the time it was said and done, I had added this much orange four times total. 

Here is my final color. It was exactly what I wanted!

I painted one coat on the frame last night and one this morning. I purchased my fabric (I bought 3/4 of a yard) from of course, Hobby Lobby. I cut the fabric about an inch and a half larger than the mirror. I also cut the burlap strings at this time too. I glued the first string 2 inches from the top of the opening and then the second string another 6 inches down from the first one. Once the glue for the strings was dry, I glued the fabric around the edges. 

I used craft sticks to press down the fabric around the edges. I ended up actually gluing the craft sticks around the edges over the fabric to provide more stability. 

Here is my final product! The metal clips came from Ikea. 

I am in love with this piece in my dining room. I take so many photos with Instagram and am proud to display them here. 

Looking Rather Lovely ...

It's looking rather lovely around the Nichols' house ...

Although, my decor for Valentine's Day is nothing compared to the extravagant pins of the gorgeous mantles and such you will find on Pinterest.

I will say this year what I said last year ... there is always next year to make it bigger and better.

But until then, here is my loveliness now :)

**My wreathe was super easy and super cheap - my kinda wreathe. I used a styrofoam wreathe and wrapped it with gray and red felt (I folded it in half to make the crease and ironed it too). The flowers were bought from Hobby Lobby and are hot glued on.

**Framed LOVE picture, Kiss Photo Holder, You & Me Photo Holder, Pink Charger and Pink Bird Cage all came from Hobby Lobby. I know, I know - it's an addiction. Hey, we all have them ...